Inside The Cardinals

Ex-Cardinals Star Predicted To Sign With Giants After Breakout Year

Free agency has slowed down recently
Patrick McAvoy|
Jul 14, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco Giants hat and glove on the bench against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Jul 14, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco Giants hat and glove on the bench against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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St. Louis CardinalsSan Francisco GiantsLos Angeles Dodgers

Pitchers and catchers will start to report to Spring Training in February and one former St. Louis Cardinals star is still out there for the taking in free agency.

The free agent starting pitching market has completely stalled recently. There are still some players that can play big roles for teams in 2025 including guys like Jack Flaherty, Rōki Sasaki, Nick Pivetta, and Max Scherzer among others.

Flaherty obviously is one of the most interesting free agents still out there on the open market. The 29-year-old had a breakout year in 2024. He signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Detroit Tigers and certainly did just that.

The righty had a 2.95 ERA across his first 18 starts of the season as a member of the Tigers. He then was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and had a 3.58 ERA over his final 10 starts. Overall, he had a 3.17 ERA last season.

Where will he go this offseason?

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller predicted that he will end up signing with the San Francisco Giants.

"Matchmaker Verdict: San Francisco Giants," Miller said. "Rōki Sasaki is the most coveted pitcher left on the board, but because he is beholden to international free agent rules, he's only going to sign for a fraction of a fraction of what he would get as a traditional, unrestricted free agent. Aside from Sasaki, Jack Flaherty is the biggest name still out there, and by a wide margin...

"Perhaps the Giants, who missed out on Corbin Burnes and who made short-term, option-laden deals with both Snell and Matt Chapman last winter? They opened last season with a $208M payroll and they're only at $173M, even after the recent signing of Justin Verlander. That means they theoretically have more than enough room to make it happen, and a planned six-man rotation might be for the best for them, given Verlander's age and the fact that neither Kyle Harrison nor Jordan Hicks has ever logged 125 innings pitched in a season."

Flaherty had a great year and should cash in, but it wouldn't be shocking if he had to settle for another short-term deal.

More MLB: Cardinals Insider Suggests $260 Million Star May Stay In St. Louis

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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