Tim Lincecum a Lottery Ticket for Texas

Pending a physical, pitcher Tim Lincecum will join the Texas Rangers on an incentive-laden one-year contract. Evan P. Grant reports that the deal is for just $1 million for the season. The former two-time Cy Young winner is trying to resurrect his career one more time after showing little life in a 2016 Angels campaign […]

Craig Kimbrel Leaves Camp To Be With Family

Boston Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel has left the team to be with his infant daughter, who is having a second heart procedure in Boston, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Kimbrel learned his daughter would be born with a heart defect early in the 2017 season and she has already had one […]

Tyler Thornburg Scheduled For Bullpen Session

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Tyler Thornburg (shoulder) is scheduled for a bullpen session Wednesday, according to Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. This will be Thornburg's first bullpen session since having thoracic outlet surgery in June 2017. “Big day for him,” manager Alex Cora said. Thornburg never had an opportunity to pitch in 2017 due to […]

Top 500: Mixed Leagues Tiered Staff Rankings (February)

Spring training is officially here! To celebrate, today we are here to look at our staff's updated 2018 fantasy baseball mixed league rankings for February and the top 500 players. Our rankings are updated weekly, but enough changes have taken place recently (see humidor, Arizona) to release a new overall list. Over the next few weeks we will also be publishing individual tiered […]

Andrew Bailey to Officially Retire

Los Angeles Angels reliever Andrew Bailey is officially retiring and taking another position with the Angels. Bailey, 33, will be the Angels instant-replay coordinator and coaching assistant this season. The former A's closer was recovering from a shoulder injury but opted instead to retire. Bailey only threw four innings last season and has had health […]

Archie Bradley Shows His Velocity

Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Archie Bradley has already demonstrated the velocity that he hopes to maintain throughout the 2018 season. He admitted to having inconsistencies in past seasons that began even in spring training. However, in a game situation on Saturday, Bradley's first pitch was 95.1 mph. Afterwards, his 17-pitch outing only increased in speed, […]

Kenley Jansen To Pitch In Two Spring Games

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen will only pitch in two Cactus League games, according to manager Dave Roberts. Jansen doesn't need much spring work to get up to speed for the regular season. He's one of the best closers in the game and is pitching for a team that will rack up a lot […]

Matt Bush Adding a Third Pitch in Transition to Starter

The Texas Rangers are pushing pitcher Matt Bush to add a changeup into his repertoire as he continues to stretch out into a starter. Bush had previously relied on a blazing 95-100 mph fastball with an 80 mph curve mixed in to keep hitters honest. Successful two pitch starters are rare, and the push to […]

2017 Breakouts Due for Regression - Relief Pitchers

2017 was a great season for those who follow the "Don't Pay for Saves" strategy. Actually, it's more than a strategy, it's a lifestyle. Corey Knebel blossomed into an elite closer, Fernando Rodney almost matched his age in saves, Brandon Kintzler/Sean Doolittle/Brandon Maurer/Felipe Rivero/Brad Hand all had over 20 saves, and even Bud Norris was […]

Carl Edwards (RP, ChC) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~275 CURRENT ADP: 338 ANALYSIS: Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Carl Edwards is more valuable in holds leagues than leagues that do not count holds, but that should not stop you from scooping him up at the back end of your draft for relatively little. Relievers like Edwards are valuable in that they can bolster […]

Blue Jays Agree With Seung Hwan Oh

The Toronto Blue Jays agreed on a deal with free-agent relief pitcher Seung Hwan Oh on Sunday, pending a physical, according to sources. Oh was believed to have a deal with the Rangers earlier this month, but that was nixed when they found ligament damage in his right elbow. Oh's injury isn't believed to be […]

ADP Sleepers and Busts - AL Relief Pitchers

The early days of draft season typically result in volatile ADP data, as values adjust rapidly to a growing sample size. Eventually, players fall much closer to their intrinsic worth as fantasy owners become inundated with news, analysis and pundit commentary. So, I'm here today to serve as another voice to the copious reams of […]

Oliver Perez Inks Minor League Deal With Reds

The Cincinnati Reds have signed veteran left-handed reliever Oliver Perez to a minor league deal on Saturday. Perez made his big league debut with the San Diego Padres back in 2002. The 36-year-old southpaw made 50 appearances for the Washington Nationals in 2017, pitching 33 innings and posting a 4.64 ERA, one save, 12 holds, […]

Pitchers Who Changed Scenes for 2018

When getting back into the fantasy baseball groove, one important task fantasy owners need to accomplish is tracking the offseason moves. Here at Rotoballer, we help you prepare for the new season providing you with some of the names you need to know for draft day and some you need to avoid. We've already covered some of […]

Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 9 - BABIP For Pitchers

While FIP is a useful tool to predict a pitcher's future ERA performance, fantasy owners should remember that ERA, not FIP, is what really matters in most formats. This means that we are interested in the "luck" that separates the two statistics. While some of this luck is unpredictable, we can and should predict some […]

Francisco Liriano Will Compete For Starting Job

The Detroit Tigers signed veteran lefty Francisco Liriano to a one-year, $4 million deal on Friday. Liriano spent last season with the Blue Jays and the Astros and is expected to compete for a spot in the starting rotation. If he doesn't earn a role there, he will provide bullpen depth for the rebuilding Tigers. Liriano […]

Tigers Sign Francisco Liriano

The Detroit Tigers are signing free-agent pitcher Francisco Liriano to a one-year, $4 million deal. The contract also includes $1 million in incentives. Liriano is expected to join the rebuilding team's starting rotation, where he'll surely have much more fantasy appeal, but even then, it will be minimal after he posted a 5.66 ERA, 1.63 […]

Rangers Place Joe Palumbo on 60-Day DL

Texas Rangers left-handed pitcher Joe Palumbo (elbow) was placed on the 60-day disabled list as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery. The move clears space on the 40-man roster for recent signee Jesse Chavez, as Palumbo is expected to miss at least the first two months of the season. Palumbo does not figure to […]

Cardinals Closer Role Will "Define in Time"

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny stated that his team's closer role will "define in time." He continued, "Having a number of guys who can finish a game would be great. Somebody has to finish the last three." Relief pitcher Luke Gregerson would seem to be the leading candidate for now, but spring training performances will […]

Alex Wilson Will Make First Start In Spring Opener

Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Alex Wilson is on record saying he wants to stretch out and make a bid for a spot in the starting rotation this season. He will get his first opportunity in the Tigers' spring opener Thursday. The Tigers will take on Florida Southern University, as is tradition in Lakeland. Wilson has […]

Ryan Merritt on the Roster Bubble

Cleveland Indians pitcher Ryan Merritt is on the roster bubble this spring and might have a hard time cracking the 25-man roster coming out of Spring Training. Merritt is out of options, which may complicate things, as Cleveland would risk losing him without any compensation if they choose not to carry him on the Opening […]

Brad Hand Set To Be Unorthodox Closer

MLB.com reports the San Diego Padres will use closer Brad Hand in various situations rather than limiting him to the ninth inning. Hand's primary gig will still be slamming the door, but matchups and game circumstances may require his services earlier. A former starter, Hand appeared in several multi-inning outings last season and will still […]

Mark Melancon Expected To Be 100 Percent By The End Of Spring

Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that San Francisco Giants closer Mark Melancon (forearm) is expected to be 100 percent by the end of spring training. Melancon had a rough debut with the Giants in 2017, as he dealt with injuries and disappointed on the field. The closer underwent surgery in September to […]

Joe Kelly Fine After Being Hit In BP

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Joe Kelly (shin) went for precautionary X-rays after being hit in the shin by a batted ball in batting practice Wednesday, but he is fine. Coming off a terrible 2016 season, Kelly bounced back by posting a 2.79 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 52 strikeouts in 58 innings for the Red […]

Cleveland Signs Carlos Torres

The Cleveland Indians signed free-agent pitcher Carlos Torres to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. Torres is 35 and seems almost certain to serve as Triple-A depth, at best. He posted a 4.21 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP in 72 2/3 innings last season in Milwaukee. He can be used as […]

Andrew Miller Returns to Camp

Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Andrew Miller (flu) returned to camp on Wednesday. Miller had missed the previous two days of practice with the flu. As he has been in recent years, Miller remains one of the top relief pitchers in baseball, but his fantasy value is limited by his role. He's a must-own in holds leagues, […]

Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 8 - FIP and xFIP

The first advanced pitching stat most fantasy owners encounter is FIP. FIP stands for Fielding Independent Pitching, and attempts to measure a pitcher's actual skill instead of the effects of luck or his supporting cast. According to the DIPS theory that the metric is based upon, pitchers control only Ks, BBs (and HBP) and home […]

Joe Musgrove Dealing With Shoulder Discomfort

Newly-acquired Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove (shoulder) has been dealing with shoulder discomfort. One of the main pieces back in the Gerrit Cole deal, Musgrove said that he is not concerned, according to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Musgrove missed some time in 2017 with a shoulder injury and this is not a good […]

Seung-Hwan Oh Diagnosed with Ligament Inflammation

The results of the MRI for free-agent relief pitcher Seung-Hwan Oh (elbow) are in, and it appears that he is suffering from ligament damage in the elbow of his throwing arm. While the injury is considered not to be serious, apparently the ailment, along with some increasing contractual demands, were enough to submarine his deal with […]

Relief Pitchers Set to Breakout in 2018

Drafting relief pitchers is always tough. Should you go for the elite closers and try and secure saves, or are you better off using those high picks on a hitter or starting pitcher and adding cheap saves later? The reality is no strategy is better than the other 100% of the time, but the old […]