Ex-GM Jim Bowden repeatedly roasts Tigers' Scott Harris for Jack Flaherty bungle

In his "Trade Deadline Superlatives" column for The Athletic on Friday, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden did not mince words when it came to his assessment of Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris.

Though he didn't mention Harris by name, it was implied when Bowden dubbed the Tigers' trade of Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers the "worst" deal of this year's deadline. This superlative is definitely deserved after Detroit shipped off the top rental starter on the market and received only a pair of prospects in return.

Medical issues reportedly led to a failed trade with the New York Yankees for Flaherty. Because Harris waited too long, searching for the best-possible return after pitchers like Yusei Kikuchi drove up the market, he was left with no choice but to pull the trigger on a deal that was underwhelming at best and flat-out bad at worst.

Flaherty was 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA, 133 strikeouts and only 19 walks in 106 2/3 innings. He allowed one run or fewer in six of his last eight starts with Detroit. The return of shortstop Trey Sweeney and catcher Thayron Liranzo, Bowden said, "was just too light."

Bowden rips Harris for demanding 'too much' in return for Tarik Skubal

Bowden once again expressed his disapproval of Harris' deadline tactics when he awarded him the superlative of "GM who asked for too much in trades." In this case, Bowden took issue with Harris' handling of Tigers ace and Cy Young Award frontrunner Tarik Skubal, who had drawn significant interest on the trade market for obvious reasons. When teams came calling about Skubal, Bowden said, Harris responded by "practically asking for their entire franchise, according to multiple GMs who had trade discussions with him."

Can you blame him, though? Skubal is under team control for another two seasons, so the Tigers were under absolutely no pressure to trade him at the deadline. Harris would have had to be blown away by an offer to even consider parting with the pitcher who gives Detroit the best chance to be competitive both now and in the next few years. Even Bowden admitted, "I would have asked for too much, too."

So, hey, at least that didn't end up being the worst thing about the Tigers' trade deadline.

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