Cleveland Sports Forum

Tigers sign Flaherty for 2 years. They are serious about the 2025 season. Watch out.

They gave him a 25 million dollar one year contract !

The Tigers are going to make it very difficult for the Guardians to win this division. Unless Flaherty's back is a problem, he's the missing piece to their puzzle like he would have been for us.

They gave him a 25 million dollar one year contract !

It'll be worth it if the Tigers knock off the Guardians and win the division.

I would have made that deal for 1 year. The stakes are that high.

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The Guardians have to roll the dice now. Flaherty was the last man standing. That sucks!

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First Luzardo and now Flaherty.

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Last year proved we have the secret weapon.

Vogt

... and the bullpen!

$25M for Flaherty is nuts but sounds like a better investment than the $15M for Alex Cobb who pitched 16 1/3 innings last year. That's just under $1,000,000 per inning

Jose z is crying all the time.

More big news:

LHP Logan Allen changed number to 26.
I believe Lee Maye had that number sometime in the 70s.

Dodgers’ Kiké Hernandez Predicted to Sign With AL Contender in Shocking Twist

Valentina Martinez02/07/2025

The Los Angeles Dodgers have orchestrated numerous blockbuster signings, but fans are still waiting for the front office to ink a deal with utility man Kiké Hernández.

General manager Brandon Gomes said the Dodgers would talk with Hernández soon, indicating a reunion was still a possibility.

“Obviously we’d never close the door to Kiké,” Gomes said at DodgerFest. “I think a lot of it is just making sure he and his family feel like it’s the best position for him. But we’ll have those conversations.”

Last year, the Dodgers didn’t sign Hernández until late February so the fan favorite remaining on the market isn’t unusual. However, other clubs have an opportunity to swoop in and get a deal done the longer Hernández is available.

Last week, it was reported the New York Yankees inquired about Hernández. This week, he is predicted to sign with the Cleveland Guardians. The Athletic’s Chad Jennings believes Hernández is the perfect fit for the American League contenders.

“Defensively, center field is the Guardians’ most glaring need. In terms of experience, they’re thinnest at second base. And their everyday lineup includes only one strictly right-handed hitter. Well, Hernández would address all of that,” Jennings wrote. “He would be their best defensive option in center, their most experienced option at second, and another right-handed bat on a roster loaded with lefties and switch hitters.

“Maybe Lane Thomas would still play center field against righties, but Hernández could play there against lefties and in the late innings. Maybe Juan Brito is ready to play second, but Hernández would free him to also help out at other positions.”

Hernández’s versatility is attractive to other clubs, so there’s a real possibility he receives an enticing offer from a team like the Guardians. However, Hernández expressed his desire to return to L.A. earlier in the offseason.

“I would love to be back,” Hernández said. “I truly believe that — we won the World Series a couple days ago, but I truly believe that this team is gonna be even better next year with all the pitching reinforcements.”

It’s evident the fan favorite hopes to wear Dodger blue in 2025, but it remains to be seen whether the defending champions can ink a deal with Hernández before the season begins.

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Who is this expert with a Shocking report?
Valentina Martinez is a bilingual sports reporter. She is a Los Angeles native and a life long Dodgers fan. Valentina graduated from Arizona State University with bachelor's degrees in Sports Journalism and Spanish.

Two responses at DodgerNation, were the report originated probably have it right!
"Clickbait. The “shocking twist” has not happened yet and may not happen at all."
"Garbage, Kike is literally only signing with a World Series contender, the Dodgers will sign him. If not, it’s the Yankees."

I think we are still a world series contenders if everything goes right again like they did last year. I have to think that the rotation has improved slightly although not significantly; I think the question here is "who is Chad Jennings"?

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Gavin Williams is the KEY to 2025. If somehow McKenzie bounced back to where it had been we could be in very good shape.

Basically the front office seems to maintain a goal of keeping a solidly competitive team on the major league field for years to come, without spending much money. They could easily make some moves to give them a more solid shot this season but at the expense of the future. I guess the theory is probably that with some good fortune in any single season the team could just turn out to be a champion if they insure they are at least solidly competitive. Last year was one of those "lucky" years --- without bullpen success no one could have imagined would be so extreme they would have been a 500 or so team.
Again this year things will have to break the right way for them to be a playoff team. And once you're in the playoffs, anything could happen. It just never quite does for the Ind/Guard-ians.