Jack Flaherty practically begs Scott Harris to make most obvious move of the offseason

This past season saw the Detroit Tigers make the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Moreover, the Tigers won their first series, with A.J. Hinch dispatching his former team in what felt like a changing of the guard. Houston has been a juggernaut for almost a decade. Hinch and the Tigers broke their spell.

Detroit ran into problems against the upper echelon of American League competition, of course, dropping a hard-fought, five-game ALDS matchup with the Cleveland Guardians. It was not the outcome fans wanted, but it was also better than anyone could've realistically imagined before the season.

Hope has been restored to a long-suffering fanbase, and now there's genuine anticipation about what the future holds in Motown. Detroit made this unexpected run despite one of MLB's lowest payrolls and a noteworthy lack of star talent. Tarik Skubel made headlines as the AL Cy Young winner and arguably the best arm in baseball, but he was the frontman for an otherwise balanced collective.

One would expect the next phase of this Tigers ascent to involve adding more established, everyday weapons to the mix. Alex Bregman, a former Hinch collaborator in Houston, has been a popular hypothetical target for months. That said, Detroit's front office does not typically spend top dollar. Scott Harris is operating under extreme financial restraints.

Upgrades are necessary to push Detroit over the top, though, and one obvious target stands out above the rest.

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Jack Flaherty sounds awfully excited about potential of reuniting with Tigers

Jack Flaherty is the best remaining pitcher in free agency. He's coming off the best season of his career, during which he was integral to the Los Angeles Dodgers' World Series run. With Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, and others injured, it was Flaherty who headlined LA's rotation in October. He put past postseason struggles behind him and won a ring with his hometown team.

Now the Dodgers are moving on, which frees up Flaherty to sign with the highest bidder. The only issue? The market for his services has been eerily quiet. We just haven't seen much tangible reporting on Flaherty, who appears as confused as the rest of us. He expressed his frustrations in a recent episode of Foul Territory.

"You go into the offseason with the hope of getting off the board quickly,“ he said (h/t MLive). "And now we’re sitting here on January 23 with no rumblings, nothing really going on, just waiting. All the other top guys are gone...In terms of why, I wish I had a really good answer for you."

It's baffling, frankly. Flaherty's peak rivaled the very best in baseball last season. He finished the campaign with a 3.17 ERA and 194 strikeouts across 164.0 innings. There are lingering durability concerns, but Flaherty packs elite strikeout stuff in an era where that is especially valued.

At this point, he could end up taking a shorter-term deal and testing the market again next winter, perhaps via opt-out. Flaherty famously lined up a one-year, $14 million contract with Detroit last offseason after a bumpy stint in Baltimore. Perhaps the Tigers should call him up. Flaherty would welcome it.

"[Last] offseason, I switched some things up," he told Foul Territory. "I moved out of L.A., revamped a couple of things, revamped my mind, revamped how I was moving. Then I went to Detroit. They do a really good job there with [Chris] Fetter, Robin Lund, and A.J. [Hinch]. They’re awesome. Skubal wins a Cy Young. That dude’s a stud and so much fun to be around. I wanted to stay in Detroit. We had conversations. I loved it there. I thought the combo of me and Skub was incredible."

He is not directly asking the Tigers to sign him, but... Flaherty would clearly leap at the opportunity to return to Detroit. The Tigers need more top-line talent to keep pace with the Yankees and other AL heavyweights. If Detroit won't shell out long-term money to boost the offense, perhaps adding another ace behind Tarik Skubal is the best path forward. Flaherty, 29, should have plenty of productive years left in the tank.