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The most recent poll conducted at Bucs Dugout was to gauge how fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates think the team is going to perform this season, and how many wins they believe the Buccos will have. It was a close margin, but 38% of the fans that voted believe their Pirates will have between 85-89 wins this upcoming season, just narrowly beating out the 36% of fans that believed Pittsburgh will be around 80-84 wins.

These are overwhelmingly positive results on the outlook for Pittsburgh’s season, but for once this belief in the team is by no means delusional. The Pirates’ organization went out and did the right things this winter and had a very atypical offseason. For those outside of the Pirates fanbase, this means General Manager Ben Cherington and company actually went out and tried to make this ball club better.

Signing Ryan O’hearn was a big splash move in free-agency to bring in a former All-Star slugger who was the first free-agent to receive a multi-year contract from the Pirates since 2016 when starting pitcher Iván Nova was signed to a three-year deal worth $26 million. The Bucs didn’t stop there as they made a massive move in the trade market to acquire second baseman, Brandon Lowe, from Tampa. Not only did they add another power threat to their lineup but they finally filled the long standing vacancy at second base. With Lowe came prospects Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery who also are in line to make an impact in 2026.

The Pirates lineup is completely transformed from 2025, as the team is looking to put to rest the horrible offense that they trotted out to earn last place honors in the NL Central. Pittsburgh would finish with a 71-91 record in 2025, and were 26 games back from the division winning Milwaukee Brewers. The Pirates in 2025 scored the fewest amount of runs in Major League Baseball while also finishing with the fewest home runs and the lowest slugging percentage.

All things considered the Pirates made many improvements to the roster for this year and sticking with first time manager Don Kelly to lead the way feels like the culture is shifting in Pittsburgh. This will be a big prove it year for Kelly and company. FanDuel Sports Network has the Pirates at -550 odds to win 70 or more games this season, with +100 odds to meet the expected 80+ wins as voted on by fans at Bucs Dugout.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will open their regular season against the New York Mets with ace Paul Skenes getting the Opening Day start on Thursday, March 26, at 1:15 p.m. ET.

Interesting that, after I went to press yesterday, the start time for tomorrow’s game was changed to be an evening affair. Today, however? Suck it up, baby. Accuweather currently projects a temperature of 107 F at 4 pm, around the time this one ends. Remember to hydrate, folks. Or, better yet, don’t bother crossing the doorstep. For you can listen on the radio, though Arizona Sports 98.7 FM or online equivalents. Anyway, here’s today’s line-up, marking the final tune-up for Ryne Nelson before we hit the regular season schedule next week

After Ryne, it’ll be RHP Taylor Clarke, LHP Brandyn Garcia, RHP Paul Sewald and LHP Philip Abner. Yesterday, we saw Kade Stroud optioned out to Reno, thinning the herd of potential relievers. Here’s the list of who I see still not yet disposed of:

• Philip Abner
• Taylor Clarke
• Brandyn Garcia
• Kevin Ginkel
• Andrew Hoffmann
• Jonathan Loaisiga
• Cristian Mena
• Juan Morillo
• Joe Ross
• Paul Sewald
• Ryan Thompson
• Blake Walston

Walston and Mena are crossed out, because they are probably off the board for health reasons. The former had TJ about a year ago, so doesn’t seem ready, and Mena was shut down at the end of February, after re-aggravating the strained shoulder which has kept him out since last June. They may end up becoming 60-day IL fodder to open up spots on the 40-man roster for non-roster invitees. There are two still present: Loaisiga and Ross, though the latter hasn’t impressed with a 7.71 spring ERA and almost as many walks as K’s. Presuming eight bullpen spots, I’m crossing Ross and Garcia off, and the rest will be your Opening Day bullpen.

After today’s Cactus League game, there will be another contest, with a roster of D-backs prospects taking on the Rockies’ equivalent, in a Spring Breakout contest. The Arizona roster includes a slew of their top names: Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 1 prospect, MLB No. 59), Kayson Cunningham (No. 2), Demetrio Crisantes (No. 5), JD Dix (No. 6), Patrick Forbes (No. 9), LuJames Groover (No. 10), Jansel Luis (No. 13), Druw Jones (No. 16), Carlos Virahonda (No. 17), Brian Curley (No. 22), Wellington Aracena (No. 24), Ivan Luciano (No. 26), Jose Fernandez (No. 27), Avery Owusu-Asiedu (No. 29) and Gavin Conticello (No. 30). Let’s hope none of them melt.

Today the Cactus League slate comes to a close for the Texas Rangers as they end things in Arizona — fittingly — against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

LHP Austin Gomber gets the nod for Texas in the spring last hurrah opposite RHP Ryne Nelson for Arizona.

You can listen to the game via 105.3 The Fan or follow along on Gameday. First pitch from Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is scheduled for 3:10 pm CT.

Go Rangers!

I do grow weary of spring training games. My standing rule of baseball is that if you’re going to be a boring game, you better be short, and today’s contest against the Tigers was boring but about as long as a real matchup. The Yankees pushed across just a single run in the Saturday matinee, going down 3-1 against Detroit.

I think Cam Schlittler is ready for the games to count:

As we’ve come to expect from Cam, he threw his four-seam, sinker, and cutter 78 percent of the time today, but wasn’t able to avoid much contact, striking out just a single batter in 3.2 innings. This is one of the fun parts of spring training — the Tigers had a lot of their Opening Day starters in the lineup, so were they able to time up Schlittler’s pitches, or was he specifically trying to control quality of contact against him?

I tend to think it was more the latter, as 8 of Cam’s 11 outs came on the ground. That’s not really his style, running a 36.4-percent groundball rate last year, five points lower than league average. I wonder if that increased use of his sinker—the second-most-common offering today—was an attempt to almost pre-adjust to MLB-caliber hitting. In short, there are going to be occasions in the regular season where you don’t have your strikeout stuff, so on those days, are you able to change things up midgame to continue getting outs?

Dominican National Team catcher Austin Wells used the big fundamentals to push across the Yankees’ only run, after back-to-back singles from fellow Dominicans Amed Rosario and Jasson Domínguez:

Domínguez would continue to be the main character of the day, with a truly terrible approach to Dillon Dingler’s sac fly in the sixth:

Then again in the seventh, Jasson kept being the star with a triple, albeit one the hitters behind him couldn’t take advantage of. I’m starting to wonder if the Martian is the new version of Gleyber Torres, where he can actually be a quality part of an MLB roster, while still doing something every other game or so that makes you grind your teeth.

Kenedy Corona had himself a tough day. The farmhand was fighting the bright Florida sun all day, and the sun won on a critical fly ball to centerfield:

At least Angel Chivilli, brought in to replace Ryan Yarbrough in the seventh with two on and two out, was able to strike out old friend Jahmai Jones to end the threat. It hasn’t been an easy spring for the former Rockie, and while he’ll start the season with Triple-A, the approach to Jones — especially a devastating slider whiffed on for strike two — is illustrative to why the Yankees wanted him anyway.

Excluding tonight’s prospect-themed Spring Breakout, there are only three more of these left! Each start made from Thursday on was that pitcher’s final piece of work before the games start to count, and while the Yankees haven’t tapped a starter for tomorrow’s outing just yet, we know they’ll be back at home in Tampa to welcome the Phillies. It’s the last weekend without real baseball for a long time, and that Sunday affair will come at 1:05pm Eastern. As for the Spring Breakout, that will begin tonight against Atlanta’s prospects at 6:35pm ET on YES.

Box Score

We had a great matchup of two dominant lefties in Spring Training on Saturday, with Chris Sale facing Garrett Crochet and Sale’s former team, the Red Sox.

Sale gave up two very hard-hit balls in the first at over 104 MPH each, but only allowed a walk for a single baserunner. Sale was able to reign in the hard contact after the first and generally looked like himself, touching 97 on the radar gun and generating plenty of whiffs, despite relatively low strikeout totals. Michael Harris gave Chris an assist with a great jumping catch in the third. Sale continued to cruise his way through the game efficiently, completing 6.0 innings on 86 pitches wit 4 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 1 run allowed. That’s a solid outing for Sale, even with the relatively tame strikeout total by his standards in his final spring tune-up. Tyler Kinley took over in the seventh and allowed a single in a scoreless frame with one strikeout. Dylan Lee was the last major league pitcher to get some work on Saturday, as he worked a clean 8th inning with one strikeout.

On offense, Austin Riley continued his strong spring, blasting a 110 MPH home run off of Crochet in the second and a hard-hit double in the third.

Elsewhere on offense, Ozzie also hit a double, Olson hit a 101 MPH single in the third and a 107 MPH single in the seventh, and Eli White drew a walk. There were some additional Looney Tunes moments that resulted in a box score single for Olson and double for Riley in the fifth that were not batted balls deserving of those box score classifications. Those were the most notable performances at the plate by players expected to be on the Opening Day roster.

Join us again tomorrow at 1:05 PM ET, as Reynaldo Lopez gets his last bit of work in this spring.

Cam Schlittler pitched into the fourth inning without allowing a run, but the Yankees bats went cold in their 3-1 loss to the Tigers on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, the Yankees are 17-11 in Grapefruit League play.

Here are the takeaways...

-In his final spring start before the regular season, Schlittler continued his dominant March. He didn't allow a runner into scoring position until the third, after Javier Baez led off with a single and made it to third base on a sac bunt and sac fly. However, Schlittler stranded Baez at third to keep the scoreless tie. 

To the Tigers' credit, they made Schlittler work the second time through the order. They were patient and forced the young right-hander to throw 5-6 pitches per at-bat. With two outs and a runner on first, manager Aaron Boone pulled Schlittler after 3.2 scoreless innings (62 pitches/40 strikes). He allowed just two hits and one walk, while striking out one. 

Over his three spring starts, Schlittler has allowed just one run on six hits and two walks across 9.2 IP while striking out 11 batters. 

-On the offensive side, the Yankees had opportunities against Framber Valdez but could not break through until the third. Amed Rosario, starting at third base, led off with a double and Jasson Dominguez hit a one-out bloop single to put runners on the corners for Austin Wells. The Yankees backstop, who had a double earlier in the game, hit a sac bunt to first base to drive in Rosario.

-Jasson Dominguez continued his very strong spring on Saturday. He went 2-for-3 with a standup triple, hitting right-handed against Valdez. The talented outfielder was optioned to Triple-A on Friday as the Yankees outfield is cluttered to start the season, but the 23-year-old is showing the organization why he was highly touted over the years.

Dominguez is now hitting .349 with three home runs, two doubles, one triple, 10 RBI and three stolen bases across 15 spring games. 

Randal Grichuk, who will make the Opening Day roster as the Yankees' fourth outfielder over Dominguez, started as the DH in this one. He went hitless and is now batting .111 in seven games after signing late this spring.

-Brent Headrick, looking for a spot in the bullpen, got the final out for Schlittler in the fourth. He's allowed two runs in seven appearances (7.0 IP) this spring. 

-Ryan Yarbrough took over after Headrick and was not his sharpest. The southpaw allowed a two-out single to Kerry Carpenter in the fifth to score Baez from second. He then followed up with a leadoff walk to Jahmai Jones in the sixth and Colt Keith's single put Jones on third with one out -- Keith was thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double. Dillon Dingler flew out to left field to push across the Tigers' second run. 

In the seventh, Yarbrough allowed back-to-back, one-out doubles in the seventh to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead. However, that second double was lost in the sun by center fielder Kenedy Corona and dumped in for a ground-rule double when it should have been the second out. Yarbrough got one more out before he was pulled with a runner on, but he was stranded by Angel Chivilli as the book closed on Yarbrough's day.

Yarbrough threw 54 pitches (30 strikes), allowing three runs on five hits and two walks in 2.2 innings pitched. He's allowed four runs in three spring appearances (7.2 IP). It was just his second spring appearance since returning from the WBC. 

-Although the Yankees picked up seven hits, they could only get one run across the plate. Not too surprising considering most of their starters did not play in this one. But here's how the notable names, who will likely be on the Opening Day roster, did in Saturday's game:

• Paul Goldschmidt: 0-4, 2 K
• Jose Caballero: 1-3, BB
• Rosario: 1-4, R, K
• Grichuk: 0-3, BB
• Wells: 1-2, RBI, K

What's next

The Yankees' spring training slate continues Sunday afternoon against the Phillies. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.

San Diego Padres at Milwaukee Brewers, March 21, 2026, 1:10 p.m. PST

Watch: None

Location: American Family Fields of Phoenix – Phoenix, AZ

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

• Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
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GB community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!

Just four more days of spring training!

The Brewers will play their second-to-last game in Arizona this afternoon (not including an extra Spring Breakout game in there tomorrow), when they play host to the San Diego Padres at American Family Fields of Phoenix. For Milwaukee, Robert Gasser gets a last chance at making an impression on the Brewers’ decision makers. For San Diego, Randy Vásquez will take the mound.

Gasser remains very much in contention for an early season rotation spot, but it’s not really because of his spring performance. In 6 1/3 innings across three appearances, Gasser has allowed seven runs, all earned, on nine hits and three walks. It would be nice to see Gasser lower that 9.95 ERA today, given that he’s got a real chance at getting some time in the Brewers’ rotation to start the season; with Quinn Priester injured and Brandon Woodruff taking it slow, the opportunity is there. It’ll be a cavalcade of lefties today, as Aaron Ashby and DL Hall are also both scheduled to pitch, as is Easton McGee.

Milwaukee features an interesting outfield alignment today, with Brandon Lockridge, Garrett Mitchell, and Jackson Chourio going left to right. Jake Bauers is at first base today, with Andrew Vaughn handling DH duties and Brice Turang, Joey Ortiz, and David Hamilton rounding out the infield. William Contreras is catching and batting third.

One roster note today that doesn’t come as too much of a surprise: Reese McGuire has exercised his opt-out clause and is a free agent. There was a week where it looked like McGuire had a good shot at making the Brewers as the backup catcher, but when they brought Gary Sánchez in on a major-league deal, it closed off any route for McGuire that did not involve an injury to either Sánchez or Contreras. He also had a rough spring and hit just .103. All the best to McGuire.

Today’s game can be seen on Brewers.TV and is the MLB.TV free game of the day. First pitch at 3:10 p.m. central time.

The third iteration of the now annual Spring Breakout prospect showcase is set to continue on Saturday, and the Atlanta Braves prospects will be taking on the New York Yankees in a game that brings renewed enthusiasm for Braves prospects. After revitalizing the hitting talent with a focus on position player talent in the early rounds of the 2025 MLB draft the Braves will be running out the strongest lineup of the three games, including last season’s first round pick Tate Southisene.

Time: 6:35 PM ET

Venue: George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, FL

How to Watch: YES | MLB Network | MLB.tv | MLB.com

Braves prospects to watch

The Braves are not often keen on running their top pitchers out for Spring Breakout, and this year is no exception with only a handful of the best prospects available for the game. Most notably, 2022 first round pick Owen Murphy is kicking off his full season return from his 2024 Tommy John surgery with a spot on this roster. The 22-year old Murphy has been a monster with a 1.39 ERA and 35.5% strikeout rate in 14 games between 2024 and 2025, and though questions still linger around his fastball velocity his elite command has provided promising results when paired with the elite spin and vertical movement on the pitch. For more info on Murphy and many of the prospects in this game, please check out our top 30 Braves prospects for the 2026 season.

While Murphy is the clear number one in the pitching room, there is still a decent group of talent behind him with four other top 30 prospects on the staff. Garrett Baumann is looking for redemption after a poor showing in the 2025 game, in which he walked five batters and allowed four runs in an inning of work, though he also showed off improved velocity. The improvements in his velocity and his slider turned into a solid showing in 2025, when he struck out more batters than in 2024 and had a 3.31 xFIP as a 20 year old in High-A. Baumann is still looking for command consistency and further improvement to that slider, but his mid-90’s velocity, strong changeup, and good control make him an intriguing starting pitching prospect. Herick Hernandez, Jhancarlos Lara, and Hayden Harris are the best of the rest and all have legitimate potential to make impacts in the Braves bullpen in the near future. Lara is the most exciting of the trio with a fastball that regularly clears triple digits and the best slider in the system, though his command has made him a volatile piece in the minor leagues. Lara is on the 40 man roster and has the opportunity to get to Atlanta this season, though he will need to throw more strikes to reach his immense ceiling. Hayden Harris dominated in Triple-A last seasons after improvements to his slider unlocked a new level to this game, and is hoping to lock down a permanent role in the big leagues after making his debut last season. Herick Hernandez is currently starting at the minor league level and had a solid season in 2025 with a 28.7% strikeout rate. Hernandez has a low-90’s fastball with elite carry and an above average slider, though his lack of a clear third pitch and his poor command has cast doubts on his potential as a starter. He could fit well in the bullpen if the Braves make a quick switch, though for now they have remained committed to the strategy of trying him as a starter and getting him more innings and reps.

The offense is where the Braves have a surprising chance to shine, with a position player cast loaded with top 30 talent. On the infield alone there are four 2025 draftees, with five total, and all of the Braves top position players are represented in the field. John Gil turned a 1-3 performance in last year’s game into a breakout 2025 with the 19 year old showing elite hitting talent and improved power and defense in Augusta last season. The Braves top two picks in the draft are also part of a stacked infield. First round pick Tate Southisene will look to take on Single-A ball this season in his first full season at the professional level, and with his all-around offensive game and solid defensive characteristics he is the top infield prospect in the system. Alex Lodise isn’t far behind, however, and he has the potential to move more quickly through the system and be the first of the Braves shortstops to the big leagues. Lodise has solid power potential and is seen as a lock to stick at the shortstop position, and was a great pickup for the Braves in the back end of last draft’s second round. The rest of the infield is rounded out with later draftees Cody Miller and Dixon Williams, as well as 2024’s top international prospect Jose Perdomo. Injuries and regression (somewhat related to injury) have dulled the shine of what was once considered an organization-defining prospect, and Perdomo is looking for a bounceback 2026 to reclaim his place as one of the system’s best prospects. ba

For as strong as the infield cast is the Braves outfield prospects may be even scarier, with the presence of Diego Tornes headlining the prospects in the game. After playing last season in the Dominican Summer League Tornes has yet to get the film and attention of some of the prospects in full season ball, yet the 17-year-old still carries lofty expectations and has a case to be the top position player prospect in the system. While there have a been a few notable international prospects to flame out in recent seasons Tornes seems cut above the rest with elite bat speed and plus hitting traits and the potential for middle-of-the-order power. This game is Tornes’s chance to stamp his name in the consciousness of avid Braves fans and he has the highest ceiling of any Braves prospect.

The youth in the outfield continues to flow, however, with the heart of the 2025 Augusta GreenJackets lineup all making their way to Tampa for this game. Isaiah Drake shook off a dreadful and injury-laden 2024 campaign to make marvelous improvement in 2025, improving his swing, cutting a huge chunk out of the swing-and-miss, and improving his power output at the plate. Drake has elite athletic traits and is a plus defender in center field, and though his power remains a question mark, another strong season would put him in the top half of the system’s top 30 list. Owen Carey didn’t turn 19 until mid-July, yet even still was the GreenJackets’s most consistent offensive threat in 2025. His numbers did dip a touch at the end of the season, but throughout the year he showed above average barrel feel and was able to keep his strikeout rate at an impressive 15.6%. He needs to improve his approach and drive the ball more on the pull side to reach his starter potential, but he has room to grow into more strength and has the foot speed and instincts to fit as an average defender in center field. An elite runner with the ability to play both center field and second base, Eric Hartman had an impressive showing as well in 2025. While his swing-and-miss was a bigger problem than it was for Drake or Carey, Hartman showed the potential to get to average power in the near future with his propensity to pull the ball in the air, and he showed the patience to draw walks and work deep counts. The next in the wave of GreenJackets prospects comes up in this outfield as well with 2025 fifth-round pick Conor Essenburg rounding out the top outfield prospects. Essenburg, despite his fifth-round selection, was still a notable pick receiving a $1.2 million signing bonus, and he has the physical presence scouts look for when projecting middle-of-the-order bats. Essenburg has good enough footspeed to potentially project to center field as well, though right now there are plenty of questions about his ability to make contact. He has the bat speed to catch up to elite fastballs, but didn’t show much consistency at the plate against good secondaries in high school and he has yet to make his professional debut.

We hope you will follow along with us at Battery Power for this exciting event, and for all of our minor league content yet to come this season.

The Mets have officially revealed the order of their starting rotation to begin the 2026 regular season. While it has long been known that Freddy Peralta would get the ball when the Mets take the field on March 26 against the Pirates, the club revealed today that David Peterson would get the ball in Game 2, with Nolan McLean starting the series closer against the Pirates. Clay Holmes and Kodai Senga would round out the first two games of the team’s road series against the Cardinals.

The Mets have long been rumored to be embracing a six-man rotation in 2026, and while that plan is likely still in tact, one new bit of information came out today regarding Sean Manaea. The left-hander, who endured an injury-plagued and ineffective 2025 campaign after re-signing with New York on a three-year deal, will piggy back off one of the team’s five starters to begin the regular season. Carlos Mendoza did not specify which starter he would piggy back with, and it’s possible that he has not yet come to that decision.

Manaea is coming off a spring training outing in which he threw four perfect innings, but his velocity has remained down this spring. Mendoza offered his explanation for the decision to piggy back Manaea to start, citing six guys throwing the ball well and the early season schedule. Because of the off days on March 27 and April 6, the Mets can go five a five-man rotation while also getting everyone an extra day of rest. The first day they would theoretically need a sixth starter is Sunday, April 12 against the Athletics at Citi Field, if all else stays the same.

The Mets’ starting pitching went from looking like a weakness to a strength when the club acquired Peralta in a trade with the Brewers at the tail end of the offseason. That, combined with McLean starting for a full year, should help solidify a rotation that was ninth in the NL with a 4.13 ERA but 13th in the league with a 5.27 ERA after June 13. The Mets’ rotation was especially ineffective going deep into games, combining for 428 2/3 innings from June 13 onward (dead last in baseball).

Here’s today’s lineup:

CF Schneemann

C Fry

1B Manzardo

LF Fairchild

DH Naylor

RF Kayfus

3B Mooney

2B Bazzana

SS Tolentino

P Bibee

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

The San Diego Padres provided some clarity with their starting pitching situation with the announcement from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune on Friday that Walker Buehler has made the roster, and he and German Marquez are expected to occupy the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation.

The San Diego rotation to start the season will look something like this:

1. Nick Pivetta
2. Michael King
3. Randy Vasquez
4. Walker Buehler
5. German Marquez

Joe Musgrove will start the season on the IL and is expected to return sooner than later but has not pitched in a game since March 4 against Great Britain. Griffin Canning is on the mend and is expected to return to MLB action sometime in May, but there is no exact date for his return. Matt Waldron returned to game action last week after being shut down due to hemorrhoid surgery. Waldron is out of options and is likely to start the season on the IL, but if not, he will have to be released and pass through waivers for the Padres to retain him.

Of the healthy pitching options remaining, there is Marco Gonzales who had a decent showing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, but has struggled throughout Spring Training, JP Sears, who has shown he is susceptible to the home run and Triston McKenzie who has struggled with command.

None of the healthy names remaining will have the Frair Faithful standing on their heads, but Sears has received praise about his work ethic and desire to get better from Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla and McKenzie, who worked with Niebla in Cleveland, has increased his velocity and is actively working to have better command of his pitches. If they can improve upon their spring performances, Sears and McKenzie could still have significant roles this season despite not breaking camp on the Opening Day roster.

When considering all the above factors, it is no wonder the respondents from this week’s Padres Reacts Survey on Gaslamp Ball have a high level of concern about the San Diego rotation.

Many Padres fans looked forward to the return of Musgrove after he missed all of the 2025 season following Tommy John surgery, but San Diego manager Craig Stammen said the organization will take its time bringing the right-hander from San Diego back to the MLB mound. Musgrove himself stated he understood he would have some restrictions this season and might have to take some time off. His absence definitively changes the look and depth of the Padres’ rotation.

Opening Day is less than a week away. There is some clarity about the Padres rotation to start the season, but the questions about how long it will remain that way or how it will perform is anyone’s guess.

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The Cactus League ends today. The Royals will finish with more than twice as many losses as wins, thanks to losing the core of their team to the WBC for two weeks. But the boys are back in town. Until tomorrow, when they head to Texas for two more exhibition games before finally, blessedly, beginning the regular season in six days from now, when Cole Ragans takes on Chris Sale in a game that will make lefties everywhere cringe in support.

Today’s lineup:

Things start pretty normally with Maikel Garcia leading off and Bobby Witt Jr. batting second but quickly get very weird. Three guys who are in this lineup still probably won’t be on the team next week, and two of them may not even be in the organization. Cole Ragans gets his final tune-up before the regular season starts. Scheduled to pitch behind him are:

• Nick Mears
• Lucas Erceg
• John Schreiber

No more minor league cannon fodder for the Rockies. The Royals are just about ready to get serious, here.

Knock on wood, but if the Royals make it through today’s game safely, they will have accomplished what is always the most important goal of Spring Training: they will have gotten through it mostly healthy. Stephen Kolek is already throwing again, and other players who missed time have been back in the lineup and on the field. Our long winter is just about over, and the summer gets started next week. Go Royals!

Mets right field candidate Mike Tauchman exited the team's spring training game against the Astros with left knee soreness, according to Carlos Mendoza.

Tauchman took one at-bat in the third inning of Saturday's game and grounded out to second base, but it was noticeable that he grimaced getting down the first base line. Tauchman took the field in the fourth and tried to make a play on the ball, but as it went over his head, he hunched over after throwing the ball back into the infield. 

Tauchman tried to take the field in the fifth, running out to right field, but hobbled back to the dugout. He was replaced in the field with AJ Salgado.

Following the game, Mendoza didn't have much of an update on Tauchman's condition but confirmed the outfielder will receive an MRI. He's unsure where or when the injury occurred, but they hope to know more soon.

"Every time you’re sending someone for an MRI, there’s a little concern there," Mendoza said. "Like I said, a lot can happen before we make the final decisions [on the roster] and here we are dealing with an injury."

The 35-year-old Tauchman was vying for a roster spot in right field. While many believed prospect Carson Benge had the inside track, Tauchman was challenging for the starting role, or at least a spot on the bench. Entering Saturday, Tauchman was 7-for-29 (.241) with a home run, three doubles and six RBI while playing very good defense. 

Tauchman is entering his ninth season in the league after stints with the Rockies, Yankees, Cubs and White Sox. Last season, he played 93 games on the south side of Chicago, slashing .263/.36/.400 with an OPS of .756 to go along with nine home runs and 40 RBI.

Mike Tauchman is experiencing some discomfort as he plays right field today pic.twitter.com/UvMCMHaLJa

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 21, 2026

Mike Tauchman attempted to run out to right field to assume his position but came up limping

He has exited the game pic.twitter.com/gAZrdqFjvQ

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 21, 2026