TAMPA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 17: Austin Wells #28 of the New York Yankees poses for a photo during New York Yankees Photo Day at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 17, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
They say that the World Baseball Classic can be a blessing for a hitter. An earlier ramp-up and encounters with high-level pitching weeks before the beginning of the regular season has may positively affect hitter performance, with a study by RotoWire finding that, on average, hitters who played in the WBC played better in April and May than hitters who didn’t.
That’s an important note for a Yankees team that sent a few hitters to the WBC, including catcher Austin Wells, who is representing his mother’s side of the family as the starting backstop for the Dominican Republic. He crushed a home run in the team’s blowout win over the Netherlands, and the early ramp-up could be big for the young catcher who is entering a crucial season.
Wells emerged on the scene in September 2023 as that year’s depressing edition of the Yankees wound down its season. He showed good potential with the bat, as expected, but also looked surprisingly comfortable behind the plate. It may be hard to imagine right now, but we have to remember that Wells was considered a great bat in the minors who might not be able to stick behind the plate.
Tanner Swanson worked his magic, though, and defense became Wells’ strength. He had a strong rookie year in 2024 that saw him finish third in Rookie of the Year voting, even with a brutal September slump. Heading into 2025, the hype around Wells was palpable, so much so that he went deep as the team’s leadoff hitter on Opening Day.
But his offense just wasn’t the same in 2025. His plate discipline regressed, and his on-base percentage dropped from .322 to .275. His already sub-standard numbers against offspeed and breaking pitches got even worse, as he often looked lost against sliders and sweepers. His framing remained elite, but with ABS coming in 2026, he could see that framing value start to be chipped away.
The one positive of his offensive profile in 2025? Wells cut down his groundball rate, generated a better pulled fly ball rate, and got more barrels. The downside, however, of looking to lift the ball is getting under it, which he also did considerably more.
For Wells, the path to getting back to being the offensive catcher he was billed to be in the minor leagues is plate discipline. His strikeout rate spiked from 21 percent to 26.3 percent in 2025, while his walk rate collapsed. His 2024 percentiles are where he wants to get back to, where he was in the 89th percentile in walk rate and 70th percentile in chase rate. Both were below average in 2025.
He’s never going to be a perfectly well-rounded hitter, so it’s hard to ask him to abandon his approach of looking to hit the ball in the air to the pull side when he’s a lefty at Yankee Stadium, but if it’s leading to the hole in his swing, it might need to be considered. It should not, however, affect his swing decisions.
Defensively, Wells will continue to be one of the league’s best, but the question will be how much ABS will impact his framing impact. With the limit on challenges, he should be fine, but he also needs to be able to steal calls for his pitchers when umpires miss calls. He’s been a mixed bag in a small sample in spring training in that regard.
Still, his defensive impact makes him, at worst, a league-average catcher. His bat, while underwhelming, was average among backstops in 2025, and he’s shown he has enough thump to be better. As a result, he’s not at risk of losing his job. JC Escarra is a fine, defense-first backup, and Ben Rice is likely the team’s everyday first baseman. If Wells struggles, he could lose reps, but he’ll almost certainly catch a majority of games in 2025 barring injury.
Ultimately, there’s a path to Wells getting back on track to being one of the best young catchers in baseball, and in the ultimate irony for those who’ve followed his career since he was drafted out of Arizona in 2020, it’s his bat that’s the swing factor.
ARLINGTON, TX - JULY 27: A detail shot of Texas Rangers batting equipment during the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Sunday, July 27, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Karen Hastings/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rangers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
As Rangers fans, we all dislike the rest of the teams in the American League West. It is simply inherent in the nature of our being.
Our question today is, what one team in the American League West do you dislike more than any other? Its a difficult question, I know, but nobody said being a Rangers fan was easy…
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 06: Bryce Harper #24 of Team United States walks to first base in the seventh inning against Team Brazil during a 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool B game at Daikin Park on March 06, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
You might not have noticed, but one of the major narratives of the Phillies’ off season was whether or not Bryce Harper is still an elite player. After Dave Dombrowski (correctly, but curiously) said that Harper’s 2025 season was not up to his previous standard, that set off a lot of people talking, including Harper himself.
If you’re sick of the “Is Harper elite?” discussion already, I have some bad news for you: It’s not going away. My prediction is that every single home run that Harper hits this season will prompt many “Elite” or “Still looks elite to me” posts on social media.
Harper has suggested that one of the causes for his non-elite season was the lack of adequate protection in the Phillies’ lineup. Harper saw a lot of balls out of the strike zone in 2025, and he swung at far too many of them. It’s not hard to infer that Harper feels he could take more of those pitches if he had more faith in the hitters behind him in the lineup.
Protection is not a problem for Harper in the WBC. He’s been batting second in the Team USA lineup right in front of Aaron Judge. And immediately behind Judge is Kyle Schwarber, which means that Harper has 109 home runs worth of power backing him up in the lineup.
Despite that prime spot in the lineup, through four games, Harper is just 3-15 with no walks, no extra base hits, and five strikeouts. He wasn’t in the starting lineup on Tuesday (largely because the manager is an idiot) and then popped up in a pinch-hitting appearance.
Obviously, it would be ridiculous to make any judgements based on 15 at bats in the month of March. Harper could very well go on to have a great season, and all of this elite/not elite talk will seem silly.
But if he doesn’t have a great season, it will likely be on him more than a lack of protection. For one thing, Harper needs to regain the ability to catch up with fastballs.
Harper looks like he’s struggling with the fastball again in the WBC.
His numbers against that pitch have been trending down over the last couple of seasons.
His AVG against four-seamers since becoming a Phillie:
He also needs to stop chasing pitches. Maybe Alec Bohm isn’t the 20+ home run threat he’d prefer behind him, but Bohm has been a quality hitter the past two seasons, so Harper needs to have more faith in him. (Ironically, if anyone should have been complaining after the NLDS, it was Bohm. With Harper going 3-15 in front of him, and the players behind producing little, Bohm was walked six times in the series.)
If Harper keeps getting himself out by chasing pitches out of the strike zone, then it’s not helping anyone. And it might also have a detrimental effect on the hitters behind him who might additional pressure to come through after Harper did not.
I don’t have numbers to back this up, but the Phillies’ offense often feels momentum-based: When things are going well in a game, they continue to go well, but if they struggle early, it seems to snowball. We all remember those stretches when the Phillies strand countless base runners and struggle to score runs. And then, they’ll have a game where one guy comes through in a big spot, and the whole team seems to relax, resulting in a double-digit outburst.
Hopefully, Harper can fix what ails him when it comes to chasing balls and hitting fastballs. Because while Team USA can overcome a down performance by Harper, the Phillies likely can not.
MESA, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 16: Caleb Thielbar #24 of the Chicago Cubs participates in Spring Training workouts at Sloan Park on February 16, 2026 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
39-year-old Caleb Thielbar defied Father Time to be effective for the Cubs in 2025 and is returning, hoping for more of the same. At some point he’s bound to run out of gas, but maybe not yet.
He was 3-4, 2.64 last year, but hasn’t had that kind of result in the spring so far. Even so, he’s probably headed to Chicago and will occupy his short/middle relief slot once again.
Thielbar brings some funk, and has a long track record amassed during eight years as a Twin and one as a Cub. After two years of passable results in 2013-4, he spent most of 2015 and all of 2016-2019 in the Twins’ minor-league system until his curveball got him back to The Show. He spent four good years in Minnesota, had a subpar 2024, and packed his bags.
In nine years, he has a 5.6 bWAR (5.5 fWAR). He’s probably not going to hurt you, and he’ll put up 50 or 60 innings’ worth of relief, say projections. At this point, he throws fastball, slider, curve, eschewing the sinker and knuckle-curve he deployed earlier in his career. That curve is a weapon, and he throws it at different speeds to further foil hitters. At top end, it’s almost 80 mph, and he unleashes it as a quasi-eephus pitch periodically. His fastball tops out at about 92 mph.
SURPRISE, ARIZONA - MARCH 10: Relief pitcher Kumar Rocker #80 of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning of the spring training game at Surprise Stadium on March 10, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Morning, all!
Josh Sborz has had decent results so far this spring, but his fastball is still down 4 mph from before his injury plagued 2024 and 2025 campaigns.
Andrew McCutchen has hit the ground running after spending most of the spring unsigned, collecting two doubles in four at bats over two games.
Jacob deGrom and Kumar Rocker pitched yesterday, with deGrom expressing frustration with his mechanics and Kumar Rocker still not throwing many changeups despite the team prioritizing incorporating it more into Rocker’s repertoire.
Cameron Cauley, the Rangers’ number 13 prospect and 2021 3rd round pick, has been getting noticed in his first big league camp and has survived several rounds of roster cuts.
Coincidentally, Shawn McFarland profiled Cauley yesterday in his ongoing prospect countdown and identified him as someone who could make major league contributions this season.
Kennedi Landry’s latest roster projection looks a lot different than what we’ve been used to the last few years.
PHOENIX, AZ - MAY 15: Manager Fredi Gonzalez #33 of the Atlanta Braves jokingly uses a television camera before the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 15, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves announced in late-February that their TV network BravesVision was coming our way. This came long with a future promise to announce what the future of their streaming options would be and as it turns out, it’s a familiar one if you’ve been following baseball in recent years.
Via press release, the Braves have revealed that Braves.TV will be their new streaming home with the price point being either $19.99 monthly or $99.99 for an entire season. Here’s more information from the press release:
Fans can stream Braves.TV at home and on-the-go across web, mobile, and connected devices, making Braves games easier to access than ever before. Supported platforms include iOS, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, Chromecast, PlayStation, Xbox, and Samsung, LG, and Android smart TVs.
Braves.TV subscriptions are now available for $99.99 for the 2026 season, bringing every moment of this season’s action to fans for less than 70 cents a game. Monthly subscriptions will be available ahead of Opening Day for $19.99 per month. A-List and Premium Members will receive an email with details on how to redeem a 30% discount on a season subscription.
The most important part of all of this is that the team announced that there will be no local blackouts, either. Those days are officially in the past and you’re now free to watch the team any way you want no matter where you live at — for a fee, of course.
If you visit Braves.TV right now, you’ll be greeted with the various subscription options on offer instead of the placeholder page that was there before, so this is live and running now. If you’re interested, the monthly option will be available starting on March 23 (right in the shadow of Opening Day) while every other option appears to be available right now.
So as of right now, you have the option to watch the Braves on traditional TV platforms via BravesVision or you can watch from basically any other streaming platform out there via Braves.TV. You could also just listen to the team on the radio for free if you so choose! They even provided a nifty FAQ in case you’re confused about anything. Like Captain Planet once (kinda) said, “The power (to watch the Atlanta Braves) is yours.”
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 16, 2025: Luke Dickerson #16 of the Washington Nationals throws to first base during the seventh inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the New York Mets at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on March 16, 2025 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
The Washington Nationals were playing the Marlins in Jupiter yesterday, but that was not where I wanted to be. I learned that the Nats prospects were playing in some backfield games against the Astros prospects. This allowed me to see some players I had never seen before.
There were four games going on, two on the Astros side of the facility and two on the Nats side. The more experienced prospects were playing on the Astros side, so that is where I started. Luis Perales and Sean Linan were throwing for the Nats in those two games.
Both of them looked fairly sharp. As the higher ranked prospect that was closer to the big leagues, I was paying more attention to Perales. He threw two innings and was mostly solid. Perales gave up one monster home run, but was good besides that. Here is a video I took of him fielding a ground ball.
Perales was mostly in the zone, which was good to see for a guy with control questions. He was getting hit harder than you would expect for a guy with his stuff, so the quality of the strikes still needs to improve. However, he has such amazing stuff. Perales threw a 100 MPH fastball with almost 20 inches of carry to get a strikeout. That is really rare stuff because fastballs that hard do not tend to have that kind of movement.
The contrast between Perales and Sean Linan was also fun to see. Linan is a very different type of pitcher. He is reliant on a very unique changeup that can totally befuddle hitters. Linan had mixed results, but it was good to see him throw the ball.
The whole scene on that side felt very professional. Nats and Astros coaches were all around the complex and locked in on the games. There were also some Astros players watching the games. One cool thing I saw was Astros prospect AJ Blubaugh interacting with his family after he threw a pair of scoreless innings in the game.
When I went to the other side of the field, things felt more laid back. These games were mostly filled with the team’s younger prospects. I saw the likes of Eli Willits, Gavin Fien, Coy James, Ronny Cruz and Luke Dickerson among others.
There was one game with a lot of the younger Dominican prospects. In that crowd were a bunch of middle aged men wearing Dominican Republic hats. I figured they were the parents of some of the players, but I was not sure. They looked like they were having a blast watching the game.
One player that stood out yet again was Ronny Cruz. I wrote about him after he hit a home run in a Spring Training game the other day. He was playing in one of the games and ripped a single between the shortstop and third baseman. Then, the youngster stole a base. I am going to be watching him very closely this spring.
The Nats were aggressive on the basepaths in all the games I saw. I got a video of prospect Angel Feliz stealing a base while Luke Dickerson was hitting. Feliz is not known for his speed, but he got a great jump and swiped the bag.
Interestingly, the games with mostly younger players had some big league players getting work in as well. Miles Mikolas was throwing to Riley Adams in one of the games. This must be a replacement for Mikolas’ between-start bullpen. He shut down the young Astros hitters.
After his outing was over, I saw him chatting with his wife and playing with his three young kids. That was a really cool thing to see, and humanized a guy who I have been watching perform in the big leagues for nearly a decade. At that moment, he was just a dad and a husband.
Overall, seeing the backfields was a really cool experience. It was a hot afternoon, but this was worth sweating over. While fans mostly just see the Spring Training games, there is so much other stuff that goes on during the spring. I got to see some of that yesterday, and it was a fun experience.
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene is expected to miss the first four months of the season after needing surgery on his right elbow, the team announced.
Cincinnati says Greene has bone chips and loose bodies in his elbow, confirmed by an MRI after he left spring training with elbow stiffness.
"I felt no discomfort a few days later, and as I started my offseason throwing program, I felt great," Greene said on social media. "However, the pain returned as I got close to the start of camp and as I began throwing harder and manipulating pitches more. The irritation in my elbow is affecting my ability to finish and execute pitches without a sharp stabbing pain. I simply need to have the bone spurs removed.
"All I want to do is play the game I love and compete with my brothers as we take on the 2026 season. But it's important that this procedure take place now instead of trying to pitch through it, not be sharp on the mound and risk further injury. Trust me, nobody is more frustrated than I am."
In 19 starts last season, Greene went 7-4 with a 2.76 ERA as the Reds broke a five-year playoff drought by earning a wild-card spot.
The injury is a big loss for Cincinnati, as the 26-year-old Greene has been one of the game's fireballers, averaging nearly 100 mph on his four-seam fastball velocity. He had 296 pitches that clocked in at 100 mph or higher in 2025.
Mar 4, 2026; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder Mickey Moniak (22) celebrates with teammates after hitting a solo home run against the United States in the fourth inning at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
The Colorado Rockies enter the 2026 season searching for consistency across much of its lineup.
For the Rockies last season, most positions were a revolving door. Swapping out struggling players, testing out prospects, and dealing with player injuries all contributed to the overall lack of stability. As the organization continues to evaluate young talent and reshape the roster, several positions remain in flux.
One of the most volatile in 2025 was Designated Hitter, but that could potentially be the most solvable in 2026. Additionally, a mix of new players and up-and-comers lends some promise to the team’s bench.
Colorado’s DH Usage in 2025
Last year, 10 different players started at least five games at DH and another 12 started four or fewer, with most serving as a short-term solution for one or two games. Around the division, teams took a range of approaches to their DH role, but most relied more heavily on a single player or two than the Rockies did:
The Los Angeles Dodgers, blessed with a generational two-way talent, are an obvious outlier here. They started Shohei Ohtani at DH for 158 games and (obviously) didn’t need much else.
The San Diego Padres used Gavin Sheets as their go-to DH (64 games). Luis Arráez pitched in 29 games, and a slew of 15 others (including Manny Machado, Yuli Gurriel, and Xander Bogaerts) took fewer than 20 games at the position.
The San Francisco Giants primarily went with a tandem at DH, starting Wilmer Flores for 84 games and Rafael Devers for 60 games. They swapped in just over a dozen other starters, but none of them exceeded 10 games.
The Arizona Diamondbacks were closest to the Rockies in DH usage, mixing in 15 starters over the course of the year, with nine of them starting five or more games.Even so, their rotation was anchored by two players: Pavin Smith (48 games) and Randal Grichuk (42 games), whereas the Rockies didn’t have a single player start over 40 games at the position.
The Rockies used Hunter Goodman the most (39 games), followed by Tyler Freeman (28 games), Yanquiel Fernández (26 games), and Kyle Farmer (24 games). Between the high number of different starters and the fact that not one of those starters exceeded 40 games, the Rox lacked reliability at the position. And not only did they not have a common starter, the starters that they did use were inefficient. The Rockies were dead last in DH Positional fWAR in 2025, and were one of just two teams with negative fWAR there.
Absent the emergence of a stellar hitter, it’s likely that the Rockies will still use a rotational DH setup moving forward. But one small metric that could help with both reliability and efficiency is finding someone to start at DH for at least 40 but ideally 50 or 60 games. Enter Mickey Moniak…
Hey, Mickey!
Moniak started 72 games in right field in 2025 on top of 15 at DH. His hitting was the best of his career and served as a solid contribution to the team. He was third on the team in hits and batting average, first in triples, and second in home runs and RBI.
Defensively, he left something to be desired. He was below the league fielding percentage at all outfield positions and posted a negative defensive rWAR. While he could still offer some spot starts in the outfield, he is projected to be the team’s primary DH starter, where a shift in emphasis to batting could be a natural fit.
That option looks even more promising given Moniak’s spring. Across 15 at-bats, Moniak is hitting .333 with two homers, three RBI, and a 1.324 OPS, even with a rough stretch of outings as of late. His offensive stability could provide a solid floor for the Rockies offense.
The DH Platoon
Hunter Goodman was the most productive DH by rWAR (3.6), contributing 39 games there on top of 104 as Catcher. With that level of production as a batter, he could pop in for more DH appearances when he’s not behind the plate and when Moniak shifts from DH to the field in 2026.
Looking across the rest of the outfield, Jordan Beck or Brenton Doyle are prime candidates to take a few games at DH, while Moniak offers them a break from the field. Neither had much experience there in 2025, with Beck taking seven games (0.9 rWAR) and Doyle taking just four (0.1 rWAR). Their DH experience notwithstanding, both have power that could spark the offense.
Freeman is another likely fit to finish top five in DH opportunities. As noted above, he took the third most games at the position last year. Given the versatility he offers generally, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him take another 20-plus games at the position.
Building the Bench
Speaking of versatility, the Rockies will rely on a few key pieces and surprise gems to contribute depth across the board. Colorado heads into the season with a mix of outfield options, some new infield contributors, and prospects to evaluate all around. With that comes a recipe for a handful of folks to provide relief off the bench throughout the year at a number of positions.
First and foremost may, again, be Freeman. He proved to be a valuable contributor in many areas, playing primarily in right field but demonstrating his natural ability as an infielder, finding himself at second and third base over the course of the year. A true utility player, Freeman provides valuable bench production in the infield, outfield, and DH.
With a scorching hot camp, T.J. Rumfield is going to make for some very competitive roster decisions. Acquired in a trade from the Yankees, the prospect is pushing to make the major league roster sooner rather than later. Edouard Julien, another offseason acquisition, is projected to be the starter at first base for now, but Rumfield could push that or at the very least earn a spot on the 40-man roster as a solid bench piece.
Another piece of the first base and utility puzzle is Blaine Crim. Crim took a stretch of games in 2025, but begins 2026 on the 60-day IL for an oblique strain.
Ryan Ritter will be another mainstay off the bench for the Rockies. After posting a strong rookie season, Ritter is seeing the ball well in camp. In 30 at-bats, he’s batted .400 with 12 hits, six RBI, and three drawn walks. He’s had a share of strikeouts that he’ll look to clean up, but comes into the season looking strong. He covered shortstop during Tovar’s injury, so he can fill in there as needed, as well as covering second base.
Another offseason pickup that adds some flexibility is Willi Castro. Few positions are off limits for Castro who played everything but catcher and first base in 2025. While he’ll look to start at second, the ability to place him anywhere in the infield or outfield frees up a ton of player mobility across the rest of the roster, giving other bench guys a chance to slot in.
Prospect Pipeline
As was the case in 2025, we should see a handful of MLB debuts this year, as well as appearances from players who worked between the majors and minors. Some exciting prospects could take the leap and blossom into bench roles or steal a spot in the starting lineup:
Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP) is one of the most intriguing prospects heading into the regular season. After bulking up in the offseason and flashing both power and improvements in consistency in spring training, He’ll likely find his way into the outfield platoon as 2026 wears on.
WIth the Julien and Rumfield competition at first base, Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) also waits in the wings. Throughout spring, he’s slotted into the outfield as well, so he’ll look to mix in across the roster throughout the season.
Roc Riggio (No. 14 PuRP) will likely spend the majority of the season in the minors, but could look to make a push into the infield rotation by the end of the season.
Closing Thoughts
The 2026 season will be one of evaluation for the Rockies, with the hope that stability will emerge as long-term options are identified across the field. In the meantime, the DH spot represents one of the clearest opportunities for the organization to create some structure within an otherwise fluid lineup.
If Moniak can claim the bulk of starts at DH while showing the offensive growth he demonstrated in 2025, it would give Colorado a reliable baseline at the position. From there, supplementing his starts in the outfield with DH appearances from Freeman, Beck, or Doyle when matchups or rest days call for it could help the Rockies climb from the bottom of the barrel in DH efficiency.
As for the bench, Colorado will continue with experimentation, but hopefully the sort that is aligned with a new guiding direction from leadership. Even if there is fluidity across bench support, the hope is that it will lead to the identification of long-term solutions. Ideally, that process will strike a balance between giving younger players and pipeline prospects playing time, while leaning on versatile vets that can keep the roster functional on a day-to-day basis.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 08: Aaron Civale #45 of the Athletics pitches against the Los Angeles Angels during of a spring training game at Las Vegas Ballpark on March 08, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Athletics defeated the Angels 7-4. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Happy Wednesday A’s fans!
While spring training games rarely serve as predictors for how a team will play in the regular season, they can indicate certain things about every team’s roster. Through 18 spring training games, the general consensus around the Athletics is that the team’s offense will once again drive its success, due to a largely inexperienced and inconsistent pitching staff.
A’s pitchers have gotten off to a rough start in the Cactus League as the team’s 6.09 ERA is 24th out of all 30 MLB teams. Yet, the fact that the Mariners’ ERA of 6.91 is the worst out of all American League teams illustrates the meaningless nature of spring training games as they often feature a parade of minor league pitchers who will not come close to sniffing an MLB mound this year. Unlike the A’s, the Mariners have little reason to be worried as their pitching staff, especially their starting rotation, is one of the best in the league.
For the A’s to make a legit playoff push, their multiple young starting pitchers and relievers must step up and pitch better once the real games begin. Only Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs and Aaron Civale have pitched full seasons as starting pitchers. Civale, the A’s lone starting pitching import this offseason, pitched so horribly last season that he found himself on the move three times, spending time with the Milwaukee Brewers and both Chicago teams. In the past, pitchers like Scott Kazmir reinvented themselves with the A’s, taking advantage of the pitchers park that was the Oakland Coliseum. Sutter Health Park is the opposite, meaning the onus will be on Civale to prove the A’s were right to invest some of their limited financial resources on him.
The A’s have won their past four spring games, all high-scoring affairs. Yesterday’s 11-7 victory against the Chicago White Sox could prove to be a microcosm of many A’s games this season in which their starting pitcher struggles, but the team’s high-powered offense scores enough runs to erase an early deficit and win the game.
This spring, everyone on offense has been contributing for the A’s from projected starters to top prospects. With the team’s lineup pretty much set for the next few years thanks to multiple young players agreeing to contract extensions, that will leave some hitters on the outside looking in.
Tommy White, who has significantly boosted his stock this spring, and Colby Thomas seem like two obvious trade candidates who may not have a path to everyday playing time with the A’s unless White locks down third base.
Given how hard it is for the A’s to attract free-agent pitchers, should they put some of these talented young hitters on the trade block to lure needed pitching help? If so, which pitchers from other teams do you want the A’s to target?
Right-hander Joey Estes made his spring debut yesterday. Given his delayed start, he may begin the season in Triple-A, but could factor into the A’s pitching plans at some point.
Joey Estes in his spring debut vs CWS
2.2 IP 2 H 0 R 1 BB | 0 K
Estes generated 2 whiffs (43 pitches) and picked up the win. He's in the mix for a rotation spot but has catching up to do.#Athleticspic.twitter.com/HGZWfGETGN
Outfield prospect Henry Bolte is making a big impression in A’s camp. While he is likely to start the year at Triple-A Las Vegas, his power-speed combination could earn the Bay Area native his MLB debut sometime this summer.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 7: Manager Mark Deosa of the United States stands for the national anthem before a World Baseball Classic Pool B game between Great Britain and the United States at Daikin Park on March 7, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning Birdland,
The baseball world is looking at Team USA manager Mark DeRosa with a raised eyebrow right now. His club lost to Italy on Tuesday night, 8-6, in their final game of pool play. Italy now leads Pool B with a 3-0 record, USA is second at 3-1, and Mexico is in third at 2-1. Italy and Mexico will play each other tonight at 7 p.m. ET with a berth in the knockout rounds on the line. Team USA needs some help if they are going to advance.
The top two teams advance from each pool. If Italy beats Mexico, then Italy would advance as the winners of the pool, and USA would advance as the runner up, regardless of the score. If Mexico wins, it all comes down to the tiebreaker, which is a calculation of number of runs allowed divided by number of outs recorded. You can read the exact tiebreaker rules on the WBC website. But in short, USA is going to be rooting for an Italy win outright OR a relatively high-scoring game in which Mexico plates at least five runs.
Appearing on MLB Network, DeRosa said “It’s weird. We want to win this game even though our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals.”
Obviously, that was not true. What’s worse, it doesn’t sound like DeRosa was alone in his interpretation because he went on to say that “there’s some guys dragging today” due to the team’s prolonged celebration after beating Mexico on Monday. Clearly, the entire team thought that beating Mexico clinched them a spot in the next round, and they did not take Italy seriously.
It makes the entire team look incompetent, and it’s a stain on the World Baseball Classic as a whole. It will be made even worse if Mexico pulls off an entirely possible win over Italy while scoring four or fewer runs.
On the Orioles front, they lost 7-6 to the Astros. but Coby Mayo had himself a day! The third baseman went 4-for-4 with a home run and five RBI. He is going to be the team’s Opening Day third baseman, and it is well deserved. The pitching side of things was not as enjoyable, but none of the pitchers used are expected to part of the big league picture to begin 2026, so let’s not fret.
The O’s will host the Pirates today. First pitch is at 1 p.m. ET.
Orioles 1st base coach Jason Bourgeois on his experience: ‘I can relate’ | Baltimore Baseball We have a whole new coaching staff to get to know this year, well almost. Some of the old guard remained in place as Albernaz stepped in, but many others are fresh. That includes Bourgeois, who is hoping to connect with players that are standing right where he did a decade or so earlier.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
Frank Mata turns 42 today. He pitched in 15 games for the 2010 Orioles, his only big league experience.
Rich Hill is 46 years old. The journeyman southpaw played for 14 different teams during his career. That included 14 games with the O’s way back in 2009.
Steve Reed is 61 today. A longtime reliever in MLB, Reed wrapped up his 14-season career in 2005 as a member of the Orioles bullpen.
Phil Bradley turns 67. He spent parts of two seasons with the Orioles from 1989-90, accumulating 3.6 bWAR and a 116 OPS+ in that time. The Orioles dealt him to the White Sox at the 1990 trade deadline in exchange for Ron Kittle
This day in O’s history
1991 – Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, attempting to make a comeback as a non-roster player in Orioles camp, gives up five hits and two runs over two innings against the Red Sox. The very next day he retires for the second time (he had originally retired in 1984), citing a hamstring injury.
Oct 9, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jesus Luzardo (44) reacts after the tenth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game four of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
At this point in two weeks, the Grapefruit League of 2026 will be but a memory. We usually wish these games are over as soon as possible, looking forward to the regular season commencing as quickly as possible, but the lingering question is hovering over baseball. Will these be the last spring training games we see for a while?
Free of charge for the discerning reader.Happy birthday, Rich Hill* and other stories.
Today in baseball history:
1901 – The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Baltimore OriolesmanagerJohn McGraw has signed a Cherokee Indian named “Tokohama” to play second base. In reality, Tokohama isn’t a Native American; he is an African-American whose actual name is Charlie Grant, who McGraw is trying to pass off as an Indian, but the ruse does not work. Baseball’s color line will prevent Grant from ever playing a game for the Orioles.
1957 – New York Representative Emanuel Celler, whose committee investigated baseball, calls Ford Frick a “czar” who wishes to “gag” officials; Frick had cautioned Major League Baseball owners about commenting on the recent Supreme Court decision on professional American football coming under antitrust rules.
1974 – CommissionerBowie Kuhn orders the Atlanta Braves to play Hank Aaron in at least two of the team’s season-opening three games in Cincinnati. The Braves had planned to bench Aaron on the road in order to increase his chances of hitting his record-breaking 715thhome run at home.
2018 – One of the few remaining first-rung free agents left unsigned, P Jake Arrieta, inks a three-year deal with the Phillies worth $75 million. Alex Cobb is now the last pitcher still looking for a team.
2021 – Major League Baseball announces that it will be testing out some potential rules changes when the minor league season gets under way. In Triple-A, the games will be played with bases 18 inches in length, instead of the usual 15, and made of a material that performs better in wet conditions, both in order to limit injuries; in Double-A, there will be limits on defensive shifts, forcing all infielders to be placed within the infield dirt boundary when play starts; in High-A, pitchers will be required to step off the mound to attempt a pick-off throw; in Low-A, they will be limited to two such throws per plate appearance, and there will also be either a 15-second pitch clock or a robot umpire to call balls and strikes, depending on the league. The objective is for some of these rule change to make their way to the major leagues if they prove successful, which will happen within two years (except for the robot umpire).
1669 – Mt Etna in Sicily erupts in its largest recorded eruption, killing 15,000.
1779 – US Army Corps of Engineers established (first time).
1824 – US War Department creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
1918 – US Army mess cook Private Albert Gitchell of Fort Riley, Kansas becomes the first documented case of Spanish flu; start of worldwide pandemic killing 50-100 million.
1941 – Bronko Nagurski beats Ray Steele in Minn, to become wrestling champ.
1958 – American B-47 accidentally drops unarmed nuclear bomb 15,000 ft on a family home in Mars Bluff, South Carolina; creates crater 75 ft across.
2020 – COVID-19 declared a pandemic by the head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, with 121,564 cases worldwide and 4,373 deaths.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - AUGUST 22: Bryan Reynolds #10 celebrates with Oneil Cruz #15 of the Pittsburgh Pirates after scoring during the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on August 22, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Pirates fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The Pittsburgh Pirates made some moves this offseason to address their offense. And at least so far this Spring, things are looking up in the hitting department. The Bucs sit at 12-5 in Spring Training play, and their 98 runs scored lead the Grapefruit League. What we want to know, is who do you think will the Pirates best hitter this season? Will it be one of their newcomers? Or will it be a veteran?
We thought about adding Konnor Griffin, but according to Ben Cherington, it doesn’t sound like they’re going to run him out there to start the season. So without a clear timeline on when to expect him, we left him off the list.
Cast your vote, tell us in the comments, and we’ll be back soon with the results.
JUPITER, FLORIDA - MARCH 09: Matthew Liberatore #32 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning of a spring training game at Roger Dean Stadium on March 09, 2026 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Last week I used creative accounting measures on the projections systems to come up with a scorching hot take taken from the end of days (of the hot stove season): the Cardinals could win over 80 games. I have predicted 85! Several players will outdo their best projections.
As winter is winding down and spring arises, the Cardinals have already illustrated several stories worth of baseball experiences. Two of the Cardinals best spring training hitters have already been sent out of camp, Josh Baez with 3 home runs (4 leads spring training currently) and Chase Davis with 2. Ok it’s a stretch to say Chase Davis is one of our best hitters, but a 113 wRC+ while being second in home runs on the team with Gorman is at least somewhat encouraging. I’m not saying that Chase has turned the corner into being a good player, just not to give up on the guy yet. Baez in particular, has looked superb, leaving spring training with a wRC+ just under 200. He did so well that many fans are mad that he isn’t in our starting outfield. Do you know who is hitting at a Baez level during spring training?
Yohel Pozo! Also barely under 200 wRC+, lol. Go Pozo! So with Baez gone, who is the Cardinals second best hitter for the rest of this spring training? It is exciting to say that JJ Wetherholt currently has a 184 wRC+! Hopefully his spring training success translates into regular season success. Similar to JJ, Nolan Gorman has 2 home runs… the similarity ends there because Gorman is batting below .200. Sigh. His OBP is definitely better, but not really passable. Are there any other bright spots on offense in Spring Training for the Cardinals? Nelson Velasquez and Alec Burleson are both over 150 wRC+! Prettayyy, prettayyyy, prettaaaayyyyy good.
The good stories don’t end there on the topic of spring training offense: Nathan Church is hitting at 137 wRC+. Does he somehow steal Victor Scott II’s starting center field job? Or is he playing himself into a starting corner position with Nootbaar still recovering? That outfield defense would be nearly impenetrable, or at least 2/3 of it.
After that it don’t look so good, with Gorman a below average hitter, Walker even worse, while Fermin and Scott II have been terrible. Blaze Jordan takes the crown of worst Spring Training position player though! Small sample size and whatnot. Who has the most plate appearances so far? Fermin and Jordan. But the Cardinals have given Gorman, Walker, Wetherholt, and Velasquez plenty of looks at the plate as well.
How about Church vs Victor Scott II? VSii only has two more plate appearances, so it could definitely be a competition for starting center fielder. Or maybe they will share a lot of time playing center.
Looking around MLB during spring training, Paul Goldschmidt has a fun batting line of 7 RBI and 2 HR in 14 AB. Konor Griffin has an .894 OPS and Matt McLain of Cincinnati is utterly destroying baseball. Ely de la Cruz is also hitting well this spring, which is good news so far for Reds fans, because those two will need to carry the team with Hunter Greene out. Or whoever ends up hitting better than McLain, heh.
Who are the St Louis Cardinal standouts pitching wise during spring training over halfway through? Matthew Liberatore, similar to his 2025 spring training, seems like a definitive ace. He has 14 K and a rather zen-like WHIP of 1.0. Quinn Mathews was a spring training success story, being close to the MLB lead in strikeouts at 12 (Liberatore is 2nd in MLB) while holding batters to a .185 BA. Perhaps Matthews could be a factor in the rotation this very season. Or maybe they’ll work him into the bullpen somehow as longman or 6th starter.
There are so many possibilities right now, it is rather uncanny. You know who else has been awesome: Kyle Leahy. He’s thrown 9 K and held batters to a .167 batting average! 3.67 xFIP. Pallante is also doing well, outside of his FIP numbers. And McGreevy? He’s doing just fine! 3.24 ERA and safe FIP numbers, while walking very few.
Success out of the bullpen? Yep. Stanek, O’Brien, Soriano, Naughton, Roycroft, Cijntje, Rajcic, Blewett, Svanson, Gastelum, all with a light’s out spring. May and Mautz both have looked really good as well, so far. Fitts throwing really hard, also encouraging.
Game Reviews with Statcast
March 10th: Jared Shuster and Austin Love got hit the hardest today, 2 Cardinal prospects I have never heard of. Yohel Pozo hit a ball the hardest on the Cardinals. Who is this guy? Blaze Jordan and… Victor Scott II? also hit scorchers on this date! 104.2 mph for Victor. Every once in a while he really gets into one. It was a double. Other Cardinals pitchers who got hit hard today? Matt Pushard and Packy Naughton. Who was dialing it up into the upper 90s for Cardinals pitchers? Riley O’Brien and Scott Blewett. Nelson Velazquez hit a home run for the Cardinals.
March 9th: Velasquez hit a 111.9 mph single on this date. Richard Fitts got hit hard by the Astros. Jordan Walker scorched a 109.8 mph single. Fitts was throwing 96.3 to 98.7 mph fastballs. In fact, Fitts threw 17 of the top 20 fastest pitches in this game. Max Rajcic had the highest spin rate for the Cards with his curve, while throwing a 95 mph 4 seam fastball.
March 8th: Pedro Pages hit a double really hard! 110.3 exit velocity! Another catcher of ours, Yohel Pozo, hit a 105.5 mph single. Ryne Stanek was throwing in the upper 90s, 98 to 99.5 mph 4 seam fastballs. Pallante peaked at a 95.9 mph sinker. The Marlins had several pitchers with high spin rates. This game was a low scoring tie with the Marlins.
March 7th: Mautz got hit hard a few times in this game but was able to mostly avoid damage. Riley O’Brien throwing in the upper 90s with a sinker. The spin rate on Kyle Leahy’s sweeper the best of the Cardinals pitchers. I’m so far really glad they stuck with the Kyle Leahy as a starter plan because both horizontal and vertical break on his sweeper has been very good and overall his mix of pitches seems to be working out.
Thanks for reading!
and now for the music…
1981
In 1981, the big time box office movies that I loved as a kid were Raiders of the Lost Ark, On Golden Pond, Superman II, and just cracking the top 10, Time Bandits. Saw all of those in the theater. Outside of the higher grossing movies, Excalibur was another good one. Werewolf movies were definitely “in” back in 1981, and American Werewolf in London and The Howling were my cool older sister’s favorites. Evil Dead was also released but I saw it years later, another classic!
In baseball, a minor league game went almost 8 and a half hours, the longest professional baseball game in history! It was the Rochester Redwings vs the Pawtucket Red Sox in Rhode Island. At the MLB level, there was a player’s strike from June 12 to July 31! This resulted in one of the only split seasons in baseball history. The champs in each division of the first half made it to the playoffs, as did all the champs in the second half of the season. Somehow, the Cardinals missed the playoffs despite having the best winning percentage at the end of the season. They finished in 2nd place during both halves. Especially aggravating was that during the 2nd half of 1981, the Cardinals finished 1/2 a game out of first place. And they were only 1 1/2 out during the first half of the season. The Phillies ended up winning the first half of 1981, and the Expos won the 2nd half.
The Dodgers ended up defeating the Yankees that year, so it was sort of anticlimactic. The bigger news was that Bob Gibson was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility! Fernando Valenzuela won both the Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award! Rollie Fingers one-upped him by winning the MVP and the Cy Young Award in the AL. Mike Schmidt was the NL MVP.
The Tribune bought the Cubs from the Wrigley family.
The first sampler made, the E-mu Emulator was released mid-1981, changing the music world with sampling capabilities. Stevie Wonder was given serial No. 1. High speed rail between Paris and Lyon, France, began.
Top Album Picks for 1981
We will all have our top albums for any given year, but I am hoping to uncover some undiscovered early 80’s gems. Some will be more well-known, but I found some obscure heavy metal releases to round out the end of the playlist.
#1 This Heat – ‘Deceit’ Even better than their first album, This Heat perfects their sound then pretty much disbands not long after. Super influential underground classic, inspiring experimental approaches to rock music, new alt punk sounds. Quoting this reviewer because he said it better than I can say myself, “James Joyce once said that “History is a nightmare from which we are trying to awaken” and this album is a graphic evocation of that nightmare.“”
#2 King Crimson – ‘Discipline’ King Crimson reinvent themselves and prog rock in the process by bringing in Adrien Belew to be frontman, another guitar virtuoso to complement Robert Fripp’s complex guitar lines, plus Frippertronics pushing the envelope of music performance push this instant prog rock classic over the top.
#3 Rush – ‘Moving Pictures’ it was tough to decide between KC and Rush here, especially with the epic huge guitar and bass on this album, the musicianship every bit as good but with more synthesizers. Neil Peart’s drumming is at its most musical and subtle here as he drives this music ship into alternate dimensions and parallel futures.
#4 Eskaton – ‘4 Visions’ how do you top the epic bass playing on Discipline and Moving Pictures? Listen to this! A totally surreal, beautiful dream of an album. Speaking of parallel dimensions, I think this is from one. Beautiful vocals soar above it all, singing their own language. More Zeuhl mastery, for fans of Magma.
#5 Dün – ‘Eros’ this is one of my big unheard of finds this week! For fans of Magma and Eskaton or mad prog rock. Fantastic sounding album!
#6 Brian Eno and David Byrne – ‘My Life in the Bush of Ghosts’ my favorite thing that either Brian Eno or David Byrne did! A masterclass in sampling to the point where you don’t even realize what’s happening, you’re just floating in a sea of sounds as well as music genres and it just keeps changing. I have been very into this album since reading ‘Ocean of Sound’ by David Toop.
#7 Glenn Branca – ‘The Ascension’ is this huge sounding, incredibly recorded album of beautifully epic guitar sounds and occasionally drums. 20th century classical music in guitar form. For fans of drone, ambient, experimental punk, avant garde, art rock.
#8 Gang of Four – ‘Solid Gold’ super catchy way ahead of its time punk you just have to hear it. Genius heady party music.
#9 Fred Frith – ‘Speechless’ another big find, if you love guitarists on the more creative side of things, this is for you! The variety of cool songs here is highly impressive.
#10 Takeo Moriyama – ‘Smile’ I feel a little guilty placing this absolutely stunning jazz masterpiece this low, but it was a reallllyyyyyy good year for music.
#11 Eider Stellaire – ‘Eider Stellaire’ another top tier Zeuhl album, 1981 was the year of Zeuhl masterpieces!
#12 Frank Zappa – ‘You Are What You Is’ acerbic comedy music with tons of relatable content to today’s world, but written 45 years ago! Including hits like “Drafted Again”! “Dumb All Over” is my favorite song though. Zappa shows off both his advanced prog side and his unforgiving observational “comedy” which for me at times is a bit cringe but overall, this album is an important chapter in rock music.
#13 Chick Corea – ‘The Three Quartets’ Chick Corea: piano; Eddie Gómez: bass; Steve Gadd: drums; Michael Brecker: saxophone. Perhaps my favorite Chick Corea album.
#14 Hawkwind – ‘Sonic Attack’ one of my favorite Hawkwind albums and now we are getting into the truly epicly cheesy album covers too! This is where it gets fun.
#15 Prince – ‘Controversy’ Prince really hits his stride here and his production job on this 1981 album is so good! Perhaps his most underrated album.
#17 Holocaust – ‘The Nightcomers’ if you’re a fan of early Metallica, you have to hear this!
#18 Riot – ‘Fire Down Under’ omfg that album cover! The music rules too, super tight Australian metal.
#19 Venom – ‘Welcome To Hell’ how this album sounds was super influential to early metal in its most extreme forms. Another one for fans of early Metallica, but even more for fans of early Slayer! Included because it was freakin’ 1981.
#20 Gaskin – ‘End of the World’ that album cover is ridiculous. But the music is ridiculously awesome and the bassist is mixed super loud for a metal album. Unique stuff.
