Category: MLB

We now have two teams in the system who have started their season as Myrtle Beach joins Iowa. Knoxville and South Bend take the field tomorrow.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs blinded the Louisville Bats (Reds), 11-10.

It was not a good start for Javier Assad, who got pounded for three runs in the second inning, one more in the third and four in the fourth. The final line on Assad was eight runs on eleven hits over four innings. One of the eight runs was unearned. Assad walked three and struck two. He also gave up two home runs as the wind was howling out to right at Louisville Slugger Park.

As much trouble as Assad had with the conditions, Louisville pitchers had even more as Iowa hit five home runs tonight. The first one came with two men on in the top of the first by center fielder Chas McCormick.

McCormick was 1 for 4 with a walk tonight.

Second baseman James Triantos came up after McCormick and went back-to-back to make it 4-0 before the Bats even came to bat.

Triantos had a big night, going 4 for 5 with four runs scored.

After the Bats scored three times in the bottom of the second, third baseman Pedro Ramirez got one run back with a solo home run.

Ramirez was 3 for 4 with a walk and three runs scored.

Later in the third inning, catcher Christian Bethancourt cranked a three-run home run to make it 8-3 Iowa. (Note: the post has the wrong score.)

Bethancourt his his second home run of the game and the season with a man on in the seventh inning.

Bethancourt went 2 for 5 with the two home runs and five RBI.

Charlie Barnes took over for Assad in the fifth inning and got the win. His final line was one run on three hits over 3.1 innings. Barnes walked three, hit one batter and struck out three.

Gavin Hollowell was summoned from the pen to get the final two outs of the bottom of the eighth. He did that after walking two. When Hollowell came out to pitch the ninth, he walked the first batter of the inning. Then Edwin Arroyo tripled him home to reduce the Iowa lead to 11-10 with a runner on third and no outs in the ninth. But Hollowell then buckled down and struck out the next three batters to record the save.

The final line on Hollowell was one run on one hit and three walks over 1.2 innings. He struck out five.

Shortstop Ben Cowles was also 0 for 1 with four walks and one run scored.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans neutered the Charleston RiverDogs (Rays), 14-0 in a game called in the middle of the eighth inning because of rain.

Cubs’ 2025 third-round pick Dominick Reid made his professional debut tonight and looked good. He pitched four scoreless innings and gave up just two hits. He struck out five and walked just one.

Jackson Brockett threw the next three innings in his professional debut and got the win because Reid didn’t go five innings. Brockett gave up three hits. He walked two and struck out two.

Myrtle Beach got a run before they even put a ball in play as after shortstop Ty Southisene was hit by the first pitch of the season, the next three batters walked. In the end, the Pelicans scored 14 runs on 11 hits and 15 walks.

DH Cole Mathis hit the first home run of the year with two men on in the second inning. Mathis went 2 for 3 with three walks. He drove in four runs total (one of the walks came with the bases loaded) and he scored twice.

Southisene went 0 for 2 with three walks and the hit by pitch. He scored three times.

Right fielder Josiah Hartshorn was 1 for 2 with four walks in his pro debut. Hartshorn scored once and drove in one with a single.

Catcher Logan Poteet went 2 for 5 with a walk. He scored three times and had two RBI.

First baseman Michael Carico was 3 for 6 with a double and one run scored.

Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy finished at 1 for 4 with a two-run double and two walks. He scored twice and had three overall runs batted in.

Here are some Reid highlights.

Here is the Mathis home run.

The Lumpuy 2-run double

One of Major League Baseball's most iconic uniform sets is getting a refresh.

The Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled a new look on Thursday, adding a blue alternate jersey to their regular road rotation. While the Dodgers have worn blue in the regular season before, most notably in their first City Connect uniforms from 2021-23 and for six games during "Think Blue Week" in 1999, this marks the first time in club history that blue will be a mainstay option on the road.

Dodger Blue.

For the first time in history, the Dodgers will be wearing a blue jersey as part of their regular uniform rotation on the road. pic.twitter.com/ce3EVFVJTd

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 3, 2026

The announcement comes after much speculation among the fanbase; rumors spread over the last few months as images circulated on social media from retailers reportedly receiving the new alternates. They were also listed on both the Fanatics website and in the "MLB The Show 26" video game.

It's a clean look that resembles the Dodgers' spring training tops and features the traditional "Los Angeles" script that was first worn in 1959 (they used that until they switched to "Dodgers" as their away wordmark in 1970, before re-introducing "Los Angeles" in 1999). A script Dodgers logo appears on one of the sleeves, a break from all their other uniforms that carry the LA logo. The uniform is finished off with gray piping on the sleeves and a gray outline on the traditional red front numbers to match their gray pants.

With the new addition to their closet, the Dodgers now have three uniforms for the road. These will be the team's third option behind both of their grays — one that reads "Dodgers" across the front and the other with "Los Angeles."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Los Angeles Dodgers unveil blue road alternate jersey

Tomorrow, the Colorado Rockies will host the Philadelphia Phillies for their Mile-High Home Opener, and you know that that means: New food items have been added to the menu, and now dining choices are available at Coors Field.

Because we here at Purple Row are committed to provide you with the latest news (and the best food reviews), here’s what fans can expect in 2026.

The 9-9-9 challenge

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is this:

• Drink nine flight-sized beers
• Eat nine mini hot dogs
• Finish before the ninth inning ends.

The 9-9-9 is, as MLB.com puts it, “a task not for the faint of heart.” Each challenge comes with customized team packaging.

Originally limited to Citizens Bank Park, this option has expended to five more MLB ballparks this summer, so do not throw away this opportunity.

Where is it? Fanfare, Section 139 — and be sure to bring your valid ID.

Taco Momalona

The Taco Momalona has brisket, chihuahua cheese, shredded cabbage, pork belly, gold BBQ sauce, hot Cheetos, fresh avocado, and avocado crema.

Pro tip: It should be eaten like a taco salad, and while it’s big enough for two, it’s tasty!

Pizza Donuts

Remember, this is a savory item, not a sweet one.

The Pizza Donut is a plain donut with garlic butter, parmesan, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni and marinara sauce, served with pesto sauce and Italian seasoning.

Where are they? Section 109

Dubai Cinnamon Roll

If you want a dessert, try the Dubai Cinnamon Roll. It’s a cinnamon roll topped with chocolate, vanilla ice cream, pistachios, caramel puff cereal, and kataifi.

Where is it? Section 115

The Glizzilla

The pictures you saw on the internet do not do this one justice. Glizzilla is HUGE.

It’s a one-pound, 23-inch all-beef hot dog on a 19-in sub roll.

Where is it? Fanfare, Section 157.

Boozy Ice Cream

It’s a year of Rockies rebuilding, which, hopefully means some celebrating, and this year you can celebrate and eat ice cream. Boozy Ice Cream brings together two baseball staples, and it comes in a cool Rockies baseball helmet (see bottom right photo below).

Where is it? Section 306 — and be sure to bring your valid ID.

Wit Love

This is Aramark’s first proprietary cheesesteak brand, featuring a variety of sandwiches with premium ribeye, caramelized onions, and melted cheese served on a fresh roll.

It’s pretty daring, making a cheesesteak this side of the Mississippi, but Aramark has taken on the challenge.

Where is it? Section 134

Mac on Deck

Say you’re a series fan of macaroni and cheese. This year, you can get your favorite comfort food at the ballpark. Check out these options:

• Loaded Mac — bacon bits, cheddar jack, blue cheese crumbles, green onion, and sour creme
• Vegan Mac — vegan mozzarella cheese and green onion
• Buffalo Mac — buffalo sauce, chicken, bacon bits, blue cheese crumbles, and green onion
• Ballpark Mac — traditional mac, hot dogs, green onion, and shredded cheddar jack cheese
• Classic Mac — just like Mom used to make!

Where is it? Section 115

Birdcall

If you’re a fan of chicken tenders, this one’s for you. Birdcall is a Denver-born craft chicken brand that will be serving chicken sandwiches, tenders, nuggets, and tots.

Where is it? Section 204 at the “Birdcall Deck.”

1913

This one’s a little trickier to describe.

If you were at Rockies Fest, Walker Monfort was asked if he knew any secrets about Coors Field, and he mentioned that there’s a speakeasy hidden in Coors Field.

Well, Reader, I’m here to tell you that it’s real, and I’ve seen it, and it’s pretty cool — like, hidden behind a bookcase and the whole thing. (And, apparently, the Old Fashioned is involved.)

I’m not entirely clear on how it all works, but it involves having a membership, and if you want more information, call 303-Rockies.

(Truly, I’m not trying to be coy. I’m still trying to figure this one out, but I also wanted to share what I’d learned.)

Read the Coors Field Dining Guide here.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Ever oversleep and miss something important? It has happened to the best of us. And today, it happened to Royals rookie Carter Jensen.

The 22-year-old catcher was supposed to be in the starting lineup for the series finale Thursday afternoon against the Twins. With Salvador Perez catching in wet conditions last night, typically teams like to switch catchers for the day game after a night game. But reporters and fans were puzzled when Jensen was a late scratch, particularly when he was later seen warming up.

It turns out Jensen had overslept. He later entered the game in the ninth inning after Salvy was replaced by a pinch runner. To his credit, he faced reporters after the game and took responsibility.

“No running from it. Just didn’t wake up to my alarm, slept through it. Don’t really have an excuse, nor should I. You know, it sucks and it happens. I felt let my teammates down, coaches down. I’ll just learn from it and know it won’t happen again.”

“There’s a lot to learn from, and I think it’s just, you know, making sure if I don’t set one alarm, maybe set three or four, as many as possible. So moving forward, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to set a million alarms to make sure I’m up.”

Veteran Vinnie Pasquantino revealed the team had tried to contact Carter’s parents in an effort to find him.

“You got a 36-year-old catcher who’s preparing to DH today, then his world gets a little rocked that an hour and a half before the game, he’s not going to be DHing. Credit to Salvy today for being ready.

First and foremost, we are glad that Carter is OK, right? I mean, that was kind of the initial thought, when you are trying to get ahold of his parents and everything like that just to make sure he is OK. But once you find out he’s OK, it’s like, ‘Alright, it’s a growing moment.‘

He’s really young, there are some things that cannot happen, and that’s one of them. So he’s going to have to wear it on the chin, the same way anyone would have to. So it can’t happen. And hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

You just can’t afford mistakes like that in this game. You just gotta move forward the best oyu can. I know he feels really bad. I know its not his favorite drive to the field this morning, but it wasn’t our favorite morning either trying to figure what was going on. He’ll learn from it, grow up a little bit. We’re here for him though, its not like anybody’s mad at him. Things happen. You gotta learn from mistakes like that and maybe get another alarm clock or something.”

What’s funny is that the Royals social media team had players in spring training talk about how many alarms they needed to wake up in the morning.

“This is embarrassing,” remarks Jensen, “but I need at least 6 to 8 alarms. It’s not good.”

Thankfully, he wasn’t scratched due to an injury – or worse. Hopefully the rookie gets a hefty fine in kangaroo court, learns from his mistake, and moves on. With a better alarm clock!

The San Francisco Giants welcome the New York Mets to Oracle Park tonight to begin a four-game series.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be left-hander Robbie Ray, who finished the 2025 season with a 3.65 ERA, 3.93 FIP, with 186 strikeouts to 73 walks in 182.1 innings pitched. His first start this season was in the Giants’ 3-0 loss to the New York Yankees on Friday, in which he allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts in five and a third innings.

He’ll be facing off against the Mets left-hander David Peterson, who finished the 2025 season with a 4.22 ERA, 3.48 FIP, with 150 strikeouts to 65 walks in 168.2 innings pitched. His first start this season was in the Mets’ 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, in which he allowed six hits with three strikeouts and two walks in five and a third innings pitched.

Lineups

Giants

1. Willy Adames — SS
2. Rafael Devers — DH
3. Heliot Ramos — LF
4. Luis Arráez — 2B
5. Matt Chapman — 3B
6. Jung Hoo Lee — RF
7. Harrison Bader — CF
8. Daniel Susac — C
9. Casey Schmitt — 1B

LHP. Robbie Ray

Mets

1. Francisco Lindor — SS
2. Juan Soto — LF
3. Bo Bichette — 3B
4. Jorge Polanco — DH
5. Luis Robert Jr. — CF
6. Mark Vientos — 1B
7. Marcus Semien — 2B
8. Francisco Alvarez — C
9. Tyrone Taylor — RF

LHP. David Peterson

Game #7

Who: San Francisco Giants (2-4) vs. New York Mets (3-3)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 6:45 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: MLB Network

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

The Royals will call up Luinder Avila from Omaha to start Friday’s game against the Brewers, according to MLB.com reporter Anne Rogers. Michael Wacha was originally scheduled to start on Friday, but will be pushed back due to illness. Avila was scheduled to start Omaha’s game tonight, but was scratched and replaced by Ethan Bosacker. The team has yet to announce the move, but Steven Cruz seems like a good bet to be sent down after he pitched on back-to-back days and gave up three home runs in an inning of work in a 5-1 loss on Thursday.

Luinder Avila appeared in 13 games with the Royals last year, giving up just two runs with 16 strikeouts in 14 innings for an ERA of 1.29. The Royals sent him to the minors to keep him stretched out as a starter. He started the first game for Omaha, and he gave up two runs in three innings with three strikeouts.

Avila is ranked as the #9 prospect in the Royals’ farm system by MLB Pipeline. He throws from a high angle, and tends to induce a lot of groundballs. His curveball had a 48 percent whiff rate in limited big league action. He was also impressive in the World Baseball Classic, throwing 4.1 innings and allowing just one unearned run for Team Venezuela.

The Royals list Seth Lugo to start the Saturday game with Kris Bubic to start on Sunday. The Royals begin a three-game series in Cleveland on Monday.

The “boys in blue” will take on a literal meaning this year.

On Thursday, the Dodgers announced they are introducing a new blue uniform into their regular road rotation.

The new jerseys follow the team’s traditional template, featuring their iconic red numbers on the front and a cursive “Los Angeles” script across the chest.

It marks the first time in team history they will wear blue uniforms on the road.

Blue uniforms have been used at home in the past, but not since the team’s original “Los Dodgers” city connect jerseys were replaced by their new moon-colored iteration.

Previously, the Dodgers had rotated between two gray uniforms on the road — one that said “Los Angeles” and another that said “Dodgers.”

The new edition will be accented in gray, used for the sleeve piping and an outline on the numbers.

Dodger Blue.

For the first time in history, the Dodgers will be wearing a blue jersey as part of their regular uniform rotation on the road. pic.twitter.com/ce3EVFVJTd

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 3, 2026

Another new feature: A “Dodgers” cursive script logo is on the sleeve, replacing the usual “LA” logo.

On the other sleeve, the Dodgers’ Guggenheim sponsor patch will also be displayed.

Rumors about a new blue uniform had been floating around in recent weeks, after pictures of the jersey were leaked online.

Now, it’s official — though the team did not announce when the jersey will make its debut.

The Dodgers begin their first road trip of the season on Friday, with a three-game series against the Washington Nationals.

The D-back seek to get to a four-game winning streak. Modest, but that is something they only did once before June last year, winning five in a row from April 12-17. After Zac Gallen successfully righted the ship yesterday, following a shaky first outing, Kyle Ryne Nelson will seek to follow suit tonight. Meanwhile, social media has got the pitchforks out for a line-up not including Jose Fernandez. Sigh.

Anyway, short intro today, for work reasons. Should have a bit more time tomorrow. See you then!

Reynaldo López and the Braves are looking for their third consecutive series-opening win against Ryne Nelson and the Diamondbacks. More on the pitching matchup here and today’s lineups here. First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 pm ET. 

We are entering real sicko hours (for us on the East Coast). But unfortunately for me, seeing Wiley Ballard take on each ballpark’s Crazy Food Item is appointment viewing. Chase Field debuted the “Take Me Out to the Ballgame Shake”: salted caramel shake, whipped cream, peanut butter sandwich cookies, Kit Kat Bars and Cracker Jacks.

“Shake Me Out to the Ballgame” was right there, but if you disagree, let us know in the comments.

Mets lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Juan Soto – LF
3. Bo Bichette – 3B
4. Jorge Polanco – DH
5. Luis Robert – CF
6. Mark Vientos – 1B
7. Marcus Semien – 2B
8. Francisco Alvarez – C
9. Tyrone Taylor – RF

David Peterson – LHP

Giants lineup

1. Willy Adames – SS
2. Rafael Devers – DH
3. Heliot Ramos – LF
4. Luis Arraez – 2B
5. Matt Chapman – 3B
6. Jung Hoo Lee – RF
7. Harrison Bader – CF
8. Daniel Susac – C
9. Casey Schmitt – 1B

Robbie Ray – LHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 9:45 PM ET
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

/pattern

The Long Island Ducks are “excited” to offer former Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer the “platform” to potentially return to Major League Baseball, team president Michael Pfaff told The Post Thursday night after the club announced the signing of the right-hander.

“What I would say is that all decisions are team decisions. Everybody has a voice in the room,” Pfaff said. “And what we looked at is a 10-year Major League veteran who is a Cy Young Award winner, who is eligible to return to Major League Baseball. And is desirous of using the same path so many have used before him, with the Long Island Ducks, to get back to Major League Baseball.

“So we’re excited to offer him this showcase and this platform. We’re going to work hard and he’s going to work hard to make sure that it turns out well for everyone.”

PLAYER SIGNING

10-year @MLB veteran and 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner @BauerOutage is the newest member of the Ducks! He is currently slated to serve as the our opening night starter on Tuesday, April 21st!

: https://t.co/VLUwmEcLBmpic.twitter.com/gdoBU6Pcyp

— Long Island Ducks (@LIDucks) April 2, 2026

The addition of Bauer comes with its fair share of controversy after he was hit with sexual assault allegations in 2021, though he was never criminally charged.

He was suspended by MLB for 194 games for violating the league’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. 

Pfaff told The Post that the reaction the signing has “been really positive so far.” 

The Ducks are handing the opening night start to Bauer when they face the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars on April 21 in Central Islip. 

“He has a very good idea of what he wants to do and he asked the question about what our vision of his usage might be, and when we put opening day in front of him, he did not hesitate,” the Ducks executive said. “He said he’d be ready and our focus is to get him ready for that.” 

The Ducks open their spring training on April 10 and the club is anticipating him reporting at the start of camp. 

As part of the Ducks’ announcement, the organization said Bauer would be mic’d up for all games and practices to create content for his personal social media and the team’s. 

Bauer hasn’t pitched in an MLB game since June 28, 2021.

Following his release from the Dodgers in 2023, the former MLB All-Star has played in Japan and Mexico in hopes of reviving his career. 

A number of former major leaguers have gone through Central Islip in the hope of one final shot at the MLB, including ex-Met Daniel Murphy, Dontrelle Willis, Eric Gagne and Rich Hill.

Firebrand closing pitcher John Rocker famously attempted a comeback in 2005 with the Ducks. 

Pfaff said Bauer had a number of opportunities in Japan, Mexico and with other Atlantic League teams. 

“He chose Long Island because we have proveably been the best showcase for players like him to get signed by MLB and MLB clubs, and that’s his goal. His goal here is to see if he can get another chance in Major League Baseball and we’re going to provide him that showcase,” he said.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke to the media before the team's series-opener against the Giants on Thursday and spoke about a number of topics...

When to deploy Sean Manaea

Manaea's role on the 2026 Mets is still in flux. He broke camp with the team, but as a part of the bullpen as a piggyback for the other starters. After six games, he's appeared just once and Mendoza was asked about when the right time is for him to deploy the southpaw.

"Ideally, I would like to find a spot for him where we could use a lot of his pitches," Mendoza said. "Especially with a lot of the extra-inning games we’ve played here…we’ve asked the bullpen to get an extra 15 outs. That’s a lot. With Sean, the perfect scenario would be to use all of his pitches when we need to."

The Mets have played three extra-inning games already and with their next off day not until Monday, it's probably safe to say we'll see Manaea some time in this four-game set with the Giants.

Mendoza and the Mets have said that they want to keep Manaea stretched out while in the bullpen if they need him to make a start, and the Mets skipper gave the parameters on how he ideally wants that to look. 

In order for Manaea to use all of this pitches, as Mendoza prefers, he needs to have the southpaw throw 50-60 pitches, but admits that it's hard to cut out time for that in the midst of game action.

"You go in, have a gameplan…you still got to make adjustments," Mendoza said. "We just got to wait and let it play out."

In Manaea's only appearance this season (March 29 vs. Pirates), he tossed 29 pitches across 1.1 innings, allowing one hit while walking two batters. 

Mets' DH situation

Jorge Polanco is starting again as the team's DH. This is the fourth game in a row that Polanco will not play the field due to a sore Achilles. 

Mendoza said that Polanco is close to playing first base again, but acknowledges that the DH spot is important to his team's composition, especially getting other players regular chances at the plate.

"Wanted to give [Polanco] an extra day. Continues to feel better, continues to progress," Mendoza said. "I might need the DH spot in the upcoming days for some of the other guys. That’s why I’m taking advantage of an extra day here to DH."

One of those guys is Mark Vientos. While Vientos is playing first base for the second consecutive game, the right-handed slugger has had little at-bats in the early part of the season.

Entering Thursday, Vientos is 2-for-5 on the season with a double. Although the opportunities haven't been there in the first week of the season, Mendoza says that Vientos has adjusted well to his role and continues to stay ready just like the other bench players who find themselves in the same position.

"He knows there’s going to be opportunities there even when he's not playing," Mendoza said. "Perfect examples is the past couple of days when Brett Baty hasn't been in the lineup in a game, like Yesterday he ended up getting three at-bats. The night before, he gets two, so it could happen to Mark even though their name is not on the starting lineup, that doesn't mean they're not going to impact the game. ..there's a lot of different things that could continue to help us win baseball game and that's part of the role, and they all understand that."

Carson Benge so far

Benge made his MLB debut a week ago and after the high of homering in his first game with the Mets, the young outfielder has had his ups and downs in the early going.

He's played in six games, started five, for the Mets so far and is 3-for-19 on the season. Mendoza was asked what he's seen out of Benge at the plate so far.

"He’s adjusting, learning. He’s learning as he goes, and that’s part of the development," Mendoza said. "He’s going to get some at-bats where there’s going to be traffic. Yesterday, I decided to go with the left-on-left instead of the left-on-right. It’s part of the process. We gotta continue to support him, be right there with him and give him opportunities."

 With the left-hander Robbie Ray starting on Thursday, Benge is on the bench for the series-opener.

You snooze, you lose.

Royals rookie Carter Jensen was scratched from their lineup shortly before their 5-1 loss to the Twins on Thursday after oversleeping and not arriving at Kauffman Stadium with enough time to get prepped for the game.

“Carter had an oversight,” manager Matt Quatraro told reporters following the game, according to MLB.com. “Overslept. Wasn’t here on time, and we made the decision to scratch him from the lineup. … He’s a stand-up guy, a really hard worker, a great kid. He feels terrible. He’s accountable to it.

“It’s not something that has been a pattern or any of that kind of stuff. Nobody feels worse than he does, and I think he’ll admit to that. And we’ll move on.”

Jensen, who was slated to catch, was replaced by Royals veteran Salvador Perez behind the plate, who was initially set to be the designated hitter. The 22-year-old later came in to catch in the ninth inning.

To his credit, Jensen owned up to the mistake, telling reporters that he woke up in “full panic” and tried to get to the field as soon as possible.

“No running from it,” Jensen said. “Just didn’t wake up to my alarm. Slept through it. Don’t really have an excuse, nor should I. It sucks. Happens. I felt like I let my teammates down, coaches down. Just learn from it and know it won’t happen again.”

With Jensen arriving late, the Royals had to lean on Perez to prep with starting pitcher Cole Ragans.

“You got a 36-year-old catcher preparing to DH today, and then his world gets a little rocked an hour and a half before the game that he’s not going to be DHing,” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “Credit to Salvy today for being ready, first and foremost.”

Jensen admitted that there was “a lot” to learn from his blunder, saying that he will be setting “a million alarms” to get up early for day games.

“There’s a lot to learn from it. Making sure if I don’t set one alarm, maybe set three, four, as many as possible,” Jensen said. “Moving forward, that’s what I’m going to do. Set a million alarms. Make sure I’m up. It stinks, though.”

Jensen is Kansas City’s top prospect, according to MLB.com, and briefly saw the big-league diamond last year, when he put up an impressive slash line of .300/.391/.550, with six doubles and three home runs in 20 games.

One week — and one West Coast trip — into the season, the Yankees return to The Bronx for today’s home opener with a few things fairly clear: Their rotation — even without the injured Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt — appears formidable. And Ben Rice could be the left-handed offensive force they’ve been searching for.

For a team that was surrounded by the phrase “Running it back,’’ things are off to a promising start.

Here’s a look at the key questions entering the season and how they have unfolded through the first six games, leaving the Yankees 5-1.

Can Rice handle first base? 

After starting 41 games at first for the Yankees in 2024, Rice was in the lineup there 46 times last season. But the Yankees made clear they are all in on him at the spot this season, with Paul Goldschmidt expected to be limited to starts against left-handers, and even then, Rice should get more at-bats versus lefties in ’26.

The power has never been in question for Rice, but the Yankees were looking for more consistency.

So far, Rice has provided it.

His walk rate has jumped and strikeouts dropped, and as one AL scout noted, Rice hasn’t hit the ball in the air much this season.

While Rice hit into some bad luck in ’25, as his expected numbers were higher than the ones he posted — which is why the Yankees were optimistic for more growth at the plate — he’s making up for at least some of that misfortune in the early part of this year.

Where there remains disagreement is on defense.

Rice showed improvement at first base last year and has again this season — especially in decision-making — but his footwork can be clunky.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

“I’d be more worried about his glove if I didn’t think he could be such a threat at the plate, but he keeps getting better,’’ the scout said. “And I think he can at least be average defensively. If he’s hitting like he’s been the past year or so, you’ll live with some hiccups on defense.”

As for hitting lefties, Rice has just three plate appearances against them through his first five games — with Goldschmidt starting the only game with a lefty starter. 

Good start 

Through six games, four Yankees starters have combined to allow just two earned runs.

At some point, Cole and Rodón will join the rotation alongside Max Fried and Cam Schlittler. As good as that foursome is, it could leave Will Warren, Ryan Weathers and Clarke Schmidt all available as the fifth starter later in the season if everyone stays healthy.

And the Yankees are high on a handful of their top pitching prospects, with Carlos Lagrange and Elmer Rodríguez potentially knocking on the door at some point, perhaps in bullpen roles. 

Bullpen 

The Yankees have been waiting for the 2023 version of Camilo Doval and would like him to get there as the primary setup man for David Bednar. He’s displayed a nasty sinker, but ran into his first trouble of the season in Wednesday’s win in Seattle after three straight impressive outings to start the year.

Jake Bird might turn into a weapon, but a National League scout said he’d be surprised if Bednar, Bird and Doval remain in their current roles throughout the season.

“I like his guts, but Bednar in a big spot would still make me nervous,’’ the scout said.

Left side of the infield 

Ryan McMahon arrived from Colorado at last year’s trade deadline with a tremendous glove and too many strikeouts.

Not much has changed, even after offseason changes to his swing.

McMahon is 1-for-15 with two walks and seven strikeouts. If the rest of the lineup clicks, they could afford below-average offense at third, but they’ll need more from McMahon, regardless.

And José Caballero, as well as Amed Rosario, certainly appear better suited to utility roles, as the Yankees wait for Anthony Volpe to get back from offseason shoulder surgery.

Until that happens — and Volpe shows his defensive issues from last season are gone — expect questions to remain about the left side of the infield.

On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced they were calling up baseball’s consensus top prospect, shortstop and sometime center fielder, Konnor Griffin. The 19-year-old wasn’t promoted for Opening Day due to a combination of factors that had more to do with team control and leverage toward a contract, but his high strikeout rate in spring training provided cover for the Pirates to send him to Triple-A. Apparently, he had some things to learn about hitting upper level pitching, and needed five games for the Indianapolis Indians to really get ready for major league pitching. Yes, that’s sarcasm. Not coincidentally, it was announced today that Griffin and the Pirates were close to finalizing a nine-year, $140 million extension offer. We’ll see if those are the final terms of the deal, but Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony’s eight-year, $130 million contract signed last August set a pretty good range for a similar deal to Griffin.

Of course, there’s another elite prospect already tearing it up in the major leagues who is in line for a long-term extension offer. Jeff Passan reported in his Griffin article that sources had told him the Tigers and Kevin McGonigle had had some discussions about a long-term deal as well. Cardinals rookie J.J. Wetherholt was also linked to at least some general talks in Passan’s piece. And of course this all comes on the heels of Colt Emerson’s eight-year, $95 million deal, currently the largest ever given out to a prospect yet to make his major league debut.

Frankly, Passan’s reporting on McGonigle and Wetherholt is as thin as that kind of report can be, offering zero specifics. The actual story could be as little as a preliminary conversation with McGonigle’s representation, or it might not have even gotten that far. Still, we’ve been talking about an extension as well, and everyone knows McGonigle is the type of prospect you want to quickly offer a fair long-term deal to, betting on him as a long-time franchise player and trying to mitigate the cost of his potential free agent years by locking them up now until he’s in his early 30’s. However, as we’ll explore further on, there are some serious complicating factors that make this a lot more difficult decision for the Tigers than for the Pirates.

Griffin and McGonigle have been ranked 1-2 by just about every national prospect site of note. There’s certainly a good argument for Griffin based on a little more power potential and likely better defensive abilities at shortstop, but it’s really splitting hairs after watching McGonigle’s upgraded defense this spring and also seeing him post some elite sprint times that upped his secondary tool grades significantly. The one major difference is that Griffin will turn 20 later this month, while McGonigle will turn 22 in August. So there are roughly two less years of likely prime performance in McGonigle’s case. Of course, that just speaks to how precocious a hitter Griffin is at this point.

Teams have been doing more and more of this in recent years, whereas once it was more the province of small market, small payroll teams like the Rays. Those teams wouldn’t compete in free agency, and had to find creative ways of getting maximum value out of their best young players. While the vagaries of pitching injuries makes this much less appealing with a young pitcher, the top positional prospects have been getting these type of offers more and more, and from teams who could otherwise afford them in free agency anyway, but want to try and get a long-term bargain and spread the cost of a such a deal out over the 8-10 year terms this sort of deal usually is designed to cover.

There’s a theory that the added push to lock top young players up long-term is related to expectations for the new CBA to be negotiated next winter. The owners want a salary cap and floor system. The players union does not, and with Tony Clark gone and former lead negotiator Bruce Meyer now running the union, and a substantially bulked up war chest, reportedly at $400 million per Passan, they may still be in position to make a stand and either prevent the cap they have always opposed, or at least force the league and franchises to open up their books to ensure that the players share of revenue is protected in such a system. Expectations for an ugly, protracted fight over this are already quite high.

The players have been leaking their share of revenue for most of the century. Some reports had their share at 56 percent back in 2002, and now, while assessments vary since only the Braves are a publicly owned franchise, most estimates fall between 40-45 percent of total league revenue. The players union peaked under the leadership of Donald Fehr from 1985 when the former MLBPA general counsel took over as acting director, to 2009, when he passed the reins to handpicked successor and former general counsel, Michael Weiner. Weiner died in 2013 at only 51 years of age of a brain tumor. His deputy, Tony Clark, took over as the first former player to head the union.

It would be fair to suggest that things have not gone the union’s way without an actual specialist in labor law in charge. Some think that the move to a more qualified leader in Meyer will help the MLBPA to push back, but that certainly remains to be seen. What is pretty clear to everyone is that this next CBA is going to be a battle as bad, and likely worse, than the last CBA fight during the 2021-2022 offseason that kept players locked out into March before a deal was agreed upon.

The theory is that teams are trying to lock up their young talent in the expectation that currently signed deals may be exempt to one degree or another, from any proposed salary cap. Obviously they can’t just tell the Dodgers to ditch $100 million or more in player salaries to comply starting next year, as an example.

This brings us back to young Mr. McGonigle. He isn’t represented by Scott Boras as far as I can tell, though the only information available publicly states that he does have professional representation, so this isn’t a situation like Colt Keith’s, where agent Matt Paul negotiated the deal with plenty input from Keith’s mother, an attorney. That was a fairly team friendly deal, but of course Keith wasn’t quite the same level of prospect. But since McGonigle is apparently not a Boras client, an extension is at least a reasonable possibility.

Parameters for the terms of such a deal seem pretty simple to develop based on Anthony and Griffin’s deals. Anthony is only a few months older, so a term of eight or nine years seems most likely. The average annual value of Anthony’s deal is $16,250,000. The reported nine year, $140 million deal to Griffin would average $15,555,555. So we can guess that McGonigle can reasonably expect to get Anthony’s deal, and because these things build on each other as precedent’s, probably a little more.

The Pirates presumably held Griffin’s major league debut as a bargaining chip to get him and his representation to compromise somewhat on a deal. The Tigers didn’t mess around, promoting McGonigle immediately. There are plenty of other reasons why this would be a pretty dangerous move for the Tigers right now.

After their offseason spending spree, the Tigers are now roughly $2.5M from surpassing the luxury tax threshold. Digging through the whole CBA is beyond my pay grade, but former Tigers executive Mike Smith pointed out on X that breaching the luxury tax threshold would cost the Tigers their competitive balance round pick in 2027, a cut of their international bonus pool for the next signing period, as well as pushing back any compensation picks from players like Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize rejecting a qualifying offer this offseason.

Those are some pretty steep penalties. For luxury tax purposes, calculations per player are based on the average annual value of their contract. Based on that, the Tigers can’t just pay McGonigle $2.0M this year and push the rest of the money into the remaining years of such a contract to avoid breaching the threshold. All those picks have quite a bit of value. The actual 20 percent tax on such an overage isn’t really the real concern as it would probably come out to less than $4.0M total. However, as Smith also pointed out, the language in the CBA is pretty tricky on this point as to whether a deal could be signed that begins in 2027, avoiding the luxury tax hit.

Of course, if the Tigers trade for a player at the deadline, they’re pretty likely to go over the threshold anyway by taking on that salary. They may have already accepted that this is likely to happen. By offering McGonigle a deal in that $140M range right now, there is a pretty good chance they’ll be saving themselves a lot more money in the end. Should McGonigle have a good season and prove himself out as a 4 WAR player or more, such an extension next offseason, CBA negotiations willing, might end up costing more like $200 million. So there is a lot going on here under the surface.

My instinct says to just lock him up, and that the threshold is likely unavoidable this year unless they have a rough year and end up selling at the deadline. Kevin McGonigle is pretty likely to only get more expensive. But if there is any way to sign a deal that begins in 2027 and avoid the luxury tax hit and the draft pick and IFA money penalties, that’s obviously the way to go. Still, Griffin and Anthony’s deals have really established a solid recent range for this sort of deal so the actual number shouldn’t be that difficult to agree on.