“I love gold!” the infamous “Austin Powers” character once said.
Evidently, so do the Dodgers.
On Friday morning, the team revealed its 2026 “Gold World Series Championship” jerseys and hats. Instagram / @dodgersnationThe new merchandise features gold trim wrapped around the name and numbers like a crown.
The new merchandise features gold trim wrapped around the name and numbers like a crown, while the iconic “Dodgers” script across the chest gleams with the weight of October still clinging to it.
The iconic Dodgers hat looks like it was dipped in dominance, with the Dodger blue elevated by a gold LA logo, a solid gold brim, and two stars on either side rest like badges of honor.
The Dodgers will wear the newly released jerseys and hats when they take the field against the Diamondbacks on March 26 for Opening Day at Dodger Stadium.
The new collection celebrates and honors the Dodgers’ seven-game victory against the Blue Jays last October. It is available at Fanatics now.
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NORTH PORT, FL - MARCH 13: Dylan Dodd #46 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the game between the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves at CoolToday Park on Friday, March 13, 2026 in North Port, Florida. (Photo by Christopher Denver/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves have trimmed their camp roster down to 36 players today after optioning left-handed reliever Dylan Dodd to Triple-A Gwinnett and reassigning top pitching prospect JR Ritchie, catcher Sandy León, utilityman Luke Williams, and outfielders José Azócar and Ben Gamel to their minor league camp.
Dodd, who pitched well out of Atlanta’s bullpen last season, had an option remaining making his chances to stick on the Opening Day roster as the third left-hander in the bullpen an uphill battle due to the organization prioritizing roster flexibility.
The four position players who were reassigned are all big league veterans who have been part of the Braves organization in past seasons, with the exceptions of Gamel. They all inked minor league deals with Atlanta this off-season and could see time with the big league club at some point in 2026 if they stay with the organization.
Gamel has a strong enough Spring Training that Jurickson Profar’s 162-game suspension opened the door slightly for him to open the season with Atlanta.
Ritchie appears to not be part of the Opening Day roster – something that seemed more and more plausible after an impressive showing in Florida. There is still a chance he could open the year in Atlanta, but it seems the Braves will start him in Gwinnett, barring an injury in the final week before the Braves open against the Kansas City Royals on March 27.
Atlanta will have to make 10 more transactions to get the big league roster down to 26 players.
PEORIA, ARIZONA - MARCH 14: Nick Pivetta #27 of the San Diego Padres pitches during a Spring Training game against the Cleveland Guardians at Peoria Stadium on March 14, 2026 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Colorado Rockies at San Diego Padres, March 20, 2026, 6:10 p.m. PST
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GB community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 27: Juan Mejia #47 of the Colorado Rockies delivers a pitch against the San Diego Padres during a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on February 27, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies dropped a high-scoring affair yesterday, falling 14–11 to the San Francisco Giants. Willi Castro and Kyle Karros each had two hits to lead the offense, but bullpen struggles proved costly—most notably Seth Halverson, who continued to have a tough spring.
Tonight in Peoria, the 12–13 Rockies take on the 14–11 Padres, where temps could still be triple digits at first pitch. The roster is now trimmed to 40, and with Opening Day just one week away, the lineup is largely made up of regulars.
Juan Mejia opens on the mound for Colorado and enters with a 3.38 ERA and four strikeouts across 2.2 innings this spring. He also threw three clean innings for the Dominican Republic in this year’s World Baseball Classic.
In 2025, Mejia posted a 3.96 ERA across 61.1 innings with 68 strikeouts, showing the ability to miss bats and handle consistent bullpen work. The Rockies view him as a key bullpen piece this year, relying primarily on a fastball/slider combination.
Nick Pivetta gets the start for San Diego. The 33-year-old right-hander is being counted on to anchor the Padres’ rotation after a standout 2025 season (2.87 ERA, 190 strikeouts over 181 innings). Pivetta has dealt with minor arm fatigue that pushed back his schedule, and San Diego has been cautious with his workload so far this spring.
On the field, the results haven’t been sharp — he’s allowed multiple runs in every outing and carries a 7.88 ERA this spring. He works primarily off a four-seam fastball, mixing in a curveball and sweeper as his primary secondaries.
Sound off in the comments — what are you watching for tonight?
MESA, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 24: Marco Gonzales #32 of the San Diego Padres pitches during a Spring Training game against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park on February 24, 2026 in Mesa, Arizona (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images) | Getty Images
San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers, March 20, 2026, 6:05 p.m. PST
Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
Remember Gaslamp Ball is basically a non-profanity site
Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads
GB community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!
If you thought it was odd to see a WWE wrestler on the coverage of Netflix's NFL games on Christmas, that was just the appetizer.
Netflix will televise on March 25 its first-ever MLB game, the opening-night game between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants. On Friday, Netflix announced that New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston will be a “special guest” for the event.
Yes, Winston played baseball at Florida State. His initial NFL contract with the Buccaneers prevented him from playing baseball. And he's a compelling TV presence — funny, entertaining, charismatic.
Still, he doesn't come from the MLB ecosystem. Baseball aficionados will regard it as unusual to see him on the broadcast.
Netflix doesn't seem to have an issue with unusual. This year's Christmas games included clunky in-game interviews with former NFL players. It distracted from the action, and it made the presentation of the game seem amateurish.
There could nevertheless be a strategic benefit to Winston's presence. "Eating a W" becomes an easy way to add a little something to the ball before a pitch.
Caleb Clark throws at Michigan | Nebraska Athletics
Friday nights between Michigan and Nebraska always seem to turn into pitchers duels. It started off very precariously for both teams on the mound for different reasons, but after they settled down, the offenses went dormant.
Nebraska started the scoring in the first. Mac Moyer led off the game with a hit as he seemingly does every game. This one however was pulled into right field, which is very unlike Moyer. He cruised into second with a double. Catcher Jeter Worthley followed up with a sharp single. Case Sanderson then lifted a ball to left. The Michigan left fielder seemed to fight the sun and dropped the ball, allowing Moyer to score. The Huskers couldn’t do any more damage, ending the half inning up 1-0. Usually a bad omen if you can’t get a big inning on a starter despite being gifted an out.
Husker hurler Ty Horn really had a hard time in the bottom of the inning. He had issues controlling his off speed pitches. Combine that with the size of the zone shrinking to about a 6 inch square and it was a huge relief to get out of there with no runs allowed.
Michigan wouldn’t be denied in the next inning. Senior outfielder Greg Pace Jr hit s hard grounder right back up the middle. He stole second base, and then came home as a ball just barely sneaked between short stop Dylan Carey and second baseman Jett Buck, tying the game at 1-1.
Horn continued to struggle in the 3rd, not locating his breaking pitches and his fastball having a seemingly different zone for the umpire. Three Michigan singles scored second baseman Carson Luna to go up 2-1.
Michigan’s starting pitcher Kurt Barr had his slider working to perfection from the start. Other than the error in the first inning, Nebraska rarely even threatened through 6 innings. Multiple times with a runner on base, he would come back and strike out the final batter to end the inning.
In the 4th Ty Horn found his off speed pitches and went on a run. He struck out the side, part of six straight strikeouts before walking Michigan’s best hitter, Colby Turner with 2 outs in the 5th. He would have to retire at 102 pitches at that point, having thrown way too many pitches in the first couple innings. His line on the day was 4.2 innings, 2 runs on 6 hits with 8 strikeouts and 2 walks. A good battle despite not having anything but a fastball early and an adventurous zone.
Barr made it through 7, getting just an absolute gift of a strikeout call on Rhett Stokes to lead off the inning. The ball ended up about 6 inches off the ground on the chalk line making up the left handed batters box. Moyer then singled to right. He appeared to swipe second baseman despite being beaten to the base by the ball. He was called out on the field and the umpires seemingly couldn’t see an angle where the glove touched his shin after he slid into the back of the base. Barr struck out Worthley for his 10th and final strikeout, to go with no walks.
⚾️⚾️ The zone goes from 6 inches square to all of a sudden including the LH batter box.
It sinks another 3-4 inches from where I could best freeze frame it.
Caleb Clark threw 2 innings of no hit ball in relief of Horn. He struck out 1 and walked 1. Tucker Timmerman came in to take his spot with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th. He pitched perfect against 3 batters, striking out 2. Grant Clevenger came in and struck out the last batter in the 8th.
The Huskers threatened in the 9th, Miken Miller led off, his first at bat since Florida State due to injury. He hit a chopper to 2nd that was too tough to get him out at first. Preston Freeman came in to pinch run for the catcher, representing the tying run. He didn’t last long, as Drew Grego hit a ball sharply right at the short stop for an easy double play. Devin Nunez gave the Huskers another chance as he took a ball to the hand on a checked swing. Rhett Stokes poked a ball through the right side, bringing up the top of the lineup. Moyer worked a full count, but rolled over a ground ball to the first baseman to end the game. 2-1 Wolverines.
The Husker offense had come in red hot, excelling at getting lead-off runners on. Today that only happened in the 1st and 9th innings. It’s no surprise those are the innings that included their single run and next biggest threat of the game.
Nebraska’s 4-6 hitters of Buck/Carey/Overbeek were a combined 0 for 9 with 4 strikeouts (3 by Carey) and a ground into double play. A Buck walk and Overbeek hit by pitch were the only ways they reached base. Those guys have to be big time contributors for this team to reach their goals.
The two teams are right back at it tomorrow, with first pitch in Ann Arbor at 1pm CDT.
MESA, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 22: Luis Severino #40 of the Athletics takes the mound before a spring training game against the Cleveland Guardians at HoHoKam Stadium on February 22, 2026 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Justine Willard/Athletics/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Two evening games in a row? What is this, the regular season?
We got another nightcap for you guys as the Athletics play host yet again, this time to the Chicago Cubs. Both teams are just days away from the beginning of their regular season campaigns and are fine tuning their rosters and alignments. The Cubs tonight are actually split up, with half coming to Mesa to take on the A’s and the other half playing host to the Reds on the other side of town. These games still technically don’t matter, but they’re starting to have more weight to them the closer Opening Day comes, for both of these squads.
For the Athletics on the mound tonight they’ll be going with the newly-named Opening Night starter in Luis Severino. The right-hander is set to make his final exhibition appearance, which includes both spring with the A’s and his time playing in the World Baseball Classic with Team Dominican Republic. Sevy is looking to put the finishing touches on his ramp up for the regular season and we’ll be hoping to see some zeros on the scoreboard tonight.
Here’s your A’s lineup for Friday night’s contest:
The A’s are mixing up the lineup a little bit but not too much. We have a new leadoff man tonight in Lawrence Butler, who will be playing right field tonight. That’s a huge update as the final step in Butler’s rehab from patellar tendon surgery is manning the outfield grass. The club is also apparently anxious to get him as many plate appearances as possible after his abbreviated camp.
The rest of the top half of the lineup looks like how you’d expect, with Kurtz and Langeliers again batting back-to-back near the top of the order. The interesting part of tonight’s lineup is near the bottom half of the lineup card though. We’ll be getting to see Jeff McNeil log some time on the grass himself as he slides from second base to center field, displacing Denzel Clarke from the starting nine. And taking McNeil’s spot at the keystone is Andy Ibanez, who is likely to break camp with the club. Could this be an alignment that the A’s actually go to if Clarke’s bat isn’t up to snuff?
The Cubbies will send right-handed veteran Jameson Taillon to the mound themselves for what’ll be his own final spring tune up. The righty has had a tough camp so far but spring stats don’t matter. Still, it’d be nice to rough him up and get another win for our guys in Green & Gold.
We’ll be seeing a mix of the Cubs’ regulars as well as backups. Shouldn’t be too difficult of an assignment for Severino but these guys are getting ready for the season themselves. Everyone wants to hit the ground running and that starts in these games over the final week.
Predictions? A win? A loss? A Nick Kurtz home run? Doens’t matter just yet but let’s still have fun with it on a great Friday night. Let’s go A’s!
TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 18, 2026: Max Clark #31 of the Detroit Tigers bats during a game against the New York Yankees at the Himes Complex on March 18, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Join us as the Detroit Tigers farm system matches up against Konnor Griffin and the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system in the annual Spring Breakout game. The Tigers will have Max Clark in center field and 2025 first rounder Jordan Yost at shortstop in the starting lineup, with Bryce Rainer in the DH slot and hard-throwing relief prospect Marco Jimenez starting things off on the mound. We should see Michael Oliveto at some point as well. Griffin, baseball’s consensus number one ranked prospect, will handle shortstop for the Bucs, with a good pitching prospect on the mound as the starter in RHP Seth Hernandez.
Manager Alan Trammell has managed the last two breakout games for the Tigers, winning them both.
First pitch is set for 7:35 p.m. ET on Peacock, MLB.tv, and ao MLB Network.
Jasson Dominguez is going to start the year in Triple-A.
TAMPA — Jasson Domínguez came to camp with an uncertain role and put together one of the best springs of any Yankee.
It still was not enough to win a spot on the Opening Day roster.
The Yankees optioned Domínguez to Triple-A on Friday, two days before breaking camp with a full outfield that did not have room for the 23-year-old outfielder who had 429 plate appearances in the big leagues last season.
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“[He took it] like a pro,” manager Aaron Boone said after a 3-1 win over the Orioles. “We had a good talk. Difficult conversation to have. One of the things that I told him is I’m proud of him, because he walked into this camp with all kinds of conversation around him and, ‘the option may be coming,’ if everything played out a certain way. It didn’t affect anything in the way he carried himself day in and day out, the way he worked. I think he continued to get better while he was here in this camp and he performed in this camp.”
The writing was on the wall for this to happen since the opening days of camp, when GM Brian Cashman acknowledged that it would be in Domínguez’s best interest to be getting everyday at-bats, which was not going to happen in The Bronx (barring injury) with a starting outfield of Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger.
Jasson Dominguez is going to start the year in Triple-A. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Domínguez’s chances became even slimmer when the Yankees brought veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk to camp on a minor league deal, with the right-handed hitter fitting the Yankees bench better than the switch-hitting (but better from the left side) Domínguez.
Still, Domínguez did everything in his control to leave a strong impression this spring, batting .342 with a 1.013 OPS, three home runs and three steals in 13 games.
Jasson Domínguez during spring training. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“Just because it’s not here to start doesn’t mean he can’t continue to get better each and every day there,” Boone said. “As talented a player he is right now, there’s still so much more for him to get to. It’s a crazy game and he could be back before you know it. The one thing I do think is he’ll impact our club in a way this year.”
It certainly sounds as if Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest will claim one of the final bullpen spots, with Boone offering a strong vote of confidence for the reliever.
“We feel like he’s going to be a good pitcher,” Boone said. “I think he’s shown enough to keep himself in that mix for us and to warrant us taking him. We’ll see in the end which way we go. But he’s taken to some of the minor adjustments we’ve had for him, the pitching group has had for him. That’s always a work in progress, but I think he’s got a chance to be good.”
That, along with Kervin Castro being optioned to Triple-A on Friday, would appear to leave the final bullpen spot down to Brent Headrick or Jake Bird.
Giancarlo Stanton got his first outfield game action of the spring on Friday, starting in right field and playing five innings, which was the latest positive indication of how he is feeling physically.
“If we get into the season and we get into a spot where I have to use the DH from time to time for someone else and maybe he can go out there and spell us, I feel like right now, he’s in a position to do that,” Boone said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a lot necessarily, but want to be prepared for it without jeopardizing him physically.”
Spencer Jones and Elmer Rodríguez were named the winners of the 2025 Kevin Lawn Awards, given annually to the Yankees’ minor league position player and pitcher of the year. … The Yankees optioned reliever Yerry De los Santos to Triple-A and reassigned catchers Ali Sánchez and Payton Henry and outfielder Kenedy Corona to minor league camp.
Matthew Boyd will start for the Cubs at Sloan Park. Other Cubs pitchers scheduled for the home game: Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton, Caleb Thielbar and Hoby Milner.
Brandon Williamson will start for the Reds. Other Reds pitchers scheduled tonight: Tony Santillan, Emilio Pagán, Zach Maxwell and Brock Burke.
Jameson Taillon will start for the Cubs at Hohokam Stadium. Other Cubs pitchers for the away game: Javier Assad.
Luis Severino will start for the A’s. Other A’s pitchers scheduled tonight: Mark Leiter Jr., Michael Kelly and Joel Kuhnel.
No TV for the home game. The away game will be on Marquee Sports Network and NBC Sports California. There will be a radio broadcast of the home game on the Reds flagship station, WLW 700. The away game will be with the A’s broadcasters on ATH Audio.
Please visit our SB Nation Reds site Red Reporter and A’s site Athletics Nation. If you do go there to interact with Reds or A’s fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
As we have done in the past, we’ll have a first pitch thread at five minutes to game time and one overflow thread, 90 minutes after game time. For today, that will be 8 p.m. CT and 9:35 p.m. CT.
These threads will not post individually onto the front page; instead, you can find links to them in the box marked ”Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page. There will also be a StoryStream on the front page with all the game thread links, as well as the recap after the game is over. The pitcher photos and regular-season stats will return on Opening Day.
LAKELAND, FL - MARCH 12: Jasson Dominguez #24 of the New York Yankees bats during the spring training game against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on March 12, 2026 in Lakeland, Florida. The Yankees defeated the Tigers 4-3. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It was honestly only a matter of time.
Late Friday afternoon, the Yankees optioned former super-prospect Jasson Domínguez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, among a flurry of roster moves. Once the Yankees signed Randal Grichuk as their fourth outfielder this move seemed inevitable. Even before that, it seemed unlikely El Marciano would start the season in the majors, given the Yanks’ need for a right-handed hitting outfielder and Jasson’s struggles from that side of the plate.
Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves: •Reassigned C Ali Sánchez, C Payton Henry and OF Kenedy Corona to minor league camp. •Optioned RHP Kervin Castro, RHP Yerry de los Santos and OF Jasson Domínguez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
He’s not the only player being moved out as Opening Day nears. Kenedy Corona, who had himself a nice camp with a couple home runs and a keen eye at the plate, is headed to minor league camp, along with a couple other folks, and a couple others join Domínguez heading to Triple-A.
But the story here is obviously The Martian. To his credit, this is no indictment of his spring. He’s been a monster at the plate and, given the lack of Discourse About His Defense on social media, my impression is he hasn’t been a disaster in left field.
This comes down to a roster crunch and, honestly, the move to Triple-A might be best for Jasson. The Yanks needed a fourth outfielder who could hit right-handed pitching, which he’s been unable to do. And even if he made the team to start the season, it doesn’t do a single thing for his development to play sporadically for the Yankees.
This is still only his age-23 season and he’s lost basically two full seasons of development and reps. First, COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 minor league season, then he missed most of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery with an internal bracing on his right elbow in September 2023.
Factoring all that in, Domínguez, despite seemingly having been around forever, has a grand total of 759 plate appearances above Double-A. Sitting on the Yankee bench seems highly unlikely to help him And, given the way injuries always rear their ugly heads, it’s still very probable we’ll see Jasson in the Bronx at some point in 2026.
Mar 15, 2026; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Emmet Sheehan (80) throws against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
The Dodgers reach the end of their Arizona residency on Saturday morning, with an early start time against the Athletics at Camelback Ranch. This game was originally set for a noon start, but was bumped up an hour earlier due to extreme heat.
Emmet Sheehan gets the start on Saturday, which would seemingly line him up to start next weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the season-opening series, though nothing has been finalized yet regarding the Dodgers rotation order following Yoshinobu Yamamoto on opening day.
Dave Roberts also would not name the fifth starter in the #Dodgers rotation to start the season. That fifth/sixth starter spot will be a hybrid with Emmet Sheehan/Justin Wrobleski starting and/or serving in multi-inning 'piggyback' role as starters get built up
Feb 13, 2026; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) talks to catcher Will Smith (16) during spring training camp. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
After their final Cactus League off day, the Dodgers host the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Camelback Ranch. Yoshinobu Yamamoto makes his final spring tuneup before his second straight opening day start.
Lineup
Shohei Ohtani DH Kyle Tucker RF Mookie Betts SS Freddie Freeman 1B Will Smith C Teoscar Hernández LF Max Muncy 3B Andy Pages CF Miguel Rojas 2B
First time back in the lineup for Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith since returning from the World Baseball Classic, the Dodgers’ closest to their opening day lineup all spring.
Other pitchers
Edwin Díaz is scheduled to pitch in his first game since returning from the World Baseball Classic. Also slated to throw are Jack Dreyer and the last two non-roster invitees in camp — Antoine Kelly and Chris Campos.
Up from minor league camp are Evan Shaw (wearing uniform number 90), Kelvin Ramirez (91), Myles Caba (92), and Nicolas Cruz (93).
Other position players
Non-roster catchers Eliézer Alfonzo and Seby Zavala are active on Friday night.
A slew of minor leaguers are active in this one, including outfielders Eduardo Quintero (07), Mike Sirota (08), Charles Davalan (88), and Kole Myers (); infielders Jake Gelof (06), Sean McLain (87), Jose Izarra (00), Kyle Nevin (05), John Rhodes (95), and Logan Wagner (94).
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 27: Victor Bericoto #83 of the San Francisco Giants bats during the fifth inning of the spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Scottsdale Stadium on February 27, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jeremy Chen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Opening Day is just five days away for the San Francisco Giants, and the camp cuts are coming as fast and furious as my favorite modern movie franchise. The big news came on Thursday, when the Giants optioned top prospect Bryce Eldridge to AAA Sacramento, along with Grant McCray and Tyler Fitzgerald. That ended the camp-long question of whether or not Eldridge would make the roster for March 25’s Netflix special.
But more news came on Friday, when the Giants made their seventh round of camp cuts. This time, rather than optioning a trio of rostered players, the Giants reassigned a trio of non-roster invitees to Minor League camp: outfielder Victor Bericoto, right-hander Gregory Santos, and infielder Osleivis Basabe.
The biggest name here is Bericoto, who had an absolute breakout of a performance in his first Spring Training, which resulted in being named the 2026 Barney Nugent Award winner shortly before being reassigned. Bittersweet day!
Bericoto, a right-handed hitter who signed with the Giants in the same international period as Luis Matos and Marco Luciano (and who re-signed on a Minor League contract this past offseason after reaching free agency), was positively dynamic in Cactus League play, while manning both left and right field. In 19 games he hit a blistering 18-38 with a team-best three home runs as well as three doubles, while sporting a 1.264 OPS and a 221 wRC+. He also posted some of the most impressive exit velocities on the team, while striking out just seven times.
To the naked eye, then, it might seem like the Giants are making an error by reassigning him instead of giving him a spot on the Opening Day roster, especially since the players in the running for the fourth outfield spot — Matos, Will Brennan, Drew Gilbert, and Jared Oliva — aren’t exactly tearing holes in the box scores. But Bericoto, who recently turned 24, was never seriously in play for an Opening Day assignment. Spring Training numbers should always be taken with a grain of salt, and as exceptional as his were, it bears noting that he drew just one walk, rocked a hilariously unsustainable .517 BABIP, and did the bulk of his damage against fellow Minor Leaguers and NRIs. Most importantly, Bericoto has just 11 games in AAA to his name (during which time he hit just .196/.196/.283) so, despite his performance, he’s in need of some further development.
Still and all, he opened eyes, and certainly impressed his teammates, coaches, and front office. Given how unproven that aforementioned quartet is — plus McCray and Jerar Encarnación — there will almost certainly be a roster spot for Bericoto in a few months if he hits well with AAA Sacramento.
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While Bericoto was the most notable name given his spring, the most surprising of the three cuts was Santos. I’ve spent the offseason telling anyone who will listen that I think Santos — who was signed and developed by the Giants before being cut three years ago, and re-signed to a Minor League deal this past offseason — will end up being the team’s best reliever this year. I’m sticking with that, though it will take him a little while to get there, apparently.
Santos struggled with command this spring, walking five batters — while striking out just two — in 3.1 innings, leading to a 5.40 ERA and a 7.87 FIP. That shouldn’t be incredibly surprising, given that there’s rust to wash off: injuries have limited him to just 26.2 innings between both the Majors and the Minors over the last two seasons combined. The bright side is, when he finds his rhythm, command shouldn’t be a big concern: the 26-year old walked just 2.3 batters per nine innings during his breakout season with the Chicago White Sox in 2023, which is an astonishingly low number for a player who regularly clips triple digits with his fastball.
Given the lack of heat that the Giants have in the bullpen after trading Camilo Doval and seeing Randy Rodríguez suffer an injury — and given that fastball velocity is the primary barrier for entry in MLB bullpens these days — it feels like a matter of when, not if Santos will be a high-leverage reliever for this team.
As for Basabe, he had a great camp, but never really had a chance of making the team. The 25-year old right-handed hitter played his usual excellent defense across the infield, while really showing out with the bat, as he hit 12-31 with two triples, four doubles, and one walk, for a 1.051 OPS and a 167 wRC+. With Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss entrenched as the backup infielders — and Fitzgerald on the 40-man roster — the usually light-hitting Basabe (who is Matos’ cousin) was always ticketed for depth in Sacramento. But he played well enough that the organization will likely be quite comfortable bringing him up should injuries create a need.
The Giants are now down to 39 players in Major League camp: 34 rostered players, and five non-roster invitees (pitchers Michael Fulmer, Caleb Kilian, and Joey Lucchesi; catcher Eric Haase; and outfielder Oliva). They’ll have to trim 13 more names between now and Wednesday.
