Veteran free-agent outfielder Kevin Pillar (thumb) has changed his mind and is now keeping the door open to playing in 2025. "I've just had some time to reflect...I still enjoy doing it. I'm pretty sure I still want to play," Pillar said. He will be at the upcoming winter meetings in Dallas to look for a new team. The 35-year-old said back in the summer that he was pretty certain that the 2024 campaign would be his last in the big leagues, but he's had a change of heart since the season ended and he's had time to reflect on his career. If Pillar does play next season, he'll likely have to settle for a minor-league deal somewhere as he tries to make the Opening Day roster out of spring training as outfield depth. Having surgery on his left thumb early in the offseason won't help his cause. Pillar hit only .229 with eight homers, 45 RBI and 12 steals for the White Sox and Angels in 2024, but he excelled against left-handed pitching.

Free-agent catcher Max Stassi (hip) agreed to a minor-league deal with the San Francisco Giants earlier this week, according to sources. Stassi hasn't seen action in the big leagues since 2022 with the Los Angeles Angels due to personal issues and after undergoing left-hip surgery in June. In the last two seasons, he's managed to play in just five rehab games in the minors. The 33-year-old veteran backstop declined his option for the 2025 season with the Chicago White Sox to land on the open market before joining the Giants. Health will obviously be a big issue for Stassi as he tries to make a return to the big leagues, and given all the time away the last two years, he figures to begin the 2025 season rehabbing in the minors. In parts of 10 seasons in the big leagues since debuting in 2013 with the Astros, Stassi has a career .212/.295/.361 slash line with 41 homers and 128 RBI in 403 games played.

Right-hander Michael Tonkin and the Minnesota Twins agreed to a one-year, $1 million deal on Friday to avoid salary arbitration. It was an interesting season in 2024 for Tonkin, to say the least. The 35-year-old veteran began the season with the Twins before spending time with the New York Mets and New York Yankees. He was eventually claimed on waivers and returned to Minnesota in August. With those three teams, Tonkin held a 3.63 ERA (3.44 FIP), a 1.26 WHIP, his first two career saves, a career-high 85 strikeouts and 30 walks in 79 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. The former 30th-round pick of the Twins way back in 2008 should return to a middle-relief role in Minnesota this next season but won't have a ton of fantasy value.

Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale (back), who was named the 2024 National League Cy Young winner on Wednesday, won't have his offseason hampered at all by the back spasms that he dealt with at the tail end of the season. Sale was unable to take his final turn of the regular season against the division-rival New York Mets in the regular season and then also wasn't available for the Braves in the wild-card series against the San Diego Padres. However, had Atlanta advanced to the NL Division Series, he would have started Game 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It's great news for the 35-year-old southpaw as he looks for an encore in 2025 with the Braves. He posted a 2.38 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with 225 K's and only 39 walks in 177 2/3 innings in his first year in Atlanta. Sale obviously has ace upside, but there's also high bust potential because of his lengthy injury history.

Free-agent left-hander Rich Hill said that he wants to pitch again in 2025. Hill's performance for the United States in the WBSC Premier12 tournament with four scoreless innings against Japan certainly helps his cause, although he'll most likely have to settle for a minor-league deal. The 44-year-old southpaw only pitched in 3 2/3 relief innings for the Boston Red Sox in 2024 and allowed two earned runs. If Hill does land with another team on the open market this offseason, he'll be a long shot to return any fantasy value and will mostly be used in mop-up relief duty out of the bullpen instead of as a starter. In 2023 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres, Hill wasn't very effective, posting a 5.41 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 129 strikeouts and 58 walks in 146 1/3 innings over 32 outings (27 starts).

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale won the NL Cy Young Award on Wednesday, the first time the 35-year-old has won the award in his 15-year career, despite finishing in the top five in six consecutive seasons from 2013-18. The lefty went 18-3 while posting a 2.38 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 26.5% K-BB% while earning a trip to the All-Star game for the eighth time. The veteran also won his first career Gold Glove award in 2024. It looks like the Braves won this trade with the Red Sox, as Vaughn Grissom was sent to the Red Sox in exchange for Sale, and Grissom played just 31 games this season due to injury, posting just a .190/.246/.219. Hopefully Sale's injury issues are behind him and he can continue to pitch a few more years with this type of effectiveness before any age-related decline kicks in. The southpaw was quite the value in fantasy drafts in 2024, but he will cost much more in 2025.

Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was named the American League Manager of the Year on Tuesday evening. It was a pretty special first season as manager in the big leagues for Vogt, as he had a winning record, won the AL Central title and helped his club advance to the AL Championship Series. It's the third time in the last decade that a Guardians skipper has won the award, with Vogt being the fifth-youngest manager to win the award. Vogt becomes the fastest person to go from being a player to Manager of the Year winner. He finished playing on Oct. 5 of 2022 and was hired as Cleveland's manager just 397 days after with zero managerial experience. It was an impressive turnaround after the team went 76-86 in 2023. Vogt leaned heavily on his bullpen that combined to post a 2.57 ERA, the fourth-best among all bullpens since 1995.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the A's have re-signed relief pitcher T.J. McFarland on a one-year contract. McFarland posted a 3.81 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with a 17:39 BB:K across 56 2/3 innings of work. Under the hood, he carried a stellar 59.4% ground-ball rate and was able to maintain soft contact at a 4.6% barrel rate and a 34.9% hard-hit rate. However, he struggled in generating whiffs, as he posted a mere 16.6% strikeout rate, one of the lowest marks among qualified pitchers. Fantasy managers should expect McFarland to return to his high-leverage role pitching in the seventh or eighth innings of games, but he will have his save opportunities capped with Mason Miller poised to return to his closer role.

The Houston Astros have had internal discussions related to potentially trading reliever Ryan Pressly. The 35-year-old was moved to a setup role in 2024 once the Astros acquired closer Josh Hader. Pressly had saved 90 games for Houston from 2021-23, posting a 2.94 ERA. 0.98 WHIP, and 25.4% K-BB%. In the setup role in 2024, however, the righty posted a 3.49 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 16.4% K-BB%. With Hader and other capable arms at the back end of the bullpen, the team could let Pressly go and get prospects in return, although with the veteran's full no-trade clause, the pitcher would have to be on board with any proposed destination. It's worth monitoring for fantasy in the event he lands in a good spot with the opportunity to close.

Free-agent first baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana, who is 38 years old, said he wants to play another three or four seasons in the big leagues, according to his agent, Ulises Cabrera. The veteran Dominican switch-hitter won his first career Gold Glove at first base with the Minnesota Twins in 2024 and is coming off his best OPS (.749) since 2019 with the Cleveland Guardians. In addition to his .749 OPS, he hit .238/.328/.420 with 23 home runs, 71 RBI, four stolen bases and 63 runs scored in 594 trips to the plate and 150 games for Minnesota in 2024 in his 15th major-league season. Santana has had a long and successful career as a patient hitter, with high on-base percentages being his calling card in fantasy. He's had a little resurgence the last two years, but fantasy managers can't count on that moving forward, and there's almost zero upside.

Relief pitcher David Robertson did not exercise his mutual team option with the Texas Rangers for the 2025 season and will instead test free agency, according to Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. The 39-year-old enjoyed another excellent campaign, posting a 3.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, with a 27:99 BB:K ratio in 72 innings of work. He tallied two saves and 35 holds, serving as the primary eighth-inning option in Texas. Robertson was able to generate ground balls at an above-average 47.0% mark and induce soft contact with a strong 5.5% barrel rate. Robertson will likely be a top target for fantasy managers in holds leagues in 2025 and could be in the mix for save opportunities, depending on his situation.

The Chicago Cubs declined their 2025 club option on left-handed pitcher Drew Smyly, according to Jon Heyman of the NY Post. Smyly operated exclusively out of the bullpen last summer and held a modest 3.84 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, with a 25:56 BB:K ratio across 58 2/3 innings of work. This was a significant improvement over the 5.00 ERA and 1.43 WHIP he held during the 2023 campaign. Fantasy managers should expect Smyly to continue to serve as a long-relief option or an occasional starter if he decides to continue his major league career this upcoming season. However, with his lack of upside, he should be left off of your fantasy radar.

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitchers Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn had their club options declined and will be headed to free agency. Gibson logged 169 1/3 innings in his debut season in St. Louis with a 8-8 record, 4.24 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and a 68:151 BB:K ratio. Lynn posted a 3.84 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP with a 7-4 record across 117 1/3 innings last season. Both remained in the starting rotation the entire season. In the same move, the Cardinals also declined the 2025 club option for pitcher Kenyan Middleton. Middleton logged only five innings in the minor leagues this season due to a forearm injury. This transaction allows the Cardinals to trim substantial payroll off of their pitching staff. Currently, the Cardinals rotation consists of Miles Mikolas, Erick Fedde, Sonny Gray, Andre Pallante, and Michael McGreevy.

Free-agent veteran outfielder Avisail Garcia (back) had successful surgery on Thursday to fix a fracture and a disc issue in his lower back at the hospital for special surgery in New York. The procedure was performed by Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi. Garcia now has all offseason to recover from the surgery, but it remains to be seen if he'll be fully ready to go for the start of spring training next year in February. However, barring a setback once he begins ramping up his baseball activities, the 33-year-old Venezuelan outfielder should have a good chance to be ready for Opening Day in 2025 for any team that wants to take a chance on the aging outfielder. Garcia probably won't have a strong market due to his injury and the fact he slashed a very mediocre .240/.255/.380 with a .635 OPS, two home runs and two RBI in 18 games in Miami before his injury.

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Sonny Gray (forearm) is expected to have a regular offseason after he ended the 2024 regular season on the 15-day injured list due to right-forearm flexor tendinitis. The injury only caused Gray to miss his final start of the year. The 34-year-old veteran and three-time All-Star finished his first season with the Cardinals with a 13-9 record, 3.84 ERA (3.12 FIP), a 1.09 WHIP and a 203:39 K:BB in 166 1/3 innings over his 28 starts. It was only the second time in Gray's career that he had 200-plus strikeouts. He was the runner-up for the American League Cy Young in 2023 while pitching with the Minnesota Twins, but he improved to a 30.3% strikeout rate and a career-best 5.8% walk rate in St. Louis. Gray has above-average control, but fantasy managers shouldn't be banking on another 30% strikeout rate in 2025.

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (hand) was lifted from Game 5 of the NLCS after taking a foul ball off his hand. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports that the backstop was taken for X-rays, but the tests were negative. As a result, DFS players should expect the primary catcher to be behind the dish this evening as the Dodgers hope to clinch the series victory over the New York Mets. During the postseason, the 29-year-old has posted an underwhelming .143/.268/.229 line with one home run and four RBI. He will face a difficult matchup this evening against Mets southpaw Sean Manaea, who has held a strong 2.65 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP across 17 innings in October.

New York Mets outfielder Harrison Bader and designated hitter J.D. Martinez are both starting against the Los Angeles Dodgers and right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday at Citi Field. Tyrone Taylor and Jesse Winker will retreat to the bench. Taylor has struggled in the postseason, going 4-for-29 with an RBI, so the Mets will give Bader a shot. Bader is a perfect 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI this year against Yamamoto, although he has just one hit in seven at-bats with a strikeout and three runs scored in 10 games (one start) for the Mets in October. Martinez made his first start of the NLCS on Wednesday night and went 0-for-2 with two walks and two strikeouts. He has never faced Yamamoto and has gone 4-for-16 (.250) with three RBI, four walks and a run scored in seven games (four starts) this October.

New York Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez will take over DH duties and will hit sixth in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday versus the Los Angeles Dodgers and right-hander Walker Buehler at Citi Field. The left-handed-hitting Jesse Winker got the nod at DH for the Mets in the first two games of the series and went 2-for-6 with two walks and a run scored. In six postseason games this year (three starts), Martinez has gone 4-for-14 with three RBI, two walks and a run scored. Martinez has only faced Buehler three times in his career and has struck out two of those times. The 37-year-old six-time All-Star hit a career-low .235 (102-for-434) in 120 games for the Mets during the regular season with a modest 16 home runs and 69 RBI.

Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez went 1-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base, and a solo home run in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Yankees. The homer was his first hit of the ALCS, going 1-for-8 so far and just 4-for-24 (.167) this postseason. The 6x All-Star had a phenomenal regular season, finishing one home run shy of a 40/40 campaign, and if the Guardians are hoping to get back into this series then Ramirez will need to pick up the pace at the plate, starting Thursday in Game 3 back home. The switch-hitter will face Clarke Schmidt to start the game, who Ramirez is 4-for-9 off of in his career, including a double and just one strikeout.

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed on Tuesday that veteran left-hander Jose Quintana will make the start in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday at Citi Field against the Los Angeles Dodgers. After Quintana, nothing is official, but right-hander Kodai Senga is the most logical candidate to start Game 5 after he got the nod in Game 1 on Sunday. In two starts this postseason against the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies, Quintana has been lights-out for the Mets, allowing one run (zero earned) on six hits while walking three and fanning 11 in 11 innings. The 35-year-old southpaw also allowed only two earned runs in his four starts in September. In his lone start against LA in 2024 in New York back on May 28, Quintana had a quality start, giving up three earned runs with no walks and three K's in six innings of work.