Category: MLB

By this point in the year, most of the major publications — other than Baseball Prospectus, which deserves its own article — have released their list of the top 100 prospects in baseball heading into the 2026 season. I already covered the Brewers prospects named to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America’s lists, but ESPN and The Athletic both included Brewers who weren’t named to either. Also of note: Keith Law ranked the Brewers’ farm system as the best in baseball earlier this morning.

You can find our coverage of Pipeline’s list here and Baseball America’s here. For those of you trying to keep track of which prospects were named to which list:

Baseball America: SS Jesús Made (#4), INF Luis Peña (#47), SS Cooper Pratt (#50), SS/2B/CF Jett Williams (#71), RHP Brandon Sproat (#81), RHP Logan Henderson (#96)

MLB Pipeline: Made (#3), Peña (#26), Williams (#51), Pratt (#64), Sproat (#100)

The Athletic (Keith Law): Made (#3), Peña (#27), Williams (#45), C Jeferson Quero (#74), Sproat (#75), Pratt (#99)

ESPN: Made (#3), Pena (#26), Williams (#32), Henderson (#64), Pratt (#70), Sproat (#73), Quero (#75), RHP Bishop Letson (#91)

Made, Peña, Williams, Pratt, and Sproat are viewed as consensus top prospects. ESPN, however, expanded the list to include Quero (also included by Law), Henderson (also included by Baseball America), and Letson. Let’s examine why some outlets felt these players deserved inclusion while others did not:

C Jeferson Quero

Quero was a consensus top prospect as recently as last year (ranked No. 43 by Baseball America, No. 47 by MLB Pipeline). He could very well be an above-average hitter (for a catcher) at the big-league level. He’s also a solid receiver and has drawn rave reviews from Brewers’ minor league coaches for his work with pitches. The draw with Quero, the first thing mentioned in any scouting report on him, was always his rocket of an arm. Back in 2023, he was posting pop times as low as 1.86 seconds.

The question with Quero isn’t his upside, it’s his health. Quero tore his right labrum during the first game of the 2024 season. He missed the entire rest of the season, the first two months of 2025, and since returning, his arm hasn’t looked the same. The 23-year-old Venezuelan had a caught stealing rate of just 18.9% last season, leading to long-term concerns about his defensive viability and explaining why he was left off both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America’s lists this year.

Labrum injuries are fickle, as I wrote about last year in anticipation of Quero’s return. It’s possible that his arm is merely working back to full strength, that a full offseason of rehab and training will have him looking more like the Quero of old before the summer. It’s also possible that his arm will never be the same and that the Brewers may need to adjust expectations as to who Quero will be as a big leaguer.

Milwaukee adding him to the 40-man roster may signal that they see him spelling Contreras, not as an eventual everyday catcher. There’s an argument to be made that if Milwaukee saw him as the catcher of the future, they would give him more playing time to develop in Triple-A. Then again, the recent signing of Reese McGuire (albeit to a minor league deal with a spring training invite) might signal that they do intend to give him that time.

Even if his arm isn’t ever what it was, or 90% of what it was, The Athletic senior baseball writer Keith Law is more optimistic about his bat than most outlets. Law thinks that his bat will translate to the majors regardless of how his arm recovers, stating that, “Quero has always been a high-contact hitter who likes to swing the bat, and he kept that up with a 36.8% chase rate in Triple A while still striking out only 14% of the time because he doesn’t miss pitches in the zone much and actually makes more contact on balls out of the zone than most hitters… I do believe the bat will keep coming back.”

Either way, we should have a more definitive answer on what Quero will be at the major league level by the end of the season. If Quero’s arm returns to above average, his bat makes him a solid starter and potential future All-Star. If it doesn’t, he may be more of a backup/rotational catcher, which is still a valuable piece to have.

RHP Bishop Letson

Letson is one of my personal favorite prospects in baseball, so it’s great to see him recognized by ESPN. Letson only started 11 games last season due to a shoulder injury. When he came back in August, he made four High-A starts and one start in Double-A Biloxi. Three of those starts were great, while two of them (including his lone appearance in Biloxi) didn’t go very well.

ESPN thinks the main question with Letson “is his health,” but he also has “most of the markers (they) look for in projecting a breakthrough season, so front-line potential is still within reach.” Letson’s command has also left something to be desired, but that’s often part of the natural development process — especially considering his age (21). ESPN notes that ranking Letson in the top 100 prospects is an “aggressive stance,” but “presuming he’ll be healthy in 2026” he should justify the ranking because of his “massive extension,” “starter feel,” and “above-average stuff.”

I wouldn’t even say “above-average stuff.” The 6’4” right-hander is downright electric at times, and his stuff plays up even more due to his elite extension. Jacob Misiorowski’s delivery averages around 7 1/4 feet of extension, which would put him in the 99th percentile leaguewide. Letson is three inches shorter than the Miz, yet Baseball Savant’s scouting report compares his extension to Misiorowski. He doesn’t throw super hard, normally sitting around 93-94 mph, but hitters have less time to see the pitch and react because Letson releases the ball closer to home plate than your average pitcher. Elite extension also creates a more challenging downhill angle for hitters and disrupts hitter’s timing. If he bulks up (Letson weighs about 170 pounds), he could add a couple ticks to his velocity anyway.

Letson’s arsenal features a four-seam and sinker that both have the potential to be above-average offerings at the major league level. The same is true of his low-80s slider with sharp sweep, which has proven to be a swing-and-miss offering at the minor league level, and a mid-80s changeup with arm-side fade that looked improved last season. Per Baseball America, Letson has the best fastball and the best slider in the Brewers organization. All of those pitches worked for him in the minors — Letson pitched to the tune of a 2.40 ERA across 11 appearances (nine starts) between High-A Wisconsin and Double-A Biloxi. As ESPN said, if he stays healthy next season, he’s a definite breakout candidate.

RHP Logan Henderson

Henderson is slightly more of a known quantity among Brewers fans because of his impressive performance in Milwaukee last season (1.78 ERA in five appearances). Henderson wins because of his command, his fastball shape (despite slightly below-average velocity), and — above all else — his plus changeup, which you may remember from last season.

The concern with Henderson is that his heavy reliance on his fastball and changeup could leave him vulnerable as hitters adjust to either pitch. During his five big league appearances, Henderson threw either a fastball or changeup on more than 85% of pitches. His cutter and slider aren’t very good (40/45 grade), but so far “his ability to throw his changeup in any situation” has made “his cutter and slider useful in small doses.” ESPN notes that this approach has worked thus far, so it would be “silly” to expect it not to continue working at the major league level.

The major leagues feature the best of the best, so I don’t think it’s “silly” to question his prolonged effectiveness as a starter who relies on two pitches. It’s rare, although definitely not unheard of, that a starting pitcher has experienced continued success with a two-pitch arsenal. I do have faith in the Brewers “pitching lab” to turn one of his other pitches into a serviceable offering.

The worst-case scenario is that he gets hit around a bit next year as hitters get more major league film on him, but even in that scenario he’d probably still be highly effective out of the bullpen. Still, I think odds are he’ll be a solid starting pitcher. Milwaukee probably wouldn’t have traded Freddy Peralta (and Tobias Myers) if they didn’t think Henderson could give them anything in the rotation.

Big Sugar!

Zach Maxwell and his 100+ mph heater landed at spot #12 on this year’s Community Prospect Rankings, and he’ll take his talents to Goodyear for spring training in just over two weeks with an eye on a spot on the Opening Day roster of the Cincinnati Reds.

Now, it’s time to vote for spot #13!

Per usual, here’s a link to the Google Form where you can vote, though it should be embedded at the end of the list if you’d rater read first and then vote on-page after digesting all the glorious information on these up and coming future Cincinnati Reds. I’ll nuke the link and remove the poll when voting closes, so if you show up on this post after said window, the previous sentence won’t make a ton of sense!

Here’s how the list has materialized so far:

1. Sal Stewart
2. Alfredo Duno
3. Rhett Lowder
4. Hector Rodriguez
5. Edwin Arroyo
6. Cam Collier
7. Steele Hall
8. Tyson Lewis
9. Chase Petty
10. Arnaldo Lantigua
11. Jose Franco
12. Zach Maxwell

A large list of talented names exists below for spot #13. Have at it with the votes!

Adolfo Sanchez, OF (19 years old)

2025 at a glance: .339/.474/.504 with 2 HR, 10 SB in 154 PA with DSL Reds (Dominican Summer League)

Pros: Left-handed hitter who profiles to have a plus hit tool and potentially plus power; arm good enough to play RF if he doesn’t stick in CF; shaved 20% off his K% year over year; plus runner

Cons: Questions whether he’s already physically matured to the point where projecting him to be much better exist

The Reds signed Sanchez for $2.7 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2024 and kept him there to ply his trade professionally in the Dominican Summer League. Things went quite poorly for him there during his age 17 season, and he subsequently stuck around there to repeat in 2025 – though this time, things went swimmingly.

He’ll undoubtedly play in the States in 2026, but the question now is just how quickly the Reds might try to move him up if he hits the ground running. At 6’3” and 200 lbs already, he’s not the kind of prospect where you say he’s X now, but when he gets bigger and stronger he’ll be Y in two years. In other words, if he looks the part now, he needs to be challenged immediately, and my hope is that he gets time with Daytona right off the bat.

He’s got a hit tool that comes with all-fields power, excellent patience at the plate, and I really do think his swing will continue to play. Still, it’s likely he ends up in a corner spot in the OF, which means the power’s going to need to continue to show up for him to project as an everyday regular – at least vs. RHP.

Leo Balcazar, SS/2B (22 years old)

2025 at a glance: .263/.339/.381 with 12 HR, 8 SB in 560 PA split between A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest League) and AA Chattanooga Lookouts (AA Southern League); .277/.340/.340 in 103 PA with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)

Pros: Good strike zone judgement and plate discipline (52/75 BB/K in 2025); well-rounded tools, continuing to improve off ACL surgery

Cons: Not a ton of power yet; some question whether he’ll be able to stick at SS long term

It’s easy to forget just how good of a start Balcazar had to his pro career after signing with the Reds for $100,000 out of Venezuela. He posted an .882 OPS in 2021 in Dominican Summer League play, an .886 OPS in 2022 with the Arizona Complex League Reds, and was off to a wicked start (.897 OPS) across the first 18 games of his 2023 season with Class-A Daytona before he tore his ACL.

2024 was a bit of a rough year for him, however, as the layoff and working back from the surgery clearly impacted his performance (.264/.295/.354 in 410 PA). However, 2025 saw him look a lot more like his former explosive self – both at the plate and in the field – and he clearly was healthy enough once again as he logged a combined 663 PA across all leagues.

He’s still just 21 years of age (22 in June of 2026), and if he’s shaken the rust off completely and enters this season after a normal winter, there’s a chance we see a whole lot more from him, too.

Aaron Watson, RHP (19 years old)

2025 at a glance: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Trinity Christian Academy (FL); signed overslot $2.7 million bonus to forego commitment to the University of Florida

Pros: 6’5” frame; potential 60-grade slider; fastball that runs up to 96 mph from a three-quarter arm slot and already has a solid three-pitch mix with his change rotated in

Cons: Did not pitch professionally after being drafted, so he’s a complete unknown

One glimpse of Watson on the mound and you immediately think yep, I bet that guy can turn into a pretty dang good pitcher. He’s got an ideal frame to produce downhill offerings, and his fastball/slider mix is already something on which he can hang his hat.

However, command of all three of his pitches – specifically a very developmental changeup – will be what he needs to work on to begin to move quickly through the ranks. He possesses a good ‘feel’ at the moment in terms of what pitches to throw, which part of the zone to attack vs. which hitters, etc., but how well he can build in more deception with his offerings will be vital.

Carlos Jorge, OF (22 years old)

2025 at a glance: .251/.342/.355 with 6 HR, 40 SB in 469 PA with High-A Dayton Dragons (Midwest League)

Pros: Plus speed; former infielder moved to CF in 2023 and in 2025 looked like a natural there; plus speed; shaved 12.5% off K-rate from down 2024 season; 60-grade arm strength a weapon in CF

Cons: ISO declined for third straight year, this time precipitously; prone to extreme streakiness

If you threw out every other stop of Carlos Jorge’s pro career and just focused on the good ones, he’d already be ranked by now. The good parts of the best of his years have been quite tremendous, all told. He’s flashed great speed (40 steals in 2025), good pop for a small-ish CF (12 HR in 2023 and 2024; .483 SLG in the cavernous Florida State League in 2023), and the ability to play pretty elite CF defense (as recently as 2025).

However, he’s added some real clunkers in there, too. He hit just .220/.291/.394 with a K-rate over 31% at Dayton in 2024, and that came on the heels of hitting just .239/.277/.398 in 23 games once he reached Dayton at the end of 2023.

Maybe it’s just Dayton, where he was again in 2025 in a much better all-around year, even though his power dried up again. He’ll surely begin with AA Chattanooga of the Southern League in 2026, and at 22 (with his position in CF now settled) the former 2B might finally have a one-track shot to focus on his all around game in a new locale. After acing his move on defense, shaving off a ton of strikeouts, and bumping his walk rate back up over 11.1% (where it’s been for most of his career), perhaps 2026 will have a lot more in store for him.

Liberts Aponte, SS (18 years old)

2025 at a glance: .247/.368/.461 with 7 HR, 9 SB in 193 PA for DSL Rojos (Dominican Summer League)

Pros: 29/35 K/BB showed greatly improving strike zone awareness; already a plus defender at short where he projects to be excellent both with range and arm long-term

Cons: Still not viewed as a potential plus with the bat, though early returns are already better than original scouting reports; has a long way to go in terms of physically maturing

The Reds doled out $1.9 million to sign Aponte last January, and that marked the single largest contract they doled out in that particular international signing window. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the #18 player overall in that class, noting he was ‘one of the most skilled defenders in his class’ and ‘offers solid wheels’ with ‘magic in his hands’ while doling out a 65 grade on his fielding ability.

The rest, we knew, would take time, as he was just liked at 6’0” and 160 lbs, and that even felt like a slight exaggeration. To his credit, though, he mashed 7 homers as a 17 year old in DSL play while showing more power than anticipated, and if that aspect of his game grows to match what’s already known the Reds have found themselves a gem.

It will be interesting to see if the Reds push him up to Arizona Complex League play at all in 2026 or give him another year in the DSL seeing as he just turned 18 years old in November.

Luke Holman, RHP (23 years old)

2025 at a glance: ER, 2 H, 10 K, 4 BB in 9.0 IP with Daytona Tortugas (Class-A Florida State League

Pros: Two plus breaking pitches (slider, curve)

Cons: Not a ton of velocity on his fastball, which sits 91-94 mph

Luke Holman threw 109 pitches for LSU in a 6-2 loss to North Carolina on June 1st, 2024, a game in which he yielded 4 ER in 6.2 IP with 7 H, 11 K, and a lone walk. Since then, he’s thrown just 9.0 IP on a mound, total.

Holman, Cincinnati’s 2nd round pick in 2024, sat out the remainder of 2024 after being drafted, finishing his calendar year with 91.2 IP of 2.75 ERA ball that included a wonderful 0.98 WHIP and 127/33 K/BB. When his 2025 began in Daytona, all signs looked promising in his first pair of starts only for an elbow issue to subsequently sit him down and require Tommy John surgery, and we’ve not seen him since.

He sat 91-94 with his fastball (and touched 96) before, and has a pair of wicked breaking balls that he uses as his out pitches. If he returns to form in 2026 the way he ways before (or even better!), he still profiles as a back-end starter who should move quickly through Cincinnati’s system after dominating SEC play in stints first with Alabama and later with LSU.

Mason Morris, RHP (22 years old)

2025 at a glance: 9.00 ERA, 7/1 K/BB in 4.0 IP with Class-A Daytona Tortugas; 3.29 ERA, 78/31 K/BB in 54.2 IP with University of Mississippi

Pros: Fastball that can touch 100 mph; four-pitch mix

Cons: Lack of experience

Mason Morris landed with Ole Miss in 2023 primarily as a corner infielder, and the now 6’4” 225 lb righty only recently became a full-time pitcher prior to the Reds selecting him with their 3rd round pick in 2025. He’s got projection through the roof, though, with a 100 mph heater, plus cutter, and a pair of other breaking balls that look like they’ve also got the juice.

The question, though, is how Cincinnati plans to use him.

Morris only got a pair of outings as a pro after being drafted, and it appears the Reds have intentions on seeing if he can develop into a starting pitcher. That’s something he’s never really done before, however, and he’ll turn 23 years old in August of 2026. So, we’ll see how long of a leash the Reds give him with that avenue, since if they want to simply keep him in the bullpen there’s very little reason why he shouldn’t rocket through the minors and give them a legit relief arm at the big league level in short order.

Xander Bogaerts brought a winning track record to the San Diego Padres, but he struggled to get comfortable in San Diego. He was asked to move from shortstop to second base and he did so. Bogaerts then moved back to shortstop and the defensive uncertainty seems to have taken a toll on his offensive production. He had a solid second half of 2025 and Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune says he is the unquestioned shortstop going forward after the Padres traded Leo De Vries to the Athletics at last year’s trade deadline.

Padres News:

• Jim Bowden of The Athletic provided seven names of players who could be traded before Opening Day. Bowden says the Padres could be trade partners with the Washington Nationals for shortstop CJ Abrams and Miami Marlins for pitcher Sandy Alcantara.

Baseball News:

• The New York Yankees acquired reliever Angel Chivilli from the Colorado Rockies in a trade for minor league first baseman T.J. Rumfield. The Rockies also made a trade with the Minnesota Twins for Edouard Julien and Pierson Ohl for minor leaguer Jace Kaminska and cash considerations.
• Cody Bellinger and the Yankees agreed to a five-year, $162.5 million contract that brought him back to New York for the 2026 season and beyond. He met the media Wednesday and said he is excited to be back in the Yankee clubhouse.

The final review of the 2025 season will be looking at each position in the Astros farm system. Next up is the relief pitchers.

BEST OF THE BUNCH

Nick Hernandez

Hernandez has been in out of the season for a few years. He had a dominant season in Triple-A posting a 2.12 ERA with 63 strikeouts over 46.2 innings. He pitched some in Houston too, totaling 10.2 innings and allowing 6 runs. He is a free agent so not sure what his future holds, but it was a solid season for him.

2025 Stats: 46 G, 2.12 ERA, 46.2 IP, 25 H, 11 ER, 22 BB, 63 K, 12.2 K/9

Alimber Santa

Santa has been in the system since 2021 and has some high potential. The Astros moved him to full time relief role in 2025 and he had the best start of his career posting a 1.26 ERA with 63 K in 57 innings for the Hooks in Double-A. He was promoted to Triple-A but struggled with a 6.92 ERA. He should be back in Triple-A in 2026 and is only 23 years old.

2025 Stats: 46 G, 2.31 ERA, 70.0 IP, 46 H, 18 ER, 39 BB, 82 K, 10.5 K/9

Ramsey David

David was drafted by the Astros in the 10th round and immediately started turning some heads with his heater reaching 99 MPH in Spring Training. He started the year in Single-A and had a 3.86 ERA with 51 K in 51.1 innings. He dominated in High-A posting a 1.40 ERA before finishing the season in Double-A. Overall, he showed plenty in his first full season to be excited about his potential in 2026.

2025 Stats: 30 G, 3.47 ERA, 85.2 IP, 61 H, 33 ER, 51 BB, 87 K, 9.1 K/9

Colby Langford

Langford had a very interesting season. On one hand, he was dominant striking out 87 over 60.2 innings and holding opponents to just a .177 batting average against. On the down side though, Langford walked 63 in 60.2 innings. Obviously he has some dominating stuff from the left side, just has to clean up the command.

2025 Stats: 42 G, 3.26 ERA, 60.2 IP, 36 H, 22 ER, 63 BB, 87 K, 12.9 K/9

THE REST OF THE PACK

Hudson Leach

Leach has some of the nastiest stuff in the system and was dominant at times in 2025, but overall finished with a 5.54 ERA. He did finish with 63 strikeouts in 39 innings, including some run in Triple-A. He should return to Double-A or Triple-A in 2026.

2025 Stats: 34 G, 5.54 ERA, 39.0 IP, 33 H, 24 ER, 24 BB, 63 K, 14.5 K/9

Amilcar Chirinos

Chirinos is another right-hander who at times was dominating. He started the year in High-A and struck out 38 over 22.2 innings, but had a 5.56 ERA. He finished the season in Double-A with a 4.30 ERA over 29.1 innings.

2025 Stats: 46 G, 4.85 ERA, 52.0 IP, 51 H, 28 ER, 28 BB, 65 K, 11.3 K/9

Wilmy Sanchez

Sanchez is an undersized right-hander with an electric fastball. Like some others on this list, he was dominating at times but his command bit him a lot. He finished the season with a 6.05 ERA and 51 walks in 61 innings, though he did strike out 75.

2025 Stats: 46 G, 6.05 ERA, 61.0 IP, 59 H, 41 ER, 51 BB, 75 K, 11.1 K/9

Michael Knorr

Knorr was a 3rd round pick in 2022 but hasn’t live up to the hype yet. He pitched strictly in relief in 2025 posting a 5.03 ERA over 53.2 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. He has some good stuff but just hasn’t translated to success.

2025 Stats: 20 G, 4.34 ERA, 120.2 IP, 99 H, 53 ER, 55 BB, 122 K, 9.1 K/9

2026 OUTLOOK

The back end of the bullpen is locked down with Abreu and Hader but after that, there are some holes that probably need to get filled. I’m not sure it will be from anyone on this list, but the Astros will most likely look towards some of the starters who could help in the pen. Maybe someone like Blubaugh or Ullola will get some pen time as well.

1900
Charles Comiskey received permission to relocate the Western League’s St. Paul Saints to Chicago, where they will become the White Sox of the American League.

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1957
With air travel commonplace and MLB now stretching from coast to coast, the league considered drafting a plan to create a player pool to be used in the case of a plane crash. For whatever reason (likely that in the case of such a disaster a franchise would have to fold its current season and receive help from other clubs with an offseason draft) a plan never was put forth.

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1964
Jim Brosnan is given permission from the White Sox to seek a deal with another team, after GM Ed Short forbids any further in-season writing (Brosnan previously had authored the classic book, The Long Season, as well as Pennant Race). Brosnan, who was acquired during the 1963 season and threw extremely well out of the pen (2.84 ERA, 15 saves and 1.1 WAR) for the pennant-chasing White Sox, would be released by the team on February 25.

Brosnan never pitched another game in the majors, his career over at age 34.

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1981
Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn gained control of the Chicago White Sox for $20 million, after American League owners turned down Bill Veeck’s attempt to sell to Eddie DeBartolo.

For franchise value context, on the same day the owners approved an 80% sale of the Seattle Mariners for $10.4 million.

Reinsdorf’s original partner was William Farley, but Farley dropped out in part because the White Sox went out and signed free agents Ron LeFlore and Jim Essian. Farley didn’t approve of the team spending $3 million for them — even though Veeck got the money for the signings from DeBartolo. 

Reinsdorf originally was part of a group trying to buy the New York Mets. Einhorn originally was part of a group trying to get the San Diego Padres.

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1998
The end of Ozzie Guillén’s White Sox career became official, as the 34-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore. Ozzie’s first year away from the White Sox since 1985 proved eventful, as the O’s released him a month into the season. But Guillén would catch on quickly with Atlanta and would see action in both the 1998 and 1999 postseasons with the Braves.

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2002
In the moment, it was a strange trade by GM Ken Williams, as the White Sox traded stalwart outfielder Chris Singleton to Baltimore for young utilityman Willie Harris.

Singleton had an extraordinary rookie season in 1999 (4.8 WAR and 20-of-25 steals playing a superb center field, somehow garnering just sixth place in AL Rookie of the Year voting) and had bounced back nicely with a 2.2-WAR 2001 after a tough sophomore season. Harris, younger by five years, never came close to reaching even those heights in Chicago.

However, Harris will always have a special place in the hearts of White Sox fans, scoring the winning (and only) run of the 2005 World Series Game 4 clincher. Harris lead off the eighth inning of a scoreless tie with a single to left, then was grinded over to third by a Scott Podsednik sacrifice bunt and Carl Everett ground out and driving in by Jermaine Dye’s dribble single to center field. Harris was 2-for-2 in the 2005 playoffs, the only postseason of his career.

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2013
A damning story in the Miami New Times listed the names of several major leaguers who were customers of a PED clinic in Coral Gables, Fla., Biogenesis Laboratories. Álex Rodríguez is the headliner of shame, but three past or future White Sox are also named: Bartolo Colón, Melky Cabrera and Yasmani Grandal. All three had tested positive for PEDs within the year, legitimizing the case against Biogenesis.

Meet the Mets

Outside of some minor moves the Mets are most likely done adding this offseason.

The team has not shown any recent interest in Austin Hayes after they signed Luis Robert Jr.

Manager Carlos Mendoza dropped some hints as to how he would construct this year’s lineup on a recent podcast appearance.

The Mets signed infielder Grae Kessinger to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.

Around the National League East

The Braves could add to their starting rotation with the free agents still on the market before spring training begins.

The Marlins will predominatly face teams in the National League East in August which could affect potential playoff races.

Nick Castellanos and manager Rob Thompson have a strained relationship stemming from an incident last season and the Phillies are still expected to part ways with the outfielder.

The Nationals claimed shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng off waivers from the Mets.

Around Major League Baseball

The Yankees acquired righty Angel Chivilli from the Rockies to add depth to their bullpen.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is joining a stacked Dominican Republic team for the World Baseball Classic.

The payroll disparity between teams is the highest it has ever been with the Dodgers having a higher payroll than the lowest five teams combined last year.

Both Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa will miss the World Baseball Classic after failing to get insurance on their contracts for the tournament.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Brian Salvatore reveiwed José Azócar’s brief season with the Mets.

A.J. Ewing came in at number 6 on Steve Sypa’s prospect list.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 1989 the Game Winning RBI was retired as an official statistic which makes Keith Hernandez the all-time leader in that category.

All of Major League Baseball has been debating for a while if A), what the Dodgers are doing with their payroll is the ‘correct’ way of doing things; B), how long it would be sustainable; and C) will it finally trigger a salary cap.

For the Dodgers front office, doing it ‘correctly’ is just semantics. Whatever one thinks of how Andrew Friedman and Co have gone about things, there’s no denying that winning three World Series in six seasons is something to be envied. They employ the best player on the planet in Shohei Ohtani, who has brought them untold amounts of revenue in advertising and other areas. The winning ways, combined with their clubhouse culture, has made it a top destination for the top free agents.

On Wednesday, Jack Harris posited that the Dodgers Front Office will not be able to do what they have been for very much longer.

While the Dodgers will still have their winning culture and ability to assess talent and be an enviable destination, when the salary cap or something similar in implemented, the “Golden Age” of this iteration of Dodgers Baseball will be over. As Harris puts it, the Dodgers will go from being a team that ‘should’ win it every season to a team that ‘could’ win it all.

Harris also wonders just how long the Dodgers will have their dominance with their aging core. Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages are the only two everyday players that are under the age of 30, with Tucker not being far off, at the age of 29. Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernandez have contracts expiring at the end of the next two seasons. The Dodgers do have one of the top farm systems in all of the majors but had to give away their second and fourth round drafts to sign both Tucker and Edwin Diaz this offseason. But, as this organization has shown time and again, they will find a way to field the best team possible.

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The Dodgers have been doing a Dodgers Love LA Community Tour. On Tuesday, Dodgers alumni Dennis Powell and Matt Luke visited Hollydale Elementary School, hosting a Playworks Recess Takeover. They also handed out groceries and essentials to food insecure families.

To close out today's #DodgersLoveLA Community Tour, Matt Luke and Dennis Powell visited Hollydale Elementary School in South Gate. They hosted a Playworks Recess Takeover with eighth grade students and participated in movement-based programming. pic.twitter.com/8kJvWQYBa9

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 28, 2026

Back on the #DodgersLoveLA Community Tour, Dodger Alumni stopped by Christy’s Foundation in Northridge to hand out groceries and essentials to families experiencing food insecurity. pic.twitter.com/veH3PrpJ9j

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 28, 2026

On Wednesday, Steve Yeager and Billy Ashley met with emergency personnel to thank them for their services.

Steve Yeager continued the #DodgersLoveLA Community Tour presented by Bank of America by stopping at a special appreciation lunch with the World Series trophy for the San Bernardino Police Department. pic.twitter.com/8HFUEielax

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 29, 2026

On the next stop of the tour, Dodger Alumni Billy Ashley met with employees at the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department to recognize their dedication and service to our communities. #DodgersLoveLApic.twitter.com/UsrpNFaqCj

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 29, 2026

The tour will continue before its culmination at Dodger Fan Fest this Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

The final infield bat? Up in the air. Free agents? Available. A trade for CJ Abrams? Possible. Maybe? The Washington Nationals did just trade Mackenzie Gore so it’s possible they burn things completely to the ground. Gore, however, did cost the Texas Rangers a king’s ransom of prospects.

We are, as of today, January 29, 2026, 55 days away from Opening Day. It’s a little early for countdowns, but in this weird period between building the team and heading to Spring Training, let’s go ahead and do one anyway, taking a look at the Red Sox players who have worn number 55.

55 isn’t the most popular uniform number but also isn’t the least. Just 9 players for Boston have donned it versus 61 players for number 28, the most worn number.

Let’s remember some guys.

Chris Martin

You don’t need much of a reminder about Martin. The 6’8” righty reliever wore 55 during his two-year stint in Boston in 2023-2024. A real ace of a signing, Martin put up the best season of his career in 2023. Sadly, that team wasn’t in a place to take advantage of a shutdown reliever having a career year.

Matt Strahm

Who can forget Matt Strahm and his very long hair in 2022? Sadly this was his worst full season in the majors, although a 3.83 ERA / 3.72 FIP across 44.2 innings isn’t terrible either. He was one and done, signed as a free agent. He’s been a valuable part of the Phillies bullpen over the last three seasons but found himself shipped off to Kansas City in December.

Christian Vázquez

When he first came up in 2014, Vázquez wore 55. When he returned for good from 2016-2022 the World Series hero took up number 7, currently worn by Masataka Yoshida but previously worn by luminaries like Trot Nixon and J.D. Drew.

Chris Capuano

Do you remember Chris Capuano’s Red Sox career? I had forgotten too. He actually shared 55 in 2014 with Vázquez. The lefty appeared in 28 games out of the bullpen and over 31.2 innings allowed 15 runs. He was released on July 1 that year, signed by the Colorado Rockies on the 4th, and then purchased by the Yankees on the 24th before ever pitching for the Rockies. He had some memorable seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers but not for John Farrell.

Ryan Kalish

We’re all the way back to 2010-2012 now for Ryan Kalish and if you don’t remember the hype, it was a lot. Kalish was the number one player in the farm system according to SoxPropsects back in 2011. In 2010 he was behind possible two-way player Casey Kelly and Josh Reddick/Lars Anderson, depending on if you looked in April or June. His .710 OPS over 53 games as a 22-year-old would turn out to be the high water mark of his career. After being released he would latch on to the Theo Epstein Cubs and hit .286/.444/.286 in 7 games in 2016 but presumably collect a World Series ring. He wasn’t released until December 2013 but didn’t appear in the majors for the Red Sox, losing out on a second World Series championship. That would have really made him a trivia answer.

Joey Gathright

The speedster wore 23 in his 2009 Red Sox callup and 55 for his next and final major league action in 2011. He could steal 20 bases a year (for the Rays and Royals – he stole 2 in 24 games for the Red Sox) but couldn’t hit the ball with power, owning a .303 career slugging percentage.

Jeff Bailey

Bailey was drafted by the then-Florida Marlins in 1997 before being purchased by the Montreal Expos in 2002, where he would remain for a year. Upon tasting free agency he signed with the Red Sox in November 2003. He would then spend three more years in the minors. A decade after he was drafted, and 961 minor league games later, Jeff Bailey would make his major league debut on July 6, 2007. He’d get two more games that season, 27 in 2008, and 26 in 2009. He wore 55 for all of them.

Lenny DiNardo

Former pitcher and current NESN analyst Lenny DiNardo wore 55 from 2004-2006. Claimed off waivers by the Oakland A’s from the Red Sox in February 2007, he cleared the way for 55 to open up for Jeff Bailey.

Ramiro Mendoza

A one-and-done Red Sox reliever in 2003 who never lived up to the work he did with the Yankees. His final appearance for Boston was Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS.

Todd Erdos

Boston was the last stop of his five-year career and the righty bullpen arm appeared in 10 games.

Rich Croushore

Croushore tossed 4.2 innings for the Red Sox in 2000. He was traded by the Rockies to Boston (with others) for Jeff Frye, Brian Rose, and John Wasdin. Those are sure some throwbacks.

Below is a picture of John Wasdin because Getty didn’t have one of Croushore as a Red Sox player.

Brian Shouse

8.0 innings in Boston in 1998. Signed as a free agent and released.

Carlos Reyes

In 1998, Reyes wore 55 for the Padres and Red Sox but never wore the number in any other year or on any other team.

Jeff Suppan

Suppan would wear 55 from 1995-1997 but would wear 35 for his 2003 return to Boston.

Suppan would later lose Game 3 of the 2004 World Series to the Red Sox, making a memorable base-running blunder.

Joe Hesketh

Another lefty pitcher for the list, he’d take 55 from 1990-1994.

Phil Plantier

Plantier would only spend 14 games in the majors in 1990 and when Hesketh was acquired he was in the majors and took 55 over. Plantier would wear 7 when he came back and 29 in 1991-1992.

Randy Kutcher

Possibly a fan of the number 5, Kutcher would wear 55 in 1988 before changing to 5 for 1989 and 1990. Although before he was in Boston he wore 9 and 19 with the San Fransisco Giants.

La Schelle Tarver

One-and-done for both the Red Sox and his major league career, Tarver, listed as a centerfielder and pinch runner, wore 55 for all of his 13 games.

Bob Veale

The first Red Sox player to wear 55, Veale did so from 1972-1974, the final three seasons of his career. Over 10 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates before that he wore 39. In Boston, 39 was taken by Mike Garmen when he arrived and then Tim Blackwell after Veale had settled into 55.

Good morning, baseball fans!

The newest member of the San Francisco Giants, Harrison Bader, joinedThe Max Mannis Podcast earlier this week to discuss his decision to join the Giants’ organization.

During the episode, Bader discusses his approach to facing his new team’s biggest rivals and reigning World Series champions (boo), the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In a post from Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area, Rodriguez quotes Bader’s conversation with Mannis, saying:

“I think it just gives you an opportunity to go out and compete against some of the best players in baseball — and that’s awesome. Dive into that energy, have a game plan and trust it. Go out there and execute. That’s really all there is to it.“

You’ve got to love that outlook. It’s not easy to be the newest member of the Tune Squad, sizing up the MonStars, so I respect his perspective.

You can watch the full video below, it’s a little under a half hour. So get your coffee, settle in, and get to know your newest outfielder!

David Lesky looks at who could be a candidate to lead off for the Royals.

If what we saw from Garcia in 2025 is real, and the Royals are betting on it with the contract extension, he fits as a pretty traditional leadoff hitter that blends old school with new school….

I think the argument against it is that he’s needed in the middle of the lineup too. If he’s hitting first, that probably props Salvador Perez up to the fourth spot, which is maybe fine, but I would still like to see him hitting fifth or sixth as we saw often toward the end of last season. Putting someone else in the leadoff spot with Garcia hitting fourth, Perez fifth and then finishing the lineup helps make it look a whole lot deeper. But at the same time, that’s giving fewer at bats to someone who might deserve more. It’s easy to see why it’s a bit of a conundrum.

Craig Brown looks over the list of non-roster invitees to spring training.

Former first round picks Frank Mozzicato and Gavin Cross were both eligible to be selected in last month’s Rule 5 draft. Now they’re heading to big league camp in Surprise.

For me, among the most intriguing names—aside from Mitchell and Ramirez—will be lefty Hunter Patteson and outfielder Carson Roccaforte. Patteson turns 26 in April and has only topped out in Double-A, but saw a velocity jump last season and has what Baseball America calls “advanced pitchability.” Talk to me like that and you have my attention. Roccaforte is a guy who I think could push his way to Kansas City at some point this summer. His profile and work in the minors has me sold.

Kiley McDaniel at ESPN ranks Kendry Chourio (#124), Josh Hammond (#132), and Blake Mitchell (#143) in his 101-200 prospect list, listing Chourio as the prospect with ace potential.

Chourio has the elements to become a front-line starter I’m looking for: enough velocity, plenty of command, the potential for three above-average pitch shapes and surface number performance. The reason he just missed the top 100 is because he isn’t very projectable and needs to tweak his breaking ball shapes — but the spin rates and break suggest he has the ability to do that. At the same stage of development, there are parallels to Seth Hernandez — but Hernandez’s size, velocity and the athleticism he has demonstrated as a position player are why he has more upside and therefore ranked a good bit higher.

The Royals will cover the cost of admission to the Negro League Baseball Museum in February.

Pete Grathoff writes how Bobby Witt Jr. got a one-day job with his hometown Dallas Stars.

He also writes how Vinnie Pasquantino is not looking forward to his arbitration hearing.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep wants a reunion with Jackson Kowar.

Colorado acquires Edouard Julien from the Twins.

They also traded reliever Angel Chivilli to the Yankees.

The Brewers sign catcher Reese McGuire to a minor league deal.

The Braves are interested in free agents Lucas Giolito and Chris Bassitt.

A breakdown of the payroll disparity in baseball.

What teams could break out in 2026?

Will the Yankees trade their outfield depth?

Which players are ripe for a contract extension?

Will Cleveland get any help for José Ramírez?

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wants to manage Team USA in the 2028 Olympics.

The Giants will have a Pablo Sanchez Backyard Baseball bobblehead giveaway.

A look back at the interception that ended the last Patriots/Seahawks Super Bowl matchup.

What teams could trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo?

Cremations have become more popular than burials.

Is Dave Filoni bringing Darth Talon back to Star Wars canon?

The restaurant chain Twin Peaks files for bankruptcy.

Your song of the day is Jeff Buckley with Grace.

In the vote for the #4 prospect, Quinn Mathews did not win by a lot. It was a two-man race and Joshua Baez was only 14 total votes short of Mathews’ total. He received over double the votes of the third-place vote getter. It is not a hard and fast rule, but it was a pretty safe bet that Baez would win this vote and comfortably. That is exactly what happened. He received over half the votes in a poll with eight other players. The current list stands at:

1. JJ Wetherholt
2. Liam Doyle
3. Rainiel Rodriguez
4. Quinn Mathews
5. Joshua Baez

Comparable Player Corner

Last week, I ran a comparable player poll of two players I was considering adding to this poll. I in fact told you that I would add the player who won the poll, which I did do. This is maybe the opposite of that. There’s a certain class of prospect who could be just about anywhere on a Cardinals’ list, including well out of the top 20. Not top 10, but after that. And it’s especially hard to know who a relatively random collection of Cardinals fans will think is the 19th best prospect, when another site might think them the 50th best prospect. On the flipside, some site thinks a prospect is the 19th best prospect and this crowd might not give them a single vote if I put them on the voting. So occasionally, I need to put those kinds of prospects in this section to know if I need to start considering adding once we hit the 10th vote or if I can ignore them completely.

I try to find a hook when I place two players in this section. There needs to be something similar about the two players. A lot of times, I try to just compare two players who play the same position. Today’s two players are similar only because they are both probably going to be in Memphis and both have a decent shot of making their MLB debut. That’s just about the only similar thing about them.

Blaze Jordan’s big selling point, to be honest, is his age. Drafted out of high school, he’s been a professional since he was drafted in 2020, and yet he turned 23 a little over a month ago. He already has over 300 PAs in AAA. That gives him time. He is essentially a right-handed Alec Burleson, but a Burleson who probably can’t play 3B instead of probably can’t play OF. Jordan also has more questions about his contact quality than Burly did. But free swinger who makes a lot of contact who would benefit from being more selective? Yeah that’s Blaze.

Bryan Torres’ big selling point is his performance and his versatility. He can play anywhere, and he has. His pro career started as a catcher, so he would probably even be the emergency catcher. He destroyed AAA, albeit with a huge BABIP and not a lot of power. The question is really if his stats will translate, which is a question because of his age: he’s 28 next season. Why does that matter? Well, 26 and 27-year-olds hit in AAA all the time, it is a little bit more rare that they continue hitting in the majors. Nothing represents this more than the wide range of projections he has, as high as 108 from ZiPS and as low as 77 by THE BAT. (With 88, 93, and 101 in between – I don’t think I’ve ever seen such variety)

VOTE HERE

New Adds

As I said above, I ran a comparable player poll in which I told you I would add the winner of the head-to-head. Which means Brycen Mautz is getting added to the voting. As you will see below, he had a truly excellent season in AA. He is on the 40 man and stands a good chance of making his MLB debut in 2026. I mentioned in the past two votes that I was going to use the advantage of getting to add two players by using last year’s list for one of the players – a player I pretty much know how this crowd feels about – and also add a player that has never been voted on.

So in a way, I’m kind of skirting that when I call Mautz the player where I have last year’s list as a frame of reference. He was not actually on last year’s list. He was on the 2024 list. But most importantly, I did directly say that he was going to be in this vote, so he certainly fits the known quantity addition more than the unknown quantity. The unknown quantity is recent trade acquisition Jesus Baez. No idea how high you guys are going to be on Baez, but he’ll probably land in the top 20, so feels like a good time to add him.

Jesus Baez, IF – 21

Stats (High A): 416 PAs, .244/.327/.397, 10.3 BB%, 18.5 K%, .153 ISO, .270 BABIP, 116 wRC+, 121 DRC+

Scouting (FG): 30/45 Hit, 35/50 Game Power, 50/55 Raw Power, 40/40 Speed, 40/45 Fielding

So this was not intentional – I only realized after I had decided to add him – but Jesus Baez replacing Joshua Baez is kind of funny. There’s going to be a Baez in the voting for quite a few votes. It actually kind of worked out. It may have been confusing if Jesus and Joshua were ever on the same vote, and I’m kind of kicking myself for not thinking of replacing Joshua with Jesus before, because yeah them being on the same ballot would be confusing. Again total accident.

I listed Baez as an infielder and not a specific position, because I realized I didn’t know what position to put. He plays SS the most, but nobody really thinks he’ll stay at SS. The Cardinals actually played him at DH more than either 2B or 3B. That’s not to suggest he’ll land at DH, just that it’s an open question which position the Cardinals will prefer him at. If he’s heading to Springfield, Jeremy Rivas is in his way at SS, though he’s not considered a prospect, but he’s much better defensively. Deniel Ortiz may be in his way at 3B, although he also plays some 1B and there ain’t nobody at 1B in Springfield. So his position is infield for now.

Leonardo Bernal, C – 22

Stats (AA): 107 G, 455 PAs, .247/.332/.394, 10.8 BB%, 16.9 K%, .146 ISO, .274 BABIP, 103 wRC+, 113 DRC+

Scouting (FG): 35/50 Hit, 35/45 Game Power, 50/50 Raw Power, 40/30 Speed, 40/55 Fielding

Bernal seemingly had one weakness in his offensive profile and that was BABIP. He did have a .333 BABIP in High A last season and also his DRC+ does suggest he deserved a higher one. At the same time, he cut his K rate from 22.8% to 16.9%, and a possible consequence of that was he made weaker contact on plate appearances he struck out on in 2024. If that makes sense.

Also, these aren’t listed in my stats, but worth pointing out. Bernal allowed 42 stolen bases, but caught 27 base stealers for a 39.1% caught stealing rate. Pretty sure that’s good. Also fun fact, given he is not fast, he himself swiped 13 bases and got caught stealing just 3 times. He stole 7 bases to 7 caught stealing last season, so probably not a talent of his, but always fun to see a slow guy steal some bases.

Brandon Clarke, 23 – LHP

Stats (Low A): 3 GS, 9.2 IP, 47.2 K%, 5.6 BB%, 68.8 GB%, .125 BABIP, 0.93 ERA/0.98 FIP/1.32 xFIP/3.66 DRA

High A: 11 GS, 28.1 IP, 31.2 K%, 18.1 BB%, 62.5 GB%, .254 BABIP, 5.08 ERA/4.17 FIP/4.74 xFIP/4.75 DRA

Scouting: 60/60 Fastball, 70/80 Slider, 40/50 Change, 30/40 Command

Clarke threw so few of innings partially because of injuries, in particular nagging blister issues, which surely there’s a way to prevent those in the future. The other reason, if you can tell by his innings per appearance, was because of how the team used him. His injury history before ever entering pro ball caused them to limit his innings – he didn’t pitch at all in 2024 due to thoracic issues.

But in his limited time, he did two of the three things I want pitchers to do: he struck out a lot of batters and he got groundballs when hitters did make contact. In Low A, he also did the third thing, which was not walk hitters. He walked a lot of hitters in High A, definitely impacted by his nagging blisters, although I’m sure he struggled with control more generally too.

Jimmy Crooks, C – 24

Stats (AAA): 98 G, 430 PAs, .274/.337/.441, 8.4 BB%, 26.5 K%, .167 ISO, .352 BABIP, 105 wRC+, 106 DRC+

MLB: 15 G, 46 PAs, .133/.152/.244, 0 BB%, 37 K%, .111 ISO, .185 BABIP, 5 wRC+, 67 DRC+

Scouting: 35/40 Hit, 40/45 Game Power, 50/50 Raw Power, 20/20 Speed, 60/70 Fielding

There needs to be a term – and honestly there might be a term for what I’m looking for – for a player like Crooks, whose stock seems to be down by the fanbase due to limited exposure in the MLB. It’s not prospect fatigue – Crooks hasn’t been in the conversation long enough to suffer from that. But he looked bad in the majors. That has almost certainly impacted peoples’ opinions of him. He looked bad in 15 total games as a 23-year-old making his MLB debut. Do I need to share Mike Trout’s rookie stats to show you why maybe we shouldn’t put a lot of emphasis on those 15 games?

Now, there are almost certainly some fans whose opinions changed based on the totality of his 2025 season, primarily in AAA – which did come with a higher K rate. But there are definitely fans whose opinions changed because they saw him be terrible at the MLB level and for no other reason. And I’m saying honestly his MLB performance should essentially be completely ignored – it’s just too small of a sample, too big of an adjustment, too big a moment in Crooks’ life – to treat it with any kind of significance.

Tink Hence, 23 – RHP

Stats (Three levels): 8 G, 21.1 IP, 27.9 K%, 15.1 BB%, 45.8 GB%, .255 BABIP, 2.95 ERA/3.80 FIP/4.18 xFIP, 4.56 DRA

Scouting: 45/45 Fast, 50/55 Slider, 60/70 Change, 45/55 Command

Hence probably suffers from prospect fatigue however. Granted, it’s not like he hasn’t given us reasons to be fatigued. He just can’t seem to stay healthy. I did argue last year, when I ranked him high on my list, that his injury issues were a bit overblown, and that’s harder to argue this year. I will say that looking at his innings totals since drafted is rather misleading though – his 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons went according to plan. His 2024 season was his first hiccup, but he still threw nearly 80 innings. (and was amazing in those innings I must add)

Last year was probably the first year where he truly deserved his reputation in my opinion. Still only 23 in 2026, let’s hope they figure out a way to keep him healthy.

Ixan Henderson, 24 – LHP

Stats (AA): 25 GS, 132 IP, 25.2 K%, 9.6 BB%, 37.1 GB%, .278 BABIP, 2.59 ERA/3.16 FIP/4.00 xFIP/4.51 DRA

Scouting: 50/60 Fastball, 45/50 Slider, 30/40 Change, 40/45 Cutter, 40/50 Command

As more of a stat follower than someone who scouts players or even looks at scouting reports of players, I am rather surprised how Fangraphs rates his pitches. If forced to guess, I would have predicted his secondaries were good, but his fastball was below average. It’s almost the opposite. I don’t know if this is accurate of course. But he’s a fastball/slider pitcher who needs a third pitch – according to this person’s opinion of course. Certainly, these scouting numbers for his pitches suggest an easy transition to the bullpen at the least.

Cooper Hjerpe, 25 – LHP

Didn’t pitch

Scouting: 55/55 Fastball, 55/60 Slider, 50/50 Change, 45/50 Cutter, 45/50 Command

The good news is that Hjerpe should be ready to pitch fairly early in the season since he had his Tommy John surgery pretty early last season. Recovery is 12-16 months, so he seems to be in the window to pitch some innings this year. The bad news is that his career high in innings right now is 52 innings, so it does kind of feel like there’s a real ceiling in how many innings he will actually pitch this upcoming season.

Brycen Mautz, 24 – LHP

Stats (AA): 25 GS, 114.2 IP, 28.6 K%, 7.1 BB%. 41.2 GB%, .286 BABIP, 2.98 ERA/3.58 FIP/3.20 xFIP/4.54 DRA

Scouting: 45/45 Fastball, 55/55 Slider, 40/45 Curve, 35/40 Change, 45/55 Command

I imagine the thing they are working hard on with Mautz is figuring out a way to not allow quite so many homers. For the second straight season, he carried a fairly high HR/FB%. When hitters hit the ball in the air, they leave the park more than expected (hence the FIP and xFIP difference). But going from a pitcher’s park to a hitter’s park, Mautz improved in just about every way statistically, so his change from a 14% HR/FB% to a 13.1% HR/FB is actually a little more impressive than it sounds. It’s not that hard to hit homers in Springfield. He also struck out quite a few more batters, walked less, and induced more groundballs.

Deniel Ortiz, 21 – 1B/3B

Stats (Low A): 320 PAs, .285/.406/.446, 15.3 BB%, 27.5 K%, .162 ISO, .386 BABIP, 145 wRC+, 119 DRC+

High A: 130 PAs, .336/.438/.500, 13.8 BB%, 22.3 K%, .164 ISO, .436 BABIP, 168 wRC+, 97 DRC+

There are a couple questions with Ortiz. The first question is will he keep this up? He has a little more swing-and-miss in his game than you’d like, although obviously he managed to cut his K rate when he got promoted to High A. The second question I have is: when will scouts buy in? He was a 16th rounder and I don’t think he ranks particularly high on any Cardinals team list, but I mean clearly if you perform well enough, they’re going to start paying attention. Baseball America in their deep dive on the Cardinals’ system, mentioned him as a sleeper prospect. But you can’t be a sleeper prospect without ranking somewhat low. Will certainly be an interesting player to follow.

Tekoah Roby, 24 – RHP

Stats (AA): 10 GS, 47 IP, 31.1 K%, 6 BB%, 42.9 GB%, .273 BABIP, 2.49 ERA/2.90 FIP/2.73 xFIP/4.56 DRA

AAA: 6 GS, 31.1 IP, 22.6 K%, 6 BB%, 44.7 GB%, .319 BABIP, 4.02 ERA/4.01 FIP/4.04 xFIP/4.50 DRA

Roby had Tommy John surgery in July of 2025, so his ability to pitch next year is a little more question than Hjerpe. But he pitched well last year, re-establishing himself as a prospect. Without the injury, I wonder how high he would be selected. I also feel that Roby was an example of a prospect that didn’t get as much love because he was a deadline acquisition so there was less attachment. However, fans have gotten familiar with him for now two and half seasons, so he’s probably not harmed by this effect anymore.

VOTE HERE

We are within a month of pitchers and catchers reporting which means, the equipment truck is making its annual trek to Goodyear, Arizona. The truck departs today, signaling spring’s prompt arrival better than any groundhog.

To kick things off, José Ramírez will be signing his shiny new contract extension at Progressive today.

Now to some good news today, the #Guardians will officially announce the José Ramírez contract extension tomorrow at Progressive Field with the superstar third baseman, team owner Paul Dolan, President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti and Spanish Interpreter Agustin Rivero.

— Nick Camino (@NickCaminoWKYC) January 28, 2026

A couple of LGFT moments:

Grady Sizemore, first base coach for the Minnesota Twins did an interview on the Inside Twins podcast.

After being traded to the Colorado Rockies just before the start of the 2025 season, it looks like Tyler Freeman is hoping to develop into a leader on the field and in the clubhouse for the Rockies.

Around the League:

NBC is reportedly striking a deal with Clayton Kershaw for MLB coverage.

The Colorado Rockies haven’t exactly had a quiet off-season. They hired an entirely new front office and coaching staff as the organization begins their much needed modernization and rebuild efforts. They’ve signed two veteran free agents in Michael Lorenzen and Willi Castro to Major League deals, acquired Jake McCarthy from the Arizona Diamondbacks, brought on a full new class of young international free agents, and made a smattering of minor league deals.

However, it’s always felt like—with a crowded outfield and further roster evaluation needed—there had to be more coming.

Then, on Wednesday, the Rockies suddenly had one of their busiest days of the off-season.

The Rockies kicked off the day with a surprise by trading young right-handed reliever and former prospect Angel Chivilli to the New York Yankees in exchange for minor league first baseman TJ Rumfield.

The 25-year-old has a solid glove and turned in a strong season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, slashing .285/.378/.447 with 31 doubles, one triple, and 16 home runs. He can also draw walks regularly, doing so at a 11.9% clip compared to his 18.4% strikeout rate.

“We’re going to keep adding talent to this roster, but in no way are we not believing in the young guys we have,” DePodesta said. “I think we have a lot of really good young players that are in Double-A and Triple-A, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re going to earn their opportunities on this team. And once they do, they’ll have long runways with us.”

However, those long runways don’t necessarily apply to everyone. We have already seen the Rockies part ways with young players prospects this off-season. In addition to the Chivilli trade, the Rockies also dealt prospect pitcher Josh Grosz to the Arizona Diamondbacks and designated a player once believed to be the team’s catcher of the future in Drew Romo for assignment.

Later in the day, the Rockies added outfielder Yanquiel Fernández to that list by designating him for assignment. Once ranked as high as the Rockies’ no. 3 organizational prospect per MLB Pipeline, Fernández made his Major League debut in 2025. He slashed .225/.265/.348 with four home runs over 138 at-bats as both a right fielder and designated hitter. Fernández, despite having just turned 23, is now potentially out of the Rockies organization entirely after getting his first cup of coffee.

“We’re certainly at the point where we feel like every time we make a move we’re losing someone we like, or potentially losing someone we like, and that certainly was the case with Yanquiel,” DePodesta explained. “We now have a group in the big leagues that we feel pretty good about. We also have a handful of guys on the 40-man who haven’t yet gotten a lot of time in the big leagues, or even any time right now, like Sterlin Thompson. Guys that we like and guys that we think have a chance to help us.”

While DePodesta had plenty of praise for Fernández and Chivilli, his new front office’s decisions would indicate that this team isn’t as high on it’s current stock of youth and prospects as the Rockies of the past—especially when it comes to position players.

This would seem to be substantiated by moves today and throughout the off-season. While DePodesta says he believes the youth will earn their spots, his focus has been on bringing in competition and creating fluidity on the roster.

“I think what we’re really trying to do is create really healthy competition on our roster,” he said. “Most of the players we have acquired do have a good amount of versatility. I think there are lots of different ways that the pieces can fit, and I think that’s really what we’re looking for.”

Willi Castro—now officially signed to the roster—can play all over the field and create competition for younger players like Kyle Karros at third base and Adael Amador at second. Both he and Jake McCarthy’s outfield versatility creates competition for the aforementioned Thompson, the beleaguered Zac Veen, and other outfield prospects. Fernández ended up being the odd man out because—despite his strong arm and power bat—he lacked the flexibility of other outfielders on the roster. With his poor speed and defense, he was anchored exclusively to right field or as a designated hitter.

New first baseman TJ Rumfield represents another potential option for the Rockies in a first base group that has surprisingly become quite crowded alongside Blaine Crim, Troy Johnston—who can also play corner outfield—, and current top prospect Charlie Condon.

The Rockies continued their busy day with another trade, acquiring French-Canadian infielder Edouard Julien and right-handed pitcher Pierson Ohl from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for right-handed pitcher Jace Kaminska and cash considerations.

Julien, 26, was once a top prospect of the Twins organization and can play both first and second base. However, the Rockies also like him for another trend we have seen in their acquisitions: getting on base and batted ball skills. More Rockies on base means more runs to be driven in.

While Julien is coming off two down years, in 2023 and throughout his minor league career he has hit well against right-handed pitching and getting on base. He has a whopping .427 career on-base percentage in the minors, while carrying a solid enough .336 Major League OBP and a 13% walk rate.

The Rockies also believe that Julien—along with Castro and McCarthy—can have bounce-back seasons after losing a step in 2025.

“I think we feel really strongly about all their capabilities. Also. I think the underlying fundamentals of their performance have stayed reasonably consistent. So we think we have a chance to build on that foundation and get them back to,or maybe even exceed, where they were.”

With all of these roster moves, the Rockies are already showing a different approach to the off-season compared to the previous front office. There may also be more moves yet to come.

“We may not be done adding. Well, we’ll see…” DePodesta said. “But we did want to make sure that we had healthy competition at a handful of these different spots and then different ways to put the puzzle together.”

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Willi Castro joins Puerto Rico for his first World Baseball Classic | MLB.com

The rosters for the World Baseball Classic are taking shape, and one of the newest members of the Rockies will be a part of it. Puerto Rican super utilityman Willi Castro will suit up for his first World Baseball Classic appearance alongside Nolan Arenado for Team Puerto Rico.

Twins Trade Julien, Ohl to Rockies | Twinkie Town

Our friends over at Twinkie Town discuss the trade of Edouard Julien and Pierson Ohl from their perspective. They see Julien as a reclamation project for the Rockies and have some concerns about his defense.

Yankees trade for Rockies reliever Angel Chivilli | Pinstripe Alley

Meanwhile, our friends at Pinstripe Alley have their own thoughts about their newest team member in right-handed pitcher Angel Chivilli.

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There are a few more signing rumors out there, but we’ll wait for confirmation. The Dylan Carlson deal is done. More pitching and infield help (Gabe Klobosits, Karson Simas) may be on the way. We, um, await developments.

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• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Reddit AMA: What does the future hold for Brown, Alcántara, Ballesteros? “Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity.“
• Thomas Domol (North Side Baseball*): It’s time for the Cubs to win the NL Central. “Getting back to the playoffs isn’t the goal now.“
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• Brian Kelder (North Side Baseball*): What is the Point of Tyler Austin? “The slugging first baseman is intriguing, but will he play often enough to justify his roster spot?”
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We’re here to talk about the one thing on everybody’s minds: who is going to be the Milwaukee Brewers’ backup catcher when the 2026 season starts?

There was a bit of news on this front on Tuesday, when the Brewers—after rumors swirled for some time—signed the Chicago Cubs’ 2025 backup, Reese McGuire. The wrinkle here is that McGuire was not signed to a major league deal; he instead received a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

McGuire, who turns 31 early in spring training, is still probably the best bet to open the season as the backup catcher, but since he is not yet on the 40-man roster and doesn’t have a guaranteed deal means that we cannot take that for granted.

Whoever the team’s backup catcher is may not have much of a role. William Contreras plays as often as any catcher in the league, and he’s one of the best at the position, so Milwaukee’s backups in recent years haven’t had a whole lot to do.

Let’s take a quick look across Milwaukee’s catching landscape to see who could be in the running here.

Reese McGuire

As mentioned, McGuire makes the most sense. Of all the catchers that we currently know will be in major league camp with the Brewers, McGuire is the only one other than Contreras who has ever played in a major league game. That seems notable.

Harrison did a good job running down McGuire’s bona fides yesterday, but a quick review: McGuire was the 14^th overall pick out of high school in 2013, and worked his way onto top-100 prospect lists within the next couple of years. But McGuire’s bat didn’t develop like some hoped, and it wasn’t exactly an “event” when he made his major-league debut with the Blue Jays late in the 2018 season.

McGuire spent most of 2019 in the minors, but he had an encouraging, brief 30-game run in the big leagues in which he hit .299/.346/.526 and clobbered five homers. That good offense turned out to be a mirage, though; after he struggled through the shortened 2020 season, McGuire settled in as a low-offense, solid-defense backstop in 2021, a season in which he played more games than any other Blue Jay catcher but eventually got a bit crowded out by the dependable Danny Jansen and the emerging Alejandro Kirk.

With both Kirk and Jansen playing well, Toronto broke up their catching trio by trading McGuire to the White Sox at the end of spring training in 2022. Chicago didn’t have as much invested in McGuire as the team that drafted him did, so after a rough season they cut bait and shipped him to Boston at the trade deadline. McGuire actually had a magical partial season with the Red Sox: in 36 games after the deadline, he hit .337/.377/.500. That magic didn’t last, though, and he spent the next two seasons playing rather poorly backing up Connor Wong.

McGuire became a free agent after the 2024 season. He signed with the Cubs in January but didn’t make the major league team out of spring training. But when Miguel Amaya strained an oblique in late May, the Cubs re-signed McGuire, and he was with them through the end of the season. In total, he played 44 games in 2025. He hit for a low average and walked only four times in 140 plate appearances (!) but did hit for power: nine homers put his slugging all the way at .444 despite a .245 OBP. That power bump was probably an outlier; through his first seven seasons, McGuire had an isolated power number of just .113, which shot up to .218 in his small sample with the Cubs.

McGuire’s profile is of a guy who features good-enough defense who can obviously run into one at the right moment, but his offensive production will likely be bad; in eight major league seasons covering just under 1,200 plate appearances, he holds an 84 OPS+ and an on-base percentage of just .293.

If McGuire doesn’t make the Brewers out of spring training, he has no minor league options yet, so he would need to be designated for assignment or traded.

Jeferson Quero

The only non-Contreras catcher on the 40-man right now is former mega-prospect Jeferson Quero, who finished last season at Triple-A Nashville. You’re all familiar with the Quero story, so I won’t spend much time on it: Quero ranked in the top 40 of all three major prospect rankings heading into the 2024 season, but he suffered a torn labrum in the very first game of the 2024 season, which cost him the whole year.

Crucially, it may also have cost him the weapon that set him apart as a catching prospect: his throwing arm. Quero was one of the best players in all of professional baseball at catching base stealers in 2023, but the early returns after Quero returned from his long injury journey last June were, at best, discouraging. At worst, it showed that the tool that was always the first thing mentioned in Quero scouting reports is no longer something that is going to help him.

There’s certainly a chance that with more time elapsed since the injury, Quero recovers some of his arm strength in 2026. And it’s not like that was the only thing that people liked about him; scouting reports laud his receiving and his work with pitchers, and he projects as a capable, if not good, hitter.

Still, Quero is unlikely to start the season as the team’s backup catcher even if the Brewers think he is ready, because that’s not how the Brewers act with their top prospects. Keeping him in the minor leagues for a month or two delays his service clock, which is something that Milwaukee has done with its other big prospects in recent years.

If I were guessing who finishes the season as the Brewers’ backup catcher, I might choose Quero, but I doubt we’ll see him on Opening Day.

Ramón Rodríguez or Matt Wood

Rodríguez and Wood are notable because they were on a list of Brewer minor leaguers invited to major-league camp recently. Wood, who turns 25 on the same day that McGuire turns 31, was a fourth-round pick in 2022 and has worked his way up to Double-A Biloxi, where he performed well at the plate in 2025.

Rodríguez was drafted by the Dodgers way back in 2016, and caught on with the Brewers as a minor league free agent in 2024. He played just 21 games in 2025, but he raked for the Shuckers in those 21 games, in which he hit .359/.457/.484. Rodríguez is a career .262/.335/.380 hitter in nine minor league seasons and reached Triple A when he was in Baltimore’s system but has never made the majors.

Neither Rodríguez or Wood likely factors into Milwaukee’s plans at the major league level, at least for now. But they’ll be working with the pitching staff during spring training, and one of them will likely start the season at Triple-A Nashville.

Any others?

Last season, Jorge Alfaro played 82 games with Triple-A Nashville, and Eric Haase played 19 after accepting an assignment there after the Brewers acquired Jansen at the trade deadline. Nick Kahle was another player who got some time behind the plate at the highest level of the Brewers’ minor league system.

Alfaro is gone: he signed a minor league deal with the Royals earlier this month. Haase, likewise, reportedly agreed to a minor league contract with San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. Kahle, as far as I can tell, is not under contract. Another player hypothetically in the mix is another guy with an early-May birthday, Darrien Miller, who is still in the Brewers’ system; he was a ninth-round draft pick in 2019 and has played the entirety of his last two seasons at Double-A Biloxi. But his progress has stalled; at the plate, Miller can take a walk but he can’t do much else—he hit .192/.381/.329 last season and hasn’t hit above .228 in a full-season league since graduating from Low-A in 2021.

The likely outcome

The names have changed, but I have long held the belief that Quero is going to be in Milwaukee as soon as the team is sure they’ve delayed his clock. I thought at first that the logical “first backup” was Eric Haase, who has served in that role before and knows Milwaukee’s pitchers, but McGuire makes a lot of sense here too. My official prediction is that, assuming health all around, McGuire makes the Brewers out of spring training, and is designated for assignment (or traded, or both) sometime in May or June when Quero makes his major league debut.

A few things could change that prediction, though: someone could get hurt; McGuire could continue hitting bombs like he did last year and prove himself a worthy, solid offensive option; or Quero could struggle in the minors.

If Contreras gets hurt, the Brewers likely call up Quero and make him the everyday catcher, though he’d likely split time with McGuire. If Quero or McGuire gets hurt, then the other is the backup. If Quero struggles, he likely just stays in the minors and McGuire continues as the backup. Hopefully everyone stays healthy and productive, and things work out for everyone.