Category: MLB

The Twins’ surprise pivot into an aggressive selloff was the headline of a surprisingly active 2025 trade deadline. They sent out a shocking 10 players, nine of whom were on the active roster at the time of their transactions. Some of those were expected (Chris Paddack, Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe), while others came seemingly out of nowhere (why the hell did the Blue Jays want Ty France?)

Let’s look at the actual potentially frustrating trades.

Carlos Correa salary dump: Correa was traded back to the Houston Astros for a Low A pitcher who is no longer in affiliated ball. The Twins are also paying $30M of Correa’s remaining salary over the next three years, split out at $10M on Jan 1 of each year. This was a pure salary dump, nothing more nothing less.

Jhoan Duran for Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel: Duran could have been the most decorated closer in Twins history if they held onto him. Instead, the electric reliever will get a chance to earn that same acclaim in Philadelphia. Abel has flaws but can be an effective starter if he can get his walks under control. If he can’t he should be a closing option himself, at minimum. Tait, meanwhile, is one of the top catching prospects in all of baseball. He has a top-end throwing arm and a ton of power, but at 18-years-old still has a long way to go before he’s ready to handle an MLB pitching staff.

Griffin Jax for Taj Bradley: A rare one-for-one swap, which is always a fun move. Bradley came with twice the amount of team control as Jax and is a starter which is inherently more valuable than a reliever. However, Bradley may find himself in the bullpen soon enough if he can’t develop a secondary pitch to get lefties out. He’s shown flashes, next comes the consistency.

Louie Varland (and France) for Alan Roden and Kendry Rojas: Here’s the thing. In a vacuum, this trade makes sense from the Twins’ side. They traded a reliever for starting outfielder with a high floor and a borderline Top 100 pitching prospect that they excel at developing. However, Varland came with five more years of team control and the Twins suddenly found their elite bullpen completely depleted after moving Jax, Duran, and Coulombe. Questionable, to say the least.

Like with the Varland trade, each of these moves in a vacuum is defensible. But in totality, they’re pretty underwhelming. Relievers are fickle and even the best can be inconsistent from year to year (see: Jax). But if they truly expected to contend in 2026, who can they conceivably hand the ball to after their vaunted starting staff leaves the game?

Additionally, the Twins’ weakness the past few years has been on the offensive side of the ball. They main MLB-ready players they got back were Roden and three pitchers! Maybe these moves were made with an eye toward additional trades this offseason, but they’ve largely sat on their hands while adding a few veteran hitters. Then Tom Pohlad (probably) forced out the man who was putting together the plan. It’s bad process likely preceding bad results.

That being said, the trade that irks me is still Correa. With Correa’s regression and chronic injury history, getting out of the majority of the $110M still owed to him absolutely makes sense. However, the Pohlads didn’t allow the front office to put the $20M/year saved back into the team. Instead, they have a contending core without the surrounding cast to back them up and their lowest adjusted payroll since Kirby Puckett was alive.

Which trade do you regret the most? Correa’s is the most obvious, but this roster sure could use one of Jax or Duran right about now…

Year after year, the Yankees contend with the AL East, the division that consistently outstrips its peers across the sport. This offseason was no different; while there were a number of teams across the league that put the “off” in offseason, none of them were in the AL East, as all five clubs have been active. The Red Sox swung a number of major trades, the Blue Jays flashed the cash in signing Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto, and Cody Ponce, and even the Orioles spent some money, signing Pete Alonso while also trading for Taylor Ward and Shane Baz.

It all adds up to a division that appears to be the most competitive in baseball once again. The Yankees, for their part, look strong on paper, currently ranking third in MLB in total projected WAR per FanGraphs. But the Blue Jays slide in just ahead of them in second, while the Orioles and Red Sox are both not far behind, comfortably in the top ten of these projections.

So, leaving the Yankees themselves aside, which of their division rivals do you view as most dangerous? Toronto has a pretty straightforward case, with perhaps the most complete roster in the American League at this moment. They’re the reigning AL East champs, the reigning AL champs, and came within inches of winning the World Series. It’s not hard to envision

But can a case be made for one of the Yankees’ other direct foes? The Red Sox in particular feel as though they could be a sleeping giant. They already surprised last year, winning 89 games before bowing out in the playoffs against the Yankees. Boston has gone on to add Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Ranger Suarez, and now former Baby Bomber Caleb Durbin, all while holding what’s still considered a strong farm system. Though they probably trail the Yankees and Blue Jays in terms of pure talent right now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some of their young talent coalesce, or for them to cash in some of their prospects to make another trade that puts them over the top.

What do you think? Are the Blue Jays still the Yankees’ most dangerous rival? Or will Boston, Baltimore, or even Tampa Bay rise up and pose the biggest threat in 2026?

Today on the site, Nolan will continue on with his State of the System series, this time with a look at the organizational depth at starting pitcher. Also, Nick remembers the signing of Andrew Miller, one of the great Yankee signings of the 2010’s, and Jeff moves our preview series along with a look at the newly acquired Angel Chivilli.

Grief is frightening territory to navigate. There’s no set roadmap for it, and it affects every person differently. It is as if a chaotic roommate moves into your body and assumes the controls part of the time: you make choices you don’t recognize; say things and wonder whose mouth made those words; sleep entirely too much or entirely too little or a fun soft-serve swirl of both. The more you try to pack down the grief into a solvable snowball, something solid and sensible, the more it evaporates around your hands.

After my dad passed away in February of 2024, I thought I had a master plan mapped out for grieving him. I knew, because I had read about it, that grief is the tidal wave of loss that hits you first, and I braced for impact. I also knew, thanks to my studies, that after grief comes grieving: if grief is the big wave, grieving is the lap of waves on the shore in the world where you live now. He died; I fought the wave of grief crashing over me long enough to do all the insulting busywork that death requires. Two weeks later, I finally brought myself to enter his room and clean up the blood on the bathroom floor from where he’d fallen the last time, when we didn’t know yet about the cancer that was swiftly eating into his pancreas, so my mom wouldn’t have to. That felt significant: a tidy metaphor for moving on from grief to grieving. Two weeks after that I packed my stuff and left for spring training, and then the season started, and I fell back into the same comfortable patterns, the sharp edges of the pain worn away by the daily routine of baseball. I was proud of myself; like a player whose rehab is ahead of schedule, I was beating all the projected timelines. I knew about the ball-in-the-box grief analogy and thought with satisfaction about my ball of grief, steadily shrinking down from a beach ball to a baseball.

But grief came to collect the next off-season. It turned out I wasn’t paying out my grief on an installment plan like I’d thought; I was allowing the debt to collect, and the force of it knocked me over anew. I didn’t want to write about this team and their lousy, uninspiring off-season; I didn’t want to write, period, and had to be cajoled by the staff into doing the 40 in 40 series, almost letting it go too late. I didn’t want to read, especially not the collection of self-help books I had carefully amassed as a ladder to lead me out of the hole of grief and back into civilization.

All I wanted to do was sleep. And I did, losing wintery days like a character from a fairytale under a spell, waking in dark rooms from strange dreams. On the odd times I did leave the house, I swiped at people who got too close to my enclosure, mistaking their concern as threats. I think back on that time now and I don’t recognize that person who was wearing my clothes, my name.

What I did recognize: Victor Robles throwing his bat in frustration after getting hit by a pitch in a rehab game. While clips of the incident went viral on social media with people wondering what Robles could have possibly been thinking, I was instantly reminded of every dumb, reckless, cruel decision I made during the winter of my discontent, which is a cute name I’d given to what I now recognize as a depressive episode.

Grief activates the same neural pathways as physical pain. Therefore, “grief brain” can cause a host of processing issues, including difficulty focusing, memory loss, heightened anxiety, and impaired decision-making. It’s not an excuse, but it is an explanation. I watched that bat travel across the infield towards the pitcher and felt like I had thrown it myself.

***

Victor Robles joined the Mariners in June of 2024; by August, he was signing a two-year extension. The high-energy Robles put a charge in a club that was struggling to hang on to a lead they’d built in the AL West, lighting up whatever part of the field he touched. It was a perfect confluence: the Mariners needed Victor Robles, his spark and humor and electricity; and Robles, the former top prospect with a long and tortured history with the only other club he’d known, needed the Mariners. In interviews, he talked about how coming to Seattle allowed him to “leave that load behind me” – the baggage of unfulfilled expectations, left on the other side of the continent. In Seattle, Robles played fast and free, amassing the fourth-most WAR for a position player on the team in his few short months. However, even he couldn’t drag the team out of the offensive tailspin they entered down the stretch, blowing a ten-game lead and losing control of the AL West.

2025 was supposed to be Robles’s shot at a re-do, to show his new better self was here to stay. Instead, grief came calling in the third series of the season, when he dislocated his shoulder in early April trying to make a heroic catch in the netting in San Francisco. Grief, we should remember, isn’t just for mourning those we’ve lost; it’s also for mourning lost relationships, opportunities, versions of ourselves, those visions somehow always bigger and brighter than the one that’s currently in front of us.

But that wasn’t all this annus horribilis had in store for Robles. In June, the 28-year-old lost his mother, quietly announcing it on Instagram with a photo of a pink dawn taken from a plane window on his way back to the Dominican Republic. It was captioned with a simple message to his mother, telling her he missed and loved her.

There’s a saying that none of us are our worst days. But those worst days, the ugliest things we’ve said and done, are still part of us. If you type in “Victor Robles” and the letter “t” to Google it autocompletes with “throws bat.”

After missing most of the season, Robles was finally ready for a rehab assignment in Tacoma in August, playing against the Athletics affiliate in Las Vegas. In Robles’s first competitive game in months, he was hit by Athletics pitchers twice: first by Joey Estes in the third inning, requiring an injury delay, and later by reliever Gustavo Rodriguez in the eighth. The very next day, Robles was again hit by a pitch, this time in the first inning by Mitch Spence. Four games later, with Estes on the mound once more in the series finale, Estes again tried to pitch Robles inside and again, sent a fastball directly towards Robles’s chest (it was ruled Robles swung on the pitch, so not technically counted as a hit by pitch, but that swing was wholly defensive). For context, this minor-league meeting wasn’t the first time Estes and Robles had faced off; in a game in September in 2024, Estes opened the game by hitting Robles, who then stole second and scored on a Cal Raleigh home run. That home run would prove to be the difference-maker in a game the Mariners won, 6-4.

But there was no Cal Raleigh in Tacoma that day. Just anger, and frustration, and so much grief. The kind of grief that makes people make impulsive, reckless, thoughtless decisions. Robles picked up the tool he had closest at hand, and threw.

In his apology statement, Robles wrote about the physical and mental challenges of his lengthy rehab, along with the added context about dealing with the loss of his mother. “I’ve been doing my best to hold it together,” he wrote. This is the unseen work of grief, the days navigating a new normal that are a constant psychic load, like a background application draining a device’s battery. No one notices the days when you’re holding it together, only the days where it all falls apart.

But a caring community can notice, and is the best guide rope out of deep grief. A single text from a friend offering a coffee is worth a stack of self-help books. Having served his suspension, Robles was able to return to his community, his team, and be welcomed back just in time for a playoff run. Robles was there as the Mariners reversed course from 2024, this time seizing control of the AL West, ripping off a stretch of 10 consecutive wins in September. And he was there, crucially, during three thrilling nights in Houston: not just spiritually or mentally, but physically, literally right there when the team needed him:

This time, his instinct led him in the right direction, making a heads-up play to double off the runner at second, ending the game and securing the victory in a season-making moment.

From annus horribilis to annus mirabilis.

I don’t know what 2026 has in store for Victor Robles. If his body will sustain another year of his fearless, full-out style of play. If he’ll carve out a regular place in a crowded right field. If the delicate alchemy that spurred his incandescent 2024 with the Mariners can be repeated. He remains, as always, a mercurial presence, a Puck-like character spiriting around the field, capable of creating both electricity and electroshock. I do know that I’ll always feel a connection to him for watching him walk through his grief journey and still maintain his buoyant presence in the clubhouse, his love for the sport and for his teammates; and for the gift of that catch, the way he flew in like an angel, like something that didn’t need saving.

One powerhouse. And a whole lot of parity.

That figures to be the theme throughout what should be a tightly bunched Major League Baseball season, and USA TODAY Sports’ projected win totals for 2026 reflect as much.

Our five-person panel’s aggregate rankings suggest it will be another late September of scoreboard-watching, tiebreaker-computation, gut-wrenching baseball as the season enters its final stretch.

Except, perhaps, for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

They’re projected to win the National League West by eight games, though that will guarantee them little once October comes around and they seek a third consecutive World Series crown. And they’re projected to win “just” 98 games, the panel pegging them for anywhere from 93 to 104 wins.

But that’s why they play the games, right? A look at our panel’s aggregate record projections as spring training gets underway:

AL East

Here comes another coin toss between the Toronto Blue Jays (91-71) and New York Yankees (90-72). The biggest question in this loaded division: How much will the Blue Jays miss Bo Bichette? … The odds favor the Baltimore Orioles (85-77) returning to the playoffs, even if they may be one starter short, but flush with a Polar Bear. … Did the Boston Red Sox (84-78) throw enough into the pot as the price of poker keeps going up in this division? The pitching is as admirably deep as the lineup is questionable. … The Tampa Bay Rays (76-86) rearranged an awful lot (Gavin Lux, Cedric Mullins and Nick Martinez are in, Brandon Lowe, Josh Lowe and Shane Baz out) and are projected to backslide by one whole game.

AL Central

The surprise Framber Valdez signing likely iced the division for the Detroit Tigers (90-72), though a very streaky offensive group returns intact for a club that blew a 14-game division lead. … Could the Cleveland Guardians (83-79) capitalize on a similar swoon this year? Most of their division-winning group is back, though they’ll be counting on rookie Chase DeLauter to stay healthy and contribute. … A healthy Cole Ragans will go a long way toward the Kansas City Royals (83-79) getting back in contention, but they’ll need behemoth slugger Jac Caglianone to stick and ensure the lineup extends more than four deep. … Can the Chicago White Sox (67-95) avoid 100 losses for the first time since 2022? Many eyes will be on them if only to see whether Munetaka Murakami will be worth far more than the $34 million required to sign him. … Hard to believe the Minnesota Twins (65-97) could supplant the White Sox in the cellar with Joe Ryan and Pablo López still around. Then again, maybe they won’t be in July.

AL West

Acquiring Brendan Donovan filled the last significant hole on the roster and established the Seattle Mariners (92-70) as AL favorites, one year after they fell eight outs shy of their first World Series. … The Texas Rangers (86-76) moved the furniture around quite a bit and burned some prospect capital to reel in MacKenzie Gore, who, should he find elusive consistency, may form a dominant 1-2-3 behind Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom. … Are the Houston Astros (84-78) settled for the spring, even as they’re infield-deep and outfield-thin? Regardless, the Tatsuya Imai-for-Framber Valdez swap may determine their fate. … The Athletics (76-86) return for their second of three seasons in Yolo County with half their lineup (Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom, Lawrence Butler) locked into long-term deals. Pitching, though, may not enable them to take the next step. … A third consecutive last-place finish is projected for the Los Angeles Angels (72-90), who are nonetheless projected to have nine players between the ages of 33 and 39 on the active roster.

What's next for Phillies after latest Zack Wheeler update? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Zack Wheeler will make his presence felt whenever he toes the rubber. But one thing has been missing for most of the offseason: clarity on when the 35-year-old will return after thoracic outlet syndrome ended his 2025 season.

On Monday, Rob Thomson and Dave Dombrowski addressed that question during a virtual media session.

“I don’t think he’ll be ready for Opening Day, but it’s not going to be too far behind that,” Thomson said.

Wheeler is still in the early stages of his throwing program. the Phillies manager reiterated he’s at the 90-foot flat-ground phase, and that he looked “very good” Saturday.

“We’re still plugging along and it all depends on his strength,” Thomson said. “All that being said, he’s doing well.”

With Wheeler opening the on the shelf, the rotation will line up with Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo at the top, with Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker and presumably rookie Andrew Painter filling out the staff.

The Phillies — and Dombrowski — don’t want to assume that group simply holds without another move. The market, and the way this winter has unfolded, leaves the door open.

“There are a lot of starting pitchers that are still unsigned at this time,” Dombrowski said. “I don’t know where this is all going for sure, but I do think that this is going to be a spring now, where you continue to have more trade conversations than you normally do during spring training just because of the late developing, signing of players, which puts a focus on movement for other players when somebody signs.”

That slow-moving pitcher market has created a chance for a team like the Phillies to add depth at a lower cost. The problem is the tax.

According to Spotrac’s luxury-tax evaluation, the Phillies sit fourth-highest in tax payroll at just under $312 million. Last year, that total sat over $314 million. At this rate, every dollar spent now triggers a 110% tax.

For a roster that’s “pretty well set,” the cleanest add is the type that doesn’t involve much risk — a one-year flier who can cover innings if Wheeler needs more time, or if things go sideways behind him.

Walker Buehler remains a fit. It helps that the 31-year-old was sharp in his three appearances with the Phillies last season, posting a 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings. Even with an ERA north of five across his first 23 outings in Boston, Buehler still posted above-average rates in average exit velocity (87.9 mph, 82nd percentile) and hard-hit rate (37.8%, 70th percentile). He has a diverse seven-pitch mix, did his best work with his sinker and sweeper last year, and has postseason experience and swingman history.

If the Phillies prefer a left-handed starter, there are two crafty options.

José Quintana, 37, has stayed reliable while bouncing around the league. Over 24 starts with the Brewers last season, he won 11 games and posted a 3.96 ERA with an 89-50 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

It was his fourth straight season with a sub-4 ERA. He’s a pitch-to-contact arm with NL East experience (two seasons with the Mets) and a solid postseason track record.

Nestor Cortes comes with more risk, but the track record is real. His 2025 was derailed: eight starts, a 6.29 ERA and 13 home runs allowed in 34.1 innings. But from 2021 (his first season as a full-time starter) through 2024 with the Yankees, Cortes was one of the better left-handers in the sport.

Among left-handed starters with at least 80 starts in that stretch, he posted a 3.33 ERA (eighth-best), a 1.08 WHIP (third-best) and an opponents OPS of .657 (seventh-best).

Even if the recent metrics didn’t qualify, that four-year run is why the idea is at least worth discussing if the cost stays in the flier range.

A longer-shot name is one Dombrowski knows well: Justin Verlander.

Verlander’s 2025 line was ugly early — a 4.99 ERA through 16 starts with the Giants — and the trade noise followed. The Giants held, and Verlander finished strong. Over his next 13 starts, he allowed 21 earned runs in 72.2 innings for a 2.60 ERA. If the soon-to-be 43-year-old wants meaningful innings, a chance to add to his 266 wins, and an opportunity to mentor a young starter like Painter, Philadelphia checks those boxes.

The money, environment and timing would all have to line up, but the Dombrowski connection is real. He drafted the three-time Cy Young award winner in 2004 with Detroit.

The Phillies president of baseball operations also brought up trades, which is where the roster math gets tricky. Given where the payroll sits, the likeliest trade target would be another affordable starter.

One name that stands out in that category is Casey Mize in Detroit. The former No. 1 overall pick made his first All-Star team in 2025, and the year had substance behind the recognition. After injuries plagued his first four seasons, including missing all of 2023, Mize rebounded last year with a 14-6 record, a 3.87 ERA, and a 3.89 FIP. Notably, he issued only 36 walks in 149 innings.

The salary is what makes him especially interesting. Mize is set to make $6.15 million in his final year of arbitration in 2025, which is affordable for a one-year rotation rental. The Tigers also just signed Framber Valdez to a three-year, $115 million deal, which could make a starter expendable. The price in prospects would be the real cost — Detroit lacks pitching depth, and a deal would likely start with arms such as Cade Obermueller (No. 7 prospect per MLB Pipeline) or Matthew Fisher (No. 10).

Taking on Mize’s salary would still trigger the tax penalty, but the AAV is far more manageable than most remaining free-agent starters.

If the Phillies do move a position player to create another lane, it probably won’t be Nick Castellanos bringing back a starter. Dombrowski said the club is doing “everything [they] can” to move him before the first full-squad workout next week, but the leverage isn’t there.

If the Phillies are confident Dylan Moore can handle the platoon role against left-handed pitching, then Edmundo Sosa could become more movable. That’s one cleaner path to bringing in an arm without changing the identity of the roster.

The bottom line is simple: the Phillies have to bridge the early-season gap without Wheeler. They’re optimistic he’ll return to form. But that’s still uncertain — and so is the stability of the backend with Nola, Walker and Painter.

Given that reality, it would be surprising if Dombrowski isn’t still looking for one more starting option. Monday’s update didn’t close the door. It made the approach clearer.

The Athletic | Keith Law ($): Several publications have George Lombard Jr. as the Yankees’ top-ranked prospect and Keith Law agrees in his 2026 installation of the Yankees’ top prospect rankings. The 21-year-old shortstop was ranked at second last year and 98th overall, and moves to the front of the queue with Jasson Domínguez’s graduation from prospect status, as well as to 24th overall in baseball. Law believes that Lombard was promoted to Double-A too quickly last season, which likely explains his contact issues against velocity. Law calls him a ‘definite shortstop’ and was impressed by his excellent bat speed and knowledge of the strike zone.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: On Monday, the Yankees acquired utility infielder Max Schuemann from the Athletics for right-handed pitching prospect Luis Burgos. Schuemann struggled mightily at the plate in 2025 — .568 OPS, 62 wRC+ in 213 PAs — but is a wizard with the glove, racking up +8 Outs Above Average between mostly second, third, and shortstop. The 28-year-old is expected to provide competition for Amed Rosario and Oswaldo Cabrera for one of the spots on the bench. You can read a more complete breakdown on Schuemann and Burgos here.

MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams: In order to make room on the 40-man roster for Schuemann, the Yankees designated Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment. The move comes just five days after they claimed the outfielder off waivers from the Rockies. The 23-year-old logged a .613 OPS and 55 wRC+ with four home runs and 11 RBIs in 52 games and 147 PAs in his debut season after appearing at the back end of several Top-100 prospect rankings. The Yankees can place him on waivers or trade him over the next five days, and can outright him to the minors if he passes through waivers.

FanGraphs | Ben Clemens: Operation Run it Back entered its latest phase with the Yankees recenlt announcing the re-signing of Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year, $4 million contract. The former NL MVP is entering his age-38 season and has been a roughly league average player at the plate the last two seasons, making up for the loss of power with a significant reduction in strikeouts. He’s being brought back likely with the understanding that he will be used in a platoon role at first base after posting a 169 wRC+ against lefties in 2025. His signing is a double-edged sword for the surging Ben Rice — on one hand it frees up Rice to backup at catcher on days when a lefty is on the mound but on the other hand, given the Yankees view Rice as their future first baseman — and already one of their best hitters — it might benefit them to get Rice as much playing time as possible at first. Clemens speculates that part of the motivation for Goldy to stick around is to build his Hall of Fame case — he’s 28 home runs from 400 and 210 hits from 2,500 — as well as to hunt the World Series ring that has eluded him.

I was perusing through our sister sites this morning and saw this question posed by Battery Power, home of the Atlanta Braves. In the wake of yesterday’s Super Bowl, it seemed like a relevant question.

For the majority of the Super Bowl, it seemed like Seattle Seahawks kicker Jason Myers was going to win MVP since he set an NFL record with five field goals in the Super Bowl. However, things started to pick up in the fourth quarter — the first touchdown of the game was scored with 13:24 left in the game — and the Seahawks ultimately stomped the New England Patriots 29-13.

Comparatively, the Philadelphia Eagles steamrolled the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in last year’s Super Bowl with the scoring more evenly distributed through all four quarters.

Putting a baseball spin on this, I ask this question of you: Do you prefer pitchers’ duels or slugfests?

We root for the Colorado Rockies, who should (theoretically) be involved in more slugfests at Coors Field. However, they do sometimes get involved in pitchers’ duels as well, especially in some of the California stadiums.

Slugfests, of course, feature more action. Baseballs are flying through the air and players are running all over the field, but they also take longer (sorry, Rob Manfred, but you cannot have lots of offense and short games). Meanwhile, pitchers’ duels are shorter games that take more strategy, but they can sometimes be “boring” because of the lack of action.

Last year, the first slugfest the Rockies were involved in was April 6th against the Athletics, where they beat them 12-5 in Chase Dollander’s MLB Debut. Dollander was also involved in a daring no-hitter duel against Tyler Glasnow and the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 8th (the Rockies ultimately lost 3-1).

There were a few of each last year, of course, but those were the ones that stood out to me.

So, Purple Row night owls, what say you? Which do you prefer?

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

It’s perfectly OK if the most recent thing you remember about Julian Aguiar’s career advancement as a professional baseball pitcher was getting shelled for 7 ER by the Atlanta Braves in late September of 2024. That is, after all, the last time he threw a pitch in an actual professional game, after all.

Then 23, Aguiar was making the last of his seven big league appearances that season, but UCL damage required Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter and his subsequent recovery meant he missed the entirety of pro ball during calendar year 2025.

However…

He’s still just 24 years old right now. He’s a guy who turned a corner at the minor league level with AA Chattanooga, in particular, in 2024 before his call-up. He’s a guy who has touched 100 mph with his heater before who, at times, commands a pretty effective four-pitch mix with his dual breaking balls and an effective change. And as no reports have indicated any significant setbacks from his TJ surgery, he’s slated to begin 2026 at 100% after a long time away and ready to step right back into the top-tier of the pitching ranks for the Reds as soon as possible.

Odds are that’s with AAA Louisville, stretching out gradually. He’ll be a starter there as he works his way back, though it’s probably pretty clear to the Reds what he could potentially add as a reliever or swingman sooner, if need be.

All of that was good enough for Aguiar to land at #17 on this year’s Community Prospect Rankings, a pretty solid endorsement for a guy who we’ve not seen pitch in a year and a half.

It’s Monday night here at BCB After Dark: the hippest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so glad that you stopped by. Come on in. There’s no cover charge. We can check your coat for you. Hang on to that ticket. The hostess will take you to your table now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last week, I asked you if the Cubs were better off with Kyle Tucker or Alex Bregman in 2026? Of course, the correct answer would be “both,” but I didn’t give that as an option, nor was it realistic. Most of you seem to think that Bregman was the better piece for this year, with the current Cub getting 79 percent of the vote over the former Cub.

Here’s the part where we listen to jazz and talk movies. The BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic is almost over, but we still have a few contests to go and you’re always welcome to join in. But you’re also free to skip this and join us again on the other side.

Tonight we’re featuring saxophonist Michael Brecker playing one of my favorite jazz standards, “Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise,” written by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II. I will say this version is not soft at all. In fact, it’s the hardest-bopping version of this song I’ve ever heard.

Besides Brecker on the tenor sax, this is an all-star group that includes Ulf Wakenius on guitar, Christian McBride on bass, Benny Green on piano and Alvin Queen on drums.

This is from 2003.

You voted in the BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic and the Star Trek fans are still out in force as Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan advanced to the final four over Alien.

Tonight we’re going to find out which film will face off against TWOK in the semifinals. Will it be the crowd-pleasing comedy Back to the Future? Or will Terminator II “be back” in the in the winner’s brakcet?

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Directed by James Cameron. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Robert Patrick.

Here’s what I wrote originally about T2.

Here’s the first showdown between the two Terminators in that most 1991 of American institutions, the shopping mall.

Back to the Future (1985). Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson.

Here’s my original essay on Back to the Future.

Here’s the scene where Marty McFly (Fox) prepares to return to 1985.

The one thing these two films have in common is that they were both enormously popular in their time. Both films were the number-one box office movie in the year they were released. From your votes, I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to say they are still enormously popular today.

So now it’s time to vote.

You have until Wednesday to vote. Coming up on Wednesday, we have our first semifinal against Godzilla (Gojira) and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Welcome back to everyone who skipped the music and movies.

We’ve spoken a lot about adding another starting pitcher like Zac Gallen to the roster, not so much because the Cubs need one but because you can never have too many starting pitchers. You see, they get hurt a lot. You may remember what happened to Justin Steele last year. Shōta Imanaga missed a lot of time with an injury as well.

But even if the Cubs projected starting five of Matthew Boyd, Edward Cabrera, Cade Horton, Imanaga and Jameson Taillon all stay healthy, at least until Justin Steele returns, there is a criticism that all five of those pitchers are mid-rotation starters at most. That there isn’t any one top-of-the-rotation guy that manager Craig Counsell can call on in a must-win game.

The Cubs still have the yeoman Colin Rea ready to step in when a starter gets hurt. Javier Assad and Ben Brown can start as well. Justin Steele will be coming back sometime mid-season. So it’s not like there aren’t options in the case of injury. But none of those guys is likely to be “the guy” in a key pennant race or playoff game.

So tonight I’m going to ask you who you would want to pitch a Game 7 of a playoff series. If the Cubs need a win to clinch the division, which Cubs starter would you want on the mound?

I don’t think I need to say much about the five Cubs starters. If you go by any version of WAR, Matthew Boyd was the Cubs’ best pitcher last year. Cade Horton didn’t reach the majors until May, but was good enough to finish second in Rookie of the Year balloting. However, a lot of Horton’s underlying data indicate that while he’s good, Horton was maybe not quite as good as his 2.67 ERA would indicate.

Imanaga was excellent in 2024 and injured and unreliable in 2025. Are you confident he’ll bounce back? Taillon was solid last year and may have been the most-trusted starter (or second after Boyd) by the time of the playoffs, but like Horton, his underlying numbers weren’t much more than OK.

Then there’s the wild card of Edward Cabrera. He had a kind of breakout season last year with the Marlins and many think his raw stuff indicates that there’s more to come. But he’s also had trouble staying healthy throughout his career.

So which starter do you think will have the best season for Cubs this year?

Thank you for stopping by tonight. We’re always glad to see you. Please get home safely. Stay warm and dry. Tell your friends about us. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.

It’s officially Spring Training eve. Fans, reporters, coaches, and most importantly, players have arrived in Scottsdale, Arizona. And after one more sleep, they’ll get to work.

Last week, the San Francisco Giants announced their list of 19 non-roster invitees to Spring Training. As a refresher, NRIs are players who are in the system but not on the 40-man roster … prospects and Minor League free agents. Although there’s plenty of crossover between the NRIs and the players who aren’t in Major League camp — they’re all working out at Papago, and the players at the Minor League camp next door are frequently called into action in preseason games — there is importance in being named an NRI.

Most players who are NRIs are either given a chance to make the Opening Day roster, or are getting some seasoning because the organization is high on their ability to contribute at some point during the year. And that’s important, both for development and for the message that it sends to those players.

The beauty of Spring Training is that it gives players a chance to change their story. If I had written the following article last year, for instance, I would have had Christian Koss quite low … but we all saw how that played out.

So what follows is a list of all 19 NRIs, ranked in order of their excitement right now. It’s not a ranking of how good the players are, and it’s definitely not a ranking of how likely they are to break camp on the roster. And, critically, it’s fluid … though don’t come back to this article in a few weeks expecting me to have updated it.

Enough rambling. Here are the 19, from most exciting to least exciting.

1. Bo Davidson — OF

The Giants only selected three outfielders for their list of NRIs this year, but that’s three more than last year. And with Marco Luciano and Wade Meckler gone, Luis Matos placing one foot out the door, and Grant McCray lacing up his shoes, Davidson represents the next wave of talent that the Giants are hoping graces the outfield.

Heliot Ramos broke the long-standing homegrown All-Star outfielder curse, and in about six weeks he should break the left field Opening Day curse. Jung Hoo Lee is firmly entrenched in right field. And Harrison Bader was brought in on a multi-year free agency deal to man center. The Giants have the most set outfield in recent memory, and yet … you can forgive us for dreaming of a little more.

Davidson could be that more. He burst on the scene, remarkably rising from undrafted free agent to a member of the Baseball America top 100 in two years. As a Junior College athlete, Davidson hasn’t faced the advanced level of competition that his peers in AA have, and that’s the cause for both excitement and caution. Arguably the two largest questions facing Davidson are how well he can handle advanced spin and velocity, and if he can stay in center fielder as he rises the ranks.

Spring Training gives us our first chance to get some answers to those questions, and our first opportunity to see how dynamic his athleticism looks when standing across from Major Leaguers, instead of single and double-A ballers.

2. Parks Harber — 3B/1B/OF

One of the fun things about NRIs is that you can get a glimpse into how the organization views certain players. The most shining example? Harber. To illustrate that, let’s look back at the 2025 NRIs, of which there were six position players. Those six, in alphabetical order:

Sergio Alcantara — Had more than 500 Major League plate appearances
Bryce Eldridge — The top prospect in the organization, who had some AAA experience
Christian Koss — Had more than 300 AAA plate appearances
Jake Lamb — Had a 10-year MLB career
Logan Porter — Had made his MLB debut and spent three years in AAA
Max Stassi — Had a 10-year MLB career

That’s roughly what you can expect with most NRIs, especially on the position player front. So it was noteworthy that Davidson, who hasn’t yet played in AAA, was on the list. And it was extremely noteworthy that Harber, who hasn’t yet played in AA, was on the list.

Harber probably belongs in the “it doesn’t matter how well you play, you can’t make the Opening Day roster” bucket, but his inclusion on this list means we can start turning the hands of his clock faster than in a time capsule sequence in a movie.

He was an afterthought by the industry when he was included in the Camilo Doval trade this summer, yet it quickly became clear he could hit the snot out of the ball. His data at the Arizona Fall League emphasized that, and now it’s clear the Giants view him highly. They want to see how his swing fares against more advanced pitchers. They want to see him get comfortable in the outfield after primarily being an infielder. Like Davidson, they want to get a glimpse into whether or not Harber might be able to help the team as early as later this year.

3. Juan Sánchez — LHP

If you’ve been following the news this weekend, and I don’t blame you if you haven’t been, then some atrocious excuses for “country music” have probably come across your airwaves. I’d like to cleanse your palate, with a line from an honest-to-goodness, authentic, extremely worth listening to country artist, Tyler Childers:

Well I used to ride a Mustang
And I’d run that thing on high hopes
‘Til they raised the price of dreams so high I couldn’t pay

That, I’d say, adequately sums up the Giants relationship with their bullpen. At the deadline they traded respected veterans Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers. New closer Randy Rodríguez then suffered an elbow injury that will cost him the 2026 season.

Then the offseason came, and the media masses who always think the Giants will spend money even though they won’t linked the team to Edwin Díaz and Devin Williams even though that obviously was never going to happen. And we all thought they’d reunite with Rogers, but they didn’t even sniff in that direction.

Instead, they signed Sam Hentges for $1.4 million, signed Jason Foley to rehab an injury and hopefully debut late in the summer, and added a bunch of Minor Leaguers. And I’m not even sure that I disagree with the approach.

But in order for it to work, some players are going to need to pop, and Sánchez is a prime candidate. The southpaw, who signed with the Giants a whopping nine years ago but only just turned 25, was an NRI two years ago and nearly broke camp with the team. He was narrowly beat out by Erik Miller — possibly only because Miller was already rostered — and then his elbow gave out and he not only didn’t debut, but missed all of 2025, too.

Now he’s back, and healthy. He pitched in the Arizona Fall League and, if he can repeat his Scottsdale performance from 2024, could not only make the team, but become a critical part of a (hopefully) successful bullpen.

4. Will Bednar — RHP

Hey, here’s another youngish arm that the organization was once quite high on who could ultimately prove to be a big part of the bullpen. Bednar spent a few years failing to live up to his first-round draft status, but in 2025 reinvented himself as a high-electricity reliever, and cranked up his velocity to where it flirted with 100. With Doval in the Bronx and Rodríguez injured, the Giants don’t have a lot of those players, which gives Bednar a good path to the Majors.

Really, the excitement in seeing Bednar is the same excitement we’ll have when he presumably opens the year in AAA: seeing how his stuff plays against more advanced hitters. He has command issues (though they got better in the second half last year), but in 2025 struck out 84 AA batters in just 50.2 innings. Will that play against better hitters? I, for one, am very excited to see.

5. Gregory Santos — RHP

I expect that Bader will be the signing this year who (positively) impacts the win total the most, but Santos is my favorite move the Giants made this winter. Once a top-10 prospect in the system, Santos was DFA’d by the Giants three years ago due to a roster crunch. That decision immediately looked awful: in his first year with his new team, the Chicago White Sox, Santos became one of the best relievers in baseball, with a 3.39 ERA, a 2.65 FIP, and a 1.5 fWAR mark that ranked 15th among all bullpen arms.

But he’s struggled with injuries since then, and has pitched just 14.1 innings over the last two years, and just 28.2 if you include Minor League assignments.

When right, Santos has a truly special mix of fire and control: in 2023, he was 98th percentile in fastball velocity, and 85th percentile in walk rate. If he’s healthy this spring, he just might look like that player again (he’s only 26, after all). And if he looks like that player again, he just might be one of the best offseason signings in all of baseball.

6. Victor Bericoto — OF/1B

Developmental paths — and the logistics forced by 40-man roster decisions — are funny. Bericoto was part of the same international signing class as Luciano and Matos. And while Matos is still clinging to a spot on the roster, if I had to guess which of those three will play the biggest role for the Giants this year, it would be Bericoto.

As with Davidson and Harber, Bericoto’s inclusion is likely a sign of how the Giants feel about him, especially since he only played 11 games in AAA last year (before suffering an injury, and then heading back to AA). In many ways, Bericoto mirrors what the Giants hope Jerar Encarnación brings to the table, except instead of being a Major Leaguer who is out of options, Bericoto, who just turned 24, is still in the Minors. He’s a powerful right-handed bat who plays a quality corner outfield and can also man first base. What’s not to like?

It seemed over the summer that his time with the organization was running out, but now he feels like a player who could quickly become part of the outfield plans. We haven’t gotten to see him face advanced pitchers yet, and now we’ll get to see just how close he is.

7. Michael Fulmer — RHP

There are always position player NRIs who don’t really have a shot at making the roster. But thanks to the volatile nature of pitchers, the sheer number of spots available in the bullpen, and the inevitability of injuries, that’s not really the case with pitchers. They can all make the Opening Day roster. Especially the ones that Buster Posey has faced before.

On the surface, Fulmer is extremely un-exciting. He’s a 32-year old veteran trying to find his way back to the Majors. We see tons of those every year, and they rarely work out. But pull back the curtain a little bit, and it’s a different story. Fulmer was mediocre in 2023, lost all of 2024 due to injury, and spent almost all of his 2025 in the Minors trying to rebuild his value. But he was very good in 2022 and he was excellent in 2021 and really, those years aren’t far away when you account for the lost year and the rehab year. He’s the perfect candidate to give to a coaching staff and see what happens. There could be something special there.

8. Trent Harris — RHP

Davidson, Harber, and Harris … it really is impressive that the Giants have three such highly-regarded undrafted prospects!

Harris is the ultimate case of “if things click, this could be special,” and those are some of the most exciting players to watch in Spring Training. The recently-turned 27-year old was thoroughly dominant in AA last year, but got roughed up in his AAA introduction. By his own admission, much of that was due to a loss of confidence and abandoning his best pitch. He might be one tweak away from being a critical bullpen piece, and we’ll soon find out if the Giants can help him make that tweak.

9. Nate Furman — 2B

The Giants acquired Furman a year-and-a-half ago as the player to be named later in the Alex Cobb trade. Due to injuries, we’ve only seen him play 36 games for the organization, but he’s hit .369/.493/.607 in those 36 games, and that will get anyone’s attention.

In many ways, Furman is the Minor League version of the player the Giants signed to play his position at the big league level, Luis Arráez. He has borderline unbelievable contact skills, an almost non-existent display of power, and his glove has more red flags than green ones.

But here’s the thing about great contact hitters: they’re fun to watch, and Posey loves them. And I’ll appeal to authority and say it’s very notable that the Giants chose Furman — who has just 22 AA games to his name — as an NRI, ahead of players like, say, Diego Velasquez and Dayson Croes. You never know what players have been working on, especially in the offseason. Maybe Furman looks good with his glove. Maybe he has a little pop of power. Either of those things would turn him into a bonafide prospect.

10. Diego Cartaya — C

If you want to feel a little bit better about what happened with Luciano, then have I ever got the name for you. Allow me to introduce you to someone who signed in the same international period as Luciano, but for a larger amount of money. Someone who was instantly viewed as the cream of the crop from that class. Someone who, after debuting, was ranked even higher than Luciano, and was on many top-10 lists. A player who, unlike Luciano, came from an organization frequently lauded for its player development. A player who, like Luciano, is now floating around trying to find a career.

Yes, Cartaya was once the diamond of the Los Angeles Dodgers system. Being a 19-year old catcher who hits 10 home runs in 31 games in A-ball will do that to you. He completely fell apart in the upper Minors, though. After posting a 65 wRC+ in more than 200 AAA plate appearances in 2024, the Dodgers cut him loose this time last year. He caught on with the Minnesota Twins’ AAA affiliate, where he hit … cover your eyes if you’re easily scared … 5-59 with 40 strikeouts.

The Twins dumped him and the Giants picked him up, presumably on a multi-year Minor League deal, because they slow-played him (he officially appeared in just four low-A games) and now he’s back.

He’s probably broken. He’s almost certainly broken. But at 24 years old, he’s not far removed from being one of the best prospects in baseball. Sometimes it takes the right coaches or the right change of scenery, or just something clicking as you go through life. He’s a free lottery ticket, and if he shows any glimpses this spring, things will start to feel exciting.

11. Wilkin Ramos — RHP

Ramos is the type of player whom we would all be very excited about if he had come up through the Giants system, instead of reaching Minor League free agency and signing with the team that way. His performance has paralleled Harris: he’s been dominant in AA (1.52 ERA in 70 games), and awful in AAA (5.94 ERA in 30 games). The primary difference (other than the pitch mix) is that, despite entering his ninth year of professional baseball, Ramos is still two years younger than Harris, at just 25.

He’s an extremely Giantsy pitcher: he doesn’t get a lot of swing-and-miss, but his ground ball rate was a whopping 60.9% last year. That number ranked 12th out of the nearly 1,400 Minor League pitchers with at least 50 innings last year. He’s a long shot to make the Opening Day roster, but he could be exciting enough to watch that he becomes a pitcher people follow in AAA.

12. Caleb Kilian — RHP

He returns! Like Santos, Kilian is making his way back to his original organization, after he was included in the 2021 trade for Kris Bryant. Unlike Santos, Kilian has never popped at the Major League level, though he made eight appearances in the pros between 2022 and 2024. Injuries limited Kilian to 15.2 innings in the Minors last year, but in 2024 he had a 3.22 ERA in AAA, while only walking 2.8 batters per nine innings. He’s not electric, but he has strong command, a deep repertoire, and can live in the mid-90s. If he’s added to the roster he’ll be out of options, though, so he’ll have to have an exceptional camp to avoid starting the year in Sacramento.

13. Nick Margevicius — LHP

Margevicius concludes the pitcher section of our list. He could be much lower, but pitchers, by nature of their ability to make the Opening Day roster, are just inherently a little bit more exciting. But he is the least exciting of the group. The 29-year old hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2021, and while he had a decent 3.89 ERA/3.60 FIP mark with the Detroit Tigers’ AAA affiliate last year, the underlying metrics were fairly grim. His fastball lives in the very low 90s, and his Prospect Savant page is almost entirely blue. He was above average in walk rate (89th percentile) last season, but everything else was below average … or way below average: strikeout rate (45th percentile), chase rate (39th), swinging strike rate (29th), zone contact rate (24th), xwOBA (22nd), expected batting average (15th), whiff rate (13th), zone swing rate (11th), expected slugging (8th), barrel rate (8th), exit velocity (7th), and hard hit rate (7th).

14. Jared Oliva — OF

The Giants claimed Justin Dean off of waivers this offseason. They then designated him for assignment, and lost him on waivers. To recoup that loss, they signed Oliva to a Minor League deal. Oliva is a slightly lesser version of Dean. He probably can’t hit — his brief MLB time has mostly been used as a late-game replacement, and he had a 102 wRC+ last year as a 29-year old in AAA. But he plays some mean outfield defense, and stole a stupendous 57 bases last year in just 95 games, while only getting caught six times.

That’s fun to watch, and that’s excitement in and of itself. But he’s probably not in play to make the roster unless Drew Gilbert gets injured and McCray gets traded.

15. Buddy Kennedy — INF

Kennedy has an intriguing combination of power and speed, though he’s 27 and it really hasn’t manifested in much yet. He has nearly 200 plate appearances in the Majors, but has hit just .178/.271/.274, and his defense certainly isn’t good enough for that. He only had a 116 wRC+ in AAA last year as a 26-year old, but he did hit .280 with a tidy 14.3% strikeout rate, and we know the Giants like that.

Long story short: he’s not in play to make the Opening Day roster, and he won’t do a lot of things that excite you, but he can put himself in position to be a depth piece in AAA.

16. Eric Haase — C

The Giants don’t want Haase to be their backup catcher on March 27. But Haase certainly might be their backup catcher on March 27. He is insurance for if neither Jesús Rodríguez nor Daniel Susac looks ready for the Majors, because he certainly can hold down the spot, as he’s done so often in his career. He’s 33 and you know exactly what you’re getting with him. That’s important, but it’s not exciting.

17. Osleivis Basabe — INF

Basabe is back, after spending all of 2025 — his first year in the organization — in AAA. He only posted an 85 wRC+ there (and was DFA’d and outrighted), but his defense all over the diamond is very strong. He’s only 25, but it feels wrong to think of him as a prospect. He’s depth. He’ll provide some Spring Training excitement because of his defensive wizardry, but he’s really just hanging around to play all over the Sacramento dirt, and fill in if there’s an emergency.

Then again, I said that about Koss this time a year ago.

18. Jake Holton — 1B

Remember Trenton Brooks. Holton is the new Trenton Brooks.

This is his first year with the Giants, after the soon-to-turn 28-year old right-handed hitter spent his first seven season with the Tigers. He spent all of 2023 with Detroit’s AA squad, where he posted a 123 wRC+. Good enough for a promotion to AAA, right? Nope. He spent all of 2024 with their AA team, where he posted a 141 wRC+. Well that is surely good enough for a AAA promotion, yeah? Wrong again. He also spent all of 2025 with Detroit’s AA affiliate, where he repeated his 141 wRC+ mark.

He’ll likely be ticketed for a AAA debut with Sacramento, but 300+ plate appearances in AA is telling. He might put up great Spring Training numbers, but he’ll likely only be viewed as emergency depth, for a variety of reasons.

19. Logan Porter — C

We saw Porter in the Majors last year, and we may see him again this year. He is the very definition of a AAA catcher: strong enough defensively and competitive enough offensively that he can fill in for a week or two; bad enough at those things that he can be designated for assignment without any repercussions.

Porter isn’t at Spring Training to compete for a roster spot or raise his stock. He’s at Spring Training to familiarize himself with the pitching staff so that, on some random July day when Rodríguez, filling in for an injured Susac, takes a foul ball off his mask and needs a week off, the Giants have someone who can step in competently.

That’s valuable; but it ain’t exciting. Well, not relative to the other names, at least. But it’s still baseball, and baseball is exciting. More importantly, baseball is back.

2025 stats: 29 GS, 152 IP, 3.85 ERA / 4.24 xERA, 8.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.36 WHIP, +2.2 fWAR

The first ballot Hall of Famer joined the Giants as a sort of prove-it year to show the sport that he still could be “that guy,” and he pulled it off, becoming just the 48th pitcher in MLB history to throw at least 150 innings at the age of 42 (or older). He’s also just the 17th pitcher this century to accomplish the feat, and if you narrow it down to just right-handed pitchers, the list looks like this:

Roger Clemens (2005), 211.1 IP — 1.87 ERA
Bartolo Colon (2015), 194.2 IP — 4.16 ERA
Greg Maddux (2008), 194 IP — 4.22 ERA
Bartolo Colon (2016), 191.2 IP — 3.43 ERA
R.A. Dickey (2017), 190 IP — 4.26 ERA
Tim Wakefield (2011), 154.2 IP — 5.12 ERA
Justin Verlander (2025), 152 IP — 3.85 ERA

Subtract PEDs, knuckleballs, and Bartolo Colon from this list and Verlander really stands out, right? Seriously, though, the rest of those names are from a previous generation of the sport. What Verlander managed to do ought to be considered as impressive as whatever accolades you want to throw at the rest of the names on this list because it’s a very different game now.

The season was far from a farewell tour, which is what it kinda-sorta felt like it could be when the Giants signed him last January. Another Randy Johnson situation. Instead, what the Giants got and what the sport saw was a pitcher who was riding the rapids of time and not defying it so much as going with his increasing limitations.

On the year, his 2.2 fWAR was in the realm of an average starter, but over his final 13 starts, his 2.60 ERA in 72.2 IP with a 22.8 K% and 7.8 BB% made him the sixth-most valuable pitcher in baseball, sandwiched between Max Fried and Garrett Crochet. The Giants went just 6-7 in those starts and all 4 wins of his 4-11 record came during this stretch, which ought to be enough to prove how silly a pitcher win is.

Still, for a guy hoping to retire with 300 wins or thereabouts, pitching for the San Francisco Giants sort of worked against him. He now stands at a career record of 266-158 in 555 career starts, and you could see how if he’d made it to 10 or 11 wins that he’d plausibly be within spitting distance if he pitches two more seasons. The Giants’ bullpen and offense definitely cost him 5 wins and he wouldn’t record that first win in a Giants uniform until literally July 23… simply remarkable.

Less remarkable was how wrong I was about the signing. I was skeptical from the start but on July 7th, I wrote this post: The Justin has Verlanded,

So, is this actually another Buster Posey win, even if it looks ugly? I think so. It seems that Buster’s expectations had nothing to do with statistics and, instead it’s about everything else that Justin Verlander brings to the team. That has to be it, right? Because even by his own assessment, he’s not a competitive pitcher against major league talent.

Of his most recent start against the A’s he said:

I’m just not deceptive enough […] Guys are able to execute their game plan against me too easily. I can’t quite get fastballs by guys when I should be able to. I can’t quite get them to chase the good off-speed pitch. When I do throw a bad one, they’re on it.

[…]

It’s his worst season in the Statcast era (since 2015), and it’s clear this is probably going to be his worst non-injury season ever. At least, that’s how it’s trending. Is there room in the modern game for a team to run out the gritty veteran every fifth day who doesn’t have the stuff but has the resume? It was common enough in Posey’s playing days. Does he believe such a thing is another thing “analytics” took away?

Definitely mean and, of course, totally wrong. I am far from the main character of reality, but as a blogger who swung and missed very, very hard here, I must point out Verlander’s numbers on this very me-centric split:

Prior to The Justin has Verlanded post: 0-6, 4.84 ERA (4.32 FIP) 70.2 IP 60 K 26 BB

After the Justin has Verlanded post: 4-5, 2.99 ERA (3.43 FIP) 81.1 IP 77 K 26 BB

According to Statcast, Verlander’s sweeper was 1) a new pitch and 2) his most valuable by far with a +8 Run Value. That’s Top 10 in the sport good. His changeup, four-seamer, and sinker were also effective enough that he’s still got the bones of a solidly average pitcher going forward.

He gave the Giants everything he had last season and it was plenty and demonstrative of a guy who still has more to give. Unfortunately for Justin Verlander, the Giants could not return the favor.

PORT ST. LUCIE — Freddy Peralta threw a bullpen session Monday to his primary catcher for the first time this spring, under the watch of the team’s new pitching coach.

There is much newness to the Mets, to which the ace right-hander is a significant component.

But now comes the other side of it, as Peralta begins the acclimation process to his new team.

Some introductions won’t be necessary: Peralta had Tobias Myers, Devin Williams and Tyrone Taylor as teammates with the Brewers.

Many others have become acquaintances over his eight major league seasons.

His exposure to the team’s pitching group, headed by new pitching coach Justin Willard, was immediate following the trade that sent Peralta and Myers from Milwaukee on Jan. 21 for Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams.

And upon arriving to camp, Peralta said he’s been impressed with the amount of information he’s been provided.

“When I got over here, they knew all my stuff and a lot of things that I got surprised by, but that’s good,” Peralta said.

Those surprises have included learning about the progression of his slider over the past four seasons, and how frequently he’s used the pitch, down to his preferred grips.

The purpose isn’t to change Peralta — who finished fifth in the National League Cy Young Award voting last season after pitching to a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts for the Brewers — but to inform him.

“It’s been very comfortable, because they have been asking me how I do things and how I do my stuff, what I have been doing and we just communicate all that,” Peralta said. “We have been working together. It’s not like, ‘We have this new idea, and I think you can do this now.’ It’s been very nice and easy. I feel happy about that because they are not trying to change somebody. They are just trying to communicate and it will help to keep me doing what I have been doing.”

Peralta expects a seamless transition throwing mainly to Francisco Alvarez, who tops the Mets depth chart at catcher.

Luis Torrens also has extensive experience as the team’s primary backup.

“[Alvarez] has got a lot of energy, a lot of potential and I saw that before I became his teammate and I am very excited to see what we’re going to accomplish together,” Peralta said. “We had some conversations already, he caught my bullpen today and it was great. I think the relationship we are going to have is very important.

“But I think I am pretty easy to know, too. I don’t think it’s going to take that long, probably, but hopefully we get to know each other right before the end of spring training. That’s all we need, but I think it’s not going to take that long.”

Peralta, Nolan McLean, Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, David Peterson and Kodai Senga are the main rotation pieces, with depth options Jonah Tong and Christian Scott in the mix.

Peralta, an early arrival to camp, said his first days in the clubhouse have been welcoming.

“I know a lot of guys here and we’ve never played together, but we have been seeing each other during the season and we’ve been playing many times and it’s awesome, man,” Peralta said. “I have been getting a lot of love from everybody.”

Peralta is not participating in the World Baseball Classic this spring, instead pouring his energy into his first camp with the Mets.

“I’m just focusing on what I need to do and meeting everybody,” Peralta said. “Get my workouts done and try to stay healthy.”

Most seem to agree that the St. Louis Cardinals have had a very active and successful offseason, but how likely is it that they still might trade JoJo Romero? There are many questions including if, to who and when.

As of today, the St. Louis Cardinals are only days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training in Jupiter, Florida. There are still rumblings that the trade winds haven’t stopped blowing yet as JoJo Romero is reportedly still being discussed with other teams. While I can’t confirm that anything is close, a trade of JoJo is still possible. The most recent reporting I can find about Romero’s status came from MLB Trade Rumors just a few days ago on February 6. They asked their audience if they believe the St. Louis Cardinals will complete another trade before opening day and nearly 66% said yes.

The teams that reportedly have expressed the most interest in JoJo Romero are the New York Yankees, the Seattle Mariners and the Baltimore Orioles also according to MLB Trade Rumors. I’ve also seen mock trades suggested from the Toronto Blue Jays, but cannot confirm if that interest is serious. I thought there was a chance we’d see JoJo moved along with Brendan Donovan when his trade to the Seattle Mariners happened, but the fact that it didn’t makes me think that Chaim Bloom may have a different timeline in mind for JoJo.

I’m wondering now if the St. Louis Cardinals are going to try and position JoJo Romero as a closer and then move him at the trade deadline when that market might be hot. That’s a gamble, but it might be the frame of mind that Chaim Bloom and his team have now that the ramp up to the season gets closer. I am reminded of an interview that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had with JoJo late last season about what he learned from former Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley. Could it be that the Cardinals will set up closer by committee with JoJo and Riley O’Brien sharing that role?

Do you think that the St. Louis Cardinals will trade JoJo Romero? If the answer is yes, do you think it should happen before Opening Day or at the trade deadline? If no, why are you in favor of holding onto him? I think we’ll find out sooner rather than later of what the St. Louis Cardinals are thinking about the future of JoJo Romero whether he’s a prime trade opportunity now or a bigger trade chip as a closer near the deadline this summer.

Good evening, folks. I hope your week has gotten off to a solid start and that this evening goes well for you, as well.

Here’s a random clip:

TAMPA — Meet the 2026 Yankees, same as the 2025 Yankees.

OK, so that may be a slight oversimplification, but not by much, as the Yankees are set to open spring training with a roster mostly identical to the one at the end of 2025, when they were boat-raced by the Blue Jays in the ALDS — 24 of the 26 players on the roster for that series are back in the organization.

Their decision to essentially run it back has not sat well with the fan base, and will loom throughout the year until something changes, but their brain trust insists it was the right path to take because of how strongly they felt about their roster by the end of 2025 and believing that it can bear better fruits over the course of a full season.

“I disagree it’s the same team running it back,” said Brian Cashman, entering his 29th camp as general manager and the final year of his current contract. “There’s going to be some differences and the competition’s going to be different, too. In some cases, some teams got better. In other cases, some teams you could argue maybe got a little worse. Our division’s the best in baseball. 

“But long story short, one series [the ALDS], make-or-break, is not going to define what we think our capabilities are. We all understand in postseason baseball, you got to bring your best baseball every series and if you don’t, you’re going home. It doesn’t mean that we weren’t capable of great things. We just didn’t get the job done in that time frame against the Toronto Blue Jays.”

Of course, the Yankees are still eight long months away from actually getting a chance to flip the script in the postseason, as they try to end a World Series championship drought that is entering its 17th year.

But their work to get there begins now, with pitchers and catchers reporting Wednesday and position players set to follow Sunday.

The reality is that two of the biggest culprits in the ALDS were Max Fried and Carlos Rodón, who combined to give up 13 runs in 5 ¹/₃ innings, but are not going anywhere as important staples of the rotation.

The offense that led the majors in runs during the regular season also came up short when it mattered most, but the Yankees are bringing that unit back in full as well.

The biggest potential difference this season is that the Yankees expect to have Gerrit Cole back at some point in the first half (they hope by June) after he missed all of last season with Tommy John surgery.

What version of the former AL Cy Young winner they are getting remains to be seen, but even a slightly diminished one would bolster a potential powerhouse rotation along with Fried, Rodón (who hopes to return from his own elbow surgery by early May) and a full season of 2025 rookie phenom Cam Schlittler plus a mix of Luis Gil, Will Warren, Ryan Weathers and eventually Clarke Schmidt.

But Fried, Schlittler, Warren and Rodón are all coming off career-high workloads, so the Yankees may handle their buildups carefully this spring in an attempt to keep them healthy.

Then there is the lineup, where the returns of Cody Bellinger — which loomed over the whole offseason before he signed a five-year, $162.5 million contract late last month to remain in pinstripes — and Trent Grisham on the qualifying offer ensured it would look the same.

They also brought back Amed Rosario and Paul Goldschmidt as right-handed bench bats — Rosario offering defensive versatility and Goldschmidt providing insurance behind Ben Rice.

But questions still remain, including whether they are too left-handed, whether Grisham can repeat his breakout season, what Anthony Volpe will look like when he returns from shoulder surgery around May and whether he will simply reclaim his starting shortstop role or have to fight José Caballero for it.

“I feel like our roster flexibility’s better, night in and night out, going in,” manager Aaron Boone said. 

The biggest changes involve the bullpen, where the Yankees let Devin Williams and Luke Weaver walk in free agency but have not yet filled their spots with established options.

They took their big reliever swings last summer at the deadline when they acquired David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird with mixed results, but now will have them for a full season.

The wild card is whether the Yankees will have any of their young pitching prospects — a la the hard-throwing Carlos Lagrange — emerge as bullpen options as early as this spring.

Otherwise, there will be plenty of familiarity this spring around the confines of George M. Steinbrenner Field — both in the personnel and the yearning for a different October ending.

“It’s just going to be a little bit of a different mix, a little different feel,” Cashman said. “Everything’s different. It’s a different year, and we’re looking for a different result, meaning a better result.”