The Dodgers agreed to a five-year contract with Blake Snell on Tuesday, the first major free agent to come off the board.
This is a reminder that hot stove season is here, and Chris Towers and I are going to guide you through the trades that will really impact fantasy baseball. that’s right. We’ve gotten to a place where we’ll respond to them as they occur while breaking down what they mean for the 2025 draft.
In addition to Snell, Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Pete Alonso and Garrett Crochet are among the top players who could be moved this offseason. As news comes in, you’ll love being able to track it all in one place.
Bookmark this page and check back in the future. You never know what moves could change the shape of the entire draft.
The Mets had a rebuilding rotation, and the first step was to add a pitcher who was split in lower years between the Reds and Brewers. Or maybe it’s a soft-pedal to call this year a “down year” considering Montas is back for the first time since surgery on the labrum in his right shoulder. But his velocity is essentially maxed out, with his K/9 rating jumping from 7.5 in 19 starts with the Reds to 11.0 in 11 starts with the Brewers. Even before his shoulder surgery in 2023, his career was defined by inconsistency due to the on-and-off nature of his splitter. The Mets did well last season with fill-in projects like Sean Manaea and Luis Severino, and they agreed to pay Montas $34 million over the next two years, so they clearly found something to their liking. are. A bounce-back season shouldn’t be ruled out, especially since fantasy costs are so low. –Scott White
Blake Snell signs with Dodgers
To no one’s surprise, the Dodgers acquired their first major free agent of the offseason on Tuesday, agreeing to a five-year, $182 million contract with Blake Snell. This has been a major undertaking for model organizations over the past few years, and may go a long way toward allaying fears of Mr. Snell’s wrongdoing. He has posted a 2.82 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 12.0 K/9 over the past three seasons, but much has been said about how he came up with those numbers. For more details, Check out my full article Break the sign. –Scott White
The three-year, $63 million contract comes off the back of a 2.70 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 11.4 K/9 in 10 starts with the Astros, and he appears to be in full swing heading into the offseason. It’s a modest contract for a pitcher who could see it. The improved performance coincides with Kikuchi’s slider usage roughly doubling, making his 2025 destination more important to his fantasy value than whether he sticks with that approach. be.
He consistently missed the plate at a high rate, but his questionable pitch selection and penchant for hard contact led to inconsistent results. Going to the Angels means he has a lower chance of making mistakes than if he went to a true front-runner and does nothing to alleviate his vulnerability to long balls, but again, his success comes from heavy use of his slider. This is achieved through the continuation of this approach. For that, you just have to wait. I’m cautiously ranking him just inside the top 50 starting pitchers for 2025, but he has the potential to be more than that. –Scott White
Unfortunately, this transaction is close to the worst-case scenario for the two major companies involved. India goes from being the most favorable park for home runs, one of the few parks where his flavor power comes into play, to being one of the least favorable. According to Statcast, his 63 career home runs would increase to 42 if he played every game at Kauffman Stadium. Obviously, this reverse movement is bad for Singer, who is a pitcher who is more on the pitch and contact side, but he usually puts the ball on the ground, so it’s probably not too bad. Again, he has a career ERA of 3.92 at home at Kauffman Stadium, compared to a 4.74 ERA elsewhere.
Neither India nor Singer were considered hot commodities before this trade, and both could now go undrafted in the lower leagues. India is a little more useful in point leagues because of his on-base skills, and he and Singer are at least in position to make a ton of plays. The Indians’ removal will free up some of the congestion in the Reds’ infield, with Matt McClain returning and Noelvi Marte expected to slot in at third base again. –Scott White
Rather than test the free agent market, Martinez accepted the Reds’ qualifying offer of $21.05 million, which is quite surprising given that this represents roughly 40 percent of his career MLB earnings. isn’t it. The fact that the Reds extended their offer speaks volumes. They got a front-row seat to the 34-year-old’s career season and made him big money in an amount that virtually guaranteed he would become a full-time starter rather than reverting to a swingman role. .
Perhaps we should take Martinez just as seriously. He has always had a killer changeup, was the highest-ranked strike thrower in 2024, and had the third-highest walk rate among pitchers who pitched at least 100 innings. His home run prevention is probably incredibly good, especially considering he pitched half of the games in Cincinnati, but it won’t come at the cost of an additional 3.10 ERA. Perhaps he’s a poor man’s Jose Berrios or Zach Eflin, good at racking up innings with a low WHIP, qualified as a relief pitcher, and able to add value in head-to-head points leagues. It will be. –Scott White
Finally freed from playing catch with Sean Murphy, d’Arnaud wasted no time getting into the next game. This time, he’s teaming up with up-and-coming Logan Ohop. This is frustrating for several reasons. One is that Ohoppe will likely lose some of the volume that made him attractive in Fantasy and his workload share will likely go from 75 percent to less than 60 percent, and two is that d’Arnaud himself It is possible that it will happen. I have pursued a full-time role. Instead, d’Arnaud is expected to remain a low-end No. 2 catcher in two-catcher leagues, and Ohoppe won’t necessarily move down the rankings — he’s already considered low-end No. 1. There is a lot of room for him to improve. hit. Perhaps his .196 batting average in the second half was a sign that he was being overworked, but even if that improved, his metrics would have a ceiling.
Meanwhile, Murphy has a great opportunity to bounce back in Atlanta after bombing there the past season and a half. Injuries likely contributed to his woes, as did erratic playing time due to d’Arnaud’s presence, but he quickly put himself in the position to thwart up-and-coming Drake Baldwin. You’ll need to prove it. –Scott White
Just three months after acquiring Soler from the Giants, the Braves essentially traded him to the Angels for a salary dump. In the end, they ended up non-tendering Griffin Canning, a player who came back on contract. Soler’s departure might be thought to mirror Ronald Acuña’s recovery from a torn ACL, but general manager Alex Anthopoulos later said the star outfielder will be ready by the start of 2025. I confessed that there was a high possibility that there would be no such thing. As for Soler, a move to the Angels would be easy. The DH spot means he’ll be playing in a pretty impressive venue, especially when it comes to home runs, but his success was never dependent on those factors. He’s been showing some erratic performance coming off a down season, but he still has a good 35 home runs and is more than capable of being a fourth or fifth outfielder. –Scott White