While the position player contingent of the 2026 free-agent class lacks a true superstar, the same is not true of the available pitchers. In fact, the man many consider the best pitcher in the world is on the market.
Beyond Tarik Skubal, there are several available pitchers who can front a contending rotation, as well as impact relievers who can shorten games.
Here’s a closer look at Sportsnet’s ranking of the top 10 free-agent pitchers.
(In case you missed it, check out the position player list.) (2026 WAR is per FanGraphs.)
1. Tarik Skubal
Age: 29
Position: Starting pitcher
2026 WAR: 5.2
What can we say about Skubal that hasn’t already been said? He's expected to set a record for a free-agent pitcher contract, and deservedly so. The left-hander has won two Cy Young awards and leads all qualified MLB starters in fWAR (21.3) and FIP (2.42) since 2023.
Skubal’s free-agent case looked perilous when he underwent surgery in May to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. The initial recovery timeline was expected to be two-to-three months, yet Skubal returned to a major-league mound in roughly five weeks. He barely missed a beat, was traded from Detroit to Los Angeles, and put up a 2.61 ERA with 70 strikeouts across 10 starts and 62 innings for the Dodgers.
The team that signs Skubal will be landing an elite competitor and legitimate ace in the prime of his career.
2. Freddy Peralta
Age: 30
Position: Starting pitcher
2026 WAR: 1.9
Much has been made of Peralta’s 2026, which featured a rock bottom and a triumphant return to form. Over the first four months of the campaign, the right-hander was among the worst starters in the majors. He looked nothing like the elite pitcher the New York Mets thought they were acquiring in their off-season trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.
At the trade deadline, the sinking Mets dealt Peralta to the Tampa Bay Rays, who quickly enacted changes that rescued the right-hander. The club simplified his windup, altered his positioning on the mound and tweaked his pitch usage, among other changes. He regained his velocity and the results were almost immediate, as Peralta authored a 3.25 ERA over his 10 regular-season starts with the Rays.
He found another gear in the playoffs, posting a 2.95 ERA over 21.1 frames while earning American League Championship Series MVP honours.
3. Sonny Gray
Age: 36
Position: Starting pitcher
2026 WAR: 3.4
Gray’s free agency case is certainly interesting as he’s coming off a resurgent year in Boston.
The results were there: His 2.72 ERA in 2026 was a massive improvement over the 4.07 mark he recorded over his prior two seasons in St. Louis. However, his FIP was higher last season (3.47) than it was with the Cardinals (3.26), suggesting he might’ve been a little lucky. The right-hander’s strikeout rate also dipped to 21.8 per cent last year from 26.7 the previous campaign.
That being said, the 14-year veteran has proven he can log innings purely with guile. Gray’s sweeper-sinker combo was especially effective last season, with opponents batting just .137 and .217, respectively, off those offerings.
4. Michael King
Age: 31
Position: Starting pitcher
2026 WAR: 2.6
The right-hander seems perennially underrated, and that really shouldn’t be the case. Since converting from a reliever to a full-time starter in 2023, all he’s done is shove. King owns a 3.15 ERA and 131 ERA-plus over his past three seasons with the San Diego Padres. He’s also developed into a workhorse, with his 185 innings last year tied for fourth in the National League.
King opted out of his contract, which included two more years and $58 million (plus a $5-million buyout) and there’s a strong chance he earns much more than that on the open market.
5. Adrian Morejon
Age: 27
Position: Reliever
2026 WAR: 2.8
Outside of Brewers’ post-season legend Aaron Ashby, Morejon is the best left-handed reliever in the sport. Morejon served as a set-up man to Padres closer Mason Miller last year, but he can slam the door on games nearly just as well. He’s at his best in high-leverage situations, holding opponents to a paltry .189/.272/.262 slash line.
Featuring a 99.5-m.p.h. power sinker with a Run Value of 12, Morejon routinely bullies hitters. His 58 per cent groundball rate is in the 98th percentile and, as a matter of fact, his Baseball Savant page is blood red.
Expect Morejon to get paid this winter.
6. David Bednar
Age: 32
Position: Reliever
2026 WAR: 1.9
Bednar was acquired by the New York Yankees at the 2025 trade deadline and his success as closer in the Bronx has no doubt raised his profile. He posted a 2.47 ERA with 35 saves last season. Armed with a devastating splitter that ranks as MLB’s best, Bednar produced a career-high 38.4 chase percentage.
7. Trevor Rogers
Age: 28
Position: Starting pitcher
2026 WAR: 4.0
While Rogers’s 1.81 ERA in 2025 was an aberration, his 2026 campaign helped solidify him as a middle-of-the-rotation starter who’s capable of providing quality innings. The left-hander’s overall 4.03 ERA was not attractive, but he was a much better pitcher from June onward, compiling a 2.90 ERA across 20 starts and 121 innings.
Rogers’s success over the past few years has been directly tied to his four-seam fastball. Although he doesn’t throw it particularly hard — the pitch averaged 93.8 m.p.h. last season — it’s been an effective offering that he’s used more frequently. In 2024, Rogers threw the pitch at a 31.7 per cent clip, while this past season, that number had risen to 46.9.
8. Kaima Taira
Age: 26
Position: Starting pitcher
2026 WAR: N/A
Taira has spent nine years with the Seibu Lions and has oscillated between the bullpen and starting rotation since 2023. Most recently, he saved 31 games in 2025, then spent last season as a starter, producing a sparkling 1.36 ERA with 141 strikeouts across 146 innings.
The right-hander with a stocky build — he’s listed at five-foot-seven, 218 pounds — features a lively fastball that can reach the upper-90s, along with seven other pitches. Opponents hit just .184 off Taira last season and he generated a 48.5 per cent ground ball rate.
One question surrounding the soon-to-be 27-year-old is whether MLB teams will view him as a starting pitcher or a power reliever.
9. Clay Holmes
Age: 33
Position: Starting pitcher
2026 WAR: 1.8
Holmes declined his $12-million player option and should have plenty of suitors this off-season. The right-hander, a former elite reliever, has transitioned nicely to life as a starter (3.44 ERA, 267 innings over the past two seasons).
He was enjoying a strong campaign with the Mets last year before fracturing his right fibula in mid-May, an injury that sidelined him for three months. Holmes was traded to the Chicago Cubs at the deadline and made nine starts for the club down the stretch.
Holmes won’t post high strikeout totals but his success is largely tied to an elite sinker that helped him generate a 99th-percentile groundball rate.
10. Casey Mize
Age: 29
Position: Starting pitcher
2026 WAR: 2.3
Mize was enjoying a breakout campaign with the Detroit Tigers (2.70 ERA, 86.2 innings, 95 strikeouts), but the right-hander cratered after a trade to San Diego. His numbers over 10 starts with the Padres were putrid (7.46 ERA, 7.18 FIP, 12.0 K%).
Those struggles could’ve been tied to an ankle injury, and so there’s a fair chance some team will be willing to look past his second half and hope his relative young age means there’s plenty of upside in Mize’s future.
Honourable mention: Nick Martinez (2.9), Kevin Gausman (3.1), Foster Griffin (2.6), Shota Imanaga (1.8), Jack Flaherty (1.3), Michael Soroka (2.7)
