Mets Still Trying To Acquire Josh Harrison

If you’re sick of hearing rumors about the New York Mets trying to acquire a second baseman this offseason, you’re not alone. Those rumors aren’t going away anytime soon, as it’s been reported that although the Mets are still trying to acquire infielder Josh Harrison from the Pittsburgh Pirates, the free agency route is more likely. […]

2018 Dynasty Baseball Strategy - Basic Asset Valuation

Dynasty baseball is a beautiful thing. In a redraft league, everybody is trying to win now. You all have the same goal. Dynasty formats allow for long-term planning. If your team is competitive, you'll value players differently than a rebuilding owner. This discrepancy makes it much easier to find mutually beneficial trades. Unfortunately, this same […]

Tigers Sign Alexi Amarista

The Detroit Tigers signed free-agent infielder Alexi Amarista to a minor league deal Tuesday, according to a source. The Little Ninja is mainly useful for his positional versatility, and he figures to perform as a super-utility player for the rebuilding Tigers. Amarista hit just .238 with the Rockies in 2017 in 96 games, and he […]

2018 Second Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

Aside from catcher, second base is amongst the shallowest positions heading into the 2018 season. Assuming a standard 10-12 team league, depending on the bench size it makes sense to roster only one 2B upon conclusion of your draft. If you can’t scoop up Jose Altuve, Jose Ramirez or Anthony Rizzo, you may need to […]

Willie Calhoun is Coming...

Last season, the Rangers surprised the baseball world by trading superstar Yu Darvish to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a return that, at the time, was deemed pretty sparse. The centerpiece was a little known, and maybe lesser-appreciated infielder named Willie Calhoun. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 MLB draft, Calhoun started his […]

Top 100: MLB Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

Prospects. For any fantasy baseball enthusiast, it's all about knowing about the prospects, rookies and call-ups. More than any other sport, baseball offers a fresh influx of rookie talent every year, both before and during the MLB season. And adding the right guy at the right time can be a league winner (see Aaron Judge and […]

Top 450: Points Leagues Tiered Staff Rankings (January)

In case you haven't noticed, we've already been cranking out all sorts of 2018 fantasy baseball rankings at RotoBaller HQ. It's only mid-January but you can already find preliminary staff rankings for mixed leagues, points leagues, AL/NL only leagues, dynasty leagues, top 2018 prospects, dynasty prospects and more. Today we are here to start looking […]

Josh Harrison Prefers Trade If Pirates Aren't Contenders

Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison said he would prefer to be traded if the team doesn't expect to be in contention in 2018 or 2019 after the trades of starting pitcher Gerrit Cole and outfielder Andrew McCutchen. “In our minds, a rebuild implies you’re looking five years down the road,” general manager Neal Huntington […]

Champ or Chump - Yangervis Solarte and Mitch Moreland

Much is made of a team's projected batting order early on in the offseason, but the discussions quickly become moot as the realities of the regular season alter every team's plans. Slumping players move down the batting order, replaced by their more productive teammates. A utility guy could escape the bench and become a fixture […]

Howie Kendrick Re-Signs With Nationals

Updating a previous report, the Washington Nationals re-signed second baseman Howie Kendrick to a two-year, $7 million deal Monday, according to a source. The deal is pending a physical. Kendrick will return as a utility player for the Nats in 2018 after hitting .315/.368/.475 with nine home runs, 41 RBI and 12 stolen bases in […]

Orioles Discussing Mike Moustakas, Brandon Drury

The Baltimore Orioles are discussing Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Brandon Drury as a potential return for third baseman Manny Machado. The D-backs have become the most serious suitors for Machado, but there is no indication that the sides are close to a deal. Drury is under team control through 2022 and hit .271/.319/.448 in parts of […]

Nationals Closing In On Deal With Howie Kendrick

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that free-agent infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick is closing in on a deal with the Washington Nationals for two years and $7 million. Kendrick came over from the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline this past season. The 34-year-old hit .315 over 91 games between Washington and Philadelphia in 2017. He’s a solid […]

Diamondbacks Avoid Arbitration With Several More Players

The Arizona Diamondbacks avoided salary arbitration with starting pitcher Robbie Ray (one year, $3.95 million), starting pitcher Taijuan Walker (one year, $4.825 million), outfielder David Peralta and infielder Chris Owings. Ray was excellent for fantasy owners in 2017 with a 15-5 record and 2.89 ERA, and he managed to strike out 218 batters in 162 […]

Joe Panik, Giants Avoid Arbitration

San Francisco Giants second baseman Joe Panik avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.45 million deal, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Panik hit .288 this past season with 10 home runs, but doesn’t hold much value outside of NL-only leagues or deeper mixed leagues.

Jonathan Villar Avoids Arbitration

Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Jonathan Villar avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.55 million deal, according to a source. Villar was one of the bigger busts in 2017, as he had just 11 home runs and 23 steals after clubbing 19 long balls and stealing a whopping 62 bags in 2016. There remains […]

Phillies, Cesar Hernandez Avoid Arbitration

Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $5.1 million deal, according to a source. Hernandez has quietly put himself on the fantasy map after hitting over .290 each of the last two seasons while also stealing at least 15 bases in each of the past two years, and […]

Blue Jays, Devon Travis Avoid Arbitration

Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.45 million deal, according to a source. Travis started out hot in 2017, but yet again, injuries derailed his season and limited him to just 50 games and 185 at-bats. The good news is he was showing that his power […]

Scooter Gennett And Reds Don’t Reach Contract Agreement

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports that the Cincinnati Reds and second baseman Scooter Gennett have not come to a contract agreement. Heyman also notes that Gennett would be open to a long-term commitment with his hometown team. Gennett was picked up off the waiver wire from the Brewers before the 2017 campaign and put up a monster […]

Rangers, Jurickson Profar Avoid Arbitration

Texas Rangers second baseman Jurickson Profar avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.05 million deal, according to a source. It seems like ages ago that Profar was once considered MLB's highest rated prospect, but a serious shoulder injury that wiped out his 2014 and 2015 seasons has taken him off track. With full […]

Mets, Wilmer Flores Avoid Arbitration

New York Mets infielder Wilmer Flores avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.4 million deal. Flores missed more time with injuries in 2017, and his value really lies in his ability to fill multiple positions for fantasy owners on the infield. He's an excellent cheap daily pick against left-handed pitchers, but he could […]

Tommy La Stella Avoids Arbitration

Chicago Cubs infielder Tommy La Stella avoided arbitration with the Chicago Cubs by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $950,000. The infielder hit .288 in 125 games this past year. La Stella won’t hold much fantasy value outside of daily leagues.

Champ or Chump: Chase Headley & Starlin Castro

The following analysis is presented with some misgivings. Both Chase Headley and Starlin Castro were moved this offseason, making them candidates for a change of scenery examination. However, these veteran players do not present an obvious fit with their presumably rebuilding clubs and have been included in trade speculation, with Castro reportedly asking to be […]

Howie Kendrick Could Be A Potential Fit For The Mets

Free-agent infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick could be a potential fit for the New York Mets, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Puma also notes that the team could look at Kendrick as a clubhouse leader and also as their second baseman. Kendrick played all over the diamond last year between the Nationals and […]

Jason Kipnis Expected To Move Back To Second Base

Cleveland Indians second baseman/outfielder Jason Kipnis, who was moved to the outfield in 2017, is expected to move back to second base to start the 2018 season. Infielder Jose Ramirez can now move back to third base. 2017 was a lost season for Kipnis, as he missed the start of the year after straining his […]

Marlins Could Keep Starlin Castro

Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports that the Miami Marlins could keep second baseman Starlin Castro. Frisaro notes that a deal would only happen if “it absolutely made sense.” The initial reaction when the Marlins acquired Castro was that he would be on the block, but that does not appear to be the case. The 27-year-old […]

2018 Second Base - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the second base position. Even though it is only January 6, 2018 in an extremely slow offseason, RotoBaller writers Kyle Bishop, Pierre Camus, and I have come up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As […]

Dynasty Second Basemen - Top MLB Prospects for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I'll be breaking down impact prospects in dynasty leagues by position over the next several weeks. I’ve already covered catchers and first basemen. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 second basemen - prospect rankings for 2018 dynasty baseball leagues. The second base position is often a challenging position to find good […]

Fantasy Implications - Ian Kinsler to Angels

The 2017 season was a disappointing one for veteran second baseman Ian Kinsler, who slumped to a career-low .236 batting average for the Tigers over 139 games. A casualty of the offseason sell-off in Detroit, Kinsler will head west for the 2018 season to join an Angels team that was in dire need of an […]

2018 Dynasty Baseball Strategy - The Batting Average Nightmare

Last week, we discussed prioritizing power hitters when constructing your roster. In order to compete, most leagues require an average of roughly 25 home runs per active roster spot. Hitting that target requires a plan. However, power alone will not win a championship. Roster too many Joey Gallo types and you'll be left with a […]

Champ or Chump - Ian Kinsler and Marcell Ozuna

The last day of the Winter Meetings continued the same trends that had previously categorized them. The Angels added Ian Kinsler to capitalize on the contention window opened when Shohei Ohtani decided to sign there, and Miami continued their fire sale by shipping Marcell Ozuna to the Cardinals. A change of scenery should result in […]