Category: Baseball

Chad Baker-Mazara is the poster child for 2026 college athletics. A 26-year-old basketball mercenary at his fifth school, Baker-Mazara is the average age of an NBA player. Dismissed from USC for disciplinary reasons, Mazara makes the “student athlete” moniker laughable. He is obviously nothing more than a professional basketball player not good enough to play in the NBA.

Mark S. Roth
Playa Vista

Chad Baker-Mazara is 26 years old. USC is the fifth school he has played for, with a spotty (at best) record at each. So USC dismisses him for a number of reasons and Gilbert Arenas is quoted as saying "when you the best player on the team, whatever you say, you right." So forgive and forget?

School number six coming up.

Bert Bergen
La Cañada

So Gilbert Arenas says “when you the best player on the team, whatever you say, you right.”

So in other words you can be disruptive, not hustle, ignore your coach, etc., because you’re the “star” of the team.

Alijah Arenas, please do not listen to your father.

Oscar Rosalez
Diamond Bar

True blue

Bill Shaikin’s suggestion that Freddie Freeman wear a Dodger cap on his inevitable Hall of Fame plaque will be even more appropriate if Freeman becomes the first player to collect hit number 3,000 while wearing Dodger blue.

With Freeman needing only 569 more hits to get to his stated goal of at least 3,000 — barring a long-term lockout in 2027 or the unthinkable, a failure to extend Freddie’s contract by at least two more years — he should reach that milestone in 2029.

Ken Feldman
Tarzana

Helping hand

The Dodgers' efforts in helping former player Andrew Toles and his mental health condition are truly commendable.
More major league teams should follow suit similarly should their current and former players need this kind of support.

These types of humanitarian actions are why our Dodgers are looked upon so favorably in the baseball community, and why most players don’t hesitate in joining them should they have the chance.

Marty Zweben
Palos Verdes Estates

Kudos to the Dodgers for placing Andrew Toles on its restricted list these past years. Now is the time to really step up to the plate and pay for his health insurance going forward.

Felice Klein
Northridge

What the Halo?

I just read Bill Shaikin's column on the Angels and Zach Neto. In it, Angels owner Arte Moreno was quoted as saying that among Angels fans' priorities for the organization “winning is not in their top five.”

I almost dropped my coffee on my lap reading that one. Who did he poll to get that ridiculous response? Dodgers fans at a Dodgers game? If winning was not even in their “top five” what was?

Speaking as a very long-suffering Angels fan, I can tell you what my No. 1 priority is for the organization. Somehow get Arte Moreno to sell the team to a serious owner who does want to make winning the priority and not just an apparent tax writeoff for himself.

Chuck Lucero
Thousand Oaks

Bill Shaikin's column on Zach Neto and the Angels says all there is to know about the Angels poorly run organization. The owner says the fans do not care much about winning, and obviously neither does he. The GM refuses to talk, but the failure to sign or even offer a good young infielder speaks volumes. Will the Angels owner and front office ever wake up?

Bill Francis
Pasadena

There’s no doubt that the Angels’ Zach Neto is talented and a cornerstone for the team to build around. But in Bill Shaikin’s article, he’s quoted as saying, “I am going to be where my feet are every day, and that is here, with the city of Los Angeles and with the Angels.”

It seems like he has Arte Moreno disease, wanting to be in L.A., but living in the Orange County. Zach, if you don’t know where you are, you won’t know when you get there.

Bob Kargenian
Yorba Linda

What're the odds?

When Mirjam Swanson writes about the Lakers, "They're 1-8 against the league's top four teams," and Thuc Nhi Nguyen reports, "Five of the Lakers' next eight games are against the three teams directly ahead of them in the Western Conference," how am I supposed to like the Lakers' chances?

Vaughn Hardenberg
Westwood

Reign of pain

The Kings’ future is very dim with ownership (AEG) that doesn’t care about the success of the team and management that is clearly misguided. If only there was a partnership (Guggenheim) out there (Guggenheim) with a proven local team ownership record (Guggenheim) that could step in and begin the top to bottom house cleaning this organization desperately needs!

Nick Rose
Newport Coast

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The age of the Cardinals position player core could be the team’s secret weapon in 2026. While the roster is young, this isn’t a team built around 20- and 21-year-olds that are expected to contribute immediately. The projected starters on the position player side of things are all either in their prime or about to enter it. JJ Wetherholt is the youngest projected starting position player entering his age 23 season. On the other end of the spectrum, Lars Nootbaar, once healthy, will be the grizzled veteran of the bunch at 28 years old. This tight cluster of ages on the position player side prompted me to ask a couple of questions: 

1. How much more likely are we to see a career year from one of these players because of where they are on the aging curve?  

2. How does the age distribution of the team’s position players compare to rivals in the NL Central? 

One of the criticisms of the Cardinals over the last three seasons has been their overreliance on aging veterans and young players not ready to contribute at the big league level, with very few players in their mid-twenties. We are all familiar with the idea that players improve in their early 20s and decline after 30, as a general rule. As you would expect, players are far more likely to put up a career year in their mid-to-late 20s than any other time. I looked at data, courtesy of FanGraphs, from 1900 to 2025 to see at what age players are most likely to put up a career high in WAR.

Data notes: This is limited to players that have at least one season of 2+ WAR. Any season with 300+ plate appearances was included for players that have completed their age 34 season as of 2025.  

This chart simply shows in aggregate at which age players have posted their career high in WAR. You can see a fairly normal distribution peaking around age 27. Overall, 81% of career years occur between the ages of 24 and 31. 

Another way to slice the data is to see what a player’s chances are in any given season of posting a career year. 

Paul Goldschmidt defied the odds and put up an MVP year in his age 34 season in 2022. This is the exception that proves the rule and the next two seasons were a case study on why relying on older players can backfire. Goldschmidt’s decline also coincided with Jordan Walker debuting at 21, leaving the Cardinals relying on players either too early in their careers or too late in them.    

How the NL Central Stacks Up

So, how do the Cardinals compare to their Central Division rivals? To estimate this, I looked at the FanGraphs Depth Charts projections for the 2026 season. This projection allocates a full season of plate appearances (6,240 per team) based on current depth charts for each team. Looking at the projected plate appearances and the age of the players, we can get a sense of the general shape of the rosters. 

This table outlines the percent of each team’s plate appearances that are expected from each age group. The Cardinals are projected to get 9% of the team plate appearances from 18- to 23-year-olds, all of which belong to JJ Wetherholt. 86% of the team’s plate appearances are projected to be taken by 24 to 31-year-olds led by Masyn Winn (24), Alec Burleson (27), and Ivan Herrera (26). The 5% in the 32+ category all belong to Ramon Urias. The Cardinals leading the division in projected plate appearances from players in their prime provides a glimmer of hope that this roster could produce a few career years. 

The 24-31 age bracket is probably the best way to identify players in their prime for the upcoming season, but there is obviously a huge difference between the 24- and 31-year-olds for a team’s long-term prospects. Breaking things down in a bit more granularity paints an even more descriptive picture.

A couple of things that jump out to me when looking at this breakdown:

• The Pirates’ Konnor Griffin is the only player in the division 21 or younger projected to get an at-bat this year. Pittsburgh has a surprisingly old position player group outside of Griffin.
• Milwaukee’s projected 69% of team plate appearances from the 26-29 demographic is tops not only in the division, but also in all of baseball. Small market teams will have to dominate this bracket of players because teams like the Brewers are unlikely to get much production from star free agents that are still producing into their 30s. 
• Chicago has a great roster, but they are going to get old fast with Dansby Swanson (32), Alex Bregman (32), Ian Happ (31), Seiya Suzuki (31), and Carson Kelly providing roughly half the team’s plate appearances and projected value. This is certainly not a problem in the short-term as teams like the Dodgers and Phillies have even older rosters, but if they don’t increase their payroll, they may be gliding into a rebuild over the coming seasons. 

A roster full of players in their prime doesn’t guarantee success, the players still have to perform, but it does provide some upside that might not be obvious when scanning the roster. The Central Division will remain open for the taking over the next decade unless the Cubs start spending like a top-tier team. The Cardinals may not have the star power of some National League contenders, but their roster construction places them squarely in the part of the aging curve where players are most likely to produce their best seasons. With 86% of their projected plate appearances coming from players between 24 and 31, St. Louis has more hitters in their statistical prime than any other team in the division. If even a couple of those players reach their peak in the same season, the Cardinals’ offense could look much better than many projections currently expect.

Did you happen to see the lineup that the Phillies put out yesterday against the Pirates? Sure they won in a 14-10 barnburner, but man did that scorecard contain a lot of names that will be forgotten in a few short weeks. Such is life in the WBC spring training.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Keaton Anthony has been getting some BP looks in left field this spring ($). He tried it during a game Thursday; it didn’t go well.
• The Cristopher Sanchez-Curtis Mead trade takes at the time have not aged well. A lesson in being patient with trades rather than make snap judgements ($).
• Jhoan Duran still won’t discuss what his new pitch actually is, even if we kind of already know thanks to Statcast.

MLB news:

• Jeremy Pena will miss the WBC for the Dominican Republic with a fractured finger tip. A sizeable blow for the DR’s roster.
• Whenever there is a suspension for PED usage, the takes on the situation can range from considered to outlandish. Let’s place this one closer to the latter ($).
• The Angels are the latest team to try their own television channel. Maybe the people watching it won’t care about winning either.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked fans who they think will round out the 13 position players on Milwaukee’s roster come opening day.

As a reminder, here’s a quick run down who should make the roster.

1. William Contreras (C)
2. Gary Sánchez (C)
3. Andrew Vaughn (1B)
4. Jake Bauers (1B)
5. Brice Turang (2B)
6. Joey Ortiz (SS)
7. Luis Rengifo (3B)
8. David Hamilton (UTIL)
9. Jackson Chourio (OF)
10. Sal Frelick (OF)
11. Garrett Mitchell (OF)
12. Christian Yelich (DH/OF)

With those 12 in mind, I left our fans with four options for the survey: Akil Baddoo, Tyler Black, Brandon Lockridge, and Blake Perkins. Here’s what the results showed:

It was a pretty solid four-way race, though Perkins prevailed with 40% of the vote. He was followed by Black (32%), Lockridge (17%), and Baddoo (11%). It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise for a few reasons.

Firstly, Perkins is the most experienced Brewer. While Baddoo has more major league experience, Perkins has been in the fold for Milwaukee for the last three seasons, spanning 242 career games with a .232/.314/.339 lin to go with 13 homers, 82 RBIs, 107 runs, and 35 steals along with plus-plus defense. Lockridge and Black both have less than a full season of experience, and Baddoo has only appeared in 38 MLB games the last two seasons (and just seven in 2025).

Second, Perkins is easily the best defensive player of the group. While Lockridge and Baddoo can hold their own, Black is a below-average defender, and Milwaukee’s preference for solid defense is arguably greater than any other team in baseball. Perkins was an NL Gold Glove finalist in 2024 and probably could have been a finalist in 2023 and 2025 had he played enough games to qualify. All you need to see is him cutting Starling Marte (still one of the fastest players in baseball at 36) down at the plate in the ninth to beat the Mets last season.

Disagree with the results? Feel free to weigh in with your opinion in the comments. Thanks for participating in our Reacts survey, and be sure to use FanDuel Sportsbook for all of your sports betting needs.

Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

In the top of both the fourth and sixth innings, Maryland baseball loaded the bases — just one hit away from gaining the lead or catching up. Both times, the batter failed to outduel the pitcher, sending everyone back to the dugout. 

An inability to follow through ultimately cost Maryland its fifth loss of the season, a 5-2 defeat against the Trojans. 

The last time Maryland baseball saw six scoreless innings was against University of Louisiana-Lafayette on Feb. 21. Louisiana dominated, with a 9-1 thrashing curbing any chance of winning the series for the Terps. 

Against Troy University on Friday, a similar fate took shape. 

Troy pitcher Tommy Egan posed a serious threat for Maryland’s batters. In his five-inning scoreless tenure on the mound, Egan struck out two-thirds of Maryland’s lineup, and he got Jordan Crosland twice.

Lance Williams bounced back from his eight-run, four-inning outing a week ago against Wagner. The sophomore recorded 10 strikeouts in six innings — five more than his performance against Wagner. 

“For the most part, Lance was dominating,” Swope said. 

Troy’s Aaron Piasecki pushed the Trojans into the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. The center fielder knocked a bomb 345 feet from home over the right-field fence. 

His home run, which brought home Blake Cavill and Jimmy Janicki, put the Terps in a three-run hole they could not dig out of.

Maryland’s chance at taking the lead slid further away just one inning later, after Troy’s Zaid Diaz hit a line drive toward first base. First baseman Paul Jones II went diving for it, but the ball flew over his head as he hit the ground, opening the door for a runner to score from second base. 

Cristofer Cespedes relieved Lance Williams after six innings, marking his sixth mound appearance so far this season. 

The sophomore almost made things worse for the Terps in his one inning. Cespedes walked two batters and hit one with a pitch, but he escaped the bases-loaded jam.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, with runners on first and second, Troy’s Nolan Book singled up the middle on a 1-0 count. Second baseman David Mendez attempted to make the acrobatic snag, but also hit the ground without the ball in his glove. 

Again, a missed dive on a grounder up the middle allowed the Trojan on second base to run home on a single.

Maryland struggled on offense as well. The Terps only connected with the ball seven times in 32 total at-bats.

Mendez’s fifth at-bat deep in the ninth inning spared some blushes, though. Staring down Troy relief pitcher Cooper Ellingworth with a 1-0 count, the second baseman swung, hitting a rocket that bounced on the track in deep left field. 

Both Jordan Crosland and Brayden Martin were able to round the bases, cutting Troy’s impending shutout short. But with two outs already on the board, a simple ground out against Ryan Costello cost the Terps the game. 

Three things to know

1. Bright spot in a dark lineup. Shortstop Ty Kaunas continued to be a bright spot in Maryland’s lineup. The freshman was the only Terp to log more than one hit, going 2-for-4 in the batter’s box.

“[Kaunas]’s a special talent,” Swope said. “I couldn’t be happier that he’s here.”

2. Aggression takes a backseat. The Terps’ game against Troy marks the first Friday that no Terps stole any bases, only the third game where no base-stealing attempts were made.

3. Continued struggles away. Friday marks Maryland’s fourth consecutive weekend away loss. The Terps have two more games in Alabama to cut that streak.

The World Baseball Classic has been the premier opportunity for nations to claim bragging rights as to who produces the best baseball players.

The professional baseball tournament that began in 2006 is back in its sixth rendition featuring 20 national baseball teams to compete in games around the world from March 5 to March 17.

Pool play will be played in in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Houston, Texas; Tokyo, Japan, and Miami, Florida. The quarterfinals will be held in Houston and Miami, while the semifinals and final are in Miami.

In the last WBC tournament, Japan defeated the defending champions United States, 3-2, in the 2023 WBC championship game to claim their record-extending third title.

It was one of the most watched games in baseball history, attracting 5.2 million viewers in the United States and 62 million from Japan.

The game ended with an epic showdown between then-Los Angeles Angels teammates Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani, a dual threat as a pitcher and hitter, pitched against Trout, a home-run maestro himself. Ohtani was named MVP.

This year, the U.S. includes the likes of Aaron Judge, pitchers Logan Webb and Paul Skenes, and sluggers Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Bobby Witt Jr.

Here's what you need to know about the World Baseball Classic:

Good morning, all! We’re still basking in the glow of the eight glorious World Baseball Classic games yesterday, and guess what? We get eight more today, and then seven more tomorrow and Monday, respectively, before the fire hose of baseball is turned down a bit. But for now, here’s how it feels:

Anyway, we’re keeping it simple for our prompt today. The eight winning teams outscored their opponents yesterday by a combined margin of 76-13, and there were subsequently a whole bunch of awesome dingers! Which one would you describe as the most explosive?

You’ll notice that we used a word that should be almost entirely objective. It’s just a question of which was most aesthetically impressive to you and made your jaw drop the most. One of those “you know it when you see it” kind of deals. Now, how about some contenders?

Shohei Ohtani

Javier Sanoja

Aaron Judge

Junior Caminero

Oneil Cruz

Stuart Fairchild

These were all fun homers to watch for their own unique reasons, and I will say that Sanoja’s makes me laugh the most. But with all due respect to the Captain’s blast in Houston and Cruz’s absolute moonshot, there’s something about Caminero’s that just really blows me away. It might just be because it kind of broke the ballgame with bang, as it went from a tense 3-3 matchup to a Dominican lead, and they just kept their feet on the gas pedal until it was over (enabling Cruz’s howitzer).

Oh, and I just have to say: Congrats to José Contreras and Manny Ramirez’s kids on showing out against Team USA for Brazil at ages 17 and 20, respectively. Eye-opening stuff against a loaded ballclub like that! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to take some Advil and steadfastly refusing to consider where I was in my own life when those kiddos were born.

Jeremy already ran through the first four WBC games from yesterday early last night, but Peter will have you covered for the other four. Madison will run through our Reacts results from this week’s Yankees survey about which pitching prospect is garnering the most excitement and CC Sabathia’s number retirement. Jonathan will celebrate the birthday of Mike Armstrong (a Forrest Gump-esque figure for the Yankees during a four-year stretch or so in the ’80s), Sam will preview the 2026 Arizona Diamondbacks, and between the Yankees’ exhibition game tonight and eight more WBC games, we’ll have baseball. Oh so much baseball.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals

Time: 6:35 p.m. EST

Video: N/A (Audio available via MLB.tv/106.7 FM Nats radio)

Venue: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach, FL

Observations from Yankees spring training Friday:

Single file

Trent Grisham had been quiet at the plate through his first six games, but delivered a two-run single to get the scoring going in Friday’s 3-0 win over the Rays.

Challenge accepted

Catcher Payton Henry, who should provide some depth at Triple-A, went 4-for-5 in ABS challenges behind the plate, helping his pitchers out throughout the night.

Caught my eye

It was a strong night for the Yankees’ lefty relievers. Tim Hill and Brent Headrick both retired all five batters they faced, with each of them striking out four.

Hill and Headrick offer different looks from the left side, but the Yankees are banking on both of them being key contributors in the bullpen this season.

Saturday’s schedule

The Yankees head to the other coast of Florida for the weekend, beginning with Will Warren getting the start against the Nationals at Cacti Park of the Palm Beaches on Saturday night.

Observations from Mets spring training Friday:

Catching up

Francisco Álvarez had a pair of hits — including a double — and also threw out a runner trying to swipe second.

Bounce back

Craig Kimbrel struggled with his command in his first outing of the spring and then walked the first batter he faced Friday, but recovered and looked sharp in retiring the next three batters, two by strikeout.

Caught my eye

Luis Robert Jr. homered in a minor league game on a back field in Port St. Lucie.

Carlos Mendoza said Robert “continues to crush pitching” and will play center in minor league games every other day through Wednesday’s off day as he slowly preps for the regular season after being plagued by lower-body injuries with the White Sox.

Saturday’s schedule

Kodai Senga takes the mound when the Mets visit Jupiter, Fla., for a second straight day at Roger Dean Stadium, this time to face the Cardinals at 1:05 p.m.

HOUSTON — Baseball is rarely easy to predict, and so Lucas Ramirez has made a habit of the next best thing.

In the months leading up to his World Baseball Classic debut for Team Brazil against Team USA, the outfielder ritually practiced affirmations and visualizations to prepare for his entry onto baseball’s international scene.

“Ever since the (WBC) qualifiers, I was envisioning that first at-bat bomb,” Ramirez said. “And it’s crazy that it actually happened. For five months, I’ve been – every time before I go to bed after I pray, I visualize it. And it happened.”  

So when Ramirez rounded the bases at Daikin Park on Friday night after he delivered a leadoff home run in Brazil’s first at-bat of the tournament – one of two solo home runs he hit in the game – he screamed, “I told you!”

“I say go out there with confidence (and) you can do anything you speak,” Ramirez said later. “If you say it out loud, it’ll happen. I’m telling you. It will happen.”

Although Team USA broke the game open in the late innings for a 15-5 win over Brazil, two of Brazil’s youngest players provided the team’s brightest moments.

At 20 years and 49 days old, Ramirez is the youngest player in WBC history with a multi-homer game. His teammate, Brazil pitcher Joseph Contreras, the youngest player in the tournament at 17 years and 291 days old, got USA captain Aaron Judge to ground into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.

TAMPA — Another week, another box checked for Gerrit Cole, all while continuing to impress the Yankees. 

Five days shy of the one-year anniversary of undergoing Tommy John surgery, Cole threw two innings of live batting practice Friday afternoon at Steinbrenner Field, taking another step in his buildup toward what the Yankees hope is an early-season return. 

The veteran right-hander threw 30 pitches, including breaking balls, and topped out at 97.5 mph with his fastball against the last batter he faced. “It actually felt good,” Cole said. “The second inning felt really good.” 

This marked the third time Cole has faced hitters this spring, but the first across two innings and the first time Boone has watched from behind the mound, since the Yankees were playing on the road the last two times. 

Boone indicated he was most encouraged by Cole’s command, something that often is the last thing to return for pitchers coming back from Tommy John. 

“That’s what feels remarkable to me about what I’ve watched in my handful of bullpens that I’ve seen him, his live,” Boone said. “I know we’re talking about the stuff and obviously everyone gets excited about that, but how sharp he is [is impressive].” 

Cole has reiterated a 14-18 month timeline for a return to the big league mound, which would mean May 11 at the earliest.

The Yankees are also cognizant of the fact that he did not throw a single inning last season and want to give the former AL Cy Young the best chance to be available to pitch in big games late in the year, so they will be disciplined with his timeline despite how good he has looked. 

“Trouble is coming,” top pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange said with a grin through an interpreter. 

Lagrange alternated innings with Cole and continued to dazzle with his fastball that regularly hit 101 mph. 

“It’s silly,” Cole said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s wild. … I’m just blown away by the velocity every time.” 

Veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk, who arrived at camp last week as a non-roster invite, is likely to make his spring debut Monday. … Carlos Rodón, rehabbing after offseason elbow surgery to shave a bone spur and remove loose bodies, is scheduled to throw another bullpen session Saturday and could begin facing hitters his next time out. … Rafael Montero has still not reported to camp because of visa/paperwork issues after signing a minor league deal on Feb. 13. 

The Yankees reassigned RHP Adam Kloffenstein to minor league camp.

JUPITER, Fla. — After a year marred first by an oblique strain suffered in spring training and an elbow issue in July, it was somewhat eye-opening to see Sean Manaea’s velocity drop by more than 3 mph from last year on both his four-seam fastball and his sinker in his opening Grapefruit League start Friday against the Marlins. 

The lefty, though, said he was unconcerned by the dip in the numbers, noting the “weird mound” at Roger Dean Stadium, as well as it being his first start of the spring against an opposing team. 

“Some pitches need a little work, but I feel healthy and for the most part I was throwing strikes,’’ Manaea said of his three-inning outing in which he allowed just one hit, a homer by Connor Norby in the bottom of the first. He threw 33 pitches, just 19 for strikes. 

Manaea said he was pleased with his changeup and cutter. 

Carlos Mendoza also liked the cutter, noting it broke in against right-handers and had movement. 

Of the decreased velocity, Mendoza said, “I’m not gonna make too much of the first one. He says he feels really good physically.’’ 

As for his arm slot, which the Mets believed may have gotten too low last season, Manaea said he’s looking to get a bit higher, although not over the top. 

More than anything, though, Manaea wants to avoid the IL. 

“I think I’m good,” he said. “I feel healthy. I feel strong.” 

It’s a long way from the east coast of Florida to the cauldron of New York, but Devin Williams has so far looked more like the lockdown closer he was for the Brewers in his early days with the Mets than he did a year ago with the Yankees. 

He struck out three in an inning earlier in the week and tossed another scoreless inning Friday. 

“He’s pretty elite,’’ Mendoza said. “Players at some point…are gonna go through tough stretches. For him, it wasn’t easy out of the gate [with the Yankees] and you know how that can be, especially here in New York. But he figured it out and he’s been that guy.” 

The Mets are counting on Williams being that again this season in the wake of Edwin Díaz’s departure to the Dodgers, leaving Williams as the clear choice to finish games. 

“We’ve just got to keep him healthy,” Mendoza said. “I like the fact he’s working on that slider. Maybe that will be a different look for hitters and get them off the fastball and changeup.” 

As for closing out games during the regular season, the manager said of Williams, “He’s been in that position and we’re counting on him.” 

Robert Stock, who impressed during his first Grapefruit League appearance for the Mets, has been shut down with a shoulder injury, Mendoza said Friday. 

The right-hander tossed three scoreless innings against Houston on Feb. 26 before experiencing discomfort following his outing with Team Israel in the WBC. 

Mendoza said the 36-year-old Stock, signed to a minor league deal for pitching depth, will be sidelined for the rest of the tournament as the Mets determine the severity of the injury. He underwent an MRI on Friday… Freddy Peralta is scheduled to start for the Mets on Sunday… Right-hander Dylan Ross was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Friday. 

Here are the latest updates on Yankees who are playing in the World Baseball Classic...

March 15

USA vs. Dominican Republic

The United States advanced to Tuesday night's World Baseball Classic title game with a 2-1 win over the Dominican Republic that saw a trio of Yanks perform well.

Aaron Judge cracked a single in his first at-bat, but finished 1-for-4 with two strikeouts at the plate. But he was involved in the two biggest plays on defense on the night. First in the bottom of the third, the reigning AL MVP gunned down Fernando Tatis Jr. at third base to end the inning with a perfect throw. 

Then, in the top of the 5th, Judge cranked a ball deep to center (109.9 mph off the bat), but Julio Rodriguez made a leaping grab to rob him of a homer for a 407-foot out that would have been gone in 14 of 30 big-league parks. (But not Yankee Stadium.)

Reliever David Bednar put himself into and out of trouble during the seventh inning as he tried to protect the Americans' 2-1 lead. After getting the first out, there was a bit of Yankee-on-Yankee crime as Austin Wells ribbed a double to right on a ball that got over Judge's head. Geraldo Perdomo followed with a single to left, but Wells was held at third base.

Perdomo would steal second a few pitches later, but Bednar kept the US ahead, getting Tatis to swing through three splitters all below the zone and winning a five-pitch battle with Ketel Marte whiffing at a 1-2 curveball in the dirt.

The double was Wells' only hit, as he finished his WBC by going 1-for-3 with a strikeout.

Austin Wells doubles off David Bednar over Aaron Judge's head to put the tying-run in scoring position for the DR pic.twitter.com/xI23optjfY

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) March 16, 2026

David Bednar gets out of the jam! pic.twitter.com/s0pHCKq5JQ

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 16, 2026

March 14

Puerto Rico vs. Italy

Fernando Cruz continued his scoreless streak in the WBC with 1.1 more shutout innings against Team Italy which included two strikeouts. 

Cruz entered in the fourth inning with Team Puerto Rico down 8-2 following a two-run ground-rule double by J.J. D'Orazio that capped a four-run inning. The right-hander immediately put out the fire by striking out Dante Nori to end the frame and went back out for the fifth where he had a 1-2-3 inning.

With Puerto Rico getting bounced from the tournament after an 8-6 loss, Cruz ended his WBC with 2.2 scoreless innings across three appearances. 

Before joining Puerto Rico, Cruz had not allowed a run in three games with the Yankees meaning the right-hander has yet to be scored upon this spring.

March 13

USA vs. Canada

Aaron Judge went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk in Team USA's quarterfinal game against Canada. While that was impressive, Yankees closer David Bednar had the performance of the night, thanks to escaping a jam in the seventh.

With Team USA holding on to a 5-3 lead, Bednar allowed two singles with no outs. Catcher Cal Raleigh allowed a ball to get past him to set Canada up with runners on second and third and still no one out. Bednar bounced back to get Josh Naylor to pop out, Tyler O'Neil to strike out and to get outfield prospect Owen Caissie to strike out swinging on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.

Bednar preserved the USA's lead as they will now go on to face the Dominican Republic on Sunday in the semifinals.

Korea vs. Dominican Republic

Austin Wells didn't get the start in Friday's quarterfinal game -- the Marlins' Agustin Ramirez got the nod -- but the Yankees backstop made his presence known. In his lone at-bat, Team DR was up 7-0. With runners on first and third and two outs, Wells ambushed the first pitch he saw and deposited a three-run shot over the right-field wall.

Per the WBC's mercy rule, Team DR was up by 10 after seven innings, giving the team the victory. 

The Dominican Republic will now face Team USA in the semifinals.

AUSTIN WELLS MERCY RULE WALK-OFF 3 RUN HOMER! pic.twitter.com/6GGwJ4HVkZ

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 14, 2026

March 11

Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela

Team DR beat Venezuela on Wednesday to finish undefeated in pool play, and secure the top spot in Pool D. 

Austin Wells reached three times on the night and scored one of the team's seven runs. 

He drew a walk ahead of a Fernando Tatis Jr. homer in the fourth, singled up the middle in the sixth, then walked again on six pitches with two outs in the eighth.

Wells is hitting just .162 for the tourney, but this was arguably his best showing. 

Fellow Yankee Camilo Doval also played a part, as he struck out one and needed just 12 pitches to work through a perfect bottom of the eighth.

Team DR will now face Korea on Friday night in the quarterfinals. 

March 10

Italy vs. USA

The Yankees had plenty of representation in this game, and they all played a part in Team USA's near-comeback on Tuesday night.

Once down 8-0, Team USA stormed back to cut Italy's lead to 8-6 in the ninth inning. Aaron Judge came up as the tying run with two outs, but struck out swinging on a 1-2 changeup low and out of the zone from Greg Weissert, to finish the miraculous win by Italy. 

Judge finished 0-for-4 with a walk. 

Yankees closer David Bednar appeared in the eighth with the USA down 8-4 and helped keep Italy off the board. The right-hander struck out two batters, but his most impressive display was getting out of a bases-loaded jam after allowing two hits and hitting a batter without allowing a run.

Paul Goldschmidt got his first start of the WBC, and the former MVP went 1-for-3 with a run scored. 

Ryan Yarbrough took over for Mets rookie Nolan McLean in the fourth inning. The southpaw struggled, allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and one walk while striking out two batters.

TEAM ITALY SHOCKS THE BASEBALL WORLD! #WORLDBASEBALLCLASSICpic.twitter.com/65hmK0Fuvl

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 11, 2026

March 9

Mexico vs. USA

Aaron Judgeshowed off his arm and then hit a two-run home run to put the Americans ahead during a five-run third inning that accounted for all of USA's runs in a 5-3 win over Mexico on Monday night in Houston. The Yankee captain finished the game 2-for-3 with two walks and two RBI.

Brazil vs Great Britain

Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s run with the British came to a close on Monday, but not after the Yankee infielder went 2-for-5 with three RBI in an 8-1 win over Brazil. Brendan Beck, the No. 22 prospect in the Yanks' system, got the start and, despite walking two, the right-hander delivered four scoreless innings on 53 pitches (31 strikes) with four strikeouts.

Colombia vs. Panama

Jose Caballero hit the ball hard all five times he came up to bat, but only came away with two hits. Fortunately for the infielder, one of those hard hits was a 370-foot home run (106.2 mph exit velocity) and the other a 97.6 mph single. Unfortunately for him, Panama fell 4-3 despite him going 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Cuba vs. Puerto Rico

Fernando Cruz allowed a walk, but struck out two during a scoreless eighth inning of work in Puerto Rico's 4-1 win. Cruz got four whiffs on five swings and needed just 18 pitches (seven strikes) for the clean inning. Elmer Rodriguez, who was sent down to minor league camp on Monday, but in his starter he allowed one hit and three walks while striking out three over three scoreless innings and was the game's winning pitcher. He threw 50 pitches (21 strikes).

Dominican Republic vs. Israel

Amed Rosario went hitless in his lone at-bat after entering the game off the bench in a 10-1 win.

March 7

Panama vs. Puerto Rico

Jose Caballero was on the doorstep of being his country's hero on Saturday. In the 10th inning of their game with Puerto Rico, Caballero lined a single up the middle to give Panama a 3-2 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, Caballero made a sensational double play to get two outs, but Puerto Rico tied the game and eventually won it a hitter later on a Darell Hernaiz walk-off homer.

Caballero finished 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.

USA vs. Great Britain

Aaron Judge didn't have the night he did the day before, but he was still effective, driving home a run on a single to left field in Team USA's three-run sixth inning. The Yankees and Team USA captain finished 1-for-5 with a strikeout.

Yankees closer David Bednar made an appearance, striking out two in a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

On the other side, Jazz Chisholm Jr. is still looking for his first WBC hit after a rough 0-for-4 performance with four strikeouts for the golden sombrero.

Aaron Judge with a long RBI single for Team USA! 🇺🇲 pic.twitter.com/6gj0tqmhAh

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 8, 2026

March 6

USA vs. Brazil

Aaron Judge got the night started for Team USA with a two-run shot in his first-ever WBC at-bat. The captain finished 1-for-4 with two walks and three runs scored, but he could have done a lot more damage. In his second at-bat, Judge had his bat sawed off by 17-year-old Joseph Contreras -- son of former Yankees pitcher Jose Contreras -- to ground into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.

Despite that missed opportunity, Team USA went on to win 15-5 over Brazil.

Dominican Republic vs. Nicaragua

Yankees reliever Camilo Doval pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning to pick up the hold in DR's 12-3 win. Yankees catcher Austin Wells went 0-for-5 with a strikeout for DR, while Amed Rosario came in to pinch-run and play third base in the later innings.

Puerto Rico vs. Colombia

Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz got on out to get out of a jam in the eighth as PR went on to win 5-0.

Panama vs. Cuba

Jose Caballero went 0-for-2 with a walk in Panama's 3-1 loss

Great Britain vs. Mexico

Jazz Chisholm Jr. went 0-for-5 with a strikeout, leading off for Great Britain in the team's 8-2 loss to Mexico.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Carlos Lagrange has been turning heads this spring, and joining the list is his most esteemed colleague in Gerrit Cole. The youngster hit triple digits on the radar gun several times during a live BP session Friday afternoon, and the Cy Young winner was simply blown away. “I’ve hit 101 in my career probably less than 10 times, and I’ve seen him do it every single time,” said Cole. Hopefully Lagrange can continue to hone his command – which, frankly, has already been better than expected this spring – and reach his top of the rotation ceiling.

The Athletic | Jayson Stark: ($) Will the advent of ABS eliminate manager ejections for arguing balls and strikes? Not so, says Aaron Boone. I’m inclined to believe him; he knows what he’s talking about. After all, per Stark, Boone has led the league in ejections for five years running now — something that even the legendarily cantankerous Bobby Cox never did. While ABS should help turn many a low strike call on Aaron Judge into balls, there are still other avenues in which Boone can channel his rage towards the blue.

FanGraphs | Davy Andrews: FanGraphs is doing a series on who to root for in each pool of the WBC, and some familiar names are mentioned in their preview of Pool B. Aaron Judge is the most obvious one, though for the wrong reasons (his lackluster speech to Team USA is lampooned yet again). Jazz Chisholm Jr. receives a shoutout in the Team Great Britain section as the best player on his team. Finally, old friend Dante Bichette Jr. (of the glorious green hair) is name-dropped in the Team Brazil writeup. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to grab a beer and ruminate on early 2010s Yankee prospects and the passage of time.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Nine months after a slide gone wrong at T-Mobile Park ended his 2025 season, Oswaldo Cabrera returned to the field* yesterday against the Rays, drawing a walk in his only plate appearance and making a couple of plays at short before being pinch-hit for by George Lombard Jr. in the fourth. It’s certainly been a long road to recovery for Oswaldo, and he’s feeling all the emotions right now: “Having nine months out of the field, I feel so happy about it. I’m feeling so good right now.” We’re happy for you too, Oswaldo. Best of luck in 2026.

*Cam Schlittler returned as well for his spring debut, but we’re keeping the focus on Cabrera for this story.