Corey Knebel To Undergo Testing For Triceps Injury

Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Corey Knebel (triceps) exited Friday night's game with an upper triceps injury and will undergo more testing to determine the severity, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com. Knebel faced only one batter in the top of the ninth inning Friday, allowing a five-pitch walk to Eric Hosmer before leaving the […]

Jordan Hicks Struggles In Friday's Win

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Jordan Hicks struggled in Friday's 5-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Hicks was called upon to pitch the ninth inning of a 5-1 game, but had only recorded one out after facing four batters. The Cardinals then went to their closer, Alex Reyes, for the final two outs. Reyes allowed […]

Alex Reyes Earns A Two-Out Save On Friday

St. Louis Cardinals closer Alex Reyes earned a two-out save in Friday's 5-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds. It looked like Reyes was going to have a day off, as Jordan Hicks came in to pitch the ninth inning of a 5-1 game. But Hicks faced four batters and only got one out, leaving two […]

Aroldis Chapman Shuts The Door In The Ninth Once Again

New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman picked up his fourth save in Friday's 5-3 win over Cleveland. Chapman worked a 1-2-3 frame to lock down the Yankees' second straight win, recording a strikeout in the process. The hard-throwing lefty has been in vintage form this season, as he's surrendered just two hits and no […]

Corey Knebel Exits Game With Injury

Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Corey Knebel exited Friday night's game with an as of yet unknown injury, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Knebel entered the game in the top of the ninth inning, and allowed a five-pitch walk to Eric Hosmer before leaving the game with trainers. He has been […]

Liam Hendriks Records Final Five Outs

Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks picked up his fourth save of the season in Friday's victory versus the Texas Rangers. Hendricks was summoned to get the final five outs of the game and he did just that. He did allow a home run to Adolis Garcia, but struck out the other five batters that […]

Pete Fairbanks Progressing In Recovery From Shoulder Injury

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Pete Fairbanks (shoulder) is progressing well in his rehab efforts, and could be ahead of schedule for his anticipated return, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Fairbanks was placed on the injured list with a strained rotator cuff two weeks ago, and his original target return date […]

Jordan Romano Could Return Saturday

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Jordan Romano (arm) could be activated in time to be available for Saturday's game against the Rays, according to Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic. Romano has been out since April 15 as he dealt with right ulnar neuritis, an injury which the team later announced was not believed to be […]

Seth Lugo Begins Throwing Bullpen Sessions

New York Mets relief pitcher Seth Lugo (elbow) has begun throwing bullpen sessions and remains on track for a return sometime in May, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. DiComo adds that Lugo has not yet progressed to throwing live batting practice though, as he continues to rehab from offseason surgery to remove a bone […]

Tanner Roark Placed On Family Medical Emergency List

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Tanner Roark (family emergency) was placed on the Family Medical Emergency List prior to Friday's game, according to Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic. There are no other details at this time, including how long Roark may be out. Roark is 0-1 to start the year with a 6.43 ERA and 16.1 […]

Taylor Rogers Picks Up First Save Friday

Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Taylor Rogers recorded his first save of the season in a 2-0 victory over the Pirates on Friday. Rogers entered the game in the ninth inning with one out already recorded, courtesy of Tyler Duffey, and needed just 12 pitches to get the two-out save, inducing an easy grounder and fanning […]

Rafael Dolis Locks Down Save For Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Rafael Dolis closed out the team's 5-3 win over the Rays on Friday night, earning himself his first save of the season. The right-hander pitched a perfect ninth inning while recording a strikeout and a pair of grounders in the nine-pitch frame. With Julian Merryweather and Jordan Romano both on the […]

Diego Castillo Not Available Friday Night

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Diego Castillo (COVID-19 vaccine) will be unavailable for Friday night's game as he deals with side effects from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Manager Kevin Cash said that he hopes Castillo is only out for Friday's game, and the team is closely […]

Kendall Graveman (RP, SEA) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ROSTERED IN: 46% of leagues ANALYSIS: Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Kendall Graveman has been nearly flawless out of the pen so far this year. Through seven appearances and 8.1 innings, he's allowed just one hit and two walks without giving up a run. He also has a 34.5% strikeout […]

Closers and Saves Report - Week 5 Waiver Wire

For all the wildness that has already happened in bullpens across the league this season, this week was a nice little respite. That's not to say that nothing went down, just that it wasn't an overwhelmingly non-stop bullpen news week like every other week had been. We have a few committees settling into more specific […]

Bullpen Report: Closer Carousel Keeps Turning

We are just three weeks into the baseball season, but it may feel like longer because there has been an influx of news and developments that have impacted fantasy. There has been no position that has seen more changes than at relief pitcher. We have already seen a number of changes to teams' late-inning usage […]

The Baller Ranks: Weekly Top 70 Relief Pitcher Rankings

Welcome to the first version of my 2021 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks, where we take a weekly peek at my top 70 relievers moving forward. This is geared towards traditional 5x5 roto leagues, with the understanding that RPs are as volatile as it gets. You'll notice that I leave off most injured players because throwing […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox - Yesterday's Recap

Welcome to the April 23rd edition of Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox. Discussing baseball is as fun as the game itself. It has a way of bringing people together to share different opinions about the sport we all love. A similar action can be done with fantasy baseball where we not only discuss topics […]

Shelby Miller Placed On Injured List

The Chicago Cubs have placed pitcher Shelby Miller (back) on the 10-day injured list with a low back strain. Miller has made three appearances out of the Cubs bullpen this year and has pitched to a brutal 31.50 ERA. Left-hander Kyle Ryan has replaced Miller on the roster. Both Miller and Ryan should be avoided […]

Jake McGee Dominates In Seventh Save Of Season Thursday

San Francisco Giants closer Jake McGee continued to do what he has done all season in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Marlins, notching his league-most seventh save. McGee came on to pitch the ninth inning up by three and proceeded to strike out the side to end the game. The 34-year-old has been stellar for […]

Fantasy Baseball Night In Review: Thursday, April 22

Welcome to the RotoBaller MLB Recap. In this feature, we will highlight a few key fantasy baseball takeaways from the games played during last night's slates. These viewpoints can be both positive and negative and will hopefully help to provide insight into different roster moves you should consider making based on trends and statistical nuggets […]

Aroldis Chapman Records Third Save Of Season

New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman locked down his third save of the season in Thursday's win over Cleveland. Chapman entered the ninth with a three-run lead and sandwiched a walk in between three strikeouts in a 14-pitch inning. The veteran closer still has yet to allow a run and owns a very impressive […]

Aroldis Chapman Finding Success With Splitter

New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman is getting early results from his splitter. Chapman has thrown nine split-fingers this season and has yet to allow a hit with the pitch while striking out five batters with the offering. The veteran southpaw noted that it's not necessarily a new pitch, just one that he wasn't […]

Blue Jays Acquiring Jeremy Beasley From Diamondbacks

The Toronto Blue Jays are acquiring right-handed pitcher Jeremy Beasley from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, according to a source. The 25-year-old was designated for assignment earlier this week and will report to Toronto's alternate site to provide depth with a fastball-splitter combination that plays as a starter or a reliever. Beasley was a 30th-round […]

Diego Castillo Blows Save, Takes Loss Against Royals

Tampa Bay Rays closer Diego Castillo blew his second save chance of the season and was saddled with the loss in a 9-8 game against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday. Entering the game with an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, Castillo allowed two runs on two hits and a walk […]

Will Vest Impressing As Rule 5 Pick

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Will Vest, the team's Rule 5 pick from the Detroit Tigers, has done nothing but impress so far this year despite pitching in just 132 1/3 minor league innings before 2021, with only 33 2/3 frames coming above Class A. The Mariners didn't have a single written scouting report on Vest […]

Fantasy Baseball Buy Lows and Sell Highs - Trade Targets for Week 4

Sometimes fantasy baseball can resemble the stock market. You want the best portfolio of players without having to pay too much for them. Sometimes to achieve the optimal team, you need to make trades. The best way to gain added value is to trade away an over-performing player for one in a rut. This way, […]

Rookie Report: Prospect Risers and Fallers for Week 4

Welcome to the latest edition of RotoBaller’s Recently Promoted Prospects series for fantasy baseball! Here I discuss some recently promoted MLB prospects and rookies - making note of what I think their upside could be for fantasy baseball managers, and whether they are potential risers or fallers. It’s early in the season and we’ve already […]

Fantasy Baseball Night In Review: Wednesday, April 21

Welcome to the RotoBaller MLB Recap. In this feature, we will highlight a few key fantasy baseball takeaways from the games played during last night's slates. These viewpoints can be both positive and negative and will hopefully help to provide insight into different roster moves you should consider making based on trends and statistical nuggets […]

Amir Garrett Blows Save On Wednesday

Cincinnati Reds closer Amir Garrett allowed a three-run homer in the ninth inning in a 10-inning, 8-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday. He struck out one and walked two on the way to being charged with his first blown save of the season. Garrett was asked to preserve a 3-0 lead in the […]