Whether you’re a fantasy baseball enthusiast or you’re just starting to get into it, you have to be loving this post-MLB lockout free agent and trade frenzy that is happening right now. Yes, the MLB injury news has been a huge bummer, but watching all of these teams maneuver while they get their other players into spring training has been a ton of fun. Wednesday saw another run of action, so while you get ready for your St. Patrick’s Day celebration and set up plans for where you’re watching March Madness, let me give you the rundown of everything we saw and how much of a fantasy baseball impact it made.

MLB Free Agent Signings:


Freddie Freeman Signs with the Los Angeles Dodgers

 


While Toronto continues to build their super-team north of the border, the Dodgers seem to be doing the same in southern California. Frederick Freeman, as his mom refers to him when she is angry, is a native of Fountain Valley which is a suburb in Orange County, so he is pretty charged up to be playing for his hometown team. We all know what this does to the Dodgers from a reality standpoint. From a fantasy angle, this might just be more of a lateral move for the lefty slugger. He’s got Trea Turner and Mookie Betts likely setting the table for him and he’s got protection in the lineup from Will Smith, Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger. We should see strong numbers across the board, as always. No reason to bump him up from the back of the first round and no reason to move him down.    

Colorado Rockies Inks Kris Bryant to Seven-Year Deal
 


 

 



From a reality standpoint, this move is a little confusing. The Rockies traded away Nolan Arenado and they aren’t going to re-sign Trevor Story, but they’re handing Bryant a seven-year deal? I honestly have no idea what Colorado GM Bill Schmidt is doing, but to be brutally honest, I don’t care. Bryant shoots up my rankings with this arrival in Colorado and expect him to rake with half his games at Coors Field. The guy is a career .278 hitter with an isolated power mark of .226 over the course of seven seasons. You’re turning a 30-homer bat into 40 homers this season and the surrounding lineup is good enough to not worry about his RBI or runs scored totals. Gimme!

Outfielder Joc Pederson Signs One-Year Deal with the San Francisco Giants

 

 


The Giants were in need of another outfield bat and they get 20-25 homers on the cheap with a one-year, $6M deal. He does have his issues with left-handed pitching so we can probably expect him to share the left field job with either Darin Ruf or Austin Slater, but if you’re building up depth for your fantasy bench, Pederson should see enough regular playing time to be a worthwhile pick in the later rounds of your draft.
 

 

 

Infielder Donovan Solano Lands with Cincinnati Reds 
 

 


How about a really deep dive? Solano is 34-years-old and he’s more known for his glove and his versatility around the infield, but the situation in Cincinnati seems pretty fluid right now. Solano will compete with Mike Moustakas, Kyle Farmer and/or Jose Barrero for time in the infield, but if you’re in the late rounds of a draft-and-hold or even a best ball, it’s not the worst pick in the world. He’s probably not bringing you home any championships on his own, but as a cog in the machine, he will bring you some at-bats which is what you need.

Kansas City Royals Bring Zack Greinke Back Home
 


 

 



I really don’t know how much Greinke has left in the tank, but this is still nice feelgood story as he returns to the team with which he began his career. You can take a late flier on him in fantasy, but his season last year looked like it was time to put him out to pasture. His K-rate dropped considerably, he was allowing more home runs than ever and nothing in his peripherals indicated bad luck or anything more than just general decline. Still, the homecoming will be nice and it should be interesting to see if he gets the nod for the home opener.
 

Philadelphia Phillies Add Brad Hand to Bullpen

 



If you have been doing best ball or NFBC Draft Champions with me or Adam Ronis, then you’ve been well-acquainted with where to take Corey Knebel among the closers. Now, I’m not totally sure the addition of Hand is going to hurt the value of Knebel, but adding an experienced closer to the bullpen mix is never good for a guy who needs to prove himself worth of the full-time role. Knebel is not going early enough for me to worry about the potential competition, but it’s certainly something to watch over the next few weeks.
 

 

 

MLB Rumor Mill:


Boston Red Sox Kicking the Tires on Trevor Story

 

 


With most of the big-name free agents signed, all eyes are turning to the former Rockies shortstop. Trevor Story is drawing interest from a number of teams, but we have yet to see any concrete offers just yet. While the Red Sox may be feeling things out, I’m not so sure Boston is the right fit. The Sox need a second baseman and likely wouldn’t move Xander Bogaerts off short to fit Story. Would Story move to second? Maybe, but that hasn’t really been brought up too much. If the Astros don’t re-sign Carlos Correa, they could go hard after Story. Maybe the Cardinals? Marlins? Phillies? Or how about the Padres now that Fernando Tatis Jr. is out? Nah. Probably not San Diego with C.J. Abrams on the way and Ha-Seong Kim floating around. We’ll keep you posted!
 

Bobby Dalbec to Play Some Outfield and Second Base This Spring

 

 


Did you get a chance to hear the Alex Cora interview on the SiriusXM Fantasy Alarm Show? Some great, little nuggets of information for sure and we discussed Dalbec and future first base star Triston Casas. Cora likes what he saw from Dalbec and endorses the player wholeheartedly. But when he said “Casas is legit,” you knew there were extra eyes on Dalbec and that he may not be enough to hold off the rookie. Still, if Dalbec is hitting home runs like he did last season, they’re going to have to find ways to keep his bat in the lineup, hence the movement around the field. It’s very much a work in progress, but something to consider if you were eye-balling Dalbec in the later rounds.
 

Twins and Tigers Keeping Tabs on A’s Starters Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea
 

The Oakland A’s fire sale is likely to continue as GM Billy Beane is fielding offers for every single one of his players. Both Montas and Manaea have been linked to a number of teams and both Minnesota and Detroit could be good landing spots for either guy. The ballparks are nice and pitcher-friendly and both have made improvements to their infield defense as well. There isn’t going to be any change in fantasy value if either land in the AL Central, but they’re both solid arms to add to the middle of your rotation.

Matthew Boyd is the Latest Reclamation Project for San Francisco Giants
 

 

 


You really have to hand it to the Giants. They love their reclamation projects. Last year they helped fix Kevin Gausman who landed a fat deal with the Blue Jays and they threw caution to the win when they signed Carlos Rodón to a two-year deal. Boyd has had his struggles with injuries and he’s not even expected back until late-June at the earliest, so don’t look to draft him, but throw him onto a watch list and track his progress. San Francisco could be an interesting landing spot for him and if he can throw in the second half, you could get a nice boost in strikeouts.
 

Royals Giving Bobby Witt Jr. an “Opportunity” at Third Base

Is Adalberto Mondesi’s defense at short that strong that the Royals would move Witt off of his natural position and over to the hot corner? Or are the Royals worried about Mondesi’s arm strength to first from third? I don’t like moving youngsters off their primary fielding position, but the prospect of dual-eligibility for Witt is certainly enticing. Third base is not deep at all, so being able to move Witt over there could be big for fantasy owners. Of course, he needs to perform well this spring. He doesn’t have anything left to prove at the minor league level, so hopefully this change of position isn’t going to affect him at the plate. If it does, they could start him at Triple-A just for defensive comfort.
 

St. Louis Cardinals Opening the Season with Closer Committee

Before you completely panic over the fact that you’ve already drafted Giovany Gallegos, understand that the Cardinals really don’t have much in the way of closing options. Alex Reyes is being stretched out to work the back end of the rotation, Génesis Cabrera is slotted as their lefty specialist and neither Nick Wittgren nor Kody Whitley have been closing options. Could manager Oliver Marmol mix and match? Sure. But I think his comments are more to light the fire underneath Gallegos.
 

 


MLB Injury News:

Anthony Rendon Proclaims to Be 100% Healthy
 

 


The comment from Rendon was, "It doesn't feel like anybody is stabbing me in the groin, so that's good.” Players proclaiming their health is unlikely to change people’s opinions, so we’ll wait for one of the Angels coaches to say he’s in the best shape of his life at some point before fully investing (wink, wink). Still, with such a thin position, taking a chance that Rendon returns to form isn’t a problem for me at all.
 

Diamondbacks’ Starter Zac Gallen Throws Bullpen Session
 

 


Just someone to keep an eye on here. Gallen was expected to break out last season, but a fractured forearm killed that dream. He worked his way back last year, but struggled with his command and control upon his return. Then in December, he had an MRI on his shoulder after suffering from bursitis, so obviously another red flag. Still. I like the player and when healthy, I like the stuff. If the shoulder doesn’t flare up during these sessions, I’d be willing to take a chance on him.
 

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