Two potential starting pitcher free agents who could be targeted by the Guardians in the coming month (or beyond) in Michael Soroka and Nick Pivetta. Let’s talk about these hurlers.
You can find our previous articles about potential Guardians’ free agent targets here and here. I did not include Soroka and Pivetta because I felt the prices reflected on FanGraphs and MLBTrade Rumors for both were a little too high, but with Zack Meisel emphasizing today from the GM Meetings that the team is trying to find starting
pitching depth and spending a lot of time talking to agents, accordingly, I think I should expand our net of pitchers to evaluate just a little.
First, Nick Pivetta… the right-hander is 33 years old, put up a 2.86 ERA and a 2.21 FIP with a 11/2 K/BB/9… in only 34 innings for the Padres because he dealt with an elbow strain in his pitching arm. ELBOW! ELBOW! ELBOW! the warning signs blare. MLB Trade Rumors has Pivetta at 2 years and $26M which would be an absolute steal if it weren’t for the ELBOW, ELBOW, ELBOW. The primary reason that Pivetta might be a decent fit for the Guardians is that (knock on wood) the organization has done very well helping pitchers manage their health and rebuild free agent value. Is it possible that Pivetta would be interested in a two-year deal with a player opt out for something similar to what MLBTrade Rumors suggests? If so, wow, I’d love for the Guardians to make that kind of move. Over the past two seasons, Pivetta has a 2.86 ERA. He is a front-of-the-rotation arm… if that arm has a functioning ELBOW, ELBOW, ELBOW. The Padres declining to pick up his option may be another red flag for teams.
Second, right-hander Michael Soroka has dealt with a lot of injuries in his career but he managed to throw 116 innings last season for the Braves with a 3.41 ERA/3.19 FIP and an 8.84/2.25 K/BB/9. He’s 29 years old and has thrown over 150 innings just once in his career, in 2019. MLB Trade Rumors projects Soroka for 2/$26M and FanGraphs says 2/$34. Again, if the Guardians can sell themselves as an organization that can help pitchers stay healthy, Soroka is a great mid-rotation-arm when healthy. Maybe there’s a similar two-year deal with a player opt-out that would make sense for both sides.
In summary, add Pivetta and Soroka to the list of potential Guardians’ starting pitcher targets in free agency, joining the linkes of Brandon Woodruff, Foster Griffin, David Peterson, Tyler Mahle, Nick Martinez, Kris Bubic, Shane Bieber, and Pablo Sandoval. Will the Guardians make a move before December 1st? Who knows? Which one of these ten pitchers are of the most interest to you? Let us know in the comments below
