Baltimore Orioles Open to Reunion with World Series Winning Starting Pitcher

The Baltimore Orioles have been one of the quieter teams this offseason, despite seeing a 10-game decline in their win total from 2023 to 2024.

They were still able to make the postseason in 2024, claiming a Wild Card berth and finishing second in the American League East to the New York Yankees, but were a first-round exit for the second time in as many years.

Recent reports from Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic indicate that the club may be interested in reuniting with a pitcher who was a part of that 2023 team and that he is interested in the same, with that pitcher being veteran righty Jack Flaherty.

The Orioles acquired Flaherty from the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of the 2023 MLB trade deadline as a rental before the righty would enter free agency for the first time in his career.

His first stint in Baltimore was not great, to say the least, posting a 6.75 ERA across 34 2/3 innings in nine games (seven starts) with a 61 ERA+. The righty only saw action in one October game in 2023, pitching two innings against the eventual World Series Champion Texas Rangers and allowing one run on two hits and three walks.

After signing with the Detroit Tigers in free agency, Flaherty experienced a career resurgence of sorts, posting a 2.95 ERA across 106 2/3 innings in 18 starts before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers where he would help lead that team to the 2024 World Series Championship.

“It’s likely the Orioles face competition for Flaherty, but the right-hander’s preference for a long-term contract may be giving some clubs pause,” write Sammon and Woo. “He is believed to be seeking at least a five-year deal coming off a season in which he had a 3.17 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 162 innings after settling for a pillow contract last winter.”

“Flaherty’s brief stint with Baltimore in 2023 didn’t fare well — he posted a 6.75 ERA over nine games (seven starts), along with the highest hits-per-nine-inning rate (11.9) of his career. Still, according to league sources, both sides would be open to a reunion after Flaherty’s bounce-back season.”

After failing to re-sign ace Corbin Burnes, who now calls Arizona home, the Orioles are in dire need of an improvement to their starting rotation, and Flaherty may be just what the doctor ordered.