As Trade Deadline looms, Flaherty brings his best stuff

DETROIT -- The Tigers held their annual Christmas in July promotion at Comerica Park on Thursday afternoon, complete with a ceremonial first pitch from Santa Claus to Tyler Holton. Given the festive atmosphere, president of baseball operations Scott Harris would have been forgiven for seeing a healthy Jack Flaherty for six solid innings and wondering what he might bring in return at the July 30 Trade Deadline, MLB’s unofficial Boxing Day.

But the way the Tigers are playing lately, fans would be forgiven for having visions of a Wild Card chase and wondering if Detroit should be thankful for what it has going.

“This guy helped us win a series against a first-place team at home after some close games,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I think coming into the game, everybody knew we had a chance to win a series because Jack’s on the mound.”

Thursday’s 10-1 win over the Guardians finished off a big series win for the Tigers, who took three of four from the American League Central leaders. That made a small dent in Detroit’s division deficit, now at 13 games, but the Tigers’ sixth win in seven games brought them to within four games of .500 for the first time since June 17, and a little closer to the AL Wild Card pack.

With three games against the NL West-leading Dodgers before the All-Star break and a seven-game road trip to Toronto and Cleveland on the other side, the Tigers have a challenging but high-reward opportunity to improve their positioning and bring a counter-argument to the selling mindset. They’ll face the Guardians six more times between now and the Trade Deadline, including on Deadline day.

“There are a lot of games left,” said Carson Kelly, a potential trade chip whose third-inning home run was his fifth in 13 games. “They’re a great team over there, and to come out and take three of four is huge. There are a lot of games against them. We have to take it one game at a time, but if we keep going out there and giving it our all, we’ll be in a good spot.”

After three consecutive one-run games and five out of six in the season series, Thursday’s series finale wasn’t close. While the Tigers continued their offensive resurgence against Spencer Howard and Pedro Avila, Flaherty showed barely a hint of rust in his first start since June 27.

Detroit skipped Flaherty's turn last week so he could get a second injection for his ailing lower back, but Thursday’s average fastball velocity of 93.5 mph was right on his season average, and his secondary offerings seemed to have their usual movement. While Flaherty’s curveball wasn’t as effective as in previous outings, his slider picked up the slack with five swinging strikes, including three of his four strikeouts. His one mistake slider went over the right-field fence for a Bo Naylor solo homer.

“Slider was huge, especially at the end,” said Flaherty who, barring a last-minute All-Star selection, will get a lengthy break before his next start. “I was able to land that pitch as I got a little tired and the fastball started to go a little bit.”

That was the fatigue of time off. The back, he said, was fine.

“It’s nice to be able to feel good walking away [into the break] and be in a good spot,” Flaherty said. “I’m feeling much better than I have the last couple of times.”

The Tigers have a lot riding on Flaherty’s back. He’s the Tigers’ clear No. 2 starter behind All-Star Tarik Skubal for now, but he’s also the most marketable of their pending free agents. Unlike last year with Eduardo Rodriguez, Flaherty does not have a no-trade clause.

Also unlike Rodriguez, the Tigers have the option to keep Flaherty through the season and make him a one-year qualifying offer after the World Series. Should he decline the offer and sign elsewhere for more than $50 million total, Detroit would receive a compensation pick at the end of the first round in next year’s Draft -- around the range where the Tigers drafted infielder Kevin McGonigle, their current No. 4 prospect, last year -- or late in the second round if he were to sign for less than $50 million.

If Flaherty doesn’t like his options heading into the free-agent market, he could accept the qualifying offer -- set to the mean one-year salary of the 125 highest-paid players, which was $20,325,000 last offseason. If Flaherty stays healthy, there are worse fates than getting a frontline starter in his prime on a one-year deal.

That’s a lot to weigh, but it all starts with Flaherty’s health, which makes Thursday a good day regardless of what happens later this month.