Yesterday we kicked things off with the firsttwo installments of our top prospect series. Today we’re back with the next tier up
32. Yondrei Rojas, LHP, Age 23 (DOB: 11/22/2002), Grade 35, 2025: NR
Rojas has been in the system a long time, having singed as a Venezuelan International Free Agent back in 2021. He spent his first three years developing primarily as a starter, but struggled to get past A ball because of a tendency to get hit pretty hard. He shifted full time to relief in 2024, with initially limited success. His K rate spiked 10%, to 29%, but he developed a walk problem and posted a middling 4.36 ERA in his third tour of the level. Things seemed to click in 2025, though. He was bumped up to A+ Vancouver, where he punched out 36 batters in 23.2 innings while getting his walks back under control (just 6 in that span). That earned him a promotion to AA New Hampshire. His strikeouts ebbed at the higher level, dropping back to 22%, but he still generated a solid 12.5% swinging strike rate.
His raw stuff is good, with a fastball that sits in the mid 90s and touches 98, a slider that projects as plus, and a cutter and change that are usable extra options if not above average weapons. He’s a sneaky good athlete for a smaller guy without the prototypical pitcher’s build, with a loose delivery that allows some continued projection on his command. He profiles as a solid middle reliever with a fairly deep arsenal to compensate for no clear plus pitch, and having already had success in the mid minors means he could enter the big league bullpen depth mix soon.
31. Sam Shaw, 2B/OF, Age 21 (DOB: 2/26/2005), Grade 35, 2025: NR
The 2023 9th round pick hails from Victoria, B.C. He performed solidly at the complex after signing, but struggled with power production in his first full pro season in 2024. He was advanced to A ball this past season and flourished, posting a .253/.383/.418 line that was 29% better than the Florida State League average. That earned him a cup of coffee in Vancouver late in the season. He struggled in his 28 PA at the higher level, but the sample is too small to put much of a damper on a strong season.
Shaw’s calling card is his hit tool. He’s an impressively selective hitter, although it tips over into passivity sometimes, and his excellent 16% walk rate was counterbalanced by a too high 19% called strike percentage. When he does swing, his 83% contact rate was well above average. Raw power won’t be a significant part of his game, as his exit velocities maxed out at a low 107mph this year and his 5’10” frame doesn’t have obvious room for more muscle. That said, his swing is geared for pulled fly ball contact and because he has such strong hitting ability he managed a solid 43% hard hit rate in spite of his limited strength. He might manage to be a 15 home run type hitter in spite of his physical limitations if his knack for barreling the ball translates against better pitching.
His bat is going to have to carry him, as Shaw is a fringy defender at second with a notably weak arm. He’s also spent some time in the outfield, where his routes are good but his below average speed probably limits him to left field as a regular. His ceiling is probably something like a more contact oriented Davis Schneider. That’s a hard skillset to make work, but we’ve seen in happen and it’s something the Jays seem to think they know how to develop.
Cooke was a 10th round pick out of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette back in 2021. He pitched sparingly in his first two seasons as a Ragin’ Cajun before moving into the rotation and breaking out in his junior season, striking out 90 in 79 innings and posting a 2.82 ERA. The Blue Jays tried him briefly in the rotation again in 2022, but quickly moved him back to the bullpen. He dominated right away, striking ou t80 in 44.1 innings during the 2023 season and rocketing all the way to AAA. Unfortunately, things went sideways the following year, as his stuff backed up significantly and he lost the plate, posting a 30:28 K:BB ratio in 31.2 innings. Ultimately, that turned out to be the product of elbow problems, and he had Tommy John surgery in January of last year.
Cooke slides down the list this season mostly because it’s a little bit deeper than it was. We don’t really have any new information since last year, but he should be close to returning to action at this point. If he’s back to his 2023 self, he looks like a potential setup man. His drop and drive delivery gives his fastball a flat plane to the plate, allowing it to play as a solidly plus offering. His second weapon is a plus low-mid 80s slider with huge horizontal sweep, and he also features a change-up that flashes above average. Before his injury issues, his command was close to average.
29. Edward Duran, Age 21 (DOB: 5/29/2004), Grade 35, 2025: NR
The return in the Anthony Bass trade, Duran has spent three years slowly climbing the levels of the Jays system, reaching A+ in 2025. He’s a solid contact hitter, posting above average contact rates and showing decent feel for the strike zone. His raw strength is well below average without projection for more to come, and he hits about half his balls in play on the ground, so his power output is probably always going to be minimal. If everything translates, he could produce respectable OBPs that allow him to remain playable as a backup catcher.
The good news is that his glove is more than adequate for that role. He’s a plus receiver with good blocking skills, and although he needs to clean up his accuracy a bit he has a plus arm that should allow him to control the running game.
This is a straightforward profile. Duran doesn’t possess MLB regular upside, because he just doesn’t impact the ball enough, but he also doesn’t look likely to be an offensive black hole because of his on base ability, which will allow him to be a quality backup. It’s not a sexy profile, but this skill set turns into 10 year major league careers all the time
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 12: Bryce Eldridge #8 of the San Francisco Giants runs to third base during the Spring Training game against the Chicago White Sox at Scottsdale Stadium on March 12, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants played their penultimate game of the spring on Monday night, hosting Sultanes de Monterrey at Oracle Park, less than 48 hours before the start of the 2026 MLB season. You can’t draw many conclusions from such a contest, but the Giants did a lot of the things they hoped to do in a 10-2 victory. They looked mostly fresh, energetic, and focused. The biggest question mark on their roster — the bullpen — performed very well. The gameday operations appeared to go off without a hitch, which is half of the point of these home park exhibitions.
And they even got a little bit of excitement from a critical place.
While the performance can’t teach us too much, there was a little info to be gained before the game even started. We’ve officially reached the point of the preseason where the lineup card carries meaning. There’s some stuff to decode there.
For instance: Luis Arráez hit leadoff, despite facing a left-handed pitcher. There’s been a lot of speculation as to where Arráez would hit — personally, I’d opt for fifth or sixth — and the Giants haven’t tipped their hand. This is our first real data point, and it seems safe to assume that the team’s new second baseman will hit first with some regularity. Similarly, Jung Hoo Lee batted cleanup, which might seem unconventional. But we’re seeing more and more teams use contact hitters in the heart of the lineup, as the San Diego Padres did with Arráez on multiple occasions last year. Could we see Lee — the team’s second-best contact hitter, but a player shy on power — hold down the fourth spot in the lineup from time to time? It’s looking like the answer could be “yes.”
Also of note is that Rafael Devers was the designated hitter, while Casey Schmitt played first. Devers still hasn’t played the field since returning from a mild hamstring injury, and now it wouldn’t be surprising if that carries into the season.
And speaking of players not in the field, Harrison Bader was once again absent, as he deals with a hamstring injury of his own. Missing this game certainly casts some doubt on Bader’s availability for Wednesday’s opener, and possibly even brings into play the idea of him beginning the year on the Injured List. Jared Oliva started in center field in Bader’s place, as he continues to trend towards being the 2026 winner of theannual Christian Koss award for the non-roster invitee who doesn’t have a chance to make the team, they’re just there for Minor League depth, but wow, they sure are playing well, and huh, they sure are playing a lot, and wait a minute, maybe they do have an outside chance at making the roster even though that would be crazy oh, hey, yep, they made the opening day roster award. Working title. Let me know if you have any feedback. If Bader isn’t healthy by Wednesday, it would feel like Oliva’s spot on the roster is essentially a lock.
Tony Vitello opted for a bullpen game rather than getting a final start for Adrian Houser or Landen Roupp, which might signal that he plans to shorten the rotation in the first week of the season, and use one of those players as a ninth bullpen arm who needs to be available sooner rather than later. Or, more likely, it signals a desires to get some extra work for as many arms as possible.
Those lineup card observations are more than we learned during the actual game, but there were some takeaways from the action, as well.
Lefty Ryan Borucki, signed on Saturday to my deepest confusion, made his organizational debut in the second inning, and set down the side in order on a trio of ground balls, with some slick-handed help from his infield defense … which included himself.
If there’s a competition for left-handed spots in the bullpen, Borucki was in a three-way tie on Monday, as the other candidates (Erik Miller and Matt Gage), both pitched perfect innings as well. All three pounded the strike zone, with Borucki throwing 10 of 14 pitches for strikes, Miller throwing eight of 11, and Gage tossing nine of 13. But there may not be a competition, other than a healthy one. Earlier in the day, during the Giants Talk podcast, reporter Alex Pavlovic stated that the team has been trending towards three southpaw relievers, and the Borucki signing would seem to confirm that — neither he nor Gage have options, and there’s no way that Miller gets left off of the Opening Day roster. So it would seem that trio will all be standing on the chalk on Wednesday.
But who will join them? Spencer Bivens is a favorite but not a lock, and he tossed a scoreless first inning with a pair of strikeouts, though he also gave up a pair of hits. Tristan Beck hasn’t had a strong spring, but his sweeper was downright nasty as he handled a perfect third inning with a pair of strikeouts. Caleb Kilian needed just 10 pitches for a three-up, three-down fifth inning, though his velocity was a far cry from what we saw earlier this spring, as it topped out at 96.0 mph. The Giants need some electricity, and Kilian feels like a logical choice to make the roster as an NRI, especially with Gregory Santos already reassigned to Minor League camp. Although Santos made one last statement, reminding us all that he could be a serious addition to the bullpen at some point this year: he pitched a scoreless ninth with a hit and a strikeout, with eight of 11 pitches going for strikes, and hit 99.2 mph with his fastball.
Even Marques Johnson, who was not in camp this year, impressed in his opportunity, handling a perfect eighth inning on just nine pitches, while striking out two with a dynamic sweeper/cutter combo meal.
The lone pitching hiccup came from Carson Seymour, who gave up four singles and two runs in his inning of work. That said, it wasn’t like Seymour got lit up or lost control: he threw 19 of 25 pitches for strikes, while one of the hits he allowed was a doink at 68.3 mph, with two more in the 80s. He wasn’t helped by his defense either, which had a rare sloppy inning: Heliot Ramos sold out to try to make a play for his teammate, diving at a ball he probably shouldn’t have gone horizontal for … and then, in don’t-hurt-yourself-before-opening-day fashion, lightly jogged after the ball, letting a double turn into a triple. Later in the inning, Arráez committed a throwing error on a play where Schmitt surely felt he should have caught the ball.
On offense, there were exciting signs of life. Schmitt and Patrick Bailey lined back-to-back opposite-field singles to open the third inning, with the former scoring on a bunt single by Oliva (one of two infield hits he had on the day, though I’m not sure if either would have held up under the scrutiny of replay review). Jung Hoo Lee smoked a two-run double later in the inning, as the Giants started to take control of the game.
In the sixth inning, Willy Adames — who had a fairly miserable spring — crushed a leadoff home run (Ramos almost made it back-to-back shots, with a fly ball that fooled the broadcast booth, if not the atmosphere).
But the exciting hit of the day came in the eighth inning. As the Giants started to pull their regulars, Bryce Eldridge came up for his lone at-bat of the day. Eldridge was, to his disappointment, optioned last week, all but ensuring that he won’t make the Opening Day roster. He responded on Sunday in the organization’s intrasquad game when he donned a AAA Sacramento jersey and took Tyler Mahle deep for a booming home run, before later doubling. On Monday, against Sultanes, Eldridge went deep in a big league ballpark for the first time in his life (apologies, Athletics — Sutter Health Park doesn’t count).
With two on and one out, and a 3-1 count, the super-prospect took a cutter on the outer half of the plate, and launched it into the left field bleachers with astounding ease.
Lest you question Eldridge’s power potential, you don’t see a lot of opposite-field home runs hit that easily at Oracle Park. And especially not from the bats of 21-year olds.
It was certainly a statement from Eldridge to Vitello and Buster Posey. He has taken the assignment in stride, and said and done all the right things. But he wants to leave no doubt where he is going, and no doubt about the speed at which he’ll get there.
This game might have been about setting the team up for Opening Day, but it ended up being about the future.
A few other notes:
Also homering was Tyler Fitzgerald, which was great to see. He had a really tough camp, but his speed, power, and versatility make him so intriguing. He’ll be fighting to work his way back to the roster (he was optioned already) and should get plenty of chances if he performs well in Sacramento.
Solid days for the outfielders who are still in camp trying to earn a spot. In addition to Oliva’s 2-3 day, Luis Matos drew a walk in his only plate appearance, while Drew Gilbert singled. Will Brennan went 0-1, and Jerar Encarnación didn’t play.
Matt Chapman made some fantastic defensive plays. He looks about as ready as ready can be.
Kruk and Kuip had quite a cast of names join them for in-game interviews: Posey, Arráez, Logan Webb, and Sergio Romo. It was a lot of fun.
The five hardest-hit balls of the day for the Giants: Ramos’ flyout (104.5 mph); Oliva’s infield single (103.9); Eldridge’s home run (103.8); Adames’ big fly (102.3); and a Schmitt single (101.4).
The team’s final exhibition game is on Tuesday, again at Oracle Park, again against Sultanes, and again at 6:45 p.m. PT on NBC Bay Area. It will be interesting to see whether the Giants use a regular lineup again, or if they give their veterans a day off before Opening Day.
MESA, AZ — The Chicago Cubs officially made center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong the face of their team Monday night by finalizing a contract extension that will make the soon-to-be 24-year-old their longest-tenured player, two persons with direct knowledge of the deal told USA TODAY Sports.
The persons spoke on the condition of anonymity since the Cubs have not announced the contract.
Crow-Armstrong, who was scheduled to earn $894,000 this season, will now earn in excess of $100 million with his new deal, a person with direct knowledge of the contract said.
Crow-Armstrong, who turns 24 on Wednesday with one year and 170 days of major-league service, was not eligible for free agency until after the 2030 season.
The contract length is not yet known, but it will be at least six years and perhaps as long as nine years, tying him up to the franchise longer than any active Cubs player. San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill’s nine-year, $135 million extension last spring is the highest contract for a player with between one and two years of major-league service.
The Cubs' projected payroll has jumped to about $221 million.
The Cubs tried to lock up Crow-Armstrong a year ago with a $66 million offer, now is more than doubling that with his new deal. He will now be with the Cubs at least until 2031, eclipsing Alex Bregman, who signed a five-year, $175 million free agent contract this winter.
Crow-Armstrong, who earned an All-Star berth last summer, has emerged as one of the game’s brightest young stars, and perhaps the finest NL center fielder. He was on an MVP pace in the first half last season, hitting .265 with 25 home runs and 27 stolen bases, but tailed off during the second half, hitting just .216 with six homers and eight steals. He still wound up hitting 31 homers with 35 stolen bases, the first Cubs player to achieve the feat.
The Cubs believe he’s a superstar-in-waiting, which certainly deepens the pain for the New York Mets, who drafted him with their first pick in 2020, and then traded him a year later to the Cubs for shortstop Javier Baez and pitcher Trevor Williams. It will go down as one of the worst trades in Mets franchise history.
“The one thing with Pete that I always focus on,’’ Jed Hoyer, Cubs president of baseball operations, told reporters at the end of last season, “is when he’s not hitting or struggling offensively, he’s a great player. And when he’s hitting, he’s a superstar.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 23: Roki Sasaki #11 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning at Dodger Stadium on March 23, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers were down early against the Angels on Monday, having to fight their way back from the first inning. A pair of home runs cut a six-run deficit in half, and the Dodgers tied the game late in the eighth inning, but the contest ultimately ended in a 7-7 tie .
Roki Sasaki was given the start as the Dodgers looked to see him improve in his final tuneup. Instead, Sasaki was erratic immediately, plunking Zach Neto on a 3-0 pitch to begin the game. Sasaki got a ground ball from Mike Trout, but an errant throw to second base from Miguel Rojas allowed him to reach. Sasaki then walked three consecutive hitters, with both Neto and Trout scoring, and the right-hander was pulled after throwing 30 pitches without recording a single out.
Ronan Kopp was called on for clean-up duty, managing to complete the first inning but not before allowing a two-run single from Josh Lowe to put the Angels up by four. All four runs were charged to Sasaki.
Sasaki went back out for the second inning, this time plunking Neto for the second time after being ahead 0-2 in the count. Sasaki subsequently allowed his fourth walk of the game to Mike Trout, but finally recorded an out with Nolan Schanuel reaching on a fielder’s choice. Jorge Soler grounded into a double play to give Sasaki a full inning of work.
Sasaki was able to settle in on the mound during the top of the third, as after walking his fifth batter, he struck out two consecutive hitters and faced just four men. The Dodgers were a swing away from tying the game in the bottom half, but Angels lefty Reid Detmers struck out Will Smith and got Freddie Freeman to ground out to end a bases-loaded threat.
Sasaki’s command couldn’t improve as he allowed a lead-off walk to begin the top of the fourth, after which Dave Roberts had seen enough. Over 2+ innings of work, Sasaki tossed 66 pitches (32 for strikes) and although he didn’t allow a hit, he was charged for five earned runs, while walking six and striking out two. Out of the 66 pitches he threw, his fastball and splitter counted for 56 of them, with his cutter and slider failing to land a single time in the plate. His fastball started at 99 miles per hour to start but dropped down to 95 during his final full inning, while his splitter was his most accurate pitch with a 63 percent (17 out of 27) strike percentage.
Sasaki now ends spring with a 15.58 ERA across 8 2/3 innings of work, having been charged for 15 earned runs on just nine hits, striking out 12 but walking 15. With opening day just three days away, the latest concern now for Sasaki is whether or not he’ll begin the regular season in the rotation. He is slated to start the first game against the Cleveland Guardians on Mar. 30.
Ben Casparius recorded a pair of outs in relief of Sasaki, both being sacrifice flies, and Tanner Scott got out of the jam.
Teoscar Hernández and Miguel Rojas each connected for home runs against Ryan Zeferjahn in the bottom of the fourth inning to put the Dodgers on the board and trim the deficit in half. For Hernández, he regained the team home run lead with his fifth of the spring while knocking home his 21st RBI.
The Dodgers cut the deficit to two runs after a bases-loaded walk from Dalton Rushing in the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Angels got that run back on a Josh Lowe single against Will Klein, giving him his third RBI of the game and bringing the lead back to three. Rushing once again provided some late-game offense, drilling a two-run double against Jordan Romano in the bottom of the eighth inning. Alex Call made it a brand new ballgame by bringing home Rushing with an RBI double of his own, tying the game at seven.
The Dodgers put the leadoff man on in the bottom of the ninth, but could not cash in and settled for a draw.
UP NEXT
Tuesday marks the final spring game of 2026 for the Dodgers, as they host the Angels for the finale of their exhibition series (5:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Shohei Ohtani makes his final spring tune-up, while the Angels have yet to announce their starter.
Sep 2, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; A general view of the exterior of Chase Field before the game between the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mandatory Credit: Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images | Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images
Sometimes you’re the bug, and sometimes you’re the windscreen. After a ten-run victory in the Cactus League finale yesterday, it was not a happy return to Chase Field for the D-backs. They were held to just two hits – both of them off the bat of Pavin Smith – as former Diamondback Slade Cecconi and three Cleveland relievers blanked Arizona. The home team did not have a single at-bat with a runner in scoring position all night, mustering three walks (to Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and Jordan Lawlar) in addition to Smith’s pair of singles. Cecconi went four scoreless against us, allowing one hit.
Merrill Kelly got hit hard, lasting only two innings and giving up five earned runs. He was charged with four hits, two of which left the park, and two walks, with a single strikeout. Jonathan Loaisiga and Ryan Thompson were also tagged for a run in their inning of work. But there were scoreless frames for Isaiah Campbell, Kevin Ginkel, Paul Sewald, Gerardo Carrillo and Casey Anderson. Though of those five, only Ginkel and Sewald will be part of the Opening Day bullpen. Here’s what Merrill had to say after his outing tonight:
“Body and back and arm feel good, so that’s what matters to me right now.”
The final warm-up is tomorrow afternoon at Chase Field, again versus these Guardians. Michael Soroka gets the start for Arizona, with a 12:40 pm first pitch. After that, it’ll be off to Los Angeles for the Diamondbacks!
Opening Day for the 2026 Major League Baseball season is quickly approaching. As the seasoned stars are gearing up for another season, prospects are finding out whether they made the cut or not.
Rosters were finalized Monday and the Texas Rangers let one of their players know he made the team in the best way possible.
Carter Baumler, a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher who stands 6-foot-2, was on the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning after throwing his seventh pitch of the game when the rookie got the news that he wasn't coming out of the game but instead that he'd be playing in future games as a member of the team.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker used a mound visit to inform Baumler that he made the Opening Day roster.
Skip Schumaker told Rule 5 pick Carter Baumler that he made the Rangers Opening Day roster during a mound visit 🥹 pic.twitter.com/19J10vk39Q
"I wasn't expecting it. I was like, 'why is he coming out here?' And he got on the mound and told me I made the team. So, yeah, pretty cool," Baumler said. "I mean, honestly, I thought I was like, getting taken out of the game. I didn't know what was going on. Obviously, whenever the manager comes out, like, you know, you're usually done. So, yeah, he just came up and told me, I made the team, and everybody just, you know, kind of said, congrats. And, I mean, what a special way, like, I caught me totally off guard, so it was pretty cool."
In eight spring training games, Baumler has registered a win with 132 pitches thrown in 9.1 innings. He has 10 strikeouts and allowed four hits and a run. According to MLB, 65% of his pitches are strikes.
Baumler was emotional following the news delivered by Schumaker. He was overwhelmed with joy to think about officially being a big leaguer.
"[I] went through a lot of hard times over the last, like, few years. [It's] pretty cool, pretty special," Baumler said. "You know, like a few years ago, I never would have expected this. You know, looking back, it's just I'm glad kept my head down and kept hammering away."
Baumler was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 31, 2002. He attended Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines.
He was originally selected in 2020 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles with 133rd overall pick in the fifth round, which came with a $1.5 million signing bonus.
He didn't see any action until 2022 after having Tommy John surgery in 2020 and 2021.
He bounced around the minor leagues playing for the GCL Orioles, Delmarva Shorebirds, FCL Orioles, Mesa Solar Sox, Aberdeen IronBirds and Chesapeake Baysox.
Baumler was drafted in the Rule 5 Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates in December and later traded to the Rangers for Jaiker Garcia and cash.
MESA, Ariz. — Turns out that Spencer Jones can crush homers in the Cactus League, too.
After a strong spring in the Grapefruit League, Jones made the trip west with the Yankees and put an exclamation point on his big league camp, belting a pair of home runs after coming off the bench in a 15-6 loss to the Cubs.
“Really good to see,” manager Aaron Boone said. “The homers, yes, but just the more consistent quality of the at-bat has been there, and that’s been noticeable all spring.”
Jones, who now has hit six home runs this spring, went deep against two members of the Cubs’ projected bullpen. Facing setup man Phil Maton in the seventh inning, Jones turned on a changeup and drilled it 372 feet to right field. Then he went the other way against Jacob Webb in the ninth inning, which came off the bat at 104.5 mph.
New York Yankees center fielder Spencer Jones #78, at bat in the 2nd inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The 24-year-old outfielder is set to start the season back at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (alongside Jasson Domínguez), where he played 67 games last year, now trying to keep cutting down on his strikeouts to put himself in a position to impact the big league club when it has a need.
“More competitive at-bats, game after game, whether there’s results or not,” Boone said. “Even in some where, ‘Man, it’s a tough matchup for him,’ he’s put together really good at-bats. He’s grown too.”
The Yankees were still trying Monday to finalize where Luis Gil will begin the season — either in the bullpen or the minor leagues after being the odd man out of their four-man rotation.
The club does not need a fifth starter until April 11, and Gil seems more likely to stay built up in the minors as opposed to piggybacking out of the bullpen, though Boone was not yet ready to commit to that Monday.
Hanging in the balance are the final bullpen spots, which could bump from two to three if Gil starts in the minors, with Cade Winquest, Brent Headrick, Jake Bird and Osvaldo Bido all still in contention.
Winquest, the Rule 5 pick, was the only one of those who pitched Monday, continuing his uneven spring as he gave up two runs on two hits and a walk across 1 ²/₃ innings.
A handful of Yankees veterans and pitchers flew to San Francisco on Monday night ahead of Wednesday’s Opening Day, while the rest of the team stayed back for one more exhibition against the Cubs on Tuesday. … Monday and Tuesday marked the Yankees’ first spring training games in Arizona since 1951, when they swapped spring training sites with the New York Giants. That year, the Yankees worked out in Phoenix while the Giants worked out in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Mar 4, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) walks back to the dugout after making a pitching change in the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
The Athletic | Chris Kirshner: (subscription required) Who sets the Yankees’ lineups? The predominant assumption among fans is that the front office and their analytics department has the final say. Not so, says Aaron Boone. He, Brian Cashman, and bench coach Brad Ausmus all claim that Boone sets all of his lineups himself, and that the front office has never once dictated a batting order. They even refute the theory that each game’s lineup is a synthesis of three lineups – Boone’s, Ausmus’, and the front office’s – claiming that it is a collaborative effort between Boone and Ausmus, with the analytics department only occasionally serving as an advisor, and only “major decision (s)” being run by Cashman (and Hal Steinbrenner). Boone and Ausmus are surprisingly candid about their approach to lineup construction in this piece, providing plenty of insights about the plethora of factors they consider when setting the order for each game. I don’t know if their stated modus operandi will assuage your fears or provide even more fuel for the “fire Boone” movement, but either way, this is well worth your time.
Sports Illustrated | Joseph Randazzo: One name was missing from the Yankees’ four-man rotation to start the 2026 season: Luis Gil. The Yankees are reportedly still weighing whether to option him to the minors or use him as a piggyback starter in the early days of the season, but in any case, he does not have a rotation spot. Randazzo argues that the Yankees made the correct decision, as Gil still needs to work on some issues, and starting the year in Scranton (should he be sent down) wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, as it would provide him with an opportunity to start games consistently. He also points out that Gil would also be the first arm up in the event of an injury befalling the rotation, so it’s likely that he’ll get another crack at securing a rotation spot. I’m sure the Yankees at this point would rather have Gil be a depth piece rather than a load-bearing component of their starting corps, but here’s hoping Gil recaptures some of that 2024 magic and steps up when the team needs him to.
MLB.com | Will Leitch: MLB’s power ranking of all 30 teams dropped yesterday. Sitting at number one is, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Los Angeles Dodgers. I guess signing Kyle Tucker is a good way to address a middling outfield, and as bullpen upgrades go you could do worse than Edwin Díaz. Our beloved Yankees are ranked fourth, with Aaron Judge being Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole returning to the mound named as highlights in the dedicated blurb. Personally, I think there are enough positives besides those two – a full season of Cam Schlittler, Carlos Rodón returning with a healthy elbow, and Ben Rice building on a breakout 2025 – to rank them even higher, maybe even just below the Dodgers. Maybe I’m drinking too much of that Kool-Aid, but I think this year’s Yankees have the goods to go toe to toe with just about any other team.
MLB.com | Manny Randhawa: MLB.com also dropped their staff predictions for the league leaders in the following categories: batting average, home runs, and stolen bases for hitters, and ERA, strikeouts, and saves for pitchers. Aaron Judge is the only Yankee that was the top vote-getter for any category, in his case home runs. Yeah, I could definitely see that happening. Judge also garnered votes for the AL batting title, which would have been an incomprehensible statement prior to 2022, but is totally reasonable as things stand now. Elsewhere, David Bednar was the runner-up pick for the AL saves leader, and I would note that he actually posted better peripherals in 2025 than the top vote-getter, Andrés Muñoz of the Mariners, making him a strong pick. The only other Yankee receiving votes for any category was Jazz Chisholm Jr. to lead the league in stolen bases. Hopefully Jazz can make good on his stated goal of posting a 40-40 season.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 10: Pete Crow-Armstrong #4 of Team United States rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against Team Italy in the sixth inning during the 2026 World Baseball Classic at Daikin Park on March 10, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tonight, ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke the news that Cubs fans have been waiting for.
BREAKING: Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Chicago Cubs are finalizing a long-term contract extension, sources tell ESPN. Crow-Armstrong, coming off a 30-30 season and a Gold Glove, will get a big payday as the Cubs lock up a franchise-caliber talent.
We have no details as of yet on the length of the deal or how much money Pete Crow-Armstrong will get. Bob Nightengale reports that it will be more than $100 million, which is a safe report, honestly.
Pete Crow Armstrong, who bet on himself when he rejected the Cubs’ extension offer of a year ago, watches his patience pay off as he and the Cubs close on a $100-million plus contract extension. He’ll be second-highest paid Cub behind only Alex Bregman.
Most observers have used the extension that Corbin Carroll signed with the Diamondbacks before the 2023 season as a point of reference: eight years and $111 million. However, there has been three years of contract inflation since then and PCA has accomplished more at this point than Carroll had before 2023, so I’d expect whatever Crow-Armstrong signed to be north of that.
Crow-Armstrong has said before that he loves Chicago and that he wants to be a Cub long-term. The Cubs have indicated that they’d like him around for a while. It looks like both sides got their wish.
UPDATE: We now have the terms of the deal.
Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Chicago Cubs are in agreement on a six-year, $115 million contract extension, sources tell ESPN. The deal starts in 2027 and does not include a club option, allowing Crow-Armstrong to hit free agency before his age-31 season.
The lack of a club option in Pete Crow-Armstrong’s deal with the Cubs is rare. This is by far the biggest guarantee for a player with five years of club control that doesn’t include an option. Cubs were still fine with it. They get a high-floor player with superstar ceiling.
So this may not be as extensive as some of us may have hoped. It’s quite similar to what Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner signed back in 2023, although those were three-year deals. Basically, the Cubs get cost certainty over Crow-Armstrong’s arbitration years and they buy out two years of free agency. There are some escalators which complicate things from the Cubs point of view. Crow-Armstrong will be a Cub through the 2032 season. It also doesn’t put them on the hook for a ton of money after PCA turns 30, which, presumably, will be his decline years.
For Crow-Armstrong, he gets a guaranteed deal with life-changing money and can still hit free agency at age 31.
Of course, this deal also gives the Cubs and Crow-Armstrong six more years to come up with a second extension if they wish. It will also give more time for the Cubs and PCA to establish what those years past 2032 should be worth. We could be in a completely different economic framework by then.
But for Cubs fans, the good news is that Crow-Armstrong should be patrolling center field for the next six seasons.
PORT ST. LUCIE — For now, Craig Kimbrel is choosing Mets purgatory.
The 37-year-old, longtime shutdown reliever, who was informed Sunday that he will not be on the Opening Day roster, will remain in the organization and stay in Florida in hopes that his stuff will improve and a spot on the club will open.
Kimbrel could have exercised an opt-out from his contract. If a major league opportunity arises with another team, he would be free to pursue it.
But the plan for the time being is for Kimbrel to continue throwing, try to build his velocity and “stay ready” if the Mets need him, he said.
Mets pitcher Craig Kimbrel (46) throws in the fourth inning against the Washington Nationals during Spring Training Clover Field, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
“My goal was to make the Opening Day roster. I am a little disappointed in that, but that is all on me and what I showed this spring so far,” Kimbrel said Monday at the team’s spring facility. “It really came down to roster moves and how they wanted to construct it. … It was going to be a tough job to get onto this team. A lot of great arms and just so many spots.”
Kimbrel was competing for the final spot in the bullpen, which will go to lefties Bryan Hudson or Richard Lovelady (or a reliever who shakes loose from another camp).
Kimbrel allowed three runs on four hits and five walks in six innings while striking out five in the Grapefruit League. His four-seam fastball averaged 92.5 mph. He said he wants to work on “consistency” and strength to juice that number.
“If I can get my fastball velocity up a little bit, I think that makes everybody feel a little bit more comfortable,” said Kimbrel, a potential Hall of Famer. “I can pitch with what I got right now, but we’re in a game where guys are throwing 100 miles an hour out of the bullpen.”
Kimbrel said reporting to Triple-A Syracuse “might be an option” down the road, but he is hopeful he will have a major league job before accepting a minor league assignment.
Why is he staying with the Mets?
Craig Kimbrel (46) reacts in the fourth inning against the Washington Nationals during Spring Training. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
“Very pleased in what I see around here,” Kimbrel said. “The Mets have treated me with the utmost respect the whole time I’ve been here. I’ve been very transparent with that work relationship. … I just feel pretty comfortable where I am right now. I still feel like there’s an opportunity here at some point.”
Carson Benge will be the Opening Day right fielder, but the final spot on the bench is still being decided.
The Mets will bring infielder Vidal Bruján, outfielder Jared Young and catcher Ben Rortvedt to New York with them before deciding who will be their 26th man. It is possible none make the team and the Mets claim a player who is cut from another camp.
“We told them that this is probably going to [go] all the way to the end,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - MARCH 23: Luis Rengifo #13 of the Milwaukee Brewers reacts in front of Elly de la Cruz #44 of the Cincinnati Reds after hitting a double in the second inning against the Cincinnati Reds during the exhibition game at American Family Field on March 23, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
29 down, one to go for the Brewers’ spring season. The Milwaukee bullpen combined for a gem and the bats looked ready for primetime as the Brewers thoroughly defeated the Reds, 9-1, on Monday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee. It was the first of two final tune-up games against the Reds before the Brewers open the season against the White Sox on Thursday.
Aaron Ashby started this game but didn’t make it out of the first inning. Clearly on a pitch count, he was pulled with two on and two out in the first after 26 pitches—he’d walked two, struck out one, and gotten Elly De La Cruz to fly out. Blake Holub came out of the pen and struck out Eugenio Suárez to end the inning.
After Ashby’s mild hiccup in the first, the rest of the Brewers’ projected opening day bullpen mostly mowed down the Reds. Holub had a nice outing as he pitched a perfect second inning as well, and then literally every other pitcher (in addition to Ashby) that is expected to make the team’s bullpen pitched an inning. Six of those seven innings were scoreless. The only blemish was during Easton McGee’s inning, when TJ Friedl doubled and then scored on a Ke’Bryan Hayes single. Otherwise, DL Hall, Jared Koenig, Grant Anderson, Abner Uribe, Ángel Zerpa, and Trevor Megill combined for six shutout innings with only two hits allowed, two walks, and four strikeouts.
That’ll do it this spring for the opening day bullpen, as obviously none of them will pitch in tomorrow’s last spring game. The whole group will presumably be available Thursday.
As for the hitters, they looked ready, too, for the most part. The Brewers struck first in the second inning when Christian Yelich singled, Luis Rengifo doubled, and Jake Bauers walked to load the bases, and after a Sal Frelick strikeout, David Hamilton doubled in Yelich and Rengifo. Bauers scored, too, when Garrett Mitchell grounded into a run-scoring fielder’s choice.
Brice Turang (who all five of your friendly BCB writers chose as this year’s team MVP) led off the bottom of the third with his third home run of the spring. The Brewers had some traffic on the bases in the fourth, when Frelick led off with a double, went to third on a Hamilton single, and then scored when Tyler Stephenson threw the ball away trying to catch Hamilton stealing second. Hamilton scored, too, when Mitchell hit another RBI groundout.
In the fifth, William Contreras hit a homer down the right-field line into the bleachers, and Andrew Vaughn led off the seventh with the biggest hit of the night, a 109 mph, 432-foot bomb to left. The Brewers’ last run came in the eighth, when the ice-cold Garrett Mitchell—who went just 1-for-4 tonight but only struck out once (looking) and knocked in three runs—hit a 108 mph RBI double.
Almost everyone in the Brewer lineup had a good day; the exception was leadoff hitter and designated hitter (I don’t think this will happen much once the games count) Jackson Chourio, who was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. But everyone else in the starting lineup had a hit save for Bauers (who was 0-for-1 with a walk), and several of the players who came in as subs later had nice nights too. Notably, Hamilton was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI, Vaughn (off the bench) was 2-for-2 with a solo homer, and Rengifo, Frelick, Mitchell, Turang, and Contreras all had extra-base hits (doubles for the first three, homers for the latter two).
Wrap them up, let them chill tomorrow night, let’s get the games started.
The final game before the regular season is tomorrow at 4:10 p.m., again at American Family Field. Brandon Sproat will get a chance to make his last warm-up before his Brewers debut comes on Sunday. The Reds have not announced a starter.
PEORIA, ARIZONA - MARCH 17: Manager Craig Stammen of San Diego Padres on the field during Spring Training workout at Peoria Sports Complex on March 17, 2026 in Peoria, Arizona. The players are wear green hats in honor of St. Patrick's Day. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Spring Training has come to a close for the San Diego Padres and the rest of Major League Baseball will soon join them as they return to their home cities. Teams will have a few days to make final roster decisions before the 2026 season kicks off on Opening Day and the hunt for the postseason begins.
The Padres played 32 games throughout the spring season and although the final 26-man roster has not been officially announced, much of the Friar Faithful have an idea of who will be on the field and in the dugout when San Diego hosts the Detroit Tigers at Petco Park on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. PST.
Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball wrote in January about the Steamer and ZiPS projections for the Padres for the 2026 season. With a new manager and an incomplete roster, the projections were skeptical toward San Diego. Steamer projected 80 wins and ZiPS projected high 80s to a 90-win season.
The Friar Faithful have been able to see the team perform throughout the spring, some in person, some via Padres.TV or other media outlets, so they have more information than Steamer and ZiPS had when they gave their projections. The Padres Reacts Survey question this week on Gaslamp Ball is asking respondents to make their predictions about where San Diego will finish in the win column in 2026. Results of the poll will be provided later in the week and at season’s end, Gaslamp Ball will revisit the projections to see if the Padres are higher, lower or right where the majority of readers expected them to be.
Next up are four arms, some holdovers and some new entrants. and each finishing the year at a different level of the minors.
36. Ryan Jennings, RHP, age 26 (DOB: 8/22/1999), grade: 35, 2025: 16th
The Blue Jays’ 2022 fourth round pick out of Louisiana Tech, Jennings has had an up-and-down transit through the Blue Jays system. He popped up in his draft spring after a move to the bullpen allowed him to run his fastball up into the mid-90s and touch 99. In 2023-24, he missed significant time with injuries and his velocity fluctuated though the results were generally good with particularly dominant results in 2024.
Jennings has the arsenal of a starter, with three secondaries that have at least flashed potential. His primary swing and miss weapon is a gyro slider in the mid/upper 80s, paired with a short power curve around in the low-80s. As a starter he also used a mid-80s changeup which flashed swing and miss potential, but which has been largely shelved with his move to the bullpen.
While he had success as a starter, the hope was that a move to the bullpen would allow the stuff to play up consistently, particularly the fastball velocity. That didn’t come to pass in 2025, as he sat but also topped out in the mid-90s. Additionally, the strike throwing backed up as Jennings walked 43 in 58 innings (with another eight HBP). That was a letdown on the heels of 2024, and while the potential keeps on the backend where he previously tended to be, another year like that will really call into question his major league potential.
Signed in 2022 by the Red Sox out of the Dominican Republic , Batista was one-third of the return for Danny Jansen in 2024. At that point he had yet to pitch outside of a complex league, but the Jays bumped him up to Dunedin where turned in four promising outings and returned for 2025.
In 2025, he worked as a swingman, throwing 85 innings to pedestrian results (4.96 ERA) but with intriguing underlying numbers (83 strikeouts against 26 free passes). Once again, his undoing was the long ball, yielding 15 home runs.
As with the performance, broadly speaking it’s the same story as a year ago in terms of stuff. Batista’s fastball sits 92-94, his best off-speed a change-up that flashes plus with some feel, and rounded out with an inconsistent slider (85-87). He’s still just 21, so it’s still possible there’s more in there at least in terms of refining secondaries, but absent that there’s a lot pointing towards a future in relief. Accordingly, while the grade and ranking remains similar to last year, the upside tail is pared back.
An undrafted free agent out of Louisiana State in 2024 where he pitched to undistinguished results over four years in various roles, the Jays appear to found a real gem. Debuting in 2025, Coleman’s 36% strikeout rate in Dunedin was interesting, but not that unusual for an experienced SEC pitcher facing a lot of teenagers and came with some control issues.
It was the latter half of the year that proved an even bigger step forward in Vancouver. Against a more appropriate level competition to serve as a measuring stick, not only did the strikeout rate tick up to 40% but he threw more strikes as well. The resulting 1.40 ERA anchored Vancouver’s bullpen down the stretch.
Coleman’s arsenal is as promising as the results. A low slot lefty, it’s tough for batters to pick up the ball. His fastball velocity has jumped up into the mid-90s, and he’s got a good frisbee slider and change-up to complement that. Neither are truly stand out beyond the tough arm angle, but it’s more than enough to overwhelm lower level hitters and should be enough to keep better hitters off balance. To that end, looked good in several Spring Training outings
There’s an obvious major league role for a lefty with good stuff, and at the rate he’s taking steps forward it may be sooner than later. If everything clicks he could end up on the higher end of relief outings, providing some upside, but there’s also a relatively higher floor.
33. Grant Rogers, RHP, age 25 (DOB: 4/22/2001), grade: 35, 2025: NR
Drafted in the 11th round of the 2023 draft from McNeese State, Rogers has succeeded as a workhorse starter across the three lowest levels with almost 50 starts and over 250 innings over two years. While his peripherals have been solid, his calling card is generating weak contact on the ground.
For a starter, Rogers has something of an unconventional arsenal, at least in today’s game. His two seamer sits in the low-90s, deriving its effectiveness from significant horizontal movement. He complements that with three breaking balls that are more three variants on a spectrum: a mid-80s slider, low 80s curve and upper-80s cutter. Once in a while I’ve seen a change-up but it’s not a factor. None rate as swing-and-miss offerings, they’re part of a mix to keep hitter off-balance.
The question is how this translates to higher levels, and I have my doubts. I don’t know the shape of his breaking balls, and they got hit pretty hard in Spring Training where he got a few starts and decent look. To some extent, the outcome feels dichotomous: either it works and he ends up an inning eating backend (or maybe mid rotation at peak) workhorse starter, or it’s tough to see major league value. Once upon a time, there was a niche sinker/slider pitchability relievers (think Shawn Camp) or longmen, but there aren’t so many in today’s game.
Mar 17, 2026; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs outfielder Dylan Carlson against the Los Angeles Angels during a spring training game at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
It’s another week here at BCB After Dark: the hippest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so glad to see you tonight. Opening Day is just around the corner. Come on in and join us. The dress code is casual. The hostess can seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last week I asked you which experimental rule being tried out in the minor leagues this year would you like to see adopted? A good 39 percent of you voted for “none of the above,” which fits in with baseball fans’ conservative relationship with the rules of the game. But another 26 percent would like to enable automatic check swing challenges and ten percent would like to see the time limits on mound visits more rigorously enforced.
Here’s the part where we listen to jazz and talk movies. You’re free to skip ahead if you want.
Sometimes when you’re stuck for a song, you just have to go with the hits. So today we’re featuring the Jazz Crusaders live in 1968 playing some obscure pop song by an obscure British band called “The Beatles.” This is “Eleanor Rigby.”
(By the way, I saw the Paul McCartney documentary Man on the Run and while it wasn’t great, it was good and reinforces my belief that a biopic of Paul going through his Wings days would be more interesting than re-hashing the Beatles story for the umpteenth time. Paul went through a lot of interesting stuff in the seventies, not the least of which was that he died and was replaced by someone who looked exactly like him except he was more talented!)
The Jazz Crusaders were Joe Sample on piano, Wilton Felder on tenor sax, Wayne Henderson on trombone, Buster Williams on bass and Stix Hooper on drums.
Tonight I’m continuing my countdown of my thoughts on the 2022 BFI Sight & Sound critics poll of the greatest films of all time with the number-nine film, the silent Soviet classic Man with a Movie Camera. Once again, I went on way too long to get in more than one film tonight, so I guess I’m going to have to save Singin’ in the Rain for Wednesday. I’m also going to have write more than just a blurb on Singin’ in the Rain and I don’t want to. So pray for me.
9. Man with a Movie Camera. (1929) Directed by Dziga Vertov.
Man with a Movie Camera is an avant-garde silent documentary that broke all the rules of filmmaking as they existed in the 1920s. Not only is it a portrait of everyday life in the Soviet Union in the 1920s, it also is a deconstruction of the process of making a film. There is no plot and there are no intertitles. The closest thing to a character is the unnamed man with the movie camera.
Director Dziga Vertov felt that the potential of film was being wasted. Cinema of the era, in his opinion, simply aped the conventions of the stage. (To be fair, he had a point.) Vertov wanted a revolutionary cinema (to go with a revolutionary state) that exploited the strengths of film and stripped away the illusion of the filmmaking process.
Shooting for over four years in Moscow, Kyiv and Odesa, Vertov pulled out every trick in the book and probably invented a few more. There are double exposures, split screens, Dutch angles, quick cuts, dissolves, stop-motion animation, slow motion, sped-up footage, photo montages and more. In a different film, using all these tricks would seem like a pointless gimmick but here, they’re the point of the whole film. Cinema can be an art in and of itself.
The film opens with the cameraman, “played” by Vertov’s brother Mikhail Kaufman although he’s actually also shooting the film, setting up his camera on top of a closeup of a camera. The cameraman is here to shoot one day in the life of a Soviet city. Beyond the mundane activities of the day, this is one adventurous cameraman as well. He gets shots on train tracks with a train coming at him head on. He gets shots from underneath carriages. He shoots inside of factories with mechanical parts spinning every which way. Vertov was obsessed with how things look different from different angles or different processes.
Man with a Movie Camera shows the Soviet people going about their business during the day. They commute to work. They work in the factories and Vertov highlights the dance of the metal machinery in fine detail. The go to the beach to relax. All of this is interesting enough, but the scenes of everyday life are interrupted by the process of making the film. People fill a theater to watch the film. The cameraman sets up his shots. The editor, Vertov’s wife Yelizaveta Svilova, is shown putting the film together. The illusion of the film is stripped bare as he quickly and repeatedly cuts back and forth between the life of the city and the life of the film.
To be clear, Svilova is the real hero of this film. This is a tour de force of film editing which managed to take all these incredible images, enhance them with all these special effects and then got them to make some sort of coherent sense and did that with without any intertitles that could explain what was going on. That all of this had to be done by hand is all the more impressive.
Before Man with a Movie Camera, it was generally believed that films couldn’t make the cuts in a film too quickly or the audience would become disoriented. The average shot length of a film in 1929 was 11.2 seconds.Man With a Movie Camera’s average shot length is 2.3 seconds. If there’s a theme in Man with a Movie Camera, it’s motion. Everything is moving. Even the still shots pass by quickly. Dziga Vertov was a stage name that roughly translates into “Spinning Top” in Ukrainian, and the film very much lives up to his name. That constant sense of “go” is what keeps this film from becoming boring. We never linger anywhere.
Man with a Movie Camera is a fascinating documentary that both celebrates the illusions of cinema and strips them bare. When it came out in 1929, it was mostly dismissed as a bad joke. It broke too many rules. It was also dismissed in the USSR as a pointless film without a message. Even though the film is certainly propaganda in the way it shows the joys of everyday life in the Soviet Union, it was criticized for emphasizing artistic form rather than revolutionary message. Soviet films were supposed to instruct or inspire the masses but all Man with a Movie Camera did was show how busy and happy everyone was. However, in the years since, it’s been praised for the way its innovative techniques and how it demonstrated that film could be more than just an offshoot of theater or literature.
Would I put it in my top ten films of all time? If you’re asking me if I would put it in the top ten influential films of all time, sure. But “influence” isn’t necessarily what I’d primarily base my vote on. Man with a Movie Camera has no plot and little message. It’s interesting and fascinating. It appeals to the head, but there’s no story to appeal to the heart. By stripping away the artifice of moviemaking, it also strips away our ability to get swept away by the magic of movies.
So I understand why it’s in the top ten. For a film scholar, this is a critical film in their education. It’s probably mind-blowing after watching earlier silent pictures. But for the rest of us, I don’t see why it has to be considered one of the ten best films of all time. That’s not an insult. I can’t see myself sitting down to watch Man with a Movie Camera a dozen times, but it’s certainly worth watching two or three times. Every film buff should watch it at least once. The film world would certainly be the worse without it.
Here’s a trailer for the restoration of Man with a Movie Camera if you just want to get a sense of the film in one minute.
And here’s the entire 67-minute movie. It’s obviously in the public domain, so there are several different copies of it out there. Vertov did not commission any particular music to go with the film, but he did specify that it should be accompanied by something up tempo. This version with music composed by Michael Nyman, who did the score for The Piano, has gotten a lot of praise and I think it’s particularly good. But if you want to look around for music that you like better, you certainly can.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
The Cubs announced today that Seiya Suzuki would start the season on the 10-day injured list after suffering a knee injury in the World Baseball Classic. The Cubs had already announced that he would not be ready for Opening Day, but they hoped that he would be back quickly enough that he could avoid an IL stint. With Suzuki still wearing a knee brace today and with the season starting on Thursday, it was clear that he would miss more than just a couple of games.
The Cubs still aren’t putting a timeline on when Suzuki will return to the team, although Suzuki himself is optimistic and saying his knee feels better every day. He also stressed, and I’m sure the Cubs agree, that they don’t want to rush him back and possibly re-injure the knee.
But even though the Cubs can backdate the IL stint to today (Monday), it still seems like a ten-day minimum is awfully optimistic for Suzuki, considering he’s still wearing a brace. But it also doesn’t seem like something major that is going to keep him out for months, so I’m guessing he’s going to miss the first two or three weeks of the season. Jordan Bastian in the linked-to article speculated that Suzuki could return for a roadtrip to Cleveland and Tampa Bay from April 3 through 8, but I’m guessing that Suzuki is more likely to be ready after the Cubs return to Chicago to play Pittsburgh on April 10. With as much time as Suzuki has missed because of the injury, I think that the Cubs will want him to play one or two rehab games in Iowa or South Bend before returning to the roster. Again, I’m just guessing and I haven’t seen Suzuki’s medicals. But I am sure the Cubs won’t want to push him.
So Suzuki is likely to miss 12 games, give or take a series. Who would you have take his spot in right field until he gets back? The Cubs have already told Chas McCormick that he will not make the Opening Day roster, although they’d love for him to stick around in Iowa. So that leaves four options to play in right for the first two weeks.
The first option is Michael Conforto, who has already been told that he has made the Opening Day roster. Conforto had a heck of a Spring Training in Mesa. Even though Conforto only signed with the team on February 26, he got in 12 games and hit .324 with a .359 on-base percentage. Six of his 12 hits were for extra bases—five doubles and one triple. He’s also left-handed, which helps balance out the lineup.
However, this is the same Michael Conforto who hit .199/.306/.333 in 138 games with the Dodgers last year and got left off the playoff roster. Except, of course, he’s a year older now.
The other option that the Cubs have mentioned is Matt Shaw. Shaw, of course, lost his starting third base job when the Cubs signed Alex Bregman. So they’ve been working him around as a supersub and letting him try the outfield. Shaw has also had a great spring with the bat, hitting .320/.417/.500 with two home runs in 20 games.
However, Shaw has looked shaky defensively out in right field. That’s to be expected—he’s never played in the outfield before. But shouldn’t he get some more practice out there before he gets thrown out into the tough right field of Wrigley in April?
There are two other options. One is Dylan Carlson, who, and stop me if you’ve heard this one already, has hit really well this spring. In 20 games, he’s hit .304/.429/.413 with one home run. He was also someone who was highly-touted as a prospect in the Cardinals system and he delivered with a 3.2 bWAR as a 22-year-old in 2021, his rookie season. But since then, he’s been plagued with injuries, which had led to some poor performances. You know that talent is still in him somewhere and it would a bonanza for the Cubs if he could get healthy and live up to his early promise. On the other hand, the Cubs are his fourth organization in three years and last year with the Orioles, he hit just .203/.278/.336 with six home runs over 83 games.
Finally, there’s rookie and top Cubs prospect Kevin Alcántara. Alcántara would clearly be the best defender of the four choices. He’s a plus defender in center field with a plus arm and he’s played a lot of right field as well. His Spring Training was solid as well, hitting .275/.326/.400 with two doubles and a home run in 13 games. But he also struck out 14 times and only walked twice in 43 plate appearances.
Alcántara also has the advantage, as far as the Cubs are concerned, of a minor league option year. Whereas the Cubs would lose Carlson if he didn’t make the Opening Day roster, Alcántara can be sent down to Iowa.
So who would you choose to play right field until Suzuki returns? Obviously more than one player can start out there based on matchups, but which one of these four right fielders would you give the most at-bats to?
Thanks for stopping by. We’re always glad to have you. Please get home safely. We want you around for Opening Day. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - APRIL 26: A general view of Chase Field prior to the MLB game between the Atlanta Braves and the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 26, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Kelsey Grant/Arizona Diamondbacks/Getty Images) | Getty Images
While there has been no formal announcement with regard to the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day roster, by a process of elimination, it currently appears to be set. There are only 13 position players left, so that means a bench of James McCann, Tim Tawa, Jorge Barrosa and Ildemaro Vargas. On the bullpen side, at this point – and unless there’s a late waiver claim – the team will start the year without a left-hander, instead going with this all right-handed selection:
Taylor Clarke
Kevin Ginkel
Andrew Hoffmann
Jonathan Loaisiga
Juan Morillo
Joe Ross
Paul Sewald
Ryan Thompson
To add Vargas, Ross and Loaisiga, there will have to be three 40-man moves made. Maybe Tyler Locklear, Cristian Mena and Blake Walston to the 60-day IL? We’ll see. Anyway, here’s tonight’s line-up:
This feels like it might be the exact line-up (with the obvious exception of Kelly) the team rolls with on Opening Day come Thursday. Meanwhile, the Guardians send up former D-backs Slade Cecconi, whom we dealt to Cleveland in exchange for Josh Naylor. I’m not sure Cecconi will turn into Max Scherzer, but he had already been more valuable for the Indians, than he was as a Diamondback. Tonight, I’m also pleased to see Corbin Carroll back in RF. Jordan Lawlar gets the start in left, though according to Torey Lovullo, whether that remains a consistent set-up, is to be determined.
Whole slew of broadcast choices for you tonight. Those of a visual nature can watch the game on DBACKS.TV, alongside Steve Berthiaume, Bob Brenly & Jody Jackson. On the radio side, Arizona Sports 98.7 FM has you covered, with Chris Garagiola & Tom Candiotti. It’s also being broadcast on La Campesina 101.9 FM in Spanish, by Oscar Soria & Rodrigo Lopez.
