Juan Soto Avoids Arbitration With Yankees

Outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Yankees agreed to a one-year, $31.5 million deal on Thursday to avoid salary arbitration for the 2024 season. It's a new record deal for an arbitration-eligible player, beating two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani by $1 million from his one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023. Soto and […]

Yankees Make Opening Offer To Blake Snell

The New York Yankees have made an opening offer to top free-agent starter Blake Snell. But little to no evidence of significant progress on Snell or two other top rotation targets in Jordan Montgomery and Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease, the Yankees are starting to look more seriously at right-hander Marcus Stroman. The Yankees […]

Yankees, Juan Soto Working On 2024 Salary Figure

The New York Yankees and outfielder Juan Soto are still working on a salary figure for the 2024 season. The Yankees agree that Soto will break Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani's arbitration-eligible $30 million record, but they haven't agreed yet on how much Soto will beat it by. The 25-year-old left-handed slugger will […]

Re-Drafting The 2012 Fantasy Baseball First-Year Player Draft - Mookie Betts, Gerrit Cole, Francisco Lindor, Yoenis Cespedes, and more

This is the third edition of a series here at RotoBaller from Benjamin Chase. The series explores previous First-Year Player Drafts and re-drafts those FYPDs with the information we've received since from drafted players and international signees that would have been eligible. This series shows that often the top guys in FYPD drafts remain the […]

Dylan Lesko Tabbed As Breakout Prospect Of 2024

MLB's 2024 MLB Pipeline Poll, which asks front-office executives from all 30 organizations for their opinions on prospects, named San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dylan Lesko as the breakout prospect of 2024. The 20-year-old righty was the team's first-round pick in 2022, but he did not pitch competitively until June 2023 because he had Tommy […]

Josh Hader Seeking Record-Breaking Deal For A Reliever

The consensus in the industry is that left-handed closer Josh Hader wants to exceed the five-year, $102 million deal the New York Mets gave Edwin Diaz in November of 2022, even though Hader is entering his age-30 season and is a year older than Diaz was. But Hader has better numbers with a 2.50 career […]

Brewers Sign Austin Nola To Minor-League Deal

The Milwaukee Brewers signed free-agent catcher Austin Nola to a minor-league deal with an invitation to big-league spring training on Friday. The 34-year-old backstop became a free agent when the San Diego Padres non-tendered him in November. Nola became the Friars' starting catcher in 2022 by hitting .251 (87-for-347) with four home runs and 40 […]

Rangers Still Interested In Josh Hader, Jordan Montgomery

The Texas Rangers are making progress on a local TV deal this offseason and now seem likely to be back in play to re-sign left-hander Jordan Montgomery and make a run at free-agent lefty closer Josh Hader. The Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels are possibilities for Montgomery if he doesn't return to the World […]

2024 Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings, Tiers, Analysis - Roto League Drafts

Last season saw multiple catchers across Major League Baseball emerge as potential future stars, the most obvious being Baltimore's Adley Rutschman. But Seattle's Cal Raleigh, Arizona's Gabriel Moreno, Atlanta's Sean Murphy, and New York's Francisco Alvarez also raised their stock and were difference-makers offensively for their respective teams at points during the MLB season. Proven […]

Padres Sign Oscar Mercado To Minor-League Deal

The San Diego Padres signed free-agent outfielder Oscar Mercado to a minor-league deal. Mercado will report to spring training in 2024 hoping to impress the coaching staff and earn a reserve outfield role on the Opening Day roster. The 29-year-old Colombian played in only 20 games at the major-league level in 2023 with the St. […]

Blake Snell Interested In Playing For Yankees

Free-agent left-hander Blake Snell has privately expressed interest in playing for the New York Yankees, according to SNY's Andy Martino. At the moment, Snell seems a more likely fit in New York than Jordan Montgomery, with whom they have also talked. The Yankees are looking to aggressively add to their starting rotation and are planning […]

Padres Agree With Woo Suk Go On Two-Year Deal

The San Diego Padres and free-agent Korean reliever Woo Suk Go agreed to a two-year, $4.5 million contract on Wednesday, according to a source. The deal includes a mutual option for the 2026 season. The 25-year-old will join left-hander Yuki Matsui and right-hander Robert Suarez at the back of the Padres' bullpen in 2024 with […]

Padres, Woo Suk Go Close To Deal

The San Diego Padres and KBO relief pitcher Woo Suk Go are reportedly close to signing a deal, per MLB Network's Jon Heyman. The 25-year-old has served as the closer for the South Korean baseball champions LG Twins since 2019, racking up 139 saves over five seasons. He missed some time in 2023 due to […]

Can Yoshinobu Yamamoto Continue His Dominance in the MLB?

In a normal offseason, signing a player to a 12-year $325 million deal would be a team's biggest acquisition, but with Shohei Ohtani signing with the Dodgers for $700 million, it has been anything but a normal offseason. With the addition of Ohtani, the Dodgers fortified their lineup but were still in need of some […]

Robert Suarez The Projected Closer In 2024

San Diego Padres right-handed reliever Robert Suarez is the team's projected closer in 2024 with Josh Hader and Nick Martinez leaving via free agency. Suarez will automatically have more fantasy appeal in a closing role, but he didn't help his stock much during a 2023 campaign that saw him deal with injury and ineffectiveness while […]

Padres Prefer To Keep Fernando Tatis Jr. In Right Field

The San Diego Padres would like to keep outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr.'s Platinum Glove in right field in 2024, but they haven't ruled out the possibility of moving him over to center field after trading both Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the New York Yankees this offseason. Most of the potential outfield trade candidates […]

Manny Machado May Not Play Defense Until Late March

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (elbow) is recovering from right-elbow extensor tendon repair surgery in early October and might not be ready to play defense by late March. It means that Machado might have to serve as the team's primary designated hitter to open the 2024 regular season. If that's the case, Gold […]

Luis Campusano To Take Over As Primary Catcher

San Diego Padres catcher Luis Campusano is poised to take over as the team's primary catcher in 2024. However, the 25-year-old backstop needs to stay healthy after being limited to 49 games in 2023. Campusano had an .847 OPS in his 49 games. No other Padres catcher has had an .800 OPS over at least […]

Rangers, Yankees, Dodgers Interested In Josh Hader

The Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees are among the clubs interested in free agent reliever Josh Hader. However, it was reported that all three clubs prefer to ink a starting pitcher prior to signing a reliever. Hader is looking to exceed the five-year, $102 million contract fellow reliever Edwin Diaz signed […]

Unclear If Mets Going After Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery

After missing out on Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, it's uncertain if the New York Mets will pursue top remaining free-agent starters Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, who are also drawing interest from the Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and others. The Mets have been linked more to the next […]

Tim Hill, White Sox Agree On One-Year Deal

Free-agent left-handed reliever Tim Hill and the Chicago White Sox agreed to a one-year, $1.8 million deal on Thursday, according to sources. Hill, 33, became a free agent when he was non-tendered by the San Diego Padres this winter. He'll join a White Sox bullpen where he should see plenty of innings and high-leverage opportunities, […]

Yuki Matsui, Padres Agree On Four-Year Deal

Japanese free-agent left-handed reliever Yuki Matsui and the San Diego Padres agreed in principle on a four-year, $21 million deal on Wednesday. With All-Star left-handed closer Josh Hader set to leave the Padres in free agency this winter, Matsui could be tabbed as San Diego's primary closer in 2024 in his very first year in […]

Angels "Have Had Recent Dialogue" With Blake Snell

The Los Angeles Angeles "have had recent dialogue" with free-agent starting pitcher Blake Snell, per MLB Network's Jon Morosi. It is expected that the 2022 National League Cy Young winner will wait for Yoshinobu Yamamoto to sign before making his own free-agent decision. However, the Angels are not expected to be involved in the Yamamoto […]

Yuki Matsui Close To Signing With Padres

Free-agent left-handed reliever Yuki Matsui is close to signing a deal with the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, according to a source. The 28-year-old Japanese hurler became available to MLB clubs this offseason when he exercised his international free-agent rights. Matsui has been a standout closer for the Rakuten Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball for […]

MLB Rumors: Landing Spots for Blake Snell and 2024 Fantasy Baseball Outlook

Blake Snell posted an MLB-best 2.25 ERA, .181 OBA, and H/9 of 5.8 in 2023 on the way to his second Cy Young award and an All-MLB Team selection. He also ranked sixth in K with 234 and second in K/9 at 11.7. All of this makes him one of the most coveted offseason free […]

Tommy Nance Signs Minors Deal With Padres

The San Diego Padres have signed right-handed pitcher Tommy Nance to a minor-league deal that includes an invite to big-league spring training. The 32-year-old didn't appear in the big leagues in the 2023 season due to a shoulder injury and last appeared with the Marlins in the 2022 season, working to a 4.33 ERA across […]

Braves Release Matt Carpenter

The Atlanta Braves have released designated hitter Matt Carpenter. The veteran was acquired last week in a trade with the San Diego Padres but his inclusion in the deal was attached to his $5.5 million contract for the 2024 season that the Padres wanted to get off their books while the Braves were able to […]

Top 250 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospects Rankings (2024 Update)

Welcome back RotoBallers to the 2024 update of our MLB team's dynasty fantasy baseball prospects rankings for the 2024 season. This update includes a few changes/additions. First, while they may not be considered "prospects" in many leagues, foreign signees from Japanese or Korean professional leagues will be eligible in first-year player drafts, so they are […]

Third Base and Shortstop - Early 2024 Fantasy Baseball ADP Analysis

It might only be the second week of December, but 2024 draft season is already beginning to heat up. Sites like NFBC and Fantrax make it easy to scratch that early draft itch and I've already completed one draft for 2024, a 50-round draft champions draft on NFBC. I've been working through my early 2024 […]

Matt Carpenter, Ryan Kerr Headed To Braves

Designated hitter Matt Carpenter is going from the San Diego Padres to the Atlanta Braves in a three-player swap. The Braves also acquired relief pitcher Ray Kerr. Carpenter, 38, resurrected his career in 2022 with the New York Yankees, though he couldn't replicate that success for the Padres last season. Atlanta will hope to get […]