MLB Player News

Boettcher was Houston’s 13th round selection in the 2024 MLB Draft. The 22-year-old outfielder will not report to spring training and will be placed on the restricted list at some point in the coming weeks. The Astros will retain his rights moving forward. Boettcher is expected to re-evaluate his option following the 2025 college football season.

Rutschman took a step back in 2024, swinging more overall, chasing more out of the zone, and registering a career-low walk rate. His barrel rate and exit velocities also decreased, and the Orioles moved him down in the batting order. He remains one of the best real-life catchers in baseball, but his fantasy ceiling may not be as high as we suspected heading into last season.

Arozarena suffered through a down year in 2024, slashing .219/.332/.388 with 20 home runs and 20 steals in 154 games. Things weren’t much better after being traded to Seattle over the summer. Perhaps some of his struggles were just poor BABIP luck, but his free-swinging approach does make him a bit of a risk and Seattle is a poor park for right-handed hitters, which means Arozarena is likely outside the top 30 outfielders in fantasy for 2025.

“We’d like to give you $3 million, Joel, but we just can’t set precedents.” Or something like that. Payamps’ 2024 didn’t measure up to his stellar 2023, but he was quite effective again in amassing a 3.05 ERA in 59 innings. The setup man will be eligible for arbitration one last time next year.

Thomas’ 2024 season was impacted by a poor first month of the year and then another poor month of August after being traded to Cleveland. In September, Thomas hit .264/.295/.560 with seven home runs and 20 RBI in 25 games. He figures to hit in the middle of the order for Cleveland and could be a solid mid-round outfielder in fantasy leagues. He could also end up on a new team if Cleveland is not in playoff contention by the summer.

Ward’s name has come up in trade rumors this offseason, and this deal won’t change that. The 31-year-old hit .246 with a .748 OPS along with 25 homers and 75 RBI in 2024 for the Angels and is currently set to begin the year as their lead-off hitter. With Luis Rengifo, Mike Trout, Jorge Soler, and Nolan Schanuel all hitting behind Ward, he could be a sneaky source of runs and home runs as long as the Angels can stay healthy. However, a trade would likely land him in a better lineup and increase his fantasy value even more.

Steele made $4 million as a Super Two player last year, so this is his second of four arbitration seasons. The 29-year-old was limited to 24 starts last season, but he ended up with a 3.07 ERA. He should work nicely as a No. 3 starter in mixed leagues this season.

Adell got off to a hot start in 2024, hitting .316 with four home runs and five steals in his first 22 games. However, his production dipped rapidly, and even a strong month of August didn’t help too much as he finished the year hitting .207/.280/.402 with 20 homers and 15 steals in 451 plate appearances. The power and speed are tantalizing but Adell swings and misses too much. He could be pushed for playing time in the outfield by Mickey Moniak or Matthew Lugo, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Red Sox and hit .287 with 17 home runs and 16 steals across two levels of the minors last season.

Given their limited resources, surrendering Fernando Cruz and paying more than $3 million to get Trevino from the Yankees as a backup to Tyler Stephenson seems rather wasteful by the Reds. While it could pay off if Stephenson gets hurt, there were better places to upgrade. Trevino, a free agent after the season, is one of the game’s best pitch framers, but he hit just .215/.288/.354 in 234 plate appearances for the Bombers last year.

Vest has been a good reliever for the Tigers for the last two seasons and posted a 2.82 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 63/18 K/BB in 70 1/3 innings while picking up two saves. He doesn’t figure to have much fantasy value, but he’s an important member of the Tigers’ bullpen.

This will be Naylor’s first season in Arizona and last season before free agency. He was at his best in hitting .308/.354/.489 in 2023, but because he drove in 108 runs while hitting a far less impressive .243/.320/.456 last season, he’s still getting a $4.4 million raise here.