Flaherty had a heck of a season and it’s nice to see guys resurrecting their career like that. And we got to see it first hand, so that added to it.
Having said that, I can understand why ball clubs might have some reservations to handing him a long term. Those reservations would be on top of giving any pitcher in this day and age a long term deal.
Just think about what a bargain his contract was last season. He signed for $14M. Cobb, Morton, and Verlander signed for $15M this offseason. Nobody expected what he did last season. Heck, there were probably plenty of folks that couldn’t understand the $14M he got, myself probably being one of them.