The Detroit Tigers continue to be one of baseball's best stories, establishing themselves as one of the top contenders in the American League. A big piece of this has been surprising production from the starting rotation; it isn't just Tarik Skubal offering the team a consistent chance to win. However, there has been a clear outlier from this positivity with offseason signing Jack Flaherty struggling to find any level of consistency.
Flaherty was supposed to be a stabilizing force, and instead has become a consistent source of frustration. With this in mind, Flaherty is very much on the hot seat moving forward.
Detroit has every reason to search for every possible upgrade in the next two weeks. Looking at third base, the back of the pen, and perhaps replacing Flaherty with another postseason-level option. It is at least a move the Tigers are going to explore as the team continues to focus on making a deep postseason run. If any rotation upgrades are made, it will be Flaherty who finds himself as the odd man out.
Detroit Tigers Could Replace Jack Flaherty
Flaherty has a 4.65 ERA that doesn't fully illustrate just how frustrating his short tenure in Detroit has been. The Tigers' opting to ignore last season's concerning trends hasn't aged well, resulting in Flaherty starting to play his way out of Detroit's plans. It wouldn't be a shock to see the Tigers attempt to trade the veteran if they are able to upgrade at the deadline. Simply finding a team willing to take on the rest of the deal would be considered a win.
With this in mind, Flaherty is very much on notice in his next start, needing to begin to build a case that he can be relied on. If the struggles continue, the Tigers are going to be forced to look in another direction, with every game having so much meaning down the stretch of the season.
Whether it means upgrading and demoting Flaherty into a long relief role or attempting to find a trade partner, a move must be made in the next weeks if the results fail to drastically improve.