The top-shelf starting pitchers your team dreamed on this winter? They’re almost all gone – Corbin Burnes to Arizona, Garrett Crochet traded to Boston, Max Fried getting rich in the Bronx.
So what’s a team in need of an offseason revamp to do? Build from the back to the front.
Despite the high-profile starting pitcher signings, a trove of difference-makers remain on another market – the bullpen. And while reliever volatility has cursed many a front office, advanced metrics and pitch development labs have taken much of the guesswork out of forecasting future reliever success.
With that, here’s a look at the 11 best remaining relievers on the market, based on USA TODAY Sports’ ranking of 120 free agents, with age as of April 1 and previous team:
1. Tanner Scott (30, Padres)
You could make a case that Scott is deserving a deal similar to Josh Hader, the dominant lefty who earned a $95 million pact from Houston last year. But for as much as baseball executives love to tout a pitcher that can enter at any time in high-leverage situations, they still don’t pay those guys as much as so-called traditional closers. Yet Scott was worth 4.0 WAR last year, struck out 84 in 72 innings and produced a 1.05 WHIP the past two seasons. A difference-maker.
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2. Carlos Estévez (32, Phillies)
The 6-foot-6 former Angels closer was an All-Star in 2023 and was largely dominant again in 2024 (0.91 WHIP) before a so-so three playoff appearances for the Phillies. An 86% save percentage the past two years, and induces enough weak contact to be a high-leverage guy of various stripes.
3. Jeff Hoffman (33, Phillies)
You can put an asterisk on this one as Hoffman may be redeployed as a starting pitcher in 2025, for which he has a 5.64 career ERA in 50 starts – 38 of them coming as a Colorado Rockie. Yet Hoffman was great as a reliever the past two seasons, earning All-Star honors in Philly last year before second-half and playoff hiccups. Clay Holmes was in a similar boat this winter as an All-Star reliever tabbed as a soon-to-be-starter-again; he received a three-year, $38 million deal from the Mets.
4. Kirby Yates (38, Rangers)
With a solid offseason in progress and one more big hole left in their bullpen, it seemed likely the Rangers might re-up Yates, a 2024 All-Star who saved 33 games. But they opted for old friend Chris Martin instead and all indications are that might be it for relief actions in Arlington. So, who needs a well-seasoned vet who’s posted a 1.04 WHIP and struck out 12 batters per nine since returning from 2021 Tommy John surgery?
5. Spencer Turnbull (32, Phillies)
A la Hoffman, he’s a Philly expat with both starting and relieving in his past. He made seven starts and 10 relief appearances in 2024 and has a no-hitter on his resume, so perhaps he doesn’t belong on this list. But Turnbull can be a sneaky-good and versatile acquisition for any club – he missed the last half of the season due to a lat strain.
6. A.J. Minter (31, Braves)
A bit of an unknown quantity, as he underwent hip surgery in September and pitched in just 39 games. Yet Minter has punched out an average of 11 batters per nine since 2021 and had a 160 adjusted ERA last year. Owns .602 OPS against lefty hitters in his career, and is No. 2 southpaw on this list behind Scott.
7. Kenley Jansen (37, Red Sox)
Quietly good two-year stint in Boston, where he converted 56 of 64 save chances (86%) and had a 1.06 WHIP last season. Not as fungible as other options but a fine ninth-inning guy, still. Just 31 saves from 478 in his career, tying Lee Smith for third place on the all-time list.
8. David Robertson (39, Rangers)
The parade of tried-and-trues continue. Robertson turned down a 2025 player option after pitching a career-high 72 innings in his age-38 season – and maintained a 1.11 WHIP and 2.65 FIP.
9. Tommy Kahnle (35, Yankees)
A Bronx reunion seemed to make sense, at least before the Yankees traded for Devin Williams and Fernando Cruz, which would relegate Kahnle to a sixth- or seventh-inning kinda guy. He can probably find higher-leverage dollars elsewhere after striking out 10.2 batters per nine innings and posting eight consecutive scoreless playoff outings.
10. Buck Farmer (34, Reds)
We veer from solid to serviceable here; Farmer will take the ball, as his 71 and 61 appearances the past two seasons attest, but his 4.00 FIP and the notion he may miss fewer bats as he ages are points of concern.
11. Danny Coulombe (35, Orioles)
We’ll round this out with one more lefty for the road. Coulombe was solid for two seasons with Baltimore (2.56 ERA, 0.95 WHIP) before an elbow cleanout curtailed his ’24 season. Yet it’s not a long-term health concern and Coulombe remains deadly on lefties (.175 average against, no walks, .400 OPS in ’24).