FanPost
Why wait a year before signing a free agent starting pitcher? (the 2013 free agent class)
There are a lot of reasons for Dayton Moore and the Royals to wait a year before acquiring a good starting pitcher. Instead of rehashing all of them, I just want to focus on the 2013 FA class. As many have noted, the next free agent class for starting pitchers should be much better than this year's class. Let's take a look. These are players who project to be eligible for free agency after the 2012 season. The player's 2013 age is in parentheses.
| Matt Cain (28) |
| Zack Greinke (28) |
| Cole Hamels (29) |
| Shaun Marcum (31) |
| Anibal Sanchez (29) |
| Dan Haren (32) - $15.5MM club option with a $3.5MM buyout |
| Tim Hudson (37) - $9MM club option with a $1MM buyout |
| James Shields (31) - $9MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout |
| Scott Baker (31) - $9.25MM club option |
| Jorge De La Rosa (32) - $11MM player option with a $1MM buyout |
| Jeremy Guthrie (34) |
| Colby Lewis (33) |
| Francisco Liriano (29) |
| Brandon McCarthy (29) |
| Gavin Floyd (30) - $9.5MM club option |
| Brett Myers (32) - $10MM club option with a $3MM buyout |
| Jake Peavy (31) - $22MM club option with a $4MM buyout |
| Ervin Santana (30) - $13MM club option with a $1MM buyout |
| Jake Westbrook (35) - $8.5MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout if club declines |
| Ryan Dempster (36) |
| Jason Marquis (34) |
| Daisuke Matsuzaka (32) |
| Carl Pavano (37) |
| Carlos Zambrano (32) - $19.25MM player option depending on Zambrano's Cy Young voting placement |
| Joe Blanton (32) |
| Fausto Carmona (29) - $9MM club option |
| Aaron Cook (34) |
| Kevin Correia (32) |
| R.A. Dickey (38) - $5MM club option with a $300K buyout |
| Scott Feldman (29) - $9.25MM club option with a $600K buyout |
| Freddy Garcia (37) |
| Kyle Lohse (34) |
| Derek Lowe (40) |
| Jonathan Sanchez (30) |
| Randy Wolf (36) - $10MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout |
| Chien-Ming Wang (33) |
| Dontrelle Willis (31) |
Clearly some of these options are going to be exercised. So I'll take a shot at extracting the pitchers whose options are likely to be optioned. I'll undoubtedly be wrong on some of them.
| Matt Cain (28) |
| Zack Greinke (28) |
| Cole Hamels (29) |
| Shaun Marcum (31) |
| Anibal Sanchez (29) |
| Jorge De La Rosa (32) - $11MM player option with a $1MM buyout |
| Jeremy Guthrie (34) |
| Colby Lewis (33) |
| Francisco Liriano (29) |
| Brandon McCarthy (29) |
| Brett Myers (32) - $10MM club option with a $3MM buyout |
| Jake Peavy (31) - $22MM club option with a $4MM buyout |
| Jake Westbrook (35) - $8.5MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout if club declines |
| Ryan Dempster (36) |
| Jason Marquis (34) |
| Daisuke Matsuzaka (32) |
| Carl Pavano (37) |
| Carlos Zambrano (32) - $19.25MM player option depending on Zambrano's Cy Young voting placement |
| Joe Blanton (32) |
| Fausto Carmona (29) - $9MM club option |
| Aaron Cook (34) |
| Kevin Correia (32) |
| R.A. Dickey (38) - $5MM club option with a $300K buyout |
| Scott Feldman (29) - $9.25MM club option with a $600K buyout |
| Freddy Garcia (37) |
| Kyle Lohse (34) |
| Derek Lowe (40) |
| Jonathan Sanchez (30) |
| Randy Wolf (36) - $10MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout |
| Chien-Ming Wang (33) |
| Dontrelle Willis (31) |
Not all of these pitchers are actually going to make it to free agency. Some will be extended. But I really like probably 15 pitchers on that list, especially the top 12. And if 1/3 of those players get contract extensions, you've still got 8-10 quality starting pitchers on the FA market for the Royals to bid on. I like those odds.
This FanPost was written by a member of the Royals Review community. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the editors and writers of this site.
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In This FanPost
Teams
Players
- Dan Haren (P-WAS)
- Jeremy Guthrie (P-KCR)
- Joe Blanton (P-LAA)
- Colby Lewis (P-TEX)
- Roberto Hernandez (P-TAM)
- Jake Westbrook (P-STL)
- Brandon McCarthy (P-ARI)
- Scott Feldman (P-CHC)
- Freddy Garcia (P-BAL)
- Cole Hamels (P-PHI)
- Brett Myers (P-CLE)
- Jake Peavy (P-CWS)
- Jorge De La Rosa (P-COL)
- Daisuke Matsuzaka (P-CLE)
- James Shields (P-KCR)
- Kyle Lohse (P-MIL)
- Dontrelle Willis (P-CHC)
- Anibal Sanchez (P-DET)
- Kevin Correia (P-MIN)
- Aaron Cook (P-PHI)
- Zack Greinke (P-LAD)
- Chien-Ming Wang (P-TOR)
- Carl Pavano (P-MIN)
- Ervin Santana (P-KCR)
- Scott Baker (P-CHC)
- Carlos Zambrano (P-PHI)
- Jason Marquis (P-SDP)
- Ryan Dempster (P-BOS)
- Gavin Floyd (P-CWS)
- Derek Lowe (P-TEX)
- Randy Wolf (P-BAL)
- Tim Hudson (P-ATL)
- Shaun Marcum (P-NYM)
- Matt Cain (P-SFG)
- Francisco Liriano (P-PIT)
- R.A. Dickey (P-TOR)
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