A Brewers-Tigers trade that'll haunt Cardinals in the pennant chase

Jack Flaherty has looked like a Bonafide ace this season with the Detroit Tigers (though Skubal is their ace, Flaherty has still pitched like an ace in his own regard). But, once upon a time, Flaherty was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals where he spent the first six and a half seasons of his big league career.

Now, the Cardinals are in need of a pitcher to help push them to a playoff berth and Flaherty would be a perfect rental option to come home to St. Louis to help them make the push.

But the Milwaukee Brewers have the opportunity to swoop in and acquire Flaherty, bringing him back to the NL Central, but as a rival of the Cardinals, not as a member of the team.

A Brewers-Tigers trade that would haunt the Cardinals down the stretch

Flaherty, 28, has been dominant this season. He currently holds a 3.24 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP, while striking out a career high 11.6 hitters per nine innings. Flaherty's 3.06 FIP is also the best mark of his career, even better than his tremendous 2019 season for the Cardinals.

He's likely going to be one of the most sought-after rentals at the deadline this year. While names like Garrett Crochet, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Luis Robert Jr. have dominated headlines, Flaherty may be the sneaky addition that helps a team to the World Series.

On the surface, Flaherty is worth more than a team's 8th and 16th ranked prospects, which is what I'm proposing here, but let me explain how this makes sense.

Luis Lara is exactly what a rebuilding team needs. He has the bat-to-ball skills, the arm, the fielding and the athleticism, while only being 19 years old. His potential is incredibly high, especially considering his age and the fact that he's a switch hitter.

Logan Henderson is almost the exact opposite of Lara. The selling point on him is less about the potential of what he could do and more about what he is actually doing right now. Across 34 professional starts, he's tossed 129.1 innings, allowing 90 hits and striking out 183 batters. Better yet, he's walked just 38 hitters and holds a career ERA of 2.51.

These are two exceptional prospects that should be viewed as a bit more valuable than their MLB Pipeline rankings have them at.

But the Brewers are obviously in a win-now mindset, as seen by their aggressive deal to acquire Aaron Civale already. If they want to acquire the services of Flaherty, they will have to outbid the Cardinals and the rest of the league for him.