Category: MLB

Former Cincinnati Reds star Eugenio Suarez is current Cincinnati Reds star Eugenio Suarez, or will be when the ink on his $15 million deal goes dry. The two sides reportedly reunited on Sunday evening, and we’ve spent the last day excitedly wondering just how things are going to shake out as a result.

Suarez, of course, is a 3B by trade, a move decided upon by the Reds back in the day after the former shortstop showed he was much more suited for a role at the hot corner. That’s the role in which he was playing when the Reds signed him to his most recently completed contract back in early 2018, too, meaning this Reds club is pretty much the only team that’s ever talked him into signing big-dollar contracts in his career.

So, there’s already a ton of understanding between the two, something that’s clear given that the Reds other most recent big-money move was to acquire fellow 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes from Pittsburgh last trade deadline and have him on the books through at least 2029 for $36 million. Hayes, who is perhaps the best defender at any position in the sport, is going to defend the hot corner more often than not, so for Suarez to agree to this deal with Cincinnati means there had to be some air-clearing about his role on the upcoming squad.

That will likely be as the DH most days, with the idea that maybe, just maybe, he’ll get time at 3B and 1B here and there (barring an injury that renders all of this moot). That’s a plan that sounds eerily similar to that of top prospect Sal Stewart, too, though Stewart – who has reportedly lost 20 lbs since the end of last season – may end up getting some run at 2B, too. That’s a lot of 1B overlap already, of course, though neither Suarez nor Stewart has ever truly played there much at all – and that’s all despite resident 1B regular Spencer Steer still very much being on the roster, too.

While that seems like a logjam, let’s put some of that into context by using the 2025 Reds and how they shook out under manager Terry Francona.

For one, Gavin Lux has already been dealt away, and he got 57 starts at DH, 23 between 2B/3B, and 49 in LF. He logged 503 PA across all of those spots that someone else is going to get to eat into. It’s also easy to forget that Santiago Espinal (328 PA), Miguel Andujar (110 PA after coming over at the deadline), Austin Hays (416 PA), and Jake Fraley (193 PA) all factored into the equation at corner infield and corner outfield positions.

Connor Joe got 70 PA! Rece Hinds got 44! Christian Encarnacion-Strand somehow got 137 PA last year despite that feeling, in hindsight, more like about 15. The team also somehow managed to get Blake Dunn, Garrett Hampson, Jacob Hurtubise, Tyler Callihan, and Ryan Vilade a combined 115 PA, and that’s all after we easily forget the 91 PA given to Jeimer Candelario before he was mercifully let go.

A full season of Hayes, who got 178 PA after coming over, will consume a good portion of that. A full season at the big league level from Stewart will, too. Still, it seems quite likely that we’ll see Steer effectively assume the role vacated by Lux offensively while also providing better defense than the former at just about every position they both play. That could well lead to new acquisition JJ Bleday sitting on the bench a lot more than we thought he might all of two days ago, but considering he’s a reclamation project (who still has a minor league option), that’s not exactly a bad thing – if anything, it means that a reclamation project brought in by the Reds will now actually have to show he’s worth being reclaimed before simply being handed the role, something that wasn’t at all the case with the likes of Hays, Wil Myers, and others in recent years.

The hope, obviously, is that the Geno that mashed with Arizona (and who mashed with the Reds the first time around) is who the Reds just signed for the 2026 season. And, if that’s the case, there’s a path to 600+ PA for him without truly impeding anyone who will be better than him offensively in the process. If, for whatever reason, he’s more of the guy who struggled in the awful hitting environment in Seattle, though, the Reds have baked-in a whole lot of extra, quality depth to make sure Suarez’s struggles wouldn’t be enough to singlehandedly sink the Reds ship.

Yeah, there’s a lot of overlap on-paper here. As Steer’s shoulder, TJ Friedl’s wrist and hamstring, Hays’ everything, CES’s wrist, Matt McLain’s oblique/shoulder, and Fraley’s hammies will attest to, having that kind of overlap when you plan to embark upon playing baseball at the highest level every single day for seven months is a very good thing to have. And now, the Reds have the best bubbles in the business squarely in the middle of it all.

This has been a pretty eventful offseason so far for the Pittsburgh Pirates but with many big name free agents still on the market the Pirates are positioned to be a team that can snag one more player before the season starts.

Now that we are in February the market for a lot of these free agents are starting to collapse. You could also see prices drop for some of these players and that is where the Bucs could make their move.  

General manager Ben Cherington has said he wants to do short-term commitments, mid-tier dollars, real upside acquisitions. He does not want to be splashy or reckless. Here are a couple of names that represent opportunities that don’t come along often for a franchise that rarely spends a lot of money.

The Pirates’ biggest roster hole remains painfully obvious: right-handed power, particularly at third base.

Eugenio Suárez, proven 30-homer bat, would have been a huge help. But he went to a division rival instead.

But another piece that would make the offense a whole lot scarier is 35 year old Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna was linked to Pittsburgh in December, but nothing came from that. He is a proven bat and an older veteran player so it shouldn’t be an expensive move especially if he is signed to a short term deal. He hit 21 homers last year and has 100 total dingers his last three seasons combined.

There are also still plenty of pitchers that the Pirates can target for pretty cheap. Relief pitchers like Daniel Coulombe, Scott Barlow and Justin Wilson could also bring much needed depth to the bullpen. While none of those pitchers would be absolute game changers, they would all still make a really good impact on the team. 

Lastly Jose Quintana who was with the Pirates for the 2022 season would be a good fit added to the starting pitching rotation. Quintana just finished last season with the Milwaukee Brewers where he had a 11-7 record and a 3.96 ERA. 

Pittsburgh needs innings and some more stability alongside starting pitchers like Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones. They could sign him to a relatively expensive one year deal and have him be the fourth or fifth pitcher in the rotation and that would make the Pirates one of the deeper starting pitching rotations in the league.

These are all players the Pirates could still target as we get later and later into free agency. With a lot of their markets closing up too, the prices for them could be cheaper than it was in the beginning of free agency. 

The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired slick fielding third baseman Ben Williamson from the Seattle Mariners as part of a three-team deal with the St. Louis Cardinals that will generally be known as the Donovan trade:

• Mariners receive: INF Brendan Donovan
• Cardinals receive: RHP Jurrangelo Cijntje, CF Tai Peete, OF Colton Ledbetter and two 2026 competitive-balance Round B picks (No. 68 from Seattle, No. 72 from Tampa Bay)
• Rays receive: 3B Ben Williamson

Drafted 57th overall in 2023 after what Baseball America called a “monstrous senior season” at William & Mary, Williamson rocketed up to Double-A in his first season in the Mariners season, and stayed on the fast track by picking up 295 plate appearances for Seattle in 2025, putting up a 90 wRC+ against left handed pitching and a 70 wRC+ against right before getting demoted in August.

Like many young players acquired by the Rays lately, it’s a low-whiff/high-contact/low-power approach at the plate, but Williamson’s comes with a noisy, tentative leg kick that belies a power stroke.

If he can hit to all fields it probably works fine.

Williamson has played all but 20 games in his professional career at third base, but with Junior Caminero entrenched, it stands to reason the Rays view this right handed bat as more of a utility man. Will he make the cut? The 40-man is crowded with right handed hitting options, and there wasn’t a clear need for a back-up infielder heading into this deal.

Perhaps the Rays made this deal because they were looking for a more sure handed defensive back up — but he will need to be tested at short just as much as Ryan Vilade will this Spring.

If you’re inclined to think Joey Wendle is a successful model for a major league contributor, Williamson is a good bet, but major league comparisons to Matt Duffy while Williamson was a prospect make me shudder.

If you are inclined to Joey Wendle as the comp, “PTBNL or cash” would have been the return, but some evaluators are higher on Williamson for his glove and malleable approach at the plate. RJ Anderson at CBS Sports gave a 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes projection, writing, “There are worse fates.”

The cost for the Rays is the former No. 55 overall selection OF Colten Ledbetter — who was selected two picks in front of Ben Williamson in the 2023 draft — and the No. 72 overall selection in 2026. Ledbetter is a smash and grab outfielder, swinging a quick bat and capable of stealing bases. The Rays had him positioned to allow more time for center field reps, but the Cardinals may be content to try him in the corners and let the bat play. Ledbetter put up a 112 wRC+ in the jump to Double-A.

The day after Justin Hollander and Jerry Dipoto both said at Fan Fest that the Mariners were still looking to make one impact move, they reportedly backed that up today with the most significant trade of the Mariners off-season, a three-team trade with the Rays and Cardinals that will bring long-anticipated trade target Brendan Donovan to Seattle. While we’re still waiting for the full details of the trade, which was broken by Jeff Passan, reportedly the Mariners are sending third baseman Ben Williamson to the Rays as part of it. We will update this article as more information emerges. Update: so far the trade involves the Mariners sending switch-pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje and outfield prospect Tai Peete to St. Louis, and sending third baseman Ben Williamson to Tampa Bay. Update to the update: the Mariners are also sending a 2026 Comp B pick to St. Louis, who also received a 2026 Comp B pick from Tampa Bay, as well as outfield prospect Colton Ledbetter.

Adding Donovan solidifies an infield mix that was shaky for the Mariners after the free agency departure of Jorge Polanco, with a trio of youngsters in Cole Young, Ben Williamson, and Colt Emerson in the mix but question marks hanging over each. Williamson was the most sure thing of that crew defensively, already playing at a Gold Glove level clip; he’s now headed to Tampa Bay as part of the deal.

Donovan doesn’t come close to replacing Polanco’s power output, but he does offer a reliable presence in the lineup as a high-average player who refuses to strike out. At 29, he’s probably shown about all he will in the power department, with his peak of 14 homers coming in 2024. As a lefty swinger, Donovan will join the Mariners’ other lefty regulars Josh Naylor, J.P. Crawford, and whichever of Dominic Canzone/Luke Raley is playing RF/DHing.

Defensively, Donovan offers positional flexibility, having played major-league innings at every position except catcher and center field. He even won a Gold Glove, in the first year the committee recognized Utility players as a position. However, the bulk of his experience has come at second base, a position that is currently theoretically filled by Cole Young, with Ryan Bliss behind him. That means either Donovan will shift to third, or Cole Young or Colt Emerson will slot over there instead. Likely the Mariners will use spring training to sort out their best defensive alignment for the bats available.

In order to acquire Donovan, who is under team control for two more years, the Mariners had to send out the MLB-experienced Williamson as well as two prospects, switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje and outfield prospect Tai Peete. Cijntje, who made it to Double-A this season, cracked MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list this year and ranks as the sixth or seventh prospect in the Mariners’ top ten, depending on the outlet. The Mariners had announced Cijntje as an NRI invite this year as a right-handed pitcher, saying he would be making right-handed starts while continuing to work on pitching left-handed in his bullpens and side work. His development will now be under the purview of the Cardinals. Cijntje will be the first first-round pick of the Jerry Dipoto era to not debut with the Mariners.

The Mariners also sent out outfielder Tai Peete, who ranks outside the top-10 most places but within the top 15 for us at LL. Peete is an uber-athletic, toolsy prospect who was drafted as an upside play in 2023, when the Mariners had three first-round picks. He’s had a slow start to his pro career, struggling to make contact, but his physical gifts are immense, and there’s still lots of upside for the 20-year-old.

Finally, for prospect analyst Max Ellingsen, I have to put in that the Mariners are also apparently sending a comp B pick in the 2026 draft to St. Louis. This pushes the deal into “ouch” territory for us, which probably means it’s fair. For poor Max, it means that the draft board he’s already building got thrown out a window somewhere in Virginia. It’s a good, deep draft, and the Mariners already won’t get to pick very high in it, so it stings to not have the extra pick – but such is the cost of doing business.

New Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz has officially committed to playing in next month’s World Baseball Classic for Team Puerto Rico.

Assuming, that is, the country doesn’t follow through with its threat to pull out of the tournament following a wave of player withdrawals over insurance-related issues.

Over the last couple weeks, the biggest storyline surrounding the WBC has been the star players who announced they would be unable to participate, often because of an inability to get their MLB contracts insured against potential injury in the event.

The withdrawals had particularly decimated Team Puerto Rico, which lost Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, José Berrios, Emilio Pagan and others because of insurance problems.

On Saturday, the president of its baseball federation publicly floated the idea that the team might withdraw from the triannual tournament entirely –– even though it is scheduled to host group-stage games on its home soil next month.

But the addition of Díaz, arguably the top closer in Major League Baseball, could help alleviate those concerns.

The right-hander is a three-time All-Star with 253 career saves. He pitched to a 1.63 ERA with the New York Mets last year, before signing with the Dodgers on a three-year, $69 million contract this offseason.

In the most recent WBC in 2023, Díaz became an example of why insurance policies are a requirement in the event for MLB players. After closing out a win against the Dominican Republic, which clinched Puerto Rico’s spot in the quarterfinals, he tore his right patellar tendon in an on-field celebration.

That injury forced Díaz, who at the time was just months removed from signing a $102 million deal with the Mets, to miss all of the subsequent 2023 MLB season. But because his contract had been insurance, the Mets were reimbursed for his salary for the time that he missed. 

According to a recent report from The Athletic, Díaz’s 2023 injury is at least part of the reason why insurance policies have proven more difficult for players to obtain in the run-up to this WBC.

However, when it came to Díaz himself –– who has made 116 appearances in his two seasons since returning from injury –– obtaining insurance again apparently didn’t prove to be an impediment.

He is back in the WBC, becoming the fifth Dodgers participant for next month’s event.

MLB Trade Rumors: St. Louis infielder Brendan Donovan is heading to the Seattle Mariners in a three way deal that, of course, features the Tampa Bay Rays as the third team, per reports.

Donovan, 29, finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, a year in which he also nabbed the utility player Gold Glove. A seventh round pick of the Cards in 2018 out of South Alabama, Donovan has slashed .282/.361/.411 over the past four seasons while playing all four infielder positions and the corner outfield spots, though he has primarily played second base and left field.

Donovan, who has two years of team control remaining, has been rumored to be available since the middle of the 2025 season, with the Cardinals embarking on a rebuilding program. Donovan isn’t particularly fast and doesn’t hit for much power, but he gets on base and is versatile, and so a number of teams had expressed interest.

Bob Nightengale is reporting that Seattle is parting with third baseman Ben Williamson as part of this deal. Williamson, the team’s second round pick out of William and Mary in 2023, slashed .253/.294/.310 as the Mariners’ primary third baseman until they acquired Eugenio Suarez. Williamson was sent to AAA for the final two months of the season, slashing .314/.392/.462.

UPDATE — Full deal has Seattle giving up Williamson, pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje and center field prospect Tai Peete and getting Donovan from St. Louis.

St. Louis gets Cijntje and Peete, along with Colton Ledbetter from Tampa and the Rays’ competitive balance round B pick, which is currently #72 overall, for Donovan.

The Rays get Williamson for Ledbetter and the draft pick.

The 22 year old Cijntje is a switch thrower who was drafted 15th overall in the 2024 draft out of Mississippi State. He split the 2025 season between high-A and AA, and was 7th on the Mariners list on BA.

Peete, 20, was the 30th overall pick in the 2023 out of the state of Georgia. He’s an athletic, toolsy outfielder who was 10th on the BA list.

Ledbetter, 24, was the Rays’ second round pick in 2023, also out of Mississippi State. The Rays took him two spots before the Mariners took Williamson.

Next week, the Dodgers will report to spring training to begin their pursuit of a third consecutive World Series championship.

And coming out of Saturday’s annual Fanfest event, there is more clarity on where the team stands at the dawn of a new year.

As the 2026 season approaches, here is an early look at the state of the club’s roster and how the final 26-man group might look come opening day.

Starting rotation

Opening day locks: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Emmet Sheehan, Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell*

Battling for a spot: River Ryan, Gavin Stone, Kyle Hurt, Landon Knack

(*could start season on injured list)

The Dodgers are going to be careful with how they handle their starting pitchers this year. But for now, most appear to be on track for opening day.

Despite throwing more than 200 innings between the regular season and playoffs a year ago, Yamamoto is already gearing up for an early start to his season, set to play for Team Japan in next month’s World Baseball Classic. Given his importance to the team’s success last year, he could have the inside track to being the opening day starter, assuming he comes through the WBC feeling good.

Beyond him, several other Dodgers pitchers appear to have handled the quick turnaround this offseason presented. Glasnow (who once again spent significant time on the injured list last year) and Sheehan (who returned midway through last year after recovering from Tommy John surgery) said they’ve felt good during their winter throwing programs. Sasaki (who will not play in the WBC) and Ohtani (who will only hit in the event) also said they are focusing on their ramp-ups for the regular season.

The biggest question at the moment is Snell, who slow-played his winter work because of lingering shoulder problems. While he said the plan is to be ready for opening day, much will depend on how he feels as he goes through the spring. If he isn’t ready for the start of the year, it could create an opening for a younger arm like Ryan, Stone or someone else –– assuming the Dodgers go with a six-man rotation.

Bullpen

Opening day locks: Edwin Díaz, Alex Vesia, Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol 

Battling for a spot: Anthony Banda, Jack Dreyer, Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski, Will Klein, Edgardo Henriquez

The Dodgers’ relief corps will now be anchored by Díaz, their new $69 million closer. They have left-handed options with Vesia and Scott. They are also expecting bounce-back seasons from Treinen (who had a career-worst 5.40 ERA last year) and Graterol (who missed all of 2025 recovering from shoulder surgery). Brock Stewart is likely to begin the year on the injured list, recovering from his own shoulder surgery late last season.

Still, there’s much to be decided during camp. Banda and Dreyer both present options for further lefty depth. Klein and Henriquez will be trying to cement permanent MLB jobs after contributing in the playoffs last year. And Casprius and Wrobleski can serve in multi-inning swingman roles, or be potential starting candidates if there is an opening in the rotation.

Infield

Opening day locks: Will Smith (catcher), Freddie Freeman (first base), Tommy Edman* (second base), Mookie Betts (shortstop), Max Muncy (third base), Miguel Rojas (bench), Andy Ibáñez (bench), Dalton Rushing (backup catcher)

Battling for a spot: Hyeseong Kim, Alex Freeland

If not for Edman’s offseason ankle surgery, this group would largely be set. However, the possibility of him starting the season on the injured list could create opportunities for others.

If Edman isn’t ready for the start of the year, it’s likely second base could be a platoon with Rojas and either Kim or Freeland –– two young players who showed flashes of production last year, but will be battling to display more consistent offense this spring. Ibáñez, an offseason signing who is likely a roster lock since he has no minor-league options left, could also factor in at second base, while occasionally spelling Muncy at third.

Outfield

Opening day locks: Kyle Tucker (right field), Teoscar Hernández (left field), Andy Pages (center field), Alex Call (bench)

Battling for a spot: Ryan Ward

Tucker’s $240 million signing eliminated most of the questions here. Now, the Dodgers have three clear outfield starters, plus Call as an option off the bench.

Ward, a longtime minor-league standout who was finally placed on the 40-man roster this offseason, saw his chances of making the team plummet upon Tucker’s arrival. However, his productive left-handed bat is still an intriguing tool, making him a potential alternative in the event of any unforeseen spring training injuries.

Designated hitter

Opening day locks: Ohtani

No analysis needed here.

It looks like one of the most anticipated trades of the offseason is about to be complete. Multiple reports say that the St. Louis Cardinals are close to trading Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners. The St. Louis Cardinals are receiving pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje and Tai Peete, a 2023 first-round pick and Colton Ledbetter plus a competitive balance round B pick (#68 overall) from the Mariners and a competitive balance round B pick (#72 overall) from the Rays. Ben Williamson is going from the Mariners to the Tampa Bay Rays.

I first saw this on MLB Trade Rumors. It pointed to a report by Katie Woo and Chad Jennings of The Athletic saying that the Cardinals and Mariners were close to completing a Brendan Donovan trade, but Jeff Passan has added a twist to this saying the Tampa Bay Rays were also involved.

The Seattle Mariners are nearing a deal to acquire IF/OF Brendan Donovan from the St. Louis Cardinals as part of a three-way trade that also includes Tampa Bay, sources tell ESPN. A deal that had been considered for weeks would finally land Seattle a versatile impact bat.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 2, 2026

TRADE NEWS: The St. Louis Cardinals are close to finalizing a trade to send All-Star infielder Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners, multiple sources tell The Athletic. A third team may be involved.

What we know: https://t.co/TC1K4NysOo

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) February 2, 2026

The Mariners are indeed getting Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals in a three-team trade that will include third baseman Ben Williamson going to the Rays and pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje going from Seattle to St. Louis, according to a source.

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) February 2, 2026

This is not a shocker after a report earlier today on MLB Trade Rumors that Seattle President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto said the Mariners were “working on another addition”. We now know that Brendan Donovan was the addition he was speaking of. Now, the St. Louis Cardinals look like they’ll be acquiring one of the most interesting pitching prospects in baseball.

Tai Peete is a prospect with power and speed potential with a swing that can do damage to all fields. He also has versatility as a shortstop, second baseman, and outfielder.

Don’t sleep on Double A outfield prospect Colton Ledbetter. He has moments showing promising power.

While we’re still waiting for the St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays to make this deal official, I can’t help but think that Chaim Bloom walks away from this pleased with a 5-player haul. We all know what a great player (and person) Brendan Donovan is, but I can’t imagine the team getting more value for him than they appear to have pulled off today.

We’re finally in the home stretch of the offseason. Spring training is just a couple of weeks away, and before we know it the 2026 Yankees will be taking the field and playing ball with the goal of avenging their disappointing finish last year. This is true moreso than most teams that got bounced because general manager Brian Cashman largely decided to run back the roster from last year, with the biggest get of the offseason being re-signing Cody Bellinger on top of some tweaks to the bullpen.

Now that the roster speculation is all said and done, it’s time to critique the final result and where it stands relative to the league. Are the Yankees well-suited to take back the division, or has the challenge grown even more? What was their biggest miss of the offseason, and what kind of grade would you give their work overall? If you have questions like these, or anything else on your mind, send ‘em in for a chance to be featured in our Yankees mailbag.

Answers will run on Friday afternoon. All questions received by the night of February 5th will be considered. You can leave your submissions in the comment section below or by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

Pitchers and catchers may not have reported yet, but I figured I need to get an early jump on our usual review of the non-roster invitees to spring training. That’s because there are an awful lot of them this season. The team announced the list on Friday, and there are thirty-two non-roster invitees, in addition to a full 40-man roster. I hope the locker room at Salt River Fields is big enough for everyone. As noted there, that compares to the fewer than twenty present last year – and there may still be some further additions to come, if the rumblings out of the front-office are to be believed.

These players may not be on the 40-man roster yet. But they still “matter”. Of those nineteen NRI in camp last year, over half ended up appearing in the big leagues. Five were pitchers (Kyle Backhus, Jeff Brigham, José Castillo, Christian Montes De Oca, Juan Morillo) and another five were position players (Tristin English, Aramis Garcia, Garrett Hampson, Connor Kaiser and Ildemaro Vargas). Garcia and Vargas are back in the same situation this spring. Should Vargas appear for the D-backs in 2026, it will be his seventh season doing so. That would be more than franchise cornerstones like Justin Upton, Steve Finley and Gerardo Parra.

But let’s begin our review – which will likely take much of the month to complete! – with the left-handed pitchers who will be reporting to Salt River Fields next week.

Spencer Giesting (70)

An 11th-round pick in 2022, out of the University of North Carolina, Giesting split time in 2025 between Double-A Amarillo and Triple-A Reno. His numbers at the former stop were excellent, especially considering its status as the most hitter-friendly park in the minors: a 3.67 ERA, compared to a team figure a hair below five. Spencer did struggle after moving to the (relatively pitcher-friendly!) Aces, with a 6.47 ERA across seventeen starts. But he was more than four years younger than average for that level. Giesting also finished strongly, with a 3.14 ERA over his final five starts, and being named the team’s minor-league pitcher of the month for September.

Tommy Henry (47)

This is obviously a name you should recognize, since at one point Henry (pictured top) looked set to become a regular member of the big-league rotation. He made sixteen starts in 2023, and had a 4.15 ERA when elbow inflammation ended his season in July. Sadly, Tommy hasn’t been the same since. His ERA ballooned to over seven in 2024, and he barely got a cup of coffee last year, making just two appearances before that elbow required Tommy John surgery in June. Henry was designated for assignment in November, but re-signed to a minor-league contract the following month. He obviously won’t be doing much in camp, since he is still recovering from that surgery.

Yu-Min Lin (89)

It kinda feels like we’ve been taking about Lin for a while, but he only signed with the D-backs in 2022. Hopefully, he will arrive on time this year: he was late to spring training in 2025 due to obligatory military service back in his home country of Taiwan. He made 23 starts for Reno, and labored a bit, with an ERA of 6.64. But he only turned 22 in July, so like Giesting, is very young for Triple-A. One three-game stretch, where he allowed 18 ER over 6.1 innings, was definitely a factor; he then rebounded with three ER over 17 innings. Yu-Min should start in Reno again, but I would not be surprised if he were to reach the major leagues this season.

MESA, Arizona — I decided to head over to Sloan Park Monday, as I heard the equipment truck that left Chicago Friday was going to arrive. You can see the truck at the top of this post; here are some more photos of Cubs staffers unloading equipment:

While I was there I headed over toward Field 1, the main practice field at the Sloan Park complex. There was a bit of batting practice going on. Here are Carson Kelly and Dylan Carlson chatting, Kelly sporting a full beard:

Here’s Carlson taking a swing in the cage:

Also near Field 1 is the new building for players and staff that was completed over the winter. This building will host the Pitch Lab and some additional batting cages:

On the buildings on the right field side of Sloan Park itself, the team has put up 10 large photos of players. These were obviously done before Alex Bregman was signed, otherwise they surely would have included him:

Pitcher and catcher official report day is a week from Wednesday, Feb. 11, though as you can see, some players are already working out in Mesa. Baseball isn’t too far away!

With New York Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury announcing the team’s intentions to retool the roster, trade rumors have begun to run rampant regarding multiple players. 

That includes Braden Schneider, who, throughout his Rangers tenure, hasn’t been the subject of much trade speculation. 

For many years, Schneider was perceived to be part of the Blueshirts’ core and someone who would emerge as a cornerstone piece of the future.

However, for essentially the first time in his Rangers tenure, there has been serious chatter that the team will look to move Schneider. 

The 24-year-old defenseman is set to become a restricted free agent after the 2025-26 season comes to a close, leaving his future in New York uncertain. 

Schneider reiterated that he loves playing for the Rangers, but what ultimately may transpire before the March 6th NHL Trade Deadline is out of his control. 

“I don't have any social media or anything like that, so it's not like I'm running into it a whole lot,” Schneider said of trade rumors. “Obviously, you hear about the noise and stuff, and it sucks to hear because of the expectation that we had this year. 

“I love being a Ranger, it's awesome. Just the results this year it makes it tough. It's one of those things that you understand. It's stuff that at this point is out of our control, and whatever happens happens, but I keep my focus here in this room with my teammates and still trying to get wins and get better each day.”

Through 56 games this season, Schneider described his game as “up and down”. 

Despite continuing to provide a physical presence for the Rangers and attempting to make subtle improvements in creating chances offensively, Schneider’s plus/minus rating of -14 is the lowest of his career. 

Holding himself to a high standard when it comes to defending, Schneider has been frustrated with the number of goals against he’s been on the ice for.

“I feel like this year, it’s crazy because we’ve been getting scored against a lot. I take a lot of pride in obviously not getting scored against and being a mindless player. On a team that’s struggling you always want to do more,” Schneider said. “I think throughout the course of the year, I've done a better job at getting pucks to the net, whereas earlier on, it was really hitting a lot of shin pads or missed the net or missing chances that you should capitalize on, and things like that… 

“I think it's hard to feel good about your game at times. My main goal is not to get points or anything like that, it is to get wins. When you are not getting wins, you feel like you need to do more.”

Schneider’s rise into the Rangers’ lineup came as the team was experiencing some incredible success, including two trips to the Eastern Conference Final. 

The young blueliner is learning more about the business side of hockey, watching the same core group of players being broken up over the past year and a half, and is really reaching a boiling point now. 

A lot could change both for the Rangers and for Schneider from an individual standpoint, and he knows that he must be prepared for all possible scenarios. 

“It's probably the hardest thing about being a professional hockey player is building these relationships with these guys over a course of a couple years, and you don't perform as a team, and it's time to make changes,” Schneider said. “That's the way it goes, and it sucks. You always wish that you could have had the results to keep the team together, because we really do have a great group of guys in here. It's sad to see some guys go but at the same time, it's the business of things. I think everyone understands what the expectation is when you're not not meeting it, you're gonna have to make those decisions. So it's a double edged sword, where it's sad, but at the same time, you have to understand what's going on.”

Earlier on Monday, we got word that the Atlanta Braves were one of three teams (alongside the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels) that didn’t decide to follow the Brewers, Cardinals, Rays, Reds and Royals to MLB Media as far as their televised games are concerned.

Well, now we know why the Braves didn’t join that pack of ballclubs when it came to making that jump. As it turns out, the Braves are reportedly about to launch their own TV network. Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal is reporting that this is the path that the Braves are going to go down. He laid it out pretty clearly in his article detailing what the Braves and the eight other clubs are planning to do with their TV coverage going forward.

…The Braves are expected to launch their own network, perhaps to air on a national streaming platform such as Amazon or Apple or with a template similar to the Rangers Sports Network — which has direct-to-distributor deals with cable and satellite providers, a local over-the-air partner and a streaming outlet in Victory+.

In case you’re wondering, here’s a link to the Rangers Sports Network’s programming page. The way it works for them is that the Texas Rangers have their own platform where they can reach fans through either cable and/or satellite, over the air, and even streaming as well. The cable/satellite and OTA options would be available for fans across the Braves TV market (which is essentially the vast majority of the entire Southeastern region of the United States) and the streaming option would give fans from outside of the market a way to watch the team as well — and in Atlanta’s case, the options of Amazon Prime and Apple TV would be very appealing.

The Braves were already available to watch locally via streaming platforms on Amazon Prime if you chose to buy a subscription to FanDuel Sports Network through that platform for $19.99 a month. Id imagine that if this is what the Braves do then they’d simply transition to that platform while staying on Amazon Prime, so I can’t anticipate that this would be a major change for fans who have already been watching the Braves via streaming platforms.

However, this would be a pretty big change for the TV side of things, since this would essentially be a brand-new frontier for the Braves in terms of TV. They’ve been part of the RSN model since their days of being broadcast nationwide on cable via the TBS Superstation (a.k.a the good ol’ days) and now it’s apparent that the team has decided that the future involves doing their own in-house production and televising of their own product.

Either way, it’s clear that the Braves are going to be out of the RSN TV business if this is the path that they’re going down. There’s still no guarantees yet when it comes to figuring out a permanent TV home for the Braves but as of right now, we’re closer to figuring that out now than we have been in the past. We’ll see what happens!

New Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz will pitch for Puerto in the World Baseball Classic in March, it was announced Monday.

Díaz, who signed a three-year, $69-million contract in December as the most sough-after reliever in free agency, pitched for Puerto Rico in the 2023 WBC but tore the patellar tendon in his right knee while celebrating a win over the Dominican Republic that pushed the team into the quarterfinals. He missed the entire 2023 MLB season as a result.

The 31-year-old Díaz has a 2.82 ERA and 253 saves over his nine-year career. In that time, no other MLB reliever tops him in strikeouts (839), while only Kenley Jansen has recorded more saves (334). With the New York Mets this past season — his second since returning from knee surgery — Díaz also had one of his best career campaigns, posting a 1.63 ERA with 28 saves in 31 opportunities and 98 strikeouts in 66 ⅓ innings.

His announcement comes days after it was revealed Dodgers teammate Shohei Ohtani will not pitch in the WBC in order to focus on ramping up to pitch during the season without restrictions. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will pitch for Team Japan and catcher Will Smith and recently-retired left-hander Clayton Kershaw will be on Team USA's roster.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani will not pitch for Japan in WBC: 'Just seemed like the right decision'

Complete rosters for the 20 teams participating in the WBC will be revealed on Thursday on MLB Network.

Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas announced last week that he was forced to withdraw from consideration for the WBC, joining teammates Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages, Andy Ibáñez. The hurdle for Rojas, who turns 37 next month, was difficulty in obtaining insurance to guarantee his $5.5-million salary in case he missed Dodgers games because of injuries incurred during the WBC while representing his native Venezuela.

“I didn’t know that my chance to go represent my country for the first and only time, probably as a player, was going to get caught up because of an insurance problem,” Rojas said Saturday during the Dodgers' annual fan event at Dodger Stadium.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.