{"id":468928,"date":"2026-02-14T21:41:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T21:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/468928\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T21:41:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T21:41:07","slug":"why-jack-flaherty-chose-tigers-over-free-agency-not-everythings-about-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/468928\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Jack Flaherty chose Tigers over free agency: \u2018Not everything\u2019s about money\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAKELAND, Fla. — Jack Flaherty<\/a> decided he didn\u2019t want another offseason of uncertainty.<\/p>\n

The veteran right-hander had been there before. He signed a prove-it, one-year deal, pitched well enough to win a World Series ring and went back on the market hoping for long-term security, only to find a chillier reception than expected.<\/p>\n

So when the decision came this time, he chose continuity and certainty \u2014 betting that Detroit\u2019s trajectory and his own underlying performance would position him better than another spin through free agency.<\/p>\n

In November, Flaherty exercised his $20 million player option<\/a> to return to the Detroit Tigers in 2026, a move that surprised some around the game who predicted he might command more on the open market.<\/p>\n

But the ensuing three months have illustrated how volatile the market can be. Right-handed starter Zac Gallen provided fresh evidence this week, agreeing to return to the Arizona Diamondbacks on a one-year, $22 million deal<\/a> rather than the multiyear contract he had hoped to command. The salary matches the qualifying offer he rejected in November, though now with heavy deferrals that reduce its present-day value.<\/p>\n

Flaherty said he talked with his agency about the financial implications of his decision, but his choice came down to \u201ca pretty good gut feel of just being confident in the situation, confident in the way things are going\u201d with the Tigers.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot everything\u2019s about money when you\u2019re in a place that you feel like you\u2019ve got a chance to win,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were a couple of pitches away from going up against Toronto (in the ALCS). We were one of the best teams in the league for the majority of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flaherty had a comfort level in Detroit after spending most of the last two seasons here.<\/p>\n

After signing a one-year, $14 million deal before the 2024 season<\/a>, he posted a 2.95 ERA in 106 2\/3 innings, striking out 133 and walking just 19 before being traded and later winning a World Series with his hometown Dodgers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The long-term contract he hoped for never materialized. He returned to the Tigers last February on a one-year, $25 million deal with a player option for 2026. Now he has chosen to stay again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotten a lot better over the last two years being here,\u201d Flaherty said. \u201cAnother year working with those guys, building that relationship and having another full offseason with the coaching staff pays dividends.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tigers saw that progress continuing this winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a full offseason with us, having decided to come back, and he had a really good offseason,\u201d said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. \u201cHe can do a lot of things on the mound to help you win, and he\u2019s got really good stuff. The swing and miss, the ability to spin the ball in two different ways, the effectiveness of his fastball when his delivery\u2019s in sync. All of that is a great foundation, and we think he can get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the surface, Flaherty\u2019s 2025 season was uneven. He posted a 4.64 ERA in 161 innings.<\/p>\n

Underneath, the story was more complicated.<\/p>\n

His 3.85 FIP was nearly a run lower than his ERA. His 27.6 percent strikeout rate ranked 11th among starters with at least 150 innings. His DRA- from Baseball Prospectus was exactly 100, league average, suggesting his results were more neutral than the ERA indicated.<\/p>\n

In other words, improvement appeared within reach without changing uniforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot more good than I would probably give myself credit for,\u201d Flaherty said. \u201cA lot more good than maybe the overall numbers looked.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the Tigers get the version of Flaherty that the peripherals suggest is still there, he becomes part of a rotation that could be among the best in the American League. Detroit returns two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and All-Star Casey Mize, along with new additions Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be awesome being teammates with them, to learn from both those guys,\u201d Flaherty said of Valdez and Verlander. \u201cThey both have something to share, different perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flaherty is, for the fourth straight season, in a contract year that could serve as a springboard to a free-agent payday. But he said his focus is exclusively on making solid starts every five days and helping the Tigers push deeper into the playoffs after being eliminated in the ALDS in each of the last two seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hurts. It sucks. But you use that for the offseason, use that to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAKELAND, Fla. — Jack Flaherty decided he didn\u2019t want another offseason of uncertainty. The veteran right-hander had been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":468929,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":["post-468928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/468929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}