Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants are back from their All-Star break tonight, as they head north for some interleague play against the Seattle Mariners.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at a video that the team’s social media team shared recently featuring outfielder Heliot Ramos. While it is essentially an ad for Peet’s Coffee, I know our audience and I know that they enjoy arguing about the finer things in life, like coffee and food. So Ramos being willing to share opinions on either was a brave choice for our community.

It’s a short watch, about six minutes, so grab your coffee, settle in and enjoy!

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants begin this three-game road series against the Mariners tonight at 7:10 p.m. PT.

The Colorado Rockies are a team in the midst of a rebuild. With this in mind, the staff at Purple Row thought it would be useful to revisit the “State of the Position” series that we ran in March to see where things stand. We’ve asked authors of the spring articles to re-evaluate their earlier remarks with an eye toward the August 3 trade deadline.

Where things stood pre-season

In March, the Rockies handed the starting third base job to Kyle Karros. At the time I wrote the following about where the position looked to be headed for the club:

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

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

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

With 93 games under his belt in 2026, has Karros done enough to quell that uncertainty?

For Karros, 2026 began the same as 2025 ended

The first two months of the 2026 season showcased the same player profile that he’d had during his debut last season. This profile was built around three pillars:

Good plate discipline

Karros’ calling card offensively last season had been his plate discipline. Even when he has struggled to impact the ball, his chase% on pitches outside the zone has maintained around 24%, good for 80th percentile in the league this season. This lack of chase was on full display in March and April when Karros earned a great 16.1 walk percentage.

The discipline is also the reason Karros is able to work deep into counts. The inevitability of another Karros 3-2 count has become a running joke in game threads here at Purple Row. In terms of pitches seen per plate appearance, Karros ranks 24th in all of MLB at 4.08, which is comfortably the highest among Rockies hitters.

Solid defense

In terms of defense, Karros has continued to look like a capable defender at the hot corner. There have been some signs that he is maybe not quite as good with the glove as his limited sample in 2025 indicated — he’s earned fewer defensive runs saved and is committing errors at a higher rate than last season — but his overall defensive value is still calculated by FanGraphs to be among the top ten qualified third baseman in MLB this year.

Poor quality of contact

The league average isolated power this season is .158. Through April, Karros’ ISO was only .065, which was only marginally better than the .051 that he’d managed in 2025 after reaching the majors. Through the start of the 2026 season, this lack of being able to do damage when he made contact had been the persistent downfall of his short big league career.

The lack of quality contact was so severe that it threatened to act as an anchor to Karros’ entire offensive profile. In March and April, his overall wRC+ (a stat that weights total offensive performance with one hundred being league average) was an abysmal 63 despite his great walk percentage.

Changes at the plate have led to impressive results

Karros had entered the season trying not to overreact to his poor hitting performance after his big league debut in 2025. As April came to a close and he continued to struggle to make productive contact at the plate, it became clear that his current approach wasn’t working and adjustments were needed.

To understand the adjustments that Karros made, we need to look at his swing from early April:

Compare that to his swing from just before the All-Star break:

At the start of the season, his stance was closed off and upright, but is now much more open and tensed. His leg kick timing mechanism has not changed much, but the starting position of the front foot has shifted dramatically further back in the box. This leads to a more crouched stance and a more explosive hip rotation as he unloads his swing.

Corresponding with these mechanical adjustments has been one specific major change in his peripherals: Hard Hit %

Karros adopted his new batting stance in mid-May, roughly when his Hard Hit % was bottoming out. Since then, it has climbed significantly above league average and has, so far, stayed there.

This sudden ability to access more of his power has not just been theoretical but has correlated with an obvious surge in his results at the plate.

• March/April: .207/.330/.272 with a 63 wRC+
• May: .225/.295/.380 with a 73 wRC+
• June: .357/.444/.586 with a 166 wRC+
• July: .289/.385/.644 with a 164 wRC+

This version of Karros looks like a genuine force to be reckoned with in a major league lineup. The question is this: Can he sustain it for more than six weeks’ worth of games?

We won’t know until the games are played, but this is a stark increase in production backed up by a noticeable change in his underlying metrics which can be explained by a visible process adjustment. Outside of a larger sample size, this is everything you would want to see to begin to believe a player had made a potentially lasting improvement.

It would be foolhardy to assume that Karros is going to be able to sustain a 160 wRC+ forever, but he never needed to be an all-star-level hitter to become a fixture in this lineup.

His established foundation of good plate discipline and defense meant that he didn’t need to improve his quality of contact that much in order to become a quality major league starter. He has now done that and shown a tantalizing glimpse of what the best-case scenario for him going forward could be.

The organizational depth beyond Karros

As with many positions in this series, the second option at third base has proven to be Willi Castro.

Castro has provided flexibility for the club with his ability to play capable (if not smooth) defense anywhere, including third base. He has gotten full-time at-bats and has managed to hit .260/.331/.378 with an 85 wRC+. That’s not the offensive output of a star but is enough to comfortably fit into the back third of a lineup given his defensive abilities.

Even if Castro is not dealt at this year’s trade deadline, which is very possible, his time in purple is not expected to extend particularly far into the future, as his current contract expires at the end of 2027.

When Castro departs, the players in the minors that could eventually be looked at to either fill in for Karros (or replace him should he regress) would be:

• Ryan Ritter: Having battled injuries, Ritter has only managed to play in 34 games at Triple-A so far this season. In his limited time on the field, he’s hit respectably and produced a 106 wRC+ for the Isotopes.
• Wilder Dalis (No. 24 PuRP): The surface level production during his second run at Low-A has looked even better than his initial cup of coffee at the level late last season. His 25.6% strikeout rate remains a cautionary flag considering the level.
• Ethan Hedges (No. 29 PuRP): As a 22-year-old in High-A, Hedges’ decent but not great offensive performance this year has not been encouraging. Just like Dalis, his high strikeout rate in the low minors will need to be monitored.
• Ethan Holliday (No. 2 PuRP): In 33 games to start the season at Low-A, Holliday was starting to show signs of why he was so highly thought of prior to the 2025 draft. Like Dalis and Hedges, his strikeout rate being in the mid-to-high twenties is concerning, but everything else had been clicking for him before his season ending injury.
• Kamuel Villar & Eriel Dihigo: Two recent international amateur signings for the Rockies, both Villar and Dihigo are hitting very well in their first season in the Complex League at ages 18 and 19 respectively. Neither yet has much public scouting hype but are worth keeping an eye on to see how they progress.

Other than Ritter, there aren’t really any third base prospects waiting in the wings in the high minors. It will be a couple of seasons before anyone currently expected to have a real shot at being a starting-caliber third base replacement is ready to hit the majors should Karros’ hot summer turn out to be a mirage.

Closing thoughts

Just like before the season started, the Rockies third base situation comes down to what you think about Karros. The difference now is that he has given much more reason to believe in his offensive upside.

Given his torrid pace post-swing change, Karros has solidified himself as the Rockies starting third baseman through the start of the 2027 season. Even if he were to slump for the rest of this year, the position would still be his to lose going into next spring. Beyond the start of next year, however, nothing is guaranteed. Karros will need to continue to perform to keep his spot but he would need to struggle quite a bit to lose it, given that there are not any in house options banging down the door to take it from him at the moment.

Karros has earned a leash long enough to be, at minimum, a bridge between Ryan McMahon and the next franchise third baseman for the Rockies. It has, however, become a very real possibility that he may be able to simply take up that mantle of franchise third baseman for himself.

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

There are moments in life when you have to stop and ask yourself, “How in the world did I get here?”

Walking into the Pennsylvania Convention Center last Saturday morning with an official MLB media credential hanging around my neck was one of those moments.

Four years ago, I wasn’t writing about baseball. I wasn’t interviewing players. I certainly wasn’t traveling across the country to cover one of Major League Baseball’s biggest events.

Yet there I was, representing South Side Sox at the 2026 MLB draft.

Sometimes, dreams really do come true.

When the White Sox secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft back in December, my first thought wasn’t about covering the event. I simply wanted to attend.

For the past several years, I’ve helped our South Side Sox staff prepare for the draft. I’ve spent countless hours researching prospects, helping build our draft coverage, and writing about the White Sox farm system as part of our minor league recap team. Getting the chance to see the first overall selection in person felt like something every baseball fan should experience at least once.

After all, the White Sox hadn’t held the first overall pick in nearly 50 years. The last time it happened, I was only five years old. I don’t remember the draft, and honestly, I don’t remember much about baseball at all from that age.

So why not make the trip?

Then another thought crept into my head.

What if I didn’t go as a fan?

What if I went as a member of the media?

It felt almost ridiculous to even consider. Would MLB approve someone like me? Would SB Nation even want to pursue credentials?

Still, if I’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s that the only guaranteed “no” is the one you never ask.

So I asked Brett.

He immediately thought it was worth pursuing, and together we submitted a credential request through SB Nation. A few weeks before the draft, I received the email I’d been hoping for.

Approved.

Suddenly, this wasn’t just a vacation. This was an assignment.

Even better, my son Sage was able to come with me. That made the trip even more special.

I was excited, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.

SoxFest back in January had been my first experience interviewing players and networking with other members of the media. That event suddenly felt very small compared to this.

This was Major League Baseball. The commissioner would be there. Front-office executives would be there. The newest generation of baseball stars would be there … or so I thought.

Preparation became everything.

Knowing that writing a polished breaking story from scratch wasn’t yet one of my strengths, I decided to do as much work as possible before leaving Illinois. Roch Cholowsky, Grady Emerson and Vahn Lackey had clearly separated themselves as the leading candidates for the White Sox’s first pick, so I spent the week researching all three.

By the time I boarded the plane, most of each story had already been written. My goal was simple: once the pick was announced, I could quickly add the unique details from the draft and publish a complete story.

It felt like the perfect plan.

Sage and I flew a red-eye to Philadelphia Thursday night, arriving early Friday morning.

I wanted an extra day to familiarize myself with the city, pick up my credentials, find the convention center, and simply get comfortable before everything started.

Mission accomplished.

Sleep, however, was in short supply Friday night. Part excitement. Part anticipation. Part anxiety.

Saturday morning finally arrived, and after making our way to the Pennsylvania Convention Center, I had one small panic trying to figure out exactly where the draft was being held.

Eventually, I found the media section and immediately spotted a familiar face.

Ryan McGuffey, senior vice president of content and co-founder of The REKAP, was sitting in the front row with an empty seat beside him.

I introduced myself, sat down, and my nerves disappeared almost instantly.

Ryan couldn’t have been more welcoming. For a while, it didn’t feel like I was attending one of baseball’s biggest events. It simply felt like two White Sox fans talking baseball.

MLB deserves credit for the presentation. The room looked fantastic. Everywhere you looked, there were draft logos, banners, digital displays, rally towels, and energetic music filling the room. It looked every bit like a major professional sporting event.

But as draft time approached, whispers began circulating throughout the media seating: Not a single player projected to go in the first 40 selections was actually there.

As the draft unfolded, commissioner Rob Manfred simply walked to the podium, announced each selection, a pre-recorded highlight package played, and then everyone moved on to the next pick.

No emotional walk across the stage.

No jersey presentation.

No hat ceremony.

No interviews with the newest members of each organization.

Nothing.

Compared to the NFL, NBA or NHL drafts, it felt surprisingly impersonal.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the players who were absent. Because the White Sox were playing later that afternoon and hosting their Alumni Home Run Derby in Chicago, no members of the front office were available in Philadelphia, either.

In fact, covering the biggest White Sox draft selection in decades were just three of us: Ryan McGuffey, Connor McKnight of CHSN and me.

As someone hoping to challenge myself as a reporter, that was disappointing.

There were no interviews to conduct. No behind-the-scenes conversations. No opportunity to ask questions that readers watching from home couldn’t hear for themselves.

It felt like a missed opportunity — not just for the media, but for the fans who had traveled from around the country expecting something more interactive than what amounted to a televised announcement with free T-shirts and rally towels.

But sometimes the story you expect isn’t the story you get. And maybe that’s OK.

Because when I look back on the weekend, I won’t remember what the draft lacked.

I’ll remember spending three days talking baseball and spending time with one of my favorite people in the world.

I’ll remember sitting in the media section wearing a credential that, just a few years ago, I never imagined I’d have.

I’ll remember realizing how much my life has changed since Brett asked me about writing about baseball in August 2022, with absolutely no journalism background.

That’s the real story.

Not who the White Sox drafted first overall. Not what MLB could have done better.

The real story is that a fan who simply loved baseball took a chance on herself, worked hard, found an incredible community at South Side Sox, and one day found herself covering an official Major League Baseball event.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last four years, it’s this:

Don’t be afraid to ask.

Don’t be afraid to chase opportunities that seem out of reach.

And don’t let anyone tell you your dreams can’t come true.

Sometimes, if you’re willing to put yourself out there, they actually do.

Whether by conscious choice or roster-building happenstance, one of the stanchions of the Rocco Baldelli Minnesota Twins regime was a veteran leader on the offense.

From 2019-2021, Nelson Cruz was cast in that role and about as effective as could have possibly been hoped for—headlining the ‘19 Bomba Squad and presenting a countenance on and off the field that was easy to aspire to.

From 2022-2025, the clubhouse leadership role was passed to surprising free-agent signing Carlos Correa—producing more controversial results. Because of his postseason success with the Houston Astros, C-4 was certainly looked upon as a veteran presence and acted accordingly. While some eventually warmed to his style, valid criticisms remained of his potential sign-stealing past, the way in which he mentored young players, and his willingness to jump ship back to south Texas at the first sign of strife.

However one feels about Correa’s departure, it left the Twins without an established offensive presence. Pablo Lopez—and now perhaps even two-time All-Star Joe Ryan—have the hurlers covered, but their meetings, schedule, and mentality are completely different from those of the batsmen.

Two logical figures to inherit the clubhouse leader tag would be Byron Buxton (for his talent) or Josh Bell (for his experience). While I’m sure Buck is a wonderful teammate and his talent puts him at A-1 on the roster, his countenance seems more Joe Mauer-esque in the sense of being more quiet and laid-back. Bell’s transience on this roster probably prevents too many proclamations from him as well.

There are of course many different ways to lead—and some guys likely need more leadership than others. Off the top of my head, I’d posit that the likes of Kody Clemens (thanks to a famous MLB Papa) & Brooks Lee (son of a notable college coach) need less hands-on role models than the average major leaguer.

But what about Royce Lewis, Matt Wallner, Luke Keaschall, Austin Martin, Tristan Gray, or Ryan Kreidler? I don’t know as much about their “backstories”, but perhaps a “been there, done that” MLB offensive player could model the consistency needed to stick in The Show?

This is to say nothing of the potential value to the “next wave”—Culpepper, Rodriguez, Jenkins, Tait, Houston, etc.—of Twins prospects who have yet to experience the daily grind of MLB.

I know this organization may have “bigger fish to fry” at the moment with some complicated trade deadline scenarios to sort through. But with one wave of prospects seemingly giving way to another, it might be time to at least begin thinking about who can provide the solid leadership to make it all gel together in the bottoms of Target Field innings.

Meet the Mets

The Mets looked good in a win over the Phillies in their first game back from the All-Star break, a game that was played amid the ominous wildfire haze that worsened as the evening progressed. Francisco Alvarez hit a pair of home runs in the victory.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic

Juan Soto left the win early with calf soreness, but the team doesn’t expect him to miss any time.

Laura Albanese writes that MLB put players at risk by playing the game in the unhealthy air.

Players felt some effects of the wildfire smoke.

Chelsea Janes reports that the Mets’ sale ahead of the August 3 trade deadline is very much on, noting that the team will listen to offers on anyone other than Soto, Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, Christian Scott, and Nolan McLean.

With Francisco Lindor’s name missing from that list, Jon Heyman reports that it’s a long shot that the Mets would actually trade him.

Anthony DiComo looks at where Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez stand heading toward the deadline.

With the Mets’ 2026 season clearly going nowhere, we can all hope for better times as we look at the team’s 2027 schedule.

Clay Holmes is getting closer to beginning a rehab assignment.

Danny Abriano looked at the likelihood of a bunch of specific Mets players being traded ahead of the deadline.

Juan Soto and Mr. Met appear in a new Spider-Man commercial.

Here’s how the Mets—and the Yankees—are faring under the ABS system.

Speaking of both New York teams, attendance was up in baseball in the first half, but it wasn’t up for either of them.

Before their game last night, the Mets reinstated Marcus Semien from the injured list and DFA’d Zack Short.

Around the National League East

The Nationals traded Robert Hassell III to the Pirates after he cleared waivers.

Here’s the Braves’ 2027 schedule.

The Marlins have officially signed their first-round pick.

Around Major League Baseball

The Reds and 23-year-old starting pitcher Chase Burns have agreed to a seven-year, $105 million deal.

There aren’t any Mets on these starting pitcher power rankings from MLB.com.

If you want a good laugh, multiple major league teams were using generative AI to make decisions in the dugout until the league did them a favor and banned it.

Ken Rosenthal took a look at the upcoming trade deadline.

After looking like a bust, Jordan Walker is having a significant breakout year.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Vas Drimalitis previewed the Mets’ three-game series in Philadelphia.

Allison McCague gave us the latest installment of our pitcher meter.

If you needed a reminder of just how great Francisco Lindor has been in his time with the Mets, well, I had you covered.

This Date in Mets History

The Mets put together an 11-run inning against the Cubs on this date of their fantastic 2006 season.

Good morning. Gabe Lacques reports that several of today’s games are threatened by bad air from smoke from Canadian wildfires. This includes tonight’s Cubs game. I assume those of you in the Chicago area already know this.

• Jesse Rogers got some unprecedented access to the White Sox draft room and the debate that ended up with the White Sox taking Roch Cholowsky with the first pick. Now I suppose that Rogers wasn’t given access to any proprietary information, but it is striking how much their internal debate mimicked the debates I’ve seen online.
• Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo have the best value picks from each round of the Draft.
• There are a lot of “draft recap” articles and I’m sure if your interested, you know how to find them. But for those with a more limited interest, this draft recap from Kiley McDaniel is pretty concise and informative.
• And the MLB Pipeline crew have their favorite pick for each team.
• Most international players are signed as free agents and don’t go through the Draft, but Canadians, Puerto Ricans and foreign players who go to US universities are subject to the draft. Michael Clair has the ten most interesting of these “foreign” draftees.
• Moving ahead to the second half. A preview of every team in the second half from ESPN dot com.
• Jake Mintz has the six biggest storylines for the second half.
• Mike Axisa has some bold predictions for the second half.
• The CBS Sports dot com baseball team offer their predictions for who will win the divisions, Wild Cards and World Series.
• Russell Dorsey has the 25 best players who could be traded by the Trade Deadline.
• The Mets are telling teams that everyone but five players are available for trade. Chelsea Janes reports.
• The top need for every club in the trade market.
• Each team’s biggest trade chip for the Deadline.
• Why it has become so difficult to make big deals at the Trade Deadline lately. (The Athletic sub. req.) It took four writers at The Athletic to write this one.
• Will Leitch has five teams under make-or-break pressure over the next two weeks. Meaning if they win over the next two weeks, their front office is buying. If they lose, they’re selling.
• Phillies (and former Cubs) reliever Brad Keller has a torn UCL and is out for the season.
• Paul Casella looks at how the Phillies bullpen and Trade Deadline plans are affected by the Keller injury.
• Athletics general manager David Forst spoke to the media about the A’s approach to the Deadline and the second half.
• The Reds have locked up young ace Chase Burns to a seven-year, $105 million extension.
• The Nationals traded outfielder Robert Hassell III to the Pirates for cash considerations. Hassell was the top prize the Nats got in the Juan Soto deal a few years ago. Although the Nats also got James Wood and CJ Abrams in the deal, so they came out OK.
• The Astros traded pitchers Lance McCullers Jr. and Colton Gordon to the Brewers for minor leaguer Jayden Fielder.
• Jayson Stark tried to do his Weird and Wild column for the All-Star Game. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Buster Olney said that the MLB All-Star game is in a “fragile state.”
• The audience for the Home Run Derby, exclusively on Netflix, was the lowest since 2003.
• Michael Baumann has respect for the Philly fans turning the All-Star Week into booing festival.
• Jeff Passan looks at all the issues complicating MLB players involvement in the 2028 Olympics.
• Katie Woo profiles Home Run Derby winner and Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker as he has gone from prospect bust to budding star. (The Athletic sub. req.) Development is not always linear.
• Davy Andrews looks at how Giants second baseman Luis Arraez has become a better hitter by making less contact. Arraez has also slightly altered his launch angle, which has also been a net positive.
• Brent Maguire has the nastiest pitches of the first half. Hey! There’s Ben Brown’s curve!
• Kiri Oler has an appreciation of Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber.
• Jason Foster remembers how a second-half surge in 1991 by the Braves not only led to an NL Pennant, but 35 years of dominance.
• MLB announced the schedule for 2026 with the earliest Opening Day ever.
• Jason Schwartz asks why Red Sox owner John Henry won’t talk to the media. Not even the Boston Globe, which he owns.
• MLB is limiting how iPads can be used in the dugout. (The Athletic free reg. req.) This is mostly a way of stopping AI use. Eno Sarris reports.
• Gabe Lacques notes the hypocrisy of MLB’s concerns about the safety of players from disgruntled gamblers and the way they continue to collect money from these gambling outlets.
• Juan Soto is a big fan of Spider-Man in this new ad for the new Spider-Man film.

• And finally, Alessandra Schade has the story of how a teacher from Highland Park brought back the beloved 90’s video game Backyard Baseball.

Diamondbacks News

(SI.com) D-backs Give New Injury Updates on Zac Gallen, Tommy Troy and More

“Gallen, we’re continuing to evaluate,” Lovullo said. “He is waiting for other opinions from other doctors. So we’ll just keep putting that off until we get everything complete.”

Second opinions are often an inauspicious sign. That very process sometimes indicates a more serious injury can be the case, though it is certainly not a guarantee Gallen is destined for Tommy John surgery or anything similar.

(Arizona Sports) Report: Diamondbacks to call up 1B Tyler Locklear from Triple-A Reno

The Arizona Diamondbacks are recalling first baseman Tyler Locklear from Triple-A Reno, according to azcentral’s Nick Piecoro.

Piecoro added that Locklear will be taking the roster spot previously occupied by outfielder Tommy Troy, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with a sprained right AC joint.

(AZ Central) The plan for newly promoted Diamondbacks first baseman Tyler Locklear

Locklear had elbow and shoulder surgeries, was forced to miss spring training while he healed and was buried on the proverbial first base depth chart behind Pavin Smith, José Fernandez, Carlos Santana, Vargas and LuJames Groover.

But now, Smith, Fernandez and Groover are in the minors, Santana is no longer on the roster and Vargas has more of a utility role. An injury to outfielder Tommy Troy that landed him on the 10-day injured list on July 15 opened the door for Locklear to be called up from Triple-A Reno, and Locklear was in Phoenix on Thursday.

(SI.com) How Corbin Carroll Is Still Impacting Diamondbacks Despite Ugly Slump

At the same time, the at-bats have looked rough. After scorching-hot months of April and May, his production tailed a little in June, but he’s fallen into a .100/.250/.150 July. He’s swinging and missing at fastballs down the middle and struggling to make hard contact.

In all likelihood, Carroll will pull himself out of this slump at some point. He’s done so before and come out looking as good as he ever has. But Carroll has graduated beyond the type of player whose impact ends when he walks off the playing field.

(Burn City Sports) What are the key dates for the Diamondbacks’ 2027 MLB schedule?

The release of a Major League Baseball schedule rarely generates the same excitement as a blockbuster trade or a free-agent signing. Yet for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the 2027 schedule tells a much bigger story than simply who they’ll play and when.

Beginning the season with consecutive road series against National League West rivals, the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, before returning to Chase Field for their home opener against the Miami Marlins, will surely be a tough test for the D-backs. From there, the competition only intensifies. Early meetings with divisional powers, established American League contenders, and National League playoff hopefuls create one of the season’s toughest opening stretches.

MLB News

(Engadget) MLB bans using dugout iPads for AI-powered in-game strategy calls

It appears the urge to turn all critical thinking over to AI has not escaped Major League Baseball teams. Regular baseball viewers have become accustomed to seeing players and staff huddled around tablets in the dugout. The expectation is that the devices are used for reviewing performance and maybe crunching last-minute stats, but apparently MLB officials have intervened to prevent teams from using the hardware for running generative AI. League officials have taken the unusual step of making a mid-season policy change to crack down on the use of custom apps that would take over “recommendations regarding substitutions, pitch calling, and other in-game decisions traditionally made by players and coaches.”

(ESPN) MLB set for earliest Opening Day in 2027, if there is a season

Major League Baseball is set to have its earliest Opening Day next year on March 24 except for any international games — if there is an Opening Day.

MLB said Thursday that its 2027 season will start with a single game to be televised that night by Netflix. The teams have not been chosen.

(NBC Sports) Phillies reliever Brad Keller out for season with torn UCL, surgery possible

Phillies reliever Brad Keller is expected to miss the rest of this season — and possibly more — with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Keller was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday and said he will seek a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister, a top specialist, before making a determination about surgery.

If the right-hander requires Tommy John surgery, he likely would miss most if not all of the 2027 season as well.

(ESPN) Sources: Chase Burns, Reds reach 7-year, $105M extension

Burns, 23, in his first full season with the Reds, is 11-1 with a 2.54 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 102⅔ innings. Featuring one of the best sliders in baseball and a fastball that averages 97.9 mph, the second hardest of any big league starter, Burns has emerged as a potential future Cy Young Award winner.

The deal, which buys out two of Burns’ free agent years, has no club options and runs through 2033. It is the largest ever for a pitcher who has yet to reach arbitration and the third-biggest contract in Reds history behind extensions given to Joey Votto (10 years, $225 million) and Ken Griffey Jr. (nine years, $116.5 million).

(Sporting News) Phillies’ air quality update raises health, visibility concerns during Mets game tonight on ESPN after changed start time

The Phillies are hosting the New York Mets on Thursday night to return from the All-Star Break, but the game had its start time changed quite late in the day in hopes of beating the worst AQI (Air Quality Index).

A scheduled 7:10 p.m. first pitch was moved up to 6:10 p.m. only a bit more than an hour before the new start time.

And as the game has gone on, visibility has gotten worse. The television broadcast has shown declining views of anything visible beyond the outfield fence into the city.

(CBS Sports) MLB’s next challenge system? All-Stars weigh in on possibility of adding check-swing replay reviews

“Man, I don’t know,” said Braves first baseman Matt Olson. “I mean, I’ve seen some of the videos of it and it looks like it probably favors hitters, so sure. I’ll take anything.”

“I think so,” Reds pitcher Chase Burns said. “We’ve seen it a little bit in the minors and it’s just so hard to see with the naked eye. I think in the upcoming years we’ll be able to challenge that.”

Hell—OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO and good morning, my fellow Boston baseball fans! Isn’t it such a beautiful day? The sun is shining and the birds are singing. It’s a lovely Friday here in the hub of the universe; today would be a great day even without the headline news.

That news, of course, is that the Red Sox begin their 2026 season today! I hate to bury the lede here, but happy Opening Day everyone!!!!!! It’s the start of a new season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, the painfully long Spring Training ramp-up session is now complete. After spending months at Fenway South in Fort Myers, you would’ve thought that the entire team had relocated there.

I’m sure you’re already well aware of all of this by now, anyways….

What? Could it be that some of you are not acquainted with the story of this season’s delay?

Well, put up an ice block and lend an ear (or, eye, I suppose).

Just to recap for the casuals who may not have been keeping up with the Sox all winter/spring/half of summer:

A bizarre scheduling hullabaloo in the offseason led to each team playing a 123-game preseason schedule before kicking off on a sprint-style regular season. I understand that the Strait of Hormuz crisis taking off right as pitchers and catchers had reported threw a monkey wrench into everything the league had in place for the 2026 season, but you’ve gotta do what you gotta do. Sometimes, the geopolitical powers that be will go ahead and deal baseball commissioners a bad hand. In turn, Rob Manfred was called upon to make some tough decisions. Thus: July 17 was declared as Opening Day across Major League Baseball. Say what you want about Manfred, but he truly had no choice in the matter. I commend him for even getting a season going in the first place.

The Red Sox had played sub-.500 ball throughout Spring Training (a bit of a misnomer at this point, but I don’t wanna split hairs now that we’re all in a good mood on this blessed day). That never stopped us from dreaming though, right? Sure, there will be questions about the offense leading into the season. The nasty injuries that Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony suffered early on in the spring will certainly not help matters. Brayan Bello struggled in his warm-up appearances; I wonder how he’ll fare now that the games actually count. Can Trevor Story pick up where he left off after a dazzling effort in 2025? Time will tell.

One thing I know for certain is that the American League is going to be mighty competitive this year. We all know what the Yankees can do, but the Blue Jays—fresh off of winning the pennant—will be looking to avenge their World Series heartbreak way back before the whole Strait of Hormuz thing. The Detroit Tigers, too! They’re a good team! My dark horse pick is the Minnesota Twins and the Seattle Mariners. They’re tied, actually, as things stand. My feeling is that the Sox are gonna have to pick up, oh I dunno, a full game on both of them by the time this short regular season is over. I’m sure Houston and Baltimore will be right on our heels as well.

Luckily for us, our team will start the year off with a massive 10-game home stand. Nothing like a little home cookin’ to get yourself off on the right foot! The Red Sox’s home field advantage should be excellent in 2026. Who knows how they’ll perform on the road, but I’m sure they’ll make Fenway a fortress in no time. Maybe not as much of a fortress as the fortress they’ve got surrounded around the ol’ S of H right now, but that’s besides the point.

The one thing that I do think is strange for this short season is how quickly the trade deadline follows Opening Day. It’s like, what, two weeks after we play ball for the first time? Let us get our feet wet, jeez louise!

But again, that’s champagne problems. All that matters is that we get to watch real live baseball in Boston that actually counts for something after months and months of meaningless slop. Let me know in the comments below how YOU’RE celebrating the start of the 2026 Red Sox season today. Here’s to us having a season to remember forever!