Headlines

  • Dipoto: Mariners Interested In Re-Signing Josh Naylor
  • Anthony Volpe Playing Through Partial Labrum Tear
  • Orioles Promoted Mike Elias Prior To 2025 Season
  • Anthony Rizzo Retires
  • Cubs Place Kyle Tucker On Injured List
  • Blue Jays Place Bo Bichette On Injured List
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Eric O’Flaherty Choosing Between Four Teams

By Steve Adams | February 8, 2016 at 2:19pm CDT

Free-agent left-hander Eric O’Flaherty has narrowed his list of possible teams down to four and is “should sign a deal by the weekend,” reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). The MVP Sports client recently threw for more than 15 Major League clubs.

O’Flaherty, who turned 31 on Friday, struggled through the worst season of his career in 2015, yielding 27 earned runs in 30 innings in his first full season back from 2013 Tommy John surgery. Those ugly results notwithstanding, O’Flaherty has an excellent track record as a setup man, having served as one of the Braves’ most reliable bullpen arms from 2009-13 before his injury. In that stretch, the left-hander turned in a 1.99 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 58.3 percent ground-ball rate across 249 1/3 innings. O’Flaherty was more than a lefty specialist during his Atlanta peak, as well, holding right-handers to a .247/.334/.335 batting line while stifling lefties (.188/.243/.255).

While O’Flaherty’s 2015 ERA is clearly discouraging, it should also be noted that the velocity on his sinker increased over the course of the season, and his 58.3 percent ground-ball rate was an exact match with his ground-ball rate from his best years with the Braves. Clearly, O’Flaherty will have to re-establish his once-solid control if he is to recreate the success that he once enjoyed, though. The 18 walks he issued in 2015 were just three shy of the single-season high he logged in that aforementioned stretch of five years.

In addition to O’Flaherty, teams seeking left-handed relief help have a number of options at this late stage in the offseason, including Neal Cotts, Franklin Morales and Matt Thornton.

Share 11 Retweet 13 Send via email0

Uncategorized Eric O'Flaherty

Delmon Young Facing Battery Charge After Miami Arrest
Main
Diamondbacks Close To Deal With Tyler Clippard
View Comments (9)
Post a Comment

9 Comments

  1. rangers1074884

    10 years ago

    Which 4 team

    I think rangers are one of them

    Reply
    • AidanVega123

      10 years ago

      Agreed.

      Reply
  2. bustercherrie1

    10 years ago

    Mariners to add to the pile. You heard it here first folks

    Reply
    • ethanhickey

      10 years ago

      I believe that. He fits the bounce back candidate status Dipoto so much desires. But this increases difficulty for Montgomery to fit in the pen.

      Reply
  3. gorav114

    10 years ago

    Local reports say the Os are one of the teams. It always takes at least a year to really recover so I think 2015 is not a true barometer of his ability. He makes sense for a lot of teams but my bet is on the Orioles or Mariners.

    Reply
  4. Aaron Sapoznik

    10 years ago

    Perhaps a homecoming is in order for Eric O’Flaherty who was born and raised in Washington state and began his professional career with the Seattle Mariners organization.

    Reply
  5. longjohnsilver

    10 years ago

    Wonder if the Pirate’s are in the mix. Their type of pitcher.

    Reply
  6. bravesfan88

    10 years ago

    It would definitely be nice for the Braves to sign E.O’F again. Their organization, and specifically Roger McDowell and Eddie Perez worked wonders for him, his first go around.

    Before his time in Atlanta, O’Flaherty was basically nothing more than a lefty cast-off from the Mariners organization. Once McDowell and Perez got their collective hands on him, he truly flourished and learned how to harness his pitches with excellent command.

    Every pitcher who has gone through an arm surgery like his, will tell you it takes time and alot of practice to regain the true feel of your pitches and especially to regain your command!!

    Velocity was not the issue for E.O’F last season, he just simply was unable to really get his command back on track. I have no doubt that O’Flaherty will bounce back this year, and personally I would love to see him do it in a Braves uniform…

    Although, with that being said, I am sure there are teams calling for his services that are in a much better position to compete for a title, and you definitely could not blame Eric for choosing a more competitive ball club over the Braves.

    Reply
  7. ryancbar

    10 years ago

    Red Sox?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Dipoto: Mariners Interested In Re-Signing Josh Naylor

    Anthony Volpe Playing Through Partial Labrum Tear

    Orioles Promoted Mike Elias Prior To 2025 Season

    Anthony Rizzo Retires

    Cubs Place Kyle Tucker On Injured List

    Blue Jays Place Bo Bichette On Injured List

    Phillies Place Trea Turner, Alec Bohm On Injured List

    Sean Murphy To Undergo Hip Surgery

    Trea Turner To Undergo MRI Due To Hamstring Strain

    Davey Johnson Passes Away

    Mets Option Kodai Senga

    NPB’s Kazuma Okamoto, Tatsuya Imai Expected To Be Posted For MLB Teams

    Shelby Miller Likely Headed For Tommy John Surgery

    Red Sox To Place Roman Anthony On Injured List

    Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Diagnosed With Torn ACL

    Braves Claim Ha-Seong Kim From Rays

    Jason Adam Likely Headed For Season-Ending Quad Surgery

    Mariners Promote Harry Ford, Release Donovan Solano

    Phillies Sign Walker Buehler To Minors Contract

    Red Sox Extend Aroldis Chapman

    Recent

    MLBTR Podcast: Talking Mariners With Jerry Dipoto

    Dipoto: Mariners Interested In Re-Signing Josh Naylor

    Tarik Skubal Departs Game Due To Side Tightness

    Twins Outright Brooks Kriske

    Mariners Designate José Castillo For Assignment

    Pirates Reinstate Justin Lawrence From 60-Day IL

    Tigers Reinstate José Urquidy From 60-Day IL

    Astros Place Lance McCullers Jr. On Injured List

    David Festa Dealing With Compressed Nerve Injury

    Matt Chapman Successfully Appeals Suspension

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Every MLB Trade In July
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version