Has Tigers Ace Become Slight Free Agency Disappointment So Far?

It has been an excellent start to the season for the Detroit Tigers, but they haven’t been perfect.

Coming into the year, expectations were much higher than they had been in recent campaigns. After the Tigers snapped a decade-long playoff drought and beat the Houston Astros in the American League wild card round, Detroit proved it could compete.

Now, this season is all about trying to take it to the next level.

Over the winter, the Tigers made several free-agent signings to help support a young core that proved in 2024 that the time to win is now.

Detroit focused most of its attention on improving the pitching staff, by signing Alex Cobb, Tommy Kahnle, and reuniting with Jack Flaherty.

However, despite being a top team in the league, some of the results have been mixed.

Has Jack Flaherty Been a Disappointment?

After a disastrous second half of the season with the Baltimore Orioles in 2023, Flaherty, a veteran right-hander, signed with Detroit to prove himself two winters ago.

He was certainly able to accomplish that in the first half of the season with the Tigers. Flaherty totaled a 7-5 record and 2.92 ERA in 18 starts. However, due to Detroit looking like it wasn't going to make the playoffs at the trade deadline, the Tigers traded the right-hander to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Flaherty pitched well for the Dodgers, helping them win the World Series. But once again he entered the winter as a free agent.

For the second year in a row, he ended up signing with the Tigers, which on paper provided them with the No. 2 starter that they needed desperately behind Tarik Skubal.

So far, the results for the reunion have been mixed. Flaherty has totaled a 2-5 record and 4.44 ERA, and he hasn't quite been the same pitcher he was last season.

While April wasn’t a bad month with a 3.38 ERA, he did have a 1-3 record. Furthermore, things have gone south in May so far, with the right-hander totaling a 1-2 record and 6.91 ERA.

A poor outing against the Texas Rangers contributed to those numbers, as he allowed four home runs in that start.

The expectation was that Flaherty would come in and be the sidekick for Skubal, but that hasn’t quite been the reality. While most of the struggles are recent, there is still plenty of time for him to have a strong season.