What Were The Best Trade Deadline Pitching Acquisitions, According to xwFIP?
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Following the recent trade deadline, I’ll take a closer look at the ten best pitching acquisitions of 2024. Which team made the best acquisitions, judging by pitching metric xwFIP? And how does the xwFIP leaderboard stack up for all pitchers this season through July?
Who Made the Best Pitching Acquisitions?
Table 1 below lists the top ten trade deadline pitching acquisitions in 2024.
Table 1: The top ten trade deadline pitching acquisitions according to xwFIP
The best two pitching acquisitions were done by the Dodgers; the team acquired Jack Flaherty from the Tigers to strengthen their starting rotation and Michael Kopech from the White Sox to enhance their bullpen. Flaherty is sporting a 3.10 xwFIP and Kopech has a 3.44 xwFIP.
The Brewers also made a notable move, bolstering their pitching staff with Nick Mears from the Rockies— the third best acquisition. The Phillies both added and subtracted a top arm, but upgraded slightly in their swap of Seranthony Dominguez (to Baltimore) in exchange for Tanner Banks (also from the White Sox).
The Padres reinforced their bullpen with two top arms, Tanner Scott from the Marlins and Jason Adam from the Rays, though they parted ways with Enyel De Los Santos, who was sent to the Yankees.
Meanwhile, the Astros strengthened their starting rotation with the addition of Yusei Kikuchi from the Blue Jays, and the Orioles improved both their rotation and bullpen by acquiring Zach Eflin from the Rays and adding Dominguez.
xwFIP Leaderboard through July
Mason Miller tops the xwFIP leaderboard for the fourth consecutive month - as evident from Table 2 below - with a sparkling 1.69 xwFIP. Miller has just returned from the IL after a stint with a broken lefty pinky.
Padres young reliever Jeremiah Estrada has taken the number two spot with a 2.65 xwFIP, nearly a point more than Miller’s. Tyler Glasnow, Josh Hader, David Robertson, Griffin Jax, Cade Smith, Paul Skenes, Garret Crochet, and Chris Sale round out the top 10.
Table 2: The top 30 pitchers in 2024 ranked by xwFIP, with min. 40 innings pitched
Looking at only starting pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched in Table 3 below, Glasnow, Skenes, Crochet, and Sale are joined by Tarik Skubal, Flaherty, Blake Snell, DJ Hertz, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Dylan Cease in the top 10.
Among the top World Series contenders, the Dodgers have three starting pitchers in the top 30, the Phillies have two, the Braves have two, and the Orioles have two, whereas the Yankees and Guardians both have none.
Table 3: The top 30 starting pitchers in 2024 ranked by xwFIP, with min. 40 innings pitched
