Starting Pitchers to Target Late - LIMA Plan

The LIMA (Low Investment Mound Aces) Plan is a long-standing draft strategy that was developed far before 2021 but it seems more applicable now than ever. FSWA Hall of Fame member Ron Shandler developed the strategy around the turn of the millennium due to the heavy emphasis on starting pitching in most drafts, leading him […]

Are We In or Are We Out? - Bases loaded Podcast

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) rolls solo and dives into the names you gave us on twitter that you are not sold on or unsure with how to go about handling in the upcoming 2021 season. Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and Subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get […]

Examining The Most Effective Pitches in Baseball

There is just nothing better in sports than Baseball Savant. We can derive almost any insight we want from their pitch-by-pitch dataset. One challenge I wanted to take a crack at was to see if I could find which individual pitches in baseball are most effective regardless of who throws it, just looking at pitch type […]

Red Sox Acquire Adam Ottavino From Yankees

The Boston Red Sox acquired right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino and right-hander Frank German from the New York Yankees on Monday, according to a source. The Red Sox will pick up all of the $11 million owed to Ottavino. The 10-year veteran has a 3.53 career ERA but posted a 5.89 mark in 18 1/3 innings […]

Red Sox Reach An Agreement With Garrett Richards

The Boston Red Sox have added right-handed starting pitcher Garrett Richards to a one-year, $10 million deal on Saturday. The 32-year-old spent the past two seasons as a member of the Padres staff, but injuries have sidelined the veteran for long stretches of time over the past five seasons. Richards logged 207 1/3 innings for […]

Dynasty Third Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

We will continue our early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into 2021. We've already gone over first base and second base rankings. Today, we examine a fairly deep third base position. As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free […]

Top 440: Early H2H Points League Rankings

Welcome back RotoBallers. Below you will find our early 2021 fantasy baseball H2H points league rankings (top 440). As you may know, head-to-head points formats are typically underserved by fantasy baseball outlets - but this is an area that we at RotoBaller take pride in and specialize in. Throughout the preseason and regular season, we will […]

Red Sox In Discussions With Garrett Richards

The Boston Red Sox are in active discussions with free-agent right-hander Garrett Richards, according to sources. Multiple teams have been talking to Richards as of Friday. The 32-year-old had a 4.03 ERA and averaged 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings in 14 appearances (10 starts) for the San Diego Padres in the shortened 2020 season. The […]

Red Sox Agree With Kike Hernandez

The Boston Red Sox agreed on a two-year, $14 million deal with infielder/outfielder Kike Hernandez on Friday, according to sources. Hernandez was a key piece for the Los Angeles Dodgers for the last six seasons, mainly because of his defensive versatility and his production against left-handed pitching. The 29-year-old has a career slash line of […]

No Universal DH - 2021 Playing Time Fallers

Major League Baseball introduced the DH to the National League in 2020, but the rule change may not stick in 2021. MLB recently advised teams to assume that the universal DH will not be implemented for the 2021 season, and although that doesn’t mean that the door is closed on the rule for the year […]

Early Position Previews: Third Base - Bases Loaded Podcast

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) and Jorge Montanez (@Roto_Nino) get an early start on the 2021 positional outlooks. Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and Subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune […]

2020 Schedule Outliers - AL East Starting Pitchers

One of the major changes MLB teams faced during the 2020 season was the lack of a diverse set of competition. Instead of playing around 20 other teams as they would in a normal season, teams played only nine different opponents in 2020. Additionally, two-thirds of each team’s games came against opponents within their own […]

Martin Perez Re-Signs With Red Sox

Veteran left-hander Martin Perez agreed to a one-year, $5 million guaranteed deal to re-sign with the Boston Red Sox over the weekend, according to a source. The deal includes a club option for a second season in 2022. The 29-year-old southpaw went 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA in the shortened 2020 season with Boston. He […]

Red Sox To Be Cautious With Chris Sale

The Boston Red Sox are expected to play it safe with starting pitcher Chris Sale (elbow) as he makes his way back from Tommy John surgery this year. Sale remains under contract for four more years and has an option for the 2025 season, so Boston won't rush their left-handed ace back. He had surgery […]

Top 680: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2021 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 680) for 5x5 mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings as well. Three our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus and JB Branson - have analyzed the MLB offseason moves and are ready to […]

Three Rookie Sleepers that Debuted in Late 2020

For a wide variety of reasons, 2020 was an unusual season for baseball. But out of these unusual situations came some opportunities for top-tier prospects to get a shot at the big leagues. Now prospects that made a splash in their debuts like Ke'Bryan Hayes or Tanner Houck will be garnering the interest of many […]

Dynasty Second Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

We will continue our early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into 2021. We've already gone over first base. Today, we continue with second base. As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free agency news and the latest rankings. […]

Dynasty First Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free agency news and the latest rankings. That includes our constantly-updated dynasty rankings. We will take an early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into next season. Today, we start with first […]

You Paid What?! Overvalued Players in Auctions

Assuming the 2021 MLB season starts on time, we are on the precipice of fantasy baseball draft season. Spring Training will get underway next month, at which point, drafts roll out in full force. We aren't there quite yet, which makes sense. Many of the biggest free agents remain unsigned; the league is unsure of […]

Red Sox Avoid Arbitration With Rafael Devers

The Boston Red Sox avoided salary arbitration with third baseman Rafael Devers on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $4.575 million deal, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The 24-year-old broke out in 2019 with a .311 average, 32 home runs and 115 RBI while leading the league with 54 doubles and […]

Andrew Benintendi Deal Could Happen Soon

The Boston Red Sox could trade outfielder Andrew Benintendi soon, but it won't be to the Miami Marlins, according to an industry source. Other teams that have checked in on Benintendi include the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics. The Pittsburgh Pirates could also be a fit. He's entering the back half of a […]

Marlins Interested In Willson Contreras, Andrew Benintendi

The Miami Marlins have interest in trading for Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras. With the team currently projected to start the 2021 season with a platoon of Jorge Alfaro and Chad Wallach behind the plate, catcher is one of Miami's biggest needs. Miami is also one of several teams engaged with the Boston Red Sox […]

Abandon the Win AND the Quality Start

The Win. One of the cornerstone categories of fantasy baseball since its creation. In recent years, baseball fans and fantasy managers alike have been debating the value of the win and whether or not it's overrated. With this debate, the quality start has become a category that more and more leagues are turning to as […]

Red Sox In Serious Trade Talks Involving Andrew Benintendi

The Boston Red Sox are in serious trade talks with multiple teams regarding outfielder Andrew Benintendi as they look for more prospects with emphasis on pitching and the outfield, according to multiple sources. Nothing is imminent, however. Benintendi slashed .282/.359/.447 with 38 home runs, 78 doubles and 42 stolen bases in 333 games from 2016-18, […]

David Dahl to the Rangers - Fantasy Impact

It's been a rough journey through the majors so far for David Dahl. The potential has been there for the former 10th overall pick, but he has been plagued by injuries nearly every season. A torn hamstring in 2013 and a lacerated spleen in 2015 cost him time in the minors, a stress fracture in […]

Red Sox Have Serious Interest In Jake Odorizzi

The Boston Red Sox have serious interest in right-handed pitcher Jake Odorizzi, according to a source. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was with the Rays front office when Tampa Bay acquired Odorizzi in December of 2012, so there is familiarity between the two. Odorizzi is in the middle tier of free-agent starters and had a […]

Year-In-Review: Rafael Dolis and Jordan Romano

As I created my early 2021 Relief Pitcher rankings, I realized how wide open so many bullpens are right now due to free agency. One team that will surely add a late-inning arm this offseason is the Toronto Blue Jays, as Anthony Bass and Ken Giles are both now free agents. But are they in […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings

Once again, I'll start by saying the 2021 baseball season is not guaranteed to be a normal one. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a world unencumbered by COVID-19 and talk about our silly little game as if a 162-game season will come next spring. Join me for my position-by-position […]

Red Sox Have Strong Interest In Kike Hernandez

The Boston Red Sox have strong interest in free-agent utility man Kike Hernandez, according to sources. Hernandez has spent the last six years with the Dodgers and played for Puerto Rico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic when current Red Sox manager Alex Cora was the general manager. Michael Chavis, Yairo Munoz and Christian Arroyo […]

Marcus Semien Could Be A Fit With Red Sox

Free-agent shortstop Marcus Semien could be a fit with the Boston Red Sox, but at second base. Semien has played the most games of any shortstop from 2018-20 and was fifth among shortstops in WRC+ in 2018. He was the college roommate of current Red Sox scouting director Paul Toboni. Xander Bogaerts remains entrenched at […]