Feb 20, 2026; Sarasota, Florida, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) prepares to take batting practice before the start of the spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
Welcome to Wacky Wednesday with Washington. Was that just an excuse for dumb alliteration? Well, we’ll weather such worries whenever Will Warren weighs in.
OK fine, now I’m done, but only to a certain extent. For today’s prompt, we want to be a little less serious and just consider what the funniest possible outcome for the Yankees’ 2026 season might be. This could be either “positive” funny, like Trent Grisham randomly popping off for 34 homers last year after nearly being non-tendered, or “negative” funny, like Jasson Domínguez finally getting a starting outfield shot and then doing … whatever the hell he was doing on defense in 2025. Feel free to get creative! I would personally love it if Jake Bird because a vital bullpen piece after being almost completely written off after his rapid post-Trade Deadline implosion in 2025. Or in a more outlandish world, if Luis Gil and Austin Wells decided to write a Todd-esque rock opera.
Today on the site, Andrés will delve into why he’s excited to watch 2024 first-rounder Ben Hess develop this year. We’ll also have Sam celebrating Paul O’Neill’s 63rd birthday (yowza), Jeremy previewing Ryan McMahon’s first full season in pinstripes since coming over from the Rockies at the 2025 Trade Deadline, and Peter previewing the ever-rebuilding Nationals. Lastly, prospect specialist Nolan Rabine bids a fond farewell to Pinstripe Alley with a final look at the prospects he’s most looking forward to watching from the metaphorical PSA sidelines in 2026.
One umpire had five calls consecutively overturned by the automated ball-strike challenge system during Tuesday’s Pirates-Red Sox Grapefruit League spring training game in Fort Myers, Fla.
Home plate umpire Mitch Trzeciak must have been red in the face when a number of his calls were challenged and overturned. But he later earned himself a sarcastic cheer when one call was upheld by ABS.
You think YOU'VE had a bad day??
Here's 5 Consecutive Calls overturned by ABS challenges.
It started in the first inning when Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez challenged a ball call on a pitch from Carmen Mlodzinski, and the ABS review very clearly showed the ball was a strike and went essentially right down the middle.
Mitch Trzeciak had a tough day behind the plate. Baseball Quotes, /X
NESN play-by-play man Tom Caron couldn’t help but point out the obvious error by saying, “And that one, kind of right down the middle.”
Caron continued to point out the rough day that Trzeciak was having during the broadcast.
One of the overturned calls during Tuesday’s Red Sox-Pirates game. Baseball Quotes, /X
“You’ve missed two, and one was right down the middle, and one was two inches outside, and you’re like, ‘Alright, I’m having a bad day, and everybody knows it,'” Caron said later on in the broadcast.
In the end, Trzeciak, a Triple-A umpire getting a chance to call a big league game, had five calls that were overturned by the challenge system before the end of the third.
But the calls weren’t the only bizarre thing to take place during Tuesday’s game.
Feb 16, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees infielder Ben Rice (22) warms up during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: Spring training games have begun, and for the most part, all of the big offseason moves and acquisitions have been made. However, teams still usually have openings at the back end of their roster at this time of year, and the Yankees apparently are no different. In particular, the Yankees are reportedly still keeping an eye on a potential platoon bat, and will monitor who becomes available as spring training continues — even as it winds down before Opening Day on March 25th.
NJ.com | Randy Miller: Ben Rice was arguably the Yankees’ best surprise in 2025, putting in a breakout campaign after he debuted in up-and-down fashion in 2024. Despite the re-signing of Paul Goldschmidt, Ben Rice figures to be a big part of the Yankees’ plans this season. While the Yankees may also decide to use him as a backup catcher too, Rice really hopes to improve on his defense in 2026, as well as maintain a regular spot in the lineup.
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Speaking of Goldschmidt, in addition to returning to the Yankees, he is also set to return to the USA team for the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Here, Goldschmidt discusses his love for the tournament—this will be his third after winning it in 2017 and finishing runner-up in 2023—and how he’s preparing for a likely reduced role in the Bronx behind Rice in 2026.
The Yankees were both aggressive and mostly accurate with their challenges Tuesday during an 8-7 win over the Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. That included Austin Wells and José Caballero both going 2-for-2 in getting calls overturned. Caballero used both in a single at-bat to draw a walk, Jazz Chisholm Jr. nailed his only challenge and Trent Grisham went 1-for-2, though Boone did have a slight issue with Grisham’s miss.
“We want to be really good at it,” Boone said. “We want to be the best at it. I feel like our guys, we’ve been preaching around here long enough about controlling the strike zone.
“I thought Grish’s second one where he was wrong was probably a little emotional for him. He kind of wanted to challenge the first one and then the last one, when he probably wasn’t convicted. But overall, I thought guys did a good job with it.”
Home plate umpire Tom Fornarola makes an announcement as New York Yankees shortstop José Caballero challenged a call that was overturned. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
With teams getting two challenges per game — and retaining them as long as they are correct — one thought might be to save them for big spots late. But Boone does not agree with that idea.
“This isn’t ‘save them for the seventh, eighth and ninth,’ ” Boone said. “I want us to be right. … But I just want us to also inherently understand leverage. You’re down to one and it’s the fifth inning, nobody on, two outs, 1-0 count, that’s one I feel like we got to nail that one if we’re challenging that one. But it doesn’t change [in a] big spot, two strikes, fourth inning, two men on, that’s the biggest spot at that moment.”
Spring training stats mean next to nothing, especially for a veteran like Paul Goldschmidt. But they don’t hurt, either, and the first baseman continued his solid start Tuesday by crushing a two-run homer off tough righty Tyler Rogers and later adding a two-run double against righty Jesse Hahn.
Paul Goldschmidt blasted a home run on Tuesday for the Yankees. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“It’s definitely not a time where you just want to go through the motions,” said Goldschmidt, who will leave camp this weekend to play for Team USA in the WBC. “You want to have good at-bats and really more than anything, just keep building toward the regular season.”
Two relievers vying to break camp in the Yankees bullpen had solid outings Tuesday, with Jake Bird delivering 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings and lefty Brent Headrick making his spring debut with a scoreless frame.
Kervin Castro, another bullpen candidate after he was added to the 40-man roster this offseason, tossed two shutout innings.
Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates reacts during a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on September 24, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Americans are only getting one World Baseball Classic start from one Cy Young Award winner, but could get multiple from another.
Paul Skenes told MLB insider Ken Rosenthal that he expects to make one start for Team USA in pool play and possibly another if the team advances in the international tournament.
“We win, we go as far as we should, I’ll pitch again in the tournament,” Skenes said.
Paul Skenes reacts during the Pirates’ win over the Reds on Sept. 24, 2025 in Cincinnati. Getty Images
The 2025 National League Cy Young winner’s decision stands in contrast to left-handed Tarik Skubal, who said Monday he will make one outing against Great Britain on March 7 before returning to spring training with the Tigers.
“I’m trying to do both things, trying to pitch for Team USA but I understand the need to be here with these guys and get ready for the season,” Skubal said. “I think it’s kind of the best of both worlds in that aspect, and I’m grateful they took me in that capacity.”
Skubal, the two-time reigning Cy Young winner in the American League, said he would like to return to the team to watch — if the Americans reach the final round.
Giants ace Logan Webb said Tuesday that he plans to stick it out throughout the WBC, and while he will be there for the entirety of the tournament, said he understands why Skubal, an impending free agent, is deciding to pitch just once.
“I’m not in his shoes,” Webb said, according to MLB.com. “I’ve got three years left on my contract. He doesn’t. He has one year and then he’s a free agent. I get the thought of it.”
Pirates starter Paul Skenes watches workouts during a spring training practice on Feb. 14, 2026, in Bradenton, Fla. AP
In Skenes, Team USA will have arguably the best right-hander in baseball, who led MLB in ERA (1.97) and FIP (2.36) with an NL-best 0.948 WHIP last season.
The Americans also will have, on a star-studded roster, retired Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw, who announced he’ll make an appearance in what will likely be his final chapter as a pitcher.
There will also be a New York contingent on the staff, with Mets starters Clay Holmes and Nolan McLean and Yankees reliever David Bednar all on the roster.
Team USA has exhibitions against the Giants and Rockies next week before kicking off pool play against Brazil on March 6 at Daikin Park in Houston.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 12: Welinton Herrera #59 of the Colorado Rockies throws during his first bullpen of spring training at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on February 12, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Kyle Cooper/Colorado Rockies/Getty Images)
Okay, Purple Row Night Owls, here’s a question for you.
The Rockies have been working for the last few years to build their pitching depth, and we are beginning to see the results.
So in 2026, which Colorado Rockies pitching prospect will make a name for himself?
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Konnor Griffin, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ latest can’t-miss prospect, didn’t miss against the Boston Red Sox and newcomer Ranger Suarez on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old shortstop, considered the top prospect in baseball, hit a pair of homers in Pittsburgh’s 16-7 Grapefruit League win over the Red Sox.
Griffin took a pitch from Suarez, who signed a five-year, $130-million deal with Boston in January after two standout seasons in Philadelphia, over the left-field wall for a two-run homer in the second inning. Griffin did it again two innings later, turning on a two-strike pitch from Seth Martinez and sending it 440 feet.
“Got some good swings off, so kind of smoked them,” Griffin told reporters afterward.
The 6-foot-4 Griffin, who sprinted through the lower levels of Pittsburgh’s farm system last season, began the day searching for his first hit of the spring and ended it with four RBIs and a pair of swings that offered a flash of his potential.
Griffin acknowledged that having success against two proven major league pitchers — Suarez was an All-Star in 2024 and Martinez has appeared in over 100 games over the last five seasons — was “special” but added he was trying to stay in the moment and not get caught up in who he was facing.
“I stepped in the box and I was ready to compete,” he said. “I wasn’t worrying about who was on the mound. I was just worrying about what his stuff was and how I could have the best approach.”
Griffin has tried to keep his head down while the buzz around him has built, just as reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes did during his first spring training with the Pirates two years ago. Skenes began the 2024 season in the minors before making his big league debut in May.
There’s a chance Griffin might not have to wait that long. The left side of the Pirates’ infield is a question mark. Jared Triolo is an excellent defender who can play either third or short and Nick Gonzales is also in the mix. Neither, however, has the potential at the plate that Griffin offers.
“He’s definitely going to hit,” Pirates pitcher Carmen Mzlodzinski told reporters. “There’s not a whole lot of swings you see like that, especially from a teenager. The best way to say it is his swing stays in the zone forever.”
Suarez, who allowed two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings, tipped his cap to the young player who was all of 12 when Suarez made his major league debut with the Phillies in 2018.
“When you’re the top prospect in the game, people expect that from you,” Suarez said through an interpreter. “He did that today, and I wasn’t surprised.”
Suarez said he felt good about his performance overall as he begins to ramp up his workload ahead of the World Baseball Classic, where he will pitch for his native Venezuela.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 24: Pete Crow-Armstrong #4 of the Chicago Cubs celebrates with fans after scoring from second base on a wild pitch in a game against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field on September 24, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good evening. It’s another good night here at BCB After Dark: the hippest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re glad to see that you stopped by. Please come on in out of the cold or wet. Let us take your coat for you. We still have a few tables available. The hostess can seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last night I asked you which non-roster invitee outfielder was the most likely to make an impact on the 2026 Cubs. While the comments seemed to favor Chas McCormick, he only got 30 percent of the vote. In first place was Dylan Carlson, who brought in 51 percent of the vote. Michael Conforto got the other 19 percent.
On Tuesday night/Wednesday mornings, I don’t normally do any movie stuff. But I always have time for jazz, so those of you who want to skip that can do so now.
Tonight we’re featuring one of those NPR Tiny Desk Concerts (support public radio!) featuring the young saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins. (Twenty-eight is a baby in the jazz world!) There’s a lot of young jazz talent coming out these days and Wilkins seems like he could be the next great jazz artist from Philadelphia, of which there seems to be a lot. He already has one Grammy nomination.
Wilkins is on alto sax, Micah Thomas plays piano, Ryoma Takenaga in on the bass and the drummer is Kweku Sumbry.
This video was just posted earlier today.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music.
Chicago Magazine was out with a profile of Pete Crow-Armstrong this week that is worth your effort to read, if you haven’t already. The overall tone of the article paints PCA as both what you see on the field—fiery, emotional, dedicated to winning, self-critical—but also that he has a more thoughtful side that can be quite critical of that other side of himself. It also shows Crow-Armstrong as someone who is firmly embracing Chicago and the Chicago life while not completely cutting himself off from his Southern California roots.
What’s getting the most attention however, is Crow-Armstrong’s out-of-nowhere diss of Dodgers fans.
[Chicago is} just an incredible city. The people are great. They give a shit. They aren’t just baseball fans who go to the game like Dodgers fans to take pictures and whatever. They are paying attention. They care.
To be clear, the writer, Wayne Drehs, did not ask Pete about Dodgers fans. This came unsolicited. This is also a stereotype of Dodgers fans that we’ve all heard before—and is also something said about fans of pretty much every popular baseball team, including the Cubs. But in Crow-Armstrong’s case, it’s also a slam on his hometown team.
This has kicked up a hornet’s nest. Steve Henson wrote about it for the Los Angeles Times. Maddie Lee wrote about it for the Sun-Times. Even Jordan Bastian had to mention it for MLB dot com. There are many other publications that took the time to write about it because, frankly, it’s a slow news day for baseball. Reporters are always looking for something outside of the “I’m in the best shape of my life and optimistic about the upcoming season” quotes that you normally get in Spring Training.
So Pete Crow-Armstrong gave the Dodgers bulletin board material and Dodgers fans reason to boo the hometown boy. He likely doesn’t care. As the article noted, his Cubs-loving father forbade him from being a Dodgers fan growing up.
But PCA’s brashness also comes on the field. We’ve all seen him reacting poorly to striking out. We’ve also seen him running on the field so quickly after a walkoff that he’s in danger of getting called for interference. (Hasn’t happened yet.) He’s also not one to back down from a slight, real or perceived. As Crow-Armstrong says in the article:
I’m sure I come off like a douche sometimes, . . .That’s how I present my fun to people, I guess. I’m not loud anywhere else. I’m not riled up anywhere else. That’s where I get to do that stuff. So hell yeah, I rub people the wrong way.
So tonight’s question is “Does Pete Crow-Armstrong need to tone it down?” No one is saying he needs to become as cool and collected as Jason Heyward all of a sudden, but does he need to tone down his on-the-field antics? Maybe wait a second before rushing onto the field? Maybe not slam his bat down on the ground after striking out? Maybe he could praise Cubs fans as the best in the world without giving the Dodgers bulletin board material?
From the article, it sounds like Pete himself would like to rein himself in a little. He speaks about how he wants to be a team leader one day like Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ and Dansby Swanson.
Or do you like fiery Pete the way he is now? Maybe you don’t want him to do anything that gets him ejected or costs the team a run, but is showing emotion on the field just fine with you? Do you like that he takes shots at the Dodgers?
Thanks for stopping by tonight. If you’re coming from where they got that storm, we hope you were able to dig yourself out. Please be extra safe getting yourselves home. We can get your coat for you now. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark.
Surprise, AZ - February 21: Samad Taylor #0 of the San Diego Padres stands on second base during a spring training game against the Kansas City Royals on February 21, 2026 in Surprise, AZ. (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
As the first week of Cactus League play comes to a close, a few players on the San Diego Padres have begun to show hints of a MLB breakout. One of these is non-roster-invitee, Samad Taylor.
Prior to this year, Taylor had only logged 38 games of big-league experience, posting a .205 batting average in 73 plate appearances, with his longest stint coming with the Kansas City Royals in 2023. Across a nine-year career in the minors, he’s managed a much more respectable .269/.358/.425 slash line.
A red-hot start in Arizona
That’s why this first week in Spring Training has been so surprising. Taylor has hit .556 through four games with the Padres, going 5-for-9 with two doubles and two RBI, and kicking off the spring with a ridiculous 1.278 OPS.
It’s almost certain that this isn’t sustainable production at the major league level. In the past Taylor has raked in the spring only for his bat to go cold once the calendar turns to Opening Day.
Over six Spring Training invites, he has posted a .358/.396/.642 slash line. And while a line like that might make you think of Taylor as an obvious offensive powerhouse, he has yet to put it together in the majors.
The fight for the bench
The problem for Taylor is that the Friars have an abundance of players fighting for bench spots with the big-league club. From the emergence of Jose Miranda to recent mainstays like Bryce Johnson and Mason McCoy, there is no shortage of talent for San Diego to fill out its offensive depth.
But Taylor does have something over the others: speed.
Between the majors and minors, he has stolen 40-plus bases over each of the last three seasons, reaching a career high of 51 in 2023. It’s possible he’s brought up to the big-league level simply to act as a pinch-runner for the Padres in certain situations.
It’s hard to make heads or tails with such a small sample size. But if Taylor can build on his hot start to 2026, it’s easy to see him earning a place in the San Diego dugout come Opening Day.
Tanner Murray went 2-for-3 with three RBIs on a double and a homer. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
It was a doozy of a Spring Training game in Peoria, Arizona, on Tuesday as both the White Sox (4-1) and Seattle Mariners (2-3) offenses exploded for 28 hits with the South Siders persevering to snag their fourth win. Both pitching staffs stumbled through the nine innings, with 19 hurlers making an appearance across both teams; eight for Chicago and 11 for Seattle. Mariners pitchers walked fewer batters — six compared to nine from the Good Guys — but the Sox struck out 12, while the M’s only scratched five Ks across the board.
Lefthander Anthony Kay made his debut with Chicago since joining the team this past offseason and overcame a shaky start. The southpaw stumbled early, loading the bases with a hit, a walk, and a hit batter to open the first frame. The one run he gave up came from Josh Naylor, who drove in a run while grounding into a double play. However, Kay was able to reclaim control and strike out Randy Arozarena to get out of the first. He carried that momentum into the second, and ended his day with two walks, two Ks, and 25 of 45 pitches (55%) thrown for strikes.
The South Siders had taken a one-run lead on a Lenyn Sosa double in the first inning, though the Naylor RBI tied the game back up at one. Reader, this would not be the first nor the last lead change of the day, as you could probably imagine in such a high-scoring, borderline chaotic game.
Including Kay, five of eight South Side pitchers allowed at least one run, and all but Chase Plymell and Zach Franklin allowed at least one hit. On top of the mess in the box score, the White Sox recorded not one, but two blown saves and still somehow managed to earn the win, likely thanks to the help of Seattle also blowing a save after taking the lead in the sixth.
Popping his first homer of the spring, shortstop Tanner Murray brought a two-run lead back to the Good Guys. Murray was excellent on Tuesday while going 2-for-3 with two extra-base hits (a home run and a double) and posting a quarter of Chicago’s RBIs (three).
Derek Hill ignited a three-run fourth with a leadoff triple, followed immediately by a Brooks Baldwin RBI double down the right field line. Edgar Quero capped the rally with a run-scoring single, padding the Chicago lead to 6-3. Curtis Mead was solid in the leadoff spot this afternoon, making hard, solid contact, going 2-for-4. His RBI single in the fourth was 104 mph off the bat, but Mead also accounted for the hardest hit ball of the day as his ground out in the fifth left the bat at 111.4 mph. More of this, please.
Out of the 16 hits from the South Siders, six were for extra bases: four doubles, a triple, and a home run. Murray led the team by driving in three, but the bench also provided some late-game pop. Mario Camilletti and Oliver Dunn combined to go 3-for-4 with four RBIs after entering the game in the sixth, and helped lead the Sox to a win.
Thankfully, the offense was there to back up the defense because, as we know, the arm barn was a bit rusty. The lead evaporated in the third when Wikelman González entered and surrendered a two-run tank to Cal Raleigh. The 2025 home run king’s blast handed González a blown save and knotted the score at three. Unfortunately for everyone, it got way worse before it got better.
Chicago’s pitching staff struggled to find the zone; after González’s two walks, three additional relievers surrendered five more. The collapse peaked in the fifth, when Jairo Iriarte walked three straight hitters, all of whom eventually scored to tie the game at eight. Chase Plymell came in to relieve, and due to a throwing error from Edgar Quero, Plymell was awarded the second blown save despite not being in that situation without the mayhem that preceded him.
Ironically enough, lefthander Tyler Schweitzer ended up being granted the win even after giving up another two runs on four hits — definitely not his best performance but apparently not the worst of the day. The final two innings had some feeling of normalcy as Adisyn Coffey and Franklin were able to stave off the Mariners one last time. Each struck out one batter, and Coffey allowed just one base hit.
It was a whirlwind of a game, but everyone is just getting ramped up and working on different mechanics or certain aspects of their games in preparation for the upcoming season. While victories don’t really matter in Spring Training, it sure is nice to see a more lopsided win column. The fun continues Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds back home at Camelback Ranch with righthander Davis Martin projected to make the start.
There's nothing in sports like attending a spiring training game under the sunny Arizona and Florida skies, with fans camped out on the berms beyond the outfield walls to watch Major League Baseball's exhibition games before the regular season gets underway.
MLB's 30 teams are split evenly between Arizona (Cactus League) and Florida (Grapefruit League) to prepare for the new season with players battling for jobs ahead o the grueling 162-campaign that every team hopes will end in late October.
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Observations from Yankees spring training on Tuesday.
Good Start
Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. delivered back-to-back RBI singles in the top of the first inning as the first four Yankees reached base against Blue Jays minor league righty Grant Rogers.
Casey at the Bat
Jake Casey, the son of former Yankees hitting coach Sean Casey, hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays in the bottom of the ninth off Carson Coleman. “As close as Case and I are, I know what it’ll mean to him,” Aaron Boone said. “So, cool.”
Paul Goldschmidt enjoyed a strong day at the plate, crushing a two-run homer off submarine righty Tyler Rogers and later adding a two-run double off another righty, Jesse Hahn.
Wednesday’s Schedule
Lefty Ryan Weathers will make his Yankees spring debut against the Nationals in a 6:35 p.m. game at Steinbrenner Field.
First things first: the Dbacks Dispatch crew and I will put in our two cents on games and their outcomes, but like any seasoned Spring Training vet knows, the numbers on the scoreboard are like the $7 churros at the Phoenix Zoo – I ain’t buying it. Let’s focus on the players. Whether it’s the shoo-ins to the opening day roster, or the prospects to take mental notes on for future years, that’s what really matters when you’re watching from your blanket on the lawn. Brett reminded us that the D-Backs had the best record in the Cactus League in 2016 and look how that turned out? (Don’t look; it was bad).
Players are going to be focused on specific parts of their game. They focus on things like their stride when they load up to swing or hitting a big leaguer’s breaking ball (you got this Jordan I believe in you). Yes, the actual product we’re seeing on the field may not be the most exciting when it comes to end results, but Spring Training audiences are either there for the vibes or hardcore hardball psychos like you and me. Some people have the giant bat beer in their hand, and others have a radar gun in their hand. The cool ones have both. That’s one reason why I love baseball.
A Swing with No Kick to It
One of our favorite annual traditions to watch for from camp is the mechanical transformation of Alek Thomas – his stride leg in particular (I swear that’s why I’m staring at his legs, guys). The Young King has arrived with a visible adjustment to his timing mechanism, notably shucking off his traditional leg kick in favor of a much simpler approach. Alek is currently trying out a no-leg kick style, often substituting a quiet toe-tap or a tiny lift for the straight up-and-down motion that defined his previous seasons at the plate.
You hope to see a more consistent approach at the plate and that he improves his ability to stay balanced against the ever rising high-level velocity zipping in from the mound. As one of Alek’s biggest fans whose copium is starting to wear off, he really needs to show some strong, consistent value at the plate. I say this only because the eye-test makes him seem like a liability, even though he actually had career highs almost completely across the board. In my opinion, Alek needs consistently productive AB’s for PR purposes. If he can have a successful, consistent year with the bat, he should be able to shed this stigma that he’s a defense-only outfielder. I know I’m certainly rooting for him.
Trouble With the Curve
Jordan Lawlar’s situation has been quite the conundrum thanks to a mix of high expectations and low sample size, but this year Lawlar has his own PR problem when it comes to breaking balls. So far, he’s been working on breaking that narrative in the few games he’s played in so far. Despite claims from critics that he couldn’t handle professional off-speed pitches, Lawlar has already left the yard twice this spring, clubbing home runs off both a changeup and a sharp breaking ball. I cannot emphasize enough that I’m fully aware it’s a drastically low sample size, but I’m down to celebrate small wins as much as I’m prone to scouring for areas to improve.
Maybe more impressive than the home runs themselves is the consistency of his contact. Lawlar has been barreling the ball with authority, turning in multiple three-hit performances with exit velocities reaching as high as 106 mph. By proving he can punish pro pitches, Lawlar is building an interesting case for a permanent spot in the heart of the Diamondbacks’ lineup, maybe even in the heart of the outfield. I chose to write about these two guys consecutively for a reason.
A Yu-Min Win
On the mound, lefty prospect Yu-Min Lin has become a major focal point due to a significant jump in his physical stuff compared to previous seasons. Lin, who was known for a craftier approach sitting around 89 mph, raised some eyebrows by reaching 93 mph with his fastball in his first spring outing. This velocity jump surely is a testament to his physical development following a difficult 2023 season where he missed significant time due to mandatory military service in Taiwan, not to mention a scary line drive he took to the dome that he had to recover from not too long ago.
Lin is pairing that newfound heat with a hard curveball that sits nearly at 80 mph. That’s a pretty significant tick up from the low-70s rainbow curve he featured in the minors. The increased velocity changes the outlook for the young pitcher, giving him the deception and power needed to navigate Reno and possibly The Show. Having ramped up successfully to represent both the D-backs and Team Taiwan, Lin appears poised to climb the organizational ladder faster than many anticipated a few years ago.
Spring Cleaning My Wallet
While the play on the field provides plenty of optimism, the soulless corporation side of baseball remains a major point of contention for fans dealing with rising costs and declining quality in the team shops. Resentment is growing over the current state of sports memorabilia thanks to everyone’s favorite manufacturer of transparent pants and jerseys with letters taken off the bottom line of the eye test chart. Fans have voiced frustrations that Fanatics’ modern jerseys, which can cost upwards of $200, often feel thin and cheap with screen-printed elements compared to the high-quality, stitched Majestic versions that were standard only a decade ago.
Hats are no exception either, with New Era’s new Clubhouse Collection hats drawing heavy fire. Retailing for $55 pre-tax, these designs have been described as looking like they were speed-ran or hastily assembled in Microsoft Paint. When combined with the rising barrier to entry at the ballpark, where lawn seat at Salt River Fields costs as much as it used to be to take the whole family, the affordable family outing of Spring Training has become a nostalgic memory of the past. For many, the disconnect between the premium price tag and the declining quality of the jerseys and hats is reaching a breaking point.
Say I wanted to take my son and daughter to a game for a classic dad outing in Scottsdale. I’m only buying 3 tickets. Of course they’re going to be lawn seats so they can roll around in the grass. I want us all to match so let’s say I get us all jerseys, not even with a last name on the back. I won’t even get the super cool purple Serpientes jerseys, just the standard cream colored home jersey for all three of us. Can’t forget this year’s Spring Training hats! One for each. I can’t take them to the game without having a hot dog either! So dad will be cheap and get the value dogs since the regular ones are almost half the cost of a lawn ticket. Alright, so tickets, jerseys, hats, and value dogs. What’s that ring up to?
$767
Um, what?
Let’s go ultimate discount dad. No jerseys for you guys because the logo is going to peel off before you even finish reading this sentence. Let’s go just the tickets, no food because we have food at home, and let’s not include any price for parking even though I definitely didn’t park in the Target parking lot just south of the stadium.
$80?! Our starters don’t even play long enough for the shadows to hit home plate! But hey, as long as the management from corporations can afford to take their clients out to the game, who needs generational fans? Well, at least we can stay at home and watch the games on the broadcast, right?
New York Yankees pitcher Will Warren #98, throwing a warmup pitch at the start of the 1st inning.
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Clarke Schmidt has been where Will Warren is now.
Only two years ago, Schmidt was the right-hander coming off a season in which he made 30-plus starts to establish himself in the big leagues, even while taking some lumps along the way. Confidence was never an issue, but he arrived at camp the next spring with a different feel, a season’s worth of experience on his shoulders and information in his brain to use to his advantage.
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“You don’t really feel like you belong in this league until you’re a couple years in, until you start to feel like you’ve done some type of thing, whether it’s posting [pitching every five days] or having success,” Schmidt said. “So I think that definitely plays a factor.”
They are not the same pitcher, but the Yankees would sign up for what came next for Schmidt — taking off in the first two months of 2024 before a strained lat derailed him — to come next for Warren, injury aside.
In order for that to happen, Warren will have to address a few key areas that hurt him most last season on the way to a 4.44 ERA across 33 starts. Like Schmidt, Warren had trouble with left-handed hitters.
In general, he did not pitch as well against some of the better teams he faced.
And he got hurt by a few big innings that blew up a handful of starts.
New York Yankees pitcher Will Warren throwing a warmup pitch at the start of the first inning on Feb. 24, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“I think it’s comfort level, honestly,” Warren said Tuesday after throwing 2 ²/₃ innings of one-run ball while striking out four in an 8-7 win over the Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. “I know that my stuff plays, based on 33 starts and 170ish innings. It’s not trying to do too much.
“Be Will Warren. Will Warren’s good enough to get people out.”
The first task will be getting through the spring healthy to begin the season in the rotation at a time when the Yankees will already be missing Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Schmidt to the injured list.
Warren is coming off the heaviest workload of his career last season, having thrown 167 innings including the playoffs — well past the 132 ¹/₃ innings he totaled in 2024, but he says he feels strong after only taking an extra week off or so from throwing over the offseason.
As for his plan to better attack hitters, the 26-year-old has moved from setting up on the first-base side of the rubber to the third-base side, which he believes can help against both righties (who hit .232 with a .680 OPS against him last season) and lefties (who hit .266 with a .786 OPS).
Will Warren pitching during Tuesday’s contest with the Blue Jays. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“I think it’s helped the attack angle [be] a little sharper,” said Warren, who pitched from the third-base side in college. “Righties, it feels like I’m coming at them, lefties might feel like the ball is just way out there, especially backdoor sweeper, backdoor curveball. And then just making it super sharp going into them. I think that’s the biggest thing we’re working on is just comfortability.”
Warren also mentioned wanting to throw the kitchen sink against left-handed hitters, plus putting an extra emphasis on getting ahead of them so he could keep them guessing on multiple pitches.
The Blue Jays only had three lefties in their lineup Tuesday, and after giving up hits to each of them his first time through the lineup, Warren came back to retire the lefty-hitting Daulton Varsho and Jesus Sanchez (caught looking at a front-hip sinker) back-to-back to finish off his outing.
“I see those similarities with Will, where he’s trying to get better with lefties and cut down on some of the walks,” said Schmidt, who posted a 4.64 ERA in 32 starts in 2023 before jumping to a 2.85 ERA in 16 starts in 2025. “Then you start to clean up the details and iron out all that stuff and then your game just leaps.”
Warren allowed three earned runs or fewer in 24 of his 33 starts, but also had some clunkers — most notably with disastrous first innings against the Dodgers, the Blue Jays and Red Sox — which he will need to do a better job of containing.
“Just not letting things snowball, when you get a little emotional out there and you want to go harder and you want to go faster — no. You got to execute better,” manager Aaron Boone said. “So learning how to do it, how to be, what’s that fine line of having an edge to you and a fire to you but especially as a starting pitcher, also being emotionally really steady to handle all the things that come your way in the course of the game. He’s done a good job of that, but that’s the trick for a lot of these guys.”
Kevin Pillar is calling on Angels owner Arte Moreno to sell the team.
Days after Moreno said fans care more about affordability than winning, Pillar joined a growing number of critics of the boss in Anaheim.
“He doesn’t realize what he has, because if he really cared about winning, it would be such a destination for players to want to come and play,” the former MLB outfielder said during an appearance on the “Foul Territory” podcast.
"He needs to get rid of the team, because he really doesn't care about the Angels."
“He just needs to get rid of the team because he really doesn’t really care about, you know, the Angels and, obviously, franchise values are going way up again.
“[Moreno] said he wasn’t actively shopping [the Angels], but I think there’s a lot of people interested in buying. So hopefully someone just kind of blows them away with an offer here soon, and we could kind of move past the story.”
Moreno on Friday told reporters that the “number one thing fans want is affordability” and that “winning is not in their top five,” citing an internal team survey.
The owner added that “moms” preferred the affordability aspects of events like baseball games.
“Moms make about 80 percent of the decisions,” he said. “They want to be able to bring their kids and be affordable, and they want safety, and they want to have a good experience, so they get all the entertainment stuff or whatever. The purists, you know, it’s just straight winning.”
Pillar, who played 13 big league seasons before retiring last July, spent part of the 2024 season with the Angels.
Moreno’s comments didn’t sit well with new interim Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Bruce Meyer, either, telling The Athletic over the weekend that the union and players “took notice.”
Angels owner Arte Moreno in attendance for an opening day game between his team and the Red Sox on April 5, 2024 in Anaheim, Calif. Getty Images
“The bottom line is players are competitors. They grew up competing every day. They go out, and they try their hardest to win every game. And players want to see owners doing the same thing,” Meyer said.
Despite an embarrassment of superstar talent over the years, Moreno’s Angels haven’t done much winning under his ownership.
After Moreno bought the team in May 2003, just months after their 2002 World Series championship, the Angels made the playoffs in five of the next seven seasons, but have struggled since.
Since 2010, the Angels have made just one postseason appearance, wasting a big chunk of the careers of MLB legends like Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Albert Pujols.
Kevin Pillar reacts during the Angels’ loss to the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Sept. 24, 2024 in Chicago. Getty Images
The Angels have finished below .500 in 10 straight seasons, and it doesn’t appear to be getting much brighter in Southern California.
After years of big free agent contracts and one of the higher payrolls in the sport, Moreno slashed salary to around $155 million, which includes deferred payments to injured third baseman Anthony Rendon.
Moreno cited the loss of the team’s local TV deal as the reason for the money-saving moves.
“Will [payroll] get back to $200 million? Probably,” Moreno said. “We’ve got to get our TV thing worked out, and we just have to improve our brand.”
In August 2022, Moreno announced that he was exploring selling the Angels, but ended that process just months later, citing “unfinished business.”
