On Tuesday, the trade deadline came and went with plenty of traffic. Of notable moves was Jazz Chisolm Jr. to the Yankees, Jack ‘Black’ Flaherty to the Dodgers and Josh Bell to the Diamondbacks.
Here are some grades for the teams who traded for the aforementioned players.
The trade: Jazz Chisolm Jr. from the Marlins to the Yankees for prospects Agustin RamÍrez, Jared Serna and Abrahan Ramirez
Trade grade: A
Chisolm couldn’t have had a better start to his Yankee career, making the grade easy to come by. In Chisolm’s first two contests, he hit two homers apiece and added eight total RBI to his numbers.
Before Chisolm’s debut with his new squad, the trade was a low-risk high-reward move from New York. Chisolm still has two years left in arbitration and the Yankees are in win-now mode, lessening the internal value on prospects.
Chisholm is now up to tying his career mark for batting average in a season with .254. He is also tied for his most bases taken in a season, with 23.
At just 22 years old, he provides a significant boost to the Bronx Bombers in what could end up as a career year for him.
For the Marlins, Agustin Ramírez and Jared Serna slot in as the No. 6 and 11 prospects, respectively.
The trade: Josh Bell from the Marlins to the Diamondbacks for cash considerations
Grade: B
As the Diamondbacks attempted to push for the top of the standings, it brought in Josh Bell in a big position of need.
Bell steps in after first baseman Christian Walker was injured and will replace Walker at that position. By just giving up the infamous “cash considerations,” Arizona gets a 1-year rental as Walker is a free agent following the season.
Currently, Bell is batting .239, a slight increase from last year’s total. He also has 14 home runs and can provide power to a Diamondback team that has hit 121 home runs this season — the 13th-best mark in the MLB.
Not much risk in this trade, either.
The move also allows the Diamondbacks to have some depth when Walker returns.
The trade: Jack Flaherty from the Tigers to the Dodgers for prospects Thayron Liranzo and Trey Sweeney
Grade: A
The Dodgers rotation has been demolished by injuries, but now they’ve got some help.
“Black Jack” Flaherty saw the end of 2023 not pan out well as a deadline deal sent him from St. Louis to Baltimore. After the Tigers picked him up in free agency, though, that brother has been rolling.
Through 18 games, Flaherty has notched a 2.95 ERA, priming him for a big contract when he hits free agency following the season. Flaherty’s paycheck will be further validated as he sits at 133 punchouts, the 15th-best mark in the MLB.
For the 1-year rental of Flaherty, the Dodgers were forced to part with Thayron Liranzo and Trey Sweeney, their No. 8 and 22 prospects, respectively. With the year Flaherty is having the haul is more than acceptable.
Now, Flaherty can slot in right behind ace Tyler Glasnow, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw among the many injured Dodger arms.
With the 2024 MLB All-Star break upon us. I took the time to travel to Comerica Park in Detroit, to have a chat with eight-year major league vet Jack Flaherty.
As we speak, Black Jack is having the best statistical season of his career since 2019. A year that saw him finish 4th in the CY Young award race and 13th in MVP voting.
Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty Provide Nasty 1-2 Punch In Detroit Tigers Rotation
Yes, Tarik Skubal has been the talk of the town in Detroit and rightfully so, being the current odds-on favorite to take home the 2024 American League Cy Young award. But Flaherty has found himself a comfortable landing spot in Detroit as the ultimate compliment to Skubal in the Tigers starting rotation.
Jack Flaherty Is One Of MLB’s Best Starting Pitchers
Flaherty has proved to be Top 20 pitcher in baseball this season. Through 16 starts Flaherty is 6-5 with a 3.13 ERA and 119 whiffs in just 95 innings pitched.
He’s a winning pitcher, 48-39 record in his career with a respectable 3.67 ERA. Flaherty is very happy in Detroit and many now look back on his 1 year 14-million-dollar “show me” contract as a HUGE bargain for a much-improved Tigers ballclub.
“Detroit is beautiful, that’s an ageless word that I can use. It’s been awesome. The weather is great. I feel like every game we’ve had outstanding weather. It’s beautiful,” he tells MLBbro.com.
Jack Flaherty Rests Bad Back During All-Star Break
The All-Star break was a much-needed chance for Flaherty to rest his troublesome back; the only thing stopping him from dominating every fifth day. Despite Detroit’s obvious recent elevation, they find themselves sitting at last place in the AL Central nearly 100 games into the season.
One can only speculate, but there could be a scenario where Detroit pencils themselves in as a big-time seller before the 2024 MLB trade deadline is over.
Will Detroit Tigers Trade Jack Flaherty
When asked about the possibility of being traded and hearing his name run through the rumor mill on stations such as Sports Rap Radio in Detroit (1270 AM), Jack keeps a level head and says he tunes out the noise, no matter the outcome.
“I think I’ve just heard it all at this point. I’ve heard he’s good, I’ve heard he’s bad, I’ve heard he sucks, I’ve heard he’s one of the best pitchers,” Flaherty said of the various opinions concerning his ability throughout his career. “It kinda goes in one ear and out the other and ya learn to listen to the right people and those that are in your corner that love you at the end of the day no matter what.”
Fourteen K’s, 10, 9, 9, 7, whew. Those are some of Tigers flamethrower Jack ‘Black Flaherty’s strikeout totals this season.
Last season, the melanated mound marauder saw himself at the head of trade talks, after avoiding arbitration and winning seven games with the Cardinals.
After posting a 4.20 ERA in 109.2 innings, Flaherty was traded to the Orioles on Aug. 1 for three prospects. Despite seeing his numbers take a dive — pitching a 6.75 ERA in Baltimore — he hit free agency in the offseason and signed with the Tigers for one year, $14 million.
He’s been very effective for a team that is middle-of-the-pack and bouncing around the .500 mark.
In Tuesday’s 3-1 win over the Texas Rangers, there were concerns as starting pitcher Jack Flaherty had to leave the game early with an injury scare.
However, the right-hander gave an encouraging update after the game, per Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press.
“I’m sure I’ll be good for the next one. It weirdly works out, but I got two extra days. I’m not going for another week with the two off days. We’ll see how I wake up tomorrow, but I feel pretty good about it.”
Flaherty was once again dealing, throwing five scoreless innings on just 60 pitches. He gave up a pair of hits and no walks but was removed from the game early due to back tightness.
“It locked up as the game went along,” Flaherty said. “It’s nothing that I’m too worried about. When it gets to locking up like that, and you can’t quite finish as much, or you start questioning, should I keep going? It creeps in the back of your mind. I went as long as I could.”
Through 12 games, Flaherty has brought his ERA down to a recent-best of 3.22 and is second in the MLB with 94 strikeouts.
Flaherty is now 3-4 on the season with a 3.22 ERA, 0.963 WHIP, 1.6 WAR and an American League-leading 94 strikeouts. His 9.40 strikeout-to-walk ratio is far and away the best of his eight-year MLB career, up from 2.24 in 2023.
As noted by Underdog Fantasy’s Justin Havens, Flaherty is now one of four pitchers in MLB history to post at least 94 strikeouts and no more than 10 walks through his first 12 starts of a season. Curt Schilling was the first to achieve the feat back in 2002, and it has since been done by Clayton Kershaw in 2016 and Jacob deGrom in 2021 as well.
Flaherty says he should be good for his next start, and the extra rest should give him enough time to get the kinks out. If he can remain healthy, he’s likely to eventually be traded from the struggling Detroit squad to a contending team and will have a few suitors.
Here’s three likely companions for Detroit’s bump boss.
1. Minnesota Twins
The Twins sit right above the Tigers in the AL Central at 33-27 but are in need of a quality starter to fill out their rotation.
If Minnesota buys prior to the deadline, Flaherty easily slots in as their No. 2 or 3 pitchers at a decent price, considering he comes off of the books after the season.
With a couple of mid-level prospects, manager Rocco Baldelli can solidify his bunch’s AL Wild Card spot and even look to extend Flaherty if he continues to impress in Minnesota.
2. Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers lead the NL Central with a 36-23 record, but depth in the rotation as well as bullpen are certainly needed.
Currently, the Brewers are 11th in the league in ERA at 3.77 but are near the bottom of the MLB in strikeouts, with just 495. The addition of a punch-out artist like Flaherty would be huge.
With the emergence of rookie pitcher Robert Gasser and flaming Freddy Peralta, Flaherty likely isn’t in Milwaukee’s future plans, but could help out in its playoff push.
3. Cleveland Guardians
When two-time All-Star Stephen Vogt took the Guardians’ head coaching opening, expectations weren’t hefty. Still, Vogt has Cleveland at an astonishing 40-20 record, and the fifth-lowest payroll in the MLB — giving it a way to make a deadline move.
Cleveland’s pitching staff is deep, but 32-year-old pitcher Ben Lively’s contract is expiring, as he joined the squad on a minimum deal in the offseason. Lively leads the rotation with a 2.84 ERA.
Flaherty, 28, would be the younger option, and Flaherty still has tons of experience, making it an easy move for Vogt and company. Come playoff time, Flaherty could enter the 3-man rotation, or be a key reliever until taking over full-time duties in 2025 if the squad can notch an extension.
Regardless, ‘Jack Black’ could find himself solidifying a big paycheck with a trade to a playoff team like the Guardians.
Hunter Greene’s dominance in Arlington this past weekend earns him the top spot on Week 5 of our #HighFive List. He registered his first win of the season with a one-hit, seven-inning shutout over the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers to headline a week that was filled with lights out pitching performances from four MLBbros.
1. Hunter Greene “Machine”
The Reds are a sleeper team I think can make a similar run to what the Diamondbacks did last year, the only difference being Cincinnati having more depth in their starting rotation.
A healthy and locked in Hunter Greene is what is going to get them on that level and I had a front row seat Saturday afternoon to what he can do when he is in his zone.
He threw seven shutout innings allowing just one hit and one walk with six strikeouts.
“Coming in I just wanted to attack,” Green told MLBbro.com
“That is a good lineup with guys who know how to play the game, but it was fun. My teammates behind me made some really great plays and I felt good on the mound, so I am glad we got it done.
His next start will come Friday night against Cedric “The Entertainer” Mullins and the Baltimore Orioles.
2. “Black Jack” Flaherty
Jack Flaherty got revenge against his former team in the greatest way possible Tuesday afternoon with a career-high 14 strikeouts in 6.2 innings while only allowing two hits and surrendering one walk.
Flaherty began the game by striking out seven consecutive hitters which tied an American League record.
He is still looking for his first win of the season, but after bringing his strikeout total up to 50, he now leads the American League in that category and is just a few off of the Major League lead.
Flaherty’s next chance to add to his total will come next Monday night in Cleveland when the Tigers take on Josh Naylor and the Guardians.
3.Mookie Betts
Mookie Betts makes his fourth #HighFive appearance in five weeks and is the only position player to make the cut this time around.
It’s time for MLBbro Central! Must-see highlights from three MLBbro stars from last night. pic.twitter.com/1te43gqB9U
He has been the undisputed best hitter on the planet; leading the Majors in nearly every offensive category and posting a slashing line of .377/.418/1.104 with 25 RBI, six home runs, 29 runs scored and eight steals.
Betts was given the honor of being named Rob Parker’s Homeboi Highlights for his eight-game hitting streak that came to an end on Monday.
4. Jordan Hicks
Jordan Hicks has been the best free agent pitching addition from this off-season after lowering his ERA to 1.59 thanks to start last Saturday against the Pirates.
Hicks, who is in his first year as a full-time starter, struck out a season-high nine batters in six innings and only allowed one run on five hits with no walks.
His next start will come Friday night on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies.
5. Triston McKenzie “Dr. Stixx”
Triston McKenzie rounds out the #HighFive this week after a solid start in Houston against the Astros.
McKenzie threw a season-high seven innings and struck out six while giving up just two earned runs in a pitchers duel against future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander
What A Thrill On The Hill These Melanated Mound Marauders Have Been So Far
“I was a lot more competitive,” McKenzie told reporters after the game.
“It was something I was trying to work through in my first four starts, but it was big for me to give the team a chance to win.”
McKenzie now has at least six strikeouts in his last three starts. He will look to extend that streak to four when he takes the mound Monday in a divisional matchup against the Tigers.
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