Top Five Veteran Starters Left Unsigned with Camps Now Open

As pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training across baseball, fans are getting a first look at new stars in their new uniforms as optimism reigns supreme for all 30 teams.

However, missing from the first bullpens and early-season workouts are some familiar faces that remain available on the open market.

With Nick Pivetta joining the group of mid- to top-end starters off the board by inking a four-year pact with the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, the group of starters remaining may not have All-Star upside, but there still is some value to be had for teams in need of rotation help.

There’s no such thing as too much pitching depth, and in the coming weeks, we’re sure to see teams lose an arm or two to injury, opening a spot for a free agent to fill. 

Even before any ailments emerge as pitchers ramp up, there are already a number of teams with aspirations of making the postseason — or achieving even more — that could use an extra arm.

FanGraphs’ Depth Charts projections have the Athletics, Cleveland Guardians, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels, Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants, and New York Mets ranked among the bottom 10 rotations in baseball by fWAR — just to name a few examples of teams who are seemingly trying to compete that could use an extra boost.

Today, we’re going to look at the top five options remaining that should realistically land a major-league deal. It’s difficult to say when these starters might come into demand, but if history is any indicator, they’re sure to find a spot before Opening Day.

All stats courtesy Baseball Savant and FanGraphs.

5. Spencer Turnbull, RHP

Spencer Turnbull's 2Ks in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/jvSSGzOSy6

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 24, 2024

2024 Stats and 2025 Projections

• 2024 Stats: 17 G, 54.1 IP, 2.65 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, 26.1 K%, 9.0 BB%, 0.7 fWAR
• 2025 Steamer Projections: 16 G, 89.0 IP, 4.22 ERA, 4.17 FIP, 1.33WHIP, 20.6 K%, 8.0 BB%, 0.9 fWAR

Of all the veteran starters still available, Spencer Turnbull may offer the highest upside and lowest floor.

He just showed what he can do at his best, stepping into whatever role the Philadelphia Phillies needed him in and finishing with a sub-3.00 ERA. But he also showed the risk he comes with, as an oft-injured right-handed who missed all of 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Turnbull pitched through June 26 with the Phillies before a lat strain kept him from returning at all in 2024.

But what he displayed in his time on the field should have teams interested in bringing him in if he’s healthy and able to contribute in 2025.

Not only did Turnbull’s strikeout rate jump to a career-high level in Philadelphia, he also continued to allow less than a home run per nine innings while generating a 47.5% groundball rate.

The 32-year-old most frequently threw his four-seam fastball and a newly introduced sweeper, but he mixed six pitches, all of which delivered fairly promising results.

Particularly encouraging were the outcomes he got on his sweeper, holding hitters to sub-.200 average, allowing only nine hits and one homer on the 304 he threw.

All of Turnbull’s breaking pitchers were exceptional last season and were a big part of his success, whether working out of the bullpen or as a starter.

However, Turnbull thrived when working out of the rotation, seeing his ERA drop to 1.78 in his starts while batters hit just .146 against him. His strikeout rate jumped to 27.7%, as well.

Meanwhile, in relief, he was still solid enough — 4.26 ERA, .247 batting average against, 23.5% strikeout rate — but he seems to fit in the bucket of an effective starter a little bit better.

At this point, and perhaps for the rest of his career, the question will just be about health. Turnbull has cracked the 100-inning threshold just once since debuting in 2018.

Regardless, there’s no questioning that Turnbull will be a risky addition and is the most unique option on this list. He’s definitively not an inning-eater, and getting 100 innings out of him in 2025 would be a capital W win.

But if there’s a club that can leverage the skills he showed in 2024, and potentially give him a shot as a longman or short-stint starter, he could potentially be a steal of the offseason.

4. Andrew Heaney, LHP

1,000 career strikeouts for Andrew Heaney! 🏆
@Rangers | #StraightUpTX | @BallySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/j2Vw60HxI9

— FanDuel Sports Network Southwest (@FanDuelSN_SW) July 6, 2024

2024 Stats and 2025 Projections

• 2024 Stats: 32 G, 160.0 IP, 4.28 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.25 WHIP, 22.9 K%, 5.9 BB%, 2.2 fWAR
• 2025 Steamer Projections: 29 G, 160.0 IP, 4.26 ERA, 4.31 FIP, 1.27 WHIP, 22.3 K%, 7.3 BB%, 1.7 fWAR

Andrew Heaney has long been a tantalizing talent. One who racked up strikeouts and limited walks but, for one reason or another, could never consistently deliver over the course of a full season.

His past two years with the Texas Rangers have been the most consistent we’ve seen him since his debut in 2014. The “Heandog” has worked as a starter and out of the bullpen for the 2023 World Series champs while delivering an ERA just north of four in over 300 innings of work.

The thing is, he’s found this new in-between level while getting further away from the pitcher he used to be. He’s not sneaking up on 30% strikeout rates anymore, and he isn’t missing bats as much as he used to. But hardly any pitchers — especially non-superstar ones — do as they creep into their mid-30s.

His changeup and fastball graded out fairly well last season, with both registering a positive run value. The development of the changeup is important to Heaney’s ability to stick in a rotation.

If he does land with a team that offers him a chance to start, he may have to start adhering to the wily-vet playbook of widening his arsenal.

It seems unlikely that Heaney will provide much more than a No. 5 starter at most in 2025 and beyond, and perhaps a swingman role is where his career is headed. His experience out of the bullpen — he’s come on in relief at least once in each of the past four seasons — could be seen as an asset to interested clubs.

Although he threw over 300 innings in the last two years, Heaney isn’t going to work more than five innings per start all that often. In 2024, he recorded a 16th out in only 11 of his 31 starts.

A traditionally flyball-heavy pitcher, Heaney could be a situational target for teams with home run-suppressing parks.

3. Lance Lynn, RHP

2024 Stats and 2025 Projections

• 2024 Stats: 23 G, 117.1 IP, 3.84 ERA, 4.31 FIP, 1.23 WHIP, 21.3 K%, 8.6 BB%, 1.3 fWAR
• 2025 Steamer Projections: 24 G, 135.0 IP, 4.38 ERA, 4.39 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, 21.8 K%, 7.5 BB%, 1.4 fWAR

The question surrounding Lance Lynn as he searches for his next opportunity is: What role will he slot into?

Lynn told The Athletic in late January that he could be interested in moving to the bullpen for the final act of his career — an interest that is apparently shared by potential suitors.

Whether Lynn’s 92.5 MPH fastball can play up in relief is certainly up for debate, but you’d have to figure if he can sign as a starter, he would take that option.

Now 37 years old, the 6-foot-5 right-hander is coming off a respectable season with the St. Louis Cardinals, but he did see his strikeouts and walk rates go in the wrong direction for a second straight year.

However, Lynn once again found success with his heater, generating a 16 run value with his four-seamer, according to Baseball Savant — which ranked as the ninth most-valuable four-seam fastball in MLB. The pitch held opposing hitters to a sub-.200 average and generated a 28.7% whiff rate.

Now, maybe that success shows why there might be some interest in moving Lynn to the ‘pen.

Although Lynn missed a chunk of time last season, his four second-half starts may offer a glimpse of hope for teams interested in adding him as a starter.

In those starts, the longtime Cardinal allowed just three earned runs — two via solo shots — over 21.0 innings, walking seven and striking out 17.

Lynn’s days of throwing 170+ innings are likely over, but if he can become an effective five-and-dive type, he could offer a team some production at the back of a rotation.

2. Kyle Gibson, RHP

Kyle Gibson brought the heat in Arizona today! 🔥

5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K#ForTheLou pic.twitter.com/5x2Siyn5Oi

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 26, 2024

2024 Stats and 2025 Projections

• 2024 Stats: 30 G, 169.2 IP, 4.24 ERA, 4.87 FIP, 1.35 WHIP, 20.9 K%, 9.4 BB%, 1.5 fWAR
• 2025 Steamer Projections: 28 G, 159.0 IP, 4.26 ERA, 4.30 FIP, 1.40 WHIP, 19.7 K%, 7.9 BB%, 1.6 fWAR

At this point in his career, Kyle Gibson might as well change his phone number to 1-800-MORE-INNINGS.

Since debuting in 2013, Gibson ranks fourth in MLB in innings pitch (1865.2), and outside of the shortened 2020 campaign, the 37-year-old has surpassed 150 completed frames in nine of the last 10 years and in seven straight.

Like Quintana, Gibson doesn’t get outs with a blazing fastball. Instead, he locates his six-pitch well and has quietly developed a couple of pitches that generate swing-and-miss at an elite rate.

Both Gibson’s sweeper and curveball returned whiff rates above 40% in 2024, with his changeup checking in at 39%.

Although he threw the two latter of those offerings less than 10% of the time with the St. Louis Cardinals, perhaps there’s something there that a savvy club with strong pitching development could bring out of Gibson more often.

This offseason, Gibson’s third-straight year as a free agent, has been a little different from the past two winters that saw the 2021 All-Star agree to deals in late-November and early-December. However, on Feb. 6, the right-hander appeared on MLB Network Radio and said that he’s had conversations with teams, but is looking for a certain situation that best suits his family.

"There will always be a need for starting pitching."

Kyle Gibson remains one of the top starters in free agency.

🔗 https://t.co/fGPbvbj8w4 pic.twitter.com/7Xj2xzs7U2

— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) February 6, 2025

Gibson’s value lies in the toll he can save on a bullpen or his fellow starters over the course of a 162-game season — it always has been. So, it seems likely that his services will be requested by a club in need of someone to pick up the slack behind a group of young starters who could benefit from having a veteran presence, as well.

1. Jose Quintana, LHP

2024 Stats and 2025 Projections

• 2024 Stats: 31 G, 170.1 IP, 3.75 ERA, 4.56 FIP, 1.25 WHIP, 18.8 K%, 8.8 BB%, 1.0 fWAR
• 2025 Steamer Projections: 29 G, 171.0 IP, 4.35 ERA, 4.41 FIP, 1.40 WHIP, 18.4 K%, 8.4 BB%, 1.4 fWAR

Perhaps the safest option of the pitchers we’ll go over, Jose Quintana might not bring the most intimidating stuff to the mound at 36 years old, but the veteran southpaw has shown he’s more than capable of getting outs at the MLB level.

Over the past three seasons, Quintana owns the 25th-best ERA in baseball (3.39) among qualified starting pitchers, ranking ahead of the likes of Dylan Cease, George Kirby, and Kevin Gausman.

Of course, ERA isn’t the best stat to predict future success for pitchers, but Quintana has consistently been able to limit runs by getting groundballs, keeping the ball in the yard, and maintaining a respectable enough walk rate.

It’s a little surprising that Quintana hasn’t found a new home so late into the offseason based on his recent success, veteran presence and the second half and postseason he put together with the New York Mets in 2024.

Quintana played a key role in New York’s late-season push into October, and then provided a pair of excellent starts in the Wild Card and NLDS.

In the second half, Quintana began throwing his fastball more often and slightly cut into his sinker usage, leaning on the straighter pitch a little bit more. Ultimately, both proved to be effective, holding hitters to a sub-.250 average despite neither averaging more than 91 MPH.

While he’s never been a flamethrower, the 13-year veteran also mixes in a curveball, changeup, and slurve. As a fourth or fifth starter, having that deep arsenal is important for a pitcher like Quintana to keep hitters off balance.

Quintana should be one of the first names teams call in the coming days in search of pitching help. He’s arguably the best starter remaining and would be a solid option for any club in need of an inning-eater who has shown recently that he can deliver in a pinch come October.