1 hour agoMilwaukee Brewers closer
Devin Williams was named the 2023 Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year. It's the second time Williams has won the award after back-to-back lights-out seasons coming out of Milwaukee's bullpen. He had only 15 saves in 2022 but was the Brew Crew's unquestioned closer this year. The 29-year-old hard-throwing right-hander finished his fifth major-league season with an 8-3 record, 1.53 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 87 strikeouts and career-high 36 saves in 58 2/3 innings over 61 appearances in relief. Williams has proven the last two years that he is an elite fantasy closer with his swing-and-miss stuff.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB
2 hours agoBaltimore Orioles closer
Felix Bautista has been named the 2023
Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year. It's a bittersweet honor for Bautista, who wasn't able to finish out the season and needed Tommy John surgery on a partially torn UCL in his right elbow. Injury aside, Bautista was a big reason why the Orioles took home the AL East title in 2023. The 28-year-old Dominican right-hander was dominant out of Baltimore's bullpen with an 8-2 record, 1.48 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 110 strikeouts and 33 saves in 61 innings pitched in just his second major-league season. Bautista has a bright future ahead of him, but he will most likely miss all of the 2024 campaign while he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB
2 hours agoThe New York Mets and free-agent right-hander
Luis Severino are finalizing a one-year, $13 million deal on Wednesday, according to sources familiar with the deal. The 29-year-old will join a Mets starting rotation in serious need of reinforcements after he spent eight years pitching for the New York Yankees. Severino didn't exactly live up to the high expectations when he initially joined the Yankees, mainly due to various injuries. He wasn't very good in his final season in the Bronx with a 6.65 ERA in only 89 1/3 innings, and his season ended prematurely due to a high-grade oblique strain. Severino should be fully healthy by the start of spring training in 2024, though, and he will be locked into their starting rotation to begin the year.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: ESPN.com - Jeff Passan
2 hours agoThe Oakland Athletics signed corner infielders
Armando Alvarez and
Drew Lugbauer to minor-league deals on Wednesday that includes non-roster invitations to major-league spring training next year. Alvarez, 29, hit an impressive .308 (80-for-260) with 18 home runs, 56 RBI, eight steals and 51 runs scored in 74 games for Triple-A Sacramento in the San Francisco Giants organization in 2023. He has the ability to play both third base and first base. Lugbauer, 27, is a left-handed-hitting first baseman was even more impressive in the minors with the Atlanta Braves last season, clubbing 25 home runs and driving in 73 runs in 94 games with Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett. Both players will be fighting to get to the big leagues for the first time in their careers with the rebuilding A's in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Oakland A's Communications
2 hours agoIt seems increasingly likely that the San Diego Padres will trade All-Star outfielder
Juan Soto this winter, and MLB.com's Mike Petriello believes the New York Yankees are the best fit. He also lists the Blue Jays, Giants, Cubs and Mets as solid fits for the left-handed slugger. Yankee Stadium is clearly built for left-handed hitters, and last year's roster had the third-weakest lefty hitting in baseball. The Yankees are definitely looking for a middle-of-the-order hitter this offseason who can provide
Aaron Judge with some protection, and Soto would be just that. New York can also afford to sign Soto to a long-term extension before he becomes a free agent after the 2024 season.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Mike Petriello
2 hours agoThe "prevailing opinion" is that free-agent two-way superstar
Shohei Ohtani will sign with a team before the winter meetings end on Dec. 6, according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman. "I'm thinking he may sign at the Winter Meetings, which would be very, very exciting," Heyman said. "That seems to be the prevailing opinion at this point. No guarantee. [Executives] think that Ohtani will be the big signing at the Winter Meetings." The Dodgers, Giants and Cubs are among the teams reportedly in the mix for the Japanese superstar, but the Blue Jays and Red Sox are also candidates to sign him. The 29-year-old is expected to command a deal around $500 million on the open market, even though he won't be able to pitch at all in 2024 after having surgery on his right elbow this year.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB Network - Jon Heyman
2 hours agoThe Kansas City Royals signed free-agent infielder/outfielder
Garrett Hampson to a one-year, $2 million deal on Wednesday, according to sources. Hampson hit the open market this offseason after he was non-tendered by the Miami Marlins. The 29-year-old utility man saw action at shortstop, second base, third base and all over the outfield in 2023 for the Fish and was productive at the plate as well, slashing .276/.349/.380 with three home runs, 12 doubles, a triple, 23 RBI, five stolen bases and 30 runs scored in 98 games played in his first year away from Colorado. Hampson isn't an everyday player at the big-league level, but he could have a shot to play even more in 2024 with the rebuilding Royals. Hampson has only 29 career home runs with a .241 batting average in six seasons in the majors.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: ESPN.com - Jeff Passan
3 hours agoTrade talks for Chicago White Sox right-hander
Dylan Cease have intensified in the last 48 hours, and some people close to the negotiations believe a deal before next week's winter meetings is increasingly possible, according to sources. Cease's hometown Atlanta Braves are among the finalists, and we also know that the Los Angeles Dodgers are very serious about him as they look for starting-pitching upgrades this winter. The 27-year-old was the runner-up in American League Cy Young voting in 2022 but took a step back this past season by going 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA and 1.42 WHIP with 214 strikeouts and a career-high 79 walks in 33 starts (177 innings). Cease can be wild, but his strikeout upside is enticing and he's under club control through the 2025 season.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB Network - Jon Morosi
6 hours agoTampa Bay Rays outfielder
Randy Arozarena is reportedly being shopped by the club and there's a good chance he will indeed be moved. The 28-year-old still has three seasons of club control attached to him and he is arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason. Certainly, the Rays would get a haul for the star outfielder given his friendly contract status and massive production at the plate. He hit .254 with 23 home runs and 22 stolen bases across 151 games in 2023, his third straight 20-HR, 20-SB campaign. For his career, Arozarena has hit .264 with 71 homers and 80 stolen bases across 487 games played. He has been remarkably consistent since bursting onto the scene with the Rays in the shortened 2020 campaign.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Jack Azoulay-Haron
6 hours agoThe Detroit Tigers remain in the market for additional starting pitching, even after finalizing a two-year, $24 million contract with veteran right-hander
Kenta Maeda on Tuesday. The Tigers currently sit with a projected rotation of
Tarik Skubal, Maeda,
Casey Mize,
Matt Manning, and one of
Reese Olson or
Sawyer Gipson-Long at the moment but are seemingly looking to add another arm, whether it be an impact arm near the top of the rotation or a depth piece at the bottom. Mize is coming off of Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2023 season, Manning broke his foot twice last season, and Olson and Gipson-Long have just 22 big-league starts between them, so a veteran arm capable of taking the ball every fifth day continues to make sense for Detroit.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Evan Woodbery
6 hours agoToronto Blue Jays shortstop
Bo Bichette likely won't be on the move this offseason despite rumors swirling that he could be traded. Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins spoke with the media on Wednesday and seemingly confirmed he is not interested in trading his shortstop. "He's a really good player, we're very fortunate to have him and he's our shortstop," Atkins said. Just 25, Bichette is under club control for two more seasons while he's been among the best pure hitters in the game since debuting in 2019. Bichette is a career .299 hitter with 89 home runs and 51 stolen bases across 528 big-league games. He hit .306 with 20 HR, five SB, and an .814 OPS across 135 games in the 2023 season while his bat has been at least 20% superior to the league average in all five of his seasons, according to wRC+.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Ben Nicholson-Smith
6 hours agoFree agent pitcher
Erick Fedde is weighing offers from clubs from both the KBO and MLB. It was reported earlier in the month MLB clubs were showing interest in Fedde who recently was named the KBO's MVP after a dominant season with the NC Dinos while the club is reportedly ready to put its best foot forward to bring the right-hander back for at least one more season. Fedde worked to a tidy 2.30 ERA across 30 starts with the Dinos in 2023, striking out 209 across 180 1/3 innings while going 20-6 on the campaign. A former first-round pick of the Nationals, Fedde owns a career 5.41 ERA in parts of six seasons in the big leagues but saw massive improvements in both his strikeout and walk rates in his lone season overseas to this point.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Yonhap News Agency
7 hours agoFree-agent reliever
Emilio Pagan and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a two-year, $16 million contract on Wednesday. The pact comes with a player option after the first year as well as a buyout and incentives. The right-hander spent the last two seasons with the Twins but earned his contract with a stout 2.99 ERA across 66 appearances and 69 1/3 innings of work in the 2023 season. A seven-year veteran, Pagan owns a career 3.71 ERA across 369 career appearances while locking down 32 saves in that time. He has posted a pair of sub-3.00 ERA campaigns in his career but also worked to a 4.43 ERA or worse from 2020-2022.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Jon Heyman
20 hours agoThe Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported Tuesday that more than a dozen teams have inquired about Chicago White Sox starting pitcher
Dylan Cease, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are "among the most aggressive." The Dodgers' current starting rotation contains some young, exciting players but is much shallower than it has been in some time. They also have a strong farm system, making them a seemingly suitable match to trade for 27-year-old Cease, who can be retained through salary arbitration for two more seasons. Cease took a step back in 2023, going 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and 27.3% strikeout rate over 33 starts and 177 innings pitched. However, he owns a 3.83 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 28.1% strikeout rate over the course of his career, and moving to any competitive team will boost his fantasy value.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: Ken Rosenthal - The Athletic
20 hours agoMLB Network's Jon Morosi reported Tuesday that acquiring one of free-agent two-way star
Shohei Ohtani and top free-agent starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a priority "above all other options this offseason" for the San Francisco Giants. The Giants had a disappointing 2023 season, finishing in fourth place in the National League West with a 79-83 record. Either player would be a significant boost for the team, who have been linked to a number of high-profile players over the last few seasons but have been unsuccessful in bringing them in. From a fantasy perspective, Oracle Park is a pitcher-friendly venue. However, both players should be fantasy priorities wherever they sign.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: Jon Morosi - Twitter.com
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