Category: MLB

Aroldis Chapman has been nearly perfect over his Red Sox tenure. He’s converted 35 of 37 save opportunities, registering a 1.22 ERA in that span. But Father Time is undefeated, Chapman has been prone to meltdowns, and I’m generally distrustful, so I’m waiting for the wheels to fall off.

Last week, against the Brewers, Chapman threw the slowest fastball of his Red Sox career at 90.8 mph. Since 2010, he’s thrown over 10,000 fastballs, earning a reputation as the premier flamethrower in baseball. The pitch last week was so much slower than his average fastball that it might have even functioned as a changeup, inducing a game-ending double play.

Chapman has been in the league since 2010. There aren’t many players left who debuted in 2010. At 38 years old, it’s fair to see 90 mph and wonder if he’s over the hill. I did some digging, some Excel work, consulted an oracle, and asked a Magic 8-Ball to determine what to look for to predict Chapman’s decline.

Pitcher’s arms are like weapons. Google “Aroldis Chapman gun” to learn more. In all seriousness, Chapman saves his bullets. Part of being healthy and effective for so long is knowing when to push it and when to take your foot off the gas. To use another metaphor, look at Lionel Messi. He spends a large portion of games walking, conserving energy, and surveying the field. When he needs to, he gets up to full speed in an instant and makes everyone else look like they’re playing a different game. While a pitcher can’t entirely take pitches off, they can pull back a bit when needed, especially early in the count.

Dating back to 2024, we saw a jump of about two miles per hour with his fastball when he gets to two strikes. He’s much more likely to see a swing with two strikes, and brings out his best stuff in those counts. That’s been the case throughout his career, but the magnitude of the effect has increased with age. Similarly, we can see his relative effort change with the score as well.

The effect here isn’t as significant, but it does exist. In a one-run game, Chapman throws his fastballs significantly harder than in a three-run game or when trailing. There isn’t much of a difference between tie games and two-run games, but if the winning or tying run is at least in the on-deck circle, Chapman brings it.

There’s more to it than just effort, as well. At least, it appears that way.

It typically takes Chapman about four pitches before he appears to be warm. When he throws a fastball for his first or second pitch of the outing, it averages about 97 mph. By the time he gets to his seventh pitch, the average velocity is up to 99 mph. As someone who owns a bachelor’s degree that includes a minor in applied math and statistics, I’ll admit this isn’t a 100% sound way to draw conclusions, but the correlation is there.

One potential issue is that the first and second pitches of an outing can never be a two-strike count, and we already saw that he turns it up with two strikes. By the time we’re five or so pitches into an at-bat, though, it could be virtually any count, given that the average plate appearance lasts about four pitches.

Regardless of how Chapman conserves his bullets, the velocity is going to fall off. Nobody can throw 100 mph forever. In actuality, if he does fall off a cliff, he’ll be very hurt. If his performance falls off a cliff, it’s likely due to his control.

There’s a pretty clear correlation here. When Chapman walks guys, things get ugly. When he’s in the zone, as he was last season when he posted a career low walk rate, he’s nearly unhittable.

Last season, he was in the zone about 54% of the time, his highest rate since 2016. In a small sample this season, he’s at a 52% zone rate. He allegedly got under control by learning to aim, which is such a hilarious revelation for a pitcher who’s been in the majors for 15 years that I have a hard time believing it. No matter what the reason for his improved control, a year and then some consistently is enough for me to believe it’s here to stay.

As I said, Father Time is undefeated, and nobody can throw 100 mph forever. Still, when looking at Chapman, pay more attention to the high-leverage, two-strike pitches to see if the top-end velocity is still there. If he needs an out and he’s only throwing 95 mph, it might be cause for concern. As for the 90 mph fastball, he said he was having trouble because of the cold. You probably already knew that, so if you’re still here, I appreciate you. Unless there’s an injury at play, and there doesn’t appear to be, the dip in velocity was likely just a blip. If you start to get worried about Chapman this season, make sure to give him a few pitches to warm up, and pay close attention to his control before you deem the sky falling.

The Ontario Tower Buzzers have their first-ever award winner, as Dodgers minor league right-hander Marlon Nieves was named California League pitcher of the week for the week of April 6-12.

Nieves last Tuesday struck out six in six scoreless innings in a road win over the Inland Empire 66ers in San Bernardino, the longest outing of his professional career.

Nieves last Tuesday against Inland Empire retired his first six batters faced, then allowed a walk in the third inning that was erased by a double play. He allowed a leadoff double in the fourth inning, but retired the next three batters and his final nine batters faced to complete his gem.

The 20-year-old right-hander faced only one batter over the minimum in the victory.

Signed out of the Dominican Republic in May 2023, Nieves made his Class-A debut last season with Rancho Cucamonga, putting up a 2.21 ERA in eight starts, with 37 strikeouts and 19 walks in 36 2/3 innings, with only one home run allowed.

Heading into this season, Nieves was ranked the Dodgers’ 12th-best prospect by FanGraphs, and was No. 24 in the system at Baseball America.

“Pitching is risky and there’s work to do ahead, both in terms of Nieves’ physical development and in the consistency of his execution. But there’s a pretty high ceiling here,” wrote Eric Longenhagen, Brendan Gawlowski, and James Fegan at FanGraphs. “Nieves has the physical traits and pitch shape characteristics to justify a mid-rotation future grade.”

Said Baseball America: “He has the upside of a rotation piece but will need to up his command and control in a big way to reach that ceiling.”

Nieves is the second award-winning Dodgers minor leaguer this season, after Triple-A Oklahoma City first baseman/outfielder James Tibbs III winning Pacific Coast League player of the week for March 30-April 5.

Seems like a slow news day.

Vahe Gregorian writes about the Royals start to the season.

The Royals’ starting rotation entered the game with a 2.56 ERA — second in MLB only to the Yankees (2.50). Meanwhile, its offense with 54 runs through Sunday is tied for second-worst in baseball. So there is many a mixed message with not a lot of statistically significant data — at least in terms of sample size. You could just as easily say the Royals have frittered away a good deal of that great starting pitching as that they’ve been fortunate to cobble together three wins with three or fewer runs. Most of all, the point here is that absolutely nothing defining has happened yet. This season still is too much in the embryonic phase to draw any conclusions despite an uninspiring start.

Anne Rogers takes stock of where the Royals are after the series against the White Sox.

Rotation still in good shape
Royals starters entered Sunday having recorded 15 consecutive scoreless innings over the last two games, but Noah Cameron had more difficulty, allowing five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed two two-out, two-run home runs and issued the walk that would eventually come around to score the tying run in the sixth inning.

But all in all, the Royals’ rotation is still in good shape. Through 16 games, starters have allowed zero earned runs in five starts, one run or fewer in 10 starts and two or fewer in 11 starts. Starting pitching wins games, and the Royals feel like their rotation is going to keep them in games no matter what.

Pete Grathoff opines about the parking situation related to the potential Washington Square downtown ballpark site.

Philip Ruo at Royals Keep writes about Isaac Collins’ start to the season.

We already have a trade. The Blue Jays have acquired Lenyn Sosa from the White Sox.

The DBacks are moving Brandon Pfaadt to the bullpen.

ESPN has ABS rankings. The Royals as a team are doing well.

Azzi Fudd was selected first overall in the WNBA draft last night.

Dick Vitale announced he has been diagnosed with cancer for a fifth time.

Australian sprinter Gout Gout broke Usain Bolt’s 200m teenager world record.

NASA says Artemis III mission planning is underway.

Arrowhead Pride editor John Dixon recently passed away.

Former Chiefs RT Jawaan Taylor signed with the Falcons.

Your song of the day is bringing back something Max put here a couple years ago. It’s Wolfmother with Joker and the Thief.

In which an old fart breaks like the wind.

Yes, it’s true — I am locking up the imaginary office. Ocular issues, mostly.

Thanks again for the reads.

Phillies 13, Cubs 7.

Javier Assad took the ball to Citizens Bank Park and attempted to throw it past the Phillies. Cristopher Sánchez tried to continue his skein of really good pitching. Both teams stood at 7-8 at the outset, the onset, the preface as it were.

The Phillies look like they are holding a Jayson Werth lookalike contest.

Javier Assad has an ERA now. Kyle Schwarber did what he does, his fifth and sixth, driving in three runs. Cubs should have kept that guy. But you know that.

Dansby Swanson touched Sanchez up for a two-run dinger.

But the Phillies continued to pull away. The Cubs did hold a late rally, so there’s something silver in the cloud for today.

Every page these days has some form of advertising. {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

• Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times {$}): Ex-Cub Kyle Hendricks in no rush to figure out what comes after baseball, says, ‘Not knowing, it’s awesome’. “Your whole life being baseball, it’s always just go, go, go,” he told the Sun-Times. “I feel so lucky, all the experiences I had.”
• Thomas Harrigan (MLB.com): Scuffling Phillies turn to ace Sánchez in series opener vs. Cubs. “With Zack Wheeler on the mend, there’s no question Cristopher Sánchez is the guy in the Phillies’ rotation.“
• Randy Holt (North Side Baseball): Cubs’ lineup woes are the result of navigating the perils of a “sequential” offense. “There’s good process in place, and there will (eventually) be good results. But in stretches like this, the Cubs’ lack of an offensive driver begins to show itself.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Dansby Swanson’s heads-up baserunning keys Cubs comeback. ‘If you need the base coaches to tell you what to do, you stink at baserunning.’ Jordan Bastian has more.
• Boardroom: Is Pete Crow-Armstrong Chicago’s best athlete? [VIDEO]
• Tommy Birch (Des Moines Register {$}): Kevin Alcantara out to show the Cubs won the Anthony Rizzo trade. “I need to show it’s a good trade.”
• Steve Millar (Chicago Tribune {$}): Aidan Schopper, a big Chicago Cubs fan, leads Oak Lawn past Reavis at Wrigley Field. ‘Something I dreamed of.’ “I can’t even put it into words. It was probably one of the best days of my life.”

Food For Thought:

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series. Thanks for reading. À bientôt. Good luck, Jeff!

Welcome to the second installment of Camden Chat’s minor league weekly recap. All four of the Orioles’ full-season affiliates are up and running with their usual six-game weeks, and there have been quite a few early standout performances. Let’s jump right into it.

Triple-A Norfolk Tides

• Last week: 2-4 vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins)
• Coming week: at Durham Bulls (Rays)
• Season record: 5-10, tied for last place (6.0 GB) in International League East

Tides hitters struggled to get, you know…hits. They had only 25 hits in 179 at-bats in this series, a wretched .140 batting average that was worst in the International League by far. They slugged just .218, also a distant last place in the IL this week. No Tides hitter had more than three hits the entire week. In Creed Willems’ case, at least, two of those were dingers, and he now has a .918 OPS in 12 games this year. Willems didn’t quite make the cut for Camden Chat’s composite top 20 prospect rankings, but he was an honorable mention. At 22 years old and in his first experience at Triple-A, Willems probably isn’t a candidate for a big-league call-up immediately, but he’ll put himself on the radar if he keeps hitting like this.

Enrique Bradfield Jr. (#7 prospect) returned from a six-day absence after he ran into a wall on April 2. He was hitless in two of his three starts this week but was great in the other, hitting a homer and driving in all four Tides runs in a comeback win on Friday.

I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but a rehabbing Jackson Holliday, after going 2-for-19 this week, is hitting .167 with a .453 OPS in 11 games. At what point does, “Ah, he’s just rusty,” turn into, “Wait, something is really wrong here”? Holliday’s maximum 20-day rehab stint is almost over, and you have to wonder if the O’s will consider just optioning him to the minors once he comes off the IL. He hasn’t shown he’s ready to hit Triple-A pitching, let alone big league pitching. Hamate injuries are complicated.

The starting rotation is where this Norfolk club is really intriguing, and the Big Three — prospects Trey Gibson (#5), Nestor German (#11), and Levi Wells (#16) — each pitched well this week. They combined for a 1.20 ERA, allowing only two earned runs in 15 innings. Wells was the most impressive of the bunch, racking up six strikeouts in 5.1 innings, and the two runs he gave up were both unearned. But the best starting performance for Norfolk came from Brandon Young, who followed up his five shutout innings with the Orioles last week by throwing six shutout, one-hit innings for the Tides on Sunday. I have a feeling he’ll be back in Baltimore sometime soon.

Norfolk season stats

Double-A Chesapeake Baysox

• Last week: 5-1 vs. Erie SeaWolves (Tigers)
• Coming week: at New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays)
• Season record: 6-3, third place (2.0 GB) in Eastern League Southwest

The first full week of Chesapeake’s season was a resounding success, as the club was a win shy of a six-game sweep. The Baysox have been led by their pitching staff, which has a lot of guys who strike out a lot of dudes. The 112 Ks by Chesapeake pitchers this season are tops in the Eastern League. This week, left-hander Sebastian Gongora, an 11th-round pick in 2024, had 13 of them — and no walks — in his two starts, giving up only two runs in 9.1 innings. Gongora, who last year struggled to a 5.53 ERA for two affiliates, is starting things off on a better note in 2026.

The most notable pitcher on this roster is lefty prospect Luis De León (#9). His second start of the year was a workmanlike five-inning, three-run performance. Lefty Micah Ashman and righty Tyson Neighbors, two relievers acquired at last year’s trade deadline who are dark-horse O’s bullpen candidates later this year, combined for six innings, no earned runs, and 12 strikeouts this week.

At the plate, 2024 second-round pick Ethan Anderson was the star this week with nine hits, four more than any of his teammates. Seven games into the season, Anderson is slashing .429/.600/.571 with more walks (eight) than strikeouts (five). He’s aiming to put a disappointing 2025 season behind him. Anderson was one of six Baysox batters to homer this week, along with infielder Aron Estrada (#13), among others. Shortstop Griff O’Ferrall homered but was otherwise 0-for-17 in the series.

Chesapeake season stats

High-A Frederick Keys

• Last week: 2-4 at Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox)
• Coming week: vs. Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees)
• Season record: 4-4, fourth place (2.5 GB) in South Atlantic League North

The Keys’ lineup is loaded with top prospects — Nate George (#3), Ike Irish (#4), and Wehiwa Aloy (#6) — but the hitter who stole the show this week was first baseman Victor Figueroa, acquired in last year’s six-player trade package for Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano. The 22-year-old bashed his second and third home runs of the season. Figueroa is probably not a real prospect, but dingers are dingers.

As for those big-name guys, Irish fared the best this week with a 5-for-16 showing, including a homer. Aloy was 5-for-21 with a roundtripper of his own, while George posted a 4-for-17 week. Irish, last year’s first round pick, has a .988 OPS through his first five games at the High-A level. The O’s drafted him as a catcher but he has yet to play behind the plate this season. He’s made three starts at first base and two in right field.

It’s not just hitters who are opening eyes at Frederick. The Keys’ staff is led by a dynamic 1-2 punch of Joseph Dzierwa (#14) and JT Quinn (#19). Dzierwa, a lefty with pinpoint control, has been garnering attention since his Spring Breakout performance and continues to shove for the Keys. He threw seven innings of two-run ball this week, following six shutout frames in his pro debut the previous week. The Orioles normally limit the innings of their prospects early in the season, but Dzierwa has been so efficient with his pitches — 80 or fewer each time — that they haven’t needed to cut him short.

Meanwhile, the righty Quinn — selected 11 picks after Dzierwa in last year’s draft, at #69 — blew away the Dash with 10 strikeouts in 4.2 scoreless frames this week. He too is off to a sensational start to his pro career, with a 1.00 ERA and 16 Ks in his first nine innings. Another pitching prospect, Juaron Watts-Brown (#15) is also at this level and made his season debut with 3.2 scoreless, hitless innings. That trio has upstaged the 6-foot-8 Boston Bateman (#10), the prize of the Padres trade last summer. Bateman bombed this week, coughing up seven runs in 5.2 innings over two outings.

After playing their first eight games of the season on the road, the Keys have their home opener tonight. It’s their first time playing in Frederick as an O’s affiliate since 2019. Shake those keys!

Frederick season stats

Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds

• Last week: 2-4 vs. Augusta GreenJackets (Braves)
• Coming week: at Fredericksburg Nationals
• Season record: 3-6, tied for fourth place (4.0 GB) in Carolina League North

We’ll move from the Orioles’ most interesting affiliate, the Keys, to their least interesting one (sorry, Shorebirds). There’s just not a lot of big-name O’s prospect talent at the Low-A level. Only two players from the Camden Chat top 20 are currently with Delmarva, led by right-hander Esteban Mejia (#8). He suffered a terrible start this week, giving up three runs and four hits without getting out of the first inning.

If we’re looking for standout pitching performances, could I interest you in Braeden Sloan? The lefty reliever, a 17th-round pick last year, retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced, striking out eight of them. Low-A veteran Kiefer Lord also was K-happy this week, notching 10 of his 11 outs on strikeouts.

The lone ranked hitting prospect on this team is outfielder Jordan Sanchez (#17), who homered this week. This week’s best hitter was infielder Joshua Liranzo, who homered, drove in five, and drew a team-leading seven walks. Liranzo, a Dominican native, was part of the Orioles’ 2023 international signing class.

Delmarva season stats

**

As Mark noted last week, changes to the SBNation publishing platform have left us unable to post polls, so we’ll no longer get to vote on a minor league player of the week. But you can always leave a comment below and tell us who your pick would be. Does Ethan Anderson’s nine-hit week or Creed Willems’ two dingers stand out to you? Do you prefer Joseph Dzierwa’s latest quality start? Or someone else entirely? Let us know.

Back on November 5, 2025, when the Colorado Rockies claimed INF/OF Troy Johnston off waivers, the move seemed fairly insignificant.

At the time, the Rockies rebuild was in its early stages with key front office positions remaining unfilled, so their thinking on claiming Johnston was unclear.

In spring training, however, Johnston’s potential became clear:

• He’s a lefty batter in a lineup dominated by righties
• He plays both first base and the outfield
• He had a good showing early on that got him one of the last open spots on the Rockies roster as they left Scottsdale

It’s too early to have much meaningful data on the 2026 season, but Johnston’s initial numbers are promising. In 50 plate appearances, he’s slashed .283/.327/.478 with a 114 wRC+. His time between first and the outfield has been roughly equal.

And he’s shown himself ready to make a big play.

For Johnston, it’s all in a day’s work. In a recent interview, he discussed joining the Rockies and adjusting to elevation, playing multiple positions, and that walk-up song everyone’s talking about.

Making adjustments

A native of Washington State, Johnston knows his way around the West Coast, but it’s been a minute given that the Marlins drafted him in 2019. Still, Johnston is finding his way around the Mountain West.

“Getting used to the weather, getting used to the travel, getting used to playing teams that I’ve never played before is all very new to me,” Johnston said.

But he’s not worried.

“It’s still baseball. You’ve still got to hit the ball, still got to have a good approach, still got to be athletic, still got to scout and do all this kind of stuff,” he said. “Every day is not the same. You have to prepare differently. You have to train differently for whatever you’re trying to accomplish that day. But I’m trying to adjust and have fun and be the best teammate that I can.”

Wherever he’s playing, Johnston has learned to relax.

“I’ve been playing baseball professionally a long time. I know it hasn’t been in the big leagues, but when you try to put the ball in play, and you just try to make things happen and don’t press too much, sometimes good things happen.”

Then there’s the matter of elevation, which Johnston said he first noticed in his sleep habits.

“I feel like I have not been sleeping very well,” he said, “because I’ve been up in Washington [where] I’m at sea level. I’m up in Seattle and over in Florida, you’re at sea level. I’ve got the humidity, all that kind of stuff. Here, the air is very thin, and it’s very cold, and so that’s very different than what I’m used to. So I’ve been trying to find different techniques, different things that can kind of cope with that.”

Then again, there may be more than elevation at work.

“But I also do have an 11-month-old who’s teething,” Johnston added with a smile. “So as much as I am trying to do my best, she’s also keeping me awake a bit. But we love her, and we’ll keep her around.”

He’s aware, too, of the on-field effects of playing at 5280, something he first noticed at the end of last season when the Marlins visited Coors Field. Although Johnston noted the change in pitch movement, he was especially struck by how the ball flew, setting up a situation that requires vigilance on the part of defenders.

“I do understand in the outfield, the ball will travel and it’ll kind of carry on you. As long as you’re thinking about that while you’re tracking the baseball, things happen a little bit better,” he said. “But if you’re not prepared for it, that’s where it’ll sneak up on you.”

Johnston added, “I feel like the pop-ups in the infield are fairly normal, but I think those, those deep, mid-level drives out to the outfield in the gaps down the lines, those are where you see the big difference.”

Being versatile

The Rockies’ new front office has emphasized the need for versatility. It’s another part of Johnston’s game that requires his attention, most notably in terms of preparation.

“A lot of it is just mental preparedness and making sure I get my reps, preparing for what I need to do that day, whether it’s playing in the infield, playing in the outfield,” Johnston said. “I feel like I’m comfortable at any position.”

He recognizes, though, that versatility is a key part of his game.

“That was the big thing of why the Rockies claimed me off waivers from Miami was that I can play multiple positions.”

Since he was drafted as an outfielder, first base has been a position added to his toolkit, but he doesn’t have a positional preference.

“There’s no actual theory behind this,” he said, “but for me, being an outfielder is just a glorified DH. That’s all it is. You’re just out there. You’re hanging out, kicking grass, doing whatever.”

But that changes in an instant.

“When the ball does come to you in the outfield, there’s a really, really high pressure. You need to catch the ball. You need to get it into the right guy,” Johnston said, adding, “When we’re in the infield, you’re locked in pretty much all nine innings. Maybe in the outfield, you can get away with taking one pitch off.”

He’s just ready to do what’s asked of him.

“I’ve told [manager Warren Schaeffer] this a lot. I will do anything he needs me to do. If he asked me to play shortstop in the ninth, if he asked me to play third base and bat first, it does not matter. I will do anything, whatever they need.”

Selecting a walk-up song

Among all the Rockies 2026 walk-up songs, Johnston’s decision to go with Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5” tends to get fans’ attention.

Who made this decision? His wife, Haleigh.

“She picked it,” Johnston explained, “and she thought it was so funny.”

Here’s how it happened.

“We were going up in January,” he said, ‘and I was like, ‘You know, I need a walk up song. Spring training is coming around. I need something. What do you think?’ And she goes, ‘“Mambo No. 5.’ And I go, ‘That’s the worst walk-up song I’ve ever heard my entire life.’ And she goes, ‘I promise you: It’ll bring its good vibes. The fans will like it. They’ll get interactive.’ And she did this whole little dance routine with it. And I thought it was so funny. I didn’t really have a lot of other options in my mind. So I was like, ‘You know, I’ll try it, and see what works.’

As it turns out, it did.

“But it was funny,” he said, smiling. “There was somebody that tweeted something out and said, ‘Troy Johnston’s walk up song is just so fitting for him,’ and I hated it so much, because, of course, my wife is usually right.”

Appreciating what the Rockies are building

Johnston also draws contrasts between his current situation and where he was in Miami.

“A lot of people are talking about the Rockies and how things have been in the past, but this is a new team,” Johnston said.

“We’re hungry. We want to win. It’s kind of our motto.”

Plus, there’s a Rockies fandom eager for winning.

“Coming from the Miami Marlins, when I walked around Miami, I never saw a Miami Marlins jersey. I never saw a Marlins hat. I saw nothing,” Johnston said.

“When I’m walking around downtown Denver, they’re really excited about the Rockies. They want the Rockies to be good. This is a sports town. We are trying to put a good product on the field. Paul [DePodesta] has done a great job of that. I’ve never seen so many supporters of one team that I’ve actually been a part of and that I’ve been on. So this city and this team wants to win, we’re going to try to put the best product every night and do our best to win.”

This week on the internet

ICYMI:

The weight of the bricks: Troy Johnston and the quiet battle behind the big league smile | Blake Street Banter

Continuing our look at Troy Johnston on is Tuesday is Eli Whitney over at Blake Street Banter. Here he provides another perspective on the utility player.

Rockies’ new direction, energy has DePodesta excited | MLB.com

Thomas Harding spoke with Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta during the team’s series with the Padres.

2026 MLB Mock Draft 2.0: Updated First-Round Picks For Every Team | Baseball America ($)

Carlos Collazo has the Rockies selecting AJ Gracia, an outfielder from the University of Virginia. As Collazo writes, “How the Rockies and their new front office draft this year will be one of the most interesting storylines to watch. It sounds like they’ve spent a lot of time on college players this spring and, at least for some teams, Gracia is closer to Strosnider in the college outfield pecking order than the others. He has a patient and selective approach that leads to lots of walks. His career walk rate is right around 18-19%, and he has the bat-to-ball skills that limit his strikeouts.”

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

The Chicago White Sox went 2–5 this week. In many ways, that alone could serve as the recap. But even in a rough stretch, there were a few bright spots worth noting, and a few areas that weren’t so encouraging. Those themes break down into two familiar buckets: hitting and pitching.

PITCHING

In the interest of your actually reading this article, let’s start with the bright spot that was pitching this week. In the last seven days, South Side pitching has a team ERA of 2.94. You might recall from last week that the hurlers weren’t good in the first three series. They came out of the gate with a team ERA of 6.00+. With this incredibly solid week of pitching, both from starters and the bullpen, it is now sitting at a more respectable 4.70. That is good enough to move from 29th in the league to 26th.

Big performances came specifically from the starting pitching.

• Erik Fedde played in two games, started one, and gave up just three earned runs over 11 innings pitched. He also struck out eight batters and walked just two.
• Davis Martin gave the White Sox their only quality start of the week in a loss to the Royals on Friday. In seven innings, he allowed two runs, walked no one, and struck out three.
• Anthony Kay would have gotten a quality start if they had let him stay out for one more out. Instead, he pitched 5 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, striking out six and walking two along the way.
• Sean Burke went five innings in a 5-3 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday. He only gave up two runs and was set to get the win until Sims came in and blew the lead.
• Honorable mention goes to Shane Smith, who, manager Will Venable pulled in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s start after throwing 99 pitches in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out an astonishing eight batters, but also walked five in his short scoreless outing. It was not enough for him to avoid an option back to Triple-A. He now finds himself in Charlotte trying to get back on track after a rough start to the season.

While the starters stepped up in big ways, the bullpen has some work to do. The offense gave the bullpen a lead on both Tuesday and Wednesday, and they blew them both. Which, if they had won, would have given them a 4-3 record for the week rather than 2-5.

However, pitching cannot protect a lead if the offense doesn’t keep extending it. This brings us to the bummer part of the weekly recap. The one where I tell you the offense didn’t show up and cost the White Sox games they had in reach.

HITTING

Let’s play a game I like to call “How many games were in between the Pale Hose’s most recent home runs?” You get until the end of this sentence to guess. If you said seven, you would be correct. On Saturday, April 4, both Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery homered in a 6-3 win against the Blue Jays. The next time the Good Guys hit a home run was on Sunday, April 12. Tanner Murray hit a two-run bomb to give the White Sox an early lead over the Royals. Props to the rookie for his first major league dinger.

Speaking of rookies, in the top of the seventh on Sunday, Dustin Harris entered the game for Derek Hill. The lefty took a 1-1 changeup nearly out of the ballpark. He would eventually come around to score the winning run on a wild pitch.

Harris also wanted to have himself a day and robbed a home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to keep the White Sox in front.

Exciting rookie accomplishments aside, the South Siders scored a total of 14 runs last week. That is an average of two runs a game. The Royals shut out the Sox on back-to-back nights in Kansas City; they averaged nine strikeouts a game, and only walked 24 times. To put it lightly, there is much work to be done.

I could throw more numbers at you about how low the White Sox rank in various categories or some decent plays on the defense, but truly, this is all you missed last week. The simple game of trying to get all three aspects of baseball (hitting, pitching, defense) clicking into gear at the same time is becoming a challenge for the Chicago club. A tale as old as time, but with many younger faces this time.

After an off-day on Monday, the club starts a three-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays at The Rate on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. CST, and there are a few things worth highlighting.

Noah Schultz is getting the call! The wait is over, and the 22-year-old southpaw will make his major league debut on Tuesday. The Oswego East High School alum will face off against lefty veteran Shane McClanahan. It is the next step in the wave of bringing up players from this young farm system. The rookie is 3-0 in Charlotte and has struck out 19, walked two, and given up just two earned runs in 14 innings.

Also of note, Chicago traded Lenyn Sosa to the Blue Jays for minor league outfielder Jordan Rich and a player to be named later, or cash considerations. This appears to be a classic Reinsdorf trade. At this time, I have no opinion or clue on who Rich is, but I can only hope this pans out for Sosa in Toronto.

With the Red Sox having some momentum after winning two straight and four of their last five games, they gave the ball to Garrett Crochet last night. He was facing a Minnesota Twins lineup that recently beat up on Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez, and turned in the worst performance of his career: an 11-run, 1.2 IP stint. With his velocity and arm angle down slightly, are you concerned? Personally, I’m not. (I actually am slightly concerned, but choose to say I’m not because that’s much less scary).

We go again against the Twins tonight. Hopefully Sonny Gray puts forward a better performance against one of his former teams. Use this space to talk about what you want and, as always, be good to one another.

It wasn’t the best week on the farm for the Yankees’ four affiliates, but it was the first full week of the season, during which all four affiliates got in six games. Nobody had a winning week, but all four levels had at least one player produce a standout performance, with several showing incredible progress and continued results in their season debuts.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

Record: 9-6, 1.5 GB in the International League East after a 3-3 week against the Durham Bulls (Rays)

Run differential: +24

Coming up: Road @ Syracuse Mets (Mets)

The second full week of the season was a mixed bag for the RailRiders, who started out with another Tuesday postponement due to blistering cold in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They opened the week with a thrilling comeback victory on Wednesday, which saw them rally back from a 6-0 deficit in a bullpen game by taking advantage of bad Durham defense. They then walked off the Bulls on Thursday in a back-and-forth game, thanks to a walk-off blast from catcher Ali Sánchez.

A planned doubleheader on Friday saw only one game played, and it was tied through six innings at two before a blowup outing by Harrison Cohen resulted in an eight-run seventh and a loss. They finally got the doubleheader in on Saturday, which saw Carlos Lagrange take the loss in the matinee despite seven strikeouts in 3.1 fiery innings, while they rode the burly bat of Spencer Jones to take the nightcap, 9-5. The bats mostly fell silent in a 4-3 loss on Sunday.

Jasson Domínguez continues to impress on the hitting front, racking up six hits, seven walks, and four stolen bases in six games. What was especially intriguing was that he even started a pair of games in center field, his original position when he signed out of the Dominican Republic. There wasn’t anything too notable in either of those games, but he did commit an error when he misplayed a single into center field that allowed a run to score.

Spencer Jones is heating up after a horrific start to the season. Through nine games, the 6-foot-7 slugger had a strikeout rate over 50 percent, but he only struck out five times in six games this week. His standout performance came in the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader, when he went 3-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs.

As for the rest of the hitting core, the veterans are all over the place. Max Schuemann and Braden Shewmake haven’t gotten going (though my colleague Scott had a very nice article about Schuemann), while Seth Brown and Paul DeJong have been more than serviceable. The real standout is Sánchez, who could be in play for a midseason call-up behind the dish if the depth is tested. A former big leaguer with five different teams, he’s not known for his bat, but he blasted a pair of home runs this week.

Brendan Beck continued a strong start to the season on Wednesday, while there were mixed results for Elmer Rodríguez and Carlos Lagrange. For Rodriguez, his velo was down, and he labored through five innings, while Lagrange struggled with command while lighting up the radar gun, sitting nearly 101 on his fastball. In three starts, he now has 13 strikeouts to nine walks in 10.2 innings.

Bullpen-wise, the 40-man arms continue to deal. Yovanny Cruz and Angel Chivilli have still yet to give up an earned run, combining for 19 strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Yerry De los Santos and Kervin Castro have also continued to pitch well. Any of those players could be in play to come up to the Yankees today with the news of Jake Bird’s demotion.

Players of Note:

Jasson Domínguez: .354/.475/.521, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 SB, 176 wRC+
Spencer Jones: .235/.374/.471, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 6 XBH, 39.3 K%, 118 wRC+
Ali Sanchez: .433/.500/.733, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 231 wRC+
Brendan Beck: 1-0, 3.00 ERA, 2.73 FIP, 31.7 K-BB% (15 IP)

Double-A Somerset Patriots

Record: 3-5, 2 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 2-4 week against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets)

Run differential: +5

Coming up: Home vs. Reading Fightin’ Phils (Phillies)

This team has had the early identity of extreme inconsistency. For a TLDR, here’s what I mean:

Three wins: 37 runs, +28 run differential
Five losses: 11 runs, -23 run differential

In three of their five losses, they’ve been held to one run or fewer. They scored four combined runs in a Wednesday doubleheader, losing the first game 11-3 before they failed to pick up Chase Chaney in a 2-1 loss. They rebounded to win by 10 runs on Thursday, powered by another strong game by George Lombard Jr., before losing an extremely odd Saturday game, which saw them need to use infielder Owen Cobb in the 10th inning. They took the finale, 7-5.

Speaking of Lombard, he continues to be on fire, going 7-for-19 with a home run and three doubles. There’s a lot to be encouraged by in his first seven games of the season. After struggling to generate much game power in 2025 (9 HR and .146 ISO in 132 combined games), he’s already hit two homers with seven extra-base hits in 32 plate appearances. His very mature plate discipline has remained on display, and he’s only struck out four times. The defensive IQ still looks very, very impressive as well.

We go from a 20-year-old top prospect to a 32-year-old journeyman, as the oldest player in Double-A is raking in his first taste of MLB-affiliated ball in seven years. Nick Torres is coming off a tremendous week, going 8-for-18 with a home run and a double in five games while splitting time at first base, left field, and designated hitter. He isn’t much of a prospect, but the Mexican League MVP is easy to root for.

Elsewhere on offense, guys like Coby Morales, Garrett Martin, and DJ Gladney continue to hit, while they’re still hoping for Jace Avina and the catching tandem of Miguel Palma and Manuel Palencia to get going, as the three have combined to start the year 4-for-55.

Ben Hess had a very challenging start on Saturday, when he lost all command in the third inning. There’s always a worry that some of these minor-league starters might not be able to throw enough strikes to start at the big-league level, and Hess is currently in that gray area. Through two starts, he has 14 strikeouts and 10 walks/HBP in just 7.2 innings. When his stuff is on, it’s on, but it won’t matter if he can’t throw enough strikes.

The results were mixed with the rest of the rotation. Kyle Carr had a better start on Sunday after walks hurt him in his first start of the season, while Trent Sellers and Xavier Rivas both struggled in their first starts. Cade Smith had a dazzling first four innings in his Double-A debut on Wednesday, but unraevled in the fifth and had to be saved by Eric Reyzelman in relief.

Speaking of Reyzelman, he’s among those off to a great start in the bullpen. The former fifth-round pick won’t be long for Somerset if he continues to show improved command, while both Will Brian and Chris Kean have impressed as well. Those three have 20 strikeouts combined in just over 10 shutout innings of relief and have been stabilizers to a bullpen with a few struggling arms.

As we look ahead, Anthony Volpe is starting a rehab assignment in Somerset on Tuesday as he inches closer to returning from labrum surgery.

Players of Note:

Ben Hess: 7.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 9 K
Eric Reyzelman: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K
George Lombard Jr: 13-for-28, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 7 XBH, 2 SB
DJ Gladney: 7-for-21, 3 RBI, 3 XBH, 2 BB
Coby Morales: 8-for-27, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 4 XBH, 5 BB

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades

Record: 3-5, 3.5 GB in the South Atlantic League North after a 1-5 week against the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)

Run differential: -3

Coming up: Road @ Frederick Keys (Orioles)

Hudson Valley had a rough week on both sides of the ball. The Renegades scored first in the first five games of the week, but only won one of them. They dropped Tuesday’s game in extras, lost on a blowup fifth inning on Wednesday, won 2-0 on Thursday, lost a pitcher’s duel on Friday, had one bad inning doom them on Saturday, and just had a lousy loss on Sunday.

After a great start to the season, most of the 2025 draftees cooled off considerably this week, as Kaeden Kent, Core Jackson, and Kyle West struggled (Jackson did hit a home run on Saturday, at least). The standout hitters this week were 2025 undrafted free agent Eric Genther (9-for-21, RBI, 3 BB, 2 2B) and former top prospect Roderick Arias (5-for-23, 5 RBI, 3B, 4 SB), who noticeably looks more comfortable after leaving Tampa.

The pitching was a mixed bag. Franyer Herrera wasn’t great in his abbreviated season debut, Brandon Decker tossed 3.2 hitless innings but struggled with command, Rory Fox was dominant in his first three innings before completely unraveling, and Sean Paul Liñan flashed his potential with seven strikeouts in 3,1 choppy innings. Additionally, the team lost Pico Kohn to the 7-day injured list with an undisclosed injury.

But the two pitchers who really stood out were Luis Serna and Jack Cebert. We’ll get into Serna later on, but Cebert was impressive in his season debut. The 2025 15th-rounder debuted briefly last season as a reliever, but pitched into the eighth inning today in his first pro start. He bounced back after a tough third inning, and despite taking the loss, struck out eight in 7.1 innings with zero walks.

The bullpen has had an inconsistent start to the year. Chris Veach is the current gold standard with six strikeouts in 4.1 shutout innings, while both Ben Grable and Jack Sokol are racking up strikeouts in relatively small samples. It’s too early to say much with this unit.

Players of Note:

Roderick Arias: 9-for-31, 6 RBI, 2 XBH, 4 SB, 26.5 K%
Core Jackson: 7-for-34, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2B, 2 SB
Kaeden Kent: 7-for-31, 2B, 6 BB, 3 SB
Jack Cebert: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 8 K

Single-A Tampa Tarpons

Record: 3-6, 4 GB in the Florida State League West after a 3-3 week against the Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)

Run differential: -15

Coming up: Home vs. Bradenton Marauders (Pirates)

If you’ve followed the Tarpons for the last few years, you know that pitching has been an issue for the team for a good while. That does happen to be a trend in Single-A, but the early returns are incredibly encouraging for Tampa. In six games this week, they allowed 10 total runs.

Tampa lost the opener, 4-1, after a rough seventh inning. Strong starting pitching buoyed victories on Wednesday and Thursday, even with an underperforming offense. The offense came through with a 9-0 win on Friday, but the Tarpons dropped both weekend games by only scoring one total run.

Pretty much everyone is struggling to start the year, as even with Logan Maxwell’s multi-homer game and JoJo Jackson’s strong first weekend, the numbers aren’t good. Brando Mayea is struggling, as is Enmanuel Tejeda, who’s an ugly 1-for-27, albeit with 11 walks. There’s one player, though, who’s still hitting.

Jackson Lovich started the year on the injured list with a minor injury, but returned on Thursday to play the next four games. His six-game cameo last season saw some eye-popping numbers, but it could be a victim of a small sample size. Well, he’s continued it to start this season, starting 6-for-16 with five extra-base hits, four RBIs, and a stolen base. He has been striking out more, but his stats to start his career are ludicrous.

The pitching is the story. Blake Gillespie threw six shutout innings on Tuesday, Allen Facundo struck out eight in 5.2 innings in his season debut on Wednesday, Tyler Boudreau struck out nine in 4.1 innings on Thursday, Justin West tossed 5.1 shutout innings on Friday, and Danny Flatt spun six solid innings on Sunday. Henry Lalane had a solid outing on Saturday as well, but he’s going back on the injured list.

Players of Note:

Logan Maxwell: 6-for-22, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB
JoJo Jackson: 7-for-27, 5 RBI, 2 2B, 5 BB, 3 SB
Allen Facundo: 5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 K
Jose M. Rodriguez: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 11 K

Prospect of the Week: Luis Serna

Weekly Stats: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K

Progress isn’t always linear for prospects rising through a farm system. This is especially true for international prospects, who sign so young that they have an exceptionally longer leash to figure things out because of their age.

Serna was once a highly-touted prospect out of Mexico who dominated rookie ball in 2021 and 2022, combining to strike out 102 batters in 81 innings of 2 ERA ball at age 17 and 18. While he had a more challenging 2023, he figured to be entering his age-20 season with all the promise in the world. He even got to pitch in his home country when the Yankees played an exhibition in Monterrey in late March.

When Serna made his Single-A debut with Tampa, though, he just couldn’t figure things out. Injuries cost him part of 2024 and most of 2025 as he mightily struggled over the course of two years, pitching to a baffling 5.99 ERA in 76.2 innings. The shine had worn off, even if he wouldn’t turn 22 until this July. Still, the Yankees decided not to have him repeat Single-A until he figured it out, pushing him to High-A Hudson Valley. And while one game doesn’t dictate how your season will go, his High-A debut was as good as possible.

He allowed just two baserunners with 10 strikeouts and 22(!) whiffs in seven strong innings in Thursday’s win. His velocity was back to 93-94, his changeup was otherworldly, his slider and curveball worked as tertiary pitches. Everything was working for a guy who’s finally healthy.

For a team that has developed some great arms in recent years, if we see a resurgence from a guy like Serna getting back on a big league trajectory, that might be their biggest win yet.

Happy Tuesday, Camden Chatters! And what a good morning it is, waking up after the most exciting Orioles game of the young season. Down 7-1 going into the bottom of the sixth, your favorite baseball team scored eight runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to come from behind and secure a 9-7 victory.

The comeback was dramatic. Jeremiah Jackson launched a grand slam into left field to cut the lead to just one run. In the next inning, it was Pete Alonso’s turn. With Taylor Ward on base, Alonso hit a bomb that went directly over the head of Mr. Splash, who was wearing a polar bear head. The optics were perfect and the Orioles were up, 8-7. Jackson hit another dinger in the eighth inning for good measure, and Ryan Helsley’s 1-2-3 ninth inning locked up the win. You can get all of the excellent details from this wild win in Paul Folkemer’s game recap.

Dean Kremer was called back from Norfolk to make last night’s start. It was a mixed bag, to say the least. Kremer gave up three home runs, which is very bad. But he struck out nine without walking a batter, which is good. Kremer is no ace, and there is no telling what will happen to him now. Mike Elias is a tricky guy. But the line all along has been that Kremer is a good back-of-the-rotation starter, and that much remains true.

The offense started the season in a concerning way, but the bats are coming around. They have scored at least five runs in four of the last five games. Before putting up nine runs last night, they had back-to-back games with six runs scored. The weather is heating up this week and we can only hope that the bats will like the new temps.

Tonight, the Orioles will try to take the series against the Diamondbacks. And they have a decidedly front-of-the-rotation starter going for them. Trevor Rogers will make his fourth start tonight. He is on a week’s rest as the Orioles stretch out the rotation, presumably in an effort to keep Rogers and others ready throughout the entire season. Rogers has allowed four earned runs in three starts, a total of 19 innings. Hopefully, he has another good one in him tonight.

If you missed all of the roster updates from yesterday, allow me to bring you up to speed. Poor Ryan Mountcastle was placed on the 60-day IL with a broken foot. In his place, the Orioles called up infielder Weston Wilson. However, rehabbing Jackson Holliday was in the Orioles’ dugout last night. Could his recall be imminent? He doesn’t have much time remaining on his rehab stint, but the other Jackson, Jeremiah, is playing like a man who does not want to lose his job.

Yaramil Hiraldo, who is out with shoulder inflammation, has also been moved to the 60-day IL. The Orioles optioned Cade Povich to make room for Kremer, a move that might make sense but also is a little frustrating. Povich has been great. He’ll be back, I know.

Also yesterday, the Orioles traded for Reds infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand , then optioned him to triple-A. Encarnacion-Strand has played for the Reds in parts of the last three seasons. He is 26 years old.

Links

O’s manager Albernaz hit in head by foul ball in dugout – MLB.com
It was a scary moment in the game last night when Jeremiah Jackson fouled a ball into the dugout that hit manager Craig Albernaz in the face. Albernaz got checked out and returned one inning later sporting a scratch and a swollen face. Jackson apologized by hitting two home runs.

Ryan Helsley doesn’t know what went wrong in New York, but he hopes to put it right with the Orioles – The Baltimore Banner
He certainly looked good last night. More of that, please.

Jackson hits two home runs, including grand slam, and Alonso delivers go-ahead shot in wild 9-7 win – MASN Sports
Roch Kubatko has a rundown of last night’s win, including quotes from the players.

Birthdays and History

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have a ton of Orioles birthday buddies, but sadly none of them left too lasting and impression on Orioles history. They are:

• Jeff Fiorentino (43), one of those dark days players who, for some reason, looms larger in my memory than is warranted. He appeared in 56 games with the Orioles from 2005-06 and 2009.
• Gregg Zaun (55), nephew of Rick Dempsey.
• Brad Pennington (57), the relief pitcher who taught 14-year-old Stacey that sometimes it’s ok to turn off the TV before the pitch is thrown.
• Mike Trombley (59), who was a pretty good reliever for the 2001 Orioles. He spent most of his career in Minnesota.
• Greg Myers (6o), journeyman catcher who stopped in Baltimore from 2000-01.
• Jay Aldrich (65), a 1990 seven-gamer.
• Frank Bertaina (b. 1944, d. 2010), a relief pitcher and prankster whose teammates gave him the nickname “Toys in the Attic” because he was…insane? Or something. It was not clear to me after googling.
• Kal Segrist (b. 1931, d. 2015), who had 11 plate appearances for the 1955 Orioles.

On this day in 1990, Cal Ripken started a streak (not that one) that led to a major league record 95 straight errorless games and 431 total chances by a shortstop.

George Steinbrenner could be quite the pitchman – whether selling New York to free agents or starring in Pepto-Bismol TV ads alongside Billy Martin. And now a new book remembers the late Yankees owner and the dynasty he founded.

The Bosses of the Bronx: The Endless Drama of the Yankees Under the House of Steinbrenner flows from the pen of sports journalist and author Mike Vaccaro. As the New York Post’s lead sports columnist for more than two decades, Vaccaro has witnessed the Steinbrenner dynasty from a rarefied perspective – the journalistic equivalent of a seat along the third-base line.

Vaccaro remembers the first one-on-one phone call he got from Steinbrenner. It came at 3.30am when he was covering the 2003 Super Bowl in San Diego for the Post. Steinbrenner was on the other side of the US, driving to the Yankees’ spring training facility in Tampa.

Related: Unhittable: are the modern era’s weightlifting, analytics-fueled pitchers too good?

Despite the three-hour time difference, “he was terrific,” Vaccaro says, “a fun interview. I had [previously] been around him in group settings, but that was my first one-on-one with him.”

The book divulges the contents of that interview, including Steinbrenner’s appraisal of Larry David’s performance as him on Seinfeld: “I don’t think it sounds like me. But my wife told me, ‘George, that sounds more like you than you do.’”

Vaccaro says he was on good terms with Steinbrenner despite the usual friction between a journalist and a sports executive. “We maintained a pretty good relationship the rest of my career,” Vaccaro says. “I was fair to him. I did not always agree with the things he did. I think he respected that.”

Over the course of 30 chapters, Vaccaro shares the story of Steinbrenner – his full name was George M Steinbrenner III – and the son who succeeded him in running the Yankees, Harold Zieg “Hal” Steinbrenner.

In January 1973, the elder Steinbrenner, a Cleveland shipping magnate, purchased the Yankees from CBS for $8.8m, as the then-relatively unknown head of a group of partners. The Yankees would win seven World Series championships under Steinbrenner’s watch, backed by stars such as Reggie Jackson and Derek Jeter. Yet the man nicknamed “The Boss” was also suspended from baseball on two occasions – a two-year ouster in 1974 for illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon, and a lifetime ban in 1990 for paying gambler Howard Spira in an attempt to discredit Yankees star Dave Winfield. Each time, Steinbrenner ultimately navigated his way back into baseball. Yet throughout his ownership, he displayed a notably combative approach – hiring, firing and sometimes rehiring in his quest for another championship. Exhibit A was Martin, who served five separate spells as Yankees manager and, according to Vaccaro, was in line for a sixth stint before his untimely death in a Christmas Day car crash in 1989.

“Both of them hated losing even more than they liked winning,” Vaccaro says. “It was sort of their driving fossil fuel. They were also incredibly stubborn. I don’t think Billy could ever quite wrap his head around the fact George was the boss. From day one, George referred to himself as ‘The Boss.’ It drove Billy crazy.”

In tackling this complex overall narrative, Vaccaro credits his book’s editor with some good advice about making each chapter like one of his newspaper columns: “Make them conversational, make them interesting, make them fun, not like a textbook, ‘on that day, this happened.’ Play all the hits – and the stories behind the stories, that may not be quite so well-known.”

Did you know, for instance, that George Steinbrenner spotted promise in Hal early on, due to his son’s response to a Burger King promo in the 1980s? According to the book, Burger King offered Yankees cards with a Whopper, fries and shake, and 12-year-old Hal noted that the lineup omitted popular Yankee Lou Piniella. The fast-food chain was notified, the Piniella card became a prized collector’s item, and Steinbrenner Sr noted his adolescent son’s business acumen.

The book also explores the contributions of two Yankees executives who played notable roles during Steinbrenner’s periods of exile: Gabe Paul in the 1970s and Gene “Stick” Michael in the 1990s. Paul, a former Cleveland Indians general manager, took over in a similar role at the Yankees early in Steinbrenner’s tenure. When Steinbrenner was suspended for his contributions to Nixon during the Watergate investigation, Paul got more leeway to make franchise-altering moves; according to the book, he did receive clearance from then-baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn to get Steinbrenner’s approval before successfully courting free agent Catfish Hunter.

Years later, in 1993, with Steinbrenner again out of baseball, it was a new GM – Michael – who got credit for a deal he didn’t make. The Yankees were looking to reunite with one of their exes, Rickey Henderson, but the Blue Jays swooped in first. Michael was thinking longer-term, and Vaccaro explains that the Oakland A’s demands for Henderson included a list of Yankees prospects at the time: not only Jeter, but also on future stars Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Bernie Williams.

“For two and a half years Michael could protect the crown jewels without fear of the Boss going behind his back to ransom them,” Vaccaro writes in the book.

It all ended up working out quite well for Steinbrenner and the Yankees: The Boss returned in 1995. A year later, under new manager Joe Torre, the Yankees returned to the World Series, which they won, starting a string of four titles in five years. On the business side, the team entered into a short-lived cross-sport partnership with the New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils, and into the lucrative world of TV with the regional sports titan YES Network. Vaccaro estimates the Yankees’ current value at $7bn-$10bn, and he believes their fairly new stadium has quashed any fears of a move to New Jersey.

There have been some fissures in the firmament in recent decades though. The Yankees’ long-time foes, the Boston Red Sox, got the better of the rivalry in Steinbrenner’s last years – notably in 2004, when Boston came back from a 3-0 deficit to stun the Yankees in the ALCS en route to ending an 86-year World Series drought and an almost-as-long run of humiliation against the Pinstripes. The Yankees have not won a championship since 2009, and according to the book, some fans worry about Hal Steinbrenner’s leadership compared to his father, muttering that current GM Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone might have faced more pressure to win “if only George were still alive.”

“Yankees fans are passionate – spoiled, maybe, too used to success,” Vaccaro says. “They really have a serious belief about what the Yankees should be – which Hal does have.”

These days, he adds, “it’s not quite as easy … the Dodgers are supposed to be invulnerable … [yet] they should have lost the World Series three different times last year. It’s something of a crapshoot when you get your team into a playoff series.” Wryly, he adds, “Yankees fans – and George Steinbrenner – would not like to hear that.”

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: After storming out to such a strong start to the season, the Yankees’ fortunes took an abrupt U-turn in the form of a five-game losing streak including getting swept by the Rays. The bullpen deserves its share of the blame, but the main culprit is a slumping offense. It has gotten to the point that Aaron Judge called out the unit as a whole for pressing and trying to play hero. In his role as captain, he took it upon himself to urge his teammates to simplify their approach. He feels they need to get back to the basics of hunting a pitch in a particular zone and passing the baton if that pitch doesn’t come. That means a willingness to draw walks instead of “trying to hit every single pitch we see up there.”

SNY | Ben Krimmel: The Yankees made a roster move after last night’s game, demoting Jake Bird to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Monday night was another tough outing for the 2025 Trade Deadline acquisition, as he coughed up a game-tying three-run bomb to Mike Trout in the sixth and then gave the lead away again in the very next inning after Aaron Judge had homered to put New York back in front. Bird was great in his first four games of 2026, but since then, he’s only recorded eight outs across four appearances and 18 batters faced, allowing eight hits and six runs. Once again, he’ll try to get back on track in Triple-A. In the meantime, Yerry De los Santos and Angel Chivilli are among the candidates who could come up to take Bird’s spot in the bullpen. No move has been announced yet.

ESPN | Jorge Castillo: The starting rotation has stumbled a bit in contrast with the incredibly high bar they set through the first week of games, but reinforcements are on the horizon. Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón are set to begin rehab assignments this week after each threw three innings of live batting practice over the weekend, Cole tossing 42 pitches and Rodón 50. Both are coming off elbow surgery rehab — Cole missing all of 2025 to Tommy John surgery while Rodón had an offseason procedure to remove bone chips — and are on time with their return tables of late April/early May for Rodón with Cole expected back a month after.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Cole and Rodón aren’t the only injured Yankees set to begin a rehab assignment. Anthony Volpe — yet to debut after undergoing offseason surgery to correct a partially torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder — is scheduled to suit up for the Double-A Somerset Patriots starting today. The plan is for him to appear in four games this week, playing 3-5 innings in each — he has received 50 live at-bats at the spring training complex and the team wants him to log the same amount in the coming week. He is expected to be handed the starting role upon his return to the major league club. Despite Volpe’s struggles on both sides on the ball in 2025, it’s a low bar to upgrade the current starter at short, José Caballero putting in woeful appearances with the bat and glove (even a rare homer last night was obscured by a routine groundball error that opened the floodgates on a bad inning).

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: We relayed last week that the Yankees had designated Rule 5 Draft pick Cade Winquest for assignment and now it is official that he will be returned to the Cardinals after he cleared waivers. The 25-year-old reliever broke camp with the major league team after the Yankees selected him from St. Louis in December but never made an appearance despite warming up seven times. Per the rules of the Rule 5 Draft, Winquest does not need to be added to the Cardinals’ 40-man roster now that he is being returned after clearing waivers, and accordingly he has been assigned to their Triple-A affiliate.

David Peterson received a vote of confidence from David Stearns last week amid his sluggish start to the regular season. 

Taking the ball on Monday night, though, the Mets' lefty was roughed up again. 

Peterson did well to limit the damage against, but found himself facing traffic from the very start against the high-power two-time defending champion Dodgers. 

He hit Shohei Ohtani opening the bottom of the first, then allowed the next three batters to reach on two walks and an RBI single, before pitching coach Justin Willard came out to talk. 

Whatever the message, it certainly worked, as Peterson struck out the next three batters to dance his way out of danger with just one run on the board. 

He picked up two more punchouts, one on Ohtani, in a perfect second. 

“Your back is against the wall,” he said. “Bases loaded in the first inning, you’re just trying to execute one pitch at a time -- was able to slow myself down, get in a better rhythm with my mechanics and go forward from there.”

The Dodgers would make Peterson pay for two walks in the third, though, as Andy Pages lifted a three-run homer to deep left to make it a 4-0 ballgame. 

He then worked around a ground-rule double in the fourth, and finished his day gutting his way through a second and third with one out jam in the bottom of the fifth. 

Peterson’s ERA is up to 6.61 after allowing four runs on four walks and five hits with seven strikeouts in the loss. 

While the results still aren’t where the Mets need them to be, they were encouraged by how his stuff looked.  

“Stuff-wise, it was probably the best we’ve seen,” Carlos Mendoza said. 

“I felt a lot better,” Peterson added. “I felt like I was able to get my sinker down, changeup I was missing down, slider was consistently at the bottom. Left the one curveball up, but I felt a lot better about my stuff.

“Would obviously not like to give up the three-run homer and some of the free passes, but overall it was a step in the right direction -- now we learn from it, clean things up we need to clean up, and move on to the next one.”

As it’s becoming increasingly apparent that Aaron Judge and Mike Trout may never meet in October, this April battle might have to do.

The two American League MVPs went back and forth in the Yankees’ 11-10 win over the Angels on Monday in The Bronx, each homering twice, with Judge getting the last laugh.

“That part certainly delivered,” manager Aaron Boone said of the head-to-head between the two sluggers.

Judge got it started with a two-run shot off lefty Yusei Kikuchi in the bottom of the first, a 456-foot shot into the bleachers in left-center.

Trout answered with a game-tying three-run shot in the sixth off Jake Bird, while Judge came back with a go-ahead solo shot in the bottom of the inning.

Trout, not to be outdone, homered again in the eighth, this time off Camilo Doval to tie the game again before the Yankees won it on a wild pitch by Jordan Romano with Ryan McMahon on the plate — and Judge on deck.

“He’s the greatest of all time,” Judge said of Trout. “Coming up at such a young age, he’s special. He’s had to battle injuries, but he’s in a better spot now.”

For Trout, it was a somewhat rare moment in the spotlight, as he typically toils in anonymity for the also-ran Angels.

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“It was definitely one of the better games,” Trout said. “It was fun to be a part of, [but] the loss is disappointing. … To throw blows like that, both teams, pretty cool.”

As usual, Judge came out on top — and made more history in the process, as the Yankees snapped a five-game losing streak.

It was his sixth homer of the young season, but it also put Judge in the franchise record books again.

The multihomer game was Judge’s 47th of his career, passing Mickey Mantle and leaving him behind only Babe Ruth, who had 68 with the Yankees, as well as the most in MLB history with 72.

“That’s special,’’ Judge said of passing Mantle. “I’m glad it came in a win. Hopefully, we can keep going.”

He’s had more multihomer games than any player with his amount of time in the majors — 1,161 games. Ralph Kiner is next with 39.

And of his six homers on the season, four have given the Yankees the lead.

The night was another encouraging game for Judge, who homered in his last at-bat against the Rays in Sunday’s loss.

On Monday, the Yankees needed every bit of offense they could get.

Boone called Judge’s game “huge.”

The manager added, “Hopefully, we start to see him lock in here as we get rolling. I don’t have to tell you what he means to the offense.”

Certainly not this year, as the Yankees seemingly can’t afford any drop-off from Judge with worries in the bullpen and all over the infield, where Jazz Chisholm Jr., McMahon and José Caballero have all disappointed in multiple facets of the game.

And the pen nearly robbed the Yankees of a much-needed win, with Bird optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game.