MLB Player News

It was Smith’s first save of the season after allowing four runs in one inning in his first appearance. On Tuesday, Smith avoided any trouble whatsoever and still appears to be ahead of the pack for saves in Kansas City. That said, he is not the most stable of fantasy assets and could have a few more blow-up outings coming his way. The Royals’ two best options if Smith were to falter appear to be James McArthur and John Schreiber, but neither of them is a clear handcuff target either for fantasy purposes.

Brown had both his 2024 and ’26 seasons cut short by neck issues, and the hope is that the procedure will take care of things. He won’t be a candidate for the Opening Day rotation following surgery, but he could be back by June or July. Brown was outstanding last season before landing on the IL in June. He opened up with a 2.10 ERA in 25 2/3 innings out of the pen and then had a 1.70 ERA and a 41/11 K/BB over 42 1/3 innings in his eight starts.

Martinez has been dominant in the D.R. thus far, striking out eight and walking none in six scoreless innings. He topped out at 104.2 mph last night. Martinez would seem to be very much in position to enter next year as Arizona’s closer, assuming that the team doesn’t decide to spend money to fill that slot.

Bernal is tied with Kevin Alcantara, José Marmolejos and Noelvi Marte for the Dominican Winter League lead with four homers, though he has just four other hits in 16 games, leaving him with a .160 average.

The 39-year-old García decided to finish 2026 at home after being released by the Mets in April and again by the Twins in May, but now he’s pitching in winter ball for the first time in 10 years and he’s thriving with a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings. Maybe he’ll give MLB one more try at age 40.

After one season with the Yomiuri Giants and four with the Chiba Lotte Marines, Polanco is a free agent this winter. The now 35-year-old former Pirate hit 73 homers in his first three years in Japan, but he’s faded some since and spent much of last year in the minors. He’ll probably look for another starting opportunity in Asia, but if it doesn’t come around, he could sign a minor league deal with an MLB team. Polanco hit .241/.309/.409 with 96 homers in 823 games for Pittsburgh from 2014-21.

The 33-year-old Senga will make $14 million next season in the final year of his five-year, $75 million deal. The Mets might have to pay that down a little if they want to move on, but Senga hasn’t lost any velocity since arriving in the U.S. and still has ample strikeout ability. A fresh start might be best for both parties at this point, especially since Senga would prefer to start.

Morejon struggled mightily to stay healthy as a starter before surprisingly turning into one of the league’s most durable and effective relievers. He still has the pitch mix of a starter, but it’s understandable that he wants to stick with what’s working, especially since he’ll be well compensated either way.

There had been some hope that Smith, who was a starter in the minors, would get a chance to move into the rotation in 2027, but that spot appears to be going to Grant Taylor. Smith was electric out of the bullpen for the White Sox after getting called up, posting a 1.29 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 41/16 K/BB ratio in 28 innings. Obviously, remaining in the bullpen puts a damper on his fantasy value, but he is going to pitch lots of innings out of the White Sox bullpen and could produce similar value to what Didier Fuentes did last season or perhaps similar value to Grant Taylor, if the White Sox mix in some save opportunities for Smith as well.

The White Sox had always expressed a belief that Taylor, who was a starter in the minors, could return to the rotation. That was part of the reason he was used in multi-inning stints so much this season. In 84 innings, he posted a 2.25 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 106/30 K/BB ratio. He has the pitch mix to succeed as a starter but hasn’t been a regular one since early in the 2025 season. With this news, Taylor should immediately become a top-50 starting pitcher in 2027 rankings and has the potential to be a true breakout star in fantasy. There just remains some risk because it’s a role we haven’t seen him in for a while.

He’ll earn about $900,000 next season. The 28-year-old McGee had a 7.15 ERA in nine appearances for the Brewers and Royals last season, leaving him with a 4.54 ERA in 35 2/3 innings since he debuted with the Rays in 2022.