MLB Rumors: Red Sox AL East Rival Makes Trade Splash For Pitcher

The Baltimore Orioles are trying to seize the opportunity in front of them with every American League East team looking up at them in the standings.

The Orioles made a splash about 10 minutes before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET Major League Baseball trade deadline by acquiring Jack Flaherty from the St. Louis Cardinals to bolster their starting rotation, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The Cardinals will receive infielder Cesar Prieto and left-handed pitcher Drew Rom, per Passan.

Flaherty has struggled with injuries in recent years and hasn’t been at his best this season despite being fully healthy. The right-hander made 20 starts with the Cardinals on the campaign, going 7-6 with a 4.43 ERA and 1.550 WHIP. He recorded 106 strikeouts in 109 2/3 innings.

It wasn’t too long ago that the 27-year-old was in the mix for a National League Cy Young Award. Flaherty finished fourth in Cy Young voting in 2019, but injuries limited him to 32 combined starts over the next three seasons.

The Orioles own the best record in the AL and clearly are sensing that this could be their season to make a major run in the playoffs, especially with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees at the bottom of the division.

Starting pitching was Baltimore’s biggest flaw this late in the season and Flaherty will cover that up a little bit. But he has very little experience pitching against AL East opponents, making just one start against the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays in his career.

They along with the Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays sure will look to give their own welcome to Flaherty over the final two months of the season.