Category: MLB

The San Francisco Giants will continue their opening series against the New York Yankees this afternoon from Oracle Park. The Yankees have a 1-0 series lead after the Giants’ disastrous Opening Day loss.

Taking the mound for the first time this season for the Giants will be left-hander Robbie Ray, who finished the 2025 season with a 3.65 ERA, 3.93 FIP, with 186 strikeouts to 73 walks in 182.1 innings pitched.

He’ll be facing off against Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler, who finished the 2025 season with a 2.96 ERA, 3.74 FIP, with 84 strikeouts to 31 walks in 73 innings pitched.

Game #2

Who: San Francisco Giants (0-1) vs. New York Yankees (1-0)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 1:35 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

While the Yankees got their 2026 season going on Wednesday night, the rest of MLB had to wait a little while. Thursday saw the season get going for most of the rest of the league, with 11 games happening on an action-packed day.

With those teams all getting in action yesterday, that means it’s time for the return of a feature here at Pinstripe Alley. All throughout the season, we recap the previous day’s results of all the Yankees’ American League “rivals” and teams they’re currently battling with for playoff position. The clubs we cover are, of course, subject to change pending* their results and status in the standings, but at least from the jump, we’ll keep an eye on the Red Sox, Blue Jays (who start today), Tigers, Mariners, and Astros.

With all that in mind, it’s time for the first Rivalry Roundup for 2026.

*Editor’s note: Out of respect for our writers’ time and the inherent focus of this feature, we also endeavor to not throw too too many teams in here. So we’re disrespecting possible playoff contenders like Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Texas from the jump, but that’s life! You have to draw the line somehwhere.

Boston Red Sox (1-0) 3, Cincinnati Reds (0-1) 0

Garrett Crochet goes into 2026 as one of the favorites for the AL Cy Young Award, and he showed why in the Red Sox Opening Day. Crochet went six innings for Boston, allowing just three hits and two walks, striking out eight as the Red Sox shut out the Reds.

For most of the game, this one was a pitchers’ duel as Cincinnati’s Andrew Abbott wasn’t bad himself. He went six shutout innings, scattering a couple more hits than Crochet did, but similarly keeping Boston off the board.

It was when the game went to the bullpens that it was finally decided. In the top of the seventh, Ceddanne Rafaela singled home Marcelo Mayer, scoring the game’s first run. Trevor Story and Jarren Duran added an RBI each in the ninth, as Boston’s bullpen held firm, while Cincinnati’s could not.

Los Angeles Angels (1-0) 3, Houston Astros (0-1) 0

Mike Trout turned back the clock, as he powered the Angels’ offense, while José Soriano did his part with six impressive shutout innings against the Astros.

Much like the game right above this one, this game was a pitchers’ duel for a long while, with it similarly being 0-0 after six innings. Hunter Brown was okay for the Astros, while Soriano allowed just two hits and struck out seven in his six frames.

Trout broke the deadlock in this one, as his solo shot in the seventh gave the Halos a lead, while he also drew three walks on the day. Former Yankee Oswald Peraza helped the Angels tack on, although the one run would’ve been enough, as the Astros left nine runners on base for the game.

Detroit Tigers (1-0) 8, San Diego Padres (0-1) 2

The Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first and never looked back, as they cruised past the Padres.

Nick Pivetta took the ball for San Diego and quickly recorded the first out of the game, only for things to go off the rails after that. He walked three of the next four hitters, with the lone exception in there being a single. The third walk to Spencer Torkelson plated the first run, but more was coming. Highly-rated, debuting prospect Kevin McGonigle then immediately doubled to score a couple more runs, as Detroit took a big lead.

McGonigle would have an incredible debut even beyond that hit, as he recorded three more. Meanwhile, two-time reigning Cy Young Tarik Skubal was pretty good himself. He allowed just one unearned run in six innings, as Detroit handled the Padres without issue.

Cleveland Guardians (1-0) 6, Seattle Mariners (0-1) 4

José Ramírez’s two-RBI double in the seventh inning ended up being the difference maker, as the Guardians won a back-and-forth game over the Mariners.

The teams traded runs in the first inning, and gave the lead back and forth a couple times, but a fifth inning Luke Raley homer had the game tied at three. Then in the seventh, Ramírez stepped to the plate with two on and two out and he delivered. His double scored a pair that gave Cleveland a 5-3 lead.

Seattle got one of those runs back in the bottom of the seventh, but they got nothing going after that. Cleveland’s bullpen combined to retire the last nine M’s hitters in a row to seal their Opening Day win.

Diamondbacks News

(SI.com) D-backs’ Biggest Weakness Exposed by Dodgers in Ugly Opening Day Loss

It began with Zac Gallen. Gallen had been working efficiently and effectively through four innings, getting swing-and-miss on his secondary pitches and showcasing a 94.1 MPH average fastball velocity. Things looked to be going well.

But Gallen ran into a blowup inning in the fifth — a type of inning that was somewhat frequent during his rough 2025 season. A pair of ground balls became singles, and a poor location to Andy Pages became a three-run homer, flipping the score to 3-2 in favor of L.A.

(NBC Sports) Andy Pages’ 3-run shot sparks Dodgers’ 8-2 comeback win over the Diamondbacks in season opener

Andy Pages hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fifth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied past the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2 on Thursday, opening the season with a victory in pursuit of their third consecutive World Series championship.

Three of the Dodgers’ first four hits in the fifth off Zac Gallen came with two strikes. Max Muncy singled, Teoscar Hernández reached on an infield single to Gallen, Pages’ homer traveled 400 feet and Miguel Rojas singled. Shohei Ohtani drew a walk to chase Gallen, who began the game with four shutout innings and a 2-0 lead.

(Arizona Sports) Diamondbacks crushed by Dodgers on Opening Day. What went wrong?

The fifth inning got off to an unfortunate start, as a Max Muncy hard grounder got past second baseman Ketel Marte for a single and Teoscar Hernandez reached on a dribbler. With the table set, Andy Pages delivered the go-ahead, three-run home run on a curveball that did not quite get below the zone.

Gallen stayed in for two more hitters, who reached base on a hit and a walk before manager Torey Lovullo pulled his starter.

(SI.com) Diamondbacks DH Scratched From Lineup vs Dodgers

Arizona Diamondbacks DH Pavin Smith was scratched from the opening day lineup against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday with left elbow soreness, according to multiple reports. Infield/outfield utility Tim Tawa will take over the DH slot and bat ninth for Arizona.

Following the Diamondbacks’ ugly 8-2 blowout loss on opening night, Smith told reporters that he will undergo imaging on his elbow on Friday to determine severity

MLB News

(Yahoo! Sports) Automated Ball-Strike System sees 61.3% success rate in first games

Francona saw a walk by Eugenio Suárez on a full count overturned to a strikeout in the fourth inning while Connor Phillips’ ninth-inning strikeout of Boston’s Roman Anthony — also on a full count — overturned to a walk.

“I think our pitchers are going to have to get used to thinking the inning might be over, and it’s not,” Francona said. “It’s almost like when a guy comes out and you say, ‘Hey, way to go. Can you get one more?’ So you’re going to have to stay dialed in.”

(ESPN) Pirates ace Paul Skenes pulled in 1st inning of season opener

It was a stunning scene at Citi Field on Thursday afternoon: Paul Skenes, untouchable in his first two major league seasons, walking off the field to the sarcastic cheers from the sellout crowd after failing to survive the first inning on Opening Day.

Skenes, still just 23 years old, had never struggled to this extent over his first 55 career starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was as dominant as his 1.96 career ERA suggested.

But Skenes recorded just two outs against the New York Mets on Thursday, giving up five runs on four hits, two walks and a hit batter in the Pirates’ 11-7 loss. It was not how anyone envisioned Skenes launching his Cy Young Award defense. But he’s not pressed.

(CBS Sports) 2026 MLB Opening Day winners and losers: Rookies make a mark in debuts, a home run streak dies and more

Major League Baseball’s Opening Day has arrived. The 2026 regular season kicked off in earnest Thursday with 11 games and plenty of appetizing pitching matchups. The Yankees shut out the Giants in the lone game on Wednesday’s schedule before the Mets and Pirates kicked off Thursday’s action in Queens before a bevy of mid-afternoon games got underway. There were pitchers’ duels, blowouts, tight games, and home runs. Lots and lots of home runs.

Here now are some early winners and losers from the Opening Day action.

(MLB.com) Top 10 moments from a thrilling Opening Day

Opening Day never seems to disappoint, not after we spend the offseason waiting for a day like Thursday — one full of packed ballparks, clutch hits and nasty pitches.

In case you missed any of the action, or simply want to relive the day that was, here’s a look back at the top 10 moments from Opening Day.

Here are the 26 players who will be on the field, in the dugout and in the bullpen once the regular season gets underway here in Atlanta. As is tradition around here, we’re taking a deeper look at each and every player on the Opening Day roster. This includes how they got here, their basic information and then some projections and fun facts as well.

We hope you enjoy!

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PITCHERS

## – Osvaldo Bido – RHP

Age: 30 Birthplace: Los Hidalgos, Dominican Republic
Acquired: Claimed off waivers from the New York Yankees on March 24, 2026
Expected Role: Swingman/Long relief

Projection: Low-leverage reliever or swingman, 0 to 0.5 WAR

Fun Fact: Was previously claimed by the Braves off waivers in December 2025, but lost ten days later to make space for the signing of Ha-Seong Kim. This started a period of five different organizations claiming Bido in the span of five months; the Braves claimed him after the conclusion of Spring Training. Bido makes the Opening Day roster despite not appearing in camp with the Braves.

49 – Aaron Bummer – LHP

Age: 33 Birthplace: Valencia, CA
Acquired: Traded from the White Sox to the Braves on November 16, 2023 in exchange for Nicky Lopez, Braden Shewmake, Jared Shuster, Michael Soroka and Riley Gowens.
Expected Role: Middle relief

Projection: Quality reliever, 0.5 WAR

Fun Fact: Made his first career start in 2025, striking out the first five batters he faced.

55 – Bryce Elder – RHP

Age: 27 Birthplace: Decatur, TX
Acquired: Drafted by the Braves in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft
Expected Role: Starter

Projection: Fourth starter, 1 to 2 WAR

Fun Fact: This is Elder’s first time on a Braves Opening Day roster; he didn’t even make it when ultimately making an All-Star Team in 2023.

72 – Didier Fuentes – RHP

Age: 20 Birthplace: Tolu, Colombia
Acquired: Signed by the Braves as an international free agent on January 15, 2022
Expected Role: Swingman/Long relief

Projection: Average swingman or starter, 0 to 1.5 WAR

Fun Fact: When making his MLB debut in 2025, was the third-youngest starting pitcher in Atlanta Braves history, and the youngest debut in MLB since 2016 (Julio Urias).

66 – Grant Holmes – RHP

Age: 29 Birthplace: Conway, SC
Acquired: Signed a minor league deal deal with the Braves on November 21, 2023
Expected Role: Starter

Projection: Average swingman or starter, 0.5 to 1.5 WAR

Fun Fact: Made his MLB debut a full decade after being drafted.

26 – Raisel Iglesias – RHP

Age: 36 Birthplace: Juventud, Cuba
Acquired: Signed a one-year, $16 million contract on November 19, 2025
Expected Role: Closer

Projection: Above-average reliever, 0.5 to 1 WAR

Fun Fact: Was once ejected for throwing a tub of sunflower seeds and a bucket of gum onto the infield while his teammates were engaged in an on-field brawl.

45 – Tyler Kinley – RHP

Age: 35 Birthplace: Plantation, FL
Acquired: Signed a one-year, $4.25 million contract on January 10, 2026
Expected Role: Middle-to-High-leverage relief

Projection: Average reliever, 0.5 WAR

Fun Fact: Kinley used to claim that he was related to U.S. President William McKinley, and that the “Mc” was missing from his family’s surname as a safety measure following the assassination of President McKinley. However, this was disproven by a someone who took it upon themselves to fact-check this.

52 – Dylan Lee – LHP

Age: 31 Birthplace: Dinuba, CA
Acquired: Signed a minor league deal with the Braves on April 15, 2021.
Expected Role: Middle-to-High-leverage relief

Projection: Average reliever, 0.5 WAR

Fun Fact: I am contractually and morally obligated to repeat the fact that when he started a game in the 2021 World Series, he had the fewest career MLB appearances for a starter in such a game, in every post talking about Dylan Lee, as well as this fun fact series.

40 – Reynaldo López – RHP

Age: 32 Birthplace: San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
Acquired: Agreed to a three-year, $26 million deal that also includes an $8 million club option for 2027.
Expected Role: Starter

Projection: Middle of the rotation starter limited by availability, 1.5 to 2 WAR

Fun Fact: First Dominican player signed and developed by the Nationals to start a game for them. (Doesn’t include the pre-Nationals, Expos tenure.)

34 – Joel Payamps – RHP

Age: 31 Birthplace: Santiago, Dominican Republic
Acquired: Signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract on November 23, 2025
Expected Role: Middle Relief

Projection: Below-average reliever, 0 to 0.5 WAR

Fun Fact: Was included in the three-team trade that brought Sean Murphy to Atlanta. As part of the deal, the Athletics sent to Payamps to the Brewers.

51 – Chris Sale – LHP

Age: 37 Birthplace: Lakeland, FL
Acquired: Traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Braves on December 30 in exchange for Vaughn Grissom. Agreed to a two-year, $38 million deal on January 4 that also includes an $18 million club option for 2026. Signed a one-year, $27 million contract on February 25, 2026 that also includes a $30 million club option for 2028.
Expected Role: Starter

Projection: Above-average starter to elite starter, 2.5 to 4.5 WAR

Fun Fact: Has made back-to-back All-Star Team appearances after a prior seven-year stretch (2012-2018) of consecutive appearances as well.

54 – Jose Suarez – LHP

Age: 28 Birthplace: Naguanagua, Venezuela
Acquired: Claimed off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles on January 26, 2026
Expected Role: Starter

Projection: Average reliever or swingman, 0 to 1 WAR

Fun Fact: Though he appeared with the Braves in 2025 and will likely do so at least once in 2026, spent part of the offseason (less than two weeks) with Baltimore after being claimed on waivers in mid-January. The Braves claimed him back in late January.

75 – Robert Suarez – RHP

Age: 35 Birthplace: Bolivar, Venezuela
Acquired: Signed a three-year, $45 million contract on December 11, 2025
Expected Role: High leverage

Projection: Above-average reliever, 0.5 to 1 WAR

Fun Fact: Was once ejected and suspended for a sticky substance during a routine glove check.

CATCHERS

30 – Drake Baldwin – C

Age: 24 Birthplace: Madison, WI
Acquired: Drafted by the Braves in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft
Expected Role: Starting catcher

Projection: Above-average regular, 2 to 4 WAR

Fun Fact: Led his home state of Wisconsin in high school hockey goal scoring as a junior in 2018.

20 – Jonah Heim – C

Age: 30 Birthplace: Buffalo, NY
Acquired: Signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract on February 10, 2026
Expected Role: Backup catcher

Projection: Below-average to average regular, not expected to play frequently, 0 to 2 WAR depending on playing time

Fun Fact: As a child, started switch-hitting because, in his own words, “hitting from the right side is boring.”

INFIELDERS

1 – Ozzie Albies – 2B

Age: 29 Birthplace: Willemstad, Curaçao
Acquired: Signed as an international free agent by the Braves in 2013. Signed a seven-year, $35 million extension with two club options on April 11, 2019.
Expected Role: Starting second baseman

Projection: Average regular, 1.5 to 2.5 WAR

Fun Fact: Hit a walkoff three-run homer in the 2026 WBC with two outs and a two-run deficit, preventing Nicaragua from getting their first-ever victory in WBC play.

14 – Mauricio Dubón – UTIL

Age: 31 Birthplace: San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Acquired: Traded by the Houston Astros on November 19, 2025 in exchange for Nick Allen
Expected Role: Super utilityman, temporary starting shortstop

Projection: Below-average regular, 0.5 to 1 WAR

Fun Fact: Moved to the U.S. at 15 to play baseball after a chance meeting with a mission group in his native Honduras; second native-born Honduran to play in MLB, first to appear in the MLB playoffs, and first to win a Gold Glove Award.

15 – Kyle Farmer – INF

Age: 35 Birthplace: Atlanta, GA
Acquired: Signed a minor-league deal on February 6, 2026
Expected Role: Bench

Projection: Replacement level (or below), 0 WAR

Fun Fact: Appeared in the film, The Blind Side, as a high school quarterback.

2 – Jorge Mateo – UTIL

Age: 30 Birthplace: San Domingo Oeste, Dominican Republic
Acquired: Signed a one-year, $1 million contract on January 19, 2026
Expected Role: Utilityman

Projection: Below-average regular, 0 to 1 WAR

Fun Fact: Named the fastest minor leaguer ahead of the 2018 season by Baseball America. Then, led MLB in steals in 2022.

28 – Matt Olson – 1B

Age: 31 Birthplace: Atlanta, GA
Acquired: Traded by the Athletics on March 14, 2022. Signed an eight-year, $168 million extension with a club option for 2030 on March 15, 2022.
Expected Role: Starting first baseman

Projection: Above-average regular, 3 to 3.5 WAR

Fun Fact: Was ejected for the first time in his career for arguing a batter interference call during the second-to-last game of the 2025 regular season.

27 – Austin Riley – 3B

Age: 27 Birthplace: Memphis, TN
Acquired: Selected by the Braves in the supplemental first round, 41st overall, of the 2015 MLB Draft. Signed a ten-year, $212 million extension on August 1, 2022.
Expected Role: Starting third baseman

Projection: Above-average regular, 3 to 4 WAR

Fun Fact: In addition to baseball, played quarterback for his high school team during his freshman and sophomore years. Attempted to quit the football team to focus entirely on baseball, but was retained as the squad’s punter.

8 – Dominic Smith – 1B

Age: 30 Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA
Acquired: Signed a minor-league deal on February 17, 2026
Expected Role: Left-handed pinch-hitter

Projection: Below-replacement to generic bench production, -0.5 to 0.5 WAR

Fun Fact: Had an insane WPA game in the final game of the 2019 season by hitting a three-run, pinch-hit walkoff homer against the Braves while down by two runs and with two outs in the 11th. But, the game was ultimately meaningless for the standings, so no one remembers this as particularly dramatic.

OUTFIELDERS

13 – Ronald Acuña Jr. – RF

Age: 28 Birthplace: La Guaira, Venezuela
Acquired: Signed by the Braves as an international free agent in July 2014. Signed an eight-year, $100 million extension with club options for 2027 and 2028 on April 2, 2019.
Expected Role: Starting right fielder

Projection: All-Star production, 4.5 to 5.5 WAR

Fun Fact: WBC 2026 champion, baby.

23 – Michael Harris II – CF

Age: 24 Birthplace: DeKalb County, GA
Acquired: Selected by the Braves in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft. Signed an eight-year, $72 million extension with club options for the 2031 and 2032 seasons on August 17, 2022.
Expected Role: Starting center fielder

Projection: Above-average regular, 3 to 4 WAR

Fun Fact: In his 2022 Rookie of the Year campaign, won Rookie of the Month in three of the four full months that he was up with the big league club.

36 – Eli White – OF

Age: 31 Birthplace: Greenville, SC
Acquired: Signed a minor league deal with the Braves on July 25, 2023
Expected Role: Bench, potential weak side platoon outfielder

Projection: Replacement level to regular-quality production 0 to 1.5 WAR in limited PAs

Fun Fact: Was once part of a trade that also involved eventual teammate and current problem child Jurickson Profar. White went from the Athletics to the Rangers in the deal, while Profar went the other direction. Also, the Rays and a bunch of other players were involved.

18 – Mike Yastrzemski – LF

Age: 35 Birthplace: Andover, MA
Acquired: Signed a two-year, $23 million contract on December 10, 2025
Expected Role: Strong side platoon outfielder

Projection: Below-average to average regular, 0.5 to 2.5 WAR

Fun Fact: Is part of one of four grandfather-grandson pairs to each hit 100 homers in MLB.

Mostly I write for our readers and commenters and the discussion it brings. Every now and again I write secretly hoping that someone who knows someone might put an elbow into a rib and say, “Hey, read this.” Long story short I hope this article gets from my fingers to Mark Kotsay’s ears — just for the good of the A’s.

First things first I want to recognize that Kotsay does many important things well, from keeping spirits up to making players feel supported to inspiring the team to play hard even when it’s in a 1-20 stretch. These are not leadership qualities to be taken lightly.

The tactical piece is important too and the point here is that it can be learned and constantly improved upon. Here are some “growth opportunities” for the A’s 4-years-going-on-5 skipper:

“Infield In” — use it, don’t abuse it

The A’s simply bring the infield in too often, especially with runners at 2B and 3B. Important to remember is that the 2026 A’s figure to score a lot of runs, meaning they can afford to give up 1 run here or there so long as they stay away from crooked numbers.

Bringing the infield in with runners at 2B and 3B is extremely risky because with holes all over the infield it runs a significant risk of a base hit that can score 2 runs and set up an even bigger inning — where a ground ball out with the infield back might allow a run, but leaves just one runner on and 2 outs.

Tony La Russa was, I thought, particularly clever. He would often play the infield back but if the batter got to 2 strikes he might suddenly bring it in to guard against a batter “just putting the ball in play” and stealing an RBI. I think there’s a place for that, but more broadly if you have a team that can score a lot of runs but is at risk of giving up runs too, don’t bring the infield in with 2 runners in scoring position unless you’re so late in the game that any run is probably going to beat you.

Platoons — know your numbers

Playing platoon match ups is generally fine. If Colby Thomas is on the roster I will want to see him leveraged against LHPs as much as possible and the same is true of Darell Hernaiz. If Lawrence Butler needs days off to rest his knee, choosing games started by opposing lefties is fine.

But playing platoons just to play platoons is short-sighted, and this year’s team in particular demands that their manager understand the individual personnel.

If the A’s need to neutralize a tough LH batter late in the game, don’t go to Hogan Harris, whose wOBA against in his career so far is .350 vs. LH batters and .310 vs. RH batters. In contrast do go to RH reliever Mark Leiter Jr. With his splitter diving away from lefties he has a career .227/.298/.382, .295 wOBA track record whereas against RH batters it’s .268/.354/.469, .354 wOBA.

Tyler Soderstrom struggled against LHPs early in his career but came on like gangbusters the second half of last season. Let him hit lefties until he proves he can’t. And so on.

In other words, platoon very strategically but not robotically. There’s a huge difference.

Minimize how many relievers/game

As I discussed with pitching coach Scott Emerson in our recent interview, the future of bullpens lies in multi-inning “bridge relievers” that spare you parading 3-4 different relievers out there to try to hold a lead. JT Ginn is a candidate (assuming he pitches more like he did at the start of spring training and not like how he finished), as are Hogan Harris and, if called up to pitch in the bullpen, Mason Barnett or Kade Morris.

The idea that 4 talented but volatile relievers like Elvis Alvarado, Scott Barlow, Mark Leiter Jr. and Hogan Harris can piece together 12 outs successfully is fraught with danger. Try to get your starters through 6 IP if you can and see if you can lean on just 2 relief arms to “get it to the house”. It will also spare you having to use relievers as much on back to back days, which has been shown to be statistically less reliable

Insist on the fundamentals that anyone can perform

A leader’s job includes tough love and where it’s most appropriate in baseball is the basic fundamentals that are within each and every player’s skill set.

Hit the cut off man no matter how sure you are that “if you just heave it all the way to the plate…” You will save far more bases and runs if you just fire every outfield throw to the cut off man’s chest. {An exception can be made for a runner trying to score when there is no runner(s) behind him as there is no potential downside.}

Rundowns should not require more than 2 throws: one to run the runner back to the previous base until he is only 25 feet or so from the bag — at which point the short toss to the base has him tagged out. Anytime you see 3, 4, 5 throws you are seeing multiple throws that never needed to be made, opening up chances for other runners to advance and for mistakes to be made to botch the rundown entirely.

When you don’t have endless payroll to mask deficiencies you need to do the “little things” well and the fundamentals are, by definition, the parts of the game don’t require a super athlete, advanced experience, more strength or speed. You just need the discipline to do what you have been taught since high school — or really Little League — even in the heat of the moment.

The first time a fundamental is ignored, it’s ok to confront the player, point it out and say “never again,” and the second time it’s ok to bench them next game. They will come back the following day a better player for it and you will be a better team for it. That’s leadership.

Bat Kurtz where he belongs: Not lead off

Resist the urge to bat Nick Kurtz lead off just because he figures to have an OBP north of .400. Yes the Dodgers do a “similar” thing leading off the powerful and dynamic Shohei Ohtani but Ohtani is also a lightning fast elite base stealing threat who can turn walks into doubles. He’s a very different kind of batter due to his speed.

Leading Kurtz off is just the wrong move for a variety of reasons, one being that it suppresses his RBI opportunities by batting him once with the bases empty for sure and then following Denzel Clarke and the bottom of the order thereafter.

Additionally, not only do you want as many of Kurtz’ HRs and doubles to come with runners on base, with men on it’s harder for pitchers to pitch around him. Sure you love the idea of Kurtz drawing a lot of walks and getting on base, especially to lead off an inning, but not at the expense of lacing several more doubles and launching a few more HRs with runners on and nowhere to put him.

Kurtz makes a lot of sense in the #2 spot if a RH batter leads off, or the #3 spot behind a LH batter and RH batter with OBP skills. Wilson-Kurtz, McNeil-Langeliers-Kurtz, Butler-Wilson-Kurtz all make sense. Kurtz leading off, while it’s appealing to consider your first hitter getting on base 40% of the time and getting the most PAs, will ultimately do more harm than good. Leverage Kurtz’ slugging over his OBP and you have a better lineup.

Thank you for reading, Mr. Kotsay, and for all the great work you have done and are about to do. And thanks for taking all 5 points to heart and following through. We both just want the A’s to be the best team they can be, and compared to when you started reading the A’s have greatly improved for your eager devotion to following these 5 principles. Let’s have a great season!

Good morning friends! My apologies for the late links post this morning — I forgot to get someone to cover me, so here I am throwing something up here quickly!

I hope everyone had a delightful Opening Day, even though the Mariners lost 6-4. Are we ready to anoint Dominic Canzone the American League MVP yet?

In Mariners news…

• The Mariners announced the Opening Day roster for the 2026 Tacoma Rainiers.
• Just like the Giants, the Mariners recently had a streak of different left fielders to start Opening Day — until Randy Arozarena broke it last night by starting in his second in a row.
• Cal Raleigh admits that he should have challenged the strikeout looking call late in last night’s contest.
• Eno Sarris at The Athletic wrote about Logan Gilbert’s ascension to ace territory with Seattle. ($)
• Our very own Ryan Blake penned a piece at Fangraphs about the Mariners’ dynamic duo of Julio and Cal, and why this could be a special season for the Mariners as a whole.
• Our very own Kate Preusser joined NPR’s Soundside to preview this season for the Mariners.
• Shannon Drayer discussed why this year, fans have more than just hope to lean on when it comes to success for the Mariners.
• Make sure to head on down to Everett this year!

Around the league…

• The Cubs agreed to a six-year contract extension with infielder Nico Hoerner, who was scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the season.
• Brewers star outfielder Jackson Chourio is starting the season on the injured list with a left hand fracture. He is expected to miss 2-4 weeks.
• 10-year MLB veteran catcher Roberto Pérez has decided to retire.
• The Padres claim that Yu Darvish was placed on the restricted list because the veteran right-hander wants to rehab at his own pace.
• Phillies infielder Alec Bohm sued his own parents for allegedly mismanaging his finances.
• Former Mariners prospect and current Orioles outfielder Tyler O’Neill had his streak of six straight Opening Day games with a homer snapped last night.
• The MLB.com prospect team outlined one prospect to watch at each organization’s Triple-A club.

Freddy Peralta wasn’t at his best in his Mets debut yesterday. In five innings, he gave up four earned runs, struck out seven, didn’t walk anyone, and surrendered two home runs. He threw 80 pitches in the process, and the relatively high-stress nature of some of those innings combined with the lopsided score in the Mets’ favor entering the sixth inning made it a fairly easy decision for Carlos Mendoza to pull him from the game.

Aside from his temporarily unsightly 7.20 ERA, much of what Peralta did yesterday lines up with what he’s done over the past few seasons with the Brewers. Many of his starts in Milwaukee saw him pitch fix or six innings, he’s always had very good strikeout rates, and while they aren’t necessarily his Achilles heel, Peralta will give up the occasional home run. With slightly different wind conditions yesterday, perhaps he would’ve given up just one of the two home runs and would be sporting a 3.60 ERA this morning instead.

It was encouraging, though, that Peralta didn’t issue any walks in the start. The Mets have struggled mightily with walk rate for the past couple of seasons, and Peralta has generally been right around league average or just slightly worse when it comes to his walk rate.

Ideally, Peralta finds a way to go a bit deeper into games this year and comes close to matching the excellent 2.70 ERA he had with the Brewers last year. And even if he doesn’t do either of those things or only does one of them, there’s plenty to look forward to for a pitcher who’s made 30, 32, and 33 starts in each of the past three seasons, respectively. If the Mets find themselves on track for a playoff spot over the next few months, there will be plenty of time to figure out who their ace is.

Happy Opening Day A’s fans!

The excitement is palpable. Unlike the previous few seasons this year has legitimate promise for our A’s. We have a solid core to build around, now it’s just time to get the pitching figured out.

We begin this season in Toronto with three games against the defending American League Champions. Right-hander Kevin Gausman gets the nod over offseason acquisition Dylan Cease. Is it because he’s been a Blue Jay for years and Cease is the new guys? Nobody knows expect Jays skipper John Schneider, but that feels like what’s going on here.

Last season the A’s went 2-5 against the Jays. Not a great record but these A’s are different than the ones that took on the AL champs last time around. In fact, both teams have changed one way or another. On one end, the Jays are coming off a heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They’ve lost a massive part of their team in Bo Bichette. Yes, the addition of Cease helps offset that departure but he was apart of the heart of that squad. Will the Jays be as dangerous without him in the middle of their lineup? Does Vlad Jr. have enough protection against just getting intentionally walked every time?

And the A’s are a different squad themselves since last year. Nick Kurtz, the Rookie of the Year, has established himself. Jacob Wilson, the starting shortstop for the American League in the All-Star Game, can only get better with another year under his belt. Shea Langeliers would be the best catcher in baseball if he didn’t play at the same time as the Seattle catcher up north. Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler are good for 25+ bombs if healthy.

Again, it’s going to come down to the pitching. The starting rotation feels like it has a certain floor with stable veterans Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs atop the starting five. Not world-beaters by any means, but if they do their jobs they can help this team to a Wild Card spot. There’s plenty of high-ceiling upside behind them, but the A’s will need to get a bit lucky with some of their younger arms if they want to make some serious, noticable noise.

The A’s have a real gauntlet of a schedule right out of the gates, and a lot of it is on the road. First will be this trip up north to take on Toronto, and then the A’s have to go all the way to the southern U.S. to take on the Braves in Atlanta. Not a short trip.

We’ll have a quick home stand that the MLB schedule makes felt like they needed to get out of the way (against the division-rival Houston Astros) before packing our bags up again and heading back out East. This time they won’t have to travel far between stops as they take on the Yankees and then the Mets in back-to-back series. For the tough early schedule the A’s have, at least they threw us that bone.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. One game at a time. Luis Severino versus Kevin Gausman. The Athletics against the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the six-month long campaign.

Ready for some Athletics baseball tonight? This fan sure is. Let’s start the season with a win! Go A’s!

A’s Coverage:

• What to know about A’s-Blue Jays Opening Day (Fri., 7 p.m. ET)
• A’s 2026 Spring Standouts on Offense
• A’s reliever Nick Anderson has upward mobility clause in contract
• Can Muncy’s glove catch up to his bat at third base?
• Morales’ latest dud raises readiness questions
• A’s see timing, benefits of move to Las Vegas as a precursor to a dynasty
• A’s Finalize Opening Day Bullpen
• AN Exclusive: Blogfather Observes The Wild Denzelope In Its Natural Habitat
• AN Exclusive: Blogfather Toes The Rubber With Pitching Coach Scott Emerson
• AN Exclusive: Blogfather Catches Up With Starting Pitcher Jacob Lopez
• Select A’s games to be broadcast in Las Vegas starting with season opener
• March Reminder: Opening Day Rosters Matter More To The Fans

MLB News and Interest:

• Yankees demolish Giants to open MLB season
• Mets’ Francisco Alvarez has first successful ABS challenge for strikeout
• Reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes chases in first inning vs. Mets
• Brewers star outfielder Jackson Chourio to mis 4-6 weeks with fractured hand
• Mets sign outfielder Tommy Pham to minor league deal
• Padres making progress in sale of team
• Padres place starter Yu Darvish on restricted list
• Veteran catcher Roberto Perez announces retirement
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Quick promotion likely:

A’s No. 1 (MLB No. 4) prospect Leo De Vries will begin the regular season at Double-A Midland.

— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) March 26, 2026

Worth a watch!

“Green And Gold All Over” https://t.co/D3gIx9VgxQ@daulaire@KenKorachRadio@JDoskow@DALLASBRADEN209@ChrisCaray@jennycavnar@SchimmelAmelia

— Bill Moriarity – A's Farm (@AthleticsFarm) March 27, 2026

A couple high-profile prospects in the system:

A’s farm director Ed Sprague said that Breyson Guedez, who had an impressive spring on the backfields + in big league action, is reporting to Low-A , skipping the ACL.

Also hearing that shortstop Edgar Montero and two-way player Shotaro Morii will join him in Low-A Stockton.

— Jesús Cano (@Jesus_Cano88) March 26, 2026

Triple-A Las Vegas Opening Night position-player roster:

Confirmed that these will be the 13 position players on the opening day roster for the AAA Aviators tomorrow in Las Vegas…
C – Serven, Wallach, Lavastida
IF – Meneses (1B), Stefanic (2B), Swift (SS), Harris (3B), Angeles (IF)
OF – Thomas, Perez, Bolte, Marlowe
2B/OF/UT – Gelof

— Bill Moriarity – A's Farm (@AthleticsFarm) March 26, 2026

Series Preview

Indiana Hoosiers (10-14, 3-6 B1G) at #24 Nebraska Cornhuskers (19-6, 5-1 B1G)

Location: Hawks Field at Haymarket Park, Lincoln, NE

Dates: March 27-29th

Times (all CDT): Friday @ 6pm, Saturday @ 2pm, Sunday @ 12pm

Head Coaches: Jeff Mercer (8th season, 217-163-1) & Will Bolt (7th season, 189-132-1)

TV/Stream: B1G+

Radio: All Nebraska games on Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App

⏭️ Off to the Cornhusker State. pic.twitter.com/k8np8CbdZl

— Indiana Baseball (@IndianaBase) March 25, 2026

Fresh off a 4-1 week on the road where they stifled a red hot Wichita State offense and took a weekend series from a good Michigan team, Nebraska plays its first series as a ranked team since the first two weeks of last season. Solid starts from all of the rotation combined with an offense that really woke up (Other than the Kurt Barr experience on Friday, but he’s been confounding B1G bats for 3.5 years.) and some opportunistic bullpen experiences has really pushed Nebraska into the national conversation.

Indiana had the unfortunate timing last offseason of the best HS recruiting class in program history graduating, and maybe the 2nd best player in the conference, Devin Taylor getting drafted at the same time. They are in a full rebuild for the first time under coach Jeff Mercer. They are not taking it easy on the scheduling though. 8 of their losses are to teams that either are or were ranked at the time of playing. They were upset by Washington in the first conference series, then swept by Oregon the week after.

They have shown they aren’t dead yet. They beat Vanderbilt in a midweek game on St. Patrick’s Day. Then they won the first two games against a Minnesota team that had been off to a surprising start to the year, albeit against a VERY easy schedule. They stumbled again since, as Minnesota rebounded and won on a 10 run rule game on Sunday, and then lost to in state rival Indiana State Tuesday 5-4. That was on a late inning implosion by one of their, let’s say, less reliable relievers. We are about to see if that 3 game streak was a hiccup in their mediocrity or if they really are resurrecting their season.

Pitching Probables

Rotation this weekend is set. pic.twitter.com/tNfHAufhDt

— Nebraska Baseball (@HuskerBaseball) March 26, 2026

Game 1: RHP Ty Horn (0-1, 3.26 ERA) vs. RHP Reagan Rivera (0-2, 10.90 ERA)

Game 2: RHP Carson Jasa (4-1, 3.99 ERA) vs. LHP Tony Neubeck (2-2, 3.49 ERA)

Game 3: RHP Cooper Katskee (3-0, 2.10 ERA) vs. LHP Brayton Thomas (1-2, 5.09 ERA)

Ty Horn found himself in the middle of just an old fashioned Big Ten Friday night pitcher’s duel for the first time. It took him a minute to find his stuff, made all the more problematic by the tight zone, rare for a game that ends 2-1. Something clicked in the 3rd, and Horn rattled off 6 straight strikeouts before walking a Wolverine. At that point, he had just used too many pitches to survive the first few innings and had to exit after 102 pitches in 4.2 innings.

Everything for Nebraska was firing on all cylinders Saturday, and that included Carson Jasa. He shutout the Wolverines in his 6 innings of work, striking out 8 and only walking 1. It was evident from the start that the cutter/change and slider were in dominant fashion for Jasa, and if those are going, tying to time up a 97 mph fastball is nearly impossible. He just keeps improving with each start.

It was hard to place what was going on with Gavin Blachowicz on Sunday, his velocity was down and just wasn’t commanding the mound like we’ve grown accustomed to as he battled his way through 4 innings. With only 1 midweek game, the Huskers were able to maneuver Cooper Katskee to make the Sunday slot he was originally brought in to occupy. The former Indiana Hoosier is 4th in the Big Ten in ERA at 2.10 and will be given his first weekend start against his former team.

Supporting our guy every step of the way. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/kE8g7xu4eC

— Indiana Baseball (@IndianaBase) March 19, 2026

After losing one of their top starters for the season, the Hoosiers are struggling to figure out a rotation for the weekend. Reagan Rivera, a Copin State grad transfer is getting the Friday nod. He doesn’t get far in games, so we are going to see the bullpen early on a Friday night, more than likely. Rivera is the definition of hot or cold. He either throws a shutout, or gives up 4 or more runs. There is no in-between.

The most consistent pitcher for Indiana is the lefty Missouri grad transfer Tony Neubeck. He had a rough go at Oregon, but most do. Other than that he has been coming on strong lately, striking out 9 Washington batter and 8 Minnesota batters, while walking only 2. Their top recruit a season ago, Bryaton Thomas is still figuring things out. He shows promise, with 20 strikeouts in 23 innings, but leads the team in walks. Minnesota burned him for 6 runs in 1.2 innings last Sunday.

Scouting Report

The Hoosiers offense is led by reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jake Hanley. Hanley has started every game since arriving on campus, something easy to do because not only does he bring a good bat, but he also won an All-Region Gold Glove last season. Hanley is batting a team leading .354 with 5 home runs and 24 RBIs. He had a home run in each of the victories over Minnesota last week, and has 2 doubles in the last week, to go along with batting .416 in Big Ten play, so he is a big part of this team coming back from the dead recently.

100 hits & counting for @JakeHanley34! 👏 pic.twitter.com/Qy5a9Vr0mt

— Indiana Baseball (@IndianaBase) March 21, 2026

The other most dangerous bat in the Hoosiers’ lineup is sophomore Hogan Denny. While splitting time at catcher and in the outfield, Denny is hitting .326 and leads the team with 9 doubles and is tied for the team lead with 5 home runs. He also leads the team with a 1.016 OPS.

Leadoff batter Will Moore was also a Freshman All-Big Ten Team member last season. He is a menace in the batters box, but not just because of his bat. He is only batting .250 with 20 hits, way down from last year. But he has 15 walks, and 6 HBP on the year. He is constantly working the pitchers deep into counts, contributing to his 21 strikeouts. Pitchers will need to attack him quickly.

Indiana does not run a lot, but if you see part time player Ayden Crouse in the outfield, get ready to watch him run on the bases. He has more than half of the teams stolen bases and attempts on the season, going 9 for 11.

The Indiana bullpen is not a strength of the team. They don’t use a single pitcher as a closer. Three different pitcher have combined for their 4 total saves on the season. The Hoosiers have 2 pitchers that have been consistently good for them this season.

Long reliever Gavin Seebold is leading the team in most categories. He is sporting a team low 0.83 ERA, having given up only 2 runs on the season, both in his appearance against Oregon. He has struck out 23 and walked 8 in 21.1 innings of work. He only pitches 1 game a series, usually going for 2-3 innings. 6’7 260 lb Jacob Vogel is another go to arm. He has struck out 12 and walked 7 in 15 innings this season. He has a 3.00 ERA but generally doesn’t go for more than an inning.

The defense is average, with a fielding percentage at .972. Short stop Cooper Malamazian makes some spectacular plays, but has 7 errors on the season, for only a .924%.

Series History

Nebraska owns a 20-15-1 record against the Hoosiers. They last met in 2024 in the Big Ten Tournament with Nebraska needing to beat them twice to advance to the title game. The Huskers won 4-2 and 10-4 on their way to their first Big Ten Tournament Championship. The teams met earlier in the season with Indiana winning the opener in extra innings, but Nebraska winning the last 2 games to claiming the series.

On Deck

• Dylan Carey hit career double number 56 at Kansas State on Tuesday, tying Will Bolt for the Husker career record.
• Dylan Carey and Mac Moyer are tied for 2nd in the Big Ten and 17th in the country with 40 hits on the year.
• Nebraska is 9-0 at home this season. The record to start a season is 11-0 in 2015.
• Happy Opening Day for the MLB, for those that celebrate! Especially to the Husker Baseball alums! Get well soon, Schwellenbach!

It’s Opening Day!

Good luck to our guys in the show. pic.twitter.com/0UGSriON2n

— Nebraska Baseball (@HuskerBaseball) March 26, 2026

There is no better feeling than starting the season with a win, and that’s how the Dodgers began the 2026 season, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday 8-2.

The Dodgers used a pair of four-run innings in the bottom of the fifth and seventh innings to erase their brief deficit against Arizona, and Kyle Tucker began the rally in the seventh with an RBI double to give him his first hit in a Dodger uniform. He later scored on a Mookie Betts single and finished the night 1-4 with a double, a walk and an RBI.

Tucker spoke with Bob Costas at NBC about getting his first game as a Dodger under his belt and about playing for a team that has their aspirations set on a third consecutive championship.

“It feels great,” Tucker said. “It started off well tonight. The audience— the fans coming out to and supporting us— is unbelievable… There’s some phenomenal players on this roster. They love the city of L.A. and try to do the best for everyone that comes out and supports us.”

Links

Will Smith ended his night on Thursday the same way he ended the 2025 World Series— with a home run. Smith’s home run capped off the second four-run inning for the Dodgers, and the All-Star catcher finished 2-4 with three RBI.

Smith spoke with David Vassegh of AM 570 post-game about the depth of this new-look Dodgers lineup, noting that there are zero weaknesses from top to bottom.

“It’s a really tough lineup,” Smith said. “You got guys that can slug, guys that can get on base. There’s no off at-bats for the other team. There’s no easy outs and we take pride in that, whoever’s on the roster. It should be a really fun year. We started off 1-0 and that was the goal today.”

Miguel Rojas has now played in the final opening day of his 13-year playing career, going 1-4 with a run scored in Thursday’s victory. Rojas found out only on Tuesday that he was given the start at second base, noting that he wasn’t expecting any favors from Dave Roberts, notes Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times.

“I didn’t know if ‘Thank you’ was the right thing to say because it’s something I earned,” Rojas recounted before the Dodgers’ 8-2 win Thursday against the Diamondbacks. “It’s not something that I asked for as a favor. So I was just kind of speechless.”

We’ve given you plenty of Brewers preview content this week (and all month), but let’s take a more detailed (but still Brewers-fan-centric) look around the rest of the division and see what the teams who are trying to knock the Brewers off their perch are bringing to the table this year.

We’ll go in alphabetical order (which just so happens to be the order in which I think they’ll finish), with a rating out of 10 on the threat level they pose to the Brewers this year, as determined by your humble author, who still thinks Milwaukee should be regarded as the favorite.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs are viewed by essentially every major media outlet as the favorite in the National League Central. The headline additions for the Cubs are third baseman Alex Bregman (who signed a five-year, $175 million deal) and starting pitcher Edward Cabrera, who came over from the Marlins for a package headlined by top prospect Owen Caissie. The Cubs also added several bullpen pieces, most notably Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton, and Hoby Milner. (They also signed Shelby Miller, but he may not pitch at all in 2025 after he needed Tommy John surgery after a late-season injury with the Brewers last year.)

On the way out, the big Cubs loss was Kyle Tucker, who of course signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But they also watched several bullpen arms go, including a couple who were quite good for them in 2025 (Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz).

Chicago has been widely praised for the signing of Bregman, who is viewed as one of the league’s best clubhouse presences, plays good defense, and is a solidly above average hitter. Bregman, though, turns 32 in a few days, and played only 114 games in 2025, so that’s something to keep an eye on. And while Bregman has been a good player over the last six years, he hasn’t been a legitimate star since 2018 and 2019, when he had back-to-back top-five MVP finishes.

Bregman’s signing should help, but we need to look at it through the prism of who he “replaced,” Tucker. Even in what was viewed as a “down season” at times, Tucker put up a 143 OPS+ in 2025, made the All-Star Game, and earned 4.6 WAR in 135 games, a better rate than the 3.5 WAR Bregman earned in 114 games. Tucker is also three years younger than Bregman, and has been unequivocally better over the past five seasons.

Bregman is a good pickup for the Cubs, but he’s a step down from Tucker, and I don’t know why this isn’t being more widely considered.

As for Cabrera, he was quite good in 2025 (3.53 ERA/3.83 FIP, 3.13 K:BB in 137 2/3 innings) in his age-27 season. The question, really, is whether that’s who Cabrera is now or whether the significant control problems that plagued him from 2022-2024 will rear their head. Prior to 2025, Cabrera had made 63 career appearances (61 starts) and thrown 294 innings and walked over five batters per nine. That’s a huge number over such a large sample; for instance, the highest BB/9 among qualified starting pitchers in 2025 was Gavin Williams at 4.5. Jacob Misiorowski only walked 4.2 batters per nine in the big leagues in 2025.

Of course, the fact that Cabrera substantially lowered that rate over a large sample (last year was the first time he’d thrown more than 100 innings in his career) is encouraging. Cabrera does have good stuff—he sits around 97 with his fastball and had some of the better offspeed stuff in the league last year, according to Statcast. But if I were a Cubs fan, I’d be nervous watching his walks, at least early in the season.

Chicago should also be helped this season by the return of Justin Steele, who had surgery on his UCL about a year ago. He’s pitching again, but the Cubs just placed him on the 60-day IL, so he obviously won’t be back for at least a couple of months. Steele was one of the league’s best pitchers in 2023 and more-or-less replicated those results (although in a smaller sample) in 2024, but made only four starts before his injury in 2025.

The infield is good: alongside Bregman, Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner (my pick for the league’s best second baseman last season, and who the Cubs just signed to a lucrative extension) are both excellent defensive players who can hit a bit, and Michael Busch, who was the hitter in Chicago’s lineup who scared me the most in last year’s NLDS, looks to be the real deal, at least as long as he’s facing right-handed pitching.

Pete Crow-Armstrong leads the outfield, but we’ll have to see how he adjusts this season. After exploding out of the gate and making himself a Bonafide MVP candidate by mid summer, PCA struggled badly in the second half of the season and finished with a .287 on-base percentage. There are real, nearly existential questions about his plate discipline, but he did hit 31 homers and steal 35 bases last year, and if nothing else he’s a dynamic player who provides true A+ defense in center field. Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, and Matt Shaw are all players who should help, while Dylan Carlson and Michael Conforto are looking to get their careers back on track.

Threat level: 7/10. The Cubs won 92 games in 2025, and went five with the Brewers in the NLDS. They’re well-funded. They have some star power, and maybe the best everyday infield in the game (though I wouldn’t want to be the one writing the checks in 2029, when Bregman and Swanson will be 35 and Hoerner 32 and they’ll make something like $75m combined). But I still see problems with the pitching staff, and while the narrative out there seems to be that Chicago greatly improved this offseason, I don’t really see it. They should win 90-ish games again and they certainly could usurp the Brewers at the top of the division, but I think the universal consensus that they will is a little bizarre, frankly.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds won 83 games in 2025 and snuck into the playoffs, where they lost two lopsided Wild Card games to the Dodgers. They’re a team with some intriguing talent, but the health of their pitching staff is in question at the beginning of the season and that’s a problem.

The biggest issue is Hunter Greene, their best pitcher, who made only 19 starts last year but pitched to a 2.76 ERA (166 ERA+) and struck out 11 batters per nine while walking only 2.2. Greene is one of the hardest throwers in the league—he averaged 99.5 on his fastball last year, higher even than Misiorowski—and has been one of the best pitchers in baseball while on the mound over the last two seasons. But he needed surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow earlier this month, and isn’t expected back in the big leagues until July, and of course any sort of elbow injury for a guy who throws in triple digits is alarming. The Reds probably need Greene in order to be good enough to make the postseason, and I’m not sure they’re going to get enough of him.

Andrew Abbott, Brady Singer, Nick Lodolo, and Chase Burns round out what is hypothetically one of the best five-man rotations anywhere in baseball. Abbott had a 2.87 ERA in over 165 innings last season, and while there are some concerns that he’s outperforming his peripherals, he’d still be a well above-average pitcher even if his ERA ticked back closer to his FIP.

Lodolo has shown a lot of promise, but he’s also struggled at times to stay on the mound. He made only 28 starts between 2023 and 2024, and while he did appear in 29 games last season, he missed some time in August. He’s dealing with a blister that landed him on the IL to start this season, which isn’t exactly what you want.

Singer doesn’t bring many durability concerns; he’s topped 125 innings in each of his five full seasons and hasn’t thrown less than 153 since 2021. Singer isn’t going to be a star but he’s as reliable an innings eater as you’re likely to find in 2026. Burns is electric, and debuted to much fanfare last season, when in 43 1/3 innings he struck out 67 batters. He was a top-25 overall prospect prior to last season, and figures to be one of the most exciting young pitchers in the league.

Speaking of exciting, on the other side of the ball the Reds boast one of the most dynamic players in baseball, Elly De La Cruz. Over his first three seasons, things have been kind of all over the place, as you’d expect for a player with so much raw talent in his early 20s—for instance, in 2024 he stole a league-leading 67 bases and hit 36 doubles, 10 triples, and 25 homers, but also struck out a league-leading 218 times. His offensive game took a slight step back in 2025. But he’s still very young—he just turned 24 in January—and Reds fans have every reason to believe that this athletic freak with real power and good defensive tools (he’s rated as not bad, but not great at shortstop so far) will be a star for years to come. Heck, Keith Law even picked him for NL MVP.

There’s also a prime bounceback candidate in Matt McLain, a new (old) guy with potential for 50 homers in Eugenio Suárez, and a big-time prospect in Sal Stewart. Noelvi Marte occasionally looks like a star, though a steroid suspension threw a pretty big wrench in his career. TJ Friedl is pretty good. But this isn’t an overwhelming lineup unless a lot of things go right.

Threat level: 5/10. There are some interesting pieces here, and the rotation, at full health, is loaded. But will we ever get that rotation at full health? That remains to be seen, and while I like some parts of this lineup I’m not thrilled about others. I’ve also got questions about the bullpen. The skeleton of a good team is here, but I’m not sure they’ll be able to put it together this year.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates are a trendy pick to improve greatly, and I saw them in multiple “bold predictions” columns and segments for “will make the playoffs in 2026.” Let’s even give them the benefit of the doubt and ignore (at least, mostly) the first game of the season, in which Paul Skenes didn’t even make it out of the first inning.

Yes, they have Skenes, and his dud of a start notwithstanding (Skenes was charged with five runs but should’ve gotten out of the first with only a run in; his center fielder, Oneil Cruz, made two awful plays in a row that cost the team at least three runs) he might be the best pitcher in baseball, and is certainly the best pitcher in the National League.

My big question here is: how far does one starting pitcher get you in an era where starting pitchers rarely throw even 200 innings?

That question is kind of central to the Pittsburgh Pirates problem. Their offense should be better this year, but that’s a low bar—they were dead last in 2025, 60 runs behind the third-worst Cleveland Guardians. Their offense in 2025 wasn’t just bad, it was atrocious. So what’d they do to address it? They traded for Brandon Lowe (who homered twice off Freddy Peralta on Opening Day), which should help a bit, and they signed Ryan O’Hearn, who had a good 2025 season, and they also signed Marcell Ozuna, who can still hit, I think.

There are a couple of problems here, though. First, none of those guys is at a stage where you’d expect them to get any better. In July, O’Hearn will turn 33 and Lowe will turn 32. Ozuna is 35, and while he was still an above-average hitter in 2025, he took a pretty major step back from the previous two seasons. The other issue here is defense. Lowe played second base today, while O’Hearn was in right field and Ozuna played the only position he can play: designated hitter. Lowe was one of the worst defensive second basemen in baseball last year, while O’Hearn has kind of mixed defensive numbers. But Pittsburgh is also going with Cruz in center—which, if early returns are any indication, is not going to go well—and while Ke’Bryan Hayes wasn’t helping their league-worst offense, he was one of the best defensive players in the league (he was traded to Cincinnati at least year’s trade deadline). Pittsburgh ranked a healthy ninth in defense in 2025. Their offense should be better in 2026, but they might give most of those runs back on the other side of the ball.

Might Konnor Griffin, the game’s top prospect, solve a lot of these issues? Yes, it’s certainly possible. As soon as the Pirates are certain they’ll get that extra year of service, I’d expect to see Griffin in the majors, and he’ll be in instant mega-upgrade over Jared Triolo at short. Griffin can handle himself defensively and has major offensive upside. He could be a star even this year.

But that’s one guy. This lineup still sent out Triolo, Spencer Horwitz, Nick Gonzales, and Henry Davis on Opening Day, not to mention the boom-or-bust Cruz and Bryan Reynolds, who despite his escapades against the Brewers, was a below-league-average hitter in 2025 (and who is also now on the wrong side of 30). In the rotation, there is some promise, but a lot of that is tied up in Bubba Chandler, who has only 31 major league innings, and Jared Jones, who can’t stay healthy (and is on the 60-day IL to start the season, meaning a late-May debut at the earliest). The bullpen looks like a weakness.

Threat level: 2/10. I don’t see it. The Angels had Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout and couldn’t make the playoffs. I don’t see the Pirates doing it with Skenes and Griffin.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals are doing a full rebuild for the first time I can ever really remember. They haven’t lost less than 70 games in a full, 162-game season since 1981. 1981! They didn’t even have Ozzie Smith yet in 1981. (The Cardinals did go 53-61 in 1994 and 62-81 in 1995, but those weren’t quite full seasons due to the strike.)

I’d say that streak is certainly in jeopardy this year. St. Louis traded Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray to the Red Sox, Nolan Arenado to the Diamondbacks, and Brendan Donovan to the Mariners. Donovan and Contreras were, by WAR, the Cards’ two best players last year. Gray was their best starter. Arenado had a rough, injury-plagued season, but he’s still Nolan Arenado.

The Cardinals are not trying to hide that they aren’t really trying to compete this year. John Mozeliak, who’d been at the helm of the front office since 2007, stepped down at the end of his contract after last season and was replaced by Chaim Bloom. The new leadership clearly demonstrated that they weren’t attached to any of the team’s veteran players, nor to winning, for that matter. Strange, for this team.

There are some interesting pieces. JJ Wetherholt is one of the league’s top prospects, and hit a homer in his major-league debut on Thursday. He could win Rookie of the Year. Masyn Winn is a defensive wizard. Victor Scott II is very fast. Lars Nootbaar has an interesting Statcast page. Iván Herrera is a good player.

But guys like these are interesting pieces, not foundational ones, at least not at this point in their career. The pitching staff might be a disaster. There’s not much else to it. I know I said in our division predictions the other day that I thought they’d win 71 games… but I don’t think they’re going to do that, actually.

Threat level: 0/10. It’s hard to ignore what 37 years of life on this Earth have told me about Cardinals Devil Magic, but they’re gonna be bad.

Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants continue their opening series this weekend against the New York Yankees. So it’s time to see what promotions and events Oracle Park has on deck for fans this weekend!

The schedule continues to be a little bit odd this weekend, as the team will have a really rare Sunday off-day. So we’ll just have Friday and Saturday games.

First up, today is going to be Opening Day (as opposed to Opening Night, I guess?) which means the first 40,000 fans in attendance will get a commemorative Opening Day pin!

Saturday will be the first Fiesta Gigantes of the season, as the Giants plan to have them every Saturday home game this year to celebrate their Latino fans. Which means we’ll also get to see the team’s new jerseys for these games. There will be live performances and specialty concession options available in the park. This Saturday, the first 15,000 fans in attendance will also receive a Willy Adames bobblehead giveaway!

If you’re headed to the park this weekend, have fun and make sure to post pictures!

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants continue their opening series against the Yankees today at 1:35 p.m. PT.

Good morning again.

• With Opening Weekend here and the World Baseball Classic behind us, Stephen J. Nesbitt, Mike Vorkunov and Evan Drellich ask if MLB has surpassed the NBA as the second-most popular league in the US? (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Jared Diamond examines whether or not MLB has a competitive problem. The answer depends on how you frame the question.
• The Athletic polled their own writing staff on their predictions for the 2026 season. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Dan Szymborski reveals Fangraphs’ final ZiPS predictions for win totals in 2026.
• The Fangraphs staff also make some bold predictions for 2026.
• What needs to go right for every team this year. I always like looking at what these kinds of articles predict for the Rockies and then wonder why they didn’t just write “anything?”
• The CBS Sports baseball staff has the biggest question for every team this year.
• The percentage of foreign-born players is the lowest since 2002.
• Keith Law predicts the end-of-the-season Award winners. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Julian McWilliams has five under-the-radar storylines for 2026.
• Dodger Miguel Rojas defends the team, saying other teams just want an excuse for not winning.
• Ben Lindbergh calls the Pirates and the Athletics everyone’s favorite dark horses. What has to happen for those teams to live up to their billing?
• Ryan Blake writes thanks to teammates Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, the Mariners are the runaway favorites in the AL West.
• Major League third-base coaches say that the new rules limiting them to the coaches’ box is putting them in harm’s way from line drives. (The Athletic sub. req.) Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal with the story.
• Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez made the first successful Automated Ball-Strike challenge in history.
• Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski set a new team record with ten strikeouts on Opening Day.
• The Brewers got some bad news as outfielder Jackson Chourio went on the injured list with a broken left hand. Chourio was hit by a pitch in the hand during the WBC.
• The Mets have signed outfielder Tommy Pham to a minor league deal.
• Dodger Stadium got its official renaming of UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium.
• MLB revealed the top 20 selling player uniforms since the end of last year.
• And finally, each team’s most interesting stadium giveaway,

Finally, Opening Day is here and the climb begins for the Colorado Rockies. 

For fans, it’s a chance to see the change in action from an offseason marked with front office and coaching changes.

For the players, it’s a chance to prove they can compete. For four young players, it’s a chance to prove they belong here as they make their Opening Day roster debuts. 

Two of those players, third baseman Kyle Karros and first baseman TJ Rumfield, will be in the starting lineup. Both were beyond excited when they heard they made the roster. 

Karros — the Rockies fifth-round draft pick from 2023 — had set the goal of making the team after being called up in August last year and finishing the season at the Major League level. Still, learning he’d accomplish his goal felt good.

“Obviously [my] first Opening Day will be pretty special. It was cool to tell my family and friends,” Karros said. “But I’ve kinda hinted at it a ton that the goal has been to crack a roster and hang around in The Show. The goal is to be a dude for this team and play baseball in October.”

Karros delivered a more balanced performance in spring training. The 23-year-old hit .372/.426/.628 with two homers, two triples, one double, nine RBI and three stolen bases in 43 at-bats.

“I think the offense was definitely the question mark going into this camp,” he said. “I think everyone’s seen that I can play defense at the big league level. It was just a matter of showing up here and showing I could hit big league pitching.

“And – obviously small sample size – I have a lot to improve, but it’s definitely a good start,” he continued. “Both sides of the ball went well. Baserunning went well; defense went well; offense went well. I thought I got along great with the team. I’m really excited to go through a season with this group of guys. I really couldn’t have drawn up a better spring.”

Rumfield — who came to Colorado from the Yankees in January in a trade for pitcher Angel Chivilli — went to a steakhouse and got a steak to celebrate being named to the roster. He was thrilled to share his news with his wife, Hayden.

“I called my wife and let her know and we were just overcome with emotions because we’ve spent the last five years in the minor leagues just waiting for this day and waiting for this moment and grinding it out. It’s been a long time coming. It’s a happy moment,” Rumfield said, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s a dream come true, honestly. I’ve been dreaming of this moment my entire life, so I’m just excited to get there and get to experience something like that.”

In Arizona, Rumfield, 25, led the team with five homers and tied Hunter Goodman with the most RBI at 13. That led him to be named the Abby Greer Award winner for 2026. He credits his focus, hard work and communication skills to earning the starting spot at first base, which was the biggest position battle in camp.

“I think it was just the conversations with the coaching staff and being able to communicate with them, and my teammates, as well,” Rumfield said. “Communicating with them throughout the game and picking up on different things, whether it’s a pitcher’s tell or on defense. I think it’s just a culmination of focus and hard work that just happened to land me on a big league roster.”

Earning Depth Spots

One of the biggest surprises who made the team is utility infielder Ryan Ritter, who also added right field to his resume. Ritter, 25, ended the 2025 season on the Rockies roster, but faced stiff competition with the signings of utility players Edouard Julien and Willi Castro.

Ritter, who was drafted by the Rockies in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, hit .362/.422/.603 with three homers, nine RBI, five doubles and three stolen bases. He credits his attitude and work ethic to earning his spot.

“It’s a great feeling. That was my goal – coming in here and being part of the team this year – and I’m excited to be with the boys in Miami,” Ritter said. “What I’ve done my whole life is just being very optimistic and showing up to the ballpark and improving every day. My goal every day is just get better every day, so that’s what I’ve been doing this whole time.”

RHP Chase Dollander started 2025 with Triple-A Albuquerque for a little more time to work on his pitches, which allowed the Rockies to start the season with a four-man rotation before calling Dollander up on April 6. Colorado’s 2023 first-round draft pick had mixed results and finished the season back with the Isotopes.

This year, Dollander, 24, had hoped to earn a starting rotation spot, but will start the season in the bullpen to work on finishing batters with two strikes and avoiding high pitch count innings.

“From my understanding, it’s gonna be kind of a long-relief role,” he said. “I’ll probably get as close to a starter workload as possible but we’re not exactly sure what it’s gonna look like in full detail yet. So maybe that’s just something we figure out as we go, but definitely gonna have some conversations with the coaches and stuff and try to nail it down a little bit more.

“It feels great, just to keep it simple. I’m just gonna prove myself and where I belong.”

Keeping Their Spots

All four players know the hard part has yet to begin. They will have to continue to earn their spots, but all are confident in their abilities to do so. Ritter’s plan is to keep doing what he’s been doing.

“I just say, ‘Have a good routine.’ [I] show up to work every day trying to get better and improve my game for the game that’s going to happen later in the day,” he said. “And just keep it simple – just do my best to be prepared before every game.”

Dollander is also taking the same approach, despite moving from the rotation to the bullpen. He plans to continue making his delivery to the plate quicker, limiting would-be basestealers and throwing more strikes.

“I just worked extremely hard in spring training and in the offseason to make sure that I’m put in this position,” Dollander said. “This is just part of my development and I’m excited that [the coaches] see me in that role but also being able to do that development in the big leagues. I truly think that’s special and I’m not going to take that for granted.” 

For Karros, he knows that he has had success in the big leagues and just needs to remember that when he does “hit a blip in the radar somewhere down the season.” He has goals to take a big step forward with the Rockies this season.

“I’ve always felt like I’m ready, especially putting up the numbers I’ve put up in the minor leagues,” he said. “I’ve never seen a reason why that wouldn’t translate to the big leagues. Obviously, last year – small sample size – I was pretty run down at the end of the year. And I think I’ve just come into this camp more physical – faster, stronger and ready to play at an elite level.”

Rumfield is not only looking forward to making the most of his opportunity, but also being part of a team he believes is improving.

“I think we’re going to play a really good brand of baseball,” Rumfield said. “I feel like the fans are going to respond to our passion that we have on the field and the fact that we’re going to play hard every single night and try to win every night.”

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What to know about Rockies-Marlins Opening Day (Fri., 7:10 p.m. ET) | MLB.com

The teams forever linked as the 1993 expansion teams, the Rockies and Marlins will face off today to start the 2026 season. The Marlins improved by 17 wins in 2025, which the Rockies would probably like to aim for in 2026. This has all the Opening Day info you need.

Meet the 2026 Rockies: Roster includes new starters Michael Lorenzen, Tomoyuki Sugano and Jose Quintana | Denver Post ($)

No one is expecting the Rockies to even be a .500 team this year, but more competitive and more wins will go a long way. If that’s going to happen, it will begin with starting pitching, which Patrick Saunders highlights in this feature. The subhead says a lot in this article: “Colorado looking hoping to avoid becoming first team since Washington Senators to have four consecutive 100-loss seasons.” The Rockies would need 20 more wins to get to that point.

Colorado Rockies’ top 10 most intriguing prospects to watch in 2026 | Denver Post ($)

Kyle Newman put together a nice recap of the young Rockies who should make Rockies fans optimistic about the future, with info on all 10 and estimates of when they could make their MLB debuts. Newman thinks we could see Charlie Condon, Sterlin Thompson and Gabriel Hughes this season, but will probably have to wait on names like Ethan Holliday and Cole Carrigg.

Colorado Rockies viewers’ guide 2026: How to watch games for rebuilding franchise | The Athletic ($)

In a rare unicorn-like sighting of Rockies coverage by The Athletic, Jenny Catlin recaps the offseason changes, the struggles the team has faced in recent years and how fans in the Rocky Mountain region and beyond can watch MLB action in the 2026 season.

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