Dylan Cease (how come I’ve been saying his name Cleese like he’s John Cleese son?) is a 30-year-old, right-handed pitcher whom the Jays signed to a 5-year, $210 million contract. It is more than possible that the last couple of years of that contract won’t go well.
Cease has pitched seven seasons in the MLB and has a 65-58 record, 3.88 ERA in 188 starts, and a 16.7 bWAR. His best season was 2022, when he had a 2.20 ERA, went 14-8 in 32 starts, and posted a 6.4 bWAR, finishing second in Cy Young voting (he finished fourth in 2024).
In our post about the signing, we had a poll. 42.9% of us were ‘Kind of Happy’, 41.8% were Very Happy. Only 5.1% were Kind of or Very Unhappy. I’m slightly curious how you could be very upset, but maybe they were Yankees fans.
But then we also had a poll asking, ‘Should the Jays sign Cease if the cost is $31 million a year for five years?’ and 64.2% said no. So we are nothing if not flexible.
Last year wasn’t his best; he had an 8-12 record and a 4.55 ERA in 32 starts. Everyone is allowed a down year.
He’s been incredibly durable. He’s made 32 or 33 starts in each of the last five seasons. The season before that was COVID-shortened. And he’s thrown between 165 and 189 innings in those five seasons.
Dylan throws five pitches, but his Four Seamer (averaging 97.1 MPH last year) and Slider show up 83% percent of the time. The rest: Knuckle Curve, Sinker, Sweeper, and Change-up. I’d think that, as he ages and perhaps loses a bit on the fastball, he’ll have to start throwing one or two of those secondary pitches more often.
I’d like to think he’ll be in the 2-4 range for WAR in most of his seasons with the Jays, but I’ll hold out hope that he can have another 5+ season. Dylan threw a lot of innings in his 20s, and often, guys like that don’t age well, but ‘often’ isn’t ‘always’.
Steamer thinks he’ll make 32 starts, throw 185 innings with a 3.61 ERA and a 12-10 record and a 3.8 fWAR. I think 185 innings is a lot; he’s only been over that once in his career, and the Jays aren’t the kind of team to push a starter.
“I went to school here,” the UCLA graduate said. “I manage the Dodgers.
“It’s a no-brainer.”
There’s a seemingly long time between now and the 2028 Olympics, but also a lot of logistical items to be resolved. But aside from that, there’s also the question of whether major league players would be allowed to play in the Olympics, which would require a disruption to the MLB schedule that season.
During the World Series last October, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expressed optimism that a deal could be struck between the league’s owners and the player’s union for MLB players to be used in the Olympics, per Bill Shaikin at the Los Angeles Times:
“I am positive about it. … I think the owners have crossed the line in terms of, we’d like to do it if we can possibly make it work, but there are logistical issues that still need to be worked through.”
The schedule for the 2028 Olympics runs from July 14-30. When baseball will be played hasn’t been finalized, but Dodger Stadium will host the games, as it did in 1984 when the Summer Olympics were last in Los Angeles. Back then, baseball was only a demonstration sport in the Olympics. Baseball was an official medal sport from 1992 to 2008, and again in the 2020 Olympics, which were played in 2021.
Team USA did not qualify for the Olympics in 2024, and were led by college coaches in the 1992 and 1996 games. Since then, the team has been managed in Olympic play by former Dodgers.
In 2000, Tommy Lasorda managed Team USA to a gold medal in Sydney. Davey Johnson, who managed the Dodgers from ., helmed Team USA to a bronze medal in 2008 in Beijing., Longtime Dodgers catcher and Angels manager Mike Scioscia led the team to silver in 2021 in Tokyo, with a team that included former Dodgers Edwin Jackson and Tim Federowicz.
When he was in the minor leagues, there were good indications that Joey Ortiz would be, at minimum, a decent offensive player. From his professional debut through his last substantive minor league season in 2023, Ortiz never had a wRC+ lower than 98, and even that low mark came in 2019 when he was 20 and had just finished his last college season. Ortiz’s offense in the minors ranged from slightly above average to excellent, particularly in his 2023 season, when (as a top 100 prospect) he hit .321/.378/.507 (a 124 wRC+) at Triple-A Norfolk and earned himself a late-season promotion to the Orioles.
During his (official) rookie season with the Brewers in 2024, Ortiz largely performed the way his minor league numbers suggested he might. In 142 games, he didn’t hit for much average but showed good patience and did a decent job driving the ball. His season was up and down — he started hot, cooled off, looked terrible in the weeks following an IL stint, and then recovered a bit over the last month-and-a-half. But Ortiz’s final line of .239/.329/.398 equated to a 102 OPS+ and 105 wRC+, more than acceptable for a glove-first rookie. He earned 2.7 bWAR and 3.2 fWAR, and looked like he was on the way to a long, productive career as a Brewer.
Then, in 2025, Ortiz’s offense abandoned him completely. After a hot spring training, Ortiz started dreadfully and never really pulled himself out of it. After going 2-for-4 on the first day of the season, Ortiz didn’t have an OPS over .600 again until August 12. He finished the season at .230/.276/.317 for a dreadful 66 OPS+/67 wRC+ in 506 plate appearances.
It is rare for players to be given that kind of playing time when they are that bad at the plate. Since 2000, there have been only 58 instances of a player receiving at least 500 plate appearances with an OPS+ of 66 or lower.* As a rookie, Ortiz showed some strengths: a good walk percentage, good bat speed, a good chase percentage. But in 2025, almost everything nose-dived, his chase percentage went way up, and he didn’t do any damage on pitches he made contact with.
*A quick “fun” fact: there are three other Brewer seasons on this list: Orlando Arcia in 2019 (546 PA, 64 OPS+), Alcides Escobar in 2010 (552 PA, 66 OPS+), and Marquis Grissom in 2000 (640 PA, 63 OPS+). Brice Turang just misses this list: he had a 61 OPS+ in 2023, but in only 448 PA. I should also draw attention to another BCB favorite on the list, who did this before arriving in Milwaukee: Yuniesky Betancourt had a 66 OPS+ in 508 PA in 2009, split between Kansas City and Seattle.
According to Statcast, the only thing Ortiz did well in 2025 was that he didn’t miss much when he swung at the ball — he had a 90th percentile whiff percentage and 86th percentile strikeout rate. But if you’re never doing damage when contacting the ball, it doesn’t matter a whole lot if you’re putting the ball in play; we all remember the 19,000 (or thereabouts) infield pop-ups we saw from Ortiz last season.
Looking to history
What I was most curious about here was not necessarily a diagnosis of Ortiz’s issues but sort of hopes for recovery he has.
So, I started in 1969, when the league expanded to 24 teams, and searched for players who, within the first three years of their career, had a season of at least 500 plate appearances with an OPS+ of 70 or less. Then I combed through the players on that list (56 players, a handful of whom appeared twice) to see if any finished with a career OPS+ of 95 or better. Here’s who I found:
Jean Segura (26.3 career WAR, 97 OPS+)
Dansby Swanson (28.4 WAR, 97 OPS+, still active)
Geraldo Perdomo (13.5 WAR, 101 OPS+, still active)
That’s it. And that’s the bad news: there are very few players in modern baseball history who’ve been as bad as Ortiz was in 2025 who have gone on to good offensive careers. Let’s quickly cover these three players — and it’s nice that we have couple of active guys, because we can check out the same Statcast data for them that we have for Ortiz.
First, Segura. After he debuted for one game with the Angels in 2012, he was included in Los Angeles’ trade deadline package that they sent to Milwaukee for Zack Greinke. The Brewers put Segura right into their starting lineup, and he was good enough to earn himself the starting shortstop job in 2013. At 23 years old that season, Segura was great: he hit .294/.329/.423, stole 44 bases, and made the All-Star team.
But in 2014, Segura’s offense disappeared completely, and it didn’t come back in 2015, either. After back-to-back seasons of a 70 and 68 OPS+ in 146 and 142 games, the Brewers traded Segura to Arizona… where he promptly hit .319/.368/.499, led the league in hits, and had a 6.6 WAR season.
The second half of Segura’s career was less up and down, but he was never a super consistent player. After looking good in his early 30s in Philadelphia, he was so bad in 85 games with the Marlins in 2023 that he never played in the majors again, despite being just 33 years old in his final season in 2023.
Swanson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft and was in the majors the following season; he looked great in 38 games in 2016, so the Braves made him their starting shortstop in 2017 when he was less than two years removed from college ball. It went badly. In 144 games and 551 plate appearances, Swanson hit .232/.312/.324 (68 OPS+).
While Swanson struggled in 2017, his available Statcast numbers aren’t nearly as badly as Ortiz’s in 2025; most of his numbers fell in the 20-35 range, percentile-wise, while many of Ortiz’s are below the 10th percentile. Swanson’s career also followed a more traditional arc: he was good in 2016, but it was only a 38-game sample, so 2017 was his rookie year. His OPS+ numbers are then basically a straight line, if you throw out the shortened 2020 season: 87 in 2018, 89 in 2019, 99 in 2021, 114 in 2022. Over the last six years, Swanson has a 105 OPS+ in 837 games, which he pairs with excellent defense at shortstop, and has made himself a valuable player.
Perdomo was thrust into the starting job for the Diamondbacks before he was really ready; he played 11 games in a brief debut in 2021 then played 148 games as a 22-year-old regular in 2022, in which he hit just .195/.285/.262. Perdomo’s 2022 season actually looks somewhat similar to Ortiz’s 2025; Both players didn’t swing and miss much, and both had above-average strikeout percentages, but both did nothing when they made contact: both players ranked in the 13th percentile or worse in all of xwOBA, xSLG, average exit velocity, barrel percentage, hard-hit percentage, and launch angle sweet-spot percentage.
The thing that’s different is that Perdomo didn’t chase anything, and his ability to draw walks has always been a strength. He improved to a 95 OPS+ in 2023 (and made the All-Star team), then to a 100 OPS+ in 2024, and then he broke out in 2025 and became one of the best players in the league (.290/.389/.462, 136 OPS+, 20 homers, 33 doubles, 27 stolen bases, 94 walks, NL leading 7.0 WAR).
Judging the career arc is tricky. Swanson and Perdomo both followed paths where they struggled early and then rose in a straight line, and the cynic would say that’s an indication that Ortiz hasn’t been able to make the necessary adjustments as the league’s pitchers figured him out. But Segura’s early career shows the sometimes-random nature of player development, so it could go either way.
I’d also just like to briefly discuss Turang, who technically doesn’t fit the criteria, as his bad season was in fewer than 500 PA and his career OPS+ is currently 93. Turang’s early career resembles Perdomo and Swanson more than Ortiz, in that he was awful in his first real shot and has since shown steady improvement. But Turang in 2023 was even worse than Ortiz in 2025, so that should give some encouragement that someone in Milwaukee might know how to help.
Other Pathways
There are several other players who fit the “bad early season” criteria who did go on to have good, or at least notable, careers:
Ozzie Smith (76.9 WAR) is by far the best player of all those who fit the “bad early-career offensive season” criteria. He is, of course, the greatest defensive player in the history of baseball; his 44.2 dWAR are the most all time by a comfortable margin. While Smith was never a good offensive player, he did figure things out as he went along: after posting an OPS+ of 74 over his first seven seasons, Smith had an OPS+ of 99 over the next eight years (1985-1992). Combine that with his all-time good defense and it makes him an obvious Hall of Fame choice.
It’d be a little crazy, but I could, for fun, make an argument that Jim Sundberg (40.5 WAR, 90 OPS+) is the best defensive catcher of all time. He’s got the best dWAR rate of any catcher with substantial playing time in league history, just ahead of Yadier Molina and comfortably ahead of the next three, Iván Rodríguez, Bob Boone, and Gary Carter. Sundberg was a really good player who won six Gold Gloves (consecutively from 1976-81) and made three All-Star Games, one of which was in his lone season in Milwaukee in 1984.
Terry Pendleton (28.4 WAR, 92 OPS+) was a solid player who peaked in the early ‘90s when he won an MVP in 1991 and finished second in the voting in 1992. Pendleton probably doesn’t win those awards nowadays, but it’s still impressive. He finished with three Gold Gloves and one All-Star appearance.
Bob Boone (27.4 WAR, 79 OPS+), as noted, was a great defensive catcher, but aside from a four-year stretch in the late ‘70s when he was slightly above average, he was always a bad offensive player. Boone played 19 years and finished with seven Gold Gloves and four All-Star appearances.
Jack Wilson (23.5 WAR, 76 OPS+) is well known to fans of the NL Central; the first nine-and-a-half years of his 12-year career came in Pittsburgh. Wilson had a couple seasons in which he hit for solid average, but he was a low-OBP, low-power hitter. In 2004, he was an All-Star and won the Silver Slugger when he hit .308/.335/.459 with a league-leading 12 triples. His son, Jacob, was second in 2025 AL Rookie of the Year voting.
Michael Bourn (22.8 WAR, 87 OPS+) was a defensive standout in center field who won two Gold Gloves, made a couple of All-Star teams (one with Houston, one with Atlanta), and led the league in stolen bases every year from 2009-2011.
Larry Bowa (22.8 WAR, 71 OPS+) collected over 2,100 hits in his 16-year career, but they were about as empty as they come; he was a lifetime .260/.300/.320 hitter. But Bowa was considered a star: he finished as high as third in MVP voting, won two Gold Gloves, and made five All-Star Games.
Juan Uribe (22.6 WAR, 87 OPS+) played for 16 years as a good defensive infielder who occasionally hit a bit, especially later in his career. He started on World Series winners in Chicago (2005) and San Francisco (2010), and while he didn’t make any All-Star Games or win any awards, he had a solid career.
Ozzie Guillén (21 WAR, 69 OPS+) was a no-bat, all-glove shortstop who is now known more for his career as a manager than as a player. He made three All-Star Games, all between 1988 and 1991, and won AL Rookie of the Year in 1985 and a Gold Glove in 1990.
Juan Pierre (17.3 career WAR, 84 career OPS+) played 14 years, led the league in hits twice, triples once, and stolen bases three times, but he was a player with zero power (18 career homers) in an era when a guy hit 73 homers in a season.
Vince Coleman (12.5 WAR, 83 OPS+) came into the league and looked destined to challenge the slightly older Rickey Henderson as history’s greatest base stealer: in his first three seasons, Coleman stole 110, 107, and 109 stolen bases, a run which even Henderson cannot boast. But unlike Henderson, Coleman couldn’t hit, and he couldn’t get on base enough to sustain a meaningful run at Henderson. His 13-year career included two All-Star appearances, the 1985 NL Rookie of the Year, and 752 stolen bases, sixth all time.
Conclusion
It’s going to be a big year for Ortiz. If he can get his bat back near the levels of 2024, his combination of “good enough” offense and excellent defense at shortstop would make him a valuable contributor. If he can’t, though, the Brewers have a bevy of options nearing the top of the minor leagues that could theoretically replace him, sooner than you might think.
Cooper Pratt and Jett Williams are likely to start the season at Triple-A Nashville, and Jesús Made is going to be right behind them at Double-A Biloxi. It’s a little early for Made, who doesn’t turn 19 until May. But if Ortiz’s struggles show no signs of correction and Pratt or Williams open the season swinging the bat, either could replace Ortiz this summer. Williams may not be the long-term answer at shortstop — by all accounts his defense there might be a little questionable (at least compared to Pratt and Made), and most think he ends up in center field.
That doesn’t mean he couldn’t be a short-term replacement, though, manning the position until Pratt or Made are ready. The point is, Ortiz shouldn’t feel exactly threatened, but I feel confident that the Brewers are not about to let their everyday shortstop hold an OPS below .600 for a full season again.
There are bound to be some events of note at some point. Perhaps not today. But we remain vigilant. Pitchers and catchers are due to report in two weeks.
We do have a nice The Compound Podcast if you have time, and several shorter stories, both on video and via text. Randy Holt has a good piece about building the bench, below. Pat Hughes is going to have a fundraiser chat in mid-February.
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Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs’ injured ace is ‘movin and a groovin’ his way back to action. “It’s a heck of a boost,” Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said, “to have a guy that’s a top of the rotation-type talent that potentially could come in here and be that for us later in the year.”
Jack Lindsay (North Side Baseball*): The Cubs’ fourth outfielder battle is wide open. “There’s a crucial roster spot up for grabs this spring. Four Cubs are now in position to fight for it.“
Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series. We will not wittingly publish A. I. – driven articles or clickbait, and insist on unimpeachable sources.
There has arguably been no bigger weak spot for the New York Yankees over the past few years than the hot corner. Since the departure of Gio Urshela following the 2021 season, the Bombers have tried to fill the hole with veteran placeholders by first trading for Josh Donaldson and eventually giving the role to DJ LeMahieu, who steadily declined to the point where he was released from the roster entirely last July.
Finally cutting bait with LeMahieu made it clear that third base needed to be addressed at the trade deadline, and the Yankees did just that by acquiring Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for pitching prospects Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz. McMahon is a defensive specialist and below-average hitter who strikes out a lot, and that’s exactly what he gave the Yankees in 54 games. He projects to start at third base for the team in 2026.
Another trade deadline acquisition, Amed Rosario, re-signed this offseason and will likely bounce between second base, third base, and the outfield during his platoon appearances. The Yankees’ starting lineup is overwhelmingly left-handed, so Rosario should slot in somewhere anytime they face a southpaw starting pitcher. When given the choice of starting McMahon or Jazz Chisholm Jr. against a lefty, they will likely opt for the latter, meaning Rosario could make most of his appearances in 2026 at third.
McMahon and Rosario’s acquisitions were part of a trade deadline makeover that reshaped the Yankees’ roster in 2025. That makeover cost them a significant chunk of minor-league talent, and third base was one of the positions that was hit hard. Here’s how the rest of the organization lines up at the hot corner:
The minor-league depth at the position is weaker than usual with many of the team’s top young options at third base being dealt away. Jesus Rodriguez emerged as a promising option in Triple-A and Parks Harber tore up Low-A and High-A last year, but they were both traded to the Giants (alongside Trystan Vrieling) in the Camilo Doval deal. Dylan Jasso served as the primary third baseman for Double-A Somerset for most of the year, but he was traded to Miami in the Ryan Weathers trade just a couple weeks ago.
These trades leave a lot of lineup questions at third base throughout the organization. Jorbit Vivas (who was discussed during our second base preview) played 33 games at third in Triple-A last season, but Jeimer Candelario is no longer with the team so Vivas could be the RailRiders’ primary third baseman. The recently-acquired veteran trio of Braden Shewmake, Paul DeJong, and Zack Short (who were discussed during our shortstop preview) could also produce a replacement for Candelario which would allow Vivas to remain at second base.
The departure of Jasso leaves third base wide open at Somerset. Tyler Hardman served as the primary first baseman last season and only played three games at third, but he’s played the hot corner in the past and could be an option for a position change if the team decides to promote Coby Morales to replace him at first. Josh Moylan led High-A Hudson Valley in appearances at third and has spent the past two years at the level, so he could also be in line for a promotion to Somerset. Moylan has been a slightly above-average offensive producer in each of 2024 and 2025, with walk rates between 13-15% and strikeout rates between 25-30%. Juan Matheus was another contributor at third in Low-A and High-A last year, but he was also part of the package that went to Miami in exchange for Weathers.
Other options for starts at third base this year at these levels could include Owen Cobb, Enmanuel Tejeda, Kaeden Kent, and Roderick Arias, all of whom were included in our season previews for shortstop and second base. With so few primary third basemen in the organization, players like these may find an opportunity for more playing time if they’re able to slot into an open role and adjust nicely at the hot corner.
In fact, FanGraphs’ Roster Resource tool only has three minor leaguers in the system listed as primary third baseman, none of them higher in the organization than Low-A. The first of these players is Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek, the team’s 20th-round pick from last year’s MLB Draft out of USC. Martin-Grudzielanek didn’t hit very well in his last two seasons in college, and was underwhelming in his first 24 games with Low-A Tampa.
It’s a bit ironic that the most promising third base prospect still in the Yankees’ system may very well be the lowest one on the totem pole. Richard Matic spent his age-17 season repeating the Dominican Summer League in 2025, but the results were night and day compared to his first year. After hitting .196 with a 71 wRC+ at age 16 against DSL pitching, Matic excelled in 46 games last season with a .336/.487/.566 slash line, five home runs, a 20.9/22.5 BB/K% ratio and a 167 wRC+. He’s a right-handed power bat with a 6-foot, 200-pound frame who could emerge as one of the most promising sluggers in the system if he can adapt to the Complex league and stateside competition. The list of DSL bats who fall off a cliff against stiffer competition is long every year, but this is what the ones who do make it look like. The last third baseman listed by Roster Resource is Leni Done, who signed as an international free agent last season and also hit five home runs in the DSL.
Third base is the most chaotic infield position in the organization entering 2026 due to all the roster turnover, though there are a few players who could take advantage of new opportunities due to this uncertainty. It’s unlikely that any of these players contribute at the big-league level anytime soon, but it’s worth following along to see who gets the first crack at filling in for some of these players who were traded away.
Warren Schaeffer is, by any standard, an energetic and positive person. He also tends to keep busy, though that has been especially true since becoming the Colorado Rockies permanent manager as he participated in hiring new staff, communicated with players and a new front office, and began planning spring training.
So, how was his offseason?
“It’s been a lot of work,” he says — but with enthusiasm, not exhaustion.
On the eve of Rockies Fest, Schaeffer answered a few questions about building a staff, communication, and changes coming to Scottsdale.
After being named the Rockies permanent manager, there was the matter of him finding his own staff.
“[It’s been] a lot of interviews,” Schaeffer said, “a whole lot of interviews to get it right — who we need to hire — because we had a lot of people to hire: new pitching coach, new assistant pitching coach, new bullpen coach, new first base coach, new hitting coach. I mean a lot.”
In addition, Schaeffer is currently focused on hiring the minor league coaching staff.
“It’s been a huge collaborative effort,” he said, “all of these hirings between the minor leagues and the major leagues, looking for that unity going up and down the chain.”
Something that can get lost in this Rockies rebuild is that team-building is happening throughout the organization. New front office and coaching stuff are meeting each other and learning to work together just as the players will next month. Prior to Rockies Fest, president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta convened a “summit” where all parts of the organization came together and began sorting out their roles and planning for the future.
“It’s been great getting to know Paul [DePodesta] and what he’s about,” Schaeffer said. “It’s been great getting to know Josh Byrnes and what he’s about and the new assistantGMs, and it’s an exciting time right now.”
It’s not just the manager; the players are enthusiastic about the changes, too.
“They’re all, almost pretty much to a man, extremely excited,” Schaeffer said.
“Players in general are always excited about the next season, and I would say specifically ours because they want to right the wrong that has been going on.”
”[R]ight the wrong that has been going on” would be those consecutive 100-loss seasons with the most recent being historically bad.
He added, “It just seems like the momentum that we’ve got going on, the players are extremely excited about that.”
Schaeffer’s calling card has always been his emphasis on communication, and that hasn’t changed heading into 2026. If anything, it’s even more important.
“I have strong relationships with the players already, and I continue to cultivate those with the new ones coming in and trying to create leaders in that area,” Schaeffer said. “And at the same time, we’re all in this together, in terms of Paul and Josh and Tommy Tanous and Ian Levin, all the new guys, and Walker [Monfort].”
Then he added, “But I love doing that because of the relationships you can build.”
Schaeffer’s plans to revamp spring training are also taking shape, and they start with “higher expectations.”
As Schaeffer puts it, “It’s one thing to talk about them, and it’s another thing to put them into action.”
The changes to spring training will be notable.
“Spring training will look completely different scheduling-wise, where we spend our time, what we spend our time on,” he said.
He was light on specifics since he’s not yet shared the details with the players, but he did says this: “It’ll look clearly different to the players, which is what matters, with a huge focus on winning.”
Too, there will be an emphasis on sustainability.
“We want to build a sustainable winner here for the city of Denver,” he said. “We believe that that could absolutely happen, and this is the first step.”
For Schaeffer, 2025 was a year of learning, and he has two primary lessons he’s bringing into 2026.
“Number one, preparation for the win that night,” Schaeffer said, “how to prepare better, and bringing in Jeff Pickler as a bench coach, who is exceptional at that part of the game, is going to be an enormous help for me and everybody else in terms of preparation.”
Then there’s the second lesson.
“The second thing that I learned, I think big time last year, is that at the big-league level, development never stops. It can never stop,” he said.
“Through the interview process this winter and being with these [new coaches] the past four or five days and getting to talk to them over the phone, the new coaches I’m talking about, it’s clear that they’re going to get that a relentless obsession with getting the player better, which is what they want. The point is, this isn’t the final product of the players we have. They’re going to get better. And that’s a learning experience from last year. We’re not finished getting better. There’s more in the tank.”
This week on the internet
Please enjoy this snippet from Rockies Family Feud, featuring Chase Dollander:
Freeman tells Thomas Harding about his preparation for the 2026 season. Thomas Harding spoke with Paul DePodesta about the outfielder’s role: “We still see him as an outfielder. He’s a right-handed hitter, but he complements Jake [McCarthy] and Mickey [Moniak], but we also see him as the guy who can play in the infield. He’s played second, third and some short in the big leagues. He maybe even snuck in a game or two at first base at some point along the way.”
Two top government officials in Kansas City, Mayor Quinton Lucas and Interim Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota, had a closed-door meeting with MO Governor Mike Kehoe to have stadium discussions.
Lucas and LeVota also emphasized a speedy end to the protracted fight over the team between Missouri and Kansas, which has dragged on for more than 18 months. Both officials said they hope to strike a stadium deal before the end of spring training, which will finish in late March.
“I hope it’s resolved before spring training is concluded, which is kind of opening day,” Lucas said on Wednesday. “I think that what we’re all going to do is work our level best to make sure we can get there.”
That feels incredibly optimistic to me, but we’ll see.
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the MacKenzie Gore trade, the trajectories of the Rangers and Nationals since their respective World Series victories, and why the White Sox signed Seranthony Domínguez. Then (29:38) they bring on baseball buds Brent Rooker and Vinnie Pasquantino for a wide-ranging conversation about their scrapped podcasting plans, the Royals remodeling Kauffman Stadium, how Sutter Health Park played, the good and bad of bat-speed training, the challenge system, Brent’s sinking strikeout rate, the best breakfasts, the Pasqwich, A’s outfield defense, Nick Kurtz and Jac Caglianone, playing with Rich Hill, A’s extensions, playing 162 games, why they haven’t become 30-30 guys, arbitration, players’ pre-lockout messaging, an offseason signing deadline, Vinnie’s interactions with Shohei Ohtani, the WBC, the weather, and more.
Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep analyzes Nick Loftin’s chances for proving himself in the upcoming season.
There’s a lot to like with Loftin’s profile above. He ranked in the 90th percentile in above in O-Swing%, Whiff%, Z-Contact%, K%, and BB%. He also ranked in the 95th percentile in wOBA and 97th percentile in xwOBA. The latter demonstrates that his performance was legitimate and not just a product of “batted ball luck”. Lastly, he launched the ball well with Omaha (79th percentile) and pulled the ball in the air effectively (89th percentile). Those kinds of batted-ball skills, combined with his plate discipline, are exactly what the Royals are looking for in hitters, especially under new assistant hitting coaches Connor Dawson and Marcus Thames.
Unfortunately, things haven’t clicked in Kansas City for Loftin yet, as they did in Omaha last season. In 67 games and 188 plate appearances with the Royals last year, Loftin posted a .279 wOBA, 73 wRC+, and 0.1 fWAR. He also hit four home runs, scored 17 runs, and collected 20 RBI.
Baseball America has their breakout prospects for the Royals ($). These are prospects outside the top 10 that they think could vault up rankings in 2026.
Freddy Contreras, RHP BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme Adjusted Grade: 30
Track Record: While fellow pitcher Kendry Chourio’s sensational breakout headlined the Royals’ 2025 international signing class, Contreras may not be as far behind his Dominican Summer League teammate as some expected. Contreras, who didn’t turn 17 until the final week of the DSL season, signed for $147,500 and then pitched to a 3.30 ERA with 37 strikeouts to 13 walks in 30 innings, earning a DSL all-star nod.
Scouting Report: Contreras is a lean righthander with a four-seamer that was in the low 90s early in the season, but averaged 95 mph and touched 98 by the end of the year. He commands it well and it projects as a plus offering. His 79 mph curveball has above-average potential with good spin and movement, and Contreras also has feel for an 87 mph changeup. Both secondaries generated plenty of whiffs in the DSL. Contreras is highly competitive and confident on the mound.
The Future: Given his youth, a return to the DSL would make sense for Contreras. However, the Royals haven’t shied away from aggressive assignments for teenage arms, so he very well could open 2026 in the Arizona Complex League with a solid fastball-curveball combination that gives him a high floor for his age.
Mike Gillespie at Kings of Kauffman writes that Drew Waters is probably on his last chance.
Jacob Milham also at Kings of Kauffman writes about three players whose chase rate may make it tough for them to fit in the team’s no-chase hitting philosophy.
The Royals apparently have a new sports betting partner, if you’re into that sort of thing.
MLB The Show ‘26 will not have a new cover athlete. Will they just put a baseball hat? A picture of home plate? Pasquatch? I guess we’ll find out!
Off Topic: My career is in data engineering, and thus AI is a whole big thing since the tools are getting pretty good at writing code. I know there are tons of stories of people using AI to generate slop code that they have to spend more time fixing later. But there are plenty of stories in my company of this…not happening at all. I’ve been using GenAI for code for quite some time and have found it useful. Anyone else code? What are your experiences?
Song of the Day is NOFX with Seeing Double at the Triple Rock.
National prospect list season continued on Monday as Keith Law, prospect writer for The Athletic, dropped his new top 100 list. At this point you won’t be surprised to find three highly ranked Detroit Tigers prospects in his top 30. Max Clark continues to grade almost unanimously as the best all around outfield prospect in baseball, while Kevin McGonigle remains behind the Pirates’ Konnor Griffin as the second ranked prospect in baseball with the best hit tool of any player in the minor leagues.
Law’s intro does have some interesting points, namely that the top 100 at this point is very hitter heavy. There just aren’t many obvious, dominant pitching prospects who have already proven their ability to handle the workload around the game. He mainly cites injury as the cause, noting that as a result of the ever higher rates of injury that teams are pushing their pitching prospects along more and more carefully, focused more on stuff and control rather than on stretching them out, trying to save their workload until they reach the major leagues. In any case, this is reflected in the fact that there are a lot of talented pitching prospects with 45/45+ grades, but they just aren’t as proven enough to really draw certain top 100 level grades, and the demands and more limited workloads make it harder to gauge who might actually emerge to put up 3+ WAR seasons in the bigs.
The Tigers’ Troy Melton is a pretty good example of this. He’s super talented, but the lack of a good third pitch led most to keep him in those 45 tiers entering 2025, including us. Based on his production and outlook, that still seems like an accurate grade. But he’s clearly improved and has the potential to be a 3-4 level starter or possibily more if he commands his splitter more effectively in the coming years. We just don’t know how long it may be until he gets a chance to prove he can do it in a full-time starting role and those usage concerns nowadays make it trickier to forecast future value for pitchers unless the player is already an established stud starter in the upper levels prior to the next season.
None of that pitching development strategy really seems to be working out, however. The Tigers are uber cautious with workload, both in terms of overall innings, length of outings, and frequency of outings, rarely giving a starting pitching prospect two starts in a week’s time, and so far it isn’t doing them a bit of good.
Law has RHP Bubba Chandler of the Pirates as the top pitching prospect in baseball in the 14th spot, with the Mets RHP Nolan McLean behind him at 15. RHP Ryan Sloan of the Mariners is ranked 21st, with RHP Andrew Painter of the Phillies at 22. All together Law has just 12 pitchers in the top 50.
Law says: He’s an elite hitter for hard contact, pairing that with outstanding swing decisions, so the result is that he hits the ball in the air and pulls it a ton, getting to surprising power for a guy with more of a medium build and frame.
#5 Max Clark
Law says: Clark has excellent bat speed and a very advanced eye at the plate, which combined to produce just an 18 percent whiff rate on the season, along with an 18 percent chase rate that dropped to 10 percent on pitches well out of the zone.
His MLB ceiling is as a plus defender with high OBPs and 18-22 homers a year, which is going to at least make him an All-Star and a big fan favorite.
#17 Bryce Rainer
Law says: When he played, he showed a bit of everything, with power (peaking at 111.6 mph EV, with a hard-hit rate over 52 percent), patience, plus defense and, at least before the injury, a plus-plus arm. He had no trouble with better velocity, hitting .333/.440/.476 last year off 94-plus mph in a sample of 80 pitches.
#59 Josue Briceño
Law says: (at the Double-A level) He did still maintain his feel for the strike zone and continued to make plenty of contact in the zone (85 percent), so there’s reason to believe he’ll resume mashing with more reps at the level. It’s plus power already, even to the opposite field, as he understands how to hit the ball where it’s pitched…
#91 Max Anderson
Law says: He focused over the offseason on trying to change how he was making contact from getting on top of the ball to hitting it on the bottom half, and took off from the start of last season, with a .306/.358/.499 line in Double A in 90 games, then a .267/.327/.422 line in Triple A where he still had a 46 percent hard-hit rate. His production is almost entirely in his hit tool; he has average power, below-average patience and below-average speed, so he has to continue to post high contact rates given his lack of a current defensive position.
Summary
Overall the only thing in terms of the Tigers that hasn’t already been covered extensively is Max Anderson making the list. Law cites the defensive concerns we’ve brought up repeatedly the past two seasons, but is more optimistic that he’ll hit enough to make it as an everyday player. I continue to think his pitch selection and overall discipline is going to have to improve quite a bit, as major league pitchers aren’t going to have that much trouble getting the current version of Anderson swinging at pitchers’ pitches and getting him out on the ground.
Anderson does have good hands and makes plenty of contact. There’s just a lot of pressure on the bat to hit for power due to his lack of defensive utility, mostly because of his mediocre range. His fairly strong and accurate arm helps make up for it and will allow him to play back against hitters without the footspeed to beat out choppers and slower rollers hit his way. It’s nice to see some optimism for Anderson, and hopefully Law ends up being in the right on this one.
Yesterday, the San Francisco Giants announced that they have signed outfielder Harrison Bader to a two-year deal. So I wanted to check in and see how people are feeling about the signing.
Personally, I agree with Brady’s assessment in the linked post above. Bader is an improvement on outfield defense, which is great! And if he hits as well as he did in 2025, that would also be a plus! Though I’m not sure if that’s sustainable, as he has tended to be a little under league average.
Bryan pointed out something interesting as well, in that he tends to hit pretty well in NL West parks (except for Dodger Stadium, naturally).
But the defensive improvement is the point! And I’m excited about it.
How are you feeling about the Harrison Bader signing?
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Pirates fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The Pittsburgh Pirates were last over .500 in 2018. We’ve been waiting eight years now for them to return to winning baseball. With Paul Skenes still on the roster and some improved hitting, is this finally the year? Our question is asking, do you expect the Pirates to be over .500 this season, under .500, or right at .500?
Cast your vote, tell us in the comments. We’ll be back in a few days with the results.
How do you weigh the cost of opportunity when it comes to a long-term build? When I talk to Cardinals personnel, the consistent theme remains “long-term focus.” What exactly does that mean for players who continue to accrue service time but are not quite to the point where they are rental assets? We know that Chaim Bloom said in his introductory press conference as President of Baseball Operations that they are long-term focused but arent willing to concede anything.
Bloom has been true to his word in that regard. This offseason, he has traded away veteran players Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, and Nolan Arenado, committing to a long-term vision for the future of the franchise. He has also remained steadfast on his high price tag for All-Star Utility player Brendan Donovan, who still has 1 more season of control remaining beyond 2026, and has not conceded on his price tag, knowing the value of the player. As evidenced by other moves this offseason, the Cardinals will execute deals when a team meets their price tag. The fact that Donovan remains indicates a team has not met the Cardinals’ ask.
That being said, Bloom still has not indicated a timetable for when he expects the team to return to contention, and for obvious reasons, pending labor strife, a potential shift in the economic landscape, and uncertainty around revenue from RSN and/or Gate sales. There are quite a few question marks that need to be answered before he has a clear picture of how soon he might push in. This does, however, leave room for unintended consequences, such as when the right time might be to sell other controllable assets as they grow closer to their expiration as well?
SPAndre Pallante
Let’s start with Andre Pallante. Last season did not go particularly well for Andre, and he detailed for us at Winter Warm Up what happened last year. According to Pallante, after the 2024 season, he was experiencing a lot of fatigue and said he took a longer rest period than normal to allow his body to heal fully going into 2025. Because of that longer rest period, it took him longer to ramp up his velocity, which was a consistent talking point surrounding him in Spring Training, if you recall, which he didn’t reach until the start of the season. After which, his mechanics were not properly calibrated for the additional arm speed that was being generated, which led to his ineffectiveness with command. Pallante also touted that he’s been developing a “kick change” this offseason, which could allow for another weapon to neutralize hitters on a day he may not have a feel for release on one of his other offerings. In 2024, Pallante posted a 3.78 ERA and a 3.71 FIP in 121.1 IP, which are solid marks for any starter in the Major Leagues. Should Pallante bounce back and perform the way he did in 2024, given the depth of near MLB-ready arms the Cardinals now possess, perhaps the Cardinals look to sell high before he gets too expensive. Mid-rotation starters with control generally bring back a strong package of prospects, and for only 4 million dollars this season, the justification for the investment on the bounce back is more than digestible.
SPMatthew Liberatore
This one specifically, I know fans are going to have mixed opinions on. Not exactly comparable, but looking at what Mackenzie Gore was able to get the Nationals in return, teams will send high upside young talent for controllable lefty starters with upside. With 3 additional seasons of control remaining beyond 2026, it would take a hefty price tag to pry Liberatore away from St. Louis, but, given the theme of this article, the opportunity to acquire premium young talent that the team can continue to add to build around might be too good to pass up if the offers are there. Through July 1st of last season, Liberatore posted a 3.70 ERA and a 3.09 FIP in 92.1 IP in his first full season in the rotation. The key will be to see if he can repeat that success and perhaps put two full halves together. I wouldn’t necessarily expect Liberatore to be a deadline target, but going into the offseason, if he can put it all together, I can see the Cardinals getting a very strong return and one that could really kick the rebuild into a higher gear.
RPRiley O’Brien
This one is a little more unique as O’Brien is already 31 years old, and is, albeit a late bloomer, a guy with loud swing and miss stuff in his profile that could help a contender close down games in the hunt for October supremacy. As a pre-arb pitcher, the time to strike could be at the deadline when teams are notorious for overpaying for relievers as they push for the postseason. After the trade deadline in 2025, Riley O’Brien stepped into a prominent leverage role for the Cardinals down the stretch and posted a 2.57 ERA, 3.61 FIP, and recorded 6 saves in 21 IP. If he can carry that level of performance through the first half of the 2026 season or even a tick better, you can rest assured that half the league or more will come calling about O’Brien, and Chaim Bloom could be in a strong position to take advantage of a reliever-crazed market.
1BAlec Burleson
I have been steadfast since the end of the 2025 season. Alec Burleson positioned himself to be one of the players the Cardinals feel they have to build around. Oli Marmol and Chaim Bloom both have spoken publicly that he was one of the few players who truly took advantage of the “runway” (shutter) season. With that being said, as Burly enters his age 28 season and his physical prime, if he repeats or takes yet another step forward, can secure more hardware, or even an All-Star selection, it will make him hard to ignore as a potential trade chip. Slashing .290/.343/.459 ->.802 OPS with a .346 wOBA and a 124 wRC+, Burleson made himself one of the better hitters in baseball last season and, again, if he maintains or even takes a small step forward with one fewer season of control remaining, that will be a commodity teams will have interest in as he’d have the same amount of control remaining as Donovan does now, next offseason.
2B/3BNolan Gorman
2025 was a microcosm of the Nolan Gorman experience. High highs and extreme lows. Using the metric wRC+, where 100 is exactly league average, anything above is better, anything below is worse. By Month, Gorman’s wRC+ was: March/April – 76, May – 45, June – 142, July – 110, August – 105, September – 24! That is neither a reliable driver of offense nor a player who is already entering his salary arbitration years, someone you build around long-term. This situation feels like the Cardinals are banking on Gorman having one semi-breakout season so they can maximize a return. At this point, the volatility in Gorman’s profile, combined with 2 seasons of control remaining, could be something that Bloom looks to sell high on the soon-to-be 26-year-old former 1st rounder if he can eliminate some of the extreme lows in his profile in 2026.
C/DH Ivan Herrera
Let me be clear, I would hate this, but IF Herrera can successfully regain his status as an everyday catcher with all of the work he is putting in this offseason, and he can continue to hit at the rate he has, he would be a WILDLY valuable trade piece that could truly alter/expedite the rebuild in St. Louis. With the presence of Jimmy Crooks, Leonardo Bernal, and Rainiel Rodriguez, the Cardinals have some very impressive young catchers behind Herrera in their own right. Crooks – former Texas league MVP, Bernal – 2025 Minor league Gold Glove award winner at Catcher and switch hitter with 20+ HR potential, Rodriguez – posted an ISO of .249 in Single A, and loosely compares to Herrera, and is a near consensus top 50 prospect in baseball. If the Cardinals were hesitant to pay for the level of talent that that perspective profile would command, I could see the Cardinals willing to deal the soon to be 26 year old Herrera for a king’s ransom.
I debated adding RF Jordan Walker to this list, but with him being still only 23 years old and so much pedigree and prospect hype around him in the recent past that if he hits, he will be made a part of the core going forward more than the 6 other players listed above.
I’m not saying these players are overly likely to be moved, nor am I suggesting that the Cardinals are all that eager to move them. What I am suggesting, however, is that because we have no real timetable as to when the Cardinals expect to be in a competitive championship window, there is no clear answer on where the line is in terms of players with control and how far out that extends. If Chaim Bloom intends to be aggressive with how he attacks this build and doesn’t believe in patience in doing so, then the Cardinals do have a few chips they can play to try to expedite this process and try to have a majority of their players in the same age range/years of control.
We’re still very early in this process, and how things unfold over the next 18 months should give a clearer idea as to what the timetable may look like going forward. I understand this will likely aggravate a few fans, but that is not my goal or intention. I am not someone who swims in the “hot take” waters. For context, it is something that a few other writers in the community are starting to wonder about alongside me. Perhaps I should just hope that everyone stays healthy and has fun, who knows! (eye roll)
We’re just a couple of weeks away now from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training. As of now, that group of Orioles pitchers still does not include Framber Valdez. I will continue to update you as nothing occurs.
In the meantime, it’s prospect hype season, as publications continue to drop their top-100 rankings ahead of the 2026 season. Yesterday, The Athletic’s Keith Law unveiled his list, not long after Baseball America and MLB Pipeline did so, and the Orioles were well represented with five prospects among his top 100. Mark Brown has the details.
One notable thing about the lists released so far is that there’s a wide variety of O’s prospects who are highly regarded by at least one source, even if they’re not all in agreement. Only Samuel Basallo and Nate George are included in all three of BA, Pipeline, and Law’s lists, but there are six other prospects who are included on at least one. Dylan Beavers is a top-100 guy for both Baseball America and Pipeline. BA’s list also includes pitchers Trey Gibson and Luis De León, while Law counts Wehiwa Aloy, Ike Irish, and Enrique Bradfield Jr. among his top 100. That’s a lot of different Orioles prospects with a lot of different skills who are getting some measure of hype from the pundits. That seems like a good thing.
Will any of these prospects contribute to a winning Orioles team in 2026? We know that Basallo and Beavers will be on the roster, and if either one plays well enough to win AL Rookie of the Year, they’ll earn the Orioles an extra draft pick. Gibson and Bradfield will be one level away and could debut this season, but they both have things to work on at Triple-A first. It’ll be a longer wait for De León and the just-drafted Irish and Aloy.
The Orioles might no longer boast the best farm system in baseball as they did in the early years of the rebuild. But there’s no reason to think their talent pipeline is slowing down.
Pete Alonso seems to be exactly the kind of clubhouse leader the O’s were badly lacking in 2025. I like that about him. And also that he hits lots of dingers.
For those who were frustrated by Brandon Hyde’s slavish devotion to lefty-righty matchups, good news: Craig Albernaz appears a bit more willing to let young lefty hitters face lefty pitchers.
Ken Rosenthal takes a deep dive into the baseball mind of the former O’s fan-favorite outfielder and executive, who’s now the Angels’ hitting coach. Trey Mancini has particularly glowing things to say about how Brady revitalized his career as an Orioles prospect.
…and sure enough, Trey Mancini just signed with Brady’s team. I have a feeling that’s not a coincidence.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Four ex-Orioles were born on this day, including Orioles Hall of Famer John Lowenstein (79), who spent the final seven years of his career with the Birds from 1979-1985 and formed a potent platoon with Gary Roenicke. Other former Birds with Jan. 27 birthdays are right-hander Jonathan Heasley (29), infielder Tim Beckham (36), and catcher Ken Huckaby (55).
On this date in 2015, the Orioles acquired outfielder Travis Snider from the Pirates. The O’s hoped that the former first-round draft pick would be a capable right field replacement for Nick Markakis, who’d left in free agency, but he didn’t come close. Snider posted just a .659 OPS in 69 games before the O’s released him in August.
And on this day last year, the O’s signed Dylan Carlson to a minor league contract. He didn’t figure to get much playing time with the Orioles unless things went very wrong for the team…which, of course, they did. Carlson ended up getting 241 plate appearances for the O’s, batting .203 with a .614 OPS. He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs yesterday.
Another offseason day down, another day closer to the beginning of spring. The hot stove has little left to offer us, though Monday did bring some news, with the Yankees officially announcing their signing of Cody Bellinger, as well as the Giants making a move, signing old friend Harrison Bader to a two-year deal. Had Bellinger defected this offseason, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see the Yankees pivot and try to target their former center fielder Bader, but things seem to have worked out in a beneficial way for all.
On the site today, Nolan continues his informative State of the System series with an analysis of the third base position in the Yankee organization. Also, Jeff writes up Fred Haimach as part of our Yankee Birthday series, and Sam remembers the signing of AJ Burnett, the third piece of the Yankees’ 2008-09 spending spree.
Questions/Prompts:
1. How many starts will Ryan Weathers make for the Yankees this year? Do you expect him to factor in more as a reliever or as a starter?
2. Which international sports tournament are you more psyched for this year, the WBC or the World Cup? The WBC surely won’t ever reach the World Cup’s level of significance, but do you think the WBC will continue its upward trajectory going forward?
Every few years, Major League Baseball rolls out a rule change that reshapes how the game is played.
In 2020, MLB implemented the three-batter minimum for relievers and introduced the automatic runner in extra innings.
Three years later, the league rolled out another wave of changes — adding the pitch clock, limiting pickoff attempts, and restricting defensive shifts — all in an effort to speed up play, encourage action on the bases and restore more balance between hitters and pitchers.
Now, another shift is on the way.
In just under two months, the automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system will officially become part of regular-season Major League games. The system has been tested extensively in the Minors and made its Spring Training debut at the big-league level last year. In 2026, it becomes real.
For Phillies manager Rob Thomson, a baseball lifer who has seen the game evolve in cycles, the key factor is simple: whether the players buy in or not.
“I think it’s great,” Thomson said. “When we tried it in spring training last year, a lot of the guys liked it — not everybody — but most did. And I think the umpires liked it as well. As long as somebody doesn’t get embarrassed, I like it. And if the players like it, I think it’s fair for everybody.”
The system itself is straightforward. Each team is allowed two challenges per game, initiated by the hitter, pitcher, or catcher. Challenges are immediate and binary — either the call is overturned or it isn’t — which keeps the pace intact.
One concern often raised is whether ABS diminishes the value of pitch framing. Thomson, a former catcher himself, doesn’t see it that way.
“They talk about whether it’s going to make receiving less important,” he said. “That’s not really true, because you only get two challenges. Framing still comes into play.”
That balance matters for a club like Philadelphia, especially with J.T. Realmuto back behind the plate. While Realmuto hasn’t graded as an elite framer in recent seasons, his feel for the strike zone — and willingness to challenge calls — stood out during last spring’s trial run.
Left-hander Tanner Banks saw that firsthand.
“I know J.T. was excited about it,” Banks said. “There were times in spring when he’d catch a pitch and immediately know it was a strike. You see guys like Bryce [Harper] or Kyle [Schwarber] get rung up on pitches that are balls — the hitter knows the zone better than anybody.”
From the pitching side, Banks acknowledged there’s an adjustment.
“There’s a human element pitchers like with umpires,” he said. “Maybe you steal something because the catcher does a great job. But at the end of the day, you want consistency. The umpires I’ve talked to are for it if it helps make the right call. It’s not a jab at anyone — it’s a matter of game integrity.”
Accuracy, of course, remains another big question. Strike zones differ by hitter stance, height, and approach, and every ballpark presents its own quirks. Whether ABS can apply that consistently across 30 stadiums is something the league will continue monitoring.
Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez views it as another adaptation point.
“It changes the game and you have to adjust,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “There are a few things that I don’t necessarily like or agree with, but I just try to adapt and keep going.
That perspective carries weight. Sánchez was on the mound for one of the most scrutinized ball-strike calls of the entire 2025 postseason — a missed call in Game 4 of the NLDS that altered the inning and, ultimately, the series.
Cristopher Sánchez said the umpire apologized to him for missing this call.
Alex Call went on to score the tying run after he walked on the next pitch.
Rule changes tend to be judged in hindsight. When they help, they’re praised. When they don’t, they’re criticized.
But MLB’s intent has remained consistent: get the calls right.
Instant replay paired with managers’ challenges, introduced in 2014, once felt intrusive. Now it’s expected. ABS will likely follow a similar path — an adjustment period, some early friction, and then normalization.
When the ball hits the catcher’s mitt in 2026, the margin for error will be smaller. For players and teams built on precision and strategy, that may be exactly the point.
