Starting pitching doesn't dominate MLB's free-agency storylines every year.
But that will be the case this winter.
Plenty of big-name pitchers will be commanding top-dollar offers from teams around the league. With that, the landscape in both the American League and National League could change, and teams could put themselves in prime position to contend next October.
Free agency will begin Nov. 9, but it's never too early to speculate about where some of baseball's biggest names will end up. Here are some early predictions.
Zack Greinke, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
It wasn't expected, but Zack Greinke's reported plans to opt out of his contract, per CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, have begun a journey of uncertainty for the Dodgers. The NL Cy Young candidate is leaving $71 million on the table in Los Angeles to go after a bigger contract and a better chance to win a World Series ring.
The right-handed hurler turned 32 years old Oct. 21, ensuring this will be his last big-time payday. He's coming off a season in which he posted the lowest ERA in baseball (1.66) and could become the highest-paid free agent in the winter.
Heyman noted that the Dodgers are still favorites to sign Greinke, but other teams will be in play.
Two years ago, he turned down an offer from the Texas Rangers that was slightly lower than the $147 million the Dodgers offered him.
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels will get a second chance to sign his guy, and he'll pull it off this time.
Texas already boasts a quality one-two punch atop its rotation with Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish. The Rangers also made the playoffs this year, when they had no business doing so. A quality cast around him, plus a chance to get paid and win a championship, will entice Greinke to come to Texas.
David Price, SP, Toronto Blue Jays
David Price has been nothing short of a blessing for Toronto since coming over from Detroit at the trade deadline.
The Blue Jays had the power. They had the offense. Days before acquiring Price, they traded for Troy Tulowitzki, and their offense became more unstoppable. All that was left was an ace, and they got it in Price.
There will be questions, however, about how valuable Price can be while pitching for a contender in the postseason, as ESPN Stats & Info showed us:
If Greinke isn't the highest-paid free agent this year, Price will be. Although he has yet to win a playoff game in his career, he possesses a powerful cannon for a left arm and can win 20 games per season. That alone should be why Price stays in Toronto.
Albeit winless in the postseason, Price is the reason why Toronto has gotten as far as it has in October. The Blue Jays had been searching for a starting pitcher who could go 18-5 and throw 225 strikeouts for a long time. Toronto can build its rotation around Price and Marcus Stroman for the next five years and rule the AL East for the foreseeable future.
Jordan Zimmermann, SP, Washington Nationals
Jordan Zimmermann had a down 2015 campaign, going 13-10 with a 3.66 ERA. He hadn't posted an ERA higher than 3.50 since 2010.
He's 29 years old and ready to be an ace for a team that wants him. It's easy to forget that he posted a Cy Young-caliber season with a 19-9 record three years ago. The following year, he went 14-5 with a career-low 2.66 ERA.
If he wants to get away from the mess in Washington, D.C., this is his chance to do so. But he shouldn't leave the NL, because there's a team in Chicago that could have used some more starting pitching during its playoff run.
The Cubs would be a perfect landing spot for Zimmermann. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein told ESPN.com's Jesse Rogers that Chicago will address starting pitching in the offseason to complement Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester:
I'm not sure what direction we're going to go in yet. Free-agent pitching is a necessary evil at times. And it's only evil because it's inherently risky. But it's necessary because you can make an impact right away.
We need quality pitching. I'm not going to rule anything out or anything in, except to say whether it's through trade or free agency we'd like to add one quality pitcher this winter.
If the Cubs get anything close to the Zimmermann of 2013 and 2014, it could vault the team to the top of the crowded NL Central.
Chris Davis, 1B, Baltimore Orioles
Even though it was a down year for the Orioles, it was another power year for All-Star first baseman Chris Davis.
He hit 47 home runs in 2015, two years after hitting 53. Davis showed he has enough power left to command a lot of money from a team that is looking for a left-handed bat.
But he's the superstar in Baltimore. Adam Jones and Manny Machado are there, but Davis is the main run producer for the Orioles.
It'd be tough to see him leave Baltimore, but Toronto is a sleeper team that could be a match made in heaven.
Toronto features right-handed power bats from second to sixth in the lineup. If the Blue Jays had at least one guy who could provide the same kind of power from the left side of the plate, it would almost be unfair for the rest of the AL.
However, Davis will likely stay in Baltimore as the Orioles try to turn it around in 2016.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments