Category: MLB

New York Post | Greg Joyce: Carlos Rodón continues to work back from offseason arm surgery, and he’s surprised himself a bit in bullpen sessions. “I backed off and threw harder,” Rodón said. “I was like, ‘OK, that makes no sense.’ But it made it easier to command. It’s just little ins and outs of pitching, trying to find the stroke again, knowing how much effort in this pitch and the line of this pitch.” The radar readings on Rodón thus far have been promising, with the left-hander reportedly sitting in the 93 mph range and touching 95 mph. There’s reason to hope that at full health in 2026, Rodón can rediscover a bit of the velocity he lost in 2025.

The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: ($) One of the few remaining positional battles on the Yankees roster exists in the underbelly of the bullpen, and a new name to watch is that of Kervin Castro. The 27-year-old Venezuelan has been with the organization since being selected in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft in 2023, and he’s impressed some key figures with a strong performance this spring. “Kervin’s got my attention,” Aaron Boone said this weekend. “Elite human being,” bullpen coach Preston Claiborne added. Though Castro is still unlikely to make the bullpen out of camp barring injuries, he certainly seems to be in the mix for a call-up once the regular season gets going.

MLB.com | Jonathan Mayo: Mayo runs down the state of the Yankees’ farm system, which was depleted after the club sent out 17 prospects as part of midseason trades last season. But the Yankees have shown an ability to restock even while sending out boatloads of players; Mayo highlights the $10,000 international signing of Jesus Rodriguez, who helped net Camilo Doval last summer, and Rafael Flores, an undrafted free agent who went to Pittsburgh in the David Bednar trade. Now, the Yankees are looking for their 2025 draft class to flourish and help replenish a system that seems a little thinner at the moment. First-round pick Dax Kilby has thus far been up to the task, starting fast with the organization in 2025 and already ranking among the top 100 prospects in the game despite falling to the Yankees at the 39th pick.

FanGraphs | David Laurilla: As part of his Sunday Notes, Laurilla spoke with Aaron Boone at camp, where Boone noted that last spring was the first time he got a good look at Cam Schlittler, thinking to himself at the time that Schlittler was going to quickly make an impact on the Yankees. Laurilla asked which players fit that bill this year, and Boone highlighted Carlos Lagrange, Elmer Rodríguez, and Ben Hess. At this point, fans have heard Lagrange and Rodríguez’s names quite a bit this spring, and it’s no surprise that either could be factor come midseason. Hess, the team’s 2024 first rounder, is more of a dark horse, but it’s notable that the Yankee manager called him out by name. The right-hander had an impressive first full season in pro ball last year, and could earn himself a ticket to the Bronx sooner rather than later if he stays on an upward trajectory.

All things considered, this year’s iteration of the World Baseball Classic has delivered on all of its promise for excitement. Sunday’s game, between two powerhouses in the Dominican Republic and the United States, was a matchup that was highly anticipated, and would decide who would appear in the WBC championship game. The Classic’s semifinal game did not disappoint on this front, as high quality pitching from both sides and a couple of big solo home runs were ultimately the deciding factor.

Semifinals Game 1: United States 2, Dominican Republic 1

Adrenaline was flowing for perhaps the premier matchup for this tournament, and it was clear from the very beginning. Both starting pitchers in this one—Paul Skenes for the United States and Luis Severino for the Dominican Republic—were pumping fastballs close to triple-digits. Both hard-throwing righties looked good in their starts, though they were ultimately bit by the limited mistakes they did serve up.

This game was dictated by moments, and in a matchup of this stature, it were those by the biggest names the sport has to offer. Early on, the stars of the American League East shined in this one. It began in the bottom of the second inning, when Junior Caminero of the Rays continued his terrific tournament with a solo homer into left field. His third homer of the Classic sent loanDepot park and the D.R. dugout into a frenzy.

An inning later, the Yankees’ Aaron Judge made one of his patented rocket-like throws to third base, this one nabbing Fernando Tatis Jr. attempting to take an extra base.

The United States squad took that momentum and pumped it into the bats in the top half of the fourth. In that inning, more AL East-ers had their moment, when a solo homer from Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson tied the game up, and another from Boston’s Roman Anthony gave the U.S. the lead.

For a good stretch after the big solo bombs from the United States’ youngsters, this game was dictated by good defense and pitching that kept possible offensive opportunities at bay. Skenes stranded the bases loaded in the fourth inning, and when he was lifted in a tight spot an inning later in favor of Tyler Rogers, the side-winder induced an inning-ending double-play to put an end to another rally.

The Dominican lineup was threatening once again in the seventh, when hits from Austin Wells and Geraldo Perdomo had a couple of runners in scoring position. David Bednar, who came out of the ‘pen to being the frame, was able to record subsequent strikeouts of Tatis and Ketel Marte to escape yet another jam, as the U.S. continued to tightrope out of danger against the potent D.R. lineup.

For the U.S., the bullpen continued to deal, as Garrett Whitlock was the next man up, and he managed a seamless 1-2-3 inning against the heart of the Dominican lineup — with the aid of a generous called strike three on a man who knows the strike zone better than anyone this side of Ted Williams, Juan Soto.

For the ninth inning, yet another electric arm hit the mound for the United States, as Mason Miller was tasked with locking things down in the ninth. He did not make it the smoothest of rides, with Julio Rodríguez reaching on a walk and advancing on a wild pitch, but after an eight-pitch battle with Perdomo, the hard-throwing righty ultimately shut this one down with a strikeout.

As with Soto, the last pitch was below the zone. As with Soto, home-plate umpire Cory Blaser punched Perdomo out anyway.

The United States bullpen pitched 4.2 scoreless innings to finish this game off, which was ultimately the deciding factor. It should be mentioned as well that the relievers for the D.R., five of whom kept the U.S. scoreless for the final five innings of the game, were terrific in their own right.

I’m surely not alone in this sentiment, but it feels safe to say that this was about as high quality a baseball game as you can possibly find, and it was almost entirely a joy to watch from end-to-end. Between terrific pitching, defensive highlights, and big homers from three of the game’s biggest and youngest stars, it was a terrific exhibition of the beautiful game. It’s just a shame that a one-run affair had to end in an umpiring controversy.

The United States will play the winner of Venezuela and Italy on Tuesday at 8pm ET in the World Baseball Classic’s championship game.Team USA manager Mark DeRosa has said that talented 24-year-old Mets righty Nolan McLean will get the ball, hoping for a better outing than his start against Italy. The second semifinal will take place tomorrow night at the same time, with Venezuela’s Keider Montero set to face Italy’s Michael Lorenzen.

Box Score

In a World Baseball Classic, which by the way does not use the automatic ball-strike challenge system that is now in use in Major League Baseball, Team USA beat The Dominican Republic 2-1 in a thrilling semifinal matchup on Sunday night at loanDepot Park in Miami.

The game featured 23 total strikeouts, 15 by Dominican pitchers, and all three runs came on solo home runs. Junior Caminero got things started for the Dominicans in the second innings, while Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony each went deep in the fourth to give Team USA the lead. It was a white-knuckle ride the rest of the way, with three hits and no runs after the fourth inning.

Will Smith singled once in his four at-bats in Sunday’s win. The United States in the championship game on Tuesday will play the winner of Monday’s Venezuela-Italy semifinal.

Dodger Stadium will always be Dodger Stadium, but things might be officially a little different beginning this season, at least with the presentation. Uniqlo, a worldwide fashion company that originated in Japan, has reached agreement with the Dodgers to be the official field sponsor at MLB’s third-oldest stadium, entering its 65th season in 2026.

From Katie Woo at The Athletic:

Dodger Stadium’s name will remain unchanged. The Dodgers did not sell the naming rights to their ballpark and were not open to doing so throughout the process. Protecting the legacy of Dodger Stadium, which has been the name of the historic park since its opening in 1962, was a top priority for the organization. However, Uniqlo will hold the rights to the playing field, which will likely be named Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium.

Mookie Betts hit his first home run this spring on Sunday against the Cubs in Mesa. Coming off the worst offensive season of his career, Betts is fully healthy this spring and talked with Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register about trying to regain the bat speed he has lost over recent years, especially after last spring’s stomach virus that cost him 20 pounds.

From Plunkett:

Betts said he is back to his usual playing weight this spring, has gained back the lost strength and – even at age 33 – bat speed.

“I think the most important part is I think I’m 178 now, almost 180. I’m able to just have speed,” he said. “When I lost all that weight, I was down 10 mph in (bat) speed. Guys are throwing 100 mph. With a slow bat, it’s going to be hard. It’s no excuse. It’s a fact. Now that I’ve got my speed back, I don’t have to hurry up and make decisions so fast.”

And finally, the outfield. Due to the sheer number of non-roster invitees this spring (34 all told), it has been quite the process. The first part of this series was published almost six weeks ago, back on February 2. As a result, a fair amount of water has gone under the bridge between now and then. Indeed, none of the four players we will be covering here, currently remain in consideration for an Opening Day roster spot. All of them have already been re-assigned to minor-league camp. However, I would bet you we’ll see one or more of them on the D-backs at some point over the next six months. So they still deserve coverage.

Druw Jones (93)

Druw’s star has certainly dimmed, since MLB Pipeline named him the number fifteen prospect in all baseball, the season after the D-backs drafted him with the second pick in the 2022 draft, paying him almost $8.2 million, still a club record. Three years later, he doesn’t even rank that high in the Arizona system, coming in at #16 on the recently released Pipeline list. He had a sub-.700 OPS in Hillboro last year: even though he was aged just 21, you’d expect better. A variety of injuries have taken their toll, and mechanical adjustments haven’t had the hoped for results. The defense is as good as you’d expect given his lineage, but the bat needs seriously to come around if he’s ever to come close to that early hype.

Kristian Robinson (62)

This will be Robinson’s ninth season in the Diamondbacks’ farm system, in part for reasons that we really do not need to rehash once again. But he still only turned 25 in December, and put up decent numbers after a mid-season promotion to Reno. Over 41 games for the Aces, he had a line of .262/.393/.469 for an OPS of .862 – not bad for his first time in Triple-A. Of course, having been part of the Great Britain roster in the WBC, I am naturally obliged to root for Robinson. But even beyond national allegiance, it would be quite the story if he were to end up patrolling the outfield at Chase Field this summer.

A.J. Vukovich (95)

A fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft, Vukovich spent all of 2025 in Reno, where his 22 home-runs and 79 RBI led the team in both categories. Admittedly, so did his 111 games, nobody else reaching three figures. But at the age of 24, he was still considerably younger than average for the level. I was a bit surprised he didn’t appear on even the Fangraphs’ list, which goes down as far as the top 56 prospects for the team. The bat probably does need to be improved, but I’d not mind a long-term outfield for the Diamondbacks of Corbin Carroll, Jordan Lawlar, Vukovich and Ryan Waldschmidt. And, speaking of whom…

Ryan Waldschmidt (59)

It seems appropriate to finish off this round-up with the consensus top player in the the D-backs’ farm system, and our only widely agreed top 100 prospect. It’s remarkable that he was under serious consideration for a spot on the team’s Opening Day roster, despite having less than 150 professional games to his name – none of them above Double-A. It’s probably for the best that Lawlar seems to have slotted into center acceptably, so that will give Waldschmidt a chance to polish his skills in Reno for a bit. I would still bet we will end up seeing Ryan in a Diamondbacks uniform at some point this year, as an appetizer for 2027 and beyond.

Dominican Republic center fielder Julio Rodriguez made a stunning catch to rob Aaron Judge of a home run in the fifth inning of the World Baseball Classic semifinal.

Judge, the New York Yankees' three-time MVP and captain of Team USA, drove a pitch from Juan Mejia to center at loanDepot Park in Miami and Rodriguez timed his leap perfectly at the wall to make the play.

An All-Star three times in four MLB seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Rodriguez popped up to celebrate and immediately while Judge could only smile after being robbed of extra bases.

J-ROD ROBS AARON JUDGE pic.twitter.com/c1JgwC0lWP

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 16, 2026

The winner of the USA-Dominican Republic game advances to Tuesday's championship game against Venezuela or Italy.

Is this an omen? Like Benny the Jet knocking the cover off a ball in “The Sandlot” — is Gregory Santos botching a perfect game with two outs in the 9th a sign of terrible things to come?  Is this 2026 bullpen going to be the death of the San Francisco Giants? Did not the soothsayer warn Julius Caesar to “beware the ides of March” before his assassination by the Roman senate? And here the Giants are, on the 15th, smack dab in March’s ides, bringing the Scottsdale faithful to their feet in the 9th only to have them slump down in their seats as a walk, followed by an RBI double claimed perfection, a no-hitter, and a shut-out in quick, successive stabs.

Disappointment in Spring Training, as Bryan points out, is never a good look… but so is getting carried away by Spring Training one-offs.

The perfect game would’ve definitely improved vibes in the moment, but losing the achievement on the 27th man hardly takes away from how well the Giants are playing as a whole. If Santos had sealed the deal, I doubt teammates would’ve flooded out of the dugout into a celebratory dogpile at the mound. The crowd in attendance would’ve cheered, strangers would’ve exchanged hi-fives, guffawed incredulously, and that would’ve been the extent of it. Fans at home would’ve checked the box score and smirked at the five-pitcher perfect-o. That’s kind of neat, some would think to themselves before seeking out more substantial things to sink their teeth into, like Robbie Ray’s 8-strikeout performance over 5 innings pitched, or Grant McCray’s beautifully caressed bunt up the third base line, or Jerar Encarnacion’s lumberjack cut in the 2nd. 

Nearly ten days ago, on March 6th, I wrote about how Encarnacion’s slow start meant “the big man was in serious danger of getting left behind” in San Francisco’s developing outfield race. The next day, after reading my post and resolving to prove me wrong, Encarnacion went 3-for-3 with a double and 2 runs batted-in in a game against Texas. Including those results and his mash from this afternoon, he’s now collected 9 hits over his last 20 at-bats, including 4 extra baggers, 9 RBIs and just 3 strikeouts.

Luis Matos, who was the hot hand a week-and-a-half ago, has cooled considerably. He’s gone 2-for-18 with no extra baggers, no RBIs, and has now seen his no-strikeout-spring blemished by two K’s, including one today. While Matos and Encarnacion are not mutually exclusive options for the Opening Day roster, their option-less inflexibility, as well as their right-handedness, puts them at odds with each other for many. While the Giants did beat the Brewers 7-1 today, the real competition of Spring Training are these internal battles. Matos had his moments with runners on base today and didn’t do much. He struck out with Matt Chapman on 2nd in the 1st, then rolled weakly to short with the bases loaded in the 2nd and can’t really take credit for David Hamilton’s two-run throwing error.

Meanwhile Encarnacion made a cutter disappear in a puff of smoke and won the day. Things are getting interesting.  

And on the mound, Robbie Ray looked regular-season ready in his fifth start of the Cactus League. He threw 64 pitches over 5 perfect innings while striking out 8 Milwaukee batters. The approach was simple and to the point: Heavy on the four-seamer with the hard slider peppered in just enough to keep hitters on their toes. He snuck a dozen fastballs by hitters for called strikes. 6 of his K’s came on the slider and 6 of the 8 swings taken at the pitch were whiffed. What made his outing so successful was not the swing-and-miss stuff, it was his efficiency. He fought back into counts and kept balls in play grounded, which are not necessarily well-established aspects of his game. 

Perfection was out of reach in today’s 7-1 win. But that’s okay. Ten days out from Opening Day, fans aren’t picky right now. Entertaining works, so does promising, or intriguing — descriptors that fit the Giants’ Cactus League performance so far.

Other things of note: 

Matt Chapman’s 3-for-3 day, including two more doubles, improved his Spring Training totals to 13-for-29 with 8 extra base hits (6 2Bs, 2 HR). He frankly looks bored at the plate.

Grant McCray singled twice with two stolen bases, before he was picked off from second attempting to swipe a third. That being said, the outfielder continues to put on a pointed display for Tony Vitello and the coaching staff. The Giants don’t need him to be a power-threat, they need him to be fast. So far, McCray has matured into this understanding: He’s walked more (7 BB) than he’s struck-out (6) so far, he’s bunting, he’s being aggressive on the bases. If he can show he can consistently get on base and turn dinky singles into scoring threats with his speed, he’s going to find his way onto the big league roster.   

There is exactly one baseball game truly worth watching today, and it isn’t from Spring Training. If nothing outside of tonight’s drool-worthy WBC semifinal matchup between the United States and the Dominican Republic is of interest to you, I wouldn’t be able to place any fault. Because from afar, there is exactly one thing and one thing only you need to take away from the Spring Training action that took place today, and it’s that Hagen Smith looks like he’s figured it out.

I cannot emphasize enough how much it does not matter that the White Sox (13-10-1) lost to the Royals (8-14). It doesn’t matter that Erick Fedde got shelled to the tune of seven hits and three earned runs over 3 2/3 innings. Fedde may be likely to open the year in the Sox rotation, but that likeliness remains true for exactly as long as it takes Getz to decide that one of Smith, Tanner McDougal or Noah Schultz is ready for the big leagues.

It does not matter that if it wasn’t clear that Rule 5 draft pick Alexander Alberto isn’t going to be this year’s version of Shane Smith, the four runs (two earned) in just an inning of work today ought to have all but punched his ticket back to Tampa Bay’s minor league system. He’s an intriguing prospect, for sure, but even for a team that hasn’t quite emerged from the devastation of a multi-year rebuild, there are just too many other pitchers who deserve a shot at the big league bullpen to justify rostering Alberto beyond Opening Day. Similarly, while the innings he soaked up last season are greatly appreciated, Brandon Eisert is close enough to the bullpen bubble that I simply am not terribly concerned about the four hits and three runs he gave up in his inning-and-a-third of work.

So, back to the point. There is exactly one takeaway from today, and it’s that Hagen Smith was absolutely filthy. He only threw two innings, but recorded five of those six outs via strikeout, with nothing but a single walk to blemish the final statline.

Between Jac Caglianone, J.J. Wetherholt, and current consensus top overall prospect Konor Griffin, the Sox passed up on a LOT of talent to take Hagen Smith with the fifth overall pick of the 2024 draft. I’m not going to make a sunk-cost argument that the Sox need to get plus value out of Smith for this entire experiment to work, but it’s pretty tough to wonder what might have happened if Riley Greene or C.J. Abrams had gotten the South Side pinstripes instead of Andrew Vaughn, and goodness knows we don’t want to have those conversations again. If the Sox see any success in the late 2020s, it’s probably going to be at least in some part because Hagen Smith turned into the bonafide top-of-the-rotation pitcher that we all hoped for as recently as a year ago. Amid a frustratingly inconsistent start to his pro career, this is the most promising step forward we’ve seen in quite some time.

What else happened in this game? The Royals scored a lot of runs, and the Sox scored few. On the bright side, Miguel Vargas’ absolutely torrid spring continued with two doubles and two walks. Edgar Quero was responsible for the first RBI of the game on a single, and was successful on all three of his pitch challenges from behind the plate.

The less bright side is that the Sox other runs came courtesy of Dustin Harris and Tanner Murray, two players unlikely to have much bearing on the future of the franchise.

Similarly, the large majority of Kansas City’s damage came off of bats that are unlikely to be much of a factor at Kauffman Stadium this season. Spring Training legend Brandon Drury hit a homer for the Royals, and we sincerely hope that he finds the regular season success this year that he may have been robbed of with the White Sox after an injury spoiled his white-hot March last year.

Outfielder Lane Thomas was responsible for a pair of ribeyes via a third inning sacrifice fly that got KC on the board, as well as a run-scoring single that gave them a 3-2 lead they’d never relinquish. Thomas is likely to play a substantial role on the Royals this year, but the same can’t be said for the sources of the rest of their runs, including a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double from up-and-down infielder Gavin Cross, a dinger from second baseman Peyton Wilson, and another smash in the late innings from backup catcher candidate Luca Tresh.

That was all she wrote for this one, as the Sox prepare to take the field against the Rangers tomorrow behind Sean Burke, who will face off with Texas’ top offseason acquisition in lefthander Mackenzie Gore. First pitch is at 7 p.m. CT in some rare March evening action, and we’ll see you there!

MESA, Ariz. — Hyeseong Kim called his time at the World Baseball Classic with Team South Korea a “great experience.”

Too bad that wasn’t reflected in the way he swung the bat.

In four WBC games this month, Kim had just one hit in 12 at-bats for a Korean team that was knocked out in the quarterfinals by the Dominican Republic earlier this week.

The lone hit was memorable, a score-tying two-run home run against Team Japan at the Tokyo Dome in a rivalry game Korea lost 8-6.

The rest of the time, however, Kim failed to build on the success he experienced at the start of the spring.

And after returning to Dodgers camp, he felt some inefficiencies in his swing were to blame.

“After watching some of the videos [of my games], we noticed that there were some changes [compared to] before I left,” Kim said through an interpreter, specifically pointing to the movement of his lower half and bat path through the zone. “It’s been on and off each game. So just trying to focus on those things and make sure they smooth out.”

Kim’s swing remained a work in progress Sunday, when he had just one hit — a softly lined single, followed by a stolen base and run scored — in four at-bats in a spring training game against the Cubs.

Now, he has just a week remaining in spring training to try to find a fix; hoping to show the Dodgers enough to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster.

“I’m focused on the things I’m good at, such as baserunning and defense; I want to make sure I perfect those categories,” he said. “But my WBC numbers weren’t great. So I want to make sure this last week, I focus on my hitting also.”

Kim has been competing for a spot primarily at second base, where a platoon role opposite of Miguel Rojas is open while Tommy Edman recovers from offseason ankle surgery.

Before leaving for the WBC, he seemed to have the inside track for the job over fellow second-year infielder Alex Freeland — who hasn’t helped his case much by batting .118 in the Cactus League this spring.

However, Kim’s renewed struggles have seemingly altered the calculus, leaving the competition open with the regular season less than two weeks away.

“Right now, he seems out of sync with his swing,” manager Dave Roberts said of Kim, who also missed a WBC game after jamming his finger on a base but said the injury was completely healed.

“He obviously makes sense on our roster,” Roberts added. “But he also has to get into a good place where he feels confident that he can conduct at-bats and be productive. That’s the same thing with Alex Freeland as well. At least we still have time to figure some things out.”

Here are four other takeaways from the Dodgers on Sunday:

Tucker tanks: Kyle Tucker uncorked another long ball in the home half of the Dodgers’ split-squad game Sunday, launching a two-run blast 390 feet to right in a 5-3 win over the Rangers. It was his second homer of the spring. 

Double-duty Mook: In the Dodgers’ 14-8 win against the Cubs at Sloan Park in Mesa, Mookie Betts had highlights on both sides of the ball: His first spring home run, on a 414-foot drive to center; and a web gem at shortstop, when he went deep into the hole to his right to stop a grounder before firing a strong and accurate throw across the diamond.

Caught my eye: After being claimed off waivers, then outrighted to the minors, earlier this spring, outfielder Jack Suwinski rang in his Cactus League debut with the Dodgers by also hitting a home run against the Cubs. Suwinski, 27, is a four-year MLB veteran with the Pirates who had strong numbers (.314 average, five home runs) against the Dodgers in his career.

Up next: Tyler Glasnow will make what is likely his last start in Cactus League play, when the Dodgers host the Brewers on Monday afternoon at Camelback Ranch.

Given the forecast in Sarasota, it was always going to be a squeeze to get this Yankees/Orioles game in on Sunday night. Indeed, the heavens opened in the third inning and the rain never stopped. Rather than mill around waiting for a break in the weather that may never have come, both teams decided to call this one after two-plus, with no makeup game scheduled.

The wet conditions played their part from the get-go, Yankees starter Paul Blackburn appearing to have trouble with his grip. He issued a two-out walk to Pete Alonso in the first and then a single to top prospect Samuel Basallo. A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance to scoring position, and a Tyler O’Neill single plated the pair to make it 2-0, Baltimore.*

*Those runs will not count toward Blackburn’s spring training ERA due to the game’s cancellation, so lucky for him, I suppose.

Zach Eflin set the side down in order in the first and second, striking out a pair in each frame. Spencer Jones may have been optioned to minor-league camp, but it hasn’t affected his performances in spring including a home run in the first game after receiving the news. The two issues holding him back have been production against the fastball and pitches in the zone. Leading off the third, he got a belt-high four-seamer at 93 and did what you would expect a big league player to do with a pitch like that, lashing a line drive single to right as he continues to do everything he can this spring to convince the Yankees that he has earned an opportunity. That would be the Yankees’ only hit in this very limited nightcap.

That was where the game ended as the rain really started to fall at that point. It’s a somewhat fitting end to a dreary split-squad day, the first game ending in a 12-1 drubbing by the Tigers. At least it frees up all of our evenings to watch Aaron Judge and Team USA take on the Dominican Republic in the first semifinal of the World Baseball Classic. (Join us back in the game thread to talk about that one!)

The Yankees’ next Grapefruit League game is Tuesday at the Rays. Will Warren looks to continue his strong spring showing against Ryan Pepiot. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. EDT with the broadcast on the Gotham Sports App.

MIAMI — Major League Baseball players have made their voices heard throughout the World Baseball Classic, expressing their desire to play in the 2028 Olympics, and it’s possible that the players union could reach a deal with MLB permitting players to participate, independent of a new collective bargaining agreement.

Bruce Meyer, executive director of the players association, fully believes that MLB will impose a lockout when the current CBA expires on Dec. 1, but said Sunday that a deal could be reached before Dec. 1 permitting MLB players to be in the Summer Olympics - being held in Los Angeles – for the first time.

Then again, everything changes if a lockout wipes out the entire 2027 season.

“If we don’t have a season," Meyer said before the USA-Dominican Republic WBC semifina at loanDepot Park, “we’re not going to play in the Olympics."

Time is of the essence and Meyer realizes that the Olympics would like to have a decision this summer, if possible.

“It can be on a separate track," Meyer said. “Theoretically, it can be done anytime. It doesn’t have to be at the same time as everything else is negotiated. I mean, it’s been kind of on a separate track, the discussions that we’ve had to date with the league. So it could be discussed on the course of bargaining, but it doesn’t have to be tied to bargaining."

MESA, Arizona — I know most of you are focused on the USA/Dominican Republic World Baseball Classic semi-final this evening, and the Cubs’ 14-8 loss to the Dodgers ran real long largely because of a ridiculous ninth inning that I’ll get to in a bit.

The most important story of this game was Jameson Taillon, just back from the WBC and now with only a couple of spring starts left before he opens his 2026 season.

This was not a good outing for Jamo. He allowed eight hits in less than four innings, including two home runs (one by Mookie Betts, which pleased the very large contingent of Dodger fans at Sloan Park). More concerning was the four walks he issued. One of Taillon’s best features, when he’s on, is that he pounds the zone and doesn’t walk guys. Four walks in 3.2 innings is not good. He walked only 27 batters in 129.2 innings all of last year. Ten of the Dodgers’ 14 runs scored off Taillon, making the score 10-2 at the time he departed. His spring ERA is now 22.18, yikes.

The other homer off Taillon was by Jack Suwinski, who used to wear Cubs pitching out when he was with the Pirates. Maybe he has Taillon’s number — of his 57 career homers, three are off Jamo.

Gotta clean that up, or this is gonna be a rough year for Taillon, who threw only 36 strikes in 70 pitches [VIDEO].

The two runs that scored in that time frame were in the top of the third, a two-run homer by Nico Hoerner [VIDEO].

The good news from this game, such as it is, is that four relievers who will be important parts of this year’s Cubs bullpen all did well. Hoby Milner, Caleb Thielbar, Phil Maton and Jacob Webb combined for four shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk, striking out three. That’s a good sign, I think.

Then there was that ridiculous ninth inning I mentioned, in which the teams combined for seven walks and nine runs. Devin Ortiz, who the Cubs got over the winter from the Padres system, hit a grand slam in that inning [VIDEO].

For whatever that’s worth.

It was nice to see Jonathon Long back in action in the field. At the plate he was hit by a pitch and walked twice. Hopefully he’ll see some more MLB spring action before camp breaks.

Attendance watch: A sellout of 15,788 attended Sunday afternoon’s contest, as I mentioned, a large number were Dodgers fans. The boxscore says 13,788 but I clearly heard 15,788 announced. Presuming the larger figure is correct, that makes the season total for 13 games at Sloan Park 163,519, or 12,578 per date.

The Cubs travel west Monday to face the Guardians at Goodyear. Cade Horton will start for the Cubs and Gavin Williams goes for Cleveland. Game time Monday is 8:05 p.m. CT, one hour after the WBC semi-final between Venezuela and Italy starts. We’ll have game threads here for both. Monday’s Cubs game will be televised on Guardians TV, with a radio broadcast from the Cleveland flagship station WTAM 1100.

The first semifinal matchup of the World Baseball Classic is upon is, with Team USA and The Dominican Republic facing off.

Paul Skenes starts on the mound for The United States, with Luis Severino going for The Dominican Republic.

Will Smith starts at catcher, continuing the every-other-game timeshare behind the plate with Cal Raleigh.

Sunday game info

• Event: World Baseball Classic semifinals
• Teams: United States vs. Dominican Republic
• Ballpark: loanDepot Park, Miami
• Time: 5 p.m. PT
• TV: FS1
• Radio: MLB Audio, Sirius XM

I’m not going to pretend to be impartial: GO DR GO

DR is in tough against starting pitcher Paul Skenes. Luis Severino starts for DR.

DR has their lineup out.

1. Tatis, RF
2. Marte, 2B
3. Soto, LF
4. Vlad, 1B
5. Machado, 3B
6. Caminero, DH
7. Rodriguez, CF
8. Wells, C
9. Perdomo, SS

As I type this, the US doesn’t have a lineup posted.

This afternoon, the Colorado Rockies lost to the Los Angeles Angels, 6.5. For more game highlights, please click here.

The Rockies are now 11-11 in spring training play.

Although there were no interviews today, the Rockies did provide game highlights.

But first, Hunter Goodman hit his second home run of 2026.

And with that, please enjoy 5.27 minutes spring training baseball.

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PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets have a front line of young starting pitchers that includes Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Christian Scott, but the group behind that initial wave is also promising.

One of those young arms, Zach Thornton, was on display Sunday against the Blue Jays, and for a second straight Grapefruit League start, the lefty was solid.

Thornton allowed one earned run on four hits with one strikeout over 3 ²/₃ innings in an 8-1 victory at Clover Park.

The game was called after five innings because of rain.

“He is a strike-thrower, but this is a guy that can get the fastball in to righties,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “There is a lot to like about him. He’s not afraid. Even when there were times he was behind in counts, he went right after guys.”

The 24-year-old Thornton, a fifth-round pick in the 2023 draft, has pitched to a 1.35 ERA in his two Grapefruit League appearances.

He finished last season at Double-A Binghamton.

The Mets assigned the following players to minor league camp: Carl Edwards Jr., Joe Jacques, Ryan Lambert, Kevin Parada, Ryan Clifford, Jackson Cluff, Grae Kessinger, Jacob Reimer, Ji Hwan Bae, A.J. Ewing and Jose Ramos.

Clifford, Reimer, Ewing and Lambert are among the organization’s top prospects.

“It’s been a great camp for a lot of your young players,” Mendoza said. “It’s a credit to them and credit to player development, because [the players] came in with the mentality of trying to make the team, even though that probably wasn’t [realistic]. But they showed they can play at this level. I liked how they went about their business. Before the games, the questions they were asking, and then the way they went out there and competed.”

Marcus Semien blasted his second homer of the spring and hit another ball that was caught at the fence.

It might be a sign that the second baseman, who has posted a .602 OPS in the Grapefruit League, is getting on track at the plate.

“I’m not worried about him,” Mendoza said. “He’s a guy that has been in the league for quite a bit now. Obviously not the way he wanted it, but he’s tinkering with mechanics and has hit a few balls hard this spring with no results.”