The Detroit Tigers 15-inning marathon loss in Game 5 of the ALDS was a painful one, as players had little time to dissect the defeat and start their respective offseasons. Such is the end result of playoff baseball. The Tigers were one run away from advancing to the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners, but their lineup fell short with runners in scoring position. Eventually, their bullpen ran out of reliable arms, and Tommy Kahnle took the loss. Flaherty threw a couple of scoreless innings of his own in extras, and escaped a jam thanks to a double play in Seattle. He earned his keep in Detroit, but unfortunately for Scott Harris that is not up to the front office.
Flaherty could be a free agent should he choose. He has a player option, but there's a good argument that he can't make more on the open market. That player option would pay Flaherty $20 million. The starting pitching market is thin this winter, but Flaherty's up-and-down 2025 campaign could cost him more money than he thinks. When asked about his decision postgame, Flaherty didn't show his hand, though he did praise his Tigers teammates for what they accomplished this season.
“I came back here for a reason, to be with these guys, play with them, and be part of this team. I didn’t want to leave it last year,” Flaherty explained. "We’ve got a chance to do something special. We’ve got Skub. You see what Javy did with a resurgent year and what he did in the playoffs. You go around the diamond. Riley Greene’s special. Tork is all the way back. I’m really happy for that guy, after what he went through last year . . . We’ve got some arms. It’s incredible what Troy Melton showed in this series. Casey was an All-Star this year . . . It’s an incredible group. You take that all in.”
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Will the Tigers keep Jack Flaherty around?
The Tigers don't have a ton of options for their starting rotation next season, meaning that despite Flaherty's poor 2025 campaign, they'd love to keep him around. Flaherty can eat innings. Is he worth $20 million? Well, that depends on the market. But Detroit's rotation is suddenly lacking behind Tarik Skubal thanks to Jackson Jobe's injury, which will keep him out for all of 2026. Flaherty is not a true No. 2 – or at least he wasn't last year, as he had an ERA close to five – but he has pitched that well in the past. If anyone can help him round into form this offseason and spring training, it is Chris Fetter.
The Tigers greatest offseason sin would be loosing Flaherty – the evil they know – in favor of another one-year flyer. Flaherty was fantastic for Detroit prior to being traded in the 2024 season. There's a reason they brought him back. He seems to enjoy playing for the Tigers, hence his comment after Game 5, so what's stopping a reunion?
Jack Flaherty wasn't always this kind
Flaherty was brought up with the St. Louis Cardinals, and thought to be an ace in the making. He was the heir-apparent to Adam Wainwright...until he wasn't. Flaherty still fawns over Flaherty during in-game broadcasts – that is how close these two were. Unfortunately for St. Louis, Flaherty never really made his free-agency intentions clear. Was he willing to stay in St. Louis long term? Would it come at an affordable price tag? None of those questions were answered, which is why John Mozeliak's regime dealt him to the Baltimore Orioles at the 2023 deadline.
Since then, it's become clear St. Louis made the right call. Sure, Flaherty's shown some flashes, but he also isn't an ace. At best, Flaherty is a No. 2 starter on a contending team. That's just fine! However, if the Cardinals hoped he'd be their ace of the future, they were mistaken.