Gregory Polanco Expected To Report Healthy
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco (shoulder) is expected to report to camp healthy, according to director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk. The Pirates will monitor Polanco closely in spring training after another injury plagued season in 2019 in which he played just 42 games. Polanco hit just .242/.301/.425 with six home runs, 17 RBI and... Read More
Nick Senzel Has Been Hitting
Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Senzel (shoulder), who had surgery in September to fix a torn labrum in his right shoulder, has been hitting. Manager David Bell said that Senzel is picking up his throwing program this week and is on pace to be ready around Opening Day. Barring a setback, Senzel may not have to... Read More
Trent Grisham The Front-Runner In Center Field Competition
The San Diego Padres expect outfielder Trent Grisham to be their Opening Day center fielder, according to San Diego Union-Tribune beat writer Kevin Acee. The 23-year-old was acquired in the offseason for infielder Luis Urias from the Milwaukee Brewers. Grisham lit up the minors last year before debuting with the Brewers to a .738 OPS... Read More
Joc Pederson, A.J. Pollock To Platoon In Left Field
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielders Joc Pederson and A.J. Pollock are set to platoon in left field this year. Pollock's fantasy value was hurt the most when the Dodgers trade with the Angels for Pederson fell through, although LA could still ship Pederson somewhere else before the start of the season. If Pederson stays with the... Read More
Alex Verdugo Up In The Air For Opening Day
Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo (back, oblique), who was acquired from the Dodgers in the blockbuster deal including Mookie Betts and David Price, might not be ready for the start of the season, according to a source. Verdugo is still battling a back injury that shut his 2019 season down in August. His potential... Read More
Jarrod Dyson Officially A Pirate, Jameson Taillon to 60-Day IL
Free-agent outfielder Jarrod Dyson has cleared his physical and has officially signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. To make room on the 40-man roster for Dyson, the Pirates have moved pitcher Jameson Taillon to the 60-day injured list. The Pirates gain a top-10 active base-stealer in Dyson, which includes an 85% success rate... Read More
Domingo Santana Agrees To One-Year Deal With Indians
Outfielder Domingo Santana and the Cleveland Indians have come to terms on a one-year deal, pending that the 27-year-old passes a physical, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Santana had a .253 batting average last season for the Seattle Mariners. He hit 21 home runs and drove in 69 runs in 121 games... Read More
No Timetable For Mitch Haniger's Return
Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger (hernia) has yet to arrive to spring training, and manager Scott Servais said there remains no timetable for Haniger's return following his sports hernia surgery. Haniger broke out in 2018 as an All-Star, but he fell back to Earth in 2019, mainly because of multiple injuries. He played in just... Read More
Tommy Pham Played Through Torn UCL
San Diego Padres outfielder Tommy Pham (elbow) said that he was able to play through a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow last season. Pham received stem-cell injections and platelet-rich plasma therapy throughout the offseason. San Diego acquired Pham from the Rays in the offseason, and he's expected to help set the table... Read More
D.J. Stewart Making Progress In Rehab
Baltimore Orioles outfielder D.J. Stewart (ankle) did some light running at Orioles camp on Wednesday after having surgery on his ankle in October. The former first-round pick had microfracture surgery on his right ankle, and he's expected to return to baseball activities toward the end of spring training. Stewart hit .238 with a .698 OPS... Read More
2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers – Victor Reyes
With a 457 ADP in 2020 NFBC leagues, Detroit Tigers outfielder Victor Reyes is an afterthought in all but the deepest leagues. Perhaps the 25-year-old shouldn't be, though, as Reyes was quietly solid in 2019, slashing .304/.336/.431 in 292 plate-appearances, with three home runs and nine stolen bases. Having made stops in Arizona and the... Read More
Tommy Edman To Serve As Super-Utility Player
St. Louis Cardinals infielder Tommy Edman, who led the team with an .850 OPS in his first season in 2019, arrived to spring training this week prepared to move around the diamond. Edman is expected to get work at as many as six positions this spring. He'll see time at shortstop, center field, left field... Read More
Ben Zobrist Has No Plans To Play
Free-agent infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist hasn't announced his retirement yet, but he is currently at home and has no plans to play. The Cubs just signed Jason Kipnis to help at second base on Tuesday, so it's unlikely Zobrist is even in Chicago's plans if they were considering bringing him back. If this is the end... Read More
Reds Re-Sign Derek Dietrich
The Cincinnati Reds re-signed infielder/outfielder Derek Dietrich to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league spring training on Wednesday. Dietrich had a career-high 19 home runs and drove in 43 runs in 113 games for Cincinnati in 2019, but he hit just .187/.328/.462 and struck out 74 times. He's useful to the... Read More
Cameron Maybin Returns To Tigers
The Detroit Tigers agreed to a one-year major league deal with outfielder Cameron Maybin on Wednesday. The deal is for $1.5 million with the chance to make extra in incentives. Maybin played for Detroit in 2007 and 2016 and was the team's first-round pick in 2005. He'll turn 33 in April and hit .285 with... Read More
Early ADP Risers and Fallers
Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut discuss fantasy fallout from the Mookie Betts trade, how you should approach players with injuries before spring training, and identify some unexpected ADP risers and fallers before draft season. Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio... Read More
Jarrod Dyson Has Agreement With Pirates
Free-agent outfielder Jarrod Dyson has reportedly reached an agreement with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The agreement is still pending a physical, but if all goes well, Dyson should be able to join the team for Grapefruit League action very soon. Dyson had 30 stolen bases and batted .230 last year with the Diamondbacks. His base-stealing upside is... Read More
2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - Mike Yastrzemski
San Francisco Giants Outfielder Mike Yastrzemski had a solid 2019 campaign after making his debut at the ripe age of 28. He made his debut in May and finished the season by hitting .272/.334/.518 with 21 HR, 55 RBI, 64 R, and 32 BB in 381 ABs. This was a solid performance out of Yaz,... Read More
Early ADP Thoughts - Outfielders
♫It's the most wonderful tiiiiiiiime, of the year!♫ Well, sort of. In much of the country, February brings terrible weather and generally feels interminable, despite being the shortest month on the calendar. This being a leap year, we get an extra day of it. Fun! But for fantasy baseball owners, fun is exactly what you... Read More
Kevin Pillar Nearing Deal With Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are closing in on signing outfielder Kevin Pillar to a major league contract, Ken Rosenthal reports. Pillar spent the beginning of the 2019 season with the Blue Jays prior to being traded to the Giants, where the 31-year-old enjoyed career bests of 21 home runs, 88 RBI, 83 runs scored and... Read More
Red Sox, Pirates Interested In Kevin Pillar
The market for outfielder Kevin Pillar is heating up, with the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates among the interested teams. Pillar spent time with the Blue Jays and Giants in 2019 and hit .259/.287/.432 with a career-high 21 home runs, 88 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 161 games. Most of the damage he... Read More
Mariners Sign Carlos Gonzalez
The Seattle Mariners signed outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to a minor league deal on Tuesday that will pay him $750,000 if he makes the major league roster. Gonzalez will also receive an invite to big league camp in spring training. The three-time All-Star has a shot to make the team's Opening Day roster, but he will... Read More
Byron Buxton Could Play In Spring Games In Mid-March
Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said that outfielder Byron Buxton (shoulder) is swinging the bat and is ahead of schedule for what Baldelli expected. The team will play it cautious with the speedy outfielder, but he could get into spring training games by mid-March. The second overall pick in 2012 still has enticing speed and... Read More
Juan Lagares Joins Padres On Minor League Deal
The San Diego Padres signed outfielder Juan Lagares to a minor league deal on Feb. 10. According to sources, Lagares will be invited to big league camp and is likely a depth option for the Padres after outfielder Manuel Margot was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend. The light-hitting Lagares enjoyed his... Read More
2020 Dynasty Leagues: Players to Buy (Premium Content)
While redraft owners prepare for draft day, dynasty owners are scouring the trade market. The weeks preceding spring training are optimal to take a chance on young players who have yet to peak or may have question marks surrounding them. Not all buy-low scenarios will pan out as expected, but when playing the long game,... Read More
2020 NFBC Draft and Hold Strategy - Late-Round Hitting Category Boosters (Premium Content)
All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Draft strategies are challenging to master regardless of the league. Should you focus on elite starting pitchers? Do you load up on hitting early and devour all the pitchers in the middle rounds? When do you grab a catcher in two-draft leagues? There are... Read More
Sophomore Hitters Who Should Progress in 2020
We’ve been spoiled. In recent years, players such as Peter Alonso, Yordan Alvarez, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Aaron Judge have all entered the MLB ranks while performing at a high level. But it’s not supposed to be that easy for freshmen players. There are many examples of players starting out modestly in their rookie seasons... Read More
Talking Projections and Data-Based Drafting with Ariel Cohen
The fantasy baseball industry is driven by data and many analysts go so far as to develop their own systems for projecting value. Recently, ATC has become more popular as a baseline for those who are seeking a way to rank players for the upcoming season. I recently had a conversation with the man behind... Read More
Joc Pederson, Ross Stripling Trade Called Off
While the Los Angeles Dodgers re-agreed to the Mookie Betts and David Price trade, they changed their mind on their deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Contrary to previous reports, outfielder Joc Pederson and pitcher Ross Stripling are not headed to their in-state rivals, and will instead stick with the Dodgers for the time being.... Read More
Franchy Cordero's Stock Up After Latest Padres Trade
San Diego Padres outfielder Franchy Cordero is likely the biggest winner with the recent departure of Manuel Margot. With Margot traded to the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend, Cordero has a shot to be the Opening Day starting center fielder. Expected to be a material piece to the Friars since 2018, the 25-year-old has... Read More