Fantasy Baseball

Sandlin has been a mainstay in Cleveland’s bullpen for the last four years, posting a strong 3.27 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 223/92 K/BB ratio across 195 1/3 innings (209 appearances). The 27-year-old righty will bolster Toronto’s relief depth heading into next season.

The details of the swap, which hasn’t been made official yet, are beginning to leak out. Horwitz was sneaky-good last year for the Blue Jays, slashing .265/.357/.433 with 12 homers across 381 plate appearances in 97 contests. The versatile 27-year-old figures to replace Giménez as Cleveland’s primary second baseman moving forward. If he continues hitting for power, he’ll work his way onto fantasy managers’ radar screens, especially in deeper mixed leagues.

Kieboom was widely-regarded as one of the top prospects in baseball just a couple years ago, but he’s struggled to find his footing at the highest level, batting .199/.297/.301 with 12 homers across 508 plate appearances in the big leagues since 2019. He’ll get a fresh start with the Angels heading into next season and could wind up making it back to the majors as a versatile bench option.

The stove it’s hot. No word yet on the potential return for Cleveland. Giménez is a phenomenal defender at the keystone and should shore up Toronto’s hole at second base for years to come. The 26-year-old has underwhelmed from a fantasy perspective over the last two seasons ever since his 2022 breakthrough when he batted .297 with 17 homers and 20 steals as his batting average has tumbled back into the .250 range and his over-the-fence power has dropped into the single digits. He’s eclipsed 30 stolen bases in each of the last two years and remains one of the better fantasy options at second base, which is arguably the weakest positional group in the fantasy landscape by a considerable margin. He’s a borderline top 12 second baseman in fantasy drafts heading into next season.

It’s a massive deal for the Yankees, who have their co-ace to pair with Gerrit Cole for the foreseeable future. It’s the largest contract, which reportedly doesn’t include any deferred money and also contains a full no-trade clause, in baseball history for a left-handed pitcher as New York pivots after failing to retain generational superstar Juan Soto. The 30-year-old southpaw struck out 23 percent of the batters he faced last year with the Braves, finishing with a strong 3.25 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 166/57 K/BB ratio across 174 1/3 innings (29 starts). The move doesn’t change a ton for Fried from a fantasy perspective heading into next season as he remains a certifiable top 20-range option among starting pitchers.

The ping pong balls came through for the Nationals as they secure the top selection in next year’s MLB Draft after having just 10 percent odds of landing the first overall pick. Oklahoma prep shortstop Ethan Holliday — son of former Rockies star Matt Holliday and brother of Orioles top prospect Jackson Holliday — and Texas A&M outfielder Jace LaViolette are among the top candidates for the first-overall selection next year. All non-playoff teams are entered into the draft lottery for the top six picks with both the Athletics and White Sox -- who landed the 11th and 10th picks, respectively -- ineligbile for revenue sharing reasons. Here’s how the rest of the draft order shook out: (1) Nationals, (2) Angels, (3) Mariners, (4) Rockies, (5) Cardinals, (6) Pirates, (7) Marlins, (8) Blue Jays, (9) Reds, (10) White Sox, (11) Athletics, (12) Rangers, (13) Giants, (14) Rays, (15) Red Sox, (16) Twins, (17) Cubs, (18) Diamondbacks.

The deal, which was agreed to earlier this week, is now official after Cobb passed his physical. The 37-year-old veteran hurler’s ongoing injury issues curtail his realistic upside for fantasy purposes, but he’s remained a viable streaming option for fantasy managers in recent years, especially in deeper mixed leagues. He was limited to just three starts last year with the division-rival Guardians due to hip, shoulder and blister issues. He’s unlikely to reverse a three-year decline in strikeout rate, but his above-average control remains intact. He’s probably best left on the waiver wire to open the year, but if he’s healthy there aren’t a ton of more pitcher-friendly ballparks than Detroit, especially in the early portion of the year when the temperatures are near the freezing mark.

The deal is now official after Adames passed his physical. Without being too hyperbolic, the move to San Francisco is pretty much the worst-case scenario landing spot for fantasy purposes since Oracle Park ranks almost dead-last (28th) in home runs for right-handed batters, according to Statcast park factors over the last three seasons. That doesn’t mean Adames won’t remain a strong fantasy contributor with the Giants. We’re confident projecting the 29-year-old stalwart as a top 10 shortstop from a fantasy perspective heading into 2025 since we’re still comfortable locking in a realistic 25-homer floor. However, it’s difficult to forecast a repeat of last year’s career-high 32 round-trippers with the Brewers since Oracle Park puts a realistic ceiling on his over-the-fence pop upside.

The Blue Jays would be the preferred landing spot for fantasy purposes since it would keep Torres in the hitter-friendly AL East, but he would make a ton of sense for Los Angeles, enabling them to move Luis Rengifo around the diamond. The big question here is whether signing Torres would be a bigger statement about the health of shortstop Zach Neto heading into next year in the wake of his offseason shoulder surgery.

Polanco’s persistent knee issues are the biggest obstacle to his fantasy relevance at this juncture of his career. If he’s able to stay on the field, he would make a ton of sense for Houston or Toronto as additional infield insurance. He would give the Astros a fallback option at the hot corner in case they’re unable to retain star Alex Bregman.