Category: Baseball

It’s Sunday, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! While the Big Apple will thankfully not be hit with a Sunday snowstorm for the third consecutive week, Boreas (the Greek northern wind, for the non-Classicists among you) has continued to hound the Northeast, with single-digit temperatures rampaging throughout the land. And yet, even as we bundled up in three layers of coats and hats to survive the cold, the first signs of spring came on the horizon. How so, you may ask, on this first day of February? Well, let’s find out!

Celebrating America’s MVP

Last Saturday, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) hosted their annual awards ceremony, where Yankees captain Aaron Judge received his third career American League MVP Award. Former teammate Anthony Rizzo introduced him, while Suzyn Waldman and Dave Sims were in attendance.

But the AL MVP was not the only honor for the Captain this week, as MLB The Show announced that Judge will be this year’s cover athlete. Since No. 99 was the cover athlete back in 2018, this marks his second time on the cover — only the second player ever to receive the distinction, and first since Joe Mauer in the early 2010s.

Congrats, Carlos and Ashley

Judge was not the only Yankee to be honored at Saturday’s event. Carlos Rodón and his wife Ashley received the Joan Payson & Shannon Forde Community Service Award, honoring them for the work they do with the Rodon Foundation helping couples dealing with fertility issues.

Belli’s Back

This past week, the Yankees officially announced that they had re-signed Cody Bellinger. Once that occurred, the social media team showed what they have almost certainly been cooking up all winter to celebrate. In particular, the videos posted stress the fact that Bellinger grew up at the old Stadium, as his father, Clay, played for the Yankees in the late ‘90s — but you probably knew that already, didn’t you?

New Computers in the Bronx

Yankee second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. and his foundation helped put together a state-of-the-art computer lab for students at CS55 in the Bronx.

Congrats to the Wells family

Yankees catcher Austin Wells and his partner welcomed a new member of their family this week: Lucy Marie Wells. Congratulations!

Happy Retirement, D-Rob

Former Yankee reliever and 2009 World Series champion David Robertson officially hung up his cleats this week, announcing his retirement on Instagram.

Farewell, Lasagna

Earlier this month, Jonathan Loáisiga signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, bringing his tenure with the Yankees to a close. The dynamic-but-injury-riddled reliever spent ten seasons with the Yankees organization after being signed as a minor league free agent in 2016, including eight years on the Yankees pitching staff (originally as a starter, and then as a reliever). We wish him the best as he looks to get his career back on track after dealing with extensive injuries in 2024 and 2025.

Snow Day

Yea, there was a lot of snow last week. You know, just in case you needed a reminder that it’s merely very cold, not very cold and in need of shoveling.

CC Sabathia was also on social media complaining, but as the comments’ section on his post points out, his complaints ring hollow: he has spent a lot of time golfing in Florida and traveling to warm weather areas this winter.

Moving Day

What is the first sign of the new season? Why, it’s moving day, of course! And guess what — that was this past Friday! The Yankees’ facilities and equipment teams loaded up the trucks, with one destination in mind: Tampa, Florida.

Pitchers Jordan Hicks and David Sandlin are swapping the color of their footwear.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan has reported that the Red Sox are shipping the pair of righties to the Chicago White Sox.

In return, Boston will be getting another young pitching prospect: right-hander Gage Ziehl, a product of the University of Miami (the Florida one, not the Ohio one). The Red Sox will also reportedly be sending $8 million along to the South Side of Chicago in order to pay some of Hicks’ salary—he’s set to make $12.5 million in both 2026 and 2027, per Spotrac.

First things first: Jordan Hicks is no longer a member of the Boston Red Sox—hit the music.

Of all of the pitchers who have ever worn a Red Sox uniform, Hicks was undoubtedly one of them. Coming over from San Francisco over the summer in a trade that involved some player I can’t remember, Hicks had previously been a guy who had shown some sick stuff—if perhaps not consistent stuff—throughout his major league career.

Alas, things just never really jived for him in Boston. Across 18.2 innings in 21 outings, Hicks logged a…(makes sure I’m not reading this wrong)…Jesus Christ, 8.20 ERA, 1.98 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 51. He walked too many guys, he didn’t strike out enough guys to justify the free passes, and his outings were consistently miserable to watch. I hope, for his own sake, that he gets back on the right track with the Pale Hose, but another year (or two) of Hicks was not going to be good for anyone’s blood pressure in Red Sox Nation.

This move is a salary dump for Boston, clearly. It sucks to move off of Sandlin to execute that salary dump—the one-time Pod On Lansdowne guest has some promise, and perhaps he’ll get a shot to realize that potential with Chicago—but eight figures off the books is nothing to sneeze at.

Plus, the Red Sox’s organizational depth within the pitching staff is solid. While Sandlin’s departure may sting, Boston now has a bit more flexibility thanks to the dumped salary and the extra 40-man roster space. Go get that infielder, Craig.

Of course, this is not the first time we’ve talked about moving off of salary via a trade involving Jordan Hicks. Rafael Devers’ trade was widely seen as a salary dump, and we are now dumping part of the salary for a guy involved in the first salary dump. It’s Dumpception.

Outside of that money-specific aspect, the return for Devers now looks…………………….interesting, to put it charitably. It’s Kyle Harrison, Jose Bello, this Ziehl fella (more on him in a second), and the brief services of Hicks and Dustin May—neither of whome were fruitful on the bump in 2025. However, I think this shows that Breslow and Co. are aware of the Sunk Cost Fallacy. They’re willing to cut their losses with Hicks and move on. That’s probably the wise thing to do, but it’s impossible to not raise the point about Devers when having this discussion.

As for Gage Ziehl, the 22-year-old pitcher joining the Red Sox organization: I’m not familiar with his game, but my quick skim on Twitter shows that he projects to be a guy with solid command in spite of a lack of powerhouse stuff. I’m sure one of my OTM colleagues who are smarter than I (so, all of them) will be able to take a deeper dive on him.

Maybe that ground ball rate speaks to the organization’s desire to build a strong defensive backbone? I dunno, just something to consider.

In the meantime, get ready for the Jordan Hicks tribute video. I’m sure there won’t be a dry eye at Fenway when the day comes.

Mets superstar Juan Soto will indeed suit up for Team Dominican Republic in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Juan Soto is BACK for Team Dominican Republic!

Soto hit a pair of home runs in the 2023 #WorldBaseballClassic 🇩🇴 pic.twitter.com/w9kzX4Bcmv

— MLB (@MLB) February 1, 2026

Soto previously appeared in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and was one of the top hitters in the entire tournament.

In four WBC games in 2023, Soto led all players with a ridiculous 1.500 OPS, recording six hits in 15 at-bats, including two home runs, three doubles, and three RBI. In classic Soto style, he also walked three times.

Soto is coming of a debut season in Queens in which he finished third in MVP voting, posting a .921 OPS with 43 home runs, 105 RBI, 127 walks, and 38 stolen bases.

Along with Soto playing for Team Dominican Republic, fellow Mets Nolan McLean and Clay Holmes are set to pitch for Team USA.

Francisco Lindor, meanwhile, will not suit up for team Puerto Rico after undergoing a recent cleanup procedure in his right elbow.

The 2026 World Baseball Classic will run March 5 through March 17.

Spring Training hasn't even started, and the Chicago White Sox have already taken their first L of 2026.

The Southsiders' social media account rung in the first day of Black History Month on Sunday with a timeline looking back "upon momentous firsts for the White Sox organization." Some of the more notable moments included Comiskey Park hosting the first Negro Leagues All-Star Game in 1933, Al Smith becoming the organization's first Black All-Star in 1960 and current manager Will Venable becoming the third Black White Sox manager in team history and one of two active Black managers in 2024.

MLB offseason grades: Dodgers get top marks, plenty of Fs to go around

Top remaining MLB free agents: 31 best still available

But there was one glaring omission.

Frank Thomas, the club's all-time leader in home runs (448), RBIs (1,465), runs scored (1,327), doubles (447), walks (1,466), on-base percentage (.427), slugging percentage (.568), and total bases (3,949), was absent aside from a brief mention under Dick Allen's MVP section. None of his franchise records, five All-Star appearances, four Silver Sluggers, AL batting title — or his streak of seven consecutive seasons with at least a .300 average, 100 RBIs, 100 runs scored, 100 walks and 20 home runs from 1991-1997 — were in the post.

And the Big Hurt himself noticed.

I Guess the black player who made you rich over there and holds all your records is forgettable! Don’t worry I’m taking Receipts!

— Frank Thomas (@TheBigHurt_35) February 1, 2026

"I Guess the black player who made you rich over there and holds all your records is forgettable!" he said in a reply to the post. "Don’t worry I’m taking Receipts!"

Thomas' tweet ratioed the White Sox with over 2,000 likes and 218 retweets compared to 264 likes and 88 retweets on the original post as of 2:00 p.m. ET.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Frank Thomas reacts to being left off White Sox Black History Month post

*In an effort to make the nomination voting easier for everyone, I will comment, “NOMINATIONS”, and you may reply to that with your picks and upvote the player you’d like to see on the next nominee list.

Well he finally got his spot on our annual list. Outfielder Henry Bolte comes in as the obvious pick for the sixth-best prospect in the A’s system. The righty-swinging Bolte had a great all-around year this past season, demolishing Double-A pitching before a brief promotion to Triple-A. He faced some challenges at that next level but still held his own as a relatively young player against better pitching. While he may need another couple of months with the Aviators the speedy outfielder could be a legitimate option for the Athletics in the outfield this summer and looks like a potential contributor when the A’s open their new stadium.

The next nominee was a close vote but corner infielder Tommy White just eked out the win this time around. The former second-round pick has a strong right-handed bat but there are major questions about his ability to remain at the hot corner. With Nick Kurtz sticking around for the next few years at first base and Brent Rooker locked in as the DH White is going to need to show improvement at third base if he wants to get to the big leagues with the A’s.

The process for this public vote is explained below. Please take a moment to read this before participating:

• Please only vote for one. The player with the most votes at the end of voting will win the ranked spot. The remaining four players move on to the next ballot where they are joined by a new nominee.
• In the comments, below the official voting, the community will nominate players to be put onto the ballot for the next round. The format for your comment should be “Nomination: Player Name”.
• If a prospect is traded, his name will be crossed out, and all other players will be moved up a space. If a prospect is acquired, a special vote will be put up to determine where that player should rank.

Click on the link here to vote!

* * *

A’s fans top prospects, ranked:

1. Leo De Vries
2. Jamie Arnold
3. Gage Jump
4. Wei-En Lin
5. Braden Nett
6. Henry Bolte

The voting continues! Which A’s prospect do the fans believe is the #7 player in the system? Here’s a quick rundown on each nominee— the scouting grades (on a 20-to-80 scale) and scouting reports come from MLB Pipeline.

Nominees on the current ballot:

Tommy White, 3B

Expected level: Double-A | Age: 22

2025 stats (A+/AA): 395 PA, .275/.334/.439, 23 doubles, 0 triples, 12 HR, 51 RBI, 29 BB, 54 K, 3 SB

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 60 | Run: 30 | Arm: 50 | Field: 40 | Overall: 45

White’s right-handed power is legitimate and he can hit the ball a long way to all fields thanks to his strength and bat speed. He might be known for his home run totals but he’s a better overall hitter than people think, finding the barrel consistently and limiting strikeouts. His knack for contact can lead to him expanding his strike zone, but he doesn’t swing and miss very often.

It will be White’s bat that carries him to the big leagues. He’s a well-below-average runner who likely lacks the range and tools to stick at third base, where he toiled as a sophomore and junior, earning praise for playing through a shoulder injury at LSU in 2023. He’s likely headed to first base long term, which could give the A’s a glut of serious offensive talent between him and first-rounder Nick Kurtz.

Shotaro Morii, SS/RHP

Expected level: Low-A | Age: 19

2025 stats (Rookie Affiliate): 188 PA, .258/.399/.384, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 36 BB, 47 K, 4 SB

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades (hitter): Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 40

Scouting grades (pitcher): Fastball: 55 | Slider: 40 | Curveball: 45 | Splitter: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

At the plate, Morii features a smooth left-handed swing with tremendous balance. His power stands out, as he clubbed 45 home runs as a high schooler. He is considered an advanced hitter with good barrel control. On the mound, his fastball has been clocked as high as 95 mph and sits around 92-93. He also brings a splitter with nasty movement, a true 12-to-6 curveball and a tighter slider with solid bite and depth, though that offering will probably require some fine-tuning. Having only been pitching with regularity for less than two years, Morii’s arm is relatively fresh as he enters the organization.

Morii’s high-octane throwing arm plays well at shortstop, but some evaluators see a possibility of moving to third base as his 6-foot-1 frame fills out. While scouts see Morii’s long-term future in the batter’s box, the A’s plan on giving him every opportunity to succeed as a two-way player, with excitement already building over his impressive physical traits and desire to become one of the next great players out of Japan.

Johenssy Colome, SS

Expected level: Dominican Summer League | Age: 17

2025 stats: None

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 65 | Run: 50 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 60

It’s not often that teenage prospects launch home runs. But Colome has a tendency to get to that jumpy pop with frequency, consistently leveraging his swing well – so well in fact, that one evaluator mentioned the most recent occasion on which he saw an international prospect continually get to their launch point in such a manner was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Colome is a right-handed hitter with explosive hands and a solid contact rate, although he has been known to be a tad aggressive in the box as a means of getting to said power.

Something of an athletic marvel at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds at age 16, Colome is an agile athlete who shows a lot of lateral quickness. The fluidity of his movements and strong arm led to a Manny Machado comparison being hung on him defensively. Much like the seven-time All-Star, Colome may move off short as his frame fills out, but he’s a tremendously dedicated worker and has the feet, soft hands and instincts to stick at the premium position.

Steven Echavarria, RHP

Expected level: Double-A | Age: 20

2025 stats (A+): 4.59 ERA, 25 starts (26 appearances), 104 IP, 88 K, 42 BB, 8 HR, 4.10 FIP

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

The A’s believe Echavarria’s stuff played better than the overall numbers might suggest. His fastball reached 98 mph and sat 95-96 with good ride up in the zone. The issue was struggling to command his arsenal when he would fall behind in counts. His mid-80s slider flashes plus, and his upper-80s changeup continues to improve. He also throws a two-seamer in the 92-93 mph range. He clearly dealt with some control issues, but the A’s are not at all sounding the alarm, instead patiently working with the teenager on adjustments.

Echavarria profiles as a starter for the long-term with his 6-foot-1 frame and sound delivery. Previously having shown an ability to consistently throw all of his offerings for strikes prior to the Draft, he will continue to work to rediscover that control in his second season of pro ball.

Edgar Montero, SS

Expected level: Low-A | Age: 19

2025 stats (DSL): 244 PA, .313/.484/.580, 14 doubles, 3 triples, 9 HR, 50 RBI, 60 BB, 54 K, 11 SB

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45

A switch-hitting shortstop, Montero has shown the ability to impact the ball from both sides of the plate, with his natural right-handed swing more direct to the ball, though his left-handed swing is more picturesque and he obviously gets more plate appearances from that side. He has the chance to hit for average and power, with a solid approach that has allowed him to walk more than he strikes out for much of the summer.

Last year, Montero was slower and less athletic, but attention to conditioning and nutrition has helped him get leaner and stronger. An average runner, Montero has the instincts and actions to stick at shortstop for a long time, with a solid and accurate arm. If his body gets bigger as he matures — he played all of 2025 at age 18 — he could move to the hot corner, but the A’s don’t see that in his future. What they are hoping for is that he comes to instructs this year and stays in the United States as one of the better prospects to come out of their Dominican academy in some time.

* * *

Programming Note: Each CPL vote will run for around 48 hours, so don’t delay m

With the Yankees’ $162.5 million outlay to keep Cody Bellinger in the fold, word around the league is that the front office does not have another big move up their sleeves. However, that does not preclude the team from making improvements through additions to the margins of the roster. They still feel a pitcher light in both the rotation and the bullpen, and perhaps they likely feel they can knock out two birds with one stone given the recent rumors linking them to veteran swingman Nick Martinez.

2025 Statistics: 40 games (26 starts), 165.2 IP, 11-14, 4.45 ERA (103 ERA+), 4.33 FIP, 4.54 xFIP, 17.0% K%, 6.1% BB%, 1.21 WHIP, 2.1 fWAR

2026 FanGraphs Depths Charts Projections: 28 games started, 159 IP, 10-11, 4.41 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 17.6% K%, 6.6% BB%, 1.31 WHIP, 1.9 fWAR

Martinez pitched the first four years of his big league career with the Rangers before heading overseas for a three-year stretch in NPB. The Padres brought him back stateside for the 2022 season, and he pitched better than his first stint in the bigs, with a 3.45 ERA in 110 games (19 starts) totaling 216.2 innings. He parlayed that performance into a two-year, $26 million deal with the Reds prior to the 2024 campaign. Martinez then logged the best season of his career, with a 3.10 ERA, 3.21 FIP, and 3.4 fWAR in a swingman role in Cincy, triggering an opt-out in his contract and leading to one of the more surprising qualifying offer tenders in recent memory. Martinez snapped up the $21.05 million salary for the 2025 season but regressed as both his ERA and FIP inflated by over a run.

Prior to last season, Martinez ranked among the game’s best at limiting hard contact, placing comfortably within the top ten percent league-wide in exit velocity and hard-hit rate between 2023 and 2024. However, in 2025 Martinez started giving up a lot more pulled fly balls, which underlies the increases in home run rate, ERA, and FIP. Most alarmingly, Martinez went from the 95th percentile in chase rate in 2024 to just the eighth percentile in 2025, resulting in a drop in strikeout rate and an almost doubling of his walk rate. His velocity and pitch movement stayed pretty stable this entire time, so it is difficult to single out a culprit for the cratering in chase rate.

That being said, Martinez possesses the tools to navigate hitters starting to do more damage. He has an expansive arsenal, throwing the cutter, four-seamer, changeup, sinker, curveball and slider each over 10 percent of the time. Having this many weapons can help mitigate the penalties associated with multiple turns through the order as a starter or reliever familiarity across a series. What’s more, Martinez is one of the best in the game at inducing downward movement across his arsenal, his cutter, changeup and curveball all placing in the 90th percentile in downward movement vs. average since he returned to MLB in 2022.

Martinez was never better in 2025 than June 27th, when he flirted with a no-hitter at home against the Padres. San Diego didn’t get a hit until Elias Díaz doubled in the ninth.

Martinez certainly aligns with the Yankees’ apparent all-hands-on-deck, almost piecemeal approach to confronting the injuries in their rotation. Gerrit Cole is targeting a return from Tommy John rehab around May or June while Carlos Rodón should be back a little earlier after undergoing offseason surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow. Rather than target the names at the top of the free agent and trade markets, the front office has gone with more of a quantity approach. Their first two moves were to re-sign swingmen Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn on the cheap (the latter may well just be a reliever anyway). Then they traded for Ryan Weathers from the Marlins, allowing the more proven but more expensive Freddy Peralta and MacKenzie Gore to get dealt to the Mets and Rangers, respectively.

Martinez would give them another buy-low option who’s capable of deputizing short-term in the rotation at the start of the season before transitioning to a long-man role in the bullpen when Cole and Rodón return, which makes further sense given Martinez pitched much better as a reliever (2.61 ERA) than as a starter (4.72 ERA) in 2025. While not a needle-moving acquisition, Martinez is the kind of rotation insurance policy every team could use to make it through the grind of a full season.

Adolfo Sanchez repeated a level by staying in the Dominican Summer League again in 2025, doing so after a somewhat disappointing season there in 2024 where he posted just a .701 OPS as a 17 year old.

His 18 year old season, though, couldn’t have gone much better.

His repeat in the DOSL saw him hit .339/.474/.504 (.978 OPS) with more walks (24) than strikeouts (21) across 154 PA, even swiping 10 bags in the process. While he socked just a pair of homers, his line-drive approach saw him mash 8 doubles and a trio of triples, and it was a massive reduction in strikeouts that helped define his breakout campaign – he fanned 60 times in 177 PA the season before.

He’s a hit-first outfielder who can play center but likely will end up in right, and after signing for a $2.7 million signing bonus his work in 2025 gave the Reds a much better feeling about investing that kind of coin. Sanchez will certainly be stateside for the first time in 2026, the only question being whether they choose to slow-play him by starting him in the Arizona Complex League or if they’ll send the now 19 year old straight to Daytona in the Class-A Florida State League.

While he doesn’t have any one tool that jumps off the board, he’s got five tools that are above average, especially an ability to run and throw that complement his hitting prowess well. He’s also physically mature for the most part, meaning the Reds might well choose to be more aggressive in promoting him since they won’t be simply waiting for him to fill out further.

All of that compiled is your #14 prospect in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings, as Sanchez outlasted his peers in the voting.

We are launching a new daily article here at South Side Sox, more prominently than our items that pop up on The Feed. It falls under the category of White Sox Discussions, which you’ll see in a few weeks will also be our new branding for Game Threads.

A lot’s happened this offseason, and while we as White Sox fans remain angry about a low payroll and lack of core superstars, the team will undoubtedly improve in 2026. Bring over Munetaka Murakami from Japan, both a power-boost move on the field and a shocking reversal of fortunes for a team so flaccid in free agency, is a big reason. But even if that move doesn’t pan out along with countless other “AAAA” adds by the White Sox this offseason, the young core of this team alone should present sunnier days.

What stands out as the biggest reason why we’ll be happy to have been dialed in to the White Sox in 2026?

Credit where it’s due, I found the video below at this MLB.com article.

This is nine minutes’ worth of various highlights from Ernie Banks’ career [VIDEO].

For this sleuthing exercise, we are concerned only with the first 14 seconds of the video. which shows Ernie hitting a home run in… now, what park is that exactly? It doesn’t look familiar at all, at first glance.

All we know on first look is that it’s a two-run homer, with someone scoring ahead of Ernie, and it’s a day game.

Racked my brains trying to figure out what park this was, and then I slowed the video down and got this screenshot:

It’s a little bit blurry and pixellated, but the first three letters of the home team are clearly “SAN.”

So this has to be San Francisco. But it’s not Candlestick Park, I would have recognized that right away.

That means this has to be Seals Stadium, where the Giants played in 1958 and 1959 after they moved from New York to San Francisco.

Ernie Banks hit six home runs at Seals Stadium, four in 1958 and two in 1959.

There are two more clues in the video. Here’s another screenshot:

There’s bunting on the wall in the outfield. You can also see this on the third-base line in the video, right after Banks hits the ball. This hints a special event, most likely Opening Day.

Lastly, that’s clearly a “2” on the scoreboard for the Giants in the second inning and for the Cubs in the fourth.

The Giants’ home opener, Tuesday, April 14, 1959, matches all these things, and you can understand why a film crew would have been at the ballpark on Opening Day, especially with Banks, the reigning NL MVP, as a visiting player. Felipe Alou, who later managed the Giants, had homered to give them a 2-0 lead in the second. Banks homered in the fourth, a two-run shot off Jack Sanford, to tie the game.

The two-run homer you see in this video was hit in the top of the eighth, breaking the 2-2 tie. George Altman (No. 21) scores ahead of Banks. No. 7 in the video, who you can see waiting at the plate for Altman and Banks, is Walt “Moose” Moryn, who was the next hitter.

The Cubs scored another run in the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, the Giants loaded the bases with two out, but Don Elston struck out Bob Schmidt to end the game, which the Cubs won 5-2.

The Cubs briefly contended in 1959. After defeating the Braves July 28, they were 50-48, in fourth place but just 4.5 games out of first. They faded from there and finished 74-80, which was their second-most wins since 1946. Along the way, though, they helped knock the Giants out of the pennant race by sweeping them in a two-game series at Wrigley Field the last week of the season, both walk-off wins. The Giants had been in first place, two games ahead, with eight games remaining, but lost seven of those eight and finished third behind the Dodgers and Braves, who tied for the pennant. The Dodgers won a best-of-three playoff and defeated the White Sox in the World Series.

The Cubs finished 12 games out of first place (13, after the playoff). It was the closest they’d been to first place since the 1945 pennant year. If they’d had better pitching they might have been closer, but they had traded away Sam Jones in 1956 for a bunch of guys you’ve never heard of, and Jones had a spectacular year for the Giants in ‘59, going 21-15 and leading the NL with a 2.83 ERA. Jones finished second in Cy Young voting that year, and back then there was only one Cy Young winner for both leagues. The winner was Early Wynn of the White Sox, so Jones would have almost certainly been the NL winner had there been separate awards.

Such were the Cubs of the late 1950s.

This video is pretty cool — I don’t think I had ever seen it before. Just another little slice of Cubs history. For Ernie Banks, the homers hit that day were his first two of 1959, a year when he’d hit 45 and win his second straight MVP. For his career they were homers No. 184 and 185, of 512. The video, as noted, has quite a few other highlights of Ernie’s career.

Since the last time we looked into the Mets offseason, a lot has changed! They let key players walk, signed new ones, and made multiple big trades to address drastic needs. There is a lot to dive into.

On the Braves’ side, I should apologize for not talking about all of these moves earlier, given when they were made.

While this is the Phillies blog on SB Nation, it is still important to cover what the other serious teams in the division are doing for 2026. Notice the word serious and why there doesn’t need to be much on the Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins.

The new look Mets

To even process just how much the Mets roster has changed from 2025 to 2026, the only proper way is to lay out who came in and who is gone.

In: Freddy Peralta, Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien, Luis Robert Jr., Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Luis Garcia, and Tobias Myers

Out: Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, Luisangel Acuña, Starling Marte, Cedric Mullins, Edwin Diaz, Griffin Canning, Tyler Rogers, Gregory Soto, and Frankie Montas

That is a lot of turnover for a team that expects to compete next season. They will have a new starting first baseman, third baseman, second baseman, center fielder, left fielder, new starter, and new high-leverage relievers. The Mets are also taking the right path because the previous core didn’t win enough and never fully came together outside of 2024.

The big question with all of this turnover is what the final product will look like. Did they improve their 2025 roster? It looks like they have.

The infield’s biggest upgrade might be with their corner infielders. Pete Alonso put together his best season at the plate since 2022 but they gave Mark Vientos 463 plate appearances last year as a mediocre hitter and a horrible defensive third baseman.

Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco are not flawless players but it looks like a better combination on both sides of the diamond compared to what they had even if its mostly because Mark Vientos isn’t very good.

Luis Robert Jr. is both overrated and underrated as a player. Depending on who you ask, he’s either one of the worst everyday players in the sport or someone who can still be a superstar in the right environment. The Mets probably just need him to be a slightly luckier version of 2025, where he underperformed his xwOBA by 32 points.

If he hits closer to those projected numbers, his defense would give the Mets one of the better everyday center fielders in the sport. With prospect Carson Benge in left and Robert in center, there is way more support to deal with Juan Soto’s right-field issues than there was in the past.

The starting rotation was a disaster last season but now it looks deep with the addition of Freddy Peralta. He and Nolan McLean should give them one of the better one-two punches in the sport next season with competitive pitchers behind them. David Peterson and Clay Holmes were solid mid-rotation options last year that were asked to carry the staff. Now they’re just asked to be mid-rotation options like they were paid to be.

What’s behind will be a question but the answers might not be disasters. Sean Manaea wasn’t good last season with a 5.64 ERA but should be bound for more luck. He struck out 28.5% of hitters he faced last season while only walking 4.6%. His FIP and xERA hovered around 4 so that, along with a more durable season is the leading candidate to be their number five starter right now. They also feature prospects like Jonah Tong, Jack Wenninger, and Will Watson in the high minors so their depth should be in a much better place than last season.

The big concern with the Mets right now should be their bullpen. After Williams and Weaver, the unit gets thin fast. AJ Minter is coming off an injury-plagued 2025 season but is effective when healthy. Brooks Raley is still very deceptive but is going to be 38 years old next season and the middle of their bullpen could use some upgrading over Austin Warren and Luis Garcia.

However, if that’s the biggest complaint at the end of your off-season, there is a good reason for it.

Some of their starters might factor into relief roles next season too. Tobias Myers is probably the best candidate for that type of transition with his four-seam and splitter combination. Jonah Tong needs to develop a more consistent third pitch to be a starter in the Majors and they should be doing whatever it takes to make him a starter but his fastball-changeup combination looks extremely enticing for a late-season bullpen run if they need it. Maybe he’s the next Roki Sasaski in October of 2026.

They lost a lot of talent but gained a lot of talent, and their owner should stay off Twitter when the team is targeting a big free agent but they do look better than last season.

Straight to the point Atlanta Braves

The Braves said they needed a shortstop, a high-leverage reliever, an outfielder, and some help on the bench. They’ve done just that, regardless of the value.

They added Robert Suarez to the bullpen on a three year deal, signed Ha-Seong Kim to play shortstop (who is now hurt), added Mike Yastrzemski to the outfield, and made small moves for Mauricio Dubón and Jorge Mateo.

Did the Braves make themselves better for 2026? Probably but it’s not the best process.

Suarez was given a three-year deal as a four-seam fastball-driven reliever that’s 34 years old. He dropped half a mile per hour last year and doesn’t have the best mix for adjusting as he ages. Suarez’s best secondary offering is his changeup that already saw a big decrease in it’s whiff-rate last season and allowed a .483 slug. This just doesn’t seem like the best profile to bet on with a three-year deal.

Yastrzemski is 35 years old and declined defensively each of the last two seasons. He did make real changes to his approach, decreasing his whiff rate by 7.1% and his strikeout rate by nearly 7% but it’s still a tough bet to make with an aging player that’s not an outlier athlete.

There were 17 hitters with at least 150 plate appearances at 35 years old or older last season; only seven of them had a wRC+ of at least 100.

That’s before mentioning that he signed a two-year deal so his Braves tenure will be taking him through his age 36 season. Only 3 of 10 hitters at 36 or older in at least 150 plate appearances had at least a wRC+ above 100.

Both of these deals feel like a year too long and that might not seem like a massive deal but you have to make certain promises with deals beyond one season. Suarez is getting at least two seasons in their bullpen, no matter if he’s good or bad. Yastrzemski is getting this season and probably a bit of next season, too, as the Phillies did with Didi Gregorius a few years ago when he signed a two-year deal. This is a promise that has nothing to do with player performance.

With Kim being hurt for multiple months and the red flags on these deals, it might not be the kind of off-season that Atlanta was hoping for.

As with our #35 prospect, LHP Ben Jacobs, right-hander Cale Wetwiska is another college pitcher that the Detroit Tigers paid a pretty penny for in the 2025 amateur draft. A seventh round pick out of a junior college, Wetwiska pulled a well above slot deal for $647,500, where players drafted at that level were generally getting $260,000. He’s basically in that sweet spot between D1 college pitchers and prep arms. He won’t even turn 21 years old until April.

The Tigers scouting department did a nice job here finding Wetwiska at Northern Oklahoma College-Enid, the junior edition of the main D1 college. He was a high school quarterback in Oklahoma, and both a good hitting outfielder and a pitcher in junior college. He’s a pretty athletic 6’2” 190 pound specimen all around. So while he’s more developed than your average prep arm, he still has plenty of projection remaining. There’s risk based on his inexperience and limited pitch mix right now, but the raw stuff and athleticism gives him more upside than many at this level of slot bonus.

Wetwiska is typically 93-94 mph with his fourseam fastball, but he was scraping 96 mph with his best fastballs in his brief look at Single-A Lakeland after the draft. He has above average extension and induced vertical break already, both traits the Tigers crave and can develop a bit more. He backs it mainly with a cutter at 87-88 mph which is basically a hard slider without that much depth yet. He did show a truer slider at 84 mph in Lakeland with more down action, but wasn’t using it much. His changeup is still more of an afterthought and lacks enough movement and velocity separation from the fastball. Based on his high arm slot and release, he’s probably better off moving toward a straight change or a splitter if he can manage that.

Wetwiska isn’t the next Trey Yesavage, but it is a pretty high slot with a vertical forearm position into release. Pitchers like this often have good bat missing fourseamers and pitch up and down well with a wipeout slider or curveball, but struggle to move the ball horizontally. That can make them one dimensional, adding a bit to the relief risk here. However, his youth and lack of pitching experience make for more realistic hopes that he can develop a better third pitch in pro ball.

Until such a third pitch presents, Wetwiska still profiles a little more like a future reliever than a starting pitching prospect. Still you have to like the fact that he’s not coming from an advanced program with a state of the art pitching lab, and already has a pretty good fastball with several plus traits beyond velocity. There’s likely a lot more meat left on the bone than with your average D1 junior with a longer pedigree.

The Tigers have a fairly intriguing project here. Wetwiska is pretty likely to develop more velocity and his strike throwing is quite good for a junior college pitcher who was only three months past his 20th birthday on draft day. Considering his somewhat unrefined repertoire, he moves the ball around the zone and has pretty good feel for setting guys up. While other pitchers at this tier are more polished, Wetwiska offers more upside than most, and I’m very curious to see how the Tigers develop his secondary stuff to compliment a good fastball. With a few innings with the Lakeland Flying Tigers already under his belt, he should start there this season with a good chance to reach West Michigan this summer.

Team News

Alek Thomas to play for Mexico in 2026 World Baseball Classic Fellow Diamondbacks Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo will play for the Dominican Republic, while Corbin Carroll will play for Team USA. Eduardo Rodriguez will pitch for the Venezuelan national team, and newly acquired Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado will represent Puerto Rico after previously playing for the United States. https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/alek-thomas-wbc/3610147/

Dominican Republic adds D-backs DP duo plus reliever to Classic roster
https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/ketel-marte-geraldo-perdomo-camilo-doval-dominican-republic-2026-wbc-roster

Pitching help? Another 1st baseman? D-backs expect to make more moves “I think we still have a few moves to make,” Hall said at the team’s annual charity golf tournament. “I’m happy with what we’ve done so far. Bringing Merrill back was a strong move, and he wanted to be here as well, so that’s a perfect fit for both of us. And then the trade for Arenado, I think, made a lot of sense for us. I know we’re still trying to find another complementary first baseman, and I think we can still look to improve our pitching, both starting and relievers, but we still have some moves to make. We’re not done.”

https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/d-backs-expect-more-additions-to-team-before-spring-training

Diamondbacks CEO says additions possible, including fan favorite
https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/diamondbacks/2026/01/30/arizona-diamondbacks-paul-goldschmidt-zac-gallen-mlb-free-agency-targets/88436656007/

Diamondbacks’ Alek Thomas joins Team Mexico for World Baseball Classichttps://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/diamondbacks/2026/01/31/alek-thomas-team-mexico-world-baseball-classic/88444836007/

Diamondbacks Sign Former Cardinals Reliever

https://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/arizona-diamondbacks-news/diamondbacks-sign-former-cardinals-reliever-fernandez

Diamondbacks Reveal 72-player Spring Training Rosterhttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/arizona-diamondbacks-news/diamondbacks-72-player-spring-training-roster-waldschmidt-kohl-drake-eagen

Other Baseball

Giants land another key piece in 3-time batting champ Arraez (source)
https://www.mlb.com/news/luis-arraez-free-agent-contract-giants

Ohtani won’t pitch in Classic, expects to be ready for regular season
https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/news/shohei-ohtani-to-not-pitch-in-2026-world-baseball-classic

Who’s left on the free-agent market as February begins?
https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-free-agents-available-ahead-of-2026-season

Miguel Rojas unhappy with insurance’s denial for WBC
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47792100/miguel-rojas-unhappy-denial-wbc-due-insurance-rule

Here are the teams vying for the 2026 Caribbean Series title
https://www.mlb.com/news/caribbean-series-2026-preview

Anything Goes

This day in history:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/february-1

This day in baseball:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/February_1

Room temperature is between 20-25°C.

In other units of measurements, it is 298-293K or 59-77°F. 

Spain has the world’s biggest food fight once a year.

Also known as the biggest food fight in the world, La Tomatina is a Spanish festival held on the last Wednesday of August each year. The La Tomatina tradition began in 1945, when a food fight broke out in a parade at a town square. From the name itself, the festival had people throwing tomatoes at each other. La Tomatina got banned in the early 1950s. However, after a somewhat comical protest involving citizens carrying a huge tomato in a coffin, the festival was allowed again. 

The pea is the oldest known vegetables.

Historians have found traces of its origins dating back as far as the stone age. Since then it has been heavily cultivated and consumed. 

There are plenty of Nationals prospects who have a chance to breakout in 2026. However, the one I want to talk about today is Miguel Sime Jr., the 18 year old fireballer. Even in today’s world, where velocity is king, you will not find many teenagers who throw harder than Sime. He routinely touches triple digits, which obviously makes him a name to watch.

Sometimes drafting can be quite simple. When you have the chance to draft a 6’4 235 pound 18 year old who throws 100 in the 4th round, it is tough to pass up. The Nats took that chance on Sime, betting on his upside. He is far from a perfect prospect, but you do not find pitchers with that kind of arm talent in the 4th round very often. 

This winter, there was a video of Sime throwing 102 MPH. Obviously, that is special stuff, especially for an 18 year old. It got me fired up about his future. He is still very far from the MLB, but if he is even around the strike zone, he could move quicker than expected. Lower minors hitters would just be overwhelmed by his triple digit heat.

Throwing strikes is a concern for Sime though. Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America gave his control a below average 40 grade. Pipeline did note that his control improved during his senior spring and in the MLB Draft League. However, he still has a ways to go. There is some effort in his delivery and his arm action is on the longer side.

Sime will never be an above average command guy, but he does not need to be. He has the chance to sit at 100 MPH one day, so as long as he is in the zone, he does not have to paint corners. 

His showing in the MLB draft league was very encouraging. Sime was showing a better feel for his power arsenal, which made the Nats more comfortable buying him out from his LSU commitment. The fastball was in the 98-100 range at times and he showed off an improved curveball.

Baseball America even noted that the Nats like the look of his changeup. It is not a pitch he throws that often, but it showed signs of being a promising pitch. The Nats will have to help him become more confident throwing the pitch. Right now, neither of his secondary pitches are anything special, but the fastball is elite and he is very young.

If the Nats can help turn the breaking ball or changeup into an above average pitch, we will be cooking with gas. Sime and Landon Harmon are two power right-handers with insane upside. Getting both in the same draft is a major coup for the Nats.

When you see Miguel Sime Jr., it is easy to see similarities between him and Jarlin Susana. While Susana is even bigger, their builds are similar. Both are massive, intimidating right handed pitchers with triple digit velocity.

Susana developed a plus-plus slider, which Sime does not have yet. However, at just 18 years old, Sime has plenty of time to develop. The Nats know he has plenty of time, so they are likely to take things slowly. Sime should spend a lot of this season in rookie ball. His main goals will be refining his control and finding a consistent secondary pitch.

If Sime comes out with better control than expected, he could make the jump to Low-A pretty quickly though. Rookie ball will not be a challenge for Sime at all if he is throwing strikes. He would just be able to bully hitters with his heater. 

As long as Sime’s control is not truly woeful, I actually think his floor is relatively high for an 18 year old pitcher. Guys who throw 100 MPH get plenty of chances, and for good reason. If things do not work as a starting pitcher, you could easily move these flame throwers to the bullpen. Sime should get a long look as a starter before we entertain those conversations though.

Right now, Miguel Sime Jr. is a moldable ball of clay with a 100 MPH fastball. The Nats will be able to test out plenty of secondary pitches and see which one he has the best feel for. They will also be looking at his mechanics to see if there is anything to tweak there. The upside here is massive though.

I actually think BA and Pipeline are undervaluing Sime a little bit. Pipeline has him as the Nats 20th best prospect and BA has him at 24. Personally, I would probably have him somewhere in the 15-20 range. I get that he is raw, but arms like this do not exactly grow on trees. 

It will be a long trek to the majors for the youngster, but the sky is the limit. I am so excited to see how he looks this season. Right now, I cannot put a ceiling on Sime. With control challenged flame throwers like Jacob Misiorowski succeeding, I just want to see what Sime can do.

If his control is even fringy, he can be a very exciting prospect. Scouting can be simple sometimes. Take the chance on the giant dude who throws 100 MPH. That is what the Washington Nationals did with Miguel Sime Jr., and hopefully it pays off.

It’s February now, which means the Dodgers will play baseball games this very month. Sure, those games won’t count, but they will be televised nonetheless, and we will get to watch as the team gradually builds up toward the season.

This will be more of a normal spring training for the Dodgers, at least in the sense that they won’t have to depart camp in Arizona with two weeks to go, in order to travel to play games in Asia like they did the last two springs. There is still the World Baseball Classic this March, but for the bulk of Dodgers roster, their time at Camelback Ranch will be more like usual years in terms of getting ready for the season.

And it sounds like the Dodgers will need a full spring training camp to give them time to build up toward March 26.

“Having the experience of being in the World Series multiple years now, understanding how important rest is — Most of the guys I’ve talked to have kind of been on the same program I’ve been on, that we haven’t started any baseball activity until the middle of January almost,” third baseman Max Muncy said on Foul Territory on Wednesday. “Some guys are still just now starting, just trying to give your body as much rest as possible, knowing that if we want to make another run to November, you’ve got to be as rested as you can to get through the summertime.”

Blake Snell expressed a similar sentiment this week, noting that he’s behind in his usual offseason throwing program after the stress of last fall’s championship run. Whether that opens up an early-season rotation chance for other pitchers remains to be seen.

Dodgers spring training camp at in Arizona technically starts on February 13 with the first official workout for pitchers and catchers, and concludes on March 21 with their final Cactus League game at Camelback Ranch against the A’s.

We’re bringing back daily questions to the site, and today’s is a broad one. What are you looking forward to the most during this Dodgers spring training camp?

Let us know in the comments below.