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PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - MARCH 19: A general view of the field as members of the Tampa Bay Rays warm up prior to the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Mets at Clover Park on Thursday, March 19, 2026 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
First pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays is at 1:05 at TD Park and the Rays will be providing tv and radio coverage.
1986 (1) vs 2009(12) G1: 7-1, ’09 G2: 15-2, ’86 G3: 4-3, ’86 G4: 3-0, ’09 G5: 4-3, ’09 Series MVP: Johan Santana
The Whiteyball Cardinals couldn’t do it. Mike Scott and the Astros couldn’t do it. Even winning 5-3 with one out to get, the Red Sox couldn’t do it. But there were the 2009 Mets, celebrating at Shea Stadium as the highest-ranked team in Mets Madness — and one of the best teams in baseball history — was finally eliminated. In their previous two series, the 1986 Mets dropped a game early before firing back to win in four games. It seemed that pattern was destined to repeat itself, as after getting shut down by Johan Santana in Game 1, they annihilated the ’09 squad 15-2 in Game 2 (Ron Darling turned in a four-hit, two-run complete game while Gary Carter slugged two homers) and took a tight Game 3 win on homers from Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry. But then, the four-game formula was foiled. The game that will haunt the ’86 Mets forever is Game 4, in which they got shut out by a quartet of relievers (Ken Takahashi, Pedro Feliciano, Sean Green, and Francisco Rodríguez) while letting Carlos Beltrán beat them by driving in all three of ’09’s runs. The best way for an underdog baseball team to win is by having an ace starting pitcher to shut down the opposition, which might be why the ’86 team has done so much better in the back half of series (facing the weaker portion of a team’s rotation) than in the front half. They needed to win Game 4 to avoid seeing Santana again. They couldn’t do it. ’09 scraped out runs by capitalizing on a Mookie Wilson error and executing a successful squeeze bunt. With first and third and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Wally Backman looked to hit a fly ball to at least tie it — but instead, he grounded the ball to Alex Cora, who flipped it to Luis Castillo, who fired it to Daniel Murphy. Champagne in the visitors’ clubhouse after all.
2002 (10) vs 1968(11) G1: 8-6, ’68 G2: 5-3, ’68 G3: 5-4, ’68 Series MVP: Greg Goossen
This was a matchup of two teams with two upsets under their belt, and it showed. Each game in the series came down to the wire, packed with clutch rallies and max-effort defensive plays, making it thrillingly balanced — except for the fact that the same team won each one. In Game 1, the 1968 Mets outlasted the 2002 Mets in a battle of ineffective aces Tom Seaver and Al Leiter, with ’02 getting homers from Timo Perez, Ty Wigginton, and Jeromy Burnitz but failing to stack hits in the way ’68 did. In Game 2, a 4-0 ’68 lead turned to 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning thanks in part to a pinch-hit homer from Tony Tarasco, but in the following frame Greg Goossen — a future actor who would be traded the following offseason for a player to be named later (eventually Jim Gosger) — delivered a pinch-hit homer of his own for insurance. In Game 3, ’02’s previous Series MVP Mo Vaughn continued to rake with an early 458-foot, 2-run homer, but ’68 fought back. With the score tied 4-4 and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, up stepped who else but…pinch-hitter Greg Goossen, who lined a walk-off RBI single to left-center. This MVP could have gone to Ed Kranepool, who hit .583 with two homers and five RBI in three games. It could have gone to Tommie Agee, who homered in Game 3 and went 3-for-5 while making an excellent diving catch in Game 1. But unlike Goossen’s trade value, this particular MVP need not be named later; I bestow it upon him, the pinch-hitter (and actor) extraordinaire.
QUADRANT 2
1969 (1) vs 2017 (12) G1: 4-1, ’69 G2: 3-1, ’17 G3: 3-2, ’17 (f/11) G4: 5-4, ’69 G5: 5-4, ’69 (f/13) Series MVP: Art Shamsky
Upsets? Who said anything about upsets? The 1969 Mets are a one-seed that acts like it! Well, except for the part where they nearly lost this series in four games, and then nearly lost it in five. The 2017 Mets entered hot off a six-game winning streak, and were instantly given a gut check when Tom Seaver steamrolled through their lineup with a complete-game, five-hit, one-run performance in Game 1. ’69 appeared bound to avoid the kind of upset plaguing the rest of the tournament’s top seeds, but they suddenly found themselves staring down elimination after a Jacob deGrom complete game in Game 2 and a devastating extra-inning Game 3 loss (which featured a Wilmer Flores two-out, game-tying hit in the ninth and an Asdrúbal Cabrera walk-off single in the eleventh). In Game 4, they trailed 4-3 in the seventh, but Art Shamsky played the hero by ripping a game-flipping two-run homer off Steven Matz. In Game 5, the ’69 Mets trailed 4-0 in the eighth inning, having been blanked by Noah Syndergaard, but scored three runs on walks and a big hit from Donn Clendenon to make it a 4-3 ballgame. Down to their final out in the top of the ninth, Shamsky came to bat with a runner on third. He slashed an opposite-field, game-tying single just in front of a charging Yoenis Céspedes to keep his team alive. The marathon winner-take-all game rolled on, with neither team able to break through until Wayne Garrett’s walk-off single off Jeurys Familia in the bottom of the 13th inning. And thus, the tournament’s final one-seed lives to fight another day, facing a clearer field than they could have ever imagined. But if this series proved anything, it’s that the Miracle Mets may need to pull off at least a few miracles to win this tournament after all.
1988 (2) vs 1985(3) G1: 5-1, ’85 (f/12) G2: 4-2, ’85 G3: 4-3, ’88 (f/11) G4: 5-0, ’85 Series MVP: Rick Aguilera
If you were forced to look at the box scores for every series in Mets Madness thus far and guess which one was a matchup of top-three seeds, you’d be right on the money. This exquisite, hard-fought battle of ’80s teams with a total of 198 regular season wins between them lived up to the hype off the bat. 1985 Dwight Gooden and 1988 David Cone each allowed only one run in Game 1, prompting an extra-inning affair which finally ended when the ’85 Mets erupted for four runs off Roger McDowell in the top of the twelfth. Game 2 was locked at 2-2 entering the seventh, when George Foster (who hit a solo homer earlier in the evening) laced a two-run double to give ’85 another win. The ’88 offense jumped on Sid Fernandez early in Game 3, with a Keith Hernandez RBI single and Darryl Strawberry two-run homer bringing home three runs in the top of the first inning. But Kevin Mitchell lifted ’85 up, delivering an RBI double in the sixth and then a two-RBI, game-tying double in the eighth to force extra innings once again. In the top of the eleventh, Kevin McReynolds hit a go-ahead sac fly to win it for the ’88 Mets, but it was the last run they would score. Rookie Rick Aguilera fired a complete-game shutout in Game 4, perhaps giving them flashbacks to when another right-handed starter fired a shutout to vanquish their championship aspirations. For the ’85 Mets — the last of the great ’80s teams still remaining in the tournament — their primary obstacle to a championship now waits in the next round, where they will face the 1969 Mets in a clash of the titans.
After upsetting the N.L. Champion 2000 Mets in the previous round, the 2011 Mets just kept firing on all cylinders. The starting pitching was excellent, with R.A. Dickey allowing two runs in seven innings, Dillon Gee allowing one run in 6.1 innings, and Jon Niese outdueling Tom Seaver. Let me say that again. Jon Niese outdueled Tom Seaver. It’s sentences like those that make this tournament feel especially mad. Offensively, the ’11 lineup continued to prove its potency, with batting champion José Reyes going 7-for-15, Jason Bay providing extra-base pop, and Lucas Duda recording 5 RBI (including a game-tying single off Seaver in Game 2 and a go-ahead single off last round’s MVP George Stone in Game 4). The ’74 team, after upsetting the ’16 Mets and ’90 Mets, only mustered one win in this series thanks to a shutout compiled by Jerry Koosman, Tug McGraw, and right-hander Harry Parker in Game 3. Along with the ’09 and ’13 teams elsewhere on the bracket, the 2011 Mets are now providing hope that a rather disappointing era of Mets baseball may in fact take home the Mets Madness championship.
2006(2) vs 2019 (6) G1: 5-4, ’19 G2: 6-5, ’06 G3: 6-5, ’19 G4: 7-4, ’06 G5: 6-0, ’06 Series MVP: David Wright
For the 21st-century Mets fan, this series was as dreamy as it gets. On the 2006 side, there was David Wright, Carlos Beltrán, and Carlos Delgado combining for seven homers, while on the 2019 side, there was Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Michael Conforto combining for five. Jacob deGrom barely outdueled Pedro Martínez in Game 1, and then Pedro completely outshone deGrom in Game 5. Each side even had its own epic walk-off win. In Game 2, after the score was locked at 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh, each team traded three-run homers — Beltrán blasting one to right-center off Seth Lugo and Nimmo immediately responding — to eventually set up a bases-loaded, two-out at-bat for Wright in the bottom of the ninth against Edwin Díaz. With a 2-2 count, Wright lined a fastball up the middle to win the game and even the series. In Game 3 at Citi Field, ’06 went ahead 5-0 early with the help of a Delgado three-run homer off Noah Syndergaard, but an electrifying Pete Alonso line-drive grand slam in the fifth and Michael Conforto solo homer in the eighth tied it. In the bottom of the ninth, Jeff McNeil hit a one-out single up the middle, and Juan Lagares dashed home just in time to beat Beltrán’s throw to the plate. ’19 did their best to keep pace with the ’06 team in Game 4, but a 3-for-4 day for Wright with a homer and two doubles was too much to overcome. They tried to pull off one last “LFGM”-worthy rally in the ninth inning of Game 5, but Billy Wagner got Todd Frazier chasing on a ball in the dirt to end it. For the ’06 Mets, the next obstacle on what they hope to be a championship journey is the eight-seed 2011 Mets. They didn’t imagine their route out of the quadrant might bypass the 2000 or 1987 teams, but that doesn’t mean they can take their foot off the gas (see pretty much everywhere else on this bracket for evidence). Their path to the Final Four is clear. Now, it’s just up to them to seize it.
QUADRANT 4
2001 (8) vs 2004 (12) G1: 4-3, ’04 G2: 5-4, ’01 G3: 5-2, ’04 G4: 3-2, ’01 (f/11) G5: 6-4, ’01 Series MVP: Al Leiter
It was bound to happen eventually, but it was strange all the same: Al Leiter faced Al Leiter twice in this series. In Game 1, 2001’s Leiter was mightier, firing 7.2 innings of one-run ball, but the 2004 Mets still came away with the win thanks to a late comeback fueled by a Cliff Floyd two-run double and Eric Valent two-run homer. The ’04 Mets were one win from advancing, but found themselves on the short side of an eleventh-inning thriller in Game 4. ’04 trailed 2-0 after eight innings, with lefty Glendon Rusch providing a scoreless start for the ’01 team. They were down to their final out in the bottom of the ninth facing Armando Benítez when Víctor Díaz hit a first-pitch, pinch-hit, two-run homer to left field to tie it, sending Shea into a state of jubilant chaos. The score remained knotted until the top of the eleventh, when Piazza hit a solo shot that stood as the game-winning hit. ’01’s Leiter outdid himself in Game 5 (both symbolically and literally), with the eight-seed seizing an early 5-0 lead on homers from Todd Zeile and Rey Ordóñez. Valent homered again, as did Kaz Matsui, but ’04’s reliance on comeback attempts finally caught up with them. Despite their many clutch moments, they never even held a lead in the series’ final two games.
1999 (2) vs 2013(11) G1: 3-2, ’13 G2: 5-2, ’99 G3: 6-3, ’99 G4: 11-8, ’13 G5: 6-4, ’13 Series MVP: Matt Harvey
Happy freakin’ Harvey Day, folks. The All-Star Game starter at the peak of his powers was absolutely electric, even while battling a thunderous 1999 lineup, a raucous Shea Stadium crowd, and acts of divine intervention. In Game 1, it became clear what the blueprint for ’99 had to be in this series: get Matt Harvey off the mound. He threw eight innings without allowing a run before the ’99 team began immediately barreling the ball against Bobby Parnell in the ninth, nearly earning a walk-off victory. The next two games played out as planned. ’99’s offense went to work against 2013’s less powerful starters Jon Niese and Zack Wheeler, and scored eight runs in Game 4 — the only problem was, the ’13 lineup shockingly scored eleven (shoutout to David Wright, Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda, Rubén Tejada, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis for multi-RBI games). In Game 5, Harvey bent but seemed impossible to break, evading a bases-loaded-and-nobody-out jam in the fifth and a first-and-second-and-nobody-out jam in the sixth. Two more men got on to begin the seventh, but just as Harvey was ready to get to work on another escape act…the skies opened up. After a brief rain delay, Harvey returned to the mound likely out of his rhythm, and four pitches later he hung a curveball which Mike Piazza hit over the right-center-field fence. ’99 had gotten their miracle. Harvey was out of the game. In the ninth, they even got a break when David Wright couldn’t handle a John Olerud dribbler due to the wet grass (yes, the OOTP play-by-play did in fact specify this). ’99 might have had the heavens on their side, but ’13 had (Josh) Satin, who reached base three times in the winner-take-all game while Lucas Duda hit a clutch homer late to preserve a narrow lead. Somehow, the 2013 Mets overcame the odds — and the gods — and are advancing to the next round.
Feb 14, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Michael McGreevy (36) and pitcher George Soriano (65) work from the bullpen during spring training at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The last weekend Spring Training game before the regular season begins happens today at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches when the St. Louis Cardinals will tangle with the Houston Astros starting at 11:05am. According to MLB.com, Michael McGreevy will start for St. Louis while Christian Javier will begin the game for Houston.
CLEARWATER, FL - MARCH 04: Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher Aaron Nola (27) delivers a pitch to the plate during the spring training game between the Team Canada and the Philadelphia Phillies on March 04, 2026 at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Phillies will play their penultimate game of the 2026 Grapefruit League season on Sunday when they travel to Tampa to face the New York Yankees.
Aaron Nola, coming off a strong performance in the WBC will get the ball in his final appearance before the regular season.
The Yankees will go with righthander Will Warren.
Game time is 1:05 PM and will be televised locally on NBCSP.
FORT MEYERS, FL - MARCH 10: Sonny Gray #54 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in Fort Meyers, Florida. (Photo by Cole Carter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson (19) throws to the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning during a spring training game on March 16, 2026, at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Team News
Ryne Nelson’s Final Spring Start Could be a Sign of Even Better 2026
“It felt good,” Nelson said after his outing Saturday. “[I’m] getting deeper into games, which is nice, and I feel like I had stamina that’s holding up throughout the game, so that’s nice to see. I feel like that’s one of the main question marks, is how you’re going to feel later into the games. But today felt good. I felt like I could keep going if that was the plan. Happy with it.”
Diamondbacks Reveal Surprising Starting Rotation Order
“It’s clear that Merrill Kelly just doesn’t have enough time to build up and start the season on the active roster,” Lovullo said. “Might have been the worst-kept secret of this camp, but just wanted to make sure that I gave the right amount of time before I made that announcement. Merrill will start on the IL, and whatever his buildup is, it will continue. I don’t know what the timeline is on that.” https://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/arizona-diamondbacks-news/diamondbacks-reveal-surprising-starting-rotation-order
Australia is the only continent without an active volcano.
The nearest active volcanoes are located off the continent of Australia but are still within its territory. One is located on Head Island and the other on McDonald Islands. The reason why Australia does not have any active volcanoes located on the continent is that it isn’t on a plate boundary.
Time travel is banned in China.
Or at least it is in Chinese media. The Chinese government bans any movie with aspects of time travel. For the Chinese government, altering historical events are a dangerous element of fiction.
There are more chickens in the world than there are people.
Chickens are mainly bred primarily as a source of food. Others may keep them as pets as well.
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 03: Cristian Javier #53 of the Houston Astros pitches during the game between the Team Venezuela and the Houston Astros at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Lawrence Brown/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Houston Astros (11-13-3) host the St. Louis Cardinals (16-9-2) in their Grapefruit League finale.
RHP Cristian Javier (0-0) will start for the Astros vs. Cardinals RHP Michael McGreevy (0-3).
MR. CRISTIAN: Today will be RHP Cristian Javier’s third start of the Spring in an official game and his fourth start overall (includes his March 3 exhibition game start vs. Venezuela).
In his last start on March 15 vs. MIA, Javier hurled 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while tallying five strikeouts.
Javier, who was limited to just eight starts in 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, is 35-22 in his career with a 3.66 ERA (219ER/538IP). In his career, Javier has held opponents to a .203 (397×1956) batting average, which is tops among all AL pitchers since 2020 (min. 525 IP).
He’s also helped author several notable moments in his career, starting a combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series, as well as a combined no-hitter in June of that season at Yankee Stadium.
Javier has been stellar in the post season, going 6-2 in 17 app. with a 2.68 ERA. In 43.2 postseason innings, he has allowed just 22 hits while tallying 60 K’s
TODAY’S POTENTIAL RELIEVERS: RHP Roddery Munoz, RHP AJ Blubaugh, LHP Steven Okert, RHP Christian Roa, RHP Logan VanWey.
VS. THE CARDS: Today is the Astros sixth matchup of the Spring vs. the Cardinals. HOU is 1-4 vs. STL this Spring.
The two clubs will face off in the regular season in a three-game set the weekend of April 17-19 at Daikin Park in Houston.
UP NEXT: Following today’s game, the Astros will return to Houston. On Monday and Tuesday, they will play games vs. the Triple A Sugar Land Space Cowboys at Daikin Park ahead of the 2026 season opener vs. the Angels on Thursday, March 26.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Sunday, March 22, 11:05 a.m. CST
Location: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach, FL
The Mets informed veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel on Sunday that he would not be on the Opening Day roster.
The right-hander was able to seek opportunities with other clubs, but he has decided to remain in the Mets organization and continue to prepare for a potential bullpen role in the future.
"I am going to stay down here in Florida and stay ready," Kimbrel told Mike Puma of the New York Post. "My goal was to make the Opening Day roster. I am a little disappointed in that, but that is all on me."
Manager Carlos Mendoza said on Sunday that there was a "good chance" that Kimbrel would remain with the club.
"That goes to show you who he is, as a person, as a human, as a competitor," Mendoza said. "It’s a very good opportunity here, but we did inform him yesterday."
The 37-year-old Kimbrel, who ranks fourth on the all-time saves list with 440, was a non-roster invite by the Mets, but he was inconsistent on the mound this spring. In six appearances (6.0 innings), Kimbrel posted a 4.50 ERA with five strikeouts, five walks, and two hit batters.
With Kimbrel now out of the mix for an Opening Day bullpen spot, lefty Bryan Hudson and lefty Richard Lovelady are the remaining internal candidates for the final job in the bullpen.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced this morning that outfielder Mike Tauchman has a meniscus tear in his knee and will require surgery. That certainly takes the 35-year-old out of the equation for the Mets’ final decisions about their Opening Day roster, but assuming he stays with the organization, it is the sort of surgery that should give him an opportunity to join the Mets’ roster at some point this season.
Coming off a very solid 2025 season with the White Sox, Tauchman signed a minor league deal with the Mets in mid-February. And in Grapefruit League play, he hit .241/.371/.448 with a home run, putting himself on track to get a spot on the Mets’ roster to start the season.
With Tauchman sidelined, though, the starting gig in right field should belong to top prospect Carson Benge, who very well might’ve made the team even if Taucham hadn’t gotten hurt. After looking very good in the upper levels of the minors last year, the 23-year-old has looked fantastic in spring training games. He’s hit .368/.442/.447 in those exhibition games and will be an exciting player to watch as the season gets underway.
Mar 21, 2026; Bradenton, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (34) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
I’m going to be flying all day, and I’m running around doing last-minute things, so writing something useful won’t happen.
So let’s have an OpenThread.
If you want a topic to start things off, the team has a bunch of decisions to make on the last few spots. Who gets the last one or two spots in the bullpen. Doesn’t Leo Jimenez get a spot, or do they DFA him? Would he clear waivers?
Eloy Jimenez? Does he get a spot over Davis Schneider? If he does, Leo has to get a spot. Eloy started the spring on fire, but didn’t carry it through to the end. But he hits the ball hard.
How many left-handed outfielders do we carry?
With Eric Lauer in the rotation, who is the long man? Do we need a long man? Are eight one-inning pitchers enough? Yariel Rodriguez is being paid a lot and can do 2-3 innings, and when one of the injured pitchers comes back, we know he can clear waivers.
Tauchman suffered a meniscus tear that requires surgery, an MRI revealed.
"Unfortunately, he’s going to be down for a while," Mendoza told reporters on Sunday.
Mendoza said that the team will have a better understanding of the timeline for Tauchman's return after he has surgery.
"He started feeling discomfort yesterday, and he got to a point where he couldn’t do it [anymore]," Mendoza said. "... Trainers kind of knew right away when he came out, because we sent him for an MRI."
The 35-year-old Tauchman was pushing for a roster spot, hitting .241 this spring with one home run, six RBI, and an .819 OPS. He seemingly grimaced in pain while running down the first-base line on Saturday, and then later could not get back to make a play on a ball over his head in the outfield.
Tauchman was likely the biggest competition for top prospect Carson Benge in terms of the starting right field job come Opening Day. Benge has looked the part this spring, but Mendoza would not make any declarative statements on Sunday about Benge's potential place on the big league roster.
As far as other right field options, Mendoza said that M.J. Melendez is not considered an Opening Day option right now, as he'll start the year in Triple-A, but the team does like their internal options.
"We feel good with the options that we’ve got here," Mendoza said. "Obviously, we’ve got a lot of guys who are playing well, but we know injuries happen. It sucks for him and obviously the team, but we feel pretty good with the guys that we’ve got here."
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 17: Members of Team Venezuela celebrate on the podium after the 2026 World Baseball Classic Championship game presented by Capital One between Team Venezuela and Team USA at loanDepot Park on Tuesday, March 17, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It’s Sunday once more, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! Since the last time we came together, the World Baseball Classic came to a close, with Team USA shutting down the dominant D.R. lineup before being themselves shut down by the Venezuela pitching staff. Just as importantly, spring is now upon us, and that just means one thing: Opening Day is (almost) here! That’s right, this coming Wednesday, the New York Yankees will take the field against the San Francisco Giants to kickstart the 2026 season. So as we get ready for the big day, let’s check in on our favorite ballplayers, and see what they’ve been up to this week!
Final Photos from and about the Classic
The biggest news of the week, of course, was the World Baseball Classic. I will admit, I wasn’t able to snag everything — Jasson Domínguez, for example, posted about the Dominican Republic’s loss on his Instagram story even though he wasn’t there, which should help give you an idea just how much this tournament means to so many of these players. So this is just a small sample, from official accounts, Yankees players, beloved former Yankees, and other NYC athletes.
This past Wednesday, Gerrit Cole took the mound. Yes, it’s only spring training, and yes, it was only one inning, but it’s a major step in his return from Tommy John surgery.
As spring training comes to a close, so does our daily dose of fun shenanigans from the Yankees and YES Network Instagram accounts. But that doesn’t mean we’re out of material just yet! This week, we have Carlos Lagrange, the pitcher everyone’s talking about this spring, answering questions from the YES Network — but only with wrong answers, giving us a bit of a look into the tall right-hander’s sense of humor.
We also got to learn which music has been most commonly found on the Yankees’ iPods (hey, some of them are still old enough to use iPods), and — what I found rather interesting as a Latin teacher — where exactly a bunch of Yankees stand on a controversial linguistic question.
SURPRISE, AZ - MARCH 20: Josh Owens #93 of the Texas Rangers fields a ball during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium on Friday, March 20, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
In non-Rangers news, Christopher Sanchez, the Philadelphia Phillies lefty who will be facing the Rangers on Opening Day, has agreed with the Phillies on a re-worked deal that adds a couple of years at $30 million guaranteed to his existing contract, as well as having the existing option years picked up.
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 29: A view of the Dodger Stadium light towers during Game Five of the 2025 World Series presented by Capital One between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, October 29, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Spring training isn’t quite yet complete, but has changed scenery for the Dodgers, who are back home in Southern California to face the Angels for three games in the Freeway Series. Also this week, the real shebang gets underway with opening day and three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Here’s a look at the week ahead.
Beginning on Sunday, every game the rest of the way this season will be broadcast on Dodgers radio in English on AM 570 and in Spanish on KTNQ 1020 AM. For the schedule below, assume SportsNet LA for television unless noted otherwise (opening day this week on NBC, for instance).
