Andrew McCutchen Re-Signs With Pirates

Free-agent outfielder/designated hitter Andrew McCutchen re-signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday on a one-year deal worth $5 million, according to a source. Although McCutchen is clearly past his prime and is basically a full-time DH at this point in his career, the 38-year-old was highly coveted by the Pirates for his leadership skills in […]

Chris Clegg's Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for Dynasty - December Update

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to my top 100 fantasy baseball prospect rankings, freshly updated for December. For those who are not familiar, I will be releasing monthly updates to my fantasy baseball dynasty prospect rankings here on RotoBaller, along with my notes on risers. After a full offseason of work, spending time on backfields, in minor league […]

Joey Bart Currently The Team's Top Catcher

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said on MLB Network that catcher Joey Bart has taken the pole position at catcher heading into the 2025 season. Bart couldn't get going with the San Francisco Giants and was picked up on waivers by the Pirates early on in 2024. The low-cost move worked out for the […]

Pirates Sign Infielder Nick Solak To Minor-League Contract

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed infielder Nick Solak to a minor-league contract. The 29-year-old was drafted in the second round by the Yankees back in 2016, but has spent time in six different organizations since then with Pittsburgh being his seventh. The right-handed hitter debuted with the Rangers in 2019, slashing .293/.393/.491 with a 126 […]

Rangers Sign Pitcher Michael Plassmeyer To Minor-League Contract

The Texas Rangers have signed pitcher Michael Plassmeyer to a minor-league contract. The 28-year-old was drafted by the Mariners in the fourth round back in 2018, and has been with Tampa Bay, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and spent 2024 in Pittsburgh's organization. The lefty made his MLB debut with the Phillies in 2022 and made a […]

Pirates Acquire Enmanuel Valdez From Red Sox

The Pirates have acquired infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez in a trade with the Red Sox. Minor league pitcher Joe Vogatsky was shipped to Boston in exchange for Valdez. The 25-year-old debuted for Boston in 2023, playing 125 games and posting a .235-12-47-40-6 line in 372 career plate appearances. It's unclear how the Pirates plan to use […]

Winter Meetings Recap - 2025 Fantasy Baseball Outlooks for Garret Crochet, Max Fried, Jake Burger, Andres Gimenez, Michael Conforto, Jordan Romano

Every team goes into the annual Winter Meetings with an order of business. Some teams look to make a big splash and sign the sexy free agent. Some teams are tinkering and looking to add a pitcher for the back of their rotation or an arm to a beleaguered bullpen. Others will be in the […]

Jared Jones, Mitch Keller Available For Trade

According to Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Pirates have made starting pitchers Jared Jones and Mitch Keller available for trade at the Winter Meetings. Destin noted Jones is "very available." The Pirates have expressed interest in acquiring some offensive pieces, and moving one of these starting pitchers would put them in a […]

Guardians Acquire Luis L. Ortiz From Pirates

The Cleveland Guardians acquired pitchers Luis L. Ortiz, Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night in exchange for infielder Spencer Horwitz, according to sources. Ortiz is the biggest name in the swap for the Guardians as they look to add pitching depth to their system. The 25-year-old Dominican right-hander had […]

Spencer Horwitz Flipped To Pirates

The Cleveland Guardians traded second baseman/first baseman Spencer Horwitz to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night in exchange for pitchers Luis L. Ortiz, Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy, according to sources. The Guardians traded second baseman Andres Gimenez to the Toronto Blue Jays earlier in the day for Horwitz before flipping him to Pittsburgh. Horwitz's […]

Endy Rodriguez Expected To Be "Fully Healthy" For Spring Training

Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton said at the MLB winter meetings on Monday that the expectation is that catching prospect Endy Rodriguez (elbow) will be "fully healthy" for the start of spring training in mid-February. Rodriguez was forced to miss all of the 2024 season after undergoing surgery to fix the UCL and flexor tendon […]

Hunter Stratton Returning To Pittsburgh On Minor-League Deal

According to Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the Pirates have signed relief pitcher Hunter Stratton to a minor-league contract. Stratton spent all of last summer in Steele City but underwent surgery in his left knee in August. Stratton was facing a seven-to-ten-month recovery window at the time of the operation. Through 37 2/3 […]

Christian Walker Could Be Ideal Fit For Pirates

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal suggests that free-agent first baseman Christian Walker, who is from the eastern part of Pennsylvania, could be an ideal fit for the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team looking for upgrades on offense. However, many other teams will be interested in Walker this offseason, including both New York teams if they lose out […]

Bryan Reynolds Expected To See Time At First Base

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds is expected to see time at first base in 2025. While this will likely only be in a part-time role, this is a situation worth monitoring as it could provide Reynolds even more at-bats throughout the season. Rosenthal also noted that given Pittsburgh's […]

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 […]

Pirates Expected To Non-Tender Bryan De La Cruz, Connor Joe

The Pittsburgh Pirates are expected to non-tender outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and first baseman/outfielder Connor Joe, according to a source. It will make both players free agents this winter. De La Cruz didn't impress the Bucs after the acquired him from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline in the summer, as he hit […]

Paul Skenes Named 2024 NL Rookie Of The Year

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes was named the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year on Monday evening. Skenes, last year's first overall pick out of LSU, debuted less than a year after being drafted and is a generational talent at the position. The 22-year-old went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA over 23 starts in […]

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 […]

Brent Strom Joins Pirates Coaching Staff

The Pittsburgh Pirates have hired Brent Strom as an assistant pitching coach ahead of the 2025 season. This was a nice pickup for the Pirates as Strom played a big part with the Houston Astros from 2014-2021. He was the pitching coach in Houston when they won the World Series in 2017. Since then, Strom […]

Pirates Claim Trey Cabbage Off Waivers

The Pittsburgh Pirates have claimed outfielder Trey Cabbage off waivers, according to Ari Alexander of KPRC2. The 27-year-old appeared in only 47 games at the major league level in the Space City last season and held an underwhelming .209/.253/.337 slash line with just one home run and one stolen base. However, in Triple-A, he posted […]

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 […]

Starting Pitchers: Fantasy Baseball End-Of-Season Report Card (Part 2)

The 2024 fantasy baseball season is in the books. It seems like the perfect time to look back and reflect on the season: What went right and what went wrong. One of the biggest determinants will likely have been how the starting pitchers you drafted early performed throughout the year. Our focus here is on […]

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 […]

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, […]

Termarr Johnson Injured In Arizona Fall League

Pittsburgh Pirates infield prospect Termarr Johnson (foot) was injured while playing in the Arizona Fall League on Tuesday night and had to be carried off the field while being unable to put any weight on his right foot. Johnson injured his foot swinging through a pitch. It's unclear exactly what the 20-year-old's injury is, but […]

Fantasy Baseball Closers and Saves Waiver Wire Report for Postseason Week 1

Congrats to all of you who won, placed, showed, or even just had fun in your fantasy leagues this season! We hope we were able to help you get the best out of your lineups from draft day until the last time you set your lineups. It was another very interesting season of baseball, for […]

Pirates Part With Hitting Coach Andy Haines, Bullpen Coach Justin Meccage

The Pittsburgh Pirates will not be bringing back hitting coach Andy Haines or bullpen coach Justin Meccage for the 2025 season, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Noah Niles and Andrew Destin. The team did get consistent offensive production from outfielder Bryan Reynolds and shortstop/outfielder Oneil Cruz, but the rest of the lineup was unable to provide […]

Starts and Sits - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball (September 23 - September 29)

Welcome to the final week of the season, where we all finish with our best decisions thanks to our starting pitcher starts/sits for fantasy baseball Week 27 -- Monday, September 23 through Sunday, September 29. Keep it locked in here as teams shuffle their rotations for playoff assignments. We'll do our best to lay out […]