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 »

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 September 27th, so any news was taken after that date.

Mining the News Archive
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Note: There are a ton of end-of-season team reviews I need to get through. Here is round one. Once I get through this group of articles, the news cycle dries up.

American League

Angels

• Brandon Drury blames his struggles on migraines, nagging injuries, and attempts at adding exit velocity.

Migraines and some nagging injuries played a role in these struggles, but Drury told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that some swing changes last offseason might’ve been the biggest culprit, as his attempts to add exit velocity backfired badly.

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Every season, I try to determine how much closer turnover there is from the last drafts to the season’s end. For example, here is last season’s report.

I try to verify the beginning of the season section before every manager disappears for a much-needed break. Here are the values I think are right after consulting my Twitter followers. Could people spend a minute looking over the list and help verify the name on their favorite team(s)? Thanks. Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Enjoy and please give me any suggestions. Read the rest of this entry »

1. I must have the auction/draft order done before traveling.

Every year the Tout Wars auction is held in New York City. I knew I would get to town 24 hours before my auction and planned to create my auction strategy. On my flight, I turned my knee and could barely walk by the time I got to my room. I spent the next 24 hours dealing with the knee. Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Astros

• Tayler Scott pitched through a back injury.

Scott is on the injured list with what the Astros described as a “thoracic spine strain” — a back injury he acknowledged trying to pitch through all month. Scott surrendered nine hits, five walks and four earned runs in 5 2/3 September innings, inflating an already unsustainable workload.

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7:33	Jeff Zimmerman:

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In the article, I cover the players using CBS’s (about 40% or less initial roster rate) and Yahoo’s ADD/DROP rates. Both hosting sites have the option for daily and weekly waiver wire adds. CBS uses a weekly change while Yahoo looks at the last 24 hours. Yahoo is a great snapshot of right now while CBS ensures hot targets from early in the week aren’t missed. The players are ordered for redraft leagues by my rest-of-season preference grouped by starters, relievers, and hitters. Read the rest of this entry »