The Red Sox have been smack dab in the middle of Hot Stove season with their blockbuster Garrett Crochet trade, and because I already did the White Sox Team Report, I’m going to include Montgomery, Teel and Meidroth in these rankings. I’m also going to include Garrett Crochet in the MLB section. The only rules to these Team Reports are that there are no rules ;). I also go over all of the Hot Stove action from the last week or so in the Strategy/Thoughts section below. But first, here is the Boston Red Sox 2025 Dynasty Baseball Team Report (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy Talk):

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Hitters

Triston Casas – BOS, 1B, 25.3 – Casas missed 4 months of the season after suffering torn cartilage in his ribs in late April. I’ve had two pretty big rib injuries in my life, once playing tackle football with my knucklehead friends when we were like 18 years old (no pads, just pickup tackle), and once playing flag football in my law school league. I guess maybe the lesson is that tackle football isn’t any more dangerous than flag football … but point being, when you hurt your ribs, any movement at all can be extremely painful. It’s not surprising that Casas was rusty when he returned in mid August, but by the end of the season, he was starting to hit his stride with 5 homers and a 1.026 OPS in is final 12 games. The rib injury was a small bump in the road, but that was all it was as he’s still on the path to being one of the top slugging 1B in baseball. He swings a double plus 74.6 MPH bat, which is really all you need to know about how legit his power is. His 90.2/95.8 MPH AVG/FB EV also backs up how elite his power is, and he’s never had any launch issues in his career, so there are zero worries there either. The only worry is that the hit tool ends up below average with a 32.2% whiff%, but it was better in 2023 (28.1% whiff%), and even with a below average hit tool, he will still be a beast with high OBP’s (12.3% BB%). Buy any discount you can on Casas, especially in OBP and 6+ hitting cat leagues. He’s going to be a monster. – 2025 Projection: 86/32/94/.253/.348/.514/1

Wilyer Abreu – BOS, OF, 25.9 – Back on August 3rd, 2023, literally mere moments before Abreu went on a crazy run at Triple-A that ended up with him raking in the majors, I got this feeling about him that I just couldn’t shake, naming him a target and writing, “there is something I really love about Abreu that I just can’t shake. And that something is probably his sweet, sweet lefty swing.” … and now that we have bat tracking data, I see why I just couldn’t shake how much I loved his swing, and it’s because not only is it smooth, but it’s lightning fast with a near elite 74.6 MPH bat speed. It’s no wonder he’s kept on raking in the bigs right through 2024 with a 114 wRC+ in 132 games. He uses that swing to absolutely crush the ball with a 50.5% Hard Hit%, 11.1% Barrel%, 91.6 MPH EV,  and a 19.2 degree launch. It only resulted in 15 homers in 132 games, but that is so clearly on the very low end of his true talent, and he racked up 33 doubles. With that swing and batted ball data, there is zero doubt his bat is legit, but there are reasons to remain cautious. For one, he was horrible vs. lefties (.532 OPS in 67 PA), and especially with how deep Boston is, he looks like a strict platoon bat. The other big issue is the hit tool as he had a 28% K% and .229 xBA (.253 BA). The 29.6% whiff% isn’t too bad, so I’m not concerned the hit tool is going to tank or anything, but it’s clearly below average. He likes to run a bit with 8 steals, which isn’t huge, but it’s a nice little boost, and he’s a really good right fielder, so his glove will certainly help keep him on the field. I would be absolutely all over him if he could hit lefties or if he was in a situation where he would get the leash to get better against them, but I don’t see that in Boston. That leaves him as solid dynasty asset (Top 200-250 range), rather than a truly coveted one. 2025 Projection: 69/20/71/.251/.325/.465/9

 Jarren Duran – BOS, OF, 28.7 – Duran’s hit tool and plate approach have improved every year of his 4 year career, and considering how electric of a player he is, that is all he need to go nuclear. He slashed .285/.342/.492 with 21 homers, 34 steals and a 21.8/7.3 K%/BB% in 160 games. He has elite speed with a 29.6 ft/sec sprint, he hits the ball very hard with a 90.8 MPH EV, and he has plus bat speed with a 73.6 MPH swing. There is absolutely nothing in the underlying numbers to say this year was a fluke, and with how he’s improved every year of his career (48 wRC+ in 2021, 77 wRC+ in 2022, 120 wRC+ in 2023, 129 wRC+ in 2024), who is to say he can’t do it again in 2025. I’m all in. He ranked 23rd overall on the Top 25 Sneak Peek of the Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings which is free on the Brick Wall (full Top 135 Sneak Peek is on Patreon). 2025 Projection: 101/23/83/.280/.341/.476/33

Pitchers

Garrett Crochet – BOS, LHP, 25.9 – Paul Skenes is the no doubt #1 dynasty pitcher in the game. I’m not arguing that … buuuuuuuuuuuut … what if Crochet is actually better than him? He put up a better K% (35.1% vs. 33.1%), BB% (5.5% vs. 6.2%), Chase% (33.5% vs. 30.9%), and a much better whiff% (33.0% vs. 28.7%). His 97.2 MPH 4-seamer put up a 31.4% whiff% while Skenes’ 98.8 MPH 4-seamer put up a 24.2% whiff%. Crochet’s cutter put up a 32.7% whiff% while Skenes’ sinker notched a 29.3% whiff%. Crochet’s sweeper notched a 42.7% whiff% while Skenes’ sweeper notched a 22.6% whiff% and his curve notched a 33.7% whiff%. They are both beastly athletes. I described the 6’6”, 245 pound Crochet as a WWE Ballerina in my March Mailbag Podcast. With Chicago, he couldn’t touch Skenes in wins, but he’s in Boston now, and just judging who is the better pitcher, I wouldn’t be so sure the answer is Skenes. Now, Skenes dusted him on ERA (3.58 vs. 1.96), and even though their xERA’s were much much closer (2.83 vs. 2.50), I do think that matters. Crochet also has more of a track record of control problems than Skenes does. Like I said, Skenes is the undeniable #1 dynasty pitcher in the game … but maybe … he won’t be at the end of 2025. Crochet ranked 29th overall on the Top 135 Sneak Peek of the 2025 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings. – 2025 Projection: 15/3.03/1.03/230 in 170 IP

Tanner Houck – BOS, RHP, 28.9 – Houck put up a 3.12 ERA in 178.2 IP, but let’s see what all the ERA estimators say about that. SIERA isn’t buying it at 3.73. xERA hates his guts at 4.11. xFIP is a bit more forgiving, but still not all the way in at 3.58. And then there is the OG ERA estimator, FIP, and FIP is kinda digging it at 3.32. FIP isn’t cool anymore with all the new kids on the block, but FIP was banging back before xERA was even a thought, so maybe we put some respect back on it’s name. Houck’s walk rate took a big step forward, moving into plus territory with a 6.5% BB% (8.9% in 2023). His sweeper was the 5th most valuable sweeper in baseball. His splitter was the 5th most valuable splitter in baseball. And his sinker was an above average pitch that kept the ball on the ground with a 2 degree launch. With a 215 NFBC ADP, nobody is really buying in, but maybe FIP is on to something? I can’t deny that I too don’t buy it, because strikeouts are king for fantasy, and he simply didn’t miss enough bats with a 20.7% K% and 22.6% whiff%, but he has a career 26.7% whiff%, so it’s not like the ability isn’t in there. I agree with the masses to not buy into his career year, but I have the old wise FIP whispering in my ear to maybe not be so skeptical. I’m still not buying, but I hear ya, FIP, and I will give you your respect if Houck does repeat his big year, or maybe even builds off it. 2025 Projection: 11/3.67/1.19/159 in 172 IP

Boston Red Sox Top 10 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospects

1) Kristian Campbell – BOS, 2B/OF, 22.3 – Campbell possesses one of the most visually disgusting swings I have ever seen, and I mean that in the best way possible. It looks like he literally unhinges his shoulder to turn his body into a cannon, absolutely unfurling on the baseball. Here is what I wrote about a homer Campbell hit in early September in the in-season Dynasty Baseball Rundowns: “on his latest homer, I think he dislocated his shoulder with one of the most bad intentions swings I’ve seen.”  Underscoring my visual evaluation of that explosive shoulder movement is that shortly after that homer he hit the IL with a lat strain, which is right under the shoulder blades. Campbell underwent a well documented swing change and bat speed training to unlock more power last off-season, which was obviously successful beyond anybody’s wildest imagination, so let’s just hope that it’s not going to cause more injuries. That is the only small thing that is even rattling around in my brain as a negative, because the season he just had was nothing short or spectacular. He slashed .330/.439/.558 with 20 homers, 24 steals, and a 19.9/14.3 K%/BB% in 115 games spread across 3 levels (A+, AA, AAA). He was just as dominant in the upper minors as he was at High-A with across the board destruction. He hits it hard, he has a good feel to hit, he has a good approach, he has size (6’3”, 191 pounds), he has bat speed, he can lift it, and he has speed. You can be hesitant to fully buy in because it feels like he came out of nowhere, but he put up a 1.033 OPS in 45 games in the ACC in 2023, a .932 OPS in 58 games in 2022 in the Northwoods League, and then a .911 OPS in 22 games at mostly High-A in his pro debut, so it’s not his fault that everyone underrated him. He always had a good feel to hit and good approach, and he always had the frame and athleticism to tack on more power, so I’m not going to hold it against him that he wasn’t more hyped (4th round pick in 2023). He still didn’t lift and pull the ball a ton with an under 40% Pull% and under 30% FB%, but he knew when to pick his spots (as you saw with that homer video above), and he has the type of profile that can thrive without an extreme lift and pull profile. I’m all in on Campbell. He’s an elite prospect who has a chance to break camp in the bigs. 2025 Projection: 68/16/61/.252/.324/.423/19 Prime Projection: 98/26/89/.277/.356/.478/26

2) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 20.11 – Because the rule of prospecting is that if you are even the smallest, tiniest, teeny bit lower on a prospect than other prospectors (most to all have Anthony over Campbell, while I have it the other way around), you must bash that prospect with an overly critical lens, let me start with the negatives here. For one, Anthony isn’t the best base stealer with a career 38 steals in 52 attempts (he was 21 for 28 last year), so there is risk that he doesn’t run as much in the majors as we hope. Secondly, he hits the ball on the ground a lot with an around 50% GB% in 2024, which could limit his homer upside. And lastly, there is some hit tool risk with a 23.5% K%. Now that we got that out of the way, let me just say that I obviously love Anthony. He’s a legit 50/50 coin flip with Campbell, and he’s a no doubt elite prospect. He started the season as a 19 year old in the upper minors and obliterated both Double-A and Triple-A, slashing .291/.396/.498 with 18 homers, 21 steals, and a 23.5/14.6 K%/BB% in 119 games. He crushes the ball, he has speed, he has size, he has elite age to level production, and he hit both lefties and righties well in 2024. He’s as close to a Gunnar Henderson clone as there is, and if you wanted to put him even as the #1 prospect in baseball, I wouldn’t argue with you. He’s going to be a beast. 2025 Projection: 46/12/41/.250/.323/.420/8 Prime Projection: 92/31/98/.272/.363/.493/18

3) Marcelo Mayer – BOS, SS, 22.3 – Mayer was the 4th overall pick in the draft and just put up a 142 wRC+ in his age 21 year old season at Double-A, and the hype still feels so subdued on him. He might have to get used to that, because it seems like he’s setting up for a Bryan Reynolds-like fantasy career. Really good, but not good enough for anyone to seemingly care to really gush over him. That 142 wRC+ came with only 8 homers and 13 steals in 77 games. He did it on the back of the hit tool with a .307 BA and 19.7/9.0 K%/BB%, but the .367 BABIP did some of that heavy lifting, and his strikeout rates have been on the high side throughout his career, so you can’t really bank on a truly elite hit tool long term. His sweet lefty swing at 6’3” is what got him drafted so highly, and that swing is still special with power and quickness, but it’s geared more for all around hitting than pure homer power with a 47.4% GB% and 26.5% FB%. He’s a good baserunner, but he’s not a burner, so you can’t count on huge steal totals either. Reynolds is really the perfect comp with his 162 game career averages of a .276 BA, .352 OBP, 25 homers and 8 steals. Maybe playing with Boston instead of Pittsburgh will garner him more hype in the long run, but fantasy wise, that equals a really good fantasy player who never quite reaches great levels. 2025 Projection: 28/8/33/.256/.318/.415/6 Prime Projection: 91/25/93/.276/.352/.470/11

*I know that Montgomery and Teel are no longer on the Sox, they are now on the Sox, but I’m including them here because I already did the Chicago write-up, and I didn’t want to skip them completely in the Team Reports … Meidroth I’m fine with skipping … kidding … sorta, he’s fine, I like him (and I included him below too).

4) Braden Montgomery – CHW, OF, 22.0 – Selected 12th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, there was a lot of talk about Montgomery dropping his righty swing to hit exclusively lefty. That doesn’t really seem like what you want to hear from a highly drafted college bat, but the lefty swing is so smooth and powerful I get why it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal overall. He also had a 20% K% which is substantially higher than the college bats drafted before him. Maybe that is partly why he slipped a bit to 12th overall, and also why Boston was willing to include him in the Crochet trade. The broken ankle which he suffered pre draft on June 8th was also likely a major reason for the drop. So he certainly has some risk with hit tool, platooning and injury, but he also has very major power upside. He’s 6’2”, 220 pounds and he smashed 27 homers with a 1.187 OPS in 61 games in the SEC. He’s been smashing homers his entire career with 62 homers in 187 games split between the Pac 12 and SEC. He absolutely destroys the baseball with huge exit velocities. That gives him a no doubt carrying tool that will make him a fantasy force. As for the trade, it really doesn’t change his value at all. The path to playing time is clearer, but it’s an organization downgrade and a future lineup downgrade. It’s also a ballpark downgrade. If anything, it makes me like him slightly less, but again, this really shouldn’t change his value. – ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 83/28/91/.252/.333/.480/6

5) Kyle Teel – CHW, C, 23.2 – Teel was known as a high floor, lower ceiling, quick moving college catcher in last year’s FYPD, and that is exactly what he did in 2024. He slashed .288/.386/.433 with 13 homers, 12 steals, and a 23.0/13.5 K%/BB% in 112 games split between Double-A (145 wRC+) and Triple-A (97 wRC+). His 86.3 MPH EV at Triple-A isn’t super impressive, but he knows how to lift and pull it, so he should get the most out of his raw power. He’s also a good athlete who likes to run relative to other catchers, so that can help his fantasy value even if the homer totals aren’t huge. He had a crystal clear path to Boston’s starting catcher job of the future (and the present), but with his trade to Chicago, he now has to battle it out with Edgar Quero. You have to think Teel is the favorite for most of the at bats, but that might be a bad assumption, and at the end of the day, that will get decided on the field. The trade probably doesn’t change Teel’s dynasty value too much in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a ballpark hit, organization hit, and a bit of a path to playing time hit. – 2025 Projection: 31/7/34/.244/.311/.383/4 Prime Projection: 74/17/68/.268/.342/.430/9

6) Jhostynxon Garcia – BOS, OF, 22.3 – Garcia is one of my top prospect targets relative to perceived value, and he was one of several prospect targets I named in my End of Season Mailbag Podcast (Patreon). He has legit thunder in his bat with a quick and powerful righty swing that resulted in 23 homers in 107 games. He hits the ball really hard and he lifts it with all fields power. He’s also a good athlete who can play CF, and he’ll run a bit too with 17 steals. He started the year at Single-A and flew all the way through to Double-A by mid August. He wasn’t quite as good at Double-A as he was in the lower minors, but he still put up an above average 103 wRC+, and the most important thing is that his K rate didn’t skyrocket with a 19% K%. The hit tool and plate approach are certainly the biggest risk here with a 21.6/7.2 K%/BB% overall, but the K rate actually got better at each higher level, and he walked a ton in 2021-23, so he has that skill in there. His combination of power, athleticism and good OF defense is very enticing, and the hit tool was actually pretty decent this year. Boston is crowded, so he doesn’t have a path to playing time, but trades happen and injuries/ineffectiveness happens too, so he’ll get his shot eventually, and when he does, we could be looking at a guy who puts up big EV’s with a high launch, above average sprint, positive defense value, and good enough K rates. He can be a legit impact fantasy bat going for a price way under that right now. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 76/25/84/.247/.321/.458/12

7) Yoeilin Cespedes – BOS, SS/2B, 19.7 – Cespedes’ season ended on June 21st a broken hamate, but he was one of the top rookie ball breakouts before going down with the injury. He slashed .319/.400/.615 with 5 homers, 3 steals, and a 18.1/11.4 K%/BB% in 25 games. It was good for a 163 wRC+, and this was coming off the 145 wRC+ he put up in the DSL in 2023. He’s a lift and pull machine who takes absolute daddy hacks at the dish with a monster righty swing. He swings much bigger than his 5’8” size would indicate. I’m thinking the contact rates could take a step back in full season ball, but I believe in the power despite not being a huge human being. If the contact rates don’t take a step back, we could be looking at a very potent hit/power combo, and even if they do, he should remain a very good prospect. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 77/25/84/.268/.329/.458/8

8) Franklin Arias – BOS, SS/2B, 19.4 – I have Arias in the same category that I had Jefferson Rojas in last off-season when Rojas was getting a ton of hype. They don’t jump off the screen, they don’t have huge size, and they don’t have huge tools, but they are just really good baseball players who do a lot of things well on a baseball field. I like them, and I definitely like them for real life, but they are probably a bit overrated for fantasy. Arias demolished rookie ball with a 181 wRC+ on the back of elite plate skills with a 17.5/16.5 K%/BB% in 51 games. He then got the call to Single-A and wasn’t as impressive, slashing .257/.311/.378 with 3 homers, 5 steals, and a 17.5/9.6 K%/BB% in 36 games. He was only 18, so that is still a very solid line, but I do think it underscores how the production might not look so outsized against more advanced competition. He hit 9 homers in 87 games, so he has some pop, and he stole 35 bags, so a he’s a good baserunner despite not being a burner. An up the middle glove with good contact rates and some power and speed is a really high floor real life profile, but we play fantasy, and we want upside. He’s a Top 100-ish fantasy prospect, so again, I like him, but I don’t think he’s a truly coveted one. ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 83/18/68/.273/.338/.428/15

9) Chase Meidroth – CHW, 2B/3B/SS, 23.9 – Meidroth was part of the return for Garrett Crochet, and if Chicago didn’t think he has a very good chance of being a starting caliber player, why would they even want him included. It sure feels like he’s the favorite for the starting 2B job right out of the gate, which is a big boost to his value. Unfortunately, that big boost still doesn’t boost him very high in my book. The power is lacking with only 7 homers, a 5 degree launch, and a 2.2% Barrel% in 122 games at Triple-A, and so is the speed with 13 steals in 19 attempts. An elite plate approach is his game with a 12.7/18.8 K%/BB%, which led to a .293 BA, .437 OBP, and a 132 wRC+. His 88.6 MPH EV also isn’t bad, so while it hasn’t led to homers, it could be good enough to maintain the high BA/OBP on the MLB level. If he were potentially hitting atop a really good lineup, I could see real fantasy value here, but in the White Sox lineup, the fantasy value is likely to be lacking for the next few seasons. I can see a path to a solid fantasy player, but it’s not a journey I’m looking to go on. – 2025 Projection: 63/11/49/.255/.320/.386/7 Prime Projection: 84/15/61/.276/.352/.416/9

10) Miguel Bleis – BOS, OF, 21.1 – We already knew that Bleis was not going to be that rocket ship elite prospect that we hoped for after his disappointing 2023 season, and as often happens with these uber talented, close to a breakout but never quite breaks out prospects (see Alex Ramirez), they can just sit in the breakout waiting room for years, sometimes all the way into their late 20’s. So I fear Bleis is going to get comfortable in this breakout waiting room, but that is where he is after another mediocre at best season. He conquered Single-A with a 123 wRC+, but he was a 20 year old repeating the level, and he struggled when he got to the more age appropriate High-A with a 70 wRC+ in 50 games. That hit tool is still quite raw with a .221 BA on the season. The good news is that the upper echelon talent is still here with 11 homers, 38 steals, and a lift and pull profile. The hit tool isn’t good, but a 21.4/9.1 K%/BB% isn’t too bad. He also has a good glove in the OF. Is he just Alex Ramirez 2.0? Probably. But even Alex Ramirez can still breakout down the line, and Bleis certainly can too. ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 67/20/71/.241/.309/.417/23

11) Yordanny Monegro – BOS, RHP, 22.5 – Monegro is one of my top pitching prospect targets relative his extreme lack of hype. He checks a hell of a lot of boxes with size (6’4”, 180 pounds), mid 90’s velocity, diverse pitch mix, nasty secondaries, and excellent production. He put up a 2.73 ERA with a 30.8/9.8 K%/BB% in 66 IP at High-A. He has an explosive righty delivery with a mid 90s 4-seamer, 2-seamer, a nasty change, and 2 good breaking balls in his slider and curve. He’s not a finished product as he has to continue to refine his control/command and all of his secondaries, plus he hasn’t thrown that many innings in his career (76 IP was a career high this year), but all of that is way over factored into his price. He’s a pretty special talent who has done nothing but dominate for the past two years when he’s been on the mound. If he keeps it up at Double-A, his price should take a big jump in 2025. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 11/3.76/1.21/169 in 160 IP

Just Missed

12) Luis Perales – BOS, RHP, 22.0

13) David Sandlin – BOS, RHP, 24.1

14) Jedixson Paez – BOS, RHP, 21.2

15) Juan Valera – BOS, RHP, 18.10 

16) Mikey Romero – BOS, 2B/SS, 21.3 – Here is what I wrote about Romero in the in-season Dynasty Rundowns towards the end of the season, and my thoughts remain the same: “The Red Sox 1st round pick, 24th overall, in 2022 has been almost completely ignored by everyone, including me, but Mikey is demanding our attention right now after calmly jacking out his 4th homer in 7 games since getting called up to Double-A as a 20 year old. He had 10 homers in 59 games at High-A. The reason he has been ignored is because he doesn’t have big raw power, he doesn’t have speed (1 steal all season), and his hit tool/plate approach isn’t particularly good either with a 21.9/5.0 K%/BB% in 60 games overall. Those deficiencies still make me pretty lackluster on his future potential, but production matters, and the guy is no doubt producing while being super young for the level. Maybe he can lift and pull his way into like Connor Norby type territory.” … He closed out the season at Double-A with 6 homers and a 33.8/2.7 K%/BB% in 16 games. That K rate is scary, but he was just 20 years old getting a taste of the upper minors. It was much better at High-A with a 21% K%. He’s getting no love, but the guy was picked 24th overall, he reached Double-A by 20 and showed he can do damage against upper minors pitching. I don’t think he’s a major dynasty asset either, but show the guy just a little bit of love, will ya. He ranked 86th overall on the Top 98 2025 Second Base Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon). – ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 66/17/71/.245/.303/.412/3

17) Blaze Jordan – BOS, 3B/1B, 22.3 – I wasn’t sure Jordan deserved to crack this list with his 2nd straight year of poor performance at Double-A (98 wRC+ in 89 games), but that 12.1% K% is still pretty impressive. He has good raw power despite hitting only 7 homers, and being 21 years old at Double-A is still on the slightly young side. He doesn’t have much defensive value, but he can play a decent 3B, so it’s not like he doesn’t have any at all. I doubt he finds a role on the Red Sox, but I’ll take a shot on his contact/power combo at this point in the rankings. He ranked 75th overall on the Top 83 2025 First Base Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon). ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 67/18/76/.266/.315/.421/3

Dynasty Baseball Thought/Strategy of the Day (which may or may not be related to the team I’m covering that day)

Here is a round up of all the latest moves since my last roundup of all the latest moves. The Hot Stove is moving fast right now:

The Marlins trade Jesus Luzardo and Paul McIntosh to Philly for Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd

Man, I wish I had the Marlins in my dynasty leagues, giving up nearly elite upside starters for light hitting speedsters. I thought Caba was getting a bit overrated (certainly for fantasy), and obviously Philly didn’t view him as untouchable either. If you can pull the same sell high move for Caba that Philly just did, I would jump on it. As all dynasty owners know too well, I bet you there is another team out there going, “they sold Luzardo for that? My offer was 3 times better than that!!” hah. Also, hasn’t Miami acquired enough of these guys with Xavier Edwards, Otto Lopez, Jared Serna, Max Acosta, Javier Sanoja, Vidal Brujan, and more. I mean, how many of them do you need? How about targeting some impact. I get they have more value in real life, but still. I’m probably being overly harsh as it’s not like Caba and Boyd are devoid of upside,  but they have 6 total homers in 314 career games between the two of them. As for Luzardo, he was already one of my favorite bounce back targets in 2025, and I like him even more now that a good team was willing to trade for him.

The Cubbies trade Cody Bellinger to the Yanks for Cody Poteet

This is a monster ballpark upgrade for Cody Bellinger. He goes from the 5th worst ballpark for lefty homers to the 7th best, and he needs all the help he can get with tons of flyballs and weak exit velocities. This is the exact ballpark that Bellinger can thrive in, and he’s coming from one that particularly depresses his skills. He had a .700 OPS at home vs. a .797 OPS on the road in 2024. I’m not saying you can bank on a monster season, but I am saying there is now some legit upside for it. His value gets a definite bump.

The Yankees sign Paul Goldschmidt for 1 year, $12.5 million

Once the Yankees lost Juan Soto, it was pretty clear they weren’t going to leave their 1B spot open, but signing Goldy to a one year deal is basically the best case scenario for Ben Rice. I already went over how much I like Rice, and without a long term option at 1B, that gives Rice 2025 to prove he should be the man in 2026 and beyond. Rice is a hold or cheap buy if you have the room on your roster or are in a rebuild. As for Goldy, his value doesn’t change as a still solid win now piece, but he’s a good reminder of how fast a players dynasty trade value can fall off as they get deeper into their 30’s. If you traded Goldy 2 years ago, or even last off-season, you could have gotten a pretty big return, but now, nobody is going to give you much. I’m just saying it could be a good time to put Freddie Freeman and Jose Altuve on the market while their value is still solid. It’s better to sell a year early than a year late.

The Rays trade Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez to Oakland for Joe Boyle, Will Simpson, Jacob Watters and a Draft Pick

Leaving Tampa for Oakland is a big organization downgrade for Springs and Lopez, and that 100% isn’t only for development, that is for pitch calling, defensive alignment, etc … which all impacts production in a major way. But Tampa has a rotation logjam, so getting out is good for Springs in particular regardless of the downgrade. I don’t like him as much in Oakland without Tampa’s magic to maximize his skillset, and he already didn’t look great in 2024 with the velocity down, the K/BB rates down, and more elbow issues. He might be more name value than real value right now. I’m probably not buying unless he falls into my lap. As for the players going to Tampa, that is an upgrade for all of them. Boyle likely ends up in the bullpen, but a Tampa exec talked about being extra patient with guys like Boyle (huge upside), so who knows what Tampa can do. Simpson I already liked, cracking my 1B Rankings at 69th overall, and seeing Tampa target him in this return makes me like him even more.

The Rangers trade Nate Lowe to Washington for Robert Garcia and then signed Joc Pederson for 2 years, $37 million to essentially replace Lowe

Like every Nate Lowe dynasty owner, you only own Nate Lowe because you can’t figure out a better option. But Texas did the right thing, which is to just rip the band-aid off and move on. Lowe is a crutch, preventing you from thriving. Find your Jake Burger and Joc Pederson’s to replace the Nate Lowe’s on your team. The Nationals on the other hand were desperate enough for 1B that it made sense for them. Christian Walker and Goldy both seemed to reject them. Their former options were Juan Yepez and Andres Chaparro, which I’m not even sure how you run an organization and end up with those two as your best options at 1B. So Lowe clearly makes sense for them. I was semi interested in Chaparro if he made it through the off-season with a shot at the 1B job, but that is dead now.

Astros sign Christian Walker for 3 years, $60 million

Walker will be 34 years old for the 2025 season and he was a late career breakout, but I don’t blame Houston for shelling out $60 mil over 3 years when you see that elite 75 MPH bat speed. This is a truly special power bat, and he has bat speed to spare to give him a gentle decline. We all know Houston is great for righty homers too. Walker remains an excellent win now piece. Houston has decided they don’t want to go full rebuild, which complicates the path for some of their most talented youngsters, but their OF is still wide open, so I think there is still room for their best to find jobs (Melton and Dezenzo, in particular).

Baltimore signed Tomoyuki Sugano for 1 year, $13 million

Sugana is a 35 year old who just put up an 18.3% K% in 156.2 IP in Japan, so we aren’t talking about big dynasty value here, but he can easily end up a solid win now piece. Here is Sugano himself talking about his arsenal and strategy in an MLB.com article by Adam Berry, “Obviously not a guy that throws 100 mph, but I’m very confident in my control, command, my pitch mix. That’s why I’ve had a lot of success in Japan. I’m not looking to really change anything now. I want to use my pitch selection, my pitch mix, my command to pitch in the States and see where it takes me from there.” That says it all as Sugano art of pitching’d his way to a 1.67 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 2024, and a 2.43 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in his 1,873.1 IP career. The guy knows how to pitch, and while he’s not going to be an under 3 guy in MLB, I don’t see why his profile wouldn’t transfer. Baltimore wouldn’t have paid him $13 million if they didn’t think he could be effective. I would expect a #3/4 type starter with a high 3 ERA and low WHIP, but the lack of K’s and age still blunts his dynasty value. He’s probably more of a Top 400-500-ish dynasty asset with more value the deeper the league is.

The Guardians trade Josh Naylor to Arizona for Slade Cecconi and then signed Carlos Santana for 1 year, $12 million

Arizona was the 4th worst park for lefty homers while Cleveland was the 5th best. Naylor hits the ball hard enough where I wouldn’t panic, but that is a definite downgrade, and he was already coming off a career power season that was sure to regress. I thought he was getting a tad underrated even after his career year, because absolutely nobody is buying in, but now I’m hesitant to buy in as well. Cleveland turned right around and signed Carlos Santana, so any bump for Manzardo and Noel is mitigated, but a 39 year old Santana will be much easier to surpass than Naylor. It’s clear that Manzardo and Noel are the future (and probably the present too at DH/1B). As for Arizona, it now gets a bit more crowded for all of their fringe starters (Pavin Smith, Alek Thomas, JJ McCarthy, Blaze Alexander), but these guys were going to have to prove it on the field anyway to hold a job, and I still think the cream will rise here (Pavin Smith is the cream).

The Astros trade Kyle Tucker to Chicago for Isaac Paredes, Cam Smith, and Hayden Wesneski

It was a no brainer for Chicago to flip Paredes to a team better suited to his particular set of skills, and Houston couldn’t be more perfect for him. He should get back to mid 20’s homers. This is a big boost for his fantasy value. Cam Smith had the raw power to profile anywhere, but this is still a big park upgrade for him too. And Hayden Wesneski gets a new team, new coaches, new voices etc … to try to unlock his still decent potential. He was actually pretty good last year with a whiff machine, double plus sweeper and 2 low to mid 90’s fastballs. Houston wouldn’t have traded for him if they didn’t see something they liked. Not big value here, but it’s something. And finally, the biggest piece in the deal, Kyle Tucker, is the least interesting. And you know what, that kinda tracks with his whole career of being underhyped. His value doesn’t change. So boring.

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