There are a handful of quality starting pitchers on the Major League Baseball free-agent market this winter, including Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, and Blake Snell.
While those three names may garner the most attention, World Baseball Network focuses on the best free-agent hurlers born in countries outside the United States, including a superstar from Nippon Professional Baseball ready to make his mark on the league.
These five international free-agent starting pitchers are up for grabs during the 2025 MLB offseason.
Quintana will turn 36 in January but still has some gas left in the tank. In his 13-year MLB career, he has played for seven teams and could make it eight if the New York Mets decide his services are no longer needed.
He may deliver a few strikeouts, but Quintana primarily generates outs with his sinker, a pitch he used 30.4 percent of the time in 2024, and secondary pitches (curveball, changeup, slurve). The lefty posted a 3.75 regular season ERA and pitched well for the Mets in the postseason, proving he can be a reliable arm in the back end of a contending team rotation.
Now 31, Montas has not looked the same since undergoing right shoulder surgery with the New York Yankees in 2022. However, a handful of teams will still consider the Dominican this winter due to his track record.
Montas is only three years removed from striking out ten batters per nine innings with the Oakland Athletics and was healthy for most of the 2024 season. He started 30 games for the first time since 2021. He may be able to lower his ERA (4.84) and home runs allowed per nine innings (1.4) if he can find himself a contract playing in a more pitcher-friendly environment than Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, where he played the first half of 2024 with the Reds.
The Mets took a one-year flier on Severino last offseason, hoping he could rebound from an abysmal 2023 with the Yankees. The two-time All-Star did that and more, becoming one of their most important players during the regular season.
Severino posted a 3.91 ERA in 2024, but more importantly, he made 31 starts, the most he’s made in a season since 2018. Opposing hitters batted just .139 against Severino’s sweeper in 2024, a pitch he used 17.2 percent of the time last season. Although he’s only 30, the sweeper may be a pitch Severino uses more and more as he ages. Expect Severino’s name to appear in tons of rumors for teams needing a third or fourth starter.
Kikuchi was lights out for the Houston Astros after a mid-season trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. With Toronto, the lefty went 4-9 with a 4.75 ERA and 17 home runs allowed in 115.2 innings. In 10 games with Houston, Kikuchi lowered his ERA to 2.70 in 60 innings but still had the propensity to give up the long ball. He gave up eight with the Astros to bring his season total to 25.
Kikuchi, 33, should be in the mix for a two or three-year deal after his performance with the Astros. His pitch mix includes a four-seam fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup, all pitches he seems comfortable throwing in any count. Kikuchi averages 95.5 mph on his fastball, and he’s in the 90th percentile amongst MLB pitchers in extension toward home plate, which could make his four-seamer appear deceptively faster.
Was there ever any doubt? Sasaki is the most coveted international pitcher in the free agent market and possibly a top-five free agent in this year’s class. The Chiba Lotte Marines, the organization he played four seasons for in NPB from 2021-24, announced their plans to post Sasaki early this past Saturday morning.
Sasaki consistently throws his fastball at 100 mph and keeps hitters off balance with a deadly splitter. His performance in the 2023 World Baseball Classic for Samurai Japan was just the beginning of showcasing what he can do on the mound, as he threw 26 of 29 fastballs over 100 mph against Mexico. Sasaki is just 23 years old, the same age Shohei Ohtani was when he joined the Los Angeles Angels, and is free to sign with any of the 30 teams that pursue him. Once posted, MLB clubs will have 45 days to negotiate a contract with the righty.
Honorable Mentions
