Francisco Lindor Open To Contract Extension

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who is eligible for free agency after the 2021 season, said that he's open to discussing a long-term contract extension with his new team. If the 27-year-old does work out an extension with owner Steve Cohen, president Sandy Alderson and general manager Jared Porter, it would likely come before […]

Early Positional Breakdowns: Shortstop -Bases Loaded Pod

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) and Jorge Montanez (@Roto_Nino) get an early start on the 2021 positional outlooks. 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 catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune […]

Year-in-Review: Corey Seager

Corey Seager posted an overall .305/.374/.502 triple-slash in his first three Major League seasons (2015-2017) and was widely regarded as one of the best young shortstops in baseball. However, Tommy John and hip surgery forced the former first-round pick to miss most of the 2018 season. While he was able to return to action in […]

Early One-Man Mock (Round 1) - 2022 Fantasy Baseball

There is no such thing as too early when it comes to draft prep. The calendar won't flip to 2022 for another few weeks but we at RotoBaller aren't ones to sit around and wait. Mock drafts take time, so I took matters into my own hands to complete a one-man mock. For the most […]

Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to Mets - Fantasy Impact

The MLB Hot Stove has been far too quiet this offseason, outside of the Padres’ couple of days of fun, but the Mets helped heat things up on Thursday trading for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco. Rumors of the Indians shopping Lindor had been discussed for quite some time, and the Mets have been potential […]

Seth Lugo Likely To Work Out Of The Bullpen In 2021

The New York Mets are reportedly planning to use pitcher Seth Lugo out of the bullpen in 2021. Lugo served as both a starter and reliever in 2021, making nine appearances out of the bullpen before moving to the starting rotation. Consistent with his pitching history, Lugo was much more effective out of the bullpen […]

Mets Have Discussed Kris Bryant

The New York Mets have discussed third baseman Kris Bryant with the Chicago Cubs recently. The Cubs like one of the Mets top prospects in catcher Francisco Alvarez, but president Sandy Anderson said on Thursday that he isn't trading any top prospects. New York traded away infielders Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez, right-hander Josh Wolf […]

Mets Likely Out On Trevor Bauer

The New York Mets are unlikely to attempt to sign free-agent starting pitcher Trevor Bauer after Thursday's blockbuster trade that netted them shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco. New York now has Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Noah Syndergaard, David Peterson, Steven Matz, Seth Lugo and Carrasco in the fold for their rotation. Bauer […]

Mets Still In The Market For George Springer

The New York Mets Thursday blockbuster trade for shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco doesn't mean they are out on top free agents such as outfielder George Springer and relief pitcher Liam Hendriks. The Lindor/Carrasco trade could add more than $30 million to the team's 2021 payroll, and the Mets will likely try […]

Cleveland Lands Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, Others

Cleveland is trading away shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco on Thursday in exchange for shortstop Amed Rosario, infielder Andres Gimenez, right-hander Josh Wolf and outfielder Isaiah Greene. Rosario, who has a career slash line of .268/.302/.403 with 32 homers, 148 RBI and 50 steals in four seasons, should have a better chance […]

Mets Acquiring Francisco Lindor, Carlos Carrasco

The New York Mets are finalizing a deal to acquire shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco from Cleveland in exchange for shortstop Amed Rosario, infielder Andres Gimenez, outfielder Isaiah Greene and right-hander Josh Wolf, according to a source. Lindor, who was set to become a free agent after the 2021 season, is a […]

Valuable Long Relievers of 2020 and the Lingering Impact (Part 2)

In part one, we examined the bullpens in Toronto and Cincinnati. The circumstantial insanity of the 2020 MLB season necessitated some adjustments in strategy, both for big-league managers and fantasy baseball GMs. One of these adjustments, prompted by frequent doubleheaders and the three-batter minimum rule, was the greater use of long-relievers and a generally reduced […]

Mets Interested In Corey Kluber, James Paxton

The New York Mets will attend free-agent starting pitcher Corey Kluber's (shoulder) throwing session on Jan. 13 in Florida, according to a source. They also sent a representative to free-agent left-hander James Paxton's (back, elbow) workout last month. Both starters are high-upside arms who started a combined six games in 2020 due to injuries. Kluber […]

Mets Showing Interest In Brad Hand

The New York Mets have interest in All-Star closer Brad Hand, who had a 2.05 ERA, 1.37 FIP and 0.77 WHIP while leading the American League with 16 saves in 2020 for the Indians. General manager Sandy Alderson said that the new front-office regime might have claimed Hand off waivers had it been their call […]

Biggest Fallers of 2020 - Starting Pitchers

We recently took a look at some starting pitcher risers, those who have seen their stock jump significantly since this time a year ago. Now, we'll analyze some pitchers who have gone the other way following a down year in 2020. Last season consisted of just 60 games, so we're obviously looking at a much […]

Valuable Long Relievers of 2020 and the Lingering Impact (Part 1)

The circumstantial insanity of the 2020 MLB season necessitated some adjustments in strategy, both for big-league managers and fantasy baseball GMs. One of these adjustments, prompted by frequent doubleheaders and the three-batter minimum rule, was the greater use of long-relievers and a generally reduced workload for rotation pitchers. That makes sense from the perspective of […]

Early Positional Breakdowns: Second Base - Bases Loaded Pod

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) and Jorge Montanez (@Roto_Nino) get an early start on the 2021 positional outlooks. 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 catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings

Once again, I'll start by saying the 2021 baseball season is not guaranteed to be a normal one. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a world unencumbered by COVID-19 and talk about our silly little game as if a 162-game season will come next spring. Join me for my position-by-position […]

Mets Reach Out To DJ LeMahieu

The New York Mets recently reached out to free-agent second baseman DJ LeMahieu, which could set up a battle between the Mets and Yankees for the Yankees best player the last two seasons. Re-signing LeMahieu is the Yankees top offseason priority, but there's a sizable gap in contract talks, leaving the door open for another […]

Noah Syndergaard Avoids Arbitration Tuesday

The New York Mets and starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard avoided salary arbitration on Tuesday by agreeing to a one-year, $9.7 million deal, according to sources. The 28-year-old right-hander missed all of the 2020 shortened season after having Tommy John surgery last March. The All-Star is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2021 season. […]

Mets Looking Into Tomoyuki Sugano

The New York Mets are looking into Japanese pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano. "Watch the Mets on this. I think they have as good a chance as anyone," an outside executive said. Sugano is a long-time ace of the Yomiuri Giants and has twice won Japan's equivalent of MLB's Cy Young. Some evaluators see him as a […]

Squaring It Up: 2020's Biggest Brl/BBE% Gainers

Often when it comes to fantasy baseball, we get overloaded with statistics and it becomes hard to sort out what's useful from what's misleading. Many experts can write pages about why they swear by certain stats as being the most predictive for future success or accurate in reflecting who had a good season. In the […]

A Year to Forget: Relievers Who'll Rebound in 2021

The 2020 season was so weird, unprecedented, awkward, and chaotic, it might be wise to toss out most of the stats when prepping for your 2021 fantasy drafts. But we are also human, and sometimes getting that bad taste a down season leaves in your mouth can be nearly impossible no matter the circumstances. These […]

Statcast Review - Noteworthy xBA/xSLG Hitting Leaders

Thanks to its abbreviated schedule, the 2020 MLB season resulted in some unusual outcomes. Michael Conforto posted the highest full-season BABIP since Ty Cobb in 1913, Luke Voit was on pace for 60 home runs, and Robbie Ray walked a ridiculous 18% of the batters he faced. xStats were not immune to that weirdness, xBA […]

Strike Zone Rate Analysis - Starting Pitchers

There are hundreds of metrics out there that describe pitchers. The richness of the available data is rivaled by no other sport. This can at times lead to information overload, leading us too far away from the core tenants of what success looks like. One group of statistics that are very simple and very helpful […]

Mets Willing To Talk Extension With Michael Conforto

The New York Mets, under new owner Steve Cohen and president Sandy Alderson, have been willing to discuss a contract extension with outfielder Michael Conforto. However, Conforto's agent, Scott Boras, doesn't anticipate talks to start until the two sides begin arbitration negotiations. The 27-year-old has one year remaining until he becomes a free agent and […]

Yasiel Puig: Ready to Rise in 2021

Yasiel Puig signed with the Atlanta Braves in 2020 but due to having COVID, the signing never went through and he never got his chance to play. Now we enter 2021 and we get to play this waiting game again as we hope to see him sign sooner rather than later. We tend to look […]

Year-In-Review: Framber Valdez

Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez has been one of the team's many intriguing prospects over the past several seasons. He first got consistent playing time (mostly in relief) in 2019 and put forth poor results with a 4-7 record, 5.86 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, and 20.7% strikeout rate over 70 2/3 inning pitched. He also pitched […]

MLB's Best Pitches by the Numbers

One of the most-often used algorithms in the data science world is called clustering. Clustering is defined, by Wikipedia, as: grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group (called a cluster) are more similar (in some sense) to each other than to those in other groups (clusters) In baseball […]

Biggest Fallers of 2020 – Relief Pitchers

In an abbreviated 60-game season, a large number of relievers previously considered to be lockdown closers or dominant set-up men struggled consistently, ultimately resulting in a negative impact on their fantasy value. As we previously did with RP risers, we will now look at the biggest fallers of the 2020 season as we gear up […]