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Introduction

On February 5th, 2026 Arizona Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen sent fan favorite infielder Blaze Alexander to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for relief pitcher Kade Strowd, along with two minor league prospects, RHP Wellington Aracena and infielder Jose Mejia. It definitely hasn’t been long enough to evaluate this trade fairly, and won’t be for a few years, but I am going to try to do that today anyway.

How’s Blaze doing for the Orioles anyway?

Blaze Alexander has appeared in 36 games for the Baltimore Orioles, He’s seen time at every fielding position other than catcher, first base and pitcher, and as a result, his defensive stats have really taken hit. This is pretty clearly demonstrated by his Def stat on Fangraphs (which includes the positional adjustment) going from a positive 2.7 for the Diamondbacks in 2025 to -2.7 in 2026. Looking over his advanced fielding stats at each position, Blaze is still an above average fielder at third base, and possibly at the two corner outfield positions, but he’s a well below average fielder anywhere else in the field. Blaze’s defense would be fine if he was taking steps forward and growing as a hitter, but that’s not what we’ve been seeing through his first 100 plate appearances. He’s hitting .244/.299/.289 with a 70 wRC+, 69 OPS+, and a .271 wOBA; combined with his defensive decline, that puts his seasons value at -0.1 fWAR.

It’s actually not all doom and gloom for Blaze, as he’s actually been hitting the ball harder with a max EV a full 2.2 MPH faster than his highs in previous seasons. His expected wOBA (.306), expected Batting Average (.281), and expected Slugging Percentage (.350) do give some indication that he’s been somewhat unlucky as well. I think Blaze has the potential to turn it around if the Orioles leave him at a defensive position he’s actually comfortable at.

Okay, that’s cool, but what about the players the D’Backs acquired?

First up, there’s Kade Strowd, who was assigned to the AAA affiliate Reno Aces after not making the MLB Roster out of spring. Strowd has been an effective reliever for the Aces so far in the 14 games he’s appeared in. He’s put up a 2.40 ERA, though that does come with a significantly higher 4.17 FIP and xFIP, so I would expect that ERA to go up. Strowd seems like a solid candidate to be called up eventually this season, especially if there are any injuries in the bullpen.

RHP Wellington Aracena was assigned to the A+ Level Hillsboro Hops. There he’s started 5 games, but appeared in 6, pitching 18 ⅓ IP with a 2.95 ERA, a 3.58 FIP, 3.61 xFIP, and a 64 ERA-. In other words, he’s been an above average pitcher so far. Aracena has stood out to me thanks to an insane 32.4 strikeout percentage, in addition to his other stats above.

Finally, there’s 2nd baseman Jose Mejia, who has stood out the most to me, thanks to his performance at the plate in 2026. In 32 games and 132 plate appearances for the D’Backs A ball level affiliate Visalia Rawhide, Mejia is hitting .308/.455/.500 with a .442 wOBA and 152 wRC+. Mejia is sporting an excellent 19.5 walk percentage, along with a more than acceptable 15.9 strikeout percentage. Mejia has been an above average hitter throughout his minor league career, ans hiis .363 BABIP is well in line with his career norms, so this isn’t a case of a fluke hot streak. Mejia appears to legitimately be one of the better hitters in the Diamondbacks farm system.

Conclusion

While none of the players acquired are currently on the MLB roster for the Dbacks, the results so far in 2026 from each player make this trade look more and more promising as time goes by. Kade Strowd should be a useful bullpen piece in the very near future, with Aracena hopefully doing the same a few seasons down the line. Mejia looks like a guy who should climb the Dbacks top prospect list, though he plays a position that the Dbacks are absolutely stacked at currently. Meanwhile Blaze Alexander is currently struggling for the Orioles and may be sent down to the Minors sooner rather than later if his struggles continue.

It’s still way too early, but right now this looks like one of the better long term moves that GM Mike Hazen made over the offseason.

You better run. Those three words were the only thought racing through pinch-hitter Alex Call’s head when he laced a pitch from San Francisco Giants reliever Matt Gage into right field.

The two-run single, which gave the Dodgers the lead, sparked a three-run rally in the sixth inning that concluded when Miguel Rojas drove in Call on a single to center field.

“It felt like I hit it,” said Call, who initially hesitated to run after making contact. “But I guess I just didn't quite see it off the bat, and I'm like looking for it, keep looking up, and then all of a sudden I hear the crowd get really loud.”

Call's single helped the Dodgers beat the Giants 5-2 on Thursday night, reclaiming first in the National League West after San Diego lost to Milwaukee. The Dodgers also escaped a third straight series loss at home ahead of their weekend road series against the Angels.

Read more:Kiké Hernández 'little bit shocked' by reception in Albuquerque while on rehab assignment

Call wasn’t the only Dodger who thrived under pressure. Designated hitter Will Smith, whom Dodgers manager Dave Roberts described earlier in the day as “unflappable,” hit from the leadoff spot for the first time in his career and homered to right-center field in the first inning to set the tone for the series-splitting win.

“That was nice, huh?” Roberts said. “Like I said before the game, just to be able to plug him in, you feel confident that no matter what, he’s going to give you his best. And I didn’t expect a homer, but it was a good way to start.”

The decision to put Smith in the leadoff spot allowed Roberts to maximize the 31-year-old’s plate appearances without moving other players after Shohei Ohtani was held out of the lineup.

The Dodgers (26-18) are trying to lighten Ohtani's workload after his recent struggles at the plate. It’s the first time a healthy Ohtani has been out of back-to-back batting orders, except for the paternity list, since the universal designated hitter rule was implemented in 2022.

Though the Dodgers outlasted the Giants (18-26) without Ohtani's help, the team’s compounded mistakes almost cost it a win.

In the second inning, the bottom of the lineup strung together two hits to score Max Muncy, who reached on a walk. However, after Miguel Rojas softly hit a ground ball to Giants starter Landen Roupp, Teoscar Hernández found himself stranded in no-man’s land after running toward home from third — there was no force play at the plate.

Rojas, who stood on the basepath, slammed his helmet down in frustration after Smith struck out to end the inning.

Rojas wasn't the only one upset. Dalton Rushing was shown on the game broadcast breaking his bat in the dugout and slamming his leg guard on the back bench after striking out in the fourth inning. Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan shared some words of encouragement with the catcher and patted him on the back.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani holds Giants scoreless, Dodgers' bats heat up to snap losing streak

“He was frustrated obviously with that at-bat,” Sheehan said. “We just wanted to let him know that he’s good and we still got work to do.”

Despite striking out three times in three at-bats, Rushing continued to work well with Sheehan.

Sheehan gave up just two earned runs and two hits with six strikeouts and two walks over six innings. He produced a 50% whiff rate with his slider, and his four-seam dotted the zone 73% of the time.

“Every time he’s been going out there, he’s getting better,” Roberts said. “And today was his best outing in totality. The fastball was good, the life to it, the command of it. I thought Dalton did a great job with him, in the sense of when to use a curveball, when to use a change-up, when to use a fastball, and we needed it.”

With a four pitch arsenal, Sheehan put together three hitless innings before San Francisco’s Rafael Devers hit a one-out single to left field.

From there, things got worse. In the fifth, Jung Hoo Lee hit an inside-the-park home run when Hernández misread the ball off the left-field wall in foul territory, allowing the ball to roll past him. Rojas' relay throw was too high for Rushing to catch, and Lee slid into home to become the first Giants player to hit an inside-the-park homer at Dodger Stadium.

But the Dodgers responded in the sixth. After Max Muncy reached base on a force out at second and was moved over to third on a single from Hernández, Alex Call delivered a pinch-hit, two-run single to right field. Rojas then blooped a ball over the infield to drive in Call.

“This game at the end of the day is about results,” Call said. “Sometimes you just have to let it play out and just play baseball. Sometimes you just have to get through the tough stuff. We're doing a great job in here and no one's losing faith in anybody.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Dodgers scored three runs in the sixth inning to back a strong start by Emmet Sheehan to beat the San Francisco Giants 5-2 on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium and salvage a series split after dropping the first two games.

Teoscar Hernández figured prominently on both sides of the ball in and around left field on Thursday, and it was his third hit of the night that finally chased San Francisco starter Landen Roupp with one out in the sixth inning with a tie score and runners on second and third base.

Left-hander Matt Gage was called in for his third appearance of the series and struck out lefty-hitting Dalton Rushing for the second out of the frame. Alex Call, a right-handed batter, pinch-hit for Hyeseong Kim, and dunked a single into short right field to give the Dodgers their second lead of the night, and he took second base on the throw home. Call scored on the second single of the game by Miguel Rojas, who started at shortstop for Mookie Betts.

It took until the sixth inning of the seventh and final game, but the three runs in the sixth marked the Dodgers’ largest-scoring frame of the homestand.

Hernández had no extra-base hits in his previous 15 games before this series, but doubled twice on Thursday, including a third-inning ball to the right field wall that set up another run. Hernández was caught between third base and home later in the frame, when Rojas attempted a safety squeeze but bunted it right back to pitcher Landen Roupp. Rojas was so displeased with the bunt that he slammed his helmet to the dirt when the inning ended one out later without another run scoring.

Sheehan was effective all night against the Giants, inducing 19 swinging strikes — his second-most in a start this season — including 10 whiffs on the fastball and seven on the slider. That fueled Sheehan’s six strikeouts in six innings in which he nearly escaped unscathed.

San Francisco didn’t get a hit off Sheehan until Rafael Devers dropped a bloop single into shallow left field in the fourth inning. Sheehan walked a pair, both after 0-2 counts, including one in the fifth to Drew Gilbert. The second hit against Sheehan was another properly placed looper into left field, this one by Jung Hoo Lee that somehow managed to scoot past Hernández for an inside-the-park two-run home run.

Instead of a 2-0 lead in which Sheehan was relatively cruising, suddenly the game was tied. But he rebounded to retire his next four batters to complete six innings for the third time this season.

Sheehan famously pitched six scoreless no-hit innings against the Giants in his major league debut at Dodger Stadium in 2023, and has allowed only four runs and five hits with 31 strikeouts in 28 innings against them for a 1.29 ERA in five career games, including four career starts.

Notes

• Call has four hits in six at-bats as a pinch-hitter this season, including a double. Rest of the Dodgers have two hits in 25 pinch-hit at-bats.
• Hernández in the series had three multi-hit games and three total doubles in the four games.
• With Shohei Ohtani sitting, Will Smith got the start at designated hitter on Thursday after catching the first three games. Smith batted leadoff for the first time in his career and homered in the first inning.

Thursday particulars

Home runs: Will Smith (4); Jung Hoo Lee (3)

WP — Emmet Sheehan (3-1): 6 IP, 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts

LP — Landen Roupp (5-4): 5 1/3 IP, 6 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts

Sv — Tanner Scott (4): 1 IP, 2 strikeouts

Up next

Technically the Dodgers are on the road next, though close enough for many to still sleep at home, starting a three-game series against the Angels on Friday night (6:38 p.m.; SportsNet LA, KTTV channel 11) in Anaheim. Blake Snell goes in the opener, with Jack Kochanowicz on the mound for the Halos.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were silenced by the Nashville Sounds (Brewers), 6-5.

Starter Doug Nikhazy struggled with control tonight, walking seven batters in just 3.1 innings. But he kept the Sounds to only two hits and two runs. He struck out four.

Luis Peralta pitched the seventh inning, gave up an unearned run on no hits and took the loss. He walked one and struck out one.

The I-Cubs rally in the top of the ninth fell short. I don’t normally, or ever, show the highlights of the opposing team, but I will make an exception in this case. This is the deep fly that Justin Dean hit that Jordyn Adams turned into a game-ending double play.

Dean was 1 for 4 with the sacrifice fly. He also scored one run.

Pedro Ramírez started this game in left field, the first time he’s played the position since four games with South Bend 2024. He did move to third base in the eighth inning after BJ Murray was pinch-run for. Anyway, Ramírez went 4 for 5 with a stolen base. He scored one run and drove in one.

Murray went 3 for 4 with a double and a walk. He also had one RBI and one run scored.

First baseman Jonathon Long was 2 for 5 with one run scored.

Catcher Christian Bethancourt was 2 for 4 with a walk.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies poached the Columbus Clingstones (Braves), 5-1.

Jake Knapp was activated off the injured list and got the Smokies off to a good start. Knapp did not allow a run or a hit over 2.2 innings. He struck out five and walked just one.

Knapp was relieved after 45 pitches by Jace Beck, who pitched the next three innings and got the win. Beck allowed one unearned run on two hits. He struck out three and walked one.

Frankie Scalzo Jr. pitched the next 2.1 innings without allowing a run and Evan Taylor threw a scoreless ninth in a non-save situation.

Left fielder Carter Trice hit a solo home run in the top of the first inning. It was Trice’s second-straight game with a home run, his third in four games and his fifth overall. Trice went 1 for 5.

In the second inning, catcher Ethan Hearn connected for a solo home run, his second on the year. Hearn was 2 for 4.

In the third inning, the Smokies smashed their third home run of the game. This one came with a man on and off the bat of right fielder Alex Ramírez. It was his third home run of the season. Ramírez was 2 for 5 with three overall runs batted in.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs called the exterminator on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers), 25-6. No, that’s not a typo.

South Bend actually fell behind in this game early as starter Ethan Flanagan allowed three runs in the bottom of the first. But Flanagan settled down and finished with three runs on five hits over four innings. He walked two, hit one batter and struck out five.

South Bend came back to take a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but Kevin Valdez coughed up the lead with two runs in that frame. However, Valdez got the win because South Bend scored 19 runs from the seventh through the ninth inning. Valdez’s final line was two runs on two hits over three innings. He struck out an excellent seven batters while walking two.

The Cubs scored 25 runs on 20 hits and 15 walks. South Bend scored one run in the fourth, two in the fifth, three in the sixth, four in the seventh, nine in the eighth and six more in the ninth. Only in the ninth inning did the Rattlers throw a position player on the mound.

Matt Halbach gave the Cubs a charge in the seventh inning with a three-run home run, his third of the year. Wisconsin literally couldn’t get Halbach out as he went 5 for 5 with two walks tonight. Halbach drove in six runs and scored five times.

Catcher Justin Stransky hit a grand slam in the ninth off of the position player. It was his second on the season. Stransky went 1 for 3 with two walks. He scored twice and had five total runs batted in.

Left fielder Kane Kepley was 4 for 5 with two walks and four stolen bases. He now has 23 steals in 29 games. Kepley scored five runs and drove in two.

Right fielder Leonel Espinoza went 2 for 5 with a double and a walk. He also stole one base. Espinoza score twice and drove in two.

Center fielder Kade Snell was 2 for 5 with two walks. Snell scored four runs and drove in two.

Second baseman Alex Madera went 2 for 3 with three walks. Madera drove home three and scored two times.

Shortstop Christian Olivo was 2 for 6 with a triple and a steal. He scored two runs and had two RBI.

Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit.

Here are some early highlights.

Halbach’s home run.

And here’s the nine-run eighth.

The six-run ninth.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans shot five-under par against the Augusta Green Jackets (Braves), 6-1.

Starter Dominick Reid tossed six scoreless innings and got the win. Reid surrendered just one hit and faced just one batter over the minimum. The one hit was an infield single in the fourth and that runner was thrown out trying to steal. The other baserunner was an error in the sixth. Reid struck out four.

Left fielder Geuri Lubo clubbed a two-run home run in the second inning, his first with the Pelicans and second overall. Lubo was 1 for 4.

Right fielder Josiah Hartshorn hit his fifth home run of the year. It came with a man on in the seventh. Hartshorn was 2 for 4 with a two-run double in the third, giving him four overall RBI.

Shortstop Alexis Hernandez went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. Hernandez scored twice.

Highlights.

ACL Cubs

Beat the Padres, 10-9.

The Yankees made it almost a month into the season without any real injury concerns. They have spent the three weeks since making up for that.

Max Fried became the latest and most important piece to enter an MRI tube Thursday, with the Yankees’ hopes and dreams potentially riding on the result of it.

Fried left Wednesday’s start in Baltimore after just three innings due to left elbow posterior soreness.

While the left-hander insisted he was “not too worried about a super long-term thing,” Thursday’s imaging and examination by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad would have the final say on that.

Even if the tests rule out the worst, it would be somewhat surprising if Fried was able to make his next start Tuesday in The Bronx against the Blue Jays, meaning the Yankees would likely need a spot starter for at least a turn or two until Gerrit Cole is ready to come off the injured list, likely by the end of this month.

With some strong rotation depth, the Yankees are in a position to withstand a short-term Fried absence.

The top candidates to replace him, should he need a stint on the injured list, would be Elmer Rodríguez and Brendan Beck.

Rodríguez, who made two spot starts after Luis Gil (now on the IL at Triple-A with shoulder inflammation) was optioned and before Carlos Rodón returned, is scheduled to start Saturday for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Beck started there Wednesday, meaning Tuesday would be his regular day to pitch if needed.

Both Rodríguez and Beck would only be eligible to be recalled if they are replacing an injured player, since they were both optioned within the last 15 days.

Fried, meanwhile, became the latest Yankees injury worry after Giancarlo Stanton, Jasson Domínguez and José Caballero all landed on the IL within the last three weeks.

Caballero’s injury was the most recent, suffering a fracture in his right middle finger Sunday, although he also is expected to be the first to return from the IL — as soon as his 10 days are up, if it is up to him.

The Atlanta Braves were unable to come away with the series sweep after Thursday’s 2-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Chris Sale got the start, where he threw six innings. He allowed an unearned run, walked two, and recorded eight strikeouts.

On the other side of the ball, the Braves’ bats were quiet, with the offense tallying just five hits on the night. The Chicago bullpen was not messing around and sat down the Braves as soon as they walked to the plate. 

Atlanta fell to 30-14 on the season but despite the loss, still managed to win the series over the NL Central-leading Cubs. 

More Braves News:

The Braves wrap up the homestand with a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox. Spencer Strider, Bryce Elder, and Grant Holmes are expected to start. 

Walt Weiss discussed several lessons learned from Bobby Cox.

Eric Hartman continues to shine for the Rome Emperors, this time robbing a home run. More in the minor league recap.

MLB News:

The Washington Nationals signed left-hander Alex Young to a minor league deal. For now, he has been assigned to the Florida Coast League but will make the transition to Triple-A.

The Athletics have acquired lefty Jose Suarez from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for cash. Prior to the Mariners, Suarez was a Brave, but he was designated for assignment earlier this month. 

For the first time in his career, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has been placed on the 10-day injured list. He is dealing with an oblique strain, and there is not yet a timetable for his return.

From the Feed:

After Thursday’s low-scoring series finale, cast your vote for Braves player of the game.