Pitching Market Update After Jose Urquidy Signs With Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the teams interested in left-hander Framber Valdez before he ultimately signed with the Detroit Tigers. They have now pivoted and signed right-hander Jose Urquidy to a one-year, $1.5 million contract with incentives for 2026.

The Pirates couldn't land a top-tier free agent this offseason, but they have at least been productive and landed a few value players on short-term deals. Now, there is some more movement in the starting pitchers' market.

More specifically, some lower-tier options could potentially find themselves coming off the board soon. Here is a look at where things stand with potential lower-cost starters.

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Where things stand after Urquidy signs

Apr 30, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Jose Urquidy (65) prior to the game against the Cleveland Guardians at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Some of the lower-cost options include Nick Martinez, Frankie Montas, Aaron Civale, Jose Quintana, Zack Littell and Patrick Corbin. Because it took so long for Valdez to sign and will continue to take time for second-tier arms like Lucas Giolito, Zac Gallen and Chris Bassitt to sign, the market might end up moving a little bit faster for lower-cost starters.

Teams should see that even the small-market Pirates can afford to make these moves, and soon, some other small-market teams might start to add some pieces to their mix. The Milwaukee Brewers might be a team to watch in the coming weeks. They traded Freddy Peralta, but could always use one more arm to strengthen their starting rotation before the 2026 season.

As some of these arms come off the board, we could potentially see the Brewers jump at the opportunity to fortify their rotation. There are a lot of these arms still available, and while they don't jump off the page by any means, they are affordable and can give teams what they are looking for.

Urquidy has the added bonus of postseason experience from his days with the Houston Astros, so that could havce helped his cause. But Quintana is another arm that has playoff experience and won't cost much, so it will be interesting to see what teams are willing to pay him and what his contract ultimately looks like after signing.

Teams shouldn't have to pay too much for these arms, and even some contenders could use a lower-cost option to fill the back end of their rotation for the 2026 season.

More MLB: MLB Pitching Market Status After Framber Valdez Signing