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Stats

Rotoworld

Marlin Willis

KC Relief Pitcher

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Royals re-signed LHP Marlin Willis to a minor league contract.

The 25-year-old southpaw has interesting stuff, but has struggled with throwing strikes consistently enough to have any modicum of real success. Willis registered a 7.84 ERA, 1.94 WHIP and a 47/44 K/BB ratio over 31 innings at High-A Quad Cities during the 2023 season. The Royals will continue to work through his command issues, as he could wind up being a valuable bullpen arm.

Transaction

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Ketel Marte

ARI 2nd Baseman #4

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Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Diamondbacks do not plan to trade second baseman Ketel Marte.

Diamondbacks’ general manager Mike Hazen said last week that he wanted to resolve Marte’s status in the near future, and while he was willing to listen to offers on his 32-year-old superstar, nothing came close to materializing. Of course, Hazen isn’t bound to anything here and this could very well just be a leveraging ploy to see if he can get any potential suitors to up the ante. The most likeliest scenario is still that Marte opens the season as the Diamondbacks’ starting second baseman.

Source: Ken Rosenthal

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Okamoto could be 'undervalued' 2026 fantasy asset

January 5, 2026 04:43 PM

The Blue Jays continued their strong offseason by adding Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto on a four-year deal, leaving Eric Samulski to assess what his presence means for Toronto's offseason plans and fantasy assets.

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Jake Bird

NYY Relief Pitcher #59

Yankees signed RHP Jake Bird to a one-year, $975,000 deal to avoid arbitration.

Bird came over from the Rockies at the deadline and was brutal for the Yankees, allowing seven runs (six earned) on four hits in two innings. He has shown the ability to miss bats during his years in Colorado, so he remains an intriguing arm in the middle relief for the Yankees.

Transaction

Source: Joel Sherman

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Sauryn Lao

FA Relief Pitcher #73

Nationals released RHP Sauryn Lao.

The 26-year-old hurler found an opportunity to play overseas, so the Nationals granted him release. Lao will ink a one-year pact with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Proessional Baseball.

Transaction

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Ezequiel Duran

TEX 3rd Baseman #20

Rangers signed INF/OF Ezequiel Duran to a one-year, $1.375 million deal to avoid arbitration.

The 26-year-old utilityman had a brutal season offensively in 2025, slashing a cringe-inducing .224/.266/.293 with zero home runs, 14 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 219 plate appearances for the Rangers. He’ll continue to function in a super utility role for the Rangers in 2026 and can be safely ignored for fantasy purposes.

Transaction

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Jake Burger

TEX 1st Baseman #21

Rangers signed INF Jake Burger to a one-year, $3.2 million deal to avoid arbitration.

The agreed upon amount comes in slightly under the $3.5 million that Burger was projected to earn by MLBTradeRumors.com. His first season with the Rangers didn’t go according to plan, as the 29-year-old slugger slashed a meager .236/.269/.419 with 16 round trippers and 53 RBI in 376 plate appearances. He’s still locked in as the team’s starter at first base though and should be a popular bounce-back candidate heading into 2026 fantasy drafts.

Transaction

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Freddy Fermin

SD Catcher #54

Padres signed C Freddy Fermin to a one-year, $2.1 million deal to avoid arbitration.

Fermin, who was arbitration eligible for the first time as a Super Two player, had been projected to earn $1.8 million through arbitration by MLBTradeRumors.com. The 30-year-old backstop hit .251/.297/.339 with five homers and 26 RBI in 347 plate appearances between the Royals and Padres during the 2025 season. Even if he does open the season as the Padres’ starting catcher, the only fantasy value that he provides comes from a solid batting average.

Transaction

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JP Sears

SD Starting Pitcher #38

Padres signed LHP JP Sears to a one-year contract to avoid arbitration.

No word yet on the financial terms of that deal, but Sears had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $3.5 million via arbitration. The 29-year-old southpaw posted an uninspiring 5.04 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and a 117/36 K/BB ratio over 135 2/3 innings between the Athletics and Padres in 2025.

Transaction

Source: San Diego Padres

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Jason Adam

SD Relief Pitcher #40

Padres signed RHP Jason Adam to a one-year, $6.675 million deal to avoid arbitration.

Adam secures a nice pay raise over the $4.8 million that he took home in 2025. The 34-year-old hurler delivered another dominant season in his first full year with the Padres, compiling a 1.93 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 70/25 K/BB ratio over 65 1/3 innings before a ruptured quad tendon ended his season prematurely at the beginning of September. He’ll function in a setup capacity in front of Mason Miller once again in 2026, limiting his overall fantasy appeal.

Transaction

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Mason Miller

SD Relief Pitcher #22

Padres signed RHP Mason Miller to a one-year, $4 million deal to avoid arbitration.

The 27-year-old flamethrower was arbitration eligible for the first time as a Super Two player. He had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $3.4 million in the arbitration process, so he appears to have done very well for himself here. With Robert Suarez out of the picture, Miller should have the ninth inning to himself in 2026 and will be one of the first closers plucked off of the board in all fantasy drafts.

Transaction

Source: Mark Feinsand

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Tyler Wells

BAL Starting Pitcher #68

Orioles signed RHP Tyler Wells to a one-year, $2.45 million deal to avoid arbitration.

He had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $2.7 million via arbitration. Wells looked electric in four starts in September following a return from Tommy John surgery, registering a 2.91 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and an 18/2 K/BB ratio across 21 2/3 innings. Now that he’ll have a full healthy off-season under his belt, it should be all systems go for the 31-year-old hurler heading into 2026.

Transaction

Source: Andy Kostka

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