3 Detroit Tigers who won't make the Opening Day roster after signing Jack Flaherty

The Detroit Tigers are set to welcome now World Series champion Jack Flaherty back to the top end of their rotation to begin the 2025 season.

Flaherty pitched exceptionally well for Detroit during the first half of the 2024 season. He and the eventual Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal, made up a 1-2, left-right punch many teams desire, but it was short-lived as the Tigers found themselves stuck in neutral midway through the season as the trade deadline approached. Harris elected to trade Flaherty, a pending free agent, to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for shortstop Trey Sweeney and catching prospect Thayron Liranzo.

Now, a mere six months later, the Tigers have signed Flaherty to a two-year deal worth $35 million.

Last season with Detroit, Flaherty went 7-5 over 18 starts, with the Tigers posting a 2.95 ERA and a 0.956 WHIP. The right-hander struck out 133 batters, walking just 19 over 106.2 innings pitched.

It's not common for a player to be traded from one organization and then retained by the team they were traded from the very next offseason, although the idea of it happening is often dreamt about among fans. The most famous in baseball would likely be the late Rickey Henderson. The A's traded Henderson to the Blue Jays in 1993 at the deadline and then resigned him the following offseason after he helped Toronto win their second straight World Series title.

So, the Detroit Tigers end up with Flaherty slotted in as the No. 2 starter and what is expected to be their Opening Day starting shortstop in Sweeney. Plus, Liranzo, a catching prospect who has shown flashes of brilliance in A-ball, recently slashed .315/.562/1.031 in 26 contests with Western Michigan following his arrival to Detroit's organization. Liranzo followed that up with .375/.667/1.158 in 15 games in the Arizona Fall League.

Like every sport, offseason additions and subtractions always come with roster repercussions; the Detroit Tigers are no different.

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Detroit Tigers fans will have to wait a bit longer before top pitching prospect Jackson Jobe solidifies himself in the starting rotation

We all want to see the next shiny new thing, but when it comes to Jackson Jobe, Detroit Tigers fans are just going to have to wait a bit longer. Jobe, 22, made his Major League debut late in 2024 making a pair of regular season appearances totaling four innings. In that small sample size, Jobe didn't allow a run and struck out two while walking one.

The flame throwing right-hander appeared in two postseason games for the Tigers but although his stuff appeared good success failed to follow. Jobe pitched 1.2 innings and allowed three earned runs.

Prior to Detroit bringing back Flaherty, it appeared as though Jobe would be competing for one of the Tigers final roster spots this spring, likely as the fifth starter. Now, with Flaherty returning to the organization it allows the Tigers to remain patient with their top pitching prospect. Jobe will surely see some time at the MLB level in 2025, but his year will begin anchoring the Mud Hens' rotation where he made just two starts last season. Last year, Jobe made 16 starts in double-A Erie pitching to a 4-2 record backed by a stout 1.95 ERA and 1.086 WHIP while fanning 81 over 73.2 innings of work.

What does the Jack Flaherty signing mean for Keider Montero?

Keider Montero quickly became a feel-good story for the Detroit Tigers in 2024. The right-hander seemingly came out of nowhere and pitched exceptionally well under the tutelage of pitching coach Chris Fetter and his staff, and boy, did the Tigers need it down the stretch.

Montero, 24, made 16 starts for the Tigers and 19 regular season appearances overall. He posted a 4.76 ERA, which won't jump off the page at you, but following the trade deadline and as the roster became decimated by injury, Montero seemed to become the Tiger's second starter. Montero pitched 98.1 innings and struck out just 77, plus walked 31. He did pitch a complete game shutout, which is rare these days, especially among Detroit's coined 'pitching chaos' heavy bullpen usage.

Montero's versatility will keep him in the conversation with the Tigers, but the addition of Flaherty and veteran Alex Cobb will prevent him from making the Tigers Opening Day roster. Expect to see Montero in Detroit at some point in 2025, but his role will likely decrease significantly moving forward.

That said, you wouldn't be wrong if you thought Montero deserved a bullpen role over Kenta Maeda, but similar to the Javier Baez contract situation, the Tigers appear to be bullish. I expect they will bring Maeda north with them following Spring Training, at least to begin the 2025 season.

Time is running out for Matt Manning

If you rewind a couple of seasons, most of us had predicted that Matt Manning will be not only a staple in Detroit's rotation by 2025 but likely a middle-of-the-rotation arm—reality bites. Manning's future with the Tigers appears to be in serious jeopardy.

The 27-year-old starter spent the majority of last season in Triple-A Toledo with the Mud Hens, that is, when he wasn't battling injuries. The most concerning thing when it came to Manning last season, though, wasn't his inability to remain healthy; it was how he performed when he was healthy.

Manning pitched in 15 games with Toledo but didn't fare very well. He pitched to a 4.28 ERA, striking out 72 over 69.1 innings of work. Manning had a WHIP of 1.284; he also walked 25 and became a victim of the long ball, allowing ten home runs.

Throughout his career, Manning has pitched in parts of four seasons at the big league level. Over that span, he's 11-15 with 178 strikeouts, an ERA of 4.43, and a WHIP of 1.287 over 254 innings of work. He made five starts with the Tigers in 2024, striking out just 23 in 27.2 innings, and it became evident that he wouldn't become a viable option in manager A.J. Hinch's starting rotation. What is a bit more concerning is, if a pitcher can't 'find it' working under Chris Fetter's guidance, will they ever?

Before the addition of Jack Flaherty, Manning would have been placed in a group with Casey Mize, Keider Montero, Kenta Maeda, Jackson Jobe, and Jordan Balazovic all vying for a final spot on Detroit's Opening Day roster.

As it stands now, I expect Detroit's Opening Day starting rotation to consist of Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Reese Olson, Casey Mize, and Alex Cobb.