In recent days, we’ve seen Jason Hammel, Nathan Eovaldi, and now Travis Wood leave the board. But with camps opening around the league, there are still a few notable starters who don’t yet know where to report.
As ever, rotation depth is a key consideration for any organization. Contenders need to ensure they’ll be able to fill up innings with at-least competent pitching, while rebuilding clubs need to protect their younger arms (and also may look to capture some upside by turning a veteran into a trade chip).
Organizations that aren’t quite set in the starting pitching department will likely have some of these names at the tops of their lists. Which do you think is the best bet to turn in a strong 2017 campaign? (Presented in alphabetical order.)
- Jorge De La Rosa — The 35-year-old lefty largely scuffled in 2016, but turned in a solid 4.35 ERA over his nine seasons in the game’s toughest pitching environment, Coors Field.
- Doug Fister — The towering right-hander turned in 164 innings of 2.41 ERA ball as recently as 2014, and showed he was healthy even as he struggled last year.
- Mat Latos — Though he has been markedly disappointing in each of the past two seasons, Latos only just turned 29 and was a top-quality starter for the five preceding campaigns.
- Colby Lewis — Sure, he’s 37 years of age and doesn’t generate many strikeouts, but Lewis did provide 19 starts of 3.71 ERA pitching in 2016.
- Tim Lincecum — An attempted comeback last year fell flat, and it has been a long time since Lincecum flashed his former Cy Young form, but is it too late for the 32-year-old to settle in as a serviceable arm?
- Jon Niese — Though his stint with the Pirates didn’t pan out, the now-30-year-old Niese was deemed a worthwhile bet by the pitching-savvy Bucs and was a solid performer for the better part of the prior eight years.
- Jake Peavy — Another pitcher coming off of a poor season, the 35-year-old Peavy provided the Giants with 189 1/3 innings of sub-3.00 ERA work following his mid-2014 acquisition.
- Jered Weaver — The days of competing for Cy Young awards are surely over, but if Weaver can recover even a bit of his lost velocity, perhaps he can salvage a late-career run beginning with his age-34 season.
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They need to have an all FA team!
Timmy is only 32
What does that have to do with what he said?
Timmy is only 32.
How old is Timmy these days?
Lol go get em, pads
Hahaha cant believe any team is even considering any of these players. Unless they are all coming back as outfielders. Come on MTR why is this even an article?
“I would rather read nothing at all.”
You have a better idea for something that can be written in less than an hour when there’s no news at all worth covering? You can be voluntary assignment editor if you have lotsa good ideas.
I think I addressed in the intro why they would be considered. I’d go so far as to wager that at least one of these guys will throw a large number of important innings in 2017. It’s baseball. The game of Rich Hill and Scott Kazmir.
I’d love to be a voluntary assignment editor haha. I like this article. I’d honestly like to read more stories like this. All these guys could help a contender ( beside Lincy at this point) or a rebuilding team looking to find lighting in a bottle for a July trade. I’m guessing most of these guys end up with MLB deals.
I dont have any issue with this article, but considering its slow for news and that spring training is starting up, would it be possible to revise the commenter suggested “3 remaining needs” articles from earlier this offseason to show how each team attempted to fulfill their most glaring need going into the offseason?
Have to agree that someone here will likely do something meaningful as well. A lot of teams like the buy low bounce back candidate, especially if the AAA talent isn’t quiet there yet.
Whoa whoa whoa, look I don’t care if you make really low level articles about stuff like this, but if you are making stories because you feel you -have- to….that’s not what this reader wants to hear.
We are already living in this weird fake news era, isn’t this need to “create content” part of that? I get it, money, but still, your site is going to get clicks regardless if there’s content or not, you probably have the most-refreshed baseball-related site on the web.
J A Fan:
I think this is a newsworthy article and I liked the listing of available guys.
If this isn’t up to your grand standards, you are still free to go to other sites, or skip the article, or skip adding your 2 cents.
Or start your own site. Your insights would be absolutely fascinating there…..
Thanks for this article, which I chose to click on and read in its entirety. There’s lots of notable names still available and the first guy to pop a UCL this spring is quite likely going to make a job for one of these guys.
What is up with people saying crap like this lately ? You come here for rumors. MLBTR provides. If you don’t like what you read, go somewhere else and keep your useless comments to yourself.
Word. Thought this was the one place people weren’t trolls and where the commenters were generally intelligent and thoughtful, even if I didn’t agree with everything they said.
Been seeing more of this stupid complaining about articles as if someone is forcing them to read them.
MLBTR should block people that make those ridiculous comments
I was going to suggest tracing their IP address and dispatching a drone to blow their house up. That might be a bit extreme but what the heck. It’s a long offseason and I’ll take whatever action I can find.
I think the commenting community is significantly less communal since MLBTR changed its message board vendor. I used to love this website for the content and the commenting community, but now I really only come here for the content. And that’s fine.
Jeff great article. It’s great to know who’s out there left on the board. I clicked on it and so did a bunch of people to read it.
slim pickin’s. who will the pads go after?
It’s going to be another tough year
I voted Fister. What do I win? Set a steak knives?
Not bad options
If u take away his September, Fister was very good last season for Houston, Latos has bounce back potential, Niese was a formidable back ender his entire career before last season and Lewis is quietly a consistent 4-5.
Kinda like asking what your favorite allergic reaction is.
A. Rash B. Vomit C. diarrhea D. Chills & Fever E. Inflammation
Doesn’t matter which wins. None of them are pleasant.
I have the flu right now so I’ll take all of the above
E is my favorite.
If y’all don’t like the article then don’t read it. Especially if you’d rather read “nothing at all.” I don’t know why some people feel the need to comment about how much an article sucks. Move on to the next one, and stop crying about it. It’s not Jeff’s fault that your mommy didn’t love you enough.
Agreed. It’s different if they have constructive criticism on how it’s written…. but if they are just whining that they don’t have an interest in the topic idk wtf they are doing here.
Hey now….his mother didn’t change his diapers for 23 years just so MLBTR could bore him with an article about mediocre free agent pitchers, OK?
Let’s go people, chop, chop….time to entertain the Little Prince.
Ha! Right on.
Spoiled brats
I was by no means complaining about the article. I’m just saying that there is not much left out there. Get a sense of humor, folks. (hopefully you weren’t referring to my comment)
Clarity is good. Prevents misinterpretation.
Does De La Rosa have a decent ERA away from Coors or is it worse? Just wondering.
His home/away ERA is almost the same for his full career, although he played for two other teams before the Rockies.
I think some of these guys have value. De La Rosa, Lewis, Fister and maybe even Niese. Look around at the leagues 5th spot.
These pitchers are only worth signing for batting practice
With career FIP, for those interested:
Jorge De La Rosa – 4.43
Doug Fister – 3.78
Mat Latos – 3.56
Colby Lewis – 4.47
Tim Lincecum – 3.45
Jon Niese – 4.02
Jake Peavy – 3.65
Jered Weaver – 3.99
Weaver should retire while his career ERA is under 4. Surprisingly, I would take Lewis for reliable innings over the rest, even though his is the highest career ERA. I think he can maintain or best his career ERA, while I see all the rest doing worse than Lewis’ number, and way worse than their own.
Considering Lincecum, Latos, and Peavy probably won’t top 100 innings, I count them out. I can’t see Weaver being incredibly effective given that there are highway speed limits at higher mph than his fastball. Niese looks to be on his way to becoming a reliever. JDLR would seem like the pick, but oddly enough Coors doesn’t seem to make him worse. Fister’s ballooned WHIP in the last two seasons concerns me so I’d go with Colby Lewis. He seems the best bet to not only pitch 150+ innings but provide a serviceable ERA. His ERA is 7/10 of a run better away from home and he could benefit from the NL.
I would say Latos because he’s the youngest. Obviously, there are no sure bets here so I bet on youth. I think if the Rangers thought there was anything left in Colby’s tank, they would resign him.
I went with Lewis also
Me too
Fister seems far and away the best choice, imo. Latos and Peavy have slightly higher ceilingsl, but are also nightmares in the clubhouse, so only a desperate team would want to hope for a rebound from those toxic personalities.
I’d bet on Neise coming from nowhere on a bad team like the Padres though.
lol How is Peavy a nightmare in the clubhouse?? I’ve followed the guy his entire career and have never heard one thing other than him being a fiery competitor. He won back to back world series in the 13-14 with the Sox and then the Giants, and he definitely wouldn’t be on a team like the Giants if he was a negative in the clubhouse.
The way he went off on Pagan last year showed a lack of maturity.
Playing on a good team reflects absolutely nothing. AJ Pierzinski has a ring. Curt Schilling has rings
blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2016/06/29/jake-peavy…
I agree with Stryk3.
just another fan, where’d u come up with “nightmare in the clubhouse”? Never heard that for either one of those guys, but I know that Peavers was great in the SF clubhouse. U don’t stay on that team for long if you’re not.
Do u have an article to reference on the sub J.A.F.? Just wondering if there’s something I haven’t seen/heard
I’m just saying a team like the Giants isn’t going to put up with clubhouse cancer. Bumgarner’s somewhat over the top antics being the exception
Jeff I appreciate what you do please don’t take offense to what I said but its like asking whos your favorite bullpen catcher. It dosent matter. If all of these pitchers were in the minor leagues and had to prove themselves they wouldnt have a shot to make it to the bigs . Teams are basing there value on what they have done in the past. It is a long shot to see any production from any of these players
I’m not offended, just responding. It’s not my favorite thing to be writing, either. It’s just a poll with a little blurb on each guy, just for kicks.
But I do think you’re selling this group a bit short. Some will still get guaranteed money, I think, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see every single one of these guys pitching in the big leagues next year. It is based on what they’ve done in the past, true, but in the sense that teams may feel added comfort that they know how to pitch beyond their stuff, not in the sense of an expectation of a repeat performance.
A couple of these guys might very well be able to contribute–maybe even to a Jason Hammel’s-like year where they have some early success but wear down later. I liked the piece.
Thanks Jeff. I enjoyed the post and I clicked on this page this morning with the realization that I could choose to read this or simply move on if I didn’t want to read about the Doug Fisters of the world. Maybe some other people would prefer articles on Charles Oakley, LeBron, and Beyoncé, but any baseball article to me is one worth reading.
“We have so many good pitchers already! We’re going to have to release at least 3-4 by the start of the season” …..said no MLB manager in history. Virtually every team wants more pitching help somewhere and right now, teams are having to do some dumpster diving to look for some arms to either round out the staff or put into AAA to add some depth for when injuries/failures happen. They’re not going to find any 1-2-3-4 starters or stoppers or setup people here—but you might strike gold on a #5 starter or long guy. (and gold doesn’t mean a 20 game winner who throws 220 innings. More like a guy who can give you 8-10 wins, keeps you in 14 games and gives you 150 innings at a low price) BTW, count me as a guy who appreciates this thread. THIS IS A PLACE TO TALK REAL BASEBALL! This is part of it….not just debating who is better: Harper or Trout! Thank you, Jeff.
If it doesn’t interest you, then why even click on the article and comment?
blue jays should sign some of these worthless peices of junk for starting pitching depth to a minor league contract
IMO Niese could be had on a minor league or crazy cheap MLB deal.. like one year 2M deal. If so the Pirates might want to look at him again.. BUT… that bridge is probably burnt and the fans would burn the front office down lol. Then theres the fact he might not be a starter any more. when moved to the pen he seemed to do better.. but the pirates already have too many lefties in the pen.
Del Rosa would be a great pick up for the pirates on 1 year deal maybe an option at 5-6M/year area with some IP incentives or something. They get a lefty starter for the back end but he only went 180 innings once in recent years. Could be a nice stop gap to develop brault or to pick up another lefty somewhere..
I very much doubt that the Pirates would touch Niese with a ten foot pole.
Jake Peavy would be a decent fifth starter and could help mentor all the young pitchers. Mat Latos wouldn’t be too bad either.
Yeah i agree, but they probably should if they can get him that cheap…
IMO: Pirates shouldn’t sign anyone for a significant amount unless they’re a lefty.
Your right Jeff some will pitch in the bigs there’s always a place for experience and leadership. I just can’t imagine a guy like Weaver coming back and having amy real success. As an Angel fan I got to see Weaver, The Freak, and Latos the last few years and there is really nothing left there with any of them. Just an 82 mph fast ball with no movement. They go a long way when it leaves the pitchers hand
If I was just looking for a decent fifth starter I would try Jake Peavy & Mat Latos first. With Colby Lewis and Doug Fister next as runners up. I agree with the other poster that Lewis (and all of these pitchers just the same) would benefit from being in the NL.
I think I’d take Fister first out of the list. But, lots of options still. The list is full of guys that wouldn’t surprise you in the least if they stayed healthy and put up a solid bargain season.
Latos
I think that MLBTR staff should be required to obtain approval from a panel of seven complaining dimwit commenters before posting a new article. The panel could be titled the “why iz this a article hahahahahaha” Committee.
Jd396 your mom just called she wants her phone back please give it back to her
Ouch, that one stings
Someone took it personally….
At this point Weaver only has two pitches: a change up and a gravity curve. Stick a fork in him.
I’d like to see the Nats sign one of these guys for depth after depleting it for Eaton.
I thought the Royals might go after Doug Fister. I think Colby Lewis is worth taking a chance on too. The rest performed terribly last season.
Well which one of these will the Cards pick up with Reyes headed for TJ surgery.