Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees
Time/Place: 1:05 p.m., Joker Marchant Stadium – Lakeland, FL
SB Nation Site:Pinstripe Alley
Media: Tigers Radio Network
GameThread: Tigers vs. Yankees, 1:05 p.m.
2026 Chicago Cubs player profiles: Jacob Webb
Jacob Webb is another well-traveled veteran reliever, having had stops with the Braves, Angels, Orioles, Rangers, and now the Cubs. He’s 32 years old, was drafted by Atlanta in the 18th round in 2014, and has been pretty dependable, throwing to ERAs in the threes for the most part.
He walks a few more people than one would prefer, but his stat sheet at BBRef looks like a right-handed Caleb Thielbar, which is to say, not bad at all. He’s amassed a lifetime 3.1 bWAR (1.4 fWAR) and throws 50 or 60 innings in middle relief.
He throws a four-seam, sweeper, and change, with his FB topping in the mid-90s but sitting about 93.5. Webb has only thrown three innings so far this spring and his fate is unknown. He might head to Chicago or he might be let go — odds are that he’ll make the team.
He does have that profile that Jed and the Cubs braintrust seem to like — Jameson Taillon is one of his comps. Even if he is waived, the Cubs might try to negotiate a minor-league deal for him, for a break-glass emergency.
Mariners Prospect Rankings #11, OF Korbyn Dickerson
Making his debut in our prospect rankings at #11, Dickerson and Tuesday’s entry Yorger Bautista were actually tied in our initial run through of our scoring system, though we opted to give the edge to Dickerson upon tie breaker. Last year’s fifth rounder, the former Indiana Hoosier is yet another high-upside play for the Seattle system that could easily turn into one of the bigger draft steals of last year’s class. With a tantalizing toolkit to tap into, look for Dickerson to be one of the more prominent features in Everett’s lineup to start the season.
Signing at slot value last July, Dickerson had one of the loudest starts to the year of any singular player in college baseball, crushing opposing pitchers to all fields and posting ridiculous exit velocities. He cooled off a hair in Big Ten play, but still managed an OPS north of 1.000 on the season and kept the K% south of 20%, a promising sign for a player that’s biggest slight is definitely the pure bat-to-ball ability. His excellent power numbers coupled with premium defense in center field had many evaluators excited by his upside on draft day, and despite essentially every public outlet having him as a top 100 prospect in the 2025 draft class, he slipped to 152 and the Mariners capitalized.
He doesn’t come without concern, however. The aforementioned hit tool warts, while not terrible, are certainly present. Dickerson approaches the plate looking to attack the fastball and routinely does so when he gets one to hit, but he’s been inconsistent with adjusting to spin in the past and he can get in between pitches when his approach starts to slip. Additionally, he’s prone to expanding the zone and had firmly below average chase rates amongst the collegiate ranks last season. He’s able to get to those out of zone pitches at a respectable level, but tightening his zone recognition should help his in zone contact rates, walk rates, and power numbers across the board.
Dickerson’s hit tool issues, though present, are not at a level where alarms should be sounding. An excellent athlete that’s shown he can consistently find the barrel is a lot less scary than someone purely swinging for the fences and hoping for the best, and there are signs in his profile that indicate the adjustability at the plate is trending in the right direction. His plus defense in center already gives him a relatively high floor as a prospect, and given his promising results despite limited playing time (he’s got just one season of college baseball under his belt), it’s not much of a leap to think Dickerson just needs more reps against high-quality pitching to get things figured out. Though the hit rate on major league talent in the fifth round is low, Dickerson’s got as good of a shot as any to break the mold and emerge as a prospect with legitimate big league aspirations. One of five 2025 draftees in our top eleven, hopefully the newcomers are able to live up to our lofty expectations and kick off the next wave of elite Mariner talent.
Spring Training Game Discussion for St. Louis Cardinals vs New York Mets
The St. Louis Cardinals will play host to the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida for the Spring Training game on Thursday, March 12. According to MLB.com, Michael McGreevy will get the start for the Cardinals while Sean Manaea will take the mound for the Mets. The game is scheduled to be watchable on Cardinals.tv.
Spring GameThread: Jays @ Phillies
The Jays are playing the Phillies today. The game is free on MLB tv. I don’t see that it is on Sportsnet.
Lineups:
Better Know Your Blue Jays 40-Man: Trey Yesavage
Trey Yesavage is a 22-year-old, right-handed pitcher. He was our first round draft pick (20th overall) in 2024. Trey got a $4,177,500 signing bonus (I’m trying to figure out how many beers I can get at the club at happy hour with 4.2 million, but let’s just say a lot. Of course, I would have to get chicken wings to go with them, so not as many. There is an old joke about a guy who spent all his money on booze and women, the rest he just wasted). He made a rapid rise through the minor leagues, and he was called up to the Jays in mid-September. He made three regular-season starts, two very good, one not good, and then he was thrown into the fire of a playoff run.
He’s still a rookie.
Trey made six playoff appearances, five starts, and one relief appearance, going 3-1 with a 3.58 ERA. In 27.2 innings, he allowed 18 hits, 11 walks, and had 39 strikeouts. Not every start was great, but most were. He had a bit of an edge because batters hadn’t seen his delivery (from the batter’s box) and his delivery is different than most pitchers. Tom M explained it:
Yesavage’s delivery comes over the top with a short arm action. His pitches come out 7.08 feet off the ground on average, which is higher than any pitcher in the majors this season (about 3⁄4 of an inch higher than leaders Pete Fairbanks or Justin Verlander and over 15 inches higher than the median). That creates a serious downhill plane to the plate, which is a little unfashionable right now because flatter angles pair better with the riding four seamers that are currently dominant. Because of how short his arm action is, as well as the tallness of his delivery, he also has below average extension that takes about two thirds of an mph off the perceived velocity of his pitches. There’s always value in giving hitters an uncommon look, though, and right now they don’t see a lot of balls that bear down on them in the way Yesavage’s do.
One positive thing the delivery does is allow him to get nearly pure backspin on his fastball, which he’s thrown 94 times among 198 pitches in his most recent three outings. The pitch generates an elite 19.9 inches of induced vertical break, which is about 4” more than the typical fastball thrown equally hard in the majors (he averages 94.7mph). It’s relatively straight, with 5.3 inches of arm side run, but with his kind of vertical movement that isn’t a problem. Overall the fastball profiles as a plus pitch that should be able to miss bats and generate pop ups up in the zone.
Baseball Savant says he averaged 94.7 mph and topped out at 96.9, and that 50% were in the strike zone. It tells me a lot about how baseball has changed in my lifetime that the 94.7 mph is just very slightly above league average.
He also throws a slider, averaging 88.7 mph and topping at 90.9. Savant says 2229 rpm, and 50% of those were in the strike zone. It moves 4 inches towards a right-handed batter, 4 inches, and it drops 29 inches (league average 4 inches and 35 inches).
And a split-finger change-up, averaging 84.1 mph, topping at 85.5, and 43% of them were in the strike zone. It moves 11 inches towards the RHB and drops 31 inches. League average is 11 and 34.
The release point on all the pitches is much the same. He gets more than average swing and miss (top of the league, in minimal innings) and a lot more ground balls (also top of the league) than the average pitcher.
He also gets more hard-hit balls against than most. And he walks more than most, but I’m expecting that, as he sees how much trouble hitters have hitting his pitches, he’ll walk fewer.
MLB Pipeline has Yesavage as the #12 prospect in the MLB
Yesavage is having a bit of a slow start to the spring. The team, very understandably, want to be careful with his arm. They would rather he be able to pitch near the end of the season (and hopefully playoffs) than pitch on opening day. He threw 35 pitches off a mound to some minor league hitters yesterday.
I do have some worries that his over the top delivery will not be as great over time. Roy Halladay, when he first came up, threw from over the top and he was great for his first in his first season but he was, I’m not sure the right way to put it, awful the next season. The team sent him back to A-ball, and re-jijjed his delivery. But Trey isn’t Doc
Steamer thinks he’s going to pitch in 37 games, 23 starts, 146 innings, with a 3.73 ERA, and a 2.2 fWAR. I’d bet strongly against him making 14 relief appearances, but I’ve been wrong before. I remember both times. We do have a lot of starting pitchers. One or two of them are going to be making relief appearances.
Open thread: Mets at Cardinals, 3/12/26
Mets lineup
- Marcus Semien – 2B
- Jorge Polanco – 1B
- Bo Bichette – 3B
- Luis Robert Jr. – CF
- Brett Baty – RF
- Francisco Alvarez – C
- Michael Tauchman – DH
- Tyrone Taylor – LF
- Ronny Mauricio – SS
SP: Sean Manaea
Cardinals lineup
lineup to follow
Broadcast info
First pitch: 1:05 PM EDT
TV: CARD (MLB.tv free game of the day)
New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers: Will Warren vs. Justin Verlander
Has anyone else struggled to keep up with the spring training Yankees during the World Baseball Classic, or is it just me? There’s been some thrilling action across all four pools through Wednesday night, culminating in Italy, Canada, and the Dominican Republic’s pool-clinching victories yesterday, and allowing Mark DeRosa’s blunder to be forgiven as the U.S. also moved on with Mexico’s loss. With no WBC on today, of course, the Yankees aren’t televised. Boo.
Will Warren gets the start in Lakeland, his fourth of the spring. The 26-year-old has only allowed one earned run in 10.1 innings while reigning in his command and limiting damage. A new release point has pitching models loving his stuff, but he’s still struggling against lefties in a small sample. Detroit offers some good left-handed hitters, so it’ll be a good test for him as he looks to build up past 50 pitches.
An old foe is on the mound for Detroit today, as 43-year-old Justin Verlander has returned home to the Motor City to likely finish out a first-ballot Hall of Fame career. He rebounded in 2024 with San Francisco after a rough final year in Houston, making 29 starts with a 3.85 ERA (103 ERA+) and 3.85 FIP despite a continually declining strikeout rate. As much as he tortured the Yankees, especially in an Astros uniform, when he pitches against the Yankees this year, we’ll have to appreciate the final games of his storied career.
Ben Rice will lead off and play first base, followed by Jasson Domínguez, J.C. Escarra, and Paul DeJong. Spencer Jones is back in the lineup, batting fifth and playing center field, while George Lombard Jr. bats eighth at shortstop. Max Schuemann, Seth Brown, and Yanquiel Fernández round out the starting nin.
Kerry Carpenter leads off a Detroit lineup with a good amount of regulars that includes Matt Vierling, Colt Keith, Spencer Torkelson, Dillon Dingler, Zach McKinstry, and Javier Báez. Trei Cruz and John Peck wind out the lineup.
How to watch
Location: Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium — Lakeland, FL
First pitch: 1:05 pm ET
TV broadcast: N/A
Radio broadcast: WXYT 1270 (DET)
Online stream: N/A (Audio available via MLB.tv)
For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
Gamethread 3/12: Blue Jays at Phillies
Here are the lineups, let’s discuss!
For the Phillies:
For the Blue Jays:
Red Sox Spring Training Game Thread: Connelly Early takes on the Twins
Is it on TV?
Yes, thank Pedro. In a week when there has barely been any televised Red Sox baseball, this one is on NESN at 1:05 PM. That’s especially fortuitous since there’s no World Baseball Classic action today.
What’s the lineup?
What should we watch for?
It’s all about Connelly Early today. With exactly two weeks until Opening Day, this will be one of his final chances to force himself into the Red Sox rotation.
How Dodgers did in World Baseball Classic pool play
With the World Baseball Classic beginning quarterfinal play on Friday, let’s look back to see how all the Dodgers did during pool play in the tournament. Five Dodgers on the 40-man roster played during the opening round, as well as two minor leaguers. In all, nine Dodgers were active in the WBC, representing seven countries.
Star power
Shohei Ohtani reached base nine times in 13 trips to the plate in Pool C, with two home runs, a double, four walks, six runs batted in, and four runs scored, and did not strike out, helping Japan to a 4-0 start to the tournament.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto walked more (three) than he struck out (two) on March 6 in Japan’s opening game against Chinese Taipei, but got through 2 2/3 innings without permitting a run, throwing 55 pitches.
Edwin Díaz faced seven batters in Pool A for Puerto Rico, and struck out five of them, tossing two scoreless innings with one hit allowed.
Will Smith started two of four games in pool play for the United States, and had a double and single in six at-bats, with two walks, and one RBI on a sacrifice fly.
Hyeseong Kim hit a two-run home run for Korea against Japan, but that was his only hit in 10 at-bats during Pool C. Kim drove in three, walked twice, and stole a base in his three games. He injured his left hand in stealing that base in the 10th inning on March 8 against Chinese Taipei, and did not play in Korea’s final game of the pool.
Clayton Kershaw warmed up late in Team USA’s loss to Italy, but did not pitch in Pool B.
Minor leaguers
Jake Gelof played all four games for Israel, starting three at third base. He had two hits, including a double, and three RBI in Tuesday night’s win over The Netherlands. But in the other three games he was hitless in a combined seven at-bats. Before leaving for the WBC, the second-round draft pick from 2023 got into two Cactus League games for the Dodgers, up from minor league camp, playing third base both times.
Christian Suarez, who pitched for Double-A Tulsa last year, got one out for Venezuela in his one appearance. Venezuela already has a berth in the quarterfinals, but first will play one more game against the Dominican Republic on Wednesday night to decide the winner of Pool D.
Shawndrick Oduber, who pitched in 29 games for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga last year as a 20-year-old, was in the pitching pool for The Netherlands, but did not pitch in their four games.
Clay Holmes skipping rest of WBC to ready for Mets’ season
JUPITER, Fla. – Clay Holmes will forgo the remainder of the World Baseball Classic to prepare for the Mets’ season.
The right-hander was headed back to spring training Thursday, according to manager Carlos Mendoza, after conversations with Team USA officials determined he was unlikely to receive the innings buildup needed for his first start this season.
Team USA has advanced to the WBC quarterfinals against Canada on Friday.
Holmes pitched three scoreless innings for Team USA against Great Britain last week.
“It was hard for Team USA to guarantee him (innings) – especially where they are at, where every game is pretty much an elimination game,” Mendoza said before the Mets faced the Cardinals in the Grapefruit League. “It’s hard, especially as a piggyback, to guarantee the number of pitches we are asking him to get.
“It’s not an easy spot for managers now in the WBC. It’s easy to second guess and I have been in those tournaments and people have no idea how hard it is to please every organization, so Clay had a good talk with the coaching staff and they understand.”
Mendoza indicated the plan was “fluid” for Holmes when he departed for the WBC.
“They are facing an elimination game and the starter needs to go 60-65 pitches and we’re getting there, so they understood,” Mendoza said.
Holmes will pitch in a piggyback, behind Kodai Senga, on Friday, according to Mendoza.
Sticking with No. 26 worked out pretty well for Phillies great Chase Utley
Sticking with No. 26 worked out pretty well for Phillies great Chase Utley originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Every Little Leaguer in the Philadelphia area from 2005 to 2015 wanted the number.
Even today, a decade after it was informally retired, it remains popular in the stands back home at Citizens Bank Park and down here in spring training.
26.
For Phillies fans, the number is synonymous with Chase Utley.
The great former Phillies second baseman was back in Clearwater on Thursday as the team announced he would become its 51st Wall of Famer in an August 7 ceremony at Citizens Bank Park.
Dan Baker, no doubt, is already loosening up his vocal cords …
Number 26, Chase Utley!
But how different it might be if Utley had gotten his wish 20 years ago.
In high school and later at UCLA, he wore No. 7.
“It was always my lucky-ish number,” he said.
As a minor-leaguer attending big-league spring training camp, Utley first wore a football number – 78. When he graduated to the majors, he was assigned No. 26, which wasn’t a bad thing because he got to sit next to Jim Thome in the spring-training clubhouse.
Wearing 26 on his back, Utley became the Phillies’ regular second baseman in the second half of the 2004 season and began a rise to stardom in 2005.
But he still longed to wear his old favorite, No. 7.
After that season, Utley approached Frank Coppenbarger, the team’s longtime clubhouse and equipment man about possibly changing numbers.
“I’d begun to establish myself a little bit so I figured I’d ask,” Utley said.
Coppenbarger was OK with the switch and started to get the ball rolling. He ran it by the front office. The number was open so there were no major objections. The next step was alerting Majestic, then the uniform manufacturer for Major League Baseball.
That’s where there were objections.
“A couple of weeks later, Majestic got back to me,” the now-retired Coppenbarger recalled Thursday. “They were really concerned. They had several thousand ‘Utley 26’ jerseys in stores all over the region and they didn’t want to eat all those jerseys.”
Coppenbarger explained the situation to Utley.
“Oh, wow,” Utley said at the time. “Forget it. Let’s keep 26.”
Two decades later, Utley recalled that conversation on Thursday.
“From that day on, I felt like 26 was my number,” he said. “It worked out pretty good.”
Sure did.
In 13 seasons with the Phillies, Utley played in 1,551 games, made six National League All-Star teams and won four Silver Slugger awards. He was part of a homegrown core of players (along with Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Pat Burrell and others) that won five NL East titles, two NL pennants and a World Series from 2007 to 2011. He played in 46 postseason games for the Phillies and hit seven home runs, five in the 2009 World Series. He ranks in the franchise’s top 10 in a slew of categories, including runs, hits, RBIs, doubles, homers, total bases and extra bases.
You can add standing ovations to that list. Dubbed “The Man” by legendary broadcaster Harry Kalas, Utley was a huge fan favorite not only for his talent and production but also his heads-up, gritty style of play.
On the night the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, Utley made an instinctive defensive gem to cut down Tampa Bay’s Jason Bartlett at the plate. It ranks with Brandon Graham’s strip-sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII as one of the most iconic defensive plays in Philadelphia sports history.
Phillies owner John Middleton praised Utley as “one of the greatest players in franchise history.” Middleton sees the Wall of Fame as a place to honor “Phillies history and its great players, great personnel and great moments.”
“When Chase’s plaque goes up on the Wall of Fame in August, he will deservedly live permanently and visibly forever in Phillies history,” Middleton said.
Utley is the third player from the 2008 World Series championship team to be honored on the Wall of Fame, joining Burrell and Rollins. Manager Charlie Manuel and general manager Pat Gillick have also been honored. In the coming years, more 2008 Phillies will surely be feted. Howard’s time will come soon. Hamels’, as well. Both were in Clearwater for the Utley announcement Thursday.
“For me, being able to hit behind Chase all those years and getting to see it first-hand, watching him work to do his thing day in and day out, was amazing,” Howard said. “Now, for him to be enshrined on the Wall of Fame, it’s awesome. It’s awesome to see a player and leader like that be recognized.
“As a player, you don’t set out for this type of stuff. It just happens when you do great things, and what Chase did was great. For me, answering these questions now — I’m standing here, but mentally, I’m in the on-deck circle watching his greatness. He’s a special player and a special individual.”
The Wall of Fame likely will not be the last great honor for Utley. In January, he received 59.1 percent (of a necessary 75 percent) of the vote in his third year on the Hall of Fame ballot. With seven years of eligibility remaining, he seems like a shoo-in. When that day comes, Phillies fans will flock to Cooperstown with No. 26 on their backs and the team will officially retire the number that no one has worn since him.
And to think, it could have been No. 7.
“I’m glad Chase didn’t change his number,” Frank Coppenbarger said. “Now, 26 is iconic. He’s 26 and he’ll be 26 forever.”
Texas Rangers lineup for March 12, 2026
Texas Rangers lineup for March 12, 2026 against the Athletics of the West Coast.
Two weeks from Opening Day, and we have a spring training game this afternoon. It is against the Athletics. Jack Leiter is starting.
The lineup:
Nimmo — RF
Langford — LF
Seager — SS
Burger — 1B
Pederson — DH
Carter — CF
Smith — 2B
Duran — 3B
MacIver — C
3:05 p.m. Central start time.
Atlanta Braves 2026 Opening Day roster projection, March 12 edition
There are only two weeks and a day left until the regular season starts and the prospective Atlanta Braves Opening Day roster is coming into focus — for better and for worse.
Less than two weeks after the last roster projection, two more shoes dropped, adding more consternation to Opening Day roster. First, it was outfielder/designated hitter Jurickson Profar getting suspended for 162 games for a second PED positive test in less than 12 months. Then, last weekend, possible starting pitcher/long-reliever Joey Wentz tore his ACL and will miss the 2026 season.
Now it is time to take another look what the projected Opening Day roster.
As a reminder, this projection is based on who is on the Braves’ 40-man roster or in camp with the team at this moment in time and assumes that everyone is “healthy” when Opening Day rolls around. All the usual caveats apply related to injuries, acquisitions and the like.
This is the third projection this Spring and for additional thoughts and details on the below players, read the prior projections as those comments won’t be duplicated below.
Position Players
Catcher: Drake Baldwin
First base: Matt Olson
Second base: Ozzie Albies
Shortstop: Mauricio Dubón
Third base: Austin Riley
Right field: Ronald Acuña, Jr.
Center field: Micheal Harris II
Left field: Mike Yastrzemski
Designated hitter:
Bench: Jonah Heim, Eli White, Jorge Mateo, Kyle Farmer, Dominic Smith
With Jurickson Profar out of the equation, the designated hitter spot gets hits with a strike-through for this projection. Atlanta could possibly bring in someone at the end of camp for the last bench spot, but for now, veteran Dominic Smith gets the nod. The Braves would probably be better served with a right-handed hitting option, but at this point Smith and outfielder Ben Gamel, both veteran lefty-swinging bats, seem the two most likely options.
Wild Cards: Nacho Alvarez, Jr., Ben Gamel, Jose Azucar, Brett Wisely
Luke Williams has struggled mightily with the bat, and at this point, seems an unlikely option to make the team. It is fair to question if he is able to stick in Triple-A, either. Utilityman Brett Wisely, who played briefly with the Braves last season before an off-season detour to the Tampa Bay Rays before returning to Atlanta, could be an option given he can play on the infield or outfield.
Another name to keep an eye on is player who had the quick cup of coffee with Atlanta last season before moving on and coming back – outfielder Jose Azucar. Azucar is likely a Triple-A outfield option only but should the Braves need an reserve outfielder to open the season, he might get the nod over Gamel. Infielder Nacho Alvarez, Jr. has been playing in the WBC and was optioned when he left camp, but he can’t be ruled out completely, although is likely to be ticketed to Triple-A to get full-time at-bats.
Pitchers
Starting pitchers: Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder, JR Ritchie
Bullpen: Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suarez, Dylan Lee, Tyler Kinley, Aaron Bummer, Joel Payamps, Jose Suaréz
The starting rotation has lost most of its depth since Spring Training started with Hurston Waldrop, Joey Wentz and Spencer Schwellenbach all succumbing to injuries. JR Ritchie makes the jump to the starting rotation – even if only for the first two weeks. Theoretically, Atlanta could opt to give Ritchie a start after Strider or Lopez, allowing Holmes to be the designated long-man for a couple of games and slot in as the sixth starter.
With Hayden Harris and James Karinchak seeming to not be in the plan to start the year, the final slot goes to left-hander Jose Suaréz given his ability to cover multiple innings. He pitched in seven games, including one start, for the Braves last season.
Wild Cards: Martín Peréz, Hayden Harris, Dylan Dodd, James Karinchak
A lot can happen in two weeks, and a couple more clean outings by Harris or even a minor injury to an expected reliever could see the rookie force his way on the roster. The same can be said for Karinchak. Should Atlanta opt to have a sixth start, but not want Ritchie to start the year in Atlanta, then the veteran Martín Peréz could get the call. Dodd’s ability to be optioned does not play in his favor, but he could be an option over Suaréz.