3 best starting pitcher free agents for the NY Mets who won’t cost them draft picks

3) Zack Littell

Zack Littell has a much smaller sample as a big league starter than Bassitt or Giolito. Only 79 MLB starts, he has actually been a quietly consistent arm over the last three seasons.

Since 2023, Littell is 21-24 with a 3.80 ERA. He has pitched for the Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and Cincinnati Reds. He combined to have a 3.81 ERA with the latter two clubs with a decline after joining the Reds, going from 3.58 up to 4.39.

Littell is a low strikeout pitcher, fanning batters at a poor 6.3 K/9 rate last season. He requires contact but isn’t a heavy ground ball pitcher. What he did best was throw strikes, falling in the 98th percentile for walks.

Even though the numbers measure up alongside Bassitt and Giolito, Littell does…wait for it…little to truly improve the Mets rotation. Just like those other two, signing him would probably mean the Mets need to make a bigger trade. He’s the kind of pitcher you need to really like to justify. The low strikeouts and below-average ground ball rate suggest there is enough reason to believe he is as prone to a poor season as he is for a decent one.

Littell is a sneaky free agent who might be close to putting together a career year if for no other reason than he has fewer monster seasons to choose from. Is he a match for the Mets? Potentially cheaper than Bassitt and Giolito and maybe even on the rise rather than falling, it wouldn’t be a complete shock.