What’s Next: With Tatsuya Imai Off the Board, Here Are the 5 Best Remaining Starters

Dylan Cease’s massive $210 million commitment with the Blue Jays didn’t ignite the pitching market, but deadlines tend to spur action.

One day ahead of Tatsuya Imai’s posting window closing, the Japanese standout is now off the board after reportedly signing a three-year deal with the Astros that includes opt-outs after each season and can max out at $63 million. 

Imai was one of the most intriguing arms available in free agency coming off his best year in Nippon Professional Baseball, a season in which he recorded career bests in ERA (1.92), WHIP (0.89), strikeout rate (27.8%) and walk rate (7%), among other categories. Standing a tick under 6-feet tall, Imai does not possess the typical build of a frontline starter, but it certainly didn’t hurt his market that teams just saw 5-foot-10-inch Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominate the MLB postseason en route to winning World Series MVP honors.

[Astros sign Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai]

The total value of Imai’s deal is lower than projected, but his average annual value (AAV) trails only Yamamoto’s ($27 million AAV on a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Dodgers) and Masahiro Tanaka’s ($22 million AAV on a seven-year, $155 million deal with the Yankees) for the highest for a Japanese-born pitcher. If Imai recognizes his upside in Houston and looks like one of the best pitchers in MLB, he can opt out while still in his 20s and seek a longer-term pact. 

Will his signing finally catalyze the slow-moving starting pitching market in free agency? That remains to be seen. The top arms in this year’s free-agent crop don’t pack the same punch as last year’s class, but there are still a handful of available starters who can slot into a contending rotation and potentially start games in October. 

With Cease, Michael King and now Imai off the board, here are the top remaining starting pitchers on the market and a logical landing spot for each of them. 

1. Framber Valdez, LHP
Logical landing spot: Chicago Cubs 

(Houston Astros/Getty Images)

Bringing back Shota Imanaga on the qualifying offer helps stabilize the group. If the Cubs have dreams of doing anything of significance in 2026 — especially if they lose Kyle Tucker — they need more than that. Adding a frontline arm, whether by spending or via trade, is one route to take. 

The Cubs’ rotation was fine last year, amassing a 3.83 ERA that ranked eighth in MLB. The group was 23rd in strikeout rate and 27th in ground-ball rate, though. That means with an infield as stout as the one the Cubs boast with Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson up the middle, targeting a pitcher with Valdez’s profile makes a lot of sense, even if it means spending beyond their level of comfort. 

Over the last five years, Valdez has boasted the highest ground-ball percentage of any qualified starter in MLB. Even in a down year by his standards last season, the left-hander continued to induce soft contact and force opponents to put the ball on the ground as well as almost any pitcher in the league. Valdez won’t dazzle with his swing-and-miss stuff, but he would represent a significant upgrade for a Cubs team that could use more reliable arms in October. 

Other possible fits: Mets, Orioles, Giants 

2. Ranger Suarez, LHP
Logical landing spot: New York Mets

(Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

It was easy for Suárez to get overlooked in a rotation that featured Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez and Aaron Nola. But among all pitchers who’ve thrown at least 600 innings over the last five years, Suárez ranks 10th in ERA. The 2024 All-Star just produced an even better season in 2025 with a 3.20 ERA that ranked 11th among all starters (min. 150 innings pitched). 

A master of command, Suárez has thrived despite a low-90s fastball with a vast arsenal that has helped him consistently induce soft contact and keep the ball on the ground. And even without the swing-and-miss stuff of a typical ace, he has thrived when given the opportunity in October with a 1.48 career postseason ERA over 11 appearances (including eight starts). 

Those qualities would help a volatile Mats rotation that had the sixth-highest hard-hit rate and ranked 18th in ERA last season. Considering the mass exodus out of Queens to begin the offseason, it’s hard to envision a world in which the Mets don’t grab one of the top remaining starting pitchers on the market. 

Other possible fits: Orioles, Phillies, Tigers

3. Zac Gallen, RHP
Logical landing spot: Los Angeles Angels 

(Kelsey Grant/Arizona Diamondbacks/Getty Images)

Given Gallen’s career success — he finished third in Cy Young voting in 2023 — this is a tough time for him to be entering free agency. The right-hander, who amassed a 3.20 ERA from 2022-24, recorded a career-worst 4.83 ERA in 2025 while seeing his strikeout rate plummet and allowing a career-high 31 home runs. Only three pitchers surrendered more. However, he did go out on an intriguing note, registering a 3.32 ERA over his final 11 starts. 

Initially, I had Gallen matched with the Giants, considering the pitcher-friendly environment and the club’s need for more stability behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. But after signing right-handers Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser, and with Gallen having a qualifying offer attached to potentially signing him, there may be more likely suitors. 

Angel Stadium is far from a haven for pitchers prone to the long ball, but the Angels need rotation help, could use a right-handed workhorse to pair with southpaw Yusei Kikuchi, are well below their 2025 payroll, and could see this as their best opportunity to extract the upside of a pitcher with Gallen’s history. 

Other possible fits: Giants, Braves, Cubs

4. Lucas Giolito, RHP
Logical landing spot: Detroit Tigers

(Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

Giolito might end up signing later in the offseason after the market for starting pitching becomes clearer, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him rejoin his old Harvard-Westlake high school teammate, Jack Flaherty, in Detroit. As rumors swirl about the Tigers potentially trading ace Tarik Skubal, they could still use more arms behind him as they attempt to rebound from last year’s late-season stumble and emerge beyond the division series.  

Coming off elbow surgery that wiped out his 2024 season, the start to Giolito’s lone season in Boston was rocky. But he settled in nicely, recording a 2.51 ERA over his final 19 starts to finish the year 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA. He was unable to pitch in the postseason due to another elbow issue and the underlying numbers weren’t particularly flashy, but he could represent a bargain for a team willing to take on the injury risk. He is, after all, a former All-Star still in his early 30s. 

Other possible fits: Athletics, Diamondbacks, Padres 

5. Chris Bassitt, RHP
Logical landing spot: Atlanta Braves

(Matt Dirksen/Getty Images)

With Dylan Cease, Michael King and now Imai off the board, there seems to be a relatively clear top three before a drop-off to the next tier, which includes Bassitt. The veteran right-hander will turn 37 before the start of the 2026 season, but he’s coming off an interesting year in which he registered a 3.96 ERA before emerging as a relief weapon in October for a Blue Jays team that nearly won the World Series. 

Bassitt doesn’t generate much chase or whiff, but he limits hard contact and, most notably, consistently posts. He has made at least 30 starts in each of the last four seasons, and he has recorded an ERA under 4.00 in seven of his last eight seasons. For a Braves team that was decimated by injury last year — Bryce Elder was the only Atlanta pitcher who made more than 25 starts — that reliability could be intriguing. 

Other possible fits: Rangers, Tigers, Red Sox

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner.

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