It appeared on Monday that the New York Yankees were in a good position to acquire Jack Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers before Tuesday's MLB trade deadline. On Tuesday, though, Flaherty was traded from the Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers. So did the Dodgers simply out-bid the Yankees, or is there more to the story? According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, sources revealed New York backed out of a potential deal due to injury concerns.
Rosenthal noted that Flaherty dealt with a lower back concern early in July. Nevertheless, he pitched well to finish the month and the Dodgers clearly were not too concerned about any injury problems.
Flaherty was scratched from his scheduled start on Monday. The MLB world figured the thought process was to avoid any potential injury concerns from flaring up before the deadline. Yet, the Yankees still reportedly ditched their pursuit because of that reason.
If Flaherty has underlying injury issues they have not been evident in 2024. The right-handed pitcher currently owns an impressive 2.95 ERA. He has also struck out 133 hitters.
Flaherty will be a quality addition for the Dodgers. The Yankees still made a number of moves before the deadline, but they reportedly opted to not pursue Flaherty in the end.
Yankees' starting pitching rotation
Related NewsArticle continues below
Fortunately for the Yankees, they still feature a reliable rotation. Gerrit Cole has struggled since returning from injury but he is one of the best pitchers in MLB. The Yankees are expecting him to get back on track sooner rather than later.
Luis Gil is in the middle of a breakout season. Marcus Stroman has pitched well in his first season with the team. Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes have been inconsistent, but they have high-ceilings.
New York will be fine in the long run. Nevertheless, Yankees fans probably wish the team acquired Jack Flaherty.
