Category: Sports News

This post is part of a series of daily questions that we’ll ask the community here at Amazin’ Avenue throughout the month of February. We hope you find the questions engaging and that our prompts can spark some fun conversations in the comments. We’ll see you there and plan to have staff chiming in, too.

What are your favorite and least favorite things about spring training?

Who is he and where did he come from?

Caleb Durbin is an infielder who played college baseball at D-3 Washington University (in St. Louis) and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 14th round of the 2021 draft. He was traded from Atlanta to the Yankees after the 2022 season for Lucas Luetge, and then again to Milwaukee after the 2024 season as part of a package that landed Devin Williams. A year later, Durbin comes to the Red Sox from the Brewers, along with fellow infielders Anthony Siegler and Andruw Monesterio and the 67th draft pick (Comp B), in return for pitchers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan, and infielder David Hamilton.

Is he any good?

It depends on where you’re setting your expectations. If you’re looking for the middle-of-the-order power bat that Craig Breslow stressed was a top need on multiple occasions, you’re not going to find that with the 5’7”, 183 lb. Durbin. 

What you will find is someone with an average-to-plus hit tool, who can make the plays defensively at multiple positions, with a lot of speed on the bases. Durbin slashed .256/.334/.387 in his rookie season, with 11 home runs and 18 stolen bases, which led to third place in Rookie of the Year voting. 

The ball is usually put into play when Durbin is at the plate. He was one of only five qualified hitters in all of MLB who had less than a 10% strikeout rate (9.9%), but also had just a 21st percentile walk rate (5.9%). On Monday, Breslow noted Durbin’s Air Pull%, which is well above average at 20.4%. For a right-handed hitter at Fenway, that’s never a bad thing, both for home runs and for doubles. 

Defensively, Durbin started 119 games at third base, but just three games at second base for the Brewers in 2025. He was a +5 in Defensive Runs Saved at 3B, but was exactly in the middle of the range with a “0” in Outs Above Average on Statcast. He can also play shortstop in a pinch. With an emphasis on a staff filled with groundball pitchers, Durbin should be part of an improvement on the defensive side in 2026. 

TL;DR, just give me his 2025 stats. 

136 G, 506 PA, .256/.334/.387, 11 HR, 53 RBI, 60 R, 18-for-24 SB, 5.9 BB%, 9.9 K%, 105 wRC+, 2.6 fWAR

Show me a cool highlight. 

Here’s a walk-off homer by Durbin against the Padres on June 7th of last year. And, really, what’s better than a walk-off homer?

What’s he doing in his picture up there?

He’s getting hit by a pitch, something that Durbin can do with the best of them. He led the National League with 24 HBPs a season ago. While that may seem like a flukey stat, there is an art to getting hit by a pitch. If you have ever had a teammate who got hit by a ton of pitches and always found a way to make it look like an accident, you know what I’m talking about. Durbin had double-digit HBPs in each of his three minor league seasons, in significantly fewer plate appearances. 

In fact, the Red Sox have brought the top two in HBP over from the NL, as new first basemen Willson Contreras was hit by 23 pitches a year ago. Is it possible that this was intentional?

In Durbin’s case, as mentioned earlier, his 5.9 BB% was in the bottom quarter of the league. But what if you include his 4.7 HBP%? A “walk rate” of 10.6% doesn’t sound so bad, and it’s a higher rate than Durbin strikes out at. In general, hit batsmen happened on 1.1% of the plate appearances in MLB in 2025, and Durbin was drilled at more than 4X that rate. 

What’s his role on the 2026 Red Sox?

There were no definitive answers on day one from Red Sox executives, nor Alex Cora. It seems like Durbin would slot in at either second or third base, with Marcelo Mayer playing at the other spot. Upon prospect graduation, the 6’3”, 188 lb. Mayer had a 60-grade arm on Baseball America, where Durbin had a 50-grade arm. My best guess is that Mayer, with more size and a bigger arm, will play third base with Durbin starting at second, a position that he played the majority of the time coming up through the minor leagues. When left-handers are on the mound, Mayer may take a seat in favor of second baseman Romy Gonzalez, which may slide Durbin over to third base on those days. Roster Resource currently projects Durbin to hit seventh in the lineup behind Carlos Narvaez and ahead of Mayer, at least against RHP.

Last year, the Guardians completed the largest comeback in MLB history to win the AL Central.

This year, the entire roster is set to return, with several top prospects knocking on the door to debut.

However, the team has slashed payroll by almost $30 million and failed to find a proven centerfielder or a proven right-handed lefty masher for the middle of their order. They also will be without elite closer Emmanuel Clase and up-and-coming young starter, Luis Ortiz, who are likely to be out of baseball entirely after allegedly gambling on the game. Meanwhile, the Tigers have signed Guardians’ nemesis Framber Valdez to pair with Tarik Skubal.

Are you more excited for 2026 than you were for 2025? Why or why not?

The St. Louis Cardinals claimed 3B Bryan Ramos off of waivers from the Baltimore Orioles, and his particular fit on the roster is one that feels like a strained one at best. Ramos primarily plays 3B but has played a little bit of 2nd base and left field as well. That situation feels like bringing in a low-risk-high-reward opportunity in spring to see if they can capture lightning in a bottle. Ramos is out of options, so if he doesn’t make the roster out of camp, he would likely find himself back on waivers, where the Cardinals would be more than happy to have him at AAA and remain Cardinal property. If he is claimed, however, it costs them nothing to bring him in and give him a chance, and they lose out on nothing if he isn’t able to show anything of substance in camp and another MLB team claims him afterwards.

Jeff Jones, writer for the Belleville News Democrat, who will be our guest on the podcast this coming week, tweeted after Ramos was claimed that Randal Grichuk was still a name that was on the table for the Cardinals. However, if Grichuk can find a last-minute opportunity with a contender, he would likely select that option over the Cardinals. Which would mean if St. Louis were to add their proposed right-handed bat, they might have to add it through the trade market.

So, I did some research and looked across the league to see if I could identify some targets that are potentially blocked at the big league level that would benefit from the opportunity that exists in the Cardinals outfield currently. So, here are 5 right-handed bats who would have a clear path to playing time in St. Louis:

5. TOR Davis Schneider INF/OF

Davis Schneider famously hit a lead-off home run off of Blake Snell in this past year’s World Series and is known for being a positive clubhouse presence and a capable option against LHP. The added flexibility of playing 2B/3B and LF/RF could also be useful as the Cardinals will likely want to rotate players to different positons to see who might stick long term.

Much to my surprise, Schneider is a menace against RHP and is still above league average against LHP. The Blue Jays have a glut of postion players at the big league level and ESPN wrote an article recently that the Blue Jays and Cardinals should come together on a trade that would send LHP JoJo Romero to Toronto in exchange for Davis Schneider. This exact framework is a deal I have been talking about for over a month since Bloom started publicly talking about the desire to add a RHB and the Jays, after missing out on several key free agent bullpen pieces could still benefit from a leverage reliever like Romero and could use their excess piece in Schneider to acomplish a need-for-need style trade.

4. CIN Rece Hinds OF

At 6’3 215 lbs Rece Hinds is built like a tank and in his limited opportunities has displayed some impressive raw power for the Cincinnati Reds. However, with Noelvi Marte, TJ Freidle, and JJ Bleday/Dane Meyers roaming the outfield and bringing in Eugenio Suarez to DH it appears Cincy doesnt have much room on their roster for Hinds.

Posting a .302/.359/.563 slash for a .922 OPS and 139 wRC+ last season not to mention the 24 HR and 83 RBI its hard to say that Hinds has anything left to prove at AAA and in a season centered around development it would be easy to justify a player like Hinds striking out 30% of the time if it meant 25+ HR production for a Cardinals offense that is starved for power production.

3. ATH Colby Thomas OF

Slightly undersized at 5’10 190 lbs Colby Thomas is a prototypical power/speed outfielder and is super athletic (no pun intended) who will likely find playing time hard to come by with an everyday outfield of Soderstrom, Clarke, and Butler for the “Sacramento” A’s. Thomas was one of their top prospects mid season last year before earning his big league call up. Thomas has the ability to play CF, which I know some of our readers who are more pessimistic on the future of Victor Scott II, would be something that would be of value to them, especially.

Big raw right handed power with some swing decision elements to clean up but for a young hitter this is something that is very common in todays game and with the advancements the Cardinals are making in their player development process at both the big league and minor league level then adding a talent like Thomas would make all the sense in the world who might have fringe All-Star 20/20 upside when its all said and done.

2. HOU Zach Dezenzo 1B/OF

At 6’5 220 lbs Dezenzo looks the part when he steps off the bus at the stadium. Featuring big time raw power from the right side highlighted by a max EV of 112.2 MPH in 2024. The Astros have a long list of veteran options at corner postions between Christian Walker at 1B, Carlos Correa and Isaac Parades at 3B, Jose Altuve and Cam Smith in the corner outfield spots and the return of Yordan Alvarez takes away the DH. Dezenzo would benefit from a change of scenery where his path to play time is much better in St. Louis.

Take the rate stats with a grain of salt as the sample size is very small but the ability to impact the baseball and produce loud contact is there along with the above average arm and not shown, but measured, is also above average sprint speed. Dezenzo could capable handle LF and would be a nice balance option to all the LHH on the roster.

1. SFG Luis Matos OF

At just 5’11 and 207 lbs Luis Matos has a very average size build but his ability to make consistent hard contact and avoid striking out are two things that seem to be growing in demand in MLB. Matos displays average sprint speed and isnt the greatest defender but has one of the strongest measured throwing arms from the outfield in baseball at 92.6 MPH putting him in the 95th percentile of players in baseball. Matos also doesn’t walk, much like Yohel Pozo but more athletic, with 593 MLB PA to his name Matos continues to struggle cracking everyday consistent AB’s for San Francisco and with Heliot Ramos, Harrison Bader, and Jung-Ho Lee blocking his path it might be best for the Giants to try and get something for him before he runs out of value.

Perhaps strattling that AAAA line a full season of “runway” (everyone drink) could give a more clear indication of whether or not Matos will every amount to anything more than such a role. The Cardinals could both benefit from and afford to give that opportunity to any of these players listed above, though with Matos, he more than most has had the most extensive opportunity to show what he can do at the big league level.

This list would indicate there is plenty of upside to be had from teams who have players stuck behind another wave of talent currently entrenched for their respective teams. Can Chaim Bloom and the Front Office pry one of these high upside right handed bats away and give the Cardinals a little more balance as they march in 2026 with a lot of opportunity available all over the diamond? Time will tell and Chaim has accomplished everything he said he was going to this offseason. Perhaps he has one last impact move up his sleeve.

-Thanks for reading

Who’s on third? I don’t know. An Abbott & Costello sketch has turned into reality for the Milwaukee Brewers after Monday’s trade with the Boston Red Sox.

The Brewers had seven different players spend time at third base last season. The leading returner at the position is Sal Frelick, who played one inning in one game at the hot corner. Caleb Durbin, Anthony Siegler, Oliver Dunn, Vinny Capra, Andruw Monasterio, and Isaac Collins have all departed the organization. It’s a complete turnover at that position.

With the Crew’s top three options at the hot corner all being sent out in this trade, it leads to a major question for Brewers fans: Who in the world is going to play third base? Let’s take a look at the options

1. Jett Williams

Brewers PBO Matt Arnold told reporters on Monday that Williams will get reps at third base during spring training. That’s among his other reps he’ll get at shortstop, second base, and the outfield. He’s sure to be busy during camp. But third base might be the best path to playing time for Williams, who was acquired in the Freddy Peralta trade not long ago.

A shortstop by trade, Williams is not as highly regarded defensively as Joey Ortiz and defense is a priority for the Brewers. If the best defensive shortstop stays at that position, Williams won’t win it, but a move over to third base could be most logical. Williams has more power than you’d expect by his size and slugged 17 home runs last season in the minors.

Williams does have a good enough throwing arm to make it work at third base and he does profile as a regular in a starting lineup and not just a platoon/bench option masquerading as a starter. Given that he was acquired for a high profile player in Freddy Peralta, the Brewers likely want to give him every opportunity to make an impact right away and third base looks like that avenue.

2. David Hamilton

The lone infielder coming back to the Brewers in this trade, David Hamilton is also due to get reps at third base during spring training, according to Arnold. Hamilton is more of a utility type infielder, playing in 91 games last year with just 177 ABs. He got a little bit more run in 2024 with 294 ABs and had a lot more success at the plate that year.

Hamilton has spent most of his career up the middle at shortstop and second base. He got a tiny taste of the hot corner in Boston last year and I mean tiny. Just 1.1 IP of third base experience last year in one game. That’s it.

But there’s a potential path to regular playing time for Hamilton at third base so he’ll do his best to learn the position and try to get his offense back on track. Hamilton brings speed but not a ton of pop, so he’s not a prototypical corner infielder, but he’s the only non-1B infielder on the 40 man roster not named Turang or Ortiz.

3. Joey Ortiz

3. Joey Ortiz

In speaking with reporters, Matt Arnold did say that they are open to a variety of infield permutations. In my mind, that opens up the possibility of Joey Ortiz being moved back to third base. Ortiz was very good at the hot corner in 2024 and his offense was stronger that year as well. But a move there will put a lot more pressure on Ortiz’s bat to perform, not to mention opens up what the Brewers do at shortstop. Could Jett Williams overtake him? Does Turang slide to short and Williams or someone else goes to second base? There could be a lot of moving parts.

Ortiz prefers the middle infield, but given his previous experience there, he is a far likelier candidate to move to third base than Turang. Ortiz seems destined to be a regular in the starting lineup once again. What position he ends up at may change, but if you move him, it only switches the question from third base to shortstop.

Longshots

Eddys Leonard

The Brewers signed Leonard to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp back in November. He has yet to make his MLB debut. He’s 25 years old and hit 20 home runs last season for Triple-A Gwinnett in the Braves system. Leonard has 700+ innings of experience at third base in the minor leagues, so that could benefit him. If his power shows up in spring training, he could launch a serious campaign for big league time at the spot.

Brock Wilken

Wilken is a non-roster invitee and a former first round pick. He was well on his way to a bounce-back season in 2025 until a freak knee injury derailed the second half of his season. He still has yet to see Triple-A ball so that makes it very difficult to imagine Wilken making the jump to the big leagues right away out of camp here.

Wilken likely starts the season in Triple-A and if that goes well, he could see a promotion mid-season. He could very well be the long-term answer at the hot corner and the Durbin trade may be about clearing room ultimately for Wilken, but it just seems too early for him to get there for Opening Day.

External Option

Isaac Paredes

This one almost makes too much sense for the Brewers not to be involved. The Houston Astros are desperately looking to trade from their infield glut and the Brewers suddenly have an opening at Paredes’ primary position. The Astros are seeking young, controllable pitching, which the Brewers suddenly have an even bigger abundance of. Paredes has one guaranteed year left on his contract at just over $9.3MM, which the Brewers could afford.

Paredes doesn’t grade well defensively, which could present a major issue for Milwaukee in terms of overall fit. But if the Brewers seek more power in their lineup, as many have begged them to do, then Paredes would present an obvious upgrade.

The free agent market is barren, most of the trade market is picked over by this point in the calendar, but Paredes is still out there and could present an ideal bridge to the arrival of the top infield prospects.

Can you smell that? Yeah, that’s baseball approaching.

Phillies News:

• Key Questions for the Phillies rolling into Spring Training
• Do we think the Phillies can unload Nick Castellanos and his contract onto the Rockies?
• Phillies bring back reliever Lou Trivino on a minor league deal
• Thank goodness, the Phillies truck containing spring training equipment arrived in Clearwater
• Former Phillies who have still not found a home as Spring Training looms

MLB News:

• Every team’s top storyline entering Spring Training
• Pirates get over the “trying” hump and sign Marcell Ozuna to a one-year deal
• Kershaw, Votto and Rizzo join NBC’s MLB Coverage this season
• Brewers seemingly trade all their third baseman depth in deal with Red Sox
• Here are the Top 100 prospects heading into big league camp

DRaysBay works best as a place for community and conversation. Accordingly, in the lead up to the new season, we are posting “Daily Questions” in the month of February. I look forward to seeing you in the comment section!

The Rays have penciled in many starters that aren’t going anywhere — Junior Caminero, Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda, these are all locks.

Which role player or guy on the fringe of the 26-man roster could come out of nowhere and surprise us this year?

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

As the Orioles make their way to Sarasota for spring training this week, they’ve got an exciting new addition waiting for them. (No, it’s not a pitcher. If only!)

Yesterday the O’s unveiled a new, $23 million player development complex at their spring home of Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. The 47,700-square-foot facility, which team president Mike Elias described as “the best spring training setup in the state of Florida,” comes with plenty of amenities for both training and entertainment.

The complex includes a biomechanics pitching lab, equipped with 30 cameras to help provide feedback on pitch design and swing mechanics. There’s a new outdoor turf agility field that’s about twice as big as the old one. And there are now four indoor batting cages and eight indoor pitching mounds to help players get their work in on rainy days. I’m kind of surprised the Orioles didn’t have those before, but better late than never, I suppose. Plus, the facility includes classrooms for scouting and player education, along with a player lounge featuring ping-pong, foosball, and video games. It seems like an impressive setup, and it’s doubly impressive that the O’s built the facility in less than a year, having only started construction after spring training last season.

If the Orioles make full use of these new amenities, good things can happen. Maybe a struggling pitcher will be able to use the biomechanics lab to make some key adjustments to his repertoire. Perhaps the upgraded agility field will help players get into better physical shape as they ramp up for the season. And maybe a team-wide ping-pong tournament can help boost camaraderie as the O’s roster looks to gel. Couldn’t hurt!

It’s a reminder that there are smart ways to invest resources into a team other than just signing players. (But to be clear, signing players is still important.) The Orioles saw an opportunity to revamp and improve their training facilities and made it happen quickly. On its own, a new spring training facility might not make the difference between a winning 2026 season and a losing one. But every little bit helps. And it’s a good sign that the O’s are doing what it takes to boost the organization by any means necessary.

Links

Lind shares his thoughts on Alonso, Henderson, Rutschman and more – School of Roch

There’s going to be plenty of attention on Dustin Lind, who’s looking to succeed where the previous two seasons’ of O’s hitting coaches have failed. Unlike those other guys, Lind has Pete Alonso to work with, which is a good start.

MASN to offer season pass to watch Orioles games. Here’s how much it costs. – The Baltimore Sun

If you’re a cord-cutter like me, you can watch the entire season of O’s baseball for $100. Sure beats paying for cable.

Jon Meoli: Two offseasons in, the Orioles’ best path to spend their money on future contracts is clear – The Baltimore Banner

Meoli is beating the drum for the O’s to sign their young players to extensions. I agree, but if it hasn’t happened yet (Samuel Basallo excluded), I have the feeling it’s not going to.

Baltimore Orioles 2026 top 20 prospects: Samuel Basallo, Wehiwa Aloy lead the way – The Athletic

Keith Law ranks the Orioles’ best prospects, including some you might not be as familiar with. I must admit that Andrew Tess was a new name for me, but Law is on his bandwagon.

Is Orioles’ rotation good enough without Valdez? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com

My initial thought was “no.” But after thinking about it some more, my answer is still “no.”

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Five former Orioles were born on this day: right-hander Jorge López (33), shortstop César Izturis (46), catchers Alberto Castillo (56) and Lenny Webster (61), and the late lefty Billy O’Dell (b. 1933, d. 2018).

On this date in 2009, the Orioles signed free agent infielder Ty Wigginton. The man affectionately dubbed “Wiggy” was not a particularly good player for the Orioles, posting a 93 OPS+ and negligible defense in two seasons with the Birds, but somehow was selected to the 2010 AL All-Star team thanks to the “every team has to have a representative” rule. Good ol’ Wiggy.

We’re back with another daily question, and today’s is a look at yesterday’s deal between the Brewers and the Red Sox.

In a deal just about nobody saw coming, the Crew sent three infielders (Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler) and a draft pick (No. 67 overall) to the Red Sox for a pair of pitchers (Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan) and another utility infielder (David Hamilton).

On the surface, it seems like a bizarre trade.

Milwaukee now has no clear third basemen, as the trio of Durbin, Monasterio, and Seigler were ranked 1-2-3 on the team’s depth chart. At this point, it seems like Tyler Black, Jett Williams, Hamilton, and/or Sal Frelick are the frontrunners. However, Frelick is a star defensive outfielder, and Black and Williams are both below-average defensively, something the Brewers typically prioritize when aligning the squad. That makes it seem likely it’s Hamilton at this point, but most expect the Brewers to make another move to add to the infield.

On the return side, Harrison figures to fit into the rotation (or as a long-relief arm, a la Aaron Ashby and DL Hall), while Drohan could make it to the majors at some point this season. Hamilton doesn’t offer much offensively (he was an even worse hitter than Joey Ortiz last season, which says a lot), but he is a solid defensive player.

How would you grade the deal, and who do you think won the trade?

Weigh in in the comments, and join us throughout the month as we keep these conversations rolling into spring training. Have a question you’d like to ask in a future BCB Daily Question? Drop one in the comments, and we may use it later this month.

1920
Major League Baseball outlawed the spitball but grandfathered in the 17 pitchers currently using the pitch. Among those allowed to continue throwing a “wet ball” was White Sox hurler Red Faber.

Faber was coming off of a poor, illness-riddled 1919 season, registering the only negative-WAR effort of his career. His fortunes turned with a career-best 5.7 WAR in 1920, then two straight (11.4 and 9.6) seasons where Faber led all of baseball in WAR and cemented his legend.

Faber in fact pitched until 1933, and was the very last pitcher (along with Jack Quinn) in the American League to legally throw a spitball.

1955
The White Sox purchased center fielder Lloyd Merriman from the Reds. Merriman had spent four seasons in Cincinnati, with subpar production.

Merriman had a pinch-hit fly out vs. Cleveland’s Bob Lemon on Opening Day — and that would be it for his White Sox career. Four days later, he was sold across town to the Cubs, in just the seventh transaction ever between the two Chicago clubs.

2002
The day after playing in a charity baseball game that benefited the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Fla., former White Sox first baseman Jim Spencer died of a heart attack at age 51.

Spencer came to the White Sox in the deal that sent Bill Melton west to the California Angels before the 1976 season. His .682 OPS as a full-time regular in 1976 looks bad, but was nearly average, at 99 OPS+. However, he was intentionally walked 19 times that season, leading the majors. (Brian Downing, Jorge Orta, Bucky Dent and Kevin Bell most often batted behind Spencer — all pretty much the same hitter besides the much weaker Dent … so let’s presume, without going game-by-game through the misery of 1976, that most of these IBBs for Spencer occurred in front of Dent.)

In 1977, Spencer’s fortunes took a more distinctive turn. While he was just about as productive overall as 1976 (i.e, a replacement-player WAR, middling OPS), he won the second Gold Glove of his career, becoming the first-ever White Sox first baseman winner and first White Sox position player to win the fielding award in seven seasons.

And not once but twice in 1977, Spencer drove in a White Sox-record eight runs in a game.

That’s right, something that had only happened twice in the first 76 years of the franchise was equaled by Spencer in the span of six weeks!

2012
The White Sox signed former USC quarterback Mitch Mustain to a minor league contract. Mustain had gone undrafted by the NFL and failed to catch on in the Canadian Football League, leading him to pursue baseball — a sport he did not play in college and had been away from for eight years.

The righthander, said to throw as fast as 90 mph, pitched for the Bristol White Sox and Kannapolis Intimidators in 2012, relieving in 21 games with a 2-2 record and one save, 4.63 ERA, 12 strikeouts and 14 walks in 23 1⁄3 innings.

The White Sox released him after the season and Mustain then played for two seasons in the Arena Football League.

The Twins’ surprise pivot into an aggressive selloff was the headline of a surprisingly active 2025 trade deadline. They sent out a shocking 10 players, nine of whom were on the active roster at the time of their transactions. Some of those were expected (Chris Paddack, Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe), while others came seemingly out of nowhere (why the hell did the Blue Jays want Ty France?)

Let’s look at the actual potentially frustrating trades.

Carlos Correa salary dump: Correa was traded back to the Houston Astros for a Low A pitcher who is no longer in affiliated ball. The Twins are also paying $30M of Correa’s remaining salary over the next three years, split out at $10M on Jan 1 of each year. This was a pure salary dump, nothing more nothing less.

Jhoan Duran for Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel: Duran could have been the most decorated closer in Twins history if they held onto him. Instead, the electric reliever will get a chance to earn that same acclaim in Philadelphia. Abel has flaws but can be an effective starter if he can get his walks under control. If he can’t he should be a closing option himself, at minimum. Tait, meanwhile, is one of the top catching prospects in all of baseball. He has a top-end throwing arm and a ton of power, but at 18-years-old still has a long way to go before he’s ready to handle an MLB pitching staff.

Griffin Jax for Taj Bradley: A rare one-for-one swap, which is always a fun move. Bradley came with twice the amount of team control as Jax and is a starter which is inherently more valuable than a reliever. However, Bradley may find himself in the bullpen soon enough if he can’t develop a secondary pitch to get lefties out. He’s shown flashes, next comes the consistency.

Louie Varland (and France) for Alan Roden and Kendry Rojas: Here’s the thing. In a vacuum, this trade makes sense from the Twins’ side. They traded a reliever for starting outfielder with a high floor and a borderline Top 100 pitching prospect that they excel at developing. However, Varland came with five more years of team control and the Twins suddenly found their elite bullpen completely depleted after moving Jax, Duran, and Coulombe. Questionable, to say the least.

Like with the Varland trade, each of these moves in a vacuum is defensible. But in totality, they’re pretty underwhelming. Relievers are fickle and even the best can be inconsistent from year to year (see: Jax). But if they truly expected to contend in 2026, who can they conceivably hand the ball to after their vaunted starting staff leaves the game?

Additionally, the Twins’ weakness the past few years has been on the offensive side of the ball. They main MLB-ready players they got back were Roden and three pitchers! Maybe these moves were made with an eye toward additional trades this offseason, but they’ve largely sat on their hands while adding a few veteran hitters. Then Tom Pohlad (probably) forced out the man who was putting together the plan. It’s bad process likely preceding bad results.

That being said, the trade that irks me is still Correa. With Correa’s regression and chronic injury history, getting out of the majority of the $110M still owed to him absolutely makes sense. However, the Pohlads didn’t allow the front office to put the $20M/year saved back into the team. Instead, they have a contending core without the surrounding cast to back them up and their lowest adjusted payroll since Kirby Puckett was alive.

Which trade do you regret the most? Correa’s is the most obvious, but this roster sure could use one of Jax or Duran right about now…

Year after year, the Yankees contend with the AL East, the division that consistently outstrips its peers across the sport. This offseason was no different; while there were a number of teams across the league that put the “off” in offseason, none of them were in the AL East, as all five clubs have been active. The Red Sox swung a number of major trades, the Blue Jays flashed the cash in signing Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto, and Cody Ponce, and even the Orioles spent some money, signing Pete Alonso while also trading for Taylor Ward and Shane Baz.

It all adds up to a division that appears to be the most competitive in baseball once again. The Yankees, for their part, look strong on paper, currently ranking third in MLB in total projected WAR per FanGraphs. But the Blue Jays slide in just ahead of them in second, while the Orioles and Red Sox are both not far behind, comfortably in the top ten of these projections.

So, leaving the Yankees themselves aside, which of their division rivals do you view as most dangerous? Toronto has a pretty straightforward case, with perhaps the most complete roster in the American League at this moment. They’re the reigning AL East champs, the reigning AL champs, and came within inches of winning the World Series. It’s not hard to envision

But can a case be made for one of the Yankees’ other direct foes? The Red Sox in particular feel as though they could be a sleeping giant. They already surprised last year, winning 89 games before bowing out in the playoffs against the Yankees. Boston has gone on to add Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Ranger Suarez, and now former Baby Bomber Caleb Durbin, all while holding what’s still considered a strong farm system. Though they probably trail the Yankees and Blue Jays in terms of pure talent right now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some of their young talent coalesce, or for them to cash in some of their prospects to make another trade that puts them over the top.

What do you think? Are the Blue Jays still the Yankees’ most dangerous rival? Or will Boston, Baltimore, or even Tampa Bay rise up and pose the biggest threat in 2026?

Today on the site, Nolan will continue on with his State of the System series, this time with a look at the organizational depth at starting pitcher. Also, Nick remembers the signing of Andrew Miller, one of the great Yankee signings of the 2010’s, and Jeff moves our preview series along with a look at the newly acquired Angel Chivilli.

Grief is frightening territory to navigate. There’s no set roadmap for it, and it affects every person differently. It is as if a chaotic roommate moves into your body and assumes the controls part of the time: you make choices you don’t recognize; say things and wonder whose mouth made those words; sleep entirely too much or entirely too little or a fun soft-serve swirl of both. The more you try to pack down the grief into a solvable snowball, something solid and sensible, the more it evaporates around your hands.

After my dad passed away in February of 2024, I thought I had a master plan mapped out for grieving him. I knew, because I had read about it, that grief is the tidal wave of loss that hits you first, and I braced for impact. I also knew, thanks to my studies, that after grief comes grieving: if grief is the big wave, grieving is the lap of waves on the shore in the world where you live now. He died; I fought the wave of grief crashing over me long enough to do all the insulting busywork that death requires. Two weeks later, I finally brought myself to enter his room and clean up the blood on the bathroom floor from where he’d fallen the last time, when we didn’t know yet about the cancer that was swiftly eating into his pancreas, so my mom wouldn’t have to. That felt significant: a tidy metaphor for moving on from grief to grieving. Two weeks after that I packed my stuff and left for spring training, and then the season started, and I fell back into the same comfortable patterns, the sharp edges of the pain worn away by the daily routine of baseball. I was proud of myself; like a player whose rehab is ahead of schedule, I was beating all the projected timelines. I knew about the ball-in-the-box grief analogy and thought with satisfaction about my ball of grief, steadily shrinking down from a beach ball to a baseball.

But grief came to collect the next off-season. It turned out I wasn’t paying out my grief on an installment plan like I’d thought; I was allowing the debt to collect, and the force of it knocked me over anew. I didn’t want to write about this team and their lousy, uninspiring off-season; I didn’t want to write, period, and had to be cajoled by the staff into doing the 40 in 40 series, almost letting it go too late. I didn’t want to read, especially not the collection of self-help books I had carefully amassed as a ladder to lead me out of the hole of grief and back into civilization.

All I wanted to do was sleep. And I did, losing wintery days like a character from a fairytale under a spell, waking in dark rooms from strange dreams. On the odd times I did leave the house, I swiped at people who got too close to my enclosure, mistaking their concern as threats. I think back on that time now and I don’t recognize that person who was wearing my clothes, my name.

What I did recognize: Victor Robles throwing his bat in frustration after getting hit by a pitch in a rehab game. While clips of the incident went viral on social media with people wondering what Robles could have possibly been thinking, I was instantly reminded of every dumb, reckless, cruel decision I made during the winter of my discontent, which is a cute name I’d given to what I now recognize as a depressive episode.

Grief activates the same neural pathways as physical pain. Therefore, “grief brain” can cause a host of processing issues, including difficulty focusing, memory loss, heightened anxiety, and impaired decision-making. It’s not an excuse, but it is an explanation. I watched that bat travel across the infield towards the pitcher and felt like I had thrown it myself.

***

Victor Robles joined the Mariners in June of 2024; by August, he was signing a two-year extension. The high-energy Robles put a charge in a club that was struggling to hang on to a lead they’d built in the AL West, lighting up whatever part of the field he touched. It was a perfect confluence: the Mariners needed Victor Robles, his spark and humor and electricity; and Robles, the former top prospect with a long and tortured history with the only other club he’d known, needed the Mariners. In interviews, he talked about how coming to Seattle allowed him to “leave that load behind me” – the baggage of unfulfilled expectations, left on the other side of the continent. In Seattle, Robles played fast and free, amassing the fourth-most WAR for a position player on the team in his few short months. However, even he couldn’t drag the team out of the offensive tailspin they entered down the stretch, blowing a ten-game lead and losing control of the AL West.

2025 was supposed to be Robles’s shot at a re-do, to show his new better self was here to stay. Instead, grief came calling in the third series of the season, when he dislocated his shoulder in early April trying to make a heroic catch in the netting in San Francisco. Grief, we should remember, isn’t just for mourning those we’ve lost; it’s also for mourning lost relationships, opportunities, versions of ourselves, those visions somehow always bigger and brighter than the one that’s currently in front of us.

But that wasn’t all this annus horribilis had in store for Robles. In June, the 28-year-old lost his mother, quietly announcing it on Instagram with a photo of a pink dawn taken from a plane window on his way back to the Dominican Republic. It was captioned with a simple message to his mother, telling her he missed and loved her.

There’s a saying that none of us are our worst days. But those worst days, the ugliest things we’ve said and done, are still part of us. If you type in “Victor Robles” and the letter “t” to Google it autocompletes with “throws bat.”

After missing most of the season, Robles was finally ready for a rehab assignment in Tacoma in August, playing against the Athletics affiliate in Las Vegas. In Robles’s first competitive game in months, he was hit by Athletics pitchers twice: first by Joey Estes in the third inning, requiring an injury delay, and later by reliever Gustavo Rodriguez in the eighth. The very next day, Robles was again hit by a pitch, this time in the first inning by Mitch Spence. Four games later, with Estes on the mound once more in the series finale, Estes again tried to pitch Robles inside and again, sent a fastball directly towards Robles’s chest (it was ruled Robles swung on the pitch, so not technically counted as a hit by pitch, but that swing was wholly defensive). For context, this minor-league meeting wasn’t the first time Estes and Robles had faced off; in a game in September in 2024, Estes opened the game by hitting Robles, who then stole second and scored on a Cal Raleigh home run. That home run would prove to be the difference-maker in a game the Mariners won, 6-4.

But there was no Cal Raleigh in Tacoma that day. Just anger, and frustration, and so much grief. The kind of grief that makes people make impulsive, reckless, thoughtless decisions. Robles picked up the tool he had closest at hand, and threw.

In his apology statement, Robles wrote about the physical and mental challenges of his lengthy rehab, along with the added context about dealing with the loss of his mother. “I’ve been doing my best to hold it together,” he wrote. This is the unseen work of grief, the days navigating a new normal that are a constant psychic load, like a background application draining a device’s battery. No one notices the days when you’re holding it together, only the days where it all falls apart.

But a caring community can notice, and is the best guide rope out of deep grief. A single text from a friend offering a coffee is worth a stack of self-help books. Having served his suspension, Robles was able to return to his community, his team, and be welcomed back just in time for a playoff run. Robles was there as the Mariners reversed course from 2024, this time seizing control of the AL West, ripping off a stretch of 10 consecutive wins in September. And he was there, crucially, during three thrilling nights in Houston: not just spiritually or mentally, but physically, literally right there when the team needed him:

This time, his instinct led him in the right direction, making a heads-up play to double off the runner at second, ending the game and securing the victory in a season-making moment.

From annus horribilis to annus mirabilis.

I don’t know what 2026 has in store for Victor Robles. If his body will sustain another year of his fearless, full-out style of play. If he’ll carve out a regular place in a crowded right field. If the delicate alchemy that spurred his incandescent 2024 with the Mariners can be repeated. He remains, as always, a mercurial presence, a Puck-like character spiriting around the field, capable of creating both electricity and electroshock. I do know that I’ll always feel a connection to him for watching him walk through his grief journey and still maintain his buoyant presence in the clubhouse, his love for the sport and for his teammates; and for the gift of that catch, the way he flew in like an angel, like something that didn’t need saving.

One powerhouse. And a whole lot of parity.

That figures to be the theme throughout what should be a tightly bunched Major League Baseball season, and USA TODAY Sports’ projected win totals for 2026 reflect as much.

Our five-person panel’s aggregate rankings suggest it will be another late September of scoreboard-watching, tiebreaker-computation, gut-wrenching baseball as the season enters its final stretch.

Except, perhaps, for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

They’re projected to win the National League West by eight games, though that will guarantee them little once October comes around and they seek a third consecutive World Series crown. And they’re projected to win “just” 98 games, the panel pegging them for anywhere from 93 to 104 wins.

But that’s why they play the games, right? A look at our panel’s aggregate record projections as spring training gets underway:

AL East

Here comes another coin toss between the Toronto Blue Jays (91-71) and New York Yankees (90-72). The biggest question in this loaded division: How much will the Blue Jays miss Bo Bichette? … The odds favor the Baltimore Orioles (85-77) returning to the playoffs, even if they may be one starter short, but flush with a Polar Bear. … Did the Boston Red Sox (84-78) throw enough into the pot as the price of poker keeps going up in this division? The pitching is as admirably deep as the lineup is questionable. … The Tampa Bay Rays (76-86) rearranged an awful lot (Gavin Lux, Cedric Mullins and Nick Martinez are in, Brandon Lowe, Josh Lowe and Shane Baz out) and are projected to backslide by one whole game.

AL Central

The surprise Framber Valdez signing likely iced the division for the Detroit Tigers (90-72), though a very streaky offensive group returns intact for a club that blew a 14-game division lead. … Could the Cleveland Guardians (83-79) capitalize on a similar swoon this year? Most of their division-winning group is back, though they’ll be counting on rookie Chase DeLauter to stay healthy and contribute. … A healthy Cole Ragans will go a long way toward the Kansas City Royals (83-79) getting back in contention, but they’ll need behemoth slugger Jac Caglianone to stick and ensure the lineup extends more than four deep. … Can the Chicago White Sox (67-95) avoid 100 losses for the first time since 2022? Many eyes will be on them if only to see whether Munetaka Murakami will be worth far more than the $34 million required to sign him. … Hard to believe the Minnesota Twins (65-97) could supplant the White Sox in the cellar with Joe Ryan and Pablo López still around. Then again, maybe they won’t be in July.

AL West

Acquiring Brendan Donovan filled the last significant hole on the roster and established the Seattle Mariners (92-70) as AL favorites, one year after they fell eight outs shy of their first World Series. … The Texas Rangers (86-76) moved the furniture around quite a bit and burned some prospect capital to reel in MacKenzie Gore, who, should he find elusive consistency, may form a dominant 1-2-3 behind Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom. … Are the Houston Astros (84-78) settled for the spring, even as they’re infield-deep and outfield-thin? Regardless, the Tatsuya Imai-for-Framber Valdez swap may determine their fate. … The Athletics (76-86) return for their second of three seasons in Yolo County with half their lineup (Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom, Lawrence Butler) locked into long-term deals. Pitching, though, may not enable them to take the next step. … A third consecutive last-place finish is projected for the Los Angeles Angels (72-90), who are nonetheless projected to have nine players between the ages of 33 and 39 on the active roster.