Category: MLB

Spring training is all about watching talent you can dream on—even with the fever-pitched debates around the futures of Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones in Yankee circles, it’s always a treat when either of them connect. Today, both of them homered early in the Yankees’ 4-2 Grapefruit League victory over the Phillies in Clearwater. J.C. Escarra and Max Schuemann collected RBIs in a go-ahead fifth inning rally, and the Bombers saw good performances on the mound from Luis Gil and Paul Blackburn.

The Martian struck first, and he didn’t just homer—he went yard from the right side of the plate against lefty Tanner Banks. Any sign Domínguez can give the Yankees that he won’t be a total liability against left-handed pitching is welcome. Now, Banks’ offering was a very hittable 91-mph fastball with two strikes, but a homer is a homer and it’s not as though mistake offerings vanish during the regular season.

Right-hander Jonathan Bowlan pitched the second inning for the Phillies, but he too fell victim to a powerful Baby Bomber. Spencer Jones waited back on a 2-0 slider and sent it hurtling to the fans sitting on the berm in left center field. The 415-foot opposite field blast was just the latest display from Jones, who now has four home runs this spring—and they’ve all gone more than 400 feet.

Jones was officially optioned to Triple-A yesterday due to the Yankees’ crowded outfield depth chart, but darn if he won’t continue to put on a show while he can this spring.

The Phillies responded against Gil in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from Bryan De Le Cruz, then J.T. Realmuto tied the score in the third on his first spring homer. Still, it was good to see Gil attacking the strike zone. He responded to the run in the second by getting ahead of René Pinto 0-2 and inducing an inning-ending double play. Then after the homer in the third he racked up back-to-back strikeouts of Alec Bohm and Adolis García to retire the side. Gil picked up one last out in the fourth before departing with 62 pitches thrown.

Tim Hill completed the fourth inning without incident, then Brent Headrick took the ball for the fifth. The lefty got the first two outs before running into trouble, with a pair of singles giving Garcia an opportunity to give Philadelphia their first lead. With two strikes, García hammered a ball on a line up the middle, but second baseman Max Schuemann was played perfectly to snag it and preserve the 2-2 tie.

The top of the Yankee lineup got to work the following half-inning against former Yankee Lou Trivino. Ben Rice worked a leadoff walk, reached second on a wild pitch, then took third on an opposite-field single by Domínguez. Jasson stole second with one out, taking away the double play chance, and a sharp grounder to second by J.C. Escarra scored Rice to give the Bombers the lead back. Schuemann followed with a double in the right-center gap to plate Domínguez and make it 4-2. That was Schuemann’s first RBI of the spring, but he’s now hitting .400 in camp—continuing his push to make the roster as infield depth.

Paul Blackburn took over for Headrick and wound up finishing out the remainder of the game on the mound with minimal drama. Over four scoreless innings, he collected a quartet of K’s, pitching around a pair of baserunners in the ninth. The Phillies worked a bevy of long at-bats in the ninth and brought the tying run to bat while down to their final out, but Blackburn never lost command. He now has a 1.46 ERA in the spring; his track record as a starting pitcher could make him a useful swingman for the Yankees as they wait for Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón’s returns.

Another Wednesday evening game at Steinbrenner Field awaits tomorrow, and Cam Schlittler will make the start in the full pinstripes against the Toronto Blue Jays. Lefty Eric Lauer will be his opponent. YES Network will have the broadcast, with first pitch expected at 6:35pm ET. And if you just can’t wait until tomorrow for more Yankees action, Aaron Judge and company will be back in action for Team USA tonight in the World Baseball Classic as they try to sweep their pool against Italy at 9pm ET on FS1.

Box Score

The Dodgers’ lineup on Tuesday has their most players likely ticketed for the opening day roster than at any other point this spring.

Today's #DodgersST lineup vs. D-backs: pic.twitter.com/4KSQcwxvnj

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 10, 2026

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs Diamondbacks
• Ballpark: Camelback Ranch
• Time: 1:05 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market)
• Radio: AM 570

While the Seattle Mariners look to handle the Randy Arozarena – Cal Raleigh situation, the A’s prepare for what’ll be their second time squaring up against the Chicago White Sox in 2026. The first meetup between the two squads kicked off this year’s rendition of Spring Training – – and let’s just say the outcome was less than desirable. In fact, the first week of 2026 A’s baseball couldn’t have gone worse. They got kicked around by these Chi-Sox, the Guardians, Giants, and Brewers. Not once in any of these games did the A’s score more than two runs. Since then, things have wavered between formidable and mid. Yesterday’s route of the Cincinnati Reds was sort’ve a microcosm of this team’s performance so far: think lots of runs, scored as well as given up, early and then infrequent during the middle innings, until all the Non-roster invitees like Domingo Robles are thrown in there to run amok.

Looking at the schedule, it turns out that our last game of Spring Training will be against these very same Chicago White Sox, providing us with a proper bookend to our assessment of how this team has grown over the course of a month. If we were to view today’s game as the mid-way point, we’d see that the club has improved on some their early hitting woes, though the pitching has remained pretty much the same on paper.

Let’s see how much they’re able to refine the staff between now and the next time we play these White Sox on March 23rd.

Our first pitcher in this mild social experiment is Jeffrey Springs. The southpaw had a rough pre-season debut against the Kansas City Royals, giving up 4 ER in less than two frames. His second outing, however, proved to be a step in the right direction. In 2.1 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he struck out four while giving up no runs and only three hits. Six days have passed since then, so Springs should be well rested and ready to go.

According to Jason Burke from Sports Illustrated, Joey Estes is also slated to pitch today…Can’t say that I’m totally thrilled to have Estes still in the mix. The most notable thing he did last season was hit Victor Robles in a AAA game. Even then, he was on the losing end of that interaction as Robles decided to throw his bat at Estes from home plate. That being said, Estes does fit nicely into an A’s pitching staff that has done nothing but walk batters and give up hits. Maybe Kotsay’s trying out a new strategy that us fans just wouldn’t understand?

Let’s take a look at the lineup…

Tuesday baseball ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/c1cDpNZMGP

— Athletics (@Athletics) March 10, 2026

Aside from Andy Ibanez, I have the utmost faith in every one of these hitters. Jeff McNeil has had a solid Spring, coming off a 3-3 2 RBI performance just day ago. One guy to keep an eye on (if you aren’t already) is Stickman Nick Kurtz. Not a great Spring Training so far for the big lefty slugger. Would love to see them slot him in different places in the batting order so that we can really see if his slow start can be attributed to the use of him in the leadoff spot. I guess we’ll have to wait another day for something like that as he’s back up there, followed by my beloved tandem of Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom, Brent Rooker, and Jacob Wilson.

What a magical time to be a fan of A’s baseball. Despite all the head banging when it comes to the pitching staff, I really have to stop and appreciate how exciting this team actually is. I mean, we have a former batting title champion behind one of the most consistent hitters in baseball. Not mention a diamond in the rough in Austin Wynns. If he hits more than ten home runs this season I’m buying a jersey.

On the other end of things, we have the White Sox’s starting nine…

Let's play ball! pic.twitter.com/mqtVL3scyk

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) March 10, 2026

The South Siders come into Hohokam Stadium with an 11-7 record and 4-game winning streak. Their 12-3 beatdown of the Colorado Rockies matched their highest run total of the Spring (a feat they’ve reached twice so far). Shane Smith has been tabbed as today’s starter. On Sunday, the White Sox also announced that Smith, a 2025 All-Star, will be taking the mound on opening day against this former club, the Milwaukee Brewers.

So we’re getting Chicago’s best starter today, in front of lineup that features a young and exciting Colson Montgomery and the switch-hitting specialist Luisangel Acuna!

Should be a fun one in the desert. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm. For those of you following along, you can find me here in the threads, talking ish during this rematch of the 2020 AL Wild Card Series.

Not to panic, Atlanta Braves fans, the 0-7 loss from the Braves today seemed to be more of a tune-up for JR Ritchie as he took his first start as a prospect for the Braves (4 IP/ 1 H/ 2 ER/ 4 BB/ 2 K) and playing in his third game in general. His outing today was actually a decent one for his first start.

Though the news of Joey Wentz was a blow to the Braves fans, they’re looking to the usual starters and upcoming prospects to step up when it counts to receive that nod before the season officially starts.

This might not have been the outing that people were hoping for, especially where his command was concerned, however, with the news of Ritchie starting and witnessing his past success, it’s something to add to his portfolio as he continues to develop his pitching arsenal, as he’s mentioned how he wanted to increase it in the past, and has received high praise from a few of the veteran pitchers on the team on his discipline and growth since the start of training.

It’s still very possible that he has the opportunity to gain a spot on the Opening Day roster.

As for the remainder of the lineup…well, let’s say that this looked like the definition of a Spring Training roster without the team’s usual names, facing a prepared Blue Jays lineup led by Dylan Cease.

As mentioned earlier, this was more of a tune-up event that didn’t show much of what the offense could do, but it was a glimpse of what Ritchie had, as well as giving him more reps he’d need to add to his resume before decisions are made for the Opening Day roster.

Tomorrow, the Braves will be taking on the Tampa Bay Rays with Spencer Strider taking the mound.

The Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 4-2 on Tuesday afternoon in Clearwater, Fla.

Here are the takeaways...

-- The Yankees got a pair of home runs from two of their young outfielders. First, Jasson Dominguez demolished a solo home run off of Tanner Banks in the first inning. It was a good sign to see Dominguez homer from the right side, as he’s only homered once from that side in his career, batting .186.

Dominguez ended up 2-for-3 on the afternoon with a stolen base to go along with the home run.

-- Then, in the second inning, it was Spencer Jones getting in on the action. Jones was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Monday, but that didn’t stop him from blasting his fourth home run of the spring, a shot to left-center to put the Yankees up 2-0 in the second inning. 

-- Luis Gil pitched around a dropped pop-up in the first inning, striking out Adolis Garcia looking on a 97 mph fastball. He gave up an unearned run in the second and another run in the third on a J.T. Realmuto solo homer, but pitched pretty well overall, showing off impressive velocity on his fastball. 

Gil went 3.1 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits with four strikeouts and no walks. 

-- George Lombard Jr. got the start at shortstop, going 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts.

-- Following Gil, the Yanks had a few notable pitchers go on Tuesday, as Tim Hill (0.2 innings), Brent Headrick (1.0 inning), and Paul Blackburn (4.0 innings pitched) all took the mound and turned in scoreless outings.

Highlights 

Righty home run for Jasson Dominguez! pic.twitter.com/Yu6xBnqIy8

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 10, 2026

Spencer Solo Shot 🚀@NYYPlayerDev | @spencerjnespic.twitter.com/Uwqh7PTLdp

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 10, 2026

Upcoming Schedule

The Yankees host the Blue Jays in Tampa on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m.

The Mets topped the Cardinals 6-1 in Tuesday’s Grapefruit League game to earn their fourth straight spring victory. The Mets improved their Grapefruit League record to 9-5 (along with one tie).

• David Peterson picked up where he left off in his spring debut on March 4. He followed up his three shutout innings against Israel by tossing four innings of one-run ball against the Cardinals. He allowed two hits, struck out three, and did not walk a batter. The lone run he surrendered came on a two-out home run to Nelson Velázquez in the first inning. He threw 35 of his 52 pitches (67%) for strikes.
• The Mets overcame the early 1-0 deficit with relative ease. They tied things up in the bottom of the first with a Brett Baty two-out single, which plated Jorge Polanco with New York’s first run. Polanco had reached first on a single and advanced to second on a Bo Bichette ground out.
• The Mets jumped all over Jared Shuster for three runs in the third inning. Polanco hit his first home run in a Mets uniform. Three batters later, following a Bichette single and a Baty ground out, Francisco Alvarez pummeled a baseball 439 ft to give the Mets a 4-1 lead.
• Baty, who played right field in this game, drove home another run in the fifth on a single. In total, he had two hits in three at-bats, drove in two runs, and scored a run.
• Ji Hwan Bae tripled home a run in the sixth to extend New York’s lead to five.
• Brooks Raley pitched a perfect fifth inning.
• Christian Scott hurled three shutout innings in relief for the Mets. He struck out four but also walked four batters. He allowed just one hit over the three frames.
• Bryan Hudson hurled a scoreless ninth inning to close the win out for New York.
• The Mets recorded 14 total hits on the afternoon, including two hits apiece from Baty, Polanco, Alvarez, and Bae.

With the 2025 Texas Rangers season having come to an end, we shall be, over the course of the offseason, taking a look at every player who appeared in a major league game for the Texas Rangers in 2025.

Today we are looking at designated hitter Joc Pederson.

You probably don’t want to think about Joc Pederson’s 2025 season. I know I don’t. Joc Pederson probably doesn’t want to, either.

Or you do want to think about it, but only to rage about it, and how the Texas Rangers never should have signed him.

Look, I wasn’t enthused about the signing, either. But then, I wasn’t enthused about signing Nathan Eovaldi after the 2022 season, and look how that turned out.

The idea was that Pederson would mash against righthanded pitchers and would provide good vibes and everything would be good.

Things were not, of course, good, as far as Joc Pederson’s 2025 season went. Far from it.

There was the 0 for 41 streak in April that messed things up. And you know, part of what that streak so brutal — aside from the fact that it was an 0 for 41 streak, which is historically bad — is that he wasn’t walking, either. He had three walks in that stretch. Walks are one of the things that Joc Pederson was supposed to be doing good.

Also making it worse was that Pederson wasn’t tearing it up before the hitless streak. Through April 2, a seven game span, Joc was hitting only .158/.273/.211 on the season. The 0 for 41 streak started during that April 2 game, after he had recorded a hit in the game. After the 41st hitless at bat in a row, Pederson’s slash line on the season was .052/141/.069.

Imagine coming up to the plate and having to see that line on the scoreboard.

Pederson also missed two months with an injury. One would like to think that his overall season line — .181/.285/.328 — would have been better if he hadn’t missed those two months, that he would have put up a better slash line than that in that two month period. One would like to think that.

Part of what is so weird about Pederson’s 2025 season is that his K rate was in line with previous seasons. His walk rate was in line with previous seasons. His hard hit rate was in line with previous seasons. His barrel percentage was down, but not so much you’d expect to see the sort of cratering Pederson experienced.

He did have a very large spread between his wOBA (.276) and his xwOBA (.315), though he’s also very slow, which can contribute to that. That .315 xwOBA is still the lowest of his career. His .203 BABIP was the second lowest of his career, trailing only 2020, when he slashed .190/.285/.397 in 43 games for the Dodgers in the pandemic season.

I feel like I should go do a deep dive and get a better handle on what went wrong with Pederson in 2025. It would just depress me though. So I’m not gonna do that.

Previously:

Gerson Garabito

Tyler Mahle

Kyle Higashioka

Adolis Garcia

Luis Curvelo

Alejandro Osuna

Blaine Crim

Jake Burger

Jacob Webb

Nick Ahmed

Jon Gray

Carl Edwards Jr.

Josh Jung

Leody Taveras

Dustin Harris

Marc Church

Luke Jackson

Danny Coulombe

Wyatt Langford

Dylan Moore

Michael Helman

Evan Carter

Cole Winn

Rowdy Tellez

Dane Dunning

Marcus Semien

Billy McKinney

Jose Corniell

Jonah Heim

Cody Freeman

Sam Haggerty

Jacob deGrom

Merrill Kelly

Caleb Boushley

Justin Foscue

Nathan Eovaldi

Chris Martin

Patrick Corbin

The Mets beat the Cardinals, 6-1, on Tuesday as their spring training slate continued.

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Here are the takeaways...

- Francisco Alvarez lined a blistering RBI single (106.7 mph exit velocity) in the first inning. In the third, Alvarez hit a monster two-run homer to center field, sending it 439 feet and clear over the batter's eye in center field. The ball came off his bat at 111.5 mph.

Alvarez also shined behind the plate, unleashing a perfect throw to nail Victor Scott II trying to steal second base in the third inning.

Alvarez finished 2-for-3 and has a 1.492 OPS this spring. 

- Brett Baty started in right field as he continues to prepare for a role that could include plenty of time in the outfield, at first base, and at designated hitter.

At the plate, he continued to perform well, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored. 

In the field, Baty secured the first chance that came his way -- a routine fly ball he didn't have to move far for. Baty's second chance was more eventful, with him making a nice sliding catch while charging in.

- Jorge Polanco had a big day at the plate. He singled his first time up and crushed a solo homer to left field in his second at-bat. Polanco finished 2-for-2 with a walk. He is hitting .333 with a 1.167 OPS this spring. 

- David Petersongot the start and was sharp.

In four innings, Peterson allowed one run (on a solo homer) on two hits while walking none and striking out three. 

- Christian Scott got his second taste of game action since returning from Tommy John surgery. 

Scott issued four walks in his three scoreless innings but was impressive nonetheless, allowing just one hit while striking out four as his fastball sat between 94 and 96 mph.

- Bo Bichettewent 1-for-2 with a walk and had a nice day defensively at third base, including a spinning throw on a tricky grounder to his left in the fifth inning. 

- Outfield prospectA.J. Ewing continued to open eyes. He hit a 105.2 mph rocket of a double off the wall in left-center in his first at-bat. In the fourth inning, he drew a leadoff walk and promptly stole second base.

- Lefty relievers Brooks Raley and Bryan Hudson delivered one scoreless inning of relief each. 

Highlights

RBI knock for Brett Baty! pic.twitter.com/7LDYkaefxH

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 10, 2026

Extra bases for A.J. Ewing! pic.twitter.com/gOvyArCHxS

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 10, 2026

Francisco Alvarez gets Victor Scott II trying to steal pic.twitter.com/uuh8HM5Bjt

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 10, 2026

LONG GONE from Alvy to dead central! 💥 pic.twitter.com/4hsdPkdrqI

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 10, 2026

A.J. Ewing WHEELS pic.twitter.com/yf3Leis5RP

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 10, 2026

Brett Baty makes the sliding grab in right field pic.twitter.com/brcEAcXv7E

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 10, 2026

Bo Bichette with the spinning throw pic.twitter.com/VCE2CKcYAi

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 10, 2026

Christian Scott strikes out his fourth batter of the day as he completes a third scoreless inning of work 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RNeKMeHF4p

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 10, 2026

What's next

The Mets are off on Wednesday.

They travel to face the Cardinals on Thursday at 1:05 p.m.

With their best players playing elsewhere, the Kansas City Royals are 6-9 (nice). And in today’s contest, they’ll face a team with a worse Spring Training record: the 4-12 Seattle Mariners.

It’s the Battle for Grass Creek, in other words, but a preseason version. The Royals will send Cole Ragans to the mound. As a reminder, Team USA had asked Ragans to pitch for them, but he declined in pursuit of a more normal Spring Training experience following an injury-filled 2025.

Royals 3/10 gameday lineup

Cole climbs the mound this afternoon in Peoria. pic.twitter.com/Dk5LUBKcLU

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) March 10, 2026

Mariners 3/10 gameday lineup

Welcoming the Royals to Peoria. #TridentsUppic.twitter.com/tJyjHAPnRn

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 10, 2026

San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels, March 10, 2026, 1:10 p.m. PST

Watch: None

Location: Tempe Diablo Stadium – Tempe, AZ

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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On the road in Tempe. pic.twitter.com/IsknfXPZ2z

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 10, 2026

Home cookin’ 🧑‍🍳

📻: @AngelsRadioKLAA#LAASpring x @FBMSupplypic.twitter.com/H81O2p5rp8

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) March 10, 2026

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GB community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!

It’s been an…interesting day around Mariners camp, today’s lineup notwithstanding. Righty Cooper Criswell gets the nod to continue making his case for a spot in the Mariners’ bullpen.

Lineups:

Also scheduled to pitch for the Mariners: Michael Rucker, Cole Wilcox, Casey Legumina, and Robinson Ortiz

Roster moves:

The Mariners re-assigned RHP Gabe Mosser, OF Jared Sundstrom, and INF/OF Blake Rambusch to minor-league camp.

Game information:

Game time: 1:10 PT

TV: No

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports (delayed to 7 PM PT); Seattle Sports app, Mariners.com and Gameday

Today, the Colorado Rockies welcome the Cincinnati Reds to Salt River Fields.

Starting for the Reds is Brandon Williamson.

The lefty has a 4.0 ERA in 4.0 IP. He’s struck out six and has a 1.00 WHIP. 

Taking the mound for the Rockies will be RHP Ryan Feltner.

Currently, he has an ERA of 11.81 in 5.1 IP. He’s struck out 8 while giving up 39 and has a 2.06 WHIP.

And now to the details.

First Pitch: 2:10 pm MDT

TV: None

Radio: Reds WLW 700

Lineups:

For the visiting Reds:

B Will on the mound against the Rockies. pic.twitter.com/y3wcjhZB3B

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) March 10, 2026

And the home Rockies:

Mickey Moniak was scratched from today’s lineup due to illness. New lineup below. https://t.co/zR9Q2ZccqRpic.twitter.com/NGVJXrRNuA

— Rockies Club Information (@RockiesClubInfo) March 10, 2026

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Dombrowski has long bet on southpaws, decision on Luzardo: ‘unanimous' originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It’s fair to say that Dave Dombrowski has a history with left-handed starters.

Trading top prospects for southpaws, then turning around and extending them to nine-figure deals.

On Monday, the Phillies president of baseball operations closed the loop again. The Phillies and Jesús Luzardo agreed to a five-year, $135 million extension covering the 2027 through the 2031 seasons, with a club option for 2032.

“Everybody in the organization was unanimous in wanting to keep him part of us,” Dombrowski said at Tuesday’s press conference. “It starts with the person — the hard work, the dedication, the drive to be the best. You combine all of that with one of the best arms in the game.”

It rang a familiar tune.

In 2014 with Detroit, Dombrowski acquired the ultra-durable David Price to add to a rotation that already featured Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. When Boston hired him the following year, one of his first moves was signing Price to a seven-year, $217 million deal.

In December 2016, he traded top prospects Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech to Chicago for Chris Sale — 27 years old, coming off a 32-start season — and later extended Sale after back-to-back sub-3.00 ERA campaigns.

Neither contract played out exactly as Dombrowski envisioned, but one came with a World Series and the other arrived just after their title. If Luzardo delivers something similar, it would make this one well worth it.

How ‘Zeus’ got here

The Phillies swung a deal with Miami two days before Christmas two years ago, trading fourth-ranked prospect Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd. With Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm and top-ranked prospect Aidan Miller anchoring the infield, the depth was there to make the move.

Luzardo, 27 at the time, was coming off a 2024 season that ended early with a back injury and a 5.00 ERA in just twelve starts, a discouraging year for a pitcher who had posted a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts the season prior.

Luzardo didn’t know what to expect in Philadelphia, but the culture made it easy.

“Coming off a tough year in [2024] with injuries, I was looking forward to getting into this organization,” Luzardo said. “I knew it was a winning organization with high expectations and I wanted to meet those expectations and live up to that standard.”

He delivered.

Luzardo tied the rotation together behind Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez and Aaron Nola, stepping up when Wheeler and Nola fought through injuries. He made a team-leading 32 starts for the second time in his career, went 15-7 with a 3.92 ERA, threw a career-high 183 2/3 innings and struck out 216.

He finished seventh in NL Cy Young voting.

His biggest outing came in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies had dropped the series opener and needed something. Luzardo gave them six innings of two-run baseball, retiring 17 straight at one point, then returned out of the bullpen in Game 4 without allowing an earned run.

It’s easy to forget the Phillies chose Luzardo over Ranger Suárez for that start. Luzardo had finished the year strong, but his postseason track record wasn’t close to Suárez’s entering October. That performance made a lasting stamp on a durable 32-outing year.

“When you saw what he did during the postseason, it only added to our desires to keep him,” Dombrowski said.

When the offseason came, the Phillies watched Suárez walk to Boston on five years and $130 million — then gave Luzardo five years and $135 million. Dombrowski favors durability and consistency. Suárez has never made 30 starts in a season.

The staff’s staff

Luzardo credits pitching coach Caleb Cotham and the rest of the staff for his development in 2025. Last season, he added a sweeper — a pitch Cotham had first mentioned early on. He threw it 31 percent of the time, and it was nearly unhittable.

His sweeper posted a run value of 15, best in baseball according to Statcast.

“Caleb and Mark do such a good job of simplifying things,” Luzardo said. “They put me on a good path of understanding what our strengths are, what we need to do to get guys out. We share that passion for finding an edge.”

J.T. Realmuto, a former Marlin who caught Luzardo on the other side, wasn’t surprised by any of it.

“I faced him enough in Miami where he just ate our lunch,” Realmuto said. “I knew he had the stuff. It was just more honing in on his command, working with his pitch mix, giving him that confidence. Once you have those three things, he’s one of the best left-handers in the entire game.”

Backed by support

By the time Luzardo arrived at Tuesday’s press conference, the decision to stay had been made long before negotiations began.

“It wasn’t one specific moment,” Luzardo said. “Coming into spring training last year, I made some good relationships with the guys in the clubhouse, really got along with the coaching staff, the training staff, the strength staff. It was very eye-opening to me how good the supporting staff is here. I wouldn’t be here without them.”

The city itself played a role.

“I like Philadelphia,” he said. “The fans, the stadium — the energy going to the ballpark every day and just the expectation to win.. all those things was just the perfect combination for me and a match made in heaven.”

All of his teammates showed up to hear him say it. His family flew in. The whole room.

Andrew Painter, who grew up roughly 40 miles away and remembers watching Luzardo throw in high school, has spent offseasons working alongside him. The 6-foot-7 right-hander has picked up on something beyond the stuff.

“He’s big on the sink or swim mindset,” Painter said. “When you’re on that mound, there’s no one else that’s going to come and save you. That conviction — I think that’s what really elevates him.”

Realmuto sees a ceiling that’s hard to put a number on.

“If you told me he’s going to win a Cy Young, I wouldn’t be shocked,” Realmuto said. “He’s got that type of stuff and that type of work ethic.”

Luzardo isn’t thinking about awards. He’s a team-first guy.

“Every five days, I want to go out and be as great as I can and give us a chance to win,” he said. “Over these next five, six years, the only thing I expect is to be great every time out.”

Tuesday notes…

• FORMER CUBS IN RANGERS CAMP: Chris Martin, Joc Pederson, Ryan Brasier. Of note: Andrew McCutchen signed with the Rangers for what is likely his final season.
• CUBS SPRING LEADERS (minimum 15 AB): BA, Dansby Swanson, .467. OBP: Dylan Carlson, .571. SLG: Swanson, 1.067. OPS: Swanson, 1.567. HR: Swanson, Carson Kelly, Jefferson Rojas, 2. RBI: Swanson, Rojas, Pedro Ramirez, Moisés Ballesteros, 6. SB: Ramirez, Matt Shaw, Scott Kingery, 4.

Here are today’s particulars.

The Cubs lineup was not available at posting time. Please check BCB social media for the Cubs lineup.

Rangers lineup:

Rangers lineup for March 10, 2026 vs. Chicago-NL pic.twitter.com/k0KFwlDMe5

— Texas Rangers PR (@TXRangersPR) March 10, 2026

Cade Horton will start for the Cubs. Other Cubs pitchers scheduled today: Ethan Roberts, Ryan Rolison, Collin Snider and Vince Velasquez.

Jacob deGrom will start for the Rangers. Other Rangers pitchers scheduled today: Kumar Rocker, Chris Martin, Cole Winn and Gavin Collyer.

No TV or radio today. That’s really kind of a shame because this is a good pitching matchup, even if neither starter is likely to go more than four innings.

MLB.com Gameday

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

Please visit our SB Nation Rangers site Lone Star Ball. If you do go there to interact with Rangers fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

As we have done in the past, we’ll have a first pitch thread at five minutes to game time and one overflow thread, 90 minutes after game time. For today, that will be 3 p.m. CT and 4:30 p.m. CT.

These threads will not post individually onto the front page; instead, you can find links to them in the box marked ”Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page. There will also be a StoryStream on the front page with all the game thread links, as well as the recap after the game is over. The pitcher photos and regular-season stats will return on Opening Day.

Discuss amongst yourselves.