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MLB Player News

Rotoworld

  • STL Third Baseman #28
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    MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports the Red Sox and Cardinals had recent communication regarding Nolan Arenado.
    The standoff continues. The looming resolution to the Alex Bregman sweepstakes, which seems to be down to the Astros, Tigers and Red Sox at this juncture, should provide some additional clarity on Arenado’s potential trade destinations. The 33-year-old perennial Gold Glove Award candidate has been linked to Boston for months, but there doesn’t appear to be a ton of urgency from either side to get a deal across the finish line. With spring training rapidly approaching, it seems possible Arenado will head to camp with St. Louis as the two sides continue negotiations.
  • BAL Third Baseman #26
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    Orioles 3B Emmanuel Rivera cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.
    Rivera was waived by the team last week but will be back with the Orioles and in spring training where he’ll look to solidify his role as organization depth at the corner infield spot.
  • MIN Second Baseman
    The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reports that Twins prospect Luke Keaschall could “force his way into the Twins’ second-half plans.”
    The 49th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Keashall hit .303/.420/.483 in 102 minor league games last season as a 21-year-old with 15 homers, 23 steals, and an 80/62 K/BB ratio. He did that while playing through a torn elbow ligament for part of the season. Hayes suggests that the Twins will need to see how Keaschall’s elbow looks in the spring, but if he’s able to start the year in the field, most likely at second base, then he could begin at Double-A or Triple-A and then push Brooks Lee for the second base job by the summer. As Hayes notes, “There was lots of interest in Keaschall at last year’s trade deadline and the Twins turned it down believing he’s close to becoming a core piece of the lineup.”
  • MIN Center Fielder #90
    The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reports that Twins prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez has “a realistic chance to join the Twins’ lineup this summer.”
    Rodriguez is one of the top prospects in baseball coming off a season in which he hit .280/.459/.567 with nine home runs and nine steals in 47 minor league games before undergoing thumb surgery. He is a career .250 hitter with 304 strikeouts in 230 games, so there are some concerns in his contact ability that he’ll need to iron out at Triple-A. But he also possesses tremendous speed, good defense in center field, and plus power. If he can show strides in Triple-A to start the season and one or both of Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach struggle in the majors (or Byron Buxton gets hurt) then Rodriguez could be up in Minnesota and providing fantasy goodness.
  • TEX Right Fielder #53
    Adolis García has had a healthy offseason and is working with Rangers hitting coaches to clean up his swing mechanics.
    García had eight weeks of rehab at the start of the offseason to hear his left patella tendon strain but “is in a great spot now,” per Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young. As a result, García was able to work out with his coaches at Globe Life Field to try and recapture the 2023 swing which allowed him to slash .245/.328/.508 with 39 home runs in 148 games. “I had a little bit of an extra movement in my swing. That’s what I worked with the team and hitting coaches to try to eliminate these movements in the swing… Last year, with the short offseason, there was less time to prepare... I feel better prepared. I’m ready to go, and it looks great.” While García shouldn’t be counted on to come near his 25 stolen bases from 2022 or his 39 home runs from 2023, he could go back to being a .240 hitter with 30 home run power in the middle of a stacked Rangers lineup, and that still makes him valuable in fantasy leagues.
  • BAL Catcher #99
    Orioles general manager Mike Elias said Gary Sánchez will “be a huge part of the team” in 2025.
    Sánchez will serve as the backup catcher to Adley Rutschman, but, as Elias noted, “He’s also a really good hitter for a catcher, especially against left-handed pitching.” While Sánchez’s career .214 average against lefties is not that impressive, his .787 OPS, .261 ISO, and 22.4 percent HR/FB ratio speak to his power production against them. As a result, the Orioles figure to get him regular playing time against left-handed pitchers with Elias saying “we’ll see him DHing some games if he’s not catching.” Considering Rutschman hit lefties extremely well last season, we’d expect most of Sánchez’s at-bats to come as a DH against lefties.
  • LAA Shortstop #7
    MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger reported that Tim Anderson “took time off to retool his mechanics and clear his head.”
    Anderson slashed a combined .318/.347/.473 with 51 homers and 53 stolen bases in 374 games with the White Sox from 2019-22 before his production fell off a cliff in 2023. Anderson believes a lot of that has to do with a leg injury he suffered early that season. “I started creating bad habits with my swing,” Anderson said. “I had that injury to the leg, so once I came back, I lost the feel, I lost the touch, I lost a lot. Everything felt different. So, it caused me to start doing the wrong things and start creating that bad habit. I got caught up in that bad habit and that became a norm.” After Anderson was let go by the White Sox and then subsequently released by the Marlins, he “got in the lab and [has] been training to break that bad habit.” Considering Anderson was never a huge power producer but derived much of his success from plus contact, his profile should age more gracefully than most, and it’s entirely possible that revamped swing mechanics could push him back to being a solid batting average asset with 10+ steals if he can carve out playing time.
  • BAL Right Fielder #10
    The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that Dylan Carlson “is the likely odd man out if everyone stays healthy” in Baltimore’s outfield.
    After signing Ramón Laureano last week, the Orioles have six players competing for four spots in the outfield. Tyler O’Neill and Cedric Mullins seem like locks to start in left field and center field respectively. That leaves Colton Cowser and Laureano as a potential platoon in right field since Cowser bats left-handed and Laureano bats right-handed. That would mean Heston Kjerstad needs to hit well enough to win a backup first base or outfield job or he could also be at risk for demotion. Carlson, who has minor-league options remaining, seems destined to start the season in Triple-A if everybody is healthy.
  • DET Third Baseman #17
    The Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold reports that Jace Jung and Matt Vierling “will be in the mix for the majority of playing time at third base” if the Tigers can’t sign Alex Bregman.
    The Tigers have steadfastly tried to bring Bregman to town, so they hope they can land the veteran in their lineup. If not, Petzold highlights a few ways the lineup could take shape. As Petzold notes, “Vierling fits best in right field but is a better defender than Jung at third base,” so he could leapfrog the young third base prospect if the Tigers want to prioritize defense. However, “if the Tigers want both Jung and Vierling in the lineup against right-handed pitchers, then Jung has to play third base and Vierling has to play right field, keeping Kerry Carpenter as the designated hitter to protect his health.” That seems like the most likely scenario for now; yet, Jung hit only .241/.362/.304 in his 94 big league plate appearances last year with a 31 percent strikeout rate, so Petzold noted that the Tigers could send Jung down, play Vierling as the everyday third baseman and leave right field open for Wenceel Pérez, who hit .242/.300/.383 with nine home runs and nine steals in 425 plate appearances last year in his MLB debut.
  • LAD Relief Pitcher #66
    Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts told MLB Network Radio’s Jim Bowden that Tanner Scott will receive the “brunt” of the club’s save opportunities to begin the season.
    The Dodgers have a plethora of quality options at their disposal in the late innings with Scott and Kirby Yates joining Blake Treinen and Evan Phillips, but it sounds like it’s the one southpaw of the bunch that’s going to be the primary closer. We’ll see if that’s how this situation ultimately shakes out, but in the meantime this news should provide a major boost to Scott’s fantasy value.
  • INT Relief Pitcher #30
    Austin Voth has signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
    The 32-year-old hurler was non-tendered by the Mariners in late November and didn’t find a deal to his liking on the open market, so he has decided to head overseas for the 2025 season. Voth did a nice job out of the M’s bullpen in 2024, registering a 3.69 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and a 61/18 K/BB ratio over 61 innings. What’s intriguing is that the plan is for him to work as a starter in Japan — perhaps with the idea of returning to the big leagues for the 2026 season in that same role if he has success there.