Free Agent Profile: Austin Voth, RP

New York Mets fans will remember Austin Voth from his tumultuous five-year tenure with the Washington Nationals. From 2018-2022, with the Nationals, Voth posted a 5.70 ERA serving as both a starter and reliever. He was finally designated for assignment (DFA) during the 2022 season and was picked up by the Orioles where he spent the rest of the season reviving his career.

With Baltimore, for the remainder of 2022, Voth tossed 83 innings and posted a very strong 3.04 ERA. The underlying metrics did indicate, however, the right-handed arm did get the benefit of a lot of good luck, as his 4.40 xERA and 3.96 FIP were both much higher than his 3.04 actual ERA mark. Well, unfortunately for Voth, all that good luck dissipated in 2023, as his ERA shot up to 5.19 across 34 2/3 innings, resulting in another DFA and ultimately free agency for the now 32-year-old.

In 2024, with his major-league life on the line, Voth rekindled that 2022 magic in Seattle. However, unlike 2022, there was nothing lucky about it. Voth posted a 3.69 ERA and a career-best 3.14 xERA. Across 61 innings, Voth posted near career-bests in strikeout rate, walk rate, and home run rate. When taking a deeper dive into the peripheral statistics, the right-handed pitcher did just about everything well. He induced a ton of soft contact (98th percentile average exit velocity, 99th hard-hit rate) while getting a lot of whiffs (89th percentile) and chases (79th percentile).

So, why the breakout all of a sudden after years of struggle and extremely poor peripheral statistics? The main difference between Voth’s 2023 and 2024 seasons is the emergence of his cutter as his main pitch over the four-seam fastball, which it was previously was for years. In 2024, Voth threw his cutter 33.8% of the time, compared to only 11.2% in 2023. He also varied pitches much more, as in 2024, he threw three pitches between 24% and 34% of the time.

If he can replicate his 2024 success, Voth can be an important part to most bullpens in the league. Especially given his historical, and specifically in 2024, even splits between both right-handed and left-handed hitters.

Contract

In 2024, with Seattle, Voth made $1.25 million. Despite the strong performance in 2024, the Mariners decided to non-tender Voth, who was still arbitration eligible for one more season. He now is on the open market and welcome to sign with whoever he chooses.

Given his resurgence in 2024, a major-league deal seems likely. Especially one that will come in slightly more than his 2024 salary. One would assume it would not be much more than $5 million, especially since he does not exactly have a history of sustained success. Either way, whatever he ultimately gets, is not going to be expensive.

Recommendation

President of baseball operations, David Stearns, and staff, have yet to make a major-league addition to their bullpen. As it stands, there are only about four “locks” to the team’s bullpen come Opening Day. That leaves several spots up for grab.

Not only will Voth come cheap, however, he has pretty even splits against left-handed and right-handed hitters. At worst, Voth can regress to his prior form and be a cheap DFA. However, if he is able to pitch like he did in 2024, he would be a staple in the Mets’ bullpen all year long at an extremely friendly price tag.