MLB Player News

We’re unwilling to speculate on exactly how the six-man rotation will be comprised, but it’s a logical solution to accommodate Ohtani’s return to pitching, which Gomes added likely won’t be on Opening Day in Tokyo following offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder. There should be a clearer timetable for his return to the mound at some point during spring training. The move also builds in some extra rest for Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, who dealt with their share of injuries last year. With Clayton Kershaw, Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler hitting free agency, fantasy managers should anticipate Los Angeles adding at least a couple veteran starters during the offseason to bolster their depth heading into 2025.

Alcántara augments San Francisco’s infield depth heading into next season as a capable defender at several spots. The 28-year-old hasn’t appeared in the majors since getting into 192 contests between the Tigers, Cubs, Diamondbacks and Padres from 2020 to 2022. He batted .271/.388/.416 with eight homers and eight steals across 123 contests last season at the Triple-A level.

Garcia can earn $900,000 this season if he’s added to New York’s active roster at any point. The 30-year-old righty spent all of last year at Triple-A Rochester in the Nationals’ system, finishing with 20 saves to accompany a 3.94 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 89/30 K/BB ratio across 61 2/3 innings (55 appearances). He’s made 30 appearances in the big leagues for five different organizations since 2019. He provides the Mets with some extra organizational relief depth heading into spring training.

Caglianone’s gargantuan dinger to right field carried a stratospheric 113.1 mph exit velocity and traveled 418 feet, which represents the hardest-hit round-tripper of the AFL season. The colossal over-the-fence pop is undeniable, but the central question for fantasy managers is whether Caglianone will make enough contact at the highest level to emerge as a certifiable four-category impact contributor. We’ll see.

Betts played a pivotal role this past season in leading the Dodgers to their second World Series title in the last five seasons, splitting time between right field, shortstop and second base. The assumption here seems to be that Tommy Edman will transition back to the outfield on a more permanent basis next season with Los Angeles bringing in some additional free agent reinforcements. The big development here for fantasy purposes is that it seems highly likely Betts will regain second base eligibility at some point in the early stages of the 2025 campaign.

The deal is now official. Hedges returns to Cleveland in a backup role to young starter Bo Naylor. The 32-year-old backstop remains a standout defender behind the dish, but he’s been a non-factor at the plate since entering the league back in 2015.

With Paul Goldschmidt hitting free agency, the Cardinals do have a hole at first base, but the assumption from many was that Jordan Walker would be making the move to that part of the infield. It appears instead that the 32-year-old Contreras will head to the not-so-hot corner, and this likely is at least in part an effort to keep him healthy after being limited to just 84 games with injuries in 2024. Contreras has enough offensive upside to be a quality fantasy first baseman, but losing catcher eligibility would obviously be a major blow going forward.

O’Keefe is merely emergency catching depth at this stage of his career. The 31-year-old backstop got into 10 contests for the Mariners from 2022 to 2023 and hasn’t been back in the big leagues ever since. He’ll most likely open next season at Triple-A Omaha.

Avila has looked extremely sharp in a handful of Arizona Fall League appearances in recent weeks and he’s back with the Royals after posting a 4.14 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 85/47 K/BB ratio across 87 innings (20 starts) last season between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. The 23-year-old righty has a decent shot to earn a spot on Kansas City’s 40-man roster ahead of next month’s Rule 5 Draft.

Carreras returns to Colorado as extra organizational infield depth after batting .237/.290/.344 with two homers and 25 steals in 339 plate appearances last year for Triple-A Albuquerque.

Financial terms are not yet available. Hedges is one of the worst hitters in baseball and registered just a .422 OPS in his 146 plate appearances for the Guardians in 2024, but that’s not why he’s returning. He’s well regarded as one of the better defenders behind the plate, and the 32-year-old will be the backup to Bo Naylor with some late-inning appearances in 2025.