After getting 'a lot of calls,' Detroit Tigers trade Jack Flaherty to Los Angeles Dodgers
The Detroit Tigers have traded Jack Flaherty.
Flaherty, a right-hander who revived his career with the Tigers, has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 28-year-old is set to become a free agent after the 2024 season, so he is a two-month rental for the Dodgers.
The Tigers and Dodgers agreed to the deal just before Tuesday's 6 p.m. trade deadline.
"We got a lot of calls about Jack," said Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris.
In return, the Tigers acquired catcher/first baseman Thayron Liranzo and shortstop Trey Sweeney from the Dodgers. A rival executive described the Tigers' return as "not a good return relative to other deals" for starting pitchers at the trade deadline.
Liranzo ranks as the Dodgers' No. 8 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, while Sweeney ranks No. 22 on the top-30 list.
"Our goal was to find young talent, especially position playing talent, that could help us at premium positions moving forward," Harris said. "We added a switch-hitting catcher, who has an advanced approach, and hits the ball really, really hard and has a chance to project into a frontline catcher for us moving forward. We also added a left-handed hitting shortstop, which is an area of need for us as an organization. It fills a really important position for us."
Flaherty has a 2.95 ERA with 19 walks and 133 strikeouts in 18 starts in his eighth MLB season, his first in Detroit. He received two injections for lower back pain, forcing him to miss two starts.
Before the trade, the Tigers scratched Flaherty from Monday's start against the Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park.
"I can't comment on medical stuff with trades as a general point," Harris said, when asked if Flaherty's health impacted trade talks, "and if medical stuff did affect any of the trades, that's not on our end. You can't ask me about that because we're not the one trading for Jack, so not commenting on any of that stuff because I can't."
Liranzo, a 21-year-old who signed for $30,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2021, is hitting .220 with seven home runs, 49 walks and 82 strikeouts across 74 games in High-A Great Lakes.
He has high upside, but he might never be able to reach his full potential because of flaws in his game.
"When we think about trades and ways to acquire young talent, we try to focus on the players that we think are currently good right now but can develop into being much better moving forward. We think these guys both have the ability to continue to get better."
As a switch-hitter, Liranzo is significantly better from the left side of the plate, so much so that he could benefit from giving up on right-handed hitting. He makes healthy swing decisions but has swing-and-miss issues, especially from the right side, though he hits the ball hard from the left side. He also struggles against high-velocity pitches on the inside part of the plate.
On defense, Liranzo struggles with blocking and framing, but he has a strong arm.
"I think the profile alone is really good," Harris said. "The switch-hitting catcher with a really strong arm, hits the ball really hard, makes good swing decisions at the plate. I think there's a lot of opportunity for him to get better."
Sweeney, 24, is hitting .255 with 13 home runs, 44 walks and 118 strikeouts across 96 games in Triple-A Oklahoma City. He was the No. 20 overall pick by the New York Yankees in 2021, but the Yankees traded him to the Dodgers in December 2023.
Sweeney is a below-average defender at shortstop.
"I think he needs a few more reps in Triple-A before he can impact us up here," Harris said. "In terms of the athlete, the swing, the ability to play a premium position as a left-handed hitter, those are hard to find, and we're fortunate that we found one."
The Tigers signed Flaherty to a one-year, $14 million contract in December 2023.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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Arrivals and departures
It took a while, but the Tigers were finally busy at Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline. Here’s a quick look at the returns over the past three days:
Sunday — C Carson Kelly to Rangers: Minor-league C Liam Hicks and RHP Tyler Owens.
Tuesday — LHP Andrew Chafin to Rangers: Minor-league RHP Chase Lee and RHP Joseph Montalvo*.
Tuesday — RHP Jack Flaherty to Dodgers: Minor-league C/1B Thayron Liranzo* and SS Trey Sweeney.
Tuesday — OF Mark Canha to Giants: Minor-league RHP Eric Silva.
*RANKED IN TEAM'S TOP 30 PROSPECTS BY MLB PIPELINE
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers trade pitcher Jack Flaherty to Los Angeles Dodgers
