Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

Good evening, y’all. Here’s a random clip for you:

Carlos Jorge finally saw his name on the board as the #15 prospect in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings. Suddenly I don’t know what to do with myself since I’ve been voting for him since he first joined the ballot, but I suppose I’ll begin figuring out that process right now.

Per usual, you can find the link to the Google Form for voting right here, yet it’s also embedded at the bottom if you want to read through first and not have to embark upon the painstaking process of scrolling all the way back up here. Both link and embed will be removed once voting closes so you can’t stuff the ballot post facto, however, so be advised that this paragraph will make zero sense if you stumble back across it a year from now.

Here’s how the list has materialized so far:

1. Sal Stewart
2. Alfredo Duno
3. Rhett Lowder
4. Hector Rodriguez
5. Edwin Arroyo
6. Cam Collier
7. Steele Hall
8. Tyson Lewis
9. Chase Petty
10. Arnaldo Lantigua
11. Jose Franco
12. Zach Maxwell
13. Leo Balcazar
14. Adolfo Sanchez
15. Carlos Jorge

A large list of talented names exists below for spot #16. Have at it with the votes!

Aaron Watson, RHP (19 years old)

2025 at a glance: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Trinity Christian Academy (FL); signed overslot $2.7 million bonus to forego commitment to the University of Florida

Pros: 6’5” frame; potential 60-grade slider; fastball that runs up to 96 mph from a three-quarter arm slot and already has a solid three-pitch mix with his change rotated in

Cons: Did not pitch professionally after being drafted, so he’s a complete unknown

One glimpse of Watson on the mound and you immediately think yep, I bet that guy can turn into a pretty dang good pitcher. He’s got an ideal frame to produce downhill offerings, and his fastball/slider mix is already something on which he can hang his hat.

However, command of all three of his pitches – specifically a very developmental changeup – will be what he needs to work on to begin to move quickly through the ranks. He possesses a good ‘feel’ at the moment in terms of what pitches to throw, which part of the zone to attack vs. which hitters, etc., but how well he can build in more deception with his offerings will be vital.

Liberts Aponte, SS (18 years old)

2025 at a glance: .247/.368/.461 with 7 HR, 9 SB in 193 PA for DSL Rojos (Dominican Summer League)

Pros: 29/35 K/BB showed greatly improving strike zone awareness; already a plus defender at short where he projects to be excellent both with range and arm long-term

Cons: Still not viewed as a potential plus with the bat, though early returns are already better than original scouting reports; has a long way to go in terms of physically maturing

The Reds doled out $1.9 million to sign Aponte last January, and that marked the single largest contract they doled out in that particular international signing window. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the #18 player overall in that class, noting he was ‘one of the most skilled defenders in his class’ and ‘offers solid wheels’ with ‘magic in his hands’ while doling out a 65 grade on his fielding ability.

The rest, we knew, would take time, as he was just liked at 6’0” and 160 lbs, and that even felt like a slight exaggeration. To his credit, though, he mashed 7 homers as a 17 year old in DSL play while showing more power than anticipated, and if that aspect of his game grows to match what’s already known the Reds have found themselves a gem.

It will be interesting to see if the Reds push him up to Arizona Complex League play at all in 2026 or give him another year in the DSL seeing as he just turned 18 years old in November.

Luke Holman, RHP (23 years old)

2025 at a glance: ER, 2 H, 10 K, 4 BB in 9.0 IP with Daytona Tortugas (Class-A Florida State League

Pros: Two plus breaking pitches (slider, curve)

Cons: Not a ton of velocity on his fastball, which sits 91-94 mph

Luke Holman threw 109 pitches for LSU in a 6-2 loss to North Carolina on June 1st, 2024, a game in which he yielded 4 ER in 6.2 IP with 7 H, 11 K, and a lone walk. Since then, he’s thrown just 9.0 IP on a mound, total.

Holman, Cincinnati’s 2nd round pick in 2024, sat out the remainder of 2024 after being drafted, finishing his calendar year with 91.2 IP of 2.75 ERA ball that included a wonderful 0.98 WHIP and 127/33 K/BB. When his 2025 began in Daytona, all signs looked promising in his first pair of starts only for an elbow issue to subsequently sit him down and require Tommy John surgery, and we’ve not seen him since.

He sat 91-94 with his fastball (and touched 96) before, and has a pair of wicked breaking balls that he uses as his out pitches. If he returns to form in 2026 the way he ways before (or even better!), he still profiles as a back-end starter who should move quickly through Cincinnati’s system after dominating SEC play in stints first with Alabama and later with LSU.

Mason Morris, RHP (22 years old)

2025 at a glance: 9.00 ERA, 7/1 K/BB in 4.0 IP with Class-A Daytona Tortugas; 3.29 ERA, 78/31 K/BB in 54.2 IP with University of Mississippi

Pros: Fastball that can touch 100 mph; four-pitch mix

Cons: Lack of experience

Mason Morris landed with Ole Miss in 2023 primarily as a corner infielder, and the now 6’4” 225 lb righty only recently became a full-time pitcher prior to the Reds selecting him with their 3rd round pick in 2025. He’s got projection through the roof, though, with a 100 mph heater, plus cutter, and a pair of other breaking balls that look like they’ve also got the juice.

The question, though, is how Cincinnati plans to use him.

Morris only got a pair of outings as a pro after being drafted, and it appears the Reds have intentions on seeing if he can develop into a starting pitcher. That’s something he’s never really done before, however, and he’ll turn 23 years old in August of 2026. So, we’ll see how long of a leash the Reds give him with that avenue, since if they want to simply keep him in the bullpen there’s very little reason why he shouldn’t rocket through the minors and give them a legit relief arm at the big league level in short order.

Julian Aguiar, RHP (25 years old)

2025 at a glance: Did not pitch

Pros: Four-seam fastball that flirts with 100 mph; five-pitch pitcher with a pair of breaking balls and potentially plus change-up

Cons: Missed all of 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery; roughed up in 31.2 IP in MLB debut in 2024 (22 ER, 8 HR)

Julian Aguiar has risen quietly through the ranks of the Reds after being a 12th round pick out of Cypress College back in 2021, and his 2024 season saw him rocket from AA Chattanooga all the way through AAA and then to the Reds. Unfortunately, his short stint there ended with him requiring Tommy John surgery, and he missed all of 2025 while recovering.

He’s got plus potential with at least three pitches, and has another two that are still passable to keep hitters off-keel. His 360/93 career K/BB in 346.1 IP across the minors shows he’s got good strikeout stuff and a passable ability to keep hitters from free passes, and if his command returns as quickly as his velocity does post-surgery he should be in the mix to get big league batters out in some role as early as Opening Day. My best guess, though, is that he’ll be slated for AAA Louisville’s rotation to re-establish himself as a starter first, and he won’t actually turn 25 until June.

Mason Neville, OF (22 years old)

2025 at a glance: .247/.333/.442 with 1 HR, 2 SB in 90 PA with Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League); .290/.429/.724 with 26 HR, 9 SB in 280 PA with University of Oregon

Pros: 60-grade power with potential plus arm and plus speed & baserunning; chance to stick in CF, though still profiles as a solid RF if moved to the corner; led Division I with 26 HR in final season at Oregon

Cons: Lots of swing and miss in his game, at times, including a 34.4% rate in his short sample with Daytona

The Reds clearly love Neville, as they drafted him in the 18th round out of high school 2022 only to watch him initially attend the University of Arkansas. After transferring to Oregon and swatting more dingers than anyone else in 2025, the Reds went back to him in the 4th round of the most recent draft.

Neville is incredibly toolsy, his left-handed swing producing significant power when he makes contact. He’s good at working walks despite his swing-and-miss proclivities, and posesses the kind of athleticism and speed to be a legitimate CF.

His tiny sample with Daytona has some red flags with the Ks, but it’s such a small sample that it’s hard to take it with too much certainty. For instance, he hit .298/.365/.526 through his first 17 games there only to go 2 for 20 with 9 Ks across his final 6 games – that could, and likely is, all small-sample noise.

Big tools, that Neville. He could well be the steal of the 2025 draft.

Sheng-En Lin, RHP (20 years old)

2025 at a glance: 3.06 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 61/15 K/BB in 47.0 IP split between ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League) and Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League); .172/.348/.310 with 2 HR in 113 PA with ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League)

Pros: Former two-way player has tons of athleticism; fastball that runs to 97 mph with three-pitch mix including curve and change; excellent command

Cons: Still building up innings; dropping hitting to focus on being a pitcher

Lin was signed for $1.2 million during the 2023 international signing period, and the Taiwan native spent the last trio of seasons in Arizona attempting to do both hitting and pitching. The hit tool stalled, though, as his K-rate spiked and power never arrived, and on pitching he’ll now focus after making a late-season cameo with Daytona after being promoted to full-season ball for the first time.

In very, very small samples, his work on the mound has been excellent. He’s the owner of an impressive 4.07 K/BB rate for his short career, and that’s with an impressive 11.7 K/9 that shows just how much of a strikeout pitcher he can be. His secondary pitches both flash plus grades, at times, and more consistency there with a fastball that hits 97 mph already (with perhaps more velocity coming as he focuses solely on the mound) could see him rocket up these rankings in short order…if he hits the ground running in April.

Ricky Cabrera, 3B (21 years old)

2025 at a glance: .187/.276/.240 with 0 HR, 0 SB in 89 PA with High-A Dayton Dragons (Midwest League)

Pros: Above-average power, speed, and hit tool, with an arm that’s good enough to play at 3B (if he can find his accuracy)

Cons: An absolutely lost 2025 season that included a season-ending knee injury

The optimist in you sees that Cabrera only just turned 21 years old in October, and in 2024 posted a 110 wRC+ with 11 HR and 19 SB in the pitcher-friendly confines of the Florida State League with Daytona (with said wRC+, along with his OPS, both ranking among that league’s top 10). That same optimist probably would point out that 2025 saw the Venezuela native play in the cold April weather of the Midwest League with Dayton for the first time, and he struggled mightily in those new conditions before a knee injury rendered his 2025 completely lost.

There’s still a lot to like about Cabrera, even though he’s physically matured off shortstop at this juncture and likely profiles as a 3B, or potentially at 2B defensively – with his defense needing just as much improvement as his bat at the moment, too. If the batting cage stuff can begin to translate onto the field again post-injury, there’s still a ton to like about the former $2.7 million signee and Top 5 overall international prospect from the 2022 class.

I’m assuming there is no pessimist in you, for now.

We move on to the slew of right-handed pitchers present as NRIs to spring training this year. There are no fewer than fourteen, so this will take us a few installments! A lot of relief arms: all five in this edition are potential help for the bullpen, though perhaps not as soon as this season.

Isaiah Campbell (49)

Campbell is the first man born in Portugal to reach the majors in almost a hundred and fifty years, since the Madeira-born Frank Thompson in 1875. Isaiah was born when his father was serving there in the Air Force. He debuted in 2023 with the Mariners, and had a fine rookie campaign, posting a 2.83 ERA across 27 relief appearances. He has struggled since, missing much of 2024 with elbow inflammation. Last year, he pitched mostly for Triple-A Worcester, and had a 3.90 ERA for them, but couldn’t find success in the big leagues with the Red Sox. He’s not a terrible depth piece and, with just over a year’s service time, comes with a lot of team control.

Gerardo Carrillo (68)

A career minor-leaguer, Carrillo has bounced around since 2017, and only made two appearances above Double-A in that time. Now aged 27, he has seen time with the Dodgers, Nationals and Rangers organizations, before signing a minor-league deal for the D-backs. He actually appeared in the Arizona Fall League, back in 2019. Last year, he had a 3.59 ERA for Double-A El Paso, and over the winter had a 2.19 ERA for Jalisco in the Mexican League, though his K:BB ratio was an unimpressive 4:4 over 12.1 innings. He’s probably most famous for being part of the Max Scherzer + Trea Turner deal between Los Angeles and Washington in July 2021.

John Curtiss (46)

This name, however, should be familiar, because Curtiss – with the extra S – appeared thirty times out of the Arizona bullpen in 2025 (pictured, top). He didn’t do at all badly, getting a 3.93 ERA and 4.01 FIP. He got a decent 4.80 rating in our season review, but was outrighted off the 40-man roster at year end, and elected to become a free agent. However, he re-signed for the Diamondbacks on December 16, and the experience he picked up – Curtiss even notched a save – will stand him in good stead. He walked just five batters in 36.2 innings, and John should definitely be considered a contender for one of the open spots at the back of the 2026 bullpen.

Shawn Dubin (65)

Like Campbell, Dubin comes with major-league experience, having appeared 64 times for Baltimore and Houston, since making his MLB debut in June 2023. Last year, he started with the Astros, but was selected off waivers by the Orioles in August. All told, he had a 5.08 ERA over 33.2 innings, with a 28:11 K:BB. It’s possible health was an issue, as he was much better (1.33 ERA in 20.1 IP) before a forearm strain sent him to the IL for two months in June. Fun fact: Dubin originally intended to play soccer at college, and dropped out to work at Lowe’s. A friend convinced him to try out for the baseball team at Erie Community College… and here we are.

Hayden Durke (53)

A 13th-round pick in 2023, Durke rocketed through the system last year, with stops at three levels. He started at High-A Hillsboro, where a 13.2 inning scoreless streak with 22 strikeouts led to him moving up to Double-A Amarillo. Despite its well-known reputation as a launching pad, Durke held his own, with a 2.31 ERA and 18:6 K:BB across 11.2 frames. He was then sent to Reno and… [loud buzzing sounds of static] Yeah, it didn’t quite go as well there, his control evaporating to the tune of more than a walk per inning, and a 9.53 ERA in 17 games. Still, he’s only 23, so has time to figure it out.

Baseball Prospectus has published its annual list of the top 101 prospects in baseball ahead of the 2026 season, and seven Mets prospects are included on the list: Nolan McLean (4), Carson Benge (10), Jonah Tong (23), A.J. Ewing (38), Jacob Reimer (70), Ryan Clifford (86), and Will Watson (96). And both Jett Williams (41) and Brandon Sproat (76), who the Mets dealt to the Brewers for Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers, made the list, as well.

The inclusion of that many Mets prospects is a testament to the excellent state of the organization’s farm system, which is widely regarded as one of the best in the sport.

All seven of the Mets prospects who made the list were included in our top 25 here at Amazin’ Avenue, as our post-Brewers rankings would have them in the same order as they appear on the Baseball Prospectus list.

1. Nolan McLean
2. Carson Benge
3. Jonah Tong
4. A.J. Ewing
5. Jacob Reimer
6. Ryan Clifford
7. Will Watson

Many New York Rangers fans may look at the Artemi Panarin trade to the Los Angeles Kings and feel underwhelmed. 

Just two conditional picks and one prospect (Liam Greentree) in exchange for a superstar talent the likes of Panarin? How does that make sense?

At the surface level, it is a severely underwhelming trade package, but given the circumstances, Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury was ultimately handcuffed into settling for less value than Panarin is truly worth. 

The Rangers seemingly lost leverage when it was announced on Jan. 16 that the team does not plan to re-sign Panarin beyond this season and will look to trade him to any team he wishes to join.

Panarin’s full no-move clause in his contract allowed him to dictate the exact destination that made the most sense for him. 

Leading up to the trade, it was clear that Panarin was seeking a contract extension from the team to which he would be traded, as his seven-year, $81.5 million contract is set to expire after the 2025-26 season. 

Upon being held out of the Rangers’ lineup starting on Jan. 28 due to roster management, Panarin and his agent, Paul Theofanous, were able to explore the market and determine which teams would be willing to give a contract extension that met their demands. 

According to Vincent Mercogliano of The Athletic, the 34-year-old forward talked to several teams in an effort to negotiate and decide where he wanted to go.

Multiple reports indicate that Panarin zeroed in on the Kings as his preferred destination, and the Rangers were only able to do business with them due to his no-move clause and unwillingness to be traded to any other organization outside of the Kings.

Artemi Panarin Traded To Kings Ahead Of Roster Freeze The New York Rangers have <a href="https://x.com/emilymkaplan/status/2019139491420836214">reportedly traded</a> Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Liam Greentree and a conditional third-round pick.&nbsp;

It was Panarin’s desire for a contract extension that gave the Kings an advantage over the multiple reported teams originally in the mix for the Russian winger, including the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, San Jose Sharks, and New York Islanders. 

Panarin and his camp always held the cards throughout this entire saga. 

There’s still plenty of blame to go around from Drury's end who, similar to the way in which he traded Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, and Ryan Lindgren, simply waited too long and let this situation with Panarin linger to the point where his value was diminished to what it ultimately could have been.

When it came down to it, the Rangers had no leverage, and this return for Panarin is just the harsh reality of the situation.

It has been three months since Miguel Rojas rescued the Dodgers’ 2025 season.

And still, the thank you’s from fans haven’t stopped coming.

“It’s been overwhelming,” Rojas said. “Like in Italy (during vacation this offseason), I’m walking around Rome and I’m seeing Dodgers fans over there saying, ‘Thank you for hitting that home run.’ It’s crazy.”

The Dodgers, of course, had many heroes emerge in their trek to a second consecutive World Series title last fall. There was the World Series-MVP effort of Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The two-way showcase put on by Shohei Ohtani. The four scoreless innings that little-known reliever Will Klein produced in a marathon Game 3 victory in the Fall Classic. The game-winning extra-inning home runs Freddie Freeman and Will Smith hit in Games 3 and 7, respectively. The list goes on.

No one, however, had a moment as unforgettable (or unexpected) as Rojas.

When he came to the plate in the ninth inning of Game 7 last year, the Dodgers were two outs from defeat, and on the cusp of a cruel ending to their repeat title dreams. At that point, Rojas himself wasn’t even 100% healthy, playing through a side injury that had nearly sidelined him for the winner-take-all occasion that night at Rogers Centre.

Yet, when Jeff Hoffman hung him a two-strike slider, the 12-year veteran didn’t miss it.

“I just felt like everything that happened, happened for a reason,” Rojas said three months later. “And I was ready for the opportunity.”

Indeed, Rojas not only saved the Dodgers with his game-tying home run –– which was so stunning, Fox broadcaster Joe Davis could only utter “No way!” as the typically light-hitting, glove-first infielder rounded the bases. But Rojas also etched his name into immortal October history, going from an often-overlooked veteran contributor on the Dodgers’ star-studded roster, to one of the most celebrated and recognizable faces of a team that would go on to lift the Commissioner’s Trophy and cement a modern-day dynasty.

“Now,” Rojas joked, “I just have to live with the consequences.”

Rojas felt all that love anew on Saturday, receiving some of the loudest crowd ovations during the Dodgers’ annual Fanfest event at Chavez Ravine. And ahead of what will be the final season of his MLB career, he has embraced his sudden celebrity with his own sentimental gratitude, appreciative of every encounter (at home and abroad) he’s had with Dodger fans over the course of what he described as a life-changing offseason.

“The most important part is that everybody continues to say that that’s one of the best moments that they’ve had in their life, and the best moment of sports that they watched,” he said. “That makes me feel really good, because we were part of something bigger than just a home run for ourselves.”

On Saturday, Rojas was quick to note that he’s “not done yet,” after re-signing with the Dodgers on a $5.5 million free-agent deal early in the offseason. Despite last fall’s heroics, “I have to continue to prove myself and prove to everybody that I can still play,” he said.

But, he does already know what his longer-term future holds, having also struck an agreement in his new contract to stay with the Dodgers organization in a player development role once he officially retires.

“I want to be a coach, but maybe I’m going to be good at something else,” he said. “That’s something that I want to realize about myself. Coach a little bit of everything. TV maybe. Work in the front office a little bit with Andrew and company. And definitely learn a little bit from more from Doc and what they value as a team, as a player.”

For now, however, he’s happy to keep basking in the glory of his momentous home run last year –– one that saved the Dodgers’ season, elevated his stature and came with plenty of thank you’s that won’t stop anytime soon.

“I waited 20 years in professional baseball to have that moment, and it happens to me at the end of my career,” he said. “I mean, my life changed a lot. Especially the way I’ve been seen on the streets and outside of baseball, it’s just something different (that has) happened to my career and my life. But I’m not gonna step away from it. It’s something that I always wanted … Definitely gonna share those moments forever.”

Dodgers shuffle roster

The Dodgers made a notable roster move this week, designating infielder Andy Ibáñez for assignment less than a month after signing him to a $1.2 million free-agent deal, and claiming outfielder Mike Siani off waivers just two weeks after DFA’ing him.

Ibáñez was expected to provide the Dodgers with infield depth, especially at the start of the season if Tommy Edman isn’t initially ready to return from offseason ankle surgery. He could still stick with the organization going forward, but will now have to clear waivers first.

Siani returns to the Dodgers after being DFA’d to make room for Kyle Tucker’s signing in mid-January. He had been claimed by the Yankees, but was quickly DFA’d again by New York this past week.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are still attempting to make a big splash in free agency after all.

After watching Kyle Schwarber, Eugenio Suarez, and others come off the board and sign with rival National League contenders, the Pirates may improve an already strong portion of the team: starting pitching.

In a surprising turn of events, the Pirates are reportedly an “aggressive” pursuer of the best pitcher remaining on the market.

The Pirates are interested in two-time All-Star lefty Framber Valdez, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, to join a young and promising rotation led by Paul Skenes. 

Valdez, 32, owns a career 3.36 ERA over eight seasons with the Houston Astros. 2025 marks his worst ERA performance since 2019, posting a 3.66 clip with a 1.245 WHIP and 187 strikeouts in 192 innings. 

He earned an MLB-best two complete games but an MLB-worst 12 wild pitches in 31 starts.

Valdez would immediately become the Pirates’ No. 2 starter and solidify the Pirates rotation as one of the best in baseball.

Teaming Valdez with Skenes, Bubba Chandler, Mitch Keller, and Braxton Ashcraft could make the Pirates legitimate playoff contenders this season.

Two things could be attentive to Valdez.

The Pirates hired former Astros pitching coach Brett Murphy for the same position in Pittsburgh. The spacious left field and left-center field at PNC Park plays well for lefties and could be an opportunity for Valdez to reset his market on a one-year contract.

Pittsburgh has struggled to land viable free agents over the years and shown the willingness to overspend. Rosenthal noted that the Pirates may be being used as “a stalking horse” once more. 

“However, the Pirates again might prove to be little more than a stalking horse for a more competitive team willing to offer Valdez the type of short-term deal with opt-outs he seems likely to command,” Rosenthal wrote.

Valdez is also drawing interest from the Blue Jays and Orioles to stay in the American League.

It’s possible that signing Valdez could open the door for the Pirates to trade Keller for a third baseman, adding a front-line starter to the rotation, making Keller expendable and a valuable trade chip to complete the lineup.

Rosenthal noted that the Pirates remain interested in slugger Marcell Ozuna, who is primarily a DH and would complicate the team’s defense, but adds a former All-Star who hit 21 home runs a season ago.

The Pirates still have time to add offense, or another impactful starting pitcher, before the heart of spring. 

Pitchers and catchers officially report to Bradenton, Florida on February 11.

The churn at the end of the Yankees’ 40-man roster continued Wednesday, with the club taking a flier on another outfielder.

The Yankees claimed Yanquiel Fernández off waivers from the Rockies while designating recently claimed right-hander Dom Hamel for assignment.

The lefty-hitting Fernández, 23, made his MLB debut in 2025, batting .225 with a .613 OPS in 52 games. The Cuba native has been more productive in his minor league career, batting .279 with a .813 OPS — including hitting .284 with a .849 OPS in 64 games at Triple-A last season.

Predominantly a right fielder, Fernández ranked in the 100th percentile for arm strength in the majors last season, per Baseball Savant, averaging 97.2 mph on his throws, which was second only to Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz.

Fernández has one minor league option remaining, allowing the Yankees to stash him as depth at Triple-A.

He became the latest waiver claim for the Yankees this offseason, along with outfielder Michael Siani (since designated for assignment and claimed by the Dodgers), utilityman Marco Luciano (since DFA’d and outrighted to Triple-A), reliever Kaleb Ort (since DFA’d and claimed by the Angels) and Hamel.

With the start of Spring Training Feb. 11 in Peoria, Ariz., the San Diego Padres are nearing the end of their offseason plans and beginning their final approach to the 2026 season. Although there have been no major league roster additions since December, the team has not been totally inactive. News broke late Tuesday that the lawsuit between Peter Seidler’s widow, Sheel Seidler, and the Seidler brothers named in her allegations (Matt and Bob Seidler) have settled the bulk of the suit.

The terms of the settlement have not been released and probably never will be but this development lends further support to the rumors than an imminent sale of the team is probably true. The rumor mill has been churning for the last month regarding multiple parties interested in the purchase of the team.

Although no specific names have been shared, it has not been hard to imagine that the team would be attractive to multiple people or groups that want to own an MLB team. Joe Lacob, owner of the Golden State Warriors, is the only person who has publicly expressed interest in buying an MLB team.

The rumors were further supported by the fact that Padres CEO Erik Greupner was willing to make a public announcement at FanFest. He said that the sale was proceeding successfully and that the new owner would be invested in winning and maintaining the current goals.

The lawsuit would presumably be a roadblock to that sale and with this settlement, it may be announced sooner rather than later. It would not be surprising that the final negotiations for the A.J. Preller contract could be delayed as a result of rapidly progressing sale negotiations. Let’s hope these rumors are true and resolution occurs before the season starts.

Minor league contracts

LHP Marco Gonzales signed a minor league contract with a Spring Training invite. He will earn $1.5 million if he makes the team and has the ability to earn $1 million more in incentives. Gonzales is 34 and is coming off multiple seasons of injury with the latest being a forearm strain in 2024 that required flexor tendon surgery and he missed the entire 2025 season. His last appearance in the major leagues was in 2024 with the Pirates. He started seven games and pitched 33.2 innings with a 4.54 ERA. In his six-plus seasons as a starter with the Mariners (2017-2023) he pitched to a 3.48 ERA.

RHP Andrew Thurman signed a minor league contract. At 34, the career minor league pitcher last played in the Atlantic League in 2025 with 25 games started. The Padres transactions page has him assigned to the San Antonio Missions.

RHP Michael Flynn is 29 and reportedly signed a minor league contract. He has played most recently in the Tampa Bay organization and has been a reliever. He is a sinker/cutter prominent pitcher with a low-90s fastball and a plus sweeper.

RHP Riley Pint is 29 and spent all of 2025 injured while in the Guardians organization. He last pitched in the major leagues in 2024 for Colorado. In his 3.1 innings for the Rockies he had a 21.60 ERA. Pint has a high-90s fastball and a mid-90s sinker as well as a sweeper and a slider.

Tatis launches his foundation

On the Friday before FanFest, Fernando Tatis Jr. hosted a gala dinner to launch his foundation benefiting financial literacy for young (17-22) athletes in both San Diego and the Dominican Republic. Many of his teammates were there in support and he also has the backing of MLB. The name of the foundation is Fernando Tatis Full Court Foundation.

Camp 44

Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove hosts a week of activities for his teammates before every season. For the fourth consecutive year, Musgrove brought multiple players into town before FanFest for team building and bonding. He shared at FanFest that they spent time at the PLNU lab as well as working out at Petco Park and Mission Beach. Besides pitchers, multiple position players also participated.

More broadcast rights are voided

Between six and nine more teams have joined MLB as their broadcast partner for the 2026 season. The Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds have all withdrawn from their contracts with FanDuel Sports for broadcast rights for the season. The contracts were voided due to non-payment of rights fees from the network to the teams. Six of those teams have formally approached MLB to broadcast their games with the Tigers, Braves and Angels final decisions not yet clear. The Tigers owner also owns the Red Wings of the NHL and the FanDuel Sports Network also has contracts with NHL and NBA teams, including the Red Wings. The Braves are contemplating launching their own network and the Angels have declined comment.

This is in addition to the already seven teams being broadcast by MLB and the total could be over half of the league, pending final decisions. The media rights disparity between the haves and the have nots continues to grow and further complicates the future CBA negotiations.

Padres farm system ranks last

Keith Law of The Athletic has ranked the Padres farm system as the worst in MLB. Due to the trading of eight of their top 20 players at the last trade deadline, the Padres top prospect is catcher Ethan Salas. Salas, 19, has not played since April and was inactive because of a low back stress reaction. This should be a pivotal year in his development as a potential major league player. His defense behind the plate has never been questioned but his offensive ceiling is a question mark at this point.

The rest of the prospect list remains questionable with a lot of young and untested players in the top of the list. The new season should provide a lot more clarity about the upsides of many of these players.

FanFest media interviews

The San Diego Padres always provide media time for the players who attend their yearly fan-based baseball celebration. There are always a few news items that come out of these Q&A sessions with local media. Some nuggets that stood out:

Craig Stammen – He emphasized communication and relationships as his emphasis early in his new role. He visited multiple players after being hired, including his first-ever trip to the Dominican Republic to see Tatis Jr., Randy Vasquez and Ramon Laureano. When asked about the player who will play first base, he designated Gavin Sheets as the first option with Will Wagner and Sung-Mun Song as other possibilities.

He shared his confidence in Luis Campusano as the player who has the best chance to win the back-up catcher position. He played with Campusano as a player and expressed his desire to see him be successful as a major league catcher and hitter.

Michael King – King said in both his media time and his pitcher forum appearance that A.J. Preller was the main reason he re-signed with the Padres. He has trust in Preller and his ability to build a winning team every year. That was his main priority in signing a multi-year deal. He also shared that Yu Darvish was involved in his contract negotiations and got him some extra money. He stated that the media should ask Preller about that.

A.J. Preller – He was asked about the comment King made and he referred to Darvish caring a lot about his teammates and the organization. He will do anything he can to help others, including offering to give up his own salary to make the team better going forward. He has always given his best as a player and his offering to void his contract is just another part of who he is as a teammate and a Padre.

Preller said there would be no cutting of payroll and the team intends to add before the season. At least a starter and a couple bats. His own contract situation is a work in progress and that is partly due to the fact that he is not focused on it. His focus is on building a team and getting ready for the season. The contract will come at some point. He specifically referred to the next couple weeks as a probable timeline.

Fernando Tatis Jr. – He expressed his happiness at starting his foundation and participating in Camp 44 this year. He repeated his statement from last FanFest that he wants to prove his ability to fans and baseball and has worked to fix the issues affecting him last season. In his comments during the Q&A during the player forum, Tatis said his goal is to win the league MVP.

Jackson Merrill – In his usual direct and honest fashion, Merrill acknowledged the difficult season he had in 2025 with the injuries and inconsistencies. He looks forward to a “consistent vibe” this season with Craig Stammen as manager, with no ups and downs. He emphasized his focus is on hitting the fastball and his swing is tailored to that goal. He will not focus on the Dodgers but on beating every team they face. He expressed it as an F-U mentality for himself and the team.

All the players interviewed used the word “Respect” in reference to their impression of Stammen. They all also shared that a younger and more relatable coaching staff will be welcomed and they have already been active in offseason work.

Reese McGuire came to the Cubs and produced when they really needed him — right after Miguel Amaya suffered an oblique injury in May. McGuire homered twice in his first game as a Cub and was a suitable backup for Carson Kelly the rest of the year.

The Cubs, as you know, had fallen far behind the Brewers, nine games back by early August. They had crept to within five games of the NL Central lead after sweeping the Angels in Anaheim.

Hopes were high as the Cubs headed up the coast to San Francisco.

Welp. They lost the series opener 5-3 and then took a 3-1 lead in the second inning of the second game of the set when Nico Hoerner smashed a three-run homer.

It was all downhill after that on that evening in Oracle Park. Colin Rea didn’t make it out of the fifth inning, allowing eight hits and seven runs, one of his worst starts of the year. Taylor Rogers, acquired at the deadline and a former Giant, allowed a three-run homer to Rafael Devers, his second of the game. That gave the Giants a 10-3 lead and they scored another off Rogers in the seventh on a solo homer by Matt Chapman.

It was 11-3 heading to the bottom of the eighth when Craig Counsell summoned McGuire to pitch, to save the pen for an afternoon game the next day.

McGuire got Andrew Knizner for the first out but then Heliot Ramos came to bat [VIDEO].

That might have been one of the most ridiculous pitches in Cubs history.

Friends, I don’t know exactly what that pitch was but I think I am pretty safe when I say that was definitely not a “curveball.”

The Cubs lost the game 12-3.

McGuire, as you know, recently signed a minor-league deal with the Brewers and he seems likely to break camp as the backup to William Contreras.

That concludes this series on Cubs position players pitching in the divisional play era. Tomorrow I’ll have some thoughts about position players pitching in general.

Mickey Lolich, the 1968 World Series MVP for the champion Tigers and a one-time Mets pitcher, died Wednesday.

He was 85.

The Tigers said Lolich’s wife told them he died after a brief stay in hospice care, though his cause of death wasn’t disclosed.

Lolich’s finest hour in baseball came during the 1968 World Series, when he tossed three complete-game victories, including a one-run gem in Game 7 against the Cardinals on just two days’ rest.

That came after Lolich briefly lost his rotation spot during the regular season following a string of rough outings in July. He wasn’t pleased.

“I was having a few problems, but I had been a starting pitcher ever since 1964,” Lolich said. “I remember telling [manager Mayo Smith], ‘If we win this thing this year it’s going to be because of me.’ But I was only talking about the season. I wasn’t talking about the World Series.

“I got my revenge back in the World Series.”

Lolich spent 13 seasons with the Tigers and was a three-time All-Star, finishing in the top three of the AL Cy Young voting twice.

The Tigers traded Lolich to the Mets after the 1975 season for Rusty Staub; Lolich initially exercised his 10-and-5 rights to veto the deal, but Mets brass convinced him to accept the trade.

He had a 3.22 ERA in 31 appearances (30 starts) for the Mets in 1976 before retiring. After sitting out the ’77 season, he came back for two seasons with the Padres before retiring for good.

Lolich finished his career with a 217-191 record, 3.44 ERA and 2,832 strikeouts, the 23rd most in MLB history.

“Lolich will be remembered as one of the most durable and dominant left-handed pitchers of his era and a cornerstone of Detroit’s pitching staff for more than a decade,” the Tigers said in a statement.

— With AP

The grass isn’t always greener. The skies, famously, aren’t liable to be much bluer elsewhere either.

George Kirby has thrived in Seattle. A perfect fit for the Mariners as an organization, obsessed as they are with avoiding free passes and controlling the count and zone. Intense on the mound and, seemingly, off of it, Kirby is a beneficiary of the organization into which he was drafted. A fly ball pitcher who, for most of his career, has been among the most contact dependent hurlers in the sport, Kirby thrives in Seattle.

All until 2025.

There was no catastrophe for Furious George, but things began on the wrong foot. Not only was he sidelined to start the season with shoulder inflammation, but his knee had been bothering him as well, contributing to a longer-term outlay that also doubled as Kirby’s first ever trip to the injured list in his big league career. Upon his return, for the first time ever, Kirby struggled. Extensively. He was drubbed out of the gate by the Astros and Nationals, and spent the rest of the season attempting to claw back into alignment. Kirby feasted upon the Angels for 37 strikeouts to just three walks and six earned runs in 19.1 innings, but the rest of the league ran him for a 4.64/3.58 ERA/FIP in 106.2 IP.

In any representation of his last campaign, two clear storylines stand out. First is Kirby’s willingness to work outside the zone, as the famously walk-averse righty ran his highest-ever walk rate. 5.5% is still 18th-lowest in MLB among pitchers with at least 120 innings (of which there were 105), but Kirby’s been 6th, 1st, and 2nd in the category since entering the league. Cause for concern? Not… really. Kirby’s strikeout rate ticked up in essentially equal measure, perhaps circumstantial or perhaps with intent as he looked behind him (more on that in a moment). By K-BB%, Kirby has ranked 21st, 17th, 20th, and… 16th from 2022-2025, echoing Luis Castillo in his capacity to consistently deliver high-quality numbers despite frequent tweaks to his pitch mix and locations.

Yes, Kirby pitched out of the zone more than ever, but he got the expected outcomes. More whiffs than ever, the best called strike-plus-whiff rate of his career. Fewer swings, sure, and less chase even, but the chases he did get were more impotent. If Kirby’s intention was to mitigate some of the ambushability inherent to his strike-pumping ways, however, he only partially succeeded. Hitters still didn’t clobber Kirby, but while they were whiffing more, they barreled him up more frequently too. It’s not clear to me that this is connected, but that’s the confusion of gauging Kirby’s last campaign: what is tied to injury and rust, and what was intentional alteration?

Kirby cut his splitter and barely worked in a lesser changeup due to difficulty in using the pitch comfortably as he returned to health. Was the lowered arm slot which shifted the shape of his sinker and blurred the previously-distinct movement of his slider and curveball a tactical adjustment, or a compensation for his preseason discomfort? What was his plan, and what was what he did after getting hit in the mouth?

The second point of delineation is evident in Kirby’s overall line a year ago, a 4.21/3.37 ERA/FIP. We know better now than to attribute batted ball outcomes as pure fortune, but as we’ve addressed already, Kirby didn’t start giving up purely rockets. A small uptick in hard hit rate does not explain the 9th-highest ERA-over-FIP in MLB (among our same 105 player, 120+ IP cohort). Three of the top-10 in this range are, as to be expected, Colorado Rockies, with Diamondbacks and Phillies in the mix as well.

To have things go this poorly requires some ill fortune, as Dylan Cease and Sonny Gray can attest. But to have this occur with Seattle as your home park is difficult to reconcile. Kirby’s 0.85 gap between his earnie and his fippie (don’t love that) is the worst in a decade for a Seattle starter at this workload. Marco Gonzales ran a 0.57 gap in 2018, 15th in MLB, the last time a Mariner entered this range of ill fortune despite the contact-suppressing confines of T-Mobile Park at their backs. It requires a retreat to 2016 James Paxton to find a Seattle pitcher more maligned than Kirby, whose 0.99 ERA-FIP presaged a stretch of several brilliant seasons for the Big Maple. In T-Mobile Park history, only the most contact-managing, cartoonishly unfortunate have outpaced Kirby’s bitter, season-long pill.

This is about where I’ve hit my wall. Kirby’s issues are somewhat intertwined to defensive ineptitude, but neither by BABIP nor contact outcomes does his performance stand out too egregiously. Instead, it seems like Kirby’s mistakes were punished, even when they stayed in the ballpark, often enough that the exemplar of efficiency was unable to methodically carve through opponents with the ease he’s shown in seasons past.

Kirby’s plan in 2026 appears to be that of a player dissatisfied with his previous campaign. His splitter had been an adaptation of Kevin Gausman’s famous out pitch, and its jettisoning for comfort forced him to tie a hand behind his back. If he’s intending to return the pitch to his mix in 2026, as has been intimated, that alone will aid him in his efforts to build on a more strikeout-shaped repertoire. A season ago, Kirby seemed primed to ascend to ace-hood in Seattle’s staff. The first struggle-filled season of his career may finally grant the New York suburbanite what fuels him best: a chip on his shoulder.

The San Francisco Giants have announced their non-roster invitees to this year’s Spring Training in Arizona and there’s just one surprise addition: veteran righty reliever Michael Fulmer.

He had missed all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery and last season for the Red Sox and Cubs he threw a combined 5.2 innings. Previously, he’d thrown 674 innings across three teams and seven MLB seasons with a 3.94 ERA (4.00 FIP), 7.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, and 1.0 HR/9. More importantly, he was AL Rookie of the Year in 2016 for Detroit and an All-Star the following season, in both seasons as a starting pitcher.

In his first three major league seasons, he made 75 starts and went 24-31 with a 3.81 ERA. His 8.2 fWAR over this stretch made him as valuable as David Price, Marcus Stroman, and Kevin Gausman.

He had knee surgery at the end of 2018 and missed all of 2019. When he came back, he wasn’t the same starter and was converted into a reliever and did very well there. He features a 94 mph fastball and a sweeper, so you can see how he vaguely fits into the mold the Giants have made for their relief corps. And 2026 being his second year removed from Tommy John is typically when the benefit of that procedure bears fruit, so, the Giants have added another high upside lottery ticket to their lottery bullpen.

Outfielders

Victor Bericoto

Bericoto was just voted the #35 prospect in the Giants’ system by the McCovey Chronicles community. Brady wrote:

Bericoto has some of the best power in the system […]

While Bericoto is a bat-first player, he’s no slouch with the glove. He’s perfectly competent at first base, and I’d go so far as to call him decent in the outfield. He doesn’t need to light the world on fire in the batter’s box to be a valuable Major Leaguer … if he can hit above league average, he can help the Giants, and it wouldn’t be a shock if he finds his way onto the big league roster sometime this summer.

Bo Davidson

Davidson has been voted the #4 prospect in the Giants’ system by the McCovey Chronicles community and ended last year as MLB Pipeline’s #5 prospect for the Giants. Their writeup:

Davidson offers one of the best combinations of raw power and speed among Giants farmhands, grading as plus in both categories. He won’t fully tap into his pop until he starts turning on more pitches and lifting them more frequently, but he has the bat speed and strength to hit 20 or more homers per season. He could be one of the best pure hitters in the system, as he has a sound left-handed swing and a fairly disciplined approach that allowed him to handle southpaws and all types of pitches in Single-A despite his inexperience. 

Jared Oliva

Oliva had been signed to a minor league deal on January 12, and the 30-year old outfielder has a .755 OPS in 8 minor league seasons to go with 225 stolen bases. He’s had just 59 major league plate appearances (all for the Pirates), but the most recent were in 2021. In each of the last four seasons, he’s spent the full minor league season in Triple-A for the Pirates, then the Angels, then the Mariners, and last year with the Brewers.

Infielders

Osleivis Basabe

Basabe slashed .249/.309/.412 for Triple-A Sacramento last season and might provide another option if Christian Koss fails to hold on to hearts and minds or Casey Schmitt isn’t quite ready to go or Tyler Fitzgerald has fully turned back into a pumpkin.

Nate Furman

He was the player to be named later in the Alex Cobb trade of 2024. To quote me from my writeup of that transaction:

He’s 5’8”, bats left-handed, and has played second, third, and shortstop across his two minor league seasons. […] If the power really was coming along before [a] shoulder injury, you could imagine a ceiling of a left-handed version of Tyler Fitzgerald — that delicious power-speed combo. Although, don’t sleep on 91 walks and 93 strikeouts in his brief MiLB career (158 games, 666 PA).

For newer readers, I absolutely adored Tyler Fitzgerald.

Furman played four levels of Giants minor league ball in 2025 and slashed .369/.493/.601 across Rookie ball, A-ball, High-A, and Double-A. He spent the bulk of his time at High-A Eugene and posted a 1.139 OPS in 96 PA. He had a .970 OPS in the 39 PAs following his promotion to Double-A.

Buddy Kennedy

The Giants signed him to a minor league deal on December 15th. He has an .816 OPS in 8 MiLB seasons (3,004 PA) and a .545 OPS in 181 career MLB PA. Like Basabe and Furman, he can play multiple positions on the infield, but especially second base.

Parks Harber

Acquired from the Yankees in the Camilo Doval trade, he’s a corner guy (first and third bases) who can also play a little outfield (right field, specifically). The 23-year old right-hander lit up the Arizona Fall League with a line of .383/.513/.683 in 76 PA and even participated in the Home Run Derby:

Jake Holton

The Giants picked up this 27-year old first baseman on a minor league deal back in December. The former Tigers farmhand has a career .806 OPS in six minor league seasons and spent the last three full seasons playing all year for Detroit’s Double-A team. He has 69 career MiLB home runs.

Catchers

Diego Cartaya

The Giants added him back in August.

Eric Haase

The veteran backstop signed a deal back in January that could be worth at least $1.6 million (there are also incentives) if he makes the roster. His highwater mark was back in 2021 when he hit 22 home runs for the Tigers.

Logan Porter

He makes it onto the non-roster invite list for the second season in a row. This, despite Porter getting into five games for the Giants last season. He’s best known for his OBP. He had a .346 OBP in 286 PA with Sacramento.

Pitchers

RHP Will Bednar

Currently the #24 prospect in the Giants’ system, per the McCovey Chronicles community. Brady wrote:

Bednar has been rising in the CPL: last year he came in at No. 42, and the year before, he went unranked. But three years ago he was ranked No. 25, and in his CPL debut he was all the way up at No. 8.

[…]

Bednar will need to keep making strides in the walk department if he wants to follow in his brother David’s footsteps and become a high-quality MLB reliever. But he certainly did a fantastic job using 2025 to remake his game, and show off new electricity, as he added a few extra MPHs to his pitches, and flirted with triple digits. The strikeout stuff really was remarkable: his 14.49 strikeouts per nine innings ranked eighth out of the 1,383 Minor League pitchers who threw at least 50 innings last year (and if you remove his AAA stint, his 14.92 mark would have ranked third). There’s the makings of not just an MLB pitcher in there, but a very good one.

RHP Michael Fulmer

See above.

RHP Trent Harris

#29 in the Giants’ system, per the McCovey Chronicles community. Brady wrote:

2025 was a tale of two stories for Harris. It was just his second full season of Minor League Baseball, as he joined the organization in the summer of 2023 as an undrafted free agent (remarkably, the Giants have three UDFAs in their top 30). Harris, who is 6’2 and well built, began the year with AA Richmond, where he was utterly dynamic. He posted a 1.69 ERA and a 1.73 FIP in 13 relief appearances, while striking out 25 batters in just 16 innings … and only walking four. Everything was going brilliantly, and he received an early promotion to AAA Sacramento.

That’s where the struggles began,

RHP Caleb Kilian

The 28-year old signed a minor league deal with the Giants back in December. In three seasons with the Cubs, he threw 27.1 innings, struck out 21, walked 20, and allowed just 2 home runs. He’s another fastball-sweeper combo reliever, but the Statcast numbers suggests he needs a little more velo and a lot more spin to make it an effective combo.

LHP Nick Margevicius

The Giants signed the 29-year old to a minor league deal at the end of December in a move I thought was strange. Bizarre. Dissatisfying. In 2019, this dude was front of mind as he handcuffed the Giants as a Padre, allowing just a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings. But his soft-tossing lefty ways only worked on that one team for that one season, because he hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2021.

RHP Wilkin Ramos

The Giants signed him to a minor league deal back in November and he spent all of 2025 in Pittsburgh’s minor league system, dominating at Double-A and struggling in Triple-A. He’s a sinker-slider reliever with perhaps below average spin on the latter type. This post makes a case that he keeps getting work because of his pitch shapes.

LHP Juan Sanchez

Now that he’s in his Tommy John recovery, the Giants will be very excited to get a look at this 25-year old long-time farmhand to see if his electric stuff from the left side of the plate can translate against minor league competition.

RHP Gregory Santos

The prodigal reliever returns? After a breakout 2023 with the White Sox (66.1 IP, 2.65 FIP) he struggled the past two seasons with the Mariners mainly due to injury (14.1 IP, 4.41 FIP).

The only other surprise for me was an omission. I was almost certain the Giants would’ve added left-handed reliever Matt Cronin, who is a free agent and did play for Tony Vitello at Arkansas.

The list also reflects the state of the Giants’ farm system. Bryce Eldridge is now on the 40-man roster and after him, the talent pool isn’t even ready to make the jump to Spring Training invites. Maybe next spring for some of the talent way, way down on the farm.

This year’s group is one less than last year’s group and we saw a decent bunch of them make it to the big league team in 2025, so, get familiar with some of these names!

It’s easy to forget, but Elly De La Cruz made 29 starts (and appeared in 32 overall games) as the 3B of the Cincinnati Reds back in his first year in the big leagues in 2023. That was in deference to Matt McLain, current 2B and resident backup SS, who made 52 starts at short that year.

Though I doubt there’s a realistic scenario that sees Elly ever need to play some 3B on the regular, he’s got the chops and the experience there. That’s some versatility from the planned starting middle-infield, with McLain also having a wealth of outfield experience from his days at UCLA, in Cape Cod League play, and even in the Arizona Fall League, too.

To their collective left is a logjam at 1B, it would appear. The way the Reds plan to un-jam those logs is, once again, through versatility. Sal Stewart, a 3B and 2B by trade prior to his 2025 call-up, will presumably rotate through all three positions (as well as DH). The recently signed Eugenio Suárez is himself a former shortstop of these very Reds, and while those days are long over, he’s been a 3B at the big league level for a decade and will presumably be fully capable of providing cover there when not at DH or 1B himself.

Then, there’s Spencer Steer, a Gold Glove finalist at 1B this past season who may well be staring at the starting LF job right now. He’ll play both of those spots often, while there’s word that the former 3B and 2B will get time at 2B, at least, to keep his bat in the lineup. Though putting him at SS for any serious time is a bridge too far, Steer profiles as the most versatile player on the roster – that is, of course, if the Reds remain committed to keeping former 3B/SS/2B Noelvi Marte as their everyday RF, something he only just began to to last August.

(Even then, it’s easy to see Marte sliding back into the infield mix in a 15 inning game with tons of other switches, or if someone gets injured unexpectedly, and the club wants him to learn more CF, too.)

There’s been some talk of seeing if TJ Friedl can get some run in LF, as that would allow Dane Myers – a platoon OF who’ll play all over the OF – to cover CF and increase the defensive quality of the overall outfield. Catcher Tyler Stephenson has played 1B in 32 games in his career, with 76 additional appearances at DH to keep his bat in the lineup against LHP. Even fringe roster guys like Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Tyler Callihan have positional versatility, with CES experienced at both corners on the infield and Callihan playing just about everywhere but short.

That’s a comical level of flexibility, really. If it were truly his goal, manager Terry Francona could go weeks of fielding lineups every single day that a) were actually feasible and b) never played the same player in the same position two days in a row, especially with the likes of Will Benson and JJ Bleday experienced at all three OF spots on top of all the rest.

Then, though, there’s Ke’Bryan Hayes. Somehow, every time I try to figure out what the Reds are actually up to, it all seems to make sense until we get to Hayes.

Hayes has over 9100 innings logged as a professional since being a 1st round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates all the way back in 2015, and all but 5.0 of those innings have come as a 3B (with those handful in a trio of late-game appearances at short back in 2022). He’s a 3B, a 3B only, and does so with glovework that may well be the best of any player in the sport despite a bat that’s been one of the worst of any regular for over two seasons running.

Hayes is the lone position player on the roster outside of backup catcher who plays nowhere else, making him something of a unicorn on a roster that’s otherwise put together specifically to highlight versatility. Hayes is also a unicorn in the sport itself as a glove-first player at a position otherwise populated by big-hitting sluggers, a glove-first player who doesn’t play the defensive positions higher up the pecking order of importance like CF or SS.

If you look at how this roster is actually put together, the one glaring thing they don’t seem to have is a classic glove-first guy who can fill in at every single infield position as a late-inning guy, as a utility knife for precisely the right scenarios and alignments. You know the archetypes – the Jose Oquendos, the Tony Phillips, the Craig Counsells, the Juan Uribes, the Ryan Freels (RIP). In Hayes, they found a guy with two of the most overriding characteristics of classic utility guys – great glove, no bat – but didn’t get a guy who, for whatever reason, has never been tasked with taking that elite defense all over the diamond to unlock the rest of his roster.

So, he’s on a versatile roster as the guy who most profiles as a player who should move around a lot, but doesn’t. Instead of being paid like a guy who’s a utility player, he’s on a long-term deal that guarantees him $36 million and makes him one of the higher-paid guys on the team. Despite all of that, he’s not just a guy that the Reds overpaid for something he’s not and ended up in this situation of mutual volition, he’s the guy the Reds went out and got specifically because this is who he is, and did so despite having a handful of better bats who also look like they should probably play 3B most days.

Perhaps there’s a renaissance with Hayes’ bat in there somewhere that I don’t see. Perhaps the Reds are, for whatever reason, simply content to get 1.6 dWAR from Hayes at 3B batting 9th most days and nothing more, all while one of Stewart, Suarez, or Steer sits on the pine those days.

The Yankees made a roster move on Wednesday, claiming outfielder Yanquiel Fernandez off waivers from the Colorado Rockies. 

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Yankees designated right-handed pitcher Dom Hamel for assignment. 

Fernandez, a 23-year-old corner outfielder, made his major league debut with the Rockies this past season. He appeared in 52 games overall, slashing .225/.265/.348 with four home runs, 11 RBI, and a 62 OPS+.

Hamel's stint with the Yankees didn't last very long, as the team had just claimed him off waivers from the Texas Rangers on January 27. The former Mets prospect -- who turns 27 in March -- made his major league debut with the Mets last season, pitching just 1.0 inning while allowing three hits and walking a batter, though he was not charged with an earned run.

He was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles last September and then claimed off waivers yet again, this time by the Rangers, a week later.