Dodgers’ Jack Flaherty Claps Back at Yankees Over Trade Injury Worries

Getty Dodgers new pitcher Jack Flaherty

Jack Flaherty was traded to the Dodgers just ahead of the Tuesday MLB deadline, but he very nearly wasn’t. According to veteran reporter Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Yankees had a deal in place with the Tigers for Flaherty, but decided to pull out because of concerns over the back injury that kept him out of a scheduled start at the beginning of July.

Rosenthal wrote that, “According to sources briefed on the discussions, the Yankees backed out of a preliminary trade agreement with the Detroit Tigers for Flaherty after reviewing the right-hander’s medical records.”

Yankees GM Brian Cashman, perhaps splitting hairs, said that was not entirely accurate, that the reason a deal for Flaherty fell through was because the couldn’t give the Tigers the prospects they wanted. Perhaps, then, it was not a concern about Flaherty being injured.

Seems a good time, doesn’t it, to go to the horse’s mouth. And when asked, on his arrival with the Dodgers, about his injury, Flaherty flatly denied lingering concerns about his back.

“All I know is I feel great,” Flaherty said, via the L.A. Times. “I’ve felt great since we got back from the [All-Star] break, or even right before that.”

Jack Flaherty Has Been Dominant in July

The numbers back up Flaherty’s account. He did, no doubt, have a back issue in early July that caused him to miss a start and raised some questions about his durability for a stretch run. But since then, Flaherty has been excellent, allowing three earned runs in three starts, going 17.2 innings and clocking 18 strikeouts. Flaherty allowed just 13 baserunners (a .197 on-base percentage) in July.

That’s the kind of performance the Dodgers are hoping to see as they begin to piece together the rotation they’ll have for the stretch run and into the playoffs. It’s no guarantee—Flaherty struggled after he was dealt to the Orioles at last year’s deadline, going 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA in nine appearances (seven starts). He was not in the rotation for the O’s in the playoffs.

Tyler Glasnow is back, and Gavin Stone has been a consistent presence in the Dodgers injury-riddled rotation. Flaherty slots in among them, along with rookie River Ryan. Former ace Clayton Kershaw is coming back from a shoulder injury and has been inconsistent.

Walker Buehler is due back soon, and the team hopes that rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto can take the mound before the end of the season, too.

Dodgers Could Have an Overload of Pitching

That could give manager Dave Roberts seven starters to pick from when the playoffs come around. It will be difficult to pick amongst them—they will all have one flaw or another working against them—but having too many good starters is a problem most managers would readily accept.

As for Flaherty, Roberts is not too concerned about the injury and its possible lingering effects.

“I’m very comfortable,” Roberts said of Flaherty. “Training staff says he looks great and feels good.”

And Flaherty said that the stretch run problems that plagued him after his trade to Baltimore last summer are well behind him after a series of changes he made at different levels this offseason.

“My close group, we dove into some things about the way I was moving and fixing some of that,” Flaherty added. “Those changes made the ball come out better and my stuff move better. Once I signed with Detroit, we just kind of worked on the same things. Then mentally, just being in a better place and having more confidence and trusting your stuff is one of those things that’s really important.”