2021 First Look Fantasy Values: First Base and Second Base

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

Red Sox Meet With Alex Cora

The Boston Red Sox met with former manager Alex Cora in Puerto Rico last week as they continue to search for their next manager, according to a source. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and general manager Brian O'Halloran met with Cora, who mutually parted ways with Boston in January due to his involvement in the […]

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Slimming Down

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. told the Dominican newspaper elCaribe that he's lost 32 pounds since he reported to summer camp. "I finished the season more or less and put that in mind. I started with the slow swing and when I lost 20 pounds I started feeling better," Guerrero said. He […]

Nolan Arenado Headlines NL Gold Glove Winners

Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado was awarded his eighth Gold Glove award on Tuesday in as many seasons. His 15 defensive runs saved this year were three more than any player at the hot corner. Arenado's streak is the second-longest to start a career in MLB history, behind Ichiro Suzuki's 10. It's the third-longest […]

Alex Gordon Wins Eighth Gold Glove In Final Season

Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon, who announced his retirement at the end of the 2020 season, won his eighth and final Gold Glove award on Tuesday. The 36-year-old finished off his career by winning a Gold Glove in four straight seasons. The other American League winners included Seattle Mariners first baseman Evan White, Cleveland […]

Can Yankees Retain DJ LeMahieu?

The New York Yankees will likely make a strong effort to re-sign infielder DJ LeMahieu and they already extended him a one-year, $18.9 million qualifying offer, but MLB Trade Rumors predicts that he'll leave for the division-rival Blue Jays. The 32-year-old won the MLB batting crown in 2020 by hitting .364 with 10 home runs […]

Ryon Healy Elects Free Agency

Milwaukee Brewers infielder Ryon Healy has opted for free agency after refusing an outright assignment off their 40-man roster to Triple-A San Antonio. The 28-year-old played in only four regular season games for Milwaukee this year and hit .143 with no home runs, runs or RBI. Healy went 0-for-3 in the second game of the […]

Mitch Moreland's Option Declined By Padres

The San Diego Padres declined a 2021 team option on first baseman Mitch Moreland and he will become a free agent. With the universal designated hitter in question, the Friars opted against a reasonable $3 million price tag for Moreland, who they acquired via trade in 2020. With the resurgence of incumbent first baseman Eric […]

Red Sox Talking With Alex Cora

The Boston Red Sox are expected to interview former manager Alex Cora in the coming days, according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman. Boston parted ways with Cora last January due to his part in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal during 2017, and Cora was suspended for all of 2020. According to The Boston Globe's Alex […]

Brad Hand, Carlos Santana, Domingo Santana Become Free Agents

The Cleveland Indians declined 2021 options on relief pitcher Brad Hand ($10 million), first baseman Carlos Santana ($17.5 million) and outfielder Domingo Santana ($5 million) on Friday, making them free agents. Hand will receive a $500,000 buyout and the Santanas will each receive $250,000. The 30-year-old Hand led baseball with 16 saves this year, but […]

Cubs Likely To Pick Up Anthony Rizzo's Option

The Chicago Cubs are likely to pick up first baseman Anthony Rizzo's $16.5 million option for the 2021 season before the Sunday deadline, according to sources. The Cubs did the same for the 31-year-old before last season, picking up a similar $16.5 million option for 2020. Rizzo continues to be a stalwart at first base […]

Tigers Officially Hire A.J. Hinch

The Detroit Tigers officially hired former Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch as their new manager on Friday. Hinch was a backup catcher for the 2003 Tigers. The hiring comes one year after he was fired by Houston for his part in the sign-stealing scandal, and he was suspended for all of the 2020 season. Hinch […]

Tigers Finalizing Deal To Make A.J. Hinch Their Manager

The Detroit Tigers have made progress in finalizing a deal to make former Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch their next manager, according to sources. Hinch lost his job with Houston before the start of the 2020 season for his role in the team's sign-stealing scandal. Former Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire retired on Sept. 19 with […]

Fantasy Baseball Applications of zxwOBAcon Analysis

In part one of this series, I established that zxwOBAcon is the primary driver of season-to-season changes in xwOBAcon and that the biggest risers in zxwOBAcon each season tend to be rebound candidates. Furthermore, rebound candidates recover all of their zxwOBAcon losses more often than not and frequently outperform their season x zxwOBAcon in season […]

Randy Arozarena's 2021 Fantasy Value: WPC+ Videocast

Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut look back at the amazing rookie season and postseason run by Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena in order to project his fantasy baseball value and ADP for 2021. Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and […]

White Sox Name Tony La Russa Their New Manager

The Chicago White Sox named Tony La Russa, a three-time World Series champion, as their new manager on Thursday. The 76-year-old hasn't served as a big league manager since ending his 16-year run with the Cardinals in 2011, a season that ended in his third championship. La Russa has a 2,728-2,365 managerial record and began […]

White Sox Close To Hiring Tony La Russa?

The Chicago White Sox could officially name Tony La Russa as their new manager as early as Thursday. La Russa got his start in the big leagues in 1979 with the White Sox, and rumors have been swirling for more than a week that he'd land there. The 76-year-old won three straight American League pennants […]

Paul Goldschmidt Has Surgery On Right Elbow

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (elbow) had a bone spur removed from his right elbow, and general manager John Mozeliak said that Goldschmidt is progressing well. The right-handed power bat played 58 of a possible 60 games during the 2020 regular season and batted .304 with an .883 OPS, so his elbow clearly […]

Rockies Buy Out Daniel Murphy

The Colorado Rockies declined infielder Daniel Murphy's $12 million option on Wednesday, ending his two-year stint with the organization and making him a free agent. The 35-year-old will receive a $6 million buyout. Murphy hit a disappointing .269 with 16 home runs and 94 RBI in 172 games with the Rockies the last two seasons […]

Nats Decline Options On Adam Eaton, Anibal Sanchez, Others

The Washington Nationals declined club options for the 2021 season on outfielder Adam Eaton and right-hander Anibal Sanchez, making them free agents. The Nats also declined their portion of mutual options on infielders Howie Kendrick and Eric Thames. Eaton's option was worth $10.5 million, but they'll instead pay him a $1.5 million buyout. Sanchez's option […]

FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (10/27/20): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

Whether or not Tuesday represents the swan song of the 2020 baseball season, the journey to crowning a new champion has been a wild ride, full of exhilarating, historic moments inside the bubble.  Blake Snell and Tony Gonsolin are running back their Game 2 matchup, in which the latter recorded just four outs, seemingly by […]

2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values Based On Contact Quality

In part one of this series, I established that zxwOBAcon is the primary driver of season-to-season changes in xwOBAcon and that the biggest risers in zxwOBAcon each season tend to be rebound candidates. Furthermore, rebound candidates recover all of their zxwOBAcon losses more often than not and frequently outperform their season x zxwOBAcon in season […]

Warning Signals in Shift Increases: Part One

Shifts work. Not all the time and not against everyone but eventually there is a sufficient amount of data on a player to be able to draw some pretty strong conclusions about what advantages can be gained by shifting. There are good reasons that Joey Gallo was shifted against 98.5% of the time in 2020. Not everyone […]

DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS (10/25/20) (Premium Content)

Wow. Baseball doesn't get much more exciting than what went down in Game 4. After a bunch of lead changes, six home runs, and a final play that will live in baseball lore forever, the Rays went home the winner and the series is now tied 2-2. Clayton Kershaw returns to the mound for the […]

DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS (10/25/20)

Hopefully, everyone stayed up late enough to catch the ending of Game 4, it was magical. Congrats to both teams for making the series quite enjoyable to watch. The World Series's fifth game will take up to a beastly matchup of Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow. Pitching should be the key to this game as […]

DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS (10/24/20) (Premium Content)

Can Tampa Bay finally stem the offensive tidal wive that the Dodgers have begun to unleash? That will be the central question surrounding Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday, with L.A. looking to be in true mid-season form. After what is likely only a sign of things to come, heavy bullpen usage has […]

Dissecting Contact Quality In Search Of Fantasy Bargains

Of the 1,015 hitters sampled(1) between 2015 and 2019, there were only 14 instances of hitters making more productive contact against pitches outside of the strike zone than against pitches inside of the strike zone based on xwOBAcon. Based on the same sample, the average hitter was a whopping .116 points better against pitches inside […]

MLB DFS Cheat Sheet for 10/23/20 (Premium Content)

Game Three will give the series advantage to someone tonight. The pitching matchups feature a budding ace, Walker Buehler, and a craft veteran, Charlie Morton. The regular season has been a bit of a rollercoaster for both these hurlers-a slow start followed by a great deal of success as the innings piled up. The Dodgers […]

Lineup Order Risers and Fallers: AL West 2020 Review

It’s the offseason and there are about to be a bunch of moving parts. This allows for speculation in terms of players gaining or losing playing time, moving up or down a batting order and much more. The idea here is to highlight some lineup situations for each team and some potential winners or losers […]

Tigers Interview George Lombard, Marcus Thames

The Detroit Tigers have interviewed Dodgers first base coach George Lombard and Yankees hitting coach Marcus Thames, who both previously played for the Tigers, for their managerial opening, according to sources. The two join long-time Tigers coach Lloyd McClendon as candidates who have interviewed for the job. McLendon served as the interim manager following Ron […]