Category: MLB

Okay, let’s talk defense.

This week, Mike Petriello is doing some Statcast projecting, and here’s an interesting tidbit: The Colorado Rockies are expected to be in the top five of improved defenses.

He writes:

“The Rockies are in the midst of changing everything, and that’ll take time. The projections adore both center fielder Brenton Doyle and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, despite relative down seasons for each, and Hunter Goodman provided roughly average catcher defense, which is harder than it sounds. The expected improvement comes from the departure of first baseman Michael Toglia, who rated as among baseball’s weakest defenders, and the expectation that new outfielder and elite speedster Jake McCarthy might help shift Mickey Moniak into more of a DH role. Keep an eye out for third baseman Kyle Karros, who rated well in limited time last year and should get a larger opportunity this season.

So, the Rockies improved by subtraction.

I’ll turn the floor over to the Purple Row night owls: Will the Rockies see improved defensive numbers in 2026, and where will those improvements come from?

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Elroy Face, an All-Star pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates and World Series champion, has died at the age of 97, the Pirates announced on Feb. 12.

"It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we mourn the passing of Pirates Hall of Famer Elroy Face, a beloved member of the Pirates family," Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “I was fortunate to get to know Elroy personally, and I will always be proud that we had the chance to honor him with his induction into the Pirates Hall of Fame."

Nicknamed "The Baron of the Bullpen," Face was a groundbreaking pitcher, performing in a role that evolved into the modern-day closer. Face holds the National League record for wins in relief (96). Face also holds Pirates franchise records for appearances (802) and saves (188). His NL record for saves was not broken until 1982, when Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter surpassed Face's total.

Face made All-Star Game appearances in three consecutive seasons from 1959-1961. The peak of his career coincided with the Pirates winning the 1960 World Series, a Fall Classic made famous by Bill Mazeroski's walk-off Series-winning home run in Game 7. Face recorded three saves in that World Series win over the New York Yankees.

It was Face's 1959 season that was his finest. He went 18-1 with a 2.70 ERA over 57 appearances, finishing seventh in NL MVP voting. During his career, he was a three-time league leader in saves and twice led the league in games pitched.

Face spent 15 seasons with the Pirates before pitching briefly with the Detroit Tigers and Montreal Expos to close out his storied career.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elroy Face, Pirates' pioneering relief pitcher, dies at 97

Somewhat lost in the news circus today was that Phil Castellini, son of majority Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini, was officially approved to succeed his father as controlling owner of the club. Charlie Goldsmith, formerly of The Enquirer (and now of his Charlie’s Chalkboard newsletter) relayed the news on Twitter earlier Thursday, noting that the AP had quotes about it from a Rob Manfred interview.

The AP reported today from a Rob Manfred press conference that Phil was approved to succeed Bob as the controlling owner. pic.twitter.com/dLwEPCKrcK

— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) February 13, 2026

This comes at the same time as the 20 year mark of the Castellini family being principal owners of the Reds, and it’s hard to put a defining word, phrase, or even moment on the field alongside that era.

Frustratingly cheap? Consistantly chasing mediocrity?

Simply just glad to be here?

A 20 year old copy of the email sent to Cincinnati Reds fans upon Bob Castellini taking ownership of the team.

It remains to be seen whether the club will fundamentally change with Phil under control. You’ll notice the Williams name in the above copied image, and that’s the same Williams family where former GM Dick Williams came from, too. So, while the first names gradually change when it comes to who’s in charge of this endeavor, always remember that it’s been a consistent family affair during one of the most mediocre stints in the franchise’s otherwise successful history.

Congrats on owning the team now, Phil.

Sell the team, Phil.

The 2025 season could have been a big year for Jasson Domínguez. The long-heralded next big thing in the Yankees outfield was well-positioned to earn a starting role following Juan Soto’s crosstown departure, and had finally recovered from the litany of injuries which plagued his previous two seasons. But while the 22-year old had his moments here and there, he was clearly the team’s fourth-best outfielder; merely adequate at the plate and unreliable in the field.

This offseason, in a concerted effort to run it back, the Yankees have welcomed Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger back to the Bronx, meaning Domínguez is once again looking at a reserve role in 2026. But the dream of a dominant Martian is not yet dead. If he can find his power stroke more consistently, flatten out his stark platoon splits, and take a step forward on defense, Domínguez could finally escape the clouds and reach his galactic potential.

2025 statistics: 123 games, 429 plate appearances, .257/.331/.388 (103 wRC+), 10 HR, 47 RBI, 26.8 K%, 9.6 BB%, -9 Outs Above Average, 0.6 fWAR

2026 FanGraphs DC projections: 26 games, 118 PA, .250/.325/.404 (105 wRC+), 3 HR, 13 RBI, 25 K%, 9.6 BB%, 0.4 fWAR

I’ve wanted to discuss Jasson for a while, since he represents one of the bigger wild cards on a team loaded with veterans and known commodities. He is a flawed player, no doubt. For one thing, the prodigious power he has always possessed was in short supply last year—just 10 homers for a guy like him came as a big surprise to me. The main culprit seems to be an inability to generate lift against fastballs. A hitter like Domínguez, possessed with freakish bat speed, should be able to drive heaters a long way, but a mere .399 slugging percentage (and .364 xSLG) against the harder stuff limited his thump.

The switch-hitter was also woeful from the right side, managing a pithy .569 OPS against left-handed pitchers. This made him effectively a platoon bat for most of the year, as the Yankees had too little margin for error in the postseason race to let Domínguez figure it out down the stretch. Since his lefty production was not spectacular either—Bellinger and Grisham simply outhit Jasson from that side of the plate—his opportunities became fewer and fewer as the season progressed.

Then came the outfield lowlights. Domínguez just couldn’t seem to figure out the right angles in left field, where he played the majority of the time. His -9 Outs Above Average ranked in the third percentile among qualified outfielders. Jasson is not lacking for speed, but he takes a shockingly long time to track the baseball and make up lost ground. Of course, Yankee Stadium is not the friendliest ballpark to a left fielder, but an OAA figure that low does not suggest his troubles are limited to his home turf.

Those are three big black clouds surrounding the longtime top prospect, but of course, time and youth are still on Domínguez’s side. Having just turned 23 a few days back, it’s far too early to write him off as a Joc Pederson-lite; though I may have grumbled something to that effect a time or two in the middle of last year. And ultimately, Domínguez was still statistically above-average at the plate with all those factors weighing against him. Posting a 103 wRC+ while not playing every day is hard to do; just recall how Trent Grisham scuffled without regular playing time in 2024.

The first issue we discussed—subpar power production—feels like by far the easiest fix. It may just take one tweak to attack angle or a stance alteration to get Domínguez firing on all cylinders in the power department once again. I also think it’s not out of the question that he improves a bunch on defense—maybe not to the point of being above-average, but competence should be the goal. If he does, he’ll get more opportunities to try his hand in the other two outfield spots, which would only increase the amount of options Aaron Boone has at his disposal.

The platoon splits are going to be a tougher challenge; since the Yankees will be jockeying for position with the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and the potentially resurgent Orioles for divisional superiority, there will, like last year, be little wiggle room for Domínguez to get the live reps he might need to start to improve as a right-handed hitter. The solace is that he would be taking the majority of his PAs from the left side anyway, but it limits his ability to settle into a full starting role in the future—and was likely a driving factor behind the Yankees’ decision to bring back Bellinger and Grisham this winter.

The ultimate X-factor for Domínguez is injuries: both for himself and for his stablemates in the outfield. Jasson is the next man up if any of their starting triumvirate—who all played at least 140 games last year—hits the shelf for an extended period. The inevitable Giancarlo Stanton injury absence would create an opportunity at DH as well. The Yankees have often started seasons with little depth beyond their starters, leaving them exposed if anybody got hurt. As Michael detailed earlier today, they’ve consciously adopted a different strategy in 2026, and Jasson is a big part of that depth. Of course, if he himself gets injured, it would just be another treacherous bend in what just a few years ago seemed to be an open road to stardom.

FanGraphs’ Depth Charts projections has a very pessimistic outlook on Domínguez’s overall playing time share in 2026—supposedly because of the possibility he starts the season in Triple-A. I’ll believe that when I see it. The ZiPS projections agree, penciling Domínguez in for a more believable 471 plate appearances; while the .246/.323/.399 triple slash it prescribes would be disappointing, it’s important to remember these systems are conservative by nature. There’s not yet a precedent for Domínguez slugging higher than .400 in a full MLB season, but we humans understand that a SLG of at least .450 can be a reasonable goal for him.

With the majority of the players on this Yankees team, you know more or less what you’re going to get. But the concrete has not yet settled on this young man. As far as 2026, the Yankees just need him to be a reliable extra option in their outfield; anything extra is gravy. But if the opportunity presents itself, Domínguez has the talent to enter the stratosphere. It’s true that he has been part of the future for going on six years now, but that possibility should still excite us.

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See more of the Yankees Previews series here.

It’s not impossible that San Diego Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller will use the quality and quantity of his bullpen to acquire needed roster pieces before the season begins but he has stated his reluctance to weaken the team’s biggest strength.

The inflated player prices this offseason have made it more difficult for Preller to round out the Padres roster. The budget constraints of the organization seemingly imply that the biggest expense was re-signing starter Michael King. With what is left, the bargain bin is the most likely place to find the rotation help and another bat that Preller has repeatedly said he is looking to sign before the season.

The real question is if there is enough cash left in the budget to sign these additions without losing anyone from the current roster. So far, Preller has stayed true to his statement at the GM meetings where he voiced a desire to not lose any of his bullpen in the trade market.

The Padres 2025 bullpen finished the season with the best ERA in baseball at 3.06. The loss of closer Robert Suarez should not seriously affect this group as Mason Miller, ranked the No. 2 reliever in baseball by MLB Network, assumes that role. Jason Adam, with his 1.93 ERA last year, served as the setup man for much of the season and should again be considered the leader for that role when he returns from his season-ending ruptured quad tendon.

Behind those two dominant pitchers, the Padres have an embarrassment of riches in their bullpen. Assuming they go into the 2026 season with five starters and eight relievers, there are only six spots available to fill out the rest of the bullpen.

Options for six spots

From the current roster, both the 40-man and the non-roster invitees who are in camp, the Padres have at least 18 pitchers to fill those six roles. From that group, only Ron Marinaccio is out of options and will have to be placed on waivers if he doesn’t make the 26-man roster.

The Padres signed RHP’s Sean Boyle, Evan Fitterer and Justin Yeager to minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training. Yeager is a confirmed reliever but both Boyle and Fitterer could be used as starters and have starter histories. Of the system’s minor league relievers invited to camp, RHP Manuel Castro, RHP Francis Pena, RHP Ethan Routzhan and RHP Ryan Och all showed the stuff that got the attention of the organization and earned them an invite to major league camp. Both Castro and Pena could be close to being added to the roster during the coming season. All of these are probable to start the season in the minor leagues.

RHP Logan Gillaspie, who was a minor league pickup in 2023, has had an inconsistent career with four different organizations and was re-signed to a minor league contract with the Padres in 2024. Between injuries and poor performances, Gillaspie has stayed with the organization and gets another chance this season to take a step forward. He got a spring invite after being retained following the end of 2025.

Who makes the 26-man roster?

On the 40-man roster there are 13 relievers to compete for those six slots in the bullpen. RHP Jhonny Brito will not be ready to start the season due to his Tommy John surgery last season. He is likely to be available by mid-season. Whether he is brought back as a starter or reliever has not been discussed to this point.

The Padres signed right-handers Ty Adcock and Daison Acosta to major league contracts during the offseason. Acosta was with the Nationals organization last season but has not made his major league debut. Adcock, who pitched in three games and three innings for the Mets last season, signed with the Padres and pitched for Estrellas Orientales (Dominican Winter League) during the offseason.

RHP Garret Hawkins was added to the roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft during the offseason and is most likely starting the season with San Antonio or El Paso and would be a depth piece for the bullpen during 2026.

That leaves long-man/swing-man Bryan Hoeing to come back after an injury-riddled 2025 to reclaim his spot. His competition could be Adcock or Marinaccio who was a limited contributor last season but had a 0.84 ERA in his 10.2 innings pitched. Lefty Kyle Hart will begin by competing for a starting job. If that role does not go to him, he would also be a competitor for the long-man role with Hoeing, Adcock and Marinaccio.

The five remaining spots will be a battle between Jeremiah Estrada, Alek Jacob, Yuki Matsui, Adrian Morejon, Wandy Peralta, David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez. Adcock, Hoeing, Hart or Marinaccio could also be in competition as only one of them can win the swing-man or long-man job.

Estrada, Morejon, Morgan and Peralta have all pitched in high-leverage situations while Matsui, Jacob and Rodriguez can cover the middle innings. Rodriguez also has the potential for a late-inning role with his stuff. MLB Network recently listed their top 10 relievers in baseball. The Padres had Miller, Morejon and Adam all make that list. It would seem a lock for Morejon to keep his spot as a high-leverage reliever along with Adam and Miller.

Spring Training will tell the tale

Many say that six weeks is too long for Spring Training. That could be true for hitters, most of whom say that three to four weeks is plenty to get ready for a season. The six weeks is for the pitching staff to be ready. With the big decisions that this organization has to make with its pitching staff, both starters and relievers, the next six weeks will be fascinating to watch. Add to that the time that the World Baseball Classic cuts into the preparation, and those decisions will be even more interesting.

Look for all the borderline pitchers to get lots of looks during spring games. Matsui, Peralta and Miller will be gone for the duration of their WBC teams’ participation in the tournament. Miller for Team USA, Matsui for Samurai Japan and Peralta for the Dominican Republic.

Figuring out who makes this bullpen will be a great challenge for the staff. The fans can play along and see how close we get.

This post is part of a series of daily questions that we’ll ask the community here at Amazin’ Avenue throughout the month of February. We hope you find the questions engaging and that our prompts can spark some fun conversations in the comments. We’ll see you there and plan to have staff chiming in, too.

What’s your National League East standings prediction?

The Yankees are inviting another reliever to spring training.

New York has signed right-handed pitcher Rafael Montero to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, according to multiple reports. If he makes the club, Montero will earn $1.8 million, according to insider Hector Gomez.

Montero, 35, is coming off an up-and-down season with the Astros, Braves and Tigers. Although the right-hander pitched to a 4.50 ERA in three appearances in Houston and a 5.50 ERA with Atlanta across 36 appearances after being traded, he turned things around in the Motor City after being dealt again, pitching to a 2.86 ERA in 20 appearances with the Tigers. 

In 10 career seasons, Montero is 23-30 with 30 saves, a 4.68 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP across 380 appearances. He was on the Astros' World Series-winning team in 2022, pitching to a 1.93 ERA across 10 appearances in that postseason.

With the departures of Devin Williams and Luke Weaver, the Yankees are looking to retool the bullpen. Aside from closer David Bednar, and relievers Camilo Doval, Tim Hill and Fernando Cruz, there are spots open to those who can win a job this spring. 

 

The desert was still yawning to life on Thursday when Edwin Díaz stepped out onto the manicured grass at Camelback Ranch — and just like that, spring training flipped from a warm-up to the starting line of a three-peat in the making.

Welcome to #DodgersST, Edwin! pic.twitter.com/wsljDZI6RW

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 12, 2026

The Los Angeles Dodgers, long looking for someone to lock down the 9th inning, now have a closer whose résumé reads like a gauntlet thrown down across baseball.

Last season, with the New York Mets, Díaz posted a 1.63 ERA across 66⅓ innings, converting 28 of 31 save opportunities while fanning 98 hitters and walking just 14.

That performance vaulted him into the upper echelon of relief arms — a No. 3 ranking in “The Shredder,” a No. 5 nod from Brian Kenny, and a top-5 placement from Mike Petriello.

The traffic through the Dodgers’ bullpen in 2025 was a carousel of uncertainty — veteran closers like Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates flamed out and October saw starting pitchers closing games, a surreal twist that culminated in a World Series Game 7 victory built on Snell, Glasnow, and Yamamoto.

L.A. needed a high-leverage reliever. They got Díaz.

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He arrives not as a reclamation project or a placeholder, but as a reigning force. His heater sits in the upper 90s, his slider wipes batters out, and his track record of dominance demands respect. 

The trumpet is ready to blare. DJ Severe has “Narco” queued up on his playlist. And for the Dodgers, spring training just got its newest bullpen star.

The news on Monday that the team had lost reliever Andrew Saalfrank for the season, after shoulder surgery, was not exactly the way the Diamondbacks wanted the week of pitchers and catchers reporting to start. Since debuting as a September call-up in 2023, Saalfrank has posted a 1.79 ERA, and was better even than that last year, with a 1.24 ERA. Of course, that was limited to only 28 appearances, coming after he had finished serving a suspension for gambling. But going into the off-season, he was one of only a few relievers who seemed locked in for a 2026 bullpen spot. So discovering he won’t be appearing is a significant blow.

What can the team do in the left-handed bullpen department? Let’s look at the various areas from which they could pull.

The 40-man roster

There are currently seven left-handed pitchers on the 40-man roster. However, for one reason or another, most of there are not credible replacements for Saalfrank.

• Mitch Bratt – Outside of his 2023 stint in the Arizona Fall League, he has been almost exclusively a starter. While using him in the bullpen is possible e.g. Ryne Nelson, that would most likely be as long relief, not the situational lefty role Saalfrank occupied.
• Kohl Drake – The same goes for Drake, perhaps even more so. He will be part of the team’s rotational depth in 2026, and quite close to the top of the AAA depth chart. The Diamondbacks will want to keep him stretched out down in Reno, for that purpose.
• A.J. Puk – Puk said yesterday he is hopeful he can return by early May. Because his procedure was less invasive, that should reduce the rehab time. He may start in low-leverage situations, but I would expect him to take over the closer’s role quite quickly, with Justin Martinez likely out until late August.
• Eduardo Rodriguez – Simply put, earns too much money to be moved to a bullpen role at this point, with two years still left on his contract.
• Blake Walston – It’s been a while, Walston having Tommy John surgery in mid-March 2025. While there have been no updates since, expectation at the time was about fourteen months, so we are probably looking at late May before he can pitch.

That leaves just two candidates: Philip Abner and Brandyn Garcia, and they have less than twenty innings of major-league experience between them. That’s not necessarily a show-stopper – Saalfrank claimed the job fresh out of the minors, making more appearances in the 2023 playoffs than in the regular season. But it’s not a great body of work on which to base things. Abner looked decent in 2025, with a 2.86 FIP, but that’s off a pitiful sample size of 3.2 innings. Garcia, who came over from Seattle in the Josh Naylor trade, has slightly more experience and put up a decent 3.07 FIP between the Mariners and D-backs. Rolling the dice with either would be a risk.

Non-roster invitees

While there are a lot of non-roster invitees to spring training, only three are left-handed pitchers. Conveniently, I wrote about those at the link above. Inconveniently, none of them are a good fit for the role. While Tommy Henry is in camp, he is recovering from Tommy John surgery last June, so clearly isn’t going to be ready. Spencer Giesting and Yu-Min Lin are both young starting pitchers, and would be better served in their development by staying in that role, rather than getting intermittent work out of a major-league bullpen. So I don’t see any of the trio as being a credible replacement for Saalfrank on Opening Day.

Outside the organization

I would definitely not be surprised to see the team go outside the current system to find a replacement, and there are a couple of names of definite interest, and both should already be known to Arizona fans. The first is former D-back Anthony Banda, who was designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Dodgers – they simply had too many lefties. It’s generally expected they will be able to find a trade partner for him before he hits waivers. He has had an ERA+ of 130 across the last two years, covering 119 appearances, and at $1.625 million for the year, seems well worth that price. Should the D-backs be in on him? There is always a general reluctance to deal within the division, but he certainly would fill a need.

The other possibility is the free-agent market, and a reunion with Jalen Beeks. He was the busiest member of the Diamondbacks pitching staff last year, appearing 61 times, and with a solid ERA+ of 115, while being paid $1.25 million. He would be another reasonably cheap option, and unlike Banda, would not cost prospect capital. There are other decent left-handed veterans still on the market. Justin Wilson was good with the Red Sox, and Danny Coulombe – a local kid, who went to Chaparral HS, possibly overlapping with the SnakePitette – was great with the Twins, then terrible after being traded to the Rangers at the deadline. Does Mike Hazen have the money left for any of these?

Conclusion

While there is no requirement to have a left-hander in the bullpen, it has been standard practice for the D-backs in the Lovullo era, and we all know how he likes to play match-ups. So, given the paucity of the options currently in the system, I would not be surprised to see the team look for an outside replacement. This could come via a trade, a free-agent signing or even adding a non-roster invitee or two to the squad, and seeing who impresses in spring training. At least the timing of Saalfrank’s surgery gives time for alternatives to be assessed. Which this sucks, it would have sucked considerably harder if it had happened on the eve of Opening Day.

The Yankees were in pursuit of a few right-handed bats this offseason, and they reportedly checked in with the Phillies on outfielder Nick Castellanos.

According to the NY Post's Jon Heyman, the Yankees looked into making a trade with the Phillies for Castellanos earlier in the offseason, but stopped their pursuit after receiving mixed reviews about the slugger.

New York would eventually re-sign Paul Goldschmidt to fill that right-handed bat role off the bench, while also periodically spelling Ben Rice at first base against left-handers and for late-game defense. New York had also considered signing Ty France, Randal Grichuk and Austin Slater, who played with the Yanks in 2025, as right-handed options this offseason.

As for Castellanos, the Phillies officially released him on Thursday for a few reasons. He had a subpar 2025 season where he slashed .250/.294/.400 with an OPS of .694 and 17 homers. There were also reports of conduct detrimental to the team, including bringing a beer into the Phillies dugout during a game last June, which Castellanos admitted to on Instagram. 

Castellanos is owed $20 million in 2025.

After seven productive seasons with Detroit, Castellanos made stops in Chicago -- with the Cubs -- Cincinnati and eventually Philadelphia after signing a four-year deal before the 2022 season. He made two All-Star teams (2021, 2023) and won a Silver Slugger in his 13-year career. 

Castellanos, who turns 34 in March, will now look to take his talents elsewhere.

One of the key moments in the film “Moneyball” comes when Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane and Brent Jennings’ Ron Washington visit Chris Pratt’s Scott Hatteberg to inform him they’re offering him a contract to play first base for the Oakland Athletics, even though he’s only played catcher in his big-league career so far. Beane insists that it’s not that hard. Washington disagrees.

24 years later, the 73-year-old Washington is the San Francisco Giants’ new infield coach. And he’s got another relative newbie at first base in Rafael Devers, who was enmeshed in a huge first base controversy last season with the Boston Red Sox after they signed third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency, moved Devers to DH, then asked him to play first.

But if Hatteberg could develop into a first sacker at age 32 with an elbow injury that hampered his throwing, then Devers, just 29 years old and already familiar with playing infield, should surely develop, right? Here’s the “Moneyball” playbook.

Get rejected by the Boston Red Sox

Done and done! Not only did the Sox trade Devers to the Giants in a deal where they seemed most interested in salary relief — they have only one player left from that return left on their roster — they bad-mouthed Devers after the deal, saying he had “not lived up to his responsibilities” by refusing to switch positions midseason. A team source also lamented what Devers’ actions would do to a club “increasingly reliant on young, impressionable players.” Won’t someone think of the Red Sox children!

(Note: The Red Sox were “increasingly reliant” on young players because they didn’t want to pay Mookie Betts or Xander Bogaerts.)

Find a wife

Hatteberg’s wife, Elizabeth, helped him prepare for his position change by hitting grounders to him off a tee at a tennis court near their home. However, Devers does not have a wife, so he’ll have to get someone else to do it. Is Bob Melvin busy? Does Devers live near a tennis court? If Devers chooses to seek out the wife first, it’s possible that Washington is not the right man to help with his Hinge profile.

Become a pickin’ machine

According to Chapter 8 of “Moneyball,” titled: “Scott Hatteberg: Pickin’ Machine,” Washington spent the six weeks of spring training in 2002 encouraging Hatteberg as he learned the new position. Every time Hatteberg dug a throw out of the dirt, Washington would yell, “Pickin’ machine!”

Is Devers really going to be worse than some of the Oakland first basemen Washington had to work with before? This is a group that included both Jason and Jeremy Giambi (R.I.P.), Olmedo Sáenz, Matt Stairs, and John Jaha. The bar for becoming una máquina recolectora is not too high.

Receive huge from Buster Posey

Obviously, this is the pinnacle of success every San Francisco Giants aims for.

Luis Arraez

Probably would not have been signed by 2002 Billy Beane.

As for Bryce Eldridge in left field… look, Wash is only in charge of the infield and he can only do so much.

The Minnesota Twins signed three-time All-Star reliever Liam Hendriks to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training on Thursday.

Hendriks, who turned 37 on Tuesday, made his major league debut with the Twins on Sept. 6, 2011, and appeared in 30 games from 2011-13 before finding great success and dealing with much adversity in his career.

The right-hander appeared in just 14 games last season with the Boston Red Sox, going 0-2 with a 6.59 ERA, seven walks and 12 strikeouts in 13 ⅓ innings.

The native of Australia went on the injured list with right hip inflammation, suffered a setback and missed the rest of the season. He had a right elbow ulnar nerve transposition procedure in September and became a free agent in November.

Hendriks underwent treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in early 2023 and made his debut that season on May 29 for the Chicago White Sox. But he pitched in only five games – going 2-0 with one save and a 5.40 ERA in five innings – before an elbow injury required Tommy John surgery and led to a lost 2024 campaign for rehabilitation.

For his career, Hendriks is 33-36 with 116 saves, a 3.88 ERA, 166 walks and 739 strikeouts in 663 2/3 innings over 490 regular-season games (44 starts) for the Twins, Kansas City Royals (2014), Toronto Blue Jays (2014-15), Oakland Athletics (2016-20), White Sox (2021-23) and Red Sox (2025).

From 2019 to 2022, Hendriks was selected to three All-Star Games and in the other year, 2020 with Oakland, he finished ninth in the American League Cy Young Award voting and 13th for AL Most Valuable Player.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Liam Hendriks to Twins on minor league contract