So, what do we know about this photo? The Cubs are playing the Giants. Again, as in the last photo, it has to be between 1978 and 1981, because the Chicago Sting soccer clock is below the board. (The Sting played at Wrigley from 1978-84, but after 1981 Tribune Co. put a message board beneath the scoreboard.)
No. 34 is the starting pitcher for the Cubs. Ray Burris wore that number in 1978 and 1979 and Randy Martz had it in 1980 and 1981. The No. 35 relief pitcher is no help, as the Cubs had pitchers with that number in 1978 (Woodie Fryman) and 1979-81 (Doug Capilla).
So I methodically looked at Burris’ and Martz’ game logs for the years in question. Burris wasn’t a match.
Martz was, and therein lies a tale. This game was played Thursday, June 11, 1981. That’s a significant date, because the 1981 players’ strike began the next day.
The Cubs had been an absolutely terrible team to begin 1981. They started 1-13, then were 4-19, 5-26 and 10-36 before winning five of their last six before the strike. Just getting hot, right?
The Cubs scored four in the first inning of this game, with RBI hits from Steve Dillard, Mike Lum and Ken Reitz (read those names and you’ll understand why the Cubs were so bad that year). Later, Jody Davis and Hector Cruz homered. Martz allowed five hits and one run in seven innings and the Cubs won the game 6-1.
Specifically, what we are seeing here: There are two out in the top of the eighth and No. 31 is batting for the Giants. That’s Enos Cabell, who was in his only year with the Giants after several good seasons in Baltimore and Houston. He’s down 0-1 in the count and eventually grounded to short.
Here is the full photo:
The third-base umpire visible is Steve Fields and off in the distance, the Cubs center fielder is Jerry Morales. And as you can see, there wasn’t much of a crowd — just 5,017 paid to see that game.
Neil Allen had a perfectly nice 11-year career as a major-league pitcher, mostly out of the bullpen. Parts of three of those seasons came with the Yankees, across two different stints. He was generally pretty solid, albeit on teams that fell short of the postseason, despite over-.500 records. After his playing career, he went into coaching, including for the Yankees, where we can give him credit for at least one notable thing.
Today also happens to be his 68th birthday. In honor of that, let’s look back at the career of Mr. Allen.
Neil Patrick Allen Born: January 24, 1958 (Kansas City, MO) Yankees Years: 1985, 1987-88
Born and raised in Kansas City, Neil Allen was a standout athlete in a couple sports growing up. He was planning on attending Kansas State University on a football scholarship, when scouts took notice of him when he was pitching opposite Terry Sutcliffe — brother of 1984 NL Cy Young Award winner Rick — in a high school baseball game. Initially wanting to stick with football, Allen was convinced into baseball by his father, who told him, “Neil, you’re not a rocket scientist and you don’t have the discipline to sit down and do the academic work. Plus, if you play football and get beat up and have your shoulder ruined, then you don’t have either.”
The Mets would select him in the 11th round of the 1976 draft, and Allen would sign with them.
Considering that he was drafted out of high school, Allen rocketed through the minor leagues and was called up to the majors in 1979, when he was just 21 years old. He made his debut on April 14th and threw six OK innings against the Phillies. However, he mainly struggled after that and then suffered an injury in late May. Upon his return to the majors, Mets’ manager Joe Torre decided to use Allen out of the bullpen. Allen excelled in that role, and from June 25th on, he put up a 2.07 ERA and a 2.67 FIP in 69.2 innings. By the end of the season, Torre had even moved Allen into the closer role, and he recorded eight saves.
After spending the next two seasons in the bullpen, Allen struggled to start the 1983 season, losing the closer role to Jesse Orosco. Allen returned to the rotation for a bit, where he showed some better signs, although he was beginning to deal with alcohol addiction issues behind the scenes. The Mets eventually did decide to trade him, sending him out to St. Louis alongside fellow righty Nick Ownbey at the then-June Trade Deadline in 1983 in exchange for first baseman Keith Hernandez. That deal worked out quite well for the Mets.
While he wasn’t awful, Allen could never quite find his footing in St. Louis, never mind when you factor in what Hernandez would go on to become for the Mets. Allen eventually returned to the bullpen. After struggling badly to start 1985, the Cardinals moved on from him, selling his contract to the Yankees. Under manager Billy Martin, Allen performed much better, posting a 2.76 ERA in 29.1 innings down the stretch for the ‘85 Yankees. The team just narrowly missed the postseason, finishing two games behind the AL East-winning Blue Jays.
Despite that, the Yankees then traded Allen to the White Sox that offseason. Chicago tried to move him back to the rotation, and while that went okay in 1985, he again really struggled in ‘86. The White Sox released him in August, and he returned to the Yankees for the rest of the season, putting up a 3.65 ERA in 24.2 innings. That led to the Yankees bringing him back for 1988, and he was again pretty decent. Working as a long reliever, he put up a 3.84 ERA (103 ERA+) in 117.1 innings.
However, Allen’s aforementioned addiction issues were beginning to take a toll. Rickey Henderson went public with a claim that he had to help Allen back to his hotel room after the pitcher had passed out while on a night out on the road, with Henderson saying the team’s drinking culture in general cost the team the pennant. This revelation actually helped Allen admit his problem, although he would continue to battle it off and on.
Allen played 1989 with Cleveland and spent 1990 in the Reds’ organization before retiring. He would get into coaching and returned to the Yankees’ organization in 2000. He spent a couple seasons as a pitching coach for various Yankees’ minor league affiliates and was the bullpen coach for their 2005 AL East champions. Per Sports Illustrated, Allen was credited with teaching Chien-Ming Wang the sinker, which became the future Yankees’ big leaguer’s best pitch when he broke through to the majors:
Fourteen starts into his professional career, Wang blew out his shoulder and sat out the entire 2001 season following surgery. He was told by the Yankees that he had to bag his out pitch, the slider, to ease the stress on his arm. In the summer of ’04 he learned the pitch that would change his career. During a bullpen session shortly after his promotion to Triple-A Columbus, Clippers pitching coach Neil Allen approached him with a suggestion. “Try this,” Allen said to Wang, holding the ball with his index and middle fingers along the seams that framed the ball’s sweet spot. “Push harder here,” he said, tapping his index finger against the ball. Wang began throwing and, he recalls, “the ball started to drop.”
For a guy who has a career ERA below average and no All-Star appearances or any other award votes or anything, Neil Allen has had quite the run in baseball. Here’s hoping that he has a happy 68th birthday.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
The Cleveland Guardians are finalizing a seven-year, $175 million contract extension that will assure perennial All-Star third baseman José Ramirez remains with the organization through the duration of his career.
Ramirez, 33, the seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger winner, and the Guardians are restructuring his contract that add four years and $106 million to his existing deal, paying him through the age of 40, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.
The person, confirming Hector Gomez’s report early Saturday morning, spoke to USA TODAY Sports on on the condition of anonymity because the deal is not yet complete.
Ramirez, who’s on track for the Hall of Fame by finishing in the top six in MVP voting in seven of the last nine years, sacrificed a massive payday in free agency before the 2022 season when he signed a seven-year, $141 million contract extension. Yet, despite the criticism of signing such a team-friendly contract, he continues to profess his love for Cleveland.
“I really have a special place [in my heart] for Cleveland,’’ Ramirez told the Abriendo Sports podcast this winter. “They gave me the opportunity to play at just 16 years old and, even now, despite taking a pay cut, I'm comfortable in this city."
Ramirez, one of the greatest players in franchise history, certainly has been the gift that keeps on giving for Cleveland. He has a 51 WAR since 2017, ranked third-highest in baseball behind only Aaron Judge and Francisco Lindor, and is paid at a massive discount rate. His new restructured contract will pay him an average of $25 million a season compared to Judge’s $40 million AAV in his nine-year, $360 million deal with the Yankees.
We’ll see Collins in left field the majority of the time, while Thomas will move among all three spots. The Royals touted Collins’ ability to play second base when they acquired him, giving them flexibility, so it’ll be interesting to see whether he gets reps there this spring.
How the Royals split time in center field between Isbel and Thomas remains to be seen, but Isbel is the best defender to have out there. The Royals have given Caglianone a path to earn the everyday spot in right field with his performance. Although he’s also committed to playing for Team Italy this spring, he should get plenty of reps to show off his offseason work and improvement.
Blanco, Misner, Rave and Waters are competing for an Opening Day roster spot. They’ve all played center field, but the Royals acquired Misner from the Rays back in November as center field depth.
Witt said the Royals hitters welcomed the change. And catcher Salvador Perez had a question. “Yeah, a lot of the hitters are very happy, and the team’s pitchers aren’t,” Witt said. “But they’re gonna do well, no matter what. But yeah, the hitters are great.
Salvy was just like, ‘What took it so long?’ But yeah, everyone is fired up. And so it’s gonna be fun.”
“There is no doubt my best years in baseball are with two teams — the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets,” Beltrán said this week, per CBS Sports. “That’s a decision that I would love to sit down with my family, with (my wife) Jessica, with my kids and make a decision on that. I did really enjoy my time in New York. Now I work as an advisor for the Mets, so there’s a lot of weight in the New York cap.”
Hello friends! Happy Saturday to you all. While I understand the weather is calm in Seattle this weekend, I hope my fellow east coasters (and those in the south and midwest) stay safe from the storm.
Here’s what’s going on in baseball as we get the weekend underway.
In Mariners news…
Jordan Shusterman at Yahoo! Sports tackled the five biggest questions facing the Mariners with less than a month remaining in the offseason.
Max Scherzer is still hoping to land with a team for 2026, but he is willing to sign after Opening Day if that’s what it takes to get into a situation he likes.
After the departures of Edwin Díaz, Ryne Stanek, Tyler Rogers, and Gregory Soto and injuries to Reed Garrett and Dedniel Núñez, the Mets needed to do some work to rebuild their bullpen this offseason.
And work has been done. The Mets have added four pieces from outside the organization who will likely fill important roles in the bullpen, as well as signed many arms to minor league deals, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle or help someone find their spark again.
The definite locks for the bullpen start with Devin Williams (1.5 fWAR in 2025, career 8.9 fWAR) and Luke Weaver (0.5 fWAR in 2025, career 8.2 fWAR), both of whom most recently pitched across town for the Yankees, and both of whom will likely get a large chunk of the Mets’ high-leverage innings. It seems presumed that Williams will be the traditional closer, despite losing that job for the Yankees at one point last season when, coincidentally, Weaver took over for him.
The Mets retained a pair of southpaws over the offseason, with A.J. Minter not exercising his opt-out after an injury ravaged 2025 and the Mets executing Brooks Raley’s $4.75 million club option. Raley (0.8 fWAR in 2025, career 3.1 fWAR) was healthy for the second half of last season after recovering from Tommy John Surgery, but Minter 0.3 fWAR in 2025, career 7.4 fWAR) missed all but 13 games for the Mets in 2025.
On Wednesday night, the Mets brought in Tobias Myers (0.4 fWAR in 2025, career 2.5 fWAR) from the Brewers, and Myers slots in to be a guy who can give you multiple innings out of the bullpen, a role the Mets haven’t really seen success in since José Buttó‘s 2024 campaign. As a long man who has success as a starter as well, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Myers as a swing man at some point as well, taking some starts down the stretch.
Huascar Brazobán (0.4 fWAR in 2025, career 1.5 fWAR) is likely the closest thing to a lock after those five. Brazobán is entering his fifth big league season at the age of 36, and has been a perfectly cromulent middle reliever for those years. He got off to a great start in 2015 before having a bit of a rocky month that jumped his ERA two full runs.
If the season started today, the two players most likely to take a role in the bullpen would be recently-signed veteran Luis García (0.7 fWAR in 2025, career 4.5 fWAR) and Joey Gerber (0.0 fWAR in 2025, career 0,0 fWAR), who the Mets got in a trade from the Rays earlier this offseason. However, if either of those folks were traded, cut, or designated for assignment during spring training, it would not be shocking.
From there, there are still more options. Last year’s mid-season signing Richard Lovelady (-0.3 fWAR in 2025, career 0.0 fWAR), who the Mets signed to a major league deal in October, was DFA’d on Thursday to make room for Vidal Bruján. He’s been DFA’d more than a few times in his Mets’ tenure, and so it seems possible that he’ll clear waivers. Joe Jacques (-0.1 fWAR in 2025, career 0.0 fWAR), Carl Edwards Jr (0.0 fWAR in 2025, career 3.1 fWAR), Brandon Waddell (-0.1 fWAR in 2025, career -0.3 fWAR), Nick Burdi (0.1 fWAR in 2025, career 0.3 fWAR), and Robert Stock (-0.1 fWAR in 2025, career 0.3 fWAR) are all players the Mets acquired since the end of the season, and there are a number of players in the upper minors who may slot into a relief role.
You can never really have enough relief pitching, but the Mets are already at a roster crunch, and so it looks like any other players that may be brought in would either be on minor league deals or would have to bump players from the 40-Man Roster.
This round was so close, we had to conduct an internal staff poll to break the tie so we could proceed in hopes of getting a few more Votes in. It came down to two players taking big leaps on the ballot, Gage Ziehl and Alexander Albertus. It was Ziehl who prevailed, with 11 of 58 (19%) votes:
The fight for the top meant that Landon Hodge’s win just last round was displaced as the smallest share yet, as Ziehl’s 18.97% outdid Hodge’s 19.35%.
Ziehl was acquired for Austin Slater last July, thus this is the first Prospect Vote for the Yankees product.
Past No. 31s in the SSS Top Prospect Vote 2025 Eric Adler (21%) 2024 Calvin Harris (20%) 2023 Voting lasted only 24 rounds 2022 Voting lasted only 17 rounds 2021 Bennett Sousa (30%) 2020 Bennett Sousa (27%) 2019 Amado Nuñez (31%) 2018 Tyler Johnson (34%)
Newcomer Ryan Galanie had a nice run on his first ballot, earning seven votes and tying for third place. This time around, reliever Zach Franklin joins the mix.
South Side Sox Top-Voted White Sox Prospects for 2026
Alexander Albertus Third Baseman Age 21 2025 high level Arizona Complex League (Rookie) Age relative to high level +0.4 years Overall 2025 stats 8 games ▪️ 0 HR ▪️ 2 RBI ▪️ .333/.520/.444 ▪️ 3-of-3 (100.0%) SB ▪️ 6 BB ▪️ 3 K ▪️ 1.000 FLD%▪️ 0.3 WAR
What can you say further about Albertus? He seems to have great tools but an uncanny ability to stay off of the field (just eight games in a season-plus in the White Sox system). In 2025, he was assigned to Kannapolis but was … wait for it … injured. He lasted just eight games of ACL rehab before hitting the IL-60 again.
Marcelo Alcala Center Fielder Age 20 2025 high level ACL (Rookie) Age relative to high level -0.6 years Overall 2025 stats 42 games ▪️ 7 HR ▪️ 19 RBI ▪️ .233/.325/.479 ▪️ 14-of-15 (93.3%) SB ▪️ 14 BB ▪️ 63 K ▪️ .935 FLD%▪️ 1.2 WAR
Alcala is a talent to dream on. Though still raw, he flashed power that we simply do not see in the White Sox system, especially when combined with the raw speed that can swipe bases at a 90%+ rate. Defense and bat discipline are issues to be sure, but imagine what additional outfield reps, AZ batting cage time, and even some training on the bases could do.
Aldrin Batista Right-Handed Starting Pitcher Age 22 2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 6 2025 high level Winston-Salem (High-A) Age relative to high level -1.2 years Overall 2025 stats 2-0 ▪️ 7 games (2 starts) ▪️ 14 IP ▪️ 5.79 ERA ▪️ 17 K ▪️ 7 BB ▪️ 1.429 WHIP ▪️-1.2 WAR
Batista was our No. 6-voted player in last year’s poll and top righthander — and then disaster struck, as he started the third Dash game of the season on April 6 and then was out more than four months with a stress fracture in his right (pitching) elbow. His return in late August was iffy, with three poor relief appearances of five. But he ended the season with a scoreless (two-inning) “opener” start, which hopefully reverses the curse for 2026.
Reudis Diaz Right-handed relief pitcher Age 20 2025 high level ACL (Rookie) Age relative to high level -2.1 years Overall 2025 stats 1-1 ▪️ 1 SV▪️ 21 games (4 finishes) ▪️ 27 2/3 IP ▪️ 2.28.ERA ▪️ 18 K ▪️ 8 BB ▪️ 1.084 WHIP ▪️1.2 WAR
Who? You’re forgiven for being unfamiliar with an extremely young arm who hasn’t yet gotten out of rookie ball, but our No. 77 prospect a year ago (then a starter, repeating the DSL and killing it) made a successful adjustment Stateside. He’ll return to starting in 2026, likely getting his feet wet in Arizona and getting a promotion to Low-A in the second half of the season.
Zach Franklin Right-Handed Relief Pitcher Age 27 2025 high level Charlotte (AAA) Age relative to high level -1.3 years Overall 2025 stats (AA/AAA) 4-1▪️ 11 SV ▪️ 48 games (31 finishes) ▪️ 56 1/3 IP ▪️ 2.40 ERA ▪️ 79 K ▪️ 25 BB ▪️ 1.065 WHIP ▪️ 2.0 WAR
The clear closer of the future in the system, Franklin put up a pretty extraordinary 2.0 WAR in just 56 innings in 2025. He labored mostly in Birmingham, but is a cinch to start in Charlotte in 2026 — if not impressing enough in Cactus League play to break north with the White Sox outright.
Ryan Galanie First Baseman Age 25 2025 high level Birmingham (AA) Age relative to high level +1.3 years Overall 2025 stats (High-A/AA) 119 games ▪️ 11 HR ▪️ 94 RBI ▪️ .276/.327/.422 ▪️ 14-of-17 (82.4%) SB ▪️ 35 BB ▪️ 79 K ▪️ .995 FLD%▪️ 1.1 WAR
It’s been a slow but steady climb for this 13th-rounder in 2023. The good news here is, with the caveat that Galanie has always competed older than his level, Galanie has found some footing. While his power/slugging numbers are merely OK, he drove in 94 runs in 2025. He disappeared a bit in the playoffs for Birmingham (just four hits in six games, with five walks as well) but started every game in the march to a second consecutive Southern League title for the Barons.
Jairo Iriarte Right-Handed Relief Pitcher Age 24 2025 SSS Top Prospect Vote Ranking 19 2025 high level Charlotte (AAA) Age relative to high level -4.3 years Overall 2025 stats (Rookie/AAA) 3-3▪️ 1 SV ▪️ 37 games (5 starts, 9 finishes) ▪️ 48 IP ▪️ 7.13 ERA ▪️ 50 K ▪️ 37 BB ▪️ 1.917 WHIP ▪️ -0.8 WAR
The 2025 season was an utter disaster for Iriarte, who went from prospective South Side rotation member to lost in space. The righty, who made his brief debut in the majors in 2024, both lost the plate and misplaced his strikeout power. The Brian Bannister Pitching Lab has its work cut out here, for sure.
Javier Mogollón Shortstop Age 20 2025 high level Kannapolis (Low-A) Age relative to high level -1.4 years Overall 2025 stats 51 games ▪️ 5 HR ▪️ 19 RBI ▪️ .220/.347/.387 ▪️ 15-of-21 (71.4%) SB ▪️ 30 BB ▪️ 56 K ▪️ .971 FLD%▪️ 1.0 WAR
An ascending star just one year ago, we have to tap the breaks a bit on Mogollón after a lackluster first full season of minors ball. While still young for his level and managing to keep his head above water in a new league every season of his career, Mogollón’s undeniable hitting in Rookie ball fell off significantly with the Cannon Ballers. However, how much of that was due to battling injury is undetermined, as Mogollón was shelved for what turned out to be the season on July 2.
Yobal Rodriguez Right-Handed Starting Pitcher Age18 2025 high levelDSL White Sox (Rookie) Age relative to high level -1.5 years Overall 2025 stats0-3 ▪️ 13 games (10 starts) ▪️ 30 1/3 IP ▪️2.97 ERA ▪️ 33 K ▪️ 13 BB ▪️ 1.022 WHIP ▪️ 1.2 WAR
Rodriguez is a rare DSL pitcher, not for his relatively light innings load, but as a primary starter — and at just 17 years old (Yobal turns 18 on February 9). Inasmuch as it’s tough to project anyone out of the DSL, especially pitchers, you could hardly have hoped for more from him in his pro debut.
Tyler Schweitzer Left-Handed Starting Pitcher Age25 2025 high levelCharlotte (AAA) Age relative to high level -3.3 years Overall 2025 stats (AA/AAA) 8-2 ▪️ 27 games (10 starts) ▪️ 99 2/3 IP ▪️4.61 ERA ▪️ 81 K ▪️ 41 BB ▪️ 1.344 WHIP ▪️ 0.8 WAR
Schweitzer relieved in most of his games in 2025, but he remains a starter in our eyes given he was consistently paired with Tanner McDougal in Birmingham Barons starts. And in Birmingham, Schweitzer was divine: 1.27 ERA that included a long scoreless streak leading to a Charlotte promotion, 0.946 WHIP. However, everything the southpaw did as a Baron, he undid as a Knight (7.92 ERA, 1.740 ERA). While other gilded arms (Drew Thorpe, Grant Taylor) get to skip Charlotte entirely, Schweitzer was not so lucky. And that luck could prevent him from ever seeing the majors.
Round 24 of voting was the last of 2023 (we did not do an actual wrap for the voting, but Jordan Sprinkle ended up being our final pick), and the full archive.
Sportswriter Joon Lee recently posted a video to YouTube where he tries to shed light on why the Los Angeles Dodgers seem to have an endless stream of money with which to pay the top players in the game. The back-to-back World Series Champions made waves in MLB with the signing of free agent outfielder Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract. Chari Bell of Gaslamp Ball documents what Lee says is a major disparity in favor of the Dodgers that is not available to the 29 other MLB teams.
Padres News:
Randy Jones was a legendary pitcher for the Padres, but he may be most remembered for being an ambassador for San Diego. He could often be found around Petco Park meeting fans and promoting the Padres and the game of baseball. Jones died this offseason and the Padres will hold a celebration of life for him at Petco Park today for fans to pay their respects.
Padres fans watched the season come to an end for one of the dominant relievers in the San Diego bullpen when Jason Adam ruptured his quadriceps and feel on the front of the mound. Adam’s recovery and rehabilitation by all accounts have been going well and his return in 2026 will be much anticipated.
Dennis Lin of The Athletic breaks down the numbers and makes a case for Manny Machado becoming a Hall of Famer by the time his career comes to an end. Lin notes Machado is owed $301 million over the next eight seasons, so the end is not near, which means Machado has plenty of time to continue to add to his resume.
Baseball News:
Free agent pitcher Max Scherzer says he is not going to rush his decision on where he will sign. It was also noted that Scherzer may wait until after Opening Day to choose his team.
The New York Yankees finally agreed to a new contract with Cody Bellinger, but that may not be the last free agent deal they make this offseason. The also Yankees claimed outfielder Michael Siani off waivers from the Dodgers.
The San Francisco Giants made a push to land C.J. Abrams from the Washington Nationals, but the teams were unable to reach an agreement for the talented shortstop.
Well… Jose Ramirez MAY have just guaranteed he will be a Guardian through the end of his major league career.
As you may remember, we have had our issues with Hector Gomez, baseball insider, who claimed the Guardians had multiple pitchers being investigated for gambling aside from Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz. Well… Gomez is reporting on Twitter that Jose has signed a 7/$175M deal with the Guardians taking him through 2032, his age 40 season, and making sure he will retire as a Guardian and likely holding almost every franchise record.
I don’t think Gomez would report this if he didn’t know it to be true as it would completely destroy his reputation. I also know Jose’s agent posted a photo earlier this week of him and Jose in Cleveland together. And now Zack Meisel of the Athletic is reporting the team and Ramirez are nearing a $106M extension through 2032, with $70M deferred.
I will bury the hatchet with Gomez if this is true, as it appears it is. Stinks what he did, but I will forgive him and let it go.
Also, I am done complaining about this offseason if this means I get to watch my favorite baseball player of all time play his entire career in Cleveland in front of me and my children.
It feels like the MLB roster is all but set for the Yankees. With Cody Bellinger back in the fold, and backing up Aaron Judge, the club will more or less return the same nine or ten everyday players that we saw last season. The other major position player signing this winter was of course Trent Grisham, who picked up the qualifying offer, and I’ve seen a growing consensus that the Yankees won’t just run back the same first-stringers, but they’ll run back eseentially the same lineup with Grisham in the leadoff spot.
To his credit, Grisham did just fine for himself atop the Yankees’ order last year. A 129 wRC+ while slotted into leadoff 88 times in 2025 is nothing to sneeze at, and six times throughout the year he started the game with a home run, putting the Yanks on the board in an instant. Still, there’s something to worry about whenever a guy has such an outstanding year by his own standards, and as good as Grish was in his contract season, I think there’s a guy that makes a little more sense to pencil into the No. 1 spot.
Ben Rice also had a breakout year in 2025, a 133 wRC+ season that finally brought some life to a first base position that’s generally struggled to find thump over the last decade or so. While he may still see some time as the Yankees’ third catcher behind Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra, he’s probably best utilized as the full-time first baseman — both to maximize his offensive output, and allow him to work out some of those defensive warts we saw last year.
Rice did lead off 21 times this past season, but I think keeping him there full-time in 2026 gives the Yankees just a few more runs squeezed out, even without factoring in what I think is likely regression from Grisham. Although the center fielder reached base by about 15 points more than Rice, but we’re not talking about what has happened, we’re talking about what we can reasonably expect to happen going forward.
We already know about Rice’s extraordinary batted-ball data, how hard he makes contact, and how frequently he gets the ball in the air. He’s actually walked less in the majors than he did during his time as a prospect, sacrificing some of his patience in order to club pitches. I don’t think that’s necessarily a liability though — you need your leadoff hitter to get on base while remaining a real threat should you make a mistake, it’s not really relevant whether you walk or hit your way aboard.
That said, I think there’s a level of OBP yet to be unlocked in Rice. The key to that is the strategy of the opposing pitcher, as Aaron Judge typically hits second or third in the lineup. “Protection” is a little slippery as a concept, but last year Grisham saw more pitches in the zone hitting ahead of Judge than he did in any seasons with the Padres. Pitchers want to make you force your way aboard before they have to deal with the game’s finest hitter, so you’re likely to see an uptick in pitches in-zone. Ben Rice posts a superior xBA, xSLG, exit velo, squared-up rate, barrel percentage, and hard-hit rate than Grisham — in short, when they offer at pitches, Rice does more damage.
Grisham is slightly better at not chasing, even though Rice makes more contact overall, an edge that I think would be negated should Rice see a tick up from 52 percent of pitches in-zone that he saw in 2025 to the 54-percent mark Grisham saw as a leadoff hitter. Rice isn’t quite as good at avoiding the chase, but if he gets more pitches in the strike zone, he’ll crush them more effectively than Grisham.
In a way, we’re designing a middle-class Kyle Schwarber. War Bear was never considered the prototypical leadoff bat before slotting atop the Phillies lineup beginning in their pennant-winning 2022 and being arguably the most dangerous hitter not named Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani in recent years. Still, the Phillies trusted the gonzo contact data that Schwarber produced, and pitchers began to learn — from 2023-25 Schwarber has walked more than his career baseline, because pitchers either have to come in the zone and risk his bat, or give him easy takes out of the zone. Even though the Phillies elected to deploy Trea Turner at leadoff for much of 2025 instead of Schwarber,a similar kind of situation is the goal with Rice.
Grisham’s 2025 was a marvel, making us almost forget that he was an add-on in the Juan Soto trade. Ben Rice’s better batted-ball numbers, alongside his likelihood of seeing more pitches in the zone, make him the best candidate to start games with a bang in 2026.
A lot of people around the team’s fanbase are expecting the Phillies to have a worse season in 2026 than they had in 2025. Whether that be though lack of moves on the free agent/trade market or a natural regression to their true talent, there seems to be a bunch of things people see going wrong when peering into their own crystal ball.
However, if we had to look at the positive side of things, what is something that is most likely to bounce back from being a disappointment in 2025 this upcoming season? There are quite a few options:
Aaron Nola coming back to being a good major league starter, a league average one at worst
Bryce Harper being angry at everyone and regaining MVP status
Alec Bohm enjoying a platform season before he enters free agency after the season
These are just a few options as there could be many more, so let’s dwell on the positive today.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to be a better ballclub in 2026 after finishing last place in the NL Central standings in 2025.
The Pirates made moves to boost their offense, which should help aid a pitching staff led by Cy Young award winner Paul Skenes. Bleacher Report writer Joel Reuter conducted power rankings and placed the Pirates at No. 23.
“The Pirates have made a legitimate effort to bolster their lackluster offense this winter, adding 2025 All-Stars Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn, signing the latter to the largest free agency deal (two years, $29 million) in club history. They might still be a year or two away from legitimate contention, but a lineup that averaged a MLB-worst 3.6 runs per game in 2025 has undoubtedly improved,“ Reuter wrote.
The teams that ranked below the Pirates and the Power Rankings are the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies.
The Pirates are viewed as a team that is on the rise, but that’s because they didn’t have a high bar to begin with. They made some improvements this off-season, but that won’t be enough to gain them much more respect around the league. The Pirates will have to prove themselves on the field this season and outperform the expectations that have been placed upon them.
BD community, what do you think of the placement of the Pirates in the power rankings? Let us know your thoughts by chiming off in the comment section below.
Unless you missed the news on The Weather Channel, local news channels, national news channels, from Facebook, Twitter, your co-workers, your mama and your grandma; there’s a storm brewing. Anywhere from four to eighteen inches of snow is headed. The grocery stores in my part of Braves Country were at DEFCON 2 on Thursday and it’s supposed to be completely to the north of us. I can’t imagine what it’s like where it is actually going to snow.
Makes me wonder if we’ll get a snow out this year. The Braves will be either at home or in warm weather spots to start the year. So no Ozzie Albies in a balaclava this year. So will there be a MLB snow out this season? Baseball really ought to play exclusively in warm weather sites the first week anyway.
The recent talk about Dustin Pedroia on the Hall of Fame ballot has only further increased my desire for a capable, reliable Red Sox infield. We’ve seen it before, and we could get there again.
Alex Bregman’s departure not only opened up a hole which the front office thought it had solved in 2025, but it deepened the mystery of what we have in Marcelo Mayer. Mayer will continue to be an unknown quantity until he spends more time in the majors and proves he can stay on the field for a full season. Not only is he young and untested, but he can play second and third base as well as shortstop. What position he’ll more or less settle into in 2026 has been one of the more enigmatic questions of the offseason.
One piece of circumstantial evidence—and that’s sometimes all we’ve got in the offseason, until the process completely unfolds—is that Mayer has said: “Second base, you’re doing everything backwards.” To some, this may sound like a degree of discomfort, but it also conjures up the grace and confidence of a Ginger Rogers, doing everything Fred Astaire did—but backwards (and in heels). For someone working to transition from one side of the infield to the other, I have no doubt that’s what it might feel like.
A recent post on Bluesky from Alex Speier may do more to illuminate the front office’s thinking.
If this is to be believed (and I’ve been taken in a few times over the years), this might suggest that Eugenio Suárez will not end up on the dirt for the Sox. Our own Mike Carlucci said so in our Slack chat, and others have noted this on the socials too. (Even as Suárez is considered a good overall fit for the team.)
This defense-forward thinking should also have implications for second base. It could reasonably be said that being “very mindful of defense” should preclude an in-house platoon at second of Romy González, Nick Sogard, or David Hamilton. With the possible exception of Sogard, who is also young without a lot of time in the majors, we know those players, and they’re not the answer. Romy can be successful coming off the bench. Hamilton might be best as a pinch runner.
While the rumors are going this way and that, it sounds like second base is still open. So who’s it gonna be?
