Top 5 Free Agent Starting Pitchers Still Available After Scherzer Signing

The starting pitching market in the major leagues has diminished by one veteran arm and three Cy Youngs, with Max Scherzer signing a $15.5 million deal on Thursday.

With Mad Max's signing, it's a good time to have a look at the top remaining free agent starters still available:

1. Jack Flaherty

2. Nick Pivetta

3. Jose Quintana

4. Andrew Heaney

5. Kyle Gibson

The quality drops off in a hurry on this list, so any teams still anxious to sign a reliable starter are best advised to act fast and try to snag one of the top two.

Flaherty returned to his dominant self in 2024 after a five-year injury-riddled stretch. After posting a 2.95 ERA in 18 starts with the Detroit Tigers, he was dealt to the LA Dodgers and helped the team to the World Series championship. He finished the year with a 3.17 ERA and a tremendous 194:38 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The Tigers seem to be the frontrunner to re-acquire him, but teams like the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves may have something to say about it.

Pivetta had a decent few seasons in Boston, posting a combined 4.29 ERA over four years with 10.2 K/9. His career 4.76 ERA isn't as impressive-looking, but it took him a few years at the beginning of his career to find his footing.

Quintana is 36, but had a couple of nice seasons wit the New York Mets, posting a combined 3.70 ERA with them.

Heaney, the lefty, has had an up-and-down career, but wasn't too bad at all with the Rangers for the past couple of seasons, as the 33-year-old posted a 4.22 ERA, and helped them to a World Series title in 2023.

All we can say about Gibson is: Buyer Beware. He's had an ERA below 4.00 only once in the last six years, and has been in the high 4s or over 5.00 four times in that span. He's merely an innings eater at this point, but not usually very good innings. He has a 1.38 WHIP and a 4.52 ERA over his 12-year career.