Flaherty, the Dodgers’ Game 1 starter, was almost a Yankee

LOS ANGELES — As fate would have it, the Yankees’ first World Series opponent will be the pitcher they tried to sign over the summer: Jack Flaherty.

The Dodgers will face right-hander Flaherty in the opener on Friday at Dodger Stadium. He will take the mound opposite Gerrit Cole.

However, in a slightly different version of events, it could have been Flaherty in the visitors’ dugout after months of wearing pinstripes. The Yankees pursued him at the trade deadline, and general manager Brian Cashman worked with the Tigers “all the way to the end,” he said at the time.

Instead, the Dodgers acquired Flaherty from Detroit (for two players, including, coincidentally, retainer Trey Sweeney, the Yankees’ former first-round draft pick).

It all ended well for Flaherty, a Los Angeles native, who suited up for his boyhood band. But…

“Things turned out the way they did. We are here, we are from Los Angeles,” Flaherty said Tuesday during a video news conference at Dodger Stadium. “It’s crazy to think I could have been on the other side of it all. But I’m happy with the situation I’m in, being a part of this team and the guys we have, the streak we’ve been able to continue and what’s still ahead of us.”

According to a report at the time by The Athletic, the Yankees opted out of a potential contract with Flaherty in July due to concerns about his lower back. Cashman declined to comment on the matter, stating only that the Yankees and Tigers “had difficulty matching” Flaherty’s value in a trade.

Cashman ultimately didn’t add to the Yankees’ rotation at all

“Jack Flaherty is an exceptional starter,” Cashman said on July 31. “I would certainly love to have him as a pick for us, as well as anyone else who could potentially move up in our rotation. All I can say is that unfortunately there are many different reports. Ultimately, I would have brought in Jack Flaherty if I could have matched, and I had a hard time matching. That was the reason I didn’t have it. It’s simple.

Flaherty became an important part of the Dodgers’ injury-ravaged pitching staff, posting a 3.58 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 10 starts – not as effective as he was with the Tigers, but still solid.

He delivered an inconsistent performance in the National League Championship Series against the Mets. In the first game, Flaherty observed a gem, seven scoreless innings. In Game 5, they smoked him for eight runs in three innings. His speed has dropped overall for reasons he described as permanent; manager Dave Roberts mentioned after the game that Flaherty was not in good weather.

“I was close to getting out of that situation many times,” Flaherty said of the five-round third round that doomed Los Angeles for the day. “The game sped up this round. . . It was right there.”

Roberts said right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Yankees’ top target last offseason, will start the second game on Saturday. This means Flaherty and Yamamoto will return in Game 5 and Game 6, respectively.

Walker Buehler is also available. Along the way, the Dodgers will have to take part in a reliever-only bullpen.

The key against the Yankees, Flaherty said, is to “treat every hitter the same,” even if Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton seem the scariest.

“They have some guys who have been studs for a really long time,” he said. “They’re really damn good. There is nothing more to it. It’s just going to be an amazing fight.”

Freddie is recovering

Before the first game, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman will have six days off in a row. It’s a stretch he called “very valuable” as he tries to play after a right ankle sprain he suffered in late September.

He missed two NLCS games, including the decisive Game 6, but said he intended to play in the opening game of the Fall Classic. The Dodgers expect his status to continue to fluctuate.

As it stands, he needs four hours of treatment a day to get ready to play. The goal, he said, is “to calm this situation down as much as possible.”

“Any day that I can get up and not run and just treat it is huge,” Freeman said Tuesday. “With all the injuries, time and healing, and time away from the initial injury, it will always get better. We’re trying to get to a place where we’re ready for Friday.”

Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the Northeast.