Good morning friends. It was kind of a slow news day yesterday around baseball. Hopefully things will pick up again soon as we close in on spring training.
Regardless, here are the stories we’re tracking as we pass the mid-week point.
The Rockies acquired infielder Edouard Julien and right-hander Pierson Ohl from the Twins for minor league righty Jace Kaminska and cash considerations.
In the MacKenzie Gore trade, the Washington Nationals got five pieces in return. They received Gavin Fien, Alejandro Rosario, Devin Fitz-Gerald, Abimelec Ortiz and Yeremy Cabrera. We have talked about the first four prospects, but I thought Yeremy Cabrera was worth discussing too. He may be the 5th piece in the deal, but he is more than a throw in.
On prospect rankings, Cabrera actually ranks ahead of Abimelec Ortiz, but is not as close to the big leagues. Pipeline ranks him as the Nats 17th best prospect, while Baseball America has him at 22nd. The 20 year old outfielder has an intriguing blend of speed, defense and flashes of hitting ability.
Cabrera’s best trait is his defense in center field. Baseball America considers him a 60 grade defender, while Pipeline has him at a 55. BA says he is a plus defender due to his elite combination of speed and instincts. He was actually named the Rangers Minor League defender of the year last season.
Along with the defense, Cabrera is also one of the fastest runners in the system now. He stole 43 bases in the minors last year. Cabrera was actually one of just six teenagers to post a wRC+ above 115, steal at least 25 bases and hit at least 7 homers last year. Most of these players are top 100 prospects.
Want to push some Angel Cepeda love! Some excellent company in this filtered search.
Low-A or higher, 19 or younger, wRC+ 115 or greater, 25 or more SB, 7 or more HRs in 2025:
While Cabrera is a legitimate prospect now, it was not always this way. He signed for just $10,000 in 2022. His minor league production and his inclusion in a major trade made this more than a worthwhile investment for the Rangers. He is a player with helium attached to his name.
While speed and defense are Cabrera’s calling card, he also shows promise at the plate. In a pitcher friendly environment, Cabrera hit .256 with a .730 OPS in A ball last year. While those numbers don’t seem like anything crazy, it was good for a 120 wRC+.
Cabrera has surprising raw power for a smaller guy, hitting max exit velocities of 110 MPH. He kept the ball off of the ground nicely as well. However, that raw power has not fully shown up in games yet. Cabrera hit just 8 homers and 12 doubles in 102 games, with a .366 slugging percentage. At just 20, there could be more in the tank though.
Getting on base is one thing that Cabrera excels at in the low minors. He posted a .364 OBP with an 11.5% walk rate last season. Those are solid numbers for a young defense first outfielder. He also has decent contact skills, with a strikeout rate below 20%.
Haven’t seen any mention of the 5th piece in the deal, OF Yeremy Cabrera, but he’s got very good numbers as well In 102 games at Low A as a 19 yo in 2025 -120 wRC+ -.364 OBP -8 HRs -43 SBs! 16th ranked prospect in TEX farm, don’t sleep on himpic.twitter.com/C0vlF368ak
Cabrera is never going to be a special hitter, but he should be able to hit enough to get to the MLB. His speed and defense provide a strong floor as a fourth outfielder. If the power comes around, he could be a strong side platoon guy. Left handed pitching seems to give him a lot of trouble, hitting below .200 against southpaws last year.
For a 5th piece in a trade, this is a really nice get. Yeremy Cabrera is young, athletic and has plenty of paths to becoming a big leaguer. You don’t see that much from a guy who is considered the “throw in” of a trade.
Next season will be a test for Cabrera. He should start next season at High-A Wilmington. The Nats High-A affiliate is infamous for being pitcher friendly. However, Cabrera is used to that, with the Rangers Low-A affiliate also being tough for hitters.
The Nationals have a lot of infielders in the lower minors, but not as many strong outfield prospects. Obviously, the Nats have plenty of young outfield talent in the MLB and even AAA, but as you get down to A ball, you don’t see as much talent. This means Cabrera should be able to get a lot of looks in center field.
Having watched Jacob Young for the last couple of years, Nats fans know how valuable center field defense can be. Cabrera may not be that level of defender, but he is not far off. He also provides much more offensive upside than Young. It will take him a couple years to get to the MLB, but do not be surprised if Yeremy Cabrera is a solid contributor one day.
Happy 62nd birthday to John Habyan, a local boy done good who was a key cog in the Yankees’ bullpen for parts of four seasons. Habyan was born on Long Island and pitched well enough at St. John the Baptist High School in West Islip to garner the attention of the Orioles, who picked him up in the third round of the 1982 MLB Draft. He steadily rose through the minor league ranks, culminating in a 1985 campaign in which he earned Baltimore Orioles Organizational Player of the Year Award while going 13-5 with a 3.46 ERA in 28 starts with Triple-A Rochester. He briefly debuted with the Orioles that year as well during a two-appearance stint. He would spend the next four years shuttled back and forth between Baltimore and Rochester. Habyan’s only extended opportunity in the bigs during this period came in 1987, when he pitched to a 4.80 ERA in 116.1 innings while posting a lackluster 64:40 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
John Habyan Born: January 29, 1964 (Bay Shore, NY) Yankees Tenure: 1990-1993
In Janury of 1989, Habyan’s career trajectory was thrown violently off course. While sledding near his home in Maryland, he hit an ice patch and flew 10 feet into the air. He came down on his pitching shoulder, suffering a third-degree shoulder separation. It’s the kind of contact injury common in football and hockey, but never expected for a baseball player. “I was scared because no other pitchers ever had this,” he would later say. “I didn’t know if I would be able to pitch again. I put the fear behind me because I wanted to pitch.” While recovering from surgery, Habyan discovered he had lost some heat off his fastball. Instead of seeing this as a setback, however, he saw it as an opportunity. “I learned to pitch a little bit,” he said. “Everything I had ignored from pitching coaches started to make sense.”
In July of 1989, in the midst of this transitional period, the Orioles shipped the right-hander off to the Yankees for outfielder Stan Jefferson. He was assigned to Triple-A Columbus and would not make his debut in pinstripes until the following season, when injuries to Chuck Cary and Lance McCullers pressed him into action. But, after two scoreless outings, it was back to Columbus for Habyan after McCullers’ return. He wouldn’t return until the final weeks of the season. At 27 years old entering the 1991 season, the hurler was likely running out of chances to show what he could contribute at the MLB level.
It was at this inflection point, with his back up against the wall, that Habyan delivered the best season of his career. After cracking the Yankees’ roster out of spring training, the veteran earned his first win since 1988 in a May 10th victory over the Athletics. Joining the likes of Steve Farr, Steve Howe, Lee Guetterman, Greg Cadaret, and Eric Plunk, Habyan helped form a surprisingly potent — if unheralded — bullpen mix that kept a moribund Yankees team above water for much of the season. The reliever remained circumspect in the face of the first sustained success of his career. ‘I don’t think any of us wants to pat ourselves on the back,” he said of the bullpen’s performance in July. “You start to do that and you lose your focus. It’s important to keep respect for the other team. Besides, it’s hard to pitch with one foot in your mouth and the other foot on the mound.”
In July and August, the unassuming pitcher who teammates dubbed “flower pot” due to his low-key nature ripped off a 21.2 inning scoreless streak. In the midst of this run, his pitching coach offered effusive praise. “He went from being the last guy to make the club to being the second guy in the bullpen,” Mark Connor said. “If he is not the best or one of the best setup men in the league this year, I don’t know who is. I don’t think I’ve seen a guy who can consistently throw good pitches like this kid can.”
By season’s end, the sinkerballer had thrown 90 innings out of the bullpen, posting a 2.30 ERA while striking out 70 against just 20 walks. That performance was good enough to earn him a major raise in arbitration, from $148,000 in 1991 up to $500,000 for 1992. He began that season continuing his run of dominance, including a stretch in which he was pressed into closing duty and proceeded to record saves in his first five appearances in the role. When that streak ended on July 9th, Habyan had a 1.54 ERA and appeared locked into a key back-end role for years to come. He’d allow 24 runs in 26 innings the rest of the way, though. Things got bad enough that the Yankees attempted to pass their erstwhile closer through waivers in August to give him a reset in the minors, though he was claimed and the request had to be withdrawn.
Habyan’s struggles continued into 1993, at which point he was relegated from his high-leverage role. He took the move in stride. “Sometimes you have to take a step backward to go forward,” he said. “I’m going to sit tight. I know that I won’t be out there in the late innings in games. I’ve been through this before. My whole career has been up and down.” The resilient Habyan wouldn’t get that chance to go forward in New York. At the ‘93 trade deadline, he was shipped to the Royals in a three-team deal that netted the Yankees left-handed reliever Paul Assenmacher.
Habyan would bounce between the Royals, Cardinals, Angels, and Rockies over the next three-and-a-half seasons, mostly performing capably in middle and long relief. He signed with the Mets as a non-roster invitee for spring training in 1997 but failed to make the cut, ending his career at the age of 33.
After his playing days, Habyan spent 17 years back at his alma mater, St. John the Baptist High School, as head varsity baseball coach before joining Hofstra University as its pitching coach in 2015, a position he still holds. While his best work came during the Yankees’ dark years, his steady demeanor and durability were bright spots as the overlooked reliever helped anchor the team’s bullpen.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
The Royals have potential arbitration hearings with Kris Bubic and Vinnie Pasquantino this winter. Neither player came to terms on a contract with the team, leading each to file for an arbitration hearing. Bubic filed for $6.15 million, while the Royals countered with $5.15 million. Pasquantino filed for $4.5 million, with the team offering $4 million.
The Royals haven’t gone to an arbitration hearing since 2023, when they won their case over Brady Singer, but they’ve had plenty of experience going head-to-head with players over the years. Since players won the right to go to arbitration in 1973, the Royals have had 23 arbitration hearings so far, winning 12 of their cases, while players have won 11. The table below shows what each side filed for, and how much larger the player request was than the team offer.
The gap between player requests and team offers has shrunk in recent years. Both sides now have tools to better estimate what a player in that situation will receive through arbitration. The difference between what Vinnie Pasquantino is asking for and what the team has offered is smaller than the difference of any arbitration case the team has ever had.
Players won the right to salary arbitration after a work stoppage in 1973 that canceled part of spring training, although it was a concession owners would soon regret. After the season, any player with at least two years of service time could dispute their salary. That means nearly 500 players could have filed for arbitration, yet just 54 did that first off-season, and 25 settled before going to a hearing.
The first player to go to arbitration was Twins pitcher Dick Woodson, who enjoyed a breakout season that year. He was specifically chosen by the union to highlight the alleged frugality and abusive negotiations against Twins ownership. He won his case and was awarded a $30,000 salary, instead of the $23,000 offer from the Twins. Three months later, he was traded to the Yankees.
The Royals had three players file for arbitration that first off-season – infielders Fred Patek and Cookie Rojas, and pitcher Paul Splittorff. Patek and Split settled before going to a hearing, but the Royals could not come to terms with Rojas. The popular veteran second baseman was coming off his second All-Star season in Kansas City, having hit .276 with six home runs and 18 steals, earning a few MVP votes. But the 34-year-old was also mulling retirement, to be with his wife, who was battling health problems, and his four kids.
Rojas decided to return, but wanted money he felt he was owed after a long career and yearly salary disputes in the days when players had little recourse. He knew his earning days were drawing to an end and wanted to take advantage of the new arbitration system. He asked for a salary of $72,500, with the Royals countering with $60,000. The team claimed they were losing money, despite attendance doubling that summer.
Rojas would lose his case, one of 16 players who lost their arbitration cases, while 13 were awarded their requested salary. The biggest winner was slugger Reggie Jackson, who was awarded a salary of $135,000.
At the time, this was the only recourse for players to appeal their salaries. While players eventually secured free agency in 1976, the union continued to advocate for arbitration as a safeguard for players still years away from reaching the open market. Modern arbitration is available to players with three or more years of service but less than the six years needed for free agency, as well as players with two years that are in the top 22 percent of service time, known as a “Super-Two” designation.
Teams must ‘tender’ a contract to eligible players by a November deadline or ‘non-tender’ them, which immediately makes them free agents. Players tendered a contract can continue to negotiate a salary for the next season, and those that fail to reach agreement can file for arbitration by a January deadline. The player will file their salary request, while the team files their offer. They can, in theory, continue to negotiate up until the hearing decision, but many teams have a policy known as “file-and-trial”, meaning once the two parties file, negotiations are over.
The hearing is before a panel of three arbitrators, where the player makes arguments on why they are deserving of their request, while the team argues why their offer should be chosen. This can create animosity, as the team is essentially arguing the player is worth less than they claim. The collective bargaining agreement spells out what factors can be considered by arbitrators:
The criteria will be the quality of the Player’s contribution to his Club during the past season (including but not limited to his overall performance, special qualities of leadership and public appeal), the length and consistency of his career contribution, the record of the Player’s past compensation, comparative baseball salaries…the existence of any physical or mental defects on the part of the Player, and the recent performance record of the Club including but not limited to its League standing and attendance as an indication of public acceptance…
The panel is directed to give particular attention to comparative salaries for players with similar service time. Inadmissible evidence includes the financial position of the player or club, press comments on the player’s performance, and details of salary negotiations prior to the hearing. Only publicly available data may be used; proprietary team metrics are inadmissible. The panel can choose the player’s request or the team’s offer; they cannot choose a middle ground. According to a 2023 study by Devan Fink, teams have a 57 percent success rate in arbitration hearings.
Teams used to be able to release arbitration-eligible players in spring training for termination pay – obligating them to pay just a fraction of the player’s salary – but that provision was eliminated in the most recent labor deal.
More than 50 years after salary arbitration was introduced, the process has become far more predictable than in its early days, even if it remains inherently adversarial. The gap between the numbers filed by the Royals and their players suggests a resolution could come before a hearing is ever necessary. If not, fans can only hope the process doesn’t leave a lingering strain on the relationships between players and the club.
Spring Training is just around the corner and so is the 2026 World Baseball Classic, which will begin March 4 in Tokyo and March 6 in San Juan, Miami and Houston.
A number of Cubs have already committed to play in the WBC, and there could be others going forward — not all the rosters have been finalized.
But here’s what we know as of now.
Matthew Boyd, Alex Bregman and Pete Crow-Armstrong will play for Team USA.
Jameson Taillon will compete for Canada. While Taillon was born in Florida, both of his parents are Canadian and he holds dual citizenship. Former Cub Owen Caissie, sent to the Marlins in the Edward Cabrera trade, will also play for Team Canada.
Seiya Suzuki will play for Samurai Japan (that’s the official name of Japan’s WBC entry). Interestingly, Shōta Imanaga — who started the 2023 WBC championship game for Japan — won’t participate this time. It seems likely he wants to devote his time to preparing for the 2026 regular season with the Cubs.
Daniel Palencia is set to pitch for Venezuela.
At this time those are the six Cubs officially announced for the WBC. It seems likely that Javier Assad will play for Mexico’s WBC team, as he did in 2023, but that hasn’t been made official yet.
Cubs minor leaguer BJ Murray, who played for Double-A Knoxville last year, will be on the Great Britain WBC entry. Murray is from the Bahamas, part of the British Commonwealth, so that makes him eligible.
Those are all the Cubs committed to play in the WBC at this time as full official rosters have yet to be announced. One potential very interesting development:
On WSCR’s Inside the Clubhouse ,GM of the WBC team Italy Ned Colletti said that he asked former Cub Anthony Rizzo to participate on team Italy this spring.Rizzo is still deciding.
I have not heard anything since the time of that social media post about Anthony Rizzo saying yes — but neither have I heard that he’s ruled it out. That would be an interesting coda to Rizzo’s baseball career, suiting up one final time for Team Italy. Rizzo played for Italy in the 2013 WBC, going 4-for-17 with two doubles and six RBI in five games.
For Cubs fans, if it happens, this could go beyond just rooting for Rizzo. Team Italy is scheduled to play an exhibition game against the Cubs at Sloan Park on Tuesday, March 3. You can bet that would become a really hot ticket if Rizzo decided to play for Team Italy. As always, we await developments.
Spring Training is right around the corner with just 13 days until pitchers and catcher report. The rest of the squad reports a few days later and the first games of the season begin shortly after that. The long winter is coming to a close (except for the people on the East Coast, sorry guys).
Now we know a few more names that will be showing up in those early days. The A’s announced yesterday afternoon their non-roster invitees for this season’s camp, picking 31 guys that will join the 40-man roster for the early days of camp, with a couple of surprising additions and omissions:
The Athletics have announced 31 non-roster invitees to Spring Training for the 2026 season: pic.twitter.com/iDdmrM77Ys
The biggest name there is of course Leo De Vries. The young shortstop was always expected to be in camp with the A’s but now it’s official. De Vries of course likely won’t break camp with the club, considering they have Jacob Wilson at shortstop to open the season. That said, a big camp could convince the A’s to be aggressive with him and start him in Triple-A to begin the year, making him just one phone call away from the big leagues. He’s going to be a name to watch this spring.
The same can be said about left-hander Gage Jump, who also made it to Double-A last year. Like De Vries he’s unlikely to crack the Opening Day roster but he’s not as far away as some may think and a big spring could put him on the radar for an early call-up if/when the A’s need pitching reinforcements. The other stud lefty in the A’s system, Jamie Arnold, also got invited to big league camp and he’ll be there when pitchers and catchers report. This’ll be the first real time the coaches and players will get to see Arnold up close and personal after he didn’t make his professional debut last year. There’s almost no scenario where the 21-year-old comes close to sniffing the Opening Day roster but he could be on the fast-track to the big leagues and this will give us a glimpse into the future.
There are a few other interesting prospects that will be in camp with the A’s. Outfielders Henry Bolte and Ryan Lasko face an uphill climb for a roster spot but should be options for the Athletics sooner rather than later. Bolte will be in camp for the fourth time and his solid spring performance last year was a sign of his upcoming big season in the minors. Lasko needs a bit more development down in the minors but offers another interesting young outfielder for A’s fans to watch this spring. In the infield we’ll get a look at young corner infielder Tommy White and see how he handles himself in major league camp. The bat isn’t the question, it’s if he’s going to be able to stick at the hot corner or need to move across the diamond. It’s almost the exact opposite for shortstop Joshua Kuroda-Grauder, who will need to prove he can handle major league quality pitches in camp and hopefully show some power in the batter’s box.
Other interesting pitchers to watch include prospects Wei-En Lin and Kade Morris. Lin has shot up through the minors and is approaching the big leagues and Morris was one of the return pieces in the Mason Miller trade. Neither are serious contenders for a roster spot but again, a strong spring puts them on the map and in the heads of the coaching staff.
The catchers are all well-known depth pieces but after Shea Langeliers and Austin Wynns the depth chart is extrmely unsettled. Camp will determine who is first in the pecking order behind the plate if one of those two go down to injury. Chad Wallach has the most big league experience of the bunch but with not-so-great results in parts of eight big league seasons. Brian Serven is a quality defender but offers next to nothing with the bat. And the others have little or no big league experience under their belts. The battle for third catcher will be a smaller but important storyline to watch this spring.
The rest of the invitees are entering camp on the outside looking in but with a chance to turn heads in spring, especially the relievers. The A’s were busy early in the offseason loading up on relief pitching depth and soon enough we’ll get those battles underway with all those names vying for a spot in the bullpen when the team travels to Toronto to start the regular season. Will a veteran like Wander Suero or Joey Meneses surprise everyone and land a spot? Or will a younger arm like Gustavo Rodriguez or Michael Stefanic snag a spot to start the year? The battles are almost set to commence, and with that the baseball season begins!
Any NRI you think could crack the roster? Debate below! And have a good Thursday everyone!
The @Athletics have extended non-roster invites to 10 top prospects:
1. Leo De Vires 2. Jamie Arnold 3. Gage Jump 5. Henry Bolte 7. Tommy White 10. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer 14. Kade Morris 16. Ryan Lasko 19. Wei-En Lin 22. Kenya Huggins
Agreed. Who legitimately thinks Vlad Jr. is better than Kurtz at this point?
I usually don’t care about these because they don’t have any real impact and the A’s will always be overlooked but… one of these guys had a 174 OPS+ the year after he was drafted. Not ranking him #1 is an admission that you don’t know what you are seeing right in front of you. https://t.co/yY9SJAR2mq
By this point in the year, most of the major publications — other than Baseball Prospectus, which deserves its own article — have released their list of the top 100 prospects in baseball heading into the 2026 season. I already covered the Brewers prospects named to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America’s lists, but ESPN and The Athletic both included Brewers who weren’t named to either. Also of note: Keith Law ranked the Brewers’ farm system as the best in baseball earlier this morning.
You can find our coverage of Pipeline’s list here and Baseball America’s here. For those of you trying to keep track of which prospects were named to which list:
Baseball America: SS Jesús Made (#4), INF Luis Peña (#47), SS Cooper Pratt (#50), SS/2B/CF Jett Williams (#71), RHP Brandon Sproat (#81), RHP Logan Henderson (#96)
MLB Pipeline: Made (#3), Peña (#26), Williams (#51), Pratt (#64), Sproat (#100)
The Athletic (Keith Law): Made (#3), Peña (#27), Williams (#45), C Jeferson Quero (#74), Sproat (#75), Pratt (#99)
ESPN: Made (#3), Pena (#26), Williams (#32), Henderson (#64), Pratt (#70), Sproat (#73), Quero (#75), RHP Bishop Letson (#91)
Made, Peña, Williams, Pratt, and Sproat are viewed as consensus top prospects. ESPN, however, expanded the list to include Quero (also included by Law), Henderson (also included by Baseball America), and Letson. Let’s examine why some outlets felt these players deserved inclusion while others did not:
C Jeferson Quero
Quero was a consensus top prospect as recently as last year (ranked No. 43 by Baseball America, No. 47 by MLB Pipeline). He could very well be an above-average hitter (for a catcher) at the big-league level. He’s also a solid receiver and has drawn rave reviews from Brewers’ minor league coaches for his work with pitches. The draw with Quero, the first thing mentioned in any scouting report on him, was always his rocket of an arm. Back in 2023, he was posting pop times as low as 1.86 seconds.
The question with Quero isn’t his upside, it’s his health. Quero tore his right labrum during the first game of the 2024 season. He missed the entire rest of the season, the first two months of 2025, and since returning, his arm hasn’t looked the same. The 23-year-old Venezuelan had a caught stealing rate of just 18.9% last season, leading to long-term concerns about his defensive viability and explaining why he was left off both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America’s lists this year.
Labrum injuries are fickle, as I wrote about last year in anticipation of Quero’s return. It’s possible that his arm is merely working back to full strength, that a full offseason of rehab and training will have him looking more like the Quero of old before the summer. It’s also possible that his arm will never be the same and that the Brewers may need to adjust expectations as to who Quero will be as a big leaguer.
Milwaukee adding him to the 40-man roster may signal that they see him spelling Contreras, not as an eventual everyday catcher. There’s an argument to be made that if Milwaukee saw him as the catcher of the future, they would give him more playing time to develop in Triple-A. Then again, the recent signing of Reese McGuire (albeit to a minor league deal with a spring training invite) might signal that they do intend to give him that time.
Even if his arm isn’t ever what it was, or 90% of what it was, The Athletic senior baseball writer Keith Law is more optimistic about his bat than most outlets. Law thinks that his bat will translate to the majors regardless of how his arm recovers, stating that, “Quero has always been a high-contact hitter who likes to swing the bat, and he kept that up with a 36.8% chase rate in Triple A while still striking out only 14% of the time because he doesn’t miss pitches in the zone much and actually makes more contact on balls out of the zone than most hitters… I do believe the bat will keep coming back.”
Either way, we should have a more definitive answer on what Quero will be at the major league level by the end of the season. If Quero’s arm returns to above average, his bat makes him a solid starter and potential future All-Star. If it doesn’t, he may be more of a backup/rotational catcher, which is still a valuable piece to have.
RHP Bishop Letson
Letson is one of my personal favorite prospects in baseball, so it’s great to see him recognized by ESPN. Letson only started 11 games last season due to a shoulder injury. When he came back in August, he made four High-A starts and one start in Double-A Biloxi. Three of those starts were great, while two of them (including his lone appearance in Biloxi) didn’t go very well.
ESPN thinks the main question with Letson “is his health,” but he also has “most of the markers (they) look for in projecting a breakthrough season, so front-line potential is still within reach.” Letson’s command has also left something to be desired, but that’s often part of the natural development process — especially considering his age (21). ESPN notes that ranking Letson in the top 100 prospects is an “aggressive stance,” but “presuming he’ll be healthy in 2026” he should justify the ranking because of his “massive extension,” “starter feel,” and “above-average stuff.”
I wouldn’t even say “above-average stuff.” The 6’4” right-hander is downright electric at times, and his stuff plays up even more due to his elite extension. Jacob Misiorowski’s delivery averages around 7 1/4 feet of extension, which would put him in the 99th percentile leaguewide. Letson is three inches shorter than the Miz, yet Baseball Savant’s scouting report compares his extension to Misiorowski. He doesn’t throw super hard, normally sitting around 93-94 mph, but hitters have less time to see the pitch and react because Letson releases the ball closer to home plate than your average pitcher. Elite extension also creates a more challenging downhill angle for hitters and disrupts hitter’s timing. If he bulks up (Letson weighs about 170 pounds), he could add a couple ticks to his velocity anyway.
Letson’s arsenal features a four-seam and sinker that both have the potential to be above-average offerings at the major league level. The same is true of his low-80s slider with sharp sweep, which has proven to be a swing-and-miss offering at the minor league level, and a mid-80s changeup with arm-side fade that looked improved last season. Per Baseball America, Letson has the best fastball and the best slider in the Brewers organization. All of those pitches worked for him in the minors — Letson pitched to the tune of a 2.40 ERA across 11 appearances (nine starts) between High-A Wisconsin and Double-A Biloxi. As ESPN said, if he stays healthy next season, he’s a definite breakout candidate.
RHP Logan Henderson
Henderson is slightly more of a known quantity among Brewers fans because of his impressive performance in Milwaukee last season (1.78 ERA in five appearances). Henderson wins because of his command, his fastball shape (despite slightly below-average velocity), and — above all else — his plus changeup, which you may remember from last season.
The concern with Henderson is that his heavy reliance on his fastball and changeup could leave him vulnerable as hitters adjust to either pitch. During his five big league appearances, Henderson threw either a fastball or changeup on more than 85% of pitches. His cutter and slider aren’t very good (40/45 grade), but so far “his ability to throw his changeup in any situation” has made “his cutter and slider useful in small doses.” ESPN notes that this approach has worked thus far, so it would be “silly” to expect it not to continue working at the major league level.
The major leagues feature the best of the best, so I don’t think it’s “silly” to question his prolonged effectiveness as a starter who relies on two pitches. It’s rare, although definitely not unheard of, that a starting pitcher has experienced continued success with a two-pitch arsenal. I do have faith in the Brewers “pitching lab” to turn one of his other pitches into a serviceable offering.
The worst-case scenario is that he gets hit around a bit next year as hitters get more major league film on him, but even in that scenario he’d probably still be highly effective out of the bullpen. Still, I think odds are he’ll be a solid starting pitcher. Milwaukee probably wouldn’t have traded Freddy Peralta (and Tobias Myers) if they didn’t think Henderson could give them anything in the rotation.
Zach Maxwell and his 100+ mph heater landed at spot #12 on this year’s Community Prospect Rankings, and he’ll take his talents to Goodyear for spring training in just over two weeks with an eye on a spot on the Opening Day roster of the Cincinnati Reds.
Now, it’s time to vote for spot #13!
Per usual, here’s a link to the Google Form where you can vote, though it should be embedded at the end of the list if you’d rater read first and then vote on-page after digesting all the glorious information on these up and coming future Cincinnati Reds. I’ll nuke the link and remove the poll when voting closes, so if you show up on this post after said window, the previous sentence won’t make a ton of sense!
Here’s how the list has materialized so far:
Sal Stewart
Alfredo Duno
Rhett Lowder
Hector Rodriguez
Edwin Arroyo
Cam Collier
Steele Hall
Tyson Lewis
Chase Petty
Arnaldo Lantigua
Jose Franco
Zach Maxwell
A large list of talented names exists below for spot #13. Have at it with the votes!
Adolfo Sanchez, OF (19 years old)
2025 at a glance: .339/.474/.504 with 2 HR, 10 SB in 154 PA with DSL Reds (Dominican Summer League)
Pros: Left-handed hitter who profiles to have a plus hit tool and potentially plus power; arm good enough to play RF if he doesn’t stick in CF; shaved 20% off his K% year over year; plus runner
Cons: Questions whether he’s already physically matured to the point where projecting him to be much better exist
The Reds signed Sanchez for $2.7 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2024 and kept him there to ply his trade professionally in the Dominican Summer League. Things went quite poorly for him there during his age 17 season, and he subsequently stuck around there to repeat in 2025 – though this time, things went swimmingly.
He’ll undoubtedly play in the States in 2026, but the question now is just how quickly the Reds might try to move him up if he hits the ground running. At 6’3” and 200 lbs already, he’s not the kind of prospect where you say he’s X now, but when he gets bigger and stronger he’ll be Y in two years. In other words, if he looks the part now, he needs to be challenged immediately, and my hope is that he gets time with Daytona right off the bat.
He’s got a hit tool that comes with all-fields power, excellent patience at the plate, and I really do think his swing will continue to play. Still, it’s likely he ends up in a corner spot in the OF, which means the power’s going to need to continue to show up for him to project as an everyday regular – at least vs. RHP.
Leo Balcazar, SS/2B (22 years old)
2025 at a glance: .263/.339/.381 with 12 HR, 8 SB in 560 PA split between A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest League) and AA Chattanooga Lookouts (AA Southern League); .277/.340/.340 in 103 PA with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)
Pros: Good strike zone judgement and plate discipline (52/75 BB/K in 2025); well-rounded tools, continuing to improve off ACL surgery
Cons: Not a ton of power yet; some question whether he’ll be able to stick at SS long term
It’s easy to forget just how good of a start Balcazar had to his pro career after signing with the Reds for $100,000 out of Venezuela. He posted an .882 OPS in 2021 in Dominican Summer League play, an .886 OPS in 2022 with the Arizona Complex League Reds, and was off to a wicked start (.897 OPS) across the first 18 games of his 2023 season with Class-A Daytona before he tore his ACL.
2024 was a bit of a rough year for him, however, as the layoff and working back from the surgery clearly impacted his performance (.264/.295/.354 in 410 PA). However, 2025 saw him look a lot more like his former explosive self – both at the plate and in the field – and he clearly was healthy enough once again as he logged a combined 663 PA across all leagues.
He’s still just 21 years of age (22 in June of 2026), and if he’s shaken the rust off completely and enters this season after a normal winter, there’s a chance we see a whole lot more from him, too.
Aaron Watson, RHP (19 years old)
2025 at a glance: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Trinity Christian Academy (FL); signed overslot $2.7 million bonus to forego commitment to the University of Florida
Pros: 6’5” frame; potential 60-grade slider; fastball that runs up to 96 mph from a three-quarter arm slot and already has a solid three-pitch mix with his change rotated in
Cons: Did not pitch professionally after being drafted, so he’s a complete unknown
One glimpse of Watson on the mound and you immediately think yep, I bet that guy can turn into a pretty dang good pitcher. He’s got an ideal frame to produce downhill offerings, and his fastball/slider mix is already something on which he can hang his hat.
However, command of all three of his pitches – specifically a very developmental changeup – will be what he needs to work on to begin to move quickly through the ranks. He possesses a good ‘feel’ at the moment in terms of what pitches to throw, which part of the zone to attack vs. which hitters, etc., but how well he can build in more deception with his offerings will be vital.
Carlos Jorge, OF (22 years old)
2025 at a glance: .251/.342/.355 with 6 HR, 40 SB in 469 PA with High-A Dayton Dragons (Midwest League)
Pros: Plus speed; former infielder moved to CF in 2023 and in 2025 looked like a natural there; plus speed; shaved 12.5% off K-rate from down 2024 season; 60-grade arm strength a weapon in CF
Cons: ISO declined for third straight year, this time precipitously; prone to extreme streakiness
If you threw out every other stop of Carlos Jorge’s pro career and just focused on the good ones, he’d already be ranked by now. The good parts of the best of his years have been quite tremendous, all told. He’s flashed great speed (40 steals in 2025), good pop for a small-ish CF (12 HR in 2023 and 2024; .483 SLG in the cavernous Florida State League in 2023), and the ability to play pretty elite CF defense (as recently as 2025).
However, he’s added some real clunkers in there, too. He hit just .220/.291/.394 with a K-rate over 31% at Dayton in 2024, and that came on the heels of hitting just .239/.277/.398 in 23 games once he reached Dayton at the end of 2023.
Maybe it’s just Dayton, where he was again in 2025 in a much better all-around year, even though his power dried up again. He’ll surely begin with AA Chattanooga of the Southern League in 2026, and at 22 (with his position in CF now settled) the former 2B might finally have a one-track shot to focus on his all around game in a new locale. After acing his move on defense, shaving off a ton of strikeouts, and bumping his walk rate back up over 11.1% (where it’s been for most of his career), perhaps 2026 will have a lot more in store for him.
Liberts Aponte, SS (18 years old)
2025 at a glance: .247/.368/.461 with 7 HR, 9 SB in 193 PA for DSL Rojos (Dominican Summer League)
Pros: 29/35 K/BB showed greatly improving strike zone awareness; already a plus defender at short where he projects to be excellent both with range and arm long-term
Cons: Still not viewed as a potential plus with the bat, though early returns are already better than original scouting reports; has a long way to go in terms of physically maturing
The Reds doled out $1.9 million to sign Aponte last January, and that marked the single largest contract they doled out in that particular international signing window. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the #18 player overall in that class, noting he was ‘one of the most skilled defenders in his class’ and ‘offers solid wheels’ with ‘magic in his hands’ while doling out a 65 grade on his fielding ability.
The rest, we knew, would take time, as he was just liked at 6’0” and 160 lbs, and that even felt like a slight exaggeration. To his credit, though, he mashed 7 homers as a 17 year old in DSL play while showing more power than anticipated, and if that aspect of his game grows to match what’s already known the Reds have found themselves a gem.
It will be interesting to see if the Reds push him up to Arizona Complex League play at all in 2026 or give him another year in the DSL seeing as he just turned 18 years old in November.
Luke Holman, RHP (23 years old)
2025 at a glance: ER, 2 H, 10 K, 4 BB in 9.0 IP with Daytona Tortugas (Class-A Florida State League
Pros: Two plus breaking pitches (slider, curve)
Cons: Not a ton of velocity on his fastball, which sits 91-94 mph
Luke Holman threw 109 pitches for LSU in a 6-2 loss to North Carolina on June 1st, 2024, a game in which he yielded 4 ER in 6.2 IP with 7 H, 11 K, and a lone walk. Since then, he’s thrown just 9.0 IP on a mound, total.
Holman, Cincinnati’s 2nd round pick in 2024, sat out the remainder of 2024 after being drafted, finishing his calendar year with 91.2 IP of 2.75 ERA ball that included a wonderful 0.98 WHIP and 127/33 K/BB. When his 2025 began in Daytona, all signs looked promising in his first pair of starts only for an elbow issue to subsequently sit him down and require Tommy John surgery, and we’ve not seen him since.
He sat 91-94 with his fastball (and touched 96) before, and has a pair of wicked breaking balls that he uses as his out pitches. If he returns to form in 2026 the way he ways before (or even better!), he still profiles as a back-end starter who should move quickly through Cincinnati’s system after dominating SEC play in stints first with Alabama and later with LSU.
Mason Morris, RHP (22 years old)
2025 at a glance: 9.00 ERA, 7/1 K/BB in 4.0 IP with Class-A Daytona Tortugas; 3.29 ERA, 78/31 K/BB in 54.2 IP with University of Mississippi
Pros: Fastball that can touch 100 mph; four-pitch mix
Cons: Lack of experience
Mason Morris landed with Ole Miss in 2023 primarily as a corner infielder, and the now 6’4” 225 lb righty only recently became a full-time pitcher prior to the Reds selecting him with their 3rd round pick in 2025. He’s got projection through the roof, though, with a 100 mph heater, plus cutter, and a pair of other breaking balls that look like they’ve also got the juice.
The question, though, is how Cincinnati plans to use him.
Morris only got a pair of outings as a pro after being drafted, and it appears the Reds have intentions on seeing if he can develop into a starting pitcher. That’s something he’s never really done before, however, and he’ll turn 23 years old in August of 2026. So, we’ll see how long of a leash the Reds give him with that avenue, since if they want to simply keep him in the bullpen there’s very little reason why he shouldn’t rocket through the minors and give them a legit relief arm at the big league level in short order.
Xander Bogaerts brought a winning track record to the San Diego Padres, but he struggled to get comfortable in San Diego. He was asked to move from shortstop to second base and he did so. Bogaerts then moved back to shortstop and the defensive uncertainty seems to have taken a toll on his offensive production. He had a solid second half of 2025 and Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune says he is the unquestioned shortstop going forward after the Padres traded Leo De Vries to the Athletics at last year’s trade deadline.
Padres News:
Jim Bowden of The Athletic provided seven names of players who could be traded before Opening Day. Bowden says the Padres could be trade partners with the Washington Nationals for shortstop CJ Abrams and Miami Marlins for pitcher Sandy Alcantara.
Cody Bellinger and the Yankees agreed to a five-year, $162.5 million contract that brought him back to New York for the 2026 season and beyond. He met the media Wednesday and said he is excited to be back in the Yankee clubhouse.
The final review of the 2025 season will be looking at each position in the Astros farm system. Next up is the relief pitchers.
BEST OF THE BUNCH
Nick Hernandez
Hernandez has been in out of the season for a few years. He had a dominant season in Triple-A posting a 2.12 ERA with 63 strikeouts over 46.2 innings. He pitched some in Houston too, totaling 10.2 innings and allowing 6 runs. He is a free agent so not sure what his future holds, but it was a solid season for him.
Santa has been in the system since 2021 and has some high potential. The Astros moved him to full time relief role in 2025 and he had the best start of his career posting a 1.26 ERA with 63 K in 57 innings for the Hooks in Double-A. He was promoted to Triple-A but struggled with a 6.92 ERA. He should be back in Triple-A in 2026 and is only 23 years old.
David was drafted by the Astros in the 10th round and immediately started turning some heads with his heater reaching 99 MPH in Spring Training. He started the year in Single-A and had a 3.86 ERA with 51 K in 51.1 innings. He dominated in High-A posting a 1.40 ERA before finishing the season in Double-A. Overall, he showed plenty in his first full season to be excited about his potential in 2026.
Langford had a very interesting season. On one hand, he was dominant striking out 87 over 60.2 innings and holding opponents to just a .177 batting average against. On the down side though, Langford walked 63 in 60.2 innings. Obviously he has some dominating stuff from the left side, just has to clean up the command.
Leach has some of the nastiest stuff in the system and was dominant at times in 2025, but overall finished with a 5.54 ERA. He did finish with 63 strikeouts in 39 innings, including some run in Triple-A. He should return to Double-A or Triple-A in 2026.
Chirinos is another right-hander who at times was dominating. He started the year in High-A and struck out 38 over 22.2 innings, but had a 5.56 ERA. He finished the season in Double-A with a 4.30 ERA over 29.1 innings.
Sanchez is an undersized right-hander with an electric fastball. Like some others on this list, he was dominating at times but his command bit him a lot. He finished the season with a 6.05 ERA and 51 walks in 61 innings, though he did strike out 75.
Knorr was a 3rd round pick in 2022 but hasn’t live up to the hype yet. He pitched strictly in relief in 2025 posting a 5.03 ERA over 53.2 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. He has some good stuff but just hasn’t translated to success.
The back end of the bullpen is locked down with Abreu and Hader but after that, there are some holes that probably need to get filled. I’m not sure it will be from anyone on this list, but the Astros will most likely look towards some of the starters who could help in the pen. Maybe someone like Blubaugh or Ullola will get some pen time as well.
On this day 24 years ago Willie Harris, a minor but key piece of an eventual World Series champion arrived in Chicago. | (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
1900 Charles Comiskey received permission to relocate the Western League’s St. Paul Saints to Chicago, where they will become the White Sox of the American League.
1957 With air travel commonplace and MLB now stretching from coast to coast, the league considered drafting a plan to create a player pool to be used in the case of a plane crash. For whatever reason (likely that in the case of such a disaster a franchise would have to fold its current season and receive help from other clubs with an offseason draft) a plan never was put forth.
1964 Jim Brosnan is given permission from the White Sox to seek a deal with another team, after GM Ed Short forbids any further in-season writing (Brosnan previously had authored the classic book, The Long Season, as well as Pennant Race). Brosnan, who was acquired during the 1963 season and threw extremely well out of the pen (2.84 ERA, 15 saves and 1.1 WAR) for the pennant-chasing White Sox, would be released by the team on February 25.
Brosnan never pitched another game in the majors, his career over at age 34.
1981 Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn gained control of the Chicago White Sox for $20 million, after American League owners turned down Bill Veeck’s attempt to sell to Eddie DeBartolo.
For franchise value context, on the same day the owners approved an 80% sale of the Seattle Mariners for $10.4 million.
Reinsdorf’s original partner was William Farley, but Farley dropped out in part because the White Sox went out and signed free agents Ron LeFlore and Jim Essian. Farley didn’t approve of the team spending $3 million for them — even though Veeck got the money for the signings from DeBartolo.
Reinsdorf originally was part of a group trying to buy the New York Mets. Einhorn originally was part of a group trying to get the San Diego Padres.
1998 The end of Ozzie Guillén’s White Sox career became official, as the 34-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore. Ozzie’s first year away from the White Sox since 1985 proved eventful, as the O’s released him a month into the season. But Guillén would catch on quickly with Atlanta and would see action in both the 1998 and 1999 postseasons with the Braves.
2002 In the moment, it was a strange trade by GM Ken Williams, as the White Sox traded stalwart outfielder Chris Singleton to Baltimore for young utilityman Willie Harris.
Singleton had an extraordinary rookie season in 1999 (4.8 WAR and 20-of-25 steals playing a superb center field, somehow garnering just sixth place in AL Rookie of the Year voting) and had bounced back nicely with a 2.2-WAR 2001 after a tough sophomore season. Harris, younger by five years, never came close to reaching even those heights in Chicago.
However, Harris will always have a special place in the hearts of White Sox fans, scoring the winning (and only) run of the 2005 World Series Game 4 clincher. Harris lead off the eighth inning of a scoreless tie with a single to left, then was grinded over to third by a Scott Podsednik sacrifice bunt and Carl Everett ground out and driving in by Jermaine Dye’s dribble single to center field. Harris was 2-for-2 in the 2005 playoffs, the only postseason of his career.
2013 A damning story in the Miami New Times listed the names of several major leaguers who were customers of a PED clinic in Coral Gables, Fla., Biogenesis Laboratories. Álex Rodríguez is the headliner of shame, but three past or future White Sox are also named: Bartolo Colón, Melky Cabrera and Yasmani Grandal. All three had tested positive for PEDs within the year, legitimizing the case against Biogenesis.
Nick Castellanos and manager Rob Thompson have a strained relationship stemming from an incident last season and the Phillies are still expected to part ways with the outfielder.
The payroll disparity between teams is the highest it has ever been with the Dodgers having a higher payroll than the lowest five teams combined last year.
All of Major League Baseball has been debating for a while if A), what the Dodgers are doing with their payroll is the ‘correct’ way of doing things; B), how long it would be sustainable; and C) will it finally trigger a salary cap.
For the Dodgers front office, doing it ‘correctly’ is just semantics. Whatever one thinks of how Andrew Friedman and Co have gone about things, there’s no denying that winning three World Series in six seasons is something to be envied. They employ the best player on the planet in Shohei Ohtani, who has brought them untold amounts of revenue in advertising and other areas. The winning ways, combined with their clubhouse culture, has made it a top destination for the top free agents.
On Wednesday, Jack Harris posited that the Dodgers Front Office will not be able to do what they have been for very much longer.
While the Dodgers will still have their winning culture and ability to assess talent and be an enviable destination, when the salary cap or something similar in implemented, the “Golden Age” of this iteration of Dodgers Baseball will be over. As Harris puts it, the Dodgers will go from being a team that ‘should’ win it every season to a team that ‘could’ win it all.
Harris also wonders just how long the Dodgers will have their dominance with their aging core. Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages are the only two everyday players that are under the age of 30, with Tucker not being far off, at the age of 29. Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernandez have contracts expiring at the end of the next two seasons. The Dodgers do have one of the top farm systems in all of the majors but had to give away their second and fourth round drafts to sign both Tucker and Edwin Diaz this offseason. But, as this organization has shown time and again, they will find a way to field the best team possible.
The Dodgers have been doing a Dodgers Love LA Community Tour. On Tuesday, Dodgers alumni Dennis Powell and Matt Luke visited Hollydale Elementary School, hosting a Playworks Recess Takeover. They also handed out groceries and essentials to food insecure families.
To close out today's #DodgersLoveLA Community Tour, Matt Luke and Dennis Powell visited Hollydale Elementary School in South Gate. They hosted a Playworks Recess Takeover with eighth grade students and participated in movement-based programming. pic.twitter.com/8kJvWQYBa9
Back on the #DodgersLoveLA Community Tour, Dodger Alumni stopped by Christy’s Foundation in Northridge to hand out groceries and essentials to families experiencing food insecurity. pic.twitter.com/veH3PrpJ9j
On Wednesday, Steve Yeager and Billy Ashley met with emergency personnel to thank them for their services.
Steve Yeager continued the #DodgersLoveLA Community Tour presented by Bank of America by stopping at a special appreciation lunch with the World Series trophy for the San Bernardino Police Department. pic.twitter.com/8HFUEielax
On the next stop of the tour, Dodger Alumni Billy Ashley met with employees at the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department to recognize their dedication and service to our communities. #DodgersLoveLApic.twitter.com/UsrpNFaqCj
The final infield bat? Up in the air. Free agents? Available. A trade for CJ Abrams? Possible. Maybe? The Washington Nationals did just trade Mackenzie Gore so it’s possible they burn things completely to the ground. Gore, however, did cost the Texas Rangers a king’s ransom of prospects.
We are, as of today, January 29, 2026, 55 days away from Opening Day. It’s a little early for countdowns, but in this weird period between building the team and heading to Spring Training, let’s go ahead and do one anyway, taking a look at the Red Sox players who have worn number 55.
55 isn’t the most popular uniform number but also isn’t the least. Just 9 players for Boston have donned it versus 61 players for number 28, the most worn number.
Let’s remember some guys.
Chris Martin
You don’t need much of a reminder about Martin. The 6’8” righty reliever wore 55 during his two-year stint in Boston in 2023-2024. A real ace of a signing, Martin put up the best season of his career in 2023. Sadly, that team wasn’t in a place to take advantage of a shutdown reliever having a career year.
Matt Strahm
Who can forget Matt Strahm and his very long hair in 2022? Sadly this was his worst full season in the majors, although a 3.83 ERA / 3.72 FIP across 44.2 innings isn’t terrible either. He was one and done, signed as a free agent. He’s been a valuable part of the Phillies bullpen over the last three seasons but found himself shipped off to Kansas City in December.
Christian Vázquez
When he first came up in 2014, Vázquez wore 55. When he returned for good from 2016-2022 the World Series hero took up number 7, currently worn by Masataka Yoshida but previously worn by luminaries like Trot Nixon and J.D. Drew.
Chris Capuano
Do you remember Chris Capuano’s Red Sox career? I had forgotten too. He actually shared 55 in 2014 with Vázquez. The lefty appeared in 28 games out of the bullpen and over 31.2 innings allowed 15 runs. He was released on July 1 that year, signed by the Colorado Rockies on the 4th, and then purchased by the Yankees on the 24th before ever pitching for the Rockies. He had some memorable seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers but not for John Farrell.
Ryan Kalish
We’re all the way back to 2010-2012 now for Ryan Kalish and if you don’t remember the hype, it was a lot. Kalish was the number one player in the farm system according to SoxPropsects back in 2011. In 2010 he was behind possible two-way player Casey Kelly and Josh Reddick/Lars Anderson, depending on if you looked in April or June. His .710 OPS over 53 games as a 22-year-old would turn out to be the high water mark of his career. After being released he would latch on to the Theo Epstein Cubs and hit .286/.444/.286 in 7 games in 2016 but presumably collect a World Series ring. He wasn’t released until December 2013 but didn’t appear in the majors for the Red Sox, losing out on a second World Series championship. That would have really made him a trivia answer.
Joey Gathright
The speedster wore 23 in his 2009 Red Sox callup and 55 for his next and final major league action in 2011. He could steal 20 bases a year (for the Rays and Royals – he stole 2 in 24 games for the Red Sox) but couldn’t hit the ball with power, owning a .303 career slugging percentage.
Jeff Bailey
Bailey was drafted by the then-Florida Marlins in 1997 before being purchased by the Montreal Expos in 2002, where he would remain for a year. Upon tasting free agency he signed with the Red Sox in November 2003. He would then spend three more years in the minors. A decade after he was drafted, and 961 minor league games later, Jeff Bailey would make his major league debut on July 6, 2007. He’d get two more games that season, 27 in 2008, and 26 in 2009. He wore 55 for all of them.
Lenny DiNardo
Former pitcher and current NESN analyst Lenny DiNardo wore 55 from 2004-2006. Claimed off waivers by the Oakland A’s from the Red Sox in February 2007, he cleared the way for 55 to open up for Jeff Bailey.
Ramiro Mendoza
A one-and-done Red Sox reliever in 2003 who never lived up to the work he did with the Yankees. His final appearance for Boston was Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS.
Todd Erdos
Boston was the last stop of his five-year career and the righty bullpen arm appeared in 10 games.
Rich Croushore
Croushore tossed 4.2 innings for the Red Sox in 2000. He was traded by the Rockies to Boston (with others) for Jeff Frye, Brian Rose, and John Wasdin. Those are sure some throwbacks.
Below is a picture of John Wasdin because Getty didn’t have one of Croushore as a Red Sox player.
Brian Shouse
8.0 innings in Boston in 1998. Signed as a free agent and released.
Carlos Reyes
In 1998, Reyes wore 55 for the Padres and Red Sox but never wore the number in any other year or on any other team.
Jeff Suppan
Suppan would wear 55 from 1995-1997 but would wear 35 for his 2003 return to Boston.
Suppan would later lose Game 3 of the 2004 World Series to the Red Sox, making a memorable base-running blunder.
Joe Hesketh
Another lefty pitcher for the list, he’d take 55 from 1990-1994.
Phil Plantier
Plantier would only spend 14 games in the majors in 1990 and when Hesketh was acquired he was in the majors and took 55 over. Plantier would wear 7 when he came back and 29 in 1991-1992.
Randy Kutcher
Possibly a fan of the number 5, Kutcher would wear 55 in 1988 before changing to 5 for 1989 and 1990. Although before he was in Boston he wore 9 and 19 with the San Fransisco Giants.
La Schelle Tarver
One-and-done for both the Red Sox and his major league career, Tarver, listed as a centerfielder and pinch runner, wore 55 for all of his 13 games.
Bob Veale
The first Red Sox player to wear 55, Veale did so from 1972-1974, the final three seasons of his career. Over 10 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates before that he wore 39. In Boston, 39 was taken by Mike Garmen when he arrived and then Tim Blackwell after Veale had settled into 55.
Last year, on July 31st, the New York Yankees traded prospects Roc Riggio and Ben Shields to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for right-handed reliever Jake Bird, who had a 3.49 FIP to that point, albeit with a 4.73 ERA, in 53.1 innings. Unfortunately, he imploded upon reaching the Bronx, and just three outings were enough to see him optioned to Scranton after surrendering seven runs (six earned) in just two innings of work.
His walk rate was a respectable 9.7 percent in the Rocky Mountains, but he just couldn’t throw strikes and get himself in favorable counts in the Bronx. He paid the price with bases on balls and a couple of home runs, too, even if he did strike out four. Then in Scranton, Bird did a better job preventing the long ball, conceding just one in 15.2 frames, but control issues persisted as he put up a disappointing 16.7 percent walk rate. His 6.32 ERA in Triple-A didn’t paint a particularly encouraging picture about his prospects for 2026.
It appears, however, that the offseason has really come in handy for Bird, not just to perform a complete mental reset after a few rocky months upon landing in New York, but to actually attack his weaknesses. Speaking on the YES Network, Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake discussed some of the things Bird has been working on these last few months with his eye on winning a spot in the bullpen.
While David Bednar, Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz, and others are exciting and talented, the Yanks’ bullpen just isn’t as powerful as it used to be, so having an in-form Bird would be a breath of fresh air.
“I think the biggest thing was trusting his stuff in the zone. (It) has really big shape: big sweeper, big breaking ball. The pitches are moving a lot. So, we got to get him in the zone at a higher rate and limit the walks,” Blake explained. With the Rockies, Bird’s Zone%, or the percentage of pitches throw in the zone, was 57. The number fell to 53 percent with the Yankees in MLB, and 50.5 percent in Triple-A.
It comes down to confidence and execution. In 2025 as a whole, Bird had success with his sweeper (33.8 percent whiff rate, .258 xwOBA) and curveball (38 percent, .158 xwOBA.) He had some bad luck with the former, which had a .338 wOBA in contrast to that solid xwOBA. But they are both good, usable pitches. Swing-and-miss pitches, even.
Luck aside, Bird can be a useful pitcher if he is throwing his breaking stuff for strikes. Since they have a lot of natural movement, trying to get creative with the corners and nibbling might be counterproductive and lead to a lot of balls. And balls lead to hitters’ counts. And, well, hitter counts lead to what we saw in pinstripes this year.
This is a glimpse of what the Yankees can have in Bird if he manages to find himself in favorable counts:
Starting at-bats on the right foot is also crucial for Bird. In Colorado, he threw a first-pitch strike 60.6 percent of the time. That fell to 50 percent with the Yankees, and even though the sample size is tiny, the number was a horrible 44.4 percent in his short stint in Scranton, per Sports Info Solutions.
Blake talked about how Bird struggled to show his best version in his short Yankees stint, but warned that he has had a really good offseason. The pitching coach said the righty has also been working on some adjustments on his sinker to somewhat “limit some of the contact quality.”
Combining his stats with the Rockies and Yankees, it’s safe to say his sinker was inequivocally and unquestionably rocked last year, with a .420 wOBA and a .414 xwOBA. That’s definitely a problem when you throw the pitch a third of the time. Any improvements he can make regarding this particular offering, whether it comes in movement, velocity, or sequencing/usage, will immediately make his stat line look better.
While it’s safe to say that Bird’s 2025 with the Yankees was a disaster both in the majors and in Triple-A, there is a lot of room to improve and also a need for solid relievers who can miss bats. If he can show his Rockies version, the right-hander should have a chance to lock up a spot and slowly earn high-leverage work.
