Every offseason, at least a handful of free agents linger on the market well into spring training. At times, that's been true even of the top names on the market. Bryce Harper and Manny Machado both signed their free agent contracts in February. Blake Snell, Matt Chapman and Jordan Montgomery all signed contracts in March during the 2023-24 offseason.
Things are a bit different this winter. The very top names among this year's crop of free agents have all come off the board. Framber Valdez and, to a lesser extent, Zac Gallen were the remaining big-ticket items on the market before signing in Detroit and Arizona, respectively.
Though there's no marquee superstar left unsigned, there are still some good starters on the board. Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell and Max Scherzer top the remaining group. In Scherzer's case, it's not entirely clear whether he'll sign prior to Opening Day. Scherzer is healthy and ready to sign at any time, but he told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal late last month that he's being selective with his next home and would be content to wait to sign midseason if an opportunity on one of his preferred teams does not present itself. It stands to reason that Scherzer prefers a clear win-now club with realistic postseason aspirations. Any preferences beyond that -- be they geographic, monetary or otherwise -- are personal preferences that he has not divulged.
Giolito and Littell, however, are ready-made mid-rotation starters who, unlike their quadragenarian free agent counterpart, seemingly aren't lingering as a means of personal preference. Each has his flaws, certainly, but there's little doubt that either is a big league-caliber starter and that there are teams around the game who'd benefit from adding them to the rotation.
Let's take a look at each pitcher and which teams might have the remaining budget space and/or rotation need to make a play.
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Every team.
Except the Red Sox, unless they get crushed by the injury bug in the next month
Correction: Almost every team.
Gonna start calling myself a quadragenarian.
Ooh, can’t wait until I turn 60 this year. On second thought, it doesn’t sound very sexy.
Scherzer will have a much smaller market, by his choosing, and I could see him waiting until the season starts to sign with a contender.
The other two, have to feel like the Braves would try to bring in one of them. Giants too. Not many others make sense. I feel like a fringe contender may try and see if they can flip one midseason, Twins, Angels, or the Cards, White Sox or Nats who seem to have no issue adding a bit of salary.
Scherzer to the Phillies makes sense to me if I choose just from these teams. The others aren’t playoff caliber. Contenders can keep their powder dry until July.
I mentioned something one year in regards to veteran pitchers (especially relievers). Players always say Spring Training is too long. I always wondered if someone would prefer to wait a couple of weeks into Spring Training before signing.
Can definitely see Scherzer going to the Giants. At this point, Mad Max would almost serve as an assistant pitching coach, besides soaking up some innings. Scherzer’s connection to Coach Vitello has been well documented.
I’m guessing SF is waiting for the price to come down, to under $10M. And also to see how the new pitching acquisitions (Mahle, Houser) work out. If/ when injuries and ineffectiveness occur, the Giants might strike, if Scherzer is still available. Could a bullpen role be an option? Mad Max as closer, for the second half of the season, would be so intense.
Sometimes I think MLBTR is funded by player agents. Just crazy framing.
Bryce Harper signed in March
That was a tough off-season for free agents.
Every time MLBTRs post one of these the guy signs or is traded with in a few days so here is my fingers crossed since I have both Little and Giolito on my dynasty fantasy team😅
Excellent piece. Besides Giolito and Littell, Tyler Anderson falls into this category as well (veteran MLB innings eater in search of a home).
As I’ve mentioned in comments a few times, one interesting idea would be to see how these arms play in the bullpen. Shorter stints might lead to greater effectiveness.