Sergio Romo Signs With A's

The Oakland Athletics and relief pitcher Sergio Romo agreed to a one-year, $2.55 million contract pending a physical. The veteran right-hander will be 38-years-old on Opening Day but has been a solid relief option in recent years. Romo converted five saves in six chances last season with Minnesota and had 25 and 20 saves respectively […]

Michael Lorenzen Enters 2021 As Rotation Candidate

Cincinnati Reds right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen began his big league career making 21 starts during his rookie season. As he has continued to slots into multiple roles, he has become an integral part of the Reds' bullpen, having amassed a 3.48 ERA over the last four seasons. But heading into 2021, he'll have the chance […]

Mike Montgomery, Tommy Hunter Join Mets For Spring Camp

The New York Mets' relief corps continues to grow by the day heading into the start of Spring Training next week. On Sunday, the team inked veteran left-hander Mike Montgomery and right-hander Tommy Hunter to Minor League deals with invites to big league camp. Montgomery pitched in just three games last year for Kansas City, […]

Collin McHugh Signs One-Year Deal With Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays and pitcher Collin McHugh agreed to a one-year contract pending a physical. McHugh opted-out of the 2020 season as his elbow was not responding to offseason surgery as well as he'd hoped. Elbow injuries are always concerning, but if McHugh is back to full health he could be a sneaky-asset for […]

Mark Melancon Signs With Padres

The San Diego Padres have agreed to a deal with free-agent reliever Mark Melancon. The deal with Melancon will become official once he's passed a physical. Melancon posted 11 saves in 13 attempts, a 2.78 ERA, and a 1.28 WHIP in 22 2/3 innings pitched for the Braves in 2020. While his strikeout rates declined, […]

Seth Lugo Scheduled To Have Elbow Surgery

The New York Mets announced on Saturday that relief pitcher Seth Lugo is scheduled to have elbow surgery to remove a bone spur on Tuesday. The Mets indicated that following surgery, Lugo won't throw for at least six weeks. Obviously, this is horrible news with spring training set to begin within a week. Heading into […]

Marlins Acquire Dylan Floro

The Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a trade on Friday, with the Marlins acquiring relief pitcher Dylan Floro in exchange for Alex Vesia and a prospect. Floro should immediately slide into a late-inning role for the Marlins and may even end up with save chances. He posted a 3.10 ERA over the […]

Relief Pitchers Set To Bust In 2021

Projecting relievers is notoriously tricky, and that’s especially true after an irregular 2020 season. As is prone to happen in small samples of performance, otherwise strong relievers sometimes have down seasons that are not entirely in their control. Still, some relievers are more likely to bust than others, and fantasy managers would do well to […]

Rough Times in the Rockies: Examining Prospects from the Arenado Trade

With the Nolan Arenado trade finalized, we now know who Colorado will be receiving from St. Louis. Here's how that trade breaks down: St. Louis receives: 3B Nolan Arenado Colorado receives: LHP Austin Gomber, SS Mateo Gil, 3B Elehuris Montero, RHP Tony Locey, RHP Jake Sommers I already wrote about what to expect from Arenado in […]

Ken Giles Agrees To Two-Year Deal With Mariners

The Seattle Mariners agreed to an undisclosed two-year deal with free-agent relief pitcher Ken Giles (elbow) on Thursday, according to sources. Giles will miss the entire 2021 season while coming off Tommy John surgery, but he's expected to be ready for 2022. Before he had surgery last season, the hard-throwing right-hander posted a 1.87 ERA, […]

Yankees, Among Others, Watch David Robertson Throw

Free-agent relief pitcher David Robertson (elbow) threw for a number of teams on Thursday, including the New York Yankees, at the University of Alabama. Robertson touched 91 mph and showed off his patented curveball and looks to be in shape with a week until pitchers and catchers report for spring training. The Phillies declined the […]

Red Sox Close To Signing Hirokazu Sawamura

The Boston Red Sox are close to signing Japanese right-handed reliever Hirokazu Sawamura, according to a source. Sankei Sports is reporting that the deal will be worth $2.4 million over two years. If it becomes official, he will join Matt Barnes, Adam Ottavino and Darwinzon Hernandez in the back of Boston's bullpen. The 32-year-old has […]

David Phelps Signs With Toronto

The Toronto Blue Jays signed free-agent right-hander David Phelps to a one-year, $1.75 million deal on Thursday, according to sources. Phelps can earn another $750,000 in performance bonuses. The 34-year-old reliever became a free agent when he had his $4.5 million 2021 option declined by the Philadelphia Phillies after he went 2-4 with an ugly […]

Jays DFA Shun Yamaguchi, Open Up Spot For Young Arms

With the Toronto Blue Jays recent waiver claim of right-handed pitcher Joel Payamps from the Boston Red Sox, another move was required to make room on the 40-man roster. Toronto made that move by designating Shun Yamaguchi for assignment. The veteran Japanese hurler struggled in his first year in North America with an ERA of […]

Anthony Bass Likely The Marlins Closer

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Anthony Bass is "the very likely closer" for the Marlins this season, according to the Miami Herald's Craig Mish. The Marlins were hoping to re-sign Brandon Kintzler, who saved 12 games last season, but he went to the Phillies on a minor league deal. Bass signed a two-year, $5 million deal […]

Brandon Kintzler Signs With Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies signed free-agent relief pitcher Brandon Kintzler to a minor league deal on Wednesday, according to a source. It's a one-year deal for $3 million if Kintzler makes the team out of spring training, plus incentives. Kintzler turned down a major league offer to return to the Miami Marlins, but he can make […]

Steve Cishek Joining Astros

The Houston Astros signed free-agent relief pitcher Steve Cishek to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training on Tuesday. The veteran right-hander has a 2.78 ERA in 594 career relief appearances with a .214 average against and 132 saves in 10-plus major league seasons. He's held right-handed hitters to a .204 average […]

Jordan Zimmermann Joins Brewers On Minors Deal

The Milwaukee Brewers signed former All-Star right-hander Jordan Zimmermann to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training on Tuesday. Zimmermann will turn 35 years old on May 23 and pitched in just three games (7.94 ERA) for the Detroit Tigers in 2020 due to a forearm injury. He went 1-13 with a […]

Giants Adding Jake McGee To Bullpen

The San Francisco Giants agreed to a two-year deal worth $7 million with free-agent relief pitcher Jake McGee on Tuesday, according to sources. McGee was solid in his lone season with the Dodgers in 2020, posting a 2.66 ERA and 0.83 WHIP with 33 strikeouts and only three walks in 20 1/3 innings over 24 […]

Marlins Still Haven't Made An Offer To Brandon Kintzler

The Miami Marlins have yet to make an offer to free-agent relief pitcher Brandon Kintzler. Kintzler spent the abbreviated 2020 season as the Marlins closer, saving 12 games while posting a 2.22 ERA. He doesn't have the typical closer stuff, but he's been a successful reliever for years at this point. The Marlins signed Anthony […]

Red Sox Making Progress With Hirokazu Sawamura

The Boston Red Sox have made progress on a deal with Japanese relief pitcher Hirokazu Sawamura, according to a source. If a deal is finalized, it will likely be a major league deal for Sawamura. The 32-year-old right-hander had a 2.77 ERA over nine seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball and spent the 2020 season with […]

MLB To Deaden Baseballs Amid Home Run Surge

Major League Baseball has slightly deadened its baseballs amid a years-long surge in home runs totals, according to a source. The league thinks that its changes will be subtle, however, and an independent lab found that the new balls will fly one to two feet shorter on balls hit over 375 feet. Five more clubs […]

Fantasy Baseball Preseason Injury Updates

Injuries remain commonplace in all sports. Baseball has seen the rate of injury continue to rise over the past few years. In fantasy, if someone is not in the medical field, it is hard to gauge how long a player will be out and whether they need to be replaced in a lineup. Sometimes this […]

Chasen Shreve Agrees With Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a minor league deal with relief pitcher Chasen Shreve. He will be guaranteed $1.5 million if he makes the major league roster, according to sources. The 30-year-old has a strong fastball/cutter combination and had the highest whiff rate for a left-handed pitcher with 25-plus innings last season. Shreve posted a […]

Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Prospects for 2021 (Part 2)

Spring Training 2021 is almost here, which means it’s time to start thinking about prospects again. A strong pop-up performance from a rookie or two can have a massive impact on a fantasy manager’s season. If we look back to the truncated 2020 season, we can easily locate a healthy dose of players that had […]

Top 750: Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Rankings

What's up RotoBallers. Today we are bringing you our top 750 fantasy baseball dynasty rankings for the 2021 MLB season. Dynasty leagues, or keeper formats, continue to become more and more popular in the fantasy sports landscape. For those of you who are playing in dynasty formats, or are interested in long-term valuations of fantasy players, […]

Richard Rodriguez (RP, PIT) - 2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers

Saves are a scarce commodity in today's game, as more and more teams are relying on multiple relievers to handle ninth-inning duties. In last year's abbreviated season, just 10 pitchers reached double digits in the category. Going a little further down the list, only 18 closed out seven or more games, and that includes guys […]

Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Prospects for 2021 (Part 1)

Spring Training 2021 is almost here, which means it’s time to start thinking about prospects again. A strong pop-up performance from a rookie or two can have a massive impact on a fantasy manager’s season. If we look back to the truncated 2020 season, we can easily locate a healthy dose of players that had […]

Hirokazu Sawamura Negotiating With MLB Teams

Japanese relief pitcher Hirokazu Sawamura has traveled to the United States to negotiate with major league teams, according to a Nikkan Sports report. He's primarily been a reliever since 2015 and had a 1.71 ERA with 29 strikeouts and 10 walks in 21 innings for the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2020. He'll turn 33 years […]

Twins Acquire Shaun Anderson In Trade

The Minnesota Twins acquired relief pitcher Shaun Anderson from the Giants in exchange for outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. After adding Hansel Robles and Alex Colome to solidify the back end of the bullpen, Minnesota seems to be bringing in Anderson to fortify the middle innings. The 26-year-old reliever pitched to a 3.52 ERA in 15.1 […]