Category: MLB

Earlier today, the Mets announced their 2026 promotional schedule for all home games through June.

The Mets will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1986 team all season long with some unique giveaways. If you’d like to rock a replica ring from the ‘86 squad, you have to be one of the first 15,000 fans in the ballpark on Saturday, March 28. If clothing is more your style, the team will distribute a 1986 World Champions retro t-shirt on Tuesday, May 26, and a 1986 Retro Jersey on Saturday, July 12. It’s worth noting that the jersey will be given out in a game against the Red Sox, whom the Mets famously defeated to earn their second, and most recent, championship. The Mets will also give out four bobbleheads to celebrate iconic moments from the 1986 team, but these games require a special ticket in order to procure the promo. These are: a Gary Carter bobblehead (Thursday, April 9), a Jesse Orosco bobblehead (Friday, April 24), a Mookie Wilson bobblehead (Tuesday, May 12), and a Ray Knight bobblehead (Sunday, August 2)

Beyond celebrating the 1986 team, the club also has a number of cool bobbleheads that could be yours if you don’t value your time enough and can wait in line two hours before gates to guarantee the promo (side note and opinion of this writer, but all promotions at sporting events should be available to all fans; you purchase a ticket, you get the promo. End rant). The Mets have two unique Juan Soto bobbleheads: One highlighting his 40/30 season on Saturday, April 11, and one baseball card bobblehead on Thursday, June 25. The Mets also have a Mr. Met Unisphere Light Up bobblehead on Saturday, April 25, and a Hello Kitty Bobblehead on June 13 that is sure to be very in-demand. Those promos go to the first 18,000 fans through the gate.

The Mets didn’t forget all you kids out there, because they lined up some child-friendly promos. The first 5,000 kids 12 and under at the Sunday, March 29 game on Opening Weekend will get a 5-borough race kids puzzle, which seems to suggest the popular race is returning in 2026. There is also a Crayola “Color Your Own Mrs. Met” Bobblehead on Sunday, June 14, which also goes to the first 5,000 kids at the game.

All fans in attendance to Opening Day will get a magnetic schedule (I suppose the Mets heard my pleas in one specific instance). Beyond that, probably the most unique and creative giveaway is the “Bobby Valentine Disguise” promo, which goes to the first 15,000 fans at the Friday, May 29 game against the Marlins. There’s also a soccer jersey (Thursday, June 11), a Mets purse (Monday, June 22), a Mets chain necklace (Tuesday, June 23), a Marcus Semien replica jersey (Wednesday, June 24), and a Pride Night sleeveless jersey (Friday, June 26).

Which promo are you most excited for?

One of the biggest non-player questions St. Louis Cardinals fans have as the 2026 season is about to begin is what will Yadier Molina’s real role be with the team. We’re starting to get answers and it appears his impact with the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals team will be greater than the past which could be a crucial part of the team’s ongoing rebuild.

It was nearly a month ago that I shared the news that the St. Louis Cardinals had hired Yadier Molina as a Special Assistant to President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom. This was the same title Yadi received in December of 2023 when then POBO John Mozeliak brought him back into the organization, but his visibility then was scarce. There are signs that this new era of Yadi will be different as he just told KMOV in St. Louis that he would be in the dugout for 2 or 3 series in St. Louis this year and then he would head to the minor leagues to help the young catchers in their development. I have not heard him specify exactly how much time he’ll spend with the minor league catchers.

There is no doubt that Yadier Molina imparting his knowledge into young Cardinals catching prospects like Rainiel Rodriguez could be the key to the team developing the next leader behind the plate. The newest MLB prospect rankings said that Rodriguez has thrown out at least 30% of the base stealing attempts against him and you’d have to believe that Yadi can help him increase that number. Pitch framing is another skill set that Rainiel needs to improve.

From what I’ve heard Yadi say during his time at Spring Training over the past week is he believes the St. Louis Cardinals have the talent they need even if they don’t have the recognizable names. He said his goal is nothing less than helping the Cardinals win the World Series again. Most believe that’s nothing but a daydream for the 2026 season, but Molina’s influence on all of the young Cardinals will be a key element in helping the organization bring back the winning mindset that is required for a future playoff-contending St. Louis club.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Brusdar Graterol pitch in an actual game. And it’s going to be a little while longer too, as manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Wednesday at Camelback Ranch that the Dodgers reliever won’t be ready to open the regular season.

Graterol is coming off shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum from November 2024, and did not pitch in the majors or minors in 2025. There was excitement during the offseason that he’d be ready to go for a full spring training this year, but things took a turn for the worse once Graterol wasn’t getting the expected results while throwing in camp.

“With Brusdar, he’s shown that we can count on him in the biggest of spots. We just gotta get him up to the velocity. It’s an intentionally slow build up,” Roberts said Wednesday. “He’s not going to start the season [active].”

Other Dodgers who won’t be ready to start the season are Evan Phillips, who is already on the 60-day injured list after Tommy John surgery last June; Brock Stewart, who had shoulder surgery in October; Tommy Edman, who had right ankle surgery in November; and Kiké Hernández, after left elbow surgery in November. There will almost certainly be others.

We’ve talked before about how opening day is just one of 186 days on the regular season schedule, and on a Dodgers team with postseason aspirations they basically plan for seven months instead of six. Last year, for instance, the Dodgers tied their franchise record with 40 pitchers used, but only four were active for the entire regular season — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Alex Vesia, Anthony Banda, and Jack Dreyer.

But it still has to be disheartening for Graterol, who also had shoulder trouble and a hamstring injury in 2024 that limited him to only 10 games between the regular season and postseason that year, only pitching a combined 9 2/3 innings over the last two seasons.

Graterol with his five years, 167 days of major league service time will be a free agent after this season. But he enters his launch season with 190 2/3 career innings. Weirdly, that almost exactly matches Dustin May (191 2/3) heading into last season with similar service time. May though was a starter and after two Tommy John surgeries was able to pitch 132 1/3 innings in 2025, more than any two of his previous seasons combined heading into the open market.

Phillips will also be a free agent at the end of the season, and will have less of a runway into free agency, as he’s not expected back before the All-Star break. He has a little more bulk stats under his belt at this point with 252 innings and 46 saves (45 of them with the Dodgers).

Graterol will still have time to put together his 2026 season, even if the build-up to get there is methodical.

Heading into last year’s Spring Training, one-time pitching coach J.P. Martinez was excited by the prospect of having “15 or 16 legitimate starters” to work with and the overall feeling that — especially with the signing of Justin Verlander — the team had an almost glut of pitching depth.

Depth doesn’t always mean starting pitching, of course, but Buster Posey’s time as a player was during a stretch where it felt like the Giants could get any geek off the street and transform him into a solid arm. That didn’t wind up being the case, of course, and the Giants’ inability to stay out of long slumps contributed to the front office discarded a good chunk of the depth, but here are some guys who threw some innings to varying degrees of quality and did poor enough that we’re sure to never see them again OR well enough that they’ll be counted on in 2026.

Carson Whisenhunt

Let’s start here because, in case you missed the news,

That would be a welcome development in the Giants’ quest to have starting pitching depth, but it’s not as though Whisenhunt’s 2025 debut was a total disaster. Certainly, one could argue that he’s worth an entire profile to himself and one might wonder if the writer of this piece might’ve selected him for that purpose but, due to time constraints, now finds it necessary to had him to this one… we might never know.

What we did learn about the lefty’s 5-start stint with the Giants is that he’s still a work in progress. He got his first two major league wins before Justin Verlander could get his third as a Giant. In both those wins, he was really sharp, handling a tough Mets lineup in win #1 and a tough Cubs lineup in win #2. It helps that the Giants’ lineup scored 12 runs for him in each victory. But from a basic stat analysis, it was hardly impressive: he walked 12 in 23.1 innings and struck out just 16. He allowed 6 home runs and 5 doubles. His four-seamer averaged 92.6 mph, according to Statcast and his 83 mph slider sported a 2,500 rpm. He got swing and miss on his changeup (37.8 Whiff%), but as with his fastball, when batters made contact it was very hard contact.

Major league hitters weren’t impressed by his stuff. His minor league K/9 was 7.9 (compared to 6.2 in the majors) and his 2.9 BB/9 is simply fantastic (compared to 4.6 in the majors). He was the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year, too. So, in the calendar year 2025, it’s wrong to say that Carson Whisenhunt had a bad year. Any season where you make your major league debut and don’t embarrass yourself and then go on to win a major “best in show” award is a good one.

Dominating the minor leagues is one thing, of course, and so it’ll be a great test of Tony Vitello and his new coaching staff to see if they can do that thing of finishing Whisenhunt’s development in the major leagues. Some more of that development might’ve happened in 2025 had a back sprain not limited him down the stretch, but with this entirely new set of coaches running the operation, it’s possible that that missed time might wind up being a good thing, as he has far less to forget from the previous staff’s guidance.

As friend of the site Roger Munter notes on his indispensable There R Giants site:

He enters camp in pretty much the same situation he has found himself in each of the past two years — likely headed to Sacramento to try to pitch his way into being the “first man up” when the big club needs a rotation option along the way.

If that velocity in a 2026 scrimmage is indicative of anything, it’s progress. Enough to win a job out of camp?

JT Brubaker

Brubaker might be one of the aforementioned “geeks off the street” from Posey’s time as a player. 2025 marked two years removed from Tommy John surgery and he caught on with the Yankees for his return. They used him as a reliever in what wound up a crowded bullpen. He walked 9 and struck out just 10 in 16 innings. After the Yankees released him, the Giants signed him, and once he debuted for the orange & black, he was quite good. He had a 1.95 FIP and struck out 12 (walking 3) in 12.2 innings while featuring just a 93 mph sinker.

The Giants even used him to open a game and he gave them 4 innings of 2-run ball, striking out 4 Cardinals and walking just 1. The Giants kept him away from leverage roles during this brief stint so it’s hard to get a real sense of how he’ll do as a reliever going forward, though maybe that’s not the exact role the team has in mind.

He was arbitration eligible this offseason and the Giants signed him for $1.82 million. I have been obsessed with the team finding another Jakob Junis, hoping it would be Tristan Beck or Keaton Winn, but in Brubaker they might’ve found the next multi-inning reliever who can open or serve as a bridge in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings.

Keaton Winn

“If he could just stay healthy!”

That’s the line with Keaton Winn and 2025 really turned up the volume. He pitched just 37.1 innings across the minors and majors (10 IP in MLB) as he worked his way back following ulnar nerve transposition surgery that ended his 2024 season in mid-July. Overall, it was sort of a mixed bag and one that almost certainly pushed him from the possible starter category into a reliever role going forward.

That’s how Bob Melvin deployed him in those 10 big league innings, and Winn looked sharp there, striking out 9 and walking just 2. He, like Brubaker, was also held out of leverage roles so it’s unclear how his fastball-splitter combo might play when the game is on the line, but in the glimpses we got, it looked like a potent pairing.

2026 won’t be an absolute make or break year for Winn as he still does have a major league option, but it’s going to be a critical one for him as a part of the Giants organization.

Mason Black

The Giants gave him just 4 innings in 2025 but those, along with the 36.1 they’d seen in 2024, were enough to decide that they could use his roster spot for somebody else.

He pitched in just one game — the 4th of July game in West Sacramento — and he gave up 2 home runs while striking out 5.

Steven’s 2024 profile concluded with this thought:

Different speeds, different movements, different locations — the more varying looks the better. That’s what Black needs to improve on in the offseason, and even then, it’s a stretch to envision the right-hander getting a substantial amount of innings

That wound up being prophetic, and in the offseason, the Giants traded him away to the Royals. Is he a “victim” of the previous front office’s plan to give pitchers smaller workloads in the minors to, essentially, “save” their “bullets” for MLB or this just another prospect that didn’t pan out because that’s what usually happens to prospects?

Scott Alexander

I wouldn’t say that Alexander had a great year or even a good year, but I think the veteran lefty reliever had a fun year. It began in Colorado where he got shelled, of course, allowing 11 runs (all earned) in 16.1 innings of work. He was released by them in May and picked up by the Giants on a minor league deal in June. He allowed 8 runs (all earned) in 5.1 innings with the River Cats.

And then Erik Miller got hurt.

This forced the Giants to break the emergency glass and call him up. He appeared in 2 games, pitched 1.1 innings and allowed 1 run, walked 2 and struck out 2. His first appearance of just 0.2 innings was against the Phillies in San Francisco and in holding the Phillies scoreless he helped the Giants come back to win that game in the bottom of the 9th. The next day, he got shelled along with the rest of the staff in a 13-0 loss.

This was Alexander’s second stint with the team after throwing 65.2 innings across 2022 and 2023. You could tell by watching him that the stuff and command were compromised enough that the emergency use case for him would be the only rational way a major league team could deploy him.

Sean Hjelle

After throwing an astonishing 80.2 innings in 2024 and pushing himself into the conversation as a reliable back of the bullpen arm, Hjelle lost a full mile per hour off his fastball in 2025 and that seemed to make all the difference. In 2024, he averaged 94.6 mph, hitting 94.5 mph or better 114 out of the 211 times (54%) he threw a fastball (sinker or cutter). In 2025, he managed that just 7 times in 47 fastball throws (14.9%). He went from a 3.63 FIP in 2024 to 5.20 in 2025. In addition to the diminished stuff, he seemed to have lost control of the strike zone. There was also a significant off-field matter that certainly didn’t pair well with poor performance. It was a tough year for him and it concluded with him signing a deal to pitch for Japan’s Orix Buffaloes in the offseason.

Lou Trivino

It’s odd to think of Bob Melvin having “a guy,” but that’s just what Lou Trivino was. 2025 marked two years removed from Tommy John, so there’s certainly a logic to the Giants rolling the dice on a veteran relief arm who had the favor of their manager. But he had effectively pitched his way out of work in 2022 with the A’s and it was a little surprising that the team would give an arm like that an Opening Day spot. He wound up being as bad as feared, lasting just 12.1 innings (11 games) with the Giants. He gave up 8 runs (all earned) including 4 homers while striking out 11. A 5.84 ERA/7.03 FIP wasn’t going to cut it, of course, but the Giants decided to go with their better options rather than wait to see if he sorted things out.

After the Giants released him, the Dodgers executed a flawless troll of a signing and got a 3.76 ERA (4.12 FIP) in 26 games (26.1 IP). After the Dodgers released him, he signed on with the Phillies and was fine in Philadelphia, too: 2.00 ERA in 9 IP with 8 K 5 BB 3 R (2 ER) and 0 home runs allowed.

Dave Roberts apparently likes to enjoy a cigar while watching people overindulge.

The Dodgers manager popped by a wing-eating competition at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Glendale, Arizona, on Wednesday night, and he was seen puffing on a stogie as he took in all the sights and sounds of engorgement.

In a video shot by a spectator, the World Series-winning skipper could be seen savoring some smoke as competitors shoveled chicken into their mouths.

At one point during the festivities, Roberts actually told the Dodgers’ social media team he thinks he’d fare pretty well in a wing-consuming showdown.

View this post on Instagram

He added he’d thrive in a doughnut challenge as well.

Wednesday’s event has become a bit of a spring training tradition for the Dodgers — last season, several Los Angeles superstars, including Shohei Ohtani, made it out to catch the action.

This year, Roberts was joined by Evan Phillips, Miguel Rojas, Hyeseong Kim and Alex Call, and the guys seemed to have a blast — while insisting if they were in tilts to inhale the most sushi, ramen, hot dogs and nachos, they’d be stars.

The number one reason the Athletics suffered a fourth straight losing season last year was run prevention. Both the starting rotation and bullpen struggled, particularly at home in Sacramento. But it wasn’t solely the pitchers’ fault. The A’s finished 2025 with -34 defensive runs saved — the fifth-worst mark in MLB — and committed 88 errors, tied for eighth most in the league.

The team’s young core group of hitters took a major step forward offensively last season, cementing the team’s lineup as one of the most exciting to watch this year. Nevertheless, if the A’s want to return to the playoffs for the first time since the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, the team must display vastly improved defense to complement its offensive excellence. 

In the first couple months of last season, it felt like a circus every time former A’s outfielder JJ Bleday (-19 DRS, -30 career) tried to catch a fly ball or line drive in center field. The year before, Bleday was serviceable playing that tough position, yet last year he regressed in all facets of the game. 

Eventually, the A’s had enough of his mishaps and replaced him with top prospect Denzel Clarke, who proceeded to make highlight-reel catches and home run robberies nearly every game he played. Lawrence Butler also showed he can play that position if needed, although he is better suited to right field due to his strong but often inaccurate arm. Tyler Soderstrom has left field locked down for the next several years following his seamless transition last season from first base to left field. Soderstrom became a Gold Glove finalist, a miraculous achievement given that he had never played outfield before in his professional career.

The numbers made it clear that the A’s defensive shortcomings weren’t confined to one position group. The infield additionally contributed to the struggles, as several young regulars continued learning the nuances of their positions.

First baseman Nick Kurtz and shortstop Jacob Wilson finished first and second in the American League Rookie of the Year race because of their offensive performances. Nevertheless, both need to improve defensively. Kurtz trained this offseason on improving his defense, specifically catching pop-ups, while Wilson has room to get better if he can improve his range to convert more balls put in play into outs. Jeff McNeil will be at least average at second base and then the A’s third baseman will be decided in spring training. If the A’s want to prioritize defense, Brett Harris is the best option, whereas Max Muncy is the most dynamic offensive player in the mix.

Will Kurtz or Wilson have a better defensive season this year? Do you think the A’s move Wilson off shortstop when Leo De Vries is ready? If so, is he a better fit at second base or third base? Finally, what teamwide defensive strategies should the A’s employ this season to gain an edge?

The Mets will be hosting their 2026 Grapefruit League opener against the Miami Marlins in just two days, and there have been oodles of storylines worth watching down in Port St. Lucie. 

Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza met with the media on Thursday, discussing two key pieces of the starting rotation, a veteran and a prospect who will impact the outfield, and much more.

Here's what Mendoza had to say...

Manaea's Mechanics

Sean Manaea unlocked something midway through the 2024 season, when he switched to more of a cross-body delivery that had hitters looking foolish. As part of that adjustment, Manaea began dropping his arm slot even lower than he typically does, according to Mendoza. 

Add in some brutal injury luck, and the lefty had a tough 2025 season (5.64 ERA in 15 games).

But now, Manaea is a "healthy player," and Mendoza says that getting his mechanics right could go a long way towards once again seeing the version of Manaea who took the mound in 2024.

"Last year, that oblique injury was tricky for him, and then he had a setback, I believe, and he was just never himself. It wasn’t easy for him. It was hard. I don’t think he ever got in a rhythm last year, even when he was feeling good," said Mendoza. "Whether it was mechanics, he was just off."

"We felt like he went a little (too low with his arm slot)," Mendoza said, "so we’re trying to get him back to, I’m not going to say normal because he’s always going to have that slot, but those are some of the adjustments that we’re working on."

Robert's Rousing Power Display

Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. has proven that he can be an All-Star talent when healthy, but a host of lower body injuries have caused him to miss a combined 110 games over the past two seasons. 

The Mets are taking things slow with their new outfielder, saying he won't play in spring games right away, but that hasn't stopped the veteran from putting on a show during his live BP at-bats.

"It’s pretty incredible. You watch, the sound of it, he’s pretty special," Mendoza said. "Man, I keep telling myself and people here, if this guy stays healthy, we’ve got a pretty good player. We’ve seen it, but that’s our goal. We have to, and I know he’s working really hard, but he’s just very easy. And I think it was 115 (MPH exit velocity), the ball he hit in live BP. It’s pretty impressive." 

Benge-Watching

With Juan Soto shifting to left and a healthy Robert locking down center field, the starting right field spot is up for grabs, with top prospect Carson Benge among the options.

But what do the Mets want to see out of the 23-year-old as he attempts to break camp in the majors?

According to Mendoza, it's quality over quantity, saying that how Benge looks at the plate and in the field will be more important that his actual stats.

"I think it’s more the quality of the at-bats … how hard he’s hitting the baseball, how he’s controlling the strike zone, how he’s going to bounce back after a tough game," Mendoza said. "There’s a lot to look for, whether it’s offensively, defensively, and base-running-wise."

"[Benge is] another guy who impacts the baseball to all fields," he added. "I think his ability to control the strike zone—but the one thing I’ve seen the past few days here during live at-bats is his ability to foul off tough pitches, especially when he gets behind in counts. That for me is a really good sign, that he’s able to stay in the fight, and he continues to stay aggressive."

Senga's Strong Showing

Right-hander Kodai Senga saw his 2025 season get off to a phenomenal start, pitching to a minuscule 1.47 ERA over his first 13 starts. But a hamstring strain suffered in June derailed him, and his numbers on the other side of the injury (5.90 ERA in nine starts) suffered as a result.

Senga threw one inning of live batting practice on Thursday, leaving his manager impressed, especially with where his velocity is at this point in camp.

"Really good," Mendoza said of Senga. "I think the biggest thing for me, when you see 96, 97, that’s a really good sign. I thought he threw some really good sweepers, especially for strike one, back door against lefties. He’s just working on all of his pitches, he’s just trying to get the feel. First time out there, the feedback from the hitters is always important, and yeah, I think it all comes down to health. We all know that, and man, it was good to just see him go out there with intensity and throwing the ball the way he did."

We’ve reached the end of our 50 Most Notable Yankees’ Free Agent Signings, and today we’ll wrap up with the most recent within the paramters. Okay, maybe you could argue that the re-signing of Cody Bellinger earlier this winter is technically the most recent biggest one. That one was a touch too recent to show up on our list, and also bringing a non-All-Star back like that is a little different than the big splash the Yankees made when they signed Max Fried last winter.

It’s also one that has worked out swimmingly so far.

Max Fried
Signing Date: December 17, 2024
Contract: Eight years, $218 million

At the start of the 2024-25 offseason, the Yankees’ main focus was on brining back Juan Soto. In addition to hitting the home run that sent the Yankees to the 2024 World Series, Soto had an unbelievable season and his combination with Aaron Judge had the potential to be an all-time great one if he stayed in the Bronx.

Unfortunately, we know how that story went. The Mets seemingly weren’t going to be denied in their pursuit of Soto, and they beat the Yankees to the punch. That being said, even without Soto, the Yankees had a roster that had just won the AL pennant. They were still in a, hopefully, “contending” window and needed somewhere to pivot. They decided to do so with one of the best pitchers on the market.

The Los Angeles-area born Max Fried had been a first-round draft pick of the Padres — seventh overall — in 2012 after starring at Harvard-Westlake School alongside fellow future standouts Jack Flaherty and Lucas Giolito. However, San Diego would not be where Fried would make his name. Having worked his way into the top 100 prospect lists, Fried was part of a multi-player deal in 2014 that sent him to the Braves, with Justin Upton the headliner going to the Padres. It was a savvy move that would have major ramifications for Atlanta in just a few years.

The trade went down as Fried was still recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he missed the entire 2015 season. After returning for 2016, Fried got the call-up to the majors in August 2017, debuting out of the bullpen. Fried ended up appearing in nine games — four starts — in 2017, posting a 3.81 ERA in 26 innings. While he returned to the minors for much of the following season, he was again pretty solid when getting his cup of coffee in the bigs in 2018.

Fried got a chance to start 2019 in the majors, albeit in the bullpen. However, he quickly ended up in the rotation and made 30 starts in his first full major-league season that year. The 2020 season was, of course, COVID-shortened, but it was Fried’s breakout campaign, as he posted a 2.25 ERA over his 11 starts, finishing fifth in NL Cy Young voting.

The next two years saw Fried fully get on the map. In 2021, he was, by several measures, the Braves’ best starter as they won the 2021 World Series crown. He was the winning pitcher in the series-clinching Game 6 victory, shutting the Astros out for six innings.

In 2022, Fried posted arguably his best year, putting up a career best total in both WARs, recording a 2.48 ERA and a second place Cy Young finish. His 2023 was limited to just 77.2 innings due to injury, but both that year and 2024, he was still very good. That led him to being one of the marquee free agents on the 2024-25 market, and on the short list for the best pitcher available.

The Yankees have a history of employing very good left-handed pitchers, which may have prompted them to pivot to Fried as their big acquisition post-Soto. While they had already met with him while still pursuing Soto, they moved quickly after losing the outfielder, inking Fried to an eight-year deal less than a week after Soto went to Queens. The $218 million deal was the largest ever signed by a left-handed pitcher.

One year into that contract, and it’s hard to have any big complaints. Fried’s debut season in the Bronx saw him post a 2.86 ERA along with a league-leading 19 wins. He got off to a ridiculous start, winning AL Pitcher of the Month for April, and ended up winning that same honor during the season’s home stretch in September. Fried earned All-MLB First Team honors, finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting, and nabbed his fourth career Gold Glove.

Beyond that, with the absence of Gerrit Cole, Fried had to step up as the de facto Yankees’ ace. He was the man who took the mound in Game 1 of the Yankees’ Wild Card Series clash against Boston and threw 6.1 shutout innings. His start against the Blue Jays in the ALDS didn’t go well, but on the whole, Fried came up big in his first year in pinstripes — especially given the increased pressure caused by Cole’s absence.

Fried will be under contract through his age-38 season in 2032. Fingers crossed that he has more greatness ahead this coming season!

Edtior’s note: As Matt wrote at the top, since this series and its selection process began before Cody Bellinger was re-signed a month ago, the Max Fried signing from December 2024 will mark the end of our “50 Most Notable Yankees Free Agent Signings in 50 Years” series. Thank you for following along in this walk down Yankees history! If you missed any of the contracts we discussed, check out the full rundown here.

We stand on the eve of spring training. Tomorrow sees the 2026 incarnation of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field for the first time – albeit in an empty and meaningless contest against their complexmates from Colorado. With the team now apparently close to maxed out on payroll – and, as we’ll see later today, closer to the luxury tax bracket than ever before – it feels largely like the roster we currently have is going to be the one we will have in Dodger Stadium five weeks from today. But if there was something else you got to do, what would it be?

You’re the GM: What’s one trade, signing or extension you’d make right now?

There are certainly ways in which the team could potentially be improved. Indeed, almost every area, be it infield, outfield, rotation or bullpen has a question-mark over some aspect. But if you had to pick a single (and plausible – no trading Carlos Santana for Aaron Judge!) move to improve the team for Opening Day, what would you do? Bear in mind there’s basically no salary room available, so any trade is probably going to be like-for-like. But perhaps you would rather look long term, and sign someone already on the roster to an extension? If so, who would that be and why?

The Royals have had a full squad working out all week and tomorrow they’ll begin their first exhibition matchups. Spring training performances can be difficult to judge. Many players are working on new pitches, new swings, and with new teammates. The thin, dry air of Arizona is not like the environment players will play in when the season begins in March in the cold spring air of the Midwest.

And yet, players can still impress coaches, teammates, and fans with their spring performance. Maybe they can dazzle everyone enough to make the team, or at least make an impression to be called up at some point to get their opportunity.

Who are you rooting for in Royals spring training to do well? Here’s a reminder of who’s in camp.

*-denotes non-roster invitee

Catchers (9): Jorge Alfaro*, Canyon Brown*, Omar Hernandez*, Carter Jensen, Elih Marrero*, Blake Mitchell*, Salvador Pérez, Ramon Ramirez*, Luca Tresh*

Infielders (13): Brandon Drury*, Maikel Garcia, Jonathan India, Connor Kaiser*, Michael Massey, Kevin Newman*, Vinnie Pasquantino, Josh Rojas*, Tyler Tolbert, Abraham Toro*, Daniel Vazquez*, Peyton Wilson*, Bobby Witt Jr.

Outfielders (11): Dairon Blanco, Jac Caglianone, Gavin Cross*, Isaac Collins, Kyle Isbel, Nick Loftin, Kameron Misner, John Rave, Carson Roccaforte*, Lane Thomas, Drew Waters

Pitchers (34): Luinder Avila, Ryan Bergert, Mason Black, Kris Bubic, Noah Cameron, Eric Cerantola, Dennis Colleran*, Steven Cruz, Jose Cuas*, Lucas Erceg, Carlos Estévez, Bailey Falter, Stephen Kolek, Ben Kudrna, Alex Lange, Seth Lugo, Daniel Lynch IV, Chazz Martinez*, James McArthur, John Means*, Nick Mears, Eli Morgan*, Frank Mozzicato*, Héctor Neris*, Helcris Olivárez*, Shane Panzini*, Hunter Patteson*, Cole Ragans, Aaron Sanchez*, John Schreiber, Mitch Spence, Matt Strahm, Michael Wacha, Steven Zobac

Injured List (1): Alec Marsh

The Detroit Tigers were teasing new alternate jerseys all week on their social media accounts. On Thursday they finally introduced a new navy blue road jersey with orange script, and the bright orange road jerseys with the Olde English D for Friday night home games.

The Tigers spent 18 months researching the idea and conducting fan surveys and focus group testing on many different concepts to come up with the final designs. 28 other clubs have been wearing alternate home/road jerseys for specific games, on top of the City Connect unis that will still be used as well. These all on top of the classic home whites, and road grey, for five different options.

Many of us have clamored for an alternate that resembled the Tigers classic road greys from the ‘68 season, and we’ll have to wait on that. Personally, I’m a fan of the simple navy blue and white spring training uniforms as well. But they wanted something with more color and pop, and they got it.

Staff opinion is mixed, but then we don’t have many jersey hounds. Everyone likes that the orange home alternate jerseys still have the Olde English D front and center, at least. As noted the electric blue City Connects will still be in the rotation as well for select Monday home games. We didn’t have images of the alternates in our Getty or USA Today photo tools just yet, but they have been released on the Tigers site and to all the social media accounts.

What’s your opinion on the new alternates?

Teoscar Hernández was a driving force in the Dodgers lineup in his first year in Los Angeles, in 2024, but last year struggled mightily.

After starting the All-Star Game, winning a Silver Slugger Award, and leading all National League outfielders in home runs (33) and RBI (99) with a 132 wRC+ in his first year with the Dodgers, Hernández in 2025 hit 25 home runs and 102 wRC+.

He missed two weeks in May with a groin strain, and the difference in his numbers before and after the injury were stark:

• .315/.333/.600, 155 wRC+, eight home runs in 33 games prior
• .223/.268/.404, 84 wRC+, 17 home runs in 101 games after

Hernández spoke to reporters Tuesday at Camelback Ranch, and talked about losing 12 pounds this offseason after workouts with a group of players, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., his old Blue Jays teammate. Hernández admitted the groin injury took a toll, from Dylan Hernández at The California Post:

“I never recovered 100 percent,” he said, adding that he believed his condition affected him both on offense and defense. 

Following the World Series, Hernández said he did nothing for two months.

“I knew my body needed rest,” he said. 

Hernández played in only 134 games last year after playing in 154 games in his first year with the Dodgers and 160 games in 2023 with the Mariners. Since becoming a regular in 2018 with Toronto, Hernández has played in 86.3 percent of games, averaging 140 games and 134 starts per 162 games over the last eight seasons.

Now, Hernández enters his age-33 season.

Teoscar Hernández 2026 projections

• ZiPS: .266/.318/.485, 28 HR, 121 wRC+
• THE BAT: .263/.314/.469, 25 HR, 116 wRC+
• OOPSY: .258/.313/.472, 29 HR, 116 wRC+
• Steamer: .255/.310/.461, 26 HR, 112 wRC+
• Marcel: .254/.307/.448, 23 HR
• PECOTA: .246/.299/.432, 24 HR, 98 DRC+

He’s playing left field this year now that Kyle Tucker has signed, but let’s throw this out to the group. What do you expect from Teoscar Hernández in 2026? Let us know his batting line, home runs, games played, or any other thing that comes to mind.

For a second straight day, Tennessee Volunteers baseball was the hottest topic in the San Francisco Giants dugout, where reporters asked former Vols coach Tony Vitello to clarify his comments regarding his departure from UT.

"I didn’t say anything surprising that I know of. I was just stating the facts," Vitello said during a media availability on Feb. 17 at spring training in Scottsdale, Arizona. "If somebody tweets out or says something that’s not true about you and affects your life significantly – not just a deal where your feelings are hurt, but has a significant impact on my family … the (Tennessee) team was my family – then I’m not going to be happy about it."

News of Vitello's departure for San Francisco first dropped on Oct. 18, which was rebutted at the time by Vitello, who told Knox News "nothing is done." The hiring was announced Oct. 22.

Tony Vitello was asked about yesterday's comments.

Said no one from the Giants addressed it with him & was just stating facts. He talked about the "change the course of history" comment and how that nothing would've changed b/t him and Posey.

(Apologies for some bad audio) pic.twitter.com/JwegaaooZk

— Matt Lively (@mattblively) February 17, 2026

On Feb. 16, Vitello expressed frustration that he felt reporters at national outlets, as well as the Bay Area, jumped the gun in reporting that he was leaving Tennessee. He doubled down when asked to clarify his remarks the next day.

Either Vitello won't let it go or Giants reporters have accurately sensed a raw nerve, or both.

"It’s just like I would want our (Giants) players to defend themselves. That’s what I would do. But it’s kind of hard to defend yourself if it’s an anonymous tip," Vitello said, referring to October reports of his hiring that cited unnamed sources.

"... I think the facts of the case were what I just said. Anyone else would react the exact same way. And it has no real impact on the opportunity that was presented and it wouldn’t have changed what (Giants president of baseball operations) Buster (Posey) and I agreed to do."

Last time we spoke, we wanted to hear from you, the reader, about spring training. As we all know, the roster gets crunched in the spring, crushing dreams, occasionally ending careers, and dashing the hopes of young prospects everywhere. We all know how it goes. One of the items we discussed was who stands to gain the most from spring training. See the results below: 

Of course, this is more of a moot point now because Williamson has since been traded, but what can you do, right? For those of you who voted for Williamson, I respect your commitment and hope to see him break out; maybe he can do that for the Rays, ideally not against the Mariners. 

Of course, that still leaves us with our second-place winner, Cole Young. The opportunity is certainly there for Young, and the overwhelming thing I hear from people here at LL and out on the streets (conversations with my brother) is that the spot is his if he’s willing to reach out and take it. While I think this downplays the presence of Ryan Bliss, I agree that Young is the best positioned to be the starting second baseman on Opening Day. 

We also wanted to hear from you on which players needed to make a big step forward this year, and the results were more contentious: 

In particular, the conversation in the comments centered on Canzone. Seems people are disagreeing on how much time Canzone should get to really show he’s ready to be a roster mainstay. While Canzone has shown flashes at times, how many at-bats are you willing to cede to maybe see him do something great with the ball? I know where I stand. I’m willing to see how it plays out in spring, but I’m more than ready to see the end of the Canzone experience. 

This week, we have the WBC around the corner and spring training, but I’m more interested in talking about the WBC, especially with so many Mariners participating this year. The question comes to mind, what Mariners will do best at the World Baseball Classic? 

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Mariners fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Unfortunately, the polls are limited on space, but feel free to shout out your favs in the comments. Personally, I think Julio is going to tear it up; plus, I’m hopeful that a hot WBC could lead to a hot April. Historically, Julio has been a bit of a slow starter, so seeing him get the early-season jitters out with the Dominican Republic and then tear it up for the Mariners would be incredible. But let us know your thoughts in the poll and the comments below!