The Tampa Bay Rays have reached an undisclosed two-year deal with free-agent left-hander Steven Matz on Monday night, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Matz has pitched parts of 11 seasons in the big leagues with the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, and Boston Red Sox. The veteran southpaw has a career record of 60-62 with a 4.19 ERA. The 34-year-old veteran spent the 2025 campaign with the Cardinals and Red Sox, going a combined 5-2 with a 3.05 ERA (3.46 FIP), 1.09 WHIP, and 59:11 K:BB ratio in 53 appearances (two starts) over 76 2/3 innings pitched. Matz saved the first two games of his career this year and is expected to continue being used in a relief role in Tampa, potentially in high-leverage situations. Unless Matz is used as the Rays' primary closer, which is unlikely, he'll mostly be a non-factor in fantasy with a career 21.9% strikeout rate.

The Houston Astros have shown interest in trading for Tampa Bay Rays right-hander and Houston native Shane Baz, multiple league sources told Chandler Rome and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. However, a deal isn't believed to be close, and some league sources think Baz being moved is unlikely. In his first trip through salary arbitration, Baz is projected to make $3.1 million this winter, and the 26-year-old has three more years of club control. It makes perfect sense for an Astros team that is looking to acquire young, controllable starting pitching. Houston has been wary of paying high prices for free-agent starters and prefers to go the trade route to help replace lefty Framber Valdez, who is expected to leave in free agency. If Baz is traded to Houston, center fielder Jake Meyers could be part of the package heading back to Tampa. In Baz's first full season post Tommy John surgery, he had a 4.87 ERA in 166 1/3 innings. If Baz can improve his command and limit the home runs against righties, he could take the next step in 2026 with the move back indoors in Tampa.

Free-agent reliever Robert Suarez is drawing interest from the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and others, according to Robert Murray of FanSided.com. Suarez, one of the top relief arms on the open market this offseason, is projected to land a three-year, $48 million deal. Not only has Suarez been one of the most dominant closers in the game, but he's thrown at least 65 innings in each of the last two seasons while recording 76 saves in that span, including a league-best 40 saves for the San Diego Padres in 2025. After Jeff Hoffman blew the save in Game 7 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto is looking for upgrades to the back end of its bullpen. The Blue Jays were rumored to be interested in Emilio Pagan before he re-signed a two-year deal with the Reds. The Dodgers had well-documented relief issues last season, too, and could pluck a late-inning arm away from SD for a second straight season.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he plans to use two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani as a regular starting pitcher next year, although the Dodgers could be creative early in the season with their starting depth to maximize rest days, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic. It won't necessarily be a traditional six-man rotation early on for the Dodgers, but Roki Sasaki, who stepped up in the back end of the bullpen during the postseason, will return as a starter in 2026. In addition to Sasaki, the Dodgers will have Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow. Right-hander Emmet Sheehan could make starts early on as well. Ohtani didn't debut on the mound in 2025 until June after having arm surgery. The four-time MVP (three straight) was brought along slowly and eventually finished with a 2.87 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 62 K's, and only nine walks in 14 starts (47 innings). Ohtani might have a higher ceiling as a hitter, but his strikeout upside as a pitcher for his first full season as a two-way player in L.A. isn't too shabby either.