Yankees Sign Jay Bruce

New York Yankees outfielder Jay Bruce signed a minor-league contract with the team on Saturday. Bruce has a shot to make the team's Opening Day roster given its general lack of left-handed hitters, and his signing makes it even less likely that outfielder Brett Gardner (who has reportedly yet to receive an offer from the […]

Luke Voit Fully Healthy

New York Yankees first baseman Luke Voit (foot) is fully healthy and ready to participate in all baseball activities. There was never any reported doubt that Voit would be ready to go for Opening Day after suffering from plantar fasciitis during the 2020 season, but injuries can be tricky and it's good to see Voit […]

Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton Trying New Workout Programs

New York Yankees outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton have both made significant changes to their offseason workout programs with a focus on staying healthy for the duration of the 2021 season. Judge (91 days) and Stanton (199 days) have spent a combined 290 days on the injured list over the past two seasons, and […]

Seth Lugo Scheduled To Have Elbow Surgery

The New York Mets announced on Saturday that relief pitcher Seth Lugo is scheduled to have elbow surgery to remove a bone spur on Tuesday. The Mets indicated that following surgery, Lugo won't throw for at least six weeks. Obviously, this is horrible news with spring training set to begin within a week. Heading into […]

Marlins Acquire Dylan Floro

The Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a trade on Friday, with the Marlins acquiring relief pitcher Dylan Floro in exchange for Alex Vesia and a prospect. Floro should immediately slide into a late-inning role for the Marlins and may even end up with save chances. He posted a 3.10 ERA over the […]

Relief Pitchers Set To Bust In 2021

Projecting relievers is notoriously tricky, and that’s especially true after an irregular 2020 season. As is prone to happen in small samples of performance, otherwise strong relievers sometimes have down seasons that are not entirely in their control. Still, some relievers are more likely to bust than others, and fantasy managers would do well to […]

Outfield Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

We've already gone around the infield with a look at first base, second base, third base, and shortstop. Let's head to the outfield now to break down the long list of outfielders that have fantasy relevance in 2021 and beyond. All of the players listed have outfield eligibility, although several will be used at shallower […]

2021 Catcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

The chaotic, wild, and confusing 2020 COVID season is now thankfully behind us, am I right fellow Red Sox fans? But now is the hardest part in terms of fantasy implications from the pandemic as we try to decipher how much of 2020's statistics are actually viable data for 2021 projections. Small playing time samples, […]

2021 All-Value Team: Pouncing on ADP Fallers

One of the most common ways to get ahead in fantasy baseball is to be on the right side of small sample-size overreactions. After the 2020 season that saw just 60 regular-season games for each team, there is sure to be a lot of this as we approach draft season for 2021. Most hitters will suffer […]

2020 Schedule Outliers - NL and AL Central Starting Pitchers

One of the many weird things about the 2020 MLB season was how the schedule was re-done. In case you have forgotten, every team played all 60 of their regular-season games against teams in the same division or corresponding geographical division as them. That resulted in some natural advantages. It seemed pretty obvious at the […]

Rough Times in the Rockies: Examining Prospects from the Arenado Trade

With the Nolan Arenado trade finalized, we now know who Colorado will be receiving from St. Louis. Here's how that trade breaks down: St. Louis receives: 3B Nolan Arenado Colorado receives: LHP Austin Gomber, SS Mateo Gil, 3B Elehuris Montero, RHP Tony Locey, RHP Jake Sommers I already wrote about what to expect from Arenado in […]

Ken Giles Agrees To Two-Year Deal With Mariners

The Seattle Mariners agreed to an undisclosed two-year deal with free-agent relief pitcher Ken Giles (elbow) on Thursday, according to sources. Giles will miss the entire 2021 season while coming off Tommy John surgery, but he's expected to be ready for 2022. Before he had surgery last season, the hard-throwing right-hander posted a 1.87 ERA, […]

Drew Smyly (SP, ATL) - 2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers

Finding strong starting pitching that does not have a hefty price tag can be really tough. A lot of leagues are won by the team that had the most success with their later-round starting pitcher selections. Blake Snell, Shane Bieber, and Dinelson Lamet are three names of the last handful of years that went in […]

Mets Resume Talks For Kris Bryant

The New York Mets have resumed talks with the Chicago Cubs about trading for third baseman Kris Bryant, according to league sources. However, it's unknown how likely a trade is, as it was recently reported that the Cubs would likely hold onto Bryant until the July 31 trade deadline unless they were blown away by […]

Adbert Alzolay (SP, CHC) - 2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers

The Chicago Cubs suddenly have some openings in their rotation after jettisoning Yu Darvish in the offseason to, uh, not save money at all because that's totally not why they did it. Although we can agree that the additions of Zach Davies and Trevor Williams alongside Kyle Hendricks and Alec Mills make this staff a […]

Mets Talking About Matt Chapman

The New York Mets have talked to the Oakland Athletics about trading for third baseman Matt Chapman, according to sources. The Mets have also been linked to Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez, with Chapman now emerging as a surprise candidate on the Mets radar. The 27-year-old has […]

Yankees, Among Others, Watch David Robertson Throw

Free-agent relief pitcher David Robertson (elbow) threw for a number of teams on Thursday, including the New York Yankees, at the University of Alabama. Robertson touched 91 mph and showed off his patented curveball and looks to be in shape with a week until pitchers and catchers report for spring training. The Phillies declined the […]

Cleveland Signs Billy Hamilton To Minor League Deal

The Cleveland Indians signed free-agent outfielder Billy Hamilton to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training on Thursday, according to a report by Venezuela-based journalist Daniel Alvarez Montes. The 30-year-old played in 36 games with the Cubs and Mets in 2020. Hamilton, along with Ben Gamel, who also signed Thursday, the Tribe […]

Jon Jay Agrees With Angels

The Los Angeles Angels signed free-agent outfielder Jon Jay to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training on Thursday. The 36-year-old has played with six different teams in the major leagues over 11 years and hit .295/.359/.396 in 2,424 plate appearances with the Cardinals from 2010-14 in his best seasons. Since 2018, […]

Tigers Agree With Nomar Mazara Thursday

The Detroit Tigers signed free-agent outfielder Nomar Mazara to a one-year, $1.75 million deal on Thursday, according to a source. The White Sox non-tendered Mazara when he hit .228 (31-for-136) with one home run, 15 RBI and a .589 OPS. That was coming off four straight seasons of 19-20 homers with Texas. He'll turn 26 […]

Marwin Gonzalez Agrees To Join Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal with free-agent utility man Marwin Gonzalez on Thursday, according to a source. The Toronto Blue Jays were also interested in him. The 31-year-old has played every position except pitcher and catcher in his nine-year career. He also switch hits and should see plenty of […]

Tony Wolters Signs With Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed free-agent catcher Tony Wolters to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training on Thursday. Wolters became a free agent this offseason when the Colorado Rockies non-tendered him in December. The 28-year-old will serve as catching depth behind backstops Michael Perez and Jacob Stallings. Wolters, a left-handed hitter, is […]

Rockies Reach Deal With Greg Bird

The Colorado Rockies signed free-agent first baseman Greg Bird to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training on Thursday. The former Yankee didn't appear in the major leagues with the Rangers last season. Bird will return home after playing his high-school ball for Grandview High School in Colorado. The 28-year-old left-handed hitter […]

Mets Interested In Jake Arrieta, James Paxton

The New York Mets have had discussions with free-agent starting pitcher Jake Arrieta, but there's no indication that a deal is close. The Mets have also shown some interest in free-agent starter James Paxton. New York is still trying to add another arm after narrowly missing out on Trevor Bauer. Arrieta is a former Cy […]

Red Sox Likely To Re-Sign Jackie Bradley Jr.?

The Boston Red Sox are likely to re-sign outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. now that they've traded Andrew Benintendi, according to two rival executives. "It makes too much sense not to happen now," one executive said. Bradley has displayed excellent defense in center field the last eight seasons for the Red Sox, with his performances at […]

Red Sox Close To Signing Hirokazu Sawamura

The Boston Red Sox are close to signing Japanese right-handed reliever Hirokazu Sawamura, according to a source. Sankei Sports is reporting that the deal will be worth $2.4 million over two years. If it becomes official, he will join Matt Barnes, Adam Ottavino and Darwinzon Hernandez in the back of Boston's bullpen. The 32-year-old has […]

Retirement Not On Nelson Cruz's Mind

Minnesota Twins designated hitter Nelson Cruz said that retirement is not on his mind after he re-signed a one-year deal to play in his 17th major league season. "My body feels great. My mind is still good, too. So there's no reason. I still love the game. I don't know what else to do. I […]

Ben Gamel Joining Cleveland

The Cleveland Indians signed free-agent outfielder Ben Gamel to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training on Thursday. Gamel had a slash line of .237/.315/.404 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 40 games for the Brewers in the shortened 2020 season. The 28-year-old has bounced around with the Mariners, Yankees […]

Fantasy Baseball Early Starting Pitcher Debates with Michael Simione (SP Streamer) - Benched with Bubba (Episode 339)

Bubba (@bdentrek) is joined by Michael Simione (@SPStreamer). The guys will recap the recent MLB Hot Stove starting pitcher moves. Discuss the potential effects of the deadened ball for starting pitchers in relation to fantasy baseball. Then the guys will debate some starting pitchers with NFBC DC ADP from 1/12 within the Top 150. Lastly, […]