Former Cardinal's social media activity shows openness to return to St. Louis

Former Cardinal Jack Flaherty is one of the top rental rotation arms available at the trade deadline. It's clear that the Cardinals will be buyers this year, while the Tigers will be sellers. The Cardinals are in desperate need of a higher-end rotation arm if they want a chance to compete for a World Series title.

Flaherty had a strong first half of the season, going 6-5 with a 3.13 ERA. He's also been striking batters out at a high clip, and he appears to be back to his old self, the one that we saw in the second half of the 2019 season. Back then, Flaherty was the clear ace of the Cardinals staff.

Interestingly enough, Brandon Kiley of 101 ESPN created a poll asking if fans would be willing to give up Thomas Saggese for Flaherty at the deadline. Certain fans commented that Flaherty wouldn't want to come back, but when another fan pushed back on that notion, Flaherty liked his tweet (linked here is the Facebook post made by Ryan Shipley proving Flaherty liked the tweet below).

Jack Flaherty's Twitter activity shows he may be interested in returning to Cardinals

Let's get one thing out of the way real quick. Flaherty never said he didn't enjoy being in St. Louis. In fact, he had a very close relationship with Bob Gibson and learned a ton from the Cardinals legend. He was also close with Adam Wainwright.

The Cardinals don't appear likely to pursue somebody like Nathan Eovaldi or Max Scherzer at the deadline, which would make Flaherty their best bet if they want a No. 2 starter to go with Sonny Gray. With JJ Wetherholt being drafted, it's very possible that Saggese could become expendable, and personally, I think this would be a good deal for the Cardinals.

Keep in mind that Flaherty is strictly a rental and shouldn't cost too much. I know there will be some Cardinals fans who don't think this is enough, and I understand that. But if John Mozeliak isn't going to go big for Eovaldi or Scherzer, this could be the next best thing.

I've been saying it for a while. No, this wouldn't put the Cardinals at World Series contender status, but they would have a chance to at least win a playoff series or two. Flaherty could profile similarly to Pablo Lopez last year for the Twins. Lopez and Gray helped the Twins take down the Blue Jays before advancing to the ALDS.

But the fact that Flaherty liked this fan's comment shows that he did indeed enjoy being a Cardinal and may be willing to come back. He'd give the Cardinals a big boost as a legitimate No. 2 starter, and it's something I'd like to see happen.