Are We In or Are We Out: Part 2 - Bases Loaded Podcast

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) Jorge Montanez (@Roto_Nino) and Zach Braff (@BraffZ) reunite for the first time this fantasy baseball season to continue talking about the hitters you wanted us to discuss. Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and Subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and […]

Mets Agree With Aaron Loup Wednesday

The New York Mets agreed with free-agent relief pitcher Aaron Loup on an undisclosed deal on Wednesday, according to a source. The 33-year-old had a 2.52 ERA while striking out 22 hitters and holding left-handed batters to a .212/.278/.303 slash line in 25 innings in 2020. After losing out on southpaw reliever Brad Hand, Loup […]

Mets Name Zack Scott As General Manager

The New York Mets announced that Zack Scott will serve as their acting general manager, beginning immediately. Scott joined the Mets as their senior vice president/assistant general manager on Dec. 23, 2020. The 43-year-old has spent the last 17 years in the Red Sox organization and spent the last two seasons as assistant general managers, […]

Austin Hays (OF, BAL) - 2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers

Austin Hays continues to bait me in as he shows flashes of upside. The appeal for Hays is the power potential, mixed with a little bit of speed. He had stolen 11 bases as recently as 2019 when combining his three stops. In 2020, he was in the 76th percentile for sprint speed and had […]

Mets In The Mix For Trevor Bauer

The New York Mets are believed to be interested and in the mix for free-agent starting pitcher Trevor Bauer, the reigning National League Cy Young winner. A report emerged on Tuesday saying that the Mets were willing to top Gerrit Cole's $36 million average annual value on a shorter-term deal for Bauer, but multiple reports […]

Examining The Most Effective Pitches in Baseball

There is just nothing better in sports than Baseball Savant. We can derive almost any insight we want from their pitch-by-pitch dataset. One challenge I wanted to take a crack at was to see if I could find which individual pitches in baseball are most effective regardless of who throws it, just looking at pitch type […]

Dynasty Third Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

We will continue our early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into 2021. We've already gone over first base and second base rankings. Today, we examine a fairly deep third base position. As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free […]

Top 440: Early H2H Points League Rankings

Welcome back RotoBallers. Below you will find our early 2021 fantasy baseball H2H points league rankings (top 440). As you may know, head-to-head points formats are typically underserved by fantasy baseball outlets - but this is an area that we at RotoBaller take pride in and specialize in. Throughout the preseason and regular season, we will […]

No Universal DH - 2021 Playing Time Fallers

Major League Baseball introduced the DH to the National League in 2020, but the rule change may not stick in 2021. MLB recently advised teams to assume that the universal DH will not be implemented for the 2021 season, and although that doesn’t mean that the door is closed on the rule for the year […]

Jackie Bradley Jr. On The Mets Radar

The New York Mets have free-agent outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. on their radar after losing out on George Springer. At least five teams -- the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies and Mets -- are monitoring Bradley. New York would prefer a right-handed hitter for center field, but Bradley would give them […]

George Springer to Blue Jays - Fantasy Impact

Throughout this year's offseason, we've repeatedly heard about how the Blue Jays were interested in several marquee free agents, but weeks passed with no action. Fans grew frustrated as they watched Francisco Lindor get traded to the Mets and DJ LeMahieu re-sign with the Yankees. Doubt crept into the minds of many observers - perhaps […]

Joe Musgrove to the Padres - Fantasy Impact

The San Diego Padres have made yet another trade for starting pitching, as news broke on Monday of a three-team, seven-player deal that will send Joe Musgrove back home to sunny Southern California. Here's how the deal breaks down: Padres receive: RHP Joe Musgrove Mets receive: LHP Joey Lucchesi Pirates receive: (from Padres) OF Hudson Head, […]

Mets Have Been Interested In Kike Hernandez

The New York Mets were very interested in free-agent utility man Kike Hernandez before they fired general manager Jared Porter, but it's hard to say where things stand now. The Boston Red Sox were also among the teams with interest, and Hernandez's versatility makes him attractive to many teams. The 29-year-old has often struggled against […]

Mets Fire General Manager Jared Porter

New York Mets general manager Jared Porter was fired on Tuesday morning after ESPN reported details that he sent unsolicited texts and inappropriate photos to a female reporter in 2016. Mets owner Steve Cohen announced the termination on Twitter. Porter's tenure as GM lasted just 37 days. The Mets will now look to fill the […]

Joey Lucchesi Traded To Mets

The New York Mets are acquiring left-hander Joey Lucchesi from the San Diego Padres on Monday in a three-team deal, according to multiple reports. The Mets are sending catching prospect Endy Rodriguez to the Pirates, according to a source. Lucchesi is likely to compete for a spot at the back end of the Mets starting […]

Top 680: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2021 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 680) for 5x5 mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings as well. Three our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus and JB Branson - have analyzed the MLB offseason moves and are ready to […]

Infield Busts Who'll Keep Junking it Up in 2021

One of the biggest questions out there as we head into 2021 is how much weight to put on what happened in 2020. Obviously, it was a very odd year for Major League Baseball. Players had a couple of weeks of normal Spring Training before being sent home for four months only to come back […]

Dynasty Second Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

We will continue our early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into 2021. We've already gone over first base. Today, we continue with second base. As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free agency news and the latest rankings. […]

Stat-Based Tips To Build a Strong Fantasy Baseball Roster

As we lead up to the 2021 season, fantasy baseball enthusiasts are sure to read thousands of words about players themselves: who overperformed last year and who is primed for a breakout. All of that is good stuff, and it's very helpful in starting your journey towards winning your league, but it's only half the […]

Four Pitchers Who Changed Scenes

It has been a slow off-season to this point, but we're starting to see some moves made, in the form of both free-agent signings and trades going down. There will be plenty of more action over the next several weeks, as there are still a lot of unsigned free agents, and no shortage of trade […]

Dynasty First Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free agency news and the latest rankings. That includes our constantly-updated dynasty rankings. We will take an early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into next season. Today, we start with first […]

You Paid What?! Overvalued Players in Auctions

Assuming the 2021 MLB season starts on time, we are on the precipice of fantasy baseball draft season. Spring Training will get underway next month, at which point, drafts roll out in full force. We aren't there quite yet, which makes sense. Many of the biggest free agents remain unsigned; the league is unsure of […]

Mets In Talks With Brad Hand

The New York Mets are in talks with free-agent relief pitcher Brad Hand, but the two sides are "not close" to completing a deal, according to a source. The three-time All-Star has a very nice 2.70 ERA in the last five seasons with the Padres and Cleveland. The left-handed reliever had a sparkling 2.05 ERA […]

Francisco Lindor, Michael Conforto Avoid Arbitration

The New York Mets reached one-year deals with seven players on Friday to avoid salary arbitration, including shortstop Francisco Lindor ($22.3 million), outfielder Michael Conforto ($12.25 million) and first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith ($2.55 million). Lindor, a four-time All-Star, said he's not opposed to a long-term contract after being acquired from Cleveland in a blockbuster trade. […]

Mets The Favorites For Brad Hand?

The New York Mets want to add a left-handed reliever and have been heavily involved with free-agent lefty Brad Hand. MLB Network's Jon Heyman said, "At this point, I think it's probably fair to say they are at least a favorite, if not the favorite [for Hand]." The Blue Jays are another team that has […]

Mets Sign Jose Martinez To Split Contract

The New York Mets signed veteran Jose Martinez to a split contract on Thursday to give them more right-handed bench depth. Martinez will make $1 million, with another $500,00 in incentives if he makes the major league roster or $225,000 in incentives if he's in the minors, according to a source. He hit .298 with […]

DH Decision Slowing Mets Pursuit Of George Springer?

A decision on whether the National League will have the designated hitter again in 2021 would allow the New York Mets to maximize their current roster and make further improvements, mainly with the decision whether to add free-agent outfielder George Springer. If the Mets add Springer or Jackie Bradley Jr. to play center field, Brandon […]

Mutual Interest Between Mets, DJ LeMahieu

There is mutual interest between the New York Mets and free-agent second baseman DJ LeMahieu and the Mets do have salary shedding deals that they could make if they really want to pull off another big signing, but it remains a tricky fit. Following the blockbuster acquisition of shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Carlos […]

Dominic Smith Not An Option In Left Field

New York Mets president Sandy Alderson made it clear that he's not comfortable with Dominic Smith as a left fielder. Smith can play there, if needed, and the Mets would like to keep his bat in the lineup, so they definitely are pushing for the National League to adopt a full-time designated hitter. If the […]

Abandon the Win AND the Quality Start

The Win. One of the cornerstone categories of fantasy baseball since its creation. In recent years, baseball fans and fantasy managers alike have been debating the value of the win and whether or not it's overrated. With this debate, the quality start has become a category that more and more leagues are turning to as […]