Jack Flaherty's Tigers tenure is over, but he may be a starting point for Detroit's offseason

Jack Flaherty's second stint with the Tigers did not go as planned. The Tigers will likely to part with him in free agency, but that's not to say he can't technically be of assistance to the Tigers' free agent pursuits this offseason.

Jack Flaherty's profile through an optimist's lens

In 2024, the Tigers were able to revive Flaherty's tailing four-seam fastball shape to help his sweeping slider play off it better. In the first half of that season, he returned to trademark form and got traded to the Dodgers for a prospect haul. In his second stint with the Tigers, he maintained his solid fastball shape but lost a bit of his command. His lack of a consistent arm-side offspeed shape to beat lefties with made him a bit more hittable.

Despite this struggle, he posted a 27.6% K rate in 2025, with a 27.3% swing and miss rate. He still got a significant amount of chase, but he was actually generating quite a bit of swing and miss in the strike zone for someone with low 90s fastball. This improved into 2026, as his zone contact rate dropped from 82.7% in 2025, to 81.2% in 2026, even as his chase rate dropped markedly.

In his final seven appearances of 2026, he looked very effective, largely due to reigning his command in. Attacking the strike zone works for Flaherty, just as it does for many strikeout pitchers. This might be the sole reason to consider a reunion with him, as the current starting rotation didn't produce a lot of swing and miss.

Where the Tigers should look to improve on Jack Flaherty

Flaherty, in spite of his swing and miss and strikeouts, yielded essentially all the worst forms of contact. His 23% pull-air rate allowed combined with his minuscule 31.6% ground ball rate means that he is a home run risk constantly. He also allows a lot of loud contact and relies heavily on his defense on balls in play, which would be okay if he was a Chicago Cub (which is where I think he ultimately ends up).

Ultimately, the Tigers should absolutely look to add a high swing and miss, high strikeout caliber arm, but look for someone who has a bit more of a balanced profile: perhaps whoever that pitcher is shouldn't have among the lowest ground ball rates in the league, constantly give up pulled fly balls, or have an excessively high walk rate. This pitcher should just have good stuff and decent enough command at minimum.

Freddy Peralta

Whether Peralta's market is going to be saturated or not is completely up in the air. He was a dominant strikeout artist for much of his career (77.2% zone contact rate allowed, 10.9K per 9), while restricting free baserunners (3.5 walks per nine). There's reason to believe that he will return to form in 2027 after his recent dominance with Tampa, but can one simply forget those first half struggles in New York? This could perhaps be the key to him ending up Detroit.

Kevin Gausman

Gausman is probably the most affordable, lowest-commitment strikeout arm on the market who still looks to offer more value than Flaherty going forward. His strikeout metrics remained elite in 2026 (24.5% K rate, 27.7% whiff, 35% chase), but Gausman also sports a roughly league average ground ball rate. In addition, Gausman saw some bad luck in 2026, with a 4.51 ERA compared to his 4.03 expected mark, and a 3.74 FIP. If the Blue Jays don't throw the whole bank at him, the Tigers should absolutely kick the tires on a short term pact.

Michael Soroka

The Tigers got absolutely dominated by Soroka early in the 2026 season, which felt like a bad omen. But, Soroka actually continued to dominate the league the rest of the season. His 24.1% K rate and 34.1% chase rate are highly encouraging, especially considering this was his return to the rotation. He also maintained a highly attractive 6.1% walk rate, and did not get hit all that hard on average. Soroka might be a lower-cost option, but he likely wants more years than Gausman would require, given that he still hasn't turned 30.

Flaherty's second tenure in Detroit was frustrating, but he did provide some swing and miss that the Tigers absolutely must account for going into next season. Using his strengths and weaknesses, it seems the best, most efficient, options for Detroit to pursue this offseason are Peralta, Gausman, and Soroka, since most fans understandably expect the front office to stay out of Tarik Skubal's market. If the Tigers add one of these three arms, the rotation next season will have a beautiful combination of tantalizing youth and stable veterans.

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