MLB Player News

Springer swatted a Mitch Spencer slider 421 feet into the upper deck to start this game off. He’s had a poor season, but is still on pace to be a near 20-20 player with 14 homers and 13 stolen bases so far.

The Yankees are rather surprisingly missing from the list, though that probably doesn’t rule them out as a possibility. It’s currently unclear if any suitor is as interested in Arenado as the Cardinals are in moving on from him. He’s said he’d be willing to shift to first to aid a deal, but that just doesn’t make much sense; most of his value comes from his defense at third base.

It’s been a busy day for Horwitz, who heads to Pittsburgh following his inclusion in a multi-player swap with the Guardians. The widely-held assumption here is that the Pirates have their first baseman of the future. The 27-year-old, who makes a ton of contact and boasts strong plate disciple as well, slashed .265/.357/.433 with 12 homers across 381 plate appearances in 97 contests last year for the Blue Jays in his first extended opportunity at the highest level. Given the lack of quality options at the cold corner for fantasy purposes, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he were borderline mixed league-relevant next season playing everyday for the Pirates.

Ortiz has shown occasional flashes of brilliance and represents a fascinating gamble for Cleveland’s pitching development apparatus. The hard-throwing 25-year-old righty boasts an impressive fastball/slider combo, but hasn’t made enough progress with a third pitch to excel as a starter. That might change with the Guardians, who have had success with pitchers like him in the past. He should be in the mix for a spot in Cleveland’s season-opening rotation, which would make him intriguing for fantasy purposes, especially in extremely deep mixed leagues.

Hartle represents the proverbial lottery ticket in the deal as a towering left-hander who was selected in the third round of last year’s MLB Draft. The 21-year-old southpaw made just one appearance this past season in his professional debut. He’ll be a long-term project for Cleveland’s player development engine.

Kennedy was a fourth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft and has yet to pitch above High-A. We’re not doubting Cleveland’s ability to develop young pitchers, so it wouldn’t be shocking if he wound up reaching the majors in a couple years.

The trade is now official. Giménez, a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, is a phenomenal defender at the keystone and should pair with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette as Toronto attempts to one final playoff push before the duo reach free agency next offseason. The 26-year-old has underwhelmed from a fantasy perspective over the last two seasons ever since his 2022 breakthrough when he batted .297 with 17 homers and 20 steals as his batting average has tumbled back into the .250 range and his over-the-fence power has dropped into the single digits. He’s eclipsed 30 stolen bases in each of the last two years and remains one of the better fantasy options at second base, which is arguably the weakest positional group in the fantasy landscape by a considerable margin. He’s a borderline top 12 second baseman in fantasy drafts heading into next season.

Sandlin augments Toronto’s bullpen heading into next season after spending the last four years as a reliable cog in Cleveland’s bullpen, posting a strong 3.27 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 223/92 K/BB ratio across 195 1/3 innings (209 appearances).

It’s merely a procedural move as Horwitz was subsequently shipped to the Pirates for righty Luis Ortiz and a pair of left-handed pitching prospects. We’re assuming Cleveland doesn’t want to put too many obstacles of top prospect Travis Bazzana, who was selected first overall in last year’s MLB Draft.

Mitchell is the proverbial lottey ticket in the larger deal for Cleveland. The 21-year-old outfielder was a fourth-round pick in last year’s MLB Draft and batted .289/.350/.467 for Single-A Dunedin in his professional debut.

The Marlins are obviously content to remain a joke franchise for another season. The Rangers, on the other hand, are upgrading from their Silver Slugger utilityman at DH by acquiring Burger to play over Josh Smith. Of course, Smith will still get time at other spots. Burger, though, is a nice upgrade for the middle of the lineup and should get quite a fantasy boost while playing in an MLB-quality offense. The Marlins are getting a couple of solid middle infield prospects in Acosta and Vargas, though neither is any kind of lock to turn into a regular. Mendoza, a 20-year-old lefty, is a potential bullpen arm. Burger’s exit from Miami would seem to increase the chances of Deyvison De Los Santos landing a starting job.