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The New York Yankees traded Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin on December 13 to the Milwaukee Brewers for Devin Williams, potentially opening up a spot in the Yankees rotation. With injuries as prevalent as they are and the Yankees potentially trading a starter in the next few months, adding another arm wouldn’t be a bad idea.
There are a few elite starters still on the market, and many mid-tier arms with good stuff. Jack Flaherty is somewhere in between that. When Flaherty is at his best, one could make an argument that he’s an above-average starter.
He’s coming off a monster campaign, setting himself up well to get paid handsomely.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report believes he’ll get a three-year deal worth $72 million, something the Yankees could afford.
“From 2020-23, Jack Flaherty pitched a combined total of 299.0 innings, failing to log enough to qualify for an ERA title in any of them,” Miller wrote on December 13. “(Not that he would’ve won the title, anyway, posting a cumulative 4.42 ERA and a bWAR of 1.1)…
“Was his renaissance enough to quell concerns about a possible long-term deal? Or will the combination of his 7.36 ERA in five postseason starts, four years of mostly ineffectiveness and back issues that led the Yankees to back out of trading for him leave Flaherty to settle for another ‘prove it’ type of short-term deal?”
Will the Yankees Miss Cortes?
While the ending of Cortes’ career with the New York Yankees didn’t go as planned, and he’ll largely be remembered for giving up a walk-off home run in Game 1 of the World Series, he did a lot of good during his time in the Bronx.
An All-Star in 2022, Cortes posted two straight seasons in 2021 and 2022 with an ERA of 2.90 or below, showing his dominance at one point.
He’s excited for his next opportunity, telling Adam McCalvy of MLB.com that he’s intrigued by the Milwaukee Brewers winning culture and young care.
“I’m excited about this opportunity,” Cortes said on December 13. “You look at the Brewers and they’ve been in contention for a long time. … That’s exciting, especially with the young group that they have. I feel like I can bring something to the table for them.”
General manager Matt Arnold wanted Cortes, too, saying he’ll bring them a championship mindset.
“He’s somebody that’s been a major piece of a really good, championship-caliber team with the New York Yankees and I think that will fit us really well, especially after the loss of Willy Adames,” Arnold said.
“Then when you layer in the stuff and the ability to cover a lot of innings that are super valuable for us, we think a combination of all of those things is going to be a really nice fit for us in 2025.”
How Flaherty Would Fit the Yankees
The New York Yankees could look to salary dump Marcus Stroman, giving them another opening in their rotation. As currently constructed, the Yankees staff isn’t in a bad spot.
However, injuries are again something they’d have to consider. The Yankees could also move Luis Gil in a blockbuster move for a position of need, as he’d likely headline any big trade the team makes, making Flaherty of need.
Adding a pitcher who just won a World Series and pitched well in big moments is never a bad thing, and that’s exactly who Flaherty is.
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