MLB Player News

Clase and Lugo are deserving finalists, but Skubal is a near-lock to take home his first Cy Young Award after a dominant 2024 campaign where he led the American League in ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228) over 192 innings (31 starts). The 27-year-old southpaw figures to be the first starting pitcher off the board next spring in all fantasy drafts. Clase melted down in the postseason, but was other-worldly during the regular season, converting a career-high 47 saves to go with a sparkling 0.61 ERA across 74 1/3 innings (74 appearances). He’s the first reliever since Francisco Rodríguez back in 2008 to be named a Cy Young Award finalist. Lugo was an unexpected revelation in his Kansas City debut, finishing with a solid 3.00 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 181/48 K/BB ratio across 206 2/3 innings (33 starts).

Gowdy spent the last two years in the Dodgers organization, finishing last year with a respectable 4.38 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 45/23 K/BB ratio across 51 1/3 innings (42 appearances) for Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 27-year-old righty was a second-round pick of the Phillies in the 2016 MLB Draft and has yet to ascend to the big leagues. He’ll augment Toronto’s organizational relief depth at Triple-A Buffalo.

The significant development comes directly from Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, who made the comments on Tuesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium during Blake Snell’s introductory press conference. Rosenthal and Drellich add that multiple sources briefed on the negotiations say that all remaining contenders have made offers surpassing $600 million. No word yet on exactly how many teams are left in the running at the moment, but previous reporting indicated that five teams were in the mix including the Red Sox, Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays and Dodgers. ESPN’s Alden González reports that Soto is expected to sign at some point in the coming days prior to the start of next week’s Winter Meetings.

Groshans was a notable prospect a couple years ago after being selected 12th overall in the 2018 MLB Draft, but he never broke through with the Blue Jays before bouncing around the last three years between the Marlins, Yankees and Athletics. The 25-year-old infielder batted .235/.311/.318 with four homers in 383 plate appearances last year at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. He’ll continue to get opportunities based on his prospect pedigree alone, but he’s done nothing at the plate to suggest that he’s on the verge of becoming an impact fantasy contributor.

Phillips missed the Fall Classic due to shoulder inflammation, so it’s an extremely encouraging development that he won’t require offseason surgery, which would’ve kept him sidelined for most of next season. The 30-year-old closer, who converted 18 of 22 save opportunities last year, figures to enter spring training without any restrictions. He’ll have to beat out burgeoning relief ace Michael Kopech for the right to close out games for Los Angeles’ imposing Death Star.

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.

Atkins added that Varsho isn’t necessarily behind schedule in his recovery from late September shoulder surgery, but it doesn’t appear that he’ll be a full-go at the outset of spring training as originally expected. There should be some clarity on his status once we get closer to the spring, but fantasy managers should anticipate Varsho missing at least some time in the early stages of the year.

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.