MLB Player News

There are some notable names with big league experience among the latest round of Brewers’ cuts including Singleton, VanMeter, Alvarez and Bolt. The quartet could wind up finding themselves in Milwaukee at some point this year, but will open the regular season at Triple-A Nashville.

Durbin set the AFL’s single-season stolen base record earlier this week and is now up to a remarkable 29 thefts. The stolen base landscape has changed pretty remarkably over the last few years, which limits Durbin’s overall fantasy upside slightly. However, his speed and defensive versatility is going to make him an impact contributor, especially in deeper mixed leagues. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said earlier this week that he expects Durbin to play “a big role” next season, so it’s plausible to envision him taking over as New York’s everyday option at the keystone, especially if they don’t re-sign Gleyber Torres.

It’s the fourth Silver Slugger Award for Judge following a 58-homer, 144-RBI campaign where he finished with a surreal 1.159 OPS over 158 games. The other big takeways here are Juan Soto tying Mike Trout for the most Silver Sluggers (five) before turning 26 and Brent Rooker becoming the first Athletics player to take home the hardware since 2002. Here are the rest of the American League winners: Salvador Perez (C), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B), Jose Altuve (2B), José Ramírez (3B), Bobby Witt Jr. (SS), Anthony Santander (OF), Juan Soto (OF), Aaron Judge (OF), Brent Rooker (DH) and Josh Smith (UTIL).

No surprise here after Ohtani wrapped up his sublime Dodgers debut with a stratospheric 1.036 OPS to go along with 54 homers, 59 steals and 130 RBI over 159 games. Here are the rest of the National League winners: William Contreras (C), Bryce Harper (1B), Ketel Marte (2B), Manny Machado (3B), Francisco Lindor (SS), Jackson Merrill (OF), Jurickson Profar (OF), Teoscar Hernández (OF), Shohei Ohtani (DH) and Mookie Betts (UTIL).

Miller went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment last week by the Angels to free up a roster spot for veteran starter Kyle Hendricks. The 28-year-old righty posted a serviceable 4.15 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 11/8 K/BB ratio across 13 innings (13 appearances) last year in his first taste of the majors.

The total estimate to repair damage from last month’s Hurricane Milton is $55.7 million, according to a damage assessment report sent earlier this week to the St. Petersburg City Council. The biggest takeaway here for fantasy purposes is that the Rays will almost certainly be forced to play the entire 2025 season in a spring training stadium somewhere else in Florida. We saw the significant impact that had on offensive statistics for the Blue Jays, which skyrocketed during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign when they played out of Dunedin. There likely won’t be any clarity on Tampa Bay’s plans until sometime closer to spring training, but fantasy managers should continue to monitor the situation closely.

Lopez has opted to test the free agent waters instead of accepting an outright minor league assignment following his removal from Chicago’s 40-man roster. The 29-year-old infielder remains a stellar defender, but hasn’t offered much at the dish for fantasy purposes in several years. He would make sense in a bench role on a contending roster, but he’s highly unlikely to make any sort of contribution for fantasy managers, regardless of where he winds up.

Peralta went unclaimed on waivers earlier this week after being removed from Chicago’s 40-man roster. The 26-year-old lefty boasts respectable 4.37 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 29/18 K/BB ratio across 35 innings (25 appearances) in the big leagues over the last two seasons. He should be able to find another opportunity somewhere else in short order, but might have to settle for a minor league pact with an invitation to spring training.

Oller will take his talents to the defending KBO champions after making eight starts last season for the Marlins where he finished with a serviceable 5.31 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 36/22 K/BB ratio across 42 1/3 innings. The 30-year-old righty will aim to rebuild his value overseas in Korea, which has worked in the recent past for a laundry list of journeyman-type starters.

The deal is now official. It’s a decent landing spot for d’Arnaud, who launched 15 homers in 99 contests last year for the Braves. The 35-year-old veteran backstop, who hit free agency last week after Atlanta declined his $8 million club option for 2025, figures to serve as starter Logan O’Hoppe’s primary caddy in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, his official departure paves a clear path for top prospect Drake Baldwin, who has looked impressive recently in the Arizona Fall League, to potentially make Atlanta’s season-opening roster.

Zuñiga has been removed from Los Angeles’ 40-man roster to make room for newly-signed veteran backstop Travis d’Arnaud. The 26-year-old righty recorded a pedestrian 5.09 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 12/8 K/BB ratio across 17 2/3 innings (15 starts) last season for the Angels. He might attract some interest on waivers as extra organizational relief depth.