Yu Chang To Miss A Couple Of Weeks

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Yu Chang (oblique) is dealing with a left-oblique injury in camp and is expected to miss a couple of weeks. The 28-year-old Taiwanese infielder suffered the injury during Wednesday's Grapefruit League game versus the Toronto Blue Jays and is now likely to open the 2024 regular season on the injured list. […]

Dixon Machado Exits Early Wednesday

Houston Astros infielder Dixon Machado left a Grapefruit League contest early on Wednesday after apparently injuring his knee coming into third base. He was unable to continue running towards home plate but walked off the field under his own power. The 32-year-old is on a minor-league deal with the Astros after most recently appearing in […]

Jose Caballero Looking To Pull The Ball More

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that hitting coach Chad Mottola has informed infielder Jose Caballero that he has the freedom to pull the ball in the air, advice that has paid dividends in recent years for Rays hitters like Yandy Diaz and Isaac Paredes. "He's letting it loose," Cash said. "He seems to […]

Top 300 Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings: AL-Only Leagues (February 2024 Update)

Welcome back to more fantasy baseball rankings! It's an exciting time for baseball fans as spring training begins and Opening Day is around the corner. For fantasy managers who still play in old-school leagues such as AL-Only or NL-Only formats, we've got you covered. Today, we will look at our 2024 AL-Only fantasy baseball roto rankings. […]

Oswald Peraza Scratched With Tight Shoulder Tuesday

New York Yankees infielder Oswald Peraza (shoulder) was scratched from Tuesday's Grapefruit League game lineup with a tight shoulder, per manager Aaron Boone. The Yankees are hoping that his injury is merely day-to-day and did not indicate the need for any tests at this time. The 23-year-old had a disappointing rookie season offensively, slashing just […]

Osleivis Basabe Injured On Tuesday

Tampa Bay Rays rookie shortstop Osleivis Basabe (head) was shaken up in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the New York Yankees after sliding head-first into third base. He had to be helped off the field and was removed from the contest early. Basabe almost certainly will be checked for a concussion and will probably be […]

Masyn Winn Still The Team's Starter At Shortstop

The St. Louis Cardinals have told young infielder Masyn Winn that he's still in line to be the starter at shortstop in 2024 despite the signing of veteran shortstop Brandon Crawford on Monday. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said "this is Masyn's job." Crawford, who has been a liability on offense the last two […]

Jackson Holliday Hitting Leadoff On Tuesday

Baltimore Orioles shortstop prospect Jackson Holliday, the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball this year, is starting at second base and batting leadoff in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Detroit Tigers. Holliday has a realistic chance to make the club's Opening Day roster out of camp, although he's gone 0-for-4 with a walk and […]

Trea Turner Goes Hitless, Draws A Walk In Spring Debut

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner saw his first game action of the spring on Sunday in a 4-0 Grapefruit League win over the New York Yankees. The 2x All-Star went 0-for-2 with a walk but did not steal a bag or come around to score after getting on base. Last season, Turner got off to […]

Five Breakout Outfielders For Fantasy Baseball Drafts - NL Edition (2024)

The term "breakout" always gets the juices flowing, so to speak, in our fantasy baseball world. Everyone loves a good breakout. So much in fact, that we decided to do two whole articles on breakout outfielders here on RotoBaller. Today I'll be discussing five National League outfielders that I'm expecting to break out offensively this […]

Top 100 FYPD Prospects for Fantasy Baseball First-Year Player Drafts (February 2024)

The final update of the First-Year Player Draft rankings is just in time for peak FYPD draft season. This update adds in a half-dozen signees from the January 15 international class along with updating the teams for a few former Japanese players who signed this offseason with an MLB club and a player who was […]

CJ Abrams Swipes First Bag Of Spring Monday

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams picked up his first stolen base of the spring in Monday's 6-3 Grapefruit League loss to the Mets. The 23-year-old is 2-for-5 with two singles in his first games of spring action. The former first-round pick delivered a power-speed combination in 2023, slashing .245/.300/.412 with 18 home runs, 83 runs […]

No Firm Timeline On Tommy Edman Playing Spring Games

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Monday that there is no firm timetable for when middle infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman (wrist) will begin playing in Grapefruit League games. The 28-year-old had offseason surgery on his right wrist and is now hitting off a tee and with soft toss from coaches. The switch-hitter is progressing quicker […]

AL-Only Fantasy Baseball Sleepers and Late-Round Draft Fliers (2024)

No fantasy league is won in the draft, but they can be lost. That's even truer when it comes to AL-only leagues. They are incredibly challenging. They will test your knowledge and fantasy skills. They could also cause you to question why you play this game! But that's just part of the fun. The thinner […]

Nick Ahmed Signs Minor-League Deal With Giants

Free-agent shortstop Nick Ahmed signed a minor-league deal with the San Francisco Giants on Monday. The deal includes an invitation to major-league spring training. Ahmed and long-time Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford battled for the National League Gold Glove at the 6 for a while, with Ahmed winning it in 2018-19 while playing for the Arizona […]

Cardinals Sign Brandon Crawford

The St. Louis Cardinals signed free-agent shortstop Brandon Crawford to an undisclosed deal on Monday, according to league sources. The three-time All-Star with the San Francisco Giants is expected to serve as the backup to 21-year-old rookie shortstop Masyn Winn while the team awaits further clarity on Tommy Edman's recovery from wrist surgery. Crawford spent […]

Enrique Hernandez Returns To Dodgers

Free-agent infielder/outfielder Enrique Hernandez signed an undisclosed one-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday. The 32-year-old Puerto Rican utility man began the 2023 season with the Boston Red Sox before finishing the year in LA. In total, he hit .237/.289/.357 with 11 home runs, 23 doubles, 61 RBI, four stolen bases and 57 […]

Brandon Crawford, Cardinals Could Be Nearing Agreement

The St. Louis Cardinals and free-agent shortstop Brandon Crawford could be nearing an agreement, per the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser. The long-time Giants infielder's tenure with the club all be ended on Monday when the team agreed to a contract with veteran shortstop Nick Ahmed. After exploding for an MVP-caliber 2021 season, it has […]

Jackson Merrill Collects Two Hits

San Diego Padres shortstop Jackson Merrill put together a nice performance during Sunday's game against the Chicago Cubs. Merrill was given the start at designated hitter and batted leadoff during this game. He went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI in the 7-0 win. The Padres are likely going to move Merrill around quite […]

Masyn Winn Looks Strong In Return

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (back) returned to the starting lineup after missing the first few spring contests. The young infielder looked ready to go as he went 3-for-3 with a double and a steal during Sunday's game against the Houston Astros. It doesn't appear that the back tightness was impacting his performance at […]

Top 200 Infield Fantasy Baseball Rankings (February Updates)

Howdy RotoBallers! Baseball is officially back! Spring training games are being played, and in about 30 days, the 2024 baseball season will begin. We are back with more fantasy baseball rankings to help crush your league. We have recently published rankings articles for each position, including middle and corner infielders. Some league formats don't require […]

Oneil Cruz Making Spring Debut Sunday

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz (ankle) is making his Grapefruit League debut on Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles and is batting leadoff and playing shortstop. It's great to see Cruz playing in games again after he fractured his left ankle early last season. The 25-year-old's injury required season-ending surgery in 2023. Cruz is fully healthy […]

Tim Anderson Says His Knee Is Healthy

Miami Marlins shortstop Tim Anderson, who signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the team this week, said his left knee is "healthy" and ready to go for the 2024 season. Anderson's left-knee sprain contributed heavily to his struggles in 2023, in which he hit just one home run while delivering a .582 OPS, the […]

Cut Candidates: 10 NFL Veterans Who Could Be Cut Ahead Of Free Agency

Just a few weeks away from the start of free agency, teams will do everything they can to create cap space to improve the roster. Every year, however, that means big-name veterans are let go because of the big contracts they signed at the peak of their powers. Sometimes, players are released because age has […]

Jackson Holliday Playing Second Base In Spring Opener

Baltimore Orioles infield prospect Jackson Holliday is starting at second base and is hitting seventh in the lineup for Saturday's Grapefruit League opener against the Boston Red Sox. Holliday, baseball's top prospect per MLB Pipeline, is a natural shortstop, but he's going to get plenty of action at the keystone this spring and could be […]

5 Bounce-Back Infield Candidates for Fantasy Baseball Drafts (2024)

Baseball is a game where a player can underperform for a day, month, year, or even longer and still eventually return to form. That’s just the nature of it. But how do we separate the players who are likely to find their game again from those who have fallen off completely? Many signs can distinguish […]

Barrels and Brls/BBE: Using Sabermetrics For 2024 Fantasy Baseball

Previously, we looked at how exit velocity is only one piece of the fantasy baseball analysis puzzle. Baseball broadcasts commonly cite Launch Angle (LA) to complement their EV figures, but it is given in terms of degrees. Are we trying to find the hypotenuse of an isosceles triangle? Launch angle is basically a fancy way […]

Marco Luciano Scratched From Saturday's Lineup

San Francisco Giants rookie shortstop Marco Luciano (hamstring) has been scratched from Saturday's lineup against the Chicago Cubs, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. His injury was described as a minor hamstring issue on Friday, and while it's enough to hold him out of a game, this is likely an example of […]

Masyn Winn Resumes Full Activities

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (upper body) resumed full baseball activities on Friday after being held out of batting practice for two consecutive days due to tightness. The 21-year-old struggled through limited big-league action (37 games) as a rookie last year, but perhaps he'll benefit from additional reps as a projected starter heading into […]

Anthony Volpe Looking To Change His Bat Path

The biggest point of emphasis for shortstop Anthony Volpe coming into the 2024 season was changing his bat path, he told The Athletic's Chris Kirschner. Last year, Volpe had an uppercut swing through the zone. It led to him hitting 21 home runs but also led to inconsistency at the plate throughout his rookie season. […]