Jansen will undergo heart surgery Nov. 26 and is expected to be fully recovered prior to spring training, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

As expected, Jansen will require another procedure on his heart after being sidelined with an irregular heartbeat for a couple weeks in August. The 31-year-old previously underwent surgery -- atrial fibrillation -- on his heart six years ago, and this is expected to be the same exact procedure. Jansen wound up returning to the mound earlier than doctors anticipated in late August, and did a fine job helping the Dodgers make it back to the World Series. If all goes according to plan, he will be fully recovered in 2-to-8 weeks, well before spring training commences.

Pearce signed a one-year, $6.25 million contract with Boston on Friday, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.

It shouldn't come as any surprise that the Red Sox wanted Pearce back in the fold after he claimed World Series MVP honors for his role in the Fall Classic. Pearce was a valuable contributor for Boston ever since coming over in a trade from Toronto in late June, and finished the regular season with a slash line of 284/.378/.512 with 11 home runs and 42 RBI in 76 games. He figures to serve as a platoon partner to Mitch Moreland next season, so look for Pearce in the lineup when a southpaw opposes the Red Sox.

Mathis has agreed to a two-year contract with the Rangers, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Mathis spent the last two seasons with the Diamondbacks, although he appeared in just 129 games over that span. He's certainly experienced struggles at the dish of late (.200/.272/.272 slash line last season) but adds value behind the plate. Mathis figures to have a shot to win the backup job behind Isiah Kiner-Falefa in spring training.

Betts was named the 2018 American League Most Valuable Player on Thursday.

The awards keep piling up for Betts, who was also honored with a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger for his stellar 2018 campaign. The 26-year-old was incredible across the board for the World Series champs, joining the 30-30 club (32 homers, 30 stolen bases) while leading the majors in batting average (.346), slugging percentage (.640) and runs scored (129). Betts has solidified himself as one of the bonafide five-tool superstars in the league.

Yelich was named the 2018 National League Most Valuable Player on Thursday.

Yelich, who received all but one first-place vote, was deservedly rewarded for his breakout season in 2018. In his first year with the Brewers, the 26-year-old led the National League in batting average (.326) and OPS (1.000) while also notching personal bests in homers (36), stolen bases (22), RBI (110) and runs scored (118). An impressive stretch run -- during which he hit .370/.508/.804 with 10 homers, 34 RBI, seven stolen bases and a 16:24 K:BB in September (27 games) -- ultimately helped Yelich beat out NL Central-rival Javy Baez for the award (while also helping the Brewers reach the NLCS).

O'Rourke signed a minor-league contract with the Mets on Thursday.

The deal includes an invitation to spring training. O'Rourke was limited to just 14.1 innings across four minor-league levels in 2018 while working his way back from Tommy John surgery. The veteran left-hander last pitched in the majors for the Twins in 2016, when he posted a 3.96 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 24:10 K:BB across 25 innings of relief.

Middleton finished with 25 points (9-15 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 3-3 FT), 10 rebounds, eight assists and two steals across 33 minutes in Friday's 123-104 win over the Bulls.

Middleton was part of a balanced Bucks scoring attack that helped Milwaukee roar back from a 22-point deficit and ultimately surge to a runaway victory. The wing has now put up 20 or more points in three straight games while shooting a blistering 58.1 percent from the floor and drilling all 12 of his free-throw attempts. Since that percentage from the floor isn't sustainable, it's fair to expect Middleton's scoring to eventually tail off a bit, but the 27-year-old typically puts up enough output in the rebounds, assists, steals and three-pointers categories to lessen the impact in any decline in his point production.

Bogdanovic scored 16 points (6-10 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT) while adding six rebounds and a steal in 33 minutes during Friday's 99-91 win over the Heat.

He led all Pacers starters in scoring on a night when Victor Oladipo was uncharacteristically flat, Bogdanovic's sixth straight game with double-digit points. The 29-year-old is averaging a career-high 2.1 three-pointers a game so far, providing some key complementary scoring for Indiana, but his 51.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc seems ripe for regression.

Sabonis scored 15 points (7-10 FG, 1-1 FT) while adding 12 rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes off the bench during Friday's 99-91 win over the Heat.

On a night when Victor Oladipo was uncharacteristically flat, the Pacers' bench came to the rescue, as Sabonis recorded his third double-double in the last four games and sixth of the season. The third-year big man continues to be incredibly efficient on the offensive end, shooting 68.4 percent from the floor, and he's also averaging career highs in boards (9.1), assists (2.5) and blocks (0.6) despite seeing essentially the same workload he did last year.

Evans scored 23 points (6-13 FG, 5-7 3Pt, 6-6 FT) while adding 10 rebounds, two assists and a block in 25 minutes off the bench during Friday's 99-91 win over the Heat.

On a night when Victor Oladipo was uncharacteristically flat, the Pacers' bench came to the rescue, as Evans led the team in scoring while recording his first double-double of the season. The 29-year-old isn't seeing enough court time to have consistent fantasy value in most formats, but should an injury push him into a larger role, Evans still seems capable of making an impact.

Whiteside scored 12 points (6-15 FG) while adding 17 rebounds and two blocks in 29 minutes during Friday's 99-91 loss to the Pacers.

It's his sixth straight double-double and 11th in 14 games, and Whiteside has also re-emerged as one of the top shot-blockers in the league. He's recorded multiple blocks in 11 games this season as well, averaging 3.1 a game -- nearly double the 1.7 a game he supplied in an injury-plagued 2017-18.

Richardson scored 28 points (10-16 FG, 7-10 3Pt, 1-1 FT) while adding four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 41 minutes during Friday's 99-91 loss to the Pacers.

He led all scorers on the night, but unfortunately Richardson didn't get much help from his teammates, as no other Heat player managed more than 12 points. The 25-year-old has emerged as the focal point of Miami's offense this season, averaging career highs in points (20.8) and three-pointers (3.1) through 15 games.

Vatanen (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Saturday, with the move retroactive to Nov. 15.

Based on the NHL's IR rules, Vatanen will not be able to return until next Friday, meaning he's out for the next three contests. Eric Gryba has been called up from AHL Binghamton to take his roster spot in the meantime. Between the Finn's injury and being caught in a four-game point drought, Vatanen's ownership levels in fantasy hockey could dip precipitously. However, it's worth noting that he's still averaging 0.41 points per game over seven years of NHL service time between the Ducks and Devils.

Chara is reportedly in line to miss four-to-six weeks due to a left knee injury, Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic reports.

With three goals and four points to go along with 14 PIM in 18 games to date, Chara's fantasy value these days is modest, but the 41-year-old's leadership and shut-down ability are key to the Bruins' blue line corps. Moreover, the team is also dealing with injuries to Charlie McAvoy (concussion), Brandon Carlo (upper body), Kevan Miller (hand), John Moore (lower body) and Urho Vaakanainen (concussion). All of that has led to the recent NHL introduction of rookies Jakub Zboril and Connor Clifton. Back in September, Boston's perceived surplus of NHL-caliber defensemen led to the trade of rugged Adam McQuaid, but now it looks like the B's must weather at least a month without the veteran anchor of their blue line and hope that others are able to return to action sooner rather than later.

Pickard will start in goal Saturday afternoon against the visiting Lightning, Adam Kimelman of NHL.com reports.

The Flyers have been riding the carousel in goal, as this team continues to see different puck stoppers sustain injuries to an alarming degree. For example, Michal Neuvirth (undisclosed) has been shelved since Oct. 27, and we learned that Brian Elliott will miss two weeks with a lower-body injury. Pickard has been inconsistent as a stopgap option, posting a 3.96 GAA and .889 save percentage through seven games, and he still must prove that he can hold off prospect Carter Hart with the aforementioned netminders injured. His next challenger is a Lightning club that ranks sixth in road scoring at 3.11 goals per game.

Johnson will start in goal Saturday night against the Sharks in San Jose, Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Considering Johnson fashioned a 33-save shutout over the Sharks on Nov. 9, Blues coach Mike Yeo is confident that his backup goalie can double up on his success against Team Teal, even though this one will be held at the Shark Tank. Johnson's made four starts and has appeared in six games, but this counts as his first assignment away from St. Louis this season.

Konecny has three goals and eight points with a plus-4 rating in 19 games this season.

It's been a subpar start to 2018-19 for the 21-year-old. He had five points in his first eight games, giving him respectable numbers, but then he went on a five-game pointless streak and hasn't really recovered. Konecny has just one goal and three points in the last 11 contests. The good news is during that stretch, he's posted a plus-6 rating to move his plus/minus firmly into the positive. Other than that, Konecny has been a fantasy disappointment.

Hagg has just one assist in his last five games, but he's also posted a plus-6 rating, 17 hits and 16 blocks during that stretch.

The 23-year-old hasn't supplied much scoring this season and that will likely continue, but he's fantasy relevant in standard leagues thanks to the plus/minus and PIM categories. He owns a plus-10 rating and 14 PIM in 19 games this season. Hagg recorded a plus-5 rating and 32 PIM in 70 contests in 2017-18, so he appears to be breaking out in both categories this season. Of course, he's also very valuable for blocks and hits. Hagg has 36 blocks and 63 hits in 19 games.