Free Agent Starting Pitchers: Current Availability
- HereS a breakdown of the key data from the provided text, focusing on the two main players discussed:
- * eligibility: He won't be restricted by international bonus pool rules as he's over 25 adn has 6+ seasons of professional experience outside of MLB.
- * Regular Season Performance: A very reliable workhorse - 73-44 record, 3.23 ERA as 2020, consistently over 190 innings pitched.
HereS a breakdown of the key data from the provided text, focusing on the two main players discussed:
Tatsuya Imai (Japanese Pitcher)
* eligibility: He won’t be restricted by international bonus pool rules as he’s over 25 adn has 6+ seasons of professional experience outside of MLB.
* Preference: He’d rather beat the Los Angeles Dodgers than join Japanese stars on that team (Ohtani, Yamamoto, Sasaki).
* Interested Teams: Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, Cubs are most interested. The Orioles coudl also enter the bidding.
* Team History: Several teams have experience signing Japanese pitchers (Yankees – Matsuzaka, Tanaka; Cubs – Suzuki, Imanaga, Darvish).
* Timeline: He’s expected to visit teams after the Winter Meetings, meaning a signing before next week is unlikely.
Framber Valdez (Pitcher)
* Regular Season Performance: A very reliable workhorse – 73-44 record, 3.23 ERA as 2020, consistently over 190 innings pitched.
* Postseason Performance: More inconsistent – 7-6 record, 4.34 ERA. Has had both excellent and poor postseason performances.
* Concerns:
* Character: Involved in a publicized incident were he intentionally hit his catcher with a fastball after giving up a grand slam. He met with teams to address this.
* Late-Season Struggles: Struggled in his final 10 starts of 2025 (2-7, 6.05 ERA).
* Age: The oldest of the top free-agent starters at 32.
* Interested Teams: Mets and Orioles are considered favorites, as key decision-makers in those organizations have prior experience with him (from his time in houston).