DUNEDIN, Fla. — Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Santander will miss much of the upcoming season with a shoulder injury, manager John Schneider announced Tuesday at spring training.
Schneider said Santander will have labrum surgery on his left shoulder Wednesday and is expected to be sidelined for five to six months.
It’s another disappointing turn for Santander, who had 44 homers and 102 RBIs with Baltimore in 2024. He signed a $92.5 million, five-year contract in free agency to join the Blue Jays last offseason, but struggled badly at the plate and played in just 54 games during an injury-plagued Toronto debut.
“Kind of had a setback when he started ramping up with his hitting earlier in January and came over to the complex, got checked out, and we kind of did everything we could to avoid this,” Schneider said.
There was more bad news for the Blue Jays on Tuesday: Right-hander Shane Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner, has forearm fatigue and won’t be ready for opening day.
Schneider said the team is being extra cautious with Bieber and expects him to be a major contributor this season.
Bieber was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery when he was acquired from Cleveland at the July 31 trade deadline last year. He made his season debut Aug. 22 and pitched 40 1/3 innings for Toronto during the regular season, going 4-2 with a 3.57 ERA in seven starts. But he threw 18 2/3 innings in the postseason with a 3.86 ERA and helped the Blue Jays come within one win of a World Series championship.
“In talking to him and talking with our medical team, just decided that the best possible outcome would be this,” Schneider said. “Slow play it a little after going through what he went through in the postseason and the World Series.”
Blue Jays right-hander Bowden Francis will miss the entire season after undergoing UCL reconstruction surgery Wednesday.
ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 24: Pitcher Justin Verlander #35 of the Detroit Tigers throws apitch against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on August 24, 2009 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
My photoshop skills have really been perfected and I was able to show you what Justin Verlander’s outfit is going to look like in 2026.
• Aaron Civale is headed to Sacramento. I’d have loved him as SP depth who starts out the season in the bullpen, but $6M is probably too much for that.
Jose Quintana of the Milwaukee Brewers throws a pitch against the Mets in 2025.
Jose Quintana has found a new home — just not one that’s historically pitcher-friendly.
The 37-year-old left-handed starter has agreed to a deal with the Rockies, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported Tuesday night.
Terms of the contract, which is still pending medicals, are not yet known.
Jose Quintana, a member of the Brewers last season, throws a pitch against the Mets in 2025. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Colorado has had an active Tuesday, agreeing earlier in the day with right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year pact after he spent last year pitching in Japan.
He gave the Brewers some stability in the back end of the rotation with a 3.96 ERA and 1.291 WHIP across 24 starts and 131 2/3 innings. Quintana pitched in two postseason outings, a three-inning scoreless effort in relief during the NLDS against the Cubs before getting lit up for three earned runs in a two-inning start against the eventual World Series champion Dodgers in the NLCS.
Quintana, through his first 14 seasons in the big leagues, has 113 victories, the most for a native of Colombia.
At high altitude (5,200 feet above sea level), Coors Field has long been a hitters’ haven and has had the top park factor in MLB over the last three seasons, according to Baseball Savant.
Jose Quintana celebrates during the 2024 wild-card series with the Mets. Jason Szenes / New York Post
In six career outings at Coors, Quintana has a 5.40 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 42 innings.
The Rockies are hoping to get out of the National League doldrums after three straight seasons of 100-plus losses, including a baseball-worst 119 defeats in 2025.
Sep 8, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jose Quintana (62) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
Late this evening, ESPN’s Jess Rogers broke the news that the Colorado Rockies signed Jose Quintana:
News: Veteran Jose Quintana is in agreement with the Colorado Rockies, sources tell ESPN. The 37 year old is back for his 15th big league season. The deal is pending a physical.
The 37-year-old lefty spent 2025 with the Milwaukee Brewers on a one-year, $4.25 million contract.
In 131 2/3 innings, Quintana logged 24 starts and finished with a 3.96 ERA.
According to Baseball Savant, Quintana has a five-pitch arsenal: sinker (42%), changeup (22%), curveball (15%), four-seamer (12%), and slurve (8%).
In 2025, Quintana had a 16.0% K%, a 9.0% BB%, and a 43.3% GB%.
We’ll have more analysis tomorrow, but at first glance, this signing does a few things for the Rockies.
First, it adds another lefty to the rotation; second, Quintana, like Michael Lorenzen and Tomoyuki Sugano has a diverse and developed arsenal; and third, he is an experienced pitcher in a position to help mentor young pitchers.
The Rockies had indicated they would sign an additional starter; with today’s moves, they have now added two starters to their rotation.
UPDATE
Some contract details have become available:
Jose Quintana’s deal with the Colorado Rockies is for one-year, $6 million, pending physical.
Today’s guest column is from professors John Cairney and Rick Burton.
Dozens of movies built around the suspenseful premise of an outnumbered army or unit surrounded at a fortress and coming under fierce attack. The Alamo (1960) used to hold a primary position for that allegory, but others we might offer up include Night of the Living Dead, 300,The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Sinners. For video gamers, think something like Assassins Creed.
In each of those situations, a small group of individuals must defend something worth preserving. Kind of made us think about Major League Baseball’s owners and commissioner Rob Manfred, who not only face an aging fan demographic but also the real possibility of a lengthy strike/lockout looming on the labor peace horizon.
Notably, if MLB shuts down in 2027, as some are already hinting, it will happen less than a year after the three-country tidal surge of the FIFA 2026 World Cup.
It made us want to page back through Kotler and Singh’s legendary paper “Marketing Warfare in the 1980s” as well as Ries and Trout’s 1986 book Marketing Warfare. Those authors (and others) discussed strategic concepts for attacking market leaders with frontal attacks, flanking maneuvers and encirclement or, on the other hand, defensive strategies for market leaders such as “position, flank, preemptive, counteroffensive, mobile and contraction.”
Baseball’s contemporary problem is defending ground rather than commanding it. The NFL took the highest hill by the early 1970s and MLB arguably has no hope of ever replacing football as America’s most popular and largest revenue-generating professional league. Maybe games like basketball or soccer will, but baseball doesn’t have nearly the global reach of those sports.
That, of course, is fine. Baseball is a wonderful game, MLB is a powerful league, and top players can earn salaries that are healthy percentages of billions. According to Sportico’s Kurt Badenhausen, as of 2025, every MLB franchise was worth at least $1.3 billion (the Miami Marlins), with the average for MLB’s 30 teams hovering around $2.82 billion.
But what market strategies (warfare or otherwise) should MLB executives consider, especially if there is even a remote chance they might shut MLB down within the next 14 months? If the average age of MLB’s TV viewership is 57, despite youth-facing improvements such as the pitch clock, shouldn’t MLB be thinking about what it can do to attract 10-year-olds in the future?
Before we fall into the convenient trap of burying MLB, we took to heart Maury Brown’s April 2025 column for Forbes, where he suggested: “Major League Baseball has been portrayed as having fans that are too old. That the league is ‘dying’. That MLB pales when compared to the NBA in terms of popularity on television. These narratives have followed MLB around like grim death. But that fact is, these are all largely myths.”
In fact, Brown noted, “There has been [an ongoing] myth that baseball is the sport of old people and is out of touch with other sports leagues that skew to a younger generation. But data from Nielsen Scarborough shows the median age of an MLB fan is 54.04, below college football and the WNBA.”
Interestingly, the Nielsen data suggests the NFL, college basketball and NBA are also in the 50s. Only MLS, with a median age of 49, showed up in the forties.
To channel the wondering Alice, Nielsen’s numbers are curiouser and curiouser. Speaking of TV ratings, it is notable MLB is now producing broadcasts for around half the league, meaning the RSN landscape that previously protected the fort is under assault.
That said, without claiming insight into Manfred’s thinking or the professional counsel he’s receiving, several points seem clear:
Don’t shut down in 2027. If you do, MLS (which, with its new calendar, will be playing meaningful games a the end of a truncated season in April and May of ’27, then starting the ’27-28 season in July) will be a massive beneficiary. In addition, a labor strike hurts every other league … in one way or another.
Understand perceptions of parity matter, and if there is no salary cap in MLB, young fans will find it increasingly difficult to support teams with no chance of competing. In other words, MLB could come to look like certain European football leagues where no more than two teams ever win the seasonal competition.
If the biggest stars in baseball are Japanese, South Korean or Latin American, think harder about flanking strategies that go around the NFL’s traditional reliance on North Americans. That said, don’t underestimate just how hard the NFL is working to make itself a global game.
Figure out how not to lose (or fail to leverage) the star power of great generational players like Mike Trout who appear on MLB’s dreamy fields but somehow never become famous faces like those from the NFL and NBA. Use league-driven storytelling, national showcase scheduling and coordinated digital/broadcast visibility rather than leaving star-making solely to local markets.
Understand that in this new creator economy, MLB can do better at having its players generate interesting material targeting younger audiences. As Syracuse media entrepreneurship professor Sean Branagan recently said (with italics emphasized), “Broadcasting must mean just that: the many telling the many.”
We’ll close by suggesting that baseball—and MLB—are not in crisis, but like pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, the league must get back into shape for the sustained attacks already forming on the horizon. MLB may find itself surrounded by other competitors (as well as the growth of women’s professional leagues), but we hope it chooses to fight like the Spartans at Thermopylae or the Rohirrim warriors at the Battle of Helm’s Deep.
John Cairney is head of the University of Queensland’s School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences. He also serves as deputy executive director for the Office of 2032 Games Engagement and directs Queensland’s Centre for Olympic and Paralympic Studies. Rick Burton is an honorary professor at UQ, Syracuse University’s David B. Falk Emeritus Professor of Sport Management, former commissioner of Australia’s National Basketball League, and co-author of the book, The Rise of Major League Soccer.
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 10: Isiah Kiner-Falefa #2 of the Boston Red Sox speaks to the media during a team workout ahead of Spring Training at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on February 10, 2026 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
New York Post | Cooper Albers: For the second straight year, the Yankees have been called out by the team that eliminated them in October — or at least, a member of that team. While attempting to complete the All-AL-East career, Isiah Kiner-Falefa revealed that the Blue Jays were hoping the Yankees beat out the Red Sox in last year’s American League Wild Card Series, believing New York to be an easier opponent. This comes on the heels of many critiques the Dodgers tossed against the Yankees after the 2024 World Series, but then again, IKF is a non-insignificant reason why the Blue Jays went down to those Dodgers some months ago.
The Athletic | Jayson Stark ($): Perhaps nothing has changed as much in baseball over the last 20 years like the standard for Hall of Fame pitchers. Hurlers on the ballot today, even those gaining momentum like Andy Pettitte, just don’t have the same counting stats and career milestones as pitchers from previous generations. In an era where just three pitchers top 200 innings, those milestones are going to have to change further. Stark talks to a number of past and present starters, including Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, about the challenges current pitchers face around induction standards.
Baseball Prospectus: BP is out with their PECOTA projections, widely seen as one of the most reliable systems across the sport. The good news is that PECOTA is high on the Yankees, tabbing them to just eke out atop the AL East, but they have them just a single point of winning percentage higher than Toronto. The way it shows up is 88.5 wins to 88.3, so there’s not much separation. If nothing else, expect the division to be a dogfight once again. For those curious, the Mariners are tabbed as the American League’s best team in the 93-win territory, while the two-time defending champion Dodgers pace MLB as a whole at an emphatic 105-win pace — one of their highest-ever projections.
Newsweek | Jon Paul Hoonstra: A melancholy happy trails to Gary Blaylock, who pitched in 41 games with the 1959 Yankees and Cardinals and passed away on February 7th at the age of 94. The reliever later served as the pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals from 1984-87, winning the team’s first World Series championship in the ‘85 season. Our best to his family and loved ones.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 23: Spencer Schwellenbach #56 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the New York Mets in the first inning at Citi Field on June 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tuesday made for a busy day for the Atlanta Braves, as pitchers and catchers reported to the spring training facility in North Port, Florida. There were several storylines from the day, and in 2025 fashion, not all of them were great.
Most notably, it was announced that starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach has some inflammation in his right elbow, inevitably causing him to begin the 2026 campaign on the 60-day injured list. Should this timeline stick, he is eyeing an April return.
If this news was not frustrating enough, it was also reported that Robert Suarez, who the Braves signed in December, will arrive late to camp due to issues with his visa.
On a more positive note, Nacho Alvarez Jr. was spotted getting some reps in with the catchers, so the shortstop is possibly adding another position to his resume.
Lastly, the Braves have reportedly added a backup catcher after signing Jonah Heim to a one-year deal. Heim was non-tendered by the Texas Rangers after a lackluster 2025. The financials of the contract have not been confirmed, but the deal is rumored to be around $1.25M.
With camp just getting underway, more roster decisions and injury updates are likely to follow.
The Braves have reacquired infielder Brett Wisely from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for cash. In January, the Braves first traded Wisely to the Rays. To open up a spot on the roster, right-hander Joe Jiménez was placed on the 60-day injured list.
The most recent PECOTA projections have the Braves finishing 2026 with a 92-70 record.
MLB News:
The Toronto Blue Jays pitching staff took a hit on Tuesday, announcing that Shane Bieber will start the season on the 15-day injured list due to forearm inflammation. In addition, fellow pitcher Bowden Francis will undergo Tommy John and miss the entire season.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Reese Olson will miss all of 2026 due to shoulder surgery. He was placed on the 60-day injured list to open up a spot for Justin Verlander, who returns to Detroit on a one-year, $13M deal.
Kyle Wright, former Braves hurler, is joining the Chicago Cubs on a minor league deal.
Its a great day for those who collect current Topps baseball cards. Today, February 11th, the 2026 MLB Topps Series One releases.
For those who are new to the hobby, Topps Series One is the first series released by Topps to kick off the next year of collecting. They’re usually released around Spring Training and feature the first batch of player base cards and with plenty of cool parallels and inserts. Parallel cards have similar images as the base cards but feature different designs.
This year Topps is celebrating their 75th anniversary and there are plenty of parallels available of each card, over 50 total, including the full rainbow that many collectors chase. They’ve included multiple inserts, which are cards that differ from the base and parallel set with their own, unique design. Included in the insert list are the autographs and relic cards. The relic cards have historically included pieces of uniforms, bases, gloves, and even bats.
One of the inserts I’m going to be on the look out for is the Big Ticket Player inserts.
Of course, this is the just the kick off for the 2026 collecting season. The Easter Tin list is included with Series One and introduces additional parallels that feature Spring related designs. Last year the 2025 Topps Series One Celebration set released shortly after Series One and included different inserts and additional base cards. Celebration replaced the old Opening Day series Topps used to run in conjunction with Opening Day. Hopefully we’ll see it’s return this year.
This year’s Series One unfortunately does not have a lot of Guardians players represented. Of all of the current teams included there are only four teams with less cards (base and inserts) than the Guardians; the Blue Jays (61), Twins (60), Diamondbacks (60), and Marlins (54). The Guardians will have 66 card designs (not including parallels, which all base cards have) this year. The Yankees (157), Dodgers (147), and Braves (141) have the most designs.
For the base cards and parallels, Guards fans can look for CJ Kayfus, Daniel Schneemann, Parker Messick, Ben Lively, Bo Naylor, Angel Martínez, Gavin Williams, José Ramírez, and Kyle Manzardo. Kayfus and Messick will be rookie cards.
The majority of variants (similar to parallels, but not available for all base cards), are available for Kayfus, Messick, and José. Some are only available for one of two of those three players or simply do not have Guardian representation.
Outside of the same three players, George Valera, Steven Kwan, and Kenny Lofton also have autograph cards available. On the relic side of things, José has the most available at three. Kayfus and Kwan each have a single relic design available. If there is a Cleveland insert card available in a specific design, it will likely be José. Kayfus has two inserts and Messick has one.
One cool feature for the 75th anniversary are Topps Gift inserts. Collectors can find a series of prizes in packs of cards including tickets to the All-Star Game, Team Gifts from select teams, and even a $7500 gift card to Topps.
Throughout the season, fans should also keep an eye on the Topps Now program. Topps runs a pre-order only, limited print of major moments throughout the season. This includes player debuts, first hits, major walk off wins, etc. Last year they also ran a team Spring Training set that included a program where if a player on your team does a specific thing in game, you will automatically get a Topps Now card. Last year that was José’s multi-HR game against the Angels in April.
For the full list of Series One cards, including design examples, Beckett is my go-to. If you are new to the hobby, read up on the odds that each type of pack provides if there are specific cards you want to try your luck on pulling.
Phillippe Aumont #37 of Team Canada pitches during Game 3 of Pool C between Team Great Britain and Team Canada at Chase Field on Sunday, March 12, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Talk about having a strong farm system.
Right-handed pitcher Phillippe Aumont, who left baseball after the 2020 season to become a farmer, has come out of retirement to sign a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays, according to the team’s transactions log.
A native of Gatineau, Quebec, Aumont, 37, will attempt to resurrect his career with the defending American League champions — 11 years after he last threw a pitch in the majors.
Phillippe Aumont of Team Canada pitches during Game 3 of Pool C against Team Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic at Chase Field on March 12, 2023 in Phoenix. MLB Photos via Getty Images
He will also suit up for Team Canada in this year’s World Baseball Classic, his fourth time appearing in the tournament.
After COVID-19 wiped out the entire minor league season, Aumont stepped away from baseball to, as he put it, “go back to nature.”
“There’s a meaning to it. I want to touch nature. I want to learn about animals, and growing vegetables and fruit crops,” Aumont told CBC’s “Ottawa Morning” about his decision to retire six years ago. “Just the endless possibilities for me on a farm are priceless.
“Baseball has been great. Baseball allowed me to do a lot of things in life, and I’m very thankful. But when the pandemic hit you saw what it caused in our cities. I just felt a need to start something, to just go back to nature and get away from negative stuff.”
Aumont briefly returned to the mound during the 2023 WBC with Canada — reaching 92 mph with his fastball — but insisted at the time that he had no interest in a full-time comeback.
Once a highly touted prospect, the 6-foot-7, 265-pound right-hander was selected 11th overall by the Mariners in the 2007 MLB Draft.
Phillippe Aumont became a farmer after he stepped away from professional baseball. Phillipe Aumont/Instagram
Seattle traded him to the Phillies two years later as part of the blockbuster swap that sent ace Cliff Lee to the Mariners.
Aumont made his MLB debut in August 2012 and appeared in parts of four seasons with the Phillies.
In 46 major league appearances, Aumont owns a 6.80 ERA with 42 strikeouts across 43 2/3 innings.
The journeyman then inked minor league pacts with the White Sox, Tigers and Blue Jays while also appearing in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball.
While a return to the majors after more than a decade away remains a long shot, Aumont provides experienced depth for a Blue Jays pitching staff already dealing with multiple injuries at the outset of spring training.
Starter Bowden Francis will miss all of 2026 after ulnar collateral ligament surgery, while fellow right-hander Shane Bieber is expected to be sidelined with right forearm fatigue to start the season.
TAMPA — If Aaron Judge’s elbow were still a concern, he would, in all likelihood, not be about to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic next month.
And whenever Yankees officials have been asked over the offseason about Judge’s physical status, they have insisted that all is well.
But there was further proof Tuesday, when Judge looked strong throwing to bases during a workout at the Yankees player development complex, offering encouragement that he may be back to normal following a scare with a right elbow flexor strain last season.
Judge’s arm strength came under great scrutiny late last year, when it was lacking for the first few weeks after he returned to playing right field following a stint on the injured list.
The captain, whose 89.6 mph average on throws last season ranked in the 85th percentile, only got off two throws harder than 80 mph last September as he protected his elbow.
TAMPA- Aaron Judge looks good—including his throwing which was limited late last year. pic.twitter.com/B8wQUh9RJk
But he was able to unleash some throws more in line with his usual strength during the playoffs, and said after the ALDS exit he would only need treatment, not surgery, during the offseason.
The time off appears to have done Judge’s elbow well as he now gears up to play right field and captain Team USA in the WBC.
Aaron Judge throws a ball to fan during a Yankees home game against the Orioles last season. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“He has ramped up his throwing program a little bit more because he’s ready for the WBC,” manager Aaron Boone said last month. “He’s ahead of the game, more so than he normally is, from a throwing standpoint.”
Judge was one of many Yankees working out Tuesday ahead of pitchers and catchers reporting to camp Wednesday — with position players who will participate in the WBC also set to report early. Taking batting practice alongside Judge were Ryan McMahon, José Caballero and Amed Rosario.
Max Fried, David Bednar and Ryan Yarbrough later threw live batting practice — one inning each — against a group of hitters that included Ben Rice, Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr. That Fried, coming off a career-high 195 ¹/₃ innings, is already facing hitters this early in the spring is another positive sign for the Yankees, who will still likely handle his buildup with some level of caution.
The Yankees currently have nine members of their 40-man roster set to participate in the WBC, but they could eventually add two more.
Relievers Tim Hill (USA) and Yerry De los Santos (Dominican Republic) were named Tuesday to the designated pitcher pools, which teams can tap to replace pitchers on their roster following the first round of play.
There was one special guest in the group taking batting practice with Judge, McMahon, Caballero and Rosario: Didi Gregorius.
The former Yankees shortstop, who has been at the player development complex wearing non-Yankees gear the past two days, is set to play for the Netherlands in the WBC and this was likely just a way to tune up for that tournament.
The 36-year-old has not appeared in the majors since 2022, playing in the Mexican League in each of the past three years.
Gregorius also made a cameo as a photographer at Yankees spring training last year.
Jul 2, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano (19) comes off the field after he pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Today, the Colorado Rockies announced that they had signed Tomoyuki Sugano to a one year, $5.1 million contract. (Evan Lang has an overview here.)
Later in the day, Jon Heyman shared more details of the signing:
Tomoyuki Sugano Rockies
$5,347,000/1+A. 2026. $5.1M.l
Awards bonuses
Plus: Interpreter and Physical Trainer (total compensation $175,000)
Plus 6 round-trip Business or First Class airline tickets between Japan and US (not to exceed $12,000 per ticket).
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Martinez (28) pitches in the eleventh inning between Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburg Pirates at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Sept. 24, 2025. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
On this week’s episode of Rays Your Voice, we discuss the signing of right-handed pitcher Nick Martinez, who seemingly will round out the Rays rotation, at least to start the year. Darby and I break down what he brings to the pitching staff, and how his signing alters the roles of other pitchers like Steven Matz, Ian Seymour, and Joe Boyle.
We also have new stadium renderings to discuss! Be sure to check out our episode on YouTube for an in-depth look into the future home of the Rays.
If you love what we do on Rays Your Voice, consider becoming a Patreon member for as little as $1/month. Also, if you’ve been a podcast listener from the jump, subscribe to our YouTube channel as well! We go live on YouTube for almost every single episode. Make sure to turn on our channel notifications so you can join us when we go live.
Diamondbacks infielder Carlos Santana warms up for workouts at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Allan Henry-Imagn Images
The insurance company for MLB has denied players who are at least 37 years old, and Santana is 39.
But Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen, in consulting with his front office deputies, gave the first baseman the green light to play for the Dominican Republic, a team that boasts Arizona stars Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo.
Insurance coverage has been a surprising talking point ahead of this year’s international tournament, with a few notable stars missing out.
Among them is Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who did not receive coverage after he underwent debridement surgery on his throwing elbow following the 2025 season and will not play with his native Puerto Rico come March.
Diamondbacks infielder Carlos Santana inside the batting nets during workouts at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“We had nothing to do with that,” Stearns said. “I actually don’t know why he wasn’t given the clearance, he wasn’t approved for insurance. Clubs have no part in that. That’s all done through the MLBPA and Major League Baseball.”
Astros stars Jose Altuve (Venezuela) and Carlos Correa (Puerto Rico) were also not given insurance coverage for the tourney, as first reported by The Athletic in January.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 30: Joe Jiménez #77 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the eighth inning of game two of a doubleheader against the New York Mets at Truist Park on September 30, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Hoo boy, the hits just keep on coming, don’t they?
The Braves have been busy all day and they just got one more late-night move done before the clock strikes midnight here on the first day of spring training. Joe Jiménez has already been sidelined for quite some time now and he’ll be sidelined for a bit longer to start the 2026 season.
The Braves have announced that Jiménez will be heading to the 60-Day IL with a “left atricular cartilage injury.”
The #Braves today acquired INF Brett Wisely from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for cash considerations and placed RHP Joe Jiménez on the 60-day injured list with a left articular cartilage injury.
Jiménez has not pitched for the Braves since September 30, 2024 which is when he pitched a scoreless inning against the Mets. He ended up having surgery on his knee that ended up costing hin the entire 2025 season and unfortunately it appears that he’ll be missing for a chunk of the 2026 season as well.
Fortunately for the Braves, they have fortified their bullpen a bit so that they should be able to withstand this loss for the time being. With that being said, it might be time to wonder if Jiménez will be the same once he does eventually return from this injury. It’s definitely been a long, winding and seemingly frustrating road back to the mound and he’s still got a ways to go before he can get back
In other news, Brett Wisely is back with the Braves as they announced his return in the same tweet as the one announcing that Jiménez would be starting the season on the IL. Wisely ended the 2025 season with the Braves organization and just last month Atlanta had traded him to the Rays for Ken Waldichuk.
One month later, Waldichuk is now with the Nationals and Wisely is back with the Braves. Atlanta’s likely trying to stock up on infield depth for spring training, which would probably explain why they’ve decided to bring him back into the fold. Wisely finished his first stint with the Braves having played just two games with Triple-A Gwinnett and it wouldn’t be shocking if that’s where he starts 2026 as well.
So there you have it: A trade essentially gets undone and a pitcher who has been out for a significant amount of time already is now set to miss even more time. Today’s been a doozy, y’all.
The Atlanta Braves have been hyper-active on this first day of Spring Training, with the teaming making a late-night announcement that infielder Brett Wisely, who appeared with the team late in the 2025 season, has been re-acquired by the team in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations. The Braves traded Wisely in a deal to the Rays earlier this off-season when he was designated for assignment by Atlanta. Tampa Bay had recently designated him for assignment.
The unfortunate news here is that corresponding roster move is reliever Joe Jimenez being placed on the 60-day IL with left articular cartilage issue. Jimenez missed all of the 2025 season and his status for 2026 had been in question for much of the off-season.
The #Braves today acquired INF Brett Wisely from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for cash considerations and placed RHP Joe Jiménez on the 60-day injured list with a left articular cartilage injury.
Wisely adds depth to the Braves infield and utility spots with starting shortstop Ha-Seong Kim expected to be out for a significant portion of the first half of the season. The team added infielder Kyle Farmer within the last week after signing infielder Jorge Mateo last month. The team also brought back Luke Williams on the minor league deal. Mauricio Dubon, who was expected to play a super-utility role, is slated to be the team’s starting shortstop.
As for the loss of Jimenez, the Braves have added significant bullpen depth this off-season, with Robert Suarez being a marquee free agent signing to go along with depth options like Ian Hamilton, Joel Payamps and possible comeback option James Karinchak. The team brought back closer Raisel Iglesias and reliever Tyler Kinley.
Jimenez is in the last year of a three-year contract he signed prior to the 2024 season.
