Dodgers’ hurler linked to Padres following outstanding 2024 season
The San Diego Padres are set to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
A win sends them to the NLCS, while a loss ends their season.
Regardless of how this season ends for the Friars, they may in the market for a big upgrade this coming offseason, particularly with their starting rotation.
Dodgers’ right-hander Jack Flaherty, who struggled against the Friars in Game 2 of the series is listed as the fourth best starter on the free agent market by Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report.
Rymer listed the Padres as a possible fit for the righty.
“This year mercifully brought redemption, and in such a way that suggest Flaherty may yet have a sustained run as a top-of-the-rotation starter,” Rymer wrote. “He could be in for Eduardo Rodriguez money, a la four years and $80 million. And if his market really picks up, it’s a short leap from there to nine figures.”
Flaherty could be a good fit in San Diego. Granted, they do already have Joe Musgrove, Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Yu Darvish.
But Cease’s contract is going to expire at the end of the 2025 season, and the Padres would do well to search for a starter they can have long-term in the event that they aren’t able to keep Cease.
Flaherty does come with a little bit of a downside, as his injury history precedes him. But he has pitched more like he had with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2019, when he was a Cy Young candidate.
He made 28 starts with the Dodgers and Detroit Tigers this season, logging 162 innings, striking out 194 batters, walking just 38 and posting a 3.17 ERA.
His injury history may make teams hesitate, but his market should still be interesting to follow.
We’ll see if the Padres are in on him this offseason.
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