During the Cleveland Guardians’ run to the American League Championship Series, the Detroit Tigers were always getting in the way.

The regular season saw Detroit unleash the two-headed monster of Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty at the Guardians.

Cleveland seemed to have an especially hard time with Flaherty, so it was great news when Detroit traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Flaherty finished with a combined 13-7 record, a 3.17 ERA, and 194 strikeouts.

After winning a World Series in LA, Flaherty re-signed with Detroit yesterday for two years and $35 million.

IS THIS A PROBLEM?

Detroit has to be considered Cleveland’s toughest challenger in defense of its AL Central Division championship.

Even though the Tigers seemed to throw in the towel when they traded Flaherty and outfielder Mark Canha at the deadline, they somehow got a lot better and made the playoffs.

In fact, the Tigers threw a major scare into the Guardians before Cleveland managed to put them away and move on to face the New York Yankees in the ALCS.

Detroit needed to bring Flaherty back. The Tigers’ rotation was so depleted at the end of the season that they often pitched a “bullpen game,” which is not sustainable.

CLEVELAND’S STRATEGY

Consistency was one of the best things about the Guardians last year. They went most of the season without a four-game losing streak.

This season will present new challenges with second baseman Andres Gimenez in Toronto and Josh Naylor in Arizona.

Carlos Santana is back (yet again) to play first, while Juan Brito and others will compete for the second base job.

Cleveland’s best strategy is to stay in contention for the first half of the season.

While most contenders will look to make a trade in July, the Guardians will welcome back All-Stars David Fry and Shane Bieber from the injured list.

If Cleveland’s bullpen can remain as dominant as it was last year, the Guardians should be able to compete – even with Flaherty back in the Tigers’ den.