MLB Player News

Zombro has become well-regarded in the baseball industry for his work as a pitching coach at Tread Athletics where pitchers like Cole Ragans have started to develop their arsenals in the offseason. This is a similar move to when the Red Sox hired Driveline’s Kyle Boddy in the offseason last year. According to Passan, Zombro will “work in all areas of Chicago’s organization to help improve the performance of the Cubs’ arms.” While it’s unclear now just how this might change the outlook for Cubs’ pitchers, keep in mind that the Red Sox as an organization drastically changed their philosophy with regard to fastball usage last season, so there may be wholesale modifications coming here in Chicago.

Feinsand adds that the “feeling around the industry” is that Soto will make his final decision on where to take his generational talent prior to the Winter Meetings, which begin on December 9. He also notes that Soto has already met with the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Mets; with those meetings including representatives from club ownership in addition to front office executives and each team’s manager. The Mets and Yankees remain the favorites to ultimately land Soto on a lucrative long-term contract, but it sounds like the Blue Jays and Red Sox could be legitimate alternatives at this juncture. Of course, we’re never going to rule out the Dodgers either.

Gil received 15 out of 30 first-place votes, with 13 going to Colton Cowser, who narrowly finished in second place. Austin Wells finished third with Mason Miller, Cade Smith, Wilyer Abreu and Wyatt Langford also receiving votes in the AL ROY balloting. Gil delivered one of last season’s more unexpected breakthrough campaigns, emerging as a key component of New York’s starting rotation mix, finishing with a pristine 3.50 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 171/77 K/BB ratio across 151 2/3 innings (29 starts). The 26-year-old righty seems pre-destined to be one of the more polarizing pitchers in the fantasy landscape heading into 2025 drafts, but there’s a strong case for putting him somewhere in the top-40 range among starting pitchers.

Hernandez spent the last few years with the Rays after coming over from the Rangers back in 2020 as one of the ancillary components of the Nathaniel Lowe swap. The 24-year-old outfielder batted .234/.344/.496 with 23 round-trippers and five steals in 428 plate appearances last year between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham.

Skenes received 23 out of the 30 first-place votes, with seven going to Jackson Merrill, who finished in second place. Jackson Chourio finished third and Shota Imanaga finished fourth in the NL ROY balloting. Skenes, who is also a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award, put together one of the more memorable rookie campaigns in recent memory after exploding onto the scene in mid-May, allowing three earned runs or fewer in a staggering 22 of 23 starts. The flame-throwing 22-year-old finished last season with a sublime 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 170/32 K/BB ratio across 133 innings. He’s the first starting pitcher to claim the senior circuit honors since Jacob deGrom back in 2014. He enters the 2025 campaign as a universally-regarded top three starting pitcher for fantasy purposes.

Merrill, who received seven of 30 first-place votes, made the leap from top prospect to elite fantasy contributor after making San Diego’s season-opening roster as their starting center fielder, batting .292/.326/.500 with 77 runs scored, 24 homers, 90 RBI and 16 stolen bases across 593 plate appearances. The 21-year-old prodigy’s power/speed combination and presence as an x-factor in a loaded Padres lineup makes him a surefire top 15 fantasy outfielder heading into 2025 and beyond.

Chourio delivered on the considerable preseason hype, blossoming from elite prospect to certifiable fantasy superstar over the course of his rookie campaign, finishing with a robust .275/.327/.464 triple-slash line with 80 runs scored ,21 homers, 79 RBI and 22 steals across 573 plate appearances. The 20-year-old sensation, who didn’t receive a first-place vote in balloting, was one of just 19 hitters to reach the 20-homer, 20-steal thresholds last season and heads into the 2025 campaign as a top 15 fantasy outfielder until further notice.

No word yet on the financial terms. Sulser, who made 10 relief appearances last year between the Rays and Mets, was arbitration-eligible this offseason for the first time in his career. The 34-year-old has made 139 appearances in the big leagues dating back to 2019.

Seymour made some late-season noise in the upper minors, finishing the 2024 campaign with a sparkling 2.35 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 162/41 K/BB ratio across 145 1/3 innings (27 starts) between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham. The 25-year-old southpaw, who was a second-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, has been officially added to Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster ahead of this week’s reserve list deadline to shield him from selection in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. It wouldn’t be a shock if he pushed in spring training for a spot in the Rays’ season-opening pitching mix.

The move to add Rock to Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster ahead of this week’s reserve list deadline guards him from selection in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. The 24-year-old lefty, who was acquired back in March from the Rockies in a small trade, posted a pedestrian 4.58 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 132/35 K/BB ratio across 139 2/3 innings (27 appearances, 23 starts) last season for Triple-A Durham.

Shenton has been jettisoned from Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster to make room for lefties Ian Seymour and Joe Rock. The 26-year-old infielder got into 19 games last season for the Rays, batting .214/.340/.405 with one homer and three RBI in 50 plate appearances at the highest level. He slugged 20 homers in 83 contests at Triple-A Durham, so there might be another organization out there willing to give him an opportunity as a low-risk flyer.