Tigers Activate Jack Flaherty: A Late-Season Wild Card for Detroit

Getting a starting pitcher back in late September usually feels like finding a twenty-dollar bill in your winter coat. But when that pitcher has a 4.59 ERA and has not thrown a real major league pitch since July, it is more like finding a crumpled up grocery receipt.

The Detroit Tigers are officially activating Jack Flaherty from the 15-day injured list. MLB Trade Rumors relayed the move on Sunday, signaling the end of a two-month absence for the right-hander.

"MLB Trade Rumors reported the activation on Sunday."

Flaherty has been sidelined since July 21 with right forearm flexor inflammation. Before his arm started barking, his season was already a grind, sitting on a 3-8 record and a 1.41 WHIP.

If you are expecting him to walk out to the mound and throw seven shutout innings, you might want to adjust your reality. His stamina is completely depleted from the long layoff.

The guy just threw a two-to-three inning simulated game last weekend. Before that, his only live action was a 1.1-inning rehab stint with Triple-A Toledo where he struck out two batters.

This makes his return a massive variable for anyone looking at pitching props this weekend. Flaherty is stepping right into a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he is almost certainly looking at a piggyback role rather than a traditional start.

The Tigers have already squeezed out back-to-back one-run wins over Pittsburgh this week. Throwing a rusty Flaherty into the mix adds a pure wild card to the rotation just as the season winds down.

We will see exactly how much trust the Detroit dugout actually has in that forearm. If he can just eat a few clean innings tonight, the Tigers will gladly take the receipt.