Category: MLB

10. Griffin Herring (368 points, 19 ballots)

Herring was the headline prospect coming to the Rockies from the Yankees in exchange for Ryan McMahon near last year’s trade deadline. The 6’2”, 22-year-old lefty pitcher was the Yankees’ sixth-round pick in 2024 out of LSU as a draft-eligible sophomore. Herring signed for a $798k bonus that was over double the pick’s $340k slot value, more akin to a late third-round pick’s slot value. Herring was a key contributor as a freshman to the 2023 National Championship squad as an ace multi-inning reliever despite velocity topping out in the low 90s, then was even more impressive in that role as a sophomore (1.79 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 12.0 K/9 rate, 2.3 BB/9 rate) in 50 1/3 innings (which was third on the team) across 21 games.

As a professional, the Yankees not only gave Herring the opportunity to start, they remade his delivery and his pitch mix — emphasizing the slider. The result was a breakout debut professional season. Herring made eight starts in Low-A to begin the year and was dominant, posting a miniscule 1.21 ERA with a 0.9 WHIP and 11.7 K/9 rate in 44 2/3 innings as a league average pitcher. A late-May promotion to High-A (where he was 1.2 years younger than league average) didn’t faze Herring much. He threw eight more strong starts with another 44 2/3 innings, a 2.22 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 8.9 K/9 rate, and 4.0 BB/9 rate — though his 3.71 xFIP indicated some good fortune.

After the trade in late July, Herring made seven shorter starts for High-A Spokane as the Rockies no doubt metered his usage considering his lower innings total in 2023 and 2024. In 30 innings with Spokane, Herring allowed eleven earned runs (2.40 ERA) on 14 hits and 13 walks ( 0.90 WHIP) while striking out an impressive 47 hitters (14.1 K/9 rate). In fact, Herring struck out over a batter per inning in every single start with Spokane, going a max of 84 pitches and five innings in those outings, and was named the August Pitcher of the Month in the Northwest League.

Across the full 2025 season, Herring threw 119 1/3 innings across two levels and three teams with a 1.89 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 11.2 K/9 rate, and 3.7 BB/9 rate while allowing only a .530 OPS. That’s 149 strikeouts against 49 walks and 70 hits. Impressively, the lefty was even stingier when batters had the platoon advantage (.485 OPS for righties, .639 OPS for lefties), though Herring cut down the mightiest hitters in the league regardless of handedness.

Here’s some video of Herring in High-A in a mid June start:

Additionally, here’s an interview with Herring from August where he describes his adjustment to a new team and a new coast.

Keith Law of the Athletic recently ranked Herring 10th in the system:

Herring struck out 31.4 percent of batters he faced last year, the seventh-best strikeout rate among all qualifying starters in the minors. He sits 90-92 from a very high slot that gives him a ton of deception, working with a short slider that generates a ton of whiffs and an average changeup. He’s almost certainly a reliever between the slot and the below-average fastball, but could get there quickly and be valuable in any kind of once-through-the-order role. I wish he’d been traded to the Reds; I’m worried in Denver, he’ll get smoked.

Baseball America ranked Herring 12th in the system last month:

Herring has been developed as a starter, which might seem strange for a player with a fastball that averaged a tick under 90 mph in 2025, but his nearly seven feet of extension and slight pause in his delivery create an impressive angle of attack, plenty of deception and a whippy finish. He has found the most success so far with a mid-80s slider that generates plenty of whiffs within the strike zone. … If Herring wants to remain a starter, he’ll need to add more zip to his fastball, perhaps by packing on some muscle over the offseason. His profile and wipeout slider could fit better in a bullpen.

Shaun Kernahan of Three Quarter Slot wrote up Herring earlier this month:

Herring operates with a deceptive, athletic delivery from the extreme third-base side of the rubber, using extension, timing disruption, and angle to make a below-average fastball play above its raw velocity. The heater lacks pure velo, but the ride/run shape allows it to miss bats at the top of the zone when located, even if it can flatten out and get exposed when it leaks arm-side or into the middle. Your look showed a mechanical operation with a slow windup and quick finish, hiding the ball well but occasionally losing consistency through release, which ties directly to the fastball’s volatility. A modest velocity bump would materially change the profile, especially given how well the rest of the arsenal fits a starter look.

The slider is the clear carrying pitch, working in the mid-80s with tight gyro action and strong spin, consistently landing glove-side and missing bats against both lefties and righties. The changeup is better than most give credit for, showing real vertical separation and late tumble when executed, particularly effective against right-handed hitters. Strike throwing is generally solid, though command can waver within outings, leading to stretches where hitters are off balance followed by lapses where he misses his spots. His background as a high-leverage reliever at LSU shows up in the competitiveness and ability to execute secondary pitches, but the long-term path hinges on fastball improvement. If the heater takes even a small step forward, there’s a workable starter track; if not, the slider/changeup combination still fits an innings-eating role or leverage usage where the deception and bat-miss traits can play up.

MLB Pipeline is high on Herring, ranking him 9th in the system as a 45 FV player with a 60 grade on the slider:

Herring’s best pitch is a sweeping mid-80s slider with horizontal and vertical action that confounds both lefties and righties. He can’t overpower hitters with his fastball, which operates in the low 90s and tops out at 94 with some armside run, and he’ll need to find more velocity or life against better competition. He threw only 11 changeups at LSU but emphasized the pitch more during three Cape Cod League starts last summer, showing some decent if firm mid-80s cambios with depth.

Herring has a long arm action and a less-than-smooth delivery, though it throws batters’ timing off and didn’t stop him from pounding the strike zone as a sophomore. To succeed as a pro starter, he’ll need to add more strength to his 6-foot-2 frame and improve his fastball and changeup. If he can’t, he still could become a high-leverage reliever thanks to his slider and mound presence.

Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs ranks Herring 20th in the system as a 40 FV pitcher with a 55 future grade on the slider and command:

The Yankees made several changes to Herring after drafting him (more sliders, better extension, higher arm slot) and the result looks like a stable backend starter despite 30-grade fastball velocity.

Herring spent two years as LSU’s most consistent long reliever (working as many as five innings) and was a draft-eligible sophomore in 2024. The Yankees made multiple changes to his delivery and pitch usage, which helped him dominate Low-A and earn a promotion after just eight starts. He had a 1.71 ERA combined at both levels at the time of the trade, though his K% dipped quite a bit after he was moved up to Hudson Valley. Herring’s fastball only averages about 90 mph, but lives off deception and riding life. Since turning pro, his arm slot has been raised, but Herring’s stride down the mound has gotten bigger and longer, and his extension was just shy of seven feet at the time of the trade. His loose, whippy arm action prevents hitters from seeing the baseball until release, and despite lacking anything close to average big league fastball velocity, Herring’s heater has generated above-average miss and chase so far this year.

With the Yankees, Herring also emphasized use of his slider, which has become his most-deployed pitch. It ranged from 80-85 mph in his final outing prior to the deal, and has tight late movement but lacks huge depth. It’s playing like an above-average pitch in pro ball. Herring didn’t really have a changeup in college, but he’s added one as a pro and is throwing it about 14% of the time. His feel for it isn’t bad considering he’s just begun using it, but it often cuts on him or finishes too high. A smooth on-mound operator, Herring looks the part of a starter even though he isn’t especially physical because of his mechanical grace. It’s impressive that he’s maintained his excellent college strike-throwing even though his delivery has been changed, and he projects as a high-floored backend starter.

Herring joins fellow PuRPs Carson Palmquist (No. 19) and Sean Sullivan as left-handed Rockies pitching prospects who use deception and extension to make mediocre fastball velocity play up. Herring hasn’t yet proved his effectiveness against upper-minors hitting like the other two pitchers have, but he is my favorite of the group given his weapon of a slider and is a 40+ FV player for me, ranking tenth on my list. I expect Herring to start in Double-A this season, with a big league debut possible later in the year if he’s successful and healthy.

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Cade Cavalli made his long-awaited return to the big league mound in August 2025, and in his 48.2 innings pitched, he flashed brilliance, posting a 95th percentile chase rate, 95th percentile barrel rate, and 93rd percentile groundball rate. Outside of a disastrous outing against the Yankees in August, where he allowed 7 earned runs over 2 1/3 innings, Cavalli was extremely productive in his starts, giving up more than 3 runs just once.

One of the few areas in which Cavalli struggled in his return to action in 2025 was against right-handed hitters, who had his number with a .381 opponents batting average and .990 opponents OPS, much worse in comparison to his .221 opponents batting average and .651 opponents OPS against lefties. He bumped up his curveball and sinker usage and bumped down his fastball and changeup usage against righties, but it wasn’t enough to keep them from hitting at a high clip against them.

The good news is that, entering the 2026 campaign, it appears Cavalli is working on a new pitch that will give him an edge against righties. According to Mark Zuckerman of Nats Journal, Cavalli has spent the offseason working on a sweeper for his arsenal, a pitch similar to a slider, but less sharp and with more verticality. If he can get a feel for it and incorporate the pitch into his pitch arsenal, he may finally have the answer he’s been looking for to getting right-handed hitters out consistently.

Pretty much everybody with the Nationals couldn't wait to go home at the end of the 2025 season. Cade Cavalli wished he could stay. "I felt like I could go pitch more and more. I was kind of just getting going."

On the finally healthy, would-be staff ace:https://t.co/rBuKk5kJ8O

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) February 12, 2026

The sweeper has been around for many years, with Corey Kluber throwing a version of the pitch in the 2010s, but it gained popularity within the last few years, surging in usage in 2022 and 2023. Today, it’s a weapon in the arsenal of some of the best pitchers in the league, with Garrett Crochet and Paul Skenes ranking near the top in run value with the pitch.

The slider is the more traditional pitch that pitchers use to get same-side hitters out, so why a sweeper for Cavalli? My theory is that a sweeper will tunnel better than a slider with Cavalli’s curveball, his most used pitch against righties at 33%. Pairing a sweeper with his curveball will not only give hitters another pitch to worry about, but it also prevents them from being able to sit on Cavalli’s curveball in any given count.

Pitchers tinker with new pitches all the time, and while they don’t always stick due to lack of feel or command, Cavalli being able to keep the sweeper in his arsenal would be massive in his development as a frontline starter for the Nats. With improved success against righties, as well as more and more experience against big league lineups, I believe Cavalli has what it takes to not only potentially start on Opening Day for the club in 2026, but in years beyond.

In our collective, continued existence as residents of Panic City, the fear surrounding Francisco Lindor’s surgically repaired left hand is lingering on the edges of our minds. Yesterday, we looked at Jackson Cluff as a potential short-term replacement for Lindor if the timing of his recovery is slower than expected. Today, we do the same with Christian Arroyo. 

While on the surface Arroyo and Cluff look similar, their circumstances are quite different. Arroyo, entering his age 31 season, is out of minor league options and so can’t be moved up and down from Triple-A Syracuse without clearing waivers, whereas Cluff has yet to make his big league debut yet and can make that trek as often as the Mets like. While Cluff was a sixth round draft pick out of college, Arroyo went in the first round out of high school and was once heralded as one of the best prospects in baseball. 

It is likely due to that prospect background that Arroyo is still sticking around, 13 years after being drafted by the Giants with the 25th overall pick. Prospects of that caliber usually have natural talent for days and the thought is that they are more likely to ‘figure it out’ late than someone with a lesser skillset. 

But time is running out for Arroyo to do just that. In 295 MLB games, he’s hit just .252/.299/.394 with 24 home runs. His last big league at-bat came in 2023 with the Red Sox; in subsequent full minor league seasons with the Brewers and Phillies, he never once got called up. 

On the plus side, he’s defensively versatile, having played all four infield positions as well as right field. He also had a nice offensive season in Triple-A Lehigh Valley last season, but a BABIP of .375 might have somewhat inflated that number. 

This signing has almost no downside for the Mets. Arroyo is cheap, he’ll get some spring reps, and if Lindor’s recovery time is brief and healthy, he’ll either wind up in Syracuse or out of the organization. If, for some reason, he unlocks something after a baker’s dozen years in pro baseball, fantastic. But even if he doesn’t, this is the type of move that teams can and should make all the time.  

Happy Friday everybody!

Spring Training is truly underway. Next week will be the first full week of practice leading up to the first preseason games a week from today. 

In the early days of camp, teams often limit their starters to a few innings every other day to avoid injury or burnout before the 162-game marathon begins.  Fans heading to the first few games at Hohokam expecting to see Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker and Jacob Wilson may instead find a lineup featuring Michael Stefanic, Cade Marlowe and other non-roster players.

Yet, that is the magic of spring training and a great way for a player to make a strong first impression on his new team’s coaching staff. Every spring training game features multiple lineup changes halfway through the game, ensuring everyone from starters to top minor-league prospects to lesser-known players has the opportunity to make an impact.

This spring, much of the spotlight will be on the A’s stellar young offensive core, along with three of the organization’s top prospects: shortstop Leo De Vries and left-handed starting pitchers Gage Jump and Jamie Arnold.

All three are among the 31 non-roster invitees in camp this year. They will have the chance to show why the A’s think so highly of them. Additionally, these next few weeks serve as a showcase for the likes of Stefanic and other non-roster players to vie for organizational roster spots, most likely with the A’s Triple-A affiliate Las Vegas Aviators.

Last spring, Justin Sterner entered camp relatively unknown and earned a spot in the Opening Day bullpen after tossing 12 scoreless innings. With the A’s bullpen one of the weakest and most in-flux aspects of the team, there is an opportunity for a non-roster reliever to follow in Sterner’s footsteps. Veteran Nick Anderson is in camp after struggling last season with the Colorado Rockies, while GustavoRodriguez recorded a 2.27 ERA last year with the Aviators.

What are you looking forward to as spring training ramps up? Which players will be the surprises and disappointments of A’s camp?

A’s Coverage

• A’s Trade Mitch Spence to KC Royals in exchangefor minor leaguepitcher
• Darrell Hernaiz to play for Team PR in WBC
• Are The Final Two Rotation Spots Really Up For Grabs?
• Story Lines To Watch As Spring Training Unfolds
• A’s Sign Starter Aaron Civale
• Athletics Community Prospect List: Barnett Finds His Spot At #11
• Athletics add developmental leaguer in trade with Yankees
• Little Signings Everywhere
• A’s Non-Roster Invites to Keep an Eye On 
• What to know as A’s head to spring camp with high hopes for ‘26
• A’s Claim Andy Ibanez, Add Scott Barlow In Busy Roster Shuffle
• Extensions For Everyone! (Except Kurtz)
• Managers & Top Front Office Executives On Expiring Contracts
• De Vries (No. 4 overall) leads Athletics trio on Top 100 Prospects list

MLB News and Interest

• What is the hamate and why are so many players injuring theirs?
• Orioles To Sign Chris Bassitt
• Liam Hendriks agrees to Minor League deal with Twins
• Phillies Release Nick Castellanos
• Kiké Hernández announces he’s back with Dodgers
• Veteran lefty Quintana will bring experience to Rockies’ rotation
• Spring Training Hats Drop
• Paul Sewald reunites with D-backs on 1-year deal
• Manfred optimistic about MLB players participating in ’28 Olympics
• MLB owners vote in favor of enforcing rule to curb pitch stealing
• Pirates to sign Marcell Ozuna
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

What do you think of this? What kind of content should the A’s put out to engage fans?

Would love to see the @Athletics lean into the personalities of the players this spring:

Walk-up song origin stories 🎶
Who puts pineapples on pizza 🍕
Weirdest pregame routine ⚾️

This roster is fun – let’s see more of itpic.twitter.com/Yl1acsYuub

— SleeperAthletics (@SleeperAth) February 12, 2026

AJ Causey’s stuff looks nasty, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him coming out of the bullpen for the A’s this season.

AJ Causey has received a Non Roster Invite to Spring Training with the Royals pic.twitter.com/NSTe0rHP58

— Sam (@sthorn_23) February 5, 2026

A’s players happy to be back together at spring training.

We're so back 🙂‍↕️https://t.co/8QWdqXtLUkpic.twitter.com/kYotHzD40s

— Athletics (@Athletics) February 12, 2026

Major League Baseball is considering becoming the second major American professional team sports league to partner with prediction platforms.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said on Thursday that the league is mulling teaming up with increasingly popular platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

Key Takeaways

• The league did not say it was actively engaging in negotiations.
  
  
• MLB is in the middle of an illegal sports betting investigation involving teammates and a three-time All-Star.
  
  
• Partnership with prediction platforms could allow MLB to help with integrity monitoring.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that MLB team owners were informed during their quarterly meetings that the league could ingratiate itself with the prediction industry.

Manfred conceded that he only learned about platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket a few months ago. The NHL is the only other American professional team sports league to have prediction partners, both of which are listed above. 

UFC also has a partnership deal with Polymarket.

“We thought it was important for the owners to be updated on why prediction markets are different than sports betting – why we might want to consider being in business with prediction markets in an effort to protect our integrity, to get the kind of protections we need,” Manfred said. “The regulatory framework, very different. Obviously, state by state on the sports betting side, federal on the other.”

Protecting integrity

One of the primary concerns in the modern era of sports gambling and prediction market trading is the potential for illicit manipulation.

The MLB is currently experiencing that with an ongoing case involving Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, who were charged with manipulating their performances in games for the benefit of sports bettors. Clase specifically was accused of rigging pitches in 48 games, or roughly one-fourth of his appearances in a two-year span.

Despite that precedent, Manfred said that teaming up with prediction platforms would allow the league to be in greater control of threats of nefarious manipulation.

“There's obviously an opportunity to work with the markets themselves to get the kind of integrity protections you want,” he said.

In the interest of preserving integrity, Kalshi announced earlier this month a slew of overhauls designed to increase consumer protection. That included banning insider trading, hiring former Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, as an adviser on market integrity, and integrating responsible trading and iMarket integrity pages on its platform, among others.

What’s the big deal?

Prediction platforms offer similar services to sportsbooks, but their operational and regulatory frameworks are completely different.

Whereas legal sportsbook users compete against the house with pre-determined odds, prediction users buy and sell contracts related to various outcomes. Prices are dictated by real-time consumer demand, influenced by updates and current events.

State gaming regulators are in charge of monitoring sportsbooks. Prediction market apps operate under the watchful eye of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

A growing collection of state regulators have expressed a form of concern related to prediction markets being allowed to operate without their approval. In response, the platforms have claimed that their federal regulation supersedes state-level decisions.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Bring on the robots, tap your helmet if you disagree, and tell your analytic department it better preparing be for a whole new wave of research.

The automated ball/strike system is here for the first time in Major League Baseball, and general managers, managers and coaching staffs have already begun to strategize the best way to capitalize on a new way to challenge authority.

If the pitcher, catcher or batter disagrees with a ball or strike call, they have the right to challenge the umpire, with everyone in the stands able to see who was right with a graphic on full display on the scoreboard.

MLB 2026: Are Dodgers ruining baseball? Rivals refuse to criticize.

Teams get two challenges per nine innings, and as long as you’re proven correct, you can challenge as many times as you wish.

If you’re wrong twice, you’re out of challenges unless the game goes into extra innings.

The only players permitted to challenge are the pitcher, hitter and catcher and pitcher, and it must be issued within two seconds of the pitch being thrown, signaled by tapping your helmet.

If you blow through your challenges early, you won’t have the right to correct an errant call in the ninth inning. If the game goes into extra innings, each team will be provided one challenge in each extra inning.

So, the question for every manager now is who will be permitted to challenge, at what stage of the game, and under which circumstances.

“All I know is that we won’t let our pitchers challenge," Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona said. “They think everything is a strike."

Francona laughed, but it’s certainly a sentiment shared by several managers in interviews Thursday, with most saying they would leave that up to their catchers and hitters.

But, of course, not every hitter.

“We’re going to have a lot of conversations about that," Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I do think there’s going to be a strategy that comes with it. What that looks like, I don’t think I know right now, but we’re going to encourage conversations as far as leverage, when you use it, when not to, who should, who shouldn’t.’’

So, who has been told they can’t use it?

“I don’t want to say because they’ve already been sensitive when I brought it up," Roberts said. “So, I’m not going to name-call right now. I’m not going to say any names but I don't think that there’s a self-evaluation on who knows the strike zone, who doesn’t, who gets emotional, and understanding everything.

“I’m in favor of it."

Says Francona: “We don’t have a strategy in place because we want to kind of see how it plays out. I’ve already talked to some of our player development people to ask them how they did it, and then we’ll formulate a strategy and try to do it better than other teams like everything else.

“But I think it’s going to be OK."

In research by MLB, there were four challenges per games at the Triple-A level last season with about a 50% success rate. The most challenges, 3.5%, were utilized in the ninth inning.

“You want to have one late in the game, just in case,” Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “The top of the first inning on a 0-0 fastball, I don’t want to challenge and lose. We’ll most likely rely on catchers first. Pitchers at times get a little emotional. Hitters can be that way sometimes, too. I think we’re going to rely on the catchers.

“But I want to have one in pocket, when I can, when it’s in a critical part of the game.”

It will be a strategy that will be implemented by teams in spring training, and tweaked throughout the year, with plans constantly being modified on when it should be best utilized.

“We’re going to do some experimentation over the course of the spring," said Los Angeles GM Perry Minasian. “We’ve had some staff members that have been more familiar with it than others in the minor leagues, so we’re just going to see how it evolves and how it goes.

“I’m sure every team has had conversations about it and undergone studies. We’re going to get as many different opinions and viewpoints as we can get get. We’ll go through all of the types of things through the course of spring training. I’m not one for a steadfast rule who can use it and who can’t, but I think there will be a certain component of earning the right to do it, who’s capable of doing it and who’s not.

“And I’m sure there will be adjustments made throughout the course of the year. What we may do in April may be different in May, different in June, different in July. It’s going to be one of the unique things about this season."

The ABS will add about one minute per game, according to MLB’s research, with each challenge averaging 13.8 seconds. The strike zone is also expected to slightly shrink, according to Joe Martinez, MLB’s vice president of on-field strategy. Each player will be measured by height this spring, with strike zones starting at 53.5% of a batter’s height at the top and 27% of a batter’s height for the bottom of the zone

There will be some glitches at times. There were 291 pitches that were untracked out of the 88,534 pitches last spring, according to MLB’s research. And if the computer system malfunctions, the umpires will again have the ultimate authority.

There will also be times when a team asks for instant replay on the field at the same time as a challenge. In that case, the umpires will determine the instant replay result before the challenge is assessed and be given discretion on plays that on the bases that could be impacted by challenges.

The challenge system will not be in effect when a position player is pitching in a game.

MLB also announced that the base coaches must remain in their coaching boxes until a pitch is delivered, hoping to eliminate sign stealing. It also tweaked its obstruction rule so that a runner who initiates contact with a fielder trying to draw an obstruction call will now be called out.

Play ball, and keep those computers churning.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB ABS system, 'robot umpires' and new rules are a whole new ballgame

Most baseball analysts believe the San Diego Padres have the best bullpen in MLB. Even with losing All-Star closer Robert Suarez to free agency, the Padres continue to have arguably the best ‘pen in the game in large part due to Mason Miller stepping into the closer role. Adrian Morejon and Jeremiah Estrada are returning and Jason Adam is expected to recover from his ruptured quadriceps tendon in time to make an impact on the season. As Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball reported, the problem for San Diego might be too much bullpen depth. There are possibly six spots available but there are nearly three times as many players fighting for those spots.

Padres News:

• We have seen possible Padres free agent targets such as Justin Verlander, Chris Bassitt and Mile Mikolas leave free agency to join their new teams but Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball identifies possible free agent pitchers who are left to add at various price points.  
• AJ Cassavell of Padres.com believes there are four players who are competing for the fifth spot in the rotation. He names JP Sears, Matt Waldon, Triston McKenzie and Marco Gonzales as pitchers competing for the final rotation spot.
• One of the main topics of the offseason has been the potential for a contract extension for Padres president of baseball operation and general manager A.J. Preller. He met with the media Thursday and stated he believes a contract will get done and that he wants to remain in San Diego. Preller added “We’re either going to do it or not.”
• Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors compiled notes about the Padres that cover multiple topics including the rotation, Randy Vasquez and Luis Campusano.

Baseball News:

• The ABS Challenge Systemwill be utilized in all MLB games starting this season. MLB.com breaks down what the system is and how it will work once the 2026 season begins.
• The Philadelphia Phillies released outfielder Nick Castellanos, but will be responsible for his $20 million salary. Castellanos can sign with any MLB team for the league minimum.
• Kike Henandez announced he is re-signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It’s become something of an annual tradition in Birdland: the hot stove season heats up, the rumor mill churns out names of frontline starters, and Orioles fans allow themselves to dream. This year, it was Framber Valdez, the crafty lefty who’s been one of baseball’s most reliable arms. Mike Elias’s comments earlier this offseason suggested the team was ready to swim in the deep end, to finally make the kind of splash that announces championship intentions.

And then, as if on cue, the pivot. Valdez recently announced a $115 million deal with the Detroit Tigers, while the Orioles cashed in all their chips on … a one-year, $18.5M contract for Chris Bassitt.

Look the signing isn’t a disaster. It’s gotten mixed reviews here in Birdland, but nobody’s furious about it. Bassitt is a solid major league pitcher who posted respectable numbers in 2025, including a strong strikeout-to-innings ratio in the postseason. He’s durable, he’s experienced, and he knows how to navigate a lineup the third time through the order. He’s not chopped liver.

But he’s also not what we were promised. And that gap between expectation and reality has become uncomfortably familiar.

Cast your mind back a few offseasons. The names then were Dylan Cease and Max Fried—legitimate top-of-the-rotation arms who would have transformed the Orioles’ pitching staff. Instead, the team zigged when fans expected them to zag, opting for the safer, cheaper, shorter-term solution. Jordan Lyles. Kyle Gibson. Charlie Morton. Tomoyuki Sugano. Bassitt.

The pattern has become so predictable that it’s practically a signature of the Elias era: dream big in December, settle in January.

The question that nags at me isn’t whether Bassitt can help. He can. It’s whether this approach—the perpetual one-year deal, the endless bridge contracts, the faith that everything will break right—is actually a viable path to a championship. Because when you look around the American League East, the Orioles’ division rivals aren’t playing it safe. The Yankees have made moves. The Blue Jays have been aggressive. Even the Red Sox, who’ve had their own organizational soul-searching to do, have shown more willingness to commit.

The Orioles, meanwhile, are still asking us to trust the process.

And it’s true, the process could work. The best-case scenario for Baltimore’s 2025 rotation is genuinely exciting: Kyle Bradish returns to Cy Young form after his injury, Trevor Rogers replicates his magical comeback season, Shane Baz rediscovers his pre-injury stuff, and Zach Eflin’s back holds up. Add a steady Bassitt to that mix, and you’ve got something.

But that’s an awful lot of ifs. It’s a rotation built on the assumption that everyone hits a ceiling they’ve reached, in most cases, exactly once. It’s a plan that requires the baseball gods to smile on Baltimore while frowning on everyone else. It’s hope dressed up as strategy.

Maybe I’m being too harsh. Results have a way of silencing concerns about process, and if the Orioles surprise everyone and make a deep October run, I’ll happily eat these words. Good outcomes quiet the haters, myself potentially included.

But here’s what bothers me: this has become a philosophy, not just a tactic. Don’t draft pitchers high. Avoid the raw high school talent. Squeeze value out of waiver wire pickups and veterans willing to bet on themselves with short-term deals. It’s smart, in its way—analytically defensible, fiscally responsible, low-risk in any individual transaction.

It’s also not inspiring. And it’s not how you build a champion.

The Tampa Bay Rays have been doing this dance for years, finding value in the margins, developing what they have, never quite spending like the big boys. They’ve been to one World Series this century. They lost. At some point, you have to wonder whether the ceiling on this approach is “perpetually competitive” rather than “champion.”

The Orioles have a young core that’s ready to win now. Gunnar Henderson isn’t getting any cheaper. Adley Rutschman’s window is open. The time to push the chips to the center of the table is now, not in some hypothetical future when all the one-year deals finally add up to something.

Chris Bassitt will take the ball every fifth day and give the Orioles a chance to win. That’s valuable. But when you’re chasing a championship, “giving yourself a chance” isn’t the same as “going for it.” And after another offseason of watching the Orioles linked to aces only to settle for something less, it’s hard not to feel like we’re watching the same movie for the third or fourth time.

Plan B can work. Sometimes the backup option turns out to be the right call all along.

But it sure would be nice, just once, to see what Plan A looks like.

I’m not gonna make a case, or talk about how it depends on price. You can do that.

Littell is the only free agent remaining who A) does not require loss of a draft pick, and B) is projected by a blend of Steamer and ZiPS to produce over 1.5 WAR in 2026.

Do with that what you will.

The 2025 season did not end the way the Yankees envisioned.

After making the World Series in 2024, the Yanks were bounced by the Blue Jays in the ALDS. It was a disappointing end for a team that was tied for the most wins in the American League, but New York believes there is unfinished business. That's why GM Brian Cashman is running it back in 2026.

For better or worse, the Yankees are hoping a full season with midseason acquisitions Ryan McMahon, Jose Caballero and David Bednar will help them get back to the World Series. They are also banking on the return of Gerrit Cole, who underwent Tommy John surgery before the 2025 season, to bolster a rotation that was already one of the best in the AL. 

However, Cole won't be back by Opening Day and he's not the only one. Anthony Volpe and Carlos Rodon will miss time and start the season on the IL. That leaves a few spots open on the 26-man roster.

So, as Yankees pitchers and catchers report, here is our first 26-man roster prediction for the 2026 season…

Starting Lineup

Trent Grisham: CF
Aaron Judge: RF
Cody Bellinger: LF
Ben Rice: 1B
Giancarlo Stanton: DH
Jazz Chisholm Jr.: 2B
Ryan McMahon: 3B
Jose Caballero: SS
Austin Wells: C

This is the easy part.

The Yankees are running it back, and the everyday starting lineup will look very similar to what it was in the final months of 2025. Barring any injuries, the usual regulars will play, with McMahon and Rice manning the corners.

A year ago, Paul Goldschmidt was the starting first baseman, but Rice's bat is too important to leave on the bench. 

With Volpe on the shelf, Caballero will be the starting shortstop for now. The Yanks will see if Caballero can make the position his own before Volpe returns. If Caballero struggles, Volpe will regain the starting job and Caballero will be relegated to the bench.

Rotation

Max Fried: LHP
Cam Schlittler: RHP
Luis Gil: RHP}
Ryan Yarbrough: LHP
Will Warren: RHP
Ryan Weathers: RHP

With Cole, Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt on the IL to start the season, it's likely the Yankees will begin the year with a six-man rotation. 

The rationale is two-fold. 

It'll limit the number of innings for the youngsters and Fried, who threw a career high 195.1 innings in 2025. It'll also reduce how many starts are needed by Yarbrough or Paul Blackburn before Cole and Rodon return. I'll say Yarbrough will get the nod to make some spot starts, but manager Aaron Boone said in his news conference on the first day of pitchers and catchers that when those starters return, he could slide an arm or two into the bullpen. 

The Yankees traded for Weathers, so he seems like a lock to make the initial rotation along with Schlittler, Gil, and Warren, who all showed they can pitch in the big leagues. The six-man rotation will also help Weathers stay healthy after making just eight starts a year ago. 

Bullpen

David Bednar: RHP
Camilo Doval: RHP
Jake Bird: RHP
Osvaldo Bido: RHP
Fernando Cruz: RHP
Tim Hill: LHP
Angel Chivilli: RHP

I predict the arms in the bullpen will be asked to do some heavy lifting, at least in the early going. Hopefully, Fried and the rest of the starters give length in March/April to give Bednar, Doval, Cruz and the rest of the high-leverage guys some rest in between outings. But outside of those three, there aren't a lot of locks.

The Yanks picked up Hill's option, so he'll start as the lone lefty in the bullpen. That leaves three more spots to choose from. 

Bird was one of the relievers Cashman picked up at last year's trade deadline, and he did not pan out. He made three appearances in pinstripes and allowed six runs across 2.0 innings. He was sent down to Triple-A, where he remained for the duration of the season. But now, the right-hander has a chance to figure things out under the watchful eye of the Yankees trainers and coaches. 

I believe he'll do enough to earn a spot, and if he struggles, he still has minor league options. 

And for that final spot, Bido is an intriguing option. The Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Athletics after a rough 2025. But Bido had a strong 2024, striking out 63 batters across 63.1 innings and pitching to a 3.41 ERA. Perhaps the Yankees get the 30-year-old back to that point this spring. 

And then there's Chivilli, whom the Yanks acquired from the Rockies in January. The hard-throwing righty has not had success in the majors thus far (6.18 ERA across 73 appearances), but he has the stuff to potentially make him a great fit for the bullpen. Perhaps taking Chivilli out of Coors Field and having the Yankees' pitching lab mold him into a competent reliever could revitalize his career in the same way they made Cruz into a household name.

Bench

Amed Rosario: INF
Paul Goldschmidt: 1B
J.C. Escarra: C
Oswaldo Cabrera: UTIL

And here's where things get kind of interesting.

Rosario, Goldschmidt, and Escarra are locks, but the Yankees need a fourth outfielder. I believe Jasson Dominguez will start the season in Triple-A. He has options, and regular at-bats and playing time are what the young switch-hitter needs right now. 

That opens up the door for Cabrera. And while most of his time has been spent playing the infield, he has appeared in over 100 games in the outfield, including 92 starts. 

Rosario also has experience playing the outfield, but the versatility Cabrera provides, as well as being a switch-hitter, gives him the edge over others like a Spencer Jones. The team is too left-handed as is.

Trades can alter the direction of any team. They could bring a team it’s last piece to win a championship, or a key contributor to turn a team into a real contender, or a trade could signal the beginning of a rebuild. Every year at the end of July we all obsess over the latest trade gossip to see who’s going where and for how much.

But what about the trades that don’t happen? Yes, it may be a hackneyed phrase, but sometimes the best trade you can do is the one you don’t make. Sometimes it’s a blessing in disguise that a proposed trade isn’t accepted.

For the Phillies, there’s at least one trade that never materialized that stands out. In 2004, Jim Thome was in the second year of his groundbreaking (literally and figuratively) six year, $85M free agent deal with the Phillies. Thome, a bona-fide star and future Hall of Famer, was brought to Philadelphia to usher in a new era of Phillies baseball as the team broke ground on their brand-new ballpark. Gone were the days of “small market” talk and perpetual cellar dwelling. The Phillies intended to get better, and Thome was to lead the charge.

But there was a situation brewing by late in the 2004 season. A young first base prospect named Ryan Howard was destroying pitching across the minor leagues, having advanced to Triple-A by the end of the season. It was becoming abundantly clear that Howard was ready for the Big Leagues and possibly had a bright future ahead of him, but there was nowhere on the Phillies for him to play. Both Howard and Thome were locked at first base and seeing that the DH was of course not yet in the National League, the Phillies had to choose between the two.

It appeared in the summer of 2004 they almost did, as Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette later reported in 2007. The Phillies had offered Howard in a trade to the Pirates in exchange for Kris Benson, a 29-year-old starting pitcher. Reportedly, the Pirates turned the trade down because they believed they already had a prospect of Howard’s caliber in Brad Eldred. Instead, the Pirates traded Benson to the Mets in exchange for two future Phillies in Ty Wigginton and Jose Bautista, while the Phillies eventually chose to keep Howard and send Thome to the White Sox before the 2005 season.

As is abundantly obvious by now, that non-trade worked out pretty well for the Phillies. Howard went on to win Rookie of the Year in 2005, MVP in 2006, and a World Series championship in 2008, cementing himself among the Phillies all-time greatest players. Benson meanwhile pitched for four more seasons after 2004, appearing in 69 games with a 4.73 ERA for the Mets, Orioles, Rangers, and Diamondbacks before retiring following the 2010 season. Brad Eldred, the player the Pirates believed was on the same caliber as Howard, meanwhile played 90 total career games in the Majors between 2005 and 2012 and was worth -1.3 WAR.

But this is just one example from Phillies lore of a trade that didn’t happen that turned out to be for the best. In your opinion, what’s the best trade the Phillies never made?

Good morning, LSB.

The Rangers were dealt a fairly devastating blow Thursday as top prospect Sebastian Walcott will miss most or all of the 2026 season due to a UCL tear. Woof.

Walcott will reportedly undergo surgery in the coming days, though there’s still some stuff to be discussed with ol’ Dr. Meister.

There’s also enough injury news elsewhere to warrant an Evan Grant injury update 4 days into camp.

Rangers bullpen hand Chris Martin has the inside track on the closer role.

Jacob deGrom is back on the mound after his stellar 2025 and still looking to get better.

MLB Pipeline takes a guess at each team’s top prospect in 2028.

And Grant did a live Q&A segment here where he answered early spring training questions from Rangers fans.

That’s all for this morning. Happy Friday!

Since our way-too-early Mets 26-man roster prediction last month, plenty of things have changed.

The Mets made some intriguing acquisitions, it was revealed thatJuan Soto is moving from right field to left field, and Francisco Lindor underwent surgery for a stress reaction to his left hamate bone.

In light of all of those moving parts, here is our roster prediction 2.0 for what the team will look like on Opening Day...

REGULAR LINEUP

Francisco Alvarez: C
Jorge Polanco: 1B
Marcus Semien: 2B
Francisco Lindor: SS
Bo Bichette: 3B
Juan Soto: LF
Luis Robert Jr.: CF
Carson Benge: RF
Brett Baty: DH

There are four big questions here: Will Lindor be ready for Opening Day, will Polanco see most of his time at first base, who will the regular right fielder be, and who will get the bulk of the at-bats at designated hitter?

The Mets' expectation is that Lindor, who had surgery for a stress reaction to his left hamate bone, will be ready to go. A surgeon SNY spoke with had similar optimism about Lindor's timeline and prognosis. 

Polanco has been at camp early continuing to get acclimated to first base, including drills on Thursday where he was making scoops on balls in the dirt.

As far as right field, president of baseball operations David Stearns said after breaking the news of Soto's move to left that Benge remains firmly in the mix to win a job. 

Benge has plenty of experience in right field, including 26 games last season in the minors. And he was primarily a right fielder during his college career with Oklahoma State. 

"I think evaluations in spring are always a little bit fraught, and we know that," Stearns noted when asked what the team would factor in while deciding on Benge. "We want to see quality at-bats, we want to see him handle the outfield. It's also gonna depend on what some other guys do, right? It's not all going to be dependent on how Carson looks."

When it comes to DH, that feels like a spot that should be split between Baty and Mark Vientos. Yes, Baty can fill in at third base, second base, right field, and perhaps first base. But his best chance for consistent at-bats could be at DH. 

STARTING ROTATION

Freddy Peralta: RHP
Nolan McLean: RHP
Sean Manaea: LHP
Clay Holmes: RHP
David Peterson: LHP
Kodai Senga: RHP

With the Mets having six legitimate big league starting pitching options, using a six-man rotation is a possibility.

And it's something Stearns said would be a good problem to have.

"I think we'll cross that bridge if we get to it," Stearns explained on Thursday. "We've got six healthy guys feeling really good right now. If we have six healthy guys feeling really good on Opening Day, I will gladly work through that challenge at that point. And we may decide at times to go with a six-man, or we may not. We'll figure that out. That's a really good problem to have if that's where we are on Opening Day."

If the Mets are fully healthy and don't go with a regular six-man rotation from the jump, it's fair to believe that either Peterson or Senga would be ticketed for the bullpen. But Senga doesn't seem like a great fit for the role given his meticulous routine. 

Beyond the main six expected starters is intriguing depth.

Jonah Tong, who showed serious flashes during his debut late last season, figures to open the season with Triple-A Syracuse.

The 22-year-old made only two starts in Triple-A last season before being promoted to the majors, so it's fair to believe he can benefit from the ability to refine his arsenal there for a bit before coming back up.

Then there's Christian Scott, who missed the entire 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery but who should be fully healthy and ready to go. And the recently-acquired Tobias Myers is stretching out as a starter.

Meanwhile, prospects Jonathan Santucci and Jack Wenninger could possibly reach the majors in 2026.

BULLPEN

Devin Williams: CLS
Luke Weaver: RHP
Brooks Raley: LHP
Luis Garcia: RHP
Tobias Myers: RHP
Craig Kimbrel: RHP
Bryan Hudson: LHP

Williams, Weaver, Raley, and Garcia are locks. And A.J. Minter will be in the 'pen once he's fully healthy. But Minter isn't expected to be in big league action until early May.

While Myers can be optioned to the minors, there's really no reason for the Mets to go that route unless they're facing a serious numbers crunch.

Myers was used mainly as a starter in 2024 before transitioning to mostly a relief role in 2025 -- and Stearns suggested after acquiring him that Myers will be used in relief, with the Mets having the ability to stretch him out if needed. 

In 28.1 innings over 16 appearances as a reliever in 2025, Myers had a 1.91 ERA and 0.91 WHIP while posting a strikeout to walk rate of 6.67.

Kimbrel is a bit of a wild card after signing a minor league deal, but it's fair to believe he'll get a shot if his stuff looks good during spring training. While Kimbrel doesn't throw nearly as hard as he did in his heyday, he still misses plenty of bats. 

Then there's Hudson, who was acquired via trade earlier this week. He was tremendous in 2024 for the Brewers, during what was his first full big league season. In 62.1 innings over 43 games, Hudson had a 1.73 ERA (3.60 FIP) and 0.72 WHIP while striking out 62.

Standing at 6'8", Hudson gets elite extension from a low-angle delivery (he was in the 99th percentile last season). He featured mainly a four-seam fastball and sweeper in 2025. In 2024, Hudson also relied heavily on a cutter, which he threw 24 percent of the time (Hudson threw the cutter just three percent of the time last season).

Hudson is out of minor league options, which means the Mets cannot send him to the minors without exposing him to waivers. 

Huascar Brazoban and Adbert Alzolay can both be real contributors, but might be frozen out initially.

Other options include hard-throwing prospects Dylan Ross and Ryan Lambert, as well as Jonathan Pintaro, Alex Carrillo, and Joey Gerber. 

BENCH

Tyrone Taylor: OF
Luis Torrens: C
Mark Vientos: INF
Vidal Brujan: UTIL

Barring a trade, Taylor, Torrens, and Vientos are locks.

And if the Mets go with a six-man rotation, that leaves just one more bench spot.

One option is the recently-signed MJ Melendez, an outfielder with some pop who is coming off a down season. 

But no one can match the positional versatility of Brujan, who is able to play literally every spot except catcher -- and can provide insurance at shortstop. 

The Dodgers didn’t do much at all to add to their starting rotation this offseason, and they didn’t need to.

Boasting one of the most dominant pitching staffs in not just their own division, but all of baseball, the Dodgers enter the 2026 season with a plethora of rotational options. The quartet of All-Stars is cemented at the top, but following is a free-for-all of young talent vying to either get their first real shot as a starter or to make themselves known again after their 2025 seasons were wiped away due to injury, i.e. Gavin Stone and River Ryan.

With Roki Sasaki penciled into the rotation, the team already flaunts a dynamic five-man rotation, but, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets, the Dodgers will open up the 2026 season with a six-man rotation. Plunkett notes that this will allow pitchers such as Sasaki, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to maintain their one start per week routine.

Dave Roberts confirmed #Dodgers are likely to run with a 6-man rotation again: "I think early, it's hard to say it won't be. How beholden we are to that, for how long, I don't know. …" 1/3

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) February 13, 2026

Links

Old friend Chris Taylor is headed back to the Angels for the 2026 season, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman did not specify whether it was a major league deal or a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

After being released by the Dodgers during the 2025 season, Taylor played in 30 games with the Angels, slashing .179/.278/.321 with two home runs and 10 RBI while posting -0.1 fWAR.

The Dodgers needed to do one thing before wrapping up their offseason agenda, and that they did on Thursday by bringing back Kiké Hernández for the 2026 season, writes Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

Hernández, like Phillips (Tommy John surgery) and righty reliever Brock Stewart (shoulder surgery), will be an in-season reinforcement for the back-to-back World Series champions once he returns to full health. His signing is one of the finishing touches on a Dodgers roster that kept its core intact while bringing in star power (Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz) to address its biggest holes.

For the first time in 19 years, Clayton Kershaw will not be with the Dodgers in Arizona, and Dave Roberts has already noticed a different vibe without him in the clubhouse, per Plunkett.

“When we get to spring training at Camelback and not seeing his locker where it’s been for 17 years, 18 years, it’s gonna be different,” said Dave Roberts, the Dodgers’ manager for the last 10 years of Kershaw’s career. “The presence, seeing No. 22 out there early, doing sprints, seeing him in the weight room, knowing it’s Kershaw Day (when he pitched), not having that – it’s different.”