Top 5 Free Agent Pitchers On The Market This Winter

With the World Series now set to begin this week, that means that Free Agent Season is not much more than just over a week away. Teams have already begun setting their plans for 2023 with some big available names in mind.

The pitching market will be especially rife with solid rotation arms this winter; let's have a look at the Top 5 free agent hurlers.

1. Jacob deGrom

One of the greatest pitchers of this (or any other) generation, deGrom can—and will—opt out of his contract, inspired, no doubt, by the record-setting AAV of his current New York Mets teammate Max Scherzer this season. The Mets gave Scherzer a 3-year deal with an annual salary of $43M, an all-time major league best.

deGrom proved in the second half that he was healthy again, and it will certainly be interesting to see how teams will handle the 34-year-old's contract demands.

2. Justin Verlander

A pitcher with similar credentials to deGrom's, and he's about to take home his 3rd Cy Young Award if prognosticators are correct. At the age of 39, Verlander came back from nearly two years off, recovering from Tommy John surgery, and all he did was go 18-4 with a major league-best 1.75 ERA, and 0.83 WHIP for the Houston Astros.

He, too, could take aim at Scherzer's mark.

3. Carlos Rodon

Rodon also proved that he's past his injury history this year, with 31 starts and another All-Star berth, with the San Francisco Giants. He will also be opting out to re-enter the free agent market. One big-spending team already has Rodon on their radar. We also went through three other teams that could be chasing Rodon.

4. Chris Bassitt

The solid middle-to-high-end rotation arm had another good season in his first year in Queens. He had back-to-back top 10 Cy Young voting finishes in 2020 and 2021, and wasn't too far behind that type of production in '22. The Mets would love to have the 33-year-old back.

5. Clayton Kershaw

This might be an annual exercise for a few years, as the now-34-year-old Kershaw continues to weigh his desire to return after each season. He was still at the top of his game in 2022, and has already given hints about his plans for 2023. If he does come back, it will no doubt be with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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