If Jack Flaherty is just about money, the St. Louis Cardinals should trade him — now

I was horrified a couple of years ago when rumors floated about that the St. Louis Cardinals offered to trade Jack Flaherty to the Toronto Blue Jays for Josh Donaldson. Donaldson not only had a tough year fending off leg injuries, he was only a year away from becoming a free agent.

It simply wasn’t enough return for such a valuable, controllable talent. I would hate to see Flaherty make like Dan Haren — or worse, Steve Carlton — having a fantastic career elsewhere after the Cardinals unwisely let a diamond get away from them.

But now, whil I’m still just as enamored with Flaherty’s skills as I ever was, I am starting to wonder, with his aggressive stance on free agency, if the Cardinals ought to trade Flaherty sooner rather than later. The reason I would even consider such a thing is because the young pitcher has flipped the script on the concept of roster control.

Flaherty has been vocal about not thinking he makes enough money and about getting every last dollar that’s coming to him. It’s not enough for teams to find and develop amateur talent only to let the players walk away when they reach the market for the first time. Ideally, you get them to give up at least a couple of free agent seasons in exchange for job security. It’s what Albert Pujols, Carlos Martinez and Kolten Wong did.

Until recently, I thought Flaherty’s saber rattling was gamesmanship designed to get him the best deal possible. But he’s so persistent, I’ve grown tired of hearing it. And I’m starting to take him at his word that he’s shooting for the sort of contract that makes it more likely he’ll be a New York Yankee, Los Angeles Angel or — shudder — Chicago Cub in 2024.

Most recently, Flaherty panned the owners’ latest proposal about a shortened 2020 season with a two word reply: “That’s cute.” I don’t see him suddenly getting all sentimental about taking a little less money to play at Busch Stadium.

Simply put, if there is no way that the young righty is going to sign an extension before he hits the open market, the risk of eventually losing him for only draft pick compensation is simply too great. Flaherty is under control through the 2023 season, which not too long ago seemed like a long, long way away. But the 2020 baseball season is either going to be lost or tremendously diminished. It is unknown what 2021 could look like as COVID-19 could easily still be an issue a year from now, especially if it comes back with a stronger second wave in the fall. The magic number for getting maximum trade value out of players headed toward free agency is to sell them while they still have two years left under contract. Otherwise, the risk of an injury or a bad season could wipe out the bounty you’d otherwise get.

Flaherty is the sort of trade chip who could bring back a premium player — and one who was actually interested in playing at Busch Stadium for the long haul. If President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak called up the Colorado Rockies and offered Flaherty as the centerpiece in a trade for Nolan Arenado, wouldn’t his counterpart have to give the opportunity strong consideration? If I was Mozeliak and I could get Arenado to waive his opt out clause, suddenly the dynamics change and you’re looking at several days of service from an everyday player in return for two years of a very, very good pitcher. I’d think if he doesn’t want to sign an extension that the time to start shopping him would be at the end of the 2021 campaign.

All of this being said, I don’t want to see St. Louis trade Flaherty. I’m just starting to believe that it may ultimately be the best way to get the most valuable out of his talent. If Flaherty would agree to a deal in the next year or year and a half that would keep him in St. Louis through 2025 or 2026, I’d be all for it. Flaherty has a rapport with all-time Cardinals great Bob Gibson. I’d love to see him follow in Gibby’s footsteps as a career Cardinal. It’s really up to the player where his future leads.

Scott Wuerz

Belleville News-Democrat

Scott Wuerz has written “Cheap Seats,” a St. Louis Cardinals fan blog for the Belleville News-Democrat, since 2007. He is a former BND reporter who covered breaking news and education.