Nick Mariano's Top 150 Saves+Holds Rankings for Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitchers

Well, this article was going to run a bit later but we're shuffling things around because the people demand it. Or maybe just one person. Hi, Jordan, this one is for you! Saves+Holds reliever ranks can be overlooked or left stale from an early offseason article, but I'll be here at least once a month […]

Later-Round Closers - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values and Targets

Welcome officially to the 2022 fantasy baseball season! Now that an MLB deal is in place, a lot more fantasy drafts will be taking place -- and we're here as always to guide you through it. Once you reach the late rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players with upside that can provide […]

Deivi Garcia Sent To Triple-A After Strong Spring

New York Yankees right-handed pitcher Deivi Garcia was optioned to Triple-A on Monday, but he left the big league club on a positive note. The 22-year-old had a strong showing this spring. He pitched five innings and allowed just three hits, no walks and one earned run while striking out two. Most notably, he showed […]

Jairo Diaz Throws For More Than A Dozen Clubs

Free-agent relief pitcher Jairo Diaz had a pitching session in Miami on Monday. More than a dozen teams attended the pitching session, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. The 30-year-old missed the entirety of the 2021 season due to injury, but he was in the mix for saves as a member of the Colorado Rockies […]

David McKay Traded To The Yankees

The Tampa Bay Rays have traded right-handed relief pitcher David McKay to the New York Yankees. He will be included on the Yankees' 40-man roster. The Rays will be receiving cash considerations in return for McKay, who signed a minor league deal with the Rays just a few months back. The 27-year-old last appeared in […]

Richard Rodriguez Suspended For PED Violations

The MLB has suspended three current free agents for PED violations. Relief pitcher Richard Rodriguez, outfielder Danny Santana and infielder Jose Rondon will all be serving 80-game suspensions after they land with a club. Rodriguez is the most notable name of the trio. The 32-year-old was the Pittsburgh Pirates' primary closer in 2021 before a […]

Connor Brogdon Back On Normal Pitching Program

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Connor Brogdon has raised some alarms this spring, primarily based on his velocity dipping substantially. The right-hander has seen his fastball sitting around 92-93 mph this spring. Last spring, the pitch was sitting in the 94-95 mph range while topping out at 96 mph. He's appeared in three spring games and […]

Robert Suarez Likely To Open Season As Closer

San Diego Padres relief pitcher Robert Suarez is expected to open the season as the closer. Manager Bob Melvin hasn't confirmed Suarez will be the closer, but said he loves the fact that Suarez is used to closing. The Padres appear to have a ton of confidence in the 31-year-old rookie reliever. Suarez has posted […]

Cole Sulser, Tanner Scott Traded To Marlins

The Baltimore Orioles have agreed to a trade that will send relief pitchers Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott to the Miami Marlins. In exchange, the Orioles will receive a pair of prospects, pitcher Antonio Velez and outfielder Kevin Guerrero, as well as a player to be named later and a draft pick in this year's […]

Giovanny Gallegos Could Lead Closer Committee

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Giovanny Gallegos is the current favorite for save opportunities in St. Louis. However, it seems likely that the bullpen management for the team will be fluid. Genesis Cabrera, Jordan Hicks and Ryan Helsley all have experience closing games and all could be in the mix for saves along with Gallegos […]

Trevor Rosenthal Drawing A Lot Of Interest

Free-agent relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal is drawing a lot of interest from teams, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. Last year, the 31-year-old underwent thoracic outlet surgery and was forced to miss the entirety of the 2021 season. However, he was effective the last time we saw him in the majors. In 2020 while pitching […]

Joely Rodriguez Traded To Mets For Miguel Castro

A reliever swap has been made between the two New York franchises. The Yankees have sent left-hander Joely Rodriguez to the Mets in exchange for right-hander Miguel Castro. Castro was the superior reliever by all measures last year, posting a 3.45 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP while averaging 9.9 K/9 over 70.1 innings. Rodriguez, meanwhile, […]

Ryan Sherriff Shut Down With Biceps Soreness

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Ryan Sherriff (biceps) is being shut down for a few days, according to Phillies manager Joe Girardi. The left-handed reliever, who was claimed off waivers by the Phillies this offseason, is dealing with biceps soreness. His availability for the start of the season is in question now. While prospective closer Corey […]

Luke Jackson Has Torn UCL

The Atlanta Braves placed relief pitcher Luke Jackson (elbow) on the 60-day injured list with a torn right ulnar collateral ligament on Sunday. In corresponding moves, the Braves selected reliever Darren O'Day's contract and optioned left-hander Kyle Muller to Triple-A Gwinnett. Jackson, who was outstanding for the Braves in a setup role last year during […]

Darwinzon Hernandez To Start At Triple-A

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez will start the season at Triple-A Worcester and will make the Opening Day start in Jacksonville. The 25-year-old was hoping to open the season in Boston's bullpen as a long man, but he'll instead stay stretched out in the minors and work on his […]

Jesse Chavez Makes Cubs Roster

Chicago Cubs veteran relief pitcher Jesse Chavez has made the team's Opening Day roster. Chavez had a tough year in the 2020 shortened season for the Texas Rangers, but he bounced back in a big way for the Atlanta Braves in 2021, posting a pristine 2.14 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP while striking out 36 […]

Jamie Steed's Bold Predictions for 2022 Fantasy Baseball

Bold predictions can be the key to fantasy seasons. Predicting players who will outperform or underperform expectations by extreme amounts can win leagues. Bold predictions can also be entirely unhelpful, speculative thoughts that are just fun to consider. And the latter is what these are! Sort of. I'm not going to tell you I think Vladimir […]

Statcast Pitch Tracking: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball

When you're evaluating a pitcher by Pitch Info on FanGraphs, sometimes you see pitches that don't seem to accomplish anything. If Pitch X is seldom a strike, rarely chased outside of the zone, and not generating whiffs or a favorable batted line against, why doesn't the pitcher scrap it entirely? Some pitchers could improve by […]

Ryan Pressly Sees Velocity Dip

Houston Astros closer Ryan Pressly has made one outing this spring, pitching a scoreless inning with no hits, no walks, and a strikeout. However, he saw his fastball velocity at 92.4 MPH, compared to 95.4 MPH last season. MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reported that Pressly is not worried about his velocity from the outing. Pressly said, […]

Luis Castillo and Lucas Sims Throw Bullpens Saturday

Cincinnati Reds right-handers Luis Castillo (shoulder) and Lucas Sims (elbow) threw bullpen sessions on Saturday, according to Bobby Nightengale. The duo will begin the season on the 10-day injured list but shouldn't miss much time, expected to be ready by late April at the latest. Castillo is looking to keep his momentum going after pitching […]

Craig Kimbrel Implodes In Dodgers Debut

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Craig Kimbrel allowed four runs across one-third of an inning in Saturday's 10-2 exhibition loss to the San Francisco Giants. He surrendered a double and two home runs before exiting. The 33-year-old was confirmed as the team's primary closer after being traded from the Chicago White Sox to Los Angeles for […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings for Roto Leagues - Jacob deGrom, Craig Kimbrel, Gavin Lux, Hunter Greene and More

Welcome to another fresh update of our 2022 fantasy baseball draft rankings and rankings tiers for mixed roto leagues. These rankings are updated as of April 1st, and will continue to be updated every day to account for any relevant news that can affect our fantasy baseball draft rankings. For those who are not familiar, […]

Preseason MLB Injury News and Fantasy Baseball Injury Updates - Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Lancy Lynn, Riley Greene and More

We have made it to the final week of the preseason. Opening Day is just around the corner. Fantasy drafts have been going on and are winding down as we get ready to see a full baseball season following a quiet few months of the offseason because of the MLB lockout. Very little injury information […]

Proposed Deal Involving Eric Hosmer Hits A Snag

The proposed deal between the San Diego Padres and New York Mets that would have sent first baseman Eric Hosmer, starting pitcher Chris Paddack, reliever Emilio Pagan and cash to the Mets for first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith has hit a snag and may be off entirely. The Mets are looking for more pitching with ace […]

Dustin May Throws First Bullpen Session

Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Dustin May (elbow) threw his first bullpen session of the spring on Saturday after having Tommy John surgery last May. May appears to be right on track, but the 24-year-old right-hander still probably won't make his 2022 season debut until the second half of the year, making him useless in most […]

Guardians, Emmanuel Clase Finalize Extension

The Cleveland Guardians and closer Emmanuel Clase agreed to a five-year, $20 million contract extension on Saturday. The deal includes a $2 million signing bonus and two options at $10 million each for 2027 and 2028. The buyouts on both options are for $2 million, while escalators can bring the maximum on the options to […]

Garrett Crochet To Have Tommy John Surgery

Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Garrett Crochet (elbow) will have Tommy John surgery and will miss all of this season. The talented 22-year-old left-hander left his Cactus League outing early on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds, and he could also be delayed to start next season. Crochet was in line to transition to a starting […]

Craig Kimbrel Officially Named Dodgers Closer

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has confirmed that newly acquired reliever Craig Kimbrel will start the season as the team's closer, according to Fabian Ardaya. Kimbrel, who was traded from the Chicago White Sox on Friday for A.J. Pollock, pitched to a 2.26 ERA with 100 strikeouts over 59.2 innings in 2021, adding 24 […]

Liam Hendriks Allows One Run On Friday

Chicago White Sox right-hander Liam Hendriks allowed one run over two-thirds of an inning in a 12-4 loss to the Oakland A's in Cactus League action on Friday. Hendriks struck out two, walked one and allowed one hit in the outing. The veteran right-hander has made five appearances this spring, allowing three runs over 4 […]

JB Branson's Bold Predictions for 2022 Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back to everyone's favorite series, the time where we allow rowdiness to surpass rationale ever so slightly and plant our flags on hills across the fantasy landscape. It's time for 2022 Bold Predictions. In case you missed it, my colleague Pierre Camus started us off with his bold picks from the leadoff spot. He […]