Worldwide Sports News

The calendar has officially turned to March, which means we get some honest to goodness, legit baseball to talk about. The World Baseball Classic begins this week, and in just a few weeks time the Boston Red Sox will begin their 2026 season in earnest against the Cincinnati Reds.

Until the really good stuff can start, though, we’ve got a few more days of regular Spring Training coverage to get through. I don’t know how many “He’s in the best shape of his life” comments I got left in me, folks, but one development is catching my eye: the opportunity for infielder Franklin Arias to prove himself in Fort Myers.

The 20-year-old, who will start today against the Blue Jays, might still be a year or so away from prime time, but he’s certainly turned some heads in scouting circles. He’s currently ranked as the number 31 prospect in Boston’s system by MLB Pipeline. SoxProspects has him listed as the number two youngster in the minors after Payton Tolle. Keith Law of The Athletic took it one step further, ranking him as the Red Sox’s top prospect and the 12th ranked prospect league wide while adding that he could’ve been in the running for the first overall pick of the 2027 MLB Draft if he were currently in college.

Now granted, there isn’t a ton we can take away from Spring Training performances one way or the other. That’s especially the case for a prospect who’s only now getting his first big taste of MLB-caliber opposition.

Even then, though, I still think this is a great opportunity for Arias to strut his stuff. With the WBC opening some playing time for other members of the organization, this provides us with a chance to take stock in the youngster at the very least. His stock has been on the rise—and even some voices at places like Baseball America think there could be even more to come, especially offensively—and if he’s able to hold his own this spring, I’d feel very confident about his development leading up to his eventual debut at the top level of the sport.

What does a successful spring look like for Arias against MLB talent? Far be it from me to establish the standards, I suppose, but I’d imagine it looks something like this:

1. Keep everything clean with the glove. He’s a 60-grade fielder per Pipeline, so I’m hopeful we get to see that tool in action.
2. Maintain good plate discipline and make good swing decisions in the box, even if the end results aren’t perfect. Process over results in the spring is fine, though flashes of that 60-grade hitting tool would be swell as well. Arias only struck out about 10% of the time across three levels in 2025 while posting a swinging-strike rate of just over 5%, according to FanGraphs. That’s great, especially for a player of his age.
3. If I’m being selfish: any signs of increased slugging potential would be awesome. You can’t expect a middle infielder who stands under six feet and weighs about 170 to be a consistent power threat, but the Red Sox live by the gospel of bat speed; even if it’s just a few examples of line drives into the power alleys, some evidence of impressive exit velos and bat speed would be icing on the cake on top of the prior two points. He currently rates out as a 40-grade power hitter, but again: he’s only 20 and there’s opportunity for more progression on that front.
4. Uhh, don’t get hurt, I guess. Florida’s a crazy place.

If all of that is put together in the coming weeks, then consider me the conductor of the Franklin Arias hype train. All aboard, dear readers.

Pipeline lists his ETA to the big leagues at 2027. Trevor Story and Romy Gonzalez, as important as they may be for the 2026 Red Sox, will not be around forever; we’re fairly close to a reality where Arias and Marcelo Mayer are manning either the left side of the infield or the middle infield for a considerable period.

If that ends up being the case, perhaps the spring of 2026 will act as the foundation of a great start to Franklin Arias’ MLB journey.

Move over spring training, the World Baseball Classic is here. Many of the best players in the world will be suiting up for their countries to compete in this two-week-long triennial tournament. Over the next few days, we’ll be previewing the teams in each of the four pools, starting with Pool A. There are five teams in each pool, and all will play a single game against each of the other four teams in their pool between March 6th and March 11th. The top two teams in each pool advance to the quarter finals, which begin on March 13th.

Today, we’ll take a look at Pool A — consisting of Puerto Rico, Canada, Cuba, Panama, and Colombia — whose games will be played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

Team Puerto Rico

One of the host nations of this year’s tournament, Puerto Rico will be without some serious firepower. Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, José Berríos, Emilio Pagán, and Alexis Díaz are all ineligible to participate after failing to secure insurance to participate, while Javier Báez was disqualified after testing positive for marijuana on a drug test at the end of the last tournament. That leaves newly minted Diamondback Nolan Arenado as the unquestioned leader on the position player side having switched allegiances after appearing for Team USA in 2017 and 2023. Martín Maldonado and Christian Vázquez will share catching duties while the outfield wasn’t left quite as bare as the infield by the insurance issues, with Willi Castro, MJ Melendez, Heliot Ramirez, and Eddie Rosario in the mix.

The bullpen is Puerto Rico’s undeniable strength, headlined by new Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz — whose patellar tendon injury suffered while celebrating a win in the 2023 tournament led to the more stringent insurance regulations. He’s joined by Yankees setup man Fernando Cruz as well as the likes of Rico Garcia and Jorge López. Their rotation has got some decent arms as well, led by 2024 AL Cy Young runner-up Seth Lugo as well as the Yankees’ top pitching prospect Elmer Rodríguez. Manager Yadier Molina should have enough talent at his disposal to emerge from the group stage.

Team Canada

They may be without team leader Freddie Freeman this year — sitting out due to personal reasons — but Team Canada’s offense still should have enough thump to advance to the knockout stages for the first time in their nation’s history. They’ll be led by the Naylor brothers, Josh having recently re-signed with the Mariners on a five year deal and Bo the starting catcher for the Guardians. In fact, they probably have the deepest roster on the position player side of any team in Pool A. Filling out the rest of the infield are Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez and utilitymen Abraham Toro and Edouard Julien of the Royals and Rockies, respectively. Their outfield is quite strong as well, with A’s defensive wizard Denzel Clark flanked by Tyler O’Neill of the Orioles and Owen Caissie — the headliner in the trade that netted the Cubs Edward Cabrera from the Marlins.

Their starting rotation will be without its ace Nick Pivetta, but they’ve still got a pretty decent unit. Jameson Taillon, Mike Siroka, and Cal Quantrill will be joined by a pair of 37-year-olds coming out of retirement just for the tournament, “Big Maple” James Paxton having last pitched for the Red Sox in 2024 and Phillippe Aumont having last made a major league appearance for the Phillies in 2015. The bullpen is also affected by absences, foremost Guardians closer Cade Smith — the most valuable reliever in baseball in each of the last two seasons — as well as the Mariners’ Matt Brash. Their only reliever currently on an MLB team is the Brewers’ lefty specialist Rob Zastryzny.

Team Cuba

Team Cuba loosened their roster restrictions before the start of the previous tournament, extending invitations to certain MLB players whereas in the past they refused to roster those who had defected. However, the arbitrariness and lack of transparency behind that invitation process is the principal reason why new Met Luis Robert Jr. has declined to participate. Yoenis Céspedes isn’t coming out of retirement at age 40 to suit up, and Yordan Alvarez has not received an invitation this year or in 2023. In fact, things are so dire that the 44-year-old Alexei Ramirez, who last played for the Rays in 2016, will likely start at shortstop. The onus is on the Angels’ Yoán Moncada to lead the position players alongside four-time Japan Series champion Alfredo Despaigne.

Blue Jays pitcher Yariel Rodríguez is the only pitcher on Team Cuba with MLB experience. However, they do have two of the best pitchers from NPB on the roster. Livan Moinelo pitched to a 1.46 ERA with 172 strikeouts in 167 innings last season, while Raidel Martinez led NPB with 46 saves in 2025. Team Cuba may have surprised many when they advanced all the way to the semifinals in 2023, losing 14-2 to Team USA, but it will likely require a miracle for a similar performance in this year’s edition.

Team Panama

Team Panama returned to the WBC in 2023 after failing to qualify for the previous two tournaments. Their speed will be one of the stories of the tournament, Yankees shortstop José Caballero having led the AL in steals in each of the last two seasons and Orioles center field prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. assigned 80-grade speed by certain publications. Their infield is the undoubted strength of the team, Caballero joined by Phillies third baseman Edmundo Sosa, Blue Jays second baseman Leo Jiménez, Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya, and former Phillies first baseman Johan Camargo. Heck, even former Mets shortstop Rúben Tejada made the roster at age 36. They’ll definitely miss Cardinals DH Iván Herrera after he failed to secure insurance, but it’s still a deeper group in terms of MLB talent than many WBC rosters.

The pitching side is where things get a little shaky. Outside of Guardians starter Logan Allen, there isn’t much big league experience in the rotation or bullpen. Jaime Barria pitched for the Angels for six seasons while Poalo Espino bounced around various bullpens for seven seasons, both having most recently pitched in the Mexican League. Otherwise, their best option at starter is probably Ariel Jurado, who has been one of the best starters in KBO in the last few years.

Team Colombia

Colombia are likely to struggle the most of any of the teams in Pool A having won just two games in two WBC appearances. However, they also return the most players from their 2023 roster of any team in the pool. They are led by a pair of grizzled veterans in 37-year-old Jose Quintana — now playing for his ninth team with the Rockies — and 38-year-old free agent infielder Donovan Solano.

There’s a sprinkling of big leaguers across the roster, but otherwise this is a team that’s light on big names. Julio Teherán is a two-time All-Star with the Braves now pitching in the Mexican League at age 35 — he’ll join Quintana in the rotation — though the loss of fellow starter Nabil Crismatt to injury is a blow. Jorge Alfaro has been a backup catcher for six different organizations and Gio Urshela is the Yankees’ former third baseman now playing for the Twins.

Hello and happy Monday, folks. Happy March, too.

The World Baseball Classic starts this week! That’s awesome! A total of 14 players within the organization—the baker’s dozen I highlighted a few weeks ago on OTM plus Roman Anthony—will be competing in the international tournament.

That leads to the question of the day: which of those guys will put up the best performance in the tournament? Does Jarren Duran continue his hot streak this week while playing for Mexico? Does Roman Anthony emerge as a key part of Team USA? Does Masataka Yoshida turn it on for Samurai Japan? Will any of the three Venezuelans that the Red Sox Boast vault them to a championship run? Is it someone else?

You tell me in the comments below and talk about whatever else you want.

Be good to each other and go Sox.

Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! We are now in the month in which real baseball will take place. In less than three-and-a-half weeks, the Orioles will take the field at Camden Yards to kick off the 2026 season. It’s way too early, of course, to look ahead to the weather on that day. But things are trending upward, and we could see 70 degrees by the end of the week.

The Orioles faced the Red Sox on the road yesterday in Grapefruit League action. They came from behind with seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings to capture an 8-7 win. Chris Bassitt made his spring debut and allowed two runs in two innings. Jeisson Cabrera (#92) allowed four runs in just two-thirds of an inning. No, I don’t know who that is either.

The best news from yesterday’s game was that Samuel Basallo was back in the lineup. He was pulled from Thursday’s game with an apparent injury, but it was thankfully minor enough to only keep him out a few days. He celebrated his return with a single, a double, and a walk. He did make an error, one of three in the game for the Orioles. I dunno about this defense, guys.

Basallo took a baseball to the hand early in the game while blocking a pitch. It seemed to bother him a bit after it happened, but he shook it off and stayed in the game. Stop scaring us, Samuel!

Other offensive standouts in yesterday’s game were Dylan Beavers, with two doubles, and Heston Kjerstad, who had three more hits. The Hestonaissance continues to be one of the most pleasing things of the spring for me. Also, Enrique Bradfield started the game and impressed with a single and a walk, along with some sparkling defense in right field. You won’t hear much more about Bradfield out of Sarasota as he will be representing Team Panama in the World Baseball Classic.

The Orioles are off today, just one of two off days they have this spring. Tomorrow, they welcome Team Netherlands to Ed Smith Stadium for an exhibition game. Trevor Rogers will make the start, but the game will not be broadcast anywhere. We’ll have to rely on the beat writers to tell us how impressive he looks.

Links

With feats of speed and fielding, Orioles outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. turns heads – The Baltimore Banner
Andy Kostka has more on Enrique Bradfield’s skillset, with quotes from Bradfield after his good game yesterday.

Bassitt’s debut and impressive days for Basallo, Kjerstad, Beavers, and Bradfield – MASN Sports
Roch Kubatko’s rundown of yesterday’s win.

Albernaz looks at new Orioles bench coach Donnie Ecker as an extension of him – Baltimore Baseball
Rich Dubroff has a lot of words about Donnie Ecker, the new bench coach

Birthdays and History

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have five birthday buddies, including Jay Gibbons (49). Gibbons was a Rule 5 pick by the Orioles in 2000 who went on to play in 779 games with the Orioles from 2001-07. He was something of a poster boy for those dark days teams and was ultimately released after being named in the Mitchell Report.

Also born on this day in history are former Orioles Bud Norris (41), Leo Gómez (60), Joe Taylor (b. 1926, d. 1993), and Cal Abrams (b. 1924, d. 1997).

There isn’t anything interesting on this day in Orioles history, but on this day in baseball history:

• In 1927, Babe Ruth became the highest-paid player in Major League history with a $70,000 salary announced by the Yankees.
• In 2005, Jackie Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. It is accepted on his behalf by his widow, Rachel Robinson.
• Also in 2005, the Washington Nationals played their first game since moving to DC from Montreal.
• In 2012, MLB announced that the playoffs would be expanded to ten teams, with an additional wild card. That was good news for the Orioles, who captured one of those wild-card spots that year.

Happy Birthday to Reese McGuire* and other former Cubs, fighting amongst themselves,and other stories.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths.

“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire.

Today in baseball history:

• 1874 – At the fourth meeting of the National Association of Professional Baseball Players in Boston, the batter’s box is officially adopted. It is also decided that expulsion will be the penalty for any player betting on his own team and any player betting on any other team will forfeit his pay. (1,2)
• 1888 – The National League meets in New York and abolishes all discounts from the 50-cent minimum admission price. Despite the demands of the Brotherhood and the fact that the rule is practically a dead letter, the NL refuses to drop its $2,000 salary limit rule. The schedule committee recommends that the season go to 140 games from the current 126. (2)
• 1899 – At the National League meeting in New York, an attempt to expel the St. Louis Browns, who had a 39-111 record in 1898, fails by a 7-4 margin. It is also decided that no club may hold more than 18 players on its reserve list. St. Louis will play as the “Perfectos” in the upcoming season. (2)
• 1927 – Babe Ruth becomes the highest-paid player in major league history when the Yankees announce he will earn $70,000 per season for the next three years. Ruth will sign the historic contract on March 4th. The “Sultan of Swat,” who had asked for $100,000, meets Colonel Jacob Ruppert at the owner’s brewery in the Yorkville section of Manhattan to finalize the historic deal. (1,2)
• 1966 – Commissioner William Eckert voids the contract recently signed by collegiate star Tom Seaver. The Atlanta Braves had signed Seaver to a $50,000 bonus a week earlier, but Eckert cites a rule prohibiting teams from signing players while their college seasons are ongoing. A special draft will be held after the collegiate season to reassign Seaver’s rights. (2)
• 1992 – The highest-paid player tag now belongs to Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs. The All-Star second baseman signs a four-year contract extension worth $7.1 million per season.
• 2011 – A fight breaks out in the Cubs dugout between P Carlos Silva and 3B Aramis Ramirez after a dreadful performance in the first inning of a Cactus League game against the Brewers, when the Cubs commit a slew of mistakes and fall behind 6-0. The fight reminds everyone of a similar occurrence in June of the previous season, when P Carlos Zambrano and 1B Derrek Lee came to blows in the dugout. (2)
• 2012 – Major League Baseball confirms that starting this year, the postseason will be expanded from eight to 10 teams, with an extra wild card team in each league. The two wild card teams in each league will play one game to determine which one will then face the team with the league’s best record in the Division Series. (2)
• 2021 – In one of these bizarre twists only seen in spring training games in pandemic times, pitcher John Means of the Orioles is pulled out of a Grapefruit League game after two outs in the first inning for having reached his pitch count limit, and then re-enters the game to pitch the second. He needs 29 pitches in the first, but after his rest, retires the side on just 10 offerings. This is possible thanks to the special Coronavirus rules that have seen these games be limited to seven innings, and teams only suit up a small number of players to avoid crowding the dugouts; conversely, players are allowed to re-enter games, something that has been prohibited in meaningful games since the demise of the courtesy runner. (2)

Cubs Birthdays:Charlie Bastian, William Fischer, Rip Wheeler, George Stueland, Butch Weis, Woody English, Mort Cooper, Pete Broberg, Leo Gomez, Reese McGuire*. Also notable: Moe Berg, Mel Ott HOF.

More about Moe Berg, from SABR. One of my favorite players of all time.

Casey Stengel, an eccentric man himself, called Moe Berg “the strangest man ever to play baseball.”

Today in history:

• 1776 – American troops begin shelling the British in Boston.
• 1791 – Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
• 1824 – Interstate commerce comes under federal (U.S.) control.
• 1836 – Republic of Texas declares independence from Mexico in Columbia.
• 1867 – US Congress creates the Department of Education.
• 1888 – The Convention of Constantinople signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace.
• 1966 – Black Hawks right wing Bobby Hull becomes the NHL’s first two-time 50-goal scorer when he strikes in a 5-4 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Chicago Stadium.
• 1969 – Boston center Phil Esposito becomes first player in NHL history to record 100 points in a season when he scores two 3rd-period goals in the Bruins’ 4-0 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.
• 1970 – Supreme Court ruled draft evaders can not be penalized after five years.
• 1974 – Grand jury concludes US President Richard Nixon is involved in Watergate cover-up.
• 1998 – Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter’s moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.

Common sources:

• (1) — Today in Baseball History.
• (2) — Baseball Reference.
• (3) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (4) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
• (5) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
• (6) — Wikipedia.
• (7) — The British Museum
• (8) — For world history.

*pictured.

Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, in order to help correct the record.

For Angels fans, these are the worst of times.

Their team is coming off back-to-back last-place finishes for the first time in 50 years. The team 30 miles up the freeway is coming off back-to-back World Series championships, led by a global icon who left Anaheim when the Angels could not deliver a winning team and would not promise him $700 million. The owner says he wants to win but also says winning does not rank among the top-five fan priorities. The Angels and the city of Anaheim remain at a stalemate over what to do about the aging stadium.

The negativity dissipates as a young man walks into the clubhouse, baseball cap on backward for the moment, energetic and respectful and joyful and supremely confident. This is his team, and he is here to win.

Zach Neto is the Angels’ best player. He is 25.

Read more:A return to center field could be the plan for Mike Trout

If the Angels could make one move to try to persuade fans better days are ahead, the suggestion here would be to sign Neto to a long-term contract. They could hold a signing ceremony with the same enormous red banner they used the day they signed Mike Trout to his last extension, with “LOYALTY” splashed across the banner and a halo atop the A.

That loyalty is tested annually. The Angels have baseball’s longest playoff drought — 12 years and counting — and Neto said the Trout drought in particular was a focus of the initial team meeting here.

“We need to help Mike — and we all pointed at Mike — get to the postseason,” Neto said. “He is, if not the greatest player to play this game, one of them. He needs to be in the playoffs.”

Baseball Prospectus projects the Angels to lose 95 games this year, the most in the American League. As we said, Neto is supremely confident.

“We all know and we all believe that, if we play with each other, and if we play how we want to play, there is nobody that can beat us,” he said.

In the year Trout was first eligible for salary arbitration, the Angels signed him to his first long-term contract. This year, when Neto was first eligible for salary arbitration, the Angels did not make him a formal long-term contract offer, according to Ryan Hamill, co-head of CAA Baseball, which represents Neto.

Perry Minasian, the Angels’ general manager, declined to comment for this column.

The parallel only goes so far. Trout had two second-place MVP finishes at that point, and Neto has not gotten any MVP votes. Trout also signed on the eve of a 98-win season, and not long after the Angels’ run of six postseason appearances in eight years.

When I asked Neto whether he would be interested in a long-term contract with the Angels, he talked first of loyalty. When he established himself in high school, bigger schools tried to lure him to transfer. In college, same thing. He did not transfer at either level.

“The biggest thing with me, the biggest thing my family has taught me, is loyalty,” Neto said. “It’s something I still stick with today.

“It’s just a matter of being loyal, seeing the growth that we have here. If it happens, it happens. I would love to stay here. I would love to be here. But, if it doesn’t, then not every road is meant to be.

“I am going to be where my feet are every day, and that is here, with the city of Los Angeles and with the Angels, and give it my all every single day.”

Owner Arte Moreno recently told reporters from the Orange County Register and the team website that, among fans’ priorities, “winning is not in their top five.” Would that be a concern for Neto in deciding whether to sign a long-term contract?

Neto paused.

Read more:Q&A: What's next for MLB players after union chief Tony Clark quit?

“I really don’t have an answer to that,” he said. “But we all know how important the fans are. They help us big time. They motivate us and give us energy. So I’m just going to be where my feet are and go out every single day and play the game.”

He is playing for his fourth manager in four seasons.

Would he harbor any reservations about signing with the Angels and then missing the playoffs as much as Trout has?

“We’ll see,” he said.

Said Hamill: “That is a priority for any player: to have a winning culture and a winning team around him. That’s what he wants, and he wants to do that in an Angels uniform. He wants to go out and compete and win this year. Whatever the front office is willing to do and ownership is willing to do to facilitate that, it would be welcome.”

Neto is an outstanding modern shortstop, with power and speed to complement excellent defense. He ranked third among major league shortstops with 26 home runs last season, and he stole 26 bases.

What is he worth? Neto put up 5.1 WAR last season, according to Baseball Reference.

The four shortstops with the biggest contracts all put up a better WAR: Bobby Witt Jr. (7.1 WAR, $289 million); Corey Seager (6.2 WAR, $324 million); Francisco Lindor (5.9 WAR, $341 million) and Trea Turner (5.4 WAR, $300 million). Neto’s performance fit comfortably above the next financial tier of shortstops: Dansby Swanson (4.5 WAR, $177 million); Willy Adames (3.7 WAR, $182 million) and Xander Bogaerts (2.0 WAR, $280 million).

(Mookie Betts, signed to his $365-million deal as a right fielder before converting to shortstop, put up 4.9 WAR last season.)

Under baseball’s current economic system, Neto cannot become a free agent until after the 2029 season, giving him a chance to improve his game and giving the Angels and his agents plenty of time to determine a mutually agreeable value. On the other hand, the players’ union generally favors earlier free agency, so there is a non-zero chance the Angels could lose some or all of the 2027 season to a lockout and then, in the absence of a long-term deal, lose Neto to free agency after the 2028 season.

Neto left all of that in the hands of his agents last winter, focusing on training but also on a charity bowling tournament to benefit Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Miami.

“My high score is 297,” Neto said with a smile.

Betts, the other shortstop in L.A., has rolled a perfect 300. Neto said he would love to bowl against him. It shouldn’t be a rare event. The Dodgers have signed Betts through 2032. The Angels should do the same with Neto.

Read more:Shaikin: In L.A. and in Cooperstown, Freddie Freeman will forever be a Dodger, not a Brave

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Not only did Andrew Painter have a good outing yesterday, but the trio of left handers that the team is looking to bring north – Jose Alvarado, Tanner Banks and Kyle Backhus – all had scoreless outings as well. Might they all actually be on the team on Opening Day?

Sounds like you’re looking for a roster projection! Stay tuned.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Cristopher Sanchez is off to help the Dominican Republic in the WBC, but his changeup on Saturday looked in midseason form.
• Aidan Miller says he is pain free with his back issues, but the team will continue to exercise caution with him ($).
• Edmundo Sosa and Adolis Garcia are more like brothers than friends ($). Maybe that will lead to a better season from the latter?

MLB news:

• The Cardinals are rebuilding in a big way, but they still want to keep their manager around, giving Oli Marmol a two-year extension.
• Let’s just go ahead and project each lineup and rotation spot for each of the 30 MLB teams. I feel like this is not that difficult.
• The Padres continue to claim reclamation projects to look at, this time signing Alex Verdugo to a minor league contract.

1901
Billy Sullivan of the National League’s Boston Beaneaters jumped to the upstart AL and the White Sox, where he would end up catching for 13 seasons.

With a 63 career OPS+, Sullivan was considered a glove-first leader on the field. He was always among the AL leaders in fielding and had the best throwing arm in the game. Sullivan complied 12.4 defensive WAR with the White Sox, which remains 10th all-time and second behind Ray Schalk among catchers.

But in reality, just 8.8 WAR for his career indicates a pretty subpar player, even as a part-timer (87 games per year). His .213 lifetime average is the second-lowest in history for a player with more than 3,000 at-bats.

However, Sullivan did have two starter-plus seasons, in 1904 (2.1 WAR) and the title year of 1906 (2.2). Ironically, Sullivan went hitless in the 1906 World Series upset (0-for-21, nine Ks).

Sullivan also caught the first-ever major league AL game, with two hits in Chicago’s 8-2 win over the Cleveland Blues on April 24, 1901. He took over for Fielder Jones as White Sox player manager in 1909, finishing 78-74 before stepping back down into a player-only role. Sullivan also partnered with Jones in retirement, running a farm in Portland, where both ex-players settled.

Sullivan’s son, Billy Sullivan Jr., had a 12-year playing career and when he appeared in the 1940 World Series with the Detroit Tigers, the two Billys became the first father-son duo to have appeared in the Fall Classic.

1902
Moe Berg, never a notable player but finding notoriety as a spy leading up to World War II, was born in New York City.

While Berg would see an equal number of seasons for both Sox (Chicago and Boston), he played by far his most major league games (279) with the South Siders. When the White Sox snagged him off of waivers from the Brooklyn Robins in 1925, Berg was still a shortstop (and was possibly regarded as the original good-field, no-hit player), but a succession of injuries to Chicago backstops in 1927 led him to give catcher a try — and he stuck there. Berg’s only two career positive-WAR seasons came with the White Sox, both 0.7 WAR, in 1928 and 1929. All in all he was a -0.2 WAR player for the White Sox, with a .250/.292/.294 slash and 54 OPS+. He did catch 76-of-157 (48.4%) base-runners stealing, so Berg’s arm was nothing to trifle with. That defensive reputation propelled Berg to a 30th-place finish in the 1928 AL MVP race.

It was as his playing career was winding down that Berg found a second job. His linguistic ability (speaking 12 languages) led to spy opportunities for the Office of Strategic Services (predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency) during overseas baseball tours. He filmed industrial sites in Tokyo during an All-Star trip (Berg was added for his language abilities, not his hitting), and he did OSS work in Zurich as well. There, Berg was charged with killing German atomic scientist Werner Heisenberg, but the catcher determined that Germany was nowhere close to developing an atomic bomb, sparing Heisenberg’s life. Berg also influenced Italian atomic physicist Enrico Fermi to work for the U.S. instead of the Nazis.

In 2018, Paul Rudd starred as Berg in the film The Catcher Was a Spy, and the Baseball Hall of Fame dedicated an exhibit to Berg’s espionage and baseball careers.

1995
Reece McGuire, who briefly caught for the 2022 White Sox but will forever live in tabloid headlines after lingering a bit too long in a strip mall parking lot, was born, in Seattle.

1999
Orlando Cepeda, whose White Sox ties extend to just one year as a batting coach despite owner Bill Veeck’s attempts to snatch him away from San Francisco in 1960, headlined a four-member Veterans Committee Hall of Fame election. Joining him was legendary Negro Leagues pitcher Smoky Joe Williams, 19th Century manager Frank Selee and umpire Nestor Chylak.

Veeck extending an offer to get Cepeda into coaching after a drug trafficking arrest in the mid-1970s allowed the legend to get back into the better graces of baseball, and ultimately election to the Hall.

After falling to Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic,Team USA has assembled a roster loaded with MLB stars for the next iteration of the tournament.

While Team USA's roster was strong in 2022, the pitching staff had some issues. In 2026, though, Team USA and manager Mark DeRosa were able to convince top-end pitching talent to join the roster, despite the tournament being held before the regular season and likely requiring a quicker ramp-up process.

REQUIRED READING: Team USA World Baseball Classic roster revealed, 2026 WBC schedule

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, New York Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith are the lone position players returning from the 2023 squad. They'll be joined by some of the world's best, including Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper and Cal Raleigh, among others.

Team USA is the favorite for the WBC, but it won't be easy, as Japan, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela are also top contenders.

Here's a look at USA's projected lineup for the WBC, which will be held from March 5-17:

Team USA projected lineup for World Baseball Classic

Team USA is only carrying four outfielders for the WBC, which includes Judge, who's expected to play every game. Corbin Carroll was recently replaced by former No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony, one of the best young talents in MLB.

The infield could also get interesting, as Team USA boasts both Gunnar Henderson and Witt Jr. at shortstop. Witt Jr. likely has the leg up as a returner from the 2023 squad, but Henderson should still see his fair share of playing time at his natural position.

Team USA will likely rotate its position players group throughout the group stage, thanks to having a deep roster of MLB stars. The lineup could, and likely will, also change based on if it's facing a right-handed or left-handed pitcher. Byron Buxton could also take designated hitter when Team USA faces left-handed pitchers, with Schwarber taking duties against right-handers.

Here's a look at Team USA's projected lineup when playing its best nine players:

1. SS Bobby Witt Jr. (R)
2. DH Kyle Schwarber (L)
3. RF Aaron Judge (R)
4. 5. 1B Bryce Harper (L)
5. C Cal Raleigh (S)
6. LF Roman Anthony (L)
7. 3B Alex Bregman (R)
8. CF Pete Crow-Armstrong (L)
9. 2B Brice Turang (R)

• Bench: Byron Buxton (R), Paul Goldschmidt (R), Ernie Clement (R), Will Smith (R)

Team USA projected pitching rotation

Team USA's rotation is led by the two reigning Cy Young winners in Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes. However, Skubal said he'll only make one start, which will come during the group. Skenes said he expects to make two starts/

Team USA has solid starting pitch depth, especially with top prospect Nolan McLean capable of shifting from the bullpen to the rotation once Skubal is done. Logan Webb is also capable of leading a rotation.

Joe Ryan was projected to be in the rotation, although he was scratched from his first Spring Training start on Feb. 20 due to lower-back tightness, and was eventually placed by Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough.

Here's a look at Team USA's projected starting pitching rotation:

1. Tarik Skubal (L)
2. Paul Skenes (R)
3. Logan Webb (R)
4. Ryan Yarbrough (L)
5. Michael Wacha (R) /Matthew Boyd (L)

• Other starters on roster: Clayton Kershaw (L), Nolan McLean (R), Clay Holmes (R)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Team USA projected lineup, rotation for World Baseball Classic