Pitchers and catchers are due to report in about three weeks, and by now all of the high-end free agents have come off the board. Heck, even second tier options have signed by now. That leaves just reclamation-type projects and players with considerable flaws, especially when it comes to pitching.
As MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows, starters like Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Bonderman, Freddy Garcia, Doug Davis, Rodrigo Lopez, Todd Wellemeyer and Brian Moehler remain unsigned. Andy Pettitte is clearly the best of the unsigned bunch, but it's the Yankees or retirement for him, and right now it looks like the latter is winning out. Neither Pedro Martinez, Braden Looper, or Jarrod Washburn have appeared in a big league game in over a year. John Maine, Justin Duchscherer and Jamie Moyer are coming off injuries, Tommy John surgery in Moyer's case.
There are still a number of teams looking for rotation help, including the Yankees, Orioles, Nationals, Pirates and Indians. Which of those unsigned starters represents the best option?
Where’s the none of the above?
Do what I do every election day. Don’t vote.
What, you don’t like Wellemeyer???
lol
I think J.D. Martin is the best available.
How about “Least Crappy Remaining Free Agent Starting Pitcher?”
Pettitte may return… & as of now… it’s tough for me to choose any of these guys as “best” of anything
VOTE FOR ROLO!
What % of people voting for Millwood, Bonderman or Garcia didn’t go down the list to read Duchscherer?
Duchsherer is the best in terms of upside, but I would pick Millwood as the one most likely to contribute a significant number of decent innings.
Couldn’t agree more. And if I ran a team that was in desperate need of pitching, I would probably be after both of those guys. I doubt it would cost more than $3 million guaranteed.
Millwood is likely to be one who has a hard time getting out of the first inning.
i just threw up in my mouth a little bit
There’s medication for that.
Brian Moehler? Really? How in the world could anyone possibly think he’s better than any of these guys?
and yet, he got 20 votes!
Brian must have made 20 of his own accounts to repeatedly vote for himself!
He could help out a young rotation by teaching them how to hide substances in their glove to alter the ball.
Why would anyone want any of these starters?
Dave Bush’s name should be in there. At least he was starting consistently. Starting, not pitching well every time, but starting at the very least.
Bush is a good back-of-rotation guy – not a star, but he gets on good runs here and there. I liked him in Milwaukee.
It’s astounding how Bush is not on this list. He’s certainly better than half the names on it.
I was about to write the same thing. David Bush is an innings-eater who posted an ERA of 4.54 last season.
It’s nice to see I’m not the only person who still believes in Justin Duchscherer. Any team still in need of starting pitching would be crazy not to offer him $1 million, or so, plus incentives. So much upside! The health concerns go without saying, but when he’s out there, he is always really good.
Personally, I believe in Harvey Dent.
Very rarely does he actually pitch a game 😉
He has been an All Star as both a reliever and starter, so he should be able to contribute somewhere.
kenny williams should be calling this guy. He has experience starting and in the pen…in other words the perfect guy for the sox right now..leavin sale as the closer and justin can start untill peavy comes back and then move to the pen
Who the hell voted for Wellemeyer?
Wellemeyer?
Im not sure why he is even on the list.
how serious is John Maine’s injury?
Fatal – ’cause all his biggest problems are in his head.
Remember, he’s a “habitual liar” when it comes to his health.
Dave Bush is better than Millwood and Lopez… As much upside as Duchsherer in that both these guys can have dominant performances from time to time. I think both of them would benefit from having a veteran pitching coach and/or manager.
They could all help the Yankees starting rotation out!
not really.
You mean “help” the Yankees starting rotation out [thereby helping the Jays in the process – yes?!]. I like it!! 🙂
All scrubs, bad vote for any of them. Why isn’t there “none” category???
Garcia , Lopez, and Dave Bush could help a 70 win team reach 90.
freddy garcia was actually by the number one of the top 5 5th starts in the entire league last year and will likely find his way back to his brother in laws team the whitesox as the 5th untill peavy comes back and either traded or sit on the bench and the “emergency starter” in other words once peavy comes back freddy will just hang out and be another pitching coach
So let me see… If I had to pick one of these turds it would be hard.
*Millwood the AL loss leader, in fairness he can eat innings, but his ERA will be in the neighborhood of 5+.
*Bonderman has not pitched effectively in nearly two and half seasons. This kid’s talent has never been questioned, but his skill set at this time is marginal at best. He may be hanging out with Gil Meche sooner than later.
*Garcia has pitched as expected the past few years. And you can expect him to be a solid #4 or #5. He is what he is and doesn’t have much upside.
*Doug Davis is left handed and the league knows it. He has gotten hit hard over the past year and half. Holds runners well, but he can’t stay healthy. And when he is healthy, he loses more often than not.
* Rodrigo Lopez is not an option for many teams who are looking for good pitching. I know Arizona is a cracker jack box, but to get that hard by those teams in the light hitting NL West is troubling.
*Todd Wellenmeyer is the luckiest guy in the bigs over the past few years. He has been on some of the more dominant staffs in all of baseball. Unfortunately, he didn’t’ contribute much to those staffs. He is a #5 at best.
*Brian Moehler is a starting pitcher in MLB? Is he? Cause if you look at his numbers he isn’t a very good one. Too old. Too high ERA.
*John Maine is 29 but does he still have that desire to be great. He has a great frame and all the pitches to get hitters out consistently. He is worthy of this list.
*Justin Duchscherer is a two time all-star and has had success in each role. However this past season, there were rumors of Suicide and Social Anxiety issues. Give him credit he notified the A’s and ask for help. But he might be more like Bill Lee than we want to believe. If happy and healthy. . . Who wouldn’t want an All-Star Pitcher with closer, setup and starter experience?
Dave Bush, JD Martin, and even Bruce Chen are worthy of this list.
But the best pitcher available is Justin Duscherer. He may need some extra attention, but so did Josh Hamilton. Hire a “spiritual” advisor or whatever and you may get a big return on a small investment. TEXAS or OAKLAND are likely destinations.
so
many
words
Bruce Chen reportedly re-signed with the Kansas City Royals:
twitter.com/SI_JonHeyman/status/26416592065667072
O’s need to move Pie or reimold and tillman for lowe and schafer then sign Vlad and Duchscherer.
C- Wieters
1B- Lee
2B- Roberts
SS- Hardy
3B- Reynolds
LF- Scott
CF- Jones
RF- Markakis
DH- Vlad
Duchscherer
Lowe
Matusz
Guthrie
Arrieta
Bergesen – your 6th starter or when or if Duchscherer goes down he is your 5th starter.
Put Schafer in AAA to make sure he is healthy and if he is bring him up and he backs up the whole OF. Platoon Reimold with Scott in LF (assuming the Braves would want Pie due to him filling the CF void they have) Dont know about you but I think that team looks pretty good!!
Or move Bergesen instead of Tillman. Bergesen is father along than Tillman as is Pie than Schafer. Bergesen is one year removed from a 7-5 3.43 ERA in 2009 in the AL East. Think he would fit in behind Hudson,Hanson, Jurrjens as a good #4 and you get the upgrade at CF you are lookikng for. Lets face it McLouth SUCKS and Pie I think has a higher ceiling and is farther along than Schafer plus I think this would save the Braves some money and give the O’s the kind of P they are looking for.
What are you smoking? The Braves would never make this deal.
If it came to voting for best presentation of a legendary delivery with minor league results, it goes to Rodrigo Lopez for his stunning portrayal of Greg Maddux.
I’d like to see the Braves sign Justin Duchscherer if he comes cheap enough. We may need to move KK first though, then hopefully trade Lowe before the season starts. We could also consider adding another pitcher on the cheap if Lowe is moved. Though we have good depth including Minor, Beachy, etc.
I say we keep Lowe. He was great down the stretch and we won’t have Medlen this year.
vernon wells
If these guys were arbitration eligible and younger they’d be banking 5million or more. The young players get paid a heck of a lot more than these guys even if they are no good. Guys like Guthrie in Baltimore.
i think people are really sleeping on todd wellemeyer…he my boy!
You guys are morons its all about brian moehler!!!!!
I remember watching him pitch for the tigers as a kid when he got caught with sandpaper or something in his glove.