The starting pitching market in free agency includes a few top stars and a slew of solid talent. But it’s hard to predict how much the top stars will sign for before the offseason begins. On Wednesday night, the Toronto Blue Jays set the market when they agreed to a seven-year, $210 million deal with Dylan Cease.
This deal is going to have a huge impact on the pitching market. In fact, it’s very good news for the rest of the top pitchers in free agency.
Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez is arguably the top talent on the market. He’s potentially going to sign a deal even bigger than Cease’s, so it’s very good news for the lefty that Cease was able to land over $200 million.
The fact that Cease signed first is also good news for Valdez. This eliminates one of the arms on the market for pitching-desperate teams like the San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox. One of these teams could be more willing to spend big, with the market beginning to dwindle in terms of top arms.
Either way, Valdez is likely headed for at least $180 million, considering the huge deal Cease landed.
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