MLB Player News

It was Beeks’ seventh save of the year. He had blown his last three save opportunities. Beeks’ save was his first save since May 31st. He has a 4.19 ERA on the season. He has five wins and seven saves on the season, but isn’t the most reliable late inning arm in fantasy.

The deal would have included an opt-out after the second season and deferred money. The interesting takeaway is that the Royals were in the market for a big bat to upgrade the middle of their lineup and improve their outfield. It’s possible that they are still looking to upgrade and could make a big move before the season begins.

De Los Santos, 26, had been claimed off the waivers from the Blue Jays in early November. He becomes a 40-man roster casualty though as the Mets needed to free up a spot for Nick Madrigal. De Los Santos is more of a glove-first middle infielder, which makes it possible that he’ll slide through waivers without being claimed this time around.

Madrigal will earn $1.35 million if he’s in the big leagues and can earn up to an additional $500,000 in incentives. When he’s able to avoid the injured list, Madrigal will usually give you a tough at-bat and won’t strike out much, he’ll steal a few bases and play solid defense at second base and third base. It makes him a nice bench piece for the Mets, but unlikely to have any sort of impact from a fantasy perspective. Signing Madrigal doesn’t bode well for the chances of fan favorite Jose Iglesias returning to the Mets for the 2025 season.

The 27-year-old infielder had just been claimed off of waivers from the White Sox in early January, but he gets the boot from the club’s 40-man roster to make room for Carlos Estévez on Friday. There’s a decent chance that Shewmake could slide through waivers this time and continue to function as extra depth for the Royals.

The deal, which was agreed to on Wednesday, is now official. It’s difficult to envision the Royals paying Estévez more than $10 million per season if they don’t plan on installing him as their closer. That would unfortunately relegate Lucas Erceg to a setup role where he can be deployed against the opposition’s most dangerous hitters. Estévez has had plenty of success in the ninth inning in recent years and should be a fringe top 15 option among closers heading into fantasy drafts.

The market has been surprisingly quiet for the 37-year-old slugger all winter, but some team is going to wind up benefiting in a major way when they sign him near the start of spring training. Martinez had a down season by his standards in 2024, slashing just .235/.320/.406 with 16 homers and 69 RBI in 495 plate appearances. He was .263/.370/.466 against southpaws though, proving that he can still mash left-handers.

Heyman notes that the Mets have offered the 35-year-old outfielder a non-guaranteed deal and the ball is now in his court. With his market slow to develop, it’s possible that Canha winds up taking what he can get and returns to the Mets where he played in 2022 and 2023. Canha hit .242/.344/.346 with seven homers, 42 RBI and seven stolen bases in 462 plate appearances between the Tigers and Giants in 2024.

Contreras will earn $6 million in 2025 and the deal includes a $12 million club option for the 2026 season with a $100,000 buyout. The top overall backstop from a fantasy perspective, Contreras is coming off of a monster season in which he slashed .281/.365/.466 with 23 homers, 92 RBI, 99 runs scored and nine stolen bases while playing in a Herculean 155 games.

The 26-year-old hurler was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 12th round of the 2019 draft and spent five seasons toiling in the minor leagues for them before spending the 2024 season pitching for the New England Knockouts in the independent Frontier League. There, he compiled a 5.13 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and a 93/32 K/BB ratio over 94 2/3 innings and apparently caught the attention of the Angels. He’ll add pitching depth for the Halos.

It’s unclear if the deal will be of the minor league or major league variety, but he’ll assuredly receive an invitation to spring training if it’s a minor league pact. The slick fielding 27-year-old hit just .221/.280/.256 with zero homers, 10 RBI and one stolen base in 86 at-bats with the Cubs during the 2024 campaign. He can continue to be ignored for fantasy purposes.