The New York Yankees had been scouring the trade market for significant deals on Tuesday and were headed toward the finish line to acquire Detroit Tigers starting pitcher and impact piece Jack Flaherty.
Yankees’ Trade Market Activity
Flaherty, 28, will be a free agent after the 2024 season and is having another stellar campaign, hosting a 2.95 ERA across 106.2 innings, including 11.22 strikeouts per nine, a 79.8% left-on-base rate, and a 43% ground ball rate. It is possible that Detroit wanted star prospect Spencer Jones in exchange for Flaherty since he would offer the Yankees a legitimate playoff arm who could make a difference in a big game.
Concerns Lead to Withdrawal from Deal
However, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Yankees and Detroit had a preliminary agreement in place before the Yankees backed out of a blockbuster deal due to medical concerns.
General manager Brian Cashman has acquired players in the past with concerning medicals, notably Frankie Montas, who immediately suffered a shoulder injury and became useless for the Yanks over the course of a full season and a playoff appearance.
Flaherty missed a start in early July due to a lower back issue, receiving two injections to help the pain subside. That is certainly a red flag for the Yankees, who need to be extremely careful when parting ways with valuable prospects. Flaherty will be a free agent this upcoming off-season anyway, so if the Yankees want to spend big, they can always target him then and continue forward with what they currently have.
Instead of the Yankees acquiring Flarity, the Los Angeles Dodgers swept in and moved several prospects in exchange for the rental starting pitcher. He certainly adds a big arm to their rotation, a unit that has been spotty this year.
The Team’s Strategy Moving Forward
The Yanks will proceed with their current group, hoping to get Clarke Schmidt and Cody Poteet back over the next few weeks. They have had some polarizing performances this season and need more from some of their essential veterans, including Marcus Stroman, Carlos Rodon, and Nestor Cortes.
There were rumors that the Yankees were contemplating trading Nestor, who’s been volatile this season over 124.1 innings. His strikeouts are down, and his ERA has ballooned to 4.13 despite having a 3.65 xERA. The hope is he can turn things around and offer the Yankees a bit more efficiency.
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Cashman managed to hang onto some of his top prospects, only moving Agustin Ramirez in the deal to bring Jazz Chisholm over from the Miami Marlins.
By most accounts, Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones are extremely valuable, so the Yankees will move ahead with them taking over starting jobs in the future. Still, it is impossible to rule out a potential deal over the winter when the Yankees may be trying to reinforce different positions.