Jack Flaherty was about to don the pinstripes.
The starting pitcher, who was acquired by the Dodgers in a deadline trade with the Tigers, was on the verge of being shipped to the Big Apple, but concerns emerged about Flaherty’s medical record, causing the Yankees to back out of the “tentative trade agreement.” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported the news late Tuesday night..
The Yankees had been rumored to be trading Flaherty up until the trade deadline, appearing to be on the way to acquiring a right-handed pitcher, but ultimately ended up being sent to Los Angeles in exchange for top prospects Cearón Liranzo and Trey Sweeney, the latter of whom ironically was a Yankees draft pick who was traded to the Dodgers this offseason for relief pitcher Victor Gonzalez.
The Yankees’ hesitation appears to stem from a back injury that prevented Flaherty from making a scheduled start in early July.
He will also receive two injections over a three-week period.
The right-hander hasn’t struggled on the mound since the issues emerged, posting a 1.53 ERA with 18 strikeouts in three starts, but Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has not made any trades.
It’s unclear what the Yankees were planning to send in the trade for Flaherty.
Only the Yankees and Dodgers have reviewed his medical records, Rosenthal said.
“We can’t comment on health issues surrounding a trade,” Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris told The Athletic. “Ask any other team. Jack is healthy. If we hadn’t traded him, he would have been scheduled to start for us on Thursday.”
Flaherty was left out of Monday’s game to protect himself from a possible trade. Joel Sherman of the Post wrote at the time:.
Flaherty was traded from the Cardinals to the Orioles at last year’s deadline and had all the makings of an impact starter for any team looking to bolster their starting rotation late in the season.
He started 18 games for Detroit this year, posting a 7-5 record with a 2.95 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 133 strikeouts, bouncing back from a shaky 2023 season.
The Dodgers were very excited to acquire the right-hander.
“We had a lot of conversations with a lot of teams last week,” Los Angeles general manager Brandon Gomez said. According to MLB.com:“We felt like acquiring an impact starting pitcher was a really important priority for us, and Jack fits that description perfectly. We feel like his control, his delivery and his strikeouts make him a true power option come October, so he’s a really good fit in this starting rotation.”
The Yankees made some acquisitions before the deadline to bolster their pitching staff, acquiring relief pitchers Mark Leiter Jr. from the Cubs and Eniel de los Santos from the Padres.
The team also acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr. in a trade with the Marlins on Saturday, and the deal is already paying off.
