MLB Player News

Vodnik threw a successful bullpen session on Tuesday and will head to Double-A Hartford later this week to kick off a rehab assignment. The 24-year-old, who appears to have taken over as Colorado’s closer, hit the injured list back in late August with right bicep inflammation. He should be ready to return by mid-September.

In the wake of Brady Singer being shipped to Cincinnati, Bubic will get a shot in Kansas City’s starting rotation after pitching exclusively in relief last season following his return from Tommy John surgery. The 27-year-old lefty excelled in shorter bursts out of the bullpen, finishing with a sparkling 2.67 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 39/5 K/BB ratio across 30 1/3 innings (27 appearances). The central question for fantasy purposes is whether Bubic will come remotely close to replicating last year’s astronomical 32 percent strikeout rate as a traditional starter after never topping 25 percent in any of his previous four seasons at the highest level. He’ll have to beat out Kyle Wright and Alec Marsh in spring training, and will also likely have an innings limit in his first full season back from Tommy John. However, last year’s transition to a fastball/slider combo, while also mixing in the occasional changeup, gives him a shot a continuing to miss bats, and could make him a viable early-season streaming option for fantasy purposes. He certainly fits the bill as a deep sleeper heading into spring training.

It wasn’t a firm declaration, but Atkins made it clear that Bichette hasn’t experienced any setbacks during his rehabilitation process following surgery back in late September to address a lingering right middle finger injury. The 26-year-old shortstop looks like an obvious bounce-back candidate for fantasy purposes next season and should be an easy top-15 selection at the position in drafts next spring.

Manoah underwent Tommy John surgery back in June and is expected to miss a significant portion, if not all, of next season. There’s a chance he’s ready to return at some point in the late stages of the 2025 campaign, but that’s up in the air at the moment. The 26-year-old former ace seems like a bit of a long shot to be fantasy-relevant at any point in the future.

Romano was non-tendered by the Blue Jays a couple weeks ago in what Atkins described to reporters as purely a business decision. He added that it was a mutual decision for both sides to allow the veteran closer to explore his options on the open market and that they’re “heavily pursuing” a reunion. The fact that the 31-year-old stopper is expected to be fully healthy heading into spring training is notable since he missed the four months of last year due to persistent elbow issues. There’s a chance he’s closing somewhere, possibly back in Toronto, at the outset of the 2025 campaign, which would make him relevant in all fantasy formats.

Vilade broke into the big leagues back in 2021 with the Rockies and got into a career-high 17 contests this past season for the Tigers, batting .178 (8-for-45) with one homer across 49 plate appearances. The 25-year-old former second-round pick is merely extra organizational depth at this stage of his career.

The posting is expected to take place at noon Eastern. Once the 25-year-old has been posted, MLB clubs will have 30 days to negotiate a contract with Kim. If no deal is reached, he’ll return to his KBO club — the Kiwoom Heroes — but it’s widely expected that Kim will be on someone’s MLB roster for the 2025 campaign and beyond.

The conditional year after Snell’s five-year, $182 million contract would be available to the Dodgers if Snell was assigned to another level at any point in the first five years, or if the left-hander was to miss 90 or more days consecutively on the injured list. It’s an interesting wrinkle to an already intriguing contract that includes a massive signing bonus of $52 million and — of course — deferrals.

The deal will pay the 6-foot-8 right-hander $600,000. Guerrero will head overseas after spending 2024 in the Angels’ organization. The 33-year-old could be back with an MLB club with a strong showing overseas, but he hasn’t pitched in the majors in five years.

Maton, 27, was last with the Orioles’ organization. He’ll provide versatility for the White Sox and has a decent shot of making the Opening Day roster; although they’ll need to create a spot on the 40-man if he does play well enough in Arizona to earn that right.

Kahnle, 35, hasn’t put in a full season since 2019, but he has been very effective when available the last two seasons, amassing a 2.38 ERA for the Yankees. A reunion with the Bombers makes plenty of sense.