Category: MLB

It’s time for part two of our honorable mentions, this time covering exclusively the arms that just missed list. As a reminder, next week will mark the beginning of our top twenty and continue biweekly over the course of this spring. Check in every Tuesday and Thursday for more, and please let us know what you think in the comments below!

Michael Morales – RHP

2025 Statistic of Note – 2026 K-BB ratio: 1.89 (2025 at AA: 5.15)

That is not a fun statistic to share about Moose Morales, who ran into a wall on his second tour through the Texas League. Always a zone controller, that seemed to get away from Morales this year, as he issued as many free passes as he has in his career but with a troubling downtick in strikeouts. Morales remains young, just 23 years old, but in his third year of development, you’d hope to be moving forwards, not back. At this point, it seems like there’s no magical velo bump coming, so Morales will have to find a way to make his below-average fastball work at the big leagues, by throwing it stubbornly at the top of the zone and hoping the rest of the arsenal cooperates. That’s where there’s hope in the profile: his changeup and curve are both swing-and-miss offerings, if he can find them regularly. -KP

Walter Ford – RHP

2025 Statistic of Note – 18% K rate 

High school pitchers are the most volatile draft group, and that’s being borne out in Ford’s career so far. He’ll have fantastic outings followed by forgettable ones. The fastball velo hasn’t jumped forward like one might hope, but there’s still swing-and-miss promise in his slider. Unfortunately, the lack of a meaningful heater is capping his ceiling right now; even at 20 years old, Ford should be handling A-ball hitters with a little more authority. He will go through torrid stretches where you can see him putting it all together – he won Pitcher of the Month honors for the organization in June – but needs to close that last step so the forward momentum is constant and consistent. But he’s certainly not the first prep pitcher to struggle to do so; nor will he be the last.

Outstanding start by Walter Ford. Final line: 7.1IP, 7H, 4R, BB, 4K, 83-59. Longest outing of his pro career. Bullpen allowed 2 inherited runners to score. pic.twitter.com/7vKk9doRIv

— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) September 7, 2025

Lucas Kelly – RHP

2025 Statistic of Note – Has not debuted

The Mariners’ sixth rounder from last July’s draft, Lucas Kelly was one of the premiere relief prospects in all of college baseball last season. Featuring a Sewald-ian release point from a 6’4 frame, Kelly achieves ridiculous VAA (Vertical Approach Angle, if you’re unfamiliar, is essentially a measurement of how steeply the pitch is approaching a hitter) metrics and can rush his heater up into the triple digits. Given his flat approach and high octane velocity, Kelly’s fastball eats hitters alive at the top of the zone and should be a plus pitch or better. His breaking ball has two somewhat similar shapes, but his gyro-spin cutter has the potential to be a weapon for him as a professional. The secondaries and command need some refinement, but the raw potential for a leverage reliever is apparent. With some development, Kelly could easily be the best pure relief prospect the M’s have had in a long time.

We won't ever live this one down!

Relive the final out that won us the 2025 Northwest League Championship! pic.twitter.com/94eMpirZKH

— Everett AquaSox (@EverettAquaSox) September 14, 2025

Danny Macchiarola – RHP

2025 Statistic of Note – Has not debuted

Macchiarola, last year’s 8th rounder out of Holy Cross, didn’t get a ton of fanfare when he joined the organization. The 6’2 180lb right hander had a relatively standard arsenal with solid, if unspectacular numbers at a small school in the Northeast. Considering he’s yet to debut as a professional, what’s changed?

Drawing rave reviews from offseason camp, Macchiarola was mentioned as a standout amongst the other gas campers, seemingly having added a tick on his arsenal as a whole. Possessing the innate ability to manipulate spin on the baseball, Macchiarola looks like he’s got a shot at debuting in pro ball with a complete four pitch mix that’s capable of putting hitters away consistently. He’s shown he can command his pitches consistently; if the velocity truly has taken a step forward, the Mariners may have found themselves another late round gem.

Matt Tiberia – RHP

2025 Statistic of Note – 2.27 ERA

Tiberia was one of the biggest surprises of last year’s minor league season, emerging from the 18th round out of Lynn University to put together a really nice season for the Nuts. The wiry right hander doesn’t have the most overpowering arsenal, but with a nice sinker that touches the mid 90’s, a tight slider, and solid mechanics down the mound, the 6’3 hurler has the look of someone who should continue to be a starter. He did miss some time with injury last season, but now healthy, the right hander should get a shot at starting the season with the Frogs in Everett as a rotation mainstay. If he’s able to replicate the kind of season he had last year, he’ll be all but assured to find his name considerably higher up our list come midseason.

Brock Moore – RHP

2025 Statistic of Note – 12.5 K/9

Moore is undeniably the most volatile pitcher to make this list. Strictly a reliever, Moore’s fastball frequently eclipses 100 mph and is paired with a hellacious two plane breaking ball that strikes out a ton of opposing batters. Throw in a changeup with massive fade and velo separation, and the makings of an elite reliever seem to be ready made. The problem? Borderline 20-grade command. Moore was the owner of a truly astounding 13.5 BB/9 mark last season and has little, if any, idea where any of his offerings are going. He’s a rather good athlete and evaluators have remained bullish on his ability to reign in his arsenal enough to get by, but until that point, he’s a tough watch out on the mound. With the best pure stuff in the system, hopefully the hulking right hander can dial it in and become the lockdown reliever his stuff would indicate he can be.

I think it’s safe to say that most St. Louis Cardinals fans are anxious to identify the next St. Louis Cardinals core group of players you rebuild around. Once identified, you would hope to lock those players into long-term extensions. If you were St. Louis Cardinals President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom, would you work to extend shortstop Masyn Winn? Would your answer be now, later or never?

The St. Louis Cardinals still have four years of team control as he’s currently on a trajectory to reach free agency after the 2029 season, but he’s eligible for arbitration after the upcoming 2026 season. Fangraphs has Masyn pinned as a 3.6 WAR while ZIPS projects him with a 3.1 WAR for the 2026 season. His elite defensive skills have already been rewarded as a Gold Glove finalist in 2024 and a Gold Glove winner in 2025. Offensively, Masyn had a solid 2024 slashing a .267 average with 15 home runs and an OPS of .730, but was hampered by nagging injuries in 2025 with his average dipping to .253, 9 home runs and an OPS of .673.

What would a Masyn Winn extension look like? As I shared a few weeks ago, it’s believed that an extension at this point in his career would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 years for around $100 million dollars. My initial reaction to that number and those years is I would jump at the chance if I were Chaim Bloom and Masyn Winn’s agent Andrew Guerra said yes. The cynical side of me says that I would wait at least one more year to see what Masyn’s performance is like now that the torn meniscus in his right knee has been surgically repaired. That would be the reason for a potential “later” answer.

The X factor for me is Masyn Winn’s maturity and potential team leadership role. He addressed that during the Winter Warmup a few weeks ago. He said that he specifically wanted to help JJ Wetherholt adjust to the major leagues.

Masyn Winn – “As far as…leadership…it’s something I take pride in. I’m gonna go out there and compete and play how I play…I’m really looking forward to playing with JJ…I want him to be himself…I want him to go out there and have some fun…I wanna be there for JJ and let him be great.”

I’ve seen enough of Masyn Winn to know that I want him to be a part of the new St. Louis Cardinals core, but I understand those who want to see more before they would offer an extension. What’s your opinion? Now, later or never?

The Yankees claimed right-hander Osvaldo Bido off waivers from the Angels on Thursday.

It’s the fifth time the 30-year-old has been claimed this offseason since he finished last season with the A’s.

Bido pitched 79 ¹/₃ innings in 2025 in 26 appearances, including 10 starts, for the A’s.

While Bido struggled with Sacramento last season with a 5.87 ERA, he pitched effectively for the A’s in 2024, with a 1.089 WHIP in 63 ¹/₃ innings.

He originally signed with the Pirates out of the Dominican Republic in 2017.

Bido’s arrival to the Yankees comes after the Angels designated him for assignment last week after they acquired lefty Jayvien Sandridge from the Yankees and needed to make room on their 40-man roster.

To open up a spot on their roster, the Yankees designated infielder Braden Shewmake for assignment.

The lefty-swinging Shewmake played 85 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in ’25 after the Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Royals last offseason.

The long wait is finally over!

According to sources close to ESPN, Detroit Tigers ace hurler won his salary arbitration case on Thursday, giving him a $13 million raise over the franchise’s proposed figures and setting the record for the largest salary ever awarded through arbitration at $32 million in 2026.

That number surpasses the previous record set by outfielder Juan Soto, who settled with the New York Yankees at $31 million in 2024. The two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner is represented by super-agent Scott Boras, who also represented Soto in his case.

The decision also sets two arbitration records for pitchers. Skubal became the highest-paid arbitration-eligible pitcher by leapfrogging David Price, who earned $19.75 million with the Tigers in 2015; he received the largest raise for an arbitration-eligible pitcher by surpassing Jacob deGrom, who saw his salary surge from $7.4 million to $17 million — an increase of $9.6 million — with the New York Mets in 2019.

BREAKING: Two-time reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal won his arbitration case and will make $32 million this year, sources tell ESPN. Skubal’s bet to go for the largest salary ever in the arbitration system paid off, as he’ll make $13M more than Tigers argued.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 5, 2026

All in all, Skubal received a $21.85 million raise from $10.15 million in 2025 to $32 million in 2026 — a meteoric 215.3% increase in pay.

Skubal will now earn the sixth-highest base salary among MLB pitchers this season, with Zack Wheeler ($42 million, Philadelphia Phillies), Framber Valdez ($38 million, Tigers), Jacob DeGrom ($38 million, Texas Rangers), Gerrit Cole ($36 million, Yankees) and Tyler Glasnow ($32.5 million, Los Angeles Dodgers) ahead of him.

The Dodgers had a clear need on offense, and they filled it by signing the best free agent available. Outfielder Kyle Tucker and his four-year, $240-million contract turned a weakness into a strength. Let’s look at the outfield as spring training nears.

40-man roster outfielders

• Kyle Tucker RF
• Andy Pages CF
• Teoscar Hernández LF
• Alex Call LF/RF
• Michael Siani CF
• Ryan Ward LF/RF/1B

Things to watch

Elevating the floor and ceiling: Dodgers outfielders as a group in 2025 hit .240/.299/.415, and ranked 17th MLB with a 98 wRC+. Upgrading from Michael Conforto to Tucker should work wonders. Tucker has a 130 wRC+ and at least four Wins Above Replacement in each of the last five seasons, the latter even in 2024 when he missed half the season with a fractured right tibia.

Staying healthy: The vast majority of Dodgers position players are in their 30s, but Tucker is 29 and joins 25-year-old Andy Pages in the suddenly more youthful outfield. Teoscar Hernández, now in left field, struggled in a 2025 season that saw him miss time with a groin strain and fouling a ball off his foot. When healthy, Hernández can be a force offensively, and now he’ll be a little further down a much deeper lineup. In addition to the shin injury in 2024, Tucker missed time with the Cubs last season with a calf strain and played through a hand fracture in June that led to a second-half decline.

Room for growth: Andy Pages had a dreadful postseason with just four hits in 51 at-bats, but also made a championship-saving catch in Kool Aid Man fashion in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series in Toronto. Pages and coming off a 27-homer, 4-ish WAR season and is also only 25 years old. There’s a lot to like here, especially when Pages is likely to hit at or near the bottom of the lineup.

Useable depth: The other three outfielders on the 40-man all have minor league options. Alex Call is the one most likely to stick on the bench, with the caveat that the inevitable return of Kiké Hernández hasn’t yet happened. Michael Siani is a defense-first center fielder who could be this year’s Justin Dean, but let’s see how many more times Siani is placed on waivers first.

Will Ward get the call? Ryan Ward had the best of his three seasons in Triple-A Oklahoma City last year in winning Pacific Coast League MVP, but was passed over in favor of several other call-ups with more defensive value before getting added to the 40-man roster in November to avoid losing him to minor league free agency. Ward is a modern-day Maytag repairman in that his best two positions are designated hitter and first base, and the Dodgers have Hall of Famers at those positions. Ward, who turns 28 in three weeks, also can monitor corner outfield space when needed, but now with Tucker the team is well-stocked in both left field and right field as well. There doesn’t appear to be much of a path to playing time for Ward on the Dodgers, but expect the Cactus League — he played in 45 spring training games over the last three years — to be his showcase to other teams who might have room for him.

Tarik Skubal won his arbitration case against the Detroit Tigers on Feb. 5, earning a record salary of $32 million after the Tigers requested a 2026 salary of $19 million.

Skubal's victory after a hearing before a three-person panel the day before sets him up for a final year in Detroit before the two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner is expected to receive a record haul in free agency.

Before hitting the market, though, he earned a landmark victory over his team.

The $13 million gap between team and player was a record in salary arbitration, and Skubal's victory was a record for a player who went to a hearing, topping Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s $19.9 million award in 2024. It's also the single highest one-year salary for an arbitration-eligible player, edging Juan Soto's $31 million one-year pact with the Yankees in 2024.

Skubal is certainly worth it: Over the past two seasons, he's struck out 469 batters in 387 1/3 innings, going 31-10 with a 2.30 ERA and winning the AL's pitching triple crown this year. He also led the majors with a 7.30 strikeout-walk ratio and a 0.89 WHIP.

When is Tarik Skubal a free agent?

For one year, Skubal will join forces with top free agent pitcher Framber Valdez, who on the same day Skubal and the Tigers went to trial was agreeing to a three-year, $115 million deal with the Tigers. Valdez's $38.3 million average annual salary is a record for a left-handed pitcher, and will earn more this season than his Cy Young-winning mate.

That should change next year when Skubal hits the market. For now, he's already got a fairly big win in his column.

The three-person arbitration panel is tasked not with determining which salary to award, but rather whether to go higher or lower than the midpoint of the two sides' offers - in this case, $25.5 million. Skubal's body of work clearly moved the panel to favor a salary north of that - and Skubal will be compensated in record fashion for what's likely his final year in Detroit.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tarik Skubal contract: Tigers ace wins historic arbitration hearing

The Yankees continue to tinker with their 40-man roster, claiming right-handed pitcher Osvaldo Bido off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels.

To make room on the roster, infielder Braden Shewmake was designated for assignment. 

Bido, a 30-year-old right-hander who stands at 6-foot-3, has pitched in the majors for both the Pirates and Athletics. 

In 26 appearances (10 starts) with the A's last season, Bido pitched to a 5.87 ERA with 68 strikeouts and 35 walks in 79.2 innings.

It's been a busy offseason for Bido, as he's been claimed by the Braves, Rays, Marlins, Angels, and now the Yankees.

Shewmake, a 27-year-old middle infielder, played in 85 games last season for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, posting a .680 OPS.

We’re trying a new series at Royals Review, a daily mid-day question of the day to hear about your opinions on a fun or pressing question affecting the Royals or baseball in general. Chime in and drop your answers below!

News broke late last night that the Tigers had signed the best remaining free agent, Framber Valdez, to a hefty three-year deal worth $115 million. There’s some concern that this signals the Tigers’ intention to trade away Tarik Skubal, but if they’re going to have both lefties in their rotation, they just became much more formidable. Prior to the move, the Tigers and Royals were seen as about even in their odds to win the division, and it seemed reasonable for the Royals to potentially go into the season without making another move to improve their roster, wait to see how Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen do, and then potentially load up at the deadline. That now seems like a much riskier choice.

One initial reaction from a fellow RR writer was that the Royals should really go get the lefty-mashing Miguel Andujar, but he was signed a few minutes later to the Padres on a one-year/$4 million deal. With Austin Hays and Harrison Bader getting signed last week, free-agent, right-handed-hitting outfielders have essentially gone extinct.

I threw together this trade idea last night in response to the moves:

Do the Royals need to make a trade? Or is there a free agent out there you’d still be interested in? Or would you be OK if the Royals continued to wait for the opportune moment to strike?

The 2013 New York Yankees finished the season 85-77, good for third place in the American League East and on the outside looking in at the playoffs when the regular season concluded. Their “leaderboard” is a veritable who’s who of guys who certainly played in the major leagues. 36-year-old’s Travis Hafner and Lyle Overbay, 34-year-old Vernon Wells, and -1.5 bWAR (seriously!) Eduardo Núñez are among the names you’d see penciled into the lineup most nights.

Catcher, like much of the Yankee lineup, was an offensive black hole. Chris Stewart, Austin Romine, and John Ryan Murphy combined to provide basically nothing after Francisco Cervelli went down with a broken hand in late April. Cervelli, who was off to a torrid start at the plate (141 OPS+) later hurt himself rehabbing while also getting swept up in the Biogenesis brouhaha, missing the remainder of the season due to injury and suspension. As 2014 approached, it’s fair to say catcher was a position in flux.

Brian McCann
Signing Date: December 3, 2013
Contract: 5 years, $85 million

It’s funny how time plays tricks on memory. When I sat down to write this, I remembered the Yankees signing McCann after Robinson Canó jilted them for more years and more money with the Seattle Mariners. In my mind’s eye, McCann was part of a pivot that involved Hall of Famer Carlos Beltrán and former BoSox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

That was not the case. The Yankees signed McCann and Ellsbury before knowing for certain they were not going to be able to retain their all-world second baseman. That said, they definitely had reason to be pessimistic Robbie would remain in pinstripes after word leaked in mid-November that he wanted a 10-year deal worth $310 million.

McCann entered free agency with an excellent pedigree (albeit while also being a bit of a hardass at times). A seven-time All-Star and winner of five Silver Slugger Awards behind the plate with the Atlanta Braves, McCann put up a 117 OPS+ with 176 bombs in his first nine seasons from 2005-13, making for a remarkably consistent 20-plus homer bat. Meanwhile, as he matured behind the plate, he gained a reputation as one of baseball’s finest pitch framers.

The combination of offensive prowess, defensive skill, and leadership was enough that McCann was expected to command serious money in free agency. Indeed, some expected him to break nine figures with at least a six-year commitment from whoever signed him.

Ultimately, McCann did not quite hit those figures. But he certainly did well for himself, getting $85 million over five years from the Yankees.

On the surface, it looked like the Yankees had answer their question at catcher for the next half-decade. Even then though, there were warning signs.

McCann entered free agency having played the least number of games over the previous two seasons since he became a full-time player. Worse, while he bounced back in 2013, his bat disappeared in 2012.

In late October, Benjamin Hoffman warned in the New York Times about the potential downside of a McCann signing, writing that “given his position, his recent decline in durability and an expected drop in production as he enters his 30s, he appears to be the most likely of this off-season’s big-ticket free agents to end up becoming an albatross for the team that signs him.”

Hoffman’s prediction did not quite come to pass, though McCann never approached his previous offensive heights with the Yankees (or after his tenure in New York, for that matter). His bat hovered around league average for his three seasons in pinstripes. Combined with his defense and positional value, by FanGraphs WAR he compiled roughly 8.0 fWAR over his three seasons in the Bronx. And he did have his moments.

Meanwhile, the Yankees continued to flirt with mediocrity. In McCann’s three seasons in the Bronx, the club never won more than 87 games, which they managed in 2015. That year, they made the playoffs only to lose the American League Wild Card Game to soon-to-be mortal enemies the Houston Astros. Four pitchers combined to shut the Yankees out 3-0. For his part, McCann went 0-for-4 in his only playoff game as a Yankee.

2016 saw the electrifying emergence of Gary Sánchez, who clubbed 20 home runs and finished second in AL Rookie of Year voting despite only playing 53 games. With “The Kraken” in the Bronx, McCann realized his time as the Yankees’ main catcher had come to an end and he asked for a trade.

The Yankee front office accommodated his request, and during the offseason dealt McCann to the aforementioned Astros for a pair of pitching prospects, Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman. Because no good dead goes unpunished, McCann came back to haunt the Yankees.

Through the first six games of the 2017 ALCS, Yankee pitching kept their former backstop in check. But in Game 7, back in Houston, McCann broke the Yankees’ backs. Already trailing 2-0 after an Evan Gattis home run the previous inning and a Jose Altuve dinger earlier in the fifth, McCann came to the plate, facing Tommy Kahnle, who’d replaced starter CC Sabathia. Needing one out to escape the frame and with McCann down to his final strike, Kahnle instead surrendered a two-run double that extended the Astros lead to 4-0. On a night when Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers Jr. combined to throw a three-hit shutout, that was more than enough.

For whatever it’s worth, McCann was not thrilled with the Astros’ infamous sign-stealing scheme and tried to push back on it with fellow veteran and former Yankees teammate Carlos Beltrán. Longtime friend and catcher Evan Gattis also noted McCann’s discomfort:

“I could tell it was eating him up,” Gattis said. “He didn’t like it one bit. … He’s played so long, and he just understands what it takes to get to the big leagues, and he’s got a lot of respect for ballplayers. You could just tell (he was opposed to the cheating).”

This does not fully exonerate McCann, as he still benefitted from the whole endeavor and it’s not as though his 2017 at-bats were completely devoid of “bangs.” How angry should you be about McCann being on those 2017 Astros? That’s really a question that you can only answer yoruself.

As it stood, McCann won his first and only World Series that year and played two more seasons before retiring, fittingly, as an Atlanta Brave. In his first year on the ballot for the Hall of Fame, McCann received only seven votes (1.8%), falling off future ballots.

But make no mistake. He was a Hall of Very Good catcher and the Yankees have made far worse free agent signings over the years.

References

Brian McCann. Baseball-Reference.

Hoch, Bryan. “Yanks deal McCann to Astros for pitching prospects.” MLB. November 17, 2016.

Hoffman, Benjamin. “With Gritty Slugger Brian McCann, It’s Buyer Beware.” New York Times. October 31, 2013.

Jaffe, Jay. “JAWS and the 2025 Hall of Fame Ballot: Brian McCann.” FanGraphs. December 20, 2024.

Waldstein, David. “How Yanks May Proceed, Cano or No Cano.” New York Times. December 4, 2013.

Waldstein, David. “Yankees Set to Resume Cano Negotiations, With Sides Still Far Apart.” New York Times. November 18, 2013.

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See more of the “50 Most Notable Yankees Free Agent Signings in 50 Years” series here.

Tenth is the series. Today we look at the Cubs’ young center fielder.

Peter Henry Crow-Armstrong, the first-round pick of the New York Mets in 2020, came on like gangbusters in the first half of 2025. His act flagged badly toward the end, but he turned in a marvelous season that raises expectations and anxieties about his 2026 campaign.

He needs to improve his in-zone contact some, stop swinging at so many bad pitches, and use his considerable bat speed and hand-eye coordination to make better-quality contact. Fans hope that he can learn a little more patience at the plate, and all of the above point to him not getting himself out. Travis Sawchik had a good piece about that, also appearing in Cub Tracks.

The guy’s already a star. Really, given the hype and the hope, he was a star before he got to the majors, and his skills and considerable charisma have served him well so far. He can do things nobody else can.

Some consistency would be infinitely desirable. Maybe a couple of Ian Happ specials rather than a whole second half? Hmm. A season of that and the same numbers or better, and we’re talking about a superstar.

His stellar defense props up his WAR numbers. BBRef has him at 8.1 bWAR, with PCA having amassed 6.0 of that total in 2025, and Fangraphs submits a 7.8 fWAR lifetime total, with 5.4 coming last year, but it isn’t all about his defense. PCA turned in a spectacular 2025. Most projections have him sacrificing some power and maintaining his RBI total, with the aggregate something like 25 HR/85+ RBI in their sights.

Certainly we could all live with that, without the post All-Star Game dropoff.

I’ve long thought that he was just tired, and could use a little more rest. Maybe Kevin Alcántara or Dylan Carlson, depending on who wins that competition, could spell Pete against tough lefties or once a week, and give him a breather, and the Cubs won’t lose so much at the plate or defensively.

Let’s hope for a happier ending.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is already getting to work in Mesa, Arizona 🔥 pic.twitter.com/pNQB7xcbAH

— Jacob Zanolla (@jacobzanolla) February 3, 2026

The Royals announced they have brought back catcher Luke Maile on a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Maile appeared in 25 games with the Royals last year, hitting .244/.346/.356 with one home run in 54 plate appearances.

The 34-year-old has played in parts of ten seasons in the big leagues with the Rays, Blue Jays, Brewers, Guardians, and Reds. In 458 career MLB games, he is a lifetime. 209/.277/.320 hitter. Maile is a very solid defensive backstop who has thrown out nearly 30 percent of base-stealing attempts in his career. Last year he excelled in pitch framing metrics.

The Royals had previously signed MLB veteran Jorge Alfaro, who has produced more with the bat over his career, to a minor league deal. The team will likely have Salvador Perez split time behind the plate with rookie Carter Jensen most of the time. But the team may carry a third catcher for the days Salvy is at first base or DH, as they often did last year when Maile was on the team.

Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal is more than happy to welcome another top-tier left-hander to the team's starting rotation, even if newly signed free agent Framber Valdez will be making a little more money this season than the two-time reigning AL Cy Young award winner.

"Dinners on you," Skubal said in a post on his Instagram story shortly after the Valdez signed his three-year, $115 million deal with the Tigers.

Skubal is in for a pretty sizable payday himself, with his salary arbitration hearing decision expected to be resolved this week.  He's seeking $32 million for the upcoming season while the Tigers have countered at $19 million.

The signing gives Detroit arguably the best 1-2 combination at the top of the rotation in the American League. But there's still a question of how long they'll be on the roster together.

Skubal is a free agent at the end of the 2026 season, and the money the Tigers paid to land Valdez could be a sign they expect him to take over the No. 1 starter role if Skubal leaves.

For now though, Tigers fans can relish the idea of both pitchers carrying the team toward a possible World Series appearance.

And the two lefties can look forward to an enjoyable − and likely very expensive − meal together.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tigers' Tarik Skubal jokes about Framber Valdez's big new contract

Unlike in movies, in real life, the hero doesn’t always triumph over adversity in the end, and even when he does, it might not happen as neatly as one would have hoped to build the perfect storyline. No matter how you slice it, Clayton Kershaw’s postseason career has been one of primarily heartbreak, but we mustn’t let it overshadow its finest moments, of which there were plenty, definitely far more than he gets credit for. Here’s an intro to a series of articles that’ll break down specific memorable Kershaw performances in the postseason that might not debunk his narrative of woes in October but at least add some perspective to it.

On a very basic level, all those shortcomings became irrelevant the moment Kershaw won his first ring in 2020 might reasonably be pointed out. The future Hall of Famer also later went on to be involved in two other championship teams, with minimal roles — injured in 2024, and coming out of the bullpen last season. As fulfilling as those rings likely were, Kershaw, the individual, won them at a different stage in his career. By the time he reached the mountain top for the first time, however impactful and crucial he still was in 2020, the narrative had basically been set in stone, and he was no longer at or particularly near the height of his powers.

Sadly, missing a few postseasons at his prime as the Dodgers as an organization had yet to truly take off, particularly so once the new ownership group really established itself, Kershaw still got plenty of opportunities to be the leading man on a postseason team. Time and time again, those opportunities with rays of hope on different levels ultimately met the same bitter end, oftentimes with the southpaw undone by the lack of support that became pivotal to World Series wins in later years. Certain remarks and a more meticulous evaluation aren’t the specialty of the common fan, and thus, the simplest explanation is the commonly accepted one — Kershaw couldn’t get it done in the playoffs.

Time of year	IP	ERA	FIP	PA/HR	BB rate	K rate
Regular season	2855 1/3	2.53	2.85	48.0	6.3%	27.1%
Postseason	196 2/3	4.62	3.98	25.1	6.7%	26.5%

Anyone taking a journey back through those playoff runs of the middle to late 2010s will quickly recognize a second theme emerging right next to that of eventual eliminations. Without fail and with teams that in no way resembled the current powerhouses the Dodgers can routinely send out there for a postseason run, Kershaw found a way to deliver magnificent outings that rank alongside the very best in the 21st century, not just among Dodger starters but all of baseball.

Another overlooked element is one to which Kershaw was one of the pioneers, alongside the likes of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, that of prolonged exposure to the postseason setting due to an ever-expanding postseason bracket. Out of the three, Kershaw is easily the one who suffered the most in the playoffs, which is justifiable given that this narrative is in no way built around a house of cards, something we’ve already established. Still, it’s no wonder all three of these Hall of Fame starters have postseason ERAs significantly over their regular-season numbers.

As was the case with Kershaw and the other two, those numbers overshadow many instances in which these elite pitchers delivered at the highest possible level on the biggest stage against the toughest opponents. Here we’ll comb through some of the greatest Kershaw postseason performances and the context around those games.

Quiet as kept, FanGraphs has released their updated MLB Playoff Odds for the upcoming 2026 season. As of right now with the offseason beginning to transition into the ever-optimistic days of spring training, FanGraphs’ projection model feels like the Atlanta Braves should have very good reason to feel optimistic heading into the regular season.

While FanGraphs figures that the American League is shaping up to be a big ol’ Battle Royale between four AL East teams (Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Orioles), the Tigers and the Mariners, the picture in the NL figures to be a bit clearer. As of right now, while the Dodgers are the obvious favorites to not just win the National League but retain their World Series crown yet again, the projection model figures that the Braves have the best shot at dethroning the Southern California juggernaut.

FanGraphs is currently projecting that the Braves will win 92 games (I’m rounding up and will do so for the rest of the article, when necessary) and lose 71 — giving them a 47 percent chance to reclaim the NL East title, a 39 percent chance to get a bye, a 40 percent shot at a wild card berth and then an 87 percent shot at simply making the Postseason. All that culminates with FanGraphs’ model giving the Braves an 11 percent shot at winning the World Series — good for second-best odds in not just the NL but in all of baseball right now. Now granted, the Dodgers are currently standing head-and-shoulders over the field with a projected 27 percent shot at winning the World Series but still, Atlanta’s odds are nothing to sneeze at.

It also goes to show that the model appears to be very impressed with the job that the Braves have done to fortify their bench in order to withstand the losses of both Ha-Seong Kim and Sean Murphy for the initial portion of the season. It also goes to show the faith that the model has in Atlanta’s star players performing like stars going forward. ZiPS is currently projecting Ronald Acuña Jr. and Drake Baldwin to lead the way in terms of batter WAR and they also figure that Chris Sale, Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach should serve as a pretty formidable top three for Atlanta’s rotation when it comes to pitcher WAR.

Now, as the saying goes: You can’t play the game on a spreadsheet. The Braves have had some rosy projections for a few years now and they’ve managed to come well short of those projections for the past couple of seasons. The team still has to go out there on the diamond and get the job done and they’ll of course have to deal with two very tough divisional foes in the form of the Mets (projected for 90 wins) and the Phillies (projected for 87). This certainly won’t be a cakewalk for the Braves and ultimately it’ll just come down to this team living up to the back of their respective baseball cards. We all know that this core group of players is capable of doing great things on the field — we’ve seen it over the years. Again, they’ve just got to get the job done.

Either way, the Braves once again have some high expectations heading into the upcoming season. Here’s hoping that they’ll meet those expectations so we can have ourselves another fun season around here. We’ll see what happens!

FanGraphs has given us some projections as to how the 2026 season will go for the Phillies. One projection is optimistic about their chances at winning a third straight division title, while the other thinks that run ends at two. So as not to be accused of being hostile to those with a more pessimistic outlook on the team, I’ll discuss both.

Dan Szymborski annually creates his ZiPS projections, which evaluates a full range of outcomes for each player on each team, and using that, runs a million simulations of the season. ZiPS seems to like the Phillies, predicting a 91-win season and a first-place finish in the East.

Here’s a look at the NL East projections from FanGraphs with their ZiPS Projections.

The #Phillies are:
-projected to win the NL East
-Have a 71.5% chance to make playoffs. -Have a 7.6% chance to win the WS which is second to the Dodgers (18.2%) pic.twitter.com/7lau2E3hd3

— Cory Nidoh (@Cory_Nidoh) January 29, 2026

Some of the key ZiPS predictions for individual Phillies:

• Trea Turner will lead the team in WAR, mostly because the defensive improvements of 2025 will stick.
• Bryce Harper will once again not be elite, hitting 29 home runs and playing poorly on defense.
• Justin Crawford will have a decent rookie season with 1.6 WAR.
• Zack Wheeler makes 21 starts, and is solid, if not spectacular with a 3.43 ERA.
• Andrew Painter makes 24 starts with a 4.80 ERA.

It’s somewhat confusing that ZiPS likes the Phillies’ chances considering it doesn’t seem to be especially optimistic about any of their individual players’ seasons – except perhaps for Adolis Garcia (a projected 28 home runs) and J.T. Realmuto (.742 OPS with 15 home runs).

FanGraphs has also released their playoff odds for 2026, and these are less positive towards the Phillies’ chances. They expect the Phillies to fall to third place in the East behind the Braves and Mets. They give the Phillies an 18.9% chance of winning the division, and a 65.4% chance of making the playoffs. Those playoff chances are fourth best in the National League behind the Braves, Mets, and Dodgers (99.1%!).

MLB Playoff Odds – 2026 Season – FanGraphs pic.twitter.com/a0MD2bIqxZ

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) February 2, 2026

It makes sense that they’re so bullish on the Braves. That team has been ravaged by injuries the past two seasons, and if everyone on the roster is healthy and playing close to capabilities, they’ve probably got the most talent, particularly in the starting rotation.

Nor is it a major surprise that the Mets are ahead of them. Their lineup is expected to hit a lot of home runs, and they have a strong pitching rotation with the addition of Freddy Peralta. (Although Fangraphs doesn’t think Peralta will have that good of a year.)

If this depresses you, it would be helpful to look at Fangraph’s projections for the 2025 season. They thought the Phillies had just a 21.1% chance of winning the division, while giving the Braves a 64.2% chance. And in 2024, they thought the Braves had an 88.8% of winning the East. (Like I said, the Braves have suffered a lot of misfortune in recent years, not that I’m complaining.)

I suspect that most Phillies fans will treat these projections the way many Americans treat information these days: Take whatever matches up with your pre-existing notions, and treat that as valid, while largely ignoring whatever doesn’t. If you already believed the Phillies would be a playoff team, then this helps to reinforce that belief. If you think the Phillies are on the decline and they’re going to fall behind the Mets and Braves, well, this provides some ammunition for you as well!

Eight months from now, we’ll know which side was correct.