5 days agoFree-agent starting pitcher Roki Sasaki will be posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines, which opens the door for the 23-year-old to pitch in the MLB during the 2025 season. Sasaki is considered one of the most talented pitchers in the world and is expected to be one of, if not the top pitcher, on the free-agent market this offseason. The right-hander has been one of the most dominant pitchers in the world and was a crucial piece in leading Japan to a championship during the World Baseball Classic. Through 394 2/3 professional innings, Sasaki has tallied an incredible 505 punchouts with a 2.15 ERA. The Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to be one of the favorites to land him during free agency. If he does sign with an MLB team this offseason, Sasaki will be a popular pick and likely a top-20 starting pitcher in most fantasy drafts.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Jeff Passan
5 days agoThe Colorado Rockies have claimed right-handed pitcher
Jimmy Herget off waivers. Herget was placed on waivers earlier this offseason by the Chicago Cubs. The reliever logged only 12 1/3 innings in the majors last season with the Atlanta Braves and held a 4.38 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Herget pitched for the Los Angeles Angels. He struggled in 2023 with a 4.66 ERA but enjoyed an excellent 2022 campaign as he posted a 2.48 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and a 15:63 BB:K ratio across 69 innings of work. Despite his poor output this summer, he held a 2.81 xERA which suggests he could be due for some positive regression during the 2025 campaign. For now, fantasy managers should expect the 31-year-old to operate in the Colorado bullpen but could eventually mix in for save opportunities if he performs well.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Colorado Rockies
5 days agoBoth New York Mets and Yankees owners Steve Cohen and Hal Steinbrenner, respectively, are expected to fly to California to meet with top free-agent outfielder
Juan Soto, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Cohen is set to meet with the 26-year-old and his agent, Scott Boras, sometime next week. Steinbrenner was not given an exact date but was assured he would have the opportunity to meet with the superstar. In his debut season in the Bronx, Soto posted a stellar .288/.419/.569 slash line with 41 home runs, 109 RBI and seven stolen bases. Soto showed an incredible eye at the plate with an 18.1% walk rate and an 18.3% chase rate, which placed him in the 100th and 98th percentiles, respectively, among qualified hitters. Both owners are expected to remain at the forefront of the bidding war for Soto the entire offseason.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Jon Heyman
5 days agoSt. Louis Cardinals third baseman
Nolan Arenado could be on the trade block, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Arenado is currently under a $74 million dollar contract for the next three seasons. However, after missing the postseason in each of the past two seasons, the Cardinals could be interested in moving off his contract. This past summer, the third baseman saw his power production drop to his second-lowest marks through a full 162-game season. He hit just 16 round-trippers, his lowest since his rookie campaign in 2013. In addition, he held a .272/.325/.394 slash line and swiped two bases. Under the hood, he posted a poor 31.6% hard-hit rate, which was evident in his drop in power. Fantasy managers should still view Arenado as a reliable third baseman for batting-average production but not for power in 2025.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Derrick Goold
5 days agoLos Angeles Angels shortstop
Zach Neto (shoulder) underwent shoulder surgery earlier this week, according to Sam Blum of The Athletic. Blum noted that the young infielder sustained the injury during the final week of the regular season and could potentially be in danger of missing the start of the 2025 campaign. The former first-round pick enjoyed an impressive sophomore campaign, as he posted a solid .249/.318/.443 slash line with 23 home runs and 30 stolen bases. Under the hood, he posted a modest 8.4% barrel rate and a slightly below-average 38.8% hard-hit rate. When healthy, fantasy managers should expect Neto to operate as the starting shortstop in Los Angeles. If Neto were to miss time at the start of the season, utility man
Luis Rengifo or
Scott Kingery would likely get the most opportunities at shortstop.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Sam Blum
5 days agoThe Boston Red Sox are unlikely to deal their top prospects in a trade for Chicago White Sox starting pitcher
Garrett Crochet, according to Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of the Fenway Rundown Podcast. McAdam emphasized that the Red Sox are not interested in discussing any packages including outfielder
Roman Anthony and potentially another member of the Big 4, which includes backstop
Kyle Teel, shortstop
Marcelo Mayer, and infielder/outfielder
Kristian Campbell. However, McAdam noted that the Red Sox remain very interested in talks surrounding Crochet but would prefer to keep at least two of their top four prospects. Crochet was one of the top pitchers in fantasy baseball last season and held a strong 3.58 ERA, and a 1.07 WHIP with a stellar 35.1% strikeout rate across a career-high 146 innings of work.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Chris Cotillo
6 days agoThe Chicago White Sox announced on Friday that they have signed former New York Mets first-round pic, right-hander
Justin Dunn, to a minor-league deal. Dunn will receive a non-roster invite to major-league spring training. A right-shoulder injury kept Dunn from pitching at all during the 2024 season, and he hasn't appeared in the big leagues since 2022, when he allowed 21 earned runs while walking 17 and striking out 21 in seven starts (31 innings) with the Cincinnati Reds. The 29-year-old threw only 3 1/3 innings while rehabbing his shoulder injury in 2023. The White Sox are taking a chance on the former first-rounder with a high draft pedigree, but he's posted a 4.44 ERA (6.23 FIP) and 1.41 WHIP in 133 2/3 big-league innings over 32 starts with a 113:86 K:BB since debuting with the Seattle Mariners in 2019. Dunn is going to need to show better command of his pitches.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Sox Machine - James Fegan
6 days agoNew York Mets outfielder
Tyrone Taylor (hernia) underwent an umbilical hernia surgery on Oct. 30 with Dr. Venkata Evani in Phoenix, Ariz., and also had surgery to have a loose body removed from his right elbow on Thursday with Dr. James Carr in New York. Taylor is expected to miss around two months after the two surgeries. While Taylor should be ready for the start of spring training in February, he'll spend much of his offseason rehabbing two different injuries. Depending on what the Mets do in the offseason on the trade and free-agent markets, the 30-year-old veteran could be in line to start in center field for the team to open the 2025 season. The former second-rounder by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2012 hit .248/.299/.401 with a career-worst .701 OPS, seven homers, 35 RBI, 11 steals and 47 runs in 130 regular-season games in his first year with the Mets in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: New York Mets
6 days agoFree-agent corner infielder
Elehuris Montero is signing a one-year deal for $850,000 ($400,000 signing bonus) with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Montero will head overseas to play in Japan and perhaps boost his value in the big leagues down the road after hitting a weak .205/.267/.304 with a career-low .571 OPS, only four home runs, 28 RBI, 20 walks and 56 strikeouts in 247 plate appearances over 67 games in his third year in the Show. The 26-year-old Dominican posted a .228/.277/.387 slash line, .665 OPS, 21 home runs, 87 RBI and 84 runs scored in 205 games for the Colorado Rockies in three seasons after debuting as an undrafted free agent in 2022. In addition to struggling at the plate in his three years in the big leagues, Montero was moved to first base full time after struggling with his glove at the hot corner.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Yahoo Japan
6 days agoAthletics general manager David Forst said this week that right-handed closer
Mason Miller will remain in a relief role for the team next year and they are "not talking about moving him back into a starting role." Miller, a third-round pick in 2021 out of Gardner-Webb University, came up through the minors as a starter. When the A's decided to initially use him out of the bullpen when he advanced to the majors, they kept open the idea of returning him to a starting role down the road. It looks like that won't be happening now, and you can't blame the A's after the 26-year-old flamethrower developed into one of the most dominant closers in the game in 2024. In just his second year in the big leagues, Miller made his first All-Star team by posting a 2.49 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, his first 28 career saves, 104 strikeouts and 21 walks in 65 innings. Despite being on the A's, Miller is an elite fantasy closer heading into 2025.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: San Francisco Chronicle - John Shea
6 days agoLos Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar
Shohei Ohtani (shoulder) is expected to be ready for the start of the 2025 regular season in Tokyo next March as a designated hitter after undergoing surgery on the labrum in his left shoulder after he partially dislocated it during the World Series, but it will add complications to his offseason throwing program and will probably push back his timeline to join the starting rotation. Ohtani did not pitch at all in 2024 in his first year with the Blue after having Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2023. General manager Brandon Gomes said Ohtani's left-shoulder surgery isn't expected to have any "big-picture" impact on his ability to pitch in 2025. Entering October, he was close to facing live hitters for the first time since September of 2023, but the team decided to delay the rest of his throwing progression until the offseason.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Los Angeles Time - Jack Harris
6 days agoThe New York Yankees announced on Friday that they have exercised the 2025 club option for manager Aaron Boone after he led the team to a World Series appearances this fall, eventually losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. The 51-year-old former Yankees postseason hero has gone 603-429 (.584 winning percentage) and has led the Yankees to the playoffs in six of his first seven seasons as the skipper. Outside of the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, New York has averaged 95 wins during Boone's tenure. Boone is the second manager in big-league history to reach the postseason in six of his first seven seasons at the helm. Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts has done in each of his nine seasons. The Yankees won their 41st American League pennant in 2024 and made the World Series for the first time since 2009.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoFree-agent pitcher
Jeff Hoffman is receiving some "industry buzz" suggesting he could operate as a starting pitcher in 2025 season, according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The 31-year-old was deployed exclusively out of the bullpen last summer and posted a stellar 2.17 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and a 16:89 BB:K. The right-hander generated an impressive 34.6% chase rate and a 33.6% strikeout rate, which placed him in the top 96th percentile in both statistics. In addition, he held a solid 2.83 xERA and a .203 xBA, which were both significantly above the average marks. Hoffman has been given opportunities to start games earlier in his career but struggled during those stints. However, given his development in Philadelphia, Hoffman may have been able to take the next step and could enjoy similar results in a rotation next season.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Kiley McDaniel
6 days agoFree-agent shortstop
Willy Adames has received offers from the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to MLB Insider Mike Rodriguez. Rodriguez noted that the Mets have offered the infielder a contract worth $160 million spread across seven years with the intention of him moving over to cover the hot corner. Adames has stated he prefers to play shortstop, but a sizeable contract and playing on a team that just made the NLCS may convince him. The details of the Los Angeles offer has not been reported, but if Adames were to sign there, he would be expected to be the team's starting shortstop. Last season, the 29-year-old enjoyed a nice bounce-back campaign as he hit 32 home runs with 112 RBI, compared to the 24 home runs and 80 RBI he tallied in 2023. Fantasy managers should view Adames as one of the top options for power at shortstop heading into the 2025 campaign.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Mike Rodriguez
6 days agoAccording to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the A's have re-signed relief pitcher
T.J. McFarland on a one-year contract. McFarland posted a 3.81 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with a 17:39 BB:K across 56 2/3 innings of work. Under the hood, he carried a stellar 59.4% ground-ball rate and was able to maintain soft contact at a 4.6% barrel rate and a 34.9% hard-hit rate. However, he struggled in generating whiffs, as he posted a mere 16.6% strikeout rate, one of the lowest marks among qualified pitchers. Fantasy managers should expect McFarland to return to his high-leverage role pitching in the seventh or eighth innings of games, but he will have his save opportunities capped with
Mason Miller poised to return to his closer role.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Bob Nightengale
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