Category: MLB

Hader is still throwing off flat ground as he recovers from a sprained shoulder capsule and biceps tendinitis.

This is not worst case scenario, but the back of the Astros bullpen just took another step closer to it.

Closer Josh Hader is still only throwing off flat ground, and is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic:

Josh Hader and Enyel De Los Santos are tracking to be out on Opening Day.@Chandler_Rome has his thoughts on what the Astros bullpen will look like without them. pic.twitter.com/Fi5iQoDf1u

— Crush City Territory (@CrushCityShow) February 24, 2026

Losing Hader for any extended stretch of time would be a major blow to the Astros pen.

Without Hader in the mix, Bryan Abreu would ascend to closing duties. Lefties Bennett Sousa, Bryan King and Steven Okert are all but guaranteed spots save for injury or disaster. That would leave three bullpen spots available, as the team will utilize a 6-man rotation, leaving them with a shortened 7-man bullpen.

Candidates for those spots include A.J. Blubaugh, Kai-Wei Teng, Jason Alexander, Ryan Weiss, J.P. France and Lance McCullers Jr. Some of those arms are competing for a starting rotation spot but if they do not win a starting role, could be options in the pen. Those who don’t win a spot on the Opening Day roster will be depth at Triple-A Sugar Land should injury or the need for a fresh arm arise.

Other arms that are competing for a pen spot include Jayden Murray and Sam Carlson. Roddery Munoz, the Astros pick in the 2026 Rule V draft, had a very poor first outing this spring and is facing a serious climb to be in consideration for a roster spot.

Enyel De Los Santos is not throwing and also unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, as Rome reported in the clip above.

Nate Pearson, who was promised a chance to compete to start but has relief experience and could also be a candidate for the pen, may also not be ready for the start of the season:

Nate Pearson has a goal of pitching in a spring training game, but that may not happen.@Chandler_Rome believes Pearson may start the year on the IL to keep ramping up until he's ready. pic.twitter.com/U3xFfhaKo0

— Crush City Territory (@CrushCityShow) February 24, 2026

As previously addressed here at TCB from Nov 25, 2025:

https://www.crawfishboxes.com/houston-astros-analysis-commentary/71050/do-the-astros-need-a-backup-plan-for-josh-hader

An extended absence by Hader could be disastrous for the Astros. Hader’s injury last year seemed to be the final straw of an injury-riddled campaign for the team. Houston had managed to overcome a plethora of injuries to that point in August, but after Hader’s injury, the wheels began to come off as they no longer had a dominant 1-2 punch to close out games in the back of the pen and the bridge getting to Abreu in the closer role was too often shaky.

Rome reports the Astros are high on Teng and think he offers promise.

Blubaugh could find himself in a high leverage role with his power stuff, and little other options. With the Astros not having pulled a deal for another leverage arm, that leverage arm could very well be Blubaugh.

Rome lists Weiss as a bullpen candidate, but I believe he currently has an inside track to being the 6th starter with his strong season in the KBO last year and his shown durability. There would be no innings restriction concerns with Weiss.

How would you structure the Astros pen with Hader, Pearson, De Los Santos all out?

4:30pm CT SECN+.

After a three game sweep over Niles Crane’s ex-wife, Marist, the Dores welcome The Purple Aces for some mid-week action.

On the Mound

Tuesday @ 4:30pm SECN+

Vanderbilt #46 Fr. RHP Tyler “The Minstrel” Baird (0-1; 5.79 ERA)

vs. Evansville #29 Jr. RHP Kellen “The Monroe-vian” Roberts (0-0; 0.00 ERA)

The Lineup

Dores vs. Aces coming up at 4:30. pic.twitter.com/tntrTrJTim

— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) February 24, 2026

See you in the comments.

The Konnor Griffin era is nearing in Pittsburgh. 

The future Pirates star shortstop burst onto the scene Tuesday, hitting two home runs during a spring training game against the Red Sox, in a preview of what could be to come for the top prospect in all of baseball. 

Facing new Boston addition Ranger Suarez during the second inning, Griffin blasted a 2-1 curveball down the left field line and completely out of JetBlue Park in Florida. 

That ball was 104.8 miles per hour off Griffin’s bat and flew 374 feet, according to Statcast. 

KONNOR GRIFFIN MOONSHOT

MLB's No. 1 prospect puts the @Pirates ahead with his first homer of Spring Training! pic.twitter.com/6iUGGFnrDB

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 24, 2026

Two innings later, Griffin one-upped himself. 

On an 0-2 pitch from Seth Martinez, Griffin demolished a 440-foot, 111.2 mph ball to left-center field for his second home run of the game. 

Griffin, who is still just 19 years old, is the top-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, FanGraphs and Baseball America, among others. 

KONNOR GRIFFIN (@Pirates) HR NO. 2 OF THE GAME:
440 ft
111 mph pic.twitter.com/74iQTIGZLo

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 24, 2026

A five-tool player with the ability to play both the infield and outfield at a high level, Griffin has been touted as one of the best prospects in recent baseball history. 

FanGraphs called him “one of the top handful of prospects” baseball analytics has evaluated over the last decade. 

“He’s a franchise-altering entity whose talent rivals that of Bobby Witt Jr., a young, level-headed Hanley Ramirez, or a faster Carlos Correa,” FanGraphs’ report on Griffin read.

Last season, his first since being drafted No. 9 overall by the Pirates out of high school in 2024, Griffin hit .333/.415/.527 with 21 home runs and 65 stolen bases across three minor league levels. 

Despite his age, the Pirates are currently considering putting Griffin on their Opening Day roster. 

His performance on Tuesday should help his chances.

The Mets were bitten by the walk on Tuesday afternoon, and as a result had to settle for a 6-6 tie with the Astros at Clover Park. Each of the Mets’ ten pitchers issued a walk, and the team issued 13 walks in total on the afternoon—Houston walked just four. That, as Gary Cohen mentioned, is not a recipe for winning baseball games. The Mets ended up with seven hits on the day, while the Astros had nine hits of their own.

• Jack Wenninger pitched two scoreless innings in his first spring outing. The right-hander escaped a bases loaded jam in the first and a one-out double in the second to keep Houston off the board.
• The Mets jumped all over George Costanza Jason Alexander in the first inning. Juan Soto poked a ball through the infield for a single, and Bo Bichette rocked a liner off Alexander that ended up going for an infield single. Mike Tauchman, in his first at-bat as a Met, launched a three-run home run on a change up that just cleared the right field wall. Two batters later, Ronny Mauricio hit a solo home run to give New York an early four-run lead. Alexander did not make it out of the first inning for Houston.
• The Mets extended their lead to five after Marcus Semien doubled, advanced to third on an out, and scored on a Bichette sacrifice fly.
• Jonathan Pintaro pitched a scoreless third but allowed a run in the fourth and could not escape the frame. He pitched 1 2/3 innings of one-run ball, as he walked two, struck out one, and allowed one hit. Jefry Yan closed out the fourth.
• Huascar Brazobán and Austin Warren pitched scoreless, hitless innings in the fifth and sixth, respectively. Brazobán struck out one and walked one, while Warren walked a batter.
• The Mets added an insurance run in the sixth on an A.J. Ewing sacrifice fly, which scored Austin Barnes, who led off the inning with a double.
• Daniel Duarte had a rough go of it in the seventh, allowing three earned runs on three hits, with a walk and a strikeout in 1/3 of an inning. Bryce Conley was called upon to close out the seventh, and he did so while issuing one walk and striking out one batter in 2/3 of an inning.
• The Mets narrowly avoided allowing a run in the eighth, as Jose Ramos threw out Lucas Spence at home on a Brice Matthews fly ball to right field.
• The inning ending double play would turn out to be huge, because things got dicey in the ninth with Josh Blum on the mound. Blum loaded the bases on two walks and a single, and exited with one out. Colton Cosper came in and allowed a run to score on a force out, and Spence drove in the game-tying run on a two-out, two-strike single. The Mets went down meekly in the ninth.
• In all, the Mets got one hit apiece from Semien, Soto, Bichette, Tauchman, Mauricio, Barnes, and Tyrone Taylor.

Yankees 8 Blue Jays 7

We got to see the ball/strike appeal system, several times. It works great. Very quick.

Beyond that, well, the Yankees scored a lot of runs.

Jays pitchers:

• Grant Rogers: 2 innings, 4 hits, 2 earned, 1 walk, 1 k and he hit Aaron Judge with a pitch.
• Tyler Rogers: 1 inning, 2 hits, 2 earned, 2 strikeouts, 1 home run. It was fun to watch him pitch.
• Angle Bastardo: 1 inning, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. Game day shows he topped out at 98 mph.
• Jesse Hahn: 2 outs, 3 hits, 1 walk and 3 earned.
• Hayden Juenger: 1 out.
• Ryan Jennings: 1 inning, clean.
• Tanner Andrews: 1 inning, 1 strikeout.
• Nate Garkow: 2 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned, 1 k.

Batters:

Starters:

• Miles Straw: 0 for 3, 1. He’s hitting .167 this spring.
• Daulton Varsho: 1 for 2, a triple. He’s hitting .500. Played center after DHing the first couple of games. He’s played a more than most. I think he wants to get in a lot of at bats early.
• Jesus Sanchez: 1 for 3, RBI, 2 strikeouts.
• Davis Schneider: 1 for 2. .200.
• Leo Jimenez: 0 for 2, 2 k. .167.
• Brandon Valenzuela: 1 for 2, k. I thought he looked good behind the plate. .333.
• Josh Kasevich: 1 for 2. .500.
• Riley Tirotta: 0 for 2. .200.
• Ben Cowles: 0 for 2, 2 k. .000.

Subs:

• Yohendrick Pinango: 2 walks.
• Ismael Munguia: 1 for 2.
• Jake Casey: Ninth inning 2-run homer.
• Rafael Lantigua: 1 for 2.
• Arjun Nimmala: 0 for 1, walk, k.
• Cutter Coffee: 0 for 3.
• Aaron Parker: 1 for 2.
• Edward Duran: 0 for 1.
• Carlos Mendoza: 1 for 2, RBI
• Charles McAdoo: 1 for 2, double, 2 RBI, 1 k. He also made an error on a popup near second base, calling off the second baseman and then he didn’t get to the ball. .500.
• Josh Rivera: 0 for 2, k.

Tomorrow’s game isn’t on TV. Can listen on radio if you really are hard cord.

The Jays are now 1-3 on the spring.

For some reason I thought the game was going to be road game for the Jays but it was in Dunedin. I think I got up too early this morning.

Probably the most perplexing move the Yankees made this offseason was the re-signing of Paul Goldschmidt. After a hot start to last year — especially against lefties — he fell away towards the back half of the season. Plus with the emergence of Ben Rice as a legitimate hitter, it seemed like the Yankees didn’t have any worries at first base. However in the dying days before spring training, the Yankees brought back Goldschmidt on a one-year deal, confusing people.

You obviously can’t judge anything on one spring training game, but some early signs show that maybe the Goldschmidt re-signing could come in handy. The veteran clapped back at the haters (sorry), driving in four runs for the Yankees on Tuesday afternoon. Those RBI were the driving force as a representative Yankees’ lineup had a pretty good day on the whole, recording 10 hits in an 8-7 road win over the Blue Jays in Dunedin.

With the Yankees running out a fairly strong spring training starting nine, they got off to a quick start versus Blue Jays minor leaguer Grant Rogers. Trent Grisham led off the game with a single, and Rogers followed that by hitting Judge with a pitch. Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. then recorded a single each, both bringing home a run.

Meanwhile, Will Warren got the start for the Yankees. While he got one quick out to start the game, Toronto then got on the board as well. Daulton Varsho hit a triple which was followed by a Jesús Sánchez single to open the Jays’ account for the day.

In his 2.2 innings on the day, Warren ended up allowing just that one run on four hits, while striking out four. Among the other possible big league players for the Yankees to appear on the mound were relievers Jake Bird and Brent Headrick. Bird struck out two and allowed one hit in 1.1 scoreless innings. It was a similar story for Headrick, who put up similar numbers in 1.0 innings.

A couple innings later, the Yankees tacked back on to their lead. With Bellinger on base after another single, Paul Goldschmidt recorded his first home run of the spring, going deep to dead center field.

Two innings after that, Goldschmidt struck once again. Judge and Chisholm were on base after a single and walk respectively when the first baseman stepped to the plate. This time, Goldschmidt doubled to left field, scoring both runners. A couple batters later, Amed Rosario hit a hot shot to third that former Baby Bomber Ben Cowles couldn’t handle, scoring Goldschmidt.

As is custom in spring training games, the Yankees unloaded the bench. Not long after that, the Blue Jays’ backups gained some ground on the Yankees’ backups. Pitcher Bradley Hanner hit Davis Schneider and allowed a couple hits, leading to three runs crossing, including two on a Charles McAdoo double. McAdoo then attempted a steal of third, which led to an error on catcher Miguel Palma, allowing McAdoo to come home for another run.

The Yankees’ reserves did bounce back a bit after that. In the eighth inning, outfield prospect Jace Avina (once acquired for Jake Bauers) hit a long home run to left field to give the Bombers some breathing room. Toronto did make things close in the ninth when Jake Casey—son of former Yankees interim hitting coach Sean—homered to get the Jays within a run. The tying run got as far as third base for Toronto before the Yankees finally shut the door.

One general game note was that the Yankees had a quite successful day with the ABS challenge system. They correctly challenged six calls out of nine attempts.

Tomorrow, the Yankees will return home to Steinbrenner Field, where they’ll play host to the Nationals in a 6:35pm ET night time spring game. Offseason acquisition Ryan Weathers will make his first appearance of the spring and his first as a member of the Yankees.

Box Score

The Mets tied the Astros, 6-6, on Tuesday as their spring training slate continued.

---

Here are the takeaways...

-Right-handed prospect Jack Wenninger got the start for the Mets and pitched well.

Wenninger tossed two scoreless innings while allowing two hits, walking two, and striking out three. He used a five-pitch mix -- a four-seam fastball that touched 96 mph, along with a changeup, cutter, sinker, and slider. 

Following a breakout campaign last year for Double-A Binghamton, Wenninger is expected to open this season with Triple-A Syracuse. 

- Juan Soto made a nice play in left field in the first inning, charging in on a shallow low liner and catching it near his shoe tops. His first time up, Soto ripped a single in the hole between first base and second base. Soto ended his day 1-for-3 with a run scored.

-Bo Bichette smoked a single off the opposing pitcher in the first inning. He hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field his second time up, and grounded out in his third and final plate appearance. 

Bichette made a smooth play at third base to end the third inning, coming in on a high chopper before bare-handing the ball and throwing on the run to first base for the out.

-Marcus Semienroped a double over the left fielder's head in the second inning. He finished 1-for-3 with a run scored. 

- Part of the competition for the right field job, Mike Tauchman blasted a three-run homer to right field in his first at-bat. The homer came on a 78 mph changeup that caught the middle of the plate. 

- Ronny Mauricio smacked a solo homer to right his first time up. He went 1-for-3 overall. 

- A.J. Ewing entered in the middle innings and hit a sacrifice fly -- his second of the spring.

- Jonathan Pintaro, who began transitioning from starting to relief last season, was solid. Pintaro, whose four-seam fastball routinely hit 96 mph in his first inning of work, allowed one run on one hit while walking two and striking out one in 1.2 innings. The run scored after Pintaro was lifted for Jeffrey Yan.

Highlights

Jack Wenninger gets a pair of strikeouts and escapes the first inning pic.twitter.com/1QxwboTBHc

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) February 24, 2026

Juan Soto's first knock of the spring! pic.twitter.com/iYvTA0vyGK

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 24, 2026

Bo Bichette's first hit of the spring as a Met pic.twitter.com/XrVEBV2PJy

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 24, 2026

Mike Tauchman three-run blast! pic.twitter.com/XKnsMTsm1E

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 24, 2026

Ronny Mauricio blasts the Mets' second homer of the first inning! pic.twitter.com/uqKLLJ3myG

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 24, 2026

Bo Bichette lifts a long sac fly to make it 5-0 Mets pic.twitter.com/SzZqGrFJqb

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 24, 2026

Bo Bichette fields the chopper with the barehand! pic.twitter.com/WZiQn6CUWZ

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 24, 2026

A.J. Ewing with his second sac fly of the spring pic.twitter.com/ga9Siem7yT

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 24, 2026

What's next

The Mets host the Cardinals on Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. on PIX11. 

The Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays by a score of 8-7 on Tuesday afternoon.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- The Yankees were in business right away thanks to a Trent Grisham single and an Aaron Judge walk to lead off the first inning. Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. then notched back-to-back base hits to give the Yankees a quick 2-0 lead. 

-- Bellinger, fresh off signing a new multi-year deal to remain in the Bronx, has looked very comfortable at the dish in the early part of spring. With two hits on Tuesday, he now has a 1.334 OPS.

-- Paul Goldschmidt extended the Yanks' lead in the third inning with a towering two-run blast off of Tyler Rogers. Goldschmidt’s homer caromed high off the batter’s eye in center, traveling an estimated 415 feet with a 108.5 mph exit velocity.

Goldschmidt delivered again in the fifth, roping an RBI double into the corner in left. Again, it's early, but Goldschmidt has posted a 1.333 OPS during the spring.

--Righty Will Warren, who could feature prominently in the Yankees' starting rotation as Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon get up to speed, had a solid showing on the mound. Warren went 2.2 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits. He struck out four, did not walk a batter, and threw 36 of his 49 pitches for strikes.

-- It was a good day for the Yankees regulars overall, as Grisham, Judge, Bellinger, Chisholm, and Goldschmidt all made their way into the hit column. The only typical starter without a hit was Austin Wells, who went 0-for3 and remains hitless this spring.

Highlights

Cody Bellinger drives in Trent Grisham for the first run of the game! pic.twitter.com/uMFCGa9nPV

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 24, 2026

Jazz Chisholm Jr. drives in Aaron Judge! pic.twitter.com/nhmujRKcXq

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 24, 2026

Paul Goldschmidt homers! pic.twitter.com/EraLnKC49N

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 24, 2026

Next up

The Yankees host the Washington Nationals on Wednesday evening, with first pitch in Tampa set for 6:35 p.m.

We have stressed all offseason that the battle for spots in the Nationals bullpen is wide open. That means we could have some surprise contenders pitch their way on to the roster. One player who made a strong first impression is Bryce Montes De Oca, who struck out the side in his first outing of the spring.

The 29 year old Montes De Oca has been a favorite of analytics types for years now due to his nasty stuff. He has a fastball that can run into the triple digits, a wipeout slider, a tight low to mid 90’s cutter and a changeup. The raw stuff is good enough to be a high leverage arm. However, he has run into health and control questions. 

Montes De Oca missed all of last season due to Tommy John, and has only thrown 10 innings since 2022. However, he looked good as new in his first spring outing. He was leaning on a nasty mid-80’s slider which accounted for all his strikeouts. The 6’7 righty also showed off his cutter, sinker and changeup. That one sinker he threw was 98 MPH.

I've been following Bryce Montes de Oca since his electric ST a few years ago, but he's battled injuries since then. Back on the mound at long last, now with the Nationals, and what looks like a revamped arsenal, with much more SSW mvmt than before. Power supinator profile. pic.twitter.com/aa9JKMtBEF

— Eli Ben-Porat 🇨🇦 (@EliBenPorat) February 23, 2026

This offseason Paul Toboni decided not to spend money on bullpen arms. Instead of paying guys like Lucas Sims and Colin Poche, Toboni looked for diamonds in the rough. Montes De Oca was one of the pitchers he signed to a minor league deal. He is a long shot to make the team out of camp due to his lack of work over the past few years.

However, if he continues to look like he did in his first outing, it could be time to have a conversation. It is not like the Nats bullpen is full of proven commodities that are locks to make the team. Sure, it has only been one appearance, but Montes De Oca looked much sharper than Andre Granillo, who had a much better chance of making the team entering camp.

Even before the Nats signed him to a minor league deal, there were people who saw something in Montes De Oca. His stuff just exploded off the page when you look at the data. In 2022, he averaged 100 with a 95 MPH cutter and a slider with crazy movement. Even if the stuff is a bit watered down after multiple Tommy John’s, what he showed the other night was still nasty.

Now a Free Agent, Bryce Montes de Oca is worth an MiLB deal.

Montes de Oca, 29, has some of the best stuff in the game and 3 MiLB Option Years.

Although his walks and injuries have been persistent, the upper-echelon stuff makes him tantalizing for teams: pic.twitter.com/FmvP07shuP

— Remi Bunikiewicz (@RBunikiewicz) November 18, 2025

Signing stuff monsters like this to minor league deals is a great process. If they fail to throw strikes or don’t look as sharp due to injuries, you can still just send them to the minors. However, arms like Montes De Oca do not grow on trees. He is unique, and unique is good in the pitching world.

Some of the pitches he was throwing before the injuries hit were downright ridiculous. There is one 101 MPH sinker that just moves across the plate that is totally nuts. It is one of the craziest pitches I have ever seen.

So Bryce Montes de Oca can throw 102 with elite extension and movement like this

cool cool coooooool cool pic.twitter.com/DWzTqwfNXD

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) September 11, 2022

Sure, Montes De Oca has 7.55 walks per 9 in his MILB career, but the stuff is filthy. He also has 13.31 K/9 in his career as well. It is a fun gamble to take for a rebuilding team. An example of this approach working out well, at least in a small sample is Clayton Beeter.

Beeter does not have the injury history of a Montes De Oca, but he also has issues finding the zone at times. However, he still posted a 2.49 ERA in 24 outings due to his swing and miss stuff. There were times where he just didn’t have it, and was not able to find the zone. On the flip side, there were other outings where Beeter just overwhelmed hitters. 

Bryce Montes De Oca is cut from the same cloth. When he is hitting his spots, he is absolutely untouchable. You are just going to have to have another reliever ready to warm up in a pinch because there will be nights where he does not have it. Even with his dominant outing the other night, Montes De Oca is still unlikely to break camp with the team. However, he will be a factor if his stuff looks this crisp.

 Who knows, maybe all the arm issues have forced him to clean up his mechanics and he throws more strikes. It is a long shot, but we can dream. Bryce Montes De Oca’s dominant outing the other night caught my eye and it should make you guys pay attention too. Maybe just maybe Paul Toboni found a diamond in the rough.

The Atlanta Braves took on the Detroit Tigers today in North Port, FL. With it being a home game for the Braves we saw mostly starters in the lineup and the debut Reynaldo López after his long injury absence.

The game started off strong for the Braves both offensively and on the pitching side of things. It is important to note that the Tigers only had approximately three to four starting caliber players in their lineup, but López looked solid in his two innings of work.

López only saw eight batters. He was not perfect, but he got the job done. He surrendered a single in the first inning to Kevin McGonigle and in the second inning he walked Zach McKinstry in the second, but he also secured two strikeouts along the way. One thing to keep an eye on is that while he was pitching two stolen bases happened. Grant Holmes came in to take over and also pitched two innings. He saw the minimum number of batters with six. He did give up a walk, but the damage was mitigated by inducing a double play.

Joey Wentz came in to pitch the fifth and it did not start well. He walked the first two hitter and gave up a single right after that. Luckily for Wentz he got bailed out with an outfield assist on that single, but a run scored. Wentz then settled down for the most part for the rest of his two-inning outing. He ultimately had three strikeouts, one HBP, two walks, one single, and one ER.

Owen Murphy broke the trend of two-inning outings for Braves pitchers today and finished up the game for his third inning of work by pitching ninth. He held his own with one hit and four strikeouts. His only blemish was giving up a bases empty double. He also had an ABS win as a pitch was overturned for a strikeout.

The bats for the Braves started the game hot. They scored three runs in the first inning thanks to a single from Olson, Riley reaching on an error, Albies hitting a double to score two, and then Yastrzemski continuing his hot spring with a double of his own. It should also be noted that Acuña walked, but when he tried to steal third, he was thrown out. This could be a good sign that Acuña is being aggressive on the base paths after taking a step back the past few seasons due to injuries.

The offense was relatively quiet until the fifth, but new Braves addition Mauricio Dubón reached on a single and ultimately score when Matt Olson hit a two-run bomb to make the score 5-1 at that time.

Back in the swing of things! pic.twitter.com/2wupnUOqfE

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) February 24, 2026

After the fifth the Braves brought in most of their subs. Prized SS prospect John Gil did come in game as well, but he pinch hit for Profar in the seventh and walked and eventually scored. The subs did not slow down with the bats at all, ultimately scoring three runs after the fifth inning to total eight total runs for the Braves today.

The Braves will take on the Pirates tomorrow at the same time and same place where the Pirates will send their ace Paul Skenes against the Braves’ Bryce Elder who is fighting for a rotation spot.

If Konnor Griffin had any designs on quietly making the Pittsburgh Pirates' opening-day roster, they can be put to rest. Baseball's No. 1 prospect doesn't do much of anything quietly - and that includes his first two Grapefruit League home runs.

Griffin crushed a pair of balls up and over two levels of Monster seats at the Boston Red Sox's JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida, on Feb. 24, staining the exhibition debut of Boston free agent signee Ranger Suarez.

Suarez hung a breaking ball to Griffin in his second inning of work this spring. To his credit, the 19-year-old did not miss it, crushing it an estimated 374 feet down the left field line, a shot that might have gone out of all 30 major league parks.

MLB's top prospect Konnor Griffin homers off Ranger Suarez! pic.twitter.com/LXDc4Ab4Bj

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) February 24, 2026

There was little flukey about it, as Griffin proved in his next plate appearance, pounding an errant sweeper from Red Sox relief hopeful Vinny Nittoli over the portion of the spring Monster in left center field. He apparently broke Statcast on that shot - it finally caught up and measured the drive at 440 feet, 111.2 mph off the bat - but the sound of it told all the story.

That's ✌️ today! pic.twitter.com/VarLMbSajj

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 24, 2026

At 6-4, 222 pounds, Griffin, the ninth overall pick in the 2024 draft, fits the mold of the modern shortstop with significant power. He still does not turn 20 until April 24.

Will Griffin be the Pirates' starting shortstop by then? A pair of February blasts in Fort Myers won't determine that. But as eye candy goes, it doesn't get much better.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin blasts 2 home runs in spring training

The D-backs haven’t had the best start to spring, winning just one of four games, and that victory coming by a single run in the opener. They’ve lost three in a row since, and have conceded an average of ten runs per game in that time. The offense has been doing a reasonable job, its .752 OPS sitting in the middle of the pack (13th across baseball). But the pitching has an ugly ERA, just shy of eight. However, it is fair to say that hardly any innings have been thrown by players whom we can confidently state will be on the Opening Day roster. Looking at our last projection, only two of the 35 IP (by Taylor Clarke and Kade Stroud) fall into that category, zero by starting pitchers. That’ll change today. Sort of.

Starting with Soroka. pic.twitter.com/my6WQpyJHY

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) February 24, 2026

Followed by some of: LHP Brandyn Garcia, RHP Andrew Hoffmann, LHP Philip Abner, RHP Isaiah Campbell,
RHP John Curtiss, RHP Taylor Rashi, RHP Bryce Jarvis, RHP Jose Cabrera, RHP Zane Russell and
LHP Carlos Rey. It’s the D-backs debut of Michael Soroka, who was originally signed to fill a gap in the rotation. However, the subsequent signings of Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen have moved him down the depth chart, to the point where his job is uncertain. Being paid $7.5 million means his roster spot won’t be in danger. But whether he’ll be a starter or a reliever is yet to be decided. Today marks the start of that process.

No broadcast available again today for this one, so follow along on Gameday.

The Texas Rangers welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks to Surprise for a lower-stakes rematch of the 2023 World Series.

LHP Jacob Latz begins his quest to earn a spot in the rotation with a start today for Texas opposite RHP Michael Soroka for Arizona.

There doesn’t appear to be a radio feed for this one so you’ll have to follow along on Gameday. First pitch from Surprise Stadium is scheduled for 2:05 pm CT.

Go Rangers!

Gavin Stone is back on the mound for the first time in a year and a half, Freddie Freeman makes his 2026 Cactus League debut, and Miguel Rojas is leading off on his 37th birthday.

Today's #DodgersST lineup vs. Guardians: pic.twitter.com/XPQh5VYo9p

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 24, 2026

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Guardians
• Ballpark: Camelback Ranch
• Time: 12:05 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Lefthander Anthony Kay will be making his Spring Training debut with the Chicago White Sox as Tuesday’s starting pitcher as the South Siders face the 2025 AL West division champion Seattle Mariners. Kay was signed as a free agent by Chicago in early December, hoping to make a comeback in the majors after two years in the Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball League and an underwhelming career in MLB from 2019 to 2023.

Kay spent time with the New York Mets and the Toronto Blue Jays prior to finding himself with the Chicago Cubs, where he fluctuated between the minors and the big league club and appeared in only six games. His small sample size with the North Siders wasn’t bad — a 1.50 ERA in six innings with nine strikeouts — but he wasn’t able to find his footing in MLB. Kay spent the last two years working hard in Japan to refine his mechanics, adding a sinker to his pitch mix to adapt to Japanese batters and expand his arsenal, as reported by CBS Sports.

In 2024, Kay was solid in 24 games, posting a 3.28 ERA across 26 games (148 1/3 IP), and brought that down to a 1.74 ERA in 155 innings last season (24 games). Not only did he improve his ERA, but he remained consistent in strikeouts year over year, putting up 129 and 130, respectively, and also brought his WHIP down from 1.294 to a much more efficient 0.981. Walks were an issue for Kay in his previous MLB stint, but he brought that down from a 10-13% walk rate to 6.8% in 2025 with the Yokohama Bay Stars.

Kay joins fellow NPB star Munetaka Murakami as teammates this season, and the shared NPB experience could be helpful for the two to transition into MLB together.

#ホワイトソックス#村上宗隆 内野手⚾️

vs #アンソニー・ケイ 投手ノーカット🎥

NPB対決は……👀#WhiteSox #swallows#baystars️pic.twitter.com/ClgTeSwwdQ

— Masaya Kotani (@MasayaKotani) February 19, 2026

Mune isn’t in the lineup today to get a breather, but so far, he has been solid in his first 10 at-bats (4-for-10) with two doubles, and it’s only Spring Training, and it’s the first week, but fans are so far liking what they are seeing.

Curtis Mead will be leading off and taking over first base for Murakami, while Edgar Quero will hold down the two-spot and complete the battery with Kay. Lenyn Sosa will flex into the three-hole to see how his strong performance at the plate last year will transfer into this season, especially with fewer defensive holes for him to fill. Sam Antonacci will make his third appearance of the spring and has been excellent thus far in his small sample size, batting .500 while competing for a spot on the team before he heads to compete for Italy in the World Baseball Classic.

Here’s how the South Siders will round out the lineup:

Tuesday's squad: pic.twitter.com/vI4OPgCXak

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) February 24, 2026

George Kirby is supposed to make the start for the Mariners, his first in Spring Training this season. Kirby has a career MLB 3.58 ERA, all with Seattle since being drafted in 2019.

Here’s how The M’s will line ‘em up today:

Big Kirb on the mound. #TridentsUppic.twitter.com/JQTV5Y1tna

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) February 24, 2026

Today’s game is actually watchable! If you have MLB.TV, that is. You can tune into the Mariners TV or radio broadcast, or follow along on MLB Gameday at 2:10 p.m. CT.