He Los Angeles Dodgers are on the cusp of a World Series victory, meaning Jack Flaherty will finish the season as world champion. After his disastrous postseason run with Baltimore a year ago, this has to feel especially good for Flaherty. The work is not finished yet, but the New York Yankees They appear dead in the water. It would take a minor miracle for the Dodgers to lose their 3-0 lead.

Flaherty has been impressive in October, helping the Dodgers maintain excellence without Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershew or Bobby Miller in the postseason rotation. Los Angeles’ ability to persevere through so many injuries to the pitching staff is remarkable, and is a major credit to the work Flaherty has done since landing with his hometown team at the trade deadline.

These last two years have been quite hectic for Flaherty. The 2023 campaign began in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform, only to end up with Baltimore at the trade deadline. Then, 2024 began with the Detroit Tigersbefore being treated again on the deadline. This time Flaherty landed with the Dodgers, the team he grew up rooting for. It’s been a special race, one that clearly means a lot to Flaherty personally.

That said, his performance this October could cost him a new contract with the Dodgers, especially if Los Angeles focuses its resources on more established aceslike Max Fried or Blake Snell. The Dodgers were also recently connected for Juan Soto, so Flaherty does not feel like an absolute priority.

He could use this free agency period to get some long-in-the-making revenge on St. Louis. The Cardinals clearly missed Flaherty after the initial trade, and as if winning a World Series in Dodger blue wasn’t revenge enough, there’s a good chance he ends up in a unique position to torment the Cardinals in the future.

Here are some realistic landing spots that St. Louis fans (and Dodger fans, for that matter) will root for.

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He Cincinnati Reds He finished last season eight games under .500 in an extremely competitive NL Central. That’s six games behind the second-place Cardinals, who appear committed to a slow, patient rebuild going forward. The Reds are not committed to such a plan, instead promising to take the next step with a new coach.

Cincy brought Terry Francona out of retirement in one of the offseason games. most impressive developments. The two-time World Series champion and three-time Manager of the Year will have a pretty clear directive in Cincinnati: take this young, upstart group into October. There is no reason to believe that you can’t or won’t achieve it.

This Reds roster is pretty impressive. Sure, he needs a little more stability, but that’s what free agency is for. Take, for example, the rotation, where Flaherty would join a group that already includes Cy Young candidate Hunter Greene and the highly intriguing 22-year-old Rhett Lowder. Cincinnati was hit by injuries to the pitching staff last season, but return that group to full strength, add Jack Flaherty, and suddenly the Reds stack up pretty well with a winnable division.

Elly De La Cruz is a year or two away from receiving legitimate MVP votes, in any case. This Reds team is trending upward, in the opposite direction of St. Louis. If Flaherty can bring his world experience and newfound postseason confidence to the Reds’ rotation, that’s a recipe for success.

He Milwaukee Brewers They made the playoffs with home field advantage, but couldn’t field enough quality pitching when it mattered most. that explosive New York Mets The offense put Milwaukee in an early grave, once again raising questions about the postseason viability of this Brewers core.

Trading Corbin Burnes certainly didn’t help, but the Brewers aren’t in the habit of walking away from $200 million-plus contracts. Now Willy Adames is threatening to leave, meaning Milwaukee’s hold on top of the NL Central teeters rather precariously on the brink. There’s room for Chicago, Cincinnati, and even an unsuspecting St. Louis or Pittsburgh to break through. That is, unless the Brewers operate with the aggressiveness necessary to build this roster.

Flaherty would give the Brewers a viable front-line ace to lead the rotation. Freddy Peralta, Frankie Montas and Colin Rea are free agents, so the Brewers will need to work overtime to rebuild this rotation or introduce a new unit. Regardless of which path the front office ultimately takes, paying the extra money to hire Flaherty would give Milwaukee some much-needed stability.

This move also helps the Brewers on multiple fronts, keeping Flaherty away from other National League contenders such as the Mets or Dodgers. Milwaukee should continue to operate as the preseason favorite to win the division, which means planning ahead into October.

He Chicago Cubs They are looking to move up after consecutive 83-win seasons. Craig Counsell has said he expects more from this group, which is interpreted as a direct challenge to Jed Hoyer and the front office. Chicago is never going to break the bank relative to other top market contenders, but the Cubs have enough resources to build and significantly improve this roster.

The Cubs face several lingering questions this offseason. What’s up with Cody Bellinger and his opt-out? And, by extension, how will Hoyer handle the situation? An avalanche of free agency is coming? The Cubs general manager has made it clear that he is building with the future in mind, but that shouldn’t stop Chicago from seeking immediate improvements to its roster.

The pitching staff was a relative bright spot for the Cubs last season, at least in the starting rotation. That said, Javier Assad’s production slowed late in the season and Kyle Hendricks is destined for a new home after more than a decade at Wrigley Field. The Cubs would benefit from a suitable third ace to headline the rotation alongside Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga. Flaherty would give Chicago postseason experience and potentially the small boost needed to make it to October.

Obviously, the Cardinals hope Flaherty lands somewhere outside the division, ideally away from the Dodgers as well. However, with so much positive momentum building around the NL Central, don’t be surprised if Flaherty ends up on the opposite end of a heated rivalry with the Cardinals in a few months.