Category: MLB

Six bold predictions that would spark Phillies in 2026 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It’s that time. Speculation time. Spring Training brings enough preseason hype to stir some flashy expectations ahead of a new season.

We’re a month and a week from Opening Day. Time’s flying. The offseason did too.

This Phillies club has a steady floor, but there are still questions about how sustainable it is. There’s new blood on the roster, new deals with core players, and clear areas that need to improve if they’re going to get over the hump — which means there’s room for a few pleasant surprises.

Like the following.

Bryce Harper puts together a 35-plus homer campaign

He’s the hottest topic, so let him take it away. The two-time MVP has that look in his eye. The Phillies have unfinished business and he’s aware of it, having been at the forefront of four straight postseason runs.

The number might feel lofty considering Harper hasn’t hit that mark since 2021. A lot of that traces back to health, and he seems to be in a great spot entering the season. The Phillies are going to do all they can to protect his bat in the lineup.

After not seeing as many pitches in the zone in 2025, Harper can stay patient, hunt hittable pitches and punish mistakes. Don’t be surprised if we get three or four multi-homer games if he’s pushing 35. His odds to hit 40 are just over 5-1, so even that’s not completely out of the picture.

Harper might even go light up the World Baseball Classic as a precursor to a resurgent — if that’s the appropriate term — 2026.

Justin Crawford wins Rookie of the Year

The award feels wide open. There’s no clear-cut favorite, which opens the door for Crawford.

If he’s the everyday center fielder, he’ll have the chance to compile all year — extra-base hits, RBIs and stolen bases. Based on early reports out of Clearwater, he seems like one of those composed rookies — like Steven Kwan in 2022 — who can contribute from the jump.

Yes, he’s stepping into a big market with a passionate fan base, but he’ll be protected from the No. 9 hole (his expected spot) by All-Star-caliber hitters in Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber.

His ability to hit same-side pitching throughout the minors — plus what happens when he puts the ball in play — gives him a real shot to be one of the more exciting young outfielders in baseball. A .290 average, 35 XBH and 30 steals would likely be enough for the award.

Speed still kills — just ask his father, Carl — and that, paired with his old-fashioned contact ability, makes him an interesting pick at 15-1 odds to take home the hardware.

Aidan Miller becomes an everyday infielder post-All-Star break

“Youth infusion,” just like manager Rob Thomson has preached.

The 21-year-old, bouncing around the infield in Spring Training, is going to put the Phillies in a tough spot all year long. Over the last two months of his 2025 season, Miller posted OPS’ over 1.000 in each month. His speed and base-running aggressiveness took a jump too, swiping 59 bases a year after tallying just 23.

He could cut down on the swing-and-miss, but that’s more of a big-league critique. The Phillies know what they have in the former first-rounder and they don’t want to rush his progression. But if he’s at Triple-A to begin the season, his presence alone will light a metaphorical fire under Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott the entire season.

Sure, that can be a positive for those former “Daycare” members. But it’s more likely that Miller’s success at the minor league level becomes so overwhelming that he forces his way up — even if it means Harper heads back to the outfield, which is very unlikely.

Phillies land Byron Buxton at the trade deadline

It’s been a name floating around for years, and the Phillies and Minnesota were a match not once, but twice last season. They made deals for Harrison Bader and Jhoan Duran.

The Phillies could still use another right-handed force who can impact the middle of the order with power. Adolis García might provide that jolt, but if it’s not his 2022-23 form, Dave Dombrowski could get antsy in a playoff push and swing a deal for Buxton.

Minnesota will easily be one of the worst teams in the game. They recently lost one of their top starters in Pablo López to a potentially season-ending injury. They’re coming off a 70-win 2025 season. It’s not looking promising.

Buxton was the lone bright spot offensively. He slugged a career-high 35 homers, drove in 83 runs and posted an .878 OPS. He earned his first Silver Sluggers honors in his 11th big league season. He even stole 24 bases without being caught — the only player with at least 15 steals without a caught stealing. Add in plus defense, and you’ve got a player who fits a winning club in a lot of ways.

The Phillies may not have a direct need in the outfield right now, but this is an upgrade anywhere. Ultimately, this might become less bold as the season progresses.

Aaron Nola notches 200 innings and posts a sub-3.50 ERA

Surprisingly, the 32-year-old has only paired those two together once in his 11-year career.

The World Baseball Classic — and the ramp-up for it — could be beneficial to Nola. He dealt with injuries last season, but don’t forget he got Cy Young votes the year prior.

Pitchers who lose a tick or two often need time to adjust — not necessarily reinvent themselves, but find a consistent new way to get outs. In Nola’s case, the velocity should return close to normal with a healthy camp. While Zack Wheeler will likely still be more than effective when he returns, Nola is the arm in the rotation there isn’t much buzz around right now.

If Nola can even make 30 starts, that’s a massive plus. And his ability to keep hitters off balance could help him return to true form. The Phillies could really use it, especially with Taijuan Walker’s uncertainty and a rookie fifth starter in Andrew Painter.

Phillies lead the league in bullpen ERA

This gets bold when you understand the history behind it. 50 years ago — 1976 — is the last time they pulled off this feat, and it’d be the first time since 2008 that they’d lead the National League.

It’s a strong group. Brad Keller and Jhoan Duran are arguably the best eighth-and-ninth inning combo in baseball. But it’s the depth bridging to those final two innings that gives them a real shot.

Tanner Banks, José Alvarado and Orion Kerkering could all realistically register below-3 ERAs, but the real swing factor is the complementary relievers fighting for spots.

While not guarantees to make the Opening Day roster right now, right-hander Jonathan Bowlan — acquired for Matt Strahm — and Kyle Backhus are two names with big league experience who, with some fine-tuning, could get meaningful outs.

Look out for this bullpen. It’s the biggest area of improvement from last year’s club heading into the season.

Despite multiple additions early in Spring Training, the San Diego Padres took a step back in 2026 projections according to both FanGraphs and PECOTA (Baseball Prospectus). In January, the numbers projected significant steps back for multiple players on the team but the lack of adding any higher tier talent seems to have negatively affected how the analytics view the Padres for the upcoming season.

At this point, FanGraphs projects a 79-83 record and fourth place finish in the NL West for the Friars. PECOTA is only slightly better at 80-82. While noting the loss of Dylan Cease, Luis Arraez, Yu Darvish and Robert Suarez, the poor projections for the remaining team from last year drags down any possible upside their additions could give the rankings.

Last season’s lack of power continues

The only player projected to have a better season than last year is Jackson Merrill. Every other position player is worse or about the same in assessing their performance. While projecting Luis Campusano, Nick Castellanos, Sung-Mun Song and Bryce Johnson as the bench players, none of them have an fWAR above 0.8.

Miguel Andujar is the platoon partner for Gavin Sheets or the DH and his fWAR is 0.6. No Padre position player has an fWAR above 5.4 (Fernando Tatis Jr.) while many are between 0.5 and 1.5. Tatis Jr. is projected to lead the team with 30 homers.

Pitching woes

The starting pitchers fair no better. Michael King will only get 161 innings with a 3.68 ERA. Nick Pivetta takes a big step back with a 3.92 ERA and Joe Musgrove gets a 3.89 ERA projection. There is no belief in Randy Vasquez at 4.79 and Germán Márquez is the projected fifth starter with a 5.03 ERA.

The bullpen also gets very little love with lefty Adrian Morejon, who is widely considered a top reliever and was recently listed by MLB Network as a top 10 reliever in baseball, given an fWAR of 1.1 and a 3.40 ERA. Only Mason Miller gets any respect with a 2.44 ERA and fWAR of 2.3.

Playoff miss

The Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians, Athletics and Cincinnati Reds are all listed as having better odds of making the playoffs than the Padres. With the Dodgers listed at 94% to win the division and 99% to make the playoffs, the Padres come in at 1.2% to win the division and 22.1% to make the playoffs.

The San Francisco Giants come in at 37.4% to make the playoffs and the Arizona Diamondbacks are at 32% to make the playoffs. The Padres got the benefit of the doubt for much of the offseason with multiple projections listing them as the second or third best team in the NL West. That is no longer the case.

The only way to get national respect for this team in 2026 was if A.J. Preller agreed with the media around the league and traded away Tatis Jr. in order to acquire a power bat and top-tier starter. Trading the organization’s best player doesn’t seem like a good way to improve a team that finished with 90 wins last season. Preller made it clear early on that was not an option and he recently stated that shedding salary was not a priority.

Adding in the margins

While Preller has backloaded the team with starters returning from injury to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation, Randy Vasquez is facing a pivotal season in his career. Vasquez is out of options and must make the staff or be off-loaded at the end of spring. Reports from pitching coach Ruben Niebla and manager Craig Stammen has reflected that Vasquez has made the effort to take that step forward and has held onto the advances made at the end of last season.

The bats added, Castellanos and Andujar as 1B/DH options and Ty France as more of a defensive option, don’t deliver the power that fans had hoped. This puts the burden on the current roster to step up their game.

Heart and character matter

None of this goes into the projections seen on FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus. They use algorithms and underlying metrics as well as aging statistics to determine their estimates. As fans who watch this team and know the players character and motivation, we can argue the numbers listed in these projections are devoid of the determination that we know these players exhibit.

Will the heart and character of the players play a role in helping the Padres outperform these numbers?

Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado can’t avoid the inevitability of aging. But not every player ages the same way and there are plenty of examples of good performances well into some athletes 30s. It is true that neither of them will play their pivotal positions for much longer, but the math used for these numbers doesn’t take into account the uniqueness of each player.

Proving them wrong

If just a few of the players play to the same level they did last season; if Tatis Jr. finds more power and Merrill stays healthy and takes another step forward; if Machado and Bogaerts stay relatively healthy and don’t regress as much as expected; then the offense should be fine. No matter if Andujar and Castellano aren’t big power hitters, both are improvements over Jason Heyward and Yuli Gurriel.

The Padres won’t have as many singles with Luis Arraez gone but Tatis Jr. will have better lineup protection with Merrill (or Bogaerts?) hitting behind him. The bottom of the lineup has little power as it presently stands unless Castellanos breaks out, Gavin Sheets plays above last year or another bat is added. But all of these issues were much worse last year and somehow this team finished three games behind the Dodgers.

Preller may not be done, there is lots of time left for more moves and still plenty of decent players looking for jobs. The trade market will still be busy for another few weeks and I don’t know that we have ever seen Preller go a whole offseason without a trade.

With just a little luck, maybe the Padres can surprise some people. A snake-in-the-grass isn’t always a bad thing.

It’s Wednesday night here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so glad you decided to stop by tonight. It’s always good to see a friendly face. There’s no cover charge. If you have anything to check, let us know. The hostess will seat you know. 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 night I asked you to pick your favorite bobblehead among the Cubs promotional giveaways in 2026. It came as no surprise to me that the Ryne Sandberg bobblehead was your favorite with 34 percent of the vote. It’s probably not a surprise either that the Ron Santo version finished second with 20 percent.

Sorry there’s a guy in a Brewers uniform up there. But it’s Colin Rea, so you know it’s one of the good guys.

Here’s the part where we talk movies and listen to music and tonight we’re finishing up our BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic. So you don’t want to miss that. But if you do, you can skip ahead to the baseball stuff now.

There’s a new Bill Evans biopic out that I’m sure will land at some small arthouse theater near you before going to streaming where I’m sure 95 percent of us will see it. So in honor of that, I thought I’d play you some Bill Evans. This is arguably Evans’ signature tune “Waltz for Debby.”

You voted in the second semifinal of the BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic and Terminator 2: Judgment Day advanced to the finals over Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

So that sets up our final match for the title between Terminator 2 and 2001: A Space Odyssey. But before we get to that, let’s take a look back at the entire tournament.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Starring Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood.

Here’s what I originally wrote about 2001.

And here’s the trailer for the 4K restoration of 2001.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Directed by James Cameron. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Robert Patrick.

Here’s what I originally wrote about T2.

And here’s a trailer for the restored re-release of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

I feel like I should say something about this matchup, but I’ve tried very hard not to put my finger on the scale when I present the polls. In any case, doing so might very well backfire on me, since I’ve made it clear that even though I don’t think it’s a bad film, I didn’t think that Back to the Future had any business being in this tournament and you folks ended up putting it in the final eight. Some of you are going to vote against me just to torment the teacher.

But I will say that T2 is a terrific action/adventure film with heart and humor. It’s not anywhere near my favorite, but there was never any question that it was going to be in the tournament. (Well, never any question after I decided to include it rather than the first The Terminator film, now known as T1.) It’s special effects are top-notch and hold up nicely 35 years later. In fact, the film may be more timely today than it was in 1991 with the menace of artificial intelligence.

2001: A Space Odyssey, on the other hand, was the film that I immediately decided was the number-one seed when we agreed to do a science fiction tournament. This is a film that redefined what a film could be. Even though it’s nearly sixty years old now and had no access to computer graphics, it still looks fantastic today. I get some of the criticism that it’s too artsy and esoteric. But one sign of a great film is when you leave with more questions than you walked in with. When the answer to one question just raises two more. There’s a reason that in the most recent BFI Sight and Sound critics poll of the greatest films of all-time, 2001 finished sixth.

But you get your say now. Which film should win the BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic?

Welcome back to everyone who skips the non-baseball stuff.

The Giants did some big outside-the-box thinking this past winter when they hired Tony Vitello to be their new manager. It was shocking because Vitello had been the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers. He had no experience as a professional coach. Heck, he had no experience as a professional player. While it is quite common in football or basketball to hire out of the college ranks, no team in the history of the sport has ever hired a college coach to manage with no previous professional experience.

To be clear, Vitello was a very successful college coach. He took an ordinary mid-table SEC program and turned it into a powerhouse in his seven years as the Volunteers head coach. He won the school’s first College World Series title in 2024. So he knows the game.

But there are real cultural differences between the college and professional ranks in baseball. There were some worried Giants fans this week when, in the first week of Spring Training, Vitello criticized the media for reporting that he had been offered the Giants job before he had a chance to talk with his players at Tennessee. Or, according to him, even make up his mind to take it. Publicly picking a fight with the media is rarely a good call in MLB. Our brothers and sisters at McCovey Chronicles called it “an unforced error.” I’d add that if you can’t go a week without fighting with the relatively-tame Bay Area sports media (at least compared to the national writers and those in New York, Boston, Philly and even Chicago), you may not be ready for the Show.

But Vitello can learn from that and move on. And besides, it’s not even what I’m asking about tonight. Many of the cultural differences between the professional and college game come on the field. We all know about metal bats. But tonight’s topic is pitching or, more specifically, who decides what pitch is thrown? We all know how this works in the majors. The pitcher, catcher and coaching staff come up with a plan before the game, but once the game starts, the catcher puts down a finger (or he used to, more on that in a minute) and the pitcher either shakes him off or throws what the catcher asked for.

But in the college game, the catcher looks over at either the head coach, the pitching coach or someone else designated to relay the signal. The catcher then gets that signal from the coaching staff and signals it to the pitcher. The pitcher then throws that pitch. There isn’t much, if any, “shaking the catcher off.” At least not if the pitcher wants to remain a pitcher for long. You throw what the coaches tell you to throw.

Vitello has been asked about that change in the way pitching works and he said he’s “open” to the idea that MLB pitches should be called from the dugout. (The Athletic sub. req.) To be clear, Vitello hasn’t said he’s going to do it. For one, he’s got one of the best defensive catchers in the game with Patrick Bailey and there may not be any need to take pitch calling duties away from him. He seems to be doing a good enough job on his own. But he’s leaving open the possibility that he may do it sometime in the future, maybe when someone other than Bailey is behind the plate.

The argument for having coaches call the pitches is clear. For one, the coaches have all the charts right in front of them and don’t have to remember them in the heat of an at-bat. (Or check a chart on their wrist.) Also, catchers have a heck of a lot on their plate as it is. Even if you take pitch-calling duties away, they still have to set a target, block pitches, field the position and keep an eye on the pitcher to see if they’re losing their edge. On top of that, this year MLB is adding in that catchers have to be able to decide when to challenge a pitch that’s been called a ball. With a limited number of misses per team, that’s an important task.

(Yes, pitchers are also allowed to challenge a pitch with the ABS system, but I’m guessing that, like in the minors, most teams will forbid their pitchers from challenging a call. The biggest reason is that pitchers have traditionally been bad at it. One reason is that most pitchers think every borderline pitch they throw is a strike.)

The biggest reason against letting coaches call pitches is that it simply isn’t done in the pros. It’s tradition. Of course, there may be an argument that some catchers have a much better feel for their pitchers than the coaches have and can call a better game bases on how that pitcher’s stuff is working that day. I have no doubt that may be true for some catchers, but is it true for every catcher? There’s no way.

To be clear, the linked-to article above notes that the Giants aren’t the only team considering this. The Rockies plan to call some pitches from the dugout this year and if you’re the Rockies, I don’t see how trying something different could hurt. And for the final week of last season, the Marlins called all of their pitches from the dugout and that’s an experiment that they intend to continue this year, although I don’t think they’re planning to do it in every game.

Right now, the biggest barrier to having coaches call pitches is the pitch clock. Relaying signs doesn’t take much time, but it does take some time. And every second counts when you’re trying to avoid getting an automatic ball called. But as I noted above, catchers don’t stick their fingers down anymore, except in rare situations. The PitchCom system is now universally accepted. There’s no reason that coaches couldn’t signal the pitches from the dugout with PitchCom.

Except that there is a reason. It’s against the rules. As it stands now, only on-field personnel are allowed to use the PitchCom. So it’s OK for the shortstop to know what pitch is coming, but the manager is kept in the dark.

But should it be? Should managers be allowed to use the PitchCom system to call pitches? If one of the points of PitchCom is to speed up the game, then having the manager or pitching coach call the pitches from the dugout would probably help. They could get that call in much faster than the catcher, who may have to re-adjust his cup after a foul ball. (OK, they get time out for that. But you get my point)

So should the coaching staff be allowed to call pitches with PitchCom from the dugout? To be clear, no one is saying that a manager has to call pitches from the dugout with the PitchCom system. Only that they be given the opportunity should they choose to. Maybe some managers would call the pitches when a rookie catcher is out there but not when their two-time All-Star is behind the plate. Maybe some coaches would call all the pitches. And maybe some would call none. But putting a PitchCom in the dugout makes it easier and would likely make it smoother for teams that want to.

Thank you for stopping by tonight and all week. It’s good to get together again as baseball gets underway again. Please get home safely. The season starts soon and we want you around for it. Recycle and cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.

Well barring a last minute blockbuster trade, it really seems like the Opening Day rotation will look like Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes, and the winner of the competition between Bryce Elder, Joey Wentz, and perhaps some other options, if they can all make it there healthy. You will note that Sale has had an extensive injury history, Strider is still looking to fully recover from his UCL internal brace surgery, Lopez missed most of last season, and Holmes rehabbed a partial UCL tear this offseason. Projecting productivity and health for those four to last until at least mid-season until we could perhaps see returns from young arms like Schwellenbach, Waldrep, and AJ Smith-Shawver is a risky proposition, though perhaps some farmhands can also play a role, such as top prospects Didier Fuentes, JR Ritchie, Owen Murphy, and others. It is really not good to be this deep into your starting pitching depth in mid-February.

Braves News

We got injury updates that did not sound very optimistic on Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep, as they both required surgery.

The Braves are seemingly sticking with internal options to fill out their rotation, even with Schwellenbach and Waldrep unavailable for a while. That is a risky proposition.

Fangraphs released a WAR-based OOPSY projection system top 100 prospect list, featuring Braves’ Didier Fuentes and John Gil.

MLB News

MLBPA elected a new interim executive director, Bruce Meyer, who had been the deputy executive director and will lead the new CBA negotiation.

Brusdar Graterol will not be ready to start the season for the Dodgers, as he recovers from shoulder surgery.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan charted what the direction needs to be for the MLBPA post-Tony Clark.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Anthony Volpe will start the season on the IL as he continues to recover from labrum surgery over the offseason. In his first few days in camp though, the Yankee shortstop appears to be in high spirits and has been able to participate in most defensive drills. Volpe started dry swings yesterday, and could potentially start taking live BP within the next couple of days. A minor league rehab assignment (and maybe more!) is still on the way, but there’s at least room for that perpetual spring optimism.

The Athletic | Patrick Mooney & Brendan Kuty ($): The Yankees used to be a premier destination for international free agents coming to MLB from Asia, with multiple successful pursuits of Taiwanese and Japanese stars. They’ve not quite been as successful in recent years, and the org seems to recognize they’re leaving a lot of potential talent on the table. Thus, they’ve brought in Nao Masamoto into their front office, fresh from running an international strategy with the Cubs that helped Chicago land Seiya Suzuki and Shōta Imanaga.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: The tumult that the MLBPA has gone through all week after Tony Clark’s resignation certainly hasn’t instilled confidence in the union’s ability to stand up to MLB with labor talks upcoming. Internally though, the players themselves seem to believe in themselves, with Yankee labor rep Austin Wells having a meeting with the team yesterday and doubling down on a message of solidarity and strength.

Deputy director Bruce Meyer was just given the job as head honcho, but all the same, the player reps and eight-man Executive Committee will still drive most of the PA’s decisions, making Wells an outsized leader on the field and off.

The Jays have claimed Ben Cowles off waivers from the Cubs. The Cubs DFAed him Sunday. The Jays put Bowden Francis on the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster. Francis is going to be out all season.

Cowles has two options.

He’s a right-handed-hitting infielder, 26 years old. He hasn’t played in the majors yet. Last year he hit .235/.300/.371 with 9 home runs in 128 games in Triple-A

Duane Pesice, at Bleed Cubbie Blue, has a profile on him here.

He’s a lifetime .268/.365/.426 in four seasons of Minor League ball, with 30 home runs and 158 RBI in 1,128 at-bats. Not great, but not too shabby. He could hit 1-15 dingers in The Show, hit .250 or so, walk enough to be .300+ OBP man. He’ll take a bag if he can. Cowles is a slightly-less-effective Nico Hoerner type. He’ll back up or start at short/second in Iowa.

His contact bat helps his cause, but Cowles just doesn’t bring enough to the table to beat out the people in front of him. But he’s a fine platoon partner with Triantos and backup at second and short, and can play third in a pinch.

He was #14 on Baseball America’s top Cubs prospect list last year

Baseball Prospects says:

Prospects TLDR: Cowles’ Double-A stats are a bit of a mirage, but he’s a capable shortstop defender who provides enough offense to consider him a low-impact bench infielder.

It looks like he will be battling Leo Jimenez for the utility infielder role this spring.

Nothing can derail a season like a rash of injuries — just ask the 2025 Astros.
No team used the injured list more. Yordan Alvarez was limited to 48 games, Isaac Paredes missed 60 games, and Jeremy Peña and Jake Meyers also were out significant time.

On the mound, the Astros used 33 different pitchers (plus three position players), a franchise record.

The Astros can’t possibly have worse injury luck in 2026, but they will still deal with their share at some point. Here are the five players they can least afford to lose, in reverse order.

• Yainer Diaz

This isn’t as much about Diaz, who had his worst Major League season in 2025, than it is about who is behind him. Victor Caratini is now in Minnesota after serving two excellent seasons as Diaz’s backup, leaving Cesar Salazar as the only other catcher on the Astros’ 40-man roster.

Salazar was drafted by the Astros in 2018 and is respected throughout the organization. But he has started only 14 games behind the plate despite accruing more than a full season of service time. And while he spent a good portion of 2025 on the active roster, Salazar did not appear in a game closer than seven runs until he started against the Rockies on Aug. 27.

Granted, he was on the roster as a third catcher. Still, there were opportunities for Joe Espada to use the switch-hitting Salazar as a pinch hitter — and he never did. That makes it fair to wonder just how much the Astros truly trust the 29-year-old.

Spring training games have yet to begin, so there is time for the Astros to look outside the organization for Diaz’s backup. But at the moment, the job appears to belong to Salazar, and you have to wonder how comfortable the team would be with him as the primary catcher if something were to happen to Diaz.

• Jeremy Peña

Peña is coming off a career year that saw him reach the potential he flashed while winning ALCS and World Series MVP as a rookie. An All-Star for the first time, Peña produced 5.6 bWAR despite playing just 125 games and finished 10th in MVP voting. You don’t just replace players like that.

Yes, the Astros have Carlos Correa back, and he could slide to shortstop — which he did a handful of times after being traded back to Houston. But Correa has made it clear he prefers to play third base to help preserve his body over a full season. So what do the Astros do if Peña misses extended time?

Nick Allen is excellent defensively, but he posted a 53 OPS+ in 416 plate appearances with the Braves last season. For context, Zack Greinke had a career 60 OPS+. The options beyond Allen are even thinner — a reminder that the Astros traded Mauricio Dubón, non-tendered Ramón Urías over the winter to save money, and still salary-dumped Jesús Sánchez.

• Josh Hader and Brian Abreu

The Astros focused on fortifying and adding depth to a starting rotation that has been pushed to the limit the past three seasons, but they largely ignored the bullpen. Few teams are better in the eighth and ninth innings than the Astros — but what about the bridge to get there?

Steven Okert, Bryan King and Bennett Sousa were outstanding last season, but all three are left-handed, and all three came out of nowhere. No position in baseball is more volatile than relief pitching. Do you trust all three to replicate their 2025 seasons? And who is the right-hander the Astros can rely on after Abreu?

The Astros play 26 games in the first 28 days of the season, so this group will be tested immediately. It will be interesting to see how Joe Espada navigates games when one — or both — of Abreu and Hader are unavailable.

• Yordan Alvarez

Kyle Tucker is gone. Alex Bregman is gone. Jose Altuve is 35.

Despite that, the Astros remain a formidable lineup with solid depth one through nine, but at this point Alvarez is the only player who truly moves the needle. Injuries limited his 2025 season to 48 subpar (for him) games, but over the previous three seasons only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani posted a higher OPS.

A healthy Alvarez elevates everyone else in the lineup. It takes some of the pressure off and gives them better pitches to hit. The Astros ranked 15th in runs scored last season, and a big reason for the drop-off was that they finished 21st in home runs. They need slug, and Alvarez is the one player who can truly provide it.

1. Hunter Brown

Even with the loss of Framber Valdez, the Astros enter the 2026 season in pretty good shape. They will likely open with a six-man rotation and have solid options to turn to if something happens to one of those six. But none can come close to replacing the innings or the effectiveness of Brown, who has developed into one of baseball’s best starters.

Brown compiled a 2.43 ERA in a season in which he finished behind only Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet in AL Cy Young voting. He completed at least six innings in 22 of 31 starts and pitched into the sixth in five others. Brown is a legitimate staff ace who impacts games even when he doesn’t start.

He allows Espada to be more aggressive with the bullpen before his start day, and because he typically works deep into games, the bullpen is fresh the next day. A player like that is irreplaceable.

PORT ST. LUCIE — Even as a non-roster invitee to camp, Craig Kimbrel turns heads every time he steps on a mound.
Kimbrel, a possible future Hall of Fame closer, threw an inning of live batting practice Wednesday for the Mets at Clover Park.

The highlight was two plate appearances against Juan Soto, another possible future Hall of Famer. Soto hit an infield grounder and walked.

“[Kimbrel’s] presence, it’s unreal,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We know the sweeper is good, the curveball and he’s also got the cutter now that he’s playing around with. He’s going to get a chance here.”

Kimbrel, 37, pitched to a 2.25 ERA in 14 appearances for the Braves and Astros last season.

The right-hander has amassed 440 saves over his 16-year major league career.

Mendoza was asked what has stood out about Kimbrel early in camp.

“Just the way he carries himself, a humble guy,” Mendoza said. “We’re talking about a guy that is pretty close to a Hall of Fame career.

“He’s out there like he is a rookie, how respectful he is, how open he is to share experiences. It’s been great to have him here.”  

The Mets broke ground on a 55,000-square-foot player development complex adjacent to Clover Park that is scheduled for completion by spring training 2027.

The team’s president of baseball operations, David Stearns, participated in the ceremony.

“The state-of-the-art complex that we’re going to build here will provide our athletes and our coaches with everything they can possibly need,” Stearns said.

“It’s going to cement us as the preeminent development organization in baseball, starting with our brand-new complex in the Dominican, extending here to our home in Florida and stretching through every affiliate that we have throughout the country.”  

The $60 million project is fully funded by the Mets and coincides with a lease extension that includes options that would keep the team in Port St. Lucie until 2052.

TAMPA — Aaron Boone has already prepared himself for the moment.

Two outs in the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, the Yankees trailing by two and Aaron Judge takes a low called strike three to end the game, with their two challenges already used up in the new automated ball-strike system (ABS).

“It’s going to happen,” Boone said Wednesday.

But the Yankees manager does not necessarily want his team to guard against such a scenario, either, as they continue to develop their strategy this spring ahead of its implementation in the regular season.

“The thing we’ve found with this where it’s been used is, people don’t challenge enough,” Boone said. “When you first hear about it, the natural reaction or tendency is, ‘I got to save them.’ Then you end up taking them home. Games are won and lost in the second, third and fourth inning all the time. So we want our guys to be good at it, we want them to be disciplined, but we also want them to be aggressive with it.”

The Yankees brought in an umpire to call balls and strikes during their live batting practice Wednesday, with hitters and pitchers freely using challenges to get used to the system.

They have also regularly had a strike zone on the scoreboard that shows, a few seconds after each pitch, where exactly it landed even if they did not use the ABS.

“These reps are valuable to continue to dial that in,” Boone said. “This is a new muscle, because you got to [challenge] within two seconds. And you want to be right. We want our guys to be aggressive with it, but we want to be right, we want to keep those things. So these are valuable reps.”

The Yankees plan to get Ryan McMahon some reps at shortstop this spring to see if he can be a backup option there if needed, which could give them greater roster flexibility especially early in the season when they will be missing a shortstop or two.

Anthony Volpe is going to start the year on the injured list, Oswaldo Cabrera might not be ready to start the season on time as he gets his full movement back from rehabbing a broken ankle, and the Yankees do not seem to love the idea of Amed Rosario at shortstop.

So instead of carrying an extra infielder on the bench just to have a backup shortstop however long Volpe and/or Cabrera is out, the Yankees could cover themselves by knowing McMahon, a terrific defender at third base, could play there in a pinch.

“Feel like he could absolutely handle it if we’re in a situation where we need him to be the backup or something,” Boone said. “I think he’s more than capable of handling that. … I might pick a week where, ‘Hey, let’s do a couple days of ground balls there,’ maybe pop him into a game. It’s something I’ve talked to him about.”

Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn, who are both being built up as starters for now in case the Yankees have an injury to their rotation, each threw two innings and 35 pitches in live BP on Wednesday.

Colorado Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer has been clear that this year: Spring training will be different.

Yesterday, the Rockies provided us with a behind-the-scenes look of a coaching session. Here’s first base/outfield coach Doug Bernier working with the Rockies in small groups as they focus on stealing bases.

Because the Purple Row Night Owls are all nerds (complimentary!), I thought you might be interested in watching for yourself.

(Spoiler: It’s about 15 minutes long, but I thought the video was fascinating.)

So, let us know what you think. For those of you who are coaches, does this seem like a good approach? What do you make of the new Zac Veen? Are you ready to go grab some bags?

And if you’d like a little more information on the Rockies new approach to spring training, here’s a gift link to Patrick Saunders’ article published earlier today. (The lead photo absolutely rules.) And here’s Thomas Harding’s take.

The video was provided by the Colorado Rockies.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Observations from Mets’ spring training on Wednesday in Port St. Lucie:

Tobias’ turn

Tobias Myers threw two innings of live batting practice Wednesday.

The right-hander is stretching out for potential starting duty if needed, but otherwise will open the season in the Mets bullpen.

Staying active

Francisco Lindor participated in baserunning drills with his teammates for the first time while rehabbing from left hamate bone surgery, which has left him questionable for Opening Day.

Caught my eye

In a matchup of potential Hall of Famers, Craig Kimbrel faced Juan Soto twice in live batting practice.

Soto hit an infield grounder and walked in those two plate appearances.

Thursday’s schedule

Full-squad workouts continue ahead of Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Marlins at Clover Park.

Observations from Yankees’ spring training on Wednesday:

Good as Goldy

The Yankees brought back Paul Goldschmidt to crush lefties, and he did so Wednesday, taking Ryan Yarbrough deep in live batting practice shortly after José Caballero did the same.

Bell’ Ringer

Cody Bellinger laced a comebacker at Ben Hess in live batting practice, but the pitching prospect was able to dance out of the way to avoid the friendly fire.

Caught My Eye

If Wednesday is any indication, Trent Grisham is going to be an accurate challenger in the automated ball-strike system (ABS).

The outfielder used multiple challenges in the same at-bat and was proven correct each time, turning strikes into balls against Hess, who turned the tables and challenged one pitch to turn a ball into a strike.

Thursday’s Schedule

The Yankees will hold their last full-squad workout before the Grapefruit League schedule begins Friday.

While most are not predicting the St. Louis Cardinals will not be a playoff-caliber team in 2026, the upcoming season is full of compelling storylines including many players who have the most to gain (or lose). There are several players who have a lot on the line in 2026.

The St. Louis Cardinals with the most obvious high stakes for the 2026 season are Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker. Both were given a lot of “runway” (there’s that word again) last season, but neither impressed with their results. I won’t say that it’s necessarily a last chance for either Gorman and/or Walker, but it would be hard to imagine the team moving forward with them if the 2026 results resemble what they didn’t accomplish in 2025.

JJ Wetherholt looks primed to possibly make the opening day roster for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2026 barring a performance problem in Spring Training. I view JJ as only having something to gain by establishing himself as a part of the future St. Louis Cardinals core. Even if he performs below the potential rookie of the year level some are predicting, I think he’ll be allowed to have time to make the adjustments needed to be a centerpiece for the Cardinals for the foreseeable.

I think the one Cardinal who stands the most to gain financially is Dustin May. If he bounces back from his injuries and becomes a solid mid-rotation starter again, he’ll be a valuable free agent if he declines the mutual option after the season with the Cardinals. Depending on how the St. Louis season goes, he could also be a prime trade deadline candidate for a contender if the Cardinals aren’t.

Masyn Winn could be viewed as a player that stands a lot to gain in 2026. For the first time in a year or two, Masyn is expected to start the season healthy. If he adds more offensive pop to his gold glove defense, he has the opportunity to be considered for a valuable long-term extension if he doesn’t seek more wealth in the free agent market a few years from now.

Alec Burleson is another player that could gain elevated status on the roster if he backs up his Silver Slugger performance of 2025. He signed a one-year $3.3 million dollar deal with the Cardinals for 2026 to avoid arbitration and is set to become a free agent after the 2028 season. The 2026 season could lead to several outcomes for Alec. He could be a trade deadline target, an extension possibility for the Cardinals or cash in on a nice free agent deal a few years from now if his bat continues to improve.

Matthew Liberatore has the chance to establish himself as a top of the rotation starter if he takes his game to the next level during the upcoming season. Riley O’Brien could develop into one of the NL’s top closers with a great 2026 although the mild calf strain he’s experienced already during Spring Training isn’t a great start. I could go on and on as the St. Louis Cardinals 2026 season is nothing if not a fertile field for opportunities. Who on the St. Louis Cardinals roster do you think has the most to gain or lose in 2026? The possibilities are nearly endless.

The offseason may be officially over, with the first slate of spring training games set to begin in just two days (!), but the Mariners aren’t done making moves, and they’ve brought back an old friend for at least the Cactus League.

There has been enough ink spilled about how Garver’s previous two years with Seattle didn’t live up to the expectations of his two-year, $24 million contract he was signed to on Christmas Eve 2023. After spending 2025 as Cal Raleigh’s backup, it was an easy call for the M’s to decline their end of his mutual option, despite a couple of fun moments in the postseason. Seattle brought aboard Andrew Knizner and Jhonny Pereda to round out the 40-man roster, and with the former being out of options, the Garv man looks to be on the outside looking in for the backup catcher gig.

That doesn’t mean he won’t get a good look this spring, though. With Cal Raleigh set to suit up for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, Seattle will find itself in need of extra backstops for a good chunk of the Cactus League. Garver also has a leg up on the rest of the competition when it comes to familiarity with the Mariners’ pitching staff, with prominent hurlers like Andrés Muñoz and George Kirby previously citing his work with them as reasons for their success. While it’s currently unknown if his minor league deal contains an opt-out clause, it’s not out of the realm of possibility he sticks around with the Rainiers should he not break camp – after all, Tacoma needs catchers, too.

It’s a mild surprise that Mitch Garver couldn’t find a big league deal elsewhere. Despite his multi-year struggles, he was still a capable option against left-handed pitching, and settled in nicely as the second-string catcher after the plan of deploying him as a primary DH went off the rails. In any case, he’ll be a solid addition to the club’s catching depth for now, and his previous work with Seattle’s pitching corps could stand a decent chance at rubbing off on Knizner and Pereda.