This is kind of a stray point or two that was borne out of tweets I saw about Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s impressive postseason performance, and the advent of free agency.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto this year was unbelievable and worthy of MVP honors. But before you say his was the best World Series pitching performance ever, just remember that back in 2014, Madison Bumgarner was even better:
People need to stop being prisoners of the moment. Madison Bumgarner 2014 WS MVP21 IP, 2-0, 0.43 ERA, 21 K, 2 BB, 0 HR, 1 SV (5 IP Game 7 relief)Yoshinobu Yamamoto 2025 WS MVP17.2 IP, 3-0, 1.02 ERA, 15 K, 2 BB, 0 HR, clinched G7 in relief pic.twitter.com/yGWAsZjGVH
— Dean Ciriaco (@skippsviewdean) November 3, 2025Those are not even the only two unreal starting pitching performances in the World Series. They can all be appreciated on their own merits.
Speaking of Madison Bumgarner, he was one of the most pronounced examples of the 30-year-old fall-off for starting pitchers in recent memory. Through age 29, he had a 3.13 ERA and 3.32 FIP over 1846.0 innings. From 30 on, he managed just 363.1 innings total, and a 5.23 ERA and 5.17 FIP. Of note, he was a Giant for that first chunk, hit free agency, got signed by the Diamondbacks, and fell off completely.
I raise this point, one, because it happened to be on my mind after seeing that clip. But I raise it, two, because the Cubs are about to engage in another offseason where we’d really like to see them acquire at least one impact starting pitcher, and some of the guys out there orbit age 30.
The Bumgarner lesson is not that 30 is some magic number where starting pitchers fall off. We know that isn’t true! But the aging curve is real, and most starting pitchers will start to lose some velocity and stuff around that age (Bumgarner lost multiple clicks off his fastball, for example).
The guys who continue to succeed well into their 30s generally do it one or two ways: either they figure out a way to reinvigorate the velo and stuff through different mechanics/training (rare), or they figure out a way to pitch a little differently (better command, more pitch diversity, improved deception, etc., etc.). This is part of why the Jon Lester signing, for example, felt like such a good bet. By the time he signed with the Cubs, ahead of his age-31 season, Lester had already lost a click on his fastball, but was nevertheless still succeeding at a very high level thanks to a diverse pitch mix and exceptional execution. Sure, eventually he fell off when the velocity and stuff were too far gone, but that wasn’t really until he was 35+ years old.
All just things to keep in mind.
This is all very complex and idiosyncratic in a lot of ways, and you have to study each pitcher’s situation closely. Look at Matthew Boyd – he just had a career year at age 34, and I think any team would be happy to have him going into 2026. (Of course, the age and injury questions were the primary reason Boyd was not realistically going to get 3+ years.)
That said, broadly speaking, I get a little nervous about pure velocity/stuff starting pitchers if you’re signing them to monster deals around age 30. There’s a chance they sustain that style for years to come, but there’s also a chance that you’re buying the season or two or three where they have to figure out how to become (or if they can become) a pitcher who succeeds on a little more guile and execution.
You also have to worry about guys who were already succeeding on the margins of velocity/stuff as they pass age 30, because when those guys lose even a little bit of that velocity or stuff, things can go sideways very quickly (we saw it with Kyle Hendricks, and obviously we wonder if that was part of the story with Shōta Imanaga’s second half).
As I said, this is just a stray thought, given what’s coming. No team wants to sign the Madison Bumgarner deal, but then again, sometimes boldness gets you get the Zack Wheeler deal.
Hence then, the article about stray thoughts on pitcher aging and the advent of free agency was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Stray Thoughts on Pitcher Aging and the Advent of Free Agency )
Also on site :