The New York Yankees were able to add some players ahead of the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline but were not able to add any starting pitching, despite reportedly being involved with a few different trade discussions to bolster their pitching staff. Jack Flaherty was one of the pitchers that the team was targeting as the Detroit Tigers were looking to move on from him and it appears that the trade deadline could have looked a lot different in the Bronx. Let’s take a closer look at the report and discuss exactly what happened.
The New York Yankees could’ve had Jack Flaherty
The New York Yankees were looking to add some starting pitching depth and reportedly had a preliminary trade agreement with the Detroit Tigers for Jack Flaherty, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The thing that made the Yankees back out of the deal was something with the medicals of Flaherty did not look great for them to move forward with a trade. It is unknown what the New York Yankees would have traded away for Jack Flaherty, but he ended up getting dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers for catcher/first baseman Thayron Liranzo and shortstop Trey Sweeney.
Jack Flaherty had a lower back issue that caused him to miss one start in the beginning of July and in order to treat it, Flaherty received two injections within a three-week span to treat it. That was too much of a concern for the New York Yankees as they backed out of the deal. This makes sense as to why the two sides were linked for a while on Tuesday ahead of the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline and the rumor about the Yankees trading away pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr. came out as well. The Yankees and the Dodgers were the only two teams that reviewed his medicals during the trade deadline, showcasing they were the only teams with deals on the table that were agreed upon. However, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris told reporters how he could not discuss the details.
“I can’t comment on medical stuff with trades. You would have to ask the other teams. Jack is healthy. If we didn’t trade him, he was going to start for us on Thursday.”
It is important to note that medical reviews in trade negotiations are not an exact science as one team can view something completely different than another.
Flaherty is going to be a free agent at the end of the 2024 season and has done well so far as the 28-year-old has made 18 starts and is 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP in 106.2 innings. His strikeout numbers are amongst the best in baseball as he has struck out 133 hitters thus far. Yankee fans have been blasting general manager Brian Cashman for not making many moves outside bolstering the bullpen with Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel De Los Santos on Tuesday while trading for second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. during the weekend.
While we do not know any other trades that would have happened as a result, the New York Yankees, who want to be considered a World Series favorite just allowed the Los Angeles Dodgers to get another quality starting pitcher to help them out in the postseason. It will be interesting to see if this comes to play a massive role for either the New York Yankees or the Los Angeles Dodgers come the postseason or in a potential World Series matchup.
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