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CHICAGO — When the Detroit Tigers placed right-handed starter Jack Flaherty on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, they were hopeful his absence would be brief.
But even if everything goes as hoped, Flaherty won’t be eligible to return until Aug. 5, two days after the MLB trade deadline.
Injured players can, of course, be traded. The Tigers acquired veteran reliever Paul Sewald from the Cleveland Guardians at last summer’s deadline despite knowing he would remain sidelined for at least several more weeks.
Still, Flaherty’s injury creates another complication involving what otherwise would have been the club’s most logical trade candidate.
Unlike other players, Flaherty might be viable trade candidate whether the Tigers decide to buy or sell.
In a selloff, he would be an obvious candidate because he is in the final year of his contract and appears unlikely to receive a qualifying offer after the season.
Even if the Tigers are buyers, trading Flaherty could still make sense because they could use their starting-pitching depth to upgrade another area of the roster, such as the offense or bullpen.
The Tigers have been down this path before with Flaherty. When they traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2024 deadline, they received two useful players, including shortstop Trey Sweeney, who played regularly down the stretch and contributed to the Tigers’ improbable playoff run.
Flaherty was more marketable then, as he had pitched well throughout the 2024 season and carried a smaller salary. He probably won’t command the same return in 2026. But the Tigers would still likely have plenty of suitors if they made him available.
After a miserable start to this season, Flaherty has pitched well since early May. Over his past 12 starts, he has a 3.92 ERA and 3.07 FIP, with 70 strikeouts and 17 walks in 57⅓ innings.
The question now is his health.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Flaherty reported discomfort after his start Monday night and was evaluated the following day.
“It was ongoing throughout the day, just making sure that we got him looked at and trying to make a good decision for him and a good decision for us,” Hinch said. “It wasn’t a clear-cut IL when we woke up (on Tuesday morning).”
In fact, the Tigers didn’t make the move until just minutes before the first pitch of Tuesday’s game.
The official diagnosis, right flexor inflammation, does not necessarily suggest a serious injury. But any interested team would have the right to review Flaherty’s medical records before completing a deal.
In the meantime, the Tigers still have five capable starters in their rotation: ace Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez, Casey Mize, Troy Melton and Keider Montero.
Mize has been dealing with groin tightness but, for the moment, appears to have avoided another stint on the injured list. He is scheduled to make his next start Saturday at home against the Kansas City Royals.
If the Tigers decide to sell at the deadline, Mize and Skubal would draw significant trade interest, making Mize’s health another situation worth monitoring.
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