2) Jack Flaherty
Jack Flaherty entered 2024 with many question marks. His prior three seasons had been uninspiring, as he was either unhealthy or unproductive. The right-hander signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Tigers and had an outstanding rebound season, both with the Tigers and eventually with the LA Dodgers after the trade deadline.
In total, Flaherty tossed 162 innings in 28 starts, working to a 3.17 ERA, 3.48 FIP, and 1.07 WHIP. Flaherty posted both a career-best strikeout rate of 29.9% and a walk rate of 5.9%. Although his 88.4 MPH exit velocity and 7.7% barrel rate were both about league average, he was prone to home runs with a 1.33 HR/9 ratio.
Underlying numbers support his performance as well. Flaherty had a 3.00 xFIP and 3.10 SIERA. Overall, it was Flaherty’s best season since his 2019 sophomore campaign. These were both single-season bests for the right-hander. It was the first time since 2019 that he put up at least +1.0 bWAR, clocking in at +3.1.
Flaherty signed a near-identical deal to Montas, inking a two-year contract at $35 million. For just one million more, the Mets could have had a pitcher coming off a +3.1 bWAR season instead of one that has put up about half of that over the past three seasons at +1.6. On top of that, Flaherty is also younger, as next year will be his age-29 season.