While the overall free-agent market continues to lag, relievers have moved freely thus far. And that hasn’t been the result of settling for lesser contracts, either. As a group, in fact, those relievers that ranked among MLBTR’s top 50 free agents have signed for nearly exactly the projected amount of guaranteed money. And a handful of other relievers (some of whom were listed by MLBTR as honorable mentions) have also scored significant contracts.
Take a look (link for app users; results compiled utilizing MLBTR’s 2017-18 free agent tracker):
(Yes, Minor is likely slated for rotation work with the Rangers, but he spent 2017 as a reliever and was pursued by many organizations in that capacity. Click here to view all the relievers that have signed thus far.)
Quite a few matches have obviously been made already, but some yet remain. Notably, the trade market has been rather quiet with regard to relievers. The biggest names to move are players such as Jim Johnson and Thyago Vieira. That leaves a host of significant potential trade targets.
Still, many organizations will first consider the possibility of obtaining a needed arm for the cost of cash alone. Teams venturing back onto the open market for relievers will find a depleted stock, but still some possibility of finding impact, depth, or both. You can scroll through all of the relievers still available in free agency, but we’ll run through some of the most notable names below …
Premium Relievers
Two of the three top pen men are still available. Former Royals and Rockies closer Greg Holland, who MLBTR predicted would earn $50MM over four years, is certainly the biggest name left. After seeing his former teammate, Wade Davis, settle for three years (albeit at a record AAV), it seems reasonable to downgrade expectations a bit for Holland, though there’s no reason to think he won’t cash in.
Likewise, the much younger Addison Reed is still available. He has succeeded as a closer and setup man in recent years, with impeccable control and recent health. We guessed he’d secure a fourth guaranteed season and earn a total $36MM contract, though it’s arguable he could yet be worthy of more (or that he’d need to settle for less).
Either of those two pitchers would represent major additions for teams looking to shore up their late-inning units. But they aren’t the only useful relievers left …
Quality Performers
Just one top fifty free agent, lefty Tony Watson, remains unsigned. That’s rather remarkable, really, given the dearth of signings for players at other positions. In any event, Watson ought to draw strong interest. He has ample late-game experience, including as a closer, and turned in twenty strong frames with the Dodgers after a mid-season trade. MLBTR predicted a two-year, $12MM deal.
Otherwise, the top remaining lefty is Brian Duensing, who rewarded the Cubs’ faith in him with 62 1/3 innings of 2.74 ERA pitching. Notably, Duensing was about as effective when pitching with and without the platoon advantage in 2017, though that hasn’t been the case over the duration of his career. It doesn’t help his cause that he’s nearing his 35th birthday, though Duensing ought to do well on a one or two-year deal.
On the right-handed side, former closers Sergio Romo and Koji Uehara both showed signs of life in 2017. The former was lights-out after a mid-season trade, allowing just five earned runs in his 30 2/3 innings (over 25 appearances) with the Rays. And though Uehara posted the second-worst ERA of his career (3.98) and is already 42 years of age, he also averaged 10.5 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. Both of these hurlers maintained swinging-strike rates in the range of fifteen percent. Of course, Uehara’s future is unclear, particularly given that he missed time late in the year with a neck issue.
Meanwhile, one of the game’s best relievers in terms of results was Matt Albers. Soon to turn 35, Albers recorded a 1.62 ERA over 61 stunning innings. He benefited from some good fortune, to be sure, but his peripherals (including 9.3 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and a 51.0% groundball rate) also gave evidence of a quality performance. Likewise, 32-year-old David Hernandez produced all year long, ending the season with 55 frames of 3.11 ERA ball and 8.5 K/9 against 1.5 BB/9. Neither of these two pitchers is likely to clean up in free agency, but both seem likely to draw interest from contenders as middle relievers and stood out somewhat from some of the others covered below.
Some of the Best of the Rest
There’s quite an arbitrary dividing line between some of the names just listed and some of those yet to come (not to mention those not listed at all), but we had to draw them somewhere. Here are a few of the other notable hurlers who have also yet to sign (by handedness and alphabetical order):
Righties
- Matt Belisle – He was quite good after a miserable start and ended the year with a 4.03 ERA in 60 1/3 innings.
- Tyler Clippard – Clipp is still getting swings and misses like he did in his prime, but his flyball heavy approach has yielded an increasing number of long balls in the past two seasons and he struggled with the free pass in 2017.
- Seung-hwan Oh – His sophomore MLB season fell far shy of his debut effort, with only a 4.10 ERA through 59 1/3 innings, but the veteran Korean hurler still generated a 12.9% swinging-strike rate.
- Peter Moylan – The Aussie continues to thrive in his still-ongoing comeback tour; in 2017, he threw 59 1/3 innings of 3.49 ERA ball.
- Bud Norris – Though Norris could not hold his edge as the Angels closer, he had an extended run of success and finished with 10.7 K/9 for the season.
- Craig Stammen – In a bounceback campaign, Stammen gave the Padres 80 1/3 innings of 3.14 ERA ball. Though his peripherals (8.3 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 51.6% groundball rate, 1.34 HR/9) were more good than great, there’s reason to hope he might have another couple seasons of workhorse output left in the arm.
- Huston Street – Teams interested in taking a shot on a highly accomplished veteran reliever will surely have interest in Street.
Lefties
- Fernando Abad – He quietly posted a 3.30 ERA in 43 2/3 innings, though he was not given much action in high-leverage spots.
- Jorge De La Rosa – In his first season as a full-time reliever, De La Rosa only carried a 4.21 ERA but utterly dominated lefties, who struggled to a .192/.253/.292 batting line.
- Francisco Liriano – It was not a productive overall season for Liriano, who struggled both before and after a trade and move to the pen, but he nevertheless held the 100 opposing southpaws who strode to the plate against him to a .247/.300/.355 slash.
- Oliver Perez – Though the overall results weren’t great, Perez was still tough for lefties to square up (.227/.301/.364).
- Travis Wood – There wasn’t much to love about Wood’s output in 2017, and he was just cut loose by the Padres, but it wasn’t long ago that he was a useful pen presence with swingman abilities.
Tony Watson seems to be the only reliable reliever available, in terms of long term success
Not Addison reed?
Francisco Liriano. 1 year/ 6.5M dollar deal with the Padres. Put him back in the rotation every 5th day and let Balsley work with him. Could be a good sign, rebuild and cash in at the deadline chip.
He could also be the veteran Hispanic leader on the pitching staff to help with the young guys, Chacin was that in 16, Carlos Villanueva the year before. Perdomo, Lamet, Torres, etc. would benefit from having him on the team.
This got worse word by word
I concur
Better off signing someone who can teach those kids to get outs.
If you meant a 1 year minor league deal ok, anything more than that and he’s overpaid
I’m still surprised the Cubs did not try to resign BD
Still time. I’d like to see him and maybe wood on a minors contract.
Should’ve signed him day 1.
I’d like to see Duensing and A. Reed added. Wilson needs another arm in the event Monty is in the rotation. And T. Wood on a minors deal with an invite is a good depth move. Some folks strive in certain places only. Just ask Jason Hammel. He ONLY wants to play in CHC.
Didn’t realize how amazing the Peter Moylan comeback tour has been
So you say duensing is the top remaining lefty, but wouldn’t that be Watson?
“Just one remaining top fifty free agent, lefty Tony Watson, remains unsigned. “
“The top remaining lefty is Brian Duensing.”
It does appear that way.
The top remaining lefty after Watson, who was mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Reading comprehension is FUNdamental.
Come on, davbee, you’ve been around long enough to know how this works.
What I posted was not my interpretation or misinterpretation of what the piece said, but rather a copy and paste of exactly what was posted in this piece at the time of my (and jkolti’s) comment. The author subsequently updated the piece such that it now contains the current language. I’ll pass on taking a reciprocal shot at you, for now.
And my comment was made before the update too. I understood what he was trying to say perfectly. That you didn’t speaks to your own ability to comprehend meaning. He had just written an entire paragraph on Watson preceding the Duensing comment. It doesn’t take a rocket sciencentist to get the meaning from the context.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to get the meaning from the context.”
No, it takes someone willing to ignore what’s actually written in favor of one’s own interpretation. It certainly read like a mistake as written, and the fact that Jeff Todd chose to edit his piece after my comment to clarify this very point suggests that he agreed.
I have also noted when something was written badly or unclearly, despite knowing or thinking I knew what the author intended. Even had I known exactly what Jeff meant, it was fair to point out that it was, at best, inelegantly worded. Even though you knew instantly not only what the words were intended to convey, but what was truly in Jeff Todd’s mind when he wrote them, it was still poorly written.
“I understood what he was trying to say perfectly.”
Good for you, Jkolti and I did not. Guess you just operate at a higher level than the rest of us. No need to pull any punches or allow you the slightest bit of leeway in the future. Wishing you continued perfection as nothing less will be acceptable. Cheers.
(If Jeff or another site admin is looking in…..
This is what happens when you edit an already published and commented on piece without noting the fact or the substance of that edit.)
My gut tells me St. Louis is gonna overpay Greg Holland.
I can see it
I’d rather they trade for colome, sign reed. Both are young, probably more reliable than holland would be. Would make the bullpen a lot scarier. Don’t really have to worry about the rotation that way.
I don’t know if the Cards are gonna sign Holland or not, but I think Reed , Albers or Watson would help a lot in that BP!
Cards aren’t signing Holland. Maybe Reed, but not Holland.
It feels like forever-ago since Mets fans were ready to burn Oliver Perez at the stake….. I’m shocked he’s only 36
You’re telling me…. I’m a pirates guy, and it seems like decades ago he landed on the DL for kicking a laundry cart.
Haha, wow I totally forgot about that one…good times!
It’s amazing to me how he has stayed in the league long enough to have a 15 year career. Outside of ’04 and 2012-2014, he has been awful
He seems older because of those years on the mets where there was no rules enforced and he was able to act out in whim.
I think the Swarzak deal was the worst of the offseason, and that’s not a complete knock against Swarzak.
How can a team with about $10m-$20m in payroll space and holes at first base, the middle infield and the rotation give a guy with a career ERA of 4.52 (before 2017) that kind of money when AJ Ramos, Jeurys Familia and Jerry Blevins are making just under $20m combined out of the bullpen.
I just fail to see any angle in which that makes sense.
I don’t disagree with your point about paying so much of the payroll available for one reliever, but I don’t think career ERA is a very fair way to evaluate it.
might be true but lets not act like before this year swarzak was worth anything more than a minor deal.
It doesn’t matter what the Mets do at this point, they won’t be able to win. The Wilpons, Michael Hill, Peter Angelos, and maybe even Derek Jeter as well, because why not, should all have lunch together some day and talk about, and laugh about the worst things they’ve done working for an organziation.
HOW COULD YOU OMIT COLOME????
Because rays are asking too much. Don’t worry I’m sure they’ll beef that trade in a year or so in typical rays fashion.
I used to love getting into games for free and walk down to get foul balls with no urgency. It’s rare that both a front office and fan base can care so little for a team all at once.
because he isn’t a free agent. he’s on the trade target list
How could you omit taking your cap lock off?
A’s Need to sign Watson! What’s the hold up?!
After playing with Dodgers he wants to play for a contender
I think the Yanks should make Robertson (1/$13 mil) and Betances (2 arbitration years left) for trade. Either of them can close and both could be a great alternative to signing a closer to a multi-year deal. I think the Yanks could get at least 1 top 60-100 and maybe a useful mlb piece on the bubble and needing a new start/ change of scenery type.
I’d say Betances’ value dropped quite a bit with all his Walks last year.
The Yankees have a fantastic farm
system and were one win away from the World Series last year… I don’t see them dealing away either of those guys
I can argue that if the Yanks are looking to add another impact player but need to stay under the lux tax limit then trading Robertson and his 1/$13 deal for a top 60-100 prospect makes tons of sense. They immediately reduce payroll by $13 mil, can promote Green into that 7th inning role with Chap and Bets handling the 8th and 9th and use ST to find a replacement for Green’s role in the 6th inning. They are deep, deep, deep into young power arms at the AAA level on the 40 man roster. Forget about the idea of converting (albeit temporarily) young starting prospects like Adams, German or Acevdeo. You have tweeners like Luis Cessa, Ben Heller, Giovanny Gallegos and Caleb Smith are all 40 man bubble guys who debuted last year and all throw 95 mph or better.
Even tho I would prefer them to keep him as a starter a high-end guy like Domingo German could be super scary as a relief pitchcer. He throws 96.4 as a starter, also throws a CB and CH and induces GB about 45-55% of the time. His name doesn’t come up much in terms of top 100 lists or potential #5 starters but he had a great year as a starter between AA and AAA and shined as a relief guy when called up with a 18K in 14 IP with a 3.14 ERA. His 5.7 walk rate seems more of an aberration considering his minor league walk/9 rate historically is only 2..6/9.
I think we’ll see a lot if him as a spot starter/middle relief guy. One of Bet or Robertson are expendable.
Yes, Bets comes with an obvious blemish but I bet most teams will look at his sticker price (only earned $3 mil in hist first arbitration challenge) will mitigate some of those concerns.
Relief pitchers really have to walk a thin line because one or two bad games can really inflate their numbers. Bets wildness was for the most part limited to June/July.. In those two months he pitched 21 IP and gave up 22 walks vs 36 KO. Of those 22 walks, 11 of them came in a 5 consecutive appearances sandwiched between June 25 and July 5. In addition to the walks he allowed 10 runs. However, he still was dominant as hitters batted under .180 and had a slugging under .312. He was still super dominant.
In terms of WAR, Bets 1.2 out ranked Davis @ 1.1 and Holland @ 1.1. That’s a simplistic way of comparing players but it really shows that they aren’t that different. Factor in his other peripherals and you can see his upside appeal relative to the other.
K/9- Bets @ 15/9, Wade @ 12/9 and Holland @ 11/9.
HRS/9- Bets @ 0.45/9, Davis @ 0.92/9 and Holland @ 1.1/9
GB%-Bets @ 48.5, Wade @ 40.5 and Holland @ 41.6.
LOB% – Bets @ 80%, Wade @ 87% and Holland @ 75%
HR/FB-Bets @ 7.5%, Wade @ 12% and Holland @ 11%
If a team feels his wildness can be fixed or that Bets will figure it out then he an be extremely attractive to teams that need a backend dominant relief pitcher, especially to a team that needs to address bigger needs thru FA.
The fact that you can get a potential top 5 power closer whose salaries the next two years probably won’t eclipse $10 mil per is outstanding.
In the last 2 years Bets is 2nd to Kimbrel in K/9 @ 15.3, 10th in HR/9, 6th in WAR and 5th in FIP.
I won’t get into Robertson but his numbers rank among the best too and his contract is only a 1/$13 deal. Yanks can shop either one and contemplate whether what’s offered is enough to let one go and they would still have several top 30 American league relievers that ranked among the top 25 in WAR in 2017.
Chad Green @ #3, Kahnle @ #6, possibly Robertson @ #8, Chapman @ #16, possibly Bets @ #20 and Warren @ #22.
Their 7/8/9 guys would be Chap/Bets or Robertson/Green with Kahnle and Warren set to handle the 5th and 6th innings. They also have a plethora of young power arms at AAA that could be switched to bullpen arms if needed (Acevdo, Heller, Adams, German,etc).
The way teams are forking over 10’s of millions for a position often considered to be volatile year to year teams would be foolish not to consider short-term high ceiling battle tested power arms like Bets and Robertson.
Wow that was really long. Thank God I work from home.
I think the Yanks still need
and will sign a starter
and some infield depth .
I’d like to see the twins sign either reed or holland… but I guess that all depends on Darvish.
Jim Johnson, Lol.. The A’s thought they were getting a 50 save, sub 3.00 ERA closer back in 2014.. They got a $10 million dollar dumpster fire.. I wonder if he had turned out to be the pitcher they thought they were getting if they would have left Jon Lester in to pitch the 8th inning of the Wild Card game. Doolittle pitching the 8th and 2012-13 Jim Johnson the 9th, should have been more than enough to preserve that 4 run lead.
If Beane had gotten the bullpen he thought he was getting when he acquired Johnson, Abad and Gregerson to join Doolittle and Otero, its doubtful he would have traded his best power hitter (and Donaldson’s protection) for Lester.. He had already picked up Samardzija and Hammell to join Gray and Kazmir in the rotation a month earlier…Even after their 2nd half meltdown they would have had a 3 game lead in the Wild Card just from the 3 games Johnson cost them in April.. So, they could have shuffled their rotation at the end of the year and had Gray ready for the Wild Card game.. A rotation fronted by Gray, 2014 Samardzija and Kazmir would have been very solid for a playoff series..
If Oakland would have gone ahead with their off-season selloff they would have stacked their farm even more by trading Cespedes, with Donaldson, and Samardzija for prospects. Having Fulmer would definitely have taken some of the sting out of those other trades and watching Brett Lawrie attempt to play 3rd in 2015..
I can understand the disdain A’s fans have for Johnson.. He not only is the glaring reason the A’s missed out on their best chance at a championship in 2014 (with a stacked roster few small market teams ever have a chance of seeing).. He also probably still provides quite a bit of angst when they think of Cespedes’ trade value for prospects only a few months later..On second thought, this is Billy Beane we are talking about.. He probably would have traded Cespedes for Joc Pederson, Henry Owens/Blake Swihart or Mark Appel..
The good news is that the A’s are finally starting to put a decent team together again.. Their young pitchers should take a step forward this year and they have Puk almost ready for the jump.. They should start to show marked improvements but while they are still rebuilding, the fans will be able to get some joy out of watching Davis, Olson and Chapman welcome Johnson back to Oakland, when he takes the hill for the Angels..
Sorry about the full blown mini-article on Johnson and his days in Oakland.. Sometimes I miss writing and tend to wander on these boards.. Hopefully, I will be able to find another gig once I finally get a clean bill of health and can make deadlines again..
Let it go man
Breathe
Great sale, Shelley
i mean sure he made 10 mil but you only gave up who? jemile weeks. so just a one year bust for the A’s
Love the graphic, Jeff. It’s easier on the eyes, color coordinated Thanks
I’m sure I’ll get roasted for suggesting this but since KC is on the hook for Travis Wood, why not sign or at least extend an invite to Spring Training & at least see if there’s a potential ROI which if there is, it might allow them to move another starter like Hammel or reliever like Soria or even Herrera which then some of that money could be used elsewhere to address another need such as 1B?!?
They need to blow it up and completely rebuild it’s over.
Wouldn’t think Neshek would be down that far this list. I guess it is because of his age because he was pretty lights out last year and others above him don’t seem to have that much more of an impressive track record…