The Baltimore Orioles are reportedly interested in reuniting with free agent pitcher Jack Flaherty, who helped lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a World Series title.
According to Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic, who cited anonymous league sources, Flaherty is one of two major league pitchers on the Orioles' radar in free agency.
Baltimore is seeking to replace right-handed pitcher Corbin Burnes, who surprisingly agreed to terms with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a six-year, $210 million contract Friday, leaving a gap atop the O's starting rotation.
Flaherty went 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA in 28 starts last season for the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers, who acquired him in a midseason trade.
In Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, Flaherty threw seven shutout innings against the New York Mets, a series the Dodgers eventually won in six games. It was one of five starts Flaherty made in the postseason for the Dodgers, who had only three starting pitchers at their disposal for all of October.
In eight major league seasons with the Dodgers, Tigers, Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals, Flaherty is 55-41 with a 3.63 earned-run average. In Aug. 2023, the Orioles acquired Flaherty from the Cardinals for three minor league pitchers. He went 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA in nine games (seven starts) for Baltimore down the stretch that season.
Despite his poor showing in Baltimore, Flaherty signed with Detroit in Dec. 2023 and made the most of his $14 million, one-year contract. He recaptured the form he flashed early in his career with the Cardinals, when he was a National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award candidate. In 106.2 innings with the Tigers, he struck out 133 batters and pitched to a 2.95 ERA.
That made Flaherty among the most coveted pitchers at the trade deadline in July. He eventually landed with his hometown Dodgers, and was instrumental in helping the storied franchise win its eighth championship.
Now, he's among the most coveted pitchers in a dwindling free agent market for top-line starters. According to Sammon and Woo,
It's likely the Orioles face competition for Flaherty, but the right-hander's preference for a long-term contract may be giving some clubs pause. He is believed to be seeking at least a five-year deal coming off a season in which he had a 3.17 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 162 innings after settling for a pillow contract last winter.
The Athletic also reports the Orioles are interested in free agent pitcher Kyle Hart, who's seeking a major league deal after going 13-3 with a 2.69 ERA for the NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization in 2024.
Baltimore previously signed free agent Tomoyuki Sugano, a veteran of 12 seasons in Japan's top league, to a one-year, $13 million contract.
