MLB Officially Announces Spring Training Delay

Major League Baseball announced on Friday that spring training games won't begin until at least March 5. "We regret that, without a collective bargaining agreement in place, we must postpone the start of spring training games," a statement said. "All 30 clubs are unified in their strong desire to bring players back to the field […]

No Deal Between MLB, Players After Thursday's Meeting

No new deal was struck between Major League Baseball and the Players Association after their latest meeting on Thursday, and we are now 11 days from the deadline the league set in order to start the regular season on time. The Players Association backed off its request for arbitration for all players with two-plus years […]

MLB Trying To Reduce Size Of Domestic Reserve List

Major League Baseball has asked for the ability to eliminate hundreds of minor league playing jobs in their latest labor offer to the Players Association, according to sources familiar with the proposal. The current Domestic Reserve List is at 180, and the league proposed reducing the maximum number of players to as few as 150 […]

Players Union Unimpressed By MLB's Latest Offer

Major League Baseball and the Players Association met for less than an hour on Saturday, and there remains no deal on a new collective bargaining agreement. The players came out of the meeting unimpressed by the offer from the league, and there's very little progress made between the two sides in negotiations. The league proposed […]

MLB, Players Agree To Universal Designated Hitter

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced on Thursday that "we've agreed to a universal designated hitter and eliminated draft-pick compensation" for the new collective bargaining agreement. Manfred also announced that a draft lottery will be added as an anti-tanking measure. Spring training is currently in jeopardy of starting on time while the league and […]

Rob Manfred Says No Change To Spring Training

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said on Thursday that "the status of spring training is no change right now." Manfred also called the possibility of missing regular season games amid the league's lockout of players "a disastrous outcome." "I believe we will have an agreement in time to play our regular schedule," Manfred said. […]

Dodgers Looking To Extend Dave Roberts

The Los Angeles Dodgers are planning extension talks with manager Dave Roberts. According to Andy McCullough of the Athletic, Roberts and Dodgers president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman indicated the two parties would negotiate an extension in the coming weeks. "It'll get done," Roberts said. "It'll get done." The 49-year-old has managed the Dodgers over […]

Jeremy Giambi Dies At Age 47

Former Major League outfielder and designated hitter Jeremy Giambi passed away on Wednesday at the age of 47, according to his agent, Joel Wolfe. Giambi was taken by the Kansas City Royals in the sixth round of the 1996 draft out of Cal State Fullerton, and he spent the best seasons of his career with […]

MLB Planning To Make New Proposal To Union

Major League Baseball is planning to make a new proposal following the owners' meetings this week, which will end on Thursday. Their proposal is expected to involve core economic issues, and hope remains that it could trigger something to get a deal done so that the regular season can begin as scheduled. MLB and the […]

MLB Stops Drug Testing During Lockout

Major League Baseball has stopped drug testing players during the lockout that began on Dec. 2 of last year. Testing for steroids was stopped for the first time in almost 20 years due to the expiration of the league's drug agreement between management and the players' association. "It should be a major concern to all […]

Pablo Sandoval Joins Mexican League

According to Acereros De Monclova of the Mexican Baseball League, Pablo Sandoval has signed a contract to play in 2022. Sandoval spent parts of 14 seasons in the Major Leagues, most recently with the Atlanta Braves in 2021 where he posted a .178 AVG with four home runs across 86 plate appearances. This signing likely […]

Players Association Rejects Idea For Federal Mediator

The Major League Baseball Players Association on Friday rejected the league's request for a federal mediator to negotiate between the two sides for a new collective bargaining agreement. "Two months after implementing their lockout, and just two days after committing to Players that a counterproposal would be made, the owners refused to make a counter, […]

Triple-A Schedules Expanded To 150 Games

The schedule for each Triple-A team will be expanded from 144 games to 150 games in the first full season the minor leagues are being run by Major League Baseball. Because the season didn't start until May due to the coronavirus pandemic last year, the Triple-A schedules were cut to 120 games in 2021. The […]

MLB Asks Mediator To Assist In CBA Talks

Major League Baseball has requested the assistance of a federal mediator to help resolve the labor issues between the league and Players Association so that a new collective bargaining agreement can be reached, according to a source. The league sees this as the most productive path toward reaching an agreement to avoid any potential delay […]

Universal Designated Hitter Likely For 2022 Season

Barring something completely unexpected, it's assumed that the universal designated hitter will be in place for the 2022 season. Both sides -- Major League Baseball and the players union -- are in favor of the universal DH. Players also offered a 12-team playoff format and the league proposed to drop free-agent compensation during talks on […]

MLB, Players Union Disappointed After Tuesday's Meeting

Both sides of Major League Baseball's labor talks are disappointed after another meeting on Tuesday, with MLB now joining the players union in that regard. The Union offered a couple small changes -- lowering the bonus pool to $100 million from $105 million - but MLB remains at $10 million. The chances that spring training […]

Colorado Rockies Showing Interest In Kyle Schwarber

The Colorado Rockies have shown interest in free-agent outfielder Kyle Schwarber. According to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, the Rockies could likely make a run at Schwarber and play him at DH, first base, and left field. Schwarber slashed .266/.374/554 with 32 home runs in 113 games with the Boston Red Sox in 2021. […]

Angels, Shohei Ohtani Haven't Discussed Extension

Los Angeles Angels designated hitter/starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani, who won the American League MVP last season, said that he and the team have not discussed a contract extension. The two-way superstar is under club control through the end of the 2023 season after he and the Angels agreed to a two-year, $8.5 million deal last […]

Spring Training Likely To Be Delayed

Major League Baseball and player representatives continue to hold much different views of the game's economics when it comes to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and the scheduled start of spring training in mid-February is in jeopardy. In another few weeks, Opening Day on March 31 could be a long shot as well. Players remain […]

Batted Ball Data Analysis - How Consistent Are GB%, LD%, and FB% Year To Year

When we are evaluating hitters, we talk a lot about batted ball profile. When we're talking about this, things like launch angle and ground ball rate are cited quite often. I wanted to make a post to go over these things a bit more in-depth, giving our readers more complete knowledge of the subject at […]

Early 2022 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - 5x5 Roto Mixed Leagues

Welcome back RotoBallers! In this article you'll find our team's early 2022 fantasy baseball rankings and tiers for 5x5 mixed roto leagues. The new year is always an exciting time, as it marks a period where interest in the approaching MLB and fantasy baseball season starts to pick up. Our team has been hard at […]

MLB Makes First Labor Proposal Since Lockout Began

Major League Baseball made its first labor proposal on Thursday since locking out players on Dec. 2, but it did little to encourage players and raised the likelihood of spring training being postponed, according to sources familiar with the situation. MLB proposed changes to the arbitration system for players with two-plus years of service, tweaked […]

Who's #1? Early Look at Picking First Overall

With the off-season fully underway and early drafts already taking place, it’s time to start looking at those players being selected first in drafts. This year offers a very different set of players than we’ve seen in recent memory. Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, and Ronald Acuna Jr. have all fallen out of contention for first […]

Mark Kotsay A Candidate For A's Managerial Job

Third base coach Mark Kotsay is among the Oakland Athletics managerial candidates who have or are expected to interview soon, and the list also include Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, Red Sox bench coach Will Venable, Astros bench coach Joe Espada, A's bullpen coach Marcus Jensen and A's hitting coach Darren Bush, according to sources. […]

Mets Interview Brad Ausmus For Manager Position

The New York Mets interviewed Brad Ausmus for their managerial opening on Monday, marking the first interview of what's expected to be an extensive search, according to sources familiar with the situation. The 52-year-old Ausmus served as the manager for the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels previously, and he has a long relationship with […]

2022 Fantasy Breakout Candidates - NL Central 

Identifying potential fantasy breakout players in drafts each Spring can be crucial in building a championship-winning roster for fantasy managers. Often times the breakout players, if they do in fact break out, will significantly outperform their draft position and help you find success. It may be a late-round pick performing like a quality contributor who […]

MLB Owners Vote Unanimously For A Lockout

Major League Baseball owners have voted unanimously to institute a lockout, beginning at an unspecified time on Thursday. The Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire at 11:59 pm ET on Wednesday. The MLB Players Association hasn't moved away from its original proposal in May, which seeks a major overhaul of the sport's economic system, […]

National League Teams Considering Nelson Cruz

Many National League teams are pursuing free-agent designated hitter Nelson Cruz with the perception being that there will be a universal DH next year whenever a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is done. The 41-year-old continues to defy Father Time and made his seventh All-Star team while slashing .265/.334/.497 with 32 home runs, 86 RBI and […]

Red Sox Exercise Alex Cora's Contract Options

The Boston Red Sox exercised manager Alex Cora's contract options for the 2023 and 2024 seasons on Monday. The 46-year-old skipper is 284-202 (.584) in three seasons at the helm in Boston and led the team to winning records in 2018 (108-54), 2019 (84-78) and 2021 (92-70). He has also won two World Series titles […]

Shohei Ohtani Named American League MVP

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani was unanimously named the 2021 Most Valuable Player of the American League Thursday after a historic season in which he made 23 starts on the mound, compiling a 9-2 record with a 3.18 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and 156 strikeouts in 130 1/3 innings as well as […]