Flaherty, Tigers reach 1-year deal, sources say
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
Right-hander Jack Flaherty and the Tigers are in agreement on a one-year, $14 million contract, sources told ESPN on Thursday, bringing another veteran arm to a Detroit team that’s hoping to contend in the AL Central next season.
The deal can max out at $15 million, with start-based bonuses of $250,000 for the 26th, $250,000 for the 28th and $500,000 for the 30th, sources said.
The 28-year-old Flaherty is coming off his most productive season in four years, logging 144.1 innings with a 4.99 ERA and 148 strikeouts between the St. Louis Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles after injuries hampered his previous three years. He hopes a move to Detroit will reinvigorate a career that looked destined for excellence in 2019, when he had what was widely considered to be a breakout season — in 33 starts for the Cardinals, the former first-round pick generated a 2.75 ERA, allowing only 135 hits in 196 1/3 innings and racking up 231 strikeouts.
Because of his remarkable athleticism — he was a third baseman as an amateur player, before he was drafted 34th overall by St. Louis in 2014 — rival evaluators assumed that he would build on that initial success and perhaps develop into one of the NL’s most dominant pitchers.
But those expectations were seemingly derailed during the COVID season of 2020. Early in the 60-game season, while the Cardinals were quarantined because of an outbreak, Flaherty got attention for throwing into a mattress in his room during that time. No one will ever know for sure whether Flaherty’s subsequent shoulder trouble was related to the unusual training situation, but injuries began to derail his seeming rise to stardom.
He made just nine starts in 2020, made only 26 appearances in 2021 and 2022, and his performance waned. With his velocity diminished in the early stages of 2023, Flaherty had a 4.43 ERA in 20 starts with the Cardinals, and with St. Louis out of contention, he was dealt to the Orioles and continued to struggle. Flaherty posted a 6.75 ERA in nine appearances with Baltimore. When the Orioles made the playoffs, Flaherty was shifted to a bullpen role.
The Tigers are betting on the 2019 version of Flaherty joining fellow free agent signing Kenta Maeda and incumbent starters Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson and Matt Manning in a rotation that also could have former No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize, who is returning from Tommy John surgery.
The Tigers finished in second place in the AL Central at 78-84 last season, and with the ownership of the first-place Minnesota Twins cutting payroll, Detroit is targeting its first postseason bid since 2014.
The question that will hover over Flaherty as he moves forward is whether he can recover some of the excellence he showed early in his time with the Cardinals. The short-term nature of his new deal means that Flaherty has a chance to rebuild his value before testing the market again at a relatively young age.
He has had moments — particular starts, like in back-to-back scoreless starts against the New York Mets and Miami Marlins in July — in which he has demonstrated that he is still capable of overpowering hitters.
ESPN’s Buster Olney contributed to this report.
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.
Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.
O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.
Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.
In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.
Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.
Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.
The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.
LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.
Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
No. 12 Georgia will be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne for Saturday’s showdown against No. 7 Tennessee.
Etienne was downgraded from questionable to out on Thursday night’s SEC availability report.
Etienne left Georgia’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury on Nov. 2 and did not return. He played limited snaps in last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards.
Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 477 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.
The loss is another blow to Georgia’s banged-up backfield. Cash Jones is also listed as questionable while Branson Robinson remains out after missing the past three games with a knee injury.
That leaves true freshman Nate Frazier as the only healthy Bulldogs running back who has played meaningful snaps this year. Frazier is second on the team with 333 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
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