Matt Magill Retiring From Baseball

Former relief pitcher Matt Magill is retiring, according to his recent Twitter post. Magill posted a 4.63 ERA with 158 strikeouts across 149 2/3 innings pitched with four different teams in his career, most recently with the Seattle Mariners.

Triple-A Schedules Expanded To 150 Games

The schedule for each Triple-A team will be expanded from 144 games to 150 games in the first full season the minor leagues are being run by Major League Baseball. Because the season didn't start until May due to the coronavirus pandemic last year, the Triple-A schedules were cut to 120 games in 2021. The […]

MLB Asks Mediator To Assist In CBA Talks

Major League Baseball has requested the assistance of a federal mediator to help resolve the labor issues between the league and Players Association so that a new collective bargaining agreement can be reached, according to a source. The league sees this as the most productive path toward reaching an agreement to avoid any potential delay […]

Early 2022 Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Roto Mixed Leagues

The 2022 MLB season will hopefully arrive before we know it, and questions will need to be answered. Who will be the closer on each MLB team, and how wild will the closer carousel be this year? Which relief pitchers will hold the most value for holds leagues? Below you'll find our early 2022 fantasy […]

MLB, Players Union Disappointed After Tuesday's Meeting

Both sides of Major League Baseball's labor talks are disappointed after another meeting on Tuesday, with MLB now joining the players union in that regard. The Union offered a couple small changes -- lowering the bonus pool to $100 million from $105 million - but MLB remains at $10 million. The chances that spring training […]

Spring Training Likely To Be Delayed

Major League Baseball and player representatives continue to hold much different views of the game's economics when it comes to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and the scheduled start of spring training in mid-February is in jeopardy. In another few weeks, Opening Day on March 31 could be a long shot as well. Players remain […]

David Hess Cleared To Resume Baseball Activities

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher David Hess (illness) announced on Friday that he has been cleared to resume baseball activities. The four-year major-league veteran had been dealing with a cancerous tumor in his chest, undergoing chemotherapy starting in October of 2021. Hess will now move towards a return to the mound. He has amassed a […]

Sam Gaviglio Joins Dodgers On Minor League Deal

The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed right-handed pitcher Sam Gaviglio to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to major league spring training. The 32-year-old Gaviglio made 98 appearances, including 37 starts, for the Blue Jays, Royals, and Mariners between 2017 and 2020 before pitching in the KBO in 2021. He put up a […]

Batted Ball Data Analysis - How Consistent Are GB%, LD%, and FB% Year To Year

When we are evaluating hitters, we talk a lot about batted ball profile. When we're talking about this, things like launch angle and ground ball rate are cited quite often. I wanted to make a post to go over these things a bit more in-depth, giving our readers more complete knowledge of the subject at […]

Rangers Sign Nick Tropeano

The Texas Rangers have signed right-handed pitcher Nick Tropeano to a minor league deal, per a tweet from the team's executive vice president of public affairs, John Blake on Wednesday. Tropeano has logged 241 innings at the Major League level since the start of the 2014 season. A starter earlier in his career, the 31-year-old's […]

Padres Sign Daniel Camarena

The San Diego Padres signed left-handed pitcher Daniel Camarena to a minor league deal on Monday, according to the team's official transaction log page. Camarena made his Major League debut this past season, throwing 9.1 innings in six relief appearances for the Padres. The left-hander struck out seven batters while allowing 16 hits, 10 earned […]

Early 2022 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - 5x5 Roto Mixed Leagues

Welcome back RotoBallers! In this article you'll find our team's early 2022 fantasy baseball rankings and tiers for 5x5 mixed roto leagues. The new year is always an exciting time, as it marks a period where interest in the approaching MLB and fantasy baseball season starts to pick up. Our team has been hard at […]

Cubs Sign Eric Yardley

The Chicago Cubs, per the team's official transaction log page, signed right-handed pitcher Eric Yardley to a minor league contract on Monday. Previously a member of the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers, Yardley has pitched to a 3.52 ERA and a 5.05 FIP in 53.2 career innings in the Majors dating back to the […]

Royals Sign Colten Brewer

The Kansas City Royals announced Monday in a tweet that the team signed right-handed relief pitcher Colten Brewer to a minor league deal. Brewer has appeared in 81 games in the Majors since the 2018 season. He made his debut with the San Diego Padres and has pitched for the Boston Red Sox in each […]

Angels Sign Daniel Ponce de Leon

The Los Angeles Angels signed right-handed pitcher Daniel Ponce de Leon to a minor league deal on Monday, per the team's official transaction log. Ponce de Leon has spent his entire Major League career to this point with the St. Louis Cardinals, pitching to a 4.33 ERA, a 4.83 FIP, 152 strikeouts, and 81 walks […]

FIP/xFIP: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball

While we've only examined how to evaluate hitters using advanced stats thus far, sabermetrics are at least as useful for pitchers. The first advanced pitching stat most fantasy owners encounter is FIP. FIP stands for Fielding Independent Pitching and attempts to measure a pitcher's actual skill instead of the effects of luck or his supporting […]

Pitcher BABIP: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball

While FIP is a useful tool to predict a pitcher's future ERA performance, fantasy managers should remember that ERA, not FIP, is what matters in most formats. This means that we are interested in the "luck" that separates the two statistics. While some of this luck is unpredictable, we can and should predict some of […]

Under-The-Radar MLB Free Agent Sleepers for 2022 Fantasy Baseball

Despite the free agent frenzy that happened before the lockout, there are still a number of significant free agents left on the board, both in real life and fantasy. Hitters like Carlos Correa, Kris Bryant, Nick Castellanos, and Kyle Schwarber will draw the headlines, as will pitchers like Kenley Jansen and Clayton Kershaw, and rightfully so. […]

Early 2022 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Points Leagues and H2H Points Formats

Welcome RotoBallers to our early 2022 fantasy baseball points league rankings for points leagues and head-to-head (H2H) points leagues. We couldn't be more excited to be putting out various fantasy baseball rankings and fantasy baseball articles for the 2022 season -- it's always an exciting time of year. In general, points leagues and H2H points […]

MLB Makes First Labor Proposal Since Lockout Began

Major League Baseball made its first labor proposal on Thursday since locking out players on Dec. 2, but it did little to encourage players and raised the likelihood of spring training being postponed, according to sources familiar with the situation. MLB proposed changes to the arbitration system for players with two-plus years of service, tweaked […]

Yankees Sign Reliever Jimmy Cordero

The New York Yankees signed former Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jimmy Cordero to a minor league deal on Wednesday. The right-hander was recovering from Tommy John surgery that he had in March and did not pitch at all last season. The 30-year-old could be a nice high-upside, low-risk signing, but it's […]

Mark Kotsay A Candidate For A's Managerial Job

Third base coach Mark Kotsay is among the Oakland Athletics managerial candidates who have or are expected to interview soon, and the list also include Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, Red Sox bench coach Will Venable, Astros bench coach Joe Espada, A's bullpen coach Marcus Jensen and A's hitting coach Darren Bush, according to sources. […]

Mets Interview Brad Ausmus For Manager Position

The New York Mets interviewed Brad Ausmus for their managerial opening on Monday, marking the first interview of what's expected to be an extensive search, according to sources familiar with the situation. The 52-year-old Ausmus served as the manager for the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels previously, and he has a long relationship with […]

2022 Fantasy Breakout Candidates - NL Central 

Identifying potential fantasy breakout players in drafts each Spring can be crucial in building a championship-winning roster for fantasy managers. Often times the breakout players, if they do in fact break out, will significantly outperform their draft position and help you find success. It may be a late-round pick performing like a quality contributor who […]

MLB Owners Vote Unanimously For A Lockout

Major League Baseball owners have voted unanimously to institute a lockout, beginning at an unspecified time on Thursday. The Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire at 11:59 pm ET on Wednesday. The MLB Players Association hasn't moved away from its original proposal in May, which seeks a major overhaul of the sport's economic system, […]

Royals Sign Taylor Clarke

The Kansas City Royals have signed relief pitcher Taylor Clarke, according to a tweet from MLB Network's Jon Heyman. Per Heyman, it's a one-year deal for Clarke worth $975,000. The 28-year-old pitched to a 4.98 ERA and a 3.54 FIP in 43.1 innings last season for Arizona. He'll join a Royals bullpen that also features […]

Luis Garcia Signs With Padres

The San Diego Padres have signed relief pitcher Luis Garcia, according to a tweet from MLB Network's Jon Heyman. Per Heyman, the reliever will earn $7 million in two seasons, $500,000 of which is a signing bonus. The 34-year-old pitched to a 3.24 ERA and a 2.72 FIP in 33.1 innings for the St. Louis […]

Mark Melancon Signs With Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed relief pitcher Mark Melancon, according to a tweet from MLB Network's Jon Heyman. Per Heyman, it's a two-year deal that includes a third-year option with a $2 million buyout. Including the buyout, the contract is for $14 million with an additional $2 million potentially in incentives. The veteran reliever pitched […]

Corey Knebel Reaches One-Year Deal With Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies and free-agent reliever Corey Knebel agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal on Wednesday. The 30-year-old is one of the hardest throwers in baseball, but he's had trouble staying healthy in his career. Knebel missed more than three months in 2021 with a right lat strain but had a 2.45 ERA and […]

Mariners Extend Andres Munoz

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Andres Munoz has agreed to a four-year contract extension that will guarantee him at least $7.5 million dollars. The deal also includes three club options. The initial four-year duration covers his final year before arbitration and all three arbitration years. The flame-throwing Munoz was acquired via trade from the San Diego […]