Category: MLB

MESA, Ariz. — Gerrit Cole will return to the back fields of Tampa, and not long after, the minor league circuit.

But on Tuesday, he gave the Yankees one more reminder of the potential prize waiting for them as soon as mid-May, as long as the rest of his rehab from Tommy John surgery continues to go as smoothly as it has to date.

Cole made his second and final start of the spring, looking sharp once again as he built up to 26 pitches and 1 ²/₃ innings in an 8-3 win over the Cubs at Sloan Park.

“All in all, pretty good,” said Cole, who struck out three, averaged 96.3 mph on his fastball and topped out at 98. “I feel like the level of execution has been really strong. Recovery, for the most part, has been really strong. Just kind of plugging away. 

“Long way to go, but it’s a good body of work so far.”

For the umpteenth time this spring, Cole reiterated that he is sticking to a 14-to-18 month timeline for a return from surgery — “You can write it down, never fails, every single time,” he quipped — which could put him on a big league mound as early as mid-May.

Cole said the potential of going on the 60-day injured list — which would make him ineligible to return before May 24 — has not been brought to his attention, though the Yankees currently do not need to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Though it might seem like he is ahead of that timeline, Cole indicated he will be going through “a little bit of a download” in his workload for his next few outings.

He will throw in Tampa his next time out and then come to New York for the home opener April 3, after which the Yankees could begin thinking about starting his rehab assignment.

“I’m confident, but there’s a lot of pitching to go,” said Cole, who gave up a solo homer to former teammate Alex Bregman. “We’ll see what challenges come my way. But so far, so good. … I’m very pleased with how things have gone. Even last week, the command wasn’t that great, but we hammered that out this week, stayed disciplined in this game, no overthrowing, corrected some of those mistakes from last week. 

“The threshold of pitches, the threshold of velocity, we’ll hopefully start to increase a little bit.”

Ryan Weathers piggybacked Cole for his final tuneup of the spring, building up to 80 pitches across five innings of one-run ball. The lefty said he “needed” an outing like this after some ugly numbers his last few starts.

“I think just making quality pitches,” he said. “It felt good today to get the ball on the ground and it go to people, honestly. It was a little bit of a sigh of relief when the first two outs were ground balls finally right at somebody. I was just happy with how my body felt.”

Reliever Osvaldo Bido, one of the final cuts from big league camp, was claimed off waivers by the Braves on Tuesday. … The Yankees traded non-roster infielder Zack Short to the Nationals in exchange for cash considerations.

The Milwaukee Brewers finished up their spring exhibition season with a pair of games against the Reds at American Family Field. Next up, the regular season. There’s still so much more to learn about this team and what their plans are for the season and now that we’re in those final few days before Opening Day, that picture is becoming much clearer.

Manager Pat Murphy has been able to provide some more details and answers to questions that a lot of fans have been curious about.

– The Brewers will be utilizing a straight platoon for the most part in centerfield to begin the year between Garrett Mitchell and Brandon Lockridge. Mitchell figures to get the lion’s share of ABs given that he’s a LHH that will face righties. Lockridge has done well this spring and has earned some regular playing time, but we’ll see if he can carry that over to the regular season.

– Speaking of Lockridge, the Brewers gave him an inning at first base to end the second exhibition against the Reds. He was getting some work in at the cold corner pre-game and it could be a spot for him to see some action this year, with Murphy noting that they need a third first baseman in the event they have to pinch-run for Andrew Vaughn. This would be similar to Andruw Monasterio’s role at first base we saw last year.

– As for Christian Yelich, he spent last year primarily as the DH with only a small handful of starts in the outfield. That could change this year, according to Murphy. Now another year removed from back surgery, physically he’s capable of handling that kind of workload, but it will largely hinge on what happens in that centerfield platoon between Mitchell and Lockridge.

Murphy noted that if that centerfield group isn’t “offensive enough” that they could put Yelich in the outfield more often, signaling that Jackson Chourio would move from LF to CF similar to how he did last year in the absence of Mitchell.

– Reliever Blake Holub pitched 1.1 IP in the first of the two exhibition games and Murphy said after the game that “he’s a young man that doesn’t realize how close he is [to the big leagues]”. Holub didn’t allow a run across his seven appearances this spring. He’s slated to be in Triple-A Nashville’s bullpen to start the year but could very quickly find himself in the big league bullpen when a need arises.

– The Brewers were still seeking more right handed bullpen depth, so they acquired Jake Woodford from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league reliever KC Hunt. Woodford provides a multi-inning option for the Crew and will be placed on the roster once he arrives. It’s still unclear if he will be activated in time for Opening Day, but he’ll have to be on the roster by game two on Saturday at the latest. Woodford is out of minor league options.

– Akil Baddoo was placed on the 60 day IL to accommodate the acquisition of Woodford. He’s not expected back from his quad strain until June.

– Brandon Woodruff and Logan Henderson will both throw simulated games on Wednesday in Nashville. Woodruff has been in Milwaukee so he will be flying down to the Volunteer State to make this sim game and continue his buildup for the regular season. Woodruff is scheduled to start next Tuesday against the Rays.

– Rob Zastryzny is very close to returning from his rhomboid injury. He’s slated to start the year on rehab assignment in Triple-A Nashville and has an estimated return of early April for this Brewers bullpen. He is also out of minor league options.

– Craig Yoho is a little further behind in his return from a calf injury, but not by much. He’s projected to return in early-to-mid April.

– Quinn Priester is continuing to ramp up his throwing program and threw a bullpen session on Tuesday. They’re estimated he could go on a rehab assignment in early April to build up and Pat Murphy projects an early May return to the big league rotation for Priester.

– Outfielder Steward Berroa is back to DHing in games in Arizona and is expected to return to full game action in early April. It’s likely he’ll be sent straight to Triple-A Nashville once he’s cleared to go.

MESA, AZ — New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole looked to his left, pulled out a bat from outfielder Jasson Dominguez’s bag Tuesday, and rapped his left knuckles on it for good luck.

Yes, things are going so good for the Yankees this spring, and Cole’s elbow recovery, that he wasn’t about to jeopardize anything now.

Cole, in his second outing of the spring, took another critical step in his rehab from Tommy John surgery with a dominant six-batter outing against the Chicago Cubs, and if everything keeps progressing, should be returning to the Yankees rotation within two months.

It may be premature to be counting down the days to his season debut, but after not pitching in a game that counts since the 2024 World Series, this torturous layoff has given him even further admiration and love for the game.

“Having not played much the last couple of years,’’ Cole said, “I think there’s just maybe a little greater appreciation for the game. The level of talent. The level of intensity. The demand of the game. It demands your focus, it demands your appreciation.

“I enjoy that, so that’s been nice to get back into that environment. It’s a good prep for what’s to come the next few weeks.’’

Cole looked a whole lot like his old self Tuesday, the one that has dominated hitters throughout his 12-year career, earning six All-Star berths, a Cy Young award and two ERA titles. He pumped 96-to-98-mph fastballs against the Cubs in the Yankees' 8-3 victory, striking out three of the first four batters he faced without a walk. He threw 17 of his 26 pitches for strikes in his 1.2-inning outing, throwing 11 pitches at 96-mph or higher. He was satisfied with all but two pitches, he said, and that didn’t include the 416-foot homer he gave up to All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman on a 96.1-mph sinker low in the zone.

“That was a good pitch,’’ said Cole, “but a better swing. So it’s the way it goes with good players sometimes.’’

While the Yankees departed Tuesday for their 2026 season-opener against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, Cole will be heading back to their minor-league complex in Tampa. He will travel back to New York to be with the Yankees for their home opener April 3 against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium. He will then spend the next month training in Tampa before eventually beginning his rehab assignment with hopes of rejoining the Yankees in mid-to-late May.

“I felt good coming into camp,’’ said Cole, “and I feel good now. ... My level of execution has been really strong, and the recovery for the most part has been really strong. Just kind of plugging away. It’s a long way to go, but a good body of work so far. …

“I’m confident, but there’s still a lot of pitching to go. We’ll see what challenges come my way. But so far, so good. I keep stacking as many good days together as I can. I’m very pleased with how things have gone.’’

Really, it’s the same sentiment the Yankees are feeling about themselves, having one of the best spring trainings during manager Aaron Boone’s tenure.

“I’m excited,’’ Boone said. “Look, I caution it’s only camp, but we’ve had a hell of a camp. Like, we’ve had a lot of the answers we were hoping to get. Knock on wood, a lot of good health. A lot of guys that are on their way back, trending in a really good direction with their rehab. I feel like the young players that are going to be future core of this, maybe sooner than later, really showed well.

“And I feel like we’re going to have competition brewing for opportunities throughout the year because of our depth right now. And hopefully that remains with good health and good performance. But camp-wise, it’s hard for it to go much better than it did, but that’s camp. Nobody cares about camp 10 days from now.

“It’s about the 162 now, and we’re excited to get after it.’’

It’s a whole different feeling leaving camp than a year ago, when Cole underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery, starters Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt were injured and missed the start of the season, and DH Giancarlo Stanton was sidelined most of the spring with tennis elbow that delayed his season debut until June.

This time, not a single major injury, with Gil expected to be called up and rejoin the rotation in early April and Carlos Rodon projected back in late April or early May.

The Dodgers conclude their 2026 spring training against the Angels at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday evening, wrapping up the Freeway Series as the final tune-up before Opening Day. 

Shohei Ohtani makes his second start of spring training. Jack Kochanowicz takes the ball for the Angels. 

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Angels
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 5:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, Fan Duel Sports Network West (Angels), MLB Network (out of market)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The good news is that Cincinnati Reds lefty Nick Lodolo isn’t really injured, per se. He’s once again dealing with a blister issue on his left (throwing) hand, one that popped up in his final appearance of Cactus League action down in Arizona during a record-touching heat wave.

Apparently, though, it’s bad enough that they want to be careful with him – so careful that they’re going to place in him on the IL to begin the season. Gordon Wittenyer of The Enquirer relayed the news on Tuesday evening, noting that the Reds will use their deep set of starters to stack Rhett Lowder, Chase Burns, and Brandon Williamson in the rotation behind Opening Day starter Andrew Abbott and Brady Singer.

Given the decision to do the move to the IL right now, though, means that Lodolo will only miss the first 12 days of the regular season. That stretch of games includes a pair of days off, meaning the Reds are effectively going to skip him roughly one and a half times through the rotation (depending upon how they choose to line things up for a road trip that takes them first to Texas and then Miami.)

Is it great news? Obviously not.

Is it terrible news? Not really.

The Reds have five starting pitchers of incredible quality lined up right now to start the season despite the fact that Hunter Greene is on the 60-day IL and Lodolo, too, is now on the shelf. They’ll be able to carry an extra reliever now that their ‘six for five’ starting conglomerate has been thinned again, and while that’s a test of their depth to start the season it’s also an immediate testament to the depth they’ve built up.

The biggest hope here, of course, is that a blister issue that has haunted Lodolo multiple times already in his career has gotten itself out of the way right now, and won’t be a further problem down the road this season by taking the time right now to make 100% sure it’s right.

The fine folks at Razzball are still very much saying ‘giddy up’ about Cincinnati’s starting pitching.

To start, and going against all the advice I give my students about constructing effective persuasive arguments, feel free to disregard this idea from the jump. Tony Vitello already has. I can hear his disembodied voice, sounding suddenly a lot like Graham Chapman, tutting in my ear as I write this: Stop that, it’s too silly. 

Yes, having Heliot Ramos anywhere but left field in the Opening Day roster would be a silly thing to do, especially if the sole reason for doing so is to maintain the San Francisco Giants’ freak-streak of starting a different Opening Day left fielder every year since Barry Bonds in 2007. 

Yet it is late March. Baseball blooms. The days widen. Flowers throw color from their petals, and I remember Nori Aoki.  

The Streak lives — at least, for one more day. And while I believe thatthe list of left fielders, repeated enough, becomes a poem, a mantra, tied to a breath, a reliquary, its names cupped around a sacred pearl, I don’t believe in the cosmic jinx. Ramos is penciled in as the Giants’ starter for Wednesday’s Opening Day, and no soliloquy or ode or incantation will change that.   

Roberts…Lewis…DeRosa… 

Parker…Pence…Joe… 

Each successive name represents the un-fillable void. Physical manifestations of the player to be named at the last minute, the who-cares? At some point, the surnames should’ve been struck from the back of their jerseys. Instead: Not Bonds.  Nearly two decades later, with Cy Youngs and an MVP award won, division crowns, three World Series Championships, a franchise regular season win-record, among other club accolades, Barry’s absence is still felt to this day. 

One more day.

Is this streak a living tribute to the best there ever was? A memorial? Or is it a dubious log of ineptitude? A curse, with its true consequences finally rearing its ugly head? 

As Bryan points out, the Giants stand at the threshold of franchise notoriety, with four non-winning seasons under their belt. Are they about to start a fifth? One could certainly argue now is the time to exorcize some demons and end the streak at 19 with Ramos. Willy Adames’s 30 home runs in 2025 slayed another weird franchise bogeyman, and with it brought some perspective: It’s better when players hit 30 home runs than not. It stands to reason a consistent left fielder rather than a carousel of players is better too. Change should be invited by a club with one foot so often stuck in the mud of nostalgia. This, I suppose, is a problem for many franchises. We want the glorification of a successful past to boomerang fans to thinking about a successful present. Check this out: One unbroken line of winning by winners. But for so many, the “remember those guys!” celebrations serve as a distraction from the uncomfortable “who are these guys?” populating the field now. 

Time to slash through these tired and tarnished artifacts that were so burdensome yet felt oddly comforting.

Yes, it’s possible I’m reading too much in the meter of Dickerson and Slater // Pederson and Sabol. Sometimes the only way we can exert some semblance of control over these weights on our backs is to make them heavier with meaning.

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers picked up another win at American Family Field on Tuesday afternoon, winning their final spring exhibition over the Reds by a 4-1 final.

With Brandon Sproat on the mound for one last tune-up outing, he worked around a Matt McLain walk for a scoreless first, including strikeouts of Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart. Righty flamethrower Chase Burns did him one better in the bottom of the inning, striking out Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras in order.

Sproat worked around another walk in the second, picking up another strikeout and a double play to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, the Spring of Jake Bauers continued, as he crushed a two-out solo homer 401 feet over the wall in right-center to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead. It marked Bauers’ seventh homer of the spring.

Sproat worked another strong inning in the third, picking up a pair of strikeouts to work around a two-out single. Milwaukee went down in order once again in the bottom of the inning, while Sproat had yet another solid frame in the fourth, giving up a single to Eugenio Suárez but nothing else.

That would mark the end of the day for Sproat, as he went four scoreless frames with two hits and two walks allowed, striking out five.

After Milwaukee went down 1-2-3 against Burns in the fourth, Kyle Harrison took over on the mound for the Brewers. He allowed a walk and a single but picked up two strikeouts as Milwaukee’s lead held at 1-0 halfway into the game.

The Brewers tacked on another in the bottom of the inning, as Bauers doubled and later scored on a David Hamilton single. Hamilton also stole second, his seventh of the spring, but he’d be stranded there.

In the sixth, Harrison allowed a leadoff homer to De La Cruz to cut the lead to 2-1. After Stewart followed with a single, Harrison settled in to get a strikeout, a groundout, and a lineout. Rhett Lowder took over for Burns in the bottom of the sixth and worked around a William Contreras single and an error that allowed Andrew Vaughn to reach.

Harrison allowed another single and hit a batter in the seventh, but didn’t allow either runner to come around. In the bottom of the inning, Sal Frelick reached on an error to begin the inning and Joey Ortiz singled two batters later. Frelick was replaced by Cooper Pratt, Luis Lara took Ortiz’s place on the basepaths, and both pinch runners came around to score on a two-run single by Brandon Lockridge to make it 4-1. Gary Sánchez also singled, but the inning would end on a pair of groundouts.

The eighth and ninth innings came and went without much excitement — Harrison picked up a double play in the eighth, the Brewers went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, and Brian Fitzpatrick picked up the final two outs in a scoreless ninth.

Bauers was once again the star, going 2-for-4 to finish his spring with a stellar .462/.571/1.154 line with seven homers, six doubles, nine RBIs, and 14 runs across 15 games. No other Brewer finished with multiple hits, as six others had a single apiece.

On the mound, Sproat took the win while Harrison got a hold over 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Opening Day is on deck this Thursday, as the Brewers will take on the White Sox in Milwaukee. Jacob Misiorowski gets the start in that one, with Shane Smith starting for Chicago. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m.

The Atlanta Braves will inducted former manager Brian Snitker to the organization’s Hall of Fame on April 25, 2026. The third winningest manager in franchise history with 811 regular season victories, Snitker also led the team to the 2021 World Series championship – the organization’s first since 1995.

Snitker, who joined the organization as a player in 1977, began his coaching career in 1980 in the Braves minor league system garnering his first managerial opportunity in 1982 in the South Atlantic League. For the next four decades, he was a manager or coach with the organization in the minor leagues or with the big league club.

Snitker replaced Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez during the 2016 season on a interim basis. He would go on to manage the team through 2025, winning six consecutive National League East Division titles from 2018 through 2023 and making the post-season in seven of the nine season’s he was at the helm of the team for the entirety of the year.

After the end of the 2025 regular season, Snitker announced he would retire from managing. He is now an advisor in the organization.

The ceremony will take place prior to a game with the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies. Snitker will be the first inductee to the Braves Hall of Fame since 2024.

Two decades after owner Arte Moreno decided the Angels should play under the Los Angeles name, elected officials representing Anaheim are pursuing two paths toward getting their hometown back into the team name.

Assemblyman Avelino Valencia, whose district includes Angel Stadium, has introduced state legislation that could require any sale or new lease of the stadium property be conditioned upon the team reverting to the Anaheim Angels name.

Meanwhile, Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken has asked the city attorney to explore whether the Angels have violated their current lease by dropping the Anaheim name from legal documents.

Valencia’s bill — dubbed the “Home Run for Anaheim Act” — aims to mandate what the city of Anaheim could not negotiate in its ill-fated deal with Moreno in 2019: If a team owner wants to develop the parking lots around the city stadium, the team should carry the city’s name.

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“The Angels have been supported by the city and its residents for 60 years,” Valencia said. “I think it’s rightfully owed to the residents that, if the team wants to play in Anaheim and be in partnership with Anaheim when it comes to future developments of that stadium and surrounding property, then the name should also resemble that.”

Angels spokeswoman Marie Garvey said the team had no comment.

The Angels’ current stadium lease extends through 2032, with the team holding options to extend the lease through 2038.

The city and team had agreed on a deal in which the Angels would remain in Anaheim through 2050, with the team buying the 150-acre stadium property for $150 million, renovating or replacing the stadium, and building a ballpark village atop the parking lots.

The state objected, however. The Surplus Land Act requires public property up for sale must first be made available for affordable housing, and the city negotiated only with the Angels. The city agreed to a $96-million settlement.

The Anaheim City Council ultimately killed the deal three years later, after an FBI investigation uncovered — and former mayor Harry Sidhu acknowledged in a plea agreement — that Sidhu provided confidential information to a team consultant “so that the Angels could buy Angel Stadium on terms beneficial to the Angels” and that he “expected a $1,000,000 campaign contribution from the Angels.” The government has not alleged any wrongdoing by the Angels.

Valencia’s bill was developed in consultation with city leaders and publicly endorsed by Aitken and former Mayors Tom Daly and Tom Tait.

Under the bill, if the city can obtain an exemption from the Surplus Land Act, the team could not buy or lease Angel Stadium unless “materials refer to that team as the Anaheim Angels.”

The bill would only apply to Anaheim, and its provisions would not take effect “if the city of Anaheim is able to come to an agreement with the Major League Baseball team known as the Los Angeles Angels about their affiliation.”

Valencia said the city could make a case for an exemption because he believed the Surplus Land Act was designed for smaller properties like school sites and municipal office buildings. He said the community should have the primary say in how such land should be used, even if that might mean less housing on the Angel Stadium site.

“We definitely need more housing because it’s so dang expensive to live, but the amount of housing [in Anaheim] that has gone up in the last 10, 15 years, I think, mitigates some of that,” Valencia said.

“I think folks in Anaheim think that Anaheim is doing their fair share of developing housing. I don’t want to muddy the concept by saying Anaheim is saying, ‘We don’t need any more housing. We have been so proactive in that space. But I think people are going to be thrilled that we want to make the Angels have Anaheim back in the name.”

In 2005, after city officials declined Moreno’s request to change the team name from Anaheim Angels to Los Angeles Angels, the owner adopted the “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim” name. The city sued and lost, with a jury finding that the Angels had not violated a stadium lease requirement that the team name “include the name Anaheim therein.”

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When the city sued the Angels and asked for an injunction to stop the name change pending trial, Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Polos denied the request. He did, however, warn the Angels he would grant the injunction if the team dropped the “of Anaheim” and simply called themselves the Los Angeles Angels.

In 2006, after the city had lost its lawsuit, Polos ruled the team could market itself by whatever name it wished. By 2016, the team called itself the Los Angeles Angels. In state records, the legal entity is Angels Baseball LP.

“When it comes to official designations, and to how they’re registered, I want us to look into how Anaheim is being used by the team in any official filings,” Aitken said, “and what their requirements are to do so.”

When Aitken asked City Atty. Robert Fabela to investigate, Fabela said the matter would be discussed in closed session as a “potential litigation item.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

As the Houston Astros prepare for another season with championship expectations, two of the most important figures in the organization find themselves in uncertain territory. General manager Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada are both entering the final years of their contracts, and owner Jim Crane has offered little clarity about their futures.

In an organization where the standard is not just contention but championships, that uncertainty carries weight. Performance this season may ultimately determine whether either, or both, remain part of the Astros’ long-term vision.

High Expectations, Limited Security

Both Brown and Espada have publicly expressed a desire to remain in Houston long term. But as is often the case in professional sports, the decision isn’t theirs to make. Crane has consistently maintained that the Astros’ championship window is “always open,” a philosophy that places constant pressure on leadership to deliver results.

That pressure is magnified by the reality that neither Brown nor Espada had previously held roles of this magnitude before stepping into their current positions. With that comes an expectation of growth and inevitably, some growing pains and mistakes along the way.

Espada’s Steady Leadership

Espada’s leadership style has never been loud or overbearing, but it has been effective. Known more for his calm demeanor than fiery speeches, he has earned the respect of his clubhouse.

Last season may have been his most impressive work to date. Despite a roster plagued by injuries and constant lineup challenges, Espada kept the Astros competitive deep into the season, with the team remaining in the playoff hunt down to the final stretch.

There’s a strong case to be made that Espada is the right manager to guide this team forward. Still, in a results-driven environment like Houston, belief alone isn’t enough, he will ultimately be judged on what happens next.

Dana Brown’s Balancing Act

Brown’s situation is more complex.

While both he and Espada face scrutiny, evaluating Brown comes with an added layer of uncertainty. The internal dynamics of decision-making, particularly the level of control exerted by ownership, remain largely unknown. That makes it difficult to fully assess what roster decisions are truly his.

Publicly, Brown has often said what fans want to hear, especially when it comes to retaining star players. But the organization’s track record tells a different story. Time and again, key names have departed, and the Astros have shown a reluctance to commit to long-term, high-dollar contracts in free agency.

That disconnect has not gone unnoticed.

The looming contract situations of Hunter Brown and Jeremy Peña only add to the pressure. Brown has voiced a desire to keep both players in Houston, but fans remain skeptical, especially after similar assurances were made about Kyle Tucker before he was dealt to the Chicago Cubs.

A Roster Out of Sync

Beyond contracts, there are clear questions about the roster itself.

As the Astros approach Opening Day, the imbalance is hard to ignore. The infield appears crowded with talent, while the outfield lacks proven, high-level experience. That discrepancy leaves Brown with a critical decision: address the issue through trades or acquisitions, or trust that the current roster can compensate offensively for its shortcomings.

It’s a gamble either way and one that could directly impact how his tenure is judged. There are holes to be filled and problems to be addressed and to date, nothing has been done or attempted to resolve any of the current issues.

The Crane Factor

Hovering over everything is Crane.

The Astros owner has built a winning organization, but his level of involvement in baseball decisions remains a point of speculation. How much autonomy Brown truly has is unclear, and that ambiguity complicates any evaluation of the front office.

It also raises a larger question: does Crane prefer leadership that aligns with his vision, or is he willing to bring in more established voices who might challenge it?

Former manager Dusty Baker offered a different dynamic, an experienced, confident presence capable of pushing back when necessary. Brown and Espada, while more aligned with modern baseball philosophies, don’t yet carry that same weight of experience. It may never be known how much control either man has ever had or has at this point and time. We have heard all the stories, seen the brutal signings of Montero and Abreu and have had hunches about the limitations both men have had to deal with, but we may never know for sure just what they had to deal with.

A Season That Will Define the Future

Ultimately, this season feels like a turning point.

For Espada, it’s an opportunity to prove he can lead a team with championship expectations through adversity and into October. For Brown, it’s a chance to solidify his vision for the roster and show that he can align words with action.

And for Crane, it’s a decision point: stay the course with two leaders who fit his organizational style, or pursue bigger, more established names who might offer a different path forward.

The stakes are clear. The expectations are higher than ever.

Now, the results have to follow.

Only one team has dethroned the Dodgers in the NL West over the past dozen seasons. The Giants, however, have moved on to their third manager since claiming the 2021 division title. Outside of that 107-win season, they’ve racked up four straight finishes within two games of .500.

They shook things up in a big way by bringing back beloved former catcher Buster Posey to run their baseball operations before last season. Posey took an even bigger leap this winter by hiring Tony Vitello.

The fiery former national champion at the University of Tennessee will become the first college coach ever to go straight into a major-league manager’s chair.

The question on everybody’s minds as Vitello’s first Opening Day approaches: Can it work?

Most important hitter: Rafael Devers

The Giants swung the biggest blockbuster of last season six weeks before the trade deadline, but they skidded to a 40-50 finish after acquiring Rafael Devers from the Red Sox and missed the postseason for the eighth time in nine years. Now acclimated to San Francisco — and with his first-ever Cactus League spring training out of the way — Devers will be counted on to anchor what’s shaping up to be the Giants’ most stable lineup in years. It just might carry them back to October.

Most important pitcher: Landen Roupp

Posey opted for duct tape over plastic surgery for a starting rotation that ended last season with three reliable arms, signing veteran journeymen Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser to short-term deals. The duo looks capable enough of holding down the third and fourth rotation spots behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. So the fate for the fifth spot falls on the Giants’ group of young arms. Landen Roupp, 26, looks to be the most promising candidate.

Will have a bigger year than expected: Patrick Bailey

Maybe not at the plate, but behind the dish, where Patrick Bailey will increase his value even more through the introduction of the Automated Ball Strike (ABS) challenge system. The Giants’ catcher already rated as the best defender in the game for his pitch framing. There was some concern a fully automated zone could negate that skillset, but the challenge system has had quite the opposite effect. Bailey’s understanding of the strike zone made him one of the best in Cactus League play at challenging balls and strikes.

Most likely to disappoint: Luis Arraez

With Jung Hoo Lee, the Giants already possess one contact-orientated table setter ahead of Devers, Willy Adames and Matt Chapman in the heart of their order. Signing Luis Arraez, the three-time batting champ, fit squarely in that vision. Asking him to play second base is where it goes awry, particularly with a pitching staff aced by one of the majors’ top sinkerballers. Arraez was a poor second baseman when he last played the position regularly in 2023, and the Padres mostly stashed him away at first base the past two years.

Key call up: Bryce Eldridge

It’s possible that Bryce Eldridge breaks camp with the big-league club, but the Giants would be smart to give the 20-year-old first baseman some more seasoning at Triple-A. The 6-foot-7 slugger has shown he can hit the ball harder than just about anybody. He needs to prove that he can do it consistently at the highest level. Eldridge has only played 84 games above Double-A. He spent the final two weeks of last season with the big-league club. It’s only a matter of time before he’s back for good. Then, the conversation turns to where he plays.

Biggest managerial decision

Everything Tony Vitello does will be scrutinized under a microscope. That’s the reality of trying to go straight from NCAA baseball to the big leagues. Vitello’s players have been feeling out how he will manage the clubhouse throughout spring training, but even they admit, they don’t know what to expect in terms of in-game strategy until the games actually count. Even the Bay Area’s relatively friendly media will have a field day the first time he pulls the wrong lever or, worse, looks like he doesn’t belong.

Don’t be surprised if…

The Giants have not only one hitter with more than 30 home runs but multiple. Infamously, the organization went two decades without one player reaching the threshold until Willy Adames slugged his 30th on the final day of last season. The last Giant with 30 was Barry Bonds, in 2004. That almost sounds silly considering this year’s projected lineup features Devers, Adames, Chapman and Heliot Ramos, any of whom is capable of leaving the yard 30 times.

Sure to make fans grumble

There’s no appetite left for any of the poor fundamentals that seemed to snowball as the Giants faded from contention last season. Among National League clubs, only the Rockies committed more errors in the field. On the base paths, they generated less value than any other club besides Colorado by running into outs and missing opportunities to pick up an extra base. Any mistake will only be more magnified with a first-year manager in the dugout.

How their season will end: 88-74

Either in a heap of pitching problems or their first playoff berth since 2021. If their pitching depth holds up — and their rookie manager deploys it correctly — the Giants won’t catch the Dodgers, but they are well-positioned to take advantage of down years from the Padres and Diamondbacks. Logan Webb and Robbie Ray provide a powerful one-two punch in a hypothetical wild-card series, but the Giants probably lack the pitching to make a deep postseason run.

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Jeremy Pena will lead off tonight and play shortstop as the Houston Astros play their final exhibition game of the spring, hosting the Sugar Land Space Cowboys tonight at Daikin Park.

RHP Lance McCullers Jr., who was named the Astros fifth starter yesterday, will get the start for the Astros tonight opposite prospect RHP Miguel Ullola and the Space Cowboys.

ABOUT MCCULLERS: RHP Lance McCullers Jr. is set to make his fourth official start of the Spring season. He last pitched a week ago on March 17 at PIT, when he allowed one run on three hits and three walks in 4.0 innings.

He made his return to the mound in 2025 after missing the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons due to a right flexor tendon injury that required surgery. He worked around four IL stints in 2025 to go 2-5 with a 6.51 ERA (40ER/55.1IP) and 9.92 SO/9IP in 16 games (13 starts).

ABOUT ULLOLA: RHP Miguel Ullola (pronounced oo-YOH-lah) enters the 2026 season as one Houston’s top pitching prospects. I

In 2025, he spent his first full season in the Triple A rotation and went 7-6 with a 3.88 ERA in 28 appearances (23 starts). Among PCL starters with 100+ innings pitched, he ranked first in ERA (3.88), first in BAA (.183), first in strikeout percentage (26.6%), first in strikeout-per-nine (10.37), second in strikeouts (131) and fourth in WHIP.

PENA BACK: Jeremy Peña is scheduled for six innings and three at-bats tonight. The Astros have an optional workout tomorrow and can get Peña live at-bats there as well, Joe Espada said. (from Matt Kawahara/Houston Chronicle)

ABOUT THE SPACE COWBOYS: The Space Cowboys, who play in the Pacific Coast League, are entering their fifth year as the Astros Triple A affiliate. The Astros officially acquired the franchise (then known as the Sugar Land Skeeters) in April of 2021, and sold the franchise this offseason. After the 2021 season, the franchise rebranded and the Space Cowboys were born.

YESTERDAY’S ROSTER MOVE: Prior to yesterday’s game, the Astros optioned RHP Spencer Arrighetti to Triple A Sugar Land. Arrighetti will remain with the Astros through tonight’s game before beginning the season in Sugar Land. Arrighetti is slated to be the Astros’ sixth starter when they expand the rotation approximately April 10.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Tuesday, March 24 7:10 p.m. CST

Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

Streaming: SCHN+

Radio: KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2; TUDN 102.9 FM

Opening Day is tomorrow, and the San Francisco Giants still have a handful of players they need to trim from the roster before announcing the 26-player roster. But on Tuesday, a few hours before their final exhibition game of the preseason, the Giants took a step closer to finalizing things, by optioning a quartet of right-handed pitchers to AAA Sacramento: Spencer Bivens, Trevor McDonald, Tristan Beck, and Carson Seymour. In addition to those four, outfielders Drew Gilbert and Will Brennan were also optioned.

Bivens is the most surprising name on the list, and a reminder that different coaching staffs value different players. He broke camp with the team in 2025, and spent the entirety of the season on the active roster, leading many to believe that he was a lock for this year’s bullpen. It turns out that wasn’t the case.

It would seem that his role will likely go to JT Brubaker. Last year, Bivens was more good than great (4.00 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 6.8 strikeouts per nine innings, 2.8 walks per nine innings), but amassed a lot of value due to his ability to enter in any situation and eat a lot of innings. He made 54 appearances out of the bullpen, and pitched 81 innings — a mark that ranked fourth among pitchers in the Major Leagues who didn’t make any starts.

Similarly, his Spring Training was also more good than great, and seemed to reinforce his roll as a valuable piece of bullpen depth, but not a weapon. With Tony Vitello replacing Bob Melvin, it seems the valuation of Bivens has shifted a bit, though he’ll surely still play a role this year.

As for McDonald, he had a breakout camp early on, and was certainly trending towards making the roster, especially after Hayden Birdsong went down with an injury. But after three scoreless outings to start the spring — during which time he gave up just two hits in six innings — McDonald hit a wall. In his next/final three games, he gave up 10 hits — including four home runs — and nine earned runs in just 5.2 innings, culminating in a Spring Training finale in which he was unable to complete an inning. So back to the Minors he goes, where he’ll prepare to rejoin the squad, perhaps in a relief role, or perhaps as a the next man up in the rotation.

For Seymour, his optioning was a little less surprising. The power righty showed some really nice things this spring, en route to a 2.92 ERA and a 3.74 FIP, but he never felt in very strong consideration for a bullpen job, and his fate was likely sealed during Monday’s exhibition win, in which he gave up four hits and two runs in an inning of work. But like Bivens and McDonald, we can expect to see Seymour in the Majors plenty this year.

Beck’s optioning was also not surprising. He struggled a bit last year, with a 4.75 ERA and a 6.11 FIP, and didn’t look sharp during Cactus League. He was strong in an inning of work on Monday night, though, and is valuable depth who could be called upon during the season.

Seymour and Bivens both have two option years remaining, while McDonald and Beck have only one.

As for the outfielders, there’s nothing surprising there. Gilbert seemed like a favorite to land the fourth outfielder role when Spring Training began, but he was hampered by a shoulder injury, and never found his rhythm when he returned, hitting just .265/.324/.324. Brennan impressed, but it became apparent over the last week than NRI Jared Oliva had surpassed him on the depth chart. Both players will be everyday outfielders in Sacramento, and will surely provide depth at the Major League level at some point in the season. Brennan has two option years remaining, while the ever-exuberant Gilbert still has all three.

Notably, with Gilbert, Brennan, and Grant McCray optioned, the Giants have committed to not having a left-handed player off the bench. The only outfielders left in camp (save for the starters) are righties Oliva, Luis Matos, and Jerar Encarnación. It would appear that those three are fighting for two spots, which would finalize the bench. That’s assuming that both infielders left in camp — Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss — make the roster, and that Daniel Susac beats out Eric Haase for the backup catcher role.

With these six cuts, the Giants are now down to 33 players in camp, though that number is functionally 31, as Reiver Sanmartin and Sam Hentges will be added to the Injured List soon. Five other players will need to be optioned, reassigned, placed on the IL, or waived between now and Wednesday morning.

Rob Manfred believes Giants' Tony Vitello hire shows MLB's ‘evolution' originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey made history this offseason, hiring an incredible college baseball personality with zero big league experience as San Francisco’s new manager.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred joined KNBR’s “Murph & Markus” on Tuesday morning to give his opinion on the Tony Vitello hire.

“I think the hiring of a college coach to be a big league manager is part of a larger evolution in the relationship between college baseball and MLB,” Manfred claimed.

Vitello, on Wednesday, will become the league’s first manager without any prior professional experience, but his preparation isn’t in question.

The Giants went 19-9 in spring training, even without some key pieces due to the World Baseball Classic. It’s challenging to gauge talent from spring training for several reasons, but the culture shift since Vitello’s arrival is hard to miss.

“The college programs … many of them are high quality,” Manfred continued. “They produce players that we draft in increasing numbers every year.”

There are many ties between Vitello and players within the Giants organization, including Drew Gilbert, who played under Vitello for three seasons at the University of Tennessee.

“I don’t think that there’s anything unusual about the development of someone who’s been tremendously successful at the college level getting a major league job,” Manfred concluded.

San Francisco is set to take on the New York Yankees on Wednesday night at Oracle Park to begin the 2026 MLB season. This entire year will be full of firsts for Vitello, but those around him are confident he has what it takes to get this team out of mediocrity and back into the playoffs.

The season of Howie Rose, who is saying his goodbye at the mic, also will be the season of Davey Johnson.

The Mets will wear a memorial “Davey” patch on the sleeve of their uniforms this season, they announced Tuesday, after Johnson died in September at 82.

Johnson’s final out of the 1969 World Series clinched the Mets’ first championship, and he then guided the Mets to their next and most recent title as manager in 1986.

He is the winningest skipper in franchise history (595), owns the best winning percentage (.588) and kept a steady hand from 1984-90, when his Mets clubs averaged more than 95 wins per season.

“Davey was a bold manager who led with a quiet confidence and an unwavering belief in his team,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “He cared deeply for his players both on and off the field. Some of the greatest players in our team history credit him for their successes.

“In the 40th anniversary of the 1986 championship, this is a fitting tribute to the man who guided the team to that title.”

Johnson’s family will be around for Thursday’s season opener at Citi Field and take part in the ceremonial first pitch.

His widow, Susan, will escort Johnson’s stepson, Jeremiah Allen, and grandson, Kai Casebolt, to the mound.

Darryl Strawberry and Mookie Wilson, key members of the ’86 Mets, will catch the first pitches.