Tigers will get biggest bang for their buck with contract fans lamented about early in offseason

The Detroit Tigers did a lot to boost the rotation late in the offseason by signing Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander. They've lengthened the rotation and taken a lot of pressure off Jack Flaherty in the process.

Detroit obviously has an impressive one-two punch atop the rotation with Tarik Skubal and Valdez. Verlander may be 43 but he is coming off a really strong 2025 campaign with the San Francisco Giants so he should still have some left in the tank.

Flaherty and Casey Mize are easy to overlook, but Flaherty figures to benefit the most from all of the additions.

Tigers have taken the pressure off Jack Flaherty with big rotation additions

Early in the offseason, Flaherty decided to exercise his player option and return to Detroit on a $20 million salary for 2026. Fans were conflicted on this because of the up-and-down nature of Flaherty's 2025 campaign.

He had a 4.64 ERA in 31 starts last season. He threw 161 innings and struck out 188 batters while recording 8 wins compared to 15 losses. It was not what fans were hoping for after Flaherty had a 2.95 ERA in 18 starts with Detroit to start the 2024 season before he got traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

At his best, Flaherty can be an ace-level pitcher. The problem is that he is nowhere near consistent enough to be trusted as an ace. He'd be a decent No. 3 starter in most rotations, but the fact that he is probably going to be either the No. 4 of No. 5 starter in the rotation shows just how deep the rotation will be.

It may be wishful thinking to believe Flaherty will return to the form he displayed back when he was with the St. Louis Cardinals, but he has shown he is still capable of being a quality starter at this point in his career.

If he can stay healthy and has an ERA around 4.00, most Tigers fans would be perfectly content with that. If he returns to the form he had with Detroit in 2024, they would be ecstatic.

The fact that Flaherty chose to stay with the Tigers shows that he cares about winning more than a potentially higher payday with some other team desperate for a starter. The Tigers made the playoffs each of the last two years and with the rotation they have put together it would not be a shock if they make it back again this year.