The St. Louis Cardinals announced an undisclosed two-year deal with second baseman Tommy Edman on Monday to avoid salary arbitration. The two-year deal will buy out Edman's final two remaining years of arbitration eligibility. The 28-year-old infielder is rehabbing from wrist surgery and isn't expected to be ready to go for the start of spring training next month. It means that he might not be fully ready for the start of the 2024 regular season, but when healthy, Edman should serve as St. Louis' everyday second baseman. Despite a bad year for the Cardinals in 2023, Edman did his thing with a .248/.307/.399 slash line in 137 total games played with 13 home runs, 47 RBI, 27 stolen bases and 69 runs scored. He also has the ability to play shortstop and the outfield, and his positional versatility is pretty much his selling point for fantasy managers.

Houston Astros manager Joe Espada would not name a closer when reporters asked him over the weekend at the team's FanFest. This is notable as the Astros just signed closer Josh Hader to a record-breaking contract. Ryan Pressly, who locked down 31 saves for Houston last season, was the clear incumbent before the Hader signing. Conventional wisdom says that Hader will eventually be given the job given his pedigree and contract situation. The 29-year-old southpaw finished the 2023 season with a 1.28 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 85:30 K/BB ratio to go along with 33 saves over 56 1/3 innings with the Padres. Pressly could shift into a setup role once Hader established himself so he should still hold fantasy value in NSVH leagues.

Free-agent relief pitcher Ken Giles will throw a bullpen session for interested teams on Friday, Jan. 26 in Phoenix, Arizona, according to Jon Heyman. Due to injury, the 33-year-old has appeared in just nine games over the last three seasons, so he wants to prove to teams that he is finally healthy and ready to contribute. His last full season came back in 2019 with the Blue Jays, when he put up a dominant 1.87 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 83:17 K/BB over 53 innings of relief to go along with 23 saves. It will be interesting to see how much velocity "100 miles Giles" has lost over the years, but if he puts on a good performance next Friday, he should get a spring-training invite from a club.

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello told reporters over the weekend that he plans to use his slider more during the 2024 season. He only threw his slider 17.7% of the time in 2023 but induced a whiff rate of 25.6% on the pitch, according to Baseball Savant. The 24-year-old appears to be looking for more punchouts in 2024, which is an intriguing proposition for his fantasy prospects. Bello had dominant stretches during 2023 but has never been a big strikeout pitcher. It's worth keeping an eye on his strikeout numbers during Spring Training to see if his slider emphasis is paying dividends. He finished the season with a 12-11 record, 4.24 ERA, 1.338 WHIP, and 132:45 K/BB Ratio over 157 innings (28 starts).

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Alex Cobb (hip) started throwing from flat ground over the weekend as he continues to recover from offseason hip surgery. "Sixty feet. Nothing crazy. But it feels great," the 36-year-old told reporters. He added, "It feels way better than it did at the end of the year." It's an encouraging sign for Cobb, who underwent hip surgery back in October and was given a six-month timetable for his return to action. He has a shot, without any setbacks, to make it back to the Giants' rotation sometime in the first half. He finished the 2023 season with a solid 3.87 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and 131:37 K/BB ratio over 151 1/3 innings (28 starts) before being shut down last September. His injury will likely push him into the late rounds/undrafted territory in upcoming fantasy drafts but he could make an impact in the second half for managers.