Category: MLB

We are finally back. Now a week into Spring Training, quite a few pitchers are showcasing a lot of intriguing tweaks and adjustments to their arsenals, starting with Gavin Williams.

First off, a quick shoutout to TJStats for chart images and more! A more than worthwhile site that you should use throughout baseball season.

Secondly, I *WILL NOT* be looking into a pitcher’s velocity unless it is substantially up or down. We will call this the Doug Nikhazy rule.

Gavin showcased a sinker at times in 2025, going to it less than 7% of the time, but in his first Spring start, it was heavily featured and likely lends to the belief that he will lean on it more in 2026. It was mislabeled at times on Statcast on Tuesday against LA and only tracked four sinkers, labeling three others fastballs, but thanks to the TJStats daily ‘Pitch Editor’, I was able to switch over the fastballs that matched the sinker profile, and came out with a quality breakdown of where Gavin’s sinker is at heading into the season.

Gavin’s sinker last season averaged 9.7 inches of induced vertical break and 15.1 inches of arm-side run. He went to it almost exclusively against right-handed hitters. In his first outing of the Spring, he turned to it against just righties, and it profiled with better shape, generating 11.7 inches of induced vertical break and 16.4 inches arm-side. Similar to his cutter last season, I expect his sinker to take a step forward in usage this season as he continues to round out his arsenal.

Now we’ll take a look at another Guardians starting pitcher, Slade Cecconi, who showcased more aggressive changes in arsenal in his first outing, and I am very excited about it.

Above shows the difference in movement patterns between Cecconi’s slider and cutter from 2025 to his first outing in the Spring. Cecconi’s cutter got him into quite a bit of trouble when he used it last season. It often turned into a cement mixer and hovered in the middle of the plate far too often, getting barreled at a 20% rate. In his outing on Wednesday, Cecconi’s cutter worked along an axis identical to his 4-seam (1:15), finding a more stable horizontal axis. His slider also generated nearly three inches more glove-side break with less induced vertical break.

He slider went through a more pronounced change. It works along a better horizontal axis, and in doing so, it’s become more sweeper-like. Cecconi generated more horizontal separation between his cutter and slider during his outing where it was more of a diagonal drop last season. This is a much needed change for Cecconi, whose struggles to work across the zone with his breaking pitches got him hit hard throughout 2025. He will need to utilize his slider more consistently to do this (3.1% usage in ‘25), and with a far better shape (106 TJStuff+ on 2/25, 98 TJStuff+ in 2025).

BULLPEN NAMES TO WATCH

• Shawn Armstrong showcased his good cutter/sweeper combo in his first outing on Wednesday
  • Expect Armstrong to be a strong help along the back-end of the ‘pen. Gaddis will need him.
• Cody Heuer has struggled substantially early in his first couple outings this Spring.
  • 31.4% overall zone-rate and 30% walk rate across 10 batters faced…not great!
• Franco Aleman’s two appearances have been split results
  • First outing saw better command with swing and miss on slider
  • control woes continued in second outing; allowed a home run and walked two batters, struggling to locate his secondaries still

SPOT START SQUAD WATCH

1. Will Dion: 2 IP // 3 K // 0 ER // 4 whiffs // 28.6% whiff rate // .225 xwOBACON
   • Showcased great command, quality low 90s fastball with good VAA traits; slider looks to be improved; likely this year’s Nikhazy
2. Austin Peterson: 1.1 IP // 1 K // 1 BB // 3 whiffs // 4 ER // .565 xwOBACON
   • Lived in the heart of the plate; does not have the stuff to venture inside the shadow; doesn’t have the stuff to get deep in counts to nibble
3. Doug Nikhazy: 2 IP // 1 K // 1 BB // 0 ER // 3 whiffs // .663 xwOBACON
   • Breaking stuff continues to be impressive
     • fastball continued to look fringy; both induced whiffs and got smoked

From the very beginning of the offseason, David Stearns—normally one who plays things extremely close to the vest—has been fairly clear whenever the subject of the 2026 outfield comes up. He has repeatedly stated that 2024 first round pick Carson Benge will enter spring training with a chance to win a starting job for the major league team. The team’s actions over the past few months—trading franchise stalwart Brandon Nimmo, pursuing exactly one starting outfielder (ultimately settling on center fielder Luis Robert Jr.) while leaving the other empty spot wide open—have only further proven that Stearns has not been misleading us on the subject. And while he is facing some competition this spring, it’s not exactly a murder’s row of alternative options—recent signings MJ Melendez and Michael Tauchman would probably be the likeliest alternatives, but they are both players who have some strengths but may be better served as backups.

Indeed, while Benge is not an absolute lock to make the team—there is always the chance that the Mets could decide he needs a little bit more time in the minors—it seems clear that the front office’s hope is that he will head north with the club as their starting right fielder. And if he happens to not make the team right out of camp, it’s fair to assume that he would still get the call to the majors before too long.

It’s not hard to see why the Mets are enamored with Benge. After being drafted with the 19th overall pick out of Oklahoma State in the 2024 draft, the 23-year-old outfielder was sensational in his first full pro season last year. He started off his year in Brooklyn, whose park has a history of being murderously tough for left-handed hitters specifically. It was perhaps a sign of how high Benge’s stock would ultimately rise that he was up to the task of playing in that difficult environment, as he put up a 168 wRC+ in 60 games in High A ball along with a respectable .178 ISO despite hitting just four home runs. Once he received a midseason promotion to Binghamton, his power numbers surged, as he put up a .254 ISO and doubled his home run output from his Brooklyn numbers in almost half the games played in Double A ball. That dramatic surge against improved competition caused the Mets to once again promote him, though shortly after arriving at Syracuse he was hit in the hand with a pitch and subsequently missed a few weeks. His numbers upon returning to finish out the season were not particularly impressive (more on that in a bit), but those couple weeks of middling production were not enough to dampen an exceptional season. Splitting time across three different levels, he put up a .281/.385/.472 slash line with 15 home runs (good for a 150 wRC+) and 22 stolen bases across 116 total games.

All of these factors have caused Benge to dramatically rise on various prospect lists this offseason. Virtually every reputable outlet has ranked him as the second best prospect in the Mets’ farm system, behind only Nolan McLean. In overall MLB prospect rankings, he has come in at 16th by MLB Pipeline, 19th by Baseball America, 15th by ESPN, 18th by The Athletic, 10th by Baseball Prospectus, and 21st by FanGraphs. Virtually all of the write-ups from these outlets have painted a similar picture of a player who is solid in virtually all aspects of the game (if not outright great in any one particular area). Evaluators have also praised Benge’s outfield defense, suggesting that he could prove to be an above-average center fielder. While the Mets may end up giving him some playing time there, the acquisition of Robert means that the majority of his playing time in 2026 will almost certainly come in right field, where he should grade out as a plus defender.

Despite all the factors working in Benge’s favor, there has been a somewhat surprising lack of excitement from Mets fans—a group that, historically, has not had problems with placing grand expectations upon prospects with much lesser pedigrees—at the idea of him playing a major role for the 2026 team. Some have outright questioned the logic of almost handing him a starting job right out of the gate and called for Stearns to acquire another outfielder before the season starts. Two primary reasons have been cited for this skepticism: 1) Benge’s poor numbers in his limited Triple A action last year suggest that he could use more seasoning before being fully ready for the big leagues, and 2) putting this much confidence in any rookie with zero major league experience is a big gamble for a team with playoff aspirations.

Let’s address both of these points. The first one is fairly easy to counter: While a cursory glance at Benge’s Baseball-Reference page will suggest that he struggled in Syracuse, the actual batted ball data shows that he was hitting the ball about as hard and consistently as he was in the lower levels. MLB.com’s Sam Dykstra provided the specific numbers recently:

Benge ran an above-average 105.9 mph 90th-percentile exit velocity at Triple-A, topped out at 110.4 mph and made contact on 87 percent of his pitches inside the zone. (MLB average for Z-contact was 83.2 percent.) His chase rates were fine, too, if closer to average, while his 18.4 percent K rate and 8.7 percent walk rate didn’t scream struggle. Instead, Benge may have fallen victim to rough luck in a smallish sample – his .188 BABIP was significantly lower than his marks of .372 and .337 at High-A and Double-A, respectively.

When taking these factors into account, it makes sense that the front office was not particularly discouraged by Benge’s showing in Syracuse. Perhaps something about his performance in spring training will suggest that he needs more minor league time after all, but pointing to his bad topline numbers in 24 Triple A games without looking at the larger context is not an effective argument against his major league readiness.

The second point is perhaps a bit more complicated. Because yes, trusting an unproven rookie inherently carries some amount of risk. Benge wouldn’t be the first top prospect who couldn’t translate his minor league dominance into major league production, and he wouldn’t be the last. And if he proves to not be ready, the Mets will be in a bit of pickle, as they might well have a major hole in their outfield. But let’s consider a couple of factors here:

1. Given the additions the Mets have made to the offense this offseason—Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, the aforementioned Robert—there are, on paper, relatively few gaping holes in the lineup right now. Benge will probably start out the season in the bottom third of the lineup, where there won’t be all that much pressure on him to put up huge numbers. If he winds up being the great player the Mets expect him to be and they move him up in the order, great. But it’s not an outright requirement for the team to be successful.
2. Recall who Benge would be replacing in the outfield. Brandon Nimmo, despite showing clear signs of decline, was broadly fine in 2025 but no more than that. He put up a 114 wRC+ last year with defensive statistics (0 OAA) that, quite frankly, probably undersell the level of degradation in his outfield skills. Benge is a very, very safe bet to be a significantly better defensive outfielder than Nimmo in 2026. If he provides even comparable offensive numbers (i.e. slightly above average production), he will almost certainly prove to be an upgrade over what the Mets got out of the position in 2025. And that is a somewhat measured projection for Benge—there is upside for a much greater level of offensive output.
3. Again, the Mets would not be in an ideal position if Benge proves to not be ready for a major league role—but they wouldn’t necessarily be helpless. Tauchman or Melendez are not particularly exciting options, but maybe one of them proves to be at least passable if pushed into a more meaningful role. Maybe Baty proves that he can be at least passable in the outfield and the Mets just end up playing him there more. Maybe one of the team’s other top prospects with outfield flexibility—A.J. Ewing, Ryan Clifford, maybe even Jacob Reimer—becomes ready at some point in the season and can take the job. Or—worst case scenario—the Mets may need to address the hole at the trade deadline, where it is usually not particularly hard to find decent corner outfield options available. Point being, there will likely be ways for the team to pivot if they need to.
4. Here is what I would consider the most important point: Every front office makes decisions about which risks they are willing to accept and which ones they are not, but virtually every player the Mets might have acquired to play over Benge would have carried some type of risk. Stearns could, for instance, have decided that the safety of acquiring a proven major league contributor would have made it worth it to beat the Yankees’ offer for Cody Bellinger and place in one of the corner outfield spots. That might make us feel more comfortable projecting a baseline level of production in 2026, but the team would then be assuming risk in potentially locking themselves into a player for more years than they were comfortable with. He could have signed a smaller name to a lower-level contract—Mike Yastrzemski or someone of that ilk—but then you are locking out the potential higher upside that a player like Benge provides. You can do this with essentially every other player the Mets could realistically have pursued. So when the subject of risk comes up with Benge, we should acknowledge the potential fallbacks, but we should also note that the risk of placing trust in a top 20 prospect is not actually THAT high when compared to the risks that alternative moves would have held. It’s just a different type of risk—but nevertheless a calculated one.

All of this is an extremely long-winded way of making a pretty simple point: we should be very, very excited to see the Mets giving Benge runway to be a major contributor to the team right out of the gate this year. Given his prospect pedigree, the median scenario we should be hoping for is that he will at least be a solid starting player—someone who perhaps needs to sit against some tough lefties to start but provides good offensive and defensive value on the whole. And again: the upside for even greater outcomes is there. Along with McLean, Benge could well be a leading candidate for National League Rookie of the Year (and it is worth noting that either of those two players winning the award would grant the Mets a PPI draft pick in the following year’s draft, provided they are both on the major league roster for most of the season). And given the emotional blow of the team losing numerous homegrown core players this offseason, the prospect of Benge coming up this year and cementing himself as a stalwart piece for the franchise’s new core should be one that puts a smile on every fan’s face.

Matt Quatraro is having Bobby Witt Jr. leadoff in spring training a bit.

“We talked about it earlier in the spring,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters in Surprise, Arizona. “We talked and toyed with the idea of all different lineups. But this, specifically, was to give him a chance (to bat leadoff), because I’m pretty sure he is going to do it with Team USA (in the upcoming World Baseball Classic). Let him do it for a couple of days before he leaves.”

Anne Rogers writes that Maikel Garcia is focused on winning another Gold Glove

The goal was to work on Garcia’s first-step quickness and both his backhand and forehand plays. There’s a reason third base is called the hot corner, and if Garcia can see as much quick spin and create as many angles as he can in practice, theoretically, it makes it easier in the game.

“The spin when the right-handed hitter hits to my backhand is a little bit tough in the game because it’s the big leagues and they hit it hard,” Garcia said. “So it’s kind of hard to read it. But when I moved to third, I just started waiting for the ball, don’t go forward too much because they hit it too hard. And then when we [went] to the forehand, we [were] trying to work on my first step, right after I got the ball with the backhand. That’s going to help me because I can get to more balls in the hole.”

The Royals handed out organizational awards for 2025.

“It’s just a reminder of how strong our culture is, which we take a lot of pride in,” president of baseball operations and general manager J.J. Picollo said. “We want to celebrate accomplishments and celebrate our team, but there are times when we need to celebrate individual accomplishments, and this day is one of them.”

Yahoo Sports! ranks the Royals #9 in baseball for most 26-and-under talent.

Joining Witt and Garcia as the next potential core pieces of Kansas City’s lineup are Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen, who had wildly different debuts last season. Caglianone arrived in June with a heaping helping of hype following his legendary collegiate career and speedy ascent through the minors, but he faceplanted as a rookie, ranking as one of the least productive hitters in baseball. That Cags was exposed so harshly was not a massive surprise, considering his hyper-aggressive approach. Now it’s on the talented 23-year-old to flush his forgettable debut and figure out how to tap into his tremendous raw power more reliably against the best arms on the planet.

Baseball America ranks the Royals #13 in their preseason power rankings.

The Royals’ top-tier talent is good enough to claim a playoff spot. It will be up to the supporting cast, and possibly two young hitters who could step forward. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is an MVP candidate. A healthy season from lefthander Cole Ragans could result in Cy Young Award votes. The Royals developed third baseman Maikel Garcia, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and lefthanders Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron into their best selves. The X-factor for Kansas City is the performance of second-year slugger Jac Caglianone and rookie catcher Carter Jensen. Breakthroughs from them would lengthen the lineup.

Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown ranks the top five pitchers in Royals history.

Pete Grathoff writes that Royals pitchers did well in fantasy football.

Max Scherzer returns to the Blue Jays on a one-year deal.

Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell won’t be ready for the start of the season.

Freddy Peralta will start the Mets opener.

Which teams lost the most in free agency this past offseason?

Who is the ultimate bandwagon team for 2026?

Which teams are dealing with option crunches?

Giancarlo Stanton is suffering from elbow tendinitis so bad that he can’t even open a bag of chips.

What should we make of the ABS challenge data from last year?

Warriors owner Joe Lacob and former NFL quarterback Drew Brees are among the bidders to own the Padres.

MLB gives TikTok creators access to their library in a new partnership.

The NFL salary cap will be set at $301.2 million this year.

What are some names to know as the college basketball coaching carousel begins?

Warner Bros signs a merger agreement with Paramount.

Burger King will use AI to check if employees say “please” and “thank you.”

How can infinity come in many sizes?

Your song of the day is Juice Newton with Queen Of Hearts.

Hello friends, and welcome to the weekend!

Last night the Mariners dueled in the desert with the fearsome Snakes, losing 3-1 in what Kate aptly described as a snoozer.

Speaking of sleep, I’m coming to you live after finally getting a decent night’s rest. I am a pretty picky sleeper. Not on purpose, mind you. I just need to be in a bed, in an adequately cold room with minimal light and sound (except my requisite white noise machine or app) and I will generally sleep fine. But I am not the kind of person who can sleep on couches, recliners, cars, trains, or planes.

How about you? Are you someone who can sleep just about anywhere, or are you a more restless soul like myself? Sound off in the comments.

In Mariners news…

• After a lost season last year, Ryan Bliss is back and ready to prove that he deserves a spot on the big league roster. Adam Jude at The Seattle Times has the story. ($)
• Brendan Donovan and Rob Refsnyder are already making a positive impact in the clubhouse, writes Daniel Kramer.
• Bryce Miller opened up about his elbow issues and why he decided to forego surgery this winter. It turns out that, like all of us, even Miller himself was initially confused why he shouldn’t just get the procedure done.
• Could Colt Emerson make a serious run at an Opening Day roster spot this year? Daniel Kramer has the latest.
• Justin Hollander spoke about the Mariners’ ongoing contract discussions with Logan Gilbert. It sounds like for now, the ball is in Logan’s court to resume those talks.
• New Mariners reliever José Ferrer appears to be fitting in with the Mariners, and the team is impressed by what he’s bringing to bullpen sessions.

Around the league…

• The Dodgers inked former Mariners reliever Keynan Middleton to a minor league deal.
• Jay Jaffe at Fangraphs wrote about the players who had the most dramatic month-to-month changes in wRC+ last year, with Jorge Polanco headlining the group.
• Matt Monagan at MLB dove into the legend that Negro Leagues sensation Josh Gibson hit a 600+ foot home run in Puerto Rico.
• Players around the league were asked about the strangest superstitions they’ve seen in the league. I feel like I’m learning a lot about Logan Gilbert today.

Anders’ picks…

• I am all the way here for the island vibes. 2027 can’t come soon enough!

When the San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies meet in a road matchup, it usually results in a high number of hits and an equally high number of runs. That was not the case on Friday when the Padres traveled to Scottsdale, Ariz. to play the Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. The game turned into a pitchers duel and it was decided in the bottom of the ninth when Zac Veen hit a walk-off home run to give Colorado a 3-2 win. San Diego managed just four hits in the game with three of those hits coming from the starting lineup. Jake Cronenworth, Ramon Laureano and Sung-Mun Song got on base with hits and the fourth hit was added by Samad Taylor, who had an RBI-single in the top of the eighth inning. The Padres return to the Peoria Sports Complex to host the Seattle Mariners in their second meeting of the spring on Saturday at 12:10 p.m.

Padres News:

• AJ Cassavell of Padres.com looks at four big questions facing manager Craig Stammen and the Padres with Opening Day less than a month away.
• San Diego has been using the ABS challenge system frequently throughout Spring Training and that is helping the Padres get a feel for how they will use it during the regular season. Luis Campusano, who used the system in the minors last season, has appeared to be the most comfortable and successful, but fans have seen Freddy Fermin, Ty France and Nick Castellanos all have calls successfully overturned.
• Sung-Mun Song had his second hit in as many games against the Rockies and appears to be getting a handle on the velocity at the MLB level. He should get more opportunities to see live in-game pitching in the coming weeks as Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts head to the World Baseball Classic.
• Randy Vasquez had another strong spring outing for the Padres with no runs and no hits allowed over 2.2 innings. San Diego was unable to pull off a win, but Vasquez appears to be taking advantage of his opportunity to be the fourth starter in the Padres rotation.

Baseball News:

• Former Padres pitcher and now Kansas City Royals pitcher Stephen Kolek has been diagnosed with an oblique strain and will miss time.
• Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts does not think Blake Snell will be ready to return by Opening Day.
• Rockies center fielder has missed time due to a wrist sprain and will continue to sit out games in an effort to be healthy by Opening Day.
• Boston Red Sox players Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela collided on the field while trying to make a play in the outfield, but both players are expected to be okay.

Throughout our “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series, we’ve taken the opportunity to celebrate and remember scores of Yankees from throughout the generations, from Hall of Famers to journeymen, from those born in the 1800s through to members of the team’s last championship squad. Today, we’ll be taking a slight detour to shed some light on a New York baseball icon who never got the chance to don the pinstripes due to the color of his skin.

Elvis William “Bill” Holland
Born: February 28, 1901 (Alexandria, IN)
Died: December 3, 1973 (New York, NY)
New York Black Yankees Tenure: 1932-1941

Bill Holland began his pro career in 1918 at the age of 17, pitching for the Richmond Giants in Indiana. Little is known about the right-hander’s performance in these early days before the founding of the first Black Major League, but he was already gaining a reputation as a durable fireballer, reportedly once pitching 20 innings in less than 24 hours. When the Negro National League formed in 1920, Holland took his talents from Warner Jewell’s ABCs of Indianapolis to Detroit and immediately established himself as one of the league’s top pitchers on the Stars.

Although Negro League statistics are famously difficult to track in a standardized way due to the number of exhibitions and games against not-quite-pro-caliber operations, Holland posted a 3.08 ERA between 1920-22 in confirmed Negro National League games (a stretch that also included a brief stint with Negro League founder Rube Foster’s Chicago American Giants). The man nicknamed “Devil” punched out 351 in 578.1 innings — a mark that put him among the top of the league. His 1.077 WHIP in 1922 led the majors.

It was after a successful 1922 season that the 22-year-old made his way out east to New York, where he’d make his baseball home for the next two decades. On July 5, 1930, Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert loaned Yankee Stadium for the day to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and its president, A. Philip Randolph, a union leader and civil rights activist who organized a doubleheader between the New York Lincoln Giants and the Baltimore Black Sox as a fundraiser for the Brotherhood. In Game 1, New York’s manager — future Hall of Famer John Henry “Pop” Lloyd — gave the ball to a 29-year-old Bill Holland, reportedly making him the first Black pitcher to ever take the mound at the House that Ruth Built. Holland threw a complete game in a 13-4 victory.

The following year, the veteran signed on with the Harlem Stars, who played some of their home games at the Stadium. They rebranded for the 1932 season as the New York Black Yankees, tying themselves in name to what had quickly become the American League’s premier franchise. The club continued to play in the Bronx and also later across the river at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, NJ (recently restored).

Holland would remain with the Black Yankees for the rest of his career, continuing to pitch until the age of 40 in 1941 and being named a starter of the second 1939 East-West All-Star Game, which was held at Yankee Stadium. The official record has him as second in club history in most major pitching counting stats, including starts, wins, innings pitched, and strikeouts. When my colleague Matt looked back at the best players in Black Yankees history in 2021, he had Holland ranked second, behind only teammate and two-way threat Barney Brown.

But these statistics cannot tell Bill Holland’s story. The legendary Cool Papa Bell ranked him alongside Hall of famers Satchel Paige, Smokey Joe Williams, and Bullet Joe Rogan as among the four best pitchers to play in the Negro Leagues. A 1952 poll organized by the Pittsburgh Courier, an African-American newspaper, named Holland to its All-Time Third Team of Black ballplayers, also among the ranks of Hall of Famers.

Perhaps due to a lack of a narrative around his success, or perhaps due to the fact that the Black Yankees were mostly among the worst teams in the league during his time there, Holland has not received the same momentum towards enshrinement as some of his peers. He reportedly died on December 3, 1973, though there is no obituary on file with major New York periodicals for this man who had been an icon among Black New Yorkers for nearly 20 years.

Here at Pinstripe Alley, on what would be Bill Holland’s 125th birthday, we remember a man who left a quiet, proud legacy as a pioneer of Black baseball in New York.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

From the start of Detroit Tigers described Dillon Dingler as close to returning to full action after an arthroscopic procedure to clean up his right elbow. Still, the status of their starting catcher remaining uncertain was a little bit disconcerting, though Dingler was notably present catching bullpens on the backfields over the past two weeks. As it turned out, the Tigers estimates on his return were accurate, as the 27-year-old catcher made his first start of the spring in Friday’s drubbing of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Dingler’s arm wasn’t really tested, but since he’s back on the field healthy after a throwing program to build his arm strength up, we’ll assume that isn’t an issue. More to the point was getting him going in time to get enough plate appearances to be ready for Opening Day. That got off to a good start as Dingler struck out in his first at-bat but then smoked a double to plate Spencer Torkelson with the Tigers first run of the game. After that they were off to the races, winning 16-8.

That was the positive injury news on Friday. The unfortunate news was that right-hander Troy Melton has been shut down with inflammation in his right elbow, making his eventual status for Opening Day pretty questionable. Melton hadn’t appeared in a game yet, but neither have Framber Valdez or Justin Verlander as of yet. The latter two have no reported issues and have the experience not to be any rush in February. Presumably we’ll see them take the mound this weekend or next week at the latest.

Troy Melton gets shutdown

While Troy Melton was currently on the outside of the starting rotation looking in, he was a big factor in picking up a crumbling pitching staff last summer, and went on to pitch well in his first postseason. As starting depth, and probably headed to the bullpen to begin the year, Melton is still a weapon for the club in either role, with the added benefit of having some comfort factor doing either job. This isn’t really much of a setback for the team yet, unless they really need rotation help a month from now as the season begins.

It’s easy to leap to worst case scenario conclusions, but inflammation in the elbow is pretty common, particularly as pitchers are ramping up to a full workload early in camp. The inflammation itself should resolve fairly soon. The issue of course is that inflammation in the tight, narrow passage through the joint where the humerus and ulna bones connect, makes it very difficult to get clear imaging of structures inside and around the elbow. So, for now there’s nothing to do but let it subside until they can properly examine him via MRI.

The irritation and inflammation could be minor and fairly routine, allowing him to start throwing again, or it could be caused by bone chips, spurs, or a rough spot in the passage through the joint that the UCL stretches against. Those would require comparetively minor procedures that might only set Melton back a month or so, depending on when they get an answer. It could also be a tear in the UCL, or even a tendon issue, that would potentially cost him the season.

Right now, Melton has a case of Schrodinger’s elbow. When the inflammation subsides and they can get the imaging done properly, the Tigers might have a relatively healthy pitcher who doesn’t even need a procedure, or they might have a Tommy John case. We’ll just have to wait and see.

First cuts from spring camp

The Tigers also announced their first round of cuts from spring camp. All four are pitchers rehabbing from minor injuries, so it’s no surprise they were transferred to minor league camp. Relievers Phil Bickford, Dugan Darnell, and Tyler Owens, along with veteran minor league starter Troy Watson, were all reassigned. Watson is returning from right elbow arthroscopy, while Bickford is rehabbing a right triceps strain. Darnell and Owens are both rehabbing after hip procedures.

None of the group was ever likely to break camp with the major league club.

Meet the Mets

Freddy Peralta, who pitched three perfect innings in the Mets’ 14-3 Grapefruit League victory over the Cardinals yesterday, was named as the Opening Day starter for the Mets. “Everybody was aware and Freddy was pretty pumped,” Carlos Mendoza said.

Speaking of Peralta, he smiled and said, “No comment” when asked if he and the Mets have engaged in extension talks.

The one lowlight of yesterday’s game was that Devin Williams gave up a home run on the very first pitch he threw in a Mets uniform—a “cutter that didn’t cut much.” Williams isn’t worried about it though. “This being my first [outing], it was kind of just fill up the strike zone with everything,” he said, “and not really worry about results.”

On the bright side, MJ Melendez continued to make his case to make the Opening Day roster with a two-home run performance yesterday.

Tim Britton of The Athletic chatted with Mets’ director of hitting Jeff Albert last week at Clover Park about the specifics of his role, his evaluation of the Mets’ offensive performance last season, and his view of the lineup entering 2026. 

Robert Stock, who is currently with the Mets on a minor league deal, used AI to build a pitching analytics platform from scratch.

Daniel Murphy spoke to Mike Puma of the New York Post about whether the Dodgers are “evil,” upcoming CBA negotiations, the new look Mets, and more.

Around the National League East

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said they are “shooting for the regular build up” with Zack Wheeler, who is recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome.

Otto Kemp is doing both infield and outfield work every day at Phillies camp, trying to be prepared to be ready for whatever the team needs from him.

Theo DeRosa of MLB.com wrote about a potential return to ace form for Spencer Strider and what that would mean for the Braves this season.

Federal Baseball dives into three breakout prospects in the Nationals system.

Around Major League Baseball

Jayson Stark of The Athletic captured a lot of raw emotion as he asked Blue Jays players and leadership about life after Game 7.

Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin is trying to debut on Opening Day as a 19-year-old—something no one in baseball has done in nearly four decades.

Buster Olney of ESPN ranked baseball’s top ten at every position.

It was an easy decision for Trent Grisham to take the Yankees’ qualifying offer, writes David Lennon of Newsday.

Vuori CEO Joe Kudla and Drew Brees are among the bidders in the Padres’ sale process; they did not submit their own formal bit, as previously reported, but are looking to potentially join up with one of the other groups involved.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Thomas Henderson and Brian Salvatore preview the seasons of two bullpen depth options for the Mets in 2026: Alex Carrillo and Matt Turner.

This Date in Mets History

Exactly six years after the Mets first acquired Dave Kingman from the San Francisco Giants, he returned to the Mets in a second stint via a trade with the Cubs for Steve Henderson that took place on this date in 1981.

The World Baseball Classic begins this Thursday with opening tournaments in Houston, TX; Miami, FL; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Tokyo, Japan.

Since its debut in 2006, the World Baseball Classic has offered many memorable moments. Most recently, in 2023, brought possibly the biggest. In the final game, Angels’ teammates Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout faced off in the ninth inning. Ohtani was pitching for Japan; Trout was batting for USA. Two of the biggest stars in baseball on the world baseball stage. What could be better? Ohtani struck Trout out to end the game and the WBC in favor of Japan. It was like a moment from a movie.

I have always loved the World Baseball Classic. And while Ohtani vs Trout might be the most iconic teammate moment of the WBC, it is not the only one. Orioles Adam Jones and Manny Machado had an exciting moment of their own in 2017. With Adam Jones manning center field for USA vs the Dominican Republic, his O’s teammate Manny Machado stepped to the plate. Manny hit a long fly ball to right-center that looked like a home run. But Jones wasn’t having that. He made an incredible catch at the wall to rob his teammate, an incredible moment for Orioles fans. Team USA won the game and went on to win the WBC.

My first lasting memory of the WBC came from the 2009 classic, when Brian Roberts was on base for David Wright’s walk-off single against Puerto Rico.

I look forward to the WBC every time it comes around. It’s such a fun showcase of players I might not normally see. And this year I am attending my first WBC games. Next Sunday, I’ll be in San Juan to watch a doubleheader of Cuba vs Colombia and Canada vs Panama.

So how about you? Are you looking forward to the WBC this year?

We have had a chance to see our Guardians for a week now… which of them should be on the major league team for opening day?

Make your argument for your preferred 2B and SS combo.

Figure out the ideal outfield alignment.

Decide which of the six pitchers make the rotation.

Put together another bullpen of doom.

Demote or keep David Fry, it’s up to you. Let us know in the comments below

Numerous sources, including the Athletic’s Zack Meisel and Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto, have reported that Chase DeLauter is fine, the team is taking precautions they wouldn’t during the season, and he will be back in games on Monday.

I am sure that makes you all feel better.

Brayan Rocchio, Kahlil Watson and Jonah Advincula had doubles yesterday. Watson has had a great camp so far. Gabriel Arias has looked as bad at the plate as ever. Hunter Gaddis looked dominant in relief. The Guardians play the White Sox on Cleveland Guardians TV today at 3:05PM.

The World Baseball Classic players have left the team for their various national teams, so no Travis Bazzana, Bo Naylor, Matt Festa, Stuart Fairchild and Logan Allen for a bit. Plus, some minor leaguers.

You can check myself and Nick Karavolos out on the latest Disgusting Baseball Podcast episode here.

Craig Breslow brought in a lot of new talent this offseason, but he didn’t plug every hole on the Red Sox roster. So for our question of the day today, we’re bending space and time to ask you this: If you could take one player from Red Sox history and put him on the 2026 roster, who would you pick?

Considering that we spent the offseason wondering about the lineup’s lack of right-handed power and the hole at third base, someone like Kevin Youkilis immediately comes to mind. (Adrian Beltre would be even better, but it’s hard for me to think of him as a player from Red Sox history.) On the other side of the infield, having Dustin Pedroia to lock down second base while sliding Marcelo Mayer to third would certainly work.

But I’m going with this guy:

The Boston Red Sox should, as a matter of principle, always have one of the very best sluggers in the game anchoring the lineup. So let’s bring back the best Red Sox hitter of the last 50 years.

I’d make him the full-time DH, of course. And, as an added bonus, his presence would force Craig Breslow to finally make a trade to clear the outfield/DH logjam.

Who would you pick?

The Atlanta Braves’ bats were hot during Friday’s 15-8 win over the Boston Red Sox. It was an exciting third inning, as the Braves plated 11 runs and Ronald Acuña Jr. launched a grand slam. Mike Yastrzemski and Matt Olson also joined in on the fun and went yard. 

Altogether, the Braves racked up 13 hits and look to keep the momentum going during today’s matchup with the Baltimore Orioles.

MLB News:

Wayne Granger, former Cincinnati Reds reliever, passed away earlier this week at age 81. 

Detroit Tigers right-hander Troy Melton will likely miss Opening Day after dealing with elbow inflammation. 

Kansas City Royals right-hander Stephen Kolek has been diagnosed with an oblique strain. He will be shut down for a week before he is reevaluated. 

In 2025, the Rockies started off the year with catchers Jacob Stallings and Hunter Goodman. The veteran Stallings was in his 10th MLB season, and Goodman was in just his third. However, ultimately, 2025 ended up bring not only Goodman’s first full year in MLB, but it was also his first full year catching.

Braxton Fulford eventually emerged, as well, after making his MLB debut on April 16, and finished the season in tandem with Goodman after Stallings was released in June.

Goodman obviously had a career year with an All-Star selection and Silver Slugger award and is looking to build on that, but Fulford is also planning to take the next step in his own career in 2026.

Everyone learned something in 2025 — including myself — but both Fulford and Goodman learned valuable lessons that will carry them into 2026.

“It’s the same game” Fulford said of his biggest lesson. “Just go out there, play hard, and trust your abilities because you’re there for a reason.”

Goodman echoed that, but also added this.

“Even when you have a good season, there’s a lot of rough patches where you go through things and you try and figure things out, so just trying to stay level-headed through all of it,” Goodman said.

“And I think as a team, we learned a lot. We had a lot of young guys play last year and get a chance to get their feet wet. And I’m still young, too, so [it was] good getting that first full season and catching them was really good. So I think we learned a lot and we’re going to go into this year trying to win some baseball games.”

They focused on different things in the offseason. For Goodman, is was about improving himself behind the plate.

“I had a lot of focus on the stuff behind the plate,” he said. “Some receiving stuff, cleaning up some of my throwing. My throwing was pretty poor. It was pretty poor throwing to bases last year, so [I’m] trying to figure some of that stuff out.“

For Fulford, it was more about working both behind the plate and in front of it.

“[I did] a little bit of swing work, just trying to make things more efficient there,” he said. “Catching work, same thing. Trying to clean up different areas that I thought had been better – receiving, throwing. I think a lot of areas felt good last year, so [I’m] just trying to build on those and then clean up different areas that I was inefficient.”

In addition to their own personal work, they — like the rest of the team — are getting used to the new changes the Rockies made to their coaching staff and front office. But they’re excited to see what’s next.

“I love it!” Fulford said.

“There’s a lot of good energy, new ways of thinking, and new ways of doing things.”

He added, “Pitchers have a lot of resources that they can use to improve their arsenals, to make adjustments where they saw deficiencies last year. Same thing with the catchers. We’re going about things differently so that we can get our pitchers in the zone, so that we can attack hitters early offensively. We have more resources there, as well, a whole different way of thinking in regards to the offensive part of the game, too.”

Fulford said, “Specially on the pitching side, we’re getting ahead and staying ahead. We’re not going to worry so much about pinpoint accuracy as we are throwing strikes with a lot of pitches and throwing our best stuff. [We’re] not just trying to throw the perfect location.”

Goodman echoed the “good energy” and said he’s excited to work with both the new and returning coaches.

“I like the hitting coaches,” he said. “Obviously, [Jordan] Pacheco is back from last year and then Brett [Pill]’s been awesome so far. And then just seeing how the pitching coaches are working with the pitchers and how they’re talking to me. I’m just excited going forward. I think the new staff is very open-minded to try new things in Denver, which I think will be good.”

Heading into 2026, both have similar goals.

For Goodman, it’s about “staying healthy and coming out of camp ready to play.”

For Fulford, it’s “want[ing] to put my skills on display, go out there and play hard because I know I’m more than capable of being an everyday catcher.”

To Read (Rockpiles)

• Monday: Brenton Doyle looks to reset in 2026 | Evan Lang
• Tuesday: Jake McCarthy settles in for the Rockies rebuild | Renee Dechert
• Wednesday: Consistency will be key for Jordan Beck in 2026 | Skyler Timmins
• Thursday: Rockies players and coaches offer their thoughts on the new ABS system | Sam Bradfield
• Friday: Rockies news: GM Josh Byrnes on maxing out and adaptability | Joelle Milholm

To Read (PuRPs)

Full Stream

• No. 4, Cole Carrigg
• No. 3, Brody Brecht
• No. 2, Ethan Holliday
• No. 1, Charlie Condon
• Top 30 Summary

To Read (Other)

• Staff Feature: Mickey Moniak is looking to build off his career 2025 season | Sam Bradfield
• Roster News: Rockies injury updates, Feb. 23 | Sam Bradfield

Weekend Discussion Topics

Who are you most excited to watch in the WBC? Which team do you think will win it all? Let us know in the comments!

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

The Tigers released a full schedule for televised Grapefruit League broadcasts on Friday. However, we’re still waiting on the details for Tigers TV and how and when games will be broadcast on local cable providers. The club thought those details would be finalized this week, but apparently we’re not quite there yet. In the meantime, the televised broadcasts this spring will mainly be free games of the day on MLB.tv, so anyone with an account will be able to watch them without paying for a season package. Most of them will also be on MLB Network, with ESPN carrying a March 2 matchup at home against the Braves.

10 of the remainng 24 games are slated to be MLB.tv free games of the day, so they will be available to anyone with an account, even if it isn’t active, with no home blackouts involved. That amount of broadcasts is pretty standard for the Grapefruit League. Most games will be available via the Tigers Radio Network as always.

On top of negotiating out all the broadcast rights in partnership with MLB, there’s also the matter of producing their own broadcasts, so there are a lot of things that may be holding up the Tigers TV package, which will eventually be available on MLB.tv. The Tigers will produce their own home broadcasts March 1st, 7th, and 21st, featuring the teams broadcasters. That probably means Dan Dickerson running the show for the most part, but Jason Benetti should get in at least one trial run with the new setup when he isn’t busy with national obligations covering March Madness.

So for now, if you don’t already have MLB.tv you should be able to just establish an account without purchasing a package, and watch the free games in March. At some point, the Tigers TV package will be ready for order, and we should find out about cable providers carrying the games in partnership with the Tigers along the way as well. At that point, everyone can figure out what’s best for their home viewing during the season.