Category: MLB

Leicester Tigers flanker Tommy Reffell has been ruled out for about eight weeks after suffering a throat injury in training.

Reffell was hurt when hit in the neck by "a stray boot" during a session in the days after leading Tigers to Prem Cup final success against Exeter Chiefs.

The injury could see the 26-year-old Wales international miss at least seven matches, not including further knockout ties in the European Champions Cup if they get past Bordeaux Begles in the round of 16 in April.

"We're gutted to lose Tommy to a very unfortunate injury where a stray boot has hit his throat," Tigers head coach Geoff Parling told the club website.

"He has been a real pest to the opposition, and we'll use this time to firstly get him fit and healthy and secondly get him ready and firing for the end of the season."

Reffell's injury means loanee Hamish Watson will come in for his Tigers debut against Bristol Bears on Sunday.

Watson rejoined Tigers, a club he played for at academy level, on a short-term deal from Scottish side Edinburgh earlier in March.

"This also presents an opportunity for Hamish to start and show his quality in a Tigers shirt in a full circle moment after leaving our academy 16 years ago," Parling said.

Michael King, like his last time out, was hurt by the long ball when he and the San Diego Padres played the Chicago White Sox at the Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday. Fortunately for King, the Padres had their full compliment of All-Star players in their lineup, and they were able to overcome the White Sox and earn a 13-6 win.

King allowed three runs in the first inning, two of which came on a two-run home run by Lamonte Wade Jr., a run in the second inning on a sacrifice fly and two runs in the fifth inning which came on back-to-back home runs by Curtis Mead and Wade Jr., and left the game after five innings of work with the score tied 6-6.

San Diego exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Jake Cronenworth hit a bases clearing double after three consecutive walks to start the inning and Jackson Merrill followed two batters later with a ground-rule double to put the Padres up 10-6. Ty France followed Merrill and with two runners on, he again cleared the bases with a three-run home run to give San Diego a 13-6 lead en route to the win.

The Padres return to action today with a meeting against the Los Angeles Dodgers at 6:05 p.m.

Padres News:

• With Fernando Tatis Jr. and Mason Miller back at the Peoria Sports Complex after their time with their World Baseball Classic teams, both players were asked about the matchup that could have happened when the Domincan Republic faced the US in the semi-final. Miller got the third and final out of the game while Tatis stood in the on-deck circle leaving everyone to wonder, “What would have happened?”  

• Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune focused his report on Padres reliever Jeremiah Estrada and the motivation he has to be successful with San Diego after his departure from the Chicago Cubs.

• Padres.TV color analyst Mark Grant signed and extension with the San Diego organization that will ensure he and play-by-play announcer Don Orsillo remain in the booth, together, for years to come.

Baseball News:

• The Spring Breakout Series started Thursday and several games were played, giving top prospects a chance to showcase their abilities. One of those players delivered a 101-mph fastball, at 18 years old, to the No. 5 MLB prospect.

• Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage, who burst onto the scene in the 2025 playoffs, is set to open the season on the IL.

• The 2026 WBC final between the US and Venezuela was the most-watched final in the history of the tournament.

• The Pittsburgh Pirates made the obvious a reality by announcing Paul Skenes as their Opening Day starter.

Analytics has any number of practical uses, but the best and original use is to verify feelings that we may have when we watch the games. Emotional responses are often rife with bias. We often remember what we want to remember and forget what we want to forget so that we can forward the narrative we have built up in our minds. As you can see by the title, we are looking at Astros efficiency. So, what exactly is efficiency?

To explain it simply, it is the percentage of runners that end up crossing home plate. However, one of the things we have neglected when looking at efficiency is the pitching end of it. The best numbers are numbers that serve as a mirror image of each other. If it is good for a high percentage of runners to score then it is also good if we prevent a high percentage of runners from scoring.

We call this segment the lab because the numbers are what they are, but the key comes in how we interpret them. So, we end up running a bit of an experiment where we set up a hypothesis and test it. In this case, we would postulate that good teams plate a higher percentage of their runners and prevent a higher percentage of the other team’s runners. For our purposes, base runners can be interpreted as hits + walks + hit by pitches. Obviously, we have situations where runners also reach on errors and fielder choices, but it is usually best to keep this as simple as possible.

So, if our hypothesis is correct then the teams with the highest run differentials would also have the positive gaps in efficiency. So, we will set up our table with runs scored and runs allowed, offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency, and run and efficiency differential. We know that teams with higher run differentials are the better teams. Will they also have higher positive differentials in efficiency? Let’s find out.

Offensive vs. Defensive Efficiency

	Runs	Runs Allowed	Off Eff	Def Eff	Run +/-	Eff +/-
2017	896	700	.415	.367	+196	+.048
2018	797	534	.395	.321	+263	+.074
2019	920	640	.409	.378	+280	+.031
2020	279	275	.403	.383	+4	+.020
2021	863	658	.405	.356	+205	+.049
2022	737	518	.382	.316	+219	+.066
2023	827	698	.401	.363	+129	+.038
2024	740	649	.377	.352	+91	+.025
2025	686	665	.358	.365	+21	-.007

If you felt like the Astros were leaving a small village on base last season then your perceptions were backed up by the numbers. Their .358 efficiency rating was the worst in the World Series era. This becomes particularly acute when you look at the aggregate numbers over the time period. The pitching side saw worse years than last year, but the net result had the first negative differential in the time period.

Our hypothesis was that the best teams would have the best efficiency differential. There wasn’t a perfect correlation here because there never are in human endeavors. However, the club had four seasons with a +200 or better run differential. Three out of four of those seasons also were amongst the four best efficiency differentials. The notable exception was 2017 which saw the fourth best efficiency differential, but the fifth best run differential. That’s still pretty damn close.

The null hypothesis would suggest that efficiency is more or less dumb luck. It would be the intellectual equivalent of Lou Brown (from “Major League”) uttering, “I know he hasn’t done much against this guy, but I gotta hunch he’s due.” Serendipity is certainly a thing, but it also is not an action plan. The more intelligent fan out there would call that regression to the mean. In essence, as an analyst I have always considered intangibles to be something we haven’t figured out how to measure yet.

We used to consider clutch hitting an intangible. We used to consider pitch framing an intangible. Over time we figured out how to measure it. In short, the more you can measure the less uncertainty there is. When you can minimize the unknown you can also minimize risk. As the correlation above shows, you can’t completely eliminate it, but you can minimize it.

What do these numbers mean?

I start by looking at the hitting and pitching numbers independently. Do we see any patterns? The offensive numbers have more patterns than the pitching numbers. They simply fell off the side of the cliff the last two seasons. This is probably the main reason why the hitting coaches were jettisoned. The hope is that new voices can make them more efficient.

On the pitching side, the numbers were more scattershot. 2018 and 2022 stick out like a sore thumb in a positive sense. 2018 was the single best pitching season for any American League team since the DH was instituted in 1973 up to that point. 2022 was obviously both even better and the World Series season with the best bullpen in franchise history. The other seasons saw them give up 640 or more runs and all of them had efficiency ratings between a .352 and .383 in efficiency.

Given those parameters, the 2025 staff exists at around the midpoint. The staff loses Framber Valdez, but hopes to be better with better health and more depth. I hate to keep beating this drum, but the key to the season will come at the plate. The aggregate in the time period for offensive efficiency was .394. That seems like a tall order to get to, but if the team can get back to a ,375 efficiency then that would have been 718 runs scored with the same number of base runners. That is an extra 32 runs on the season. Most sabermetricians look at ten runs as being the win mark, So, that’s an extra three wins. The Astros win the AL West with three wins. That’s especially true if one of them comes against the Mariners. Obviously, it’s a lot easier said than done. Ultimately, we are simply explaining something mathematically that we see with our own eyes and feel emotionally. Will the Astros get back on the right side of the efficiency battle? What do you think?

Good morning, LSB.

Kennedi Landry writes that Andrew McCutchen has shown he’s still got it and is on his way to making the team.

Jeff Wilson says the battle for the Rangers 5th rotation spot pits stuff vs. the little things.

Shawn McFarland has observations in which Jake Latz made his final start of spring training.

Josh Jung appears to be ready to go for opening day.

Yolfran Castillo is No. 5 on the Rangers’ prospect countdown.

And the latest guest on Evan Grant’s SportsDay Rangers podcast is one Ian Michael Kinsler.

That’s all for this morning. Happy Friday.

The Detroit Tigers have gone a long time without finding a big time player in the international free agent market. There have been signs of life from Wenceel Pérez and Keider Montero, and fourth ranked prospect Josue Briceño, but they’re still waiting for a star player to emerge. Teenaged outfielder Cris Rodriguez may be be their best hope.

The Tigers inked Rodriguez to a $3,197,500 contract as the lead member of their January 2025 signing class. The Dominican native had just turned 17 years old, yet he went out to the Dominican Summer League last year and had a really good season. Since Al Avila starting committing serious dollars to top IFA talent late last decade, most of the big names have been disappointments. Scott Harris and his staff have built an outstanding track record in the draft of snatching up the top prep hitters and proving correct, so times have changed. Hopefully, Rodriguez will prove another example of their prowess in evaluating teenaged hitters.

As a 17-year-old, Rodriguez hit 10 home runs in 50 games in the DSL, striking out a very reasonable 22.3 percent of the time. He didn’t walk much and he chased a lot, so there’s a long way to go. Rodriguez has the same power potential as a Junior Caminero but isn’t tracking as a hitter to the same degree. At least it’s comforting that Caminero was a pretty aggressive free-swinger at that age as well. Still Rodriguez’s well advanced raw power and sound swing with natural loft were death to fastballs, and he hit the ball very hard, very often. The young outfielder is already a pretty strong 6’3”, 203 pounds, but he’s still fairly lean with the frame to add another 20 pounds of good muscle. There’s a good chance he’ll boast 70 grade raw power by the time he’s in his 20’s.

In the outfield, Rodriguez can handle center field, but his speed is pretty average and he may lose a step as he fills out. Reports suggest that he has work to do to improve his jumps and route running, but that he’s a pretty sound defender who closes on the ball well and makes plays. That’s a pretty good foundation at his age. His plus arm makes him a good fit in right field, and that seems like his natural position. There’s a good chance that he’s at least an average corner outfielder in a few year’s time even if he ends up losing a little speed.

Per FanGraphs, Rodriguez EV90 in the DSL was 108 mph, which is pretty wild. His ten percent best balls in play by exit velocity averaged similar numbers to the hardest hit balls of Kerry Carpenter’s career, and again, he was 17 years old at the time. Rodriguez hit a ball 113 mph at his best last summer. The lack of an approach at the plate gives one pause, but it’s a big advantage just in pure hitting terms to have level of batspeed with the potential for more to come.

As with all young hitters, the issues to track in the years ahead are plate discipline, ability to recognize spin and offspeed, and development of his swing. Rodriguez chased out of the zone a whole lot in the DSL despite all the damage he did, and that’s going to have to improve rapidly as he plays Complex League ball this season. He’s still going to be facing a lot of wild young pitchers, and a 5.9 percent walk rate again would be pretty egregious. He hasn’t faced too much in the way of quality breaking stuff either, but that’s just par for the course at his age. It just means he’s young, and a long way from the major leagues.

We haven’t seen him other than a few game clips and BP sessions, so it’s hard to say how he looked at the plate in the DSL overall. FanGraphs notes that his hands fire from a dead stop and as a result he takes a little time to gather power. I take this to mean that he’s still something of a BP swinger without a lot of developed hitting rhythm in game. He’s certainly upright and a little stiff-legged in the box, and will benefit from more strength and flexibility through his hips and legs. Hopefully we’ll get some looks at him this summer if he gets to Single-A, and plenty of eyes will be on him as he makes his stateside debut today in the Spring Breakout game.

It’s hard to say much more. Rodriguez has enormous power potential and he already shows signs of being a pretty good fastball hitter. Obviously learning to handle guys with multiple plus pitches and good command is another matter, but that’s enough to be pretty excited about him already. It doesn’t hurt that he’s athletic and a good runner for his size even if that speed figures to diminish as he fills out, either. He should be a solid defensive presence, and if he gets to enough power the Tigers will have a pretty good player here. He has future star potential to a degree most prospects do not, so it’s worth ranking him pretty highly already.

Look for a good debut in the Complex League, where he shouldn’t have too much trouble, and a full season move to Single-A ball in 2027. It will be a bit of a treat for prospect watchers to see him in the Spring Breakout game where a lot of the Tigers’ current crop of top hitting prospects have burst onto the scene in the past few years.

After a sojourn as not-quite world conquerors, Logan Webb re-donned the orange-and-black on Thursday, taking the mound in what should be his last Cactus League start before 2026’s Opening Day.

It wasn’t the glorious, dominant return he may have envisioned for himself. Webb stifled international talent across two starts (allowing 1 ER over 8 2/3 IP) on the global stage and earned a nod to the All-WBC team for his efforts, but back in the desert, the Rockies bats bugged and sweated him to no end.

Webb needed 86 pitches to record 13 outs, including a 2nd inning respite, and was bitten for 6 earned runs on 8 hits, a walk, and just 3 strikeouts. In true Webb fashion, 6 of those 8 hits were singles. The two extra-baggers came courtesy of new Western Division addition, Willi Castro, who doubled, then launched a game-tying solo shot in the 6th on the tenth pitch of the at-bat. Rising star Ezequiel Tovar (also named to the All-WBC Tournament team, representing world conquering Venezuela) ended Webb’s night by working an 8-pitch base-on-balls. Expectations are not mile-high for Colorado, but those types of nagging at-bats portend much hair-pulling and frustrated muttering to come for Giants pitchers. Something to look forward too…  

But don’t worry! This isn’t the first time Webb has stumbled off the Spring Training mound only to find his legs in the regular season.

In 2024, his final game in the Cactus League was a 9 ER blow-out against the Cubs, ballooning his ERA to 10.97. Exactly three years prior to Thursday’s start, he gave up 4 runs on 6 hits, including 2 homers, against the Angels. And in his final start before the 2022 regular season, Milwaukee got him for 4 runs on 6 hits again over 4 innings pitched. No alarm bells should be ringing. Nothing out of the ordinary here. If anything Webb seemed to pitch a bit off script, especially in the first couple frames, with a custodial concern for his down-ballot offerings. We saw more cutters and four-seams than you’d expect to see from him (both pitches accounted for 8% of Webb’s mix in 2025), including a first-pitch cut right down the middle to Castro in the 1st. Those pitches are used to raise the eye-line of the batter. They are not standalone features but splashes of color in the bouquet.

Colorado’s elevated rate of contact could be explained too by Webb’s average velocity being down across the board. Not sure why this was the case — perhaps the heat, or if this was by design. But it’s also a helpful reminder that despite his rise-to-prominence as a K-King last year, Webb relies on eliciting certain contact. With that approach, there’s always the risk of an inning like Colorado’s 2nd, in which four consecutive balls in play find holes in the infield and compound into an ugly crooked number. It’s all part of the experience. And if you’re still bothered by the final pitching line, perhaps there’s some solace to find in the fact that two of those six earned runs came when reliever R.J. Dabovich took the mound with two outs in the 2nd. It wasn’t all Webb’s fault! 

Overall, it was a hit-happy kind of day in Arizona. Despite less than ideal pitching and some unfortunate defense in the later innings, the Giants slugged their way to a 14-11 win over the Rockies.

Leadoff man Drew Gilbert got into the swing of things with a 3-hit day including a triple off John Brebbia. Back-up catcher Daniel Susac launched his second homer of Spring off Brebbia in the 4th, and Christian Koss tacked one on later in the frame with his first longball.

Jerar Encarnacion continued to scorch the ball, collecting two hits, including a double and a pair of RBIs. Non-roster invitee Victor Bericoto continued to force the issue of his presence, as he’s done all Spring, with another 2-hit day while bagging his 14th RBI on a 2-out double in the 5th.

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Andrew Painter made what is likely to be his last start of the spring on Wednesday when he finished four shutout innings against a Braves lineup that had numerous regulars. In total, Painter made three starts, pitched 7.2 innings, allowed three runs on six hits including a home run, and struck out five with only one walk in spring training.

His fastball shape is still a work in progress, but Painter has flashed an impressive arsenal this spring, highlighted by a sweeper-slider combination that racked up a combined six whiffs on a total of 19 pitches in his final start. He’s also shown an intriguing changeup that has potential to be a weapon as well. 

But, Painter’s second start was a little concerning in that he lost velocity as it went on and was hit hard. Some of those worries were remedied in his last start where he held an average velocity around 96 MPH throughout his 4 innings and 52 pitches of work. Still, it will be something to monitor as he embarks on his rookie season, as velocity bleeding was an issue for Painter in 2025. 

There are lofty expectations on Painter, even if some may be unfairly high. He is a former top pitching prospect in baseball, but he is a much different pitcher now than he was before suffering a torn UCL and missing essentially two years of development. Back then he could essentially feast off of two pitches thanks to his overpowering fastball. Now he’s developing a whole arsenal while trying to rediscover some of the same form of that fastball. Nevertheless, the Phillies are expecting Painter to come in and contribute right away as a rookie, as the fifth starter role in the rotation has been earmarked for the young righty all winter. 

The results in spring have been encouraging, but there’s still clear things that must be worked on if Painter will reach his ceiling either this year or in the future. Frankly, there’s still discussions to be had about what exactly that ceiling is in a post Tommy John surgery career. 

So, what do you make of Andrew Painter’s spring? Did he show enough for you to instill confidence in him? Or was it not enough yo quell your concerns? Or are you simply just “whelmed” with his performance and are looking forward to what he can do in real games? 

Hurray!

Opening Day is just a week out as the Orioles close out spring training and get ready for the upcoming season. To judge by the main Orioles-interested press outlets, there won’t be a ton of surprises in roster construction. This team is built with depth, and few holes. Manager Craig Albernaz maintains, “I am definitely not the decision-maker,” and that president of baseball operations Mike Elias takes an “organizational approach” to how roster decisions will be made.

That doesn’t mean, though, that there are no slots left, or that spring had no impact on roster decisions. Spring training stats don’t count, of course, but they do matter for folks on the bubble. Some of the “risers” this spring are no-brainers: catcher Adley Rutschman (an .841 spring OPS), infielder Coby Mayo (14 hits in 31 ABs), and catcher Samuel Basallo (a .310 BA and .946 OPS), and, on the pitching side, the whole presumptive starting rotation. But dark horses have surprised, too: utility infield candidate Bryan Ramos (10 hits, 4 XBH, in 29 ABs), outfielder and offseason acquisition Taylor Ward (a .976 OPS in 29 ABs), relievers Eric Torres (8 Ks in 3.2 IP), Grant Wolfram (a 0.00 ERA in five IP), Cameron Weston (an 0.80 WHIP in five IP).  

Injuries to infielders Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg, plus veteran reliever Andrew Kittredge, have opened up a couple of spots on the 26-man roster. I’ve surveyed the major O’s-related publications, and here is the consensus view on the Orioles’ projected 26-man roster for the 2026 season. In bold are people on the bubble:

LINEUP:

1. Gunnar Henderson – Shortstop
2. Taylor Ward – Left Field
3. Pete Alonso – First Base
4. Adley Rutschman – Catcher
5. Tyler O’Neill – Right Field
6. Samuel Basallo – Designated Hitter (DH)
7. Coby Mayo – Third Base
8. Colton Cowser – Center Field
9. Blaze Alexander – Second Base

BENCH:

First Baseman – Ryan Mountcastle
Outfield – Dylan Beavers
Outfield – Leody Taveras (Banner, WBAL)
Utility – Jeremiah Jackson

DEPTH:

Infield – Bryan Ramos
Infield – Luis Vázquez
Outfield – Heston Kjerstad
Outfield – Jhonkensy Noel

Analysis: Injuries to Holliday and Westburg were a blessing in disguise for Coby Mayo, who will get an extended chance to show he can handle third base. It’ll be an adventure, but he’s shown the offensive upside this spring: a .452 average, .742 slugging, and 1.183 OPS in 31 at-bats. Blaze Alexander will fill in at second, but could find himself back on the bench when Holliday returns.

As for the utility players, Luis Vázquez has options remaining and could be reassigned. Although Jeremiah Jackson has cooled off after a hot start, he has a track record of MLB success that other candidates in this pool don’t. As for longtime Chicago farmhand Bryan Ramos, he’s a sleeper candidate to crack the roster, having torn the cover off the ball lately.

Turning to the outfield, there is a crunch, with five viable options in Colton Cowser, Taylor Ward, Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Beavers and Leody Taveras. Cowser and Taveras are the only true centerfielders, although Beavers has seen plenty of innings at that position this spring. Taveras’ versatility has several publications putting him on the roster. Kjerstad and Noel started off the spring hot, but have cooled recently, and have options remaining.

A question will be what will happen when/if Westburg returns from his partially torn UCL in his elbow. Mayo and Mountcastle would be the odd men out, and while Mayo can be sent to the minors with an option, Mountcastle would need to be designated for assignment(cut) or traded.

ROTATION:

1. Trevor Rogers
2. Kyle Bradish
3. Chris Bassitt
4. Shane Baz
5. Dean Kremer
6. Zach Eflin

BULLPEN:

Closer – Ryan Helsley
Set Up – Yennier Cano
Keegan Akin
Tyler Wells
Dietrich Enns
Rico Garcia
Albert Suárez (Banner)

DEPTH:

Jackson Kowar (SI, WBAL)
Grant Wolfram (The Sun, Baltimore Baseball)
Yaramil Hiraldo (The Sun, Baltimore Baseball)
Hans Crouse
José Espada
Cameron Foster
Chayce McDermott
Anthony Nunez
Cade Povich
Brandon Young
Eric Torres

Not much suspense at the top tier of the rotation: Trevor Rogers is looking to build on a season that saw him become one of the best pitchers in the league, while Kyle Bradish wants to stay healthy after Tommy John surgery, and ideally return to his 2024 form that saw him finish in the Top 5 for the Cy Young. The biggest wild card will be from newcomer Shane Baz. Crazy as it sounds, he could be the best pitcher in the rotation if he lives up to his potential and stays healthy.

This group looks dramatically different from last season, when Zach Eflin was the Opening Day starter. The righty, rehabbing from back surgery last fall, may not even make the rotation this season, depending on his return from injury and whether the team utilizes a six-man rotation. If he is still ramping up, the team could carry an extra reliever in Grant Wolfram.

The bullpen will be the biggest question going into the season. The locks include closer Ryan Helsley, signed in the offseason to fill in for Felix Bautista and veteran reliever Andrew Kittredge, although he will miss the beginning of the season. Tyler Wells was moved to the bullpen after being a starter last season.

The last slot or two are interesting. Jackson Kowar, a 29-year-old waiver claim, is showing electric velocity, but he’s out of options. So is Albert Suárez, back on a one-year deal. If he gets cut, other teams will get a chance at him on waivers. Grant Wolfram has pitched great this spring, but he has an option remaining. So does Yaramil Hiraldo, who pitched for the O’s last season and has had a mixed spring. There are other intriguing names in here, including lefty sidearmer Eric Torres and Luis de León, a prospect with electric stuff who was just sent down for more seasoning.

The Braves have been killing it in Spring Training, but the roster still looks like it could use some upgrades. Some of those upgrades might even come courtesy of players still in other camps at the moment — provided the Braves find something they like.

This hasn’t been a huge source of contribution in years past for this Front Office, but Anibal Sanchez is the big one here. (Also, Jesse Chavez.)

In any case, I realize that the answer to this question depends on whom, exactly, other teams cut, and whether the Braves find those guys of interest, but here’s your chance to make a binary guess as to whether the Opening Day roster includes the likes of Brett Wisely, Kyle Farmer, or Dominic Smith… or whether the Braves ultimately make a move for perhaps a more recognizable name that had little to do with their Grapefruit League success.

Has any young pitcher generated more hype this spring than Carlos Lagrange? The Yankees’ 22-year-old right-hander came into the spring as the organization’s top pitching prospect (or number two, behind Elmer Rodríguez), with MLB Pipeline ranking him 79th, Baseball Prospectus at 61st, and FanGraphs at 73rd. And yet, as spring training winds down, those rankings have begun to look at least somewhat conservative.

2025 Stats (Single-A, Double-A): 24 games (23 starts), 11-8, 3.53 ERA, 3.14 FIP, 120 innings, .353/.457/.441 (159 wRC+), 33.4% K%, 12.3 BB%, 1.20 WHIP

Signed out of the Dominican Republic for just $10,000 in 2022, Lagrange steadily climbed through the Yankees’ farm before breaking out in a big way in 2025. Between eight games in High-A Hudson Valley and 16 with the Double-A Somerset Patriots, he posted a career high in strikeout percentage and innings pitched, along with a career low in walk rate. As the spring began, he drew comparisons to Cam Schlittler, who had a similar breakout in 2024 before emerging as arguably the Yankees’ best starter down the stretch last season.

Then, on the first day of spring training, he struck out Aaron Judge with a 102.6-mph fastball during live BP.

Carlos Lagrange strikes out Aaron Judge on three pitches. Last one at 102.6 mph. pic.twitter.com/Z4dODwf0Hn

— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) February 16, 2026

That would be a sign of things to come. In 13.2 innings across four outings (including one start), Lagrange has allowed just two runs on six hits, striking out 13 and walking just four. He has drawn praise from, well, everybody who has seen him. ESPN Jeff Passan wrote late last week, “It wouldn’t surprise me if … Carlos Lagrange is pitching meaningful innings for the Yankees by September — if not sooner.” Dellin Betances, to whom the 6-foot-7 hard-throwing righty has been often compared, believes he “has the ability to be one of the best starters in the game if he continues to work on his craft.”

Judge agrees with that sentiment, and I’m pretty sure if Gerrit Cole had his way, Lagrange would start the season in the Yankees rotation. For his part, Lagrange thinks he would be “ready to compete” and following his most recent outing on Wednesday, catcher Austin Wells affirmed “I don’t have any doubts he could help us right now.”

Obviously, that’s not going to happen. Lagrange will begin the season in the minor leagues, either returning to Dougle-A Somerset or earning a promotion to Triple-A Scranton. The Yankees think very highly of this young righty and they don’t want to rush his development just to get him onto the Opening Day roster. As is common with pitchers of his stature, he is still a bit wild on the mound; as Eric Longenhagen and Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs notes, his delivery “features lots of head movement and spinal tilt,” which makes it a bit difficult to find the zone with consistency. The Yankees have enough pitching depth both in the rotation and in the bullpen (even if, as Josh notes, there’s quite a bit of uncertainty in the latter) that there’s no real need to rush Lagrange to start the season; and if they need to tap into their prospect depth for starting pitching, well, Rodríguez is going to get first crack, anyway.

Even so, if all goes well, I would expect Lagrange to get the call to The Show at some point this summer. Ideally, he tightens up his control, reduces his walk rate, and allows his electric stuff — which is already MLB-quality, according to most metrics — and forces the organization to find a spot for him in the rotation some time this summer. But should the summer roll around without a spot in the rotation open, well, the organization hasn’t ruled out using Lagrange as a bullpen weapon down the stretch.

And while that might scare Yankees fans who fear Lagrange following the career arc of Joba Chamberlain, pitching development league-wide has come a long way since then, and Chris Sale, Garrett Crochet, and Michael King are just a few of the numerous starters who completed their development into top-of-the-rotation starters while also working out of the big-league bullpen at to,es. Only time will tell if Lagrange might just join that group.

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See more of the Yankees Previews series here.

Red Sox fans have been spoiled by the rosters of recent Spring Breakout games. That’s what happens when your farm system is stocked with some of the very best prospects in baseball.

The spring breakout roster isn’t quite as loaded this year. Here’s the team that will be in the dugout against the Orioles prospects tonight, per MLB.com:

PITCHERS (9)
Jay Allmer, RHP, NR
Jake Bennett, LHP, No. 7
Anthony Eyanson, RHP, No. 10
Patrick Galle, RHP, NR
Marcus Phillips, RHP, No. 9
Reidis Sena, RHP, NR
Juan Valera, RHP, No. 5
Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, No. 4/MLB No. 84

CATCHERS (3)
Nate Baez, C, NR
Franklin Primera, C, NR
Gerardo Rodriguez, C/1B, No. 27

INFIELDERS (9)
Marvin Alcantara, INF, NR
Franklin Arias, SS, No. 2/MLB No. 31
Josue Brito, INF, NR
Yoeilin Cespedes, 2B, No. 18
Freili Encarnacion, INF, NR
Henry Godbout, 2B, No. 11
Hector Ramos, SS, No. 23
Mikey Romero, INF, No. 13
Dorian Soto, SS, No. 8

OUTFIELDERS (6)

Enddy Azocar, OF, No. 12
Miguel Bleis, OF, No. 17
Allan Castro, OF, No. 25
Justin Gonzales, OF, No. 6
Harold Rivas, OF, No. 20
Nelly Taylor, OF, No. 22

Even if we don’t have a Roman Anthony or Marcelo Mayer on the roster, we do have two elite prospects in shortstop Franklin Arias and pitcher Kyson Witherspoon. We’ve seen Arias make cameos in each of the last two spring trainings, but this will probably be the first look most Sox fans get of Witherspoon. They will likely be the center of attention.

But the guy I’ll be watching for is another shortstop: Dorian Soto. Soto is an 18-year-old who has yet to make his stateside debut. It’s irresponsible to draw any conclusions from the .307/.362/.428 slash line he put up in the Dominican Summer League last year. But he’s a switch-hitting infielder with a big frame (he’s already 6-3) and huge offensive upside. He’s not going to make an impact in the big leagues any time soon, if he ever does. But it should be fun watching him climb up the ladder, so he’s the guy I’ll be paying the most attention to. Who’s yours?

Talk about prospects, whatever else you want, and, as always, be good to one another.

Since their inception in 1962, lots of incredible players have donned the orange and blue. Below, the Mets all-time 26-man roster is unveiled.

But first, some rules...

In order to be eligible for the team, a player must have spent a chunk of his career in Queens and experienced a solid part of his peak during that time. That means Pedro Martinez and Nolan Ryan won't be in the starting rotation, and Willie Mays won't be patrolling center field. Meanwhile, Juan Soto doesn't yet qualify.

And now, the Mets' all-time team...

Starting Lineup

Catcher: Mike Piazza

Aside from the ace of the pitching staff, this was the easiest call to make.

While there is sentimentality when it comes to Gary Carter -- who was a co-captain with the Mets, helped them win the 1986 World Series, and is a Hall-of-Famer -- the answer is Piazza.

The greatest hitting catcher ever, who has a Mets cap adorning his plaque in Cooperstown, Piazza hit .296/.373/.542 with 220 homers in 972 games over eight seasons in Queens, was the backstop during two of their most exciting playoff runs, and has his No. 31 retired.

First Baseman: Keith Hernandez

A true difference-maker on both sides of the ball, the arrival of Hernandez via trade in 1983 helped revitalize the franchise.

Hernandez was a clutch performer, team captain, and heart and soul of the mid-to-late '80s squad. Like Piazza's No. 31, Hernandez's No. 17 is retired.

Both Carlos Delgado (who hit 104 homers in four seasons with the Mets) and John Olerud (whose departure after 1999 hurt in a big way) deserve to be mentioned here, but neither played with the Mets long enough to challenge Hernandez for this honor.

Pete Alonso, a five-time All-Star who hit .253/.341/.516 with 264 homers (the Mets' all-time record) in his first seven big league seasons, would've almost certainly grabbed this spot if he remained with the team beyond 2025. But his departure to the Orioles via free agency keeps Hernandez at the top. 

Second Baseman: Edgardo Alfonzo

Part of the Greatest Infield Ever with Olerud, Rey Ordoñez, and Robin Ventura, Alfonzo was the perfect sidekick to Piazza in the late '90s-early 2000s, and put up one of the best offensive seasons ever by a Met.

In 2000, Alfonzo slashed .324/.425/.542 with 25 homers and 40 doubles for a Mets team that made it to the World Series.

Unfortunately, injuries started to derail Alfonzo's career after the 2002 campaign.

Jeff McNeil, a batting champion and Mets mainstay for eight years, once looked poised to overtake Alfonzo. But his offense regressed over his last few seasons in Queens before he was traded to the A's.

Shortstop: Francisco Lindor

In his first five seasons in Queens, Lindor has slashed .273/.342/.475 with 141 homers, 148 doubles, 117 stolen bases, 503 runs scored, and 445 RBI.

During that span, he has been one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball and finished top 10 in MVP voting four times. 

When it comes to electricity on the field in a Mets uniform, there was nothing quite like Jose Reyes from 2005 to 2011, when his mix of speed and extra-base power combined to make him one of the best players in baseball.

But this is now Lindor's spot.

Third Baseman: David Wright

The Captain and a career Met, Wright was on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory when injuries -- including chronic spinal stenosis -- derailed his career when he was in his early 30s. Even with that, he has received enough Hall of Fame votes during his first three years on the ballot to remain on and merit future consideration.

Wright is the Mets' franchise leader in most offensive categories, and his final career totals (even weighed down by his final injury-plagued seasons) are spectacular.

Wright hit .296/.376/.491 with 242 homers, 390 doubles, and 970 RBI in 14 seasons, and his No. 5 was retired during the 2025 season.

Left Fielder: Cleon Jones

An integral part of the 1969 Miracle Mets, Jones spent 12 of his 13 big league seasons in Queens, hitting .281/.340/.406 in a shade under 1,200 games played with the team.

Jones also caught the final out of the 1969 World Series in left field, clenching it moments before thousands of fans rushed the field.

Barring something strange happening, this will be Juan Soto's spot at some point. But he doesn't have the Mets track record just yet.

Center Fielder: Carlos Beltran

Arguably the greatest two-way player in Mets history, Beltran was one of the best fielding center fielders and an elite all-around hitter during his time in Queens from 2005 to 2011.

Beltran's smooth style was a joy to watch, and his 2006 season -- when he slugged close to .600 and crushed a then-team-record-tying 41 homers -- was incredible.

He is now back with the team in a front office capacity.

Beltran was recently inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame, and he will be wearing a Mets cap on his plaque, becoming just the third player ever (along with Piazza and Tom Seaver) to have that distinction. 

The Mets will be retiring Beltran's No. 15 during the 2026 season.

Right Fielder: Darryl Strawberry

A Rookie of the Year and seven-time All-Star with the Mets during his eight seasons in Queens from 1983 to 1990, Strawberry's sweet left-handed swing electrified Shea Stadium and helped New York turn the corner on the way to contention.

In a different world, Strawberry stays with the Mets after the 1990 season instead of bolting for the Dodgers, avoids off-field issues, and continues on his course to the Hall of Fame.

In this world, we'll have to settle for his still-tremendous Mets career that included a club-record 252 home runs.

His No. 18 is now retired. 

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*With the designated hitter now in the National League, we'll eventually add a DH to the starting lineup of the all-time team. But we're not there yet.

Starting Rotation

1. Tom Seaver

The Franchise, Seaver was not only the best Mets pitcher ever but one of the best pitchers in the history of baseball.

Seaver won three Cy Young awards with the Mets (1969, 1973, and 1975), and helped lead New York to the World Series title in 1969 and within a game of a title in 1973.

In 12 seasons with the Mets, Seaver had a 2.57 ERA and 1.08 WHIP while fanning 2,541 batters in 3,045.2 innings.

2. Jacob deGrom

Unlike Seaver, deGrom came out of nowhere -- a converted shortstop who was initially called up to help the bullpen in 2014 but instead immediately became one of the best starting pitchers in baseball.

Winning back-to-back Cy Young awards in 2018 and 2019, deGrom became the first Met to accomplish that feat. And then he got better, with his fastball routinely hitting triple-digits and slider reaching as high as 96 mph.

In nine seasons with New York -- with the final two being marred be injury -- deGrom's numbers were staggering: A 2.52 ERA, 0.998 WHIP, and 1,607 strikeouts in 1,326.0 innings.

DeGrom had a chance to supplant Seaver as the ace on this list, but that went out the window when he left via free agency following the 2022 season to join the Texas Rangers.

Still, deGrom's No. 48 should be retired at Citi Field when his career is over.

3. Dwight Gooden

The "K Korner" was born at Shea Stadium when Gooden burst onto the scene, and he spun two of the most dominant seasons ever in 1984 and 1985.

In '85, Gooden won the Cy Young after putting up this ridiculousness as a 20-year-old: 1.53 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 268 strikeouts in 276.2 innings.

Like Strawberry, it's hard not to wonder what could've been with Gooden, whose battles with substance abuse began to severely impact his career in 1987.

Also like Strawberry, Gooden's number was recently retired. 

4. Jerry Koosman

Seaver's wingman, Koosman -- whose No. 36 was retired in 2021 -- was a force in his own right during the 12 years he spent with the Mets from 1967 to 1978 -- posting a 3.09 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in over 2,500 innings.

His most dominant stretch came from 1968 to 1971, and included tossing a complete game in Game 5 of the 1969 World Series as the Mets won their first title.

5. Sid Fernandez

Fernandez is often overlooked, but he shouldn't be. And he eked out David Cone for this spot.

During his 10 seasons with the Mets from 1984 to 1993, Fernandez and his "rising fastball" posted a 3.14 ERA and 1.11 WHIP while striking out 1,449 batters in 1,584.2 innings.

Fernandez wasn't in the Mets' 1986 postseason rotation that featured Bob Ojeda, Dwight Gooden, and Ron Darling, but he made arguably the most important relief appearance in team history in Game 7 of the World Series against the Red Sox.

Taking over for Darling with the Mets trailing 3-0 in the fourth inning, Fernandez fired 2.1 innings of no-hit ball while walking one and striking out four to keep New York in the game.

All-Time Bullpen

Closer: Edwin Diaz

Sound the trumpets.

Diaz, who persevered after a rough first season with the Mets in 2019, spun one of the best seasons any reliever has ever had in 2022.

In 62 innings over 61 appearances, Diaz -- utilizing his dastardly fastball/slider combination -- posted a 1.31 ERA (0.90 FIP) and 0.83 WHIP with 118 strikeouts (an eye-popping 17.1 per nine). Following the season, he signed a five-year extension that made him the highest-paid closer ever.

From 2020 to 2025, Diaz was a dominant force for New York, with a 2.36 ERA (2.15 FIP) and 0.97 WHIP while striking out 439 batters -- a rate of 14.6 per nine. 

Setup Man: Billy Wagner

During his three full seasons with the Mets, Wagner was his regular unbelievable self, firing 100 mph fastballs as he posted a 2.37 ERA and 1.05 WHIP while striking out 230 batters in 189.2 innings.

Middle Relievers: John Franco, Armando Benitez, Jesse Orosco, Jeurys Familia, and Tug McGraw

The kid from Brooklyn, Franco had a 3.10 ERA in 14 seasons with the Mets and amassed 276 saves along the way, eventually becoming a setup man during a career that lasted 21 years.

Benitez gets a bad rap and will never be forgiven for blowing Game 1 of the 2000 World Series, but he was mostly dominant as a Met. Look at his numbers. Seriously, go look.

Orosco was splendid during his eight seasons with the Mets, posting a 2.73 ERA and closing out the NLCS and World Series in 1986.

Familia had a 3.27 ERA over 10 seasons with the Mets (with a brief trip to Oakland in the middle of that stint) and led the league with 51 saves in 2016. 

McGraw was one of the glue guys for New York from 1965 to 1974.

Long Reliever: Rick Aguilera

Aguilera was a starter/reliever hybrid for the Mets from 1985 to 1988 before becoming a full-time reliever in 1989 and eventually moving on to the Minnesota Twins, where he became one of the best relievers in baseball. He's the perfect man for this job.

Bench

Before discussing the bench, it should be pointed out that the original version of this roster had a bench that was made up of players who were often used in a reserve role -- not the next best player at each position. You can see that version here.

But, since so many clamored for a bench that was the next best player at each position, it's below.

Catcher: Gary Carter

This was the easiest bench selection to make.

Carter's tenure in Queens spanned 1985 to 1989, and he was a four-time All-Star during that time. He had huge seasons in 1985 and 1986 (when he finished in the top six in MVP voting each year), and was part of the heart and soul of the '86 championship squad.

First baseman: Pete Alonso

With Alonso's Mets tenure over, he takes this spot. 

The other main candidates were John Olerud and Carlos Delgado.

With the Mets rom 1997 to 1999, Olerud slashed .315/.425/.501, which included batting .354/.447/.551 in 1998. Olerud's .354 average in '98 is the Mets' single-season record.

Delgado slugged 104 homers for the Mets from 2006 to 2009. 

Infielder: Jose Reyes

A typical Reyes season during his peak meant a high batting average and on base percentage along with 15-to-20 triples, 30-plus doubles, 55-plus stolen bases, and the daily sight of him turning singles into doubles and doubles into triples.

The gear Reyes hit when rounding second and heading to third was a sight to see.

Outfielder: Brandon Nimmo

If not for the recent trade that sent Nimmo to the Rangers, he soon could've found herself in one of the starting outfield spots on the all-time team. 

In 10 seasons with the Mets, Nimmo hit .262/.364/.438 (.802 OPS) and was one of the clubhouse leaders.

Cliff Floyd was also in the conversation here, as was Michael Conforto, whose Mets tenure is woefully underappreciated.

Pinch-hitter: Rusty Staub

There's an argument here for Matt Franco, and a case could be made for Lenny Harris. But the pinch-hitter on the Mets' all-time team is Le Grand Orange, who spent two chunks of his terrific career with the Mets -- one in the 70s and another in the 80s.

The Mets host the Cardinals on Friday at 1:10 p.m. on SNY.

Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...

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Mets Notes

• The Mets are continuing to trim their roster ahead of Opening Day, with the final spots in the bullpen and on the bench still up for grabs
• New York completes its Grapefruit League schedule on Sunday

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Today's Lineups

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Mookie Betts is entering the 2026 season off the heels of a career-worst year offensively and he is determined to get back to his MVP form. Even with all the accolades, of which include winning four World Series titles, he still demands more of himself. That also factors into the way he trains.

His teammate, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, has always had a very unorthodox training regiment, which features javelin tosses and arched back exercises. In an attempt to broaden his horizons, Betts has started to take a page out of Yamamoto’s book by throwing javelins as well, which he has credited as having opened his mind and game to a new perspective, per Jack Vita of the Los Angeles Times.

“I’m not fully in his whole routine,” Betts said of Yada, who is often referred to as Yada Sensei. “But I wake up every morning and do my stretch routine that Sensei showed me, throwing the javelins every day. I think throwing javelins is the reason why I can make a play in the hole like that and throw it in the air on a line. I’m really grateful for Yoshi and Sensei, because they have definitely changed my perspective, changed my life, changed my game.”

The changes have resulted positively so far, as Betts is slashing .304/.385/.478 with a home run through 26 plate appearances this spring while continuing to improve defensively at shortstop.

As for Yamamoto, he was ranked as the fourth-best pitcher among ace-quality arms by Andy McCullough, Will Sammon, and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. Shohei Ohtani ranked ninth on the list and Blake Snell ranked 12th.

PROSPECT WATCH

The Dodgers play the Chicago White Sox as part of this year’s spring breakout, and the name drawing the most hype out of the Dodgers’ system is their no. 1 prospect, outfielder Josue De Paula. Jim Callis of MLB.com also highlights right-hander Marlon Nieves as someone to keep an eye on for Saturday’s game, with the Dodgers vice player of player development raving about his potential.

“Marlon flew under the radar, even a little bit internally,” Rhymes said. “Once he went to Rancho and was pretty dominant there, that was eye-opening. His stuff is really good. His cutter and slider are excellent pitches, and that two-seamer has such velocity. He has a real feel for execution and manipulation. He’s a hell of an athlete, such an easy, whippy thrower.”

The 20-year-old right-hander logged 84 innings between rookie ball and Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, posting a 2.79 ERA and 1.119 WHIP with 94 strikeouts and 44 walks.

Introduction

As part of my 6 days in Jupiter, I collected lots of observations and I’ve given to breaking them down and passing them along in manageable (ie. readable) chunks. I passed along some nuggets in game recaps if they were short and relevant to pre-, in- or post-game happenings. Two weeks ago, I published an article that summarizes what I saw on the back fields in more or less a stream of consciousness format. I wrote on shorts on Urias and the ABS last week. This article and one later today are the end of this series. Spoiler Alert: I think I saved the best for last. Good thing, since camp will be closed soon.

Short Topic of the Day

No, I’m not going to fret about the slow start the overall offense has encountered in Jupiter. Lots of variables that won’t be present a month from now complicate any analysis one might attempt on what is already small sample size. Several guys, Herrera first and foremost, are coming off surgery and may take all spring or more to get their timing down. Also, it is Roger Dean Stadium. Like in the last 10 years, only 1 team has hit over .250 in spring at this place and that was the power-laden 2022 team. It is hard to hit here. Although, I will observe that the shortening of the fences and the newly constructed buildings in right-center at least appear to have changed the dynamics, particularly how balls carry to left. I anticipate a shift in park factors coming.

I’ve seen a lot of commenters speculating about the line-up construction, centering on who should lead-off. From what I could discern in camp, it looks like the shape of the line-up may well start like this:

Against right-handers – Wetherholt (1), Herrera (2), Burleson (3)…

Against left-handers – Winn (1), Burleson (2), Herrera (3)…

I’m curious to how JJW adjusts to left-handers. If he isn’t super-splitty, I could see him batting 2nd and pushing Burly to clean-up.

If Gorman hits enough to play, it seems like he projects to the clean-up spot or fifth in the order. After that, it looks kind of grim. What can we expect offensively from Walker in right or Scott in center?

Who is in left is a big question mark until Nootbaar gets healthy, but odds are it will be a defense heavy platoon, although Velazquez is a wild card here. Can Church hit enough to carry this load, in R-L platoon? Or might they just roll Velazquez out there more regularly and rotate Church in defensively later in games? I’d suspect more of the latter, although if Church (or anyone for that matter) gets rolling offensively, they will play a lot.

I do wonder if Crooks can hit enough to get a larger share of time behind the plate than anticipated. I suspect that once the Herrera situation clarifies, we may see a mid-season transition of Crooks to MLB.

It seems most reasonable to expect that the offense is going to come up short in the power department. OBP and BsR would seem to be keys to creating and sustaining some offensive momentum. I didn’t see Torres breaking camp with the team (he was returned to MiLB last week), but I suspect at some point they are going to bring his OBP up to MLB and see if it plays.

One item I’ve heard from many is the general perception that most of the loud offense in Spring Training emanated from players not anticipated to break camp with the team (Crooks, Baez, Davis, Gazdar, Rodriguez to name a few who struck balls well). This may be applicable to more than the offense, but I’d say one thing we learned this spring is that the Cardinals upper-minors’ players are better than other teams upper-minors’ players. That is consistent with recent system ratings. Hope is on the horizon.

Overall, I’m preparing for a pretty rough ride offensively, at least at the outset. While I think we all can see that the offense that will break camp is likely to struggle mightily with consistently scoring runs, I have some hope that it will improve as the year progresses.

The way I look at it is … If guys like Gorman and Walker improve, then the offense will float with their improvement. If they do not improve, then they are likely to run out of runway and get moved aside. Each has a player waiting in the wings (Saggese and Baez), who would get a shot and hopefully offer another pathway to offensive improvement. I also suspect that once they determine a pathway for Herrera and get him on board, then Crooks may re-appear to offer an additional offensive boost. Last, Nootbaar should roll in sometime (I’m guessing late May, early June), offering another boost. None of the boosts individually should be dramatic, but 4 incremental improvements could begin to add up to something a fair bit better overall.

Consider this as a potential mid-July line-up…I think you could imagine 8 of those guys being 95 wRC+ or better. That would be an average offense. With their pitching, that might be enough.

2B – Wetherholt

DH – Herrera

LF – Nootbaar

1B – Burleson

RF – Baez

3B – Gorman (or Urias or Saggese)

SS – Winn

C – Crooks

CF – Scott II

Some people might wonder why they just don’t start out this way. Except that isn’t a realistic option. Reality is, Herrera and Nootbaar still need to get fully healthy and full-go. Baez and Crooks could use more time at Memphis (prudently so, IMO). And management needs more time to fully determine if some of the other alternatives might actually produce even greater than average outcomes.