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After spending the second half of the 2024 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, starting pitcher Jack Flaherty is heading back to his former team.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Flaherty agreed to a two-year, $35 million contract with the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
Jeff Passan @JeffPassan
Jack Flaherty’s deal will pay him $25 million this year, after which he can opt out. The guaranteed salary in 2026 is $10 million, and it can get as high as $20 million if he starts 15 games this season. Flaherty found a lot of success with the Tigers last year and now he’s back.
Tarik Skubal, the reigning American League Cy Young award winner, took to social media to welcome Flaherty back to Detroit:
This will be the fifth time Flaherty has changed teams in the last three years, as he was sent from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Baltimore Orioles at the 2023 trade deadline before signing with the Tigers last offseason and being sent to the Dodgers at the 2024 deadline.
Between the Tigers and Dodgers this past season, Flaherty had a collective 13-7 record with a 3.17 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and 194 strikeouts. His 2.95 ERA in 18 starts in Detroit made him one of the most coveted players in the league as the trade deadline approached. He then went 6-2 in Los Angeles during the regular season before going 1-2 in the playoffs as the team won the World Series by defeating the New York Yankees in five games.
Flaherty began his major league career with the Cardinals in 2017 and developed into a key member of their rotation. He was named St. Louis’ Opening-Day starter for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He recorded a sub-3.35 ERA in three out of his six-plus seasons in St. Louis.
Flaherty is joining a Tigers rotation that also includes Skubal and Reese Olson. He will be a key member of the team’s push for the postseason in 2025.
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