Category: MLB

Last week I took an early look at the Cardinals projections, and before I take a look at the Cardinals again (think of last week as a preview of the final Cards projection article) I will look at the NL Central from the bottom up. And that starts with the bottom of the ocean floor, where resides the Jolly Roger. Arrrrrrrrr, me mateys.

The criteria I will use will be to simply look at each team in the NL Central’s 15 strongest players, with at least 5 rotation pitchers and top bullpen pitchers only. Plus the best of the bench. This could vary by team, because each team will have different strengths… i.e. sometimes I’ll look at a team’s bench more, or a team’s bullpen, whichever is projected to be better. But I won’t be going too deep here. 20 players total per team. Outside of that and you get into fringe players and guys that won’t be receiving too much playing time.

The Pirates

Uber-prospect Konor Griffin will be joining Paul Skenes as the other big star on the team (potentially). He looks really good out of the gate though, with a 3.5 WAR projection by ZiPS, I’m not sure what’s going on here, but he was last at AA level. Listed as a shortstop, he could be their best position player even if he’s not quite ready. And that sort of sums up the Pirates lineup for you. Now keep in mind, Griffin’s defense is where he should be getting all this value from, not his hitting, at least looking at projections for his 19 year old debut season. Really don’t know how many games he will play, but if they don’t bring him with after spring training, it’s probable he won’t debut until he’s 20, but that’s only a few months away.

Oneil Cruz is your #2 Pirate position player, or #1 if Konor Griffin is to remain in the minor leagues. That 3.5 Griffin WAR projection is over 128 games, so results may vary according to playing time.

Anyhow, Cruz, with his big time power and 30% k rate are set to be at 2.8 WAR. Just a little above average hitter and average defender with a good arm.

Projected first baseman Spencer Horwitz looks like he could possibly be the Pirates best hitter, projecting out to be at 2.2 WAR, according to ZiPS. Second baseman Nick Gonzalez is a below average hitter but an above average defender projected to be at 2.1 WAR.

Outfielder Jake Mangum looks like he won’t be much of a hitter either, probably below league average, but another good defender. 1.9 WAR.

Jared Triolo is also a below league average hitter but good defender over at third base. I see a pattern emerging.

Outfielder Jack Suwinski isn’t very good at fielding but has some potential on offense, but not a whole lot. 1.6 WAR. Rafael Flores Jr is listed as another first baseman but only projects out to 1.5 WAR. They have a guy with a great baseball name in Duce Gourson that could be another 1.5 WAR guy. I am not including him in the rest of the article because he’s at AA level, and is not projected by Depth Charts or The Bat X.

Outfielder Dominic Fletcher is projected by ZiPS to be at 1.4 WAR. And the Pirates offseason move was to acquire Brandon Lowe, who is projected to be at 1.4 WAR also, about a league average hitter.

So by now you have an idea of the Pirates main position players, who are very defense forward with a cleanup hitter who is probably good for only 23 home runs because he has strikeout issues. His batting average is expected to be at .237. It shouldn’t be hard for the Cardinals to at least have more power than this lineup, again. At least we aren’t as powerless as the Pirates. Hopefully. That will require us to hit home runs to make up for the loss of Willson Contreras.

So with defense as a potential strength, the Pirates expect to frustrate at times with run prevention, especially with ace Paul Skenes on the mound. Somewhat surprisingly to me, ZiPS projects Skenes to be right at 5 WAR in 2026. Last year he was at 6.5, so I would think the floor is at 5, but hey, I hope ZiPS is right!

Mitch Keller is a pretty good pitcher but an unexciting #2. He is projected at 2.3 WAR and had 2.5 last season. All the rest of the Pirates pitchers are projected at less than 2 WAR, with Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft projected to come closest to being 2 WAR pitchers. Color me unimpressed by this rotation, unless Skenes completely goes off. That’s exciting but, still probably not enough to overcome this overall roster. It must really suck to be a Pirates fan:/

Their bullpen looks ok but not really a big strength either. So let’s move on to comparing ZiPS to some other projection systems that I trust more than the others.

The Bat X has Konor Griffin at 88 games, much less than the other projection systems expect. I think they will probably just rush him to the majors, as long as he impresses in spring training. At least, that’s what it seems like in early February. It’s important to note that the three projection systems I’m looking at are all having him playing different numbers of games.

It would seem that the Pirates have a platoon at 2B now with Nick Gonzalez and Brandon Lowe, who project out to be about the same WAR when looking at a consensus of projections. Otherwise I’m not sure why they acquired Lowe. The Pirates could also platoon at 1B with Spencer Horwitz being a left handed hitter and Rafael Flores Jr being a right handed hitter.

Just a quick analysis of these projections’ data, shows that ZiPS is more optimistic about the Pirates position players, while The Bat X thinks they’ll flat out kind of suck. You have Fangraphs Depth Charts in the middle. The opposite is true when looking at the starting rotation concerning The Bat vs ZiPS. ZiPS might be underrating the Pirates rotation a bit or just too pessimistic. Skenes surely is going to be worth more than 5 WAR this season, right? I think 6 WAR seems like a better guess.

While the Pirates rotation definitely blows the Cardinals out of the water with a pirate cannonball, the Cardinals projected position players are going to be more valuable, even without Brendan Donovan in the lineup. And outside of Paul Skenes, their rotation isn’t THAT good (our’s just doesn’t look very good on paper right now). Maybe I’ll change my tune on that after looking around some other rotations, but I was expecting to be a little more impressed.

This was an interesting article to write, with Konor Griffin probably being a big player to watch in 2026. Or do you think Pittsburgh will give him more time in the minor leagues? With the Pirates defense and pitching combo, they could be pretty annoying this year if Griffin ends up hitting like a big leaguer. That will more likely be a season or two down the line, but now you know what to expect… the Pirates lineup might not be quite as bad in 2026, and will probably be better than that in the not too distant future.

1976

‘76 was my first full year around the sun. Little did I know how utterly confounding the world is. Perhaps the most poignant movie of the year that year was this movie called Network. It was so far ahead of its time it is still a legendary flick.

“there is only IBM, Dupont, and Exxon”

Network was quite ahead of its time! It needed to be said again. It is a very quotable movie, and was a dark look at some turbulent times (not all that different from now, really), focusing on media ethics, all the while laden with acidic humor. I mean, check out this quote:

Howard Beale: All human beings are becoming humanoids. All over the world, not just in America. We’re just getting there faster since we’re the most advanced country.

I guess I was becoming a humanoid in 1976. But, you have got to get mad!

Howard Beale: All I know is, you’ve got to get mad. You’ve got to say, “I’m a human being, goddamn it. My life has value.”

Does this sum up the human condition? I don’t know, but learning to become human has its ups and downs. People go into drone mode for a bit, then put their foot down. It’s a constant process of re-evaluating behaviors, both in others and yourself. A balancing act between memory and impulse.

Howard Beale: You’re beginning to believe the illusions we’re spinning here, you’re beginning to believe that the tube is reality and your own lives are unreal. You do. Why, whatever the tube tells you: you dress like the tube, you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube, you even think like the tube. This is mass madness, you maniacs. In God’s name, you people are the real thing, WE are the illusion.

Is this why I started to blog? Not about tv, but just about being on the internet? I just don’t know anymore, Howard!

Howard Beale: This is not a psychotic breakdown; it’s a cleansing moment of clarity.

Oh ok, I feel better now. I do, however, completely agree with this:

Howard Beale: Television is not the truth. Television is a goddamned amusement park.

Yes, entertainment runs the show. And capital, of course. There is plenty more to be said about what Network touches upon, and please let me hear your comments on this movie! I will say no more about it in this article.

Taxi Driver and Rocky were two other top tier movie releases in 1976!

1976 was the 200th birthday of the USA. Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford in the presidential election. Stagflation was “in”, which meant a stagnant economy with high inflation and high unemployment numbers. It was a time of transition after Vietnam and the Watergate scandal.

On January 27th, the US vetoed a UN resolution that would make Palestine an independent state. Apple computer was formed. The Atari video game Breakout was released. Tim Heidecker was born on Feb 3rd!I cannot believe that Tim is older than Lance Berkman! Who was born Feb 10th. Heck, I cannot believe I’m older than he is too! Guess Lance will be 50 soon.

In baseball, the Reds won their 2nd world series in a row in 1976 by sweeping the Yankees. The Reds also swept the Phillies! No wonder they called it the Big Red Machine. They just steamrolled in ‘76. There was a lockout in 1976, but it only lasted March 1-17, and it didn’t affect the regular season. The NL won the all-star game that year.

Our beloved Cardinals were not good back then, but neither were the Cubs. The Expos won 55 games and finished in last place, but that was the only team the Cardinals were better than, finishing 3 games behind the Cubs in 5th place, with the Phillies, Pirates, and Mets all fielding really good teams the 1976 season. Back then, there was an East and West and the Cardinals were in the East. Six teams per division.

The Royals George Brett finished behind the Cubs Bill Madlock for the batting title, Madlock batting .339! Mike Schmidt had 38 home runs, leading MLB. George Foster of the Reds had the most RBI. The Cardinals had a bright spot in John Denny leading the NL in ERA at 2.52! Somehow I don’t think I ever heard of the guy. The Mets Tom Seaver lead MLB with 235 Ks!

Joe Morgan and Thurman Munson were the MVPs that year, Morgan’s 2nd in a row! Righty Jim Palmer and lefty Randy Jones won the Cy Young Awards. Jones had won 16 games by the All Star Break, setting a record! On July 20, 1976, Hank Aaron hit his final blast, #755.

On July 24, 1976, Lyman Bostock of the Twins became the 4th Twins player to hit for the cycle, while batting 4th, going 4 for 4, scoring 4 runs, and knocking in 4 RBI! It was the first time he was batted at cleanup. What.

On August 8th, the White Sox wore shorts during the first game of a double header at Comiskey Park. I’m not sure why I included that, other than I thought it was a little random and absurd.

1976 was the 9th season in a row that Tom Seaver pitched over 200 strikeouts. Incredible! On September 10, Nolan Ryan fanned 18 White Sox hitters for a complete game 3-2 win.

October 3rd was the last game of Hank Aaron’s illustrious baseball career.

The Cardinals attendance was way down that year, showing I suppose that fans actually don’t show up when the team and the economy are bad. St Louis expects a good product.

Ok, enough random factoids, it is time for my top 10 albums of 1976!

Top 10 Albums of 1976

#1 Goblin – ‘Roller’ Italian proggers Goblin went on to have a very busy, even convoluted music career creating scores for 70’s and 80’s horror movies, but their roots were in prog rock, and Roller gives you the blueprint to their sound. It’s a bit more straight up prog rock than soundtrack, but it showed what they could do and a wild career and extensive cast of musicians resulting in the band fractioning, mutating, evolving, etc. There really is so much to say about this band. If you love cheesy but good vintage horror movie soundtrack sounds that incorporate both guitars and synthesizers, accompanied by an amazing rhythm section, you must check out the Goblin discography. They most frequently collaborated with Dario Argento.

P.S. I own a copy of this album on vinyl, which I bought at Amoeba Records while I was on vacation. It is one of my most prized possessions.

#2 Truth and Janey – ‘No Rest For The Wicked’ I don’t know what there is about this obscure proto-metal band from Cedar Rapids, IA, but I keep coming back to this album over the years. Picking up where Sabbath left off with Sabotage, we hear Truth and Janey pick up the torch while blending in a vast array of classic rock influences. However, if you told me this came out today as a new stoner rock band going for a vintage sound, I might believe you. A timeless sound of rock n’ roll cranked through double stacks. Truth and Janey plays with a swagger that few can match, almost entering Jethro Tull territory. I don’t own a copy of this on vinyl, but wish that I did. I grew up not too far from Cedar Rapids and never heard of this band until the youtube era. And because of google, I just learned that Iowa has a rock and roll Hall of Fame! I did not know that. Truth and Janey were of course inducted.

#3 Heart – ‘Dreamboat Annie’ I absolutely love this album. Another one that I own on vinyl. Just a fantastic listen, one of my favorite guitarists and two of my favorite singers in the world. Classic songs composed perfectly. Heart’s first two albums are among the very best rock albums ever recorded, in my opinion.

#4 Magma – ‘Udu Wudu’ weirdo prog funk from France… Magma created a whole new genre of music which blended prog rock, jazz fusion, classical, disco, funk, opera, and the avant garde: a genre called Zeuhl. Yes, this was before Ghostbusters. The primary unifying element of Zeuhl is not only progressive music but also an entirely made up language that exists in each band. This might sound like French, but usually it’s a made up language called Kobaïan. They have a lot of albums and you’ll just have to find your favorite one. This one leans more on the funky as the mid 70’s are apt to do. Some of them have beautiful choirs. One of the best live bands I’ve ever seen! And they brought a full band with multiple singers, organ player, etc.

#5 Dr. Aftershave and The Mixed Pickles – ‘For Missus Beastly’ this funk rock obscurity my perfectly sum up the times of the mid-70s… music like this could be heard everywhere. However, I find this album exceptionally catchy and well produced for the times. While the music performances are super fun but also virtuosic, really well rehearsed, creative, etc. I might end up wishing I had ranked this album higher up, it’s a recent find! I found that the beginning track kind of stole the show, but the whole thing is very uplifting.

#6 Rush – ‘2112’ I cannot believe that I am ranking this album this low, but there will always be some that think I’m ranking this too highly. My fandom of obscure funk bands has risen more quickly than my fandom of prog rock, which plateaued a while back now. Still love it, but not likely to do prog rock deep dives to find new stuff. Anyhow, I still love the classic prog rock album 2112 and think that it is still extremely influential, but they have so many other albums that I like even more than this one, I have to temper my fandom a bit. At times, this album sounds a bit silly, but I digress. I love Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, and Alex Lifeson. And this album will always be a classic, straddling the lines of concept album, longform prog rock, and art rock. Would love to have seen them live on tour with this in the 70’s! But I was an infant then.

#7 Zappa – ‘Zoot Allures’ the link here is to side one of this album (in that classic vinyl sound, the following links will be in remastered form), because the opening tracks of “Wind Up Working In A Gas Station”, “Black Napkins”, and “The Torture Never Stops” are among Frank Zappa’s top tier creations. I’d even go so far to say that Zoot Allures has one of the best opening three songs of almost any album! Track 1 sums up his humor, energy, and athletic musical mastery, Track 2 showcases Frank’s in the moment guitar shredding and more trippy side perhaps better than any other song, & Track 3 is one of his nastiest but most laid back funk tracks. On side 2 of the vinyl, title track “Zoot Allures” is another really fun, top tier instrumental guitar track. I could deal without the rest of the album, but these four tracks are so damn good it makes the list.

#8 King Tubby – ‘King Tubbys meets rockers uptown’ I like this King Tubby album more than last year’s one (1975), and also more than the other really good King Tubby album from 1976! You know this is good stuff. But, 1976 has stacked really good albums. No knock against King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown! Total mood music down really well and well produced. Mid 70’s was a time of emergent heavy metal, funk, prog rock, and of course, the emergence of dub reggae. An important cultural and technological development in music production techniques.

#9 Sun Ra – ‘Cosmos’ I had never heard this particular Sun Ra album, but his discography is vast! I love this album Cosmos because it emerges is spaced out free jazz side with a more 70’s funk meets jazz fusion sound. Its production however is not that smooth mid 70’s production, the bass is in your face, the drums sound pretty raw, and the whole thing more like a live recording, like many Sun Ra albums, but this one is especially intense, you can tell they are probably playing louder than usual. Every Sun Ra album is another adventure, and there are many to encounter.

#10 Chrome – ‘The Visitation’ It is not easy to believe that this album is from 1976. Chrome were always on the bleeding edge of punk, industrial metal, and weirdo psychedelic art rock, but from the get go is impressive. I have to tell you guys, this year was a lot harder to rank than 1975 and I don’t think it’s going to get any easier going forward. Chrome were proto everything and their debut is no exception, at times I am like what is even going on here but it always makes sense somehow.

Album of the year 1976

And to close this out, here is some Jurrangelo Cijntje video!

The Tyler Schweitzer Army showed up in full force, just 11 ballots into his Prospect Vote time. Better late than never, right? Schweitzer crushed the competition, earning 18 of 42 (18%) votes:

This is Schweitzer’s worst of four showings in our Vote, as readers ranked him higher in 2023 (18th), 2024 (23rd) and 2025 (14th).

Past No. 35s in the SSS Top Prospect Vote
2025 Voting lasted only 31 rounds
2024 Voting lasted only 34 rounds
2023 Voting lasted only 24 rounds
2022 Voting lasted only 17 rounds
2021 Caleb Freeman (36%)
2020 Seby Zavala (37%)
2019 Ti’quan Forbes (42%)
2018 Alex Call (40%)

Schweitzer is the 20th pitcher of 25 players to advance, as well as the ninth left-handed starter:

Newcomer Caden Connor finished in a tie for seventh, with two votes. Shortstop and 2025 draftee Colby Shelton joins the ballot for this round.

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South Side Sox Top-Voted White Sox Prospects for 2026

1. Braden Mongomery — 59% (Smith 17%, Bonemer 9%, Schultz 7%, Antonacci 3%, Adams/Carlson/McDougal 2%, Fauske/Oppor 0%)
2. Hagen Smith — 40% (Bonemer 28%, Schultz 18%, McDougal 5%, Antonacci 4%, Carlson 3%, Bergolla/Oppor 1%, Adams/Fauske 0%)
3. Caleb Bonemer — 47% (Schultz 34%, Antonacci 10%, Carlson/McDougal 4%, Bergolla 2%, Adams/Fauske/Oppor/Perez 0%)
4. Noah Schultz — 49% (Antonacci 25%, Carlson 11%, McDougal 7%, Adams/Bergolla/Oppor 2%, Perez 1%, Fauske/Lodise 0%)
5. Sam Antonacci — 41% (Carlson 25%, McDougal 20%, Bergolla/Perez 4%, Oppor 3%, Adams 2%, Fauske 1%, Diaz/Lodise 0%)
6. Tanner McDougal — 39% (Carlson 36%, Bergolla 7%, Adams 6%, Pallette 5%, Fauske 3%, Oppor 2%, Lodise 1%, Diaz/Perez 0%)
7. Billy Carlson — 52% (Adams 18%, Oppor 12%, Bergolla 9%, Fauske 5%, Lodise/Pallette/Wolkow 2%, Diaz/Perez 0%)
8. Christian Oppor — 24% (Murphy 20%, Adams/Fauske 16%, Wolkow 10%, Bergolla 9%, Lodise/Pallette/Perez 1%, Diaz 0%)
9. Shane Murphy — 34% (Adams 20%, Wolkow 13%, Fauske 16%, Bergolla 9%, Palisch 4%, Lodise/Pallette/Perez 1%, Diaz 0%)
10. Mason Adams — 43% (Wolkow 22%, Bergolla 11%, Fauske/Pallette 10%, Lodise/Palisch/Perez 2%, Diaz/Hodge 0%)
11. Jaden Fauske — 24.0% (Perez 23.5%, Hodge 13.4%, Bergolla 12.9%, Wolkow 8%, Pallette 5%, Diaz/Gonzalez/Lodise/Palisch 3%)
12. Jeral Perez — 20% (Umberger 15%, Wolkow 13%, Hodge 12.3%, Palisch 11.9%, Bergolla 11.4%, Lodise 7.3%, Pallette 6.9%, Diaz 2%, Gonzalez 1%)
13. Grant Umberger — 28% (Palisch 19%, Wolkow 13%, Bergolla 12%, Hodge 11%, Lodise 10%, Pallette 4%, Diaz 3%, Gonzalez/Larson 1%)
14. Mathias LaCombe — 41% (Bergolla 19%, Wolkow 17%, Pallette 7%, Palisch 6%, Gonzalez 4%, Hodge/Lodise 2%, Diaz/Larson 1%)
15. William Bergolla — 35% (Wolkow 20%, Pallette/Palisch 13%, Larson 6%, Diaz/Gordon/Lodise 4%, Hodge 2%, Gonzalez 0%)
16. George Wolkow — 38% (Pallette 22%, Palisch 12%, Gordon 8%, Lodise 6%, Gonzalez 5%, Batista/Diaz/Larson 3%, Hodge 0%)
17. Peyton Pallette — 38% (Palisch 13%, Lodise 11%, Gordon/Larson 10%, Gonzalez 8%, Batista 5%, Diaz 3%, Hodge/Mogollón 2%)
18. Blake Larson — 21% (Lodise 18%, J. Gonzalez/Palisch 15%, C. Gonzalez 11%, Gordon 10%, Batista 5%, Mogollón 3%, Hodge 2%, Diaz 0%)
19. Ky Bush — 24% (Palisch 19%, C. Gonzalez/Lodise 16%, J. Gonzalez 8%, Gordon/Batista 6%, Mogollón 3%, Diaz 2%, Hodge 0%)
20. Jake Palisch — 26% (Paez 21%, Lodise 19%, J. Gonzalez 13%, C. Gonzalez/Gordon 8%, Batista/Hodge/Mogollón 2%, Diaz 0%)
21. Jedixson Paez — 45% (Nishida 20%, Gordon 14%, C. Gonzalez/Lodise 8%, J. Gonzalez 4%, Mogollón 2%, Batista/Diaz/Hodge 0%)
22. Christian Gonzalez — 22% (Nishida 18%, Gordon 17%, J. Gonzalez 15%, Lodise 10%, Hodge 8%, Batista 5%, Mogollón 3%, Diaz 2%, Ziehl 0%)
23. Rikuu Nishida — 30% (Gordon 18%, J. Gonzalez 15%, Gowens 10%, Lodise 8%, Batista 7%, Hodge/Mogollón/Ziehl 3%, Diaz 2%)
24. Kyle Lodise — 23% (J. Gonzalez/Gowens 18%, Gordon 14%, Batista/Carela 7%, Diaz/Hodge/Mogollón/Ziehl 4%)
25. Jacob Gonzalez— 26% (Gowens 21%, Gordon 20%, Schweitzer 11%, Batista 6%, Mogollón/Ziehl 5%, Hodge 3%, Carela/Diaz 2%)
26. Riley Gowens — 29% (Zavala 21%, Carela 13%, Gordon 11%, Batista 7%, 11%, Ziehl 5%, Diaz/Hodge/Mogollón/Schweitzer 4%)
27. Samuel Zavala — 33% (Carela/Gordon 15%, Alcala 10%, Ziehl 8%, Batista/Schweitzer 5%, Diaz/Hodge/Mogollón 3%)
28. Lucas Gordon — 36% (Carela 19%, Alcala/Batista/Schweitzer 9%, Mogollón/Ziehl 5%, Diaz/Hodge 3%, Albertus 2%)
29. Juan Carela — 28% (Diaz/Hodge 13%, Batista 11%, Alcala 9%, Iriarte/Schweitzer 7%, Albertus/Mogollón/Ziehl 4%)
30. Landon Hodge — 19% (Batista 15%, Iriarte 13%, Alcala/Diaz/Ziehl 10%, Albertus/Schweitzer 8%, Mogollón 6%, Rodriguez 2%)
31. Gage Ziehl — 19% (Albertus 17%, Alcala/Galanie 12%, Iriarte 9%, Batista/Diaz/Rodriguez/Schweitzer 7%, Mogollón 3%)
32. Zach Franklin — 38% (Alcala 15%, Batista 13%, Albertus/Diaz/Schweitzer 8%, Galanie/Iriarte/Mogollón/Rodriguez 3%)
33. Phil Fox — 24% (Alcala 16%, Batista/Galanie 12%, Iriarte/Schweitzer 10%, Albertus/Diaz 6%, Mogollón/Rodriguez 2%)
34. Marcelo Alcala — 18% (Alcala 16%, Diaz/Schweitzer 16%, Batista 14%, Albertus/Galanie 9%, Iriarte/Mogollón 7%, Rodriguez 5%, Burrowes 0%)
35. Tyler Schweitzer — 43% (Albertus 12%, Diaz 10%, Burrowes/Galanie/Mogollón 7%, Connor/Rodriguez 5%, Batista/Iriarte 2%)

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Alexander Albertus
Third Baseman
Age 21
2025 high level Arizona Complex League (Rookie)
Age relative to high level +0.4 years
Overall 2025 stats 8 games ▪️ 0 HR ▪️ 2 RBI ▪️ .333/.520/.444 ▪️ 3-of-3 (100.0%) SB ▪️ 6 BB ▪️ 3 K ▪️ 1.000 FLD%▪️ 0.3 WAR

What can you say further about Albertus? He seems to have great tools but an uncanny ability to stay off of the field (just eight games in a season-plus in the White Sox system). In 2025, he was assigned to Kannapolis but was … wait for it … injured. He lasted just eight games of ACL rehab before hitting the IL-60 again.

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Aldrin Batista
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 22
2025 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 6
2025 high level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -1.2 years
Overall 2025 stats 2-0 ▪️ 7 games (2 starts) ▪️ 14 IP ▪️ 5.79 ERA ▪️ 17 K ▪️ 7 BB ▪️ 1.429 WHIP ▪️-1.2 WAR

Batista was our No. 6-voted player in last year’s poll and top righthander — and then disaster struck, as he started the third Dash game of the season on April 6 and then was out more than four months with a stress fracture in his right (pitching) elbow. His return in late August was iffy, with three poor relief appearances of five. But he ended the season with a scoreless (two-inning) “opener” start, which hopefully reverses the curse for 2026.

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Ryan Burrowes
Second Baseman
Age 21
2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 23
2025 SSS Prospect Vote ranking N/R
2025 high level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -2.0 years
Overall 2025 stats (Low-A/High-A) 111 games ▪️ 6 HR ▪️ 39 RBI ▪️ .255/.342/.355 ▪️ 47-of-53 (88.7%) SB ▪️ 39 BB ▪️ 110 K ▪️ .976 FLD%▪️ 1.1 WAR

It feels like Burrowes has been around forever, and he’s still only 21 years old (and playing at a level significantly younger than his age). His first taste of High-A ball went pretty well, as his baserunning seems to have no trouble translating at any level. The hit tool is solid, although he continues to struggle with contact — a no-no for a speed-over-power guy.

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Caden Connor
Left Fielder
Age 25
2025 high level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -2.3 years
Overall 2025 stats (High-A/AA/AAA) 126 games ▪️ 7 HR ▪️ 64 RBI ▪️ .272/.358/.366 ▪️ 13-of-16 (81.3%) SB ▪️ 60 BB ▪️ 81 K ▪️ .982 FLD%▪️ 1.9 WAR

Like Ryan Galanie, it’s hard to know what to make of Connor. The end of the 2025 season, at Charlotte, marked the first time in his pro career that he’s not played old for his level. But aside from a dip in July, Connor hit well all season and didn’t get dunked underwater at Charlotte. Theoretically with a weak White Sox outfield, the sky’s the limit for him in 2026.

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Reudis Diaz
Right-handed relief pitcher
Age 20
2025 high level ACL (Rookie)
Age relative to high level -2.1 years
Overall 2025 stats 1-1 ▪️ 1 SV▪️ 21 games (4 finishes) ▪️ 27 2/3 IP ▪️ 2.28.ERA ▪️ 18 K ▪️ 8 BB ▪️ 1.084 WHIP ▪️1.2 WAR

Who? You’re forgiven for being unfamiliar with an extremely young arm who hasn’t yet gotten out of rookie ball, but our No. 77 prospect a year ago (then a starter, repeating the DSL and killing it) made a successful adjustment Stateside. He’ll return to starting in 2026, likely getting his feet wet in Arizona and getting a promotion to Low-A in the second half of the season.

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Ryan Galanie
First Baseman
Age 25
2025 high level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level +1.3 years
Overall 2025 stats (High-A/AA) 119 games ▪️ 11 HR ▪️ 94 RBI ▪️ .276/.327/.422 ▪️ 14-of-17 (82.4%) SB ▪️ 35 BB ▪️ 79 K ▪️ .995 FLD%▪️ 1.1 WAR

It’s been a slow but steady climb for this 13th-rounder in 2023. The good news here is, with the caveat that Galanie has always competed older than his level, Galanie has found some footing. While his power/slugging numbers are merely OK, he drove in 94 runs in 2025. He disappeared a bit in the playoffs for Birmingham (just four hits in six games, with five walks as well) but started every game in the march to a second consecutive Southern League title for the Barons.

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Jairo Iriarte
Right-Handed Relief Pitcher
Age 24
2025 SSS Top Prospect Vote Ranking 19
2025 high level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -4.3 years
Overall 2025 stats (Rookie/AAA) 3-3▪️ 1 SV ▪️ 37 games (5 starts, 9 finishes) ▪️ 48 IP ▪️ 7.13 ERA ▪️ 50 K ▪️ 37 BB ▪️ 1.917 WHIP ▪️ -0.8 WAR

The 2025 season was an utter disaster for Iriarte, who went from prospective South Side rotation member to lost in space. The righty, who made his brief debut in the majors in 2024, both lost the plate and misplaced his strikeout power. The Brian Bannister Pitching Lab has its work cut out here, for sure.

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Javier Mogollón
Shortstop
Age 20
2025 high level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level -1.4 years
Overall 2025 stats 51 games ▪️ 5 HR ▪️ 19 RBI ▪️ .220/.347/.387 ▪️ 15-of-21 (71.4%) SB ▪️ 30 BB ▪️ 56 K ▪️ .971 FLD%▪️ 1.0 WAR

An ascending star just one year ago, we have to tap the breaks a bit on Mogollón after a lackluster first full season of minors ball. While still young for his level and managing to keep his head above water in a new league every season of his career, Mogollón’s undeniable hitting in Rookie ball fell off significantly with the Cannon Ballers. However, how much of that was due to battling injury is undetermined, as Mogollón was shelved for what turned out to be the season on July 2.

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Yobal Rodriguez
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age18
2025 high levelDSL White Sox (Rookie)
Age relative to high level -1.5 years
Overall 2025 stats0-3 ▪️ 13 games (10 starts) ▪️ 30 1/3 IP ▪️2.97 ERA ▪️ 33 K ▪️ 13 BB ▪️ 1.022 WHIP ▪️ 1.2 WAR

Rodriguez is a rare DSL pitcher, not for his relatively light innings load, but as a primary starter — and at just 17 years old (Yobal turns 18 on February 9). Inasmuch as it’s tough to project anyone out of the DSL, especially pitchers, you could hardly have hoped for more from him in his pro debut.

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Colby Shelton
Shortstop
Age 23
2025 high level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level +1.6 years
Overall 2025 NCAA stats 45 games ▪️ 7 HR ▪️ 35 RBI ▪️ .377/.458/.606 ▪️ 6-of-9 (66.7%) SB ▪️ 21 BB ▪️ 24 K ▪️ 2.7 WAR

Shelton is more of a slugger than a speedster, with the usual caveats about whether he will stick at shortstop. His credentials are impressive, playing full-time in the SEC in all three of his college years (one at Alabama, two with Georgia). Given the crowded field for the White Sox at shortstop, Shelton’s defensive ability will mean very little provided he can keep clubbing.

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Past South Side Sox Prospect votes

• Here is how 2018 wrangled out — all 42 picks. Also, here is an archive of every article in the 2018 series.
• Here is how 2019 came together, all 50 picks, and the archive as well.
• Now 2020, with the archive.
• Here is the 2021 wrap-up of just 35 picks due to flagging participation, along with the full archive.
• Here is the 2022 link to the 27-pick wrap, along with the full archive.
• Round 24 of voting was the last of 2023 (we did not do an actual wrap for the voting, but Jordan Sprinkle ended up being our final pick), and the full archive.
• In 2024 Abraham Núñez was our 34th pick to end the series, and here is the wrap-up post and full archive of each profile.
• And last year, we did 31 picks, ending with Eric Adler. Here is the wrap and full stream, of every article.

Good Morning Birdland,

It is getting increasingly difficult to write these opening thoughts to the Bird Droppings while the Orioles make no roster moves of note. There has been zero significant movement in quite a while.

In case you have missed the last…uh…five months (?), the Orioles still want to sign a “frontline” pitcher. They have been linked to every viable free agent you can think of. Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, Lucas Giolito, Zac Gallen. Yep. All of them. Nothing has changed there in a long time.

Looking at the roster, they need bullpen help too. But there is even less noise there. In fact, it has been silent. Mike Elias added Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Helsley a few months back, and then hunkered down. The best guess is they will add some fringier arms on minor league deals with spring invites, and then they will pick up some scraps as teams cut their “extras” throughout February and March. Bullpen heros can come from unexpected places, but you would like to have a bit more certainty.

The position player groups seem set. At least to begin the spring. No trade of Coby Mayo or Ryan Mountcastle is imminent. The 40-man roster has no true utility man on it. They did just add Bryan Ramos as a potential bench option, but almost all of his experience as a pro has come at third base, so he’s not the most versatile. Colton Cowser is lining up to be the center fielder most days with Leody Taveras in tow to spell him on occasion.

The pieces are not fitting together perfectly. But they don’t have to. Elias has made it clear that he wants to build redundancies into the squad so that an injury here or there doesn’t derail the season. Players can be optioned to Triple-A if they see fit. That includes Mayo and Jackson among others. In a 162-game season, players that begin the year in Norfolk are still likely to get their big league chance. That’s the theory anyway.

Links

Kyle Bradish beats Orioles in arbitration, will get $3.55M in ’26 | ESPN
The Orioles and Bradish filed at numbers that were $675,000 apart. It would have been nice to see the two sides come to agreement rather than going through the arbitration process. It’s pretty common for the experience to sour a player’s view of their organization. If healthy, Bradish is a player that is probably going to be pretty important to this team for a few more years, at least. It would be best to keep him in good spirits. But it’s a business. I know, I know.

Orioles 2026 minor league coaching staffs announced | On The Verge
This is a great, simple and contextual look at the changes made at each of the levels going into 2026. I do not personally know enough about minor league coaches to really have an opinion. But it doesn’t seem like the Orioles did much of an overhaul here, so they must be happy with the general direction of player development.

Gunnar Henderson is one of the fastest players in MLB. He spent the offseason working to get faster. | The Baltimore Banner
Best. Shape. Of. His. Life! OK, no one actually claimed that in the article, and it was interesting to read about the sort of stuff Henderson is focused on. He is aware of how big he is, and the way in which that can work against him as he ages. These sorts of drills aim to to hold onto that foot speed and athleticism for as long as possible.

What to expect at Orioles spring training | Roch Kubatko
Maybe it has been this stretch of ridiculously cold weather around Baltimore, or perhaps the team has just made some genuinely exciting moves this offseason, but I am more excited for spring training than I have been in a few years. Man, it is really gonna hurt if/when this team falls apart.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

February 4 is bereft of former Orioles player birthdays, but some of the non-baseball people celebrating today are former Vice President Dan Quayle (b. 1947), rock star Alice Cooper (b. 1948), actor Rob Corddry (b. 1971), former boxer Oscar De La Hoya (b. 1973), and comedian Hannibal Buress (b. 1983).

This day in O’s history

2011 – The Orioles sign Vladimir Guerrero to a one-year deal. It would prove to be the final season of his Hall-of-Fame career. Over 145 games with the O’s, Guerrero will hit .290/.317/.416 with 13 home runs and a 98 OPS+.

Phillies News

• Daniel Robert is back! The sweeper boy signed a minor league deal with the Phillies.
• Yesterday was truck day and they uploaded photos to their website.

MLB News

• Diamondbacks signed Carlos Santana to play first base.
• Jeimer Candelario signed a minor league deal with the Angels.
• Remember when Valente Bellozo pitched 7 shutout innings against the Phillies in 2024? He signed a minor league deal with the Rockies.

It’s time for one of our favorite annual traditions: going through the list of Mariners non-roster invites and spending entirely too much electronic ink on a lot of guys who will never suit up for the Mariners this season.

Left-Handed Pitchers:

Kade Anderson

Making one of the most highly anticipated organizational debuts in recent Mariner memory, Anderson jumps straight from the College World Series to big league Spring Training with the hopes of proving to the world his dominance will translate at the next level. Having reportedly gained considerable strength over the course of the offseason, Anderson will look to show off his polished four pitch mix with some extra oomph behind it, hopefully continuing his run of dominance from last year into his first taste of game action as a professional. – ME

Austin Kitchen

The Kitchen is open once again for the Mariners, who brought back the six-foot lefty on a minors deal for another year thanks to intriguing characteristics such as “throw baseball with left hand.” A true crafty lefty reliever, Kitchen makes his 91 mph heater work for him with the old fastball-up/sinker-down while mixing in a sweeper, changeup, and curve (in that order of preference) to generate ground-ball outs and weak contact rather than strikeouts. He doesn’t strike people out, but he also doesn’t walk them, making him one of my preferred fringe relievers to watch in the late innings of a spring training game. -KP

Right-handed pitchers:

Charlie Beilenson 

After a dominant start at Everett this year, the Mariners jumped the 2024 fifth-rounder to Double-A, where he continued to show himself to be absolutely allergic to issuing free passes. The six foot Beilenson is athletic on the mound and features a Sewald-esque release point. He’s not a hard thrower, with a fastball around 94, but he’s able to get swing and miss on the pitch due to its rise and he pairs that with a sharp slider and a changeup that also elicits whiffs. Beilenson won organizational Reliever of the Month honors in June after contributing to a combined no-hitter in Everett. Fun fact about Beilenson: he’s eligible for three countries in the WBC (USA, New Zealand, Israel). Keep an eye on Beilenson as a dark horse to crack the bullpen at some point this season. -KP

Tyler Cleveland

There’s been a tremendous dearth of weird in the Mariners bullpen for a while now, and Tyler Cleveland is looking to change that. Though “The Pile” has never been as exciting as it is at present, Cleveland’s submarine release and funky arsenal will pose a legitimate threat to break into the Mariner ‘pen this season. Dominating the minor leagues to the tune of a 0.87 ERA last season, Mariner fans should get acquainted with perhaps the best 87 mph sinker they’ll see all year. – ME

Nick Davila

The Mariners re-signed Davila, 27, to a minor-league contract this off-season with an invitation to spring training, which is why he’s here. Davila is more of a contact manager than a strikeout artist, a tough fit as a reliever; he also got a little walk-happy in Arkansas this year, which is a problem that will have to be tamped down. -KP

Randy Dobnak

It has been quite the arc for Dobnak – going undrafted in college, he signed with the Twins in 2017 off of YouTube videos of his outings for a shiny $500, and quickly rose through the ranks of the Minors, debuting in 2019 with a scintillating 2.90 FIP over 28.1 innings. On the back of a solid 2020, Minnesota signed him to a unique five-year, $9.25 million extension with club options and escalators galore. Sadly, injuries wreaked havoc on him – after 50.1 tough innings in 2021, Dobnak has appeared in just six Major League games since then, but with his low arm angle and sinker/slider pitch mix, it’s easy to understand why the M’s are bringing him aboard. He’ll serve as starting pitching depth in Tacoma, and I, for one, will be rooting for a fellow Old School RuneScaper’s success. -CD

Dane Dunning 

Hey baby, I heard you like depth. How about depth and upside? How about depth, and upside, and prospect pedigree paired with big league experience? How about depth, upside, prospect pedigree, big league experience and rec specs? Have yourself a Dane Dunning, sweetheart. You deserve it. Seattle signed him as a free agent in January to nonexistent enthusiasm, save for Mikey Ajeto and Isabelle Minasian. Do with that combination what you will. A former first round pick, he won a World Series ring with the Rangers in 2023 and, like so many on that team, ‘23 was a career year for Dunning with 172 innings pitched (most as a starter), a 3.70 ERA and career-high strikeouts. It’s been downhill ever since, to the point where the Rangers traded him to Atlanta mid-season last year and they moved him into the bullpen fulltime. He’s a weird throwback of a pitcher; a glacially slow right-hander who survives by dipping into a bulging bag of tricks (pitch mix), but he’s been working out with Tread and is seemingly back up to his 2023 velo on his sinker (his best/most utilized pitch). I’m curious to see if they’ll tag him for long relief or, in light of the Logan Evans news, run him out again as a starter. I’ll be rooting for him either way. – IM

Casey Lawrence

Updating from last year: When the 2097 Western Landmass QA1 MechaMariners show up to colonized Mars for spring training, Jacob Nottingham Casey Lawrence will somehow still get an invite. -KP

Teddy McGraw

It’s only 30 minutes from Cooperstown’s Main Street to Oneonta. Home to the Southside Mall, the nearest movie theater, a beloved indie bookstore and a deli that’s a front for a cult, Oneonta is where you go if you’re living in Cooperstown and need (crave?) that unreplicable strip mall feeling. I’m being rude. It’s also home to Oneonta High School, which produced one of my favorite humans of all time, and also Teddy McGraw. A third round pick out of Wake Forest in the 2023 draft, McGraw has a tantalizing fastball (two-seam) and devastating slider but is also a two-time Tommy John surgery recipient plagued by injuries (anyone getting hints of eau de Woo, or is that just me?). When he’s healthy, he has some of the best stuff in the system (Max Ellingsen says so). Questions remain whether they’ll keep him as a starter, or attempt to preempt injury by moving him to the bullpen. – IM

P.S. Yes, his dad is Tim McGraw.

P.P.S. No, not that Tim McGraw.

Michael Morales

Every day, you sit on the riverside, one rock among a hundred thousand hundred thousand. Deer amble up to the water’s edge, nudging some of your older compatriots into the water with their light-stepping hooves. Lizards crawl upon others, basking in the sunlight briefly before scuttling off. Your exterior grows mossy as a storm rolls in, sending gales through the forest and crashing a mighty pine down upon the bed of you and your ancient companions. The river is diverted, flowing over you directly for the first time since the dinosaurs roamed. As the water courses faster you are jostled free at last, turned for the first time to glimpse your still-dry neighbor. It is Michael Morales, resolute and unchanged as the day he was formed. —JT

Gabe Mosser

Signed as a minor league free agent, Mosser is now 29 after being in the Padres’ and Phillies’ systems since he was a 27th-round pick in 2018. In all that time, he’s never posted an ERA below 4 in a stop of more than 30 innings. As happens for a lot of pitchers nearing the end of the line, he started playing with a knuckleball last year as a Hail Mary. So while I have very little expectation that he’ll be a meaningful contribution to the 2026 Mariners, I’ll definitely pay attention when he’s on the mound this spring just for the show. – ZAM

Michael Rucker

One day after the Mariners signed Michael Rucker (an extremely popular time to be born, shoutout to commenter Lou Seal), I turned 31. If I was a horse and I got a small stomachache now, they would shoot me. If I was a professional baseball player, they wouldn’t shoot me (yet), but they would sit me down in an upholstered rocking chair, hand me a thick glass of Ovaltine, laced with Ensure and ground up Benadryl, and speak patronizingly to me. I’m exaggerating. A little bit. Unfortunately for Rucker, I am not exaggerating enough. Currently 31, but playing in his age 32 season, the right-hander has amassed 123 innings in relief at the big league level (all for the Cubs), but did not play in organized baseball in 2025 after electing free agency in November 2024. An Auburn Riverside grad and one-time Gonzaga bulldog, this signing reeks of Tacoma depth. Or maybe I’m just losing my sense of smell in my old age. – IM

Ryan Sloan

I love trains. Gigantic, industrial locomotives? They get everything we want and need from here to there, while providing young artists a canvas and night owls distant ambiance and companionship. Slick, modern high speed rail? Don’t mind if I do spend my commute playing my Switch, reading a book, scrolling the articles  comments of lookoutlanding.com. But if there is one train that puts my nerves on edge, it is the mighty, mercurial hype train. There is, in the most literal sense, nothing wrong with Sloan. Instinctive and industrious, Sloan’s debut season has him now as the most tantalizing M’s prep pitcher since Taijuan Walker. I strongly recommend reading some scouting reports on Walker at the time of his call-up if that seems like damning with faint praise. I’ll be surprised if Sloan gets significant play in main field games this spring, given how cautious the club was with him a season ago, but this is one of the most impressive young pitchers I’ve seen. Choo choo. –JT

Guillo Zuñiga

The scandal that got the newest writer for Baseball America banned for life from MLB employment changed the trajectory of a young Colombian flamethrower. Instead of Atlanta, Zuñiga inked a deal with the Dodgers, creeping his way up the ranks with peripherals that always seemed to outpace his results. Minor league free agency placed Zuñiga in the system of St. Louis, then later Anaheim, Philadelphia, and eventually Seattle. Triple-A will be the destination all but assuredly for a fourth straight season, seeking for the first time an ERA starting with a number less than 5. Increasingly groundball-enticing, the 27 year old will be looking to add to a big league tenure featuring 19.2 frames he’d like another go at. There’s not much… deception in Zuñiga’s snub-nosed delivery, but a shuffled pitch mix might make a difference. –JT

Infielders:

Michael Arroyo

A prospect frequently overshadowed by the likes of Colt Emerson, Arroyo has a legitimate chance to become a big leaguer during the 2026 season. With rumblings of a potential position change to left field, the now infielder brings an incredibly polished offensive profile to the table and has the looks of a bat-first run producer despite his shorter, stockier frame. The defense will be something to watch for over the course of Spring Training; if he can find a natural home somewhere on the diamond, Arroyo would immediately put himself on the big league radar. – ME

Colt Emerson

I have been big in on Colt Emerson for a long time, but spending time with him this past week at FanFest has absolutely turned me into a Colt Truther. It’s a wild comparison, but Colt reminds me a lot of Cal Raleigh as a prospect – someone whose hype doesn’t seem to match up with his performance in the minors. I think Colt, like Cole Young before him, suffers a little from the curse of the “well-rounded”: he doesn’t have the kind of flashy skills that inspire breathless social media posts; he just does everything really, really well. Perry Hill absolutely loves his defense, which kind of tells you all you need to know about it: it’s foundationally sound, mechanically clean, and looks effortless. After watching video back from last spring training, he added a toe tap this past season (more on this later) that’s helped him damage elite velocity better and after a rough adjustment period at Double-A, solved a lot of his own problems. We love a learner around here, and we love Colt Emerson. -KP

Brock Rodden

A fifth round pick in 2023, Rodden won that year’s Dominate the Zone competition, winning him an NRI invite to Spring Training in 2024. A strong season then earned a spot on his own merit last year. But every rocket needs a countdown, and multiple injuries kept resetting the Brocket Ship’s clock in 2025. He looked fine over 163 PAs with neither the atypically high BABIP or high strikeout rate being concerning over a sample that small. He’s looking to get back on track and earn a 40-man spot before he’s Rule 5 eligible this coming offseason. – ZAM

Carson Taylor

Perhaps lost in the shuffle after the Mariners re-signed Josh Naylor to ignite the Hot Stove, the Mariners picked up Taylor in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 Draft that closes up the annual Winter Meetings. Taylor, 26, was drafted out of Virginia Tech by the Dodgers in 2020, which gives him at least two characteristics desired by the Mariners (they love their Old Dominion-area prospects). A third characteristic emerges: Taylor walks a lot, doesn’t strike out excessively, and has some pop, although maybe not quite as much as you’d want in a first baseman. He’s here to fill the Tyler Locklear-shaped hole in your heart, albeit imperfectly. -KP

Will Wilson

Confession: I saved Will Wilson for last, and really intended to mail this wee blurb in. Unfortunately for my sleep schedule, but perhaps fortunately for the Mariners, Wilson doesn’t deserve that. The vaunted minds at r/ClevelandGuardians are split on him; some are thrilled he’s gone, others fear he may depart and become the next Ernie Clement. I suppose that’s the respect you get when you’re a former first round pick once cited as one of the top prospects in the draft, but also struck out 37.4% of the time in 91 plate appearances alongside a .051 ISO. He’s utility-ish; interesting-ish. I guess. – IM

Patrick Wisdom

Marco Gonzales’s BFF is back for another ride. The 34-year-old spent last season with the Kia Tigers, who are like the Yankees of the KBO, and proved that three true outcomes persist from Gwinnett to Gwangju. He did bash 35 homers, so if you’re at any games he’s playing in this spring, stake out a good spot on the berm. -KP

Outfielders:

Brennen Davis

Davis was a second round pick by the Cubs way back in 2018 and made it as high as 25 on Fangraphs’ top 100 prospects list in 2022. But he’s yet to make his MLB debut as injuries have derailed his minor league career. His Prospect Savant page is rather impressive. He makes a ton of hard contact and was the top player in AAA in pulling the ball in the air. But he’s also shown high chase and whiff rates that limit whatever projection remains. Every once in a while a guy like this figures it out… -RB

Jonny Farmelo

Raise your hand if you are super excited to watch a healthy Farmelo tear it up at spring training this year. Every hand should be up. Farmelo has one of the most tantalizing skillsets in the system, true five-tool potential, and this year could be the year he launches himself into one of the best prospects in baseball. Get your seat on the Melo Wagon early. -KP

My hand is up! My hand is so high up! It is also up in a way that gives ample space to Farmelo, so as not to create a raucous breeze that might unloose a garage sale flyer, that might tumble in the air towards him, that he might reach out to catch (Jonny Farmelo Hates Littering), that might give him a paper cut, that might become mysteriously infected, that might lay him up for 6-8 weeks or necessitate the amputation of his hand. – IM

Victor Labrada

Minor league aficionados will no doubt recognize Victor Labrada’s name, and the lefty outfielder has earned his first big league spring training invite since signing out of Cuba prior to the 2021 season. On the back of a high-walk, low-strikeout, low-power profile at the plate, Labrada has steadily climbed through each level of the Minors, getting his first taste of Triple-A last season. He also brings blazing speed to the table, swiping a combined 44 bases last year and 49 in 2024. While he can cover center field in a pinch, he’s more suited in a corner, getting the bulk of his time in Double-A and Triple-A last year in left field. Labrada is pretty far down the depth chart of Seattle’s outfielders and will be playing in his age-26 season, but if he can unlock a bit more game power, he could be an option the Mariners turn to if need be. -CD

Lazaro Montes

The haters will tell you that Montes’s poor contact metrics mean his prospect arrow is pointing down. The haters will tell you the swing and miss in his profile will keep him from getting to his 70 grade power. The haters will tell you his barely-passable defense in a corner spot limits him to a DH role in the bigs. The haters will become the waiters at Montes’s table of success, except not really because he’s such a nice guy he’d invite anyone to sit down and insist on serving them himself. -KP

Spencer Packard

Another spring, another year of writing about NRI invite Spencer Packard. Packard, now 28, has crossed the line from “older prospect” to “MiLB journeyman” and the hopes for a Ty France-type power breakout are starting to dim. Like France, Packard has never posted a minor-league wRC+ of below 100, thanks to a bone-deep unwillingness to expand the zone. Unlike France, Packard hasn’t come near a 20-homer campaign despite playing in some of the same bounce houses of the PCL. With little to offer defensively (he is an OFINO), there has to be some bump in the power production to find a way onto a big-league roster…at least, Seattle’s. -KP

Jared Sundstrom

Gualala, California is one of the most beautiful little enclaves in one of the most beautiful parts of the state. It’s a pass through for most pursuing the idylls of Mendocino county, with under 3,000 residents and nominal tourist draws. There’s rugged coast, and towering redwoods, and a river slicing through it all; it is the very best of the Northern California coast. Jared Sundstrom probably will not be the very best of the Mariners’ Spring Training, but he is also not tiny like his hometown. A veritable tank of an outfielder with the commensurate power and athleticism, the former Gaucho’s primary dings are his age and some mixed sentiments on plate discipline. If you’re on the backfields of Peoria and you watch a ball sail up, up, up, up and away, it just might be courtesy of Sundo. – IM

Utility:

Blake Rambusch

Leo Rivas should sue Rambusch for IP theft. The 26 year old will be in line for his first taste of Triple-A this year, in what could be a lengthy lid on his career unless the pint-size utility-man can unlock any power or truly blow things out of the water in another realm of the game. Rambusch’s last home run came in High-A Everett at the age of 23… in August of 2023. He’s missed bits of time in 2024 and 2025, but that’s over 170 games without leaving the yard. The hard-running Auburn University product is a menace on the bases and walks frequently, like Litleo, but a lot of folks hit in the minors like this and get bowled over in the bigs. It’s hard to make it work, and Rambusch will have to conquer Tacoma to get a chance to try. –JT

Catchers:

Josh Caron

After a strong debut run with the championship Nuts that had him ranked in our 2025 preseason Top 20, Caron took a huge step back at Everett this year. His calling card is his big right-handed power, but he didn’t even muster double-digit home runs in the friendly parks of the Northwest League. Meanwhile, his aggressive approach at the plate was exposed by A-ball pitchers, leading to him striking out just under a third of the time. Caron’s strength at present is his skill behind the dish, where he’s a good receiver and leader of a pitching staff, which earned him an NRI invite. ABC, Always Be Catching. -KP

Connor Charping

As a catcher, Charping would have been a lock to be invited to spring training anyway, but he also likely would have gotten there as a reward for the “control the zone” contest, coming very close to walking more than he struck out this year at AA. He also hit .300, although it’s a fairly empty .300; he’s hit all of two homers over his pro career since signing as an UDFA in July of 2022. Still, shiny number is shiny number, and ability to catch even at a basic level only burnishes it further–although his caught stealing numbers in Arkansas are pretty brutal this year (which might not be his fault! As is anything, it takes two.). -KP

Brian O’Keefe

Oh hey, it’s that guy, he’s back! -RB

Brian O’Keefe is 32. How have his knees not sued him for an OSHA violation yet? -KP

Nick Raposo

Nick Raposo returns to the Mariners after signing as a minor-league free agent last season. After a couple underwhelming turns at Triple-A, the Mariners let him get his feet under him as the primary catcher for the Arkansas Travelers this past season; he’ll compete for a job in Tacoma, and hopefully not anything more than that, this spring. -KP

Jakson Reetz

Someone asked me recently how I choose which 40 in 40s I write. “Why honey,” I replied, ignoring their mild alarm at the sudden emergence of a 1920s Hollywood starlet drawl and batting my eyelashes furiously. “I choose my 40 in 40s like I pick my NRIs. The less I know about them, the better.” Mouth ajar, I wink cartoonishly and take a hearty puff off my cigarette holder (the table’s butter knife). They look on, aghast. 

(Jakson Reetz is a 30-year-old catcher drafted out of high school in 2014 with 17 big league plate appearances. As of this writing (8:43 p.m. on Tuesday, February 3 (sorry Kate)), Baseball Reference has his 2026 contract status as “Not Updated” and not his transaction section ends with being granted free agency in November 2025.) – IM

Luke Stevenson

A power-over-contact catcher from an ACC school? It worked the last time the Mariners tried! Stevenson spent 100 PAs destroying Modesto to the tune of a 154 wRC+ while walking more than he struck out. And he gets good reports on his receiving too. Catchers are hard to project because they have so much growth to do, but all arrows are pointing up for Stevenson since the Draft. In a system without a lot of guys in the middle tier, Stevenson’s one to watch. – ZAM

Just a few short weeks ago, 18-year-old Brewers left-handed pitching prospect Frank Cairone was hit head-on by a vehicle that ran a stop sign in his home state of New Jersey. Cairone was airlifted to a hospital where he was treated for serious injuries.

The road to recovery seemed like it could be very long, but thankfully, he seems to be progressing down that road. On Tuesday, Cairone posted a video of himself lightly tossing a baseball against a wall, signifying he’s progressed enough for some light baseball activities.

🚨 He’s back! 🚨

Great to see LHP Frank Cairone back to light baseball activities!@frank_cairone@The_BPCsj@Mass_Haas#Brewers#BrewersFarm#ThisIsMyCrewpic.twitter.com/zdaGAzUFvU

— Brewers Farm (@thebrewersfarm) February 3, 2026

While there’s clearly still a ways to go until Cairone is ready for game action, considering where he was just a few weeks ago, this is tremendous news.

The full extent of Cairone’s injuries haven’t been made publicly known. The Brewers issued a statement at the time of the car crash, but there’s been no official word on just what all he’s gone through in the aftermath of the accident.

It’s unknown just how long he’ll be out of action, and it’s unlikely we’ll get any answers on that until he makes his way down to American Family Fields of Phoenix for spring training. Pitchers and catchers are due to report next week, but given Cairone’s circumstances, his arrival could be delayed.

The Brewers drafted Cairone with the No. 68 overall pick in the 2025 Draft out of Delsea Regional HS in New Jersey. They signed him away from a Coastal Carolina commitment with a $1.1 million signing bonus. Cairone joined the list of young, projectable, high-upside pitchers that the Brewers have added to their farm system in recent years.

Once Cairone is healthy enough to pitch this season, he’s likely to make his professional debut and start the year with the Arizona Complex League Brewers and ultimately spend time with the Low-A Wilson Warbirds.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths.

“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire.

Happy Birthday, Dan Plesac, and other stories.

Today in baseball history:

• 1882 – National League players are now responsible for carrying their own bats and uniforms on road trips. They are also required to purchase and keep clean two complete uniforms, including the white linen ties to be worn on the field at all times. (2)
• 1893 – The first recorded version of Casey at the Bat, as recited by Russell Hunting, hits the music charts. DeWolf Hopper’s more famous version will not be released until October. (2)
• 1956 – The Major Leagues vote to establish the Cy Young Memorial Award for the outstanding pitcher of the year. At first, there will be one award for both major leagues. (2)
• 1956 – The American League says it will test the automatic intentional walk during spring training. However, it will not be adopted in the majors until 2017. (1,2)
• 1971 – Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announces former Negro League players will have a separate wing in the Hall of Fame. Due to the controversy the announcement causes, it is decided inclusion in regular Hall of Fame is more fitting and more of an honor for the black former players. (2)
• 2005 – Needing to fill the void created by the departure of Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou, the Chicago Cubs avoid arbitration and sign Aramis Ramirez to a $8.95 million, one-year contract. Ramirez, who hit .318 with 36 home runs and 103 RBI in 2004, established club records for a third baseman. (2)

Cubs Birthdays:Germany Schaefer, Doc Miller, Pat Perry, Dan Plesac*.

Today in History:

• 960 – Coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of the Song initiates three centuries of Song Dynasty dominance in southern China.
• 1789 – First US Electoral College chooses George Washington as President and John Adams as Vice President.
• 1931 – National League adopts a deader baseball.
• 1952 – Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American executive of a major US TV and radio station as Director of Community Activities at radio WNBC and TV station WNBT in New York.
• 1968 – Bowie Kuhn replaces William Eckert as 5th commissioner of Major League Baseball.

Common sources:

• (1) — Today in Baseball History.
• (2) — Baseball Reference.
• (3) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (4) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
• (5) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
• (6) — Wikipedia.
• (7) — The British Museum
• (8) — For world history.

*pictured.

Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, in order to help correct the record.

1922
The White Sox purchased right-handed reliever José Acosta from the Washington Senators. Acosta, born in La Habana in 1891, was the 33rd Cuban player in major league history and the first ever to play for the White Sox.

Acosta went 0-2 with an 8.40 ERA and -0.4 over five games for the 1922 White Sox. He would pitch for six more years, until age 38, finishing with 195 professional wins across MLB, the minors and foreign leagues.

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1971
Another year … another Acosta?

The White Sox purchased pitcher Cecilio “Cy” Acosta from the Mexican League — no doubt aided by White Sox legend Minnie Miñoso, who was then a player-manager for Acosta’s Jalisco club.

Acosta’s U.S. debut came that summer, in 24 games for the Triple-A Tucson Toros, struggling with the transition to the upper minors by logging a 5.27 ERA. However, that was his last unsightly season in the White Sox organization, as Acosta was almost unbelievably good in a short career with the White Sox. The righthander compiled a 153 ERA+ and 5.7 WAR in just 186 innings from 1972-74, including the (tied for) sixth-best relief season in White Sox history (4.1 WAR in 1973). Acosta was sold to Philadelphia for the 1974 season and pitched in just six more games in his MLB career.

Acosta also was the first AL pitcher to bat after the institution of the DH rule, striking out in Dick Allen’s place on June 20, 1973.

Before and after his MLB stint, Acosta was a Mexican League stalwart. He pitched 17 seasons (1968-71, 1975-86), going 122-137 with a 3.42 ERA. He was elected to the Salón de la Fama de Beisbol (Hall of Fame) in Monterrey, Nueva León in Mexico in 2005.

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1985
Chicago native and Niles prep school product Greg Luzinski, who signed with the White Sox in 1981 and revitalized his career in the DH spot, retired.

Luzinski was dumped at the end of Spring Training 1981 by his lifelong franchise, the Philadelphia Phillies — and the White Sox were all too happy to snap him up. “Bull” hit the ground running, clubbing his way through the strike-shortened 1981 campaign well enough to pile up 21 homers, 68 RBIs, an .841 OPS and a 23rd-place finish in MVP voting. He was every bit as good in 1982, and then had his best traditional-stats season for the White Sox in 1983 (32 homers, 95 RBIs, .854 OPS, 17th in MVP voting) and helped push the South Siders to 99 wins.

Among many White Sox to take a step back in 1984, Luzinski was as bad as any, dropping from 2.3 WAR to -0.3, and an 89 OPS+ that was by far the worst of his career. Thus, the Bull hung up his spikes, winding up his career with 307 homers and a 130 OPS+. Per JAWS, Luzinski remains the 91st best left fielder in major league history. And coincidentally, Luzinski’s closest similarity scores are of two former White Sox: Roy Sievers (94.3%) and Jermaine Dye (93.6%).

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1990
Two former White Sox factor into the first and only championship of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. Both Lamar Johnson and Steve Kemp homered in a 12-4 win for the St. Petersburg Pelicans over the West Palm Beach Tropics. Johnson had three RBIs in the game and was named the Star of Stars for the game.

The league lost four teams in Florida for the 1990-91 season and added two in Arizona, with the league schedule shortening from 72 to 56 games. On December 28, it folded and did not re-form for 1991-92.

Congratulations to Carlos Santana on finding a team for the 2026 season.

The Diamondbacks will be his 9th team, which is crazy for a guy who has spent 11 years with one of those.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers showed off just how full their free agency haul has gotten, by DFAing one of the guys they signed this offseason.

The rest of baseball really needs to wake up. Presumably LA will start adding depth by giving out MILB contracts that are $1M+.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are going into the 2026 MLB season with a lot of optimism, largely in part due to an improving star pitcher in Paul Skenes and an offense that projects to be better than it was a year ago.

Trading for Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brandon Lowe and signing Ryan O’Hearn in free agency gives the Pirates reason to be hopeful when it comes to the offense, but there is a possibility that these offensive upgrades just aren’t enough.

The Pirates know that they are entering a potential contending window with Skenes approaching the prime of his career. Once they have No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin coming up, the Pirates will have the foundation for a true contender. However, there is a legitimate possibility that it all falls apart like it has in the past.

Gerrit Cole comes to mind when looking at a premier Pirates pitching prospect that was traded because the team couldn’t build a contender around him. The Pirates need to do everything in their power to ensure that Skenes doesn’t become the next iteration of Cole.

The moves this offseason indicate that the Pirates are committed to turning things around and trying to build a contender around Skenes. It isn’t something that can be built overnight, and the team still has several years of control when it comes to his contract. So, there is no immediate need for this trade to happen.

It’s something to think about in the back of the mind, but with Skenes under team control until 2029, the Pirates will only hear the noise get louder if the team doesn’t start winning more.

Continuing our February Daily Question series, we’re beginning today’s conversation with the question, “What is the thing you’re afraid to say out loud about this team?”

For the third consecutive offseason, the Brewers have swapped one of their key pitchers (Corbin Burnes in February 2024, Devin Williams in December 2024, Freddy Peralta this January) to reload with young players. This time it came in the form of Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams, two of the team’s top prospects entering the year.

Beyond that obvious major change, this squad isn’t much different from the one that finished in first place in the NL Central with 97 wins last season. Brandon Woodruff is back as is most of the rest of the pitching staff. Isaac Collins and Nick Mears are now with the Royals, but the Brewers added another lefty arm in the form of Ángel Zerpa. Akil Baddoo adds some further depth to the outfield, while catcher Reese McGuire will compete with Jeferson Quero for the backup job.

But what is the thing you’re scared to say about this team?

Weigh in in the comments, and join us throughout the month as we keep these conversations rolling into spring training. Have a question you’d like to ask in a future BCB Daily Question? Drop one in the comments and we may use it later this month.

Welcome to Wednesday. The Yankees’ pitchers and catchers will officially report to spring training a week from today! Hurrah. There’s not much else going on though, so we’ll get into today’s discussion prompt.

The Yankees have won 27 championships of course, but there have still been plenty of seasons that ended with frustrating results. Here’s just a smattering that come to mind:

• The 1960 Yanks bludgeoned the Pirates in the World Series in terms of run differential; it didn’t matter when they lost in seven games on Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off bomb.
• Prior to their long playoff drought, the 1980 and 1981 Yanks saw their seasons ended by two postseason opponents from the previous decade who flipped the script (the Royals and Dodgers).
• The 1985 Yanks won 97 games in Don Mattingly’s MVP season and Rickey Henderson’s superb New York debut, but missed the playoffs since the Wild Card did not yet exist and Toronto beat them out for the AL East.
• No AL team had a better record in mid-August of 1994 than the ascendant Yankees. A labor dispute cut the season short on August 11th and the World Series was cancelled. Fans never got to know if this Mattingly team would have gotten him to that Fall Classic.
• The Yanks did return to the playoffs at last in 1995, but after jumping out to a 2-0 series lead over the Mariners, they lost three in a row in Seattle to get eliminated with Edgar Martinez delivering a dagger of a double for the final walk-off blow. David Cone still curses the Kingdome.
• Can one really complain after a three-peat dynasty finally ends in 2001? Well, despite some downright thrilling playoff heroics in wake of 9/11, it did end in brutal fashion thanks to a shocking Mariano Rivera blown save that featured bad defense, an inexplicable Tony Womack double, and Luis Gonzalez winning the World Series for Arizona on a bloop to shortstop with the infield in.
• The 2003 Yanks might have been the best team in franchise history to not win a World Series. They won a playoff series for the ages too, as an ALCS Game 7 rally off Pedro Martinez and Aaron Boone’s walk-off homer created an all-time moment. Instead of riding that wave to a championship, they got clowned by the Marlins of all teams in a six-game World Series loss that ended in Josh Beckett’s Yankee Stadium shutout.
• 2004. There have been 10,000 sports documentaries about this one, and they’re still being churned out. NEXT.
• Although the Yankees had four deeply frustrating first-round exits during the first decade of this century, 2006 might take the cake. The Tigers had stumbled badly down the stretch to squander their 10-game AL Central lead and fall into a Wild Card spot. The Yankees were “Murderers’ Row and Canó,” in the words of Detroit skipper Jim Leyland. Guess which one of these teams fell apart in the ALDS?
• The Yankees’ post-Derek Jeter youth movement hit the jackpot in 2017 with rookie Aaron Judge suddenly turning into a 50-homer MVP candidate. This popular team went from low preseason expectations all the way to Game 7 of the ALCS, which they lost to an Astros club that soon became infamous.
• Take your pick from the Aaron Boone Era. 2019, when the 103-win “Next Man Up” Yanks went down in the flames to the Astros in the ALCS again, this time in Jose Altuve walk-off fashion? 2022, when another ALCS rematch with Houston ended in a thoroughly uncompetitive sweep? Or perhaps 2024, when one year of Juan Soto got New York back to the Fall Classic, but a previously supernova Judge went cold in October and the World Series against the Dodgers was lost with questionable managing and awful Game 5 defense?

The contenders are fierce. My old colleague Greg Kirkland always pointed to ’94 due to never getting to find out the true ending for what that team deserved. I was too young for that, but I think that’s entirely fair. Among the teams I watched most closely, 2001 was the most heartbreaking and 2004 the most embarrassing — though boy did the very end of 2024 give that a run for its money. What about you?

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Today on the site, we’ll have two particular articles that will work in tandem with each other about a contentious topic at the moment: the Yankees’ bullpen. Andrés will take the optimistic view and argue why this group is being overlooked and could turn out to be quite good, while Jeff will be the opposition and detail why it’s a point of weakness at the moment that should have been improved. Elsewhere, we’ll have our Peter celebrate a forgotten
“Lefty” from Yankees history for our Birthdays series, and Nick will be on double duty for a season preview post on Paul Blackburn and a look book at Andy Pettitte’s shocking-but-welcome unretirement in spring 2012 as part of our 50 Most Notable Yankees Free Agents.

Hello everyone! Welcome to our new Daily Question series for the month of February. With Spring Training around the corner, we want to hear what you think 2026 holds for your Minnesota Twins. Let’s get excited for baseball!

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Yesterday we talked trades, today, let’s talk free agents.

The reason I wanted to hit trades first is that the remaining 2026 free agent options are fairly bleak. There’s some great options on the market if you need starting pitching, but unfortunately for the Twins, that’s the one area of relative strength on this team. Plus, Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen are well out of Tom Pohlad’s price range.

Using FanGraphs’ handy free agent tracker, you can sort by projected 2026 WAR and see there’s very little left for the Twins’ needs. Just like with the trades, the Twins need right-handed relievers, right-handed hitting outfielders, and a utility man who can reasonably play shortstop 2-3 times per week, given Brooks Lee’s injury history.

In my opinion, there’s three players the Twins should be prioritizing.

1. Miguel Andujar, OF: the former Yankees top prospect has carved out a nice career for himself with the A’s over the past few seasons. He doesn’t offer much value defensively or on the base paths, but he crushes lefties and has a strong arm in the outfield. At this point of the offseason, you could do a lot worse.
2. Dauri Moreta, RHP: Moreta looked to be the Pirates’ future closer as recently as 2023 before he missed all of 2024 and most of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery. He flashed good stuff in the second half of last season, and would be controllable for two additional seasons if the Twins want to keep him around. Another year removed from surgery, he could be closing games in Minnesota by midseason.
3. Ramon Urias, IF: Urias was one of the league’s better utility men from 2021-2024 with the Orioles, but his offensive production slipped between Baltimore and Houston in 2025. He hasn’t played short since 2022, but that’s more due to ironman Gunnar Henderson taking over in 2023 and never looking back. If the Twins feel he can still handle shortstop, he’s the best option from a very limited remaining selection.

Take a look at FanGraphs’ list and let me know if there’s anyone you think the Twins should still pursue. It’s not great, but there may still be ways to upgrade on the margins.

Framber Valdez should have been wined, dined and extolled at a lavish press conference, signed to a contract with enough zeroes to assure lifetime wealth and picking out furniture for his new home.

Instead, less than one week before the start of spring training, he sits unemployed.

Valdez, 32, the two-time All-Star who has averaged 30 starts a year the past four seasons, with Cy Young votes in three of them, was arguably the best pitcher on the free-agent market.

He was projected to be the highest-paid player this winter outside his former Houston Astros teammate, Kyle Tucker. Yet, three full months have come and gone, and Valdez continues to wait with questions abound throughout the game.

Is he asking for too much money? Are teams concerned about the wear and tear on his arm, pitching 809 innings in the regular season and postseason the past four years?

Do they wonder whether Valdez intentionally hit his own catcher, Cesar Salazar, in the chest with a 93-mph fastball out of frustration in September after giving up a grand slam against the New York Yankees?

Whatever the reason, or if it’s simply a matter of a slow developing market for free agent pitchers, Valdez is easily the best player remaining on the market.

With time running out, in a survey of scouts, executives and agents, here are their predictions for the top six candidates to sign Valdez:

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles remain the heavy favorite to sign Valdez, and could turn a fabulous winter into a spectacular one. And let’s face it, if they’re going to have a real chance to bounce back and win the AL East, they need another front-line starter.

Valdez would give them a formidable rotation with Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz, Dean Kremer and Zach Eflin already in the mix. And remember, they were aggressive in the bidding for Ranger Suarez before he signed a five-year, $130 million deal with the Boston Red Sox.

The Orioles are clearly the team to beat in the Valdez sweepstakes, executives believe.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Orioles’ biggest threat to signing Valdez is the Blue Jays. They’ve had perhaps the best winter of any team in baseball, spending $337 million to give them every chance for a return trip to the World Series. So why not push it closer to $500 million?

If they signed Valdez, they will have locked up the top two starters on the market, having already signed Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract. They would be even further flush with starters with Valdez, Cease, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce and Jose Berrios. Considering that Gausman and Bieber are free agents after the 2026 season, the signing of Valdez makes perfect sense.

Besides, if they had $350 million to sign Kyle Tucker before he went to the Dodgers, why not give up a chunk of that to Valdez?

San Diego Padres

They haven’t done anything all winter besides bringing back Michael King and signing Korean infielder Sung-mun Song, and may have trouble enough keeping up with the San Francisco Giants – let alone the Dodgers. The signing of Valdez could save the offseason..

Financial constraints and an impending sale has handicapped them, but if Yu Darvish walks away from the $43 million he’s owed – including $16 million this season – the Padres could use it to find a creative way of bringing in Valdez. It would be similar to their deal a year ago with free agent Nick Pivetta when he was left stranded on the free agent market, giving him an opt-out after two seasons.

The Padres are a longshot compared to the Orioles and Blue Jays chances, but with GM A.J. Preller at the helm, you can never rule anything out.

Chicago Cubs

You want the Cubs’ fans to lose their minds after their fine winter? Go ahead and sign Valdez, giving them a team that could not only run win the NL Central, but peraps challenge the mighty Dodgers.

The Cubs, who already dropped $175 million with the Alex Bregman signing, would have a sensational rotation of Justin Steele (when he returns the second half), Edward Cabrera, Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon in the mix for starts.

The Cubs, who have been engaged in talks with fellow free agent Zac Gallen, will need another front-line starter in a year, anyways, with Boyd, Taillon and Imanaga all free agents after the 2026 season.

Detroit Tigers

Can you imagine a rotation with Tarik Skubal and Valdez as your 1-2 punch? It would bring back memories when Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer were leading their powerful rotation during their glory days.

While it may seem to be far-fetched, the Tigers have to face reality, too. They are not going to fork out $400 million and sign Skubal when he hits free agency in 10 months. They will have a gaping hole in the rotation. So why not be proactive and grab his replacement a year early? This would give them a rotation of Skubal, Valdez, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Reese Olson and Drew Anderson to start 2026.

They would have the team built for a deep October run. Who says no?

Milwaukee Brewers

We get it. If you can’t afford to keep Freddy Peralta, why turn around and spend money for Valdez? Yet, the Peralta trade was simply acknowledging they couldn’t keep him a year from now.

Considering the Brewers have spent only $1.25 million in free agency this winter, and the fans are loudly grumbling about losing Peralta. Why not get them feeling as if you’re giving away free beer and cheese curds at all home games?

The Brewers privately say they still are interested in signing a free-agent pitcher, they could shoot for the sunand leave the Cubs cursing under their breath.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Framber Valdez news and rumors as top MLB free agent remains unsigned

With the transfer window now closed Rangers know exactly what they have to do to overhaul Hearts and Celtic at the top of the table to recapture the league title.

The deadline day signing of Ryan Naderi is an intriguing one. A lot of fans were crying out for another striker, with neither Youssef Chermiti nor Bojan Miovski delivering goals in huge quantities.

But I can't help thinking it was a goal creator, rather than goalscorer, that was most urgently required to aid Danny Rohl's quest for glory.

Take the Hibs game at the weekend as an example: Chermiti led the line well enough but ultimately Rangers didn't create sufficient opportunities either for him or anyone else and Raphael Sallinger was barely troubled in the home goal.

That, for me, is what will be Rangers' undoing this season unless they can solve the conundrum of how to break teams down, regardless of who is playing up front.

They badly need players like Andreas Skov Olsen to start producing the goods if they are to come out on top in the three-way contest for the title.

Olsen's pedigree is unquestionable but in his two games so far there have been no signs of the player Rangers thought they were getting.

Rangers need him to quickly find top form, starting with the game at home to Kilmarnock.

It will be interesting to see if Naderi is thrown straight into the team as Rangers aim to narrow the gap to just three points behind the leaders.