Brewers Agree With Yasmani Grandal

The Milwaukee Brewers agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent catcher Yasmani Grandal on Wednesday, according to sources. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. He turned down a one-year, $17.9 million qualifying offer from the Dodgers and a four-year deal that could have reached $60 million with the Mets. Grandal was a disaster both […]

Shelby Miller Agrees With Rangers

The Texas Rangers agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent starting pitcher Shelby Miller on Wednesday. League sources confirmed to ESPN's Jeff Passan that the deal is worth $2 million with performance bonuses that could bring it up to $5 million. The 28-year-old right-hander dealt with injuries in his three seasons with the Diamondbacks and […]

Kevin Plawecki Avoids Arbitration

Cleveland Indians catcher Kevin Plawecki avoided salary arbitration on Wednesday by agreeing to a one-year, $1.137 million deal. The Tribe acquired Plawecki from the Mets last weekend, and he's expected to be the primary catcher in 2019 alongside Roberto Perez. He was a top prospect before reaching the big leagues, but he's hit just .218/.308/.330 […]

Javier Baez - Don’t Overpay for Last Season's Stats

A common mistake by fantasy managers on draft day is taking a player based on his previous year's statistics and thinking it will be repeated the following season. A player’s draft day price can become heavily inflated after one breakout year. It's easy to fall victim to the belief that a one-year sample size is now […]

Ramon Laureano - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

A source of consistent consternation for anyone who runs a fantasy baseball league is the exodus of cellar-dwelling owners in the dog days of summer. No matter what structures or incentives are put in place, at least a couple of owners whose championship dreams have been dashed are typically lured away by the siren songs […]

ADP Champ or Chump - Yasiel Puig and Adalberto Mondesi

Champ or Chump began the year with two positive outlooks because it's always a good idea to begin your draft prep with a dose of optimism. However, you won't win your league on draft day no matter how many players you like end up on your roster. You can lose your league on draft day […]

2019 First Basemen - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the first base position. Even though it is only January, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these rankings […]

CC Sabathia Cleared For Baseball Activities

New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia (heart) has been cleared to begin baseball activities after a follow-up stress test on Tuesday. Sabathia had an angioplasty surgery in early December but is expected to be ready for spring training. The veteran southpaw was decent in 2018 with a 9-7 record, 3.65 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and […]

David Robertson to the Phillies - Fantasy Impact

David Robertson became one of the highest-paid relievers this offseason after negotiating a two-year, $23 million deal to join the Philadelphia bullpen. Robertson has long been thought of as one of the top bullpen arms in the game, but recently has dipped in the fantasy world without a clear path to saves after a few […]

Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 2 - HR/FB for Hitters

Using BABIP to predict a player's batting average is great. Average is a category in many league formats, and every hit is an opportunity to steal a base or score a run. But most owners find the long ball sexier. Every HR comes with a guaranteed run scored and at least one RBI. Many owners […]

2019 Shortstops - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

It’s never too early to start looking toward the fantasy baseball season, so I’m here to kick off RotoBaller’s position-by-position rankings analysis series with the ever-so-glamorous shortstop position. Shortstop is rich at the top and while it boasts intriguing depth, this is not a position to wait on, especially if you also have a middle-infield […]

White Sox Agree With Jon Jay

The Chicago White Sox agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal with free-agent outfielder Jon Jay on Monday. On a rebuilding White Sox club, Jay may be able to find a starting gig in the outfield, but he still doesn't have much of a fantasy ceiling. Jay will turn 34 in March and hit just […]

White Sox In Serious Discussions With Jon Jay

The Chicago White Sox are in serious discussions with free-agent outfielder Jon Jay, according to sources. Jay is a better real-life commodity as more of a fourth-outfield type than a fantasy one, as he hit just .268/.330/.347 with three home runs, 40 RBI, 74 runs scored and four steals in 143 games last year with […]

Phillies To Make Manny Machado Another Offer

The Philadelphia Phillies remain primarily interested in free-agent shortstop Manny Machado, and they are expected to make a second offer to the superstar this week. The White Sox and Yankees remain interested in him as well. While the Phils will meet with free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper in person in Las Vegas this Saturday, they haven't […]

Blake Parker Agrees With Twins

The Minnesota Twins are finalizing a one-year deal worth slightly more than $3 million with free-agent relief pitcher Blake Parker on Monday, according to sources. Parker had a 3.26 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 9.5 K/9 and 14 saves in 67 outings for the Angels last year. He should be the favorite to close with his new […]

David Wright To Work In Front Office

New York Mets third baseman David Wright has admitted that he is no longer physically able to play the game, but he will keep a small role in the organization as a special assistant to new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, according to two team sources. Sources close to Wright say it'll be a part-time […]

Kelvin Herrera Agrees With White Sox

The Chicago White Sox agreed to a two-year, $18 million deal with free-agent relief pitcher Kelvin Herrera on Monday, according to sources. The deal includes a vesting option for a third year. The 29-year-old reliever had a sharp 2.44 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 38 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings and 17 saves between the Royals and […]

Blake Parker Expected To Sign With Twins

Free-agent relief pitcher Blake Parker is expected to land with the Minnesota Twins. Parker had a nice 3.26 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 9.5 K/9 and career-high 14 saves with the Angels last year, but he was removed from the closer's role late in the season with the Halos trying to get a look at their other […]

Gregory Polanco Making Progress In Rehab

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco (shoulder), who had surgery to fix a dislocated left shoulder, hit off a tee for the first time on Monday and said he felt great. Polanco has yet to be cleared to throw, but he thinks he will be on the field before June. The left-handed hitter has never hit […]

Joe Musgrove On Track For Spring Training

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove, who had abdominal surgery in October, said he's not 100 percent recovered but is on track to be ready for spring training next month. "My core feels good. I feel strong. ... I threw off the slope today and it felt pretty good," Musgrove said. Musgrove was 6-9 with […]

Brewers Most Likely Landing Spot For Madison Bumgarner?

In the opinion of MLB Network's Jon Paul Morosi, the Milwaukee Brewers are the most likely destination for San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner if he's traded. MadBum has missed considerable time the last two years due to injuries and is due a $12 million salary in 2019. The Giants may wait until midseason […]

Top 660: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2019 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 660) for mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings as well. Four of our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, JB Branson and Chris Zolli - have analyzed the MLB offseason moves and […]

Statcast Review - Noteworthy Hitting Leaders (xSLG)

xSLG isn’t a stat you’ll find on the back of a baseball card or one you’d find on a baseball reference page. However, as far as advanced stats go, xSLG is pretty straightforward. It is the expected slugging percentage of a hitter based on hit probability his batted balls in play, regardless of outcome. So if […]

Trevor Story Rankings Debate - Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers

For the RotoBaller baseball crew, it's our favorite time of the entire year. It's time to revive our signature series of articles debating the overall ranking of some of the most fantasy-relevant players of the 2019 baseball season. That's right, it's Ranker vs Ranker time! RotoBaller's expert writers have come up with our consensus rankings […]

Indians Acquire Kevin Plawecki

The Cleveland Indians acquired catcher Kevin Plawecki from the New York Mets on Sunday in exchange for minor league pitcher Walker Lockett and infielder Sam Haggerty. Plawecki hit just .210 with seven home runs in 79 games in 2018 and has hit just .218 with 14 homers and 75 RBI in 237 games over four […]

Mets Acquire J.D. Davis

The New York Mets acquired infielder J.D. Davis and minor league infielder Cody Bohanek from the Houston Astros on Sunday in exchange for minor league outfielder Ross Adolph, infielder Luis Santana and catcher Scott Manea. Davis was a third-round pick in 2014 and hit just .175 with a home run in 103 at-bats in 2018. […]

Yankees Bringing Back Zach Britton

The New York Yankees re-signed relief pitcher Zach Britton to a three-year, $39 million deal on Saturday, according to league sources. The deal includes both a club option and a potential player opt-out clause. The Yanks can exercise a fourth-year option after the 2020 season worth $14 million. Britton can opt out of his deal […]

Nick Pivetta - Ace In The Making

In 2018 there was a breakout pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies who took the league by storm. After garnering league-wide attention, he’s pegged by many fantasy experts as a top-tier starting pitcher for the upcoming year. I'm talking about Aaron Nola, of course. But after this season it very well could be Nick Pivetta. He […]

Mets Acquire Keon Broxton

The New York Mets acquired outfielder Keon Broxton from the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday in exchange for pitchers Bobby Wahl and Adam Hill and infielder Felix Valerio. Broxton was expendable in Milwaukee's crowded outfield picture, and the speedster will now have an opportunity to start in center field with New York in 2019. Broxton has […]