On Monday, it appeared that the New York Yankees were well-positioned to acquire Jack Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers before Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline. On Tuesday, however, Flaherty was moved from the Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers. So, did the Dodgers just outbid the Yankees, or is there more to the story? According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, sources stated that New York pulled out of a potential deal owing to injury concerns.
Rosenthal mentioned that Flaherty had a lower back issue early in July. Nonetheless, he pitched brilliantly to end the month, and the Dodgers were clearly unconcerned about any potential injury issues.
Flaherty was scratched from his scheduled start on Monday. The MLB community assumed the thought process was to prevent any potential injury concerns from arising before the deadline. However, the Yankees apparently abandoned their chase for that reason.
If Flaherty has underlying injury difficulties, these have not been revealed by 2024. The right-handed pitcher now has an excellent 2.95 ERA. He also struck out 133 batters.
Flaherty will be a valuable addition to the Dodgers. The Yankees still made a few moves before the deadline, but they apparently decided not to pursue Flaherty in the end.
The Yankees’ starting pitching rotation
Fortunately, the Yankees still have a reliable rotation. Gerrit Cole has struggled since returning from injury, but he remains one of the finest pitchers in the MLB. The Yankees expect him to be back on track soon.
Luis Gil is having a breakout season. Marcus Stroman has pitched well in his first season with the club. Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes have been inconsistent, but their ceilings are high.
New York will do OK in the long run. Nonetheless, Yankees fans surely wish the team had added Jack Flaherty.
