1 week agoAccording to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, the Boston Red Sox have checked in on free-agent relief pitcher
Phil Maton. Cotillo notes that Boston has expressed interest in several of the top remaining relief pitchers on the market. Maton opened the 2024 season in Tampa Bay but was eventually shipped to the Mets for their playoff push. Over 64 total frames, the right-hander held a 3.66 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. He generated an impressive 33.1% hard-hit rate and a 47.1% ground-ball rate, which were both significantly above the average marks. He was typically deployed as a set-up man with both clubs, as he tallied 18 holds. If Boston were to sign him to a contract, fantasy managers should expect him to have a similar role operating as the eighth-inning option in front of closer
Aroldis Chapman.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Chris Cotillo
1 week agoAccording to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, the Boston Red Sox and starting pitcher
Garrett Crochet have begun discussing a long-term extension. Crochet was dealt to the Boston Red Sox earlier this offseason in exchange for prospects
Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery,
Chase Meidroth, and
Wikelman Gonzalez. Cotillo notes that a one-year extension remains the priority to avoid arbitration before Tuesday's deadline. However, with the Red Sox moving several top prospects to acquire the southpaw, they remain focused on keeping him in Boston for the foreseeable future. Last season, Crochet was given the opportunity to start and exceeded all expectations. Across a career-high 146 innings, the 25-year-old held a 3.58 ERA and a 1,07 WHIP. He stuck out batters at an elite 35.1% rate. Given his incredible strikeout upside, he should be viewed as a high-end SP2 in all formats this season.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Chris Cotillo
1 week agoAccording to Robert Murray of FanSided.com, the Los Angeles Angels and left-handed pitcher
Brock Burke have agreed to a one-year, $1.15 million contract to avoid salary arbitration. Burke opened the 2024 season with the Texas Rangers but was eventually moved to Los Angeles during the second half. Across 34 total innings last season, the southpaw posted a 5.82 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He struck out 41 batters and generated a solid 3.49 xERA. However, he struggled with his command and served up walks at a high 10.4% rate. In 2023, Burke posted a 4.37 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP across 59 2/3 innings. Fantasy managers should expect Burke to open the season with a low-leverage role in the Los Angeles bullpen. However, he could eventually earn a high-leverage role if he can turn the corner.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Robert Murray
1 week agoAccording to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman/outfielder
Pavin Smith and the team have settled on a $1.5 million contract to avoid salary arbitration. The 28-year-old performed well over his 60-game stint in the majors last summer. Smith held a .270/.348/.547 slash line with 11 doubles, nine home runs, 36 RBI, and one stolen base. He generated a strong .395 xwOBA, .529 xSLG, and a 14.7% barrel rate. He also held a solid 19.6% strikeout rate and an 11.4% walk rate. Fantasy managers should expect the Virginia product to be the primary designated hitter against right-handed pitching this season with
Joc Pederson now in Texas. Smith will be worth targeting in deeper formats, as he hit right-handed pitching very well last summer and would carry solid upside, even in a platoon role.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Jon Heyman
1 week agoThe New York Mets signed free-agent outfielder
Travis Swaggerty and infielder
Yonny Hernandez to minor-league deals on Wednesday. Swaggerty posted an .800 OPS with seven home runs and 41 RBI in 73 games in Independent baseball last year and appeared in five major-league games with the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 2022. Hernandez debuted in the majors in 2021 with the Texas Rangers before joining the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023. In 221 total MLB plate appearances, he's hit just .190/.286/.222 with no home runs, 10 RBI, 13 steals and 22 runs scored in 69 games. The Venezuelan infielder played in 81 games at Triple-A Nashville in 2024 and hit .241 with two homers, 32 RBI and 13 thefts. Both Swaggerty and Hernandez will likely open up the 2025 campaign at Triple-A Syracuse.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Metsmerized - Mike Mayer
1 week agoAccording to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, the San Francisco Giants have designated right-handed pitcher
Austin Warren for assignment. This transaction opened a roster spot for catcher
Sam Huff. Warren spent the first three seasons of his big league career with the Los Angeles Angels and joined San Francisco last summer. Across his brief ten-inning stint with San Francisco, Warren held a 1.69 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Over 48 2/3 major league innings, the reliever has posted a 3.14 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. In 23 innings with Triple-A Sacramento last summer, Warren held a 4.70 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Since Warren has been able to hold his own in the majors, he will likely ink a new contract with a new club before spring training.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Alex Pavlovic
1 week agoAccording to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, the San Francisco Giants have claimed catcher
Sam Huff off waivers. Huff has spent his entire major league career with the Texas Rangers. Since making his major league debut in 2020, Huff has only appeared in 78 big league games. However, he has shown power potential during this span, hitting ten home runs with a .455 SLG. Last summer at Triple-A, Huff hit for a .246/.310/.416 line with 33 doubles and 13 round-trippers. Across 249 career games with Triple-A Round Rock, Huff launched 54 home runs with a cumulative .265/.343/.489 slash line. Huff is currently the No.3 catcher on the Giants roster and could find a path to making the Opening Day roster as he has flashed high power potential in the top level of the minor leagues.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Alex Pavlovic
1 week agoAccording to LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago White Sox have designated infielder
Jacob Amaya for assignment. This transaction opened a roster spot for
Josh Rojas, who the White Sox signed earlier this week. The White Sox claimed Amaya off waivers late in the 2024 season. He made just 26 appearances on the Southside and held a .179/.222/.191 slash line with one double, one stolen base, and a 4:28 BB:K. Across 76 games at the Triple-A level last season, the former 11th-round selection held a .221/.308/.330 line with 10 doubles, five home runs, and six stolen bases. If Amaya is able to find a new club, he would likely spend most of the 2025 season at the Triple-A level given his struggles in the major leagues.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: LaMond Pope
1 week agoAccording to Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports, the Seattle Mariners have claimed relief pitcher
Hagen Danner off of waivers. The 26-year-old made a brief one-inning appearance with Toronto in 2023 and spent the entire 2024 campaign in the minor leagues. Across 34 1/3 innings of relief with Triple-A Buffalo, the right-hander posted a 3.15 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He struck out 34 batters while serving up 13 walks. He tallied seven saves. This was similar to the 3.81 ERA and 0.95 WHIP he held across 28 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2023. Fantasy managers should expect Danner to contend for a spot on the Opening Day roster in Seattle but will likely open the campaign at Triple-A given his lack of big league experience.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Scott Mitchell
1 week agoAccording to Ari Alexander of KPRC2, the Houston Astros and starting pitcher
Luis Garcia (elbow) have agreed to a one-year, $1.875 million contract to avoid salary arbitration. The 28-year-old has been sidelined since undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of 2023. However, Garcia began throwing earlier in September, suggesting he should be expected to be ready for spring training. Across a small 27-inning stint in 2023, the right-hander held a 4.00 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. However, in 2022, Garcia posted a solid 3.72 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP across 157 1/3 innings of work. During that season, he posted a 24.0% strikeout rate with a 36.3% hard-hit rate and a 7.8% barrel rate. Fantasy managers should continue monitoring his status leading up to Opening Day, but he should contend for a spot in the rotation if he is healthy.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Ari Alexander
1 week agoThe Los Angeles Angels signed free-agent veteran reliever
Connor Brogdon to a minor-league deal on Wednesday. Brogdon began the 2024 campaign with the Philadelphia Phillies before being designated for assignment early on. He eventually latched on with the Los Angeles Dodgers but spent the majority of the year on the injured list due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The 29-year-old right-hander appeared in only four games at the big-league level in relief and gave up nine runs (eight earned) on five hits (four home runs) while walking six and striking out three in only three innings. It appears that Brogdon is healthy in 2025 and looking to find a way back to the big leagues as a bat-missing, high-leverage reliever. In his five years in the majors, Brogdon does have three saves and a 23.8% strikeout rate.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Baseball America - Taylor Blake Ward
1 week agoThe Kansas City Royals announced on Wednesday that they claimed infielder
Braden Shewmake off waivers from the Chicago White Sox. Shewmake will remain in the American League Central after being taken off the White Sox's 40-man roster this offseason. The 27-year-old will merely serve as organizational infield depth for KC entering the 2025 season, if he's still on the roster by Opening Day. The former 21st overall pick by the Atlanta Braves in 2019 out of Texas A&M hasn't lived up to his draft stock and has gone 8-for-68 (.118) with a homer, four RBI and five stolen bases in the big leagues since debuting with Atlanta in 2023. Shewmake does have a strong glove on the infielder and came up as a shortstop, but he's most likely to open the season at Triple-A Omaha on the farm.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Kansas City Royals
1 week agoThe Washington Nationals designated right-hander
Joan Adon for assignment on Wednesday to make room on the 40-man roster for recently signed infielder
Amed Rosario. Adon gets booted off the team's 40-man roster after giving up eight earned runs while walking four and striking out six in 10 2/3 innings over eight outings (one start) at the major-league level in 2024. He's only thrown 132 1/3 innings in his big-league career with the Nationals since debuting in the majors in 2021 and has a rough 6.66 ERA (5.09 FIP) and 1.69 WHIP while striking out 118 and walking 70 in 35 appearances (26 starts). The 26-year-old finished last season on the shelf with a biceps strain but should be fully healthy for the start of the 2025 campaign. If he clears waivers, it's possible Adon returns to the Nationals and begins next season on the farm.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MASN Sports - Bobby Blanco
1 week agoMinnesota Twins right-hander
Griffin Jax will remain in the team's bullpen for the upcoming 2025 season, according to general manager Jeremy Zoll. Fourteen of Jax's 18 outings in his rookie season for the Twins in 2021 came in a starting role, but he has not started a game in the big leagues since. Last year in a career-high 72 appearances out of the bullpen, he was excellent, posting a career-best 2.03 ERA (1.94 FIP), a 0.87 WHIP, a career-high 10 saves, a career-high 95 strikeouts and a career-low 15 walks in 71 innings pitched. Although the 30-year-old could again see more save chances in 2025, he'll most likely be more of an asset for fantasy managers in saves leagues as Minnesota's primary eighth-inning setup man. In addition to his 10 saves in 2024, Jax also recorded 24 holds in his breakout season as a high-leverage bullpen arm.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Minnesota Star Tribune - Bobby Nightengale
1 week agoFree-agent left-hander
Martin Perez and the Chicago White Sox agreed to an undisclosed deal on Wednesday, pending a physical, according to sources familiar with the deal. The White Sox have most likely given Perez just a one-year deal. The 33-year-old southpaw will head to the American League after pitching for both the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres in 2024, where he went a combined 5-6 with a 4.53 ERA (4.90 FIP), a 1.48 WHIP and a 107:49 K:BB in 135 innings over his 26 starts. Given the rebuilding White Sox's lack of reliable starting option entering the 2025 campaign, the veteran Perez is likely to open the year in the starting rotation, making him a low-upside streaming option in deeper fantasy formats. The Venezuelan hurler is a soft-tosser that won't rack up many strikeouts and won't have much upside at all pitching for the worst team in baseball.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: FanSided - Robert Murray
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