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Detroit Tigers scratch Jack Flaherty amid trade talks. A.J. Hinch: 'I'm not on the phone'
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- Detroit Tigers scratch Jack Flaherty amid trade talks. A.J. Hinch: 'I'm not on the phone'
The Detroit Tigers haven't traded right-hander Jack Flaherty — not yet, at least.
But the Tigers scratched Flaherty from Monday's start against the Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park. The trade deadline is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday . His start has been pushed back to Thursday's game, following the deadline.
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"It's not my decisions to make," Flaherty said before Monday's game, sharing he hasn't spoken to president of baseball operations Scott Harris. "I pitch when I'm told to pitch."
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The Tigers have discussed a Flaherty trade with several teams.
"I'm not on the phone, so I don't know what comes of it," manager A.J. Hinch said before Monday's game. "I do know this time of year is pretty stressful, and putting him on the mound tonight felt like the wrong thing to do for him and for us."
Manager A.J. Hinch of the Detroit Tigers visits starting pitcher Jack Flaherty during the sixth inning of a game against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, June 21, 2024.
The 28-year-old has a 2.95 ERA with 19 walks and 133 strikeouts across 106⅔ innings in 18 starts in 2024, in his eighth MLB season. He is set to become a free agent after the season, so he is a two-month rental, considered the best available on the trade block.
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It's unclear when the Tigers told Flaherty he wouldn't start Monday's game against the Guardians.
"I've known, and I'll just leave it at that," he said.
Flaherty wouldn't say if he wanted to pitch Monday.
"It doesn't matter," he said. "My job is to go out and pitch when I'm asked to. That's what I'm looking forward to next."
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Flaherty, who turns 29 in mid-October, has been pitching like an ace for the Tigers during his one-year contract, ranking fifth with a 32% strikeout rate and seventh with a 4.6% walk rate among 80 pitches with at least 100 innings.
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He received two injections to treat lower back pain in the span of three weeks, the first June 10 and the second July 2 . The back injury forced him to miss two starts, but he has since made his past three starts as scheduled without any issues, the latest two being back-to-back starts on regular rest.
Flaherty said his back is healthy.
"I'm good," Flaherty said. "I'm just trying to get ready to pitch and trying to stay prepared."
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The St. Louis Cardinals traded Flaherty to the Baltimore Orioles at last year's trade deadline. Flaherty then signed a one-year, $14 million contract with the Tigers in December 2023.
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If the Tigers don't trade him, they're prepared to extend the one-year qualifying offer for the 2025 season, and if Flaherty declines the offer, enters free agency and signs elsewhere, the Tigers would receive a draft pick.
"I haven't talked to Scott," Flaherty said. "Those conversations, that's their own conversations, and they have those. I just communicate with the coaching staff and our trainers and everything and try to prepare to get ready to pitch, whenever that's going to be."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Detroit Tigers held Jack Flaherty out of Monday start vs Guardians
