MLB DFS News & Updates

First baseman Jake Bauers and the Boston Red Sox agreed on a four-year, $58 million contract on Friday, sources told Jeff Passan of ESPN. Bauers parlayed his breakout season with Milwaukee while helping them win their first-ever World Series title in 2026 into a massive payday with Boston. The 31-year-old veteran left-handed slugger turned things around at the plate in a big way this year in his third season with the Brew Crew, slashing .266/.389/.484 with a career-best .874 OPS, 26 home runs, 22 doubles, 86 RBI, 93 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases in 144 regular-season games across 578 plate appearances in his seventh year in the majors. He was not as productive in the postseason, going 9-for-47 (.191) with a home run, a double, six RBI, four runs scored, 10 walks, and 19 strikeouts in 13 games played. However, he was named the MVP of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers after going 4-for-14 (.286) with a home run, a double, and six RBI in the four-game sweep of L.A. Bauers should hit in the heart of Boston's order in 2027 and beyond and could see most of his playing time in the outfield and at designated hitter.

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman acknowledged that the team will likely give outfielder Aaron Judge more days as the designated hitter going forward to help keep him healthy, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. "I'm sure he's going to need some DH time. I'm sure he doesn't want to hear that. He's an alpha. He wants to play every day. But he also knows at the same time that -- because we've seen him play there, obviously, this past year, you've had DH gone from some point in May on. So obviously we were able to run a lot of different people in there as necessary. But I would think at times we'll see Judge playing DH because it's what's in his best interest, and what's in his best interest is going to be what's in our best interest, if we can just make sure that we can maintain health. He's one of the game's great players. We've got to keep those guys on the field as much as we can to get where we want to go," Cashman said. The three-time MVP was limited to only 66 games due to ribs and calf injuries in 2026, finishing with a .241/.360/.511 slash line, .871 OPS, 18 home runs, 41 RBI, 45 runs scored, and five steals in 237 at-bats. He is heading into his age-35 season, so it makes sense to get the elite slugger off his feet more often. Fantasy managers would be happy with anything that keeps Judge healthy while also keeping his outfield eligibility.

Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable was named the 2026 American League Manager of the Year, according to ESPN. Venable, in just his second season as Chicago's skipper, won the award after the White Sox lost 102 games in 2025. He edged out Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash and Boston Red Sox manager Chad Tracy for the award, earning 15 first-place votes. The White Sox went 60-102 in Venable's first season before turning things around in 2026 to make the postseason for the first time since 2021. "It just starts with our players. It's a really special group that created a belief early on in the year and went out and executed the things that they needed to do. And as we got through the summer, we were challenged by different opportunities to get better," Venable told MLB Network. He became the first White Sox skipper to win the award since Ozzie Guillen in 2025. Before becoming the manager for the White Sox, Venable was on manager Bruce Bochy's staff in Texas and was part of the Rangers' team that won the World Series for the first time in franchise history in 2023.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong was named the 2026 National League Most Valuable Player. He earned all 30 first-place votes to finish ahead of Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang. The 24-year-old left-handed slugger can do it all on the baseball field, and he put it all together in his fourth season in the league, hitting .280 with 45 home runs and 41 stolen bases while also winning the Gold Glove and Platinum Glove Awards. Crow-Armstrong led both leagues in 2026 with a 10.6 fWAR. He started the year hitting at the bottom of Chicago's batting order before eventually moving up to the top of the lineup by mid-May. PCA never looked back and hit .300 with a .398 on-base percentage while batting out of the leadoff spot for the Cubbies. He drew 83 walks after totaling just 29 free passes the previous year. Crow-Armstrong's most impressive feat was becoming just the seventh player in MLB history to have 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season. He still strikes out quite a bit (25.8% clip), but Crow-Armstrong's elite power/speed profile is hard to ignore from a fantasy baseball perspective going into 2027.