Category: MLB

The Royals announced they have signed 29-year-old right-hander Eli Morgan to a minor league deal. Morgan was excellent in 2024, posting a 1.93 ERA in 32 games with Cleveland in 2024, but appeared in just seven games with the Cubs due to an elbow injury.

Morgan was originally an eighth-round pick by Cleveland out of Gonzaga in 2017. He debuted in 2021, making 18 starts with a 5.34 ERA, but was moved to the bullpen the next season. He found success as a reliever, posting a 3.38 ERA with 72 strikeouts and just 13 walks in 66.2 innings with the Guardians in 2022. He posted his best strikeout season in 2022 with 75 strikeouts, 10.0 per-nine-innings. He was limited to just 42 innings in 2024 due to elbow inflammation, yet posted a career-best 1.1 rWAR.

The elbow inflammation carried over the next season, and after a rough start, he was placed on the Injured List in April. It was diagnosed as an inflamed ulnar nerve in his right elbow, and he suffered a setback in rehab. He was due to return in September, but the Cubs optioned him to the minors instead, where he finished the season. The Cubs elected to non-tender him after the season, rather than pay him around $1 million.

Morgan mixes a 92 mph four-seamer with a slider and changeup. Last year in his limited action, he increased his change-up usage to 41 percent.

The Royals have been building up their bullpen depth in the last week, adding veterans Héctor Neris and Aaron Sanchez on minor league deals. The cost to take a gamble on these players is next to nothing and at the very least they have some arms to pitch in spring training games and potentially at Omaha. And who knows, there’s a chance they have something left in the tank and can contribute to the big league team.

So here’s the forecast for Saturday (a.k.a. Braves Fest day) as of right now:

Of course, this could definitely change between now and Saturday (especially considering how the Metro Atlanta area ended up dodging a bullet (for the most part) when it came to last weekend’s ice storm) but also OOF. Even if there’s no snow, it’s looking like a lock that it’ll be 27 degrees. I’m not trying to hear from folks who have real winter, that’s frigid for these parts. So yeah, if you’re going to Braves fest then you’re, well, pretty brave.

Anyways, the floor is now yours. Here’s your random clip for the night:

Cincinnati Reds legend and future baseball Hall of Famer Joey Votto is going to be a big part of NBC’s Major League Baseball coverage beginning this spring.

According to Front Office Sports, Votto is among a pretty impressive (on field) trio that will be joining NBC’s coverage, with fellow future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw and some guy who played for the Cubs for a while also set to headline.

What remains to be seen, though, is in just what capacity we’ll see Votto.

Will he be a featured analyst during weekly Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts? Will he be parked behind a desk in-studio for larger national coverage?

Will he dress like a mountie? Will he drive a school bus to work each day?

Will he go with a beard, since it’s now perpetually his off-season?

Regardless, we’re about to hear one of the best minds the sport has ever seen be back on television front and center, providing us with the kind of insight into the game of baseball at a level we could only dream.

February is the month when Major League Baseball teams begin to gather at their Spring Training facilities. The San Diego Padres look like a postseason contender on paper, but the front office must settle the first base debate before the opening of full squad workouts in Peoria.

Padres President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller has assembled a talented but incomplete roster that has several holes to fill before Opening Day.

Let’s dissect a couple of options at the first base position:

Castellanos: A proven run-producer

The first name on the Friars’ wishlist could be Nick Castellanos, as the Philadelphia Phillies have been looking to move him off the roster all winter. The decision is primarily due to his declining defensive skills in the outfield and constant bickering with Phillies manager Rob Thomson last season. It is time for a change for both sides. 

Castellanos is a proven run producer, having driven in 100 runs three times in his 13-year major league career. The right-handed slugger has an aggressive, free-swinging approach at the plate. Castellanos focuses on hitting the ball to the gaps for extra-base hits. It can lead to a high strikeout rate (22.3%) and a low on-base percentage (.321). But you cannot argue with his production, as he has hit 399 doubles and 250 home runs heading into the upcoming season.

A recent video surfaced on several social media websites of Castellanos taking grounders at first base, so he seems open to a position change. The sticking point in a potential trade is that Castellanos is owed $20 million in the final year of his contract. If a deal occurs, the Phillies would need to absorb some of this season’s salary. 

Stay tuned.

A reunion with Luis Arraez

If you are looking for an elite contact hitter, then look no further than Luis Arraez. A reunion with him is not out of the realm of possibility. It is hard to imagine a player who won three consecutive batting titles (2022 to 2024) is having trouble securing a contract for the upcoming season.

Preller has been reluctant to sign Arraez because of his stature (5-10), which limits his ability to play first base effectively. Arraez has a tough time catching or putting a glove on an errant high throw. Often, the ball travels down the right field line, as the batter finds himself in scoring position without the pitch leaving the infield. 

You could see an agreement on a one-year deal that benefits both sides. It allows Arraez to re-establish his value before heading back on the free agent market next winter. The Padres gain a fan favorite who can make a significant contribution on a cost-effective deal.

Unfortunately, most major league teams are willing to take a risk on power hitters with defensive limitations rather than top-of-the-order hitters who have a skillset not built to drive in runs.

The Friar Faithful have grown tired of the “wait and see” approach to filling the holes on the roster. It is time for Preller to sign or trade for a first baseman, or we are in for a long summer.

Hopefully, a resolution comes fast.

The White Sox continue shuffling the deck, officially punching Seranthony Domínguez’s two-year, $20 million ticket to the South Side. Domínguez pockets a cool $1 million just for signing, plus a mutual option dangling for 2028. Domínguez, 31, brings a legit late-inning arm to a bullpen that’s been running on fumes, with a career strikeout rate north of 27% and plenty of high-leverage experience.

To clear roster space, Chicago released Bryan Ramos, designating him for assignment. Once viewed as a future infield fixture, Ramos never got his feet under him in the bigs. His exit is just the latest sign that the front office is churning the 40-man roster ahead of camp.

And because Spring Training is nothing without a crowd, they also tossed non-roster invites to 22 hopefuls for major league camp. The Sox announced that seven of those are free agents signed to minor-league contracts: righthander Tyson Miller, lefthander Ryan Borucki, infielders Oliver Dunn, Tim Elko and LaMonte Wade Jr., and outfielders Dustin Harris and Jarred Kelenic.

Elko’s bat brings the thunder, knocking 26 bombs for Charlotte last year, but he looked lost in three big-league call-ups. Wade is a defensive Swiss Army knife who bounced between the Giants and Angels in 2025. Borucki and Miller? Veteran arms that add experienced depth to a pitching staff that will be closely monitored early in camp.

The club also invited 15 additional players from the farm to big league camp, including a pile of righties in Mason Adams, Adisyn Coffey, Tyler Davis, Zach Franklin and Ben Peoples, as well as a handful of southpaws with Shane Murphy, Noah Schultz, Tyler Schweitzer and Hagen Smith. Behind the dish is Michael Turner, while infielders Sam Antonacci, William Bergolla Jr. and Jacob Gonzalez will handle the dirt. Outfielders Dru Baker and Braden Montgomery round out the list.

Schultz and Smith sit at the top of the pitching list, racking up over 180 strikeouts between Double- and Triple-A last year. Montgomery keeps climbing, stacking on-base numbers at every stop. All three prospects Montgomery (No. 36), Schultz (No. 49), Smith (No. 72) landed on MLB.com’s Top 100 for 2026. The Sox aren’t just filling out the roster with cannon fodder. There’s real competition in this mix.

Pitchers and catchers get the ball rolling on February 10, with the full squad piling in five days later on February 15. The first game is against the Chicago Cubs on February 20.

We had a couple of outlets drop their farm system rankings today, so I thought it’d be a good time to see how our readers are feeling about the state of the farm.

Keith Law at The Athletic ranks them 25th, noting that they’ve traded away a lot in win now moves recently and are about to go through a second draft in a row with no second round pick because they’ve signed free agents who had refused qualifying offers.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel is more optimistic, putting them 16th. He’s high on JoJo Parker and Johnny King, and seems extremely high on Sam Shaw, putting him 151st on his extended top prospect list.

Personally, I’m somewhere in the middle. I think this is clearly a below average system. That’s especially true if you mentally exclude Trey Yesavage, who’s still technically eligible but is really a major leaguer now. It’s not a bad system at all, though. Parker, Nimmala and King are all top 100 types or close, and the recent success in pitching development gives some hope that the depth will be better than it has recently. They have some role players likely to help in 2026, and some exciting young guys in the lower levels.

What do you think about the state of the farm? Let us know in the comments.

The Texas Rangers have announced the non-roster invitees for this year’s major league spring training camp. Aside from the guys signed to minor league deals this winter, the team has invited nine other players who were already in the organization to the major league camp. They are:

IF Sebastian Walcott — Y’all know who he is

IF Cam Cauley — You probably know who he is, too. Versatile infielder who is likely going to be at AAA this season. Could get a call up if there’s a need for a utility infielder and he’s done enough for the Rangers to think he’s worth adding to the 40 man roster.

OF Trevor Hauver — 27 year old lefthanded hitting corner outfielder who came to Texas from the Yankees as part of the Joey Gallo trade. Slashed .275/.391/.446 for Round Rock last year. Will be a free agent after the season if he’s not added to the 40 man roster. Not a realistic candidate to be in the majors this year, barring extraordinary circumstances.

OF Aaron Zavala — 25 year old lefthanded hitting corner outfielder who was the Rangers’ second round pick in 2021. Slashed .242/.354/.415 between AA and AAA (mostly AAA) last year. Presumably will be in Round Rock this year.

LHP Robby Ahlstrom — 26 year old reliever acquired by the Rangers from the Yankees in the Jose Trevino trade. Split the past two seasons between AA and AAA. Could be a bullpen option if he stops walking so many hitters.

LHP Dalton Pence — 23 year old who was the Rangers’ 11th round pick out of UNC in 2024. Had a solid 2025 season, putting up a 2.73 ERA between Hickory and Hub City, with 103 Ks against 27 walks in 82.1 IP. Not a major league option, but someone whose stock has risen.

LHP Josh Trentadue — 24 year old who was the Rangers’ 13th round pick out of College of Southern Idaho in 2023. Split 2025 between high-A and AA, putting up a 1.15 ERA in 54 innings at high-A and a 5.24 ERA in 22 innings at AA. Like Pence, not a major league option, but someone whose stock has gone up.

RHP Eric Loomis — 23 year old reliever who was the team’s 16th round pick out of Missouri State in 2024. Spent time at low-A, high-A and AA in 2025, dominating at the A ball levels and giving up 6 runs in 7.2 innings over 7 appearances at AA. Struck out 84 of 220 batters faced, which is pretty good. Walked 25 and hit 12. Someone who could move quickly if he harnesses his stuff.

RHP Ryan Lobus — 25 year old who was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Mercer in 2023. Put up a 3.48 ERA in 67 innings over 45 appearances for Frisco in 2025, with 82 Ks and 27 walks. Like Loomis, is a bullpen guy who could potentially get a look at some point this season if he performs.

Players signed as free agents over the winter and invited to major league camp are:

RHP Gavin Collyer

RHP Declan Cronin

LHP Austin Gomber

RHP Peyton Gray

RHP Josh Sborz

RHP Trey Supak

C Jose Herrera

C Cooper Johnson

IF Jonah Bride

IF Richie Martin

IF Andrew Velazquez

IF Tyler Wade

The Rangers’ website says that there are 23 NRIs, but I am only counting 21 above, so there must be a couple that aren’t listed on the NRI roster page.

The Seattle Mariners have announced their plan for streaming games for the 2026 season, offering a deal that in essence matches the Root Sports package debuted a season ago. For $99,99 a season (or $19.99 by individual month), fans will be able to subscribe to Mariners.TV and watch thru the MLB App on various devices, including phones, tablets, computers, and presumably smart TVs. The club noted that they WILL still have their games broadcast via traditional cable and satellite, and internet TV providers as has been the case, however they will be announcing the specific channels/providers between now and Opening Day.

Sign up for the new service begins February 10th.

This is, in essence, a continuation of the exact situation from a season ago, where in-market fans can now choose to subscribe specifically to this streaming service (Mariners.TV) for all non-national broadcast games, while MLB.TV will still be required (and fully functional) whenever out-of-market. If you’re watching the M’s from the Midwest, for instance, carry on as usual.

If you’re a traditional cable subscriber/user, this also may simply not be all that impactful to you. The M’s FAQ notes they “expect the channel locations will be located near other sports programming on your [TV] guide.” As such, between now and the start of the season, you’ll need to learn the new channel that will have M’s broadcasts, but it will likely be as simple as that: learn the new channel, write it down or add it to your favorites, accidentally type the old one every now and then like we all do when the calendar switches to January each year. RIP channels 30 and 627 in the households of my youth.

For those (like myself) who’ll be certain subscribers to this streaming service, it seems functionally identical to the Root Sports Stream experience, with the lone caveat that it will run through the MLB App. If you’re a reader of Lookout Landing, I’ll never assume anything, but it seems likely you have the MLB App. You will NOT have to purchase an additional MLB.TV subscription to purchase this bespoke, Mariners-specific version.

I’m no economist, but purely as a consumer, I’m constantly finding myself wanting a specific thing, and realizing it can only be acquired as part of a bundle or package. About $8.50 a month for the most central entertainment product to me and my life, with no other attached junk feels… reasonable? It remains to be seen what impacts the dissolution of ROOT has upon the broadcast itself, but this feels straightforward in a way that it could’ve easily not been.

It is official, Ronald Acuña Jr. will be playing for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic this year for his second appearance since debuting with the team in 2023 during the WBC.

That year, he experienced going to the quarterfinals with the team, but fell to Team USA in the end.

It was just last November when it was announced that Kansas City Royals’ Salvador Perez would take the role as captain for Team Venezuela, but it was unknown how the remainder of the roster would shake up after more players seemed to announce their commitments to their respective teams.

Finally, this Thursday (1/29), additions have been made to join Perez as Ronald Acuña Jr, Wilyer Abreu, Maikel Garcia, and Jackson Chourio have been announced to represent the team.

Acuña made an epic comeback last season when he returned in May and played a total of 95 games with a .935 OPS. Presented with the National League’s Comeback Player of the Year title, he is looking forward to picking up where he left off with a healthy season with the Braves. First off, though, an appearance with his home team, before entering the 2026 season.

Venezuela is set to play in Pool D of the World Baseball Classic on March 6 against the Netherlands at 12:00 p.m ET at loanDepot park in Miami.

While announcing the Craig Kimbrel signing that had already been reported upon, the Mets also revealed another low-stakes acquisition of a veteran player. The team has inked long-time Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.

The 36-year-old Barnes had spent over a decade in the Dodgers organization, dating back to being acquired in a trade from the Marlins in 2014. He made his big league debut in 2015 and—outside from an outlier 2017 season in which he put up a 142 wRC+ and 3.7 fWAR—has largely served as a glove-first backup catcher. He was finally released by Los Angeles last May and was subsequently signed by the Giants the following month. Barnes had a brief unremarkable stint in San Francisco’s minor league system before he was released by them in August.

Now Barnes will try to find a new home with the Mets. Of course, assuming Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens remain healthy, the odds of him breaking camp with the team are virtually non-existent. Barnes will instead likely be battling with Hayden Senger—himself a glove-first backstop with little to no offensive prowess, but one who has the benefit of youth—to serve as the team’s third catcher option in case one of their top two guys go down at any point. If he does not win that battle, then he may well ultimately find himself being released by a third team in the near future.

Austin Barnes, who won a pair of World Series titles with the Dodgers, signed a minor league deal with the Mets, the team announced Thursday.

Barnes received an invitation to major league spring training.

The 36-year-old Barnes appeared in just 13 games for the Dodgers last season before he was released in May.

A month later, Barnes signed a minor league contract with the Giants, but didn’t make it back to the majors and was released in August.

He’ll try to extend his career with the Mets, who have Francisco Alvarez, Luis Torrens and Hayden Senger on their 40-man roster.

Barnes spent 11 seasons with Los Angeles, most recently as a backup to Will Smith, prior to being designated for assignment to make room for catching prospect Dalton Rushing.

Known for his excellent work behind the plate, Barnes appeared in the playoffs in eight of his 11 seasons with the Dodgers.

The Mets also announced their signing of Craig Kimbrel to a minor league contract with an invite to major league spring training after the 37-year-old former closer split last season between Atlanta and Houston.

Kuyashii.

There isn’t an English equivalent to this Japanese word, which covers a wide range of emotions related to frustration.

You can feel kuyashii because you failed. Or because you gave your best and it wasn’t enough. Or because you didn’t give your best. Or because you were upset by what someone said. Or because you were humiliated.

Whatever the source of the anguish, ultimately you feel kuyashii because you can’t accept what happened.

In a television special by NHK that was aired in Japan last month, Shohei Ohtani reflected on his pitching performance against the Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series.

Only four days removed from his previous start, Ohtani looked gassed. He barely escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second inning. In the third, disaster struck, as he served up a three-run home run to Bo Bichette. The Dodgers were down, 3-0. With only one out in the inning, Ohtani was replaced by Justin Wrobleski.

Slipping into the past tense, Ohtani said to NHK of the home run by Bichette: “Kuyashikatta.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sensed what Ohtani was feeling when he removed the ball from his hand on the Rogers Centre mound.

“There was a lot of frustration,” Roberts said, “maybe some anger.”

Reaching greater heights

Before leaving his home country in late 2017, Ohtani staged a news conference in Tokyo. There, he clearly articulated his goal for his upcoming MLB adventure.

“As long as you’re playing baseball,” Ohtani said, “I think it’s natural to want to be the No. 1 player.”

That designation has belonged to him for the last five years, a period in which he has won four MVP awards. His move to the Dodgers two years ago helped him fill the most significant gap in his resume. The Dodgers recovered from his 2 ⅓-inning start in Game 7 and went on to beat the Blue Jays, making him a back-to-back World Series champion.

But what makes a four-time MVP is an ability to discover new forms of inspiration, and Roberts thinks Ohtani’s memories of his final start will propel him to greater heights.

“There’s always something that Shohei needs to fuel him,” Roberts said. “He’s already the best player in the game, most likely, probably, the best to ever lace them up. So, how does he keep motivated? Things that have frustrated him or angered him. And going short in Game 7 probably is something that he’s not gonna let happen again.”

Ohtani is extremely polite in formal environments and playful when interacting with his teammates, his demeanor concealing the intensity described by Roberts. But it’s there.

Ohtani is Kobe Bryant with a glove and a bat.

Roberts thinks it’s entirely possible this is the year in which Ohtani wins the only major prize that has eluded his grasp in his first eight seasons: the Cy Young Award.

“I would not be surprised to see him and (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto both vying for a Cy Young in ‘26 and be (in) the top-three conversation all year,” Roberts said.

Responding to challenges

Ohtani was made available by the Dodgers in a news conference between games 2 and 3 of the National League Championship Series against the Brewers. Because he was in an offensive slump, he was asked multiple questions about how his pitching affected his hitting. The viability of his two-way role was being questioned. 

Two days later, Ohtani shut up his skeptics, blasting three home runs and striking out 10 batters over six scoreless innings.

Ohtani has said he isn’t motivated by what reporters say or write about him. However, when he’s in situations that would make the average person feel kuyashii, he responds with performances that redefine the boundaries of reality.

When he joined the Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Japanese league out of high school, his decision to be a two-way player was criticized by the country’s baseball establishment, which accused him of underestimating professional competition.

Within a few years, he was the best player in the league — as a two-way player.

When Ohtani moved to the United States, he struggled at the plate in his first spring training with the Angels, inspiring questions of whether he could hit in the majors.

In the season that followed, he was named the Rookie of the Year — primarily as a hitter because an elbow injury limited him to 10 games pitched.

When he was told by Angels management before the 2021 season that he wouldn’t have any days off built into his schedule — he previously didn’t play the days before and after he pitched — he thought the team was trying to force him to give up either pitching or hitting.

Ohtani went on to win his first MVP award.

People familiar with Ohtani’s history, including Roberts, know what this means. Ohtani will be a monster of a pitcher this year.

Pushing the boundaries

Ohtani was the No. 3 starter on a Dodgers postseason rotation that included Blake Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, and Yamamoto, the World Series MVP.

Outside of that last start against the Blue Jays, Ohtani performed well as a pitcher, going 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA in the three other games he started. The team’s reliance on him obscured what Ohtani was up against last season, spending most of the year rehabilitating.

Ohtani didn’t throw a pitch in his first season with the Dodgers in 2024, as he was recovering from an elbow operation he underwent the previous year. He returned to the mound in mid-June of last year, but even then, he was in recovery mode. His overwhelming talent allowed him to rehabilitate in major league games, first by pitching just an inning, then two, then three. His first five-inning start was in the last week of August.

Studying data about the control problems of pitchers in their first year back from Tommy John surgery, Ohtani adjusted his delivery to generate more velocity on his pitches. Previously, he placed more emphasis on control than speed, he told NHK.

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Now, in his second year back from his second elbow reconstruction, the 31-year-old Ohtani should be able to pitch in a way that he believes is most effective.

Roberts doesn’t expect Ohtani to make the 28 to 32 starts generally required for a pitcher to be considered for the Cy Young Award — the manager said he wants to be mindful of Ohtani’s pitching future — but the two-way star could be ready to have the most complete season of his career. 

He’s healthy. He’s in his prime. And, considering how last season ended, he might have the inducement to once again push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Outside T-Mobile Park, at the corner of Edgar and Dave, a small crowd gathers.

They wear well-loved King’s Court t-shirts, increasingly esoteric shirseys and BreakingT collabs whose pit stains betray their age. One of them has on a few different variations of leopard print, some are festooned in arboreal paraphernalia, another a MacDougall Bats polo. There is no evidence of Night Court, but there are many pairs of glasses.

“One of us, one of us, one of us!” they chant gleefully as the 6’5” figure of Ryan Loutos disappears inside the ballpark.

A computer science graduate from Washington University in St. Louis, where all the best, brightest and most beautiful people go to school (Hi Claire! I love you! Does this very public shout-out make up for the fact I’m very delinquent in returning your phone call?), Loutos signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cardinals in 2021. His fastball velo bloomed from 92 to 97 MPH in their system, and he made his big league debut in 2024. Midway through 2025, the Cardinals designated him for assignment, then sent him to the Dodgers for cash. Shortly after that, Los Angeles DFA’d him and the Nationals picked him up. 2025 produced an objectively catastrophic performance from Loutos, but in November the Mariners scooped him up off waivers.

Every time Loutos has surfaced in the news, there’s been some heralding of his non-baseball skills. Namely, he’s a big ‘ol nerd. He used his computer science degree to develop a pitching analytics software while pitching for the WashU bears, and before the Cardinals signed him he had plans to accept a job offer as a software engineer in Chicago. The winter after joining the Cards, Loutos partnered with their front office to create a similar software to be used throughout their minor league system (called “Chirp,” which is extremely cute). He also became the de facto tech support in the locker rooms.

“I’ve definitely been that guy for all my minor league teammates,” Loutos told MLB.com after he was promoted back in 2024. “The players will come to me first because I’m their friend and they’re comfortable around me. Because I know the ins and outs of the app, I was always the guy players would go to. The number one question was always ‘Why is my velocity so low on here?’. But it was good to know the app and be able to help out.” 

He’s since worked in the offseason with Premier Pitching, helping them develop similar software for pitching analytics. With the Mariners’ reputation as a pitching analytics powerhouse, Loutos is a natural fit, particularly in continuing to build connection between the front office and the data they generate and the players who are producing the, ahem, raw material.

To be honest, I couldn’t find much of notable interest in his pitching profiles, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I queried John Trupin, who, as podcast listeners know, is incapable of delivering a succinct answer. He noted that Loutos’ four-seamer is similar to Justus Sheffield’s (oof) in that it has hardly any spin to it, and that his sweeper has scarcely any sweep, presenting so convincingly like a 12-6 curveball that some write-ups on him note a curve as part of his arsenal. 

A little more from John: “My initial sentiment on Loutos is that there’s a little Taylor Williams in him – his sweeper and slider are both astonishingly close to purely vertical/12-6 curveballs that do not actually sweep. For Williams that was a “gyro” slider that didn’t break but just dropped and spun like it should break. His four-seamer is really just a sinker, I’m struggling to ID who it reminds me of. They may try to get him to expand use of his split-change, he’s been working on it for a couple years.”

From a pure pitching standpoint, Loutos is clearly just another arm for the pile. But with his analytical knowledge and background, there could be some interesting ways for him to grow within the Mariners system. (And a shared high school alma mater with skipper Dan Wilson certainly doesn’t hurt either!)

The Washington Nationals just released their 2026 Minor League coaching staff. With Paul Toboni taking the reins, there are naturally a lot of new faces. However, there are also some returning staff members. The staffs are also bigger than they have been in the past, which is an example of Toboni’s focus on player development.

Every minor league team is going to have more staff members than they did last year. To build a player development machine like Paul Toboni wants, you need plenty of cogs. That is what he is trying to build here. 

There are going to be new staff positions this year. Last year, there was only one trainer and one conditioning coach at each level. This year there will be an assistant trainer and an assistant conditioning coach at each level. There will also be a defense coach at each level, something we did not have last year. Lastly, there are assistant hitting and pitching coaches at each level as well.

All of this is very exciting for an organization that will be built on player development. These new hires also show a real commitment to Paul Toboni’s vision. While they may not be spending in free agency, ownership is putting their money where their mouth is here.

Despite all the new faces, the Double-A and Triple-A managers will remain the same. Matt LeCroy has been a beloved minor league manager for a long time now. This will be his sixth season managing Triple-A Rochester and his 18th season in the Nationals organization. From all of the clips you see of him, LeCroy seems like a wonderful person. He was also in the mix to be the Nats interim manager last year.

Double-A manager Delino DeShields will also be back. This will be his fourth season managing the Harrisburg Senators. However, the Nats are bringing in new managers for both A ball clubs. Chris O’Neill will serve as the Fred Nats manager. He was previously the hitting coach at VCU. The High-A manager will be Ted Tom, who also served in the college ranks. He was most recently the hitting coach at UCF. 

There are going to be so many new voices in the organization, which I love to see. These staffers have a mix of youth and experience, though the Low-A staff is very young. The pitching coach for the Fred Nats is only 27 and the assistant pitching coach is even younger at 24. Both have experience working in pitching labs, such as Driveline. The physical therapists name is also James Wood, which I found funny.

As you get into the upper minors, the coaches are usually older, which makes sense. Most of the Triple-A staff is in their 40’s or 50’s. Following the progress of the minor league teams should be very exciting this year.

The Nats have a deep pool of prospects after their offseason trades. The system is especially deep at the lower levels. With this revamped development team, we should see prospects have breakout years. I am excited to see who will be helped the most by these changes. This kind of stuff is why the Paul Toboni hire is so exciting.

Remember when everyone was excited about Matt “Mash” Mervis making the major leagues?

In 2022, he had batted .309/.379/.605 with 36 home runs at three levels of the Cubs system, and got off to a good start at Triple-A Iowa in 2023. When both Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini were found somewhat wanting at first base, Mervis was called up to make his MLB debut.

I’ll never forget the sight of fans wearing Mervis jerseys at Wrigley Field that day — before he had played a single MLB game.

He went 1-for-4, an RBI single, in his debut game. And got a hit the next day, and two the day after — but also struck out six times in 14 at-bats. And that would be his undoing. In 27 games and 99 plate appearances for the Cubs in 2023, Mervis batted .167/.242/.289 with three home runs — and 32 strikeouts. He was sent back down.

Called up about three weeks into the 2024 season, Mervis was pressed into service as a pitcher April 27 at Fenway Park, with the Cubs down 11-0 to the Red Sox going to the bottom of the eighth.

He began with a ground out, allowed two singles, then a line drive to left.

And then… things spiraled out of control. The next five Red Sox got hits, with five runs scoring. Here is one of those hits, a two-run double by Bobby Dalbec [VIDEO].

The Cubs trailed 16-0 when Mervis was replaced by Patrick Wisdom. We’ll cover that in the next installment of this series.

Mervis never did hit for the Cubs, batting .155/.222/.259 with three home runs in 36 games and 127 plate appearances. He was traded to the Marlins before the 2025 season for Vidal Bruján. There’s a trade that didn’t work for either team. Bruján rarely played for the Cubs and departed in August. Mervis had a hot streak in April and over a 12-game span hit .263/.364/.763 (10-for-38) with six home runs.

Had he turned a corner? Nope; Mervis batted .134/.205/.224 (9-for-67) with 26 strikeouts through the end of May, at which time he was sent to Miami’s Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville. The Marlins released him in August — literally one day after Bruján was claimed on waivers by the Orioles. Mervis wound up with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno. where he hit 13 home runs in 35 games — the kind of guy often called a “Quad-A hitter,” someone who could wear out Triple-A pitching but not hit in the majors.

Mervis signed a minor-league deal with a NRI with the Nationals for this year. He grew up in the DC area, so it would be a nice story if he could make the Nats roster, and with Washington seemingly rebuilding again, he might have a chance to do that. If so, we’ll see him at Wrigley Field on Opening Day.