Dylan Cease’s $210 million pact with the Toronto Blue Jays was the first big free agent deal of the winter and has set the market for starting pitching.
With the bar set there, Framber Valdez can reasonably expect to break the record for a free agent lefty, a mark set last offseason by $218 million man Max Fried. The 32-year-old Valdez had a 3.20 ERA in 143 starts over the past five seasons for the Houston Astros and has tossed 85 career postseason innings.
Other top starting pitchers on the market include 30-year-old All-Stars in Zac Gallen and Ranger Suarez, and future Hall of Famers in Max Scherzer (41) and Justin Verlander (43).
Baseball’s annual winter meetings begin on Dec. 7 and could feature a flurry of free agent deals and trades.
Here’s a look at the top 10 free agent starting pitchers still available from our early November rankings:
MLB free agent rankings: Best starting pitchers
1. Framber Valdez (32, LHP, Astros)
Valdez is consistently right around 200 innings, has a championship pedigree and suppresses the home run ball. Not an ideal conclusion to his Houston era, but it’s also easy enough to hand him the ball and set your alarm clock for September.
2. Zac Gallen (30, RHP, Diamondbacks)
Kind of the poor man’s Cease, in a sense: He led the NL in WHIP (0.91) and the majors in fewest hits per nine innings (5.9) in 2022, but regressed to 1.26 and 8.3/8.1 the past two seasons. He was much better once the trade deadline passed, posting a 3.32 ERA in his last 11 starts. Citizens Bank Park seems a natural fit for the suburban Philly kid.
3. Ranger Suárez (30, LHP, Phillies)
If you have designs on making a playoff run, Suárez can be an invaluable cog. He’s never approached 200 innings as a starter and doesn’t miss bats the way they like nowadays. Yet in 11 postseason appearances, he’s posted a 1.48 ERA and 1.06 WHIP while serving as starter, bulk guy and anything else.
4. Lucas Giolito (31, RHP, Red Sox)
Giolito finally turned the page on a pair of injury-ravaged seasons to make 26 starts and post a 3.41 ERA, enough to comfortably decline his $19 million player option. Giolito completed at least six innings in 15 of his 26 starts, though he missed a playoff outing with elbow soreness.
5. Chris Bassitt (37, RHP, Blue Jays)
A little high for the reliable righty? Well, consider that there are so few Chris Bassitts out there and this one just completed a three-year, $63 million deal with numbing consistency: 32 starts a year, a 3.89 ERA, nearly six innings per start. He topped that off with a selfless stint in the playoff bullpen, where he gave up one earned run in seven appearances.
6. Merrill Kelly (37, RHP, Rangers)
Unlike his old Arizona rotation mate Gallen, Kelly won’t be subject to a qualifying offer, since he was traded to Texas this season. Though age isn’t on his side, consistency is, with at least 30 starts in three of the past four seasons and a solid 117 adjusted ERA this year.
7. Max Scherzer (41, RHP, Blue Jays)
He indicated after World Series Game 7 that he hadn’t thrown his final pitch, and he posted often enough in 2025 that the standard one year, $15.5 million deal should still be waiting for him.
8. Justin Verlander (43, RHP, Giants)
Those videos of Verlander and Scherzer playing bridge in the nursing home are gonna be wild 40 or so years from now. For now, though, they’ve got innings in their arms and for Verlander’s sake, hopefully he can find a home that’s both pitcher-friendly but also not totally lacking in run support: His 3.85 ERA resulted in a 4-11 record as he sits on 266 wins.
9. Michael King (30, RHP, Padres)
Another fascinating case. King has been outstanding more often than not as a starter, and when healthy, for the Padres, posting a 3.10 ERA in 45 starts. But injuries at the start and end of this season limited him to 15 starts. Someone will be getting a very good pitcher, just with a few unknowns attached.
10. Nick Martinez (35, RHP, Reds)
More invaluable than his peripherals indicate, Martinez took the ball 82 times over two years in Cincy, including 42 starts, and amassed 6.3 WAR and a steady 3.83 ERA.
