Jyun-Yue Tseng Is Posted by the Fubon Guardians as Ty France Draws Multiple Suitors and Max Scherzer Plans Lockout Games: The 2027 Fantasy Read

Taiwanese right-hander Jyun-Yue Tseng entered Major League Baseball's posting system on Saturday, and his negotiating window opens Sunday morning. The 25-year-old Fubon Guardians closer can sign with any MLB club through Dec. 22, per the Associated Press, though the collective bargaining agreement expiring at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1 makes the practical deadline much earlier if owners lock out the players as expected.

Tseng is not the only free agent story taking shape on the eve of the general managers meetings in Las Vegas. The Athletic reports that multiple teams are already showing interest in first baseman Ty France, who is coming off a bounce-back year with the Padres. And Max Scherzer told Jon Heyman of the New York Post that he plans to pitch in informal lockout games near his Florida home to help him decide whether he will pitch in 2027.

None of the three is a first-round fantasy name. All three are the kind of late-draft and in-season decisions that win leagues, and the lockout clock means their landing spots could be settled within weeks.

Who Jyun-Yue Tseng is

Tseng has pitched exclusively in relief over six seasons with Fubon in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. His 2026 line, per the AP and MLB, is the strongest argument for his stateside case: 25 saves in 48 games with 65 strikeouts against 13 walks in 52 1/3 innings.

He also has international experience, having pitched for Chinese Taipei in the 2023 and 2026 World Baseball Classics. Scouting reports cited by CBS Sports put his fastball in the mid-90s, and it has touched 100 mph in the past. The strikeout-to-walk profile (roughly five strikeouts per walk) is what will draw bullpen-hungry clubs, because command tends to translate better than raw saves totals when a reliever jumps leagues.

The caution is that CPBL production is a smaller sample against a lower level of competition than NPB or the KBO, and reporting on his market suggests big-league teams are unlikely to view him as a closer immediately. If he does not land an MLB deal he could pivot to Japan to continue his development.

Ty France's market is moving fast

France signed a minor league deal with San Diego in February, made the Opening Day roster and turned it into one of the better comeback seasons in the league. He hit .295/.363/.502 with 21 home runs and 72 RBI, and MLB.com noted that he led the Padres (minimum 450 plate appearances) in all three slash categories and OPS.

The Padres did not extend him a qualifying offer, which means a signing team gives up no draft compensation. The Athletic's Will Sammon reported that multiple teams are interested and that a deal could come together quickly. The Athletic's Tim Britton projected a two-year, $25 million contract, and MLB Trade Rumors predicted two years and $32 million. A Padres reunion remains on the table, with secondary coverage describing the interest as mutual. Other clubs have been floated as fits in speculative coverage, but no team beyond San Diego has been confirmed as a bidder.

Max Scherzer's lockout-game audition

Scherzer, 42, made 18 starts for the Blue Jays in 2026 on a one-year deal and sits three strikeouts behind Justin Verlander on the all-time list with 3,557. He said at season's end that he would decide on 2027 later in the offseason, and the new plan is to test himself in informal games during the expected work stoppage before committing to a 20th season.

That timeline matters. If the lockout drags into the new year, Scherzer may not sign anywhere until transactions reopen, which could push his decision close to whenever spring training begins.

Fantasy fallout for 2027

Tseng is a deep-league and dynasty stash, not a mixed-league target yet. The path to fantasy relevance runs through destination: a club with an unsettled ninth inning and a manager willing to use a newcomer in leverage. Saves-and-holds league managers should track where he signs, because a setup role in a strong bullpen can still produce useful holds and strikeouts, and closer jobs turn over constantly during a season.

France is the most draftable name here. A .295 average with 20-plus homer power plays at corner infield in 15-team leagues and as a bench bat in 12-team formats. The landing spot will move his value more than anything. A full-time first base job in a hitter-friendly park makes him a solid late-round corner; a platoon or bench role caps him. Expect some regression from a career-year average, so draft him as a .270-range hitter with mid-teens to 20-homer pop rather than paying for a repeat.

Scherzer should be undrafted in standard formats until he signs. If he commits to 2027 and lands a rotation spot, he becomes a late-round streamer whose value rests on how many innings he can give. A pitcher with 18 starts at age 42 is a volume risk first.

The Verdexed angle

The lockout reshapes how fantasy managers should read November news. Players who sign before Dec. 1 enter draft season with clear roles; anyone left unsigned faces a compressed scramble whenever the league reopens, which tends to mean shorter camps and murkier depth charts. For France in particular, a quick signing is good news for his 2027 value, because a settled role is worth more than the extra dollars he might chase by waiting.

For Tseng, the same logic applies with more urgency. A posted player who signs before the lockout gets a full winter to integrate with a new organization's pitching staff. One who waits risks a spring where he is learning a new ball, a new league and a new team in a shortened window. Verdexed's MLB coverage at /mlb/predictions will reflect new roles once rosters settle and the season approaches.

What's next

The GM meetings open this week in Las Vegas, where ESPN's Jorge Castillo reported that people around the league expect offseason activity to accelerate. The qualifying offer deadline is Nov. 17, which will clarify the rest of the first base and relief markets that France and Tseng are shopping in. Then comes the Dec. 1 CBA expiration. Fantasy managers should watch for France's landing spot first, Tseng's destination second, and treat any Scherzer news as a late-winter story.