#pitching-rotation

#pitching-rotation

Rome boasts a very strong starting rotation with all five in, or near the BP Top 30, headlined by Cam Caminiti - fresh off an amazing 2025 campaign.

Boyd, who turned 35 last month, tossed a career-high 179 1/3 innings with the Cubs last season. He worked to a strong 3.21 ERA with a slightly below-average 21.4% strikeout rate but a terrific 5.8% walk rate. Boyd is entering the second season of a two-year, $29MM contract.

Javier Assad threw 51 pitches in the outing, allowing nothing, and continuing to stretch himself out for the MLB regular season. He's done this before for Team Mexico, and it's really impressive how reliable he is in any capacity.

Both Schwellenbach, 25, and Waldrep, 23, were known to have issues with the elbows before today's announcement, so Braves fans may not be freaking out as much as it would seem from the outside. Still, each young righty was outstanding in a partial big league season in 2025, and was expected to be a major contributor this year to a very good Braves team.

One area with a range of potential outcomes is the rotation. The group performed quite well in 2025, placing eighth in the league with a combined 13.5 fWAR. and Carlos Rodón were the biggest reasons for that success. Fried excelled in a career-high 195 1/3 innings, showcasing his signature control and groundball tendencies en route to a fourth-place finish in AL Cy Young voting.

Logan Webb couldn't hide his grin. In the leadup to the World Baseball Classic, the Giants will welcome Webb and Team USA for an exhibition at Scottsdale Stadium. With nothing on the line, who better to face the likes of Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, Rafael Devers and Bryce Eldridge than Webb? That matchup won't be in the cards. While Webb declined to say when he's scheduled to pitch for Team USA, he did share that he won't toe the slab against his teammates.

Less than two years later, the 20-year-old made his major league debut, giving up two runs and striking out seven in six innings as he fired 97 mph fastballs and a big curveball, impressing then-Dodgers manager Joe Torre. "He's the real deal," the Hall of Fame skipper said. Kershaw was still a work in progress, working on his command and relying almost exclusively on only those two pitches until he started throwing his slider the following season.

The Reds and right-hander Brady Singer are in agreement on a $12.75MM salary for the 2026 campaign, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. It's the final year of arbitration for Singer, who is set to hit free agency next offseason. The contract is slightly above MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz's projection of $11.9MM. Singer is represented by Excel Sports Management. Cincinnati acquired Singer in a November 2024 trade that sent Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer to Kansas City.

Imai was one of the top pitchers in free agency this offseason after spending eight seasons with the Seibu Lions in NPB. Across 159 outings, Imai authored a 3.53 ERA and a 1.267 WHIP across 963 2/3 innings, striking out opponents at an 8.5 K/9 clip. The right-hander turns 28 later this year and is coming off one of his best seasons in 2025, tossing a 1.92 ERA across 163 2/3 innings.

The Red Sox already boast one American League Cy Young Award finalist on their roster in Garrett Crochet. But could Boston have both Crochet and the likely 2026 Cy Young frontrunner in Detroit's Tarik Skubal in their rotation next season? ESPN's Buster Olney believes that the Red Sox have the resources in place to make a legitimate run at the reigning Cy Young Award winner this winter if Detroit dangles him out on the trade market.