Kevin Newman DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Los Angeles Angels stayed busy early this offseason and agreed to an undisclosed one-year deal with free-agent infielder Kevin Newman on Thursday. The deal includes a club option for the 2026 season. Zach Neto is the Angels' starting shortstop, but Newman will provide insurance for the team at the position for the start of next season after Neto underwent offseason shoulder surgery. The 31-year-old veteran won't have much fantasy appeal outside of AL-only leagues, though, even if he's the team's starter at the 6 on Opening Day. In 111 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024, Newman hit .278/.311/.375 with a below-average .686 OPS, only three home runs, 28 RBI, eight stolen bases and 41 runs scored in 311 plate appearances. He has only had double-digit home runs once in his seven MLB seasons, and that came way back in 2019 with the Pirates in his second year in the league.

Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Kevin Newman went 4-for-5 with two doubles, two singles, and two RBI in Monday night's walk-off win vs. the Cincinnati Reds. That makes it three games in a row that Newman has collected multiple hits; the two RBI have been his first since April 26. The right-handed hitting shortstop did have a poor .216 batting average on the season, but the four hits, one of them being the game-winning walk-off single, bumped that batting average to a more respectable .253. Despite the four-hit performance, Newman only has two home runs and 10 runs batted in on the season, batting out of the number nine spot in the Diamondbacks' batting order. This makes him someone you can avoid for your fantasy outside of deep-league formats team unless his hot streak proves to be sustainable.

Free-agent shortstop Kevin Newman agreed to a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday. Newman will give Arizona some veteran infield depth heading into the 2024 season. The 30-year-old veteran spent last season playing for the Cincinnati Reds, slashing .253/.311/.364 with three home runs, 16 doubles, 28 RBI, eight stolen bases and 28 runs scored in 253 trips to the plate over 74 games. In his six years in the big leagues (five with the Pittsburgh Pirates), Newman has hit .259 (459-for-1,770) with 23 home runs, 171 RBI, 38 stolen bases and 189 runs scored in 505 total games played. He isn't really going to have any fantasy appeal as long as he's in a utility role in Arizona.