Brant Hurter Could Be Destined For Bulk-Relief Role

The Athletic's Cody Stavenhagen writes that Detroit Tigers left-hander Brant Hurter has a compelling case to start the 2025 season in the starting rotation, but he might be behind the eight ball, especially if the Tigers give Kenta Maeda another shot in a starting role. Hurter could be moved to a relief role, but another […]

Cubs Acquire Ryan Brasier From Dodgers

ESPN's Jeff Passan reports that the Chicago Cubs acquired right-handed reliever Ryan Brasier from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations, per sources. The Dodgers designated the 37-year-old veteran for assignment last week after they recently signed relievers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates. It's […]

Michael Petersen Designated For Assignment

According to Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports, the Toronto Blue Jays designated right-handed pitcher Michael Petersen for assignment. This transaction opened a roster spot for right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer, who the team officially signed on Tuesday. Petersen made his MLB debut last season and logged 19 2/3 innings to the tune of a 5.94 ERA […]

Tim Hill Re-Signs With Yankees

Left-handed reliever Tim Hill and the New York Yankees reached an agreement on a one-year, $2.85 million deal on Tuesday that includes a club option for the 2026 season, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan. Hill's option will be worth $3 million with a $350,000 buyout. The 34-year-old veteran southpaw began the 2024 season with the […]

Danny Coulombe, Twins Agree To One-Year Deal

Free-agent left-hander Danny Coulombe agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal on Tuesday with the Minnesota Twins, according to a source. The deal also includes incentives. Despite missing a good chunk of the 2024 campaign with the Baltimore Orioles due to bone chips that required surgery, Coulombe had a strong 2.12 ERA (2.83 FIP), a […]

Kolby Allard Signs Minor-League Contract With Cleveland

According to the team, the Cleveland Guardians have signed left-handed pitcher Kolby Allard to a minor-league deal that includes an invite to spring training. The 27-year-old logged 27 innings with the Phillies last season and held a 5.00 ERA with a 1.56 WHIP. He struck out just 19.7 percent of the batters he faced. He […]

Rays Designate Brandon Eisert For Assignment

According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Tampa Bay Rays have designated left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert for assignment. This transaction opened a roster spot for infielder Ha-Seong Kim, who the team officially signed on Monday. The Rays acquired Eisert from the Blue Jays last week. The 27-year-old spent has spent his entire […]

Stephen Ridings Signs Minor-League Deal With Dodgers

According to Tim Healey of Newsday, right-handed pitcher Stephen Ridings signed a minor-league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ridings has seen MLB action since the 2021 season. Since then, he has spent most of his time at the Triple-A level. In 2021, Ridings posted a 1.80 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP across five innings […]

Troy Taylor Suffers Lat Strain

Seattle Mariners right-handed reliever Troy Taylor (lat) suffered a right-lat strain last week, so the Mariners will take it slow with him early in spring training in February. Although it's never good for anyone to start off spring training on the shelf, the good news is that the 23-year-old should have plenty of time to […]

Gregory Santos Looks Completely Healthy

According to Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, right-handed reliever Gregory Santos (arm) has already reported to the team's spring training facilities in Arizona, has been throwing bullpen sessions, and looks completely healthy. It's great news for Seattle's bullpen after the 25-year-old only managed eight appearances out of the bullpen for the M's […]

Tigers Might Be Flexible With Kenta Maeda's Role

With Detroit Tigers pitchers Casey Mize, Keider Montero and Brant Hurter each having cases to begin the year in the starting rotation in 2025, it has made veteran right-hander Kenta Maeda's role less clear. The Athletic's Cody Stavenhagen writes that the Tigers have talked about revamping Maeda's offseason plan to help him recapture what has […]

Matt Brash Targeting Late-April Return

According to Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com, Mariners relief pitcher Matt Brash (elbow) is targeting to return during the third week of April. However, Brash is supposed to be ready for spring training. The 26-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery last May but is not expected to miss much of the 2024 season. While he will likely […]

Jose Suarez Expected To Be Long Reliever In 2025

According to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jose Suarez will report to camp as a starter but will likely be deployed as the club's long reliever. The Angels have several options to take the final spot in the rotation, and Suarez will face an uphill battle to compete for that job. As […]

Pat Hoberg Relieved Of Umpire Duties

According to Jesse Rogers of ESPN, MLB umpire Pat Hoberg was fired due to sharing betting accounts with a friend. This individual bet on baseball games. However, there is no evidence that Hoberg worked during the games that were bet on or that he himself placed bets on MLB games. Rogers also noted that Hoberg […]

Mariners Acquire Casey Legumina From Reds

The Seattle Mariners acquired right-hander Casey Legumina from the Cincinnati Reds on Monday in exchange for cash considerations, executive vice president and general manager of baseball operations Justin Hollander announced. In a corresponding move, the team designated left-hander Jhonathan Diaz for assignment to make room for Legumina on the 40-man roster. Legumina, 27, was recently […]

Rays Acquire Alex Faedo From Tigers

ESPN's Jeff Passan reports that the Tampa Bay Rays acquired right-hander Alex Faedo from the Detroit Tigers on Monday in exchange for minor-league catcher Enderson Delgado and cash considerations, according to sources. The Tigers designated Faedo for assignment after signing right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle last week. Faedo was decent for the Tigers in his third […]

Fantrax Best Ball Fantasy Baseball Rankings and Tiers (2025)

It's draft season RotoBallers, and we're back with more fantasy baseball rankings to help you win. Below you'll find our MLB team's 2025 Fantrax Best Ball Fantasy Baseball Rankings for Fantrax Best Ball leagues. These Fantrax best ball rankings include hitters and pitchers for the top 600 players (across all positions). These best ball fantasy […]

Jason Foley May Not Be The Defined Closer

According to Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, the Detroit Tigers may opt to use a combination of relief pitchers to navigate the late innings "regardless of who gets the save." Last week, the Tigers signed relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle to a one-year contract. Last season, Kahnle posted a solid 2.11 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP […]

Adrian Morejon Reporting To Camp As A Reliever

According to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, left-handed pitcher Adrian Morejon will report to camp as a relief pitcher. Manager Mike Shildt noted that Morejon "has found a really nice niche in the bullpen." Last summer, Morejon operated primarily out of the bullpen and held a 2.83 ERA with a 1.32 WHIP. Across 63 2/3 innings […]

Garrett Whitlock Entering Spring Training Healthy

According to Ian Browne of MLB.com, Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Whitlock (elbow) is expected to have a "regular" spring training. Whitlock underwent season-ending elbow surgery after making just four starts during the 2024 season. Earlier in the offseason, the team noted that Whitlock will pitch primarily out of the bullpen. Whitlock said, "They've […]

Porter Hodge Likely To Move To Setup Role

According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, Chicago Cubs pitcher Porter Hodge will likely move to the setup role due to the Cubs acquiring Ryan Pressly. Bastian noted that acquiring the longtime Houston closer "offers a solution to their Opening Day closing duties." As a result, fantasy managers should expect Hodge to operate primarily in the […]

NFBC Best Ball Fantasy Baseball Rankings and Tiers (2025)

Welcome back RotoBallers! Below you'll find our MLB team's 2025 NFBC Best Ball Fantasy Baseball Rankings for NFBC Best Ball leagues. These NFBC best ball rankings include hitters and pitchers for the top 600 players (across all positions). These fantasy baseball rankings are geared specifically towards NFBC's best ball leagues and scoring rules, but can […]

Slade Cecconi Will Build Up As a Starter

According to Zack Meisel of The Athletic, Cleveland Guardians pitcher Slade Cecconi will be built up as a starting pitcher during spring training. Meisel noted that manager Stephen Vogt has "raved" about Cecconi's pure stuff and that he has already been making adjustments to his delivery. Currently, the Guardians have several pitchers with starting experience […]

Graham Ashcraft Could Be Deployed Out Of The Bullpen

According to C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic, the Cincinnati Reds may opt to deploy right-handed pitcher Graham Ashcraft out of the bullpen. Rosecrans noted that the team has always viewed Ashcraft as a reliever since he was drafted in the 2019 MLB Draft. However, throughout his three-year MLB career, the right-hander has only seen […]

Carlos Estevez, Lucas Erceg Could Share Closer Role

According to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the Kansas City Royals will not have "defined" bullpen roles at the start of the season. Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro noted that both Carlos Estevez and Lucas Erceg will have opportunities to close at the start of the season. Earlier this week, the Royals signed Estevez to a […]

2025 Fantasy Baseball Closers and Saves: Bullpen Draft Strategies and Later-Round Targets

You will hear lots of discussion in the offseason on draft strategy for fantasy baseball. It seems it changes annually; for example, people will say things like "shortstop is deep this year" while suggesting "get your corner infielders early." The one position we struggle to define strategy for, year after year, is drafting closers and […]

MLB Power Rankings: Top Tampa Bay Rays Prospects

The Tampa Bay Rays' top prospect list is loaded. It might be the best list in baseball. The Rays, as an organization, scout and develop better than any organization in baseball, primarily because they have to, given their market. Today, we will cover the Tampa Bay Rays top 10 prospects heading into the 2025 season […]

Mets Showing Interest In Ryan Brasier

According to Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated, the New York Mets have shown interest in Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Ryan Brasier. Earlier this week, Brasier was designated for assignment to open a spot on the roster for Kirby Yates. However, Brasier was very effective last season. Across 28 innings, the 37-year-old posted a 3.54 […]

Yariel Rodriguez Could Move To Bullpen

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Yariel Rodriguez could be bumped from the starting rotation in Toronto in 2025 to the bullpen after the team signed future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer on Thursday. However, even if Rodriguez opens the year as a reliever, there's a good bet he'll be starting games at some point with Scherzer […]

Felix Bautista Expected To Be Ready For Opening Day

MASN's Roch Kubatko reports that Baltimore Orioles right-handed reliever Felix Bautista (elbow) will be eased into spring training as part of a ramp-up period. He will not be a full-go this spring, but he's still expected to be ready for Opening Day in 2025. The 29-year-old will be 16 months removed from Tommy John surgery […]