We are less than a month away from Atlanta Braves pitchers and catchers reporting to North Port, Florida for spring training. The team hasn't added any starting pitching help since Max Fried and Charlie Morton exited in free agency. Signing Jurickson Profar was a great start, but addressing the pitching staff in some capacity is still on the to-do list.
Atlanta has a good top-three set with Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, and Spencer Schwellenbach. Spencer Strider will eventually return and give the Braves a great mix of starters. However, there's no set time for his return or how effective he'll be once he returns.
It would be wise for the organization to add AT LEAST one external pitching option to give Atlanta a solid rotation. A lot of the attractive options have signed deals for 2025 but there are a few remaining options for the Braves to consider.
One of those potential options is free agent Jack Flaherty. He hasn't been a rumored target for Atlanta directly, but some MLB experts have him as a good fit for their rotation. Flaherty recently took to social media and expressed his feelings on people being upset about the Dodgers spending exorbitantly.
He seemed to agree with many of the National baseball pundits who believe the Dodgers are not the problem, but that it's the fault of other teams for not spending the same way. Flaherty, a native of Los Angeles, stated: "A certain team is not ruining baseball. A lot of other teams are just doing very little."
A certain team is not ruining baseball
— Jack Flaherty (@jflare_) January 21, 2025
A lot of other teams are just doing very little
We can agree or disagree on whether or not the Dodgers are ruining baseball. That is a conversation for a different day. This comment could also come from Flaherty being frustrated that he hasn't signed a contract yet. However, the comment on teams doing very little probably resonates with Braves fans.
While he comes with some risk, the Braves should still try to sign Jack Flaherty
Flaherty is coming off one of his best seasons and would understandably be expected to sign a decent contract this offseason. He pitched well for the Tigers and Dodgers last season with a 3.17 ERA over 162 innings. He walked 38 while striking out an impressive 194 batters.
His walk, strikeout, hard-hit, and whiff percentages were outstanding last season which helped contribute to his success. Fangraphs projects the 29-year-old will receive a four-year, $88 million contract.
That AAV is $22 million and on par with most of the contracts we've seen for starting pitchers. The issue is that he's been inconsistent in his career and there's injury history to consider. He's struggled with shoulder injuries in recent years. That's not something you want for a pitcher, especially when considering a large contract.
Flaherty has also struggled with wearing his emotions on his sleeve when pitching. This plagued him in recent years and is similar to what hindered former Braves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz from prolonged success.
However, Flaherty explained in 2023 that he's done a lot of work to fix that. He explained, “From a body language standpoint, and (with) my mindset, it’s been something where I’ve been able to grow after being around certain people (and) having conversations about how to grow and be a better teammate, and how to be a better version of myself on the mound.”
So, Flaherty is at least self-aware and trying to work on his shortcomings. He is a good fit for the Braves, but there is a risk in giving him a long-term deal. It's one of those things where the team doesn't need him but he'd also be a welcome addition if the right deal presented itself.