Insider reveals teams 'in the mix' for top unsigned pitcher

Jack Flaherty is the top unsigned starter as the calendar flips to 2025.

While there havent been a ton of teams publicly linked to the right-hander, Flaherty was tied to the Orioles before their agreement with Charlie Morton this evening.

MLB.coms Mark Feinsand wrote on Friday that the Blue Jays, Cubs, Giants and Tigers are among the teams that remain in the mix.

Feinsand also listed the Orioles as a suitor, though his column was published before the Morton signing.

Its not clear if thatll take them out of the running.

In an appearance on " Foul Territory " on Thursday , Baltimore Baseballs Rich Dubroff suggested the Os could be reluctant to meet Flahertys asking price.

Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic wrote earlier this week that Flaherty was believed to be seeking a deal of at least five years.

Thatd probably be the necessary term if hes to get into nine figures.

MLBTR predicted Flaherty for five years and $115M at the beginning of the offseason.

The market has been favorable to starting pitching, but Flaherty has yet to find a deal to his liking.

Hes coming off an excellent season.

Flaherty combined for a 3.17 ERA while striking out nearly 30% of batters faced between the Tigers and Dodgers.

He walked fewer than 6% of opponents while getting swinging strikes at a strong 13.3% clip.

It was easily his best season since his dominant finish to the 2019 campaign when he was a member of the Cardinals.

Flaherty battled injuries between 2020-22 and struggled in 23, when he allowed an ERA just below 5.00 across 29 appearances.

The inconsistency is a concern, as is Flahertys injury history.

Hes been generally durable over the past two seasons, but the Yankees reportedly nixed a deadline trade because of concerns about his back.

Flaherty went to the Dodgers instead and held up for the rest of the season.

He didnt pitch well in the postseason, but theres no indication he wasnt at full health during L.A.s World Series run.

Flahertys fantastic regular season gives him a solid case for five years.

He just turned 29 and isnt attached to a qualifying offer because he was traded midseason.

There hasnt been a four-year free agent deal for a starting pitcher this offseason.

Max Fried and Corbin Burnes got six-plus years, while Blake Snell signed for five.

Sean Manaea , Luis Severino , Nathan Eovaldi and Yusei Kikuchi all signed three-year deals.

Flaherty should beat that group and presumably expects to top the four years and $80M which Eduardo Rodriguez received last winter.

Thats without many clearly interested teams, however.

Baltimore has added Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano on one-year deals, suggesting they may be reluctant to make a significant pitching investment.

The Athletics Sahadev Sharma wrote at the Winter Meetings that while the Cubs had some interest in Flaherty, they were hesitant to meet an elevated asking price.

San Francisco didnt make as strong a push as many expected for Burnes.

President of baseball operations Buster Posey recently suggested to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic that the club was optimistic about its young starters and searching for offensive help.

The Tigers might be in a similar spot.

Theyve been tied to Alex Bregman and Anthony Santander recently.

Detroit GM Jeff Greenberg indicated after they signed Alex Cobb at the Winter Meetings that they werent likely to be big factors in the rotation market aside from a long shot push for Roki Sasaki ( link via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press ).

Toronto has been linked to essentially every free agent but remains in the Bregman/Santander markets and could prioritize free agencys top relievers.

This article first appeared on MLB Trade Rumors and was syndicated with permission..

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