Category: MLB

Good morning, baseball fans!

As we approach Spring Training and the beginning of the season, we’re going to be doing some questions for y’all about your thoughts about the San Francisco Giants and baseball in general!

Today’s question: How would you rank the 2026 NL West?

The Giants have the misfortune of being in one of the most difficult divisions in baseball at the moment. Aside from the outlier that was the 2021 season, they have not taken the division since 2012 and the last time they even managed second place was 2016.

So let’s do our best to see if we can rank the NL West teams for the 2026 season. You can rank them in a way that makes sense, or not. I’m not the boss of you, and I’m pro-manifesting success through sheer delusion.

Here’s my ranking:

5. Colorado Rockies

This is an obvious ranking, of course. The Rockies have not been competitive in the division or otherwise since 2018 and at this point I’m not sure if they’re even still an actual team, or a group of LARP-ers who show up to take the field when the Giants are in town.

4. San Francisco Giants

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. But this feels realistic to me. The only reason they didn’t end up in fourth place last season, in my opinion, is the hot start to the season that they had. And while I think the 2026 team might be slightly better than the 2025 team, I don’t think it’s significant enough. Though I’d love to be wrong! I often am.

3. Arizona Diamondbacks

I struggled with this one, because I think the Diamondbacks are basically the Giants at this point so it could go either way. The Diamondbacks have been trending downward over the last couple of seasons after their World Series loss in 2023. However, I’m giving them an edge over the Giants because their ballpark is hitter friendly, and the Giants’ is where offense goes to die a slow painful death.

2.) San Diego Padres

The Padres are tough to predict, but they’ve been pretty consistent over the last few years, cementing themselves as the given second place team in the division after having done so in four of the last six seasons. So I think this one is a fairly safe bet as well.

1.) Los Angeles Dodgers

I hate typing this. I know you hate reading it. But it’s the reality we live in. Unless something catastrophic happens, I think it’s a very safe bet that the Dodgers will take the division once again. Just like they’ve done for 11 of the last 12 seasons. What a joy.

How would you rank the 2026 NL West?

Good morning, all! It’s a welcome day in Yankeeland, as pitchers and catchers officially report to spring training today. Of course, that oft-cited countdown following the last out of the World Series only means so much since plenty were already in camp a little early and dudes jogging around and lifting weights hardly feels like the true siren sound of baseball on the horizon. But it is a milestone nonetheless! Exhibition games will begin the Friday after next, and Opening Day on March 25th in San Francisco will be here in a blink.

On to today’s question. The offseason isn’t fully in the books since some notable players like Zac Gallen, Rhys Hoskins, Lucas Giolito, and Zack Littell remain available. But for the Yankees’ sake, it probably is; they don’t seem likely to make any further additions, barring a surprise trade or an end-of-spring swap to supplement the bench/back of the bullpen. So we can start to look in the rearview mirror with more confidence.

The Yankees made a number of different decisions this offseason that run the gamut on roster spots from “passive acceptance” to “active choice.” So which one makes you most nervous for the sake of the 2026 season? Is it not adding to the rotation depth beyond Ryan Weathers? Rolling the dice on outfielders Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham to remain as good as they were in 2025 while sitting out the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes? Losing two key relievers from the already-shaky 2025 bullpen and declining to make any obvious impact moves out there? Retaining Aaron Boone as manager?

There’s no shortage of options. I think leaving the rotation in such a dodgy place is the winner for me, given that all of Carlos Rodón, Gerrit Cole, and Clarke Schmidt will begin 2026 on the IL, and both Weathers and Luis Gil absolutely qualify as injury risks on their own.

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Today on the site, Matt will remember a minor-but-infamous Yankees reliever from the early 2010s as part of our Yankees Birthdays series, Josh will critique The Shredder’s list of top MLB first basemen, and Peter will welcome back Cole in his 2026 Yankees preview post.

This post is part of a series of daily questions that we’ll ask the community here at Amazin’ Avenue throughout the month of February. We hope you find the questions engaging and that our prompts can spark some fun conversations in the comments. We’ll see you there and plan to have staff chiming in, too.

If you could only attend one regular season Mets game this year, which one would it be?

On Tuesday, it was announced that pitcher Justin Verlander had signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers, reuniting him with the team that drafted him a mere 22 years ago. Verlander was traded from Detroit to Houston in 2017, where he won a pair of World Series, before joining the San Francisco Giants last year. Now he returns to Detroit after nine years away in the hopes of winning one more World Series for a franchise that hasn’t won a title since 1984.

The Detroit Lions are similarly trying to make a jump from playoff contender to champion. And while the league isn’t rife with former Lions players who could help the team get over the hump in a reunion, there are certainly some familiar faces who could help.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

Which former Lions player would you welcome back for a one-year re-signing?

My answer: I won’t give a comprehensive list, because that would take away all the fun from you guys, but here are three that jump to mind for me, all of whom are unrestricted free agents in 2026:

• G Kevin Zeitler
• S Ifeatu Melifonwu
• DL Da’Shawn Hand

Do I expect any of those players to re-sign with Detroit? Seems unlikely, although Melifonwu would certainly make sense given Detroit’s uncertainty at safety.

Let me hear which former Lions you’d love to see the Lions reunite with. Doesn’t matter if they’re free agents or not! Scroll down to the comment section and share your answer!

We’re back with another daily question, and today’s may be one of the more polarizing topics: would you rather watch a pitchers’ duel or a slugfest?

Pitchers’ duels are entertaining in that you’re watching to see who will break first. Slugfests are entertaining in that you’re watching to see who gets the last laugh at the plate.

In my opinion, a slugfest is more entertaining, but that isn’t to say I’d rather watch a slugfest. Slugfests are fun because odds are, you’re going to see a lot of homers and a lot of runs, which, as we’ve come to learn over the last couple of decades, MLB loves.

But I think I’d rather watch a pitchers’ duel.

Maybe I’m biased because of the long string of great pitchers we’ve seen come through Milwaukee, but I think there’s just something about two star pitchers going head-to-head and waiting for somebody to crack. Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta have all had their share of ace-esque performances in recent years, and it isn’t uncommon to see the pitcher on the other side do the same.

Just think about the Paul Skenes-Jacob Misiorowski matchup from last summer, a game that turned into a Wednesday afternoon sellout at American Family Field and lived up to the hype — Miz went five shutout frames with eight strikeouts while Skenes scuffled a bit, allowing four runs over four innings in what ended up one of his worst outings of an NL Cy Young-winning year.

So, imagine this: You’re headed to Am Fam Field for a game. Would you rather see a pitchers’ duel or a slugfest?

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

The Detroit Tigers took a rollercoaster ride on Tuesday on the news that Justin Verlander will be returning to his original franchise for a Hall of Fame-bound swan song in 2026. While that marked the apex of the day, the following news that Reese Olson is out for the year with surgery brought things back to earth.

Maybe missed among the big moves was the finalization of Framber Valdez’s contract, which along with JV’s return to the D, gives the Motor City Kitties a formidable starting five heading into spring training. The Tigers also added outfielder Austin Slater on a minor league deal.

That is a lot to take in on one day, with Detroit’s pitchers and catchers set to report to Lakeland on Sunday. What felt like a mostly meh offseason finally has some spark — and just in time.

So Tigers fans, how are you feeling out there? It feels like forever since Chris Ilitch greenlit some big offseason moves, and despite PECOTA’s bearish outlook, this could actually turn out to be a season to remember for the Olde English D.

On a scale of 1 to 10 — with 1 being the 2003 Tigers and 10 being the 1984 edition of the D — how excited are you now with less than two weeks until the first spring training game? Let us know in the comments below!

In full disclosure, I am somewhere around a seven… but there is a lot of upward momentum right now.

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.

So long, Bill*, hello, Bobby,and other stories.

Today in baseball history:

• 1911 – The Chicago Cubs acquire second baseman Dave Shean from the Boston Rustlers for third baseman Scotty Ingerton and pitcher Big Jeff Pfeffer. This is the second time that Boston has traded with the Cubs for Big Jeff. (2)
• 1914 – Declining to remain with the Chicago Cubs as a player after being fired as manager, second baseman Johnny Evers is traded to the Boston Braves for second baseman Bill Sweeney and cash considerations. Evers will have one good season left, leading the “Miracle Braves” to the National League pennant and winning the Chalmers Award for Most Valuable Player. Meanwhile, Sweeney will sour in Chicago.
• 1962 – Before the start of spring training, Don Zimmer and right-hander Bob Miller, both who reside in the St. Pete area, become the first players to don a Mets jersey when they model the club’s away uniform tops for a photo shoot at Huggins Field. The expansion team’s inaugural third baseman, who will be traded to the Reds in May for southpaw Bob Miller, poses with his nine year-old son Tommy on his shoulders.

• 1974 – Forty-eight major-league players invoke the new arbitration procedure established to settle contract differences. Pitcher Dick Woodson (seeking a contract for $29,000) and the Twins (offering $23,000) are the first to present their respective cases to Detroit lawyer and labor arbitrator Harry H. Platt, who must decide on one of the monetary amounts presented. Woodson wins. (2)
• 1977 – The Chicago Cubs trade two-time National League batting champion Bill Madlock* and infielder Rob Sperring to the San Francisco Giants for outfielder Bobby Murcer, third baseman Steve Ontiveros, and a minor league pitcher. In 1976, Madlock led the NL with a .339 mark, while Murcer hit 23 home runs and 90 RBI. Madlock leaves Chicago having hit .336 for them, which ties him with Riggs Stephenson for the top career average in team history. (3)
• 2006 – Avoiding an arbitration hearing, starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano (14-6, 3.26) and the Cubs agree to a one-year deal worth $6.5 million. After earning $3.76 million last season, the emotional right-hander had asked for $7.2 million, with Chicago offering $6 million. (1)
• 2015 – Little League International decides to strip the Jackie Robinson West team of Chicago, IL of its United States Championship won at the 2014 Little League World Series because it used players from outside its territory and manipulated district boundaries in order to field a stronger team. Various officials from the district are also suspended for their actions. (2)

Cubs Birthdays:Jimmy Ryan, Red Shannon, Hal Rice, Chris Kitsos, Willie Smith, Tom Veryzer, Dave Swartzbaugh, Brian Matusz.

Today in History:

• 55 – Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman Emperorship, dies under mysterious circumstances in Rome, clearing the way for Nero to become Emperor.
• 385 – Siricius, bishop of Tarragona, elected as Bishop of Rome; first to style himself Pope.
• 1809 – American inventor Robert Fulton patents the steamboat.
• 1907 – Passenger ship Larchmont sinks by Block Island, off Rhode Island, 322 die.
• 1938 – World’s first science fiction TV program is a broadcast of the play R.U.R. by Karel Čapek.
• 1990 – Nelson Mandela is released after 27 years of imprisonment in South Africa.

Common sources:

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

*pictured.

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

Continuing my series of articles that take a look at NL Central teams using several different projection systems, I now zoom in on the Cincinnati Reds. Last week I noticed that the Pirates could have problems scoring runs, but the Reds are here to outdo them. I will re-do the Pirates article down the road, and there’s plenty of time for that and more work to do with some of their recent acquisitions. I should not have scoffed at the Pirates, because now they’ve made some upgrades that may put them over the edge vs the Reds and Cardinals. The dust of the offseason is still settling, and pitchers and catchers will be reporting soon, but the actual season is still sort of distant… foggy at best.

This week I have decided to add in OOPSY projections, because the name is super funny (projections often get it wrong) and in the spirit of this series over the years, I try to bring in as many projection systems as possible. This is just as much an exercise for me as it is for you, so I hope you dig this poring over data that you could probably look up, but it’s fun to read about and compare/contrast these different systems, no?

I have left out systems like PECOTA because they are not too accurate and are not readily available on fangraphs. Last fall I analyzed the projections from last year and found ZiPS and The Bat to be most accurate, but I could be suffering from just looking at one year and one team. But anyway, I’m incorporating ZiPS, Depth Charts which was actually pretty accurate last time I wrote this, The Bat X (*or the Bat for pitchers), and now OOPSY because it’s been known to be pretty accurate too. It incorporates a lot of statcast data so I want to include it.

So I’ve been spitballing here, getting to know what the other teams the Cardinals are directly competing with are going to look like this year, on paper at least. Last year the Reds were a playoff team. I had them pegged as about as good as they were, but maybe not to make the postseason. Can they repeat a wild card this year and appease their fans after an early playoff exit? Or were they more of a fluke team in 2025…

The Reds key producer from their position player side is still Ely De La Cruz, who’s consensus projection is over 4 WAR. He is a defensively pretty good shortstop with 20+ HR power. Most of the projections think he will hit at least as well as last year, but none of them outside of OOPSY have him topping what he did in 2024, where he was definitely a little better hitter than he was last season. That said, he is still going to derive a lot of value from being a plus on defense at shortstop. Ely De La Cruz is no Masyn Winn defensively, but he is the better hitter. I must note however, that OOPSY sees De La Cruz 2026 as the potential breakout player many saw him as when he was a rookie.

_{Where do the projection systems agree on De La Cruz? ZiPS and Fangraphs DC are closest to agreement, with The Bat X pessimistic and OOPSY being high on the hopium.}

Matt McLain is a more defense forward player over at the keystone for Cincinnati. He should quietly put up over 2 WAR while hitting a little below league average. Run preventing middle infield for the Reds.

_{Where do the projections agree? Depth Charts and OOPSY both have him at 2.4 WAR in 2026. ZiPS is more optimistic and The Bat X doesn’t think much of Matt.}

Perhaps more exciting, 22 year old Sal Stewart will be a player to watch out for: ZiPS says 2.7 WAR but Depth Charts thinks more like 1.5 WAR. The other systems are more in line with DC so it would appear ZiPS is the outlier and that maybe Stewart isn’t that exciting.

Eugenio Suarez is also sort of exciting, because he is the addition to the team largely at DH. Suarez is a low batting average high power hitter. He will most likely not hit as many home runs as he did last year, but he will add 30+ home run power to the Reds lineup. That certainly has helped a lineup that could use some blast power. He will surely hit a lot of home runs in Cincinnati, but he strikes out so much that he’s going to be around a 110 wRC+ hitter. He should be about a 1.4 WAR player according to a consensus, none of them see him as a breakout player.

So far, neither the Reds or Pirates position player roster is projected for as much WAR as the Cardinals, but both team’s starting rotations are twice as good as the Cardinals rotation. In fact, the Reds and Pirates rotations should be about equal in value, with Pittsburgh’s rotation having a higher upside, and the Reds’ rotation locking in with five 2+ WAR pitchers lead by Hunter Greene, who will likely finish with around 3.4 WAR. Where am I getting all these numbers? Well, from these four projections systems. Basically, the whole Reds starting rotation is at the least, pretty darn good.

• Reds might have the lowest projected position player total in the NL Central before the season starts
• Very solid rotation that stacks up with Pittsburgh’s minus the elite ace… likelihood to be slightly better overall than the Pirates’
• Suarez could make or break this team, but so could Ely De La Cruz… if he goes over 5 WAR their chances increase. If Suarez hits 50 HR this year, their chances increase even more.
• Andrew Abbott or Chase Burns could surprise as the team ace, but my bet’s still on Greene

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict the Reds as battling it out for last place with the Pirates and Cardinals… And it might be only the Cardinals they can beat, leaving the Redbirds in the basement. I won’t be making my final “predictions” until around the WBC, with the Brewers and Cubs still to go and re-do’s on both the Pirates and Cardinals. My methodology is to look at each team’s top 20 players, with a minimum of 11 position players.

Next week I will take a look at the Milwaukee Brewers!

1977

Continuing along with another series I’ve been writing, about every year of music and culture in my life. As a musician and baseball fan, I’ll be focusing on mostly music, and some baseball factoids, but also movies and the current events of the time. I have found my favorite albums from 1975 and 1976, so on to 1977…

1977 was Jimmy Carter’s first year as president. When he was on the campaign trail in 1980, I actually got to meet the man as a child, and it is one of my first memories actually, meeting a president. One of the best presidents in history, if you ask me, but I’m also judging him on his whole life, not just his presidency. Anyhow, he was sworn in on January 20th, 1977.

There was a solar eclipse back in 1977. Cambodia and Vietnam fought each other. A huge part of my childhood began with the release of Star Wars, although I didn’t see it until I was a little older. They would show this movie in the theaters years after it came out. They still do and how many times it will be re-released is anyone’s guess. It was so popular that it was a box office hit FOR SIX YEARS. Probably not until The Empire Strikes Back debuted. May 25, 1977 was its original release date.

On July 13, 1977 Somalia declared war on Ethiopia, and NYC had an electricity blackout that lasted into the next day, resulting in looting and arson. Around July 21st, the Libyan-Egyptian war broke out. On August 4, 1977 Jimmy Carter created the US Dept of Energy. The military controlled government of Uruguay turned power back over to the people through general elections. The first test flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise was successful.

The Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University received a transmission from deep space. Three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd died in a plane crash. October 26, 1977 is considered the date of the elimination of smallpox.

Punk rock started to hit the mainstream.

In baseball, the first year of familiar franchises the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays was 1977. This was baseball’s third expansion. Prior to that, the Seattle Pilots relocated to Milwaukee and became the Brewers. I did not know that! The NL did not expand, and remained at 12 teams until the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins were introduced to the world in 1993. In what would’ve been both a popular and very unpopular world series, the Yankees beat the Dodgers. It ended a fifteen year Yankee drought and was their 21st world series championship.

The Royals and Phillies had more wins than the Yankees 100 in the regular season, but just by a game or two. The Cardinals and Cubs were mid level teams in the NL East, with the Phillies and Pirates being the two teams to beat. The Cincinnati Reds finished second to the LA Dodgers in… the NL West?? ok!

Rod Carew and George Foster were the MVPs, Sparky Lyle (baseball name!) and Steve Carlton were the Cy Young Award winners, Eddie Murray and Andre Dawson were the rookies of the year, and Rollie Fingers got his fingers on a Relief Man of the Year Award (along with Bill Campbell in the AL).

Back to Rod Carew: he batted .388!!!!! What?? George Foster was no slouch either, hitting 52 HR and knocking in 149 RBI for the Reds of the west. Nolan Ryan threw 341 strikeouts, not to be outshined by the hitters. The NL won the All-Star Game.

Bob Watson, John Mayberry, and Jack Brohamer (another baseball name!) all hit for the cycle in 1977! Willie Stargell reached 400 home runs vs the Cardinals in 1977, and Lou Brock stole his 900th stolen base on September 30th! Lou Brock also surpassed Ty Cobb in stolen bases just 7 SB prior to #900.

The Cardinals attendance went back up in numbers this season with an above .500 team that finished just ahead of the Chicago Cubs. The first Mariners game ever was a loss to the Angels, while the first Blue Jays game ever had Toronto over the Chicago White Sox. A Canadian pitcher playing for Boston, Ferguson Jenkins, threw the first shut out in Exhibition Stadium vs the Blue Jays, in their first month of existence. The White Sox selected Harold Baines as the #1 pick in the 1977 MLB draft.

Top 10 Albums of 1977

#1: Heart – ‘Little Queen’ This is my album of the year for 1977. I’ve always liked the song “Barracuda” as does everyone I know. Roger Fisher is one of my favorite unsung guitar heroes, and the Wilson sisters are among my favorite singers of any genre. I think both their 1975 album and this one are perfect albums, but ‘Little Queen’ is their best album of all. An absolute classic of the rock genre. Ahem.

#2: Rush – ‘A Farewell To Kings’ this particular album is many Rush fan’s favorite one, but it’s not my favorite Rush album. However, it is REALLY good still, for me it’s all about three songs: “Closer To The Heart”, “Xanadu”, and “Cygnus X-1” being among the best rock songs of all time. The rest of the album ain’t bad either and it flows start to finish. I struggled putting this album this highly on the list, but man, those three songs are just life changing. Farewell!

#3: Fela Kuti & Africa ’70 – ‘Zombie’ here is my sleeper pick, that I would not have even ranked in my top 10 without research… even though I’m familiar with Fela Kuti I need to know the discography better. Speaking of mid 70’s funk and punk, this is perhaps the most funk punk album of all time. The sound is mostly funk, but the spirit is very punk. The genre is called Afrobeat. The Nigerian government hated this album and Kuti’s own elderly mother was thrown out a window resulting in her death, while his commune was destroyed by the military. Fela Kuti was severely beaten in the process, but survived. ‘Zombie’ has made a couple of different major top 100 of the 1970’s music lists. An absolutely legendary album.

#4: Wire – ‘Pink Flag’ Funny thing is, I actually have met a member of The Wire at The Gingerman, an old bar neighboring The Metro in Chicago. He was having a drink at the bar talking to a cool younger lady. I think that bar is now known as the G-Man, an idiocracy level downgrade for a name of a bar, but whatever. They always had a good jukebox. So far I have been reviewing some proto punk albums, and this is the one that has struck me as most influential. Its production and sound sound much clearer and louder than other albums from this time period, every layer is really apparent in their sound. Not only is it awesome, but it’s the very first Wire album, showing poise and maturity from the get go. This is another album that I was unfamiliar with prior to this writing that I am glad to have found. I am sure I have heard it before but have neglected it since. It’s almost as if they’re inventing new genres of alt rock with every track.

#5: MX-80 Sound – ‘Hard Attack’ This album should be in every punk rock fan’s collection, but it’s not. The only reason this isn’t ranked higher than ‘Pink Flag’ is that the production isn’t nearly as cool, and the music is a little more jammy, but this is a proto punk masterpiece collection of songs from a band in 1977. Blending in multiple other genres as the band finds its way, creating new paths in the process. This is so far ahead of its time, cannot really overstate it.

#6: Talking Heads – ‘77’ Speaking of debuts from important bands such as Wire, here is the debut from Talking Heads! I mostly love this because of bassist Tina Weymouth’s playing, but the whole band is really good, and it’s a really fun listen. It’s more of a prediction of what is to come from this band, but it’s among the very best releases of 1977.

#7: Television – ‘Marquee Moon’ At the roots of punk rock are many different genres presented in different ways. I am not sure what other genre you would file Television under, other than that they kind of sound post-punk, already. Same with Wire, but, Television might be the only band that blended some prog rock into their punk sound, and even a little classic rock too, but making it all sound fresh and new.

#8: Rennaissance – ‘Novella’ described as symphonic prog, I find this album to be more relaxing than either genre. This is put on a sunny, cool afternoon, but stay inside watching the sun glint through the leaves music. Just space out to this and relax, thinking of other times, other places… and yes, I like some more obscure prog rock, too. I would have more King Crimson on the list but their first era ended prior to my birth! And by the way, if you love mellotron like I do, you need to hear this.

#9: The Residents – ‘Fingerprince’ is a hodgepodge of early Residents tracks, from what I can tell. One youtube reviewer said, “this is what insanity sounds like” and I tend to agree. There are parts of this album that invented early Primus sounds… Primus even covered them. But this is the only band I would compare to Chrome from this time, so that’s pretty cool. I have only discovered this album recently so I would have more to say about it, but it surely deserves a spot on this list, along with these other bands inventing new sounds!

#10: Iggy Pop – ‘The Idiot’ + ‘Lust For Life’ Iggy Pop or Bowie in this slot, and I pick Iggy here. Bowie had a trilogy, but I’d rather hear these two Pop albums.

See you next week with the Brewers and 1978. May the fruit of our labors be blessed.

Good Morning Birdland,

Pitchers and catchers have arrived to Sarasota! Spring is here (kind of). We can soon stop worrying about all of the offseason storylines, and instead talk about actual baseball.

Get a look at these guys! In this post from the Orioles’ Instragram alone, you can see Dean Kremer, Samuel Basallo, Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Shane Baz, Yennier Cano, Luis De Léon, Ryan Helsley, Trey Gibson, and Yaramil Hiraldo. And the in this one you can also see Adley Rutschman, Keegan Akin, Dietrich Enns, Rico Garcia, Cade Povich, and Maverick Handley, among others already mentioned.

By the end of September, I was annoyed by all of them! The season was a disappointment and a drag. But the winter weather has cooled my anger. I am ready to be hurt again.

But before we get to that, there is still the settling of the rotation to sort out. We got some news there on Tuesday.

We learned that Justin Verlander will not be joining the team. He is headed back to Detroit, where he spent the first 13 seasons of his career. That’s nice for him.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported yesterday that the Orioles are one of four teams still in the mix for free agent pitcher Zac Gallen. Nightengale is the same guy that reported Gallen had already agreed to a deal with the Cubs way back in December, so take his words with a boulder of salt.

Mike Elias told the media yesterday that his front office continues to be “plugged in” on the pitcher market, but also said that he believes the existing rotation is “very strong and very talented.” That sounds like a guy that doesn’t love the available external options, and would prefer to wait for an in-season trade.

That logic is fine if the team can actually make it to July in a competitive position. He made a similar bet a year ago, and it didn’t pan out. This roster does feel better prepared to make a run than the one 12 months ago, but nothing is guaranteed.

A variable to consider in this are the Orioles young pitchers. We have seen Povich and Brandon Young. Both can fill in here and there, but I’m not sure anyone wants them to be full-time members of the rotation. Next up is Gibson and De Leon. Gibson is likely to get a chance at some point in 2026. If he is the real deal, all that talk of adding another pitcher will seem silly. But we won’t know that until June at the earliest. De Leon is a bit farther off, but potentially even more talented. Odds are that both of them could be in the rotation by sometime in 2027. But how much that helps the team in the near term is unclear, and that is frustrating for those that want the team to strike now.

Links

Time for the first Orioles workout | Roch Kubatko
A whole bunch of quotes from new skipper Craig Albernaz. He sounds confident in his crew! But what else is he going to say? On the first day of spring training every team feels like a World Series winner.

Mike Elias has confidence in Orioles pitching staff but doesn’t rule out an addition | The Baltimore Banner
If the Orioles are good, they are going to add to the pitching staff. But it has always felt like that addition was going to come from a trade, rather than the free agent market. Elias doesn’t like paying top-dollar for arms. He has said as much. If a discount isn’t available, he is usually going to prefer to make a swap for a younger option with team control.

Coby Mayo’s future with the Orioles feels more uncertain than ever | The Baltimore Sun
The fact that Mayo hasn’t been moved, paired with the trade for Blaze Alexander last week, feels like something could be afoot. Is someone hurt? Or do the Orioles just plain to cycle through infielders all summer? It is odd. But it is also not uncommon for Elias to let prospects wilt on the vine a bit rather than dealing them.

Elias: O’s ‘plugged in’ with SP market, could still add another arm | MLB.com
Elias also mentions here that Mayo is going to move around this spring, including first base, third base, and corner outfield! That’s a bit of news, even if it is unsurprising given the roster makeup.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Gregory Soto turns 31 today. The lefty just spent parts of two seasons with the Orioles from 2024-25, accumulating a 4.33 ERA and 0.2 bWAR over 68 total appearances. He was traded to the Mets last summer and is now with the Pirates.
• César Cabral is 37. His Orioles career lasted two games, both of which came in 2015 as a reliever.
• The late Brian Matusz (b. 1987, d. 2025) was born on this day. Selected fourth overall in 2008, Matusz transitioned to a bullpen role early in his big league career, eventually turning into one of the game’s better lefty specialists. He was particularly dominant against Hall of Famer David Ortiz, who went 4-for-29 with 13 strikeouts against Matusz in his career.
• Matt Lindstrom is 46 years old. The reliever’s time in Baltimore was short, spanning just 34 games in 2012. He was eventually dealt to the Diamondbacks in exchange for postseason hero Joe Saunders.

This day in O’s history

1987 – The Orioles sign Ray Knight, the MVP of the Mets’ recent World Series win, to a one-year, $475,000 deal plus incentives. Knight had turned down an $800,000 offer from the Mets earlier in the offseason.

DRaysBay works best as a place for community and conversation. Accordingly, in the lead up to the new season, we are posting “Daily Questions” in the month of February. I look forward to seeing you in the comment section!

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Pitchers & Catchers begin to report to Spring Training today, so I can think of no more timely a question than this! Who do expect to make the Rays starting rotation?

Your options from the 40-man include:

• RHP Joe Boyle
• LHP Steven Matz
• LHP Shane McClanahan
• RHP Ryan Pepiot
• RHP Drew Rasmussen
• LHP Joe Rock
• RHP Jesse Scholtens
• LHP Ian Seymour

Then there are the non-roster invites:

• RHP Ty Cummings
• RHP Roel Garcia III
• RHP Brody Hopkins
• RHP Ty Johnson
• RHP TJ Nichols
• RHP Chase Solesky
• RHP Austin Vernon
• RHP Jake Woodford
• RHP Logan Workman

Man, yesterday was a bad day to report to spring training. Injuries, injuries, injuries. Guess we’re all officially holding our breath for when Rob Thomson actually gives an in-person interview next week in Clearwater.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• The season is ready to begin next week with spring training opening, so here are five things to be excited about.
• This will fall into former Phillies news, but Phillippe Aumont is back with an MLB organization, signing a minor league deal with the Blue Jays.
• To make sure this window of opportunity stays open, Andrew Painter is going to have to perform at a decent clip.

MLB news:

• Wow, where to begin with all the injuries? Francisco Lindor is going to miss at least six weeks, maybe more, with a hand injury.
• Spencer Schwellenbach is already on the 60-day IL with an elbow issue, bad news for a guy who missed a lot of time last year.
• Anthony Santander will miss 5-6 months to undergo labral surgery, a big blow to the defending AL champs.
• Justin Verlander is headed back to Detroit on a one year, heavily deferred, deal to join a rotation that also was hit by injury.
• Jose Quintana and Tomoyuki Sagano are going to the Rockies on a one-year deals. That should end well.
• I hesitate to include this, but with the impending labor war coming, will President Trump try and be an influence on negotiations ($)?

I touched on this in Monday’s question, but let’s get more direct. I want to know where you truly think the Twins stand among the worst division in baseball. I’ll once again reference you to FanGraphs’ playoffs odds page, which is updated after games and transactions.

Here’s my ranking:

1. Tigers
2. Royals
3. Twins
4. Guardians
5. White Sox

If we’re using groups or tiers, I would say that the Tigers are clearly a group on their own, especially after signing Framber Valdez. The Royals probably have a good gap between themselves and the Twins as long as their starters can be healthier than they were in 2025. Then the Twins and Guardians are in a “if they get 1 or 2 players to breakout” group. I put Minnesota above Cleveland simply because the Twins’ main weakness is the bullpen, which is much easier to fix or find new, reliable players, whereas the Guardians need to find 3-4 bats that can be above-average behind Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan. Also similar to the Twins, they have a few former top prospects that have yet to establish themselves (George Valera, Chase DeLauter, CJ Kayfus), so it’s definitely possible they somehow win the division yet again.

I also, briefly, want to give a shoutout to the White Sox who have gone from historically terrible to a dark horse division contender within two years. GM Chris Getz has nailed several big trades over the past two years, bringing in current or future mid-lineup bats like Chase Meidroth, Kyle Teel, and Braden Montgomery. They have some work to do on the pitching side, but they have a solid base and a clear path toward the future, which is much more than what they could say when Getz took over baseball ops.

So, what’s your AL Central ranking? Is this the Tigers’ division to lose, or are you higher on the Royals than I am?

My photoshop skills have really been perfected and I was able to show you what Justin Verlander’s outfit is going to look like in 2026.

The Tigers are paying up to have him on their staff, perhaps because Reese Olson is out for the year.

LGFT injuries

• Francisco Lindor could need surgery, which would delay him by 6 weeks.

• Toronto is likely to place Shane Bieber on the IL

• and Anthony Santander is out 5-6 months.

More LGFT happenings

• Aaron Civale is headed to Sacramento. I’d have loved him as SP depth who starts out the season in the bullpen, but $6M is probably too much for that.

• The Diamondbacks will allow Carlos Santana to play in the WBC even though MLB won’t insure him.

Jose Quintana has found a new home — just not one that’s historically pitcher-friendly.

The 37-year-old left-handed starter has agreed to a deal with the Rockies, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported Tuesday night.

Terms of the contract, which is still pending medicals, are not yet known.

Colorado has had an active Tuesday, agreeing earlier in the day with right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year pact after he spent last year pitching in Japan.

Quintana, after spending two seasons with the Mets, joined the Brewers in the middle of spring training for 2025.

He gave the Brewers some stability in the back end of the rotation with a 3.96 ERA and 1.291 WHIP across 24 starts and 131 2/3 innings. Quintana pitched in two postseason outings, a three-inning scoreless effort in relief during the NLDS against the Cubs before getting lit up for three earned runs in a two-inning start against the eventual World Series champion Dodgers in the NLCS.

Quintana, through his first 14 seasons in the big leagues, has 113 victories, the most for a native of Colombia.

At high altitude (5,200 feet above sea level), Coors Field has long been a hitters’ haven and has had the top park factor in MLB over the last three seasons, according to Baseball Savant.

In six career outings at Coors, Quintana has a 5.40 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 42 innings.

Quintana is expected to pitch for his home country in March as part of the 2026 World Baseball Classic before he takes the mound in Denver.

The Rockies are hoping to get out of the National League doldrums after three straight seasons of 100-plus losses, including a baseball-worst 119 defeats in 2025.