AMARILLO, TX - JUNE 29: Jared Sundstrom #4 of the Arkansas Travelers slides into third base during the game between the Arkansas Travelers and the Amarillo Sod Poodles at Hodgetown on Sunday, June 29, 2025 in Amarillo, Texas. (Photo by Elisa Chavez/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
Jared Sundstrom’s surface numbers from the 2025 season do not scream “Top Twenty Prospect” by any stretch of the imagination. A large-bodied outfielder that strikes out nearly 30% of the time and bats right handed isn’t exactly a hot commodity, so what gives? What makes Sundstrom different?
For starters, the tools Sundstrom brings to the table are still very much present. He’s got massive power with fast hands and belts the ball when he makes contact, a necessary trait for a player that’s likely a corner outfielder in the long run. The power comes with swing-and-miss, but he’s been a steady producer throughout his career, making enough contact to get quality results. Plus, with a bounding stride, massive arm, and quick twitch, Sundstrom is a major asset both in the field and on the basepaths; he can play all three outfield positions and went 35/39 in stolen base attempts last season.
Though his season slashline and counting totals look poor at first glance, some major context is necessary to truly understand why his numbers dipped so starkly. Sundstrom epitomizes the player that is destroyed by the confines of Dickey-Stephens Park, home stadium of the Mariners’ Double-A affiliate, and his home/road splits prove it. When playing on the road, Sundstrom slashed .237/.314/.432 with peripherals in line with his career totals. These numbers would reflect a player who made the jump to Double-A and held his own. His home numbers, however, tell a different story. Slashing .198/.276/.307, Sundstrom saw his right-handed power zapped by the windy, cavernous confines of DSP and subsequently had his “back of the baseball card” numbers for the 2025 season destroyed. Encouragingly, Sundstrom’s peripherals were nearly exactly the same on the road as they were at home, strongly pointing to the notion that the ballpark is playing a major role in his struggles.
Sundstrom is far from a flawless prospect, but his talent far eclipses the numbers he produced last season. It’s a boom-or-bust kind of profile that can be tough to evaluate in the low minors, but his performance in Double-A was rather encouraging and reflected a player who’s got the skills to compete in the upper minors. With speed, defensive skills, and gaudy power, Sundstrom has the look of a future big leaguer. Whether it’s a fourth outfielder, bench bat, or starting right fielder isn’t clear at this point in time, but there’s enough here to reason he’s going to end up making it work. Look for him to start the 2026 season in Tacoma and reap the benefits of the bountiful offensive environment that is the PCL.
As teams reported for spring training, the injury news around the league came in fast and furiously last week. From pitchers who dealt with arm injuries in 2025 and did not have them repaired in the offseason — like Pablo Lopez, Blake Snell, Shane Bieber, and Josh Hader, being eased into the preseason — to a trio of hitters in Corbin Carroll, Francisco Lindor, and Jackson Holliday needing surgery on their hamate bones. Anthony Santander missed over four months a year ago and is just now getting surgery on his shoulder, likely to miss most of 2026 as well. Blue Jays fans should be allowed to file a lawsuit for such behavior.
The lone Red Sox injury of note last week was not to a full-time starting player but is notable nonetheless. Romy Gonzalez is behind schedule in spring training with shoulder inflammation, but “hopes to be ready for Opening Day,” according to Christopher Smith’s article for Mass Live last week. The more alarming details in this piece are that Gonzalez sustained this injury in the September 19-21 series at Tampa Bay last season. He had a setback in early January and then received a PRP injection later in the month.
As a general rule, much like with the pitchers listed above, if you end the season with an injury and then arrive at camp the next season with the same injury still bothering you, that’s probably not going to end well. Locally, a recent example would be pitcher Kutter Crawford. In a story that was, coincidentally, posted on February 15th of last year, we learned that Crawford had pitched through a knee injury for 90% of the 2024 season, did not get it repaired in the offseason, and that his “status for the start of the season is iffy.” Innocent wording of that nature — just like “Opening Day is in question,” or “a bit behind the other players” — seems to be copied and pasted into all articles this time of year. It rarely ends well. Crawford did not pitch for Boston in 2025.
Over the past two weeks, the Red Sox notably signed Isiah Kiner-Falefa to a head-scratching $6 million contract for 2026, as well as bringing back three versatile infielders in a trade with the Brewers. Additionally, the team claimed another versatile infielder, Tsung-Che Cheng, off waivers from the Washington Nationals and added him to the 40-man roster, and added second baseman Brendan Rodgers on a minor-league deal. That is a whole lot of ordinary infielders that have been added to the organization in recent weeks. One might even describe it as a plethora of ordinary infielders. “Would you say that we have a plethora of ordinary infielders, Brez?”
This quantity over quality of approach didn’t make much sense until the Gonzalez news came down a week ago, and is a result of waiting until late in the offseason to address clear deficiencies in the lineup. When noted lefty-killer Rob Refsnyder signed with the Mariners in December for $6.25M, it was hard to fault the team for letting him go with all of the outfielders on the roster and the likelihood of Kristian Campbell also shifting to the outfield.
But with Refsnyder gone, if the team is also without Gonzalez for part, or all, of the season, that is a definite concern against left-handed pitching. Gonzalez, Refsnyder, Rafael Devers, and Alex Bregman were the top four hitters in OPS for the Red Sox a year ago against lefties. Without them, someone is going to have to step up. It should also be noted that Gonzalez is the only other player on the expected Opening Day roster with any experience playing first base except for Willson Contreras. And Gonzalez wasn’t just good against southpaws a year ago, he hit the ball hard against most everybody.
Only four hitters in 2025 (min 200 BBE) had a hard-hit rate of 57+% and a barrel rate of 12+%…
Here is a listing of the 13 players currently projected on Roster Resource to make the Opening Day roster, alongside their stats versus left-handed pitching in 2025, sorted by wRC+. I also included Kristian Campbell, who figures to play a key role on the team this season, and could be a replacement for Gonzalez if he misses time.
For reference, Refsnyder slashed .302/.399/.560 (.959 OPS) with a 159 wRC+ against lefties in 138 plate appearances. After Romy, the top player in the list above, there isn’t much to hang on to. Roman Anthony will continue to improve, but he struck out 39% of the time. Kristian Campbell walked plenty against lefties, but hit just .207 compared to a .227 average against righties. Ceddanne Rafaela posted a .220 batting average. Jarren Duran was at .211. Alex Cora has already noted that Abreu will get more chances to face lefties, but he had a .230 mark a year ago and has a .205 career average against them. The right-handed hitting Kiner-Falefa, in case you wondered if he was brought in to help in this department, walked 1.6% of the time (!!) and had a .536 OPS against lefties, compared to a .668 OPS against right-handers. Marcelo Mayer was barely allowed to face them, but hit .154 in 26 at-bats.
A few days ago, when asked about Romy’s progress, Cora described it as “a tough offseason” for Gonzalez and that he is “frustrated” as they wait for the PRP injection to kick in.
Alex Cora says Romy Gonzalez is shut down from baseball activities right now and can only play catch.
Seems like they’re still waiting on the PRP injection to have an impact. Mentions 2B as his best position. pic.twitter.com/MjRXnOO4j8
For two-plus years now, many of us on this website have noted the lack of lefty-righty balance in both the major league team and with the looming prospects who are now up in the big leagues. Very little has changed in that sense, and now there’s a new weakness — a lack of power in the lineup after the departure of Alex Bregman and Rafael Devers — that has emerged over the past eight months. It will be interesting to see if anyone on the current roster, such as Abreu, Duran, and Mayer, is able to step up against southpaws this season. Or perhaps it will be a name we aren’t even focusing on at this time, from that plethora of infielders that Craig Breslow has acquired so far this month.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 28: Luis Gil #81 of the New York Yankees speaks to the media during a press conference beforep laying the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game Three of the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 28, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Despite the possibility they could boast the best starting staff in the division by the All-Star break, the Yankees rotation will have a different composition on Opening Day. They will have to lean on their less-heralded arms to weather the early-season absences of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón as the pair rehab from their respective elbow surgeries. As things stand, their rotation projects as Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers, rounded out by 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil.
Fresh off his RoY win, the Yankees refused to include Gil in a rumored trade for Kyle Tucker before the latter was dealt to the Cubs. Should Gil take the next step in his development at the major league level, one could have dreamed of him establishing a ceiling as a frontline starter. Instead, a lat strain robbed him of the first four months of the season, and warning flags popped up in bunches once he returned to play.
The surface-level stats looked encouraging — in nine of his last ten starts he allowed two or fewer runs across at least five innings in each outing to finish the year with a 3.32 ERA. However, looking under the hood revealed a host of problems. He placed among the four worst starters with at least 50 innings pitched in walk rate, K-BB%, xFIP, and SIERA after losing almost 1.5 mph off his average fastball velocity, leading to plummeting strikeout and chase rates. He gave up a ton of pulled fly balls accompanied by career worsts in average exit velocity and hard-hit rate, both of which underlie alarming jumps in expected slugging and expected FIP.
Not to be too harsh, but all of the lingering hope and hype surrounding Gil boils down to a seven-start stretch from the beginning of May through the first week of June in 2024. Without that five-week span, Gil would not have the AL Rookie of the Year award on his mantel, and his career ERA balloons from 3.50 to 4.15 and FIP from 4.25 to 4.70. Obviously, that is not the way baseball works, but it is still revealing how much weight a relatively short stretch exerts when you have a major league sample size of 242 career innings.
To his credit, Gil remained confident in his abilities when queried about the drop in fastball velocity, asserting that it was an area of maturation to pace himself through a start rather than throw max effort on each hitter (and his fastest pitch at 99 mph proves he can still reach back for velo when he needs it). However, Gil has likely reached his ceiling until he can find consistent command with all three pitches. His 12.7-percent career walk rate is second worst among starters with at least 240 innings pitched since Gil’s debut in 2021. He would suffer starts where he lost the feel for two out of three pitches. Being reduced to throwing just his heater or just his changeup batter after batter caused his strikeout, whiff, and chase rates to crater to career-lows — you just are not going to fool the opposition throwing the same pitch over and over.
All this being said, there are two ways to view Gil’s 2026 season. From the broader team perspective, the Yankees really only need Gil to deputize in rotation until Cole and Rodón are ready to go. Indeed, ZiPS projects him as exactly that type of fringy fifth starter. Though almost all projection systems expect his ERA to increase by about a run, each model predicts his strikeout rate to recover accompanied by a career-low walk rate, perhaps banking that a clean bill of health and a full spring training can put his command in a better spot entering the season.
From the individual focused standpoint, it’s a more worrying outlook for Gil. Once one of the crown jewels of the Yankees’ pitching development, Gil is already finding himself leapfrogged by the prospects graduating below him. His prospects as a long-term starter for the Yankees are dimming in the face of the emergence of Schlittler and Warren and the looming graduations of Elmer Rodríguez and (further down the road) Carlos Lagrange to the majors. Volatility does not project well for a starter, and Gil could be ticketed for a move to the bullpen where at least his high-octane stuff can play up in short spurts.
Thus, Gil finds himself at a crossroads entering the 2026 season. His lack of appreciable development since debuting and the recent trend of disappearing strikeouts severely limit his floor and ceiling as a starter. The urgency is accelerated by the crop of starting pitchers on the cusp of the majors threatening to push Gil out of the future rotation pictures, making the upcoming campaign a make-or-break season for the 27-year-old.
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Phillies’ revamped bullpen was the talk of spring training on Thursday.
Brad Keller, Jonathan Bowlan and Kyle Backhus each threw live sessions against the Phillies’ best hitters, a group that included Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber.
The new arms were impressive.
Keller retired Harper and Schwarber on routine fly balls in the first session of the afternoon. Bowlan then struck out Turner and Schwarber in consecutive at-bats. Backhus kept everyone off balance with his funky sidearm delivery from the left side.
Adding Keller, Bowlan and Backhus to a returning nucleus of Jhoan Duran, Orion Kerkering, Jose Alvarado and Tanner Banks makes for a potentially dominant collection of relievers.
“It’s probably the best group of arms that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Rob Thomson said following Thursday’s workout.
The manager was especially impressed with how Bowlan and Backhus fared against the club’s veteran bats.
“They were really good,” Thomson said. “Bowlan was outstanding. He has a great arm, but he can really spin it too and he was throwing strikes. Backhus is a completely different look for people, that really low sidearm slot with velocity and sink. He filled up the strikes zone with sliders. He’s really difficult on lefthanded hitters.”
The Phillies acquired Bowlan from the Royals in the offseason trade that sent Matt Strahm to Kansas City. Bowlan, a 28-year old righthander with three years of major league experience, posted a 3.86 ERA in 33 relief appearances and one start for the Royals last season.
Backhus came to Philadelphia via a separate offseason trade in which the Phillies sent minor league outfield prospect Avery Owusu-Asiedu to the Diamondbacks. Backhus, a 28-year old lefty, had a 4.62 ERA in 32 relief appearances for Arizona last season as a rookie.
Keller is the most notable bullpen addition. He received a two-year, $22 million free agent contract after posting a 2.07 ERA in 68 appearances for the Cubs in 2025. The 30-year old righthander is a converted starter who shined in his first full season in a relief role.
Keller has been welcomed with open arms in his new clubhouse.
“Everything has been awesome,” Keller said. “All the guys here have been great. It’s been amazing. Everyone is super laid-back, which is awesome. Coming into a camp with a lot of veteran guys helps out a ton. I’m just getting my feet underneath me and ready for the season.”
Keller echoed Thomson’s sentiments about the potential of the Phillies bullpen.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “Obviously we have a lot of dogs down there, a lot of guys who throw hard. I’m just trying to fit right in, go out there and do my job, put up a zero and pass it to the next guy. I’m excited just to be a part of it.”
ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 01: An Oakland A's hat on the infield grass before the Saturday afternoon MLB game between the Atlanta Braves and the Oakland A's on June 1, 2024 at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
*In an effort to make the nomination voting easier for everyone, I will comment, “NOMINATIONS”, and you may reply to that with your picks and upvote the player you’d like to see on the next nominee list.
We have our third straight right-handed pitcher winning another round of voting, with 20-year-old Cole Miller taking the 15th spot in our CPL. Drafted a couple of years ago but only making his pro debut this past season due to Tommy John surgery, Miller is a project that may take some time but one that has the A’s excited to see his progression. He’s got a wicked fastball that sits mid-90’s and he pairs that with a solid slider and a developing changeup. The A’s are developing him as a starter but a future as a high-leverage arm isn’t a bad floor to have.
Our next nominee will be Yunior Tur, a right-hander that pitched across three levels this past season culminating in a a few starts with the Aviators. A signee out of Cuba in 2023, Tur relies on an improving mid-90’s fastball that’s now touching 99, hard slider that is his second-best pitch, but he’s also been developing the third pitch necessary to be a starter in the big leagues, a splitter. He set a career-high in innings pitched this past season but like Miller, his future might be brightest in the bullpen where he can really let that fastball do some damage to opposing batters. If he continues on his current trajectory Tur will surely be a name to watch as a possible summer option for the big league squad this coming season. We won’t have to wait long because he’s already in camp with the A’s this spring, forgoing a chance to play in the WBC to instead try to impress the A’s coaching staff. Gotta love the commitment.
The process for this public vote is explained below. Please take a moment to read this before participating:
Please only vote for one. The player with the most votes at the end of voting will win the ranked spot. The remaining four players move on to the next ballot where they are joined by a new nominee.
In the comments, below the official voting, the community will nominate players to be put onto the ballot for the next round. The format for your comment should be “Nomination: Player Name”.
If a prospect is traded, his name will be crossed out, and all other players will be moved up a space. If a prospect is acquired, a special vote will be put up to determine where that player should rank.
The voting continues! Time for A’s fans to pick the 16th-best prospect the A’s have down on the farm. Here’s a quick rundown on each nominee— the scouting grades (on a 20-to-80 scale) and scouting reports come from MLB Pipeline.
Morris runs up his four-seam fastball to about 95-96 mph and also throws a sinker with good arm-side run in the 92-95 range. His mid-80s slider has developed into an above-average secondary offering. His mid-70s curveball provides a good variation of pitch speeds, though he is still working to make it a more consistent pitch, along with his improving upper-80s changeup.
Morris is athletic with his 6-foot-3 frame. His competitive drive stands out whenever he takes the mound. Discovering the right arm slot that allows for the most consistency is the next big step in his development. How that pans out as he moves through the system will likely determine his long-term role, though he profiles as a back-end starter given his overall pitch mix and solid control.
At the plate, Morii features a smooth left-handed swing with tremendous balance. His power stands out, as he clubbed 45 home runs as a high schooler. He is considered an advanced hitter with good barrel control. On the mound, his fastball has been clocked as high as 95 mph and sits around 92-93. He also brings a splitter with nasty movement, a true 12-to-6 curveball and a tighter slider with solid bite and depth, though that offering will probably require some fine-tuning. Having only been pitching with regularity for less than two years, Morii’s arm is relatively fresh as he enters the organization.
Morii’s high-octane throwing arm plays well at shortstop, but some evaluators see a possibility of moving to third base as his 6-foot-1 frame fills out. While scouts see Morii’s long-term future in the batter’s box, the A’s plan on giving him every opportunity to succeed as a two-way player, with excitement already building over his impressive physical traits and desire to become one of the next great players out of Japan.
Per Billy Owens, Athletics director of player personnel and assistant GM: “Perez is a live-bodied specimen with high-caliber tools. His range and athleticism stand out defensively. Offensively, he can be streaky, but he has displayed plus bat speed, patience and real power. Solid package. Development is not linear. Patience will be required to realize his significant potential.”
Though Hoglund may never get back the electric stuff he possessed earlier in his career, the A’s were encouraged to see his fastball velocity tick back up to the low-90s. He has also experimented with adding a two-seamer and cutter. His low-80s slider now features more sweeping action and works as his main secondary pitch. He has also improved his low-80s changeup, creating a solid three-pitch mix that is enhanced by a strong ability to consistently throw strikes.
Now three years removed from Tommy John, the A’s are hopeful that Hoglund can develop into a solid back-end rotation piece, especially if he can successfully develop a fourth pitch. The Florida native was regularly going deep into starts in his big league cameo (6.40 ERA with 23 strikeouts to 11 walks across 32 1/3 innings) before going down with the injury and is expected to make a full recovery before the 2026 season.
Tur is 26 but only signed with the A’s before the 2023 season after several seasons pitching in the Serie Nacional in Cuba. He started almost all of last year, going from High A to Triple A, although I think he’s a straight reliever. He comes straight over the top, sitting 96 with some ride along with a 55 splitter and a low-90s cutter that doesn’t miss many bats. The slider is fringy and he’s very north-south because of the arm slot. He could pitch in the big-league bullpen right now.
* * *
Programming Note: Each CPL vote will run for around 48 hours, so don’t delay in making your vote!
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 18: Jordan Westburg #11 of the Baltimore Orioles reacts during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 18, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Jordan Westburg reported to Orioles spring training and landed on the “surprise offseason injury” list immediately with a reported sore oblique. Within the last day, rumors swirled up out of places that aren’t usually worth taking seriously as sources of reliable baseball information about concerns about Westburg’s elbow. Unfortunately, those concerns have now hit the mainstream press, with The Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka being the first to report that Westburg has had imaging done on his elbow.
As of yet, nothing has been reported by the Orioles regarding this injury. Reporters including Kostka and MASN’s Roch Kubatko tried to pin down manager Craig Albernaz about what was going on with Westburg, whether there were additional concerns for him than just the previously-reported oblique. “He’s physically unable to participate right now,” was the manager’s cagey response, dodging away from directly responding about the elbow.
More concerning for me is this one from the manager, relayed from Kubatko’s article:
Asked about possible concerns within the organization that Westburg is hurt worse than assumed, Albernaz said, “Oh, just want to make sure we’re doing our due diligence and make sure Jordan is in the best chance to play this year.”
I’ve added the bold for emphasis because for me that’s the classic tell about when an injury is worse than anyone with the team has openly said. Until 24 hours ago, there was no indication that there might be any reason why Westburg would not play this year. Even if you were glum about the oblique, that’s not a miss all season injury. Albernaz wouldn’t have referred to it that way.
With Kostka’s report following shortly after that scrum, it’s not looking good. Secret elbow imaging with delays for “due diligence” pretty much only end up one way, even if it is much less common for an infielder to require surgery on the elbow. For now, there’s no precise news.
Exhibition games haven’t even begun yet for the Orioles and we already know they’re going to have to resort to backup plans at multiple positions in the infield. Westburg’s situation added to Jackson Holliday’s broken hamate bone means that second base and third base will have different players on Opening Day than we all would have assumed two weeks ago.
If Westburg is missing a substantial amount of time, the question of whether Coby Mayo can semi-competently handle third base at the major league level is something the Orioles are going to need to figure out over the course of the Grapefruit League schedule. If Mayo is able to do this, and also if he is able to hit like he showed last September, then Westburg’s absence will be far less bruising. If Mayo is not the answer, the team will need to scramble for Plan C.
Recently-acquired infielder Blaze Alexander seems like the candidate to get several weeks worth of starts at second base until Holliday returns to action. That’s not why the Orioles acquired him, since Holliday’s injury hadn’t even happened yet when the Orioles made the trade. The way things have played out, it seems like that’s the use he should get.
Nobody else get hurt for the rest of camp. Thanks!
ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 9: Sam Haggerty #0 of the Texas Rangers celebrates a double during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Globe Life Field on August 9, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Alexandra Carnochan/Texas Rangers/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the 2025 Texas Rangers season having come to an end, we shall be, over the course of the offseason, taking a look at every player who appeared in a major league game for the Texas Rangers in 2025.
Today we are looking at outfielder Sam Haggerty.
Well that worked out okay, I think.
The Rangers needed a righthanded bat who could play the outfield for their bench in 2025. They signed Sam Haggerty — a switch hitter, but one who has been much stronger against lefties than righties in his career — to a minor league deal.
Haggerty started the season in Round Rock on the injured list, got healthy, then was brought up in early May to replace Dustin Harris. There was an open 40 man roster spot because the Mariners — Haggerty’s old team — had just claimed Leody Taveras on waivers.
Haggerty played well enough for his role when he was healthy. The healthy part was an issue, as he spent 10 days on the injured list in mid-July, then was one of the myriad of players who landed on the injured list in mid-August. He went on a rehab assignment in September, but ultimately was shut down for the season.
Both times Haggerty went on the injured list it was list as being due to left ankle inflammation. Seattle had non-tendered Haggerty after the 2024 season, which he missed most of due to a torn Achilles tendon. I thought maybe the ankle issues were related to that, but he tore his right Achilles tendon, so apparently not. Though it may be that the Achilles injury resulted in him putting more weight, subconsciously, on his left foot, thus impacting his left ankle.
I don’t know. I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play one on television.
And note that I said television, not TV, because TV is a nickname and nicknames are for friends and television is no friend of mine.
Anyway, when Haggerty was on the field, he was perfectly fine. Wasn’t great defensively, probably shouldn’t be playing center field, but needs must. 88th percentile in spring speed, per Statcast, so apparently he recovered pretty fully from the Achilles tear. 812 OPS against lefties, 575 OPS against righties, pretty much in line with his career splits (808/555).
Haggerty’s splits are so extreme, in fact, that one has to wonder if he wouldn’t be better off giving up switch-hitting altogether. For MLB as a whole last season, righthanders put up an OPS against lefties that was 44 points higher than against righties. When you are a switch hitter who hits very well against lefthanders and is unplayable against righthanders, at a certain point, don’t you have to consider giving up the switch hitting thing?
So Haggerty was useful in 2025, and likely will spend 2026 being useful in between trips to the injured list.
Sep 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Tim Mayza (54) throws a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The Phillies traded Matt Strahm this winter in an effort to lower payroll get more long term flexibility with their bullpen options. Once the trade was finalized, a ripple effect of that trade, unforeseen or not, was that the depth chart from the left handed side of the bullpen took quite the hit. Those three left handers from 2025 – Strahm, Jose Alvarado and Tanner Banks – were among the better options at getting left handed hitting out and were somewhat successful in keeping right handed hitters at bay as well. However, no longer would they have three left handers trotting in from the bullpen, meaning they had to backfill a little bit.
While the team still may keep only Alvarado and Banks as the left handers in the bullpen to begin the season, Rob Thomson has shown an affinity to keeping at least three southpaws out beyond center field at all times. If we were to assume that he was going to do the same for 2026, that means there is suddenly a spring battle to be followed. The bullpen hierarchy, as it stands right now, likely looks like this:
Jhoan Duran
Jose Alvarado
Brad Keller
Orion Kerkering
Tanner Banks
Jonathan Bowlan
Zach McCambley
???????
While we could debate keeping McCambley at all, it’s probably a decent assumption that these seven pitchers will comprise the majority of the bullpen, leaving that eighth and final spot the one coveted by a handful of options that have been cultivated by the front office. If we continue to assume things and believe that Thomson will want another left handed pitcher for that spot, some of the options he has to choose from each has their own set of skills to stake their claim.
Tim Mayza
Mayza was the one that the team picked up last season with the hopes of being able to replace Alvarado. Once Alvarado was deemed out for the season, the Phillies claimed Mayza off of waivers and, coming off his own injury, put him into the bullpen to have him throw 16 2/3 innings of uneventful baseball.
His past success with Toronto suggested that once he was healthy, the team might have had quite a decent find for free from waivers, but there just never seemed to be any trust in him. Anything he could have done that would have been a leveraged situation simply went to Banks.
Still, there were some encouraging things that he did that earned him another minor league deal from the Phillies with a spring training invite. His velocity was perfectly fine, averaging 93.6 miles per hour on the fastball. It being a sinker that he threw most of the time, he kept the ball on the ground rather often, something the team likes from their relievers.
You just didn’t want him in the game with any right handed hitters in the lineup. His splits (.874 OPS against RHH, .499 OPS against LHH) were such that he is more or less unpitchable when a right handed hitter approaches the plate. In the age of the three batter minimum, that’s something that can’t be used too often.
We are past the days of the LOOGY, the guy that only pitches to one, maybe two, left handed hitters, then departs for the showers. If that job were still available, Backhus would probably be in higher demand around the game. His wOBA against left handed hitters (.227) was 23rd among 134 left handed pitchers, starter or reliever, in 2025. That’s an incredible skill to have and makes one wonder why he was available for only a minor league deal.
As with Mayza, the story remains the game: right handed hitters destroy him. Of the 73 right handed batters he faced in 2025, he allowed five doubles, a triple and two home runs. His velocity, or lack thereof, means he can just throw the ball by them and the funk he shows against left handed hitters doesn’t have quite the same effectiveness against righties.
Starting to sense a theme here?
Genesis Cabrera
Probably the longest of shots among the three listed here, Cabrera does do one thing better than the other two: get hitters to swing and miss.
In 2025, Cabrera bested Mayza and Backhus in whiff rate, his 27.1% whiff rate beating Mayza by two percent, Backhus by five. For a team that has focused on this particular trait quite a bit this offseason, that is going to carry some weight. How he went about it is somewhat counterintuitive to what I had previously thought. At first, I believed that Cabrera was getting these whiffs based on being able to throw his fastball by hitters, but in fact, his 95.7 average fastball velocity wasn’t being missed much (22.5% whiff rate) and his sinker was getting tattooed by opposing lineups (.639 SLG against). Getting swings and misses on his breaking pitches? Nope, his whiff rate on breaking pitches was the worst of the trio.
Where Cabrera excelled in getting swings and misses was a splitter that he started throwing for the first time in 2025. On this pitch, he got swings and misses 52.1% of the time. That might sounds like a weapon that can be unleashed for good, but when hitters did square it up, they did damage (two home runs in 20 plate appearances). If he can keep the pitch in the park and he can focus on refining a much better cutter, there could be something there the team can work with.
Now, this all sounds great, raising the same question with Cabrera that was raised with Mayza and Backhus and arriving at the same destination seems inevitable: why was he available for only a minor league deal?
You guessed it!
That .418 wOBA Kyle Backhus had against right handed hitters? It looks rough until you compare it Cabrera, whose .437 mark was the fourth worst among 122 southpaws.
If the Phillies are going to carry a third left handed reliever in 2026, someone is going to have to improve against right handed pitching. The options that are in camp on minor league deals are not without their warts, yet have demonstrated some modicum of success in the past. Backhus probably has the headstart on either Mayza or Cabrera by virtue of being on the 40 man roster already, yet he also needs to improve at getting righties out as well if he wants to have any kind of leveraged opportunities with the team. It also wouldn’t be surprising if the team continues to scour the league in search of a deal, a waiver claim, a free release that would be an improvement over what is in camp now.
SARASOTA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 16: Chris Bassitt #40 of the Baltimore Orioles warms up during practice at Ed Smith Stadium on February 16, 2026 in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Baltimore Orioles/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Grapefruit League schedule is upon us. From February 20 through March 23, the Orioles will be playing near-daily games to help them get ready for Opening Day on March 26. Over the course of camp, cuts will gradually be made until they get down to the 26-man roster at the end. Young players and journeymen will have an opportunity to make an impression early on. Later, it’ll be about the expected regulars getting in the reps to hit the ground running.
Orioles fans get an uncommon treat this spring training. After several years of the team-owned television network not bothering to broadcast more than a handful of spring games, this year will see more than half of the schedule with a local television broadcast. This does still come with the disappointing fact of the broadcasters calling the games remotely, but it’s better than we’ve gotten recently, with not many games and those called remotely as well.
All but seven of the spring training games will be on either one team’s TV broadcast or the other, and when adding in radio broadcasts for both teams, only one game will have no TV or radio at all: a warmup game against the Netherlands WBC team on March 3 before that tournament begins.
Here’s the full schedule for this spring’s Orioles action:
CINCINNATI, OHIO - MARCH 27: A general view on Opening Day at Great American Ball Park prior to a game between the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds on March 27, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cincinnati Reds will open their 2026 season on March 26th in Great American Ball Park with the Boston Red Sox in town. Cincinnati’s Cactus League slate at their home in Goodyear, Arizona will begin this Saturday, February 21st, with the Cleveland Guardians both their home complex compatriots and opponents for the day.
With competitive baseball firmly on the horizon, here’s Red Reporter’s first stab at how the 26-man roster will look when regular season ball commences just five weeks from now.
Starting Rotation
RHP Hunter Greene
LHP Andrew Abbott
LHP Nick Lodolo
RHP Brady Singer
RHP Chase Burns
Notes: The storyline here is the battle for the fifth and final spot in the rotation, as each of Burns, Rhett Lowder, Brandon Williamson, and Julian Aguiar are among the candidates – each of whom already has big league experience under their belts. Burns, though, seems poised to launch into the stratosphere of elite pitchers in the game today, and I don’t think the Reds are in a position to throttle that to begin the season (even if they need to limit his innings at some point later in the year).
Given that each of Lowder, Williamson, and Aguiar is coming off lost 2025 seasons due to major injuries, I think each will get slow-played to start 2026 in order to be built up and ready for the inevitable mid-season needs of the big league club.
Bullpen
RHP Emilio Pagán
RHP Tony Santillan
RHP Graham Ashcraft
LHP Brock Burke
LHP Caleb Ferguson
RHP Pierce Johnson
RHP Connor Phillips
LHP Sam Moll
Notes: The final spot here is the lone one about which I’ve got questions, but usually when that’s the case it’s the larger, administrative factors that win out. In this case, Moll is out of options, and I think that will give him the leg up on the final spot over the likes of Zach Maxwell and Luis Mey. It gives the Reds a third lefty, which might not be ideal, but would buy time for Terry Francona to figure out just how much he really needs a third southpaw (and for Moll to show he’s healthy again), with Big Sugar and Mey around for immediate depth if anything goes askew.
Position Players
C Tyler Stephenson
C Jose Trevino
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH/IF Eugenio Suárez
IF Sal Stewart
IF Matt McLain
IF Elly De La Cruz
3B Ke’Bryan Hayes
IF/OF Spencer Steer
OF TJ Friedl
OF Noelvi Marte
OF Will Benson
OF Dane Myers
Notes: The recent signing of Lowe to a non-roster contract put this projection into flux, but I do truly think there’s plenty left in his tank and that will show in spring camp. That means he’ll be in the mix at 1B more often than anyone originally thought, and while initially that would look like a major impact to the playing time of Stewart, I think it will actually impact JJ Bleday more than anyone due to Lowe hitting from the left-hand side. Bleday has options remaining – as does Benson, as they’ll be competing directly with one another – but I think Benson gets the inside edge for the time being.
What carrying Lowe, a solid defender at 1B, does though is push Spencer Steer into more time in LF. Stewart, Lowe, and Suárez will rotate through 1B/DH on most days, though I do still expect Suárez to get at least one start a week at 3B until the point at which he proves unplayable there. Steer will also likely get time at 2B on days when McLain either a) takes over SS to give Elly a break or b) when McLain needs a break himself, with Stewart hopefully getting in that mix a time or two here and there, too.
While I’m still highly skeptical of the concept of Myers at all, I think he gets the nod as the right-handed outfielder who can play CF for the time being.
NBC Sports Philadelphia is kicking off Phillies spring training with extensive coverage, highlighted by 17 live games and extensive TV, digital and social content.
The 17-game slate includes seven matchups on NBCSP, 10 on NBCSP+ and gets underway with the team’s exhibition opener against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. ET. A look at the NBCSP broadcast production schedule below:
Date
Time
Matchup
Location
Channel
Sun, Feb 22
1:05 PM
Phillies vs. Pittsburgh
Clearwater, FL
NBCSP
Wed, Feb 25
1:05 PM
Phillies vs. Detroit
Clearwater, FL
NBCSP+
Fri, Feb 27
1:05 PM
Phillies vs. Miami
Clearwater, FL
NBCSP+
Sun, Mar 1
1:05 PM
Phillies vs. NY Yankees
Clearwater, FL
NBCSP
Wed, Mar 4
1:05 PM
Phillies vs. Team Canada*
Clearwater, FL
NBCSP+
Thurs, Mar 5
1:05 PM
Phillies vs. Boston
Clearwater, FL
NBCSP+
Tues, Mar 10
1:05 PM
Phillies vs. NY Yankees
Clearwater, FL
NBCSP+
Fri, Mar 13
1:05 PM
Phillies vs. Baltimore
Clearwater, FL
NBCSP+
Sun, Mar 15
1:05 PM
Phillies vs. Atlanta
Clearwater, FL
NBCSP
Tues, Mar 17
1:05 PM
Phillies vs. Minnesota
Clearwater, FL
NBCSP+
Fri, Mar 20
1:05 PM
Phillies vs. Detroit
Clearwater, FL
NBCSP+
Sat, Mar 21
1:05 PM
Phillies vs. Toronto**
Clearwater, FL
NBCSP+
*WBC Exhibition **Spring Breakout Prospects
NBCSP is extending bonus coverage in partnership with other regional networks including Sportsnet, YES Network and MLB Local.
Date
Time
Matchup
Location
Channel
Sat, Feb 21
1:07 PM
Phillies at Toronto
Dunedin, FL
NBCSP
Sat, Feb 28
1:07 PM
Phillies at Toronto
Dunedin, FL
NBCSP
Sun, Mar 8
1:05 PM
Phillies at Minnesota
Ft. Myers, FL
NBCSP
Sat, Mar 14
1:05 PM
Phillies at NY Yankees
Tampa, FL
NBCSP+
Sun, Mar 22
1:05 PM
Phillies at NY Yankees
Tampa, FL
NBCSP
Live games will feature play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy and veteran analysts Ruben Amaro Jr., Ben Davis and John Kruk rotating in the booth. Phillies legend Cole Hamels will also return as a game analyst on a part-time basis.
Digital reporting will feature work from both Jim Salisbury and Cole Weintraub, who will also spearhead coverage through the regular season.
Salisbury, who previously served as the Phillies writer/reporter for the network from 2010 to 2022, returns in a similar role covering the team. The veteran sports reporter brings more than 30 years of experience reporting on baseball and 26 years covering the Phillies.
“I’m excited to return to NBC Sports Philadelphia and once again be part of its great baseball coverage team,” said Salisbury. “Opening day can’t come fast enough. I’m sick of the cold and ready for some ball. Hopefully I won’t dangle any participles.”
Weintraub also joins the team as a digital reporter, previously spending time as a contributor for MLB Pipeline and MiLB.
“[Philadelphia is] a fantastic baseball town,” Weintraub said. “The opportunity to bridge the gap between younger and older audiences through our coverage of Phillies baseball is beyond exciting.”
Special edition episodes of the Phillies Talk Podcast, featuring hosts Spencer McKercher and Sean Kane, will feature comprehensive team/player progress reports and special guest interviews.
“Sean and I are incredibly excited about the growth of the Phillies Talk podcast coverage, which continues to exceed expectations and deliver fans the best Phillies content, especially down in spring training,” said McKercher. “Most importantly, the engagement and feedback from Phillies fans has been overwhelming and we’re grateful for the passion and support that’s fueling this momentum.”
You can stay up to date on all things Phillies with wall-to-wall coverage on NBCsportsphiladelphia.com and social/digital platforms.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 01: Luis Perales #91 of the Salt River Rafters throws a pitch during an Arizona Fall League game against the Scottsdale Scorpions at Scottsdale Stadium on November 1, 2025 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Fangraphs recently released its top 100 prospects list for the 2026 season, with 3 Nationals appearing on the list, Eli Willits at 15, Jarlin Susana at 29, and Harry Ford at 74, with Travis Sykora just missing the list and being in their next 10 off at 109. Yesterday, they released another prospect ranking, this one via their projection system OOPSY, which relies heavily on a prospect’s peak performance in the minor leagues rather than their most recent performance, and it had a lot of love to show towards the prospects in the Nationals farm system, with a stunning 8 Nats making the top 100.
List is absolutely littered with Nats Travis Sykora #8 ! Alejandro Rosario #24 !!! Jarlin Susana #34 Harry Ford #45 Eli Willits #59 Luis Perales #73 Devin Fitz-Gerald #96 https://t.co/xKjlrGZdKK
The first shocker on the list is Travis Sykora at 8, making him their third-highest-ranked pitching prospect, right behind Trey Yesavage and Jonah Tong and ahead of highly acclaimed pitchers such as Bubba Chandler and Nolan McLean.
Players are ranked by their projected peak season fWAR, and OOPSY projects that number to be 4.0 for Sykora at his peak, which would have made him a borderline top 10 pitcher in MLB in 2025. While I expect the ranking is only accounting for Sykora’s performance and doesn’t factor in his current injury, it’s still exciting to see a projection system be so high on the Nats top pitching prospect.
Another shocker on the list is Alejandro Rosario coming in at 24, making him their 7th-highest-rated pitching prospect with a peak fWAR projection of 3.5, which would put him in top-20 starting pitcher territory in 2025. It’s unsurprising that a list that values a player’s performance so heavily would rank Rosario highly, as his 2024 minor league season was one of the best by a prospect in recent memory. Like Sykora, I expect this ranking isn’t accounting for Rosario’s current injury, but it’s exciting nonetheless to see him so high on a prospect list.
Not far behind Rosario is Jarlin Susana, coming in as the 8th highest rated pitching prospect and 34th overall, with a peak fWAR of 3.3. While it’s a high rating for the big righty, it’s actually lower than his 29th overall ranking on Fangraphs main top 100 list, as the site has always been higher than most others on him.
Harry Ford checks in on the list at 45, a strong ranking for the Nats’ newly acquired backstop. OOPSY projects the bat to be above average, but also is a believer that he can be a positive defender behind the dish in the bigs, a sentiment not all rankings share.
The wildest ranking on this list, which I missed the first time I looked because I didn’t even think to look for him (and he was still labeled as a Ranger), has to be Yeremy Cabrera at 53rd overall, with a peak fWAR projection of 2.9, which would make him a top 10 centerfielder in baseball in 2025. While the projection sees the bat just slightly above average, it believes his speed and defense will be both well above average and make him an impactful everyday player.
Willits appears on the list at 59, much lower than his 15th overall ranking on the main Fangraphs list, but still the highest of all 2025 MLB draft prospects. To be expected, a list that values minor league performance will be lower than usual on prospects who haven’t debuted professionally or have very little time there, and it’s a testament to Willits performance in his short time in Low A in 2025 that he’s even this high on the rankings.
Luis Perales makes the list at 73rd overall, giving the Nationals 4 of the top 16 pitching prospects in the sport, according to OOPSY. It’s clear that whatever numbers and formulas are used to create OOPSY’s rankings, Paul Toboni has a very similar model he uses to make his moves.
Rounding out the list for the Nats is Devin Fitz-Gerald at 96, his first appearance on any top 100 list to my knowledge. He is listed as a third baseman, interestingly enough, and OOPSY projects him to be an above average defender there with a slightly above average bat.
Overall, while this list shouldn’t be treated as gospel, it’s exciting to see so many Nationals make an appearance, as lists like this in the past have been scarce when it came to Nats prospects.
One of the rituals for Major League Baseball’s players every spring is to pose for team and media photographers. These shots get used in a variety of ways; you’re probably most used to seeing them on player pages on various websites, or in the pitcher previews I do here at BCB.
If you think this kind of work is easy, think again. The players had to report to Sloan Park before dawn Monday to begin the shoot at 7 a.m. As a result, some of the poses turn out to be quirky, fun or otherwise notable and those are the photos I’ve chosen to share with you above. If a player doesn’t appear here, it means his poses were… pretty ordinary.
Enjoy the selection below of a couple dozen photos from Monday’s shoot, taken by Chris Coduto of Getty Images and Rick Scuteri of Imagn Images. You’ll see a good cross-section of the spring roster here, including some guys you know well and others… you might not.
I’m pretty sure Alex Bregman is recognizable without the note.
A pensive Dansby Swanson.
Phil Maton shows off his grip.
Jameson Taillon concentrates on that baseball.
Now this guy, you’d probably need the ID for.
Carson Kelly is ready to throw a runner out.
Can you guess the name of this Cub with a big bat? It’s Justin Dean.
Do you recognize Daniel Palencia from his eyes only?
A tip o’ the cap from Caleb Thielbar.
Another cap tip from Seiya Suzuki.
Ian Happ says, “Write your own caption.”
You can see the Jaguar design on Kevin Alcántara’s bat.
“I’ll be back soon,” says Justin Steele.
Another pitcher grip view, from Shōta Imanaga.
Jordan Wicks flips a baseball.
Nico Hoerner shows off his bat.
Just what is PCA thinking right here?
A big grin from Michael Busch.
Matthew Boyd, as if he’s staring down a hitter. Also, in this photo you can see the jersey “vent” that’s been restored for 2026, as MLB goes back to the pre-2024 jersey style.
Cade Horton and his tattooed arm are ready for the season.
The Cubs’ newest starting pitcher, Edward Cabrera, and his glove honoring his Dominican Republic home.
A new addition who might be in the Cubs outfield this year: Dylan Carlson
New Cubs left-hander Hoby Milner smiles for the camera.
Miguel Amaya, ready to hit.
The skipper, looking a lot younger than his age (55).
Athletics Spring Training facility at HoHhokum stadium. | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
As Spring Training kicks into second gear, we have our first game of the season to look forward to on Saturday. It will be our first glimpse of the arms, the bats, and the gloves that our hopes and dreams this season will rest upon…but no pressure guys. There has been a flurry of ‘minor signings” that may add some competition that we didn’t see coming, but I think we’ll largely see what we expected come opening day with a few interesting twists. Of course, the qualifier that always comes into play is real, and that is “barring injury.”
An early projection for A’s Opening Day roster
Last week, A’s Beat Writer Martín Gallegosgave his thoughts on the opening day lineup. With all due respect for a guy who knows this team better than anyone, there are no bold or wild predictions, just solid insights into the roster skipper Mark Kotsay will likely use to start the season.
No surprises at catcher, we can expect Shea Langeliers to be the starter with veteran Austin Wynns serving as primary backup.
First base belongs to Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz. If heathy, I expect a monster year with no sophomore slump in sight.
Second base will surely go to one of this off-season’s trade acquisitions Jeff McNeil. Coming over from the Mets, he brings a multi-positional resume but will be a real upgrade offensively and defensively over Zack Gelof so until something drastically changes the job at second is his.
The biggest battle this spring will be for third base. We can expect a true competition between Max Muncy, Darell Hernaiz, and Brett Harris. My gut tells me that before his sweet contract extension expires that we might see Jacob Wilson over at third, but I seriously doubt that it will be this season.
Jacob Wilson is pretty much a lock for starting the season at shortstop. The ROY runner-up put together a solid season at the plate and should build on that for 2026. His range is somewhat limited so he may not be there forever but expect him to play a solid short and contribute nicely to the ever-improving offense.
I think we can safely expect Tyler Soderstrom, Denzel Clarke, and Lawrence Butler to roam the outfield on opening day. Soderstrom’s defense was one of the biggest surprises of 2025 having just moved from first base and yet being a finalist for a Gold Glove award. Clarke is a walking highlight reel in centerfield and if he stays healthy will be web gem superstar. Butler is evolving into a team leader and with more plate discipline will continue to grow as an offensive asset to this team. Expect three additional names to battle for the backup outfield roles: Carlos Cortes, Colby Thomas, and Junior Perez.
Veteran Brent Rooker will likely have a lock on the Designated Hitter role, his job for all but twenty-seven games in 2025. With McNeil likely leading off and setting the table for him, I expect Rook and Kurtz to drive in more runs this year than last.
With Andy Ibáñez picked up off waivers from the Dodgers, Max Schuemann was traded to the Yankees. That likely means that Ibáñez will take over the role of super-utility guy for Kotsay.
The starting rotation is far from settled, but all indications are that Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, Luis Morales, Jacob Lopez, and recent acquisition Aaron Civale will be the starting five. Civale effectively bumped J.T. Ginn to the bullpen, but it’s a long season so he may still get his shot.
The bullpen will have two fresh faces to start the season. We’ll see Mark Leiter Jr. and Scott Barlow join with Hogan Harris, Justin Sterner, Michael Kelly, Tyler Ferguson, Elvis Alvarado, and Jack Perkins. No closer has been officially named so we can expect a closer-by-committee at least as the season opens.
Only time will tell if this is truly how the A’s start the season, but the great news is, the first pitch is just three days away!
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 27: Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans (55) throws a pitch in the fifth inning of an Opening Day MLB game between the Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals on March 27, 2025 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
At the end of January, I wrote an article about the Kansas City Royals potentially moving a starting pitcher for prospects. The Royals have enviable depth, and I think there are six guys – Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Kris Bubic, Noah Cameron, and Ryan Bergert – who really should be in an MLB starting rotation on Opening Day. Stephen Kolek, the Royals’ presumptive #7 going into next season, would be a great back-end of the rotation guy for other teams as well.
My thought when writing the article was that no major league help was coming in a trade for a starting pitcher, and that the Royals would not consider using a six-man rotation during the year. Royals manager Matt Quatraro, however, revealed to Jack Johnson that the team has at least held discussions about using a six starters during the upcoming year:
Asked Q about a potential 6-man rotation:
“Yeah, it’s certainly something we talked about this offseason. It’s tough to manage when you don’t have a ton of relievers to option. But it is something we’ve talked about, especially in longer stretches of games.” #Royals
Quatraro’s answer on this is interesting for multiple reasons. Regardless of whether the Royals decide to try out a six-man rotation this year, it’s great that the team is having the conversation about it and is willing to be transparent with the public that they are thinking through these things. As someone who thinks about the Royals probably more than I should, I’m comforted by the fact that the people running the team are thinking about them even more.
So what would be the potential upside of a six-man rotation? In theory, the starters would be more effective when they pitched and able to go deeper into games. Mike Petriello pointed out at the beginning of 2025 that more pitchers are pitching on five days rest than four days rest anyway, even if a few teams are actively employing a six-man rotation. The Los Angeles Dodgers are planning on using a six-man rotation this year, as that helps Shohei Ohtani manage his two-way load while also being more familiar with World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Houston Astros are also considering using a six-man rotation throughout the season, particularly in their jam-packed beginning of the year. The Astros will be incorporating Tatsuya Imai from the NPB to their team, and pitchers in NPB pitch once a week, so a six-man rotation should make his adjustment to MLB smoother.
The 2024 Royals showed how valuable having starters able to be effective and go deep into games was, as that proved to be a key ingredient to the team’s success. The 2025 rotation battled more injuries, particularly at the top of the rotation, and was saved by Cameron’s remarkable rookie season. Can Ragans and Lugo be more effective than they were in 2025 and remain able to pitch all year if they get an extra day of rest between starts? If you are just trying to get your best 26 players on the team, can you really leave out a healthy Bergert?
The potential downside of a six-man rotation is that your best pitchers get fewer starts and have less ability to positively impact your season. Ragans is likely to get five fewer starts in a six-man rotation, assuming that every guy goes on five days’ rest in order. Cameron and Bergert are both great options for the back end of a rotation, but a healthy Ragans is still bette,r and your team is likely to win more games with Ragans starting. In a winnable AL Central, every game matters, which might make the Royals loath to have their best guys pitch less frequently.
Quatraro also mentioned that it is difficult to manage the bullpen if you have six starters and not a lot of relief pitchers with minor league options. Right now, Roster Resource projects the Royals to have eight relievers and five starters; teams are only allowed to carry thirteen pitchers on their roster. Of the eight relievers that Roster Resource projects to make the Opening Day roster, only three have options remaining: Lucas Erceg, Daniel Lynch, and Alex Lange. Something will have gone terribly wrong if the Royals are sending Erceg to Omaha. So if you have seven relievers instead of eight, presumably one of Lange or Lynch will be in Omaha to start the year, and the other one is the only guy who could safely go down if you need more bullpen help.
Roster Resource does project Bailey Falter to make the team, and he is out options, so if the Royals really wanted a six-man rotation, they might have to try and sneak Falter through waivers or be willing to let another team claim him for their staff. An extra pitcher in your starting rotation should make the long reliever more of a luxury than a necessity. The Royals, however, were very willing to shuffle out the back end of the bullpen in 2025 and clearly would like to be able to do so again in 2026.
I did think it was interesting that Quatraro mentioned that the Royals might use a six-man rotation during longer stretches of games. Bergert, Cameron, and Kolek (along with newly acquired Mason Black) all have options remaining and could stay stretched out in Omaha when the Royals have more off days. The Royals have an early stretch, from April 5th to April 27th, where they play 21 games in 22 days. It’s early in the season, so rainouts are certainly possible, but that’s a long stretch right out of the gate. More pitcher injuries happen before the season and early in the season rather than later in the year, so keeping your starters from overtaxing themselves and getting hurt right out of the chute could be a prudent choice. The team also plays 29 games in 31 days from the end of May to end of June, which seems like another stretch where the team could consider going to a six-man rotation.
It’s certainly possible that injuries will render this entire conversation moot. It’s also possible one of the starters will struggle and no longer be deserving of a rotation slot. Still, I’m glad that the team is talking about a potential six-man rotation, and I will be very curious to track if we see one during the busiest stretches of the season.
