The New York Yankees can point to several reasons for not winning the 2024 World Series, but one of the most significant might involve a player who wasn’t even on their roster. The team’s reported decision to back out of a potential trade for Jack Flaherty with the Detroit Tigers had major consequences, impacting the playoffs and possibly the World Series.
Injuries severely affected the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitching staff in 2024, prompting them to be aggressive at the trade deadline. They took advantage of the Yankees’ hesitation and completed a deal to acquire Flaherty. Though Flaherty struggled during the postseason with a 7.36 ERA in five games, he allowed manager Dave Roberts to use his bullpen more effectively.
In a tightly contested five-game World Series, a fatigued bullpen could have been a game-changer. Flaherty’s 22 innings of work in October played a key role in the Dodgers’ title run. While there were other more obvious reasons for the Yankees’ failure to win the World Series—including Aaron Judge’s ongoing struggles in big games, managerial errors, and defensive mistakes—passing on Flaherty may have had a ripple effect.
However, Yankees fans can take comfort knowing that the team didn’t completely dismiss the idea of trading for Flaherty. General manager Brian Cashman was willing to take on the medical risks, provided the price was right.
Yankees were still pursuing Flaherty:
“They were still trying to trade for me as the deadline was going on,” Flaherty told the “Foul Territory” podcast. “They were still trying to make a different trade. Like, ‘we don’t love the medicals, but we’re still trying to make a trade.’ I was like, ‘okay, whatever. I’m in LA now.’ And then ending up against them in the World Series was kind of a full-circle thing.”
