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Detroit Tigers sign Jack Flaherty to two-year, $35 million contract with opt-out clause
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- Detroit Tigers sign Jack Flaherty to two-year, $35 million contract with opt-out clause
Jack Flaherty is back.
The Detroit Tigers signed Flaherty to a two-year, $35 million contract with an opt-out clause after the 2025 season, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the agreement. The deal, agreed to Sunday night, is pending a physical exam.
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Flaherty will earn $25 million in 2025.
His salary for 2026 — if he opts in — is worth $10 million, but his salary for 2026 will increase to $20 million if he makes 15 starts in 2025, giving the right-hander a shot at up to $45 million over two seasons.
MORE ABOUT HIM: Jack Flaherty recaptures edge with Tigers by controlling emotions in career revival
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (9) pitches to the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Friday, July 19, 2024.
Here is the Tigers' projected five-man starting rotation for 2025 Opening Day : Flaherty, left-hander Tarik Skubal (the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner), right-hander Reese Olson , right-hander Alex Cobb and right-hander Jackson Jobe . There are 10 days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Lakeland, Florida, with the Tigers ' season beginning March 27 against the Dodgers in Los Angeles .
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Flaherty is the clear-cut No. 2 starter.
"I love Jack," Skubal said Jan. 25 on the "Foul Territory" show after accepting his Cy Young. "He's a hell of a talent. If there's a guy I want on the mound that's not me on our team, I want him on the mound. ... He has the respect of the guys in that clubhouse. I'd love to have him back."
PITCH MIX: Tigers' Jack Flaherty finds elite version of fastball, slider by scrapping cutter
Flaherty, 29, posted a 3.17 ERA with 38 walks and 194 strikeouts across 162 innings in 28 starts in the 2024 season with the Tigers (18 starts) and Dodgers (10 starts). With the Tigers, pitching coach Chris Fetter and assistant pitching coach Robin Lund helped Flaherty make adjustments to his pitch mix and the way his body moves , which led to his best performance since 2019.
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The Tigers traded Flaherty to the Dodgers at the 2024 trade deadline in exchange for two prospects: catcher Thayron Liranzo and shortstop Trey Sweeney .
Within the past 14 months, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris signed Flaherty to a one-year, $14 million contract (in December 2023), traded Flaherty to the Dodgers for two prospects (in July 2024) and signed Flaherty to a two-year, $35 million contract (in February 2025).
"We love Jack," Harris said Nov. 5. "I've said it a million times. He's a freakishly gifted athlete who has an intense work ethic and just demonstrated his adjustability. ... Personally, I really enjoyed getting to work with Jack."
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Flaherty expressed interest in a reunion.
"I wanted to stay in Detroit," Flaherty said Jan. 23 on the "Foul Territory" show , discussing his free-agent market. "We had conversations. I loved it there. I thought the combo of me and Skub was incredible. ... We've been talking to them and talking to other teams. It would be fun to go back there."
BODY MOVEMENTS: It's all coming together for Tigers' Jack Flaherty thanks to unlocked slider
Detroit holds a special place in Flaherty's heart because he revived his career with the Tigers, thanks to multiple adjustments taught by Fetter and Lund. He changed the way his body moved down the mound by activating his gluteal and hamstring muscles, rather than using his quadricep muscles. He also eliminated the cutter from his pitch mix to enhance his fastball and slider.
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His breakout with the Tigers followed a 2023 season in which he posted a 4.99 ERA in 29 games for the St. Louis Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles .
"My take on his arsenal is the quality of his pitches are so great," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said in late June, when asked about Flaherty's pitch mix . "It's important to use those more, more than it's anti-cutter. I think the curveball is really good, the slider is exceptional, the fastball is really good. It's hard to be elite at all of those pitches, and he is. The cutter was largely unnecessary."
In 2024, Flaherty registered a 2.95 ERA with 19 walks (4.6% walk rate) and 133 strikeouts (32% strikeout rate) across 106⅔ innings in 18 starts for the Tigers. His performance in all facets suffered after the trade deadline, posting a 3.58 ERA with 19 walks (8.1% walk rate) and 61 strikeouts (26.1% strikeout rate) across 55⅓ innings in 10 starts for the Dodgers.
Flaherty, an eight-year MLB veteran, pitched Games 1 and 5 of the World Series with the Dodgers, but he was the best he's ever been with the Tigers.
The Tigers have signed four free agents in the 2024-25 offseason: Flaherty for two years and $35 million , Cobb for one year and $15 million , second baseman Gleyber Torres for one year and $15 million and right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle for one year and $7.75 million .
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The Tigers have been interested in signing third baseman Alex Bregman. He remains an option for the Tigers after the Flaherty signing.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers agree to 2-year $35M contract
