Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty (0) pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The Washington Nationals are finally starting to make some noise in the offseason, but there is still plenty of work to be done.
For quite some time this winter, the Nationals were a very quiet team in free agency. However, that recently changed as the they signed pitcher Michael Soroka to a one-year, $9 million deal.
The right-hander was an All-Star back in 2019, but has missed a ton of time because of injuries while bouncing back and forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen. Washington appears like they will be giving him a chance to be a starter in 2025, but it's hard to expect anything from him after the last number of years.
While the Nationals do have five starters under contract now and projected to be in the rotation to start the season, they are really lacking a reliable veteran to help lead this rotation. The starting pitching market has been wild, but if Washington is hoping to compete, they should be thinking about adding another arm, even after signing Soroka.
Recently, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com wrote about the starting pitcher market and highlighted Jack Flaherty's value on the rise, which could affect the Nationals. Passan pointed out that the "exorbitant" price of pitching helps Flaherty. And it's not just deals for pitchers like Blake Snell and Max Fried.
He noted examples like Luis Severino's $67 million, three-year deal and Frankie Montas' $34 million, two-year deal, as examples. All of those, he wrote, lifts Flaherty's potential value.
"However long Flaherty's free agency takes to flesh out, he's still bound to do well because every team needs starting pitching, and all it takes is one suitor to step up," Passan wrote.
After seeing some of the other deals starters have received so far this offseason, it's easy to understand why Flaherty's value has gone up. While the right-hander isn't an ace, he had a strong season in 2024 for both the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers. Also, he won a World Series, which never hurts a resume.
The right-hander showed top-end of the rotation production with the Tigers in 2024, as he totaled a 7-5 record and 2.95 ERA before being traded.
For Washington, they have to be thinking about adding a more established starter than Soroka this offseason. Besides MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin, there are a lot of question marks in this rotation.
Even though the price tag might be on the rise, the 29-year-old right-hander could be exactly what the Nationals need in their starting rotation to take a step forward in 2025 and beyond.