As we quickly approach Spring Training, there remains several questions regarding the starting rotation of the Atlanta Braves. While Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos is notorious for making incredible offseason moves, he has remained rather idle this winter.

Atlanta still has some holes to fill before the start of the 2025 season, primarily in their starting rotation. All-Star lefty Max Fried landed with the Yankees, Charlie Morton signed with the Baltimore Orioles and NL Cy Young Award candidate Spencer Strider is not expected to be ready by opening day.

This leaves Brian Snitker with Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Schwellenbach for certain. Free agent Jack Flaherty could give the Braves exactly what they are looking for on the field and on their payroll.

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Jack Flaherty spent time with both the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024. With those teams, Flaherty threw 162 innings of work, where he went 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA in the regular season but struggled in October.

While these are respectable numbers for the 28-year-old right hander, Flaherty believes he is much better than he showed last season. Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report that Flaherty is open to considering short term deals with high average annual values. This should be music to Alex Anthopoulos’ ears.

Bringing in a veteran who has had proven success at the big-league level would be huge for the Atlanta Braves considering the holes left in the rotation from the departures of Fried and Morton. Flaherty would be a fantastic compliment to reigning Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale and also another potential mentor to rising star Spencer Schwellenbach.

Flaherty seems willing to take a one-or-two-year deal to prove to someone that he can be a valuable asset. Signing Flaherty seems like a low-risk, high-reward deal for any team looking to enhance their rotation. The problem for the Braves is that Flaherty is a valued commodity.

Atlanta will have plenty of competition for Flaherty if interested, but a high-AAV, short-term contract works to their benefit as the Braves hope to make the most of their World Series window.