2014 Potential Free Agent Starting Pitchers

This season's World Series is nearing its close with Boston leading the Cardinals 3 games to 2 and heading back to, home sweet home, Fenway Park. That means that Free Agent season is right around the corner. In my past posts I've underlined one of the Twins major problems over the last few years as its lack of effort and success in the Free Agency market. It is extremely important to build a good strong foundation at Minor League Affiliates, and I truly believe in some of the talent the Target Field pitching mound could see in a couple of seasons. However, I also fully believe the Twins could put an AL Central Division Champion roster on the field in 2014!

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Every area of the organization could use some work, but the major area of importance and need is at starting pitching. The Twins Starters last season combined for only 871 Innings Pitched, a 5.26 ERA, and an opponents batting average of .305! All ranking worst in the MLB by relatively large margins(The next worst Starter ERA was 4.81 and the next worst opponents average was .281!). There are a couple of promising pitching prospects in the Twins' farm system, but as mentioned before, most are more than a full season away from making an appearance in the big leagues. 

At first glance this offseason's crop of Free Agent pitching looks somewhat old and undesirable. But dig a little deeper, and you can truly find some much needed gems. Below, I created a chart to show every potential 2014 Free Agent starting pitcher(that was worth mentioning) with a few credentials to accompany them. Within this list I can find a number of both Short and Longer Term solutions to a Twins starting rotation that is nearing desperation. (my rhymes are sick)

A (*) following the name of a listed player indicates a vesting, mutual, or team option in place that could potentially bring that player back to its current team in 2014. Players are listed in order of their 2013 salary from highest to lowest. Accompanying them is their age, the team they played for in 2013, their Innings Pitched, ERA, WHIP, and Quality Start Percentage totals for the 2013 season. For those unaware, a Quality Start is one in which the pitcher throws for 6 or more innings and allows 3 or less earned runs. The Quality Start Percentage divides the number of Quality Starts by the total number of starts made by the pitcher. The column titled "Stock" gives an estimation showing whether that players stock among the rest of the league has gone Up, Down, or stayed relatively the same. This rating, along with each player's past salary could give teams a rough estimation of what the player's true cost this offseason could be. 

If the price is right, their are plenty of great pitching options available to the Major League public this offseason. And, with roughly, only over $50 million in committed payroll for 2014, the Minnesota Twins have the opportunity to make a pretty big splash in the upcoming Free Agent market. In my upcoming few posts I'll look to cover a handful of potential starters on this list that I believe would look great in a Minnesota Twins jersey next year. And, further down the line, will look at another handful of potential position players that could add to the Twins' lineup depth.