Free-agent pitching class very thin now

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Rich Hill officially came off the board Monday, and now a thin starting pitching market qualifies as absolutely emaciated.

The rapidity of that evolution is nothing we didn’t expect going into this Hot Stove season. But the reality of the situation is that Hill, at 36 years old and less than two years removed from the independent Long Island Ducks, represented the top of this free-agent class, which, with no offense meant to a man who never quit on himself and cashed in on his amazing tale, told you all you needed to know about the class itself.

• Hill excited about LA return

And so we’re at the scrap stage already after one day of the Winter Meetings, the part of the process where teams hold their noses, try to accentuate the positive and spend more money than they honestly think is reasonable for one of the arms available — guys like Ivan Nova and Jason Hammel, who probably represent the next-best tier.

“I’m sure their agents hope so,” one executive joked.

Or alternatively, the GMs can talk trade, which, for those of us on the outside, is where the fun lies.

“There’s a scarcity in starting pitching throughout baseball,” Indians president Chris Antonetti said. “And when there’s a limit on the free-agent alternatives, it tends to increase the trade dialogue.”

The dialogue doesn’t have to be diabolical. It’s not just an established ace like Chris Sale being discussed in the suites at the Gaylord National Resort & Conference Center, though, of course, the White Sox left-hander is attracting serious interest despite the astronomical asking price.

What we’re starting to see are the seeds of opportunity bearing fruit on the rumor mill, at the very least.

The Reds, as an example, have been receiving interest in Anthony DeSclafani. Listening and acting are two very, very different things, but, given the haul the Braves received for Shelby Miller just one year ago, why wouldn’t the Reds listen to what teams have to offer for the 26-year-old DeSclafani, who broke out with a 3.28 ERA and 130 ERA+ in 20 starts after a left oblique strain delayed his start to the 2016 season.

And for that matter, why wouldn’t the Royals, who are looking to shed some salary and have a ton of guys entering their free-agent walk year, keep an open mind about Danny Duffy?

Yes, the Royals have interest in extending Duffy, and there is still hope that a deal can be worked out that keeps him in Kansas City a long time after his control clicked and he went 12-3 with a 3.56 ERA in 26 starts. But in a market like this, and with Duffy due to make a modest sum in his final year of arbitration (he made $4.2 million in ’16), the left-hander does present the Royals with a chip that would bring back multiple …

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