Uh oh: Jack Flaherty's trade value and more at risk after Tigers scratch

Jack Flaherty of the Detroit Tigers is one of those names that every member of the media, fan and MLB team knows will be traded before the trade deadline. It just makes too much sense to trade him if you're the Tigers, and it makes too much sense to trade for him if you're a contender.

On the season, Flaherty has shown ace potential, throwing to the tune of a 3.24 ERA. Flaherty has also struck out 115 hitters in 89 innings, good for a K/9 near 12, which would be his career high in the category. He's truly been a difference maker for the Tigers this year.

To add to it, the Tigers are basically out of the playoff picture and Flaherty is on an expiring contract. It's the textbook situation in which a seller would deal a rental starting pitcher ahead of the deadline.

That is if his recent back injury isn't something for potential buyers to worry about.

Tigers trade chip Jack Flaherty scratched from start with back injury

Flaherty was scratched from his Wednesday start against the Minnesota Twins with what the Tigers described as a "back injury." Obviously, this revelation led directly to conspiracies and questions from almost the entire league as everybody was left to wonder if he was okay.

To this point, there was no previous mention of Flaherty dealing with a back injury that could be related to what caused him to miss this start. It's seemingly a completely new development, which can be both a good or a bad thing.

“We haven’t talked like that because the doctors have told us we could do it by skipping a start and getting him back in the rotation next week,” Hinch said on Flaherty, per The Athletic. “Skipping a start allows for the medicine to kick in and get him feeling better.”

On the bright side, a new development means that it's probably not a nagging injury that's bothered him for months. It means it's probably not something that should keep him out past the trade deadline. But on the opposite side, it also means it's completely unknown to us right now, meaning the severity is truly in question until more details arise.

Hopefully, it's just a small issue, more precautionary than necessary. Hopefully the Tigers are just playing it safe with their huge trade piece, not wanting to risk further injury that could stop them from dealing him in the next few weeks.