Mets Monday Morning GM: Jack Flaherty dominance is extra hard to take

Sean Manaea and Luis Severino signed with the New York Mets in the offseason after less than impressive 2023 campaigns. Describe their deals however you’d like. Pillow contract? Make-good deals? In either case, the Mets took a low risk and received a high reward.

They were hardly the only pitchers in this category last offseason. The Detroit Tigers, looking to bolster their roster for a playoff run, signed Jack Flaherty. The longtime St. Louis Cardinals starter departed the Baltimore Orioles where he pitched poorly after getting traded at the deadline. It was a much different story in the Motor City. He was 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA for the trade deadline sellers who just happened to make it to the playoffs despite selling him and others.

Flaherty would make his way to the Los Dodgers where, behind much better run support, went 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 10 regular season starts. Adding him at the trade deadline made sense for the Mets. They passed on him yet again. Because baseball is most definitely scripted, it was Flaherty they went to battle with in Game 1 of the NLCS. You know what happened after.

The Mets had two chances to get Jack Flaherty and passed on both

Flaherty’s one-year deal worth $14 million would have fit right in there with Manaea and Severino. At only 28, celebrating his birthday on October 15, he was a younger free agent option who made sense for the Mets to pursue.

There weren’t any rumors—at least no major ones I can recall—citing interest in Flaherty. It couldn’t have been his 2023 results. They signed Severino. It couldn’t have been an injury history. They signed Severino. The money shouldn’t have the issue either. Let’s Beetlejuice this thing and say it once more. They signed Severino.

We can’t wag our fingers at the Mets for not signing Flaherty because they achieved what they wanted to by picking up others on short deals who were effective. It’s at the trade deadline when they had a second opportunity to snag him and didn’t make the push.

Flaherty ended up as the last-second trade piece dealt on July 30. Acquired for a less than stunning package of two prospects, it seemed like a favorable deal for the Dodgers. Flaherty was having the best year of any pitcher dealt. The Mets went for the bargain addition of Paul Blackburn. An injury in late August plus some bad outings ruined that deadline deal.

Tossing 7 shutout innings in Game 1 has further positive implications for the Dodgers who’ll need to trust their bullpen to take on the yeoman's share of work for the remainder of the NLCS. The Mets pitching let them down. Specifically, Kodai Senga whose injury right before the trade deadline strongly suggested the team pay the price for a player of Flaherty’s ability.

Twice available and a fit for the Mets, they decided to go in a different direction. Is it just one game or will passing on him be one of those haunting decisions?