MLB Free Agents: Rumors, Predictions for Luis Severino, Brandon Woodruff, More
The first big domino of MLB free agency fell over the weekend when the Philadelphia Phillies and Aaron Nola agreed to a seven-year, $172 million deal that will keep him with the only team he has known in his professional career.
His deal is far from the only one that will happen in the coming weeks and months, with Luis Severino and Brandon Woodruff among those set to make headlines.
The Atlanta Braves will also likely create buzz in their pursuit of a starting pitcher to bolster their roster.
What is the latest on those two pitchers and what have the defending NL East champs done to set themselves up to be players?
Find out with the latest rumors from industry insiders.
Mets Interested in Luis Severino
Will Sammon of The Athletic reported, "The Mets are among the teams that have shown interest in Luis Severino and plan to soon meet with the right-hander, league sources said."
Severino has played his entire MLB career with the Yankees, but 2023 turned out to be his worst season. He compiled a 6.65 ERA and gave up his highest opponent on-base percentage (.366) and OPS (.921).
However, the 29-year-old is a two-time All-Star, has been in Cy Young consideration and is a player who still has plenty to offer an organization.
Injuries have been an issue, and he did undergo Tommy John surgery in 2020, but there is plenty to work with if a team like the Mets is willing to put the people around him who can fix the shortcomings that plagued him this past season.
In return, Severino can provide the team with the quality its rotation was lacking in 2023.
The Mets entered the season with World Series hopes and both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in the rotation. But they never found consistent pitching outside of free-agent signing Kodai Senga.
The team will likely be in on multiple pitchers this season as they hope to regain form and compete in the National League.
Severino will be a tough sell to fans who saw his form dissipate last season, but with his upside and the team's needs on the mound, it's a potential partnership the Mets should explore.
Prediction: Severino signs with a team invested in his upside, be it the Mets or elsewhere
Teams Calling About Brandon Woodruff
One of the bigger surprises of this offseason was the Milwaukee Brewers' decision not to offer Brandon Woodruff a new deal.
With the 30-year-old recovering from a shoulder injury that required surgery and forced him to miss four months, the team appeared to have few options.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic noted that Woodruff has attracted attention from teams interested in signing him, including the Brewers, and it is not particularly surprising why.
The two-time All-Star was among the best pitchers in the game prior to his injury. He went 5-1 in 11 starts, with an ERA of 2.28, a WHIP of 0.82 and 74 strikeouts. He may even have been a Cy Young candidate if he had been able to finish out the season.
As Rosenthal wrote, his 3.10 ERA is the best in Brewers history with a minimum of 500 innings.
There may be some concern about his ability to recover from this latest procedure, especially considering how difficult it is to come back from a shoulder injury.
However, based on his history and the assertion by agent Bo McKinnis that Woodruff is expected to make a full recovery, team officials owe it to themselves and their organization to do their diligence.
Woodruff is going to sign a sizeable deal, even if it is a short-term one in hopes that he can return to form once he is fully healed—and even if it's with the same Milwaukee team where he has spent his entire MLB career.
Prediction: Woodruff returns to the Brewers
Braves Poised to Make a Move
There was more to the Atlanta Braves' decision to non-tender seven players and trade another seven prior to the non-tender deadline, Rosenthal reported.
The team saved $14 million by purging players who would not have contributed in any meaningful way to its pursuit of the 2024 World Series, giving itself room to make a big splash in the offseason.
After another disappointing playoff run that saw the Braves get hit hard by the Phillies and a closing stretch that saw them fail to keep any opponent under three runs after September 13, they will likely be looking to acquire a quality starter.
Whether they do that by making a bid for Sonny Gray or Blake Snell—the two best available free agents—or attempting to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto out of Japan's Orix Buffaloes, expect the defending NL East champions to do what is necessary to improve one of the best rosters in baseball.