Worldwide Sports News

Good morning everyone! Happy Friday.

Emerson Hancock continued to look sharp last night, but the Mariners fell to the Cubs 7-4. If Hancock is indeed placed back into a starting role with Bryce Miller ailing, we’ll have to hope he can find some consistency out on the mound.

My question for the day has nothing to do with the Mariners, but I want to know: has a favorite musical artist of yours ever released a complete brick of an album? They say some albums are “no-skips” but I’m asking for one from an artist you like that was nothing but skips. For me, I’d have to go with Don’t Click Play by Ava Max. I should have listened to her.

In Mariners news…

• Shannon Drayer wrote about young standout Brennen Davis, who is making the most of his opportunities with several regulars away from camp for the WBC.
• Apple TV released its first-half schedule for Friday Night Baseball, and the Mariners nabbed a pair of appearances.
• Jenny Catlin at The Athletic provided a complete watch guide for the M’s in 2026. ($)

In the World Baseball Classic…

• Jordan Shusterman at Yahoo! Sports wrote about how awesome it is to see the Dominican Republic celebrate DR baseball in such a big way in this tournament.
• Team USA head coach Mark DeRosa is ready to turn the page and move forward after a turbulent week for the squad.

Around the league…

• The Rangers agreed to a late-in-the-game major league deal with left-hander Jalen Beeks.
• The Red Sox also added some lefty depth to the bullpen, inking a one-year contract with veteran Danny Coulombe.
• The ESPN staff released its annual ranking of the top 100 players in the sport. The Mariners are the only team with two players in the top 10.
• What could possibly cause the bottom to fall out for each MLB contender? Dan Szymborski at Fangraphs has the answers.
• Mike Petriello dove into the data behind which ballparks are the easiest — and hardest — to patrol the outfield in.
• Matt Brown at Extra Points revealed how much it costs to field a championship-caliber collegiate baseball team.
• The MLB Pipeline team outlined one prospect for each organization that they’re expecting big things from in 2026.
• A one-of-a-kind Aaron Judge card broke a modern day record by selling for $5.2 million. The previous record was held by a Mike Trout card that went for $3.936 million.

Anders’ picks…

• Seattle Reign forward Jordyn Huitema has been traded to Chicago. Huitema, who had been with the squad since 2022, also happens to be Julio Rodríguez’s girlfriend.

From 2013 onward, third base for the Rockies had been synonymous with only two names: Nolan Arenado and then Ryan McMahon. Because of those two, Colorado has had a Gold Glove finalist at the hot corner each of the past 13seasons. It has been one of the most stable positions in the entire league.

This offseason there was uncertainty at the position for the first time in ages. The team seems intent to give Kyle Karros the opportunity to take the spot and see if he can run with it.

The (likely) starter

Karros had succeeded at every level of the minors on his journey up the organizational ladder despite middling scouting reports from most public evaluators. His first taste of the majors looked more like the player scouts had said he’d be — a good defender with a second division bat — instead of the player he’d performed as in the minors — a gold glover and MVP — but he came into the spring with a plan: 

“I think going into this season, I know what I have works. I’ve seen it work at every level, so just being more convicted with that and staying true to myself each and every day.”

That restraint in avoiding overreaction to a little over a month’s worth of big league at-bats says some interesting things about Karros as a person. It may prove to be a mistake in the end, however, the early returns do seem promising. In a sample size even smaller than his struggles from last year, he has an OPS well over 1.000 so far this spring.

That high mark won’t continue over a full season even in the best-case scenario, but it has been enough to already make him the presumptive Opening Day starter at third base.

Given that opportunity, he’ll be able to continue showing off the aspect of his game that has never really been in question: his glove. Last year, Karros accumulated three Defensive Runs Saved and four Outs Above Average, which were tied for 19th and 9th among all third baseman despite him having played only 43 games.

That standout defense should give him a long leash should his offensive struggles resurface during the regular season.

The backups

The highest profile bat brought in this offseason, Willi Castro has had a close to league average wRC+ over the past three seasons (107 in ’23, 106 in ‘24, and then 92 last year). It’s his defensive versatility, however, that most makes him stand out.

Having made starts at almost every position on the field he provides plenty of options for Warren Schaeffer regardless of how the rest of the roster shakes out. He’ll be playing every day somewhere, and even if that’s not third, he’ll still sometimes be called upon to slide over when Karros needs a day off.

Ryan Ritter’s first taste of the majors was rough. He dealt with a finger injury that kept him out for roughly a month, and when he was on the field, he struggled to the tune of a 64 wRC+ and a 29.5% strikeout rate. Those both would have been bottom ten in the league if he had played enough to qualify.

Coming into camp, it was a reasonable question whether or not he’d make the Opening Day roster. So far he has hit well, and the coaching staff has been impressed by his work at third base and in left field. That extra flexibility gives him a real shot at sliding into a big league utility role.

In many ways Castro is a solid comp of what a good outcome for Ritter would look like — both are jack of all trades, master of none style players. Not being especially bad at any aspect of the game doesn’t make Castro a star, but it has allowed him to accrue 5.9 fWAR since the start of 2023.

If Ritter can become that type of player, he’ll be forcing his way into a starting role.

Depth options

Likely due to the lack of turnover at the position over the course of the past decade, the Rockies entered the offseason with very little in the way of realistic major league depth at third.

Tyler Freeman has played the position at times in the past and could do so again in a pinch but he’s never graded out particularly well over there. He’s an acceptable option if needed but they’d rather not need to use him in that role.

Likely as a response to this lack of depth, the front office brought in a couple of veterans on minor league deals this offseason in the form of Nicky Lopez and Vimael Machín. Neither is likely to make the roster but would be the first called upon to fill in should injuries change the current paradigm.

Lopez in particular has established a track record as a good fielder capable of playing any infield position as long as you know not to expect much out of him at the plate.

On the farm

Third base is usually one of the landing spots for a player with a good arm that moved off of shortstop because they didn’t have the range to cover the middle infield. As such, it’s hard to determine who will be play third in the majors solely by looking at where they play currently.

Below are the Rockies prospects most likely to end up at third by the time their minor league careers are over:

• Ethan Hedges (No. 29 PuRP): A two-way player in college, the Rockies drafted Hedges in the third round last year. He grades well defensively but it remains to be seen if focusing solely on being a hitter can allow him to improve on a currently fringey offensive projection.
• Ethan Holliday (No. 2 PuRP): Entering the system as the number four overall pick last summer, the youngest Holliday has a long way to go before it becomes clear exactly what type of player he’ll end up being. Currently a shortstop with immense power but strikeout concerns, if he ends up not being able to stick at short he is expected to be able to find a home at third.
• Wilder Dalis (No. 24 PuRP): Coming off a couple good years between the DSL and ACL, Dalis made his debut in Low A during his age 18 season. He’s played primarily at third base but it remains to be seen if that’s where he ends up. Thus far in his minor league career the bat has impressed for someone without a notable signing bonus.

It’s also possible, but not likely, that Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) could be given another shot at third since the new front office doesn’t view him strictly as a first baseman.

Overall, this group has impact potential, but a lot of questions. Further, it will be a long time before those questions are able to be answered.

Closing thoughts

What you think about the Rockies third base situation almost entirely depends on what you think of Kyle Karros.

Do you buy into his minor league performance and hot spring? Well, then maybe by next year we’ll all be saying that the Rockies have the position locked down for the foreseeable future.

Do you think the scouting reports and his month of play in the bigs last year are more indicative of the player he’ll be long term? In that case, third base (unless Ryan Ritter happens to break out) is in for a transitional period that may well last a couple full years.

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Good morning, LSB.

Evan Grant has observations from yesterday’s game in which Jack Leiter continued to tinker.

Kennedi Landry writes about World Series hero Josh Sborz battling for a roster spot.

Jeff Wilson talks camp and the season ahead with Rangers GM Ross Fenstermaker.

Elsewhere Grant writes that the clock is ticking on Josh Jung’s opening day availability.

The Rangers added lefty reliever Jalen Beeks.

Kyle Higashioka hasn’t played since March 5 with a bad back.

Leandro Lopez is next up on the DMN’s top 30 prospects countdown.

Grant has a list of Rangers issues still to be resolved at camp.

And finally, Rangers field reporter Emily Jones won’t be a part of the team’s broadcasts this season for the first time in over two decades.

That’s all for this morning. Happy Friday!

Good morning! The Red Sox did something yesterday they hadn’t done in a few weeks: they signed someone to the big league roster. Left-handed middle relief had been one of the weakest spots on the team — and given Danny Coulombe’s injury history and age, you could say it still is. But he undeniably fits a need.

So with Coulombe on board, is there anything else you’d like to the Sox to do with the roster before the season starts? Is there another free agent reliever or bench bat you’d like to see? Still hoping for a trade of one of the outfielders? Talk about roster needs and whatever else you want, and, as always, be good to one another.

Things are getting real, people. The Orioles’ 2026 season begins in just under two weeks, with a home opener against Minnesota on March 26th. The spring has had its fun and games, but it’s nearing time to make final roster cuts. With that, let’s summarize what we’ve learned, with an eye to roster decisions.

Some position groups remain more open-ended than others. Take the starters, for instance. Often a category that’s slim pickings for the Orioles, of late, the front office has opted for starter quantity, if not to say over quality. The list of projected locks to make the rotation stands at five: Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Shane Baz, Chris Bassitt, and Dean Kremer, all of whom have looked strong this spring.

You might have had Zach Eflin, signed to a one-year free agent deal in November, on that list, but according to MASN’s Roch Kubatko, Eflin is getting more time to build up his innings before the joining the active roster. That’s fine; with the righty fresh off back surgery last season and memories of copious pitching injuries last season still vivid, it’s OK to let Eflin work his way back to the rotation.

The only question marks here appear to be Cade Povich, and whether the O’s will go with a six-man, or a five-man outfit. The rookie is having a nice spring, with a 1.59 ERA in 5.2 innings tossed so far, and he’ll get one more start against Philadelphia in Clearwater, but odds are he’ll be in the bullpen or start the season in Norfolk. As for the five- or six-man question, the skipper is keeping mum so far, but keeps saying that a surfeit of resources is a “nice problem to have.”  

The Orioles bullpen looks like its usual hodgepodge of random names. The locks appear to be closer Ryan Helsley, Yennier Cano, Tyler Wells, Keegan Akin, Rico Garcia, Grant Wolfram, and maybe Yaramil Hiraldo. It’s weird that the last three are now sort-of veterans on the team, but all have been spotless so far this spring, and are benefiting from the temporary absence of Andrew Kittredge, out with shoulder inflammation. Who else? Lefty Dietrich Enns has a lousy 18.90 ERA so far, but at least he’s continuing to strike guys out (6 in 3.1 spring IP), so after his revelatory 2025, it looks like he’ll be on the list, too.

That leaves, on the outside looking in, Jose Espada, Jackson Kowar, Cameron Foster, Anthony Nunez, and Albert Suárez. Shoulder troubles married Suárez’s 2025 season, and in three spring training tries he’s laid an egg once, allowing seven runs to the Cards, but with his long track record, expect him to be a part of the bullpen picture going forward. José Espada, 29, a journeyman now playing for Team Puerto Rico in the WBC, remains interesting after three scoreless innings this spring. Jackson Kowar, acquired from the Twins for cash in February, could end up a roster crunch as he doesn’t have any options remaining. Newcomers Cameron Foster and Anthony Nunez were optioned on Sunday, but it looks like they will be considerations, too.

Turning to the infield, there’s not much to say at catcher. Maverick Handley and Sam Huff will serve as depth, unless a need arises behind Samuel Basallo or Adley Rutschman (it’d better not).  

Beyond the backstop, things get interesting. If we plan on six infielders, it seems clear that the list will include at least Pete Alonso, Gunnar Henderson, Coby Mayo, Ryan Mountcastle, and Blaze Alexander. That’s five. Injuries to second baseman Jackson Holliday and third baseman Jordan Westburg have opened up spots for Mountcastle and Mayo, the latter—who knew!—at third. And while Mayo isn’t likely to win a Gold Glove at the hot corner, the bat looks good (.500 BA in 26 spring AB’s), so he’ll keep the spot warm until Westburg gets back.

That’s one more infield spot left for a rando (excuse my language). Under consideration, we have Jeremiah Jackson, Thairo Estrada, Luis Vázquez, Bryan Ramos, Willy Vasquez, José Barrero, and Weston Wilson. Jackson, who has played some right field, would seem to have the edge as a utility guy who can back up in the outfield (same for Alexander). Luiz Vázquez, off playing for Team Puerto Rico, isn’t on the 40-man, but he did a nice job in the field in 21 games last season.

Lastly, the outfield. With five spots to fill, the lineup seems set here: Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Neill, Taylor Ward, and Leody Taveras. Beavers and Cowser remain exciting youngsters worthy of playing time; Ward and O’Neill have contracts, and Taveras, 27, has positional versatility in his 11th (wow!) professional season.

That seems to leave no room for Heston Kjerstad, Enrique Bradfield Jr, or Jhonkensy Noel. Not a surprise for Bradfield, who just reached Triple-A at the end of last season and didn’t hit much in spring training (1-for-9). Noel, 24, had a nice spring (.375 BA and .882 OPS in 16 AB’s), but the O’s can use more time to check out what the former Cleveland farmhand brings to the table. As for a finally healthy-seeming Kjerstad, he finally showed us his big-boy bat, with an .823 OPS and four extra-base hits in 30 AB’s. I’m thrilled for him, but he’ll likely start in Norfolk and get the chance to hit his way back to the majors.

That should do it. Really, surveying the state of things, what we’re talking about are less roster battles than roster crunches. How will Albernaz mix-and-match six or seven potential starters? Will guys like Cade Povich, Tyler Wells, and Albert Suárez serve as long men or more orthodox relievers? Will lesser-known names like José Espada and Jhonkensy Noel get playing time? More is merrier, it seems, when it comes to roster design. Hopefully this plays out well this season.

German Marquez and JP Sears were squarely in the mix in the competition to decide the fifth spot in the starting rotation for the San Diego Padres. Their respective candidacies took a hit in San Diego’s 10-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals at the Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday. Marquez had easily his worst outing of the spring and that was in large part due to his lack of command. Marquez finished his outing after 1.2 innings pitched. He allowed six earned runs on four hits with four walks and a strikeout. Sears fared a little better considering he pitched four innings, but he allowed three runs on five hits with six strikeouts. The plus for Sears is that he kept the ball in the yard and he did not allow a walk. The Padres offense was held in check throughout the game and managed just five hits. The lone run scored for San Diego came on the strength of a Ramon Laureano home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Padres will look to have a better outing when they take on the Athletics at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz. today at 1:05 p.m.

Padres News:

• Padres manager Craig Stammen announced on Thursday that reliever Bryan Hoeing will have surgery on his elbow and will miss the 2026 season. On a positive note, starter Matt Waldron faced hitters in live at-bats and seems to be ramping up to make his return.

• The Friar Faithful have not seen him pitch for their beloved Padres, but we have been told Griffin Canning could prove to be a formidable back-end starter when he his cleared to play. Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune made Canning the focus of his Padres roster review.

Baseball News:

• A 2013 baseball card featuring Aaron Judge sold for a record $5.2 million.

• The Boston Red Sox signed free agent reliever Danny Coulombe to a one-year deal and placed Romy Gonzalez on the 60-day IL.

• Zack Wheeler continues to work back to a return to the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies. He threw his first live batting practice since his injury on Thursday.

• Quinn Priester, starting pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, will begin the season on the IL. The team is hoping his return will be sooner than later if he can avoid surgery.

• The New York Yankees reassigned their top prospect George Lombard Jr. to Minors camp.

• MLB Opening Night will be shown on Netflix and MLB.com has all the information you need to know to be able to watch it.

WBC News:

• Team USA made some roster moves adding some players and removing others. Manager Mark DeRosa continued to try to clarify his thoughts and comments before the matchup against Team Italy.

• Dominican Republic looks to continue its WBC dominance against Korea today at 3:30 p.m. PST.

• The US takes on Canada today at 5 p.m. PST.

• Japan takes on Venezuela on Saturday at 6 p.m. PST.

• Puerto Rico faces Italy on Saturday at Noon. PST.

If there’s one team that Yankees fans will keep up with every season (outside of the men in pinstripes), it’s their biggest rival: the Boston Red Sox. Regardless of the race in the American League East, the rivalry between the Sox and the Yankees is one that continues to heat up every time the two take the field against one another and get closer in the standings.

Last season, the Red Sox were competitive with both the Yankees and the Blue Jays for the top of the AL East, ultimately settling for a Wild Card spot that still marked their first playoff berth in four years and just their second since winning it all in 2018. Led by an up-and-down effort from the lineup and some excellent performances from the mound, the Red Sox will look to make up the ground they were missing in 2025 this time around.

2025 record: 89-73 (3rd, AL East)
2026 FanGraphs projection: 85-77 (3rd, AL East)

Led by now-longtime manager Alex Cora the Red Sox have had a busy offseason of moves that have even extended into the start of spring training. The biggest news out of Beantown, and one that came as a bit of a surprise to those within the organization. was the loss of Alex Bregman, who—in addition to being a clubhouse leader—finished the season with a 125 wRC+ and 3.5 fWAR, the third-highest on the team last season. However, with his loss comes plenty of additions, both to a rotation that needed some insurance and a lineup that could always use another bat to help “recreate Bregman in the aggregate.”

The biggest statement came shortly after Bregman came to terms with the Cubs, as Boston responded by signing starter Ranger Suárez to a five-year, $130 million contract. The southpaw finished last season with a 12-8 record, 3.20 ERA, and 151 strikeouts in 157.1 innings pitched for the Philadelphia Phillie, and figures to team up with ace Garrett Crochet to form a fearsome one-two punch. And to continue bolstering their rotation, they traded for Cardinals lefty Sonny Gray (a familiar name to Yankees fans) and Pirates righty Johan Oviedo to round out their top five, alongside playoff Game 2 starter Brayan Bello. Patrick Sandoval and Kutter Crawford could also be rotation options when they are deemed healthy enough as well, as Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins were dealt as part of their offseason moves. The bullpen is still led by erstwhile Yankeses closer Aroldis Chapman, who had a career season at age 37, winning AL Reliever of the Year, pitching 61.1 innings, and finishing with a 1.17 ERA (the lowest of his career), a 2.53 xFIP, a 12.5 K/9, and a 2.6 fWAR — the second-highest among anyone on the pitching staff.

And the most recent news for the pitching staff broke as of March 12th, as the Red Sox signed free-agent left-handed pitcher Danny Coulombe, who finished the year with a 2.30 ERA in 43.2 innings. However, it was a tale of two different teams, as he finished his time with the Twins with a 1.16 ERA in 31 innings pitched. Then in 15 games and 12.0 innings pitched with the Rangers after he was traded there, Coulombe finished the year with a 5.25 ERA and 12 strikeouts. So, for the second season in a row, he will get a fresh start.

Of course, we can’t not talk about Crochet for just a moment. After finishing second in the AL Cy Young Award race behind Detroit’s Tarik Skubal, the big lefty is looking to finish the campaign on top of the pitching world. He finished last season with a 2.59 ERA, 2.64 xFIP, and a 5.8 fWAR, not just the highest of anyone on the pitching staff by over double the points, but also the most of anyone on the Red Sox last season. All of that occurred in 205.1 innings pitched, easily the highest count of his career, beating his previous best of 146 with the White Sox in 2024. Add in a stellar Wild Card Series start in the Bronx, and it all made for an outstanding debut in Boston. Extended for six years and $170 million shortly after Opening Day 2025, Crochet will be a thorn in the Yankees’ side for quite awhile.

When looking at the lineup, there isn’t much that needed to be changed outside of making up for the lost bat of Bregman. But the Red Sox did just that by trading for first baseman Willson Contreras, who finished last season in St. Louis with a 124 wRC+ and a 2.8 fWAR, not quite what Bregman produced defensively but also good enough with the bat to make up for it. In mid-February, they also swung a trade with Milwaukee to add two key infielders: former Yankees farmhand Caleb Durbin, who finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting, and Andruw Monasterio, who had a 110 OPS+ in 68 games. Look for Durbin to take the majority of reps at third base in Bregman’s absence.

Along with the addition of Contreras, the Red Sox have plenty of weapons throughout their lineup. Jarren Duran was the leader in fWAR for the hitters at 3.9, but Ceddanne Rafaela was just behind him at 3.8. In fact, the Red Sox had four hitters reach the 3.0 mark last season (including Bregman) and eight reach the 2.0 mark, including Rafael Devers, who finished eighth but was of course traded to the Giants in mid-June.

The player to watch amongst those who finished with 2.0 fWAR or above is Roman Anthony, who reached the mark in just 71 games. The moment he stepped on a big league diamond, the rookie made his presence felt and has continued lighting up opposing pitching whenever he was penciled into the lineup. Like Crochet, he impressed enough to earn a midseason extension, for eight years and $130 million. At just 21 years old, there is so much in store for him both in the field and at the plate for the Red Sox.

With the pitching additions the Sox made, along with their strong lineup up and down, there will be plenty of battles at the top of the AL East as 2026 moves forward.

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More Pinstripe Alley MLB team season previews can be found here.

The prep pitcher theme continues at number 18 with right-hander Owen Hall. At least the now 20-year-old Hall got on the mound last spring for a few games before going down with a stress reaction in his right shoulder. Considering how things have gone with their prep pitchers from the draft, the Tigers didn’t hesitate to shut him down and put him through an extended rehab program and then strength and conditioning to get him better prepared for full season ball in 2026. He’s throwing in camp this spring, and plenty of eyes will be on his progress this season.

Hall was the Tigers second round pick in the 2024 draft out of Edmond North HS in Oklahoma. The right-hander impressed on the summer circuit between his junior and senior years, where he was topping out at 96-97 mph already. He then put together a monster campaign featuring 75 strikeouts to just 13 walks, and a 1.65 ERA as a senior. He was a featured starter in the All-American All-Star game during All-Star week that summer.The Tigers paid him $1.75 million as the 10th pick in the second round to pass on his commitment to Vanderbilt.

He didn’t pitch after the draft, which is standard procedure for the Tigers, particularly with high schoolers. However, in the leadup to spring camp in 2025 videos from his training at the Pitching WRX facility in Oklahoma City, where Hall trained with Jackson Jobe, emerged showing really outstanding metrics on his stuff and velocity up to 98 mph with pretty good extension, spin, and movement on his fastball and slider. There was plenty of excitement in camp as he neared his pro debut. Unfortunately, his shoulder started barking pretty quickly and the Tigers shut him down for the year after only four short starts for the Single-A Lakeland Flying Tigers.

Hall stands 6’3” with a lean build and long levers. He’d clearly added some muscle in his first offseason as a professional and presumably is already bigger than his listed 185 pounds. Apart from the raw stuff on display, Hall’s repeatable delivery and good extension down the mound all projected well for his development. He has a pretty long arm stroke, but is able to keep his release point relatively low despite his vertical forearm position into release, in part because he gets down the mound well and really sinks into his left leg. As he builds those legs up, his ability to resist and generate more of his velo from his legs will improve. The relatively low release helps the riding action on the fourseamer play up, and his ability to stay behind it helps him spin the heck out of it. At its best Hall has a really explosive fastball that gets on hitters quickly even when sitting 93-94 mph, as he did in his brief Lakeland work.

He did top out at 96.2 mph with the Flying Tigers while showcasing the whopping spin rates, posting numerous fourseamers over 2500 rpms. His IVB numbers sat between 17-18 inches of ride, and he also showed himself capable of mixing in a sinker with a lot more run to jam right-handed hitters. It was only a brief look at him, but the ability to use both with advanced command for his age was a very positive sign prior to the shoulder trouble. He also showcased his mid-80’s slider, which features nasty two-plane break and should be a plus pitch for him. Hall also had a pretty advanced changeup in high school with a lot of late movement, though he still needed to work to kill some velocity on it without giving the game away. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to pitch enough to give us many looks at that pitch with the Flying Tigers.

Hall is reportedly throwing in camp, so for now at least, the Tigers have gotten him through the shoulder issues through their caution. Reports from camp say they’ve managed to build him up in the gym in the interim. Of all the prep pitchers they’ve drafted, Hall remains the most exciting of the bunch and the one who already has the makings of a starter’s arsenal and delivery. The Tigers will still want to be fairly careful with his workload in what will be his first full pro season, knock on wood, but with a fair amount of work under his belt over the last two offseasons, he’s one to keep a close eye on and probably the most likely to break out in 2026.

Yesterday was an off day for the WBC, so instead of our daily recap we’ll take this opportunity to look ahead to the quarterfinal round that begins tonight and continues tomorrow. The tournament now advances to a single elimination format, with two sides of a bracket that will narrow eight teams down to two.

The #WorldBaseballClassic bracket is set heading into the quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/Jmh1PkOd9s

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 12, 2026

Friday

There will be two games tonight, with the first being Korea vs. Dominican Republic at 6:30. The D.R. has been an offensive powerhouse as expected, bulldozing their way through Pool D. They have scored the most runs (41), hit the most home runs (13), and collected the second most overall hits (40). Their absolutely loaded lineup has been led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr., as that pair has combined to hit .480 with four home runs and 16 RBIs. The Phillies own Cristopher Sánchez has been named the starter for tonight’s game.

Korea meanwhile was the runner-up to Japan in Pool C, going 2-2 with a pair of wins against Czechia and Australia and a pair of losses against Japan and Chinese Taipei. Bo Gyeong Moon opened the tournament with a grand slam in the first inning of Korea’s first game against Czechia and hasn’t slowed down there. The first baseman is hitting .538 with two home runs and a tournament best 11 RBIs.

The second game tonight will be the United States against Canada. The U.S. and its manager Mark DeRosa got bailed out from a possible humiliating exit thanks to Italy, as they were still able to make it out of Pool B despite their previous loss to Italy. Their offense has been just about as advertised in most categories, as they’re first in hits (41) and second to the D.R. in total runs (40). However, one area that’s been lacking is power, as their seven home runs are fifth most and are nearly half of the D.R. (13) and Italy (12). The U.S. can still lean on its pitching though even if the loss of Tarik Skubal has made it just a little thinner, as they will send Logan Webb to the mound tonight for his second start of the tournament.

Canada has advanced to the quarterfinal round for the first time in its history, winning Pool A with a 3-1 record. Their pitching staff has pitched well, allowing the third fewest runs (10) in the tournament, and their hitting has been able to manufacture enough offense to overcome just two total home runs and the second fewest runs total (21) of the eight remaining teams. Michael Soroka will take the ball against the U.S. in his second start following three innings of one-run ball that earned him the win against Columbia.

Saturday

On the other side of the bracket that starts Saturday, we have the upstart Italy taking on Puerto Rico at 3:00. Italy has been the surprise of the tournament, as their upset of the U.S. being one of the biggest wins so far. Their offense has been impressive with 12 home runs and 32 runs scored. Phillies prospect Dante Nori has had a strong tournament, hitting .500 with two homers and a team-leading six hits and five RBIs. Aaron Nola’s five shutout innings against Mexico was one of the best pitching performances so far and was the saving grace of his Phillies teammates Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Brad Keller on Team U.S.A.

Puerto Rico, despite having one of their weaker teams in recent memory, was still able to advance to the quarterfinal round as the runner up to Canada in Pool A. Their pitching has carried them, as their 1.22 ERA is the best in the WBC and their 40 strikeouts are fourth most. Their offense hasn’t impressed with just 10 runs scored, but they have been able to get clutch hits when needed, capped off by arguably the most dramatic moment of the WBC so far with Darrell Hernaiz’s walk-off homer against Panama.

Defending champions Japan will look to continue their march back to the finals with their quarterfinal game against Venezuela. Japan has predictably been a juggernaut, outscoring their opponents 34-9 and pitching two shutouts. They’re third in home runs (8) and total runs offensively while their pitching staff is second in ERA (2.12) and strikeouts (49). Shohei Ohtani has of course done Shohei Ohtani things, as the reigning WBC MVP is 5-9 with two home runs including a grand slam for six total RBIs in just three games played. World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start on Saturday in his second appearance this WBC. He threw 2.2 scoreless in his only other appearance against Chinese Taipei.

Venezuela will look to knockoff the reigning champs with their own well-balanced roster. Their lineup that includes Ronald Acuña Jr., Luis Arráez, Jackson Chourio, and Eugenio Suárez among others ranks seventh in runs scored (26) while their pitching staff that includes Ranger Suárez and Eduardo Rodriguez is fifth in ERA (2.75). Suárez has already been named the starter against Yamamoto. Ranger is also making his second appearance after allowing one run in three innings in the opener against the Netherlands.