Top 10 Free Agent Starting Pitchers Remaining in 2025

When offseason began a few months ago, names like Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell and Max Fried headlined a class of free agent starting pitchers that was rather deep for teams looking to bolster their rotations ahead of 2025.

Along with the top names, there were plenty of other arms available from starters who landed deals early like Yusei Kikuchi and Frankie Montas, to guys who have signed more recently such as Sean Manaea and Walker Buehler.

In a market that has moved relatively slow for position players and remarkably slow for relievers, the starting pitching market has been more fast-paced and certainly a lot more lucrative than any other facet of free agency.

While most of the top arms have already been claimed, there is still plenty of veteran starters who are on the market looking for a place to pitch in 2025.

With pitchers and catchers set to report in less than 40 days, teams are running out of time to bolster their rotations, and pitchers are running out of time to sign before the ramp-up process begins for the regular season.

Here are the top 10 starting pitchers who are left on the market in free agency.

Honorable Mention: Clayton Kershaw

There is one name that deserves mention at the top of this list, who ultimately did not make the cut because we all know where he is going to sign.

For the last couple of years, Clayton Kershaw has hit free agency and there has been some debate as to if he would sign with another team outside of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

There was long speculation that Kershaw could choose to sign with his hometown team, the Texas Rangers, if he were to leave the Dodgers.

This time around, it has been made evidently clear that Kershaw will only pitch in a Dodgers’ uniform, and he is expected to return for the 2025 season.

Having just underwent toe and knee surgeries back in November, it is unclear when Kershaw can pitch again, but if he does, it will be for the same team that drafted him in the first round nearly 20 years ago (2006).

Who Are the Best Starting Pitchers Left in Free Agency?

From the original list of the top 25 free agents in the 2024-2025 MLB Free Agent Class, 11 of the 12 starting pitchers that were featured on that list have already signed, and one of our top relievers ranked (Clay Holmes) has signed as a starting pitcher as well.

Jack Flaherty is the lone exception who is still on the market. Meanwhile Charlie Morton, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander highlight a long list of veteran starters who are looking to squeeze out at least one more year to extend their MLB careers.

1. Jack Flaherty

2024 Stats: 13-7, 3.17 ERA, 3.48 FIP, 28 GS, 162 IP, 194 K, 3.2 fWAR

Age in 2025: 29

Jack Flaherty was originally ranked as the 10th-best free agent of this year’s class, and the fourth-best pitcher behind Burnes, Snell and Fried. Yet here he still sits on the open market waiting to cash in on a career-year in 2024.

Flaherty was outstanding all regular season, pitching to a 2.95 ERA in 18 starts and 106 2/3 innings pitched to start the year with the Detroit Tigers. After a deadline trade to his hometown Dodgers, Flaherty made 10 starts and pitched to a 3.58 ERA. He had mixed results in October, but ultimately played a key role in the Dodgers winning the World Series.

Hitting free agency heading into his age-29 season, Flaherty has every right to expect a longer-term contract. But so far that deal has not come. Still, Flaherty is not held down by the qualifying offer, and should land on a pretty solid deal when it is all said and done.

2. Nick Pivetta

2024 Stats: 6-12, 4.14 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 26 GS, 145.2 IP, 172 K, 2.0 fWAR

Age in 2025: 32

When Nick Pivetta looks back at his free agency, he may wonder if he should have just accepted the one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer (QO) he was extended by the Boston Red Sox.

Pivetta has great stuff that grades well when it comes to the metrics and has thrown at least 140 innings for four-straight seasons. With that said, he has pitched to an ERA north of 4.00 in each of those seasons, making him far from a safe bet in free agency.

Between the dollar amount, and being tied down to the draft capital it would take to acquire him thanks to the qualifying offer, Pivetta is in a rough spot in this market.

3. Charlie Morton

2024 Stats: 8-10, 4.19 ERA, 4.46 FIP, 30 GS, 165.1 IP, 167 K, 1.1 fWAR

Age in 2025: 41

Over the past six full MLB seasons, Charlie Morton has eclipsed at least 160 innings pitched every year. He is coming off a season where it looked like age was finally starting to catch up to Morton, and yet he eclipsed 165 innings while striking out a batter per nine.

Morton has shown he is still an effective starting pitcher who can be an innings-eater in any rotation. While he could choose to hang it up at any time, it does feel like Morton still has a season or two left if he wants to keep going.

Signed Contract: On January 3rd, Morton signed a one year, $15 million with the Baltimore Orioles.

4. Max Scherzer

2024 Stats: 2-4, 3.95 ERA, 4.18 FIP, 9 GS, 43.1 IP, 40 K, 0.6 fWAR

Age in 2025: 40

Max Scherzer falls into the camp of pitchers who will have to have the jersey ripped off them. With that said, he is entering his age-40 season, and is coming off the most injury-plagued season of his career.

Prior to 2024, Scherzer is coming off stretch where he had pitched at least 140 innings for 14-consecutive seasons (with 2020 being the lone exception). This includes a six-year stretch where Scherzer eclipsed 200 innings every single season.

Over the past few years, Scherzer has been battling father time when it comes to the injury bug, but when he is on the mound he has largely been effective. Scherzer comes with plenty of injury risk, but there is still a team or two that will buy into the upside he possesses.

5. Justin Verlander

2024 Stats: 5-6, 5.48 ERA, 4.78 FIP, 17 GS, 90.1 IP, 74 K, 0.7 fWAR

Age in 2025: 42

Justin Verlander is pretty much in the same boat as his twice former teammate Scherzer, with both pitchers clearly past their prime, but hoping for at least one more renaissance season.

Like Scherzer, Verlander is coming off an injury-plagued year, but unlike Scherzer, he was largely ineffective when he was on the hill. Still, Verlander is only two years removed from a Cy Young, and a year removed from pitching to a 3.22 ERA across 162 1/3 innings pitched.

A team will take a flier on Verlander, hoping that he can provide some surplus value on a more modest one-year deal. It is also of note that Verlander and Scherzer are both within 100 strikeouts of the 3,500 career strikeouts, a mark that only nine pitchers have reached in MLB history.

One more healthy year should allow both to cross that threshold, as they add the final few marks to their already Hall of Fame careers.

6. Jose Quintana

2024 Stats: 10-10, 3.75 ERA, 4.56 FIP, 31 GS, 170.1 IP, 135 K, 1.0 fWAR

Age in 2025: 36

While his name does not come with the same cachet as the three veterans directly ahead of him on this list, Jose Quintana is by far coming off the best season of the group.

The veteran southpaw pitched to a solid 3.75 ERA over 170 1/3 innings pitched, which included a remarkable month of September where he pitched to a 0.72 ERA. Quintana rode that success into October, where he did not allow a run across his first two postseason starts, which were both series-clinching wins for the Mets.

Never known for having overpowering stuff, Quintana has learned how to get the most out of what he has, and is a veteran any team could use in the middle of their rotation.

7. Kyle Gibson

2024 Stats: 8-8, 4.24 ERA, 4.19 FIP, 30 GS, 169.2 IP, 151 K, 1.5 fWAR

Age in 2025: 37

This is the veteran innings-eater portion of this list, and few fit that billing better than Kyle Gibson. Over the past four seasons, Gibson ranks eighth in Major League Baseball in innings pitched, racking up 711 1/3 innings to the tune of a 4.43 ERA.

While he is not going to lead a rotation as an ace, he can soak up more innings than most and that is invaluable in today’s game.

8. Lance Lynn

2024 Stats: 7-4, 3.84 ERA, 4.31 FIP, 23 GS, 117.1 IP, 109 K, 1.3 fWAR

Age in 2025: 38

Teammates with Gibson in St. Louis last year, Lance Lynn pitched to a better ERA, but was not able to make all of his starts due to a balky knee. Lynn has trimmed some weight this offseason in hopes of prolonging his career, and should find a one-year deal to do so.

9. Michael Lorenzen

2024 Stats: 7-6, 3.31 ERA, 4.89 FIP, 26 G, 24 GS, 130.1 IP, 97 K, 0.7 fWAR

Age in 2025: 33

Michael Lorenzen is entering his fourth year as a starting pitcher, making the transition away from being a reliever back in 2022. While Lorenzen’s numbers don’t jump off the page, particularly when it comes to strikeouts, he has largely been effective as a starting pitcher for three seasons now.

Last year marked his best, as Lorenzen pitched to a sub 3.50 ERA for the first time since his best year as a reliever back in 2019. The underlying stats don’t paint a pretty picture, but Lorenzen is a good enough back-end/depth starter that most teams can use.

10. Cal Quantrill

2024 Stats: 8-11, 4.98 ERA, 5.32 FIP, 29 GS, 148.1 IP, 110 K, 0.5 fWAR

Age in 2025: 30

Cal Quantrill is only two years removed from pitching to a 3.38 ERA across 186 1/3 innings pitched from the Cleveland Guardians. Unfortunately Quantrill endured an injury-filled year in 2023, and has since been let go from his team in back-to-back offseason.

Quantrill was originally DFA’d by the Guardians last offseason, but was later traded to the Colorado Rockies. While the season started off on a promising note for Quantrill, a rough finish put the Rockies in the position where they chose to non-tender him this winter.

In doing so, the Rockies avoided paying his final year of arbitration, where he was estimated to make roughly $9 million. While he likely won’t reach that number in free agency, Quantrill has showed enough that a team should give him an MLB deal to be a depth starter at the very least.