There’s a Simple Reason MLB Teams Are Paying Top Dollar for Starting Pitching

Juan Soto and his mega-deal with the New York Mets has dominated the headlines of MLB Hot Stove season.

But if you’ve been following some of the smaller headlines just below the 15 years, $765 million in BIG FONT, you’ve probably noticed another trend popping up as deals are made: starting pitchers are getting paid.

It’s true of elite starting pitching—Max Fried for eight years, $218 million to the New York Yankees, and Blake Snell for five years, $182 million to the Los Angeles Dodgers—but also of starters who could be viewed more as above-average innings eaters than superstars.

Veteran righty Frankie Montas is a good example, signing with thet Mets for two years, $34 million after recording a 4.84 ERA across 30 starts with 148 strikeouts in 150 2/3 innings in 2024 with stops in Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

Age also doesn’t seem to be a factor in teams’ increased spending, with Nathan Eovaldi, 34, returning to the Texas Rangers on a three-year, $75 million deal.

The market for starters is so hot that teams are listening to offers they didn’t initially plan on making—the Mariners are reportedly taking calls for ace Luis Castillo after seeing the hauls that other pitchers on the block brought in.

According to Alden González at ESPN, the trend of sharp spending on starting pitching comes down to some pretty basic logic—given the rate at which pitchers get injured, teams value depth more than ever.

"Teams used to feel good if they could go into a season with, I'd say, seven or eight guys they can count on to start games at the major league level, at least in some capacity," one front office executive told Gonzalez. "Now that number is like 11."

Gonzalez cited a presentation that was given at winter meetings on a study that showed how sharp the recent uptick in pitcher injuries has been. The response has been to pay top dollar for arms that can be relied upon.

You don’t have to look far to see just how beneficial a deep bench of starters can be—the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series this year despite being without Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani on the mound.

In baseball, like in life, you plan for the worst and hope for the best. Teams know they might lose a key starter at the worst possible time, and they want to be ready.