Category: MLB

Carlos Correa’s teams have been fortunate to roster excellent closers such as Luke Gregerson, Ken Giles, Ryan Pressly, Jhoan Duran and Josh Hader.

For the biggest save of his life, though, he wants to thank God.

Correa opened up to MLB.com this week in revealing that last summer — while in Minnesota, shortly before the trade back to Houston — he and his young son nearly drowned.

The veteran infield star was in Lake Minnetonka without a life jacket and with his 3-year-old, Kylo, on his neck when the pair were caught between their boat and the shore. Correa’s hamstrings and quads were cramping, he said, and his stamina fading.

With Correa’s hopes slipping, he looked above.

“‘Lord, save me,'” he said. “‘I promise you that if you save me from this one, I will serve you and I will serve you forever.'”

According to Correa, he found a buoy and a moment to breathe. But Correa’s grip slipped from the buoy, and he hurt his hand grasping for the buoy’s chain. Correa told MLB.com that he had to continually switch hands on the buoy to ensure he and Kylo would stay above water.

As a last gasp, he yelled with his all his might toward his boat. He was heard.

His father-in-law swam over and flung a life jacket, which Correa just barely grabbed with his pinkie. He was going to be OK.

“I was like, ‘From that moment on, I’m going to serve you,’” Correa told MLB.com. “I am going to keep my promise. And from that moment, I’ve been fully devoted.”

Correa — who always has been religious — took the next steps in his faith and organized a Bible study at his house in Houston over the offseason. He also told his story at a retirement home in hopes of inspiring others.

Correa may be more appreciative in Year 12 as a major leaguer. The three-time All-Star dealt with injuries and had begun to slope downhill with the Twins before the deadline trade back home that might have helped, as Correa posted a .785 OPS in 51 games back with the Astros last season.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke after the team's 5-3 loss to the Astros on Saturday afternoon and touched on a number of topics...

Position players still in the mix for Opening Day

The Mets made a few decisions regarding the Opening Day roster in recent days. They laid out their five-man starting rotation to start the season, which doesn't include Sean Manaea. Instead, the southpaw will begin the regular season in the bullpen as a piggyback to the starters. 

New York also optioned right-hander Austin Warren to Triple-A -- along with Kevin Herget and Robert Stock. Warren was in the mix for a bullpen spot.

But how about the position players?

The big story heading into camp was who would start in right field. Prospect Carson Benge seemingly had the inside track and has backed it up with a big spring, but veterans like MJ Melendez and Mike Tauchman were competing for a spot. Melendez was optioned earlier this week, and Tauchman exited Saturday's game with knee soreness. He'll undergo an MRI.

Although Mendoza didn't have an update on Tauchman, the Mets skipper was asked whether Benge's spot is all-but-assured with this latest development. 

"Can’t say," Mendoza said. "We don’t know. Just gotta wait."

On a follow-up, Mendoza was asked which of the position players are still in contention for a roster spot, and the third-year manager was honest about the situation.

"From the guys who are at camp, here. You got Jared Young, you got [Vidal] Brujan. There’s a lot of versatility here," Mendoza answered. "Carson’s pretty much in the mix as well. We’re looking at three, four guys for two spots."

Young hasn't produced at the plate this spring, hitting 3-for-30 (.150), but he offers that versatility Mendoza mentioned. He's played first base as well as left and right field in his six-year career.

Brujan has been better offensively this spring. He's batting .273 with seven walks, four stolen bases in 14 games. But Brujan offers more versatility than Young, having major league experience at six different positions, including all three outfield spots. 

Jorge Polanco's throwing error

Polanco is one of two new Mets who are learning a new position and the veteran infielder's inexperience at first base showed on one play during Saturday's game.

In the eighth inning, Polanco ranged far to his right to get to the ball, but made a poor underhand throw to the bag, resulting in a throwing error.

Mendoza was asked about the play and what Polanco can learn from the moment. 

"A very good learning opportunity," he said. "Not an easy play when he has to go that far. He’s diving for that ball, and not an easy angle for that 3-1 feed. Glad that it kinda happened, so he can learn from it. If he’s going to go underhand, continue to move your field or treat it like an infielder, which he’s done his whole career. You have that short throw, but it’s a moving target from that angle. It’s a tricky play. Because of who he is, he went long ways for that ball. You’re looking at a position where not too many first basemans are able to get to that ball. Learn from it and glad that happened today." 

PORT ST. LUCIE — Mike Tauchman’s bid to secure a spot on the Mets’ Opening Day roster may have hit a snag.

The veteran outfielder departed Saturday’s 7-5 exhibition loss to the Astros with left knee discomfort and was to receive an MRI exam, according to manager Carlos Mendoza.

Mendoza added that it was unclear if Tauchman’s injury was related to his collision with the right field fence early in the game.

Tauchman appeared uncomfortable after the play, and in the following inning, stopped in pain as he left the dugout.

“He felt something and just came back in and went inside with the trainer, so I am not sure how it happened,” Mendoza said.

Tauchman’s status is among the final decisions the team is facing in finalizing the 26-man roster for Opening Day.

Tauchman, Carson Benge, Vidal Brujan and Jared Young are essentially the four position players that appear in the mix for two roster spots. The Mets also have one bullpen spot open.

“We don’t know what we’re dealing with, but anytime you send somebody for an MRI there is a bit of a concern,” Mendoza said. “But we have just got to see what happens.”

Benge, the organization’s top position player prospect, could be the team’s starting right fielder.

The Mets have Tyrone Taylor as a backup outfield option, and Tauchman has battled for a job — potentially as the starter if Benge isn’t added to the roster.

If the Mets keep five outfielders, they would begin the season without a backup shortstop beyond Bo Bichette, who could move over from third base if needed.

Francisco Alvarez returned to the lineup after leaving Thursday’s game with back tightness.

Jonah Tong, on loan from minor league camp, allowed three earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings against the Astros.

The right-hander, who began the spring in major league camp, has pitched to a 7.71 ERA in the Grapefruit League.

The Dodgers on Saturday tied the Athletics 5-5 in nine innings at Camelback Ranch to close out the Arizona portion of their spring training. What a way to make a living.

It marked the first Dodgers tie in 756 days, since February 24, 2024 against the Angels.

Emmet Sheehan and Justin Wrobleski are both ticketed for the Dodgers roster, and given that Sheehan started Saturday, he’ll be the one in the rotation at first, possibly in line to start next weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Sheehan said as much after his outing on Saturday:

It hasn’t been smooth sailing at all this spring for Sheehan, who was sidelined a bit with the flu, and was forced to play catch up. His first three games were a mess, needing 149 pitches to get through his 7 1/3 innings, with as many walks (six) as strikeouts in his 38 batters faced.

Saturday provided more stability for Sheehan, who threw 80 pitches in 4 2/3 innings for his longest outing to date, with five strikeouts and a pair of walks. But even that came with some troubles in the second inning.

Colby Thomas doubled and stole third base. Henry Bolte stole second base because Sheehan’s pickoff throw to first took too long. He would have stolen third with an incredible jump had Leo DeVries not made contact and tripled him home. Rick Monday on the SportsNet LA telecast multiple times in the inning described Sheehan as falling asleep on the mound. Sheehan then wild-pitched De Vries home, capping a largely forgettable three-run frame.

De Vries singled again in the fifth inning, and Sheehan threw twice to first base, then stepped off the mound for a third time, triggering a disengagement violation. De Vries after getting balked to second base later scored. In his two years in the majors, Sheehan has only allowed four steals in eight attempts in 133 2/3 innings, so him getting caught flat-footed on Saturday was surprising.

One battle remaining

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Friday at Camelback Ranch that the lone position-player roster battle remaining this spring is between Hyeseong Kim and switch-hitter Alex Freeland, as the likely left-handed side of a platoon at second base, plus potential extra work around the infield.

It’s been a rough spring for Freeland, who was in an 0-for-18 skid when he hit a two-run home run on Saturday, his first home run this spring.

That was only the second hit this month for Freeland, who has five hits in 43 at-bats this spring, with a team-leading 11 walks while hitting .116/.286/.233.

Worth the wait?

Most of Jack Suwinski’s work in Dodgers camp this spring, after getting claimed off waivers on February 21, has come on the backfields and in the team facilities at Camelback Ranch. After getting sent outright to the minors and off the 40-man roster, Suwinski finally got into a game last Sunday and played a total of three Cactus League games over the last seven days. Suwinski homered in all three games, including a solo shot to dead center field.

Suwinski is tied for the Dodgers’ team lead with three home runs. He batted 11 times.

Only in spring

We’ve seen the re-entry rule exercised a few times this spring, when a starting pitcher is removed in a struggling inning to avoid running up stressful pitches, then allowed to resume pitching the following inning. That happened on Saturday, when A’s starter Jacob Lopez was taken out with the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning. He pitched a scoreless second, then allowed a run and loaded the bases again in the third, this time removed for good with one out.

Both relievers — CD Pelham in the first inning, Justin Steiner in the third inning — escaped those unenviable jams unscathed, giving Lopez an otherwise impossible six bequeathed runners in one game, and none of them scored.

Up next

No more games in Arizona for the Dodgers, at least not until June 1-4 when they are back in Phoenix to play the Diamondbacks. Just three spring training games remain, with the Freeway Series against the Angels beginning in Anaheim on Sunday night (6:07 p.m.; SportsNet LA, MLB Network). Tyler Glasnow starts the opener, with George Klassen going for the Angels.

The Detroit Tigers closed out their 2026 Grapefruit League schedule with a strong performance from Framber Valdez, Drew Anderson, and Tyler Holton in a 3-1 victory over the Yankees on Saturday. Now the club, including prospects like Kevin McGonigle, Max Anderson, Trei Cruz, and John Peck, heads out to Scottdale, Arizona for two exhibition games against the Rockies before the regular season begins in San Diego’s Petco Park on Thursday the 26th.

Spring training camp has gone very well indeed for the Tigers overall. Apart from the occasional breakout from a young player, the only major events in spring camp are injuries, and while the Tigers have temporarily lost Troy Melton, otherwise their pitching staff has come through the spring in excellent condition. Justin Verlander is healthy and throwing hard. Tyler Holton has a little extra gas this spring and has been precise with his command. New addition Drew Anderson has looked really good. Enmanuel de Jesus has been a minor revelation. Will Vest, Kenley Jansen, and Kyle Finnegan all look heahty and ready to go. And while Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty have struggled some, Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez look ready to dominate. Pitcher health is far and away the most important consideration every season.

However, plenty of other things have gone well too, and none are more important than the excellent camp put together by top prospect and shortstop in waiting, Kevin McGonigle. We expected that the precocious batsmith would prove one of the Tigers best hitters already, and that has played out to perfection. More important were the defensive questions he had yet to answer. McGonigle has been sharp at both shortstop and third base, looking like he’ll grade out average at worst at both positions. His reactions, footwork, decision making, and arm strength have all looked significantly upgraded after working with Alan Trammell in the Arizona Fall League and putting in an offseason of intense focus on the finer points of his defensive game.

His 1-for-2 performance on Saturday isn’t calculated in yet, but otherwise, in 50 plate appearances, basically seven big league game’s worth of action, McGonigle has posted a 143 wRC+ with two home runs, two doubles, and a triple. His strikeout rate is an excellent 16 percent, with a whopping 22 percent walk rate leading him to a stellar.420 on-base percentage. This despite some bad luck on balls in play, as his BABIP mark this spring is just .250. In short, he is living on base, not striking out much, and hitting for plenty of power already. No surprise here.

Those numbers don’t even include McGonigle going 3-for-3 with a walk against Team Dominican Republic’s staff of major league arms. The 460 foot missile off of a 98 mph Luis Severino fastball that started the game was an early sign than McGonigle is exactly who we think he is. McGonigle is already in the mix as Tigers best pure hitter, and only Riley Greene can really be projected as a more valuable hitter as the 21-year-old McGonigle begins his major league career.

In short, he’s ready for his major league debut. Now the questions are to the Tigers’ decision makers.

There’s just no good argument the Tigers can make in terms of his ability and readiness. AJ Hinch, Scott Harris, and Jeff Greenberg all know what they’ve got here. The only component left is service time, and that’s not a very compelling argument. After spending big on Framber Valdez, bringing Justin Verlander back, and with all signs pointing to Tarik Skubal’s exit in free agency, the time to try and win is now. The Tigers decision makers are going to look a bit silly should they stick McGonigle in Toledo for a few weeks only to see the club struggle out to a weak record because the offense isn’t that productive in March/April.

There are generally 187 days in the major league regular season calendar, with 172 days of major league service time required to accrue a full year. The Tigers could certainly decide it’s worthwhile to stash him for 15 days, call him up on April 11th, and basically have him under team control for seven years instead of six. Those years are likely to be very valuable as McGonigle won’t even turn 22 until August. That theoretical seventh year of control would keep him a Tiger until he’s 28 years old.

No question there’s a lot of potential long-term value gained by doing that, and missing the first four series isn’t going to doom the Tigers. However, on top of putting McGonigle right into the lineup and making it signficantly better right out of the gate, there is the prospect promotion incentive to consider.

If the Tigers promote McGonigle for Opening Day and he spends the whole year on the roster, the Tigers are eligible for a bonus pick in the 2027 draft should McGonigle will the AL Rookie of the Year award. He’ll certainly be the heavy betting favorite to do so, and that’s a valuable pick, coming between the regular first and second rounds, the same level where the Tigers drafted McGonigle 37th overall out of high school back in the 2023 draft. The Tigers will get a comp pick when Tarik Skubal declines his qualifying offer next offseason as well, and those two picks could set them up in a big way for the 2027 draft as they look to keep the pipeline of talent flowing.

Frankly the only reason to wait to promote him, is if the Tigers don’t think McGonigle will sign a long-term extension in the next year. That extra year of service time they could game doesn’t mean anything if the Tigers turn around and offer him a 10-year, $200M deal next offseason. Right now though, that’s a trickier proposition. The Tigers are only about $2.5M in luxury tax payroll from hitting the threshold right now with an estimated luxury tax payroll of $241,509,275 against the first threshold of $244 million.

They can’t give out a big signing bonus or up McGonigle’s major league minimum salary much this year without going over the threshold, and they would prefer not to do that as there’s a 20 percent tax on every dollar over the threshold. That’s not a major penalty, but the Tigers may also need to trade for a plsyer or two at the deadline, adding more payroll.

This isn’t a huge problem either, of course. A 20 percent tax on say, $10M over the theshold is only $2 million dollars. Unless they somehow ended up $40M over the theshold, at which point their draft pick positions start to be moved back as an additional penalty, it’s just a minor consideration to be factored in.

The Tigers will keep all that in mind, but this really all comes down to whether McGonigle will sign the big extension, perhaps next offseason. If they’re confident he’ll be interested and isn’t in Scott Boras mode already and dead set on reaching free agency as quickly as possible, then locking him up long-term should be a priority, and so his service time clock doesn’t matter, except in respect to the PPI pick they could gain from a Rookie of the Year winning campaign.

There are plenty of different elements to the story, but I think the conclusion is undeniable. Kevin McGonigle should be announced on the Opening Day roster following their final exhibition game, and the Tigers should be ready to pursue a long-term deal with him as soon as it’s practicable.

In the home game of the split squad games, the Astros beat the Mets 7-5.

• Jonah Tong had a rough second inning today in Port St. Lucie. Zach Cole led off with a triple and then scored on a balk by Tong. That was the hardest contact of the inning for Tong, but two pops fell in for singles, and both scored when Nick Allen drove them in. All of a sudden it was 3-0.
• Tong settled in after that, allowing just two more hits in his two and a third additional innings of work. His final line was: 4.1 innings pitched, 6 hits, three earned runs, five strikeouts, and no walks.
• AJ Solgado replaced Mike Tauchman in right field in the fifth (possibly due to injury?), and led off with a triple. He scored on a Francisco Alvarez single to put the Mets on the board.
• In the sixth, Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco singled, and Brett Baty walked, loading the bases for Marcus Semien. Semien doubled to left field, clearing the bases and putting the Mets up 4-3. Salgado singled in Semien to add the fifth run of the afternoon.
• Ofreidy Gómez, Daniel Duarte, and Joe Jacques all pitched scoreless outings.
• Ryan Lambert entered in the eighth and things did not go very well. A hit batsman, a walk, and a three-run home run by Christian Walker put the Astros back up 6-5. After another walk and a wild pitch, Lambert was out, relieved by Aaron Rozek. Unfortunately, James Nelson singled in the inherited runner, aided by a throwing error by Jorge Polanco, and the Mets were down 7-5.

In the away game of the split squad games, the Mets lost to the Nationals 3-1.

• Joander Suarez started for the Mets and looked really great, tossing four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk, while striking out three.
• Will Watson followed Suarez, allowing just two hits and no walks with one strikeout over three innings.
• Neither team got on the board until the eighth, when Mark Vientos hit a solo home run to put the Mets up 1-0.
• Sam Brown and Kervin Pichardo hit back to back doubles off of Matt Turner to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth.
• The game ended when Dakota Hawkins surrendered a two-run home run to Joey Wiemer in the ninth to put the game away, with the Nationals winning 3-1.

The Mets play their final game of the spring tomorrow at 1:10pm tomorrow against the Marlins.

Victor Bericoto got good and bad news from the San Francisco Giants Friday. He learned he’d been reassigned to the team’s Minor League camp. But he left as the 2026 winner of the Barney Nugent Award.

The annual Barney Nugent Award goes to the Giants player making his spring training debut“whose performance and dedication in spring training best exemplify the San Francisco Giants’ spirit, much like Nugent did in his time with San Francisco.”

Barney Nugent was the Giants’ longtime athletic trainer, who passed away in 2014. The award named in his honor is voted on by all Giants spring personnel — players, coaches, clubhouse staff, and of course, the training staff. Bericoto played 19 games and hit 18-for-38, with three home runs and three doubles, and generally pounding the hell out of the ball.

However, the 24-year-old Venezuelan outfielder has only played 11 games at the AAA level. As unexciting as the Giants’ other outfield options might look, Bericoto probably needs at least a few months against better pitching before he’s ready to help the big league club, though his 12 homers and 15 doubles at Double-A Richmond last season (in 93 games) are highly encouraging.

Bericoto isn’t on the 40-man roster, so the team may wait to call him up, hoping that the excitable Drew Gilbert or the disappointing Luis Matos can hold the fort as an extra outfielder for a while.

Former winners of the “Nooge” (no one calls it this) include favorites like Tim Lincecum, Brandon Belt, and Matt Duffy. Last year, reliever Joel Peguero won the award, and went on to appear in 17 games, going 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA. He’s out with a hamstring tear now, but is in the mix for a late-inning relief role when he returns. Heliot Ramos and Casey Schmitt also won the Barney in recent years, while 2024 winner Ismael Munguia, now with the Toronto Blue Jays, hit .429 in the World Baseball Classic for Nicaragua.

Here are all the winners since 2007:

2007: Tim Lincecum
2008: Brian Bocock
2009: Joe Martinez
2010: Darren Ford
2011: Brandon Belt
2012: Dan Otero
2013: Brock Bond
2014: Mark Minicozzi
2015: Matt Duffy
2016: Trevor Brown
2017: Jae-Gyun Hwang
2018: Chris Shaw
2019: Joey Bart
2021: Heliot Ramos
2022: Brett Auerbach
2023: Casey Schmitt
2024: Ismael Munguia
2025: Joel Peguero

2026: Victor Bericoto

Bericoto had a fantastic spring and could very well be playing in Oracle Park by the summer. Somewhere, Barney Nugent is looking on with pride and a roll of athletic tape.

The San Diego Padres final roster decisions are days away but the opt-out clauses for two veterans provided some early decision-making for the Padres. Both starter Walker Buehler and infielder Ty France had to be placed on the 40-man roster today or risk being lost to another team.

Both Buehler and France were signed to minor league deals during the off-season and due to their years of service, they have opt-out clauses in their contracts. Those clauses kick in at various stages during the season, allowing them to be free agents again if they are not on the major league roster. The first opt-out for both was March 21.

Stiff competition and an injury

While it seemed obvious that Buehler was safely entrenched in the rotation after his past two starts, France was not as much of a guarantee. He had close competition with Jose Miranda after it became clear that utility player Sung-Mun Song was not healthy enough to start the season with the Padres.

With France on the roster, Miranda can be sent to Triple-A and his first opt-out is not until later in the season (June 1). The difficulty will arise when Song is ready to come off the IL. France can only be optioned if he agrees, otherwise he can become a free agent again and sign with any team.

This is a return for France to the team that drafted and developed him through its system. He made his major league debut in 2019 and was traded at the deadline during the pandemic season of 2020. He has played for the Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins and late last season, for the Toronto Blue Jays. He received a Gold Glove at first base last season and played in the World Series.

Walker Buehler is healthy again

Buehler has shown that he can pitch with the diminished velocity on his fastball after his second Tommy John surgery. He has a seven-pitch mix with a four-seam fastball that has topped out at 94 mph. In his three starts, he has a 3.09 ERA with four walks and 13 strikeouts while not allowing a home run.

He has stated in interviews that the pain in his elbow went away right before spring camp began and that has enabled him to throw his sweeper again as well as refining his other off-speed offerings. He has acknowledged that his fastball will never again reach the velocity of the past but he can still be an effective starter without it.

While Joe Musgrove is on the IL and continuing the rehab from his own Tommy John surgery, Buehler will assume the No. 4 spot in the rotation while other pitchers continue to compete for the last spot.

Manager Craig Stammen challenged starter Randy Vasquez at the beginning of camp to establish his spot in the rotation but that seemed settled fairly early when Vasquez showed that he has held onto the velocity gain of late last season and has been much more disciplined in his delivery with his appearances this spring.

Buehler joins Michael King, Nick Pivetta, Randy Vaquez and, eventually, Joe Musgrove as part of the initial five-man rotation. If Germán Márquez wins the last spot that is currently available, the Padres will have another roster dilemma to deal with as Márquez has a major league contract and can’t be optioned without his agreement. The same is true of Buehler with his veteran status.

Padres manager Craig Stammen commented in his morning media scrum on the organization’s decision to put both players on the roster.

It’s no surprise the Rays’ offense struggled against left-handed pitching last season. They produced an 85 wRC+ which was the 9th worst of any team in the league. That issue was compounded by volume as Rays hitters saw more left-handed pitching than almost any team in baseball; Rays batters had 1,860 PA vs LHP, second only to the Phillies at 1,946.

So naturally, their Opening Day matchup comes against a lefty – former Rays prospect Matthew Liberatore. Can the Rays improve vs LHP compared to last season? What could their lineup look like on Opening Day?

KPIs

We’ll first look at several industry standard key performance indicators (KPIs) for the Rays offense last season and compare it to what we’ve seen from the position players projected to be on the Opening Day roster: zone minus out-of-zone swing rate to measure plate discipline, contact rate to measure bat-to-ball ability, 90th percentile exit velocity to measure raw power, and line drive plus fly ball rate to measure how well they hit the ball at optimal launch angles:

The swing decisions, bat-to-ball ability, and batted ball quality all have taken a step forward with this new position player group while still maintaining average power. We still have to wait to see how it’ll translate to regular season games in a larger sample, but the underlying indicators suggest they have a much stronger foundation than the group that produced an 85 wRC+ last season. If these gains carry over, it’s reasonable to expect something closer to the 100-105 wRC+ range.

Potential Lineup vs LHP

There were times last season where Cash deployed lineups of all RHB against opposing left-handed starters. This seems like a logical idea on paper, but old-school baseball wisdom says that this allows an opposing pitcher to get into a rhythm. Later in the season, the Rays sprinkled a couple more lefties in their lineups against LHP. Those lineups appeared more effective, even if it’s difficult to quantify. I think we’ll see that (at least early on) in the regular season. Here’s how it could look vs Liberatore on Opening Day:

1. Yandy – DH
2. Caminero – 3B
3. Aranda – 1B
4. Vilade – RF
5. Williamson – 2B
6. DeLuca – CF
7. Fortes – C
8. Mullins – LF
9. Williams – SS

The order outside of the top five is more flexible and maybe DeLuca and Mullins take turns in CF, but this is what we could expect on Opening Day and against most LHP.

Simpson has a platoon-neutral skillset so there’s a world where I could see him batting leadoff regularly to provide a bit more length and drop Yandy and Cami into more run-producing spots in the order. However, the defensive value Mullins provides may still give him the edge early on, potentially keeping Simpson in a more limited role until his defense proves itself over a larger sample.

If they prioritize Simpson’s speed and contact ability, a more left-handed look could resemble something like:

1. Simpson – LF
2. Yandy – DH
3. Caminero – 3B
4. Aranda – 1B
5. Vilade – 2B
6. DeLuca – CF
7. Mullins – RF
8. Fortes – C
9. Williams – SS

Simpson could also be 9th and everyone else moves up a spot. There’s a lot of potential for flexibility, but no matter how it shapes up, this offense appears much better positioned to improve against left-handed pitching than it was a year ago. That flexibility also aligns with the improved swing decisions, contact rates, and batted ball quality we’ve seen this spring, giving the Rays multiple ways to construct competitive lineups against left-handed pitching.

The Mets, playing a lineup of mostly regulars Saturday in a home Grapefruit League game, fell to the Astros, 7-5, at Clover Park. 

The Mets also played a split-squad game in West Palm Beach, which they lost, 3-1, to the Nationals. But there was good news there – Mark Vientos hit his first home run of the spring in the eighth inning, perhaps a sign he’s moving past what’s been a horrid camp. Vientos entered Saturday 1-for-31 in Grapefruit League action. 

Here are the takeaways...

-Marcus Semien gave fans a dash of offense, cranking a three-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning that temporarily gave the Mets the lead. Semien also darted into short right field to snare a flare by Cam Smith, taking away a hit.

-In the eighth inning, Mets reliever Ryan Lambert hit the first batter he faced, walked the next one, and then gave up a three-run homer to Christian Walker that gave Houston a 6-5 lead. Walker’s blast traveled 406 feet. Overall, Lambert retired only one batter and allowed four runs. 

-With several players in new spots in the field and run prevention a Met buzz-phrase this spring, it’s worth noting that first baseman Jorge Polanco made a throwing error in the eighth inning. He ranged far to his right to snare the ball, but then made an ill-advised underhand throw to the bag, which had no chance. Might be a sign of his inexperience at the position. 

-The competition for the right-field job might have tilted when Mike Tauchman appeared to hurt his left leg during the game.Carlos Mendoza later confirmed on the SNY broadcast that Tauchman’s left knee was sore. In the fourth inning, Tauchman chased a ball back to the warning track and it seemed to sail on him. He reached back and could not catch it and was seen by SNY cameras flexing his left leg during the inning, and also limping on the way in after the frame was over. Another replay on the broadcast showed Tauchman in some discomfort in his first at-bat earlier, too. He tried to go out for the fifth inning, but was still hurting. He was replaced by AJ Salgado. Tauchman is the main competition for the right-field gig along with uber-prospect Carson Benge, who is batting .368 after going 0-for-4 in West Palm Beach. 

-Salgado took advantage of his chance. He later tripled and scored, hit an RBI single in the sixth and another single in the ninth. He also made a nice catch to take a hit away from Walker.

-Francisco Lindor, trying to get ready for Opening Day following his hamate surgery, was 0-for-4, but played eight innings. He made a nifty backhand pickup in the first inning. 

-Jonah Tong, the stud pitching prospect who is slated to begin the season in Triple-A, made the start and was charged with three runs and six hits in 4.1 innings. But he was victimized by some seeing-eye bloops with a predilection for dropping into no-man’s land. The Astros scored three times against him in the second inning and three of the four hits he yielded had the following exit velocities: 75 miles per hour, 60 mph, and 64 mph, according to MLB.com. Tong also allowed a rocket into the right-field corner by Zach Cole that went for a leadoff triple in the inning. Tong was charged with a balk that allowed Cole to score and later made a throwing error on an errant pickoff attempt. There was plenty of good, too. 

He used his curveball to good effect several times, including for strikes against Isaac Paredes in a bounce-back third inning. He ended that frame by striking out Cole on a nice changeup and then also used the pitch in the fourth to finish off strikeouts of Cavan Biggio (called) and Riley Unroe (swinging). 

In all, Tong fanned five and walked none, throwing 79 pitches, including 53 strikes. His spring ERA over two starts is 7.71, which, coincidentally, was his ERA in five starts for the Mets in 2025.

-With ball and strike calls eligible to be challenged during the regular season for the first time, it’s perhaps significant that Francisco Alvarez, who returned to the lineup after leaving Thursday’s game with back tightness, nailed two challenges in the first two innings. Truth be told, though, he also missed one in the eighth inning. Alvarez challenged a ball call in the first inning with Cam Smith at the plate and got it overturned, meaning Tong was working with a 2-2 count instead of the hitter’s paradise of 3-1. In the second, Alvarez challenged again, this time on a 3-2 pitch, so the Mets got a strikeout of Walker. Entering Saturday, the Mets had the fewest ABS challenges won in all of spring training, according to Codify Baseball’s X social media account.

-Alvarez also hit an RBI single in the fifth inning, reaching for a slider away and knocking it into right field. Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but there are times in his career where Alvarez would have taken a big swing at such a pitch, only to hit a harmless grounder. Alvarez is having a good spring – 9-for-25 (.360) with five RBI. 

-In the away split-squad game, Joey Wiemer of the Nationals sank the Mets with a walk-off, two-run homer in the ninth inning off lefty Matt Turner. Joander Suarez started for New York and allowed one hit over four scoreless innings. Will Watson added 3.1 shutout innings, allowing two hits. 

Highlights

Luis Robert Jr. lines a base hit for the Mets' first knock of the day pic.twitter.com/DAMqZwsAkY

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 21, 2026

Jonah Tong strikes out two and works out of a jam in the 4th pic.twitter.com/VtKOQdgUhB

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 21, 2026

Marcus Semien clears the bases and gives the Mets the lead! pic.twitter.com/6CE1PoruuB

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 21, 2026

Mark Vientos launches a solo shot! pic.twitter.com/RTkmid5h5k

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 21, 2026

What's next

The Mets travel to face the Marlins in their final spring game on Sunday.

The most recent poll conducted at Bucs Dugout was to gauge how fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates think the team is going to perform this season, and how many wins they believe the Buccos will have. It was a close margin, but 38% of the fans that voted believe their Pirates will have between 85-89 wins this upcoming season, just narrowly beating out the 36% of fans that believed Pittsburgh will be around 80-84 wins.

These are overwhelmingly positive results on the outlook for Pittsburgh’s season, but for once this belief in the team is by no means delusional. The Pirates’ organization went out and did the right things this winter and had a very atypical offseason. For those outside of the Pirates fanbase, this means General Manager Ben Cherington and company actually went out and tried to make this ball club better.

Signing Ryan O’hearn was a big splash move in free-agency to bring in a former All-Star slugger who was the first free-agent to receive a multi-year contract from the Pirates since 2016 when starting pitcher Iván Nova was signed to a three-year deal worth $26 million. The Bucs didn’t stop there as they made a massive move in the trade market to acquire second baseman, Brandon Lowe, from Tampa. Not only did they add another power threat to their lineup but they finally filled the long standing vacancy at second base. With Lowe came prospects Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery who also are in line to make an impact in 2026.

The Pirates lineup is completely transformed from 2025, as the team is looking to put to rest the horrible offense that they trotted out to earn last place honors in the NL Central. Pittsburgh would finish with a 71-91 record in 2025, and were 26 games back from the division winning Milwaukee Brewers. The Pirates in 2025 scored the fewest amount of runs in Major League Baseball while also finishing with the fewest home runs and the lowest slugging percentage.

All things considered the Pirates made many improvements to the roster for this year and sticking with first time manager Don Kelly to lead the way feels like the culture is shifting in Pittsburgh. This will be a big prove it year for Kelly and company. FanDuel Sports Network has the Pirates at -550 odds to win 70 or more games this season, with +100 odds to meet the expected 80+ wins as voted on by fans at Bucs Dugout.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will open their regular season against the New York Mets with ace Paul Skenes getting the Opening Day start on Thursday, March 26, at 1:15 p.m. ET.

Today the Cactus League slate comes to a close for the Texas Rangers as they end things in Arizona — fittingly — against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

LHP Austin Gomber gets the nod for Texas in the spring last hurrah opposite RHP Ryne Nelson for Arizona.

You can listen to the game via 105.3 The Fan or follow along on Gameday. First pitch from Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is scheduled for 3:10 pm CT.

Go Rangers!

Interesting that, after I went to press yesterday, the start time for tomorrow’s game was changed to be an evening affair. Today, however? Suck it up, baby. Accuweather currently projects a temperature of 107 F at 4 pm, around the time this one ends. Remember to hydrate, folks. Or, better yet, don’t bother crossing the doorstep. For you can listen on the radio, though Arizona Sports 98.7 FM or online equivalents. Anyway, here’s today’s line-up, marking the final tune-up for Ryne Nelson before we hit the regular season schedule next week

After Ryne, it’ll be RHP Taylor Clarke, LHP Brandyn Garcia, RHP Paul Sewald and LHP Philip Abner. Yesterday, we saw Kade Stroud optioned out to Reno, thinning the herd of potential relievers. Here’s the list of who I see still not yet disposed of:

• Philip Abner
• Taylor Clarke
• Brandyn Garcia
• Kevin Ginkel
• Andrew Hoffmann
• Jonathan Loaisiga
• Cristian Mena
• Juan Morillo
• Joe Ross
• Paul Sewald
• Ryan Thompson
• Blake Walston

Walston and Mena are crossed out, because they are probably off the board for health reasons. The former had TJ about a year ago, so doesn’t seem ready, and Mena was shut down at the end of February, after re-aggravating the strained shoulder which has kept him out since last June. They may end up becoming 60-day IL fodder to open up spots on the 40-man roster for non-roster invitees. There are two still present: Loaisiga and Ross, though the latter hasn’t impressed with a 7.71 spring ERA and almost as many walks as K’s. Presuming eight bullpen spots, I’m crossing Ross and Garcia off, and the rest will be your Opening Day bullpen.

After today’s Cactus League game, there will be another contest, with a roster of D-backs prospects taking on the Rockies’ equivalent, in a Spring Breakout contest. The Arizona roster includes a slew of their top names: Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 1 prospect, MLB No. 59), Kayson Cunningham (No. 2), Demetrio Crisantes (No. 5), JD Dix (No. 6), Patrick Forbes (No. 9), LuJames Groover (No. 10), Jansel Luis (No. 13), Druw Jones (No. 16), Carlos Virahonda (No. 17), Brian Curley (No. 22), Wellington Aracena (No. 24), Ivan Luciano (No. 26), Jose Fernandez (No. 27), Avery Owusu-Asiedu (No. 29) and Gavin Conticello (No. 30). Let’s hope none of them melt.

I do grow weary of spring training games. My standing rule of baseball is that if you’re going to be a boring game, you better be short, and today’s contest against the Tigers was boring but about as long as a real matchup. The Yankees pushed across just a single run in the Saturday matinee, going down 3-1 against Detroit.

I think Cam Schlittler is ready for the games to count:

As we’ve come to expect from Cam, he threw his four-seam, sinker, and cutter 78 percent of the time today, but wasn’t able to avoid much contact, striking out just a single batter in 3.2 innings. This is one of the fun parts of spring training — the Tigers had a lot of their Opening Day starters in the lineup, so were they able to time up Schlittler’s pitches, or was he specifically trying to control quality of contact against him?

I tend to think it was more the latter, as 8 of Cam’s 11 outs came on the ground. That’s not really his style, running a 36.4-percent groundball rate last year, five points lower than league average. I wonder if that increased use of his sinker—the second-most-common offering today—was an attempt to almost pre-adjust to MLB-caliber hitting. In short, there are going to be occasions in the regular season where you don’t have your strikeout stuff, so on those days, are you able to change things up midgame to continue getting outs?

Dominican National Team catcher Austin Wells used the big fundamentals to push across the Yankees’ only run, after back-to-back singles from fellow Dominicans Amed Rosario and Jasson Domínguez:

Domínguez would continue to be the main character of the day, with a truly terrible approach to Dillon Dingler’s sac fly in the sixth:

Then again in the seventh, Jasson kept being the star with a triple, albeit one the hitters behind him couldn’t take advantage of. I’m starting to wonder if the Martian is the new version of Gleyber Torres, where he can actually be a quality part of an MLB roster, while still doing something every other game or so that makes you grind your teeth.

Kenedy Corona had himself a tough day. The farmhand was fighting the bright Florida sun all day, and the sun won on a critical fly ball to centerfield:

At least Angel Chivilli, brought in to replace Ryan Yarbrough in the seventh with two on and two out, was able to strike out old friend Jahmai Jones to end the threat. It hasn’t been an easy spring for the former Rockie, and while he’ll start the season with Triple-A, the approach to Jones — especially a devastating slider whiffed on for strike two — is illustrative to why the Yankees wanted him anyway.

Excluding tonight’s prospect-themed Spring Breakout, there are only three more of these left! Each start made from Thursday on was that pitcher’s final piece of work before the games start to count, and while the Yankees haven’t tapped a starter for tomorrow’s outing just yet, we know they’ll be back at home in Tampa to welcome the Phillies. It’s the last weekend without real baseball for a long time, and that Sunday affair will come at 1:05pm Eastern. As for the Spring Breakout, that will begin tonight against Atlanta’s prospects at 6:35pm ET on YES.

Box Score

We had a great matchup of two dominant lefties in Spring Training on Saturday, with Chris Sale facing Garrett Crochet and Sale’s former team, the Red Sox.

Sale gave up two very hard-hit balls in the first at over 104 MPH each, but only allowed a walk for a single baserunner. Sale was able to reign in the hard contact after the first and generally looked like himself, touching 97 on the radar gun and generating plenty of whiffs, despite relatively low strikeout totals. Michael Harris gave Chris an assist with a great jumping catch in the third. Sale continued to cruise his way through the game efficiently, completing 6.0 innings on 86 pitches wit 4 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 1 run allowed. That’s a solid outing for Sale, even with the relatively tame strikeout total by his standards in his final spring tune-up. Tyler Kinley took over in the seventh and allowed a single in a scoreless frame with one strikeout. Dylan Lee was the last major league pitcher to get some work on Saturday, as he worked a clean 8th inning with one strikeout.

On offense, Austin Riley continued his strong spring, blasting a 110 MPH home run off of Crochet in the second and a hard-hit double in the third.

Elsewhere on offense, Ozzie also hit a double, Olson hit a 101 MPH single in the third and a 107 MPH single in the seventh, and Eli White drew a walk. There were some additional Looney Tunes moments that resulted in a box score single for Olson and double for Riley in the fifth that were not batted balls deserving of those box score classifications. Those were the most notable performances at the plate by players expected to be on the Opening Day roster.

Join us again tomorrow at 1:05 PM ET, as Reynaldo Lopez gets his last bit of work in this spring.