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

The Red Sox re-negotiated a deal with lefty Danny Coulombe after an issue with his physical popped up. 

Multiple outlets reported that the veteran pitcher and the organization had originally agreed to a one-year deal for $2.25 million that included $750,000 in incentives. 

The reworked deal now pays him $1 million, along with an active roster bonus that gets Coulombe to $2.25 million as well as the $750,000 related to incentives, The Athletic reported. 

Coulombe, 36, is coming off a 2025 season where he pitched for the Rangers and Twins. 

He registered a 2.30 ERA while striking out 43 batters in as many innings. 

Neither the club nor the player’s representative has addressed the issue publicly. The initial reports did not indicate what was flagged in the physical to lead to the contract change.

Coulombe was out for three months in 2024 after he had surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow, and in 2025, he was out a month early in the season due to a forearm extensor strain. 

He also missed a part of the end of the year due to shoulder fatigue. 

When he arrived at camp this spring, he told reporters that he was healthy. 

“As you get older, it just gets a little harder to get warm in the morning,” Coulombe said. “But I feel good now. I feel healthy, and this is a good [Red Sox] bullpen.”

Coulombe has pitched 11 years in the major leagues, spending time with the Dodgers, A’s, Twins, Orioles and Rangers.

You hate when speculation becomes reality, as San Diego Padres Joe Musgrove will begin the 2026 season on the injured list. Not good news with Opening Day being a week away. 

The Padres President of Baseball Operations and General Manager, A.J. Preller is in a bind with his starting rotation needing an immediate reinforcement. Suddenly, the Friars have concerns about where the innings will come from the rotation besides Michael King, Nick Pivetta and Randy Vasquez. Unfortunately, the free agent market has dwindled to one intriguing option… Lucas Giolito.

Giolito is a dependable starter

Giolito posted a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts with the Boston Red Sox last season. He can pick up the slack, but the Padres better act fast because Giolito’s market should heat up before Spring Training ends. Several teams are expected to pursue him.

The San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves have been identified as potential destinations for Giolito. Both teams, like the Friars, are searching for starting pitching depth. His addition would be a tremendous depth piece to any team’s 40-man roster.

Adding a proven starter like Giolito will keep the rotation stable until the injured starters can return. His pitching style does fit the confines of Petco Park. He is a fly-ball pitcher who struggles with giving up home runs. However, the marine layer off the bay during night games should keep those drives inside the ballpark. 

Padres have been searching for SP depth all offseason

It does not hurt to add more depth to the organization, as the Padres signed experienced starter Griffin Canning before the start of Spring Training. He will not be available until May, as Canning is recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon suffered last June. 

The right-hander has been recently throwing off the mound and fully participating in fielding drills. Canning has confirmed no discomfort, but the recovery process is in the early stages. 

Also, the Friars brought in other starting pitching candidates on minor league deals. German Marquez and Marco Gonzales had trouble finding consistency on the mound in Spring Training games. Marquez has a 12.15 ERA in three outings, while Gonzales was hit hard in a recent appearance against the Texas Rangers. 

Arm injuries are part of baseball; adding a proven starter like Giolito could be the difference in keeping the Padres in playoff contention.

On the latest episode of The Mets Pod, Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo put the wraps on the World Baseball Classic, welcome Nolan McLean back to the Mets, and dive into the team's final roster decisions. 

Leading off, Connor and Joe look back at the WBC and toward what it can be in the future, then turn their full focus back to the Mets and the battles for the final bullpen and bench spots. 

The guys also study the state of Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga, and the starting rotation, go Down on the Farm to preview this year's Spring Breakout Game, and answer Mailbag questions about Ryan Clifford, Mark Vientos, and prospect Zach Thornton.

Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Introduction:

Continuing our NL West offseason reviews, having already looked at the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres in prior weeks, we turn our attention today to the San Francisco Giants.

2025 Season Overview/Recap

On June 13th, the San Francisco Giants were 41-29 and tied for first place in the NL West with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Two days later, GM Buster Posey swung a trade with the Boston Red Sox for the disgruntled Rafael Devers to bolster their roster. However, the Giants would do so badly over the course of the next month and half that they’d pivot to being sellers at the trade deadline. Ultimately the Giants would finish with an 81-81 record in 2025, finishing third in the NL West. Although they got off to a promising start through the first half of the season, this proved to be a very mediocre Giants squad, especially compared to the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. They weren’t as bad the last place Colorado Rockies, but they also weren’t particularly good either, much like the 2025 Arizona Diamondbacks, who they finished two games ahead of.

Notable acquisitions:
OF Harrison Bader (2 yr, $20.5M) 
1B/2B Luis Arraez (1 yr, $12M) 
SP Tyler Mahle (1 yr, $10M) 
SP Adrian Houser (2 yr, $22M, 2028 option) 
RP Sam Hentges (1 yr, $1.4M) 
RP Jason Foley (1 yr, $2M) 
OF Will Brennan (Split Contract 400k in MILB, 900k in MLB. ) 

Notable subtractions:
SP Justin Verlander (Tigers)
C Andrew Knizner (Mariners)

Offseason Summary and Review

Let me put this as politely as possible, I am not a fan of the Giants offseason. This was a mediocre roster to begin with entering the offseason, and I don’t think any of these moves improve the team enough to push them into serious contention. Harrison Bader has only been an above average hitter in four out of the nine seasons he’s played at the MLB level. His baserunning has declined into the negative the last two season, while his defense is only slightly above average at best.

Luis Arraez may have once won the batting title back in 2023 his .354 batting average, but that appears to have been the peak of his career. The career high 3.4 fWAR he posted that season fell to 1.1 fWAR in 2024, and then fell even further down to just 0.9 fWAR in 2025. Arraez has never brought much else to the table other than an empty batting average, and that lofty .354 average from 2023 fell to .324 in 2024, then it catered even further to a career low of .289 in 2025. $12m would be a great deal for a 3.5 WAR player, but Arraez clearly isn’t that guy and he’s unlikely to replicate that success again. (There’s also the question of how good of a fit Arraez is for Oracle Park, but I digress…)

I like the Tyler Mahle signing the most out of all the deals the Giants made over the winter. Mahle seems to be healthy for the first time in years after having his 2023 season end in Tommy John Surgery. While I don’t think he’s going to return to form and match the 180 IP and 4.9 bWAR he put up in 2021, I do think he is a definite upgrade to the Giants rotation if he can stay healthy.

Adrian Houser is coming off a career best 3.3 bWAR, with his previous career high being the 2.0 bWAR back in 2019. In between those two seasons Houser has been maddeningly inconsistent, putting up negative WAR just as often as he has been able to provide positive WAR. Needless to say, I like this signing a lot less than I like the Mahle signing

Neither Sam Hentges nor Jason Foley have pitched in the Major Leagues since 2024, and both are currently on the Giants Injured List. Hentges is currently working his way back and has just now began throwing against live batters, while Foley likely won’t be coming off the IL until June at the earliest. Both are low risk deals with decent upside, though I think Foley is unlikely to provide much value to the Giants at all.

Will Brennan is coming off of TJ surgery AND a groin surgery, with the latter being a lingering issue apparently. Brennan hasn’t proven himself to be an everyday player, but if he manages to figure it out and breakout with the Giants, he’s under team control until the 2030 season.

This may not seem that different from what the Padres or Dodgers did, but neither the Dodgers nor Padres needed to move the needle as much as the Giants this offseason. The upside offered by each of these players seems very limited even in the best case scenarios, though there is some upside with all of these players. The two things that keeps this slipping any lower than a D+ grade is that these are all reasonable contracts, with no egregious overpays, and at least they did something.

Here’s a question: Which Colorado Rockie (or Rockies) do we appreciate that should receive more attention?

Look, we’re the Colorado Rockies Sickos [complimentary]. We knew that Brenton Doyle was an elite outfielder before most of baseball figured it out.

But who are some of the players on the roster (or on the farm) that you think more people should be talking about?

Me, I’m going with Ezequiel Tovar. We’ve been aware of his game since he was called up, but after having a stellar World Baseball Classic — including being named to the 2026 Classic All-Tournament Team — more fans are becoming aware of just how good he is (if he’ll stop chasing those outside breaking balls).

Let us know in the comments, Purple Row Night Owls!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Observations from Yankees spring training on Wednesday.

Cruz-ing On Back

Fernando Cruz made his return from pitching for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, tossing a scoreless inning with two strikeouts.

Head-y Stuff

Lefty Brent Headrick worked himself into a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning with two singles and a walk, but got out of it unscathed with a ground ball on his 30th pitch of the frame.

Caught My Eye

Giancarlo Stanton shook off a foul ball that bounced into his gut to stay in the box and smoke a 112.4 mph bullet that died on the warning track (the wind was blowing in).

The veteran DH also lined out at 104.1 mph earlier in the game but picked up his only hit on a chopper that squeezed through the open right side.

Thursday’s Schedule

The Yankees have split-squad action, with Max Fried getting the start at home against the Orioles and Ryan Weathers heading on the road to face the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla.

PORT ST. LUCIE — Austin Barnes has 11 years in the majors and a pair of World Series rings from his days with the Dodgers.

So what is he doing at spring training with the Mets, who have Francisco Alvarez behind the plate and Luis Torrens as a solid backup?

“I just want to play baseball,” Barnes said. “I’m gonna go out there and see what happens. I think I still have some ball left in me, so I just want to keep going.”

The 36-year-old’s time with the Dodgers ended last May, when he was released.

A month later, Barnes signed with the Giants and spent about a month with Triple-A Sacramento before being released again.

Now, he’s giving it another shot with the Mets, who signed Barnes to a minor league deal in January.

He’s unsure how much longer he wants to keep playing, or whether he’d be willing to play in the minors again, but with a week left until Opening Day, Barnes insisted he’s not done yet and hopes to get a shot in Queens.

“This is a really good group,” Barnes said recently. “They’ve got a chance to do something special.”

Barnes has a unique perspective, having been a key part of the Dodgers’ title in 2020 and then serving in a backup role in 2024, when Los Angeles knocked off the Yankees in five games.

“You never know how a team is gonna come together, but the talent is here,” Barnes said. “This roster is as talented as any team in the major leagues. It just has to come together organically.”

And Barnes hopes he’s a part of it.

“I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had and I’m trying to make the most of them,” he said. “I came here because I like winning. I don’t like not being competitive, and they have aspirations of winning here.”

Whether that will include Barnes remains to be seen, and he’s not sure how much longer he’ll play.

“I have kids now and I always thought I’d play till they ripped the jersey off,” Barnes said. “But that decision gets a little harder now than when you’re young.”

His attitude, though, still hasn’t changed.

“I feel I can go do it, so why not?” Barnes said. “I love baseball. It hasn’t always been easy. I feel this is something I owe to myself to go out there. And I’d like my son to see me play more, too. He’s 5 now and been around, but he’s starting to understand more. So yeah, I’ll probably play till they rip the jersey off.”

But even if Barnes doesn’t get back to the majors with the Mets, the veteran backstop has had an impact this spring by working with the team’s other catchers.

“He’s very intelligent with knowing pitchers and running a team, really,” Hayden Senger said. “He’s been doing it so long. He knows how to approach at-bats [as a catcher] and that you have to know a pitcher’s strength for a Plan A, but that you always have to have a Plan B and C to navigate big league hitters. It’s great having him around.”

Tonight the Texas Rangers are the home team in Surprise against the Kansas City Royals as the complex-mates square off under the lights.

RHP Kumar Rocker continues his quest to earn a spot in the rotation for Texas while veteran righty Michael Wacha will pitch for KC.

You can catch a telecast via CW33, listen to the game via 105.3 The Fan, or follow along on Gameday. First pitch from Surprise Stadium is scheduled for 8:05 pm CT.

Go Rangers!

 In the 355th all-time face-off between the Missouri Tigers and Kansas Jayhawks, a rivalry that stands as Mizzou’s most played matchup, the Tigers could not find their footing. Kansas came out swinging early and never let up, cruising to a 10-0 run-rule victory.

It was a tough outing for Missouri, as Kansas jumped out on top and did not look back, securing a 9–0 score through six innings.

Kansas did all its damage in the first three innings, as it put up three runs in the first inning and broke things open with a five-run third inning. That early surge gave them a commanding lead they comfortably maintained.

Missouri’s offense struggled to get anything going, although they managed to get three hits across 19 at-bats in the first six innings. A few players, Cameron Benson, Pierre Seals, and Jase Woita, each had hits that anticipated Tiger fans, but none of them were timely enough to bring those runners home.

On the mound, Missouri’s freshman starter Luke Sullivan allowed eight runs, three of them earned on eight hits over 2.2 innings, including two home runs. Their defensive issues did not offer much help, with two errors from Sullivan and Keegan Knutson, which contributed to those big inning let downs.

The bullpen for the Tigers settled things down nicely, as Isaiah Salas, Eli Skidmore and Jackson Sobel combined for 2.2 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit which kept Kansas off the board after the third, until the sixth inning, when a run was scored through a one-out run after a sacrifice groundout.

Slight Hope for Missouri

Starting off the seventh inning strong for Mizzou, Kam Durnin smacked a double out to right field. Tyler Macon took a walk, which brought the Tigers to the corners of the diamond. Kansas brought out their fifth arm of the day, Carter Fink. However, the Jayhawks made a shocking double play to end the inning for the Tigers.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Tigers brought in Luke Fricker to the mound, although another run came home to end the game in a walk-off victory for the Jayhawks.

Game Statistics: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=632493&vislive=miss

What’s Next

The Tigers will head to the University of Tennessee for a three-game SEC showdown beginning at 5:30 p.m., on Friday, March 20, in Knoxville, Tenn. This will be a quick turnaround, but it will also give Mizzou a chance to respond after their rivalry loss against the Tony Vitello-less Vols.

Tennessee currently holds the same 15-6 record as Mizzou, so it will be interesting to see which team will break that record with a victory.

To follow along with Missouri Baseball, follow @Rock MNation, @SophBleedsLa and @Henry_Chappell on twitter/X.

This evening in Surprise, the Royals will face the Texas Rangers.

Michael Wacha takes the mound in front of a lineup that still looks a bit bareboned as Royals trickle back to the team after participating in the World Baseball Classic. None of those involved in that tournament’s semi-finals are in the lineup. Instead, Isaac Collins leads off while Rookie of the Year hopeful Carter Jensen starts behind the plate and bats third.

The Rangers, winners of six of their last eight, will start on the mound Kumar Rocker, who went 4-5 in 2025 with an ugly ERA near 6. The lineup features plenty of regulars, such as Corey Seager and Josh Jung, please one intriguing new name—Andrew McCutchen, the longtime Pittsburgh Pirate outfielder who signed a minor-league deal just about two weeks ago.

Starting lineups for March 18, 2026

The San Francisco Giants played the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, in the hot, hot Arizona heat, and it didn’t go particularly well. It was a game with minimal moments of note for the Giants, who played the evil villains of the baseball universe for the final time before their first regular season matchup in late April.

All the Spring Training caveats apply. It was just one game. It was just one meaningless preseason game. It was just one meaningless preseason game where the stats have been proven time and time again to not really mean anything. It was just one meaningless preseason game where the stats have been proven time and time again to not really mean anything that didn’t even go nine innings anyway, as the teams decided together to limit exposure to the triple-digit heat, and cut off the game after eight innings, after which the Dodgers led 5-1.

So while I’d stop well short of calling it a concerning game with concerning performances, it was certainly a game devoid of reasons for optimism in the places where we’re looking for some optimism.

Let’s start with the pitching. Landen Roupp made his final Cactus League start, though I would assume that he’ll pitch one of the team’s exhibitions at Oracle Park on Monday and Tuesday. Facing a potent Dodgers offense playing a handful of regulars, Roupp was not at his sharpest.

He got into trouble immediately, ceding singles to the first three batters of the game, Miguel Rojas, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts. After performing his civic duty by striking out Max Muncy, Roupp then gave up a fourth single to Teoscar Hernández. A double play ball followed, mercifully ending the inning before it became ugly, but still, LA had scored two runs, a total that the Giants wouldn’t match all day.

In Roupp’s defense, two of those singles were fairly soft contact: Rojas’ inning-opener was a mild-mannered 63.7-mph ground ball, while Hernández’s RBI was a looping 73.1-mph line drive. So it’s not like he was getting battered out there.

The second inning went much better, a featured a pair of strikeouts. The third inning did not go better, as the second pitch he threw blistered into the bleachers grass by Freeman. In all, Roupp went four innings and gave up five hits, three walks, and three runs. He did strike out five batters, but just 46 of his 81 pitches were strikes. He wasn’t sharp, but he wasn’t awful, either.

Later in the game, someone attempting to follow Roupp’s career path entered the game: Trevor McDonald. It’s been a great spring for McDonald, who looks to have pole position on earning a spot in what is suddenly a fairly crowded bullpen and, whether or not he accomplishes that particular goal, does seem to be first in line for a starting assignment when someone in the rotation invariably gets injured.

The Giants do seem to be prepping him for a bullpen role though, as he entered in the seventh inning of this game. Facing the replacement hitters, McDonald was done in by a pair of non-roster invitees: Ryan Fitzgerald, who drilled a one-out double (which put him on second base, where he got to mingle with Tyler Fitzgerald [no relation]), and Nick Senzel, who smoked a 108.4-mph dinger.

Despite that, McDonald needed just 16 pitches to get through the inning. Sometimes you just get got, and on this day, he — and Roupp — got got.

Offensively, it was mostly a mediocre day all around, but it was particularly mediocre for the players who are on the periphery of the roster, trying to earn Opening Day assignments. Jerar Encarnación started at first base, and hit 0-2; Bryce Eldridge replaced him, and went 0-1. Will Brennan started in center field and had an 0-2 game with a strikeout; Grant McCray replaced him and drew a walk, then promptly got caught in a rundown. Luis Matos went 0-1 as the designated hitter, though he was hit by a pitch and his out was a 105-mph liner. Tyler Fitzgerald meekly flew out in his lone at-bat as the backup second baseman.

Not really a good day for anyone in need of a good day to have a good day.

There were two hitters who shined, though. Heliot Ramos made his return following a run with Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, and in his first at-bat, facing off against Shohei Ohtani, Ramos smoked a double into the corner, one-hopping the wall. Ramos would end the day 1-3, and he’s now 8-14 in Spring Training, with five extra-base hits … and all five home come against right-handed pitchers (and some extremely good right-handed pitchers, at that). He certainly doesn’t need a good spring to make the team — all he needs is to be halfway healthy on March 25 — but his performance is certainly inspiring optimism that another All-Star level performance could be around the corner. T

As for the other great day in the box? Well, it belonged to the breakout star of camp, Victor Bericoto.

Bericoto is, notably, still in camp as a non-roster invitee, even though the Giants have now made five rounds of cuts, including optioning a position player, Jesús Rodríguez. And his lone at-bat, subbing in for Jung Hoo Lee in right field, showed why.

Facing a former All-Star closer in Tanner Scott — who is putting his disastrous 2025 behind him with a sensational spring — Bericoto took on dead center and won easily.

Bericoto smashed a 1-1 pitch at 112.6 mph, and god knows how far. Statcast says the home run traveled 406 feet, but given that it easily cleared the tall batter’s eye in center field — and that center field is 410 feet at Camelback Ranch — I am deeply suspicious. The math, as the youths say, ain’t mathing.

Either way, it was majestic, and it gave Bericoto his team-leading third home run of the spring. He’s 16-37 with five extra-base hits, and while this is the part in the exercise where I normally remind you of all the great springs of the past — remember Ismael Munguia just two years ago? — I’m not going to do that. I’m just going to say that the Giants do not have a clear fourth outfielder, let alone fifth outfielder, and while Bericoto is still an exceedingly long shot to earn either of those roles this month, he won’t have to hit like this in Sacramento for long before the opportunity is given to him.

A few other highlights from a lowlight of a game:

• Righty Keaton Winn, and southpaws Joey Lucchesi and Erik Miller each pitched scoreless frames. For Miller, whose inning was perfect, it marked his second appearance after a delayed start to Spring Training. It’s looking like he might be healthy enough to make the Opening Day roster after all, and that’s great. The Giants very much wanted to get a look at Miller, so much so that after the teams agreed to end the game after eight innings, they played the bottom of the eighth so that Miller could get some time, despite the Giants losing 5-1.
• Patrick Bailey once again won an ABS challenge. He is very good at this, it seems.
• The five hardest-hit balls of the day for the Giants: Bericoto’s home run (112.6 mph); a Brennan groundout (106.8); Matos’ lineout (105.0); a Ramos flyout (101.2); and an Encarnación lineout (96.9).
• The Giants play two games tomorrow! Their prospects host the Cincinnati Reds’ prospects in the Spring Breakout game at 6:05 p.m. PT, on MLB Network. Five minutes later, their Cactus League squad hits the road to take on the Colorado Rockies. That game is radio only.

Ahead of tomorrow’s game, the Mets announced their Spring Breakout roster. In its third year, MLB’s Spring Breakout is a showcase for all 30 teams to highlight some of their top prospects. These games happen over four days across both the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues.

Below is the list of Mets’ prospects on the roster. If they are ranked on MLB’s Pipeline list for either the club or MLB overall, it is listed next to their name.

PITCHERS (9):

Juan Arnaud, RHP

Hoss Brewer, RHP

Nicolas Carreño, LHP

Saúl García, RHP

Cristofer Gómez, RHP

Douglas Orellana, RHP

Jonathan Santucci, LHP, No. 10

Ben Simon, RHP

Jack Wenninger, RHP, No. 7

CATCHERS (3):

Daiverson Gutierrez, C, No. 26

Chris Suero, C/OF, No. 16

Julio Zayas, C

INFIELDERS (10):

Yunior Amparo, UTIL

Ryan Clifford, 1B/OF, No. 5

Randy Guzman, 1B/OF, No. 25

Yonatan Henríquez, UTIL

Antonio Jimenez, SS, No. 17

Elian Peña, SS, No. 9

Jacob Reimer, 3B/1B, No. 6

D’Andre Smith, 2B

Marco Vargas, INF, No. 21

Mitch Voit, 2B, No. 8

OUTFIELDERS (3):

A.J. Ewing, OF/2B, No. 4/MLB No. 97

Nick Morabito, OF, No. 13

Eli Serrano III, OF, No. 14

The Mets play the Rays tomorrow evening at Clover Field at 7:10pm ET.

PHOENIX –– Shohei Ohtani said it didn’t feel like he was making his first spring training start on Wednesday.

Based on the way he pitched, it certainly didn’t look like it, either. 

In 4 ⅓ scoreless innings against the Giants at Camelback Ranch, Ohtani checked almost every possible box in his first live game action of camp –– having previously been limited only to live batting practice sessions while he was away with Team Japan at the World Baseball Classic.

The superstar right-hander was equal parts efficient, able to work past his pregame target of four innings by throwing only 61 pitches, and dominant, allowing one hit and striking out four batters. 

His fastball was crisp, averaging 97.6 mph and topping out at 99.9 mph. His splitter, sweeper and curveball all generated awkward swings-and-misses against an overmatched Giants lineup. And while Ohtani walked two batters, hit another and bemoaned a few poorly executed putaway pitches with two strikes, the overall product had manager Dave Roberts shaking his head with a smile afterward.

“I’ve learned that you don’t ever underestimate or try to make predictions on what Shohei’s gonna do,” Roberts said, admitting he expected Ohtani to look more rusty in his first spring outing. “He’s always gonna deliver.”

Before Wednesday, questions remained about exactly how Ohtani’s compressed pitching build-up would go as he hurried to get ready for the regular season.

Prior to leaving for the WBC, he had thrown a couple live BP sessions on the backfields at Dodgers camp. During his time serving as Team Japan’s designated hitter, he threw a couple more against his WBC teammates, steadily building up to four innings of stamina.

Still, the initial expectation when he returned to Arizona was that he wouldn’t pitch until next week’s exhibition Freeway Series against the Angels in Los Angeles.

Instead, he showed up feeling good enough to pitch a bullpen session Tuesday, then turned right around to take the mound Wednesday.

“This is the first time he’s going to face competition since the World Series,” Roberts said pregame. “I would expect to see an intense performance focus from Shohei.”

Such intensity, of course, is likely to define Ohtani’s entire season this year, as he returns to two-way duties full time. Never before has he shouldered such a burden on a team with World Series aspirations. Not since his final season with the Angels in 2023 has he even been able to pitch and hit without restrictions on his schedule.

Last year, Ohtani logged 47 regular-season innings in his return from a second career Tommy John surgery, then threw 20 more during the team’s postseason run to a second consecutive World Series.

But now, his workload is largely unencumbered. His full arsenal can be deployed without the limitations that came with his Tommy John recovery last year.

Because of that, he returned to the clubhouse Wednesday and voiced several hopes for this season.

Among them: Making at least 25 starts. Posting every turn through the rotation on normal, for him, 5-6 days of rest (even though, he acknowledged, he will listen if the team suggests he take longer breaks between some outings). Potentially vying for a first Cy Young Award to go along with his four MVPs. And reaching the playoffs prepared for another World Series trek.

“He’s one of our best pitchers,” Roberts said. “And for him to have a foundation, being past the surgery, with what he did last year, knowing that he can take down starts in the mid-20s, it just makes us better. And I know that’s what he’s expecting from himself.”

Next up for Ohtani will be a second spring outing against the Angels in next week’s Freeway Series. That will line up his regular-season pitching debut for the second series of the Dodgers’ opening homestand against the Guardians at the end of the month, likely for at least five innings.

At the start of spring, such a target seemed uncertain, given the quick turnaround Ohtani faced coming back from the WBC.

Instead, once again, he has erased all doubt –– getting right back on schedule for the 2026 campaign.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Jordan Walker is a riddle wrapped up in enigma hidden inside of a 3-lock box for the St. Louis Cardinals. Since his major league debut in 2023, Walker has seen the optimism about his abilities fade into pessimism about whether he really can be fixed.

I asked the question of what you would do if you were President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom regarding Jordan Walker’s future. The answers varied from letting him be the starting right fielder for the Cardinals on Opening Day because the team doesn’t have a better option, send him to the low minor leagues and make him earn his promotions back to the big club or designate him for assignment.

In case you missed our interview with St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol, here are his comments about Jordan Walker:

“This has been one that…keeps us up at night. We have to figure it out. When I say I’m committed to it, I need to think of a stronger word to make sure that this dude figures it out…with us…because there’s a real skill set there, but I do feel like we missed some time in getting to where we’re at now. I wished we would have gotten to this point sooner. What I mean by that where there’s real vulnerability of what has actually happened…how do we feel…how are we gonna get on the other side of this to create real change…not just say we’re working on something, (but) six months later it looks very similar. I feel like we’re finally at a point where that’s happening. It could be a month before we feel good about it…it could be three months before we feel good about it…I may feel good about it in 3 hours….I don’t know. I like where we’re at with what’s taking place. There’s a real responsibility on both ends here…on mine, on Brownie and that whole hitting department…to unlock what he’s capable of…and there’s real responsibility on (Jordan’s) end, too…of carrying the work that he’s doing into the game. We’re doing everything possible for that to be the case…but this is one that has not gone well and we need it to go well. All hands on deck for this one.”

This is just my speculation because Oli didn’t say it outright, but I could sense that the time for Jordan Walker to show real progress is ticking down quickly. It also felt like there is frustration from the Cardinals management that Jordan didn’t get to the point where he’s accepting coaching direction quicker. When he emphasized that he hopes that Jordan Walker figures out his problems “with us”, I got the feeling that Walker not being “with us” might be a possibility. Everyone realizes his immense talent and potential high ceiling, but I’ve heard it said that one skill he has never really displayed is a true command of the strike zone. Yes, that can be taught, but there also needs to be something built into the player’s instincts about pitch recognition as part of his approach. I’m not the only one questioning if that is something that Jordan Walker can acquire.

Jordan Walker still has one more option left and I really hope the team makes use of it and has him start the season at Triple A Memphis. Why not start Nelson Velázquez who has had an excellent Spring or Nathan Church? I don’t want to witness Jordan Walker trying to figure this out in front of a Busch Stadium crowd again because I believe the patience of the fanbase is spent. No matter if the previous St. Louis Cardinals management rushed him through the minor league system too quickly or not, the time for a solution is now. The runway for Jordan Walker is ending soon. Would be a shame for such a talented player to not see his potential realized.

Record: 12-12-1. Change on 2025: -1. 5-inning Record: 8-15-2.

Arizona stretched their unbeaten streak to five games with an emphatic victory over the Cubs at Salt River Fields. It looked unlikely, considering the D-backs were 5-1 down in the middle of the third. But scoring fifteen unanswered runs is never a bad thing. A six-run third was followed by a seven-run fourth, Arizona pounding out seventeen hits and five walks. Jordan Lawlar reached base three times on a hit and two walks, while there were two-hit days for Geraldo Perdomo, Carlos Santana and Jorge Barrosa. Good to see Corbin Carroll hitting his first post-hamate home-run. Alek Thomas (top, with Carroll) and Barrosa also went deep, and the team were 7-for-13 with RISP.

Given all of the above, what the pitchers did was almost irrelevant. Merrill Kelly’s second appearance was an improvement on his first: he went 2.2 innings, allowing five hits and two runs, with no walks or K’s. Joe Ross somehow got the W, despite an ugly outing which included allowing a grand-slam. But Juan Morillo struck out three of the four batters he faced, and there was a clean inning from Paul Sewald too. Kade Stroud’s rough spring continued in the eighth, because he allowed as many home-runs as he recorded outs (two of each). But all told, a pretty satisfactory day for the Diamondbacks.

Tomorrow, it’s over to Camelback Ranch for an evening game against the other residents of Chicago, the White Sox. 6:05 pm first pitch there, with Michael Soroka making his first start since coming back from the World Baseball Classic as part of Team Canada.