Looking for bullpen help? There’s certainly quite an array on the free agent front. More than a hundred to be exact. All shapes and sizes. Lefties, righties, long guys, middle guys, short guys and closers.
There are in fact seven pitchers that recorded at least twenty saves in 2024 that are currently available through free agency. The latest added to the list was Kyle Finnegan, the leader of this list and third in MLB with 38 last season. Finnegan was non tendered by Washington.
Kirby Yates put together a thirty save campaign in Texas. All the way back from arm misery at age thirty-seven. The Yankees Clay Holmes had thirty but lost the job after leading the majors with 13 blown saves.
Two of the best ever are available
Two of the top five all time saves leader found their way to twenty plus saves and the free agent market. Kenley Jansen was still effective when was healthy in his fifteenth year in the bigs and second in Boston. Twenty-seven more for a career total of four hundred and forty-seven.
Jansen’s total sits fourth all time. He’s seven ahead of Craig Kimbrel who struggled and lost jobs in both Philadelphia and Baltimore where he tacked on perhaps the last twenty-three of his star studded career.
Carlos Estévez hung twenty-six on the board between the Angels and Phillies, and then there’s Tanner Scott. His twenty-two were the fewest of the twenty save guys but the saves slowed to a trickle when he was traded from Miami to San Diego where he set up Robert Suarez.
Tanner Scott your best bet
His season however produced a 4.0 War which sat just outside the top ten for all pitchers in baseball. He was very good in just about every situation there is. In seventy-two games, righties hit .197 and lefties .132. He strikeouts to walks ratio was 84/36.
The lefty also pitched in five post season games with the Padres and was near perfect, facing seventeen batters while allowing only two hits, one walk, no runs and seven strikeouts.
There are six more free agent pitchers that saved ten or more games last season, not no mention Jordan Romano who had eight. Romano non tendered by Toronto after elbow surgery following back to back thirty-six save seasons.
And as I mentioned almost a hundred more up for grabs. Very quietly however Tanner Scott seems to be the number one bullpen guy you should be going after and there are plenty of teams in need of his services.
