MLB Player News

Smyly gets a $2.5 million buyout. The 35-year-old moved to pen the second half of the 2023 season and had a 3.84 ERA in 58 2/3 innings as a reliever last season. He could look to return to the rotation as a free agent.

This is noteworthy today of all days because Roffe was previously with the Milwaukee Brewers as an assistant director of domestic scouting. We just saw the role that the Brewers’ scouting and player development team had in shaping a World Series winner. Roffe will head up the domestic draft operations for the White Sox.

The 24-year-old reliever posted a 4.64 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and 73/33 K/BB ratio in 54 1/3 innings for Triple-A Worcester this season. The Red Sox will continue to try to get success from his big fastball.

Barrero hit .202/.305/.400 with 23 homers and 13 steals in 499 plate appearances at Triple-A Norfolk this season. He played in just two games for the Orioles and will look for a better opportunity somewhere else.

This was a no-brainer after Helsley was limited to just 17 appearances this season due to injury. The 32-year-old will try to complete a healthy season in 2027 and earn another contract after that. However, with Félix Bautista back from his shoulder surgery, Helsley is likely to serve as a set-up man for Baltimore in 2027 unless another team wants to trade for him in the offseason.

Boyd had a $15 million mutual option for 2027 but decided to decline it in the hopes of landing a multi-year deal before a potential lockout impacts the MLB salary structure. Boyd was limited to 126 2/3 innings this season due to injury, but he registered a 3.91 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 18.5 percent strikeout rate. He figures to have a good deal of interest given his experience and solid production over the last three seasons. The Cubs have now seen Boyd, Clay Holmes, Shota Imanaga, Kevin Gausman, and David Peterson all become free agents, so they will need to rebuild an entire rotation.

Holmes had a $12 million player option, so he always seemed likely to decline that after two solid seasons as a starting pitcher. A fractured fibula limited him to 101 1/3 innings this season, but he posted a 3.29 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 18.6 percent strikeout rate for the Mets and Cubs. He will likely be sought after as a groundball specialist who can round out a rotation. His fantasy value will hinge on the defense that is playing behind him.

King had a $28 million player option for 2027 but has declined it in the hopes of getting a long-term deal elsewhere. This could be the beginning of similar moves as players try to sign longer-term contracts before a potential lockout that could change the league’s salary structure. King posted a 3.21 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 21 percent strikeout rate over 185 innings this season for the Padres. He will be a coveted pitcher on the open market..

Aaron Ashby, who also had a great case for NLCS MVP honors, again gets snubbed here. Cooper Pratt and Jackson Chourio both had better offensive series than Contreras, but the catcher does deserve credit for his four caught stealings and his great success challenging pitches. He was also the Brewers’ best hitter overall this postseason, finishing with a 1.036 OPS, three homers and nine RBI in 13 games.

William Contreras and David Hamilton also knocked in runs, and Milwaukee’s pitching staff saved its best performance for the very end, with Jacob Misiorowski going 5 2/3 scoreless before leaving with a leg cramp and JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill finishing the four-hitter. It’s the Brewers’ first World Series title since the franchise entered the league in 1969. They went 11-2 in October following a regular season in which they led the majors and set a franchise record with 103 victories.

It sounded like the Rays had Rasmussen on a limit of about 60 pitches going into the game, but they didn’t bring him back out for the fifth after just 48 pitches. Rasmussen allowed only two hits, walked none and struck out four, and his fastball velocity, which was up one mph from his season average, held steady throughout. After he was pulled, the Brewers scored once in the fifth and twice in the sixth. Rasmussen was charged with the loss, his first in a postseason in which he made five starts with a 2.20 ERA.