Jack Flaherty’s second trip to Tigers’ IL is the least of Detroit’s worries right now

Another week, another Detroit Tigers starting pitcher hitting the Injured List. This time, at the very least, that pitcher is not named Tarik Skubal or Casey Mize (yet).

Flaherty had seemingly turned a corner since his early-season struggles, pitching to the tune of a 2.67 ERA across his past seven outings. However, if there were a time for an injury to the Tigers starting rotation, it is now, as manager AJ Hinch suggested in his commentary on Flaherty's ailment.

"As the day went on and the more opinions we got, the more we realized he wasn't going to pitch in five or six days. And where our pitching is at right now, we definitely couldn't handle it. And thankfully, from a roster standpoint, we got the extra pitcher here," Hinch told Evan Woodbery of MLive.

Why the Tigers can afford an injury to Jack Flaherty

The Tigers concerns go far deeper than just one injury to Flaherty. Sure, the Tigers 6'4" right-hander was pitching well of late, but he hasn't proven to be the difference-maker Detroit expected heading into the season. Instead, the Tigers will turn to Keider Montero in his absence. Montero has a 3.22 ERA in 15 starts this season, and should be able to cover for Flaherty just fine. Detroit called up Ty Madden to fill Flaherty's roster spot in the meantime.

Mize left his last start after being struck by a comebacker on the wrist. The Tigers are concerned about the former No. 1 pick's groin tightness, and hope an IL stint isn't in his future. Valdez, meanwhile, has been anything but stable of late, and gave up six earned runs in his last start against the Chicago Cubs, in which he took the loss.

The Tigers are holding on for dear life in the AL Wild Card race. At 5.0 games back, their rotation has been a strength since the start of June. Detroit has the second-best record in all of baseball during that time period. If the Tigers can make up more ground by the early-August trade deadline, perhaps they can convince the front office and Scott Harris to either stand pat or buy as part of a playoff push in a wide open AL. Every loss is an indictment of that strategy.

How Jack Flaherty's injury impacts the Tigers trade deadline plans

In theory, Flaherty's injury alone shouldn't impact what Harris and the Tigers front office decide to do at the MLB trade deadline. Unfortunately, the prognosis less than two weeks out is that they still might sell. When listing off the Tigers concerns ahead of Aug. 3, Flaherty's injury doesn't register much on the actual roster construction. It does give Harris another excuse to sell.

Whether it be the inconsistency of Valdez or the lineup's inability to hit with runners in scoring position (they rank 26th in that department), Hinch and the Tigers have far greater concerns in their quest to make the postseason for the third straight season.

It doesn't help that the Tigers have to convince their own front office that this team can win the games that count in October. The red-hot Orioles and Red Sox have already passed them in the AL Wild Card race. The Tigers are fighting an uphill battle, and every injury makes their argument against selling less convincing.

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This article was originally published on motorcitybengals.com as Jack Flaherty’s second trip to Tigers’ IL is the least of Detroit’s worries right now.