MLB Trade Deadline Preview: Jack Flaherty Is Perfect For the Rays Way

The Tampa Bay Rays opened the 2023 season as one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. They were in first place in the AL East for all of the first half of the season. However, they’ve recently lost their lead in the division and have fallen behind the upstart Baltimore Orioles. Part of this is due to the injuries suffered by their rotation and not having the starting pitching depth. Tampa needs to trade for another starter and the perfect pitcher that fits their philosophy is Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty.

Key Starting Pitchers Have Gotten Hurt And Others Have Struggled

This season, the Rays have lost starters Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs for the season due to elbow injuries. Another starter, Shane Baz, was lost for the year before the season even began. Josh Fleming has been on the injured list since June 2^nd and is supposed to return to action later in July. The Rays starting depth hasn’t held up very well. The only other starter not named Shane McClanahan or Zach Efflin who has an ERA below 4.00 is Tyler Glasnow. The Rays desperately need another starter.

A Rough Season For The Cardinals Should Make Them A Seller

Despite winning the NL Central last season and coming back with basically the same team in 2023, the Cardinals have surprisingly struggled. They are currently ten games under .500 and are in fourth place in the Central division. Given how bad their pitching has been this season, St. Louis would be wise to flush this season away and sell at the deadline. With how bad their pitching has been this season, there is no possible way for them to get into the postseason.

Jack Flaherty Is Expendable Now

Jack Flaherty has been hampered by many injuries over the years. He’s only been able to pitch in 26 of the possible 66 games the past two seasons. His last truly healthy season in a non-COVID season was 2019. However, this season Flaherty has been able to put together an injury-free year. He’s currently 7-5 with an ERA of 4.29, 96 strikeouts, and a FIP of 4.07. Flaherty is scheduled to be a free agent after this season. I don’t see him being a part of the Cardinals’ 2024 plans given his injury and that now turns him into tradeable bait.

The big concern about Flaherty aside from his durability is he tends to lose command of the strike zone. This has led to him having a high walk rate of 11.8% this season. However, this shouldn’t deter the Rays from trying to acquire him. For example, prior to being acquired by Tampa, Tyler Glasnow had a very high walk rate with the Pirates. At one point he had a walk rate of 14%. Since joining the Rays, Glasnow has lowered his walk rate by six percentage points. Getting Flaherty to have better command of the strike zone should be no problem for Tampa Bay.

Flaherty Is Worth The Rental

Flaherty is also scheduled to be a free agent after the season. This isn’t very attractive to the Rays who often don’t retain players that are scheduled to hit the open market. Trading for Flaherty is necessary because they are without three starting pitchers. Pitching is everything in the postseason and the Rays don’t have enough depth to have a successful playoff run. A rental player like Flaherty could give them the help they need to potentially get that first championship. With the Rays in a “win now” window, acquiring Jack Flaherty is worth it.

The Rays need another starting pitcher to have a deep postseason run. Jack Flaherty is a “buy low with a high upside” player the Rays crave. Jack Flaherty’s $5,400,000 salary will fit the Rays’ limited budget. With Flaherty looking to revitalize his career as a top-end starter and Tampa needing more pitching depth, this is too good to pass up.

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