First baseman Pete Alonso and the New York Mets avoided salary arbitration on Thursday by agreeing to a one-year, $20.5 million deal for the 2024 season, according to a source familiar with the deal. Alonso is fully expected to hit free agency following the conclusion of the 2024 campaign, especially after he hired agent Scott Boras this offseason. The 29-year-old right-handed slugger is an elite power target for fantasy managers, having reached the 40-homer mark in the last two seasons. He's also been pretty durable and should rebound in the batting-average department this year after hitting a career-low .217 this past season. In addition to his 46 home runs in 2023, Alonso delivered great counting stats for his fantasy managers with 118 RBI and 92 runs scored.

Outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Yankees agreed to a one-year, $31.5 million deal on Thursday to avoid salary arbitration for the 2024 season. It's a new record deal for an arbitration-eligible player, beating two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani by $1 million from his one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023. Soto and the Yankees haven't approached a contract extension, and the belief is that he and his agent, Scott Boras, will play things out until Soto hits the open market following the 2024 season. The 25-year-old Dominican will be worthy of taking in the first round of fantasy drafts this spring, especially now that he'll play half of his games at Yankee Stadium. Soto hit .275/.410/.519 with a .930 OPS, career-high 35 home runs, 109 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 568 at-bats with the San Diego Padres in 2023.

The New York Yankees have made an opening offer to top free-agent starter Blake Snell. But little to no evidence of significant progress on Snell or two other top rotation targets in Jordan Montgomery and Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease, the Yankees are starting to look more seriously at right-hander Marcus Stroman. The Yankees remain far apart on a Snell deal and are starting to believe that Montgomery prefers to return to the Texas Rangers or go somewhere else. New York seems to believe Snell, the 2023 National League Cy Young winner, wants to come to the Bronx and are guessing the main competition may come from the Giants and Angels. If the Yankees can land Snell, they'd have both of last year's Cy Young winners at the top of their starting rotation.

The Toronto Blue Jays and right-handed reliever Jordan Romano avoided salary arbitration on Thursday by settling at $7.75 million for the 2024 season, according to a source. This was Romano's second time being eligible for arbitration. The 30-year-old closer has had exactly 36 saves for the Blue Jays in each of the last two seasons and will open the 2024 campaign cemented into that role again, giving him plenty of fantasy appeal. The Canadian reliever had some ups and downs along the way in 2023, but he was solid overall and at one point converted a franchise-record 26 saves in a row. A back injury at the All-Star break may have been responsible for him not being as effective down the stretch. Still, Romano's ability to miss bats and set role as a closer for one of the better teams in baseball makes him a high-end fantasy target at his position.

The Arizona Diamondbacks and right-handed reliever Paul Sewald settled at $7.35 million for the 2024 campaign to avoid salary arbitration on Thursday, according to sources. Sewald was dealt from the Seattle Mariners to the D-backs at the trade deadline last summer and became a stabilizing force at the back end of Arizona's bullpen in the second half of the season as the team eventually advanced to the World Series. In 65 total appearances between Seattle and Arizona, Sewald had a decent 3.12 ERA (3.57 FIP), 1.15 WHIP and a career-high 34 saves while walking 24 and striking out 80 in 60 2/3 regular season innings. The 33-year-old veteran has a strong strikeout rate and should be targeted as a top-15 fantasy closer as Arizona's go-to guy for the ninth inning.