Jack Flaherty acquired for Cesar Prieto, Drew Rom, and Zach Showalter

[bluedog]

Just now, Hallas said:

Don't really want to put Wells in the pen.  Maybe a week off followed by a tune-up in Bowie will set him straight and he can go back in the rotation.  Kremer seems like a nice 2 inning guy out of the pen.   I know he hasn't been bad lately but he'd probably be a lot more reliable than Baker has been in high leverage situations.

I hear you, but Wells was a dominant guy out of the pen before he moved to starter. I don't know if Kremer has ever had that kind of success from the pen.

[tntoriole]

23 minutes ago, bluedog said:

Pushing Wells to the pen isn't zero bullpen help.

Possibly but we shall see re:arm issues at Bowie 

[Sanfran327]

Wells is now free to return to the big club and help the bullpen. Fantastic. Hall will do the same. Fuji for added depth last week. 

Flaherty might not be that remarkable on his own, but he opens up a few other possibilities and makes the staff better overall. 

‘whatever we get out of Means this year will be gravy. 

[tntoriole]

14 minutes ago, Hallas said:

We indirectly get bullpen help via whoever Flaherty kicks off the rotation.

Wells presumably .. currently at Bowie “resting” his arm 

 

one more injury or one more running into dead arm innings wall of any current starter from now to end and we are up the creek 

Edited August 1, 2023 by tntoriole

[O's84]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

I’m not worried about him being able to go into the pen and be good again.

And it's possible that's the case, but even if that happens it's still a pen that needs help considering the subpar strength of the rotation.  Cano's drop off really hurts this team and I worry about tiring out the pen.  Hopefully this doesn't occur and I'd be happy to be wrong but I am definitely concerned.

[ChuckS]

Anyone know why Flaherty’s walks are up so drastically this season (and last in 36 IP)?

Really the ugliest part of his line. K/IP pretty good, not giving up a ton of homers. 

[Sports Guy]

Flaherty’s statcast numbers are pretty good.

He is slightly below average in missed bats but not by much.

BABIP against him is a very high 345, so he has been unlucky. 

He’s still only 27 but he has had some injury issues the last few years and is pitching the most innings he has thrown since 2019, so we have to see if that becomes an issue.

The BB rate is the real issue. If he can throw more strikes, he stands to be in good shape. 

He’s kind of like Gioloto. Maybe Gioloto is more of a sure thing but they both aren’t as good as they were in the past and both represent a lot of upside if they can find some of their old magic.

[emmett16]

2 minutes ago, Hallas said:

Don't really want to put Wells in the pen.  Maybe a week off followed by a tune-up in Bowie will set him straight and he can go back in the rotation.  Kremer seems like a nice 2 inning guy out of the pen.   I know he hasn't been bad lately but he'd probably be a lot more reliable than Baker has been in high leverage situations.

Both Kremer & Wells will be pitching out of the pen come playoffs.  What’s not to like? Their stuff will play up. 

[CaptainRedbeard]

Rom and Prieto were definitely good pieces to deal now. A 40-man crunch is coming and they weren’t going to survive it. Prieto is a decent prospect but low ceiling given the lack of power and uncertain defense, and he had no future here even if we were to trade more IF this offseason. Rom is never going to be a SP considering his inability to develop a CH and lackluster FB velo. He could potentially be a good RP, but the FB would really need to play up. I think there’s a good chance we look back at this trade and think it’s clear we cashed in both of these trade chips at the peak of their value. 

Showalter stings and certainly feels like the trade could have gotten done without him, but he’s a A ball RHP who was not a heralded draft prospect and has a lot of reliever risk in his profile. Not a guy to lose a lot of sleep over. 

The problem is Flaherty is adequate but thoroughly underwhelming. Maybe we can unlock something more there, but to me he falls right around the Gibson/Kremer quality level. He’s more depth and we’ll likely be glad we have him if there’s an injury or Bradish/GRod/Kremer fade the way Wells has with the increased IP, so I’m glad we did something to support the playoff push. But it’s not going to be fun holding your breath if he’s taking the mound in a playoff game. 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

7 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I don't like the idea of overpaying even if it doesn't amount to anything in the long run.

It's poor process.

Not sure who they were bidding against that they had to add a third piece.

I guess he felt he had to come away with something so he'd rather overpay a big for a marginal piece over paying for someone more likely to be a difference maker.

I bet the Cease talk stayed at a surface level.

If the reports were true that White Sox were insisting on Jackson Holliday then there was almost no chance of a deal being made. White Sox aren't really interested in rebuilding they just wanted to fleece a team in a Dylan Cease trade.

[NedFromYork]

Flaherty had good career WHIP, great earlier in career.  What's happened the past two years to balloon it?

[Since1984]

Flaherty last pitched on 7/26. Thursday start expected 

[emmett16]

8 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I’m not worried about him being able to go into the pen and be good again.

I think he will thrive in the pen. 

[Sports Guy]

5 minutes ago, Hallas said:

Don't really want to put Wells in the pen.  Maybe a week off followed by a tune-up in Bowie will set him straight and he can go back in the rotation.  Kremer seems like a nice 2 inning guy out of the pen.   I know he hasn't been bad lately but he'd probably be a lot more reliable than Baker has been in high leverage situations.

Wells is going to the pen.

[Moose Milligan]

Kept trying to find relievers?!? How come someone else found Robertson???

In regards to this trade, my initial reaction is that including Showalter sucks and I don’t like it for that. But we need to see what adjustments the Orioles can help Flaherty with to see if they can coax better performance out of him. 
 

We didn’t address the bullpen and that sucks the most.