As we enter the last week of January, Spring Training is coming into full view and is about three weeks away for most teams. But many teams still have a need or two to address before the prep for the season arrives. The need for the Braves remains starting pitching, with some intriguing names still available. MLB.com looks at how current FA starter Zac Gallen can return to form plus reports many teams have interest in Lucas Giolito. It will be interesting to see who the Braves may target to add to their staff.
MLB.com looked back at 10 memorable games from the 2025 season. From the World Series to the All-Star game, there were certainly some fun moments to relive.
On this day 43 years ago, Steve Trout was sent across town to the Cubs as a key part of a blockbuster trade. | (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
1963 With expansion resulting in an explosion of offense, the MLB Rules Committee decides to increase the strike zone to the top of a batter’s shoulders down to his knees. The results swing the balance of power so dramatically that in just five years and in spite of a four-team expansion looming, baseball will shrink the strike zone in order to inject some offense back into the game.
1983 The White Sox and GM Roland Hemond outfoxed the Cubs by hinting through the media that they might select pitcher Fergie Jenkins after the Cubs left him unprotected in the free agent draft. Jenkins, the future Hall-of-Famer, was getting close to the magical 300-win mark in his career, and the Sox were entitled to compensation after losing outfielder Steve Kemp to the Yankees.
The Cubs were forced to make a rushed trade of Scott Fletcher, Dick “Dirt” Tidrow, Randy Martz and Pat Tabler to the Sox for a promise not to take Jenkins, along with pitchers Steve Trout and Warren Brusstar. The Sox then flipped Tabler to Cleveland for Jerry Dybzinski. After it was all said and done, Cubs GM Dallas Green was quoted as saying,“To say I’m relieved probably would be an understatement.”
While traditionally there has been a reluctance for the Chicago teams to trade with one another, this marked the third deal made between the White Sox and Cubs in the 1983-83 offseason.
Fletcher would be a key part of Chicago’s 1983 division champions. But his bigger impact perhaps came during his second stint with the White Sox, in 1990, for the “Doin’ the Little Things” White Sox, who shocked baseball by winning 94 games. Fletcher was a defensive rock at second base and executed small things exceptionally well — bunting, hitting behind a runner and to the opposite field, and driving in key runs. Tidrowdid just about everything a relief pitcher could do in 1983, and Dybzinskistabilized a shaky infield in the early part of that same season. (Unfortunately, Dybzinski’s baserunning error in Game 4 of the ALCS is what he is best remembered for.)
The White Sox starting staff was so deep in 1983, with seven pitchers on the roster who all won at least 10 games in a major league season, that Martz never really got a chance. He only made one emergency start that year, in a game at Detroit. The other pitchers besides Martz who won at least 10 games were LaMarr Hoyt, Richard Dotson, Floyd Bannister, Britt Burns, Jerry Koosman and Steve Mura.
In the end, Trout provided several strong starting years for the Cubs, offsetting the great value Fletcher brought with him to the White Sox. But there hasn’t been a weirder — or more panicked — trade between Chicago clubs than this one.
And one year later, Hemond successfully plucked an unprotected future Hall-of-Famer through the compensation draft: Tom Seaver.
1987 One of many flash points of the coming Rick Hahn rebuild, Néctor Noesí, was born in Esperanza, Valverde in the Dominican Republic.
Noesí came to the pitching-poor White Sox off of waivers from the Texas on April 25, 2014 — already his third team of the young MLB season. Oddly, the White Sox had just seen him the previous April 20, crushing him for seven earned runs in the ninth inning of a blowout over the Rangers.
Nonetheless, the White Sox plugged him into the next night’s game, on April 26. His next appearance was a start, and he logged 26 more to finish the season as a relative standout, with 0.9 WAR, 4.39 ERA, and 85 ERA+. Perhaps the most impressive about his 2014 was that despite his 8-11 record, the 73-89 White Sox went 14-14 in games he pitched.
Here’s some crazy trivia. Noesí brought an 11-game losing streak to Chicago with him and added three more losses before snapping it with a win on June 3, 2014. To end his White Sox career, Noesí dropped his final three starts of 2014 and then went 0-4 during the 2015 season in Chicago; the White Sox lost all 10 of the games he appeared in, making the club 0-13 in all Noesí games to end his time with the team. In that stretch, Noesí carried an 0-7 record and 6.31 ERA in that losing stretch.
Noesí went to the KBO in South Korea from 2016-18 and turned his losing ways around, going 46-20 in that time. However, when he got a final look in the majors with Miami in 2019, naturally he went 0-3, with the Marlins going 2-10 in the games he pitched.
All in all, Noesí finished his major league career 0-10, with his teams going 2-23 in that time.
2023 All-time great South Side southpaw Gary Peters died, at age 85, in Sarasota, Fla. The Rookie of the Year, two-time All-Star and two-time ERA titlist finished his White Sox career with 21.4 WAR, placing him 17th all-time among White Sox pitchers and tied for 40th among all players in team history. When Peters was on, he was dominant, as indicated by three MVP finishes of ninth or better in his career (eighth in 1963, seventh in 1964 and ninth in 1967).
Hello and happy Monday, folks. A very happy Monday, indeed, even after we’ve been whacked with snow—13 more days until we get a chance to see the Pats hoist another Lombardi. Perhaps Malcolm Butler can sign onto the practice squad, just for ol’ times’ sake.
This is a Red Sox blog, though. Not a ton of news about our beloved team right now, but rest assured that your ol’ pals at OTM will be on it if anything does happen. Maybe Craig Breslow’s communication systems are down due to the blizzard. Maybe we can get some sled dogs to get him over to another GM’s office if need be. Can’t risk missing out on any transactions due to Mother Nature; you gotta do what you gotta do.
Drop your favorite snow storm snack/drink/treat below in the comments. Not that I’d be able to go to the store right now, but I’m just curious.
Our first real battle happened in the vote for the #4 prospect, with Quinn Mathews winning by a mere 4%. Last year’s #2 prospect, he had a bit of a down year, or at least a year that didn’t go as well as hoped, but his drop to 4 actually had less to do with that and more to do with another top 10 pick and a huge year from a teenager. I think it’s safe to say even an excellent year and he lands as the #4 prospect, because he just doesn’t really have the upside of the first three guys. This leaves the current top 4 at:
JJ Wetherholt
Liam Doyle
Rainiel Rodriguez
Quinn Mathews
Comparable Player Corner
Okay, most of the time I run this feature, I am planning way ahead. I usually do not know when I will add the players in this section, I just know I will have a hard decision to make in the future and this vote will help me make that decision. Well, today we have a vote between two players, the winner of which is going into the next vote. Never has a decision more clearly indicated your philosophy towards prospects. And we have the two perfect representatives.
On one corner, we have Tanner Franklin representing the high upside, higher variance prospect. With an elite fastball, he still has to make that transition to starter, and has 6 total innings to his name.
On the other corner, we have Brycen Mautz representing the lower variance, close-to-the majors prospect. In Springfield, he he had a great season, he does also have relief risk because his change is a work-in-progress.
ORSTLcardsfan had a great idea to just say vote here instead of trying to paste the address bar. So click on vote here to vote.
Last time, I mentioned that I was going to add one player based on his ranking on last year’s list and one player who either wasn’t in the system last year or is in such a wildly different place from last year that the voters haven’t had a chance to express how they feel about that prospect. Basically, one player where previous voting helps me out and one player where I have no clues as to when they might be put on the list.
Last year’s player is Cooper Hjerpe, selected 9th last year. If he was coming off a healthy season, he’d already be in the voting, but I felt it fairly safe to wait until now because of the Tommy John. And the player where I really don’t know where he’ll place is Ixan Henderson. He was in the system last year, but he was an 8th rounder with a good debut season in Low A and six starts in High A where he didn’t really strike people out. And then the Cardinals decided he only needed six starts in High A, and he had the kind of season in AA to land you on a top 20.
Scouting: 30/35 Hit, 45/60 Game Power, 60/70 Raw Power, 50/40 Speed, 40/50 Fielding
I know people say that Baez’s change has been more like a year and half than a year, but I kind of object to that, because the main reason people are suddenly giving him attention is the strikeouts, or the sudden drop in them. While he destroyed Low A, he had an improved strikeout rate, but not that out of line with expectations given he was sent down to a level he had already played. A 27.9 K% rate does not get my attention in that context.
His 21% and then 20% K rates last season, however, very much do. Imagine if Nolan Gorman suddenly strike out 20% of the time? It won’t happen. So I will be absolutely fascinated to know what Baez’s strikeout rate looks like next season. He may very well strike out a lot at the MLB level. But he’s at least starting from a lower place; a 35% K rate might be over 40% in the majors. I think that might be off the table, especially if his K rate remains reasonable.
Scouting (FG): 35/50 Hit, 35/45 Game Power, 50/50 Raw Power, 40/30 Speed, 40/55 Fielding
Two things I wonder: will Bernal start in Springfield if Crooks is sent to Memphis? And would Bernal start in Springfield if there wasn’t another strong catching prospect in front of him? We will get an answer to that first question and we may get an answer to the latter. If he’s sent to Memphis anyway, well obviously he would. And if Crooks makes the MLB team, we will also get an answer. But if Crooks is sent to Memphis and Bernal to Springfield, that part will remain unknown.
It does seem like he’s ready for the next step, but I can see an argument to repeating AA given his slow finish to last season. It’s an easier argument to make if Crooks is in Memphis too. And while he would get a lot of playing time in Memphis, things are just easier if Crooks is at one level and Bernal at another with regards to playing time.
I will be interested to see where Clarke lands, because there are a few things that make his ranking more of an unknown than normal. Obviously, there’s the fact that it’s the first time he’s been in the voting. He is also very much a fringe top 100 prospect and the Cardinals have a few of those guys. And also, in the past, people have tended to be less connected to recent trade acquisitions than people they’ve followed for a few years. It doesn’t affect everyone, but certainly some players. So his ranking could go just about anywhere.
Scouting: 35/40 Hit, 40/45 Game Power, 50/50 Raw Power, 20/20 Speed, 60/70 Fielding
Crooks may end up ranking similar to last year’s voting, but I feel less love for him than last year for sure and I’m kind of curious if it’s more related to what he did in AAA or the majors. If he had never played in the majors, but hit the exact same in AAA, would there be a bigger push for him? His MLB performance clearly did not help, but was also 46 plate appearances at the end of a long season.
I just noticed that Fangraphs gives Tink Hence a 45 fastball, which unless my memory has mistaken me, is a new development? I don’t remember his fastball being listed as his weakness essentially. Since he barely pitched last year, I wonder if this is accurate or an overreaction to a small sample of pitches trying to fight through injury. You can still make it work because his secondaries do, it would just be tougher.
Henderson’s stat line just kind of reminds me of a classic Cardinals pitcher of the past. The advanced stats end up closer to mediocre, but the ERA ends up in a good place. Sort of looks like a Michael Wacha line of recent years honestly. The question is if it reflects a pitchability that will keep him crafty enough to succeed or was the ERA more fluky?
The good news is that Hjerpe should be ready to pitch fairly early in the season since he had his Tommy John surgery pretty early last season. Recovery is 12-16 months, so he seems to be in the window to pitch some innings this year. The bad news is that his career high in innings right now is 52 innings, so it does kind of feel like there’s a real ceiling in how many innings he will actually pitch this upcoming season.
Drafted in the 16th round of the 2024 draft, Ortiz did not play the rest of that year. So at this time last year, none of us knew who Ortiz was. There was no reason to pay attention to him. Now there is. Fangraphs does not have a scouting report on Ortiz, so I don’t actually have any scouting information to give you. But really, if he’s voted onto this list, it wouldn’t be for the scouting anyway.
The crazy thing about Ortiz is that he had that season at 20-years-old. It’s unusual for a late rounder to have the kind of season Ortiz had, but when it happens, it tends to be an older prospect, like Matt Carpenter in the 13th round. So the usual downside of hoping it’s not just an old guy beating on guys a few years younger is not present here. Ortiz is the young guy.
Roby had Tommy John surgery in July of 2025, so his ability to pitch next year is a little more question than Hjerpe. But he pitched well last year, re-establishing himself as a prospect. Without the injury, I wonder how high he would be selected. I also feel that Roby was an example of a prospect that didn’t get as much love because he was a deadline acquisition so there was less attachment. However, fans have gotten familiar with him for now two and half seasons, so he’s probably not harmed by this effect anymore.
For years, many folks have clamored for the Colorado Rockies to honor their history. Many teams around the league have some sort of “Hall of Fame” honoring great achievements in franchise history. The Arizona Diamondbacks came into the league five years after the Rockies did, and even they set up both a 20th Anniversary Experience in 2018and a team Hall of Fame in 2024. The Rays, who also joined MLB in 1998, created their own team Hall of Fame in 2023; and the Miami Marlins — the Rockies’ 1993 expansion twins — created one in 2025.
In 2022, Skyler Timmins wrote about establishing a Rockies Hall of Fame. In 2025, Evan Lang called upon the Rockies to celebrate more of their history. After all, they now have two Hall of Famers in Cooperstown and both have had their numbers retired.
While the team has not officially announced a team Hall of Fame, they did make an announcement on Saturday at Rockies Fest: Hall of Famers Larry Walker and Todd Helton would be honored with statues commemorating their time with the Rockies.
Join us for a celebration and statue unveiling of Rockies Legends Larry Walker and Todd Helton!
While Helton was unable to attend the festival due to an illness, both Walkers — Larry and Monfort — were on hand to discuss the momentous occasion.
“A while back, a few of us here internally got together,” Monfort explained.
“Obviously, we have two retired numbers up there — 33 and 17. It commemorates their incredible achievements as Rockies, both Todd and Larry. To me, they are a big part of me being a baseball fan today. They’re just incredible athletes, and we took it a step further. We got together and decided ‘Hey, we ought to also commemorate here at Coors Field the fact that they are also both members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
“So this year, we are very excited to announce that on Sunday, August 23, we will unveil a Larry Walker statue here at Coors,” he continued. “And on Saturday, September 19, we will unveil a Todd Helton statue.”
In addition to the statues, Monfort also said that fans will receive commemorative mini statues. (“I wouldn’t say bobbleheads because their heads don’t bobble.”)
“Obviously, these two have meant so much not only to me and my family personally, but to all of us Rockies fans and staff, and we’re very excited that they will live forever here at Coors Field.”
Larry Walker said he has already met with the sculptors, and explained how much this moment means to him.
“The number being retired, and you walk in the ballpark, and I see 33 up there, trust me, it melts my heart. It’s a pretty cool honor to have that,” Walker said.
“And then when the phone call comes and says ‘We’re going to put a statue outside the ballpark’ — those are two pretty cool things that when you play baseball you don’t (think about). And I’m glad I enjoyed my career in a Rockies uniform, and I’m honored and thank you to the Monfort and Rockies family for allowing this to happen.”
Monfort mentioned that they took inspiration from the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum, as well as the New York Yankees Monument Park. He also said the process has been in the works for the last five or so years, with Vice President of Community Relations and Retail Operations Jim Kellogg working to secure the sculptors.
Eventually, the Rockies commissioned George and Mark Lundeen of Lundeen Sculptures in Longmont.
Even though the Rockies are still considered an expansion team, they do have history to be recognized and are finally leaning into it.
“If you’ve been a Rockies fan for long enough, we’ve been impacted by these guys,” Monfort said.
“We have memories that will never, ever go away because we were either here or we saw something on TV, and that’s what this is all about. We’re capturing history, and want to be able to explain our history to future generations and to the kids that are running around here that didn’t have the chance to see them play… that’s why it’s so important to us.”
While this wasn’t an official “Rockies Hall of Fame” announcement, it is a step in the right direction. The Rockies have had some bad years as of late and won’t be competitive in 2026. However, there is a new vibe at 20th and Blake; there is an optimism for what can be accomplished, and there is a lot of buy-in from coaches and players. While the statues might be part of “the future of nostalgia,” it’s a great way for the Rockies to continue to honor their greatest players while setting a precedent for the future.
There is a lot riding on the 2026 season, but even more in the seasons beyond. Matt Postins identifies Ethan Holliday and Charlie Condon as key cogs to turn the franchise around. So far they’ve showed promise, and Condon could be in the majors potentially as early as 2026.
Zack Meisel thinks that Ramírez and Cleveland are a perfect match that almost never happened. (The Athletic sub. req.) Ramírez has now twice agreed to a below-market extension to stay in the Western Reserve.
Tyler Kepner looks at newly-elected Hall-of-Famer Carlos Beltrán’s cap dilemma for his plaque in Cooperstown. (The Athletic sub. req.) Kepner also notes that this has been an increasing issue in recent years. Beltrán appears to be debating between a Mets cap, a Royals cap or going in without a team insignia on his plaque.
In the long history of the Yankees, the players to have donned the pinstripes run the spectrum from complete unknowns to national heroes. In between those two extremes, you have the type of player who maybe didn’t compile the most noteworthy career, but who provided a moment that has become immortalized in the annals of the franchise. Brian Doyle certainly falls into this category.
Brian Reed Doyle Born: January 26, 1954 (Glasgow, KY) Yankees Tenure: 1978-80
Brian Doyle and his twin brother, Blake, were born on January 26, 1954, in Glasgow, KY, the younger brothers of major league second baseman Denny Doyle. The pair attended Caverna High School in Horse Cave, Kentucky, where Brian (a second baseman) and Blake (a pitcher and shortstop) led the team to the second state baseball championship in the program’s history in 1972. Both brothers had received several athletic scholarship offers from Division I schools, but had to change course following a family health scare. Their father suffered a heart attack in 1972, causing both brothers to declare for the 1972 June amateur draft thanks to the lucrative signing bonus offers that could help keep the family afloat in that time of financial need.
Brian and Blake were drafted in the fourth round that summer, by the Rangers and Orioles, respectively, and this is where the twins’ baseball stories diverged. Doyle experienced instant success upon being assigned to the Geneva Senators in the Short-Season A New York-Pennsylvania League, batting .256/.390/.363 with 16 stolen bases in 215 ABs. Unfortunately, Doyle was not able to sustain that early success, with injuries limiting him to just 115 ABs in 1974 and a prolonged slump leading to his demotion to the Class A Carolina League in 1975.
But then in his fourth season in the minor leagues, something clicked. In 1976, Doyle started the season on fire, leading to a promotion to Triple-A Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League. He finished that season batting .290 with three home runs and 32 RBI in 393 ABs, attracting the attention of the Yankees. Intrigued by this surging young player, on February 17, 1977, the Yankees traded Sandy Alomar Sr. to the Rangers for Doyle, fellow minor leaguer Greg Pryor, and $25,000.
Doyle was assigned to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs of the International League and began his tenure in the Yankees organization exactly as he ended his tenure in the Rangers organization — on fire. He scored nine hits in his first 26 ABs including lining up opposite his twin in a May 16th game against the Rochester Red Wings. However, misfortune struck again, a severely injured finger derailing a player who looked to be on the fast track to the majors. Both his offense and defense suffered, Doyle finishing the year batting .200 with no home runs in the second half of the season.
By the time 1978 rolled around, Doyle was back to full health, though the same could not be said for the major league club. The Yankees were struck by an uncommon number of injuries to start the season, which led to Doyle’s first call-up in April to replace infielder Mickey Klutts, who had broken his thumb. Doyle made his MLB debut on April 30th, going hitless in three ABs against Twins righty Roger Erickson after replacing Willie Randolph at second base early in the contest.
Doyle was briefly optioned back down in May, but found his way back to the major league club after batting .333 in 75 ABs at Triple-A Tacoma. He collected his first two major league hits in a 4-0 win over the California Angels on June 17th, but was back on the shuttle to the minor leagues when first baseman Jim Spencer came off the DL. The September roster expansions gave Doyle another crack in the majors, but he registered just one appearance as a defensive sub with the Yankees and Red Sox locked in a fierce divisional battle for first place.
Sometimes, all you need is one opportunity, and Doyle’s came when Randolph suffered a season-ending hamstring injury running out an infield single in the eighth inning of a September 29th tilt against Cleveland. Doyle entered as a pinch-runner and scored the go-ahead run in a 3-1 come-from-behind victory. In the final games of the regular season, Doyle platooned with Fred Stanley, including starting the famous Bucky Dent Game when the Yankees defeated the Red Sox in the AL East tiebreaker playoff at Fenway to punch their ticket to the postseason.
The following day, Doyle was penciled in as the starter at second for Game 1 of the ALCS against the Royals. However, after being left off the 25-man playoff roster, he had to receive last-minute emergency dispensation from Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to be added to the roster. He collected a pair of hits including the first RBI of his career, a fifth inning single off Steve Mignori to plate Graig Nettles as the Yankees went on to win, 7-1. Doyle was used as a defensive sub in Game 2, did not appear in Game 3, and drew a walk in the series-clinching Game 4 as the Yankees were set to defend their World Series crown against the Dodgers.
With the southpaw Tommy John on the mound for the Dodgers in Game 1, Doyle started on the bench and was only used as a late-inning defensive replacement as the Yankees lost, 11-5. He drew the start in Game 2, knocking a single off Dodgers starter Burt Hooton, but Ron Cey’s three-run homer off Catfish Hunter put the Yankees in a hole, 0-2, to start the series.
Doyle got the start again in Game 3 and went hitless in four ABs, but the Yankees clawed themselves back into the series with a 5-1 victory. John started his second game of the series in Game 4, which again relegated Doyle to being a late-inning defensive replacement as Lou Piniella leveled the series at two games apiece with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th.
Hooton was back on the mound for the Dodgers in Game 5 meaning Doyle earned the start and batted eighth. He singled to center with one out in the fourth off reliever Lance Rautzhan and scored on a Mickey Rivers single as the Yankees plated three in the frame to extend their lead to 7-2. He singled again with one on and one out in the seventh off reliever Charlie Hough, scoring on a Roy White single as part of a four-run outburst. He collected his third single of the contest in the eighth, this time with two outs, and the Yankees completed their 12-2 romp to pull within a win of back-to-back titles.
The series returned to Los Angeles for Game 6 with future Hall of Famer Don Sutton on the mound for the home team. Davey Lopes opened the scoring with a leadoff home run off Hunter in the first, but Doyle responded in the second, doubling to deep left with two on and one out to plate Nettles as the tying run. Both Doyle and Spencer would score a batter later when Dent grounded a two-run single up the middle to give the Yankees the lead, 3-1. After Lopes drew the Dodgers within one in the third, Doyle legged out an infield single in the fourth, though the Yankees failed to score in the frame. Two innings later, Piniella led off with a single, but Sutton recored a pair of quick-fire outs to seemingly end the threat. However, Doyle lined a two-out single to center to plate Piniella and restore the Yankees’ two-run cushion before scoring himself on a Dent single to left that made it 5-2, Yankees. Reggie Jackson clinched the World Series winning victory with a two-run home run in the seventh, and just like that Doyle went from a September call-up to World Series hero in the span of six weeks.
Doyle led all Yankees hitters with a .438 average across those six games. He finished second in World Series MVP voting behind Dent. The pair collected three hits each in Games 5 and 6 as the No. eight and nine hitters in the lineup, scoring four runs between them in Game 5 and driving in five runs combined in Game 6. As Doyle put it after raising the trophy, “All I know is, I’m not going to sell clothes this winter,” in reference to his offseason job selling shirts and fitting customers at Gold & Farley’s clothing store in Bowling Green, KY. Doyle was celebrated in a parade on “Brian Doyle Day” in his hometown of Cave City, KY, a week later and capitalized on his newfound family name fame by opening the Doyle Baseball instructional school in Florida alongside his brothers that winter.
With Randolph fully healthy at the start of the 1979 season, Doyle returned to a bench role and appeared in just 20 games. It was more of the same in 1980, though Doyle did collect the lone home run of his major league career — a solo shot off Cleveland righty Len Barker on June 29th. Following the conclusion of the season, the Yankees traded Doyle’s platoon partner Stanley and a player to be named later to the A’s for pitcher Mike Morgan, the Yankees sending Doyle to complete the deal. However, the commissioner vetoed Doyle’s inclusion given he was assigned to a minor league club at the time, though the A’s managed to complete the transaction by selecting Doyle in the Rule 5 Draft in December.
Injuries prevented Doyle from ever nailing down a starting role in Oakland, as a separated shoulder suffered in a collision at second base with Blue Jays DH Otto Vélez on May 24, 1982 ended Doyle’s major-league career. After brief management stints in the minor leagues, Doyle retired from organizational baseball in 1984. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014, but was able to make it to Old-Timers’ Day at Yankee Stadium that season, where he was celebrated for his World Series performance. Doyle has remained a familiar presence at Old-Timers’ Day events ever since.
If not for his World Series heroics, Brian Doyle would likely have joined the long list of players to have played for the Yankees but faded into obscurity. However, those six games cemented Doyle’s place in the memories of many Yankees fans.
References
Brian Doyle. Baseball-Reference.
Brian Doyle. Baseball Almanac.
Skelton, David E. “Brian Doyle.” SABR
Grubbs, Rob. “From the Bronx to the Barn: Brian Doyle’s remarkable journey comes full circle in Newnan.” The Newnan Times-Herald. July 3, 2025.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
Preston Farr writes about what the Royals could still do before the season, such as add infield depth.
Brendan Rodgers and Ramon Urias are both interesting names. Rodgers, 29, is a former top prospect out of the Rockies organization. He signed a minor league deal with Houston a year ago. He suffered through a few injuries, finishing the season with a horrendous 35% strikeout rate and 55 wRC+. He’s a career .261 hitter and was stellar defensively at second base for one season. There’s just no real track record, and it’s a lot of hope on potential alone. Urias was the 27th-ranked prospect for the Cardinals in 2019 before he went to Baltimore. He was a solid contributor for parts of five seasons with the Orioles before he was traded to Houston in 2025. He has a career 104 wRC+ but enters his age-32 season in 2026. Defensively, Urias is stellar. In 2025, he finished with seven defensive runs saved (DRS) and four outs above average (OAA) at second base. At third base, he was worth five DRS and one OAA.
So who can they add? They still want another lefty reliever. I’d take a look at Justin Wilson. He had a 27.5 percent strikeout in 2025 with Boston and would like very nice in the middle of the bullpen. He made $1 million in 2023, $1.5 million in 2024 and $2.25 million in 2025. Maybe he’s in line for a raise after the season he had, but this late, I’d bet you can probably get him for $4 million or so. I wouldn’t mind them taking a chance on a hard-thrower from either side, but someone like Michael Kopech would be interesting to me.
I still think they could add Austin Hays or Harrison Bader if the price is right on either of them. I still think they could make some sort of trade, though I do agree with the people who know more than me that a big splash is probably out at this point. But the point here is that the Royals have a history of doing something for their big league club this late in the spring, so don’t discount any moves happening over the next two or three weeks.
It’s a party behind the plate for Kansas City. Jensen has already ascended to the Majors by showing plus power, a balanced approach and improving defense, and he could be a Rookie of the Year candidate as he shares catching duties with Salvador Perez. Mitchell dealt with a broken hamate in 2025 that dulled much of his offensive projection, but as he showed in the Arizona Fall League, he can still produce top-end exit velocities and be a dexterous defender with a strong arm.
One of the positive developments to see from Mitchell in the AFL was his 74 percent Z-Swing%, which ranked in the 86th percentile. He has long been known for his solid plate discipline, and he showed that in Arizona with a 15.8% O-Swing%, which ranked in the 89th percentile, according to Statcast data. However, one critique of his approach at the plate as a prospect has been his passivity.
Last year, in Quad Cities, he had a 49.5% F-Strike% and 29.4% CSW (called-strike plus whiff) rate. He also only had a 41.2% swing rate, which was 1.3% lower than his mark in Low-A Columbia.
The MLB regular season is fast approaching, and there are a couple of can’t miss series early on in the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Home Opener series against Baltimore April 3-6
The Pirates start their first two series of the year on the road against the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds. While those two series will undoubtedly be very exciting in their own right, PNC Park in the early part of the year is just that much better, especially if you have the privilege of being there in person. As with every Opening Day contest, the Pirates will be getting started at 4:12 p.m. in what should be a fun series against the Baltimore Orioles.
I had the opportunity to be at the home opener in PNC Park in 2024 (also against Baltimore) and it was possibly the most memorable sporting event that I had ever been to. Pittsburgh was in the middle of some nasty storms, and the rivers surrounding the stadium were flooding over. It was a football like environment because of how cold it was, but it did not change the fact that the backdrop at PNC Park was breathtaking.
Rain, snow or shine, the stadium is going to be packed out that first weekend at home. The Orioles will be bringing their young plucky team to face a rejuvenated Pirates’ lineup that should make for a great first series in Pittsburgh.
First series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field April 10-12
Just a week after their home opener the Pirates will be back on the road to face their NL Central division rivals, the Chicago Cubs.
All due respect to PNC Park, there really is nothing like Wrigley Field. First opened in 1914 it is the second oldest stadium in Major League Baseball, only being outdone by Fenway Park, which opened in 1912. With that being said, Wrigley is one of the most iconic venues across the country. People come from all over the world to visit Chicago, and a visit Wrigley is typically on their itinerary. From the old school scoreboard to the iconic ivy covered walls in the outfield, it is one of the premier destinations as a baseball fan.
Aside from the incredible venue, the early opportunity to take down a division rival also makes this series very exciting. The Cubs and the Pirates are a couple of the oldest and most iconic franchises in baseball and it’s always great when the two clash. The Pirates lead the series 1317-1286 all time against the Cubs, but Chicago is 8-2 in their last ten contests against Pittsburgh. If the Pirates can pull off some wins in Wrigley it will serve as great momentum early on in the year.
Battle for the Keystone State at PNC Park May 15-17
Considered by many to be one of the best rivalries in the National League, the hatred between the Pirates and the Phillies dates all the way back to late 1880’s when the two clubs first met. Despite them not playing in the same division since 1994, the series between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are still highly anticipated.
Not only is there a buzz because of the in-state Pennsylvania rivalry, there’s a lot to be excited about because of the great talent on both of these teams. The powerful Philly combo of Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber almost always guarantees fireworks. The Pittsburgh tandem of pitcher Paul Skenes and slugger Ryan O’Hearn adds to the excitement surround the Pirates’ new-look roster for 2026.
For whatever reason, the city of Pittsburgh is obsessed with fireworks, and a firework show at PNC Park is like no other. The first game of this series will be a night contest with Zambelli Fireworks being scheduled following the game. A night game at PNC Park is already an incredible time, as the sun sets over the city’s skyline, but throw in some fireworks, and you’ve got a perfect yinzer night out. These two teams are primed to make big moves within their respective divisions, but a classic brawl between historic rivals is almost just as important.
Let us know in the comments which series yinz are looking forward to the most as the season is fast approaching!
I have a feeling that one of the bigger stories entering spring training and the 2026 season is going to be the lineup and how Rob Thomson constructs it. There is a linked story down below about it, but even then, what goes on after the top three in the order hit? Where does Adolis Garcia fit in all of this?
Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! If you’re in Maryland or one of the other areas that got hit with winter weather, I hope you’re staying warm. Here in Columbia, we got about seven inches of snow and a whole lot of ice. I’ll be staying home again today, because who wants to go out if they don’t have to?
If you were hoping to spend the cold weekend warming your hands at the Hot Stove, you were left disappointed. There was no Orioles news and little other news. The White Sox signed Seranthony Dominguez to be their closer, and José Ramírez agreed to a contract extension with the Guardians through 2032. He must really like it there!
There was a bit of Orioles-adjacent info that came out, neither of which was too exciting. Hanser Alberto, whose best MLB season came with the Orioles in 2019, announced his retirement. Alberto hadn’t played in the majors since 2023. In 2019, Alberto hit .305/.329/422. He also had 12 home runs, which was nine more than in any other season. Best of luck in retirement, Hanser!
The other info that came out was an announcement by Tomoyuki Sugano that he doesn’t intend to return to Japan after one season with the Orioles. He plans to stay in MLB and is “waiting for offers.” I hope he gets one.
Of course, there is also the thing that we’ve been talking about the entire off-season: pitching. Jim Bowden had a story in The Athletic on Friday ranking the remaining free agents. At the top of the list is Framber Valdez, who has surprisingly not signed yet. In his blurb on Valdez, this is what Bowden had to say:
Most in the industry believe that he will eventually land with the Baltimore Orioles for fewer years than he anticipated at the beginning of free agency.
Anything written by Bowden has to be taken with more than a few grains of salt, but I have to admit I enjoy reading that. Maybe this will be the week!
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have three Orioles birthday buddies: Jemile Weeks (39), Rick Schu (64), and Bob Nieman (b. 1927, d. 1985). Weeks appeared in just three games with the Orioles, but I will always remember him as the trade return for Jim Johnson. By 2013, Johnson had been with the Orioles for eight years and was coming off of back-to-back 50-save seasons. He was due $10 million in salary, which seemed too much for the Orioles. So they sent him packing. The trade was a bit of a head-scratcher, but it turned out in the Orioles’ favor. Johnson was terrible in 2014. Anyway, sorry about not having a Jemile Weeks story on his birthday.
On this day in 2004, the Orioles re-signed Sidney Ponson to a three-year deal. They had traded him to San Francisco at the 2003 trade deadline and the Orioles just had to get him back. Ponson’s second stint with the Orioles did not go so well. In two seasons, he was terrible. The Orioles released him with a year left on his contract for violating their morals clause. Ponson had a number of legal run-ins, including the infamous judge-punching incident.
In 2015, the Orioles signed Chris Parmelee to a minor-league contract. He was called up in early June and had four hits, two of which were home runs, in his first game. It was very exciting! Things fell off after that, and he ended up missing the last few months with injury. He was never heard from again in Baltimore.
In 2021, the Orioles signed infielder Freddy Galvis. He played in 72 games with Baltimore before going back to Philadelphia at the trade deadline.
And in 2023, the Orioles traded for pitcher Cole Irvin. They sent prospect Darrell Hernaiz to the then-Oakland Athletics and got Irvin and minor-leaguer Kyle Virbitsky in return. Irvin spent two seasons in Baltimore, splitting his time between the rotation and the bullpen. He did not have much success, but was an easy guy to root for. There was some heartburn among Orioles fans over sending away an interesting prospect in Hernaiz, but so far he hasn’t done much with the Athletics. He’s still young, though, just 24 years old.
The Detroit Tigers 2023 draft is currently on track to be among their best ever. That draft is going to be remembered for Max Clark in the first round, and an absolute steal in Kevin McGonigle in the competitive balance round. Second rounder Max Anderson has a shot to make his presence felt in the big leagues as well. Third rounder Paul Wilson was a high school star and one of the best prep left-handers in his class. The pick was well received, but Wilson struggled mightily in 2024 and then needed UCL reconstruction in April 2025. The goal now is just to get him back on the mound and working sometime this summer.
The Tigers paid the Oregon product $755,000 over slot as a third rounder to pass on his college commitment to Oregon State, and Wilson had a lot of other teams interested in doing the same. The Tigers were happy to get to him first, and landed a pretty advanced young pitcher who had been coached up from an early age by his father Trevor, himself an eight veteran MLB pitcher.
Wilson’s 2024 Complex League debut was really rocky. He didn’t pitch that much, making eight starts, until he was shut down in late July with an undisclosed injury. Prior to that, he’d shown a pretty deep repertoire of pitches, but was also plagued by some stretches of wildness as he tried to implement some adjustments to his delivery.
In 2025, he started the season with Single-A Lakeland and while his stuff looked nastier, he was still fighting his delivery through a couple of short outings before the injury ended his season. Wilson has a quick arm and some deception from a pretty prototypical high three-quarters arm slot. He appeared to have added some good muscle and his balance and lead leg blocking both looked better than in his high school days. Unfortunately, his velocity was also down a good bit, and he still sometimes threw some very wild pitches, both proving to be harbingers of the elbow injury brewing.
UCL reconstruction at Wilson’s age obviously delays his progress, but nowadays the odds are quite high that the surgery and rehab will be a success. Tarik Skubal didn’t have access to the top surgeons in the game when he had the procedure as a college freshman, and he’s done alright. So with a bit of luck, Wilson will be back on the mound sometime late this summer for a little work, and then ready to go full speed again in 2027. The problem is that he’ll be 22 years old by the time he gets a full season of work in, putting him on the same track as a college draft pick, but with far less experience.
With two and half years since his draft day, minimal progress and now a major injury, it would be reasonable to drop Wilson off the board entirely, but the potential he showed in high school is still actionable and it’s worth giving him through 2027 before writing him off. Drafting prep pitchers is a high risk, high reward game, but either way one has to expect that in most cases things are not going to go smoothly. The advantage is that while top college pitchers are safer, they’re also snatched up in the first two or three rounds of the draft. Using your bonus pool to sign a bunch of talented prep pitchers later in the draft gives you a shot at some real home runs. That’s going to come with some big misses too. Wilson may prove to be one of them, but for now we’ll give him the same amount of time we’d give a college pitcher before making any final verdicts on his future.
As a highly regarded prep pitcher, Wilson was comfortably 92-94 mph with his fourseamer, occasionally reaching back for a little extra. In high school he also showed off an advanced curveball-changeup combination and both pitches showed out pretty well in his brief 2025 work though command remained sketchy. The fourseam shape needed some tweaking to get better carry, and there were signs of that, as well as good progress with his slider, in 2025. Combined with good control, a projectibile frame that promised more velocity, and good feel for pitching overall for his age, there was a ton to like on draft day.
What we need to see this year is Wilson back on the mound after the All-Star break with his velocity intact. In 2027, a real leap is going to be required or Wilson may just drift off into org starter territory, a far cry from the mid-rotation upside he had on draft day.
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.
Steve Trout* and others are traded for, plus the expanded strike zone and more!Where were you when it really snowedin Chicago?
Today in baseball history:
1931 – The International League accepts the open draft imposed by the major leagues. Until this time, the top minor leagues could control their players and refuse to sell them. (2)
1963 – Major League Baseball’s Rules Committee increases the size of the strike zone. The zone will stretch from the top of the batter’s shoulders to the bottom of the knees. The committee hopes the return to the 1950s strike zone will result in a decrease in runs scored. The results will exceed the committee’s expectations, and after the “Year of the Pitcher” in 1968, the strike zone will be tweaked again to give the hitters a break. (2)
1531 – Lisbon hit by Earthquake; about 30,000 die.
1784 – Benjamin Franklin expresses unhappiness over eagle as America’s symbol.
1788 – Captain Arthur Phillip and British colonists hoist the Union Flag at Sydney Cove, New South Wales, now celebrated as Australia Day. Referred to as Invasion Day by some First Nations people.
1887 – Ground is broken and construction begins on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
1967 – Chicago “Big Snow” strikes with a record 23 inches of snow fall causing 800 buses and 50,000 automobiles to be abandoned.
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.
Artemi Panarin: 19G-37A-56PTS; Mika Zibanejad: 21G-27A-48PTS; J.T. Miller: 13G-19A-32PTS
Jonathan Quick: 3-11-2, 3.20 GAA, .885 save percentage
Game notes
The Bruins are in snowy New York City on this fine Monday to face the New York Rangers, who are at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division after a disastrous first half of the season.
That disastrous first half featured, among other things, a 10-2 shellacking by the Bruins and another open later to Rangers fans talking about an impending retool. Good times.
Jonathan Quick has been shouldering the load in the absence of Igor Shesterkin, who was injured earlier this month. It…hasn’t gone well for Quick, who has lost his last 12 starts (and only two of those losses were beyond regulation). Yikes.
Speaking of losses, the Rangers have lost three games in a row and eight of their last nine. I don’t mean to pile on the Blueshirts, so I guess we could just leave it at “things have not been going well across the board.”
Sorry, last one: the Rangers have been bad at home this season, sitting at just 5-13-4 at Madison Square Garden.
Spencer Martin started the Rangers’ last game, a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Friday.
This is the last match-up of the season between these two teams, as aside from the aforementioned 10-2 game, the Rangers beat the B’s 6-2 back in November.
The Rangers are celebrating their centennial season this year, and like the Bruins, they are milking it for all that they can. Tonight is one of their “eras” type celebrations, “Legendary Blueshirts,” which will be “honoring some of the best to ever play the game, some of the best individual seasons and team accomplishments in franchise history.”
Tonight will be the first game of back-to-backs for the Bruins, who will host Nashville at TD Garden on Tuesday night.
Hope your back isn’t too sore from all the shoveling! See ya tonight!
New York Daily News | Peter Sblendorio: The major business for the Yankees seems to be done for the winter, after the team agreed to terms with Cody Bellinger last week. That makes Belli the biggest addition (or retread) of the club alongside the returning Trent Grisham and new Yankees pitcher Ryan Weathers. It’s not exactly as big a splash as some of the division opponents have made in the offseason, with the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Orioles all on paper a little better than they were to end 2025. The Yankees are betting on repeating 2025’s “success,” with a very similar roster, and it’ll take a few months to see if that wager is a fruitful one.
MLB.com | Bryan Murphy: A key to the Yankees’ success in 2026 will be a rerun of Carlos Rodón’s strong campaign, even as the lefty continues to rehab from elbow surgery in his pitching arm. The nominal #1-B pitcher had bone chips removed from the joint back in October, and while he is still expected to start the season on the IL, his recovery seems to be progressing normally. Rodón himself seems excited that he can button his own shirt, and if that’s the mile marker he needs to be at at this stage, that’s good news.
FanGraphs | David Laurila: By now we know two former Yankees were voted into Cooperstown, with Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltrán getting the requisite 75 percent of the BBWAA vote for enshrinement. Another ex-bomber, Bobby Abreu, seems to be having a tougher time building a voting case for himself, and with three years remaining on the ballot, he may end up falling just short of baseball’s most exclusive club.
