Ranking top 5 available MLB free agent pitchers amid several high-profile injuries ft. Trevor Bauer
Ranking top 5 available MLB free agent pitchers amid several high-profile injuries ft. Trevor Bauer
There are more than a few MLB teams dealing with massive and substantial injuries to their pitching staffs.
For a lot, their best pitcher is on the shelf. Injuries happen, but they seem to be happening to the best pitchers all at the same time right now, lending evidence to the idea that there’s an injury epidemic ongoing with pitchers.
Gerrit Cole is sidelined for a couple of months. Shane Bieber is done for the year. Spencer Strider has damage to his UCL. Lucas Giolito hasn’t thrown a pitch. Shohei Ohtani isn’t pitching at all, while Justin Verlander is on his way back but has been out thus far.
The injuries haven’t slowed down, and it has left MLB teams with very few options. Here are some of the better free agent options, but the market is pretty depressed right now.
Best available MLB free agent pitchers amid rash of injuries
5) Trevor Bauer
If it were just down to talent alone, Trevor Bauer would be the best available free agent or he would have been signed long ago.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple at all. He carries a ton of baggage, and there’s virtually no chance a team is going to sign him right now. If they were, they likely would have done so with time for him get ready in Spring Training. Desperate times do often call for desperate measures, though.
4) Alex Reyes
Alex Reyes can be a great option for pitcher-needy teams
Alex Reyes hasn’t pitched since 2021, but he has something the vast majority of the available options don’t have: youth. The former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher is still only 29 and was moderately successful the last time he pitched, so he’s definitely worth a flyer.
3) Brad Hand
Brad Hand should be on teams’ radars
Brad Hand pitched to the tune of 0.5 fWAR last MLB season, which is pretty decent for a journeyman relief pitcher who played for two different teams.
He wasn’t great but did well enough to warrant some consideration this year. Starters aren’t the only ones getting injured, but the former Atlanta Braves star brings depth and experience to any bullpen in the MLB.
2) Vince Velasquez
Vince Velasquez is a veteran pitcher who has been around for a while, and that experience could lend itself to a floundering pitching staff trying to survive injuries.
Last season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was more than decent. The reliever pitched to a 3.86 ERA and had 0.7 fWAR. For all the options out there, Velasquez is one of the stronger ones.
1) Matthew Boyd
Matthew Boyd could be an impactful addition
It wasn’t pretty for Matthew Boyd last time out, as he pitched to the tune of a 5.45 ERA in 2023. However, the former Detroit Tigers flamethrower recorded 0.9 fWAR, so he was not a negatively impactful player.
He wouldn’t move the needle a lot for these teams, but he would provide the depth and ability to eat some innings while the stars get healthier.
