Jack Flaherty on the trade block?: 5 possible landing spots

St. Louis Cardinals

The trade: The Cardinals acquire Flaherty. The Tigers acquire Leonardo Bernal and Chen-Wei Lin.

Flaherty is familiar with the Cardinals’ organization as he spent seven seasons in St. Louis. He had some great years there, including in 2019 when he placed fourth in the NL Cy Young voting. A reunion before the trade deadline could make sense. The Cardinals’ strategy of bringing in older starting pitchers has been hit or miss. Sonny Gray has been good and Kyle Gibson has been fine, but they have not received much production from Lance Lynn. Another starter like Flaherty would be huge to have for their postseason push. 

Bernal is not necessarily a prospect who will stand out, but he is a solid all-around player. The 20-year-old catcher has a .785 OPS in A-ball in 2024 while being decent enough defensively. He could be viewed as the catcher of the future for the Tigers. Lin, 22, signed as an international free agent from Taipei in July 2023. The 6-foot-7, 188-pound righthander has a 3.13 ERA with the Palm Beach Cardinals this season along with a 1.13 WHIP. If he can stick as a starter, he will be an intriguing prospect as he climbs through the minor leagues.