With only a few minutes left before the MLB trade deadline, the Baltimore Orioles finalized a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire Jack Flaherty and plug a hole in their starting rotation.
Flaherty is a seven-year veteran who has spent his entire career in St. Louis. He has pitched in 122 games, posting a 41-31 record with a 3.58 career ERA and striking out 706 batters in 633 innings.
The Cardinals are in last place in the National League Central with a record of 48-61 entering play on Aug. 3. They have not had a losing season in 16 years and have only had six losing seasons dating back to 1990, putting them in the unusual situation of selling at the deadline.
“Once they got off to the slow start and once they never really gained any traction, they knew that they had to, as John Mozeliak said, ‘swallow the poison pill’ and trade away instead of add to this team,” Cardinals play-by-play man Chip Caray said on Glenn Clark Radio Aug. 2. “I think you have to wait a couple years to figure out what the return is going to be.”
Caray said the Cardinals set out to add depth to their minor league system by targeting players who have the opportunity to get to the big leagues within a calendar year.
To acquire Flaherty, the Orioles traded away infielder César Prieto and left-hander Drew Rom from Triple-A Norfolk and right-hander Zack Showalter from Low-A Delmarva.
Flaherty has dealt with numerous injuries dating back to 2021, including shoulder, hip, hand and oblique issues. He has not been the same pitcher as he used to be given these injuries.
Flaherty has made 20 starts this year, recording a 7-6 record, 4.43 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. He has allowed 116 hits, 10 home runs and 54 walks and struck out 106 batters in 109.2 innings.
Caray pointed out that 30 of Flaherty’s 54 earned runs came in five starts.
“I think if you look at Jack’s numbers, it’s the first couple of innings,” Caray said. “Sometimes it takes him an inning or two to ease into the game, and by that I mean he just has to find his rhythm and find his feel.”
Flaherty primarily throws a fastball that touches the mid-90s, a slider and a knuckle curve. His velocity has ticked down due to his various injuries.
FanGraphs’ Enos Sarris proposed that the Orioles have Flaherty pitch as hard as he can for four innings before being taken out. He also suggested that the Orioles go to a six-man rotation to give Flaherty an extra day of rest before having to pitch again.
“There’s a clear distinction in what happened at the deadline between a guy who will get you [to the playoffs] and a guy who you will use when you’re there,” Sarris said. “… To me, Jack Flaherty is more in that class, a guy who will get you there.”
Caray said that since the Cardinals are not going anywhere this year, the team did Flaherty a favor by trading him to a team that was competing for a postseason spot. Now, Flaherty has the opportunity to play on a bigger stage and increase his value come postseason time with free agency looming.
Flaherty has postseason experience, perhaps giving himself a chance to be a Game 1 playoff starter for the Orioles.
“I wouldn’t put anything past Jack Flaherty. This guy’s a competitor, and all I can tell you in the limited amount of time that I spent with Jack as a Cardinals announcer, which is three and a half months, there was a really telling story about him,” Caray said. “Of all the Cardinals legends that have pitched for this organization, there’s one guy in particular that really admired and liked Jack Flaherty’s intensity, the way he went about his business and the way he pitched and the way he commanded the middle of the diamond, and that’s Bob Gibson.”
Caray said that if a player earns the respect of Gibson, it speaks volumes as to who he is and what he can do on the pitcher’s mound.
“He could be a terrific pickup under the radar for the Orioles,” Caray said. “Veteran guys and postseason play when guys haven’t done that before, it’s a very, very valuable thing.”
For more from Caray, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Billy Hurst/St. Louis Cardinals