Sean Manaea Received Offer From A's
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, before signing Luis Severino, the Athletics made a "big offer" to free-agent starting pitcher Sean Manaea in hopes of bringing him back to his first MLB club. However, given the Athletics agreed on a hefty $67 million contract with Severino, Manaea will likely not return to […]
A's Sign Luis Severino To Three-Year Deal
The Athletics agreed to a three-year, $67 million deal with free-agent right-hander Luis Severino on Thursday, according to sources. It's the largest guarantee in the franchise's history. Severino had a bounce-back season in 2024 with the New York Mets, posting a 3.91 ERA over 182 innings, and now he'll head west to pitch for the […]
Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Charts - MLB Bullpens and Saves
Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. Relief pitchers are becoming increasingly important for […]
Royals Sign Jordan Groshans To Minor-League Deal
The Kansas City Royals signed free-agent infielder Jordan Groshans to a minor-league deal on Tuesday, according to sources. Groshans, once a top prospect with the Toronto Blue Jays after they took him 12th overall in 2018 made his big-league debut with the Miami Marlins in 2022 and went 16-for-61 (.262) with a homer, two RBI […]
Second Base Risers, Fallers, Buys, and Sells for Dynasty Fantasy Baseball
It feels like the 2024 season ended six months ago, but we're still in the early stages of the offseason. We still have around four months to opening day, but the dynasty fantasy baseball world never sleeps. As I've said several times before, there's never a bad time to make moves to improve your team(s) […]
A Year to Remember: Hitters Who Had Career Years in 2024
There was no shortage of standout performers in 2024. A few rookies shone with the bat and on the mound, but that shouldn't have detracted from some of the more experienced players having career years. Here, we pick out six hitters who had the best seasons of their careers in 2024. To qualify for the […]
Top Fantasy Baseball Hitting Prospects for 2025 Redraft Leagues
Every year, a talented crop of rookie hitters immediately impacts the Fantasy Baseball landscape. Then, the following season, their ADPs skyrocket. 2024 was certainly no exception. Budding stars like Jackson Merrill, Jackson Chourio, and Junior Caminero hit the ground running, providing fantasy managers with tons of value. As a result, their respective draft values are […]
Top Fantasy Baseball Pitching Prospects for 2025 Redraft Leagues
The 2024 MLB season saw an incredible batch of rookie pitchers dominate the league. Players like Paul Skenes, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, Luis Gil, and Mason Miller were some of the game's best hurlers. Heading into 2025, it's shaping up to be another season of phenomenal young arms. In Fantasy Baseball, having a solid pitching […]
A's Don't Want To Trade JJ Bleday
The Athletics said at the winter meetings that they will not trade designated hitter Brent Rooker, and center fielder JJ Bleday also falls into that category, according to a source briefed on the team's thinking. The A's desperately want to add plays as they transition to playing their home games in a minor-league stadium in […]
Seth Brown Avoids Arbitration With A's
The Athletics avoided salary arbitration with outfielder/first baseman Seth Brown on Wednesday, agreeing to terms on an undisclosed one-year contract for the 2025 campaign. Brown made $2.6 million in 2024 and provided a .231/.283/.379 slash line with a below-average .662 OPS, 14 home runs, 44 RBI, four stolen bases and 32 runs scored in 400 […]
A's Sign Matt Krook, Jason Alexander
The Athletics signed free-agent left-hander Matt Krook and right-hander Jason Alexander to minor-league deals late last week. Krook, 30, pitched one inning in relief for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024 and allowed three runs (two earned) while walking one and striking out two. He saw most of his action at Triple-A Norfolk, posting a 3.92 […]
Fantasy Baseball Prospect Risers - Arizona Fall League Standouts
Another Arizona Fall League is in the books. It is hard to believe there is now no baseball until Spring Training, but here we are. There is a lot to take away from the Arizona Fall League, but it is also essential to know what to look for. You can check my article at my […]
Steamer Surprises: Projection Values For 2025 Fantasy Baseball
Welcome back to The Lookahead; this week, we take an early look at the first projections of 2025. It’s the most wonderful time of the year… No, this isn’t yet another column decrying the perpetually accelerating Christmas creep phenomenon. Instead, we fantasy baseball fanatics have two events to celebrate. First, drafts for 2025 are open […]
Jack O'Loughlin Signs Minors Deal With Rockies
Free-agent left-hander Jack O'Loughlin signed a minor-league deal with the Colorado Rockies on Thursday that includes an invitation to major-league spring training. The Australian native made his major-league debut in 2024 with the Athletics but only made four appearances out of the bullpen, giving up five earned runs on 13 hits (one homer) while walking […]
Yohel Pozo Signs Minor-League Deal With Braves
The Atlanta Braves signed free-agent catcher Yohel Pozo to a minor-league deal on Wednesday. Pozo will give the Braves additional catching depth entering the 2025 season after they saw Travis d'Arnaud leave for the Los Angeles Angels in free agency earlier this week. Pozo made his major-league debut back in 2021 with the Texas Rangers […]
Nick Kurtz Homers, Drives In Two In AFL Action On Tuesday
Athletics first base prospect Nick Kurtz went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk for the Mesa Solar Sox on Tuesday in the Arizona Fall League (AFL). The No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft began his professional career at Single-A and played just seven games before the team deemed he […]
Denzel Clarke Homers In Three-Hit Day
Athletics outfield prospect Denzel Clarke went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and two runs scored on Monday for Mesa in the Arizona Fall League (AFL). The home run was his second of the fall campaign and he now has his batting average up to .388, good for fourth-highest in the circuit. The 24-year-old has […]
Braves Acquire Nick Allen From Athletics For Pitching Prospect
On Monday, the Atlanta Braves sent minor-league pitching prospect Jared Johnson to the Athletics in exchange for shortstop Nick Allen. Allen made his major league debut in 2022 but has failed to stick at the major league level due to his underperformance at the plate. He's got a career slashline of .209/.254/.283 with a 53 […]
Mason Miller To Stay In The Bullpen
Athletics general manager David Forst said this week that right-handed closer Mason Miller will remain in a relief role for the team next year and they are "not talking about moving him back into a starting role." Miller, a third-round pick in 2021 out of Gardner-Webb University, came up through the minors as a starter. […]
T.J. McFarland Re-Signs With The A's
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the A's have re-signed relief pitcher T.J. McFarland on a one-year contract. McFarland posted a 3.81 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with a 17:39 BB:K across 56 2/3 innings of work. Under the hood, he carried a stellar 59.4% ground-ball rate and was able to maintain soft contact at […]
A's Planning To Keep Brent Rooker
The Athletics plan to keep outfielder Brent Rooker this offseason despite speculation that he might be moved. "We're going to keep Rooker," general manager David Forst said. Rooker is one of the team's best bargaining chips, but they are going to hang onto him after posting a second straight strong season in 2024 with a […]
Daz Cameron Returns To Baltimore
Oakland Athletics outfielder Daz Cameron was traded to the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday in exchange for cash considerations. The 27-year-old appeared in 66 games in Oakland last summer and held a .200/.258/.329 line with five home runs, 15 RBI, and five stolen bases. Cameron previously spent time in the Baltimore organization playing with Triple-A Norfolk […]
The Biggest Fantasy Baseball Busts Of 2024
There are technical, precise ways to measure a fantasy “bust,” but we know one when we see one. We lived through it, after all. These players slowly but surely sabotaged our fantasy teams despite high expectations. For those who want firm parameters, we have, with one exception, spotlighted players drafted in the top 150 who […]
2024 Fantasy Baseball Awards - RotoBaller Staff Picks
After a long, exciting, and at times, frustrating 187 days, the 2024 fantasy baseball season is behind us. Throughout the summer, we saw top prospects begin to establish themselves as the league’s next generation of stars and saw several veterans continue their dominance. Let’s stroll down memory lane and hand out several awards to the […]
The Best Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups Of 2024
We saw several big breakouts in 2024, from Brent Rooker to Jack Flaherty to Seth Lugo—but those players at least got drafted in most leagues, if very late. No, here we want to celebrate the true difference makers, the guys who came out of left field (not literally; we aren’t confined to just outfielders). Here […]
Eric Cross' Top 100 Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball (October 2024)
Another fantasy baseball season has come and gone, but in dynasty, when one season ends the next one begins. Rankings don't reset, they simply continue on. We saw plenty of notable performances down the stretch in 2024, both good and bad which created plenty of movement in my final Top 500 dynasty rankings update of […]
Eric Cross' Top 100 Dynasty Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball (October 2024)
Well, the 2024 season is in the rearview mirror, and we are now turning our attention to 2025. Sure, it's only the first day of October when this article is being published, but as dynasty managers know, there's never a bad time to improve your roster for the future. At this point in the year, […]
The Lookahead: Seven Bold Predictions For 2025 Fantasy Baseball
Welcome back to The Lookahead. This week, we make seven (eight, really) bold predictions for the next fantasy baseball season. One of the best parts about playing fantasy games is dreaming about what could be, the process of taking what we think we know to predict the future. At the same time, as Niels Bohr […]
Rick Lucks' 2024 Fantasy Baseball Bold Predictions Revisited
Doesn't March feel like forever ago? Now that the 2024 fantasy baseball season is in the books, some of what we were thinking seems ridiculous in hindsight. I joined several of my Rotoballer colleagues in making bold predictions before the 2024 campaign, and now it's time to see how they panned out. Spoiler alert: there […]
Brent Rooker Undergoes Right-Forearm Surgery
Oakland Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker (forearm) underwent right-forearm extensor surgery earlier this week, according to Athletics general manager David Forst. Rooker had been dealing with an elbow issue all year, though it did not hinder his ability to hit. The 29-year-old hadn't played in the field since May 30, so if it affected his […]