MLB Player News

This was a formality after all of these players were DFA’d to open up 40-man roster spots on Tuesday. They’re officially free agents now. It sounds like the Cubs are hoping Alzolay returns, but Wisdom is likely to head elsewhere.

With rumblings starting to circulate that the Dodgers might not be among the finalists in the high-priced Juan Soto sweepstakes, it makes sense that they would begin to pivot in the coming days. Vassegh added that things are looking good for a reunion between the Dodgers and Hernández, who is one of the bigger bats left on the open market. The 32-year-old slugger was a key component of Los Angeles’ title run last year when he belted a career-high 33 home runs over 154 contests in his Dodgers debut. A return to Southern California as part of the most loaded lineup in baseball would further cement his status as a top 20 fantasy outfielder heading into 2025.

Perlaza is back stateside following his release last month from the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization following an impressive 24-homer campaign overseas. The 26-year-old outfielder put up some big numbers at the Triple-A level back in 2023 with the Cubs organization when he launched 23 homers and stole 13 bases in 121 contests. He’s merely extra organizational depth for the Padres at this stage of his career, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see him break through and reach the big leagues at some point next year.

Lynn has overhauled his training regimen, dropping from 280 to 260, in an effort to overcome persistent knee issues that bothered him last year. The 37-year-old veteran had his $11 million team option for the 2025 season declined last month by the Cardinals after being limited to just 23 starts last year, finishing with a pedestrian 3.84 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 109/44 K/BB ratio across 117 1/3 innings. Lynn should be able to latch on somewhere as an innings-eating, back-end rotation stabilizer, but his days as a relevant fantasy contributor are probably in the rearview for good.

The deal, which also includes a player opt-out after the upcoming 2025 season, is now official. Montas’ ugly surface stats last year — 4.84 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 148/66 K/BB ratio across 150 2/3 innings (30 starts) between the Reds and Brewers — don’t paint an optimistic picture, but a quick glance under the hood reveals that his fastball velocity was back up in the 96 mph range by the end of last year and his splitter remains a near-elite offering. The move to Citi Field, which is a vastly superior home ballpark from a run-prevention standpoint, in addition to his late-season velocity uptick as he gets further away from the shoulder issues that derailed his career a couple years ago, make Montas a logical bounce-back candidate for fantasy purposes. He’s likely to wind up as a borderline top 300 pick in 2025 drafts, especially if he gets off to a strong start in spring training.

Aoyagi will have a 45-day window to negotiate a contract with big-league teams. The 30-year-old side-winding righty posted a 3.69 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 35/21 K/BB ratio across 61 innings last year in the Pacific League. Given his underwhelming strikeout totals, he’s unlikely to make an impact for fantasy purposes. He’ll likely have to settle for a minor league contract, if he’s set on coming over from Japan.

In case you were wondering what was next for the Yankees in case they fail to bring back generational superstar Juan Soto. Adames would help fill an obvious hole for New York at second base, with Gleyber Torres likely headed elsewhere in free agency. His arrival would allow the Yankees to shift former top prospect Anthony Volpe over to the keystone and install Adames as their full-time shortstop. The 29-year-old is unlikely to replicate last year’s career-high 32 round-trippers, but Yankee Stadium would be a phenomenal landing spot for his long-term fantasy outlook. Regardless of where he winds up, Adames will be a top 10 shortstop in fantasy drafts next spring.

Jude adds that the Phillies “asked for one of the Mariners’ top pitchers — Logan Gilbert or George Kirby — in exchange for Bohm,” during initial trade talks. Seattle has predictably balked at the rather absurd asking price, but they have a massive hole at the hot corner entering the offseason, especially after non-tendering Josh Rojas, so these two teams would seem to line up. Bohm, who is coming off the best season of his career at the dish, has reportedly been on the trade block for a couple weeks at this point with Philadelphia looking to shake up its core following a disappointing postseason. We’ll see if the two sides revisit talks at some point in the near future.

Many believe the Dodgers to be the favorite for Sasaki, but the Padres are very much in the mix according to Romero. The 23-year-old is expected to sign with a new team shortly after January 15, and he’s widely considered one of the top arms available. Be it the Dodgers, Padres or a surprise club; Sasaki is a player fantasy managers should covet for 2025 and beyond.

With Kim officially posted, teams can begin negotiating with the infielder beginning Thursday. There will now be a 30-day window for Kim to work out a deal with an MLB club, so the deadline to sign the 25-year-old will be January 3. He’s considered one of the top infield options on the market, and it would be very surprising to see him not playing in the majors. His ability to hit for average and steal bases will make him worthy of fantasy consideration.

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.