MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported Friday that the Blue Jays “remain in the mix” for right-hander Jack Flaherty. The San Francisco Giants, Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs are on that same tier in the race for Flaherty, while the Baltimore Orioles seemingly have the most juice.
Toronto was strongly linked to Max Fried and Corbin Burnes, though, and they wound up signing $200 million-plus contracts with the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks, respectively. They were also interested in Luis Severino before he joined the Athletics.
Flaherty might not be quite on Fried and Burnes’ level, but it’s clear that the Blue Jays are willing to spend big to add another starter.
As it stands, Toronto’s rotation is led by veteran former All-Stars in Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt. Bowden Francis enjoyed a historic breakout in the second half of 2024, while Cuban right-hander Yariel Rodríguez was serviceable in his 21 starts as a rookie.
Shifting Rodríguez into the bullpen seems to be a priority for the Blue Jays’ front office, and doing so would require adding another starter to the mix.
Rumors surfaced last month that the Blue Jays were interested in Nick Pivetta as well, but he declined a qualifying offer from the Boston Red Sox and would therefore cost Toronto draft pick compensation. The Los Angeles Dodgers did not extend a qualifying offer to Flaherty, so that isn’t a factor in the Blue Jays’ pursuit of him.
Flaherty finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018, then finished fourth in the NL Cy Young race the following season. Between those two years, the righty went 19-17 with a 3.01 ERA, 1.028 WHIP, 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings and an 8.9 WAR.
The next few seasons were a mixed bag for Flaherty, and his production dropped off a cliff when he got traded to the Orioles at the 2023 deadline. From 2020 to 2023, Flaherty went 23-15 with a 4.42 ERA, 1.398 WHIP, 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.1 WAR.
Flaherty enjoyed a resurgent 2024 – first with the Tigers, then with the Dodgers – going 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA, 1.068 WHIP, 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings and a 3.1 WAR. His 7.36 ERA across five postseason starts didn’t prevent him from earning a World Series ring, either, and the 29-year-old is now in the market for a contract approaching nine figures.
Maybe the Blue Jays are the team that’s willing to give Flaherty that big payday, or maybe he’ll wind up returning to the Orioles or Tigers instead.