Hitter Batted Ball Distribution: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

Fly balls can turn into home runs. Ground balls never do. It would seem as though fantasy baseball managers want their batters to hit nothing but flies, yet this is not always the case. Why would this be? The answer, of course, comes down to batted ball distribution. The league average batted ball distribution in... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Outlooks for Michael Busch, Yency Almonte, Jackson Ferris, Zyhir Hope - MLB Trade Analysis

The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers hooked up on Thursday, January 11 for a trade that will have an immediate impact in all fantasy baseball leagues, but the deal could have tentacles that reach out for quite some time due to the players that were involved. The interesting part of this was two teams... Read More

Riley Greene Progressing In His Rehab

Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene (elbow) is progressing in his rehab, according to Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press. Greene underwent Tommy John surgery on his non-throwing arm back in September and has been rehabbing and training at the team's complex in Florida. He's been hitting, playing catch, and doing some defensive drills, per... Read More

White Sox Sign Rafael Ortega To Minor-League Deal

The Chicago White Sox signed free-agent outfielder Rafael Ortega to a minor-league deal. Ortega spent most of his time in 2023 in the minors with the New York Mets and Texas Rangers but also played in 47 games with the Mets, going 25-for-114 (.219) with a home run, eight RBI and six stolen bases in... Read More

Braves Agree To Multi-Year Extension With Alex Anthopoulos

The Atlanta Braves agreed to a multi-year contract extension with president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos on Friday that will keep him with the team through the 2031 season. Anthopoulos was promoted to his current role in February of 2020 after joining the Braves as an executive vice president and GM in... Read More

Trade Of Masataka Yoshida Considered Unlikely

The Boston Red Sox are reportedly listening on outfielder Masataka Yoshida, but for now a trade isn't seen as especially likely. The Red Sox have also checked in on free-agent outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler, but there's suspicion they'll be outbid again, maybe by the rival Toronto Blue Jays. Former Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez and... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Outlooks for Robbie Ray, Mitch Haniger, Anthony DeSclafani, Andrew Kittredge, Jose Caballero, Luke Raley - MLB Trade Analysis

Last Friday, January 7, we saw a smattering of MLB trades. These were by no means any of the biggest names of the offseason, but we saw a former Cy Young winner and multiple All-Stars change teams. The three trades involved seven players and four teams, lefties, righties, youngsters, vets, pitchers, and position players. Let's... Read More

Billy McKinney Staying With Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed free-agent outfielder Billy McKinney, infielder Sergio Alcantara, outfielder Gilberto Celestino, right-hander Ben Heller, infielder/outfielder Jake Lamb, left-hander Michael Plassmeyer, right-hander Ryder Ryan and right-hander Hunter Stratton to minor-league deals with invites to spring training on Thursday. McKinney was traded to the Pirates from the New York Yankees in December and will... Read More

Astros, Kyle Tucker Settle At $12 Million

The Houston Astros and outfielder Kyle Tucker settled at a $12 million salary for the upcoming 2024 season on Thursday to avoid salary arbitration, according to a source. It's a $7 million raise from a season ago. The 26-year-old has become one of the best left-handed sluggers in the game after slashing .284/.369/.517 with an... Read More

Juan Soto Avoids Arbitration With Yankees

Outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Yankees agreed to a one-year, $31.5 million deal on Thursday to avoid salary arbitration for the 2024 season. It's a new record deal for an arbitration-eligible player, beating two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani by $1 million from his one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023. Soto and... Read More

Anthony Santander Avoids Arbitration With O's

Outfielder Anthony Santander and the Baltimore Orioles settled at $11.7 million for the 2024 season on Thursday to avoid salary arbitration, according to a source. It's a big raise for Santander, who made $4.3 million last season on his way to slashing .257/.325/.472 with 28 home runs and 95 RBI in 656 plate appearances over... Read More

Yankees, Juan Soto Working On 2024 Salary Figure

The New York Yankees and outfielder Juan Soto are still working on a salary figure for the 2024 season. The Yankees agree that Soto will break Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani's arbitration-eligible $30 million record, but they haven't agreed yet on how much Soto will beat it by. The 25-year-old left-handed slugger will... Read More

Andrew Vaughn, White Sox Settle At $3.25 Million

The Chicago White Sox and first baseman Andrew Vaughn have avoided arbitration with a one-year, $3.25 million deal for the 2024 campaign. The young slugger took over full-time duty at first base following the departure of Jose Abreu in the 2023 season and went on to hit .258 with 21 home runs and a .743... Read More

Randy Arozarena Avoids Arbitration

Outfielder Randy Arozarena and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided salary arbitration on Thursday by settling at $8.1 million for the 2024 season, according to a source. Arozarena put up his third straight 20-20 season in 2023, but it also came with a career-low .25 batting average. The 28-year-old also displayed better plate discipline, though, and... Read More

HR/FB: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

Using BABIP to predict a player's batting average is great. Batting average is a category in many league formats, and every hit is an opportunity to steal a base or score a run. Most fantasy managers find the long ball sexier, though. Every HR comes with a guaranteed run scored and at least one RBI.... Read More

Giants Searching For More Power In Lineup

San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi mentioned several potential avenues for replacing the power in their lineup lost from trading outfielder Mitch Haniger, per MLB's Maria Guardado. One was to bring in another outfielder with pop, as newly-signed outfielder Jung Hoo Lee is known more for his contact skills. Zaidi also mentioned... Read More

Marlins Hiring Rachel Balkovec As Farm Director

The Miami Marlins are hiring Rachel Balkovec as their new director of player development, according to sources. She comes over from the New York Yankees, where she spent the last two years as a manager in the minor leagues at Single-A Tampa, the first female to do so. The Marlins are in the midst of... Read More

Jorge Soler Hasn't Had Any Dialogue With Marlins

Free-agent outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler said he has not been in contact with the Miami Marlins this offseason. "There has been no contact with the Marlins," Soler said. Soler opted out of the final year of his deal with Miami, making it unlikely that he'll return to South Beach in 2024 and beyond. The 31-year-old... Read More

Pete Crow-Armstrong Voted Best Defensive Prospect

In a 2024 MLB Pipeline poll of front-office executives from all 30 organizations, Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong was voted the best defensive prospect. Crow-Armstrong has been considered the top defensive player in the minor leagues for a while now, and he made his major-league debut in Chicago in 2023, going hitless in 14 at-bats... Read More

Giancarlo Stanton Unlikely To Be Traded

The Athletic's Chris Kirschner believes that New York Yankees outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton is essentially untradeable. Since the 2022 All-Star break, Stanton has hit .182/.268/.400 with 31 home runs and an 84 wRC+ in 549 plate appearances. He's owed over $98 million over the next four years and has a full no-trade clause. Not many... Read More

Re-Drafting The 2012 Fantasy Baseball First-Year Player Draft - Mookie Betts, Gerrit Cole, Francisco Lindor, Yoenis Cespedes, and more

This is the third edition of a series here at RotoBaller from Benjamin Chase. The series explores previous First-Year Player Drafts and re-drafts those FYPDs with the information we've received since from drafted players and international signees that would have been eligible. This series shows that often the top guys in FYPD drafts remain the... Read More

Cardinals Add Chaim Bloom To Front Office

The St. Louis Cardinals are set to hire Chaim Bloom to their front office in an advisory role, according to sources. The Cardinals had been linked to the former Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer, dating back to the beginning of the offseason. The 40-year-old was fired by Boston in September after the team was... Read More

Jonathan Davis Returning To Marlins

The Miami Marlins re-signed outfielder Jonathan Davis to a minor-league deal on Monday that includes an invitation to major-league spring training. Davis will return to South Beach to provide outfield depth for the Fish. The 31-year-old right-handed hitter appeared in only 34 games for Miami in 2023 and hit .244 (22-for-90) with two home runs... Read More

Matt Vierling The Current Favorite To Start At Third Base

As of right now, the likely favorite to start at third base on Opening Day for the Detroit Tigers is Matt Vierling, whom the team acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies last offseason. With a weak free-agent market for hitters, the Tigers seem content to let their internal options battle it out while... Read More

MJ Melendez To Primarily Play The Outfield This Season

Kansas City Royals catcher/outfielder MJ Melendez is expected to primarily play the outfield in 2024 after he mostly served as a catcher in his second MLB season in 2023. The 25-year-old produced impressive numbers at the position in 148 games over 602 plate appearances, slashing .235/.316/.398 with 16 home runs, 56 RBI, 29 doubles, three... Read More

Chris Taylor Set For Utility Role In 2024

The Los Angeles Dodgers' tentative plan in 2024 is to platoon outfielders Jason Heyward and Manuel Margot in right field, with new acquisition Teoscar Hernandez in left field. Meanwhile, the Dodgers plan to get at-bats for Chris Taylor all over the field, including in left. The 33-year-old can also play center field, second base, third... Read More

Rays Shopping Harold Ramirez

The Tampa Bay Rays have been shopping designated hitter Harold Ramirez, whose OPS+ the last two seasons is 21 percent above league average, according to sources. Ramirez is projected to earn $4.4 million in arbitration next season, according to MLB Trade Rumors, and trading him would create even more at-bats for Jonathan Aranda and 25-year-old... Read More

Teoscar Hernandez, Dodgers Agree On One-Year Deal

Free-agent outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and the Los Angeles Dodgers have reached an agreement on a one-year, $23.5 million contract. ESPN's Jeff Passan notes that the corner-outfield market is tough, and Hernandez opted for a big one-year deal over other multiyear offers. The Toronto Blue Jays traded Hernandez to the Seattle Mariners last offseason, and he... Read More

Batter BABIP: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

The most accessible of the fantasy-relevant advanced stats is BABIP, or Batting Average on Balls In Play. It simply measures a player's batting average on balls in play, with outcomes such as strikeouts and home runs removed from consideration. In general, the league average hovers around .300, a nice round number to remember. However, it... Read More

Three Front-Runners For Teoscar Hernandez

The Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox appear to be the front-runners to sign free-agent outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, a two-time Silver Slugger winner. Some are speculating that Hernandez will wait for Cody Bellinger to sign before inking his own deal, but the Angels, Dodgers and Red Sox aren't in on Bellinger,... Read More