Category: Baseball

We already discussed one part of the return for Merrill Kelly in this series, when we covered Kohl Drake. Bratt was also received from Texas for their short-term loan of Kelly. While he is three years younger than Drake, having turned 22 in July, and is less likely to reach the majors this year, Mitch is still seen as among our better pitching prospects. Fangraphs had him in their top 10 arms, while Prospects 1500 were even more bullish, ranking Bratt as Arizona’s fifth-best pitcher (and it was perilously close there: Bratt was #13 overall, with the pitchers ahead of him occupying spots #9-12).

Mitch’s best talent is his control. He just doesn’t walk many batters: last year at Double-A, he issued only 21 free passes across 122.1 innings of work. His K:BB for the year was better than seven, and he actually improved on that after the trade. Small sample size warning, but in Amarillo, he had a K:BB ratio of 42:5 across 31.2 innings for the Sod Poodles. That 8.4 ratio was easily the best of any Arizona prospect in 2025 – nobody else, regardless of innings pitched, was able even to reach 7.0. Purely on walk rate alone, Bratt was tied for the lowest figure of anyone with 10+ IP in the D-backs’ system.

That’s the good news. The bad news is, his strike-throwing comes with a cost: a lot of hard contact. All told, Mitch allowed almost as many home-runs (18) as walks (21) last year. His fastball typically sits around 91 mph, and none of his pitches appear to be particularly outstanding at this point. Fangraphs rates them all 45-50, with the latter grade seen as the ceiling across the board. It seems that Bratt is going to need to learn how to pitch, in order to be successful, because he won’t be blowing the ball past batters based on stuff alone. That mean mixing up his offerings and locations, in order to keep hitters off balance, while continuing to show the good control he has done thus far.

While the fact he is a left-handed pitcher certainly raises his profile, the addition to the 40-man roster in November was likely more to do with Mitch being Rule 5 eligible, rather than immediate plans for him in the big leagues. Despite his young age, Bratt has already completed five years in the minors, having been drafted out of high school. He was picked by Texas in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, out of Georgia Premier Academy. I think he may start the year in Double-A again, mostly because the Reno Aces rotation appears full: Cristian Mena, Kohl Drake, Dylan Ray, Spencer Giesting and Yu-Min Lin are probably ahead of Mitch on our current depth chart.

As mentioned in our World Baseball Classic articles, Bratt is Canadian, though his appearance in the 2023 WBC did not go well. If he reaches the majors here, he won’t quite be a pioneers, but it’s close. The D-backs have only had one pitcher born in Canada across their history. It was Adam Loewen, who made eight appearances in relief, as part of the 2016 squad. It didn’t go well – a 15.00 ERA. So Bratt definitely has a shot at becoming our most successful pitcher from North of the border. [Since you ask, there have been three such position players. Most recently, of course, was Josh Naylor: but before him, Arizona was home to Jamie Romak and Danny Klassen]

The Mets and MJ Melendez agreed to a one year, $1.5m deal (with $500k in incentives) in the twilight of the 2026 offseason, giving the Mets another option to fill out their bench, and giving Melendez a legitimate shot to open the 2026 season on a Major League roster. According to Will Sammon of The Athletic it is a split deal, meaning his salary differs depending on whether he is in the big leagues or in the minor leagues.

Melendez, now 27, spent his entire professional career up until now with the Kansas City Royals. The Daytona Beach, Florida native was drafted in the second round by the Royals in 2017, forgoing a commitment to Florida International University to turn pro. He eventually became one of the best prospects in the sport, earning Top 100 prospect status from Baseball Prospectus (#35), Baseball America (#42) and MLB Pipeline (#51) prior to the 2022 season, then as a catcher. He eventually made his debut in 2022, moving positions and converting to the corner outfield, where he has been a regular part of the Royals Major League roster, until last season.

He never reached the heights he did as a prospect in the Majors, putting together three okay seasons at the plate (97 wRC+ in 2022, 93 wRC+ in 2023, 86 wRC+ in 2024) before falling off a cliff in 2025, hitting .083/.154/.167 (-14 wRC+) in 23 games before getting sent to Triple-A for the remainder of the season. He was non-tendered after the season, and became a free agent. He comes to the Mets a career 215/.297/.388 hitter, with 52 home runs in 435 games, good for an 88 wRC+.

The Mets were in clear need of someone who can handle the corner outfield, especially after the acquisition of Luis Robert Jr. and the continued presence of Tyrone Taylor (and, frankly, the likely debut of Carson Benge) leaving them completely covered in center field. They could also use someone who could hit left handed off the bench, as their roster became right-handed heavy over the course of the offseason.

For the Mets, Melendez represents a chance to get some pop off the bench, and a chance to recapture some of his former Top 100 prospect status that he had not too long ago. He also put together some roughly league average season as a Major Leaguer, and that is a welcome development from a bench player if they can get him back to that. He can serve as cover in the corner outfield, perhaps first base (again, according to Sammon), and will likely serve has the emergency catcher if he does make the roster. He will be a project for the new hitting apparatus of Jeff Albert and Troy Snitker. He also, according to FanGraphs, still has an option remaining, which still leaves David Stearns open to acquiring someone else for the role and stashing Melendez in Syracuse.

For Melendez, the Mets represent a competitive environment that has a pretty open bench spot, so the combination of being on a Major League roster on a good team on Opening Day is likely too good to pass up for him.

Week two of these daily questions gets under way, with the (vague) theme this week being rosters, expectations and reality checks. Arizona enters 2026 coming off a sub-.500 season, and signed just one of MLB Trade RumorsTop 50 Free Agents. And that was Merrill Kelly, who was here for most of the season anyway. They did add significant veteran presence, in the shapes of Nolan Arenado and Carlos Santana, and made some smaller moves intended to address the bullpen, a significant problem last year. But was it enough? Or is this simply lip service, effectively re-arranging the dugout chairs on a mediocre baseball team?

Is Arizona actually trying to contend, or are they just pretending?

Obviously, it’s rare for any team to come out and admit they don’t have a chance. Though nobody would blame the Colorado Rockies front-office for throwing their hands in the air and ‘fessing up. But given the team only missed out on the playoffs by three games last year, despite some major injuries, it’s not as if the Diamondbacks need to be rebuilt from the ground up. However, there is also massive uncertainty regarding the 2027 season, so perhaps it makes sense to make no big movies until a new CBA is agreed. Tell us what you think lies behind the team’s mindset, as we head into spring training…

Won’t be in the comments immediately, since as mentioned yesterday, we’re off to the RenFair, where wifi has yet to be invented. 🙂 But I’ll check back when we return from the Middle Ages!

Usually, I run just one sleuthing photo a day on the weekends during the offseason but I came across this one recently and it was too good to pass up. So let’s do a bit of baseball sleuthing as we wait for today’s Super Bowl to begin.

Here we have brothers Joe and Phil Niekro posing at Wrigley Field. The scoreboard is visible, just barely, and only the NL side.

Joe Niekro pitched for the Cubs in 1967 and 1968, and for a few weeks in 1969 before he was traded to the Padres. So that does narrow things down, a bit. The Joe Niekro trade happened before the Braves visited Wrigley Field in 1969, so that year is eliminated.

That would still leave 18 possible dates, as the Braves played nine games at Wrigley in both 1967 and 1968.

I didn’t have to look at a single box score to figure this out, though I did have to check league schedules. Here’s how this one went.

First, the style of road uniform Phil Niekro is wearing wasn’t worn by the Braves before 1968. So that eliminates 1967.

Now, we can’t see much of the board but here’s a portion that we can see, enlarged:

It’s blurry and pixellated but that doesn’t matter. If you are familiar with the Wrigley Field board and how games are designated, it’s 100 percent clear that the white squares in the games above and below the Cubs score line (and that one was in the middle in the 1960s) read NO GAME.

Thus, the Cubs and Braves were the only NL game being played on the day this photo was taken.

So, as I said, I didn’t have to look at a single box score to figure this one out, just the daily schedules. The only day that year that the Cubs and Braves played at Wrigley and were the only NL game was Thursday, April 25, 1968.

In those days, photographers didn’t cover every single game as they do now, and especially not on a chilly April weekday afternoon at Wrigley Field. The reason this photo was taken is very likely the fact that the brothers had pitched against each other in the series opener, Tuesday, April 23. It was the first time the Niekros had faced each other at Wrigley; it had happened once previously in Atlanta, July 4, 1967.

Joe was the winner that day, allowing four runs in eight innings. The Cubs scored five off Phil in three innings and won 10-4. The reason this photo had to wait until Thursday the 25th was that the Wednesday, April 24 game had been postponed because it was 39 degrees and snowing that day in Chicago.

The Cubs won the April 25 game 5-2. Fergie Jenkins threw a complete game and Ron Santo homered twice in front of just 4,399 on another chilly day, with a temperature around 50.

The Joe Niekro trade was one of the worst in Cubs history. Joe had thrown a complete-game shutout in his first 1969 start against the Expos, but then posted a 6.97 ERA in his next three starts, not getting out of the fifth inning in any of them. In a fit of pique, Leo Durocher wanted him traded and GM John Holland obliged him.

Yes, the Cubs got Dick Selma in the deal, and Selma was competent for the Cubs, not to mention fun with his bullpen antics. Selma was traded (with Oscar Gamble) to the Phillies after 1969 for Johnny Callison, another bad trade. Callison didn’t do much for the Cubs and Selma had an outstanding year for Philly in 1970 as a multi-inning reliever, posting 22 saves and 5.2 bWAR in 73 games and 134.1 innings.

Meanwhile, Niekro went on to pitch 19 more seasons for the Tigers, Astros, Braves, Yankees and Twins. He was a teammate of his brother’s in Atlanta in 1973 and 1974, finished in the top three of Cy Young voting in 1979 and 1980 and got a World Series ring with the Twins in 1987. He had 221 career wins and was one of the better starters of his time.

Just another little slice of Cubs history.

As we conclude our Northwestern baseball 2026 position previews, it’s time to take a look at a relatively experienced outfield group featuring two returning starters and a couple of interesting newcomers. What can the Wildcats’ outfielders offer in 2026?

Jackson Freeman, Junior, RF

After a big first-year season featuring 11 home runs and an OPS of .866, Freeman took a step back statistically in 2025, improving his batting average from .247 to .255 but dropping his OPS to .780 thanks to just six home runs in 52 games. However, fans shouldn’t be fooled by this perceived lack of progress — Freeman is a bona fide star who will be one of the Wildcats’ biggest assets in 2026.

Over the summer, Freeman took his talents to the Cape Cod League to play against the best summer baseball competition in the country. He more than held his own, hitting .259 in a league that is far less hitter-friendly than the Big Ten (for context, the worst team ERA out of 10 Cape squads was 4.92, a mark that would’ve been sixth-best in a 17-team B1G). In addition to his hitting prowess, Freeman showed off his capabilities in both right and center field, starting 38 games for the Chatham Anglers and committing just one error compared to five outfield assists.

Entering 2026, Freeman is expected to slot back into his role as the primary right fielder for the ‘Cats. Finding increased power will still need to be a focus, but in terms of efficiency, the California native projects to take a major step up this year.

Jack Lausch, Senior, CF

Welcome back, quarterback.

Lausch returns to the ‘Cats for his second season of baseball since abandoning his pursuits of being NU’s starting QB. A highly-touted baseball recruit coming out of high school, the Chicago native struggled to readjust at the plate early in 2025. However, he bounced back nicely toward the end of the year, finishing with a solid .268 batting average.

In 2026, Lausch should return to his role as the everyday center fielder for the ‘Cats. With a year of collegiate baseball under his belt, fans should expect Lausch to be a reliable player who can hit in the heart of the order if necessary.

Logan de Groot, Sophomore, LF

With the departure of Preston Knott, the ‘Cats have a big hole in left field, and de Groot is one of several options who could seek to fill it. The California native transferred to NU after a season with UCLA, during which he started four games as a designated hitter and batted .267 across 15 at-bats.

Over the summer, de Groot received regular playing time in the West Coast League, hitting .236. The sophomore saw a lot of time in right field with the WCL’s Bellingham Bells, but he likely has the versatility to play in left if necessary. It is certainly possible that Wildcat coach Ben Greenspan will opt to start a returner in left to begin the season, but de Groot is certainly a viable choice as well.

Griffin Mills, Junior

Mills made two starts in 21 appearances with the ‘Cats last year, picking up six hits in 19 at-bats total. The New Jersey native does have the ability to play all over the outfield, and he made one start as a left fielder against UIC last April. His 2024 batting numbers (.129 average in 62 at-bats) are certainly a cause for concern, but Mills has certainly developed his swing since then, so he’ll likely have a chance to compete for some time in the outfield with the loss of Knott.

Zach Carlson, Sophomore

Carlson appeared in 15 games and made seven starts (all as a designated hitter) last season, hitting .276 across 29 at-bats. It was certainly encouraging to see the Utah native get some looks in meaningful competition as a freshman. If Carlson can continue to grow as a hitter, he could be another legitimate option to get some playing time in the outfield.

Marty Kaplan, Senior

A career .212 hitter, Kaplan has seen his playing time slowly decrease since his first-year season in 2023, although he did make two starts as a DH in 2025. As a senior, Kaplan has the advantage of having been around the Wildcat baseball program for a long time, and he does have 12 career starts under his belt. If he can take a leap at the plate, he may get some chances for action as either a DH or left fielder in 2026.

Masai Marshall, Sophomore

Marshall did not play in 2025, but he was ranked as the No. 12 outfielder in the state of New York coming out of high school. He projects mainly as a depth piece for the ‘Cats, but with a year of NU experience under his belt, he’ll likely get the chance to play in his first game at some point in 2026.

Dominic DeLoreto, First-Year

Also listed as a pitcher, DeLoreto hails from Florida and should be a solid development piece for the Wildcats this year. He may not see action in 2026, but his versatility could allow him to be a key player for NU at some point in the future.

It took three trips over the waiver wire through claims by three different teams for former top San Francisco Giants prospect Marco Luciano to finally find a home. He was designated multiple times for so many assignments, but the baseball gods finally took mercy on Luciano and let him pass through waivers and land with the New York Yankee’s Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders.

Luciano used the be the Giants’ top prospect and was considered one of the best prospects in all of baseball, playing in the 2021 Futures Game as a 19-year-old. But his hitting never showed the promise displayed as a 17-year-old playing rookie ball and perhaps most important, couldn’t field at shortstop, something that everyone but Farhan Zaidi had long since acknowledged before 2024, when Luciano got an ill-fated chance at the position — and his injuries didn’t help.

His SF Giants career consisted of 41 games and 126 plate appearances, where he slashed .217/.286/.304 with 45 strikeouts and 11 walks. That’s not enough hitting for a middle infielder, let alone the LF/1B/DH hybrid Luciano has become. The Giants let him go in December to provide a spare roster spot that would allow them to participate in the Rule V draft, meaning they effectively traded him for backup catcher Andrew Susac.

Out of options but still only 24 years old, Luciano remained intriguing for MLB teams. Just not for their big-league rosters. The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed Luciano Dec. 5, and he spent a few weeks on their roster before the Pirates made a one-for-three three-team trade, which meant they had to clear two spots on their 40-man roster. Operating on the principle of last-in, first-out, they ditched Luciano, who returned to the waiver wire.

Luciano spent three weeks in limbo after that, because the usual one-week limit for waiver claims doesn’t apply to the holiday season. The Baltimore Orioles claimed him Jan. 7, only to designate him for assignment him Jan. 15 in order to claim left-handed reliever Jose Suarez. One week later, the Yankees claimed Luciano. Five days after that, he got another DFA when the Yankees claimed reliever Don Hamel.

Essentially, all these teams wanted Luciano, as long as he didn’t have to be on the 40-man roster. It’s a brutal system for players who are out of options. Luciano had no idea where he was playing next season for two full months, while being a member of three different major-league teams on paper.

He lands with the Yankees, where he has a real opportunity thanks to the Yankees’ lefty-dominated lineup. They’ve got Paul Goldschmidt at first base/DH backing up lefty Ben Rice, but Goldschmidt is now 38 years old, though no less terrifying if he’s facing the Giants. If Luciano can hit outside the friendly Pacific Coast League, he’s a logical right-handed power options for the Yankees.

He’s probably content with simply leaving the waiver wire.

Dayton Moore, the architect of the 2015 Royals team that won the World Series, is “heartbroken” over the passing of former Kansas City outfielder Terrance Gore.

Gore died during “what was supposed to have been a simple procedure,” according to a post Saturday on social media from his wife, Britney. He was 34 years old.

“We are all heartbroken to hear the devastating news of the passing of Terrance Gore,” Moore said in a statement. “A beloved husband and father of three, he was deeply devoted to his beautiful family. We are all hurting for his wife Britney and their three children during this incredibly difficult time.

“Terrance brought a high level of excitement and anticipation to the game. He was unstoppable as a base stealer, and he inspired athletes throughout our country to pursue baseball. He was loved and respected by his very special teammates, who will continue to love his family during this time of sadness.”

Gore, a Georgia native, spent parts of eight seasons in the major leagues, mostly serving as a baserunning specialist, beginning with the Royals in 2014 and during their ’15 championship season. He later also earned World Series rings with the 2020 Dodgers and the 2021 Braves before appearing in 10 games for the Mets in 2022, finishing with 43 stolen bases in 52 attempts despite only 85 career plate appearances over in 112 big-league games.

“There have been very few players who can take over a baseball game,” Moore added in an interview with the Royals team website. “That’s exactly what he did. He became a fan favorite. He was beloved by his teammates. And he was just fearless and impactful on the bases but also off the field.

“Terrance was a natural fit for us and the type of player we looked for. We paid more attention to the guys who could flat out run than power because we knew developing the power tool might not fit within our timeline. We were heavily focused on speed at that point in the draft.”

We are straight smack in the middle of some of the most exciting parts of the offseason: the release of different national prospect writer’s top 100 lists. It lends itself to some excitement because it is a glimpse of what the future may hold, not only for those teams that are contenders for a World Series, but also for teams that are eager for the future to arrive a bit earlier. Once many of these lists start to arrive, a consensus starts to form where we can see who most people believe is leading the pack for the Phillies.

Aidan Miller has become the team’s top prospect. Where Andrew Painter held that title for a few years, his performance last season, one that was frankly disappointing, couple with Miller’s emergence has led to a swap in their positions. Miller is the top dog while Painter is the clear second banana in terms of how they rank in the eyes of prospect writers.

It has led to a little bit of a frothing at the mouth for Miller to join the team as soon as possible from members of the fanbase. The writeups from the authors don’t help. They’re glowing in their reports of the kid, but they are also dangerous in raising the expectations of what Miller might turn out to be (bolding in the reports is mine).

From Keith Law:

Even when he was struggling, he didn’t come out of his approach, with strong swing decisions across the board that will probably lead to a high OBP this year when he’s in Triple A, where walk rates are higher anyway due to ABS. I don’t think he needs a full year at that level before he’s ready for the majors, just needing to refine some of his pitch recognition, and there’s a good chance that by July 1 he’ll be the best choice for shortstop at Citizens Bank Park.

From Baseball Prospectus:

He’s trending towards being average or better at everything, and if one of those “or betters” turns into a real carrying ability—the power is the obvious possibility given his frame and occasional ability to launch one spectacularly—there’s star upside with the stick. With the glove, he continues to fall into the “maybe a shortstop, maybe not” bucket, although every year that he plays exclusively there and does so with minimum competence gives more hope.

From Fangraphs:

The Phillies have only ever played Miller at shortstop since signing him, and it’s the position at which he’d be the most valuable, but with Trea Turner entrenched ahead of him, it might behoove them to expand his defensive horizons in 2026 in case, be it via trade or injury, it turns out he’s needed at either second or third. Should he turn out to be a more comfortable, consistent defender at either of those positions, then a permanent move should be considered. Miller is going to be good enough at shortstop to play there, but only just so. If he can be a plus glove at second or third, that might be a better long-term fit.

It’s the Law article that has me believing we should pump the brakes a bit on Miller. Saying that he’ll be the best choice for shortstop by July 1 for the Phillies, choosing him over Trea Turner is a bit much at this point. Turner had maybe his best season for the Phillies last year, giving them a season where he registered near 7 WAR thanks to a tremendous uptick in defense to go with offense that is 20% better than league average. That is a player that should be getting MVP votes, one that isn’t going to be hard to displace. Suggesting that Miller would be a better choice at that position is a rather bold statement to make.

Placing expectations of those kinds of proportions on Miller are a bit unfair. His breaking camp with the team out of spring training would probably mean a few things, good and bad. The good part would mean that Miller is so impressive in how he is playing during spring that the team would have no choice but to find some kind of starting role for him. It happens with rookies, where their spring training sets them up for their earning a starting job for Opening Day. But with Miller, you’d probably want him to start if he gets to the majors and right now, barring injury, there just is no spot for him.

That brings us to the bad. If Miller were to win a spot, that probably means an injury happens. No matter which player it would be – Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott or Turner – having an injury to a starter is a bad thing. Having Miller up in the majors would be great insurance for that injury, something the Phillies haven’t had in quite a while. Yet no one should be wishing for an injury to befall a starter.

The biggest issue is making sure to temper those expectations for Aidan Miller no matter where he begins the season. He’s definitely close to making an impact on the major league team, possibly as soon as this season. Expecting him to come in and perform at an All-Star level, or maybe even something more, would be putting too much weight on his talents. It’s completely fine to believe that in time he’ll get to that level. All of these positive sounding scouting reports should have the fanbase excited that for the first time in a long time, the player development system will have produced a player that can reach lofty heights. But maybe for 2026, let’s keep those expectations in check, just a little bit.

It was a long road back for Christian Scott. 

The young Mets right-hander was forced to the injured list with a sprained UCL just nine starts into his big-league debut, and he ended up having to undergo Tommy John surgery. 

Scott missed the entire 2025 campaign following the procedure. 

He spent that time working his way back, and now he’s officially closing in on his return to the big-league mound. 

The 26-year-old is expected to be a full-go for spring training. 

“I’m feeling great,” Scott told SNY in Port St. Lucie. “I’m excited to be back, get off the mound in front of these guys again -- it’s nice to be able to come and pitch healthy, and just do what I do and do what I love.”

Sunday was the latest bullpen session Scott has thrown since arriving, but he’s also faced hitters about six times already as he progresses towards getting back into game action. 

New York’s first Grapefruit League game is on Feb. 21 against the Marlins. 

Scott figures to begin this season continuing to shake off the rust in Triple-A, but if he’s able to do so successfully he should find his way back to the majors at some point this year. 

While there were some bumps, the youngster showed plenty of positives before going down with the injury, posting a 4.56 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with 39 strikeouts across his nine outings. 

“Obviously, there’s still stuff to build on and stuff to work on,” Scott said. “Being able to go up there and get that experience and to take that into my rehab, and to really try to build off of what I did good and work on what I did bad -- I’m just really excited to get back out there and get outs again.”

Let’s start by stipulating that this signing, player, and scenario are not necessarily what we would’ve chosen for ourselves.

But this is where we are now.

Certainly this isn’t the bat we wanted, but let’s lay that aside for the moment. Let’s think about defense, which is something the Red Sox themselves have pledged to devote more thought and effort to.

Before signing IKF, signs were pointing toward Marcelo Mayer staffing third base, with different reports predicting Nick Sogard, or a Romy Gonzalez/David Hamilton platoon at second.

My gut was telling me that IKF was the better option, defensively. Romy could bedazzle us from time to time, but he made me nervous. Hamilton doesn’t pass the eye test either and bounced down to Worcester accordingly. Same with Sogard.

Baseball Reference offers the Total Zone Total Fielding Runs Above Average metric which they define as “The number of runs above or below average the player was worth based on the number of plays made.” For simplicity, they stylize this as Rtot, so I will too.

Let’s take a look.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa

At second base in 2024, across two leagues (playing for both the Pirates and the Blue Jays), IKF had a fielding percentage of .990 which was above the MLB average of .984. IKF’s Rtot was 5 runs above average that year at second. Though he played only 56 games (376 innings) at that position, Baseball Reference extrapolates 17 Rtot over 1,200 innings (roughly 135 games, if he were slotted in there). Not bad.

In 2025 for the Blue Jays, over 13 games at second base, IKF’s fielding percentage was a glorious 1.000, though in a small sample size. His true Rtot was 1, extrapolated to 34 over 1,200 innings.

Romy González

Looking at the same Baseball Reference stats for Romy in 2024 with the Red Sox, we have:

130.1 innings at 2B, .964 fielding percentage compared to .983 league average, Rtot of -4, and Rtot extrapolated over 1,200 innings: -32. Ouch.

In 2025 at 2B: 288 innings, .978 fielding percentage compared to .982 league average, Rtot of -2, and Rtot extrapolated over 1,200 innings: -9.

I congratulate Romy on improving from the previous season, but the Red Sox new defense-first model shouldn’t tolerate any negative numbers here. Neither can the Red Sox afford it, with so many pitchers—particularly Crochet, Ranger Suárez, Sonny Gray, and Bello—inducing as many ground balls as they do. And besides roster-specific reasons, we’ve increasingly seen how thin the margins can be in getting to the playoffs. The Red Sox have needed to prioritize defense for a long time.

David Hamilton

Let’s look at David Hamilton.

In 2024 at 2B: 266.2 innings, .978 fielding percentage compared to .983 league average, Rtot of 5, and Rtot extrapolated over 1,200 innings: 21.

In 2025 at 2B: 401.2 innings, .973 fielding percentage compared to .982 league average, Rtot of 5, and Rtot extrapolated over 1,200 innings: 16.

Nick Sogard

Same exercise, but even smaller sample size.

In 2024 at 2B: 99 innings, 1.000 fielding percentage, Rtot of -1, and Rtot extrapolated over 1,200 innings: -12.

In 2025 at 2B: 65 innings, 1.000 fielding percentage, Rtot of 0-1, and Rtot extrapolated over 1,200 innings: -4.

I’m perfectly comfortable with IKF starting at second over González, Hamilton, or Sogard. I would much rather see him play there and be sure-handed, than mess around with regular platoons. (I say this even as I feel sure that one of the main reasons for acquiring IKF is his versatility in the infield.)

Yes, Romy’s bat is better against lefties, but he isn’t the regular answer in the infield. He’s a valued bench player. I have less confidence in Hamilton and Sogard, but they’re bench players too, if they make the team out of spring training. Give the keys to IKF.

It’s Sunday, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! For the third time in four weeks, Jack Frost has taken over New York City, with the wind chill reaching as low as 10 below. Fortunately, the countdown to spring training has reached the single digits, as pitchers and catchers report…this week! That’s right, folks, the long nightmarish winter is beginning to draw to a close, and in just a few days, the Chase for 28 will begin once more. How have the Yankees been spending their last few days before the big day? Let’s find out!

Team Building at the Stadium Series

Although pitchers and catchers don’t report until this week, many Yankees have arrived in Tampa to get some extra work in, much like they have done the past two seasons. It hasn’t been all work and no play, though, as they made sure to catch some hockey together at Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (it was part of the NHL Stadium Series). From this, we can see that Austin Wells, Ben Rice, Max Fried, Aaron Judge, Anthony Volpe, Jasson Domínguez, Clarke Schmidt, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Chase Hampton, and new trade acquisition Ryan Weathers have already arrived in Tampa.

Warren and Schlittler, moreover, were mic’ed up during the game.

Celebrating Black History Month

February is Black History Month, and the Yankees took to social media to celebrate one of the most important players in Yankee history, Elston Howard.

Belli’s Back, Part III

For the third week in a row, we have some more about Cody Bellinger’s return to the Bronx — in this case, at long last, from the man himself. Just as significant as Bellinger’s post, though, is the number of teammates who responded to the post. Aaron Judge replied to Belli’s “Back in the BX” with “You never left!!” Austin Wells posted a trio of happy emojis. Ben Rice added “You are the greatest.” J.C. Escarra said, “Lesss run it🏃🏽‍♂️.” Even former Yankee Jameson Taillon, who was teammates with Bellinger in Chicago, celebrated the deal.

Mets pitchers and catchers don’t have to officially report to Port St. Lucie until next week, but more and more players have been trickling in over the past few days. 

Francisco Alvarez was the latest to arrive on Sunday morning. 

The young backstop played catch with right-hander Christian Scott, then went and got some defense work in, doing some catching drills on the backfields. 

It’s certainly encouraging to see Alvarez getting in some early work. 

The 24-year-old is coming off another injury-plagued campaign, but he showed signs of a his prolific power-hitting form after returning, hitting .276 with 18 XBH’s and a .921 OPS in the second half.

If he can stay healthy and build off that strong finish it would certainly be huge for this lineup.

Alvarez wasn’t the only Met to get some work in on Sunday, as Scott threw a bullpen session while both Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong threw live BP on the backfields. 

Kodai Senga also threw a bullpen with pitching coach Justin Willard looking on. 

Senga is coming off another injury-plagued campaign in which he struggled down the stretch, but the Mets are said to be encouraged by what they’ve seen from him this winter.  

Here’s a look at all the action from PSL…

Francisco Alvarez is in Port St. Lucie 🌴 pic.twitter.com/kudzgcjUMJ

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) February 8, 2026

Live BP with Nolan McLean 🤠 pic.twitter.com/EBtZUc4aik

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) February 8, 2026

Christian Scott and Francisco Alvarez play catch pic.twitter.com/TkvmkC2RDI

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) February 8, 2026

Kodai Senga tosses in the bullpen pic.twitter.com/8SCueOqb6F

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) February 8, 2026

Aaron Watson has yet to throw a competitive pitch as a professional, but his big frame and big potential was good enough for the Cincinnati Reds to use their 2nd round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft to select him out of high school in Florida – and it was good enough to land him at 16th in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings.

Now, we take the voting into the final few spots, with #17 next up on the list!

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

Here’s how the list has materialized so far:

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

A large list of talented names exists below for spot #17. Have at it with the votes!

Liberts Aponte, SS (18 years old)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luke Holman, RHP (23 years old)

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

Pros: Two plus breaking pitches (slider, curve)

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

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

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

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

Mason Morris, RHP (22 years old)

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

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

Cons: Lack of experience

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

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

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

Julian Aguiar, RHP (25 years old)

2025 at a glance: Did not pitch

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

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

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

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

Mason Neville, OF (22 years old)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sheng-En Lin, RHP (20 years old)

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

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

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

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

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

Ricky Cabrera, 3B (21 years old)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tyler Callihan, IF/OF (26 years old)

2025 at a glance: .303/.410/.528 with 4 HR, 6 SB in 106 PA with AAA Louisville Bats (International League); 1 for 6 with an RBI in 4 G with Cincinnati Reds

Pros: Plus bat speed from the left-hand side of the plate; advanced approach at the plate and potentially solid ability to take a walk

Cons: Plays a little bit of everywhere because his defense isn’t great anywhere; injuries have persisted with him just about every single year since being drafted back in 2019

Callihan had barely made his big league debut (and picked up his first career big league hit) in 2025 before he went crashing into the wall in foul territory chasing a Matt Olson liner and shattered pretty much every bone in his arm. That ended his season, obviously, something that Callihan has had to hear told to him just about every year since being drafted – he’s even had Tommy John surgery despite obviously not being a pitcher.

If and when he can stay healthy, there’s always been a bit to like about his offensive potential, however. Drafted as a bat-first guy out of high school in 2019, he signed an over-slot bonus to turn pro because people knew then he could hit, and that’s still the case despite him always having the look of being rusty off a long layoff.

He’s got a bit of speed, a bit of pop, a bit of just about everything, and he also now has experience at 2B, LF, 1B, and even some 3B back in the day, all while swinging from the left side. That has him firmly in the mix for the final roster spot on the Reds come Opening Day, as none of their other litany of utility infield options has both a) big league experience and b) bats from the left side.

Here are two Cubs from the last decade who you likely remember well, Starlin Castro and Tyler Colvin. This is another photo courtesy BCB reader Clark Addison.

They are standing together at Wrigley Field, apparently just waiting. There’s no one else on the field, the umpires appear to be having some sort of meeting, and the batter — who has to be a visiting player since Castro and Colvin are wearing their fielder’s gloves — has just walked. We’re somewhere in the middle of the game, as the pitch count says 66.

The next clue is the lights. This is obviously a night game and the lights have… mostly gone out. So the “waiting” is happening because of a power failure of some sort at the ballpark.

I zoomed into the visitors’ dugout to see if I could identify that team. It’s the Dodgers.

Tyler Colvin played for the Cubs in 2010 and 2011. There is only one No. 33 for the Dodgers who played any games at Wrigley Field in those two years. Oddly enough, that’s a guy who would be traded to the Cubs later in 2010, Blake DeWitt.

Then it just took a bit of googling to find out when there was a power outage at Wrigley in 2010.

Here’s the story:

The lights went out at Wrigley Field and the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cubs was delayed 18 minutes Wednesday night after power lines came in contact with tree branches, causing a power outage.

A bank of lights behind home plate went out as Cubs starter Tom Gorzelanny released a 3-1 pitch to Blake DeWitt in the fourth inning. Home plate umpire Wally Bell called the pitch a ball and granted DeWitt first base on the walk. As DeWitt was jogging down the first-base line, the rest of the stadium lights went out.

So there’s the whole story. This photo was obviously taken shortly after that, as players waited for the lights to come back on, and as noted in the quote above, they eventually did.

The Cubs trailed 5-2 when the lights went out. Eventually they closed the gap to 7-5 after eight, but a Casey Blake homer off James Russell gave the Dodgers an 8-5 lead and that was the final score.

The Cubs were 22-25 after this loss and in third place in the NL Central, five games behind the Reds, who eventually won it. The Cubs finished 75-87, in fifth place.