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 […]

Players for $1: Salary Cap League Draft Targets for Fantasy Baseball - Dinelson Lamet, Brandon Nimmo, and more

We've already identified hitters and pitchers under $10 to target in salary cap league drafts. For this exercise, we're aiming lower and targeting players for just $1. That rules out roughly the top 350 players in drafts! From this vantage point, some managers may look for high-risk, high-reward plays to strike big with a small […]

Luke Jackson Diagnosed With UCL Damage

Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Luke Jackson (elbow) recently underwent an MRI exam that revealed damage to his ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm. Jackson is undergoing more evaluation to determine the next steps. The 30-year-old right-hander complained of forearm tightness this week, and he could be forced to miss significant time. UCL damage is […]

Jordan Romano Throws Successful Bullpen Friday

Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano (ankle) said he had a "pretty encouraging" bullpen session on Friday in which he had full effort with normal velocity and movement. Romano plans to pitch in a minor league game on Sunday and a Grapefruit League game on Tuesday. "Then I'll be ready to go," Romano said. It […]

Ken Giles Shut Down For A Couple Weeks

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Ken Giles (finger) is dealing with a middle finger tendon issue and will be shut down for a couple of weeks. The good news is that surgery is not required, but Giles will obviously miss the start of the regular season and may be out for the first month. The 31-year-old […]

Padres, Mets Discussing Trade Involving Eric Hosmer, Others

The San Diego Padres and New York Mets have been in active conversations about a trade that would send first baseman Eric Hosmer and starting pitcher Chris Paddack to the Mets in exchange for outfielder/first baseman Dominic Smith, according to sources. The potential deal would allow the Padres to unload Hosmer's contract while addressing their […]

Emmanuel Clase Close To Contract Extension

The Cleveland Guardians and closer Emmanuel Clase were close to ironing out a contract extension on Friday. As a rookie last year, Clase went 4-5 with a 1.29 ERA and converted 24 saves in 29 opportunities over 69 2/3 innings pitched. The hard-throwing right-hander registered 100 mph or better on 44% of the 1,057 pitches […]

Scott Engel's Fantasy Baseball Industry Draft Review - 2022 FSGA Experts League

In the final week of March, I was invited to represent RotoBaller in the industry's Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association’s Experts League Draft, which featured 15 teams from various fantasy sports outlets in a 5x5 Rotisserie style format. I will be attempting to win my third FSGA Fantasy Baseball Experts championship this season. I was […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings and Relief Pitcher Rankings

Welcome back RotoBallers to more fantasy baseball rankings! With Spring Training rolling and the fantasy baseball draft season in full swing, it's time to look at closers and relief pitchers and see who may or may not be fantasy-relevant and worthy of a draft pick this season. RotoBaller's lead MLB rankers - JB Branson, Pierre […]