Category: Baseball

SANTA ANA, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels reached a confidential settlement Friday in a lawsuit over the drug overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

The decision to settle was reached after a two-month civil trial in Southern California over whether the Angels should be held responsible for Skaggs’ 2019 death after he snorted a fentanyl-laced pill provided by the team’s communications director, Eric Kay.

Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and his parents filed the lawsuit alleging the MLB team knew or should have known Kay was a drug addict and dealing painkillers to players. The settlement closes a painful six-year process, the Skaggs family said in a statement.

“We are deeply grateful to the members of this jury, and to our legal team,” the family said in the statement. “Their engagement and focus gave us faith, and now we have finality. This trial exposed the truth and we hope Major League Baseball will now do its part in holding the Angels accountable. While nothing can bring Tyler back, we will continue to honor his memory.”

The team has contended officials didn’t know Skaggs was taking drugs and would have sought him help if they did.

“The death of Tyler Skaggs remains a tragedy, and this trial sheds light on the dangers of opioid use and the devastating effects it can have,” the team said in a statement Friday.

Jurors began deliberating earlier this week.

Orange County Superior Court Judge H. Shaina Colover thanked jurors for their diligence. “That is why this matter was able to be resolved today,” she said, before releasing them.

Six years ago, the 27-year-old left-handed pitcher was found dead in the suburban Dallas hotel room where he was staying as the Angels were supposed to open a four-game series against the Texas Rangers. A coroner’s report said the player choked to death on his vomit, and a toxic mix of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone was found in his system.

Kay, a longtime Angels employee, was convicted in 2022 of providing Skaggs with a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl and sentenced to 22 years in prison. His criminal trial in Texas included testimony from five MLB players who said they received oxycodone from Kay at various times from 2017 to 2019.

In California, MLB players including outfielder Mike Trout, Angels president John Carpino, and Skaggs’ and Kay’s relatives testified during the trial in a Santa Ana courtroom. Witnesses for the plaintiffs described how Kay was acting erratic at the stadium and found with multiple plastic bags filled with pills at his home and later hospitalized for a drug overdose. They also recounted how Kay got players massage appointments, tee times and even prescription medication, and was paid by players for stunts like taking a fastball to the leg.

Angels attorneys pointed out that Skaggs was hooked on painkillers before he signed with the Angels in 2013. They said Skaggs got his teammates into taking pills and got Kay to provide them, but kept it secret out of concern it could jeopardize their MLB careers. Had team officials known Kay was dealing drugs, or Skaggs was taking them, they would have done something, the lawyers said.

Witnesses also sparred during the case over how much money Skaggs would have made as a pitcher had he lived. Experts for the plaintiffs said he could have reeled in between $91 million and $101 million, while the Angels put the figure at no more than $32 million.

Skaggs had been a regular in the Angels’ starting rotation since late 2016 and struggled with injuries repeatedly during that time. He previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After Skaggs’ death, the MLB reached a deal with the players association to start testing for opioids and to refer those who test positive to the treatment board.

Rusty Hardin, an attorney for the plaintiffs, welcomed the settlement and said the amount remains confidential. Hardin said there were rules in place and the Angels ignored them.

“The changes need to be by teams like the Angels who let this happen,” Hardin said.

Before the judge announced the settlement Friday, jurors had remained behind closed doors after lawyers for both sides had gone to speak with Colover.

Late Wednesday, jurors had sent out a note asking whether they “get to decide the punitive damage amount,” saying there is no field for it on the verdict form. The judge said she would send a note replying that if they decide there should be punitive damages, they would decide how much at a later time.

The jury did not work on Thursday and resumed deliberations Friday morning.

PITTSBURGH — The offense-starved Pittsburgh Pirates finally made an aggressive offseason move, agreeing to acquire two-time All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe from Tampa Bay as part of a three-team trade that also includes the Houston Astros.

The Rays will send Lowe, left-hander Mason Montgomery and outfielder Jake Mangum to Pittsburgh. The Pirates will deal right-handed pitcher Mike Burrows to Houston.

Tampa Bay is acquiring a pair of prospects from Houston as part of the deal. a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deals were pending approval of medical records.

The 31-year-old Lowe, an All-Star in 2019 and 2025, gives the Pirates a veteran bat for a lineup in desperate need of some pop to support a promising young pitching staff led by National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.

The left-handed Lowe hit .256 with 31 home runs and 83 RBIs for Tampa Bay and now heads to PNC Park, where the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field could be a tantalizing target.

The move is an unusually aggressive one for the Pirates, who have been reticent to acquire much in the way of salary in recent years. Lowe is scheduled to make $11.5 million in 2026 and can become a free agent after the World Series.

Pittsburgh was said to be pursuing slugger Kyle Schwarber, who opted to stay in Philadelphia. The Pirates did trade for outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia, who hit 18 homers in Triple-A in the Red Sox organization last year.

Lowe, however, is the kind of splashy move that proves actual proof the team is committed — in 2026 at least — to upgrading an offense that at or near the bottom of the majors in nearly every major category, including runs and home runs.

The 26-year-old Burrows went 2-4 with a 3.94 ERA for the Pirates last season but may have found himself the odd man out in a starting rotation projected to include Skenes, Bubba Chandler, and Mitch Keller, among others, next season.

The left-handed Montgomery will have a chance to carve out a spot in a Pittsburgh bullpen that includes closer Dennis Santana and veteran left-hander Gregory Soto. Montgomery went 1-3 with a 5.67 ERA in 57 games last season for the Rays.

The 29-year-old Mangum hit .296 and stole 27 bases in 118 games for Tampa Bay during his rookie season last year.

Outfielder Jacob Melton and right-hander Anderson Brito are going from Houston to the Rays.

Melton, 24, hit just .157 during his debut with Houston last season but batted a solid .286 while playing for Triple-A Sugar Land before his call-up. The 21-year-old Brito had a sub-4.00 ERA while playing in the low minors last year.

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies acquired left-hander Kyle Backhus from the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league outfielder Avery Owusu-Asiedu, the second trade made by Philadelphia involving its pitching staff.

The Phillies also sent left-hander Matt Strahm to the Royals for right-hander Jonathan Bowlan.

The 27-year-old Backhus made 32 relief appearances for Arizona last season, going 0-3 with a 4.62 ERA. But he particularly was good against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .139 average, and that is the role that he is expected to fill in the Philadelphia bullpen.

The 22-year-old Owusu-Asiedu has played in 218 games across three minor league levels in the Phillies system over the past three years, hitting .226 in 997 plate appearances. He was a ninth-round pick by Philadelphia in the 2023 first-year player draft.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals reunited with veteran pitcher Matt Strahm when they acquired the former All-Star left-hander from the Philadelphia Phillies in a trade for right-hander Jonathan Bowlan.

The 34-year-old Strahm has pitched for four clubs over 10 seasons in the majors.

He spent his first two with the Royals, who selected him in the 21st round of the 2012 first-year player draft out of Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kansas. Strahm also pitched for the Padres, Red Sox and the past three years for the Phillies, where he was an All-Star in 2024, when he had a 1.87 ERA over 66 appearances.

He also made 66 appearances with a 2.74 ERA this past season, and has a career 3.36 ERA in 395 appearances.

Strahm has a $7.5 million salary next season under an option that vested, part of a deal that is paying him $15 million for 2025 and 2026. He can become a free agent after the 2026 World Series,

The 29-year-old Bowlan has pitched in parts of the past three seasons for Kansas City. He made one start and appeared in a career-best 34 games this past season, going 1-2 and posting a 3.86 ERA.

Former All-Star pitcher John Means says he tore an Achilles tendon this week just before he was to sign a 2026 contract.

“This is hard to put into words, but I’ll try,” he wrote on social media. “On Tuesday, while training, I ruptured my Achilles. It happened the same day I was supposed to sign with a team and be available on opening day for the first time in a long time.”

Mean’s posting was accompanied by a photo of a person on a gurney, left foot covered. Means also wrote that he had surgery.

“I was finally enjoying my first healthy offseason in four years and felt better than ever,” he wrote.

Means made his major league debut in 2018, was an All-Star the following year and spent his first seven seasons with Baltimore. He has a 23-26 record with a 3.68 ERA in 73 starts and five relief appearances.

The 32-year-old has pitched in eight big league games since mid-April 2022 due to Tommy John surgery that month and a second Tommy John operation in June 2024.

He signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Cleveland last February and made seven minor league rehab starts last August and September. The Guardians declined a $6 million option, allowing him to become a free agent.

The offseason keeps rolling right along and there were plenty of meaningful transactions that happened this week. So, I’m going to recap all the action from the past week right here.

Let’s take a trip around the league.

Don’t forget: Keep a close eye on the Rotoworld Player News page so you don’t miss any of the action.

MLB Free Agent Tracker 2025-26: Padres re-signing Michael King, Mets adding Luke Weaver to bullpen

Stay up to date with the MLB free agent market this offseason, including player signings, contract details, and team fits as the 2025-26 Hot Stove heats up.

• D.J. Short
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Michael King Back to Padres

Michael King re-upped with the Padres on what is theoretically a three-year, $75 million contract. However, it has opt-outs built in after each of the first and second seasons with escalating salaries if he were to remain with the club.

This deal is a dream for King. After looking like one of the best pitchers in baseball two seasons ago, his 2025 campaign was ruined by shoulder and knee injuries.

With this contract, he has the chance to recoup his lost value with a strong, healthy season and can hit the open market again next year if things go well. If they don’t, he can opt-back in, get a raise, and try this again the year after.

This is a great deal for the Padres as well. Their starting rotation would’ve been barren without King and Dylan Cease, who’s already left to sign with the Blue Jays. San Diego also likely benefitted from a suppressed market for King due to his durability concerns.

Since they offered King a qualifying offer, any other team signing him would’ve had to sacrifice a draft pick to do so. That made it unlikely anyone besides the Padres would’ve offered a deal that allowed him to become a free agent again after one year.

This was a true win-win and King will have every opportunity to reestablish himself as an ace this coming season.

Way-Too-Early 2026 Fantasy Baseball Top 300 Rankings

Our early 2026 Top 300 rankings highlight the latest Hot Stove developments and projections.

• Matthew Pouliot,

Braves Fill Out Their Roster

After a disappointing fourth place finish in the National League East last season, the Braves have quickly made some necessary additions to their squad.

Over the past week, they signed reliever Robert Suarez to a three-year, $45 million deal and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim for one year at $20 million. Those moves came after re-signing Raisel Iglesias to be their closer, grabbing Mike Yastrzemski to play left field, and trading for Mauricio Dubón to be their super-utility man.

There was heavy competition between the Braves, Mets, Blue Jays, and Dodgers to sign Suarez and some were surprised he got a three-year deal entering his age-35 season. He still sits at nearly 99 mph though, and velocity can be expensive. Despite this hefty deal, the Braves have indicated that their plan is for him to be Iglesias’ set-up man.

That makes sense. Iglesias is the incumbent and has been closing games in Atlanta for a few years now. Also, he forces more swings and misses than Suarez does despite being past his prime and not throwing nearly as hard.

Whiff Rate Among Braves’ Closing Options

Iglesias isn’t a world-beater by any means entering his age-36 season, but he would probably need to falter or get hurt for Suarez to siphon off a huge number of saves.

As for Kim, he was waived by the Rays in September due to their fear he’d pick up his $16 million player option for this season. The Braves grabbed him then and not only did he decline that option, he beat it on the market.

This one-year deal gives him an opportunity to prove he can play shortstop again. His defensive metrics cratered last season after recovering from labrum surgery late in 2024. He also took a trip to the injured list and missed some additional games with lower back tightness last year.

He’ll have no competition as the shortstop in Atlanta and reportedly turned down a four-year, $48 million deal from the Athletics to be their primary second baseman. If he reverts back to his 2023 form (17 HR, 38 SB, .749 OPS, 9 OAA), he’ll be a great sleeper in drafts and could get another nice deal next winter.

This is a large influx of major league talent for a team that fell apart when their depth was tested last season. Is it enough? Time will tell.

Next Reliever Turned Starter?

The Brewers and Royals linked up for a trade last weekend with breakout outfielder Isaac Collins and reliever Nick Mears heading to Kansas City in exchange for flamethrower Angel Zerpa.

Collins was a Rule 5 draft pick by the Brewers last season and played his way into Rookie of the Year consideration by summer. He’s an incredibly patient switch-hitter who is better from the left side compared to the right and is a quality defender in the corner outfield. It’s likely he holds a near-everyday role with the Royals and has the potential to put up 15 homers and 20 stolen bases.

Zerpa is the most interesting player in this deal though. He’s a hard-throwing left-handed, sinker baller who the Brewers are reportedly considering making a starting pitcher.

His sinker is a plus-plus pitch in terms of both movement and velocity sitting over 96 mph, so it should be able to stay plus if he were to be stretched out. It’s also forced some swings that look like this.

He also showcased a new slider this past season with more depth that opposing hitters struggled to square up too. Those two pitches are both really impressive and create a great foundation for him to potentially build upon.

The repertoire lacks a bit outside of those though, with a fastball and changeup Zerpa primarily used against right-handed batters that weren’t particularly effective.

It all came together to force an elite 59% ground ball rate and horrific 16% whiff rate. Considering how few bats he missed, it’s amazing he wound up with a practically league average 4.18 ERA and hints at genuine upside if he can find any way to force more whiffs.

The Brewers have earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to pitching projects like this and I’m eager to see how they add to Zerpa’s tool bag.

Mets Offseason Stays Weird

Just a few days after watching both Edwin Díaz and Pete Alonso leave to sign elsewhere, the Mets agreed to a two-year, $40 million deal with Jorge Polanco.

There’s nothing wrong with that contract in a vacuum. Polanco is a good player coming off a great season where he socked 26 home runs and put up a career-best 132 wRC+. Also, no one in the history of baseball cut their strikeout rate more in one season.

He had tons of clutch moments in the postseason with the Mariners too including two home runs off Tarik Skubal and the eventual walk-off hit in Seattle’s ALDS Game 5 marathon against the Tigers. They were keen on bringing him back.

The surprise came in Polanco’s intended role with the Mets. He is expected to split time between first base – a position he’s played just one inning at in his major league career – and designated hitter.

As a former middle infielder, it’s likely Polanco has the dexterity to pick up first base. Perhaps leaving the middle infield could help him stay healthy too. Chronic knee issues limited him to an average of 100 games played from 2022 through 2024 before suiting up for 138 this past season.

Again, Polanco is a good player who had other suitors and the Rays reportedly wanted him as an option at first base too. It’s just brutal to think of him as Alonso’s replacement in Queens.

Remaining weird, the Mets brought in Luke Weaver on a two-year, $22 million deal. Weaver is a great bounceback candidate after pitching his way to a 5.31 ERA following a mid-season hamstring injury, but with an elite 19.8 K-BB% overall.

Yet, it’s funny that they’ve now recreated the back-end of the 2025 Yankees’ bullpen by pairing Weaver and Devin Williams after the Yankees felt the need to overhaul that unit at the trade deadline. Nevertheless, Weaver is a great bet for holds in support of Williams with the Mets.

More Hot Stove Quick Hits

◆ There have been a slew of high leverage reliever signings over the last week. Kenley Jansen went to the Tigers, Tyler Rogers the Blue Jays, and Brad Keller the Phillies.

Jansen is the only member of that crew that’s expected to close and his deal could kill any fantasy value for Will Vest and Kyle Finnegan. Keller was thought to be a candidate to return to the rotation, but is expected to remain a reliever in Philadelphia.

◆ Merrill Kelly returned to the Diamondbacks on a two-year, $40 million deal after they traded him to the Rangers at the trade deadline. He figures to slot back in as a reliable innings-eater for them.

◆ A fun, under the radar trade, Boston sent high variance starting pitcher prospect Luis Perales to the Nationals in exchange for high-floor left-hander Jake Bennett.

Perales got back on the mound this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2024 and can touch triple digits with his explosive fastball. Besides that, he shows a splitter and cutter flash plus despite being a true work in progress overall. He’s also had some dramatic struggles with his command.

Bennett is a 6’5” sinker-baller with seven feet of extension and is coming off a trip to the Arizona Fall League where he struck out over 30% of the batters he faced. He seems like a sure bet to be a back of the rotation type guy, just without any of that same upside.

This was a great swap between a contending team who sought security and a rebuilding team that was willing to bet on upside.

◆ In conjunction with losing Bennett, the Nationals turned around and signed lefty sinker-baller Foster Griffin from the NPB to help fill the back of their rotation.

◆ The market feels frozen for many of the marquee free agents at the moment with very little smoke surrounding Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette, or Framber Valdez.

◆ Dustin May is getting another shot to start after signing a one-year, $12 million contract with the Cardinals that includes a mutual option for 2027. Last year was a disappointing return from Tommy John surgery for him with a 4.96 ERA. He continues to struggle against left-handed batters, with whom his sinker and sweeper are far less effective than with righties.

◆ Danny Jansen is heading to the Rangers on a two-year, $14 million contract to split catching duties with Kyle Higashioka. Since 2021, Jansen has a .752 OPS which is higher than Sean Murphy’s.

◆ Adrian Houser will provide rotation depth for the Giants after signing a two-year, $22 million deal. Pitching in San Francisco gives just about any starting pitcher the chance to prove valuable and the lack of alternatives on that staff means he could get plenty of innings to do so.

◆ The Phillies are giving Adolis García a shot to redeem his last two seasons with nearly 1,200 plate appearances and a .675 OPS with a one-year deal. Then Dave Dombrowski outright said the team’s outfield was “pretty much set”, which opens the door for prospect Justin Crawford to take their center field job out of camp.

Son of Carl, Crawford is a plus defender and plus-plus runner who’s shown a good bat-to-ball ability in the upper minors, but without much game power.

◆ Michael Soroka took a one-year, prove-it type deal with the Diamondbacks. At $7.5 million it seems as if he could work in a hybrid role between the rotation and bullpen.

◆ Josh Bell took a one-year deal with the Twins and is probably a better deep, deep league target than you’re giving him credit for.

◆ For less certain first basemen, Christopher Morel signed with the Marlins and former top prospect Tyler Austin returned from the NPB to take a deal with the Cubs. Austin has been one of the best power hitters in Japan over the last few years.

◆ If seeking dart throw closer types, Mark Leiter Jr. could mix in for save chances with the Athletics and Chris Martin is back with the Rangers.

◆ Team USA is building a juggernaut pitching staff for the World Baseball Classic with Tarik Skubal, Logan Webb, Nolan McLean, Joe Ryan, Mason Miller, and David Bednar announcing that they’ll be playing for the tournament.

Paul Skenes had already committed along with a lineup that includes Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., Cal Raleigh, Corbin Carroll, Gunnar Henderson, and Kyle Schwarber. That is reminiscent of an All-Star team.

◆ The stove is still hot and there’s going to be a lot of action over the coming weeks. Make sure to keep up the Rotoworld Player News page so you don’t miss any of the action plus live stream and video content here all next week!