MLB Player News

Passan adds that Pivetta has “at least a three-year deal” waiting for him in free agency. The 31-year-old righty was among the more surprising impending free agents to receive a qualifying offer and there was some speculation that he might accept it. That doesn’t appear to be happening. Fantasy managers should anticipate the Red Sox being extremely aggressive on the starting pitching front to fortify their rotation.

The 24-year-old Australian southpaw broke through to the big leagues and appeared in four games for the Athletics during the 2024 season, registering a 4.66 ERA, 1.86 WHIP and a 6/5 K/BB across his 9 2/3 innings of work. If you’re trying to fight for a spot in a big league bullpen, latching on with the Rockies makes a ton of sense as there are plenty of opportunities available. Expect to see O’Loughlin at Coors Field at some point in 2025.

The Angels needed a spot on their 40-man roster after signing Kevin Newman, and Thaiss was a more palatable choice to be let go now that Travis d’Arnaud is in town. Thaiss hit .204/.323/.299 in 57 games in 2024. He could latch on with another organization as a backup, but it’s also likely he re-joins the Angels on a minor league contract as organizational depth.

Dodson spent the last three seasons in the Dodgers organization, pitching to a 3.32 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and 58/43 K/BB ratio in 62 1/3 innings out of the Triple-A bullpen in 2023. He’ll have a better chance to make his MLB debut now than he’s with the Athletics.

The 26-year-old pitched in the Phillies’ organization from 2015-19 and then in the Marlins’ organization from 2021-22. He has a career 4.92 ERA in 133 Minor League appearances as a relief pitcher. He’s likely just organizational depth for the Orioles.

Brooks had a good season in Triple-A, hitting .302 with 10 home runs and 10 steals in 94 games; however, he went just 3-for-25 in his first taste of MLB action. He figures to spend most of 2025 at Triple-A as well.

The 24-year-old has spent his entire career with the Mets and posted a 2.96 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 55/20 K/BB ratio in 48 2/3 innings across three levels for the Mets in 2024, ending with 9 1/3 innings at Double-A. He has a plus breaking ball but a below-average fastball and seems like a longshot to make the major leagues.

Pozo had been with the Rangers since signing as an international free agent in 2016 before spending this past season in the Athletics organization. He made his MLB debut in 2021, slashing .284/.312/.378 with one home run and nine RBI in 21 games. He has not appeared in an MLB game since then but will serve as organizational catching depth.

LeBlanc spent most of 2023 in Triple-A for the Angels, hitting .254/.379/.437 with 12 home runs and a 16.4 percent walk rate in 98 games. A former fourth-round pick by the Rangers, LeBlanc has slashed .254/.330/.412 in 197 big league games and will serve as veteran organizational depth in Atlanta.

The 27-year-old is “projected to make $6.2 million via arbitration and is one season from free agency.” As Gleeman notes, “On a contending team without a payroll crunch, he’d be ideal depth and an essential super-utility player,” but the Twins may not have the luxury of having him in that role at that salary in 2025 with the Twins expected to try and cut costs.

Paddack will make $7.5 million in 2025 in the final year of his contract, which is a fair salary for a back-end starting pitcher. In 2024, Paddack pitched to a 4.99 ERA in 88 1/3 innings before missing the second half of the season with a forearm strain. With Pablo López, Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa, and Zebby Matthews all battling for rotation spots, the Twins would likely prefer to get Paddack’s salary off the books and take whatever prospect they can get in return.