Inside The Cardinals

Polarizing Ex-Cardinals Hurler Could Betray St. Louis For Deal With Hated Rival

The former St. Louis homegrown talent could soon join a bitter foe
Nate Hagerty|
Apr 28, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (22) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Apr 28, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (22) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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The St. Louis Cardinals will likely continue to watch former homegrown stars sign elsewhere this winter as the front office aims to reduce payroll.

Fortunately, St. Louis is used to watching former players sign and thrive with other clubs. This winter will be no different with several ex-Cardinals veterans joining new teams, such as four-time Gold Glove defender Paul Goldschmidt (New York Yankees) and All-Star reliever Andrew Kittredge (Baltimore Orioles).

Another former St. Louis hurler searching for his next landing spot has surprisingly been linked to the Cardinals' most-hated rival. Could he betray the team that drafted him by signing with the bitter National League Central foe?

"With many of these teams, pursuing (Jack) Flaherty at this stage of the offseason will come down to ownership opening up the checkbook," Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly wrote Thursday after ranking the Chicago Cubs as Flaherty's 4th top landing spot. "The Ricketts family has often acted like the Cubs are a mid-market team despite them being from, you know, Chicago."

Flaherty logged one of the best seasons of his career in 2024 -- posting a 13-7 record with a 3.17 ERA, 194-to-38 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .223 batting average against and a 1.07 WHIP in 162 innings pitched between his time with the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers.

"The NL Central is wide-open in 2025, though, with the St. Louis Cardinals seemingly taking a step back and the Milwaukee Brewers losing both Willy Adames and Devin Williams this offseason," Kelly continued. "A starting rotation headlined by Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele and Flaherty would give the Cubs a lot of buzz heading into a season they hope will send them to the playoffs for the first time since 2020."

The Cardinals' 2014 34th overall draft pick garners mixed feelings among St. Louis fans when Flaherty's seven-year career with the 11-time World Series champions is considered.

Injuries, inconsistent production and other problems not necessarily related to performance but more toward attitude have distanced Flaherty from Cardinals nation.

If Flaherty signs with the Cubs this offseason, it'll be tough for him to show his face again in St. Louis. It'll be interesting to see how fans react if the former Cardinals starter lands with Chicago and returns to start at Busch Stadium in 2025.

More MLB: Ex-Cardinals World Series Champion Predicted To Land With AL Central Contender

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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