Coming off a great year with the Toronto Blue Jays, expect Chris Bassitt to command a fairly strong market in free agency. There’s a good chance that the Blue Jays will try to bring Bassitt back, but heading back to the Athletics could make a ton of sense as well.
Even at 36 years old, Bassitt is still providing value to MLB teams.
When it comes to potential landing spots, it depends on what Bassitt wants as well, given that it seems like the end of his career is near. If Bassitt really values winning a World Series, then the Athletics are likely off the table.
After coming up just short with the Blue Jays, that could either light a fire for him to win it all or make him satisfied with how far that team went.
It’s not very common for 36-year-old players to receive large contracts, so it would make sense for Bassitt to get paid and head back to a place where he’s found success in the past.
This is a PREDICTION, not a REPORT.
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Chris Bassitt Joining Athletics in MLB Free Agency
In 2024, things weren’t looking too good for Bassitt. At 35, Bassitt had -0.1 WAR, a 10-14 record, and a 4.16 ERA in 31 games.
After such a steep drop-off, many thought that was the end for Bassitt. In response, Bassitt would go out there in 2025 and post 2.1 WAR, an 11-9 record, and a 3.96 ERA.
Now, to be fair, these numbers aren’t phenomenal, and Bassitt’s Baseball Savant page shows that. Last season, Bassitt had a Pitching Run Value in the 30th percentile, Fastball Run Value in the 45th, Breaking Run Value in the 67th, and Offspeed Run Value in the 6th.
At this point in his career, though, Bassitt is just focused on getting outs, not overpowering hitters. Bassitt throws his fastball just 9% of the time compared to his slider at 42%.
It works quite well, as Bassitt had just an average exit velocity mark of 87.7, which was in the 85th percentile.
How Chris Bassitt Fits with the Athletics
The Athletics have really struggled since 2021, and they’re now desperately looking to turn things around. 2025 was a strong start to that turnaround, as the Athletics had their best year since 2021, winning 76 games.
No one is going to confuse the Athletics for World Series contenders, but they need to keep stacking good seasons to get themselves out of the hole they’ve dug themselves.
Adding a bunch of veterans wouldn’t make a ton of sense, but Bassitt would fit this roster when you take all of the factors into account.
The back end of the Athletics’ rotation has a ton of youth per. Right now, Luis Medina is the projected 5th starter, and he’s really struggled over the last two years. In 2025, Medina had 0.5 WAR, a 5-14 record, and 5.35 ERA.
At 26 years old, Medina could benefit from taking time to develop more, and Bassitt would be an immediate upgrade.
Chris Bassitt Stats
Touching on a few more important stats from Bassitt in 2025, his xERA was solid, but his xBA wasn’t great. On the year, Bassitt had an xERA of 4.24, which was in the 36th percentile.
For Bassitt’s xBA, though, that was .255, which was in the 27th percentile.
Overall, it’s really going to come down to what Bassitt wants. If he values heading back to the team where he spent six years, the Athletics should be willing to sign him in MLB free agency.