Category: MLB

Over the weekend in Chicago, Ryan Divish reported that Domingo González was present in the visiting clubhouse in case José A. Ferrer’s wife went into delivery. Ferrer stuck around, working out of a bases loaded jam on Sunday unscathed, but he did not end up making the trip to Houston with the rest of the squad.

Should González appear in a game the next few days, he will be making his Major League debut, and would be the third Mariner to do so after fellow righties Alex Hoppe and Nick Davila. The 26-year-old was claimed off waivers from Atlanta last August, and survived the offseason roster churn before being optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. He’s been off to a strong start in his first Pacific Coast League action, tossing 15 innings of 1.80/2.60 ERA/FIP ball, and has issued just two walks alongside a tidy 50% ground ball rate. Seattle is González’s third org, having played in affiliated ball since 2018 when he was signed by the Pirates out of the Dominican Republic, and as you may have heard, we love a debut at Lookout Landing.

As for Ferrer, the M’s will have their workhorse reliever sidelined for most, if not all of the upcoming series. Acquired in December for catcher Harry Ford in a much-discoursed-about trade, he’s led the Mariners’ bullpen corps in appearances and innings pitched at 21 and 20, respectively. Despite falling victim to some tough BABIP luck early on, his 1.80/2.42 FIP have proven to be quite dependable. He’s also worn quite a few hats in the first six weeks of the season – especially with Andrés Muñoz scuffling and Matt Brash and Gabe Speier down – whether that’s filling in at closer, getting that third out against a tough lefty hitter, or covering multiple innings. We at LL congratulate Ferrer and his family on the arrival of their child.

The San Francisco Giants took two out of three from their longtime rivals just about three weeks ago and it was one of those things where the team, having embarrassed itself across multiple games and a couple weeks, walked away from the wins as a sign that they’d turned a corner. We’ve all been so desperate to believe that the team isn’t as bad as it has been through 40 games this season that any positive is turning point and every negative is “small sample size.” Well, the Dodgers didn’t have Mookie Betts in San Francisco for that series loss and here in LA this week, they’ll have Mookie Betts back for all four games. Does that mean the Giants are doomed?

I certainly thought this season series and rivalry was fait accompli and we were destined to watch the Dodgers perform every Mortal Kombat finisher on our favorite team for the rest of our lives and when that didn’t happen I thought, “Hey, maybe the Giants aren’t as bad as they’ve looked.“ And maybe, given the Dodgers performance in and since that series, the Giants had wounded them in a meaningful way. LA was 16-6 before the series, averaging 6 runs per game. They’re 8-10 since and averaging around 4. So, does the baseball world owe the Giants thanks for disrupting the team everybody hates?

Nah. Unfortunately, that credit should go to the Rockies — and the injury bug that infected Mookie Betts with a strained oblique. Just before venturing to San Francisco, the Dodgers split 4 games in Coors Field. The Dodgers are built to beat anybody anywhere, and when they couldn’t best one last place team, it’s interesting to see them struggle with another in the series immediately after. Small sample size shenanigans here, too? Yeah, probably.

The Dodgers are 10th in offense since April 17th (the start of the Rockies series) with a team wRC+ of 103. If you adjust for just after the Giants’ series, they’re 16th (98 wRC+). I won’t disgust you with the Giants standings in either split. Their pitching has been better than that in every split.

Now, Mookie Betts had the worst offensive season of his career in 2025 and is unlikely to bounce back much more than around league average, given his age (33). Still, dropping into a lineup with all the familiar names and faces doesn’t make the Dodgers worse and getting him back just in time for a rivalry series is meaningful.

We thought the last Giants-Dodgers meeting was a beatdown in waiting or a temperature check of either franchise, but all it really did was serve as a speed bump to the Dodgers running away with the best record in the sport. Shohei Ohtanit’s 89 wRC+ over the past few weeks is maybe a bit of a story, but it’s drowned out by the emergence of Alex Freeland, the reliability of Max Muncy, and Kyle Tucker getting hot. Meanwhile, the Giants are really only making the kind of headlines that an ailing franchise generates. Trading a Gold Glover, demoting former veterans they had planned all offseason long to count on throughout the year, their manager not being clear about pitching changes… it’s a team covered in flop sweat — and it’s only May 11th!

That means this series has the chance to be a staggering embarrassment yet again for… the Dodgers! That’s right. If a global superpower can’t win a series against Buster Posey’s Baseball Mogul 2014 sim, then it deserves all the derision that can be mustered. Dave Roberts was on a Hall of Fame trajectory as manager, but dude lost a series to the 2026 San Francisco Giants, trending to be one of the worst teams in franchise history. I’m sorry, but he simply oughtn’t be taken seriously anymore. Embarrassing! Disgraceful! But also, laugh out loud, especially if the Giants are actually competitive in this series after ditching Patrick Bailey and putting Logan Webb on the IL.

Series overview

Who: San Francisco Giants (16-24) at Los Angeles Dodgers (24-16)
Where: Dodger Stadium | Los Angeles, California
When: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 7:10pm PT
National broadcasts: MLB Network simulcast (Thursday)

Projected starters
Monday: Trevor McDonald (RHP 1-0, 1.29 ERA) vs. Roki Sasaki (RHP 1-3, 5.97 ERA)
Tuesday: Adrian Houser (RHP 0-4, 6.19 ERA) vs. Yoshinobu Yamamato (RHP 3-2, 3.09 ERA)
Wednesday: Robbie Ray (LHP 3-4, 2.76 ERA) vs. Shohei Ohtani (RHP 2-2, 0.97 ERA)
Thursday: Landen Roupp (RHP 5-3, 3,09 ERA) vs. Emmet Sheehan (RHP 2-1, 4.79 ERA)

Players to watch

Dodgers

Mookie Betts: He’s consistently able to draw walks and hit doubles against the Giants, and even though his injury has held him back from doing any of that this year, it’ll be worth watching to see if he can come back and do it to the Giants at will.

Max Muncy: No ocean for him to hit dingers into, but he went homerless against the Giants in that series loss and so I’d expect him to not have zero homers in these next four games.

The Dodgers’ bullpen:Four game series really do allow teams to take the full tour of their opponent, and while the Dodgers’ lineup is impressive and scary and their rotation is very good on paper, it’s their bullpen that usually offers more growl than bite. That feels especially true with Edwin Diaz hitting the IL with loose bodies in his pitching elbow. That means the Dodgers have been injury bitten to the point that last year’s big free agent closer acquisition, Tanner Scott, is back in that role.

Giants

Willy Adames: In the last series preview I wrote,

This series will be the definitive test to determine whether or not Willy Adames passed away at some point this season and what we’re seeing haunt the Giants lineup right now is, in fact, a g-g-g-ghost.

He went 5-for-14 against Pittsburgh so, we must consider the possibility that he is not a ghost and is still alive to the point of finally starting to look like a major leaguer again. Great timing?

Bryce Eldridge / Rafael Devers: Great to see Eldridge get his first homer and see Devers sock two last week, but the Giants will need both to put up big performances if they’re going to compete in the next four games. Devers is 10-for-30 with 4 doubles and a pair of homers here in the month of May.

Tony Vitello watch

Did Buster Posey visit Tony Vitello’s house during the hiring process? If so, I wonder what that was like. If not, why not?

Prediction time

The Dodgers will not sweep.

While the Cubs dropped two of three to the Rangers, it’s hard to be too terribly upset with their performance recently. After all, they are 20-5 over their last 25 games, including two 10-game winning streaks and an active 15-game winning streak at Wrigley Field. All of these streaks are historic. The last time the Cubs had multiple ten-game winning streaks in a season or a home winning streak longer than 15 was 1935, a season where they went 100-54 before losing the World Series 4-2 to the Detroit Tigers.

Starting a new winning streak won’t be easy, however. The Cubs will take their 27-14 record into Truist Park in Atlanta for a three-game set that begins on Tuesday where they’ll take on the only team in the National League with a better record. The Braves have opened the 2026 season with a 28-13 record.

A quick look at the team hitting leaderboards at Fangraphs shows that the Cubs and Braves have both gotten off to hot starts offensively this season:

I sorted this table by fWAR which shows the Cubs leading all of MLB heading into this week’s series with the Braves. However, if you sort by different categories the Cubs generally rank between first and fifth with the Braves right in the same mix. For example, by wRC+ the top three teams are the Dodgers, Braves and Cubs. By OBP the top teams are the Cubs, Dodgers, Pirates and Braves. This should be a great matchup.

While season-long numbers are preferable for larger sample sizes and and stability, who’s hot at a given moment could impact a specific series outcome more. To that end, I’ve run tables for each teams batters over the last two weeks. I’ve limited it to players with at least 20 plate appearances during that time. First up, the Cubs:

A few things jump out immediately. First of all, Michael Conforto is on quite the hot streak, and I imagine Craig Counsell will try to ride that hot streak as long as he can, especially given the struggles of his other designated hitter against righties, Moisés Ballesteros. However, looking more closely at Ballesteros’ numbers, he really looks like he’s gotten unlucky during this two-week stretch. He’s still striking out less than 18 percent of the time and walking at a decent clip. An .032 BABIP might be the worst BABIP I’ve ever seen in a stretch of 45 plate appearances. Combine it with the fact that he’s had a 33.3 percent hard hit rate during that stretch with a healthy 15.2 percent barrel rate, and that seems like a slump Ballesteros should break out of any moment.

Additionally, both Seiya Suzuki and Michael Busch seem to have broken out of their early season slumps and have been on a a bit of a tear. Busch is slashing .295/.448/.500 with a wRC+ of 172 and a home run over his last 58 plate appearances. Seiya is slashing .275/.388/.550 with a wRC+ of 154 with three home runs over his last 49 plate appearances. The good news is that aside from a .400 BABIP and .500 ISO from Conforto and a slightly overheated .387 BABIP from Busch, the only thing that looks unsustainable in this table is the bad luck some hitters have been experiencing.

Turning to the Braves offense:

A big note at the top, the Braves’ best player, outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is currently on the injured list with a strained hamstring, so the Cubs won’t have to deal with Acuña at the top of the lineup. They will have to deal with a red-hot Matt Olson and Cubs killer extraordinaire Ozzie Albies, however. Olson has six home runs in his last 52 plate appearances and is slashing .295/.385/.773 during that stretch. Albies has three home runs and a .283/.358/.543 slashline over the last two weeks. Finally, keep an eye on last year’s Rookie of the Year, Drake Baldwin. He’s also got three home runs to go with a .261/.370/.478 slashline in his last 54 plate appearances.

At the bottom of this chart, Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Riley and Michael Harris II are having the opposite experience of Ballesteros, riding relatively hot BABIPs for each of them to lackluster production. Yastrzemski is on the strong side of a platoon and unlikely to play when Shōta Imanaga takes the mound on Wednesday, however, Riley and Harris II are regulars who should be in the lineup for all three games against the Cubs.

This battle of offensive titans in the National League will be one to keep an eye on early this week. Here’s hoping the Cubs bats can stay hot in Atlanta

After today’s day off, the Rockies have a busy May with 16 games in a row and 19 in the next 20 days to close out the month.

Here are five things to look out for as Colorado heads into the stretch.

More NL West games

After only 11 games against NL West teams (just the Dodgers and Padres), the Rockies will play 13 of their next 19 games against the Diamonbacks (7), Dodgers (3) and Giants (3). Considering the Padres and Dodgers are the best teams in the division — currently battling for first place — the Rockies have a chance to improve on their 3-8 record in the division.

More interleague play

Colorado is off to an impressive 6-3 record against the American League this season. With a series sweep over the Astros and a series win against the Blue Jays, interleague play has treated the Rockies well. The Rockies will host the Texas Rangers (May 18-20) and try to continue their winning ways against the AL.

Another Skenes showdown

The Rockies will conclude their six-game Pennsylvania road trip with a three-game series beginning Tuesday in Pittsburgh. The series will start with the Rockies facing Paul Skenes for the third time in his career. In two appearances, both in 2025, he’s 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings with 15 strikeouts and two walks.

In their only faceoff at PNC Park, Skenes threw seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over Colorado. At Coors Field, Jordan Beck hit a three-run homer in a sixth-run sixth inning that chased Skenes from the game after giving up four runs on five hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.

The Rockies won that one 8-5.

McCarthy heats up with reunion coming

When the Rockies traded for Jake McCarthy on Jan. 10, it looked like they added speed and depth to their outfield roster. When the season started, McCarthy struggled with a .184 batting average and .279 on-base percentage through his first 14 games in purple. Then came April 19. McCarthy has been on a tear since, including hitting Colorado’s only grand slam of the season. You can see the remarkable difference in his play.

It will not only be interesting to see if McCarthy can sustain these numbers and force the Rockies to put him in the lineup, but also how he performs when he faces the Diamondbacks. The reunion vs. his former team will start in Denver with a three-game set this weekend before McCarthy returns to his former home for a four-game series at Chase Field next weekend.

Bark at the Park

Get ready to hoist your dogs for the Simba Cam; Bark at the Park is taking over Coors Field on May 18-19 against Texas. While dog owners and their canines usually sit in the Rockpile, it’s fun to visit dogs walking on the left field concourse if you go to either game. Both ticket packages for bringing dogs to the game have sold out.

The other noteworthy promotion the Rockies have on tap is Military Appreciation Day on May 16 against Arizona. Festivities include a pregame parade around the warning track for all active duty or military veterans and their immediate families, a pregame salute from multiple military branches, a large flag on-field presentation, a Hunter Goodman T-shirt giveaway for the first 15,000 fans and more.

Conclusion

After going 13-14 in April, the Rockies haven’t fared as well in May. Through the first nine games, Colorado is 2-7. How the rest of the month goes could really determine if the Rockies can get back on track and seize some momentum.

What are you most excited about or worried about as the Rockies tackle the remainder of the May schedule?

Are you going to Bark at the Park or Military Appreciation Day?

Share in the comments.

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

For all the consternation about Caleb Durbin’s bat, at least his glove appears to working just fine. “Not hitting stinks when you feel like you’re a good hitter and you feel like you should be helping the team and producing on that side of the ball, but I know I can impact the game outside of just hitting home runs,” Durbin said. “The defense, I take a lot of pride in that. I’ve seen how important that is throughout the course of the season, so for me, that’s the standard.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

Unfortunately, the man playing immediately to Durbin’s left has not been so reliable in the field this year. And after a costly error is yesterday’s game, it’s time for the Sox to rethink Trevor Story at shortstop. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

But at least Story isn’t ducking responsibility. “It shows that it’s tough to win in this league making mistakes like that. Can’t happen. You’ve seen the way we can play when we are playing good defense. It’s a strong suit of ours this year. That one’s on me and I have to clean that one up.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

Story is right that defense has been a strong suit of the Red Sox, and the pitching hasn’t been bad, either. And the pitching staff will get a boost when Ranger Suarez returns from his minor hamstring injury this Thursday, when he’ll face his former team, the Philadelphia Phillies. Before he takes the ball, Brayan Bello will once again follow an opener tomorrow night before Sonny Gray pitches on Sunday. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

Speaking of returning from (hopefully) minor injuries, Roman Anthony hopes to return when he’s eligible to come off the IL on May 15. “There’s so much that goes on in the hand, and I’ve never dealt with a hand issue before,” said Anthony. “So, I think just getting the news back, understanding that it’s nothing very serious, is the best news we could have gotten. The treatment is pretty simple, trying to get a lot of blood flow circulating around the wrist and the arm. Nothing too crazy. Just a little sprain. The ligament near the ring finger. Nothing that will take too long. So, I think that’s the best part.” (Rob Bradford, WEEI)

But the Red Sox don’t need Anthony to merely return to health, they need him to return to being the hitter he was in his first taste of the big leagues last year, because right now the Red Sox offense is embarassingly sub-par at Fenway Park in particular. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)

Perhaps Anthony will be aided by Chad Tracy, who appears to have brought “calm to the chaos” that was the Red Sox in the immediate wake of the Alex Cora firing. (Steve Buckley, The Athletic)

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Despite a bumpy start, the Texas Rangers are right in the mix in the wide-open AL West, and they’ll look to build on a strong weekend as they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight.

Texas enters this matchup on the heels of back-to-back shutout victories over the free-scoring Chicago Cubs, and my Diamondbacks vs. Rangers predictions expect Nathan Eovaldi to keep a faltering Arizona offense at bay here.

Read on for my free MLB picks for this May 11 battle.

Who will win Diamondbacks vs Rangers today: Rangers moneyline

-125 at Polymarket

It’s about time the Texas Rangers’ offense woke up, and there were encouraging signs in the Cubs series, including Josh Jung’s six-hit weekend.

Tonight, they hand the ball to ace Nathan Eovaldi, who’s back on track with a 2.45 ERA in his past five starts. Texas has picked up victories in Eovaldi’s last two outings, so I’m riding with the hosts, who’ve also won three of their last four outings at Globe Life Field.

Meanwhile, the Arizona Diamondbacks have lost four in a row on the road, and they’re 3-7 in their last 10 games. Plus, Arizona is sweating on the health of 1B Carlos Santana, too.

COVERS INTEL: Only three teams have gathered fewer hits than the D-Backs (304) this season, and the visitors have scored two runs or fewer in four of their last five games.

Diamondbacks vs Rangers Over/Under pick: Under 7.5

-110 at Polymarket

Both starters are capable of putting the clamps on hitters, and I’m not ready to trust two of the shakier lineups in the majors this year. That makes the Under an appealing play, and it’s been a winning ticket in the D-Backs’ past five games.

Eovaldi only allowed one run through eight innings last Wednesday against the New York Yankees, while Arizona starter Michael Soroka had a similarly steady outing that same night.

Though the visitors have trended towards the Over this season (20-17), the Under is 23-15 in Texas’ 38 games — and that feels more realistic tonight.

Diamondbacks vs Rangers odds

• Moneyline: Diamondbacks +113 | Rangers -117
• Run line: Diamondbacks +1.5 | Rangers -1.5
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 | Under 7.5

Diamondbacks vs Rangers trend

The Under is 7-3 in the Rangers’ last 10 contests. Find more MLB betting trends for Diamondbacks vs. Rangers.

How to watch Diamondbacks vs Rangers and game info

Diamondbacks vs Rangers latest injuries

Diamondbacks vs Rangers weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Professional baseball has been around for a century and a half, with a rich tradition of players. One of the things I love about the game is that although there are different eras – some with more offense, some with less, some with more home runs, some with more steals – the game is essentially the same. But the different eras provide an opportunity for different skillsets to excel. You have precise hitters like Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams in the “golden era”. You have dominant, intimidating pitchers in the 60s like Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson. You have blinding speedsters in the 70s and 80s like Lou Brock and Rickey Henderson. You have big boppers in the home run era like Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr.

But some of these players came before our time, before YouTube, when we can only listen to or read the stories of those that saw them in their prime. An off day seems like the perfect time to ask a simple baseball fan question: if you could travel back in time and watch one player at the absolute peak of his powers, who would it be?

By many accounts, Leroy “Satchel” Paige was among the greatest to ever pitch. His feats are legendary. There was the story of time the he intentionally walked the bases loaded to face Josh Gibson, then struck him out on three fastballs. There are accounts of him telling his fielders to sit down, for they weren’t needed, or Paige telling the hitter what was coming, knowing his pitches couldn’t be touched. He made his MLB debut at age 42 (or thereabouts, no one knew his true age), and was a very solid pitcher well into his 40s, even throwing three scoreless innings at age 58.

So I would love to see Paige in his prime. Did he live up to the legends? What was fact and what was fiction? How much fun was it to see him engage in his showmanship?

Who played before your time that you wish you could get a chance to see?

The Cincinnati Reds have the day off on Monday after Sunday afternoon’s series-winning victory over the Houston Astros. They also have a much clearer picture of how their banged-up starting rotation will look this upcoming week as they welcome the Washington Nationals to Cincinnati before heading up to Cleveland for a series over the weekend.

According to C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic, the Reds have leaned on today’s day off to shuffle their healthy starters in a way that will accommodate the loss of Rhett Lowder to the 15-day injured list, a move that’s expected to be announced prior to the start of Tuesday’s game against the Nationals. It will feature Brady Singer in the opener on Tuesday, Nick Lodolo on Wednesday, and Chase Burns on Thursday, with Friday’s opener on the road against Cleveland listed as ‘TBD.’

Chase Petty threw 79 pitches in 3.2 IP for the AAA Louisville Bats just yesterday in his first start back at the level after being recalled to start last Monday’s series opener for the Reds against the Chicago Cubs. Given how much more advanced he looked in the start in Wrigley relative to the struggles he went through in his initial call-up last season, it would be a shocker if Petty were not recalled to take Lowder’s turn in the rotation on Friday – especially now that it will be on his regular rest.

Cincinnati could also opt to keep Andrew Abbott on regular rest and pitch him on Friday, and even add Petty to pitch Saturday and give the youngster an extra day of rest before his return to the bigs.

What remains to be seen is how the Reds juggle the few days in between. In all likelihood, they’ll recall one of Zach Maxwell, Kyle Nicolas, or Jose Franco to bridge the gap to Petty and give them depth in the bullpen for the series against the Nats. Franco threw 22 pitches yesterday for AAA Louisville in a scoreless pair of IP, while Nicolas allowed a trio of hits and a walk (and 3 runs, somehow all unearned) in 1.1 IP and 35 pitches. Maxwell, meanwhile, hasn’t pitched since May 8th when he threw 25 pitches in a pair of perfect innings against the Nashville Sounds.

We’ll find out before tomorrow’s first pitch!

UPDATE

As was pointed out in the comments quite succintly, Chase Petty exited his start on Sunday with AAA Louisville with what’s being called a blister/nail problem. So, that obviously calls into question whether or not he’ll be ready to jump back into the rotation this week, or if the Reds will play it much slower with him.

While the Yankees didn’t get the result they wanted, falling in a one-run game against the Brewers, it was encouraging seeing Carlos Rodón back on a big league mound, regardless of the outcome. Rusty, as to be expected for someone coming from such a lengthy absence, Rodón battled himself on top of a dangerous Milwaukee lineup and held his own through plenty of traffic. The pitcher we have so often seen deliver worse results than the quality of his outings would indicate, due to untimely home runs, more than held his own by keeping the ball in the yard. Rodón covered 4.1 innings, allowing more runs (3) than hits (2) as the Yankees took a 4-3 loss in a quiet day offensively.

Highlighting just how inefficient Rodón was, following a trend we’ve seen in his rehab outings, the left-hander walked the leadoff batter in three of his first four innings—the cardinal sin for a pitcher to do it once, much less in more than half of his innings. It wasn’t just the lack of long balls that prevented this from being a blow-up, as he only allowed a pair of hits. Velocity-wise, Rodón sat at 95.7 mph on his four-seam fastball, but it should be noted that the number drastically decreased from the 97.0 mph in the first to the 94.5 mph he showed in his final inning. In fact, the root of those walks came from poorly located fastballs that the Brewers kept laying off with a zone rate of 32 percent, well below league average and Rodón’s average as well.

Assessing the bigger picture moving forward, this could be the beginning of a new era for Rodón with the Yankees—the rotation he returns to is one far different from the one he left behind. Not even in the wildest dreams of most fans could you have imagined what has transpired with the likes of Cam Schllitler and Will Warren, particularly the former establishing himself as one of the best pitchers in the sport. Even if you’re still cautious about the promising signs Warren has exhibited in 2026, we’ve always known the raw tools for a great pitcher were there, so it’s difficult not to be at least a tad excited.

Evidently, it’s natural that Rodón will carry a lot of pressure on him to deliver in the most crucial moments, regardless of how the rotation shapes up around him, but we’re well off the role he was brought on to fulfill a few years ago, and that can only be a good thing. This is a rotation that’s at or near the top of the leaderboards in many categories, with none other than Gerrit Cole on his way back as well. The production has been so outstanding that one could even make the argument for a move to a six-man rotation based on merit once Cole is back, because it’s hard to justify booting Ryan Weathers from a starting role.

Focusing on Rodón, it’s not even a question of pressure or hierarchy but an acknowledgment that he has his work cut out for him to regain his previous standing on this staff. Last season was the closest we’ve seen to the best version of Rodón, and maybe that’s the best he can do at this stage in his career. Either way, the inconsistencies of his first two seasons won’t cut it, and unlike in the past, the Yankees have alternatives, all thanks to an outstanding development system.

Another Monday, another post wondering when the Dodgers offense will find itself.

After grinding out three runs in a win against Chris Sale, he who had only allowed that many in his last four starts combined, they only mustered exactly two runs in the last two games of the series with the Braves. Both runs came off two-run shots – in Saturday’s game, that came in the bottom of the ninth inning, and in Sunday’s, the bottom of the eighth.

But finally, some good news. Mookie Betts, who has been out for the past five weeks with a strained right oblique, is expected to be back in the lineup on Monday.

One man alone can’t fix all of the team’s offense woes, but he could be the spark they need.

Before his injury, Betts was batting third in the lineup. There has been some shuffling while he was away, with Will Smith moving to the third spot, and Kyle Tucker moving down to the cleanup spot. Having Mookie bat second gives the Dodgers batters from alternating sides of the plate atop the lineup, or they could rework it so they stack the righties atop the lineup against right-handed pitchers.

Since Mookie only got two games at Triple-A Oklahoma City, he is expected to play Monday and Tuesday with a planned off day on Wednesday. The Dodgers are once again finding themselves in the middle of a 13-game streak with no off days, so they will need to manage Betts’ workload within those parameters.

Alex Freeland was optioned in the corresponding move.

The Giants are in town for a four-game set. On Monday, they will send Trevor McDonald to the mound. The right-hander has only appeared in one game so far this season, last Monday against the Padres where he threw seven innings of one run ball, allowing only two hits and no walks, while striking out eight. He was originally in there as a spot starter, but the Giants just placed Logan Webb on the IL so McDonald will take his rotation spot.

For their part, the Dodgers will send Roki Sasaki to the mound. Sasaki was previously supposed to start in Saturday’s game against the Braves but was pushed back for Blake Snell’s return to the rotation. So far this season, Sasaki is 1-3 with a 5.97 ERA. In his last outing against the St. Louis Cardinals, he gave up three early runs but then settled down to complete six full innings, at one point retiring 10 straight batters.

The Giants offense is one of the worst in all of baseball, and Sasaki has historically pitched better at home than on the road. If there ever was a time for the Dodgers to right themselves, it’s at home against their rivals with one of their best hitters returning to the lineup.

MONDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Giants
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Dylan Dreiling, Frisco Roughriders outfielder, has been named the Texas League Player of the Week for the week of May 4 to May 10, it was announced today.

Dreiling, a lefthanded hitter who was taken in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of the University of Tennessee, put up a .368/.520/1.000 slash line in 25 plate appearances over five games against the Northwester Arkansas Naturals, with four homers, six walks, and just one strikeout. For the season, he is slashing .300/.398/.511 in 108 plate appearances with 16 walks against 21 strikeouts.

Dreiling spent the 2025 season at high-A Hub City, where he slashed .226/.319/.381, then put up a .271/.364/.438 slash line in the Arizona Fall League. Although he was primarily a left fielder for Tennessee, Dreiling has primarily played center field as a professional.

Dreiling, who turned 23 last month, was the 65th overall pick in the 2024 draft, and the second player selected by the Rangers that year, behind only catcher Malcolm Moore.

Dreiling was also written up in today’s Monday Morning Ten Pack over at Baseball Prospectus.

The minor league season is in full swing.

Let's open up the mailbag to discuss some of the Mets' top prospects...

If Carson Benge is a good MLB center fielder, does it not make sense to give A.J. Ewing some shortstop reps? Lindor is 32 years old, even if he was healthy, he’d have 2-3 years max left at shortstop anyways. If Benge is above average in center field, it seems wasteful to put him in a corner. -- @will_nba_hater

This is a loaded question with a few factors to consider here. Benge projects as a long-term plus corner outfielder who can play center field, not a true center fielder. In the small sample size in the majors in 2026, Benge is negative-1 outs above average in center field, while being plus-1 in right field and plus-2 in left field.

Ewing has not played one inning of shortstop since he was at Springboro High School in Ohio in 2023. I have not heard from anyone in the organization that getting shortstop reps is on the radar. 

On the Lindor front, he is still a very good defensive shortstop. Will the day come that he eventually needs to slide somewhere else? History suggests yes, but that time does not appear to be even close to imminent, and Ewing is getting closer to a major league opportunity. He needs to be mostly preparing at the spot he will be playing when he reaches the big leagues.

The Mets also firmly believe that Ewing has all the tools to be an elite defensive center fielder. There is still some work to do with routes and jumps, and he’s already made strides this year there. That is something they believe will come with reps.

The best defensive setup from a projection standpoint is Ewing in center, Benge in a corner outfield spot and Lindor at shortstop. That could be three plus defensive players, two of whom are at premium positions. That is a good spot to be in.

A few reps at shortstop now for Ewing would likely have little bearing on potentially playing it a few years from now. If he reaches his potential defensively in center field, there won’t be any desire to play him anywhere else.

How soon do you think we could see Ryan Clifford in the majors given some of the recent injuries the team has had, and more power needed in the lineup? -- Reb Deud

The short answer is it is unlikely to be imminent or very soon. But you aren’t here for the short answer. 

On the season, Clifford is slashing .252/.327/.473 (.800 OPS) with seven home runs and 21 RBI in 37 games for Triple-A Syracuse.

The pros of Clifford fit exactly what Reb said. The power is real, with his exit velocities (max EV of 113.1 mph), barrel rate (14.3 percent), hard hit rate (57.1 percent) and even pull-side air percentage (17.7 percent) all line up with that of a prototypical left-handed slugger. It is easy to envision a 30-home run type of bat if he can make enough contact.

The question among evaluators is if he will be able to make enough contact to get there. Clifford made some strides in his approach from 2024 to 2025, decreasing his strikeout percentage from 29.6 percent to 25.6 percent. While that is still a little higher than they’d ideally like to see, it was progress, and it is accepted that swing-and-miss will be a part of Clifford’s game. 

Through the first month-plus of the 2026 season, Clifford’s strikeout rate has spiked to 36.1 percent. That is accompanied by a whiff percentage of 34.3 percent and, importantly, an in-zone contact rate of just 74.3 percent. 

Comparing Triple-A stats to major league stats are apples to oranges given the level of competition, but just to add some context, Clifford’s Triple-A strikeout rate would be the third-worst in the majors and his in-zone-contact rate would be the seventh-worst in the majors.

The Mets are hopeful that things are starting to turn for Clifford as the calendar flips to May. Thus far in nine games this month, he is slashing .333/.389/.606 (.995 OPS) with two home runs, including this 110 mph EV blast on Mother’s Day. His strikeout rate so far this month is 25 percent, which is in line with his number from 2025. Again, progress, but it needs to be displayed over a larger sample size. 

The general player development philosophy is to not call up a prospect until there is confidence that they are being put in position to succeed and not be forced back down to Triple-A in a couple of weeks.

However, given the injuries and performance of the big-league offense, there comes a point where something different has to be done, even if it goes against the general organizational philosophy. It is a tough balance between the immediate short-term need and the long-term vision. Is it worth risking stunting a prospect’s growth to try to add a spark to a struggling major league team? I see both sides of that argument.

The Mets currently have the worst record in baseball, and it falls largely on the backs of the offense that is both injured and underperforming. The three most notable injured players (Lindor, Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr.) don’t have a known return to play timeline.

If Clifford can continue to build off his hot start to the month of May and the Mets season doesn’t start turning for the positive, I can see the conversation heating up as the calendar flips to June.

This was a long time coming, but the Nationals finally promoted outfielder Yeremy Cabrera to High-A after a red hot start to the season. The outfielder was repeating Low-A to start the season, and it was clear pretty early on that he was too good for the level. Cabrera posted a crazy 1.114 OPS in 30 games this season.

Cabrera was seen by most to be the fifth piece in the MacKenzie Gore trade. He was a glove first outfielder with intriguing offensive traits. However, he has had a power explosion to start the season. After hitting 8 homers in 102 games last year, Cabrera has 7 in just 30 this season. Cabrera pummeled Low-A pitching, and got a much deserved promotion.

Now that he is in Wilmington, the real test begins for Cabrera. The thing I will be watching is his strikeout rate. He has some swing and miss in his game, even this season. Cabrera struck out nearly 25% of the time this season, but I think part of that was due to selling out for power. Last season, he only struck out 19% of the time.

Trading off some contact for impact is something that has worked for Cabrera to start the season. However, now that he is facing better pitching, Cabrera will need to keep that strikeout rate under control. Wilmington can be a tough place to hit, but guys like Devin Fitz-Gerald, Ronny Cruz and Ethan Petry are showing it is not impossible. 

Yeremy Cabrera has been one of the best power/speed guys in all of minor league baseball this year. There are just over 30 players with at least 15 steals in the minors, and few of them have the type of pop that Cabrera does. When he really gets a hold of one, his swing looks a little bit like Juan Soto’s.

Obviously Cabrera is not Juan Soto. When Soto was at Cabrera’s age, he was winning World Series. I am excited to see how Cabrera fares in Wilmington. If he picks up where he left off with the Fred Nats, his prospect status could really take off. Cabrera has the speed and the glove, now he needs to show his bat is for real at a level that is more appropriate.

The Nats will actually have an interesting decision when it comes to Cabrera this offseason. Despite only being 20, Cabrera will be Rule 5 eligible this offseason. Cabrera was only signed for $10,000 dollars, so he moved slowly through the DSL and Rookie Ball. Now, he is a real prospect and it could create a dilemma for the Nats.

Cabrera is still pretty far from the big leagues, so he would be kind of like a wasted 40 man roster spot. However, it would be a big risk to not add him. Teams would love to pick up a talented player like Cabrera for free. I am not sure if they would be able to roster a guy that young and that raw for an entire season though.

If Cabrera stumbles a bit in High-A, it would probably be safe not to protect him. However, if he keeps hitting and is knocking on the door of Double-A, the Nats might have to protect him. This dilemma adds another layer of intrigue for Cabrera. 

All of this context, as well as the fact Cabrera was dominating made it odd that he was not promoted. Now that promotion has finally happened. If Cabrera keeps hitting, he could start moving quite quickly. His secondary tools give him a high floor and his power potential gives him a high ceiling.

Cabrera got the promotion today, but he is not the only guy who the Nats should consider moving up. There have been a ton of prospects who are hitting the crap out of the ball right now. This gives Paul Toboni a fun problem. He has to decide which guys to promote and which to let marinate a little longer.

There was a post the other day which had promotion candidates at every level. Cabrera was their pick for Low-A, but the other three on the list are also deserving of promotions as well. Ethan Petry, Seaver King and Yohandy Morales have all been dominating at their respective levels.

I think Petry and King are pretty obvious promotion candidates. Petry is a polished SEC bat who is dominating in High-A with a .905 OPS. Given the level of competition he faced in college and his production in the minors, it feels like Petry is prepared for Double-A. This move would also open up more playing time for Cabrera, as Petry has been playing mostly in the outfield this season.

Seaver King has been one of the biggest stories on the farm right now. The former 10th overall pick had a brutal first season as a pro. However, he has bounced back in a huge way. King has a .987 OPS in 29 games this year at Harrisburg. 

It is worth noting that King left the game on Friday and did not play the next two games. Hopefully that injury is not too serious, and he can start playing again soon. Assuming the injury is not serious, he is an easy promotion candidate. Triple-A Rochester has mostly been playing Trey Lipscomb at shortstop lately, so there is an easy path to playing time here. King also looks ready for the level.

I am really enjoying the fact that the Nats have so many players who deserve a promotion right now. That has not been the case in previous years. This just speaks to the improved depth across the organization. There are also lesser known guys like Jack Moroknek and TJ White who have also made strong pushes to be promoted.

While Yeremy Cabrera was the guy who got moved up the ladder today, he is just one of many players on the farm performing. There are so many exciting players in this system that is just suddenly bursting with talent. I cannot remember a time when the Nats farm system was this fun.

Man, do the Guardians need to figure things out with the Angels coming to town.

The Angels are 16-25, 16th in MLB with a 99 wRC+, 28th in baserunning runs above average at -2.6, 27th in defense at -14.7, 17th in starting pitcher ERA at 4.05 (3.88 FIP), and 28th in bullpen ERA at 5.38 (4.98 FIP).

The Guardians are 21-21, 19th in MLB with a 96 wRC+, 16th in baserunning runs above average at 0.1, 16th in defense at -6.4, eighth in starting pitcher ERA at 3.91 (4.15 FIP), and 16th in bullpen ERA at 3.98 (3.98 FIP).

The Angels have a bad record and look, on paper, like a pretty bad team. Let’s see if the Guardians can take advantage of that… this time, unlike with the Twins.

Matchups:
Game One, Monday, 6:10PM: Opener of Brent Suter, LHP 4.05 ERA (4.23 FIP) followed by Alek Manoah, RHP (has thrown 1 inning so far this year) vs. Joey Cantillo, LHP 3.43 ERA (4.41 FIP).
Game Two, Tuesday, 6:10PM: Walbert Urena, RHP 3.22 ERA (3.88 FIP) vs. Slade Cecconi, RHP 6.15 ERA (5.53 FIP).
Game Three, Wednesday, 1:10PM: Reid Detmers, LHP 4.33 ERA (3.09 FIP) vs. Parker Messick, LHP 2.30 ERA (2.82 FIP).

The Angels’ starters Urena and Detemers are actually solid starters. The Guardians need to try to get them out of the game as soon as possible and capitalize on a weak Angels’ pen. It would really help if they can get Manoah out of the game in 2-3 innings tonight and try to tire out the Angels’ relievers for the remainder of the series.

The Angels are led on offense by Mike Trout 158 wRC+, Oswald Peraza 127 wRC+, Vaughn Grissom 119 wRC+, Jorge Soler 115 wRC+, Adam Frazier 105 wRC+ and Zach Neto 104 wRC+. STEPHEN VOGT – DON’T LET MIKE TROUT BE THE ONE WHO BEATS YOU IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. GO AFTER EVERY OTHER HITTER IN THIS LINEUP BUT TROUT.

The Guardians are led by Chase DeLauter 152 wRC+, David Fry 133 wRC+, Daniel Schneemann 132 wRC+, Austin Hedges 120 wRC+, Brayan Rocchio 115 wRC+, Jose Ramirez 110 wRC+, Travis Bazzana 106 wRC+ and Rhys Hoskins 101 wRC+. Let’s see if we can get Kyle Manzardo to crack 75 wRC+ by the end of this series, huh?