1 month agoOutfielder
Austin Hays was informed that he was non-tendered on Friday by the Philadelphia Phillies, making him a free agent. It was a tough year for Hays, who battled a kidney infection after being dealt to the Phillies from the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline in the summer. The 29-year-old should attract plenty of interest on the open market this offseason, as he's just a year removed from being an All-Star and Gold Glove finalist. The former third-round pick of the O's in 2016 out of Jacksonville University hit a combined .255/.303/.396 with a below-average .699 OPS, only five home runs, 20 RBI, two steals and 26 runs scored in 85 games with Baltimore and Philly. With better health in 2025, Hays could most certainly carve out a starting role with another team if he lands in the right situation.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: New York Post - Jon Heyman
1 month agoRight-hander
Michael Tonkin and the Minnesota Twins agreed to a one-year, $1 million deal on Friday to avoid salary arbitration. It was an interesting season in 2024 for Tonkin, to say the least. The 35-year-old veteran began the season with the Twins before spending time with the New York Mets and New York Yankees. He was eventually claimed on waivers and returned to Minnesota in August. With those three teams, Tonkin held a 3.63 ERA (3.44 FIP), a 1.26 WHIP, his first two career saves, a career-high 85 strikeouts and 30 walks in 79 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. The former 30th-round pick of the Twins way back in 2008 should return to a middle-relief role in Minnesota this next season but won't have a ton of fantasy value.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: New York Post - Jon Heyman
1 month agoInfielder
Santiago Espinal and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a one-year, $2.4 million contract on Friday to avoid salary arbitration. Espinal ended up playing a pretty significant role as a utility infielder for the Reds in 2024 after they acquired him from the Toronto Blue Jays in March given all of Cincy's injuries to infielders. In 118 games over 391 plate appearances, the Dominican slashed .246/.295/.356 with a below-average .650 OPS, career-high nine home runs, 45 RBI, career-high 11 stolen bases and 32 runs scored. The 30-year-old will stick in the Reds organization for a second season but probably shouldn't be guaranteed nearly as much playing time. Espinal makes plenty of contact and is useful for his ability to play multiple infield positions, but beyond that, there isn't much fantasy upside at all.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: New York Post - Jon Heyman
1 month agoThe Pittsburgh Pirates are expected to non-tender outfielder
Bryan De La Cruz and first baseman/outfielder
Connor Joe, according to a source. It will make both players free agents this winter. De La Cruz didn't impress the Bucs after the acquired him from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline in the summer, as he hit just .200/.220/.394 with three homers, 17 RBI and 52 strikeouts in 168 plate appearances in the second half. The 27-year-old did manage a career-high 21 round-trippers in 149 total games in 2024, though, so he will attract interest on the free-agent market. Joe, 32, hit .238/.330/.396 with a .726 OPS, 20 homers, 78 RBI and five steals in 256 games the last two years in Pittsburgh and will look for a platoon/utility role with another organization on the free-agent market. The former first-rounder had a career-high 11 homers in 2023 in his first year in Pittsburgh.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Alex Stumpf
1
month
agoThe
Atlanta
Braves
non-tendered
right-handers
Griffin
Canning,
Royber
Salinas,
Huascar
Ynoa,
left-hander
Ray
Kerr,
and
outfielder
Ramon
Laureano
on
Friday,
making
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1 month agoThe Washington Nationals non-tendered right-handers
Kyle Finnegan and
Tanner Rainey on Friday, making them both free agents. Finnegan will hit the open market after five seasons in D.C., with his last one being his best. He earned his first All-Star bid by going 3-8 with a 3.68 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP and a career-high 38 saves in 63 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. The 33-year-old's 38 saves were third-most in baseball. Finnegan's strikeout rate the last two years wasn't representative of a closing arm, and it might be a stretch to expect him to land a closing gig in free agency. He should at least be a high-leverage option somewhere. Rainey had a 4.76 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 50 relief outings for the Nats in 2024 in his return from Tommy John surgery, but he was much better in the second half. The 31-year-old should be able to turn that into a bullpen with another team in 2025.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Nationals Communications
1 month agoThe Tampa Bay Rays non-tendered outfielder
Dylan Carlson and left-handers
Colin Poche,
Tyler Alexander and Richard Lovely on Friday, making them all free agents. Once one of the St. Louis Cardinals' top outfield prospects, Carlson now finds himself on the open market this winter after being traded from the Cardinals to the Rays at the deadline this summer. The former first-rounder in 2016 was slightly better in his time with Tampa but still had an overall disappointing slash line in 2024 at .209/.287/.277 with a career-worst .563 OPS, only three home runs, 25 RBI, two steals and 19 runs scored in 97 total games with St. Louis and Tampa. The 26-year-old switch-hitter will surely latch on with another organization, but he's going to need to play much better to have a shot at a platoon role wherever he lands.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Tampa Bay Times - Marc Topkin
1 month agoThe Colorado Rockies announced on Friday that they agreed to one-year deals with outfielder
Sam Hilliard and left-hander
Lucas Gilbreath to avoid salary arbitration. Hilliard, who received an even $1 million, earned a starting role in the outfield down the stretch in his return to the team in 2024 and ultimately finished with a .239/.305/.507 slash line, .812 OPS, 10 homers, 27 RBI, five stolen bases and 26 runs scored in just 58 games played. The 30-year-old has a lot of swing and miss to his game, though, and could be competing for a starting gig in spring training. Gilbreath signed for $785,000 battled through an injury-riddled 2024 season and was only able to pitch one inning in the big leagues. The 28-year-old southpaw gave up six earned runs in that one inning and will return (hopefully healthy) in 2025 to give the Rockies some left-handed relief depth.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Rockies Club Information
1 month agoThe Colorado Rockies non-tendered infielder
Brendan Rodgers and right-hander
Cal Quantrill on Friday, making them free agents. Despite having one of his better seasons in Colorado, Rodgers will become a free agent after hitting .267/.314/.407 with 13 home runs, 54 RBI and 67 runs scored in 135 games in his sixth year with the team. If Colorado doesn't do anything to upgrade the keystone in the offseason,
Aaron Schunk figures to be the top option to start at second in 2025. Quantrill, 29, won't return for a second year in Colorado after going 8-11 with an ERA just south of 5.00 and a WHIP of 1.52 in 148 1/3 innings over 29 starts. He was slightly worse on the road than at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Quantrill should latch on with another organization looking for rotation depth and he should have a spot to compete for a back-end rotation gig.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Rockies Club Information
1 month agoOutfielder
Mike Yastrzemski avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $9.25 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, according to a source. Yastrzemski will return to the Bay Area in 2025 for his seventh year with the franchise after slashing .231/.302/.437 with a .739 OPS, 18 home runs, 16 doubles, 57 RBI, three stolen bases and 60 runs scored in 140 games over 474 plate appearances. The 34-year-old veteran left-handed-hitting outfielder isn't going to provide fantasy managers with a high average and has a capped ceiling on the strong side of a platoon role in San Fran's outfield, as long as he keeps that role heading into 2025. The vast majority of Yaz's production in 2024 came against righties once again, as he hit .232 (80-for-345) with all 18 of his home runs. He had just 83 at-bats against lefties.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Mark Feinsand
1 month agoThe Toronto Blue Jays non-tendered closer
Jordan Romano (elbow) on Friday, making him a free agent, according to sources. Romano, a two-time All-Star, missed most of the 2024 campaign due to a right-elbow injury that required arthroscopic surgery in July. The 31-year-old veteran reliever should land on his feet somewhere, although it remains to be seen if he'll be able to return to his All-Star form elsewhere. From 2021 to 2023, the Canadian hurler was outstanding as one of the best closers in baseball, sporting 95 saves, a 2.37 ERA (3.13 FIP), a 1.09 WHIP, 230 strikeouts and 70 walks in 186 relief innings for Toronto. He gave up 10 earned runs in his 15 outings for the Jays in 2024 before getting shut down. Romano's 2025 fantasy value will all depend on whether he's past his elbow issues and what kind of role he has for a new club.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: ESPN.com - Jeff Passan
1 month agoThe Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a one-year deal with right-hander
Dustin May (elbow, throat) worth $2.135 million on Friday to avoid salary arbitration. Since the Dodgers won the World Series in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, May has battled injuries and has made just 20 starts for the Blue. He first underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2021 before returning in August of 2022. The 27-year-old re-injured his right elbow in May of 2023 and needed a second Tommy John procedure that summer. He was originally expected to return in the second half of 2024, but that didn't happen after he needed surgery for a tear in his esophagus. The former third-rounder in 2016 has been good in 46 career outings (34 starts) with a 3.10 ERA and 1.05 WHIP, but his strikeout rate of 22.5% has left a lot to be desired given his high velocity. Given his lengthy injury history, he may be moved to the bullpen in 2025.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Associated Press
1 month agoAccording to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Texas Rangers and right-handed pitcher
Dane Dunning have agreed to a $2.66 million contract to avoid salary arbitration. Dunning battled injuries this past summer and logged just 95 innings of work and held a mere 5.31 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. His 95 innings were his lowest total since his debut season in 2020. Under the hood, Dunning generated a rough 45.8% hard-hit rate, 10.9% barrel rate, and 90.4 mph average exit velocity, which were all significantly below the average marks. Given this contract agreement, fantasy managers should expect Dunning to compete for a spot in the Opening Day rotation. If he earns a spot, he could be worth a late flier in deep AL-only formats, as he held a modest 3.70 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 2023.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Jon Heyman
1 month agoAccording to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, infielder
Tyler Wade and the San Diego Padres have agreed to a one-year, $900,000 contract to avoid arbitration. The 30-year-old posted an underwhelming .217/.285/.239 slash line with just three doubles and eight stolen bases across 90 games in 2024. Despite his underwhelming output, fantasy managers should expect Wade to likely operate as a depth option for San Diego in 2025 and to see occasional starts at multiple positions across the infield. Given his poor output last season, Wade should remain off all fantasy radars heading into 2025, as he will face an uphill battle to find consistent playing time on a stacked roster.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Jon Heyman
1 month agoFirst baseman
Gavin Sheets was non-tendered by the Chicago White Sox and will head to free agency, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Gavin Sheets showed some upside during his first two seasons on the Southside but struggled over the past two seasons. Last summer, the former second-round selection posted an underwhelming .233/.303/.357 line with ten home runs, 45 RBI, and a 43:106 BB:K ratio. During his debut campaign, he posted a strong 9.9% barrel rate and .449 xSLG, but this past season, he carried a much lower 5.7% rate.380 xSLG respectively. Fantasy managers should monitor his status in free agency, as he could be worth a late flier in deeper formats if he can find an everyday spot in the starting nine with a new club.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Jon Heyman
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