5 days agoAround 20 major-league baseball teams sent initial pitches to Japanese free-agent right-hander Roki Sasaki, but only a few teams were afforded in-person meetings with the coveted young pitcher. It's possible that Sasaki will visit a couple of cities before he makes his final decision, which is expected to come between Jan. 15 and Jan. 23. His agent, Joel Wolfe, said it's likely that Sasaki's next step is eliminating some teams from contention. The 23-year-old was officially posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball on Dec. 9, giving MLB teams 45 days to try to lure him into their organization to begin his career in the States. Among the favorites for his services are the Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Cubs, Rangers and Mets. Sasaki has some of the best stuff in the world, but there are questions about his durability and decreasing velocity as he looks to try and stay healthy.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MassLive.com - Chris Cotillo
5 days agoThe St. Louis Cardinals and third baseman
Nolan Arenado agreed at the beginning of the offseason that it was in both party's best interest to move on. Arenado's agent, Joel Wolfe, was given permission to seek a trade for his client. The Houston Astros were willing to trade for Arenado and take on the majority of the remaining three years and $74 million left on his contract, but Arenado was not sold on the idea and used his full no-trade clause to block the deal. According to sources, Arenado was willing to later revisit a trade to Houston, but the Astros pivoted quickly and signed
Christian Walker. There has been minimal traction on the trade front for the 10-time Gold Glove winner since, making it plausible that he remains with the Cardinals in 2025. The Red Sox and Yankees have been linked to Arenado, but it's unclear exactly how interested they'd be in Arenado and the money that comes with him.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Will Sammon and Katie Woo
5 days agoAfter free-agent right-hander
Corbin Burnes signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks last Saturday, the Baltimore Orioles are looking elsewhere for pitching help and have interest in a possible reunion with free-agent right-hander
Jack Flaherty, according to league sources. The O's recently inquired about Flaherty, among others, as they move to their fallback options after failing to re-sign Burnes. Outside of Japanese righty Roki Sasaki, Flaherty is the best starter available on the open market, so Baltimore will likely face competition for Flaherty. He's believed to be seeking at least a five-year deal while coming off a year with the World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers in which he had a 3.17 ERA and 194 K's in 162 innings. Despite having a 6.75 ERA in nine games (seven starts) with the O's in 2023, Flaherty is reportedly interested in a reunion after his bounce-back year in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Will Sammon and Katie Woo
5 days agoBoston Red Sox chief baseball officer
Craig Breslow said on Monday that right-handers
Garrett Whitlock (elbow) and
Lucas Giolito (elbow) are both currently rehabbing but are expected to pitch most, if not all, of the 2025 season. Giolito had an internal-brace surgery on his arm several months before Whitlock did, so of the two, he has the best shot at being healthy for Opening Day and contributing for fantasy managers. If Whitlock's rehab is dragging, the Red Sox could choose to use him in relief instead, although that would significantly damper his fantasy outlook. Whitlock has had success as both a starter and reliever, and he had an ERA under 2.00 in four starts in 2024 before the injuries set in. Giolito has been throwing for months at this point, and the 30-year-old could force Boston's hand with a six-man starting rotation early in the year if he's fully healthy and ready to go.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Boston Herald - Mac Cerullo
5 days agoBoston Red Sox chief baseball officer
Craig Breslow said on Monday that veteran right-handed reliever
Liam Hendriks (elbow) is on track for a normal spring training in 2025. In addition to having a normal spring, the 35-year-old Australian should be "fully healthy" for the start of the regular season, giving the BoSox an experienced high-leverage reliever at the back of their bullpen. Although Hendriks hasn't been healthy in recent seasons and has also battled cancer, he is a three-time All-Star and has 116 career saves over 13 big-league seasons, so he could be firmly in play for the closer's role to begin the year. Hendriks is recovering from Tommy John surgery and didn't pitch at all last year, though, so he could struggle with efficiency and velocity early on next season. As of right now, his biggest competition for closing duties will come from veteran lefty
Aroldis Chapman.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Boston Herald - Mac Cerullo
5 days agoBoston Red Sox outfielder/designated hitter
Masataka Yoshida (shoulder) is "making a ton of progress" this offseason and should be swinging a bat in spring training, according to chief baseball officer
Craig Breslow. Yoshida required surgery to fix a labral tear in his right shoulder in October, but barring a setback in his rehab, the 31-year-old Japanese outfielder should be ready for the start of the 2025 regular season. He's been mostly a disappointment for the Red Sox and still carries $55.8 million left on his deal, which has prompted Boston to discuss him in trade talks this offseason. Yoshida was basically a full-time DH in 2024 -- he played just one game in the outfield. For fantasy purposes, Yoshida has nice contact skills -- he slashed .280/.349/.415 -- but he'll limit you defensively and doesn't hit for much power (just 10 homers).
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Boston Herald - Mac Cerullo
5 days agoDespite having talked about him in different trade packages this offseason, Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer
Craig Breslow said on Monday that the team is "not shopping" first baseman
Triston Casas. The situation this offseason with Casas probably depends on whether Boston signs or trades for a third baseman such as
Alex Bregman or
Nolan Arenado, which would in turn move current third baseman
Rafael Devers across the diamond to first base. The 24-year-old Casas has some of the best raw power in the game at the first-base position, but the BoSox are looking to add a right-handed bat, which could make him expendable. Casas' 2024 campaign was marred by a left rib-cage injury that kept him out almost four months, and he had a strikeout rate over 30% when he returned. A true breakout could still be coming, but it might have to come elsewhere.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MassLive.com - Chris Cotillo
5
days
agoBoston
Red
Sox
chiefs
baseball
officer
Craig
Breslow
said
on
Monday
that
"as
of
now,"
Rafael
Devers
is
still
the
team's
starting
third
baseman.
The
Red
Sox
have
been
very
pleased
with
the
work
that
Devers
has
put
read more...
5 days agoAccording to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, free-agent infielder
Ha-Seong Kim is viewed as a "fallback" option if the Tigers are unable to sign either third baseman
Alex Bregman or outfielder
Anthony Santander. While the Tigers are reportedly "all-in" on Bregman and have expressed strong interest in Santander, Kim would be a fine "Plan C." Last summer in San Diego, Kim held a .233/.330/.370 slash line with 11 home runs and 22 stolen bases across 121 games. He showed a stellar eye at the plate with a 16.4% strikeout rate and a 12.3% walk rate. Kim underwent shoulder surgery in October and is only expected to miss the first month of the 2025 season. If he were to sign with Detroit, he would likely be given most of starts at shortstop and see occasional opportunities at the hot corner. His signing would limit
Trey Sweeney's plate appearances and potentially
Jace Jung's as well.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Evan Petzold
5 days agoAccording to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press the Detroit Tigers are "all-in" on free-agent third baseman
Alex Bregman. Earlier this offseason, is was reported that the Tigers had interest, but this recent report suggests Bregman may be on the top of their list. This past week, the Tigers brought in second baseman
Gleyber Torres on a one-year deal. This moved
Colt Keith to first base, opening up third base for either
Matt Vierling,
Jace Jung (wrist) or potentially Bregman. If the Tigers were to come to an agreement with Bregman, Vierling would likely see most of his starts in the outfield in 2025, and it would significantly impact Jung's opportunities. Jung underwent wrist surgery in October but is expected to be a full-go during spring training. Last summer, Bregman hit for a .260/.315/.453 slash line with 26 home runs and would bring much-needed playoff experience to a young roster.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Evan Petzold
5 days agoAccording to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels are considered the "frontrunners" for free agent outfielder
Anthony Santander. While Petzold mentions the Detroit Tigers are in the running, they are far from the favorites to land him. Last summer the 33 year-old switch-hitter posted a .235/.308/.506 line with 44 home runs and 102 RBI, which were both career-highs. Santander has hit at least 33 home runs in two of his past three seasons and held a SLG percentage of at least .450 in all three of them. In 2024, he generated a strong 11.7% barrel rate and .445 xSLG. With Toronto missing out on many top free agents, Santander would bring a much-needed boost to their lineup. In Los Angeles, Santander would bring another high-power bat to their lineup that also brought in
Jorge Soler earlier this offseason.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Evan Petzold
5 days agoAccording to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, free agent starting pitcher
Wade Miley (elbow) is hoping to pitch in Spring Training and return to the regular season sometime in May. Miley underwent a UCL operation after making just two starts last season. Earlier this offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers declined his club option but the southpaw is hoping to return with the club before Spring Training. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status during his recovery process as he may find a potential suitor for the 2025 campaign if he is able to pitch well during Spring Training. In 2023, Miley logged 120 1/3 innings to the tune of a 3.14 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. If he does agree to a major league deal, he should only be reserved for NL/AL-only formats, given his very low strikeout upside.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Curt Hogg
5 days agoAccording to Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic, the Washington Nationals are signing starting pitcher
Trevor Williams to a two-year contract worth $14 million. The 32-year-old was limited to just 66 2/3 innings (13 starts) last summer due to a flex strain but performed very well with a 2.03 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He generated a strong 3.17 xERA and a .216 xBA which were both well above the average marks. However, he generated a modest 22.7% K rate and held a poor 22.5% whiff rate. Williams generated hard contact at an excellent 6.6% barrel rate and ground balls at a solid 44.8% rate. In 2023 across 144 1/3 frames he held a 5.55 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. While injuries limited him last summer, he showed a significant improvement and should be slated to have a spot in the rotation all summer. He is worth a look in deeper NL-only formats.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Stephen J. Nesbitt
6 days agoAccording to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Washington Nationals are signing free agent first baseman
Josh Bell to a one-year contract worth $6 million. Bell opened the 2024 campaign with the Miami Marlins before being acquired by the Arizona Diamondbacks later in the season. Across 145 total games, the switch-hitter held a .249/.319/.405 line with 19 home runs, 23 doubles, and a 51:210 BB:K ratio. Under the hood, the veteran generated a below-average .310 xwOBA and modest 40.1% hard-hit rate. Bell spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons in D.C. and held an impressive .301/.384/.493 line in 2022. While the Nationals acquired first baseman
Nate Lowe earlier this week from Texas, Bell should be penciled into the DH spot on a daily basis. If he can see his power numbers climb, he could be worth a look in deeper NL-only formats.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Jon He
6
days
agoAccording
to
Sports
Illustrated,
the
Toronto
Blue
Jays
expressed
interest
in
second
baseman
Gleyber
Torres
before
he
signed
a
contract
with
the
Detroit
Tigers.
Earlier
this
offseason,
the
Blue
Jays
acquired
second
baseman
Andres
Gimenez
from
the
Cleveland
Guardians
but
read more...
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