• Middle-infielder Hyeseong Kim wants to sign with an MLB team after playing in the KBO last season.

Infielder Hyeseong Kim, who stars for the Korea Baseball Organization’s Kiwoom Heroes, has hired CAA Baseball to represent him ahead of his expected move to Major League Baseball in the upcoming offseason, reports Jeeho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. (Kim’s name is commonly written as Kim Hye-Seong or Hye-Seong Kim, but Yoo further notes via X that CAA specifically informed him the infielder will go by Hyeseong Kim if he indeed moves to North American ball.)

Kim, who’ll turn 26 next January, is old enough and has enough experience in a major foreign league to be considered a “professional” under Major League Baseball’s international standards. He’ll be exempt from international amateur free-agent bonus pools and thus able to sign a major league contract for any length and dollar amount with an interested team.

The former double-play partner of current Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim 김하성, the younger Kim is a lifetime .301/.361/.398 hitter in 876 games with the KBO’s Heroes.

…
Prior to the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser ranked Kim ninth among the top-ten MLB prospects for fans to track (landing behind current big leaguers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jung Hoo Lee 이정후 and Yariel Rodriguez). Glaser called Kim a plus defender at second base (and a capable defender at short) with a “preternatural feel for contact,” good pitch recognition and the ability to catch up to good velocity. At the very least, he could profile as a utilityman with high-end speed and contact skills, though it should come as little surprise if there are clubs who view him as a potential regular at second base. Given his age, Kim should find big league interest — particularly if he can continue his newfound power output.

Read the rest of this entry »

With the season over, it’s time to find out how hitters performed who didn’t let an injury heal and played through the pain. Whether these hitters cause permanent damage to their bodies or pick up bad habits, they continue to underperform their projections. Besides collecting the names myself, I’ve asked for some help (article) for this past season’s list.

First, here is a look at how 2023 hitters performed compared to their Steamer projections. Read the rest of this entry »

MLB.com has a unique news section where each team updates their injuries and transactions. I’ve found this information useful but it’s unique. Each team’s webpage (not an article) is in flux with information constantly appearing and disappearing. I plan to check for updates (each blurb is dated) and report any information. I’ll quote the page to preserve the information. The information disappears into the abyss so quoting the source is the only way to keep it.

I won’t report headline news but will try to dig a little deeper. Additionally, I want this article to be a quick reference so don’t expect a certain word count. I’ll provide the useful info and then fantasy managers can figure out how best to utilize it.

The last edition was on October 11th, so any news was taken after that date.

Mining the News Archive
Read the rest of this entry »

With Mining the News and post-season crowdsourcing done, it’s time to start looking at deep league starting pitchers. With one NFBC draft done, I have some ADP to use. I’ll skip anyone who remains in the playoffs and will return to them once their season is over.

Jesús Luzardo (302 ADP)

After throwing a career-high 178 IP in 2023, the 27-year-old lefty again dealt with injuries (elbow and back) and threw just 66 IP in 12 starts. Even before going on the IL in late April for the elbow injury, he struggled with a 4.5 BB/9 and 6.58 ERA (4.51 xFIP). His command and results improved once off the IL with a 2.0 BB/9 and 3.98 ERA (4.05 xFIP). His fastball velocity dropped from an average of 95.9 mph to 94.5 mph and his strikeout rate from 9.4 K/9 to 6.9 K/9. After those struggles, he went on the IL for a back injury and never pitches again in 2024. Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Mariners

• Jorge Polanco had knee surgery.

Seattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco underwent surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee and expects to be ready for the beginning of spring training, sources told ESPN. Read the rest of this entry »

MLB.com has a unique news section where each team updates their injuries and transactions. I’ve found this information useful but it’s unique. Each team’s webpage (not an article) is in flux with information constantly appearing and disappearing. I plan to check for updates (each blurb is dated) and report any information. I’ll quote the page to preserve the information. The information disappears into the abyss so quoting the source is the only way to keep it.

I won’t report headline news but will try to dig a little deeper. Additionally, I want this article to be a quick reference so don’t expect a certain word count. I’ll provide the useful info and then fantasy managers can figure out how best to utilize it.

The last edition was on October 4th, so any news was taken on or after that date.

Mining the News Archive
Read the rest of this entry »

For several seasons I’ve attempted to collect the hitters who have played through an injury. These banged-up guys underperformed their projection by ~20 points of OPS the next season. That works out to a 5% drop in production. What I need is help trying to collect all the possible batters while this season is still fresh in everyone’s mind. Here are the names I have so far:

Does anyone know of any others and I’d love to have a link to verify? I’ll assemble a complete list with the links in a future article. Thanks.

Free Agents

• José Abreu hopes to increase his value by playing winter ball.

Sources: José Abreu signed with the Senadores of San Juan in Puerto Rico’s winter ball.

Abreu will begin his journey toward an MLB comeback in 2025.

He will soon report to the Senadores for the winter season, which starts in early November. pic.twitter.com/XNwG3RiwvV

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) October 9, 2024

Read the rest of this entry »

After a 2023 blip where some trends started reverse, everything Saves-wise is back to normal in 2024.  This past season is close to the results of 2021 and 2022 with no noticeable changes. The only item of note in all the tables is that only four closers were able to keep their jobs (with the same team) through the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Read the rest of this entry »

Free Agents

• Tomoyuki Sugano and…

Right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, the most successful Japanese pitcher of his generation to have spent his whole career in Nippon Professional Baseball, will come to Major League Baseball as an international free agent this winter, sources told ESPN.

Sugano, who turns 35 in a week, is in the midst of a renaissance season that has seen him post a 1.67 ERA over 24 starts for the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants. He is a two-time winner of the Sawamura Award — the equivalent of the Cy Young — two-time Central League MVP and four-time ERA champion, and his reemergence paved the way for him to finally reach MLB.

…Shinnosuke Ogasawara plan to be posted this offseason.

Left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara is looking to move to the majors, and as per a report from Yahoo Sports Japan (Japanese language link), he’ll ask the Chunichi Dragons to make him available to MLB teams via the posting system this offseason. The Yakyu Cosmopolitan also reported earlier this year that Ogasawara was aiming to pitch for a big league team in 2025, and MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported (via X) back in April that Major League scouts were watching Ogasawara pitch in Japan.

While the pair are eight years apart in age, their production last season was similar making their comps similar when comparing them to other pitchers coming from Japan to the States. Read the rest of this entry »