Didn’t we go through this once already?
Yes, there was an offseason — a pretty frantic one, too — prior to the MLB lockout. But it ended suddenly at the start of December with much work left to be done.
So here it is: Part 2 of the Offseason Tracker, where you’ll learn the Fantasy Baseball implications of all the remaining moves. And if you’d like to catch up on the same from that first free agent frenzy, you can check out the original Offseason Tracker.
Clayton Kershaw signs with Dodgers
Kershaw will remain in Dodger blue, as the good Lord intended it, but him getting a one-year deal suggests that few clubs are confident in the future Hall of Famer’s ability to deliver ace numbers anymore. Either that or he accepted a hometown discount. Either that or he wants to leave the door open to retirement next year. Come to think of it, maybe we can’t make anything of the terms of this deal, but we can say this much: His elbow wasn’t right at the end of last season. He barely pitched in the second half, and there was talk of Tommy John surgery.
It’s worth pointing out he was as effective as usual before the elbow issue. HIs 2.87 xFIP was his best in four years and his swinging-strike rate was actually a career high. He says he’s healthy now, just a little behind in his preparation, and given his track record, you want to give him the benefit of the doubt. But the risk of his 2022 season never really getting off the ground seems fairly high. It’s why he tends to be drafted after young upstarts like Alek Manoah, Dylan Cease, Trevor Rogers and Shane McClanahan.
Carlos Rodon signs with Giants
The terms of the deal are exactly what you’d hope to see for a player who ended the 2022 season with significant question marks, his velocity lagging and his shoulder ailing. Rodon didn’t get some one-year prove-it deal but a guarantee of two years at a high average annual value ($22 million). It even includes the right to opt out after the first year. Rodon was one of the biggest breakouts at starting pitcher prior to his bout with shoulder fatigue, and if he had the innings to qualify, he would have ranked up there with Corbin Burnes in ERA (2.37) and K/9 (12.6). Even when he was gutting through the injury last September, Rodon still managed a 2.35 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 9.8 K/9 across five starts.
Clearly, the Giants are optimistic, which gives us reason to be as well, in no small part because, um, he’ll now be pitching for the Giants. Oracle Park is an enormous venue, and Rodon is a fly-ball pitcher, so if he did overachieve in terms of home run prevention last year, regression is now much less of a concern. Plus, the Giants have made bank with almost all of their veteran pitcher signings in recent years — from Kevin Gausman to Anthony DeSclafani to Alex Wood to Drew Smyly — and Rodon doesn’t need nearly as much help as they did.
I rank him right around 30th at starting pitcher, just behind other questionable cases like Yu Darvish and Blake Snell, and I’ll draft him there with renewed confidence.
Andrelton Simmons signs with Cubs
Simmons’ Fantasy stock is probably beyond redemption at this point, but he remains the premier defensive shortstop in the game. The Cubs already made the curious move to sign Marcus Stroman, a ground-ball specialist if there ever was one, and he’ll be followed in the rotation similar pitch-to-contact types Kyle Hendricks and Wade Miley. If you intend to invest in any of them in Fantasy — more likely Stroman and Hendricks than Miley — this signing is music to your ears.
Of course, it probably leaves one of Nico Hoerner and Nick Madrigal (more likely Hoerner) without a full-time role, but neither offers the sort of power to be a big draw in Fantasy. Both could help in batting average while making a modest contribution in stolen bases.
