With the MLB offseason upon on, it’s time to discuss the starting pitching market. It’s well known that one dominant starting pitcher can make or break a team’s playoff run. In this year’s market, 5 available pitchers can do that, and 5 teams are looking to add an ace. The 5 pitchers are Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Max Fried, Roki Sasaki, and Nathan Eovaldi. The 5 teams are the Dodgers, Mets, RedSox, Giants, and Orioles. Let’s see where each pitcher is most likely to land:
Corbin Burnes - Baltimore Orioles:
Corbin Burnes is the best and most consistent pitcher out of the 5. He’s put up sub-3 ERAs in 3 of the past 4 seasons and has struck out 200 hitters in the 3 of the past 4 years, too. Burnes is an incredible big-game pitcher, with a 2.33 ERA in 9 playoff appearances, and can be the final piece to a championship-winning team. Last offseason, a group led by hedge funder David Rubenstein, bought the Orioles. Despite Rubenstein’s absurd net worth of nearly 4 billion dollars, the Orioles are currently set to have one of the lowest payrolls in the MLB next season. I expect that to change drastically. Rubenstein won’t be afraid to invest a large amount of money in his roster, and I imagine he’ll start by locking down his current stars, such as Burnes.
Blake Snell - New York Mets:
The future in Queen couldn’t possibly look brighter. The Mets had a great playoff run in 2024 and will be able to call up 4 top-100 prospects in the immediate future, making them even better. Since the Mets owner, Steve Cohen has more money than any other team in the MLB, the Mets are expected to be very aggressive in this year’s free-agent market. Many Mets fans want the Mets to go after the top free agent in the market, Juan Soto. However, adding Juan Soto wouldn’t address their needs. In 2024, the Mets’ hitting was significantly better than their pitching, as they ranked 7th in the MLB in runs scored and 15th in the MLB in team ERA. In addition, they lost in the NLCS because their starting pitchers allowed 22 runs over only 24 innings, an ERA of 8.25. On the other hand, their offense did its job, scoring 4.33 runs per game in the NLCS. Blake Snell is a 2-time Cy Young Award winner and was red-hot to end the 2024 season. Had the Mets had Blake Snell, the Mets might’ve defeated the Dodgers and advanced to the World Series.
Roki Sasaki - Los Angeles Dodgers:
Last offseason, the Dodgers showed us that they’re willing to spend an unlimited amount of money on free agents. Especially, regarding Japanese-born pitchers. Last offseason, the Dodgers spent over a billion dollars on Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Japanese two-way star Shohei Ohtani. It would be no surprise if they spend big money on a Japanese pitcher again this offseason, and bring in the 23-year-old Japanese phenom, Roki Sasaki. Over 4 professional seasons in Japan, Sasaki pitched 415 innings, allowing 93 runs, for an ERA of 2.02. Sasaki’s best pitch is his fastball, which reaches up to 102.5 miles per hour. After the way the Dodgers’ rotation struggled with injuries late in 2024, with 5 pitchers being on the shelf during the World Series, it would make sense for Los Angeles to go with the pitcher with the fewest innings on his milage. Out of the 5 pitchers mentioned above, the youngest and freshest is the Japanese kid, Roki Sasaki.
Nathan Eovaldi - Boston RedSox:
After Nathan Eovaldi was magical on his way to leading Texas to a World Series run in 2023, the 2024 Rangers missed the playoffs and Eovaldi opted out of the remainder of his contract. Eovaldi has started 20 or more games and put up a sub-4 ERA in each of the past 4 seasons. Meanwhile, the Boston RedSox’s rotation started the 2024 season strong before fizzling out due to inconsistency and injuries. Boston reached the All-Satr break at 53W-43L, but the wheels fell off in the second half and they only won 29 of their remaining 66 games. Boston can use a horse like Nathan Eovaldi, especially since he’s been great against the Yankees and Orioles. In addition, Eovaldi has already pitched 5 seasons for the Boston RedSox. He’s already familiar with their system, their manager Alex Cora, and many of their players.
Max Fried - San Francisco Giants:
Despite being one of the most highly-valued MLB franchises, the San Francisco Giants’ payroll is outside the top 10. San Francisco can afford to add one or two large contracts to their books. After their ace, Blake Snell opted out of the remainder of his contract, replacing him with another left-handed ace would be very logical. Fried has recently begun to be less injury-prone, starting 28 or more games in 3 of the past 4 seasons. The highest ERA Fried posted in those 3 seasons was 3.25. If the Giants intend to compete in the NL West, they will have to beat the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Padres in high-stakes divisional matchups. Max Fried has plenty of postseason, high-stakes experience, with 20 playoff games under his belt, 2 of which were in the World Series.
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