Breaking: Dodgers Postseason Heroic Moment Turns to…
The Los Angeles Dodgers will be active in the pursuit of top free agents, including international pitcher Rōki Sasaki. However, that could mean that some of their own free agents could be forced to sign elsewhere.
While outlining the pitcher market in free agency, Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer predicted that Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty would leave the Dodgers and sign in Anaheim with the Los Angeles Angels.
“There haven’t been many solid rumors concerning Flaherty, but ESPN’s Jeff Passan is the one who floated New York and Washington as good fits for him. The player himself, meanwhile, doesn’t want to leave Los Angeles if he can help it,” wrote Rymer. “If that can be taken to mean the area more broadly, then the Angels fit him just as well as the Dodgers. And between the two, the Halos certainly need him more.”
Rymer predicted that the Angels would sign the Dodgers postseason ace to a four-year, $88 million deal in free agency. Flaherty had a solid postseason, but it was definitely on the inconsistent side. In his second and fourth outings, he looked great. He went seven scoreless in an important Game 1 against the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series. In Game 1 of the World Series, he went 5 1/3 innings, striking out six and allowing just two earned runs.
“Flaherty’s return to form wasn’t totally complete. His back caused him problems in the middle of the season. And in the playoffs for the Dodgers, he had two good starts and three bad ones,” wrote Rymer. “Still, these things shouldn’t hurt him too much on the market. Effective starters like him are scarce just in general, and he has the advantage of not being tied to a qualifying offer.”
