Reds Closing Job Amir Garrett's To Lose?

Cincinnati Reds left-handed reliever Amir Garrett thinks the 2021 closer job is "mine to lose" after the team traded former closer Raisel Iglesias to the Angels last week. The 28-year-old intends to fill the ninth-inning role, and manager David Bell said that Garrett will be a candidate, along with Lucas Sims and Tejay Antone. Garrett […]

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 […]

Rhys Hoskins Should Be Ready In 2021

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman/outfielder Rhys Hoskins (elbow) is recovering nicely from elbow surgery and should be ready to play in the 2021 season, according to his agent, Scott Boras. Hoskins is scheduled to begin swinging a bat soon. Manager Joe Girardi is also optimistic about Hoskins' chances of being ready next year, so it's not […]

Yankees Top Priority Is DJ LeMahieu

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that re-signing infielder DJ LeMahieu is the "No. 1 priority" this offseason. LeMahieu just finished a team-friendly two-year, $24 million deal and is one of the most attractive free agents this winter. He's been one of the most valuable players the last two years, winning the 2020 batting […]

Nationals Not Seriously Considering Kris Bryant

Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said that the team hasn't had any serious ideas of acquiring Chicago Cubs third baseman and former MVP Kris Bryant. Rizzo said the offseason priority is a bat for the middle of the lineup after they lost star third baseman Anthony Rendon in free agency last year. Manager Dave […]

Mariners Acquire Rafael Montero From Rangers

The Seattle Mariners acquired right-handed reliever Rafael Montero from the Texas Rangers on Tuesday in exchange for 17-year-old pitching prospect Jose Corniell and a player to be named later. Montero, 30, was Texas' closer for most of last year with Jose Leclerc (shoulder) making just two appearances. He was 0-1 with a 4.08 ERA. Montero […]

Jameson Taillon On Track For 2021 Return

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jameson Taillon (elbow) is on schedule to return next season after missing most of 2019 and all of 2020 while recovering from his second Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. The 29-year-old has been throwing the ball well and is very eager to get back into games. But with Pittsburgh […]

Buster Posey Remains Giants Primary Catcher

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey will remain the team's "primary catcher" in 2021 and will receive "the lion's share of the reps" behind the dish despite the presence of top prospect Joey Bart, according to manager Gabe Kapler. The six-time All-Star is owed $21.4 million in what could be the last year of his […]

Dusty Baker Unsure If He'll Return Beyond 2021

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker is unsure if he wants to manage the team beyond the 2021 season. "Maybe," Baker said. "Depends how I feel. Depends on how the team feels about me. ... You never know what changes are going to come about in life." The 71-year-old is entering the final year of his […]

Greg Holland Re-Signs With Royals

The Kansas City Royals re-signed reliever Greg Holland on Monday to a one-year deal worth at least $2.75 million. Holland can make as much as $4.5 million with performance bonuses, according to sources. The 35-year-old went 3-0 with six saves and a nice 1.91 ERA in 28 appearances for the Royals during the shortened 2020 […]

Early-Round Fades and Overvalued Studs

Entering 2021, there is a bit of recency bias in the early ADP as well as an overall sense of unknown entering 2021 as a whole in terms of what rules are in place, where players are going to hit in the lineup or even where many players will play and how that could affect […]

Hunter Renfroe Signs With Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have signed outfielder Hunter Renfroe to a one-year, $3.1 million contract on Monday. Renfroe joined the Rays ahead of the shortened 2020 season but struggled to repeat the form he displayed throughout the 2019 season, when he launched a career-best 33 home runs to go along with 64 RBI, five stolen […]

Fantasy Baseball Hot Stove News with David Mendelson - Benched with Bubba (Episode 327)

Bubba (@bdentrek) is joined by David Mendelson (@DMendy02). The guys go over the latest MLB Hot Stove news and the fantasy baseball implications. Then the guys dig into a bunch of fantasy-relevant players and what to expect in the 2021 season. Be sure to subscribe to the Benched With Bubba Podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. […]

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 […]

Nationals Interested In Kyle Schwarber

The Washington Nationals are interested in free-agent outfielder Kyle Schwarber, who could add some nice pop to the middle of their lineup despite posting a .701 OPS during the shortened 2020 season. Washington has a very clear outfield need this winter, especially after former right fielder Adam Eaton signed a deal with the White Sox. […]

Chris Sale To Throw Off Mound In January

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (elbow), who is almost nine months removed from Tommy John surgery, is long tossing and plans to start throwing off a mound in January. "The recovery is going great," said B.B. Abbott, Sale's agent. "If anything, they'll be holding him back. From a work ethic standpoint, he's not […]

Red Sox Interested In Jake Odorizzi, Rich Hill

The Boston Red Sox have made it no secret that they are looking for starting rotation help this winter after a cumulative 5.34 ERA from their starters in 2020, which ranked 25th in baseball. There's little chance that they will pursue the top free-agent arm on the market in Trevor Bauer. Boston is expected to […]

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 […]

David Dahl Agrees With Texas

Free-agent outfielder David Dahl and the Texas Rangers agreed on a one-year deal for around $3 million on Friday, according to sources familiar with the agreement. Dahl, 26, became a free agent when he was non-tendered by the Rockies. He's recovering from right shoulder surgery in September. Dahl has a long list of injuries in […]

Dodgers Add Brandon Morrow On Minor League Deal

The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a minor league deal with relief pitcher Brandon Morrow on Friday, according to sources. Morrow will be returning to the Blue after pitching for the team in 2017, when he had a nice 2.06 ERA in 45 games while appearing in all seven World Series games later that year. […]

Cubs Could Hang On To Kris Bryant

Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer said he "absolutely" sees a path in which third baseman Kris Bryant could remain with the team in 2021. Bryant has been available in a trade for more than a year with the Cubs looking to bring down their payroll, but Hoyer said there's no trade imminent for the former […]

Yankees Trying To Keep DJ LeMahieu

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the team has continued negotiations with infielder DJ LeMahieu as the team tries to retain the American League MVP finalist. The 32-year-old is reportedly looking for a five-year deal in the $100 million range after the AL batting champion hit .364 in 2020. He's also slashed an […]

Raisel Iglesias To Angels - Fantasy Impact

The 2020 Winter Meetings may be taking place virtually, but that didn't stop the Los Angeles Angels from addressing one of their biggest needs before some participants could even log on. The Angels acquired former Reds closer Raisel Iglesias who should immediately slot into the ninth-inning that has been a sore spot for the Halos for […]

Statcast Review - Hard Hit/Exit Velocity Pitching Leaders

Pitcher contact quality can be a tricky attribute for fantasy managers to incorporate into their analysis. On one hand, pitchers are more at the whim of hitters when it comes to contact quality than the other way around. On the other hand, it certainly seems as though pitchers can exert meaningful control over their contact […]

Projecting Power in 2021: Early ADP Air% Exit Velocity

Looking at average exit velocity to project future power is not very useful compared to looking only at balls hit in the air. Because who cares how hard ground balls are hit? However, it can be even more useful to parse out those velocities into more refined bins and cast a more critical eye to […]

Cubs Interested In Reunion With Jon Lester

There remains mutual interest between the Chicago Cubs and veteran left-hander Jon Lester, who became a free agent when the team declined his $25 million 2021 option. "We've been very consistent in our communication with his representatives," president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. "If things could work out, we'd love to have him back." […]

Salvador Perez Wins AL Comeback Player Of The Year

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez was named the 2020 American League Comeback Player of the Year on Thursday. Perez, a six-time All-Star, was also named to the All-MLB first team on Wednesday. He sat out all of the 2019 season after having Tommy John surgery and missed the start of summer camp this year […]