Playing Landing Spot Matchmaker with MLB's Top 8 Free Agent Relief Pitchers
Venture to take a temperature check of the relief pitcher neighborhood of the MLB free-agent market, and you're liable to get frostbite. It's been that cold out there.
But maybe not for much longer.
Though only 16 relievers have signed major league contracts thus far, things seem ready to pick up. Chris Martin just signed, and there's a report out that Tanner Scott could command $20 million per year in a multiyear deal.
Clearly, it's time for fresh picks for the best landing spots for the top eight relievers still available.
In some cases, this simply involved pairing a given reliever with a team that is known to be interested. For others, it involved getting creative with speculation.
Let's check these guys off in ascending order of their earning potential.
RHP Paul Sewald
1 of 8
Age: 34
2024 Stats: 42 G, 39.2 IP, 35 H (6 HR), 43 K, 10 BB, 4.31 ERA
Contract Prediction: 1 year, $7 million
Best Fit: Detroit Tigers
It isn't surprising that there hasn't been much buzz on Paul Sewald.
He had a rough one in Arizona in 2024, as he missed a chunk of the year with injuries and was unable to maintain as the Diamondbacks' closer. He's basically a reclamation project.
He's a worthwhile one on account of how he fanned 12.2 batters per nine innings between 2021 and 2023, with a fastball that had a plus-24 run value despite modest velocity. He had trouble with the long ball even then, however, and that remained the case in 2024.
This is part of why the Tigers stand out as an intriguing fit for Sewald. Comerica Park is a tough place to hit home runs, and especially so for lefty batters. That would help Sewald, who traditionally has a platoon split.
The Tigers would otherwise do well to bring in a "proven closer" type for a bullpen that doesn't have a sure thing for the ninth inning. And if all else fails, Sewald is a guy with whom manager A.J. Hinch could play the matchup game.
Other Good Fits: St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners
RHP Kyle Finnegan
2 of 8
Age: 33
2024 Stats: 65 G, 63.2 IP, 61 H (9 HR), 60 K, 24 BB, 3.68 ERA
Contract Prediction: 1 year, $8 million
Best Fit: Chicago Cubs
Kyle Finnegan was an All-Star who saved 38 games for the Washington Nationals in 2024, and the thanks he got was to get non-tendered.
Tough beat, and yet a defensible decision on the Nats' part. Finnegan is more hittable than you want a closer to be, as both his average exit velocity (1st percentile) and hard-hit rate (2nd percentile) were among the worst in MLB last year.
According to Jesse Rogers of ESPN, however, Finnegan has at least been of interest to the Cubs.
Rogers reported this after the Cubs acquired right-hander Eli Morgan, so it's possible the interest is still there. It certainly should be, and not strictly because the Cubs need closer insurance for the event that Porter Hodge proves to be a one-year wonder.
Finnegan's splitter is a solid weapon against lefties, but he lacks a good out pitch for righties. To this end, the Cubs are his best destination if he wants to develop a sweeper.
Other Good Fits: Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals
RHP David Robertson
3 of 8
Age: 39
2024 Stats: 68 G, 72.0 IP, 53 H (5 HR), 99 K, 27 BB, 3.00 ERA
Contract Prediction: 1 year, $10 million
Best Fit: New York Yankees
David Robertson isn't simply going to do what his agent tells him. Because he has no agent.
He indeed represents himself. And when he was a free agent last winter, he was unambiguous that he signed with the Texas Rangers in part because they had just won the World Series.
As this year will be Robertson's age-40 season, it stands to reason that his desire to go out with a bang has only strengthened. And you have to admit, him returning to the Yankees would be a heck of a way for him to give it a shot.
Robertson has spent the bulk of his 16-year career in pinstripes, and he's not much less effective these days than when he broke out with the Yankees' championship team in 2009. Notably, his cutter and knuckle-curveball remain among MLB's best.
As for whether the Yankees could get in on Robertson after trading for Devin Williams, it's possible. Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the reigning American League champs "could dabble" in the relief market if prices start to drop.
Other Good Fits: Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, San Diego Padres
RHP Kenley Jansen
4 of 8
Age: 37
2024 Stats: 54 G, 54.2 IP, 38 H (4 HR), 62 K, 20 BB, 3.29 ERA
Contract Prediction: 1 year, $10 million
Best Fit: Toronto Blue Jays
Though things didn't end well for Kenley Jansen in Boston, he just keeps getting it done as an effective fireman in the ninth.
A career total of 447 saves can attest to that, and his trademark cutter still rates as one of the best in the game. Opposing batters hit just .215 against it last year.
It's mostly been quiet in Jansen's corner of the market, but Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet connected the Blue Jays to him in December.
The fit is almost too perfect. Toronto's bullpen ranked dead-last with minus-3.9 rWAR in 2024, and newcomers Yimi García and Nick Sandlin only do so much to move the needle in the right direction. For his part, Chad Green should only be a placeholder at closer.
Jansen has the bona fides for the gig, and it's not a small bonus that he has spent the last two years in the American League East. He knows the landscape.
Other Good Fits: Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers
RHP Kirby Yates
5 of 8
Age: 37
2024 Stats: 61 G, 61.2 IP, 23 H (3 HR), 85 K, 28 BB, 1.17 ERA
Contract Prediction: 1 year, $13 million
Best Fit: Boston Red Sox
The best way to understand the run Kirby Yates is on is to look at how many hits he's allowed over the last two seasons.
Here's where he ranks among all pitchers who've logged at least 120 innings:
- Kirby Yates: 58
- Josh Hader and Jason Adam: 75
That's a big gap! And there is real heft behind Yates' dominance, as he ranked in the 94th percentile for whiff rate and the 98th percentile for strikeout rate last season.
He's among the options that Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com singled out for the Red Sox, and he certainly has the profile they prefer with their relievers. As chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made clear in November, swing-and-miss pitchers are wanted.
Yates would otherwise give the Red Sox something solid at closer, in which case he'd be the final boss of a three-headed monster alongside Liam Hendriks and Aroldis Chapman.
Other Good Fits: Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers
RHP Carlos Estévez
6 of 8
Age: 32
2024 Stats: 54 G, 55.0 IP, 38 H (5 HR), 50 K, 12 BB, 2.45 ERA
Contract Prediction: 2 years, $20 million
Best Fit: Arizona Diamondbacks
Save for that one 99 mph fastball that he grooved to Francisco Lindor, Carlos Estévez had a good season in 2024.
That 2.45 ERA up there represents his career best by more than a run. And even if he did fan only 8.2 batters per nine innings, he can boast that his fastball, slider and changeup all held hitters to sub-.200 batting averages.
For their part, the Diamondbacks seem determined to add a late-inning reliever.
They haven't been connected directly to Estévez, but they were in on Devin Williams before he went to the Yankees and have also been tied to Ryan Helsley and Yates.
Evidently, the Snakes understand that they need another arm to pair with Justin Martinez, A.J. Puk and Kevin Ginkel. Estévez fits the bill, and there could be that much more money for him if they're able to offload all or some of Jordan Montgomery's $22.5 million salary.
Other Good Fits: Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies
RHP Jeff Hoffman
7 of 8
Age: 32
2024 Stats: 68 G, 66.1 IP, 48 H (6 HR), 89 K, 16 BB, 2.17 ERA
Contract Prediction: 3 years, $42 million
Best Fit: Atlanta Braves
Jeff Hoffman's free agency is giving off strong "Oh, a plot twist!" energy.
He wants a deal in the same range as Clay Holmes' three-year, $38 million pact with the Mets, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. That may not be a coincidence. The Mets signed Holmes as a starter, and Passan hears teams are also eyeing Hoffman as a starter.
If any team is going to take the chance on moving Hoffman out of the bullpen and into the rotation, why not the Braves?
This was their play with Reynaldo López last winter, and the result was an All-Star season marked by a 1.99 ERA. Hoffman may have even more upside, as in his repertoire are a fastball, slider and splitter that all grade as above average.
The Braves have been quiet to this point, and that simply can't last forever. Above all, they need to fill at least one of the rotation spots vacated by Max Fried and Charlie Morton.
Other Good Fits: Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays
LHP Tanner Scott
8 of 8
Age: 30
2024 Stats: 72 G, 72.0 IP, 45 H (3 HR), 84 K, 36 BB, 1.75 ERA
Contract Prediction: 4 years, $80 million
Best Fit: New York Mets
Fifteen pitchers have amassed at least 7.0 rWAR since the start of 2023, and Tanner Scott is the lone reliever among the bunch.
Save for his typically high walk rates, he really does come away looking that good. His pure stuff is nastiness incarnate, and he barely has a platoon split anymore. For the last two seasons, he owns a .534 OPS vs. righties and a .512 OPS vs. lefties.
Clubs like the Dodgers and Braves have been connected to Scott. And now here come the Mets, whose interest in Scott was reported by Will Sammon of The Athletic on Tuesday.
It's an ideal fit, and not just because a $20 million-per-year deal amounts to pennies by Steve Cohen standards. The Mets need another left-hander in their pen, not to mention closer insurance for Edwin Díaz after his rocky return to action in 2024.
Besides, if the Mets want to unseat the Dodgers as the top power in the National League, it would help to have Shohei Ohtani's personal nemesis on their side.
Other Good Fits: Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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