Where does new-look Tigers rotation rank among MLB's best after Jack Flaherty deal?

After four long, grueling months of swirling rumors and false hope, the Detroit Tigers made their splash. The return of Jack Flaherty is upon us. In a way, this almost felt inevitable. There was a strange energy around the trade with the Dodgers that Flaherty might be back.

Sure enough, he has rejoined forces with unanimous Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to create a very good one-two punch at the front of the rotation. But just how much does the Flaherty signing help the Tigers? Let's compare the Tigers rotation to some of the best across the league.

The first order of business is actually to set the rotation. The clear, runaway ace of the staff is Tarik Skubal. He is a monster and, until proven otherwise, the best pitcher in the American League. Flaherty slots in nicely at No. 2. After that, it seems Reese Olson has a pretty solid lock on a rotation spot, so we can put him at three. Unfortunately, Alex Cobb's presence felt necessary to the front office, and with the whopping $15 million price tag he is bound to take the fourth spot in the rotation. The final job is going to be a crazy spring training battle between Casey Mize, Jackson Jobe, Keider Montero, Matt Manning, Sawyer Gipson-Long, and Kenta Maeda. We can see Montero winning the job, but predict he will be replaced by Jobe mid-way through the year.

The American League East puts together some seriously talented rotations. The AL East brings us the Toronto Blue Jays who currently employ Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, and Alek Manoah. With age becoming a factor for Gausman and Scherzer, and the inconsistencies of Alek Manoah recently, we give the Tigers the edge. The New York Yankees spent some cash this offseason to upgrade their rotation. Gerrit Cole is accompanied by Max Fried, Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt. That is a great rotation. Reese is comparable to Rodon, and Montero gets the edge over Schmidt. Flaherty over Fried simply due to Fried's recent injury history. Advantage Tigers.

Let's hop out West and compare Detroit to the Seattle Mariners. Holy moly do they have a staff. Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller, and George Kirby could all be an ace or second starter on just about any MLB team, so this is easy. Advantage Seattle, but they may have the best rotation in all of MLB.

The Tigers may have one of the top rotations in Major League Baseball

The National League brings us a few powerhouses as well. The Phillies have at least two aces in Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. This doesn't even mention the new acquisition of Jesus Luzardo and the emerging Christopher Sanchez. With that crew — don't forget about Ranger Suarez — the Phillies take the cake here.

Finally, there is the archenemy of the MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Honestly, who do you pick? Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Yashinobu Yamamoto, and Blake Snell are all locks. The fifth spot could go to Shohei Ohtani once he is ready to pitch again, but in the meantime, Emmet Sheehan, Tony Gonsolin, Bobby Miller, Dustin May, and Evan Phillips will all compete for the final role. That is pure chaos and insanity to even list that many names as options. That doesn't even take into consideration that their fifth starter could be Ohtani, who is undeniably one of the best MLB pitchers when he is on the mound.

So out of some of the best rotations, the Mariners, Phillies, and Dodgers are on top of the Tigers, but the addition of Flaherty has seriously solidified the pitching staff as a force to be reckoned with. That rotation handing off to one of the best bullpens in MLB will cause problems for hitters this year.