Jack Flaherty is returning to the Tigers. Take it from the man himself, who took to X Sunday night to spread the word:
After a resurgent season in Detroit, the right-handed pitcher has agreed to a two-year, $35 million contract with the Tigers, according to Jeff Passan. The deal will pay him $25 million in 2025, with a $10 million player option in 2026 that will jump to $20 million if Flaherty makes at least 15 starts this year.
It's a big move for the Tigers, who will reunite Flaherty, 29, with reining Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal atop their rotation. After a couple seasons marred by injuries and underperformance, Flaherty -- a former Cy Young candidate himself -- rediscovered his dominance under the Tigers' pitching department led by Chris Fetter.
He posted a 2.95 ERA and one of the best strikeout-to-walk ratios in the bigs in 18 starts for Detroit before getting dealt to the Dodgers at the deadline, in a trade that netted the Tigers highly-regarded catching prospect Thayron Liranzo and shortstop Trey Sweeney.
Flaherty finished last season with a 3.17 ERA in 28 starts, then helped the Dodgers win the World Series. Now he's hoping to help the Tigers take the next step coming off their first playoff appearance in 10 years.
Detroit also signed veteran starter Alex Cobb this offseason, with Reese Olson and Jackson Jobe expected to play prominent roles in the rotation as well. Casey Mize, Keider Montero and Kenta Maeda are among those who will also compete for innings.