Jack Flaherty sounds genuinely bummed over the Tigers potentially trading him

As one of potentially the biggest names reportedly on the trading block, Detroit Tigers starter Jack Flaherty will have to wait and see where he will be pitching for the rest of the season. The former St. Louis Cardinals standout signed a one-year deal with the Tigers last offseason. Although he wasn't quite an AL All-Star, the Tigers have had one of the better pitching staffs in baseball. It has been fun.

Unfortunately, the great pitching is not helping the Tigers win enough games to be anything more than a seller at the final stages of the 2024 MLB trade deadline. Flaherty seemed to be miffed after being scratched ahead of his most recent start on Monday evening. All signs point to him being moved between now and the deadline. It would be a real shame if he was scratched for nothing...

In Cody Stavenhagen's latest for The Athletic, Flaherty was especially curt when having to answer questions about why he is still here. While I am sure he would be jazzed about going from a middling team in the Junior Circuit to a contending franchise in the midst of a contract year, he seems to be having fun pitching and playing for the Tigers. Wins are very important, but I think so is enjoying work.

Detroit feels like a franchise that is one year away from being one year away. The Tigers define that.

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Jack Flaherty seems to have enjoyed his time pitching for Detroit Tigers

I think being in the same rotation with Tarik Skubal certainly has its upside. A.J. Hinch has proven to be a good, but formerly disgraced manager. Detroit has other emerging stars on the team, most notably outfielder Riley Greene. Again, even if the Tigers are not going to make the playoffs this year, why should they want to tear away at the fabric of what they are building? It seems like a good time.

When you hear things coming out of Flaherty's mouth like, "I've known, and I'll just leave it at that" when it comes to the never-ending supply of trade rumors, you can tell its wearing on him. Flaherty also saying things like "I'm good. Just trying to get ready to pitch and trying to stay prepared," you can sense that he merely wants some normalcy in the wake of another great time of uncertainty.

Again, he signed with the Tigers last offseason because he wants to be here. This team is close, but there hasn't been much to write home about since Miguel Cabrera exited his prime the better part of a decade ago. Flaherty is not a homegrown product by any means, but he seems to fit into exactly what the Tigers are trying to do. They are trying to cultivate an identity to start winning around.

I don't know if he would re-sign with the Tigers anyway, but he will be emotionally if he does leave.