Codi Heuer Out For 2022 After Tommy John Surgery

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Codi Heuer (elbow) will miss all of the 2022 season after having successful Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the situation. The 25-year-old was part of the trade that sent closer Craig Kimbrel to the Chicago White Sox last year. Heuer is a hard-throwing, high-leverage reliever […]

Royals Sign Brad Peacock

The Kansas City Royals signed free-agent right-handed pitcher Brad Peacock to a minor league deal on Monday. Peacock wasn't on a 40-man roster at the end of last year despite briefly pitching for the Boston Red Sox in 2021, so he was able to sign during MLB's lockout. The 34-year-old has spent eight of his […]

MLB Sets Another Deadline For Tuesday

Major League Baseball and the Players Association lawyers met again on Monday and plan to meet again on Tuesday, with the league suggesting Tuesday is another deadline to play 162 games and for players to get full pay and service time in 2022. Commissioner Rob Manfred canceled the first two series of the regular season […]

Shawn Armstrong Was In High Demand Before Lockout

Free-agent right-hander Shawn Armstrong was receiving interest from more than 20 teams before the lockout began in early December. Armstrong, 31, posted a 6.75 ERA and 1.50 WHIP with 44 strikeouts and 15 walks in 36 relief innings for the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays in 2021. The Rays were willing to re-sign him […]

Colin Poche Chomping At The Bit

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Colin Poche (elbow) completed his rehab in the last couple of months and was cleared to return in the fall instructional league after not pitching in a game since the 2019 playoffs. Poche injured his left elbow during spring workouts leading up to the shortened 2020 season and spent last […]

MLB, Players Not Making Much Progress

Both Major League Baseball and the Players Association believe they've made many major concessions and the other side has made very few. Both sides believe the other side is being unreasonable, so we may be in for quite a wait for a new collective bargaining agreement to be finalized. The competitive balance tax remains the […]

MLB, Players Union To Meet Again Sunday

Major League Baseball and the players union negotiators will resume talks on Sunday after a one-day break. The labor talks will mostly center around the competitive balance tax. The players union is expected to present their counterproposal to the league. Spring training games have already been canceled through at least March 18, and the first […]

MLB Teams Asking About Canceling Rule 5 Draft

Multiple teams have inquired with Major League Baseball about the possibility of canceling the Rule 5 draft this year, according to sources. Teams have clamped down on scouting of minor leaguers currently in spring training camps during the lockout due to uncertainty over the Rule 5 draft. No decision has been made on the major […]

Top-Five Strategies for Winning NFBC Best Ball Leagues

Best-ball leagues have become more popular in recent years in fantasy baseball. Dedicated players have made fantasy baseball a year-round game, and nothing prepares us better than to participate in drafts. Many of us have learned the hard way that overloading on leagues that require FAAB or setting lineups can hurt our overall results. One […]

Bubba's 2022 Tout Wars 12-Team Mixed Draft Recap

Even though Rob Manfred and the MLB owners decided to prolong the lockout and already cancel some regular-season games, we are drafting. I had the pleasure of partaking in the 12-team mixed league draft for Tout Wars on Tuesday. It is my second year in the league, and it is the second year for this […]

MLB Cancels More Spring Training Games

Major League Baseball officially canceled another week's worth of spring training games on Friday. All spring training games in Florida and Arizona have now been canceled until at least March 18. The Players Association turned down the league's best and final offer on Tuesday, and the two sides haven't met since, although a small contingent […]

MLB, Players Expected To Meet Again Soon

The Major League Baseball players union is working on a response to the league's last proposal, according to sources. No further meetings are scheduled, but they are expected soon after small contingents from each side briefly met in New York on Thursday. Commissioner Rob Manfred already canceled the first two series of the regular season, […]

Dan Halem, Bruce Meyer To Meet Thursday

Major League Baseball lead negotiator Dan Halem and Bruce Meyer of the Players Association will meet on Thursday. Both sides want to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement, but there's still a large bridge to gap on several key economic issues. The meeting on Thursday will be an informal one-on-one meeting, so baseball fans […]

Tanner Houck: 2022 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

There are a lot of different ways the 2022 season could go for Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck. In a best-case scenario, the 25-year-old would pick up where he left off last year and stick in the rotation throughout the season. If that indeed ends up being the case, he’s going to be a […]

MLB Cancels First Two Regular Season Series

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced on Tuesday that the sport will cancel the first two series of the regular season that was originally set to begin on March 31. The move comes over a labor dispute between the league and players for the first time in 27 years. The league and union haven't […]

MLB, Players Still Far Apart With Tuesday Deadline Looming

The Major League Baseball players union's recent request on the bonus pool was for $85 million, while the league's offer came in at $25 million. So despite the fact that the two sides had a positive day during 16 hours of negotiating on Monday, they still remain far apart, and things are looking bad for […]

MLB Hopes To Finalize Deal Before Tuesday Deadline

Major League Baseball and the Players Association moved the deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement that would save regular season games from being canceled to 5 p.m. ET Tuesday after a 16-hour day of negotiations on Monday. While the two sides made progress, gaps remain on competitive-balance tax thresholds, minimum salary and bonus pool […]

MLB Willing To Miss A Month Of Regular Season Games

Major League Baseball indicated a willingness on Monday to miss a month of regular season games and took a more threatening tone than Sunday, according to sources briefed of Monday's first meeting between the league and Players Association. The league is pressing for a 14-team postseason, among other things, and it hasn't been well-received by […]

Derek Jeter Stepping Down As Marlins CEO

Derek Jeter announced in a statement on Monday that he is stepping down as the chief executive officer of the Miami Marlins, according to sources. In his statement, he wrote, "Today I am announcing that the Miami Marlins and I are officially ending our relationship and I will no longer serve as CEO nor as […]

Tyler Gillies Back On Mound After Battle With Cancer

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Tyler Gillies threw off a real mound on Saturday for the first time in more than two years since a cancer diagnosis (Hodgkin's lymphoma) threatened his career and his life. The 26-year-old right-hander had a 3.17 ERA and 1.15 WHIP at Low-A Wisconsin in 2019 while striking out 65 and walking […]

Nationals Sign Jordan Weems To Minor League Deal

The Washington Nationals signed right-handed pitcher Jordan Weems to a minor league deal on Sunday. Weems will be invited to spring training, if there is one in 2022. The 29-year-old has played 11 seasons professionally, but he didn't debut in the big leagues until the shortened 2020 campaign, when he had a 3.21 ERA and […]

Productive Day Of Talks For MLB, Players Association

Sunday was a productive day of talks between Major League Baseball and the Players Association, according to a league source. They will meet again on Monday to keep pushing for an agreement before the end of the day to avoid the cancellation of regular season games in 2022. Despite the fact that Sunday was more […]

Rays Sign David McKay To Minor League Deal

Free-agent right-hander David McKay has agreed to terms on a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. He will receive an invitation to spring training with a chance to earn a spot in the bullpen. The 26-year-old reportedly is fully healthy after undergoing hip surgery last April. He has a rough 6.08 ERA, 1.46 […]

White Sox Sign Patrick Kivlehan, Wes Benjamin

The Chicago White Sox have signed outfielder Patrick Kivlehan and left-hander Wes Benjamin to minor league deals. The White Sox also signed pitchers Will Carter, Matthew McGarry and Bowen Plagge to minor league contracts. Kivlehan played in just five games for the San Diego Padres in 2021 and had one hit in eight plate appearances. […]

Jonathan Hernandez Back On A Mound

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jonathan Hernandez (elbow) threw off a mound on Friday for the first time since having Tommy John surgery last April. Hernandez appeared in relief 27 times for the Rangers in the shortened 2020 season and posted a very nice 2.90 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with 31 K's and eight walks in […]

MLB Cancels Three More Days Of Spring Training

Major League Baseball has canceled three more days of spring training games from March 5-7, according to a league spokesman. The earliest spring training games can start now is March 8. But that's also contingent on the league and players getting a new collective bargaining agreement done by then, so more spring training games could […]

Nationals Sign Carl Edwards Jr. To Minor League Deal

The Washington Nationals signed relief pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. to a minor league deal on Friday, according to sources. In just 5 2/3 total innings with the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays last season, Edwards allowed seven earned runs (three home runs surrendered) while striking out six and walking three for an ERA of […]

Incorporating Stuff+ Into Traditional Pitching Projections

Recent times have birthed innovative metrics that measure pitcher quality, independent of traditional results like K% or BB%. The most prominent of these are probably Pitching+, Stuff+, Location+, and Command+, all published by Max Bay and Eno Sarris at The Athletic (I want to thank Eno for providing encouragement on this article, though all mistakes […]

Zack Brown Moving To Bullpen Permanently

The Milwaukee Brewers appear to be moving right-handed pitcher Zack Brown to the bullpen permanently after he had a shoulder issue last year. Brown is prepping to be a reliever moving forward and is eyeing a spot in the major league bullpen at some point in 2022. The 27-year-old didn't land in MLB Pipeline's top-30 […]

Ryan Helsley Throwing Off A Mound

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (elbow, knee), who finished last year on the injured list with a stress reaction in his right elbow, posted a video on Instagram on Friday of him throwing off a mound against hitters while touching 97 mph on the radar gun. Helsley also had season-ending surgery on his […]