The offseason floodgates opened this month, with an avalanche of free agent activity once the Winter Meetings got underway. Things have quieted down in recent days thanks to the holidays, but clubs are likely to again get back to attacking the free agent market in earnest this week.
Most of the winter’s top names are off the board, leaving teams to mostly look through lower-cost options as they search for upgrades on the margins of the roster. There are still a number of experienced options available, particularly for teams seeking to round out the bullpen. Using MLBTR’s free agent list, we find 47 pitchers who tossed at least 20 innings out of a team’s bullpen in 2022 and remain unsigned.
We’ll sort the remaining free agent relievers by various metrics of 2022 performance to identify some of the top arms. There are obviously other factors for teams to consider — quality of raw stuff, pre-2022 track record, the player’s injury history, etc. — but a brief snapshot on the top bullpen arms by last year’s performance should provide a decent starting point for players teams might target moving forward. (All figures cited, including league averages, are looking solely at pitchers’ outings as relievers).
ERA (league average — 3.86)
- Matt Moore (LHP), 1.95
- Alex Young (LHP), 2.08
- Matt Wisler (RHP), 2.23
- Wily Peralta (RHP), 2.72
- Brad Hand (LHP), 2.80
- Andrew Chafin (LHP), 2.83
- David Phelps (RHP), 2.87
- Ralph Garza Jr. (RHP), 3.34
- Jackson Stephens (RHP), 3.38
- Michael Fulmer (RHP), 3.39
Strikeout rate (league average — 23.6%)
- Daniel Norris (LHP), 30%
- Darren O’Day (RHP), 27.7%
- Andrew Chafin, 27.6%
- Matt Moore, 27.3%
- Aroldis Chapman (LHP), 26.9%
- Steve Cishek (RHP), 25.8%
- Chasen Shreve (LHP), 25.4%
- Will Smith (LHP), 24.9%
- David Phelps, 23.9%
- Noé Ramirez, 23.7%
Strikeout/walk rate differential (league average — 14.5 percentage points)
- Andrew Chafin, 19.8 points
- Daniel Norris, 19 points
- Darren O’Day, 17 points
- Chasen Shreve, 16.7 points
- Steve Cishek, 16.4 points
- Craig Stammen (RHP), 15.7 points
- Will Smith, 15.3 points
- Matt Moore, 14.8 points
- Ross Detwiler (LHP), 14.8 points
- Luke Weaver (RHP), 13.8 points
Ground-ball rate (league average — 43.5%)
- Luis Perdomo (RHP), 62.5%
- Joe Smith (RHP), 57.5%
- Alex Young, 55.7%
- Alex Colomé (RHP), 55.6%
- T.J. McFarland (LHP), 53%
- Craig Stammen, 52.6%
- Garrett Richards (RHP), 52.4%
- Bryan Shaw (RHP), 51.8%
- Andrew Chafin, 51.3%
- Jacob Barnes (RHP), 50.7%
FIP (league average — 3.86)
- Luke Weaver, 2.46
- Alex Young, 2.65
- Matt Moore, 2.98
- Andrew Chafin, 3.06
- David Phelps, 3.11
- Garrett Richards, 3.16
- Jackson Stephens, 3.45
- Michael Fulmer, 3.57
- Brad Hand, 3.93
- Darren O’Day, 4.04
Innings Pitched
- Matt Moore, 74
- Caleb Smith (LHP), 69
- Steve Cishek, 66 1/3
- Michael Fulmer, 63 2/3
- David Phelps, 62 2/3
- Hunter Strickland (RHP), 62 1/3
- Will Smith, 59
- Andrew Chafin, 57 1/3
- Bryan Shaw, 54
- Jackson Stephens/Hirokazu Sawamura (RHP), 50 2/3 each
Whenever I see Hunter Strickland’s name I always think of when he plunked Bryce Harper in the thigh lol. Both players are scum but one is obviously light years better
Why is Harper scum exactly?
It’s just how Yankees fans treat any player that doesn’t sign with them
I haven’t called Harper scum.
@FletcherFan69- Got news for you. The Yankees never wanted him. Harper was hurt, and even cried when they never made him an offer. True story, Yankees passed on him. The fans wanted him more to sign here.
That’s an impressive generalization, Fletcher. A baseless fantasy, but impressive.
His smug fratboy attitude
I wasn’t a big fan of his during his first few years in the league. Saw his growth in DC over the years however and was very happy to get him to Philly. However, as much as I thought that he had grown, he has been even better. The kid is an awesome human being; an incredible team leader, and a very hard-working ballplayer that continues to refine his hitting and gets better as time goes on.
So…y’a know…calling him scum is really darned silly.
There’s not a smug fratboy attitude at all. Sorry that he’s a dude with nice hair, but you’re projecting that personality on to him.
Harper is not 19 years old anymore. He’s been conducting himself like a grown man for several seasons now, especially since signing with Philly. Bryce is a husband and a father now, plus a true leader on the Phillies. Some people do grow up and evolve. Get over your first impressions of a teenager in the pros from years ago and give the man credit for his maturation into becoming an outstanding professional adult.
Ironically enough, Bryce has stated that it was his skirmish with Strickland that made him rethink his on-field behavior. It’s an old, bygone incident that nobody but the casuals bring up. A lot has changed since then with Bryce the player and Bryce the man. By ignoring Bryce Harper’s evolution, you’re missing out on witnessing one of baseball’s greats in today’s game. It’s your loss if you’re choosing ignorance.
I introduce you to the concept of a young Jeter. sometimes guys grow up. you should try it
Apparently Yanks2 has not.
…Would smash your lack of a mlb sized right field if he played there half the time.
I believe is how you meant to end that sentence.
And I don’t particularly care for his attitude either
How did he develop a fratboy attitude in just one year of junior college? His family is as blue collar as it gets. His dad’s a union ironworker.
@jt3z- Yeah I feel he’s scum also, because he showboats every 5 minutes, and is so in love with himself. He needs nobody. He’s got himself. Lol.
Cool fantasy, bro.
‘A reporter in Toronto asked Harper if he planned on enjoying the lower drinking age while in Canada, and Harper’s response was, “That’s a clown question, bro.” Little did anyone know the impending social impact from this simple statement. In conjunction with the Nationals’ visit to Denver to play the Colorado Rockies, Denver Beer Co. launched its ‘Clown Question Bro’ Canadian lager. Upon finding out about this, Harper suggested that the Denver Beer Co. donate a portion of their proceeds to help support the 12 year-old daughter of Celina Hollis. Celina was a single mother and police officer that was killed while investigating a disturbance during a jazz festival in Denver, which Harper found out about by watching the local news while in Colorado. Denver Beer Co. agreed to support the cause, and direct donations can be made to the Rocky Mountain Law Enforcement Federal Credit Union to help support Hollis’ daughter.
‘Bryce Harper is a role model for everyone because he took a simple question and turned it into a way to give back to a child in need. He saw a simple news story, wanted to help make a difference, and he did just that.’
We all should be so scummy.
@CaptainJudge99:
I am rather old school when it comes to the drastic increase in showboating in the game. I come from the time where you rarely showed up the pitcher, and if you did you knew to look out afterwards. “Act like you have done this before” was the approach, and compete your butt off on the field. And yet, I have had to adjust, as this is professional sports today, and Stoicism is a rarity. So I look at these things with a newer standard today, and bat flips and other expressions just don’t bother me anymore unless they are truly gratuitous.
Frankly, the leagues are not only are fine with this, but they encourage it, as it connects with the fans…especially the younger ones. So I try to not be a fuddy-duddy about things.
You are really, really wrong about Bryce however…and that’s okay. Sure, when he was on the cover of SI at 16 or whatever and a 19 year old kid in the majors some of that went to his head for a while. All of us would have struggled with that….he has been the center of attention for much of his life now. It is the journey…
And in that journey, he has grown up to be one of the finest young men possible. Devoted husband – not married to some supermodel either but his high school sweetheart. Incredibly engaged as a father, close to his entire family…still lives in Vegas where he grew up. Mormon (not that someone’s religion is a big deal to me) but he seems to be an authentic guy about his faith without being overt or preachy at all (and that goes a long way with me…evangelicalism drives me nuts).
What we see out there on the field is a guy that understands his place in the game and how to handle his role. He is one of the most marketable players in the game, and not just due to his accomplishments. He knows how to play the marketing game, and is still authentic enough to be all about the team. I cannot even describe how much of a team leader he has been since he got here – in every way. I am thrilled to have him here for the rest of his career.
Are there too many posturing, preening, self-absorbed chuckleheads in the game of baseball? Sure…but he ain’t one of them.
Clown question bro!!
exactly!
I used to loathe Harper and even then never thought he was scum. He’s grown up and matured a ton over the last couple of years.
He was a punk and scum. I’ll never forget how he went out of his way to walk behind the plate just to swipe the “A” with his feet at Turner stadium. He seems more mature now
Oh no. How dare he desecrate the solemn setting of Turner ‘stadium.’. The horror. Women and children fainting from such an affront. Says the member of the fan base that so reverently do the tomahawk chop like drunk spring breakers.
That’s a clown comment, bro.
haha
People mature dude. Some don’t. Harper did make some mistakes with his attitude particularly to the media but nothing he has done in past half decade indicates he isn’t a changed man for the better. Same for Machado. Tatis Jr. is also a work in progress.
Harper is scum yet hasn’t been suspended for or even accused of using PEDs, cheating, beating women, or DUI. Give me a break. Yeah he’s sometimes immature but he’s not scum.
Strickland and Harper rivalry goes back to Strickland’s rookie year. In playoffs Harper showed him up after hitting homer’s off him.
Everyone watches homers and bat flips now. Those were weird generational gap years when young kids having fun was frowned upon by grumpy old men. Hitters should bat flip. Pitchers should scream after strikeouts. Let the kids play.
Yeah Harper is a total Chad. (Supposedly the male version of a Karen?)
The last thing a team want to do is pay a FA reliever a large salary because he came off a great season – when he hasn’t had many, if any, great seasons.
Especially bad if a team gives out a multi-year contract.
There’s always the trade deadline. Desperate teams do some silly things for a guy who throws with his left hand 2-3 times a week.
Wow, an amazing amount of info MLBTR, I’m dizzy trying to absorb it all…
But isn’t all a crap shoot?
Curly;
Crap Shoot?
No. Not at all.
The teams that have good pitchers due to the work of their coaches (and quality catchers) tend to have above average bullpens each year.
It also helps if the manager is good at handling a bullpen.
Terry Francona has said for years that handling a bullpen is the
most difficult responsibility a manager has.
Dang Samuel I know you have your hobby horses but this one is getting old, brother. You trot it out as if it’s a golden nugget of revelation …but it’s what makes the boards feel like home so…wth. Happy 2023.
The answer seems to be the former starter and all star Matt Moore
He certainly seems to be one answer. I’m a bit surprised that you don’t hear his name mentioned with any teams
He had severe walk issues, and those numbers are much better than early on in the season. Even then, he is coming of a career year that may not be sustainable with poor command. It is inevitable that he gives up more homeruns since his stuff isn’t that great and poor command leads to mistake pitches.
But it also seems like 22 was his first year without starting a game, right? 9Lots of relievers find a few extra mph when they switch to the pen. It could be sustainable – perhaps not to the same level – but continued success now that he’s moved to the bullpen.
M. MOORE I’m very surprised he’s still on the board. Yes he’s nearing mid 30s but this is a former all star with a 1st round pedigree. He’s re-invented himself as a tremendous RP and the mariners should be all over him. They don’t even have a Lefty in their pen.
Resigning Moore would’ve been the most sensible move by the Rangers this offseason
My takeaway… Andrew Chafin, Matt Moore, and David Phelps seem like decent options.
Tigers had 3 on there in, Chafin, Norris, & Peralta. I hope they resign Peralta. And I know there’s like 3 Wily Peralta’s in the league. So if I’m wrong, I apologize in advance. No need to berate me.
Fulmer too
Is the league average FIP and ERA the same by definition, or is this just a fluke?
Chafin. Near the top of all of the charts and is a lefty too.
Could have a nice pitching staff with the players available in FA:
SP1 – Eovaldi
SP2 – Kluber
SP3 – Wacha
SP4 – Cueto
SP5 – Greinke
MIRP – Hamels
MIRP – Appel
MIRP – Hill
LHRP – Chafin
RHRP – Weaver
7th – O’Day
8th – Moore
9th – Chapman
Got three starters in the bullpen, probably go with a six-man rotation, Hamels and Hill will battle it out for the 6th spot. Appel could have a good year if he gets a contract.
might have been nice a few years ago, but not in 2023
Sawamura is intriguing
I also thought Chapman was intriguing too but was soundly poo pooed by other Masn commenters
I thought Chafin would have been signed by now. He’s been more consistent over the last three seasons compared to Moore, Peralta, etc. Was hoping the Phils would sign him, but they signed Kimbrel instead…
Anytime Chafin is mentioned in rumors, remaining close to his Ohio farm is the constant. I thought Philadelphia would’ve signed him by now and they very well could still.
There are a lot of teams that should be in on some of these players. I’m surprised the angels haven’t signed on or two to a one or two year contract. Maybe the asking price is too high or contract too long since perhaps they want to keep the payroll down to keep Ohtani?
Ohtani isn’t staying unless the Angels make the postseason. I don’t see that happening. Stranger things have happened though.
Lou, I wouldn’t be so matter of fact about the Angels not making the playoffs. Look, the Astros and Yankees are probably the only 2 teams, that there floor is a wild card. So you have to give the Central 1 spot by default.
So at the end of the day, with the Angels much improved depth. There’s no reason why they couldn’t be 1 of the 3 next best this season.
Making the postseason has little or nothing to do with it. He’ll go where the money is.
If money was the deciding factor Ohtani would have waited 1 year to sign with a major league team.
He has been open about what he wanted originally and those things are likely still his priorities.
Pitch and hit.
6 man rotation.
Not on the East Coast.
He was open to central time zone as there were 2 teams in the Central, Cubs and Rangers, in the 7 teams he met with.
This is a little like 52 card pickup. Some of these guys will be incredible bargains, others will be DFA’d by the All Star Break.
Bullpens are always a work in progress, and incredibly difficult to build and maintain year to year. The number of reasonably consistent and effective relief pitchers over the course of 3 to 4 years in all of baseball is shockingly low, and seems to be getting worse over time as the game has focused so much on velocity and spin to the detriment of the rest of the art of pitching (subjective impression…no real data on this)..
One of the long term members of my Phillies forum has run something called the Gas Can Awards for the past half dozen years of so for the Phils. This past year was the first one in a long time where he just kinda’ looked at it and punted, as there were only one or two clear candidates and they were released. In other years it was a real scrum to choose who was the worst, as the field was large and they all worked hard to qualify for the title.
Carver Andrews;
Most individual relief pitchers are incredibly inconsistent. The teams that constantly have good bullpens do it primarily because of their acquisition and coaching staffs.
The Orioles had one of the best bullpens in MLB in 2022. Few people know that. They didn’t have one big name pitcher – which is why few people knew that. Their bullpen pitchers worked with multiple pitching coaches they had. They developed an All-Star closer that was traded at the deadline to another team. Shortly thereafter he began fizzling out and was removed as their closer. Meanwhile the O’s replaced him at closer with one of their set-up men that pitched better in that role then the former closer had. All of their bullpen guys was from the Waiver Wire and DFA’s.
52 Card Pickup is a great game, played it a few times over Christmas, reminded me of old times.
Anthony Franco another timely excellent and well written article. This is fantastic for those of us with teams that still need help and sorting out who’s left over and of course their effectiveness.
Love this, thanks for taking the time to put it together and present it to us. Great job Anthony.
Gary, I completely agree. Mr Franco, would it be possible for the writers to do this for each position? I think the Giants are still about $26 million under tax line. They really don’t have a backup shortstop and I like Andrus for that. I’d like to get Chafin or Hand or both. Maybe trade for Taylor and his gold glove CF. All could be done for under $26 mill. Thoughts Gary? BTW, you think Bosox are interested in Correa?
Wow tough questions Claude. I think the Mets will probably sign him from what we read everyday even though he’s got the leg or foot thing. Hasn’t stopped him from being great the last 8 years I guess.
My Red Sox are a mess, who knows what their plan is lol. They got a couple Bullpen guys but that’s because they lost a couple bullpen guys. And the starting rotation is exactly 5 question marks Lol.
Good luck to the Giants as well I really don’t keep up with them. In the NBA I sort of keep up with all the teams and especially my Warriors, but in baseball more Red Sox stuff and less the rest of the league outside of the headlines.
Good stuff Claude always great to hear from you. Last thought yes Andrus.. it’ll be interesting where he signs, maybe he’s pushing for more money seeing that he could be in demand, sort of?
Gary, it boggles my mind that the following comes out and very little attention has been paid.
“He just hit my plate,” Correa told reporters. “I had surgery and he hit it. Just kind of felt numb. Vibrating. So I was just waiting for it to calm down. It was a little scary, but when I moved I knew it was good.”
Yes, he’s had a great career with that problem BUT he’s getting older. 13 years 350 mill or what Mets agreed to. I’m an owner and I think “we can live with that”. If I’m coaching a youth sport and I know a player has a plate in their leg and contact makes it numb I tell parents I’m not gonna take a chance. What a liability concern!? If I’m an owner, paying $25+- million a year, multi years, and I’m gonna take upon that risk? As owner, I’m the parent. Twins like contract of last year, that’s as far as I’d go. Why anything more? That statement by Correa is , TBH, scary as hell
Btw Gary, good talking to you
I have seen that quote mentioned here, but the first time it appeared in print or podcasts was 3 days ago by a blogger with Audacy.
Can you find a link to it back in September when it was supposed to have happened? I wasn’t able to.
I know Dan Hayes never had that in an article because I read his stuff religiously. I joined Twitter to follow him.
Its also never been in an article on the Twins MLB page.
Baseballlife, Google “Correa leg plate numb” and pick a link
Give me all the best ground ball rate relievers for the Reds at GABP and we’ll hold a lot more leads instead of blowing them like last season.
Perdomo
would love to see the guys get another guy like chafin or Moore to pair with Swanson but guessing they are saving the other lhp spot for Yusei.
jays
I’d take a flier on Wisler if you can get him on a one-year deal.
An awful lot of ex angel pitchers on this list. 7 at least..
The Rangers should sign 3 of these top guys with a budget of 10-15 million. If one of them says no, move onto the next one. Their left fielder can come via trade, and that would put them at 170-175 million plus the left fielder. deGrom alone would sell quite a few tickets and allow them to make up this money. Since the Braves are paying 10 million of Odorizzi’s contract and deGrom is making 30 million instead of his AAV of 37, their number allows them to spend more this year. Perez’s albatross contract of 19.65 million for a year is also coming off the books next year, so there is also that.
I’d like to see the Yankees grab Michael Fulmer, trade for Bryan Reynolds, and be done with the off season.
Luke Weaver having a 2.7 FIP yet another indicator of what a lousy metric that is.
Matt Moore is yet another of the endless examples that bullpens can be kind of random. He legitimately was terrific last year and yet I wouldn’t trust him to repeat it. Probaly 5-6 guys on this list who will have really good years but kind of a guess as to who they will be because it is just 50-60 innings.
I’m signing AR hie Bradley all day long. If anyone who will rebound and turn it around its him just the right coach to do it. Luke Weaver is another one who could rebound and become a very good swingman
How are the Red Sox not interested in Matt Moore?
Luke Weaver is certainly … interesting. Could be a low cost/high reward option in the right pitching organization … or a low cost/high risk option. Nonetheless, low cost. Why not?
Weaver had a .429 batting average on balls in play. Less than a 50 IP sample size, but defintiley someone who could be a nice low-cost pick-up. Slot him into a long-relief/low-leverage role and see if he can work himself up to get more meaningful innings.
So why arent teams lining up for ANDREW CHAFFIN? He’s high on all these lists. Might be a good pitcher to add.
Someone up above says it’s because Chaffin likes barns in Ohio or isn’t too keen on straying far from them, so maybe some kind of farm boy? I don’t understand the allure being a city slicker.
Andrew is a cool crazy cat. Used to live out of his truck. Didn’t see the need to get an apartment
After he opted out of a second year at $ 6.5m with Detroit, Chafin is certainly looking for a multi-year deal. That might make things a little more complicated.
Gruß,
BSHH
Andrew Chafin.
I’m hoping the Angels sign Matt Moore. He has reinvented himself.