The calendar has flipped to February. Pitchers and catchers begin reporting in less than a week. If you're an MLB executive looking to give your roster one final nudge toward playoff contention, you better act fast — because time, and talent, is running out.
Luckily, there are still a few options out there who could move the needle. That's especially true in the rotation, where Framber Valdez remains available despite elite production over the last few years and Zac Gallen is just a couple seasons removed from Cy Young contention. Where will the remaining names land by the time the music stops? Let's get into it.
LHP Framber Valdez
Landing spot prediction: Baltimore Orioles
Contract prediction: Three years, $84 million (with opt-outs)
We've been over the reasons why Valdez's market has failed to pick up steam all winter, from his age to his lack of bat-missing stuff to the clubhouse concerns that chased him out of Houston. With Spring Training around the corner, though, momentum finally appears to be building, with The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reporting on Wednesday that the Pittsburgh Pirates had recently jumped into a fray that also included the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays and others.
In the end, though, I think Baltimore gets the man they've been linked to for months now. At this point, it seems likely that Valdez will opt for a shorter-term, high-AAV deal with opt outs rather than accept a long-term contract below what he thinks he's worth. The wrinkle there is that, because he turned down the qualifying offer at the start of the offseason, the team that signs him will have to give up draft capital to do so — a tough sell for potentially just one or two years of service.
The Orioles have already signed one QO player in Pete Alonso, meaning that next year's draft is already something of a sunk cost (the penalties for going from one to two QO signings are far less steep than going from zero to one). Baltimore needs an innings-eater atop their rotation to feel good about things entering the season, and they should still have money to spend. This deal puts Valdez's AAV just above Ranger Suarez's new deal with the Boston Red Sox, and would allow him to potentially hit the market again as soon as next winter.
RHP Zac Gallen
Landing spot prediction: Arizona Diamondbacks
Contract prediction: Two years, $42 million (with opt-out)
Gallen also declined the QO back in November, putting him in the same boat as Valdez — but coming off a far sketchier contract year in 2025. No team seems confident enough to sign the 30-year-old to a hefty long-term deal, and no team figures to be excited to give up the draft picks necessary to sign him for just a year or two. Which is why a D-backs reunion makes sense: As his former team, Arizona isn't on the hook for any penalties, and they could sure use the help in the rotation. Why not sign him to a short-term deal and hope for the best, knowing you can move him at the deadline if he returns to his Cy Young contender form?
RHP Justin Verlander
Landing spot prediction: Houston Astros
Contract prediction: One year, $13 million
Verlander isn't the MVP candidate he once was, but he showed down the stretch last year that he can still help a team in need at the back of its rotation (2.60 ERA, 3.36 FIP over his final 13 starts). Houston is one such team, with precious little in the way of known quantities behind Hunter Brown right now (and precious little payroll space to address that need). Verlander by all accounts loved his time with the Astros, and owner Jim Crane seems to have felt the same way. Why not get back together for one last run at an AL West title?
RHP Lucas Giolito
Landing spot prediction: Atlanta Braves
Contract prediction: Two years, $34 million (with opt-out)
The Braves have been sniffing around pretty much every remaining starting pitcher available. But while a lack of prospect depth kept them out of the Freddy Peralta sweepstakes and a lack of payroll space kept them from the deep end of free agency, Giolito seems like the sort of guy who's right up their alley.
Yes, the health risk is an issue, and he overperformed his underlying numbers for Boston last season (expected ERA: 5.06). Still, a lot of that decline in stuff can be attributed to his first year back from elbow surgery that cost him all of 2024. He'll be looking for a short-term, bounce-back deal that will allow him to hit the market again after rebuilding his value, and Atlanta needs one more solid No. 4 starter to offset some of the injury risk with Spencer Schwellenbach, Spencer Strider, Chris Sale and the gang.
RHP Chris Bassitt
Landing spot prediction: Detroit Tigers
Contract prediction: Two years, $30 million
Regardless of what happens with the Tarik Skubal saga, Detroit needs to add another starting pitcher: Beyond Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize, it's anyone's guess what the back of this rotation could look like. Bassitt is about to turn 37 later this month, and Toronto moved him to the bullpen late in the 2025 season. But he knows how to keep hitters off-balance with his deep and varied arsenal, and the spacious confines of Comerica Park should help him churn out ~170 innings of a 4.00 ERA. That has plenty of value over a long regular season, especially for a team like the Tigers who are short on sure things right now.
RHP Max Scherzer
Landing spot prediction: Philadelphia Phillies
Contract prediction: One year, $10 million (on Memorial Day)
Scherzer has signaled that he only wants to pitch for a true contender, and that he's willing to wait until after Spring Training to make his choice. Which makes sense: At age 41, he doesn't have a ton of bullets left in the tank, and he'd rather save them for October than April.
The Phillies figure to be in the mix atop the NL once again this year. Starting pitching depth could be a concern, though, with Zack Wheeler returning from injury, Andrew Painter still an unknown quantity at the big-league level and Taijuan Walker being ... well, Taijuan Walker. If Philly gets to May or June needing another viable arm, why wouldn't they give Scherzer a call? He's clearly in no rush here, and there's inelastic demand for pitching at any time of year.
DH Marcell Ozuna
Landing spot prediction: Pittsburgh Pirates
Contract prediction: One year, $13 million
Righty DHs are a tough sell these days, which helps explain why Ozuna has languished on the market for as long as he has. But he's still a reliably above-average bat with 20-homer pop, and that still has value if you have the lineup flexibility (or, less charitably, the lineup need) to make it work.
The Pirates are one such team. Even with Ryan O'Hearn and Brandon Lowe remaking the right side of the infield, Pittsburgh's DH situation is looking dire. Ozuna would bring more depth and balance to this lineup, another professional hitter for a team that needs as many of those as it can get its hands on right now. No other team should be more desperate for a 115 OPS+, no matter what form it comes in.
1B Rhys Hoskins
Landing spot prediction: San Diego Padres
Contract prediction: One year, $8 million
Hoskins was in the midst of a bounce-back year before getting waylaid first by injury and then by the sudden emergence of Andrew Vaughn in Milwaukee. Another year removed from the knee surgery that wiped out his 2023 campaign, he should once again offer 20-homer pop and solid on-base skills, useful qualities for a team with a glaring hole at first base. Speaking of which: The Padres are staring down the barrel of either Jake Cronenworth or Gavin Sheets right now. This team needs bats to fill out the bottom third of its lineup, and Hoskins can be had for cheap.
OF Michael Conforto
Landing spot prediction: Cleveland Guardians
Contract prediction: One year, $6 million
Speaking of veteran buy-low candidates. Conforto's lone year with the Dodgers was a dud, but his numbers under the hood looked right in line with his career averages. The data suggests there's still an above-average hitter here, and "above average" would be a tremendous improvement for a Guardians outfield that was literally the worst in baseball at the plate last season.