Category: Baseball

The final infield bat? Up in the air. Free agents? Available. A trade for CJ Abrams? Possible. Maybe? The Washington Nationals did just trade Mackenzie Gore so it’s possible they burn things completely to the ground. Gore, however, did cost the Texas Rangers a king’s ransom of prospects.

We are, as of today, January 29, 2026, 55 days away from Opening Day. It’s a little early for countdowns, but in this weird period between building the team and heading to Spring Training, let’s go ahead and do one anyway, taking a look at the Red Sox players who have worn number 55.

55 isn’t the most popular uniform number but also isn’t the least. Just 9 players for Boston have donned it versus 61 players for number 28, the most worn number.

Let’s remember some guys.

Chris Martin

You don’t need much of a reminder about Martin. The 6’8” righty reliever wore 55 during his two-year stint in Boston in 2023-2024. A real ace of a signing, Martin put up the best season of his career in 2023. Sadly, that team wasn’t in a place to take advantage of a shutdown reliever having a career year.

Matt Strahm

Who can forget Matt Strahm and his very long hair in 2022? Sadly this was his worst full season in the majors, although a 3.83 ERA / 3.72 FIP across 44.2 innings isn’t terrible either. He was one and done, signed as a free agent. He’s been a valuable part of the Phillies bullpen over the last three seasons but found himself shipped off to Kansas City in December.

Christian Vázquez

When he first came up in 2014, Vázquez wore 55. When he returned for good from 2016-2022 the World Series hero took up number 7, currently worn by Masataka Yoshida but previously worn by luminaries like Trot Nixon and J.D. Drew.

Chris Capuano

Do you remember Chris Capuano’s Red Sox career? I had forgotten too. He actually shared 55 in 2014 with Vázquez. The lefty appeared in 28 games out of the bullpen and over 31.2 innings allowed 15 runs. He was released on July 1 that year, signed by the Colorado Rockies on the 4th, and then purchased by the Yankees on the 24th before ever pitching for the Rockies. He had some memorable seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers but not for John Farrell.

Ryan Kalish

We’re all the way back to 2010-2012 now for Ryan Kalish and if you don’t remember the hype, it was a lot. Kalish was the number one player in the farm system according to SoxPropsects back in 2011. In 2010 he was behind possible two-way player Casey Kelly and Josh Reddick/Lars Anderson, depending on if you looked in April or June. His .710 OPS over 53 games as a 22-year-old would turn out to be the high water mark of his career. After being released he would latch on to the Theo Epstein Cubs and hit .286/.444/.286 in 7 games in 2016 but presumably collect a World Series ring. He wasn’t released until December 2013 but didn’t appear in the majors for the Red Sox, losing out on a second World Series championship. That would have really made him a trivia answer.

Joey Gathright

The speedster wore 23 in his 2009 Red Sox callup and 55 for his next and final major league action in 2011. He could steal 20 bases a year (for the Rays and Royals – he stole 2 in 24 games for the Red Sox) but couldn’t hit the ball with power, owning a .303 career slugging percentage.

Jeff Bailey

Bailey was drafted by the then-Florida Marlins in 1997 before being purchased by the Montreal Expos in 2002, where he would remain for a year. Upon tasting free agency he signed with the Red Sox in November 2003. He would then spend three more years in the minors. A decade after he was drafted, and 961 minor league games later, Jeff Bailey would make his major league debut on July 6, 2007. He’d get two more games that season, 27 in 2008, and 26 in 2009. He wore 55 for all of them.

Lenny DiNardo

Former pitcher and current NESN analyst Lenny DiNardo wore 55 from 2004-2006. Claimed off waivers by the Oakland A’s from the Red Sox in February 2007, he cleared the way for 55 to open up for Jeff Bailey.

Ramiro Mendoza

A one-and-done Red Sox reliever in 2003 who never lived up to the work he did with the Yankees. His final appearance for Boston was Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS.

Todd Erdos

Boston was the last stop of his five-year career and the righty bullpen arm appeared in 10 games.

Rich Croushore

Croushore tossed 4.2 innings for the Red Sox in 2000. He was traded by the Rockies to Boston (with others) for Jeff Frye, Brian Rose, and John Wasdin. Those are sure some throwbacks.

Below is a picture of John Wasdin because Getty didn’t have one of Croushore as a Red Sox player.

Brian Shouse

8.0 innings in Boston in 1998. Signed as a free agent and released.

Carlos Reyes

In 1998, Reyes wore 55 for the Padres and Red Sox but never wore the number in any other year or on any other team.

Jeff Suppan

Suppan would wear 55 from 1995-1997 but would wear 35 for his 2003 return to Boston.

Suppan would later lose Game 3 of the 2004 World Series to the Red Sox, making a memorable base-running blunder.

Joe Hesketh

Another lefty pitcher for the list, he’d take 55 from 1990-1994.

Phil Plantier

Plantier would only spend 14 games in the majors in 1990 and when Hesketh was acquired he was in the majors and took 55 over. Plantier would wear 7 when he came back and 29 in 1991-1992.

Randy Kutcher

Possibly a fan of the number 5, Kutcher would wear 55 in 1988 before changing to 5 for 1989 and 1990. Although before he was in Boston he wore 9 and 19 with the San Fransisco Giants.

La Schelle Tarver

One-and-done for both the Red Sox and his major league career, Tarver, listed as a centerfielder and pinch runner, wore 55 for all of his 13 games.

Bob Veale

The first Red Sox player to wear 55, Veale did so from 1972-1974, the final three seasons of his career. Over 10 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates before that he wore 39. In Boston, 39 was taken by Mike Garmen when he arrived and then Tim Blackwell after Veale had settled into 55.

Good morning, baseball fans!

The newest member of the San Francisco Giants, Harrison Bader, joinedThe Max Mannis Podcast earlier this week to discuss his decision to join the Giants’ organization.

During the episode, Bader discusses his approach to facing his new team’s biggest rivals and reigning World Series champions (boo), the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In a post from Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area, Rodriguez quotes Bader’s conversation with Mannis, saying:

“I think it just gives you an opportunity to go out and compete against some of the best players in baseball — and that’s awesome. Dive into that energy, have a game plan and trust it. Go out there and execute. That’s really all there is to it.“

You’ve got to love that outlook. It’s not easy to be the newest member of the Tune Squad, sizing up the MonStars, so I respect his perspective.

You can watch the full video below, it’s a little under a half hour. So get your coffee, settle in, and get to know your newest outfielder!

David Lesky looks at who could be a candidate to lead off for the Royals.

If what we saw from Garcia in 2025 is real, and the Royals are betting on it with the contract extension, he fits as a pretty traditional leadoff hitter that blends old school with new school….

I think the argument against it is that he’s needed in the middle of the lineup too. If he’s hitting first, that probably props Salvador Perez up to the fourth spot, which is maybe fine, but I would still like to see him hitting fifth or sixth as we saw often toward the end of last season. Putting someone else in the leadoff spot with Garcia hitting fourth, Perez fifth and then finishing the lineup helps make it look a whole lot deeper. But at the same time, that’s giving fewer at bats to someone who might deserve more. It’s easy to see why it’s a bit of a conundrum.

Craig Brown looks over the list of non-roster invitees to spring training.

Former first round picks Frank Mozzicato and Gavin Cross were both eligible to be selected in last month’s Rule 5 draft. Now they’re heading to big league camp in Surprise.

For me, among the most intriguing names—aside from Mitchell and Ramirez—will be lefty Hunter Patteson and outfielder Carson Roccaforte. Patteson turns 26 in April and has only topped out in Double-A, but saw a velocity jump last season and has what Baseball America calls “advanced pitchability.” Talk to me like that and you have my attention. Roccaforte is a guy who I think could push his way to Kansas City at some point this summer. His profile and work in the minors has me sold.

Kiley McDaniel at ESPN ranks Kendry Chourio (#124), Josh Hammond (#132), and Blake Mitchell (#143) in his 101-200 prospect list, listing Chourio as the prospect with ace potential.

Chourio has the elements to become a front-line starter I’m looking for: enough velocity, plenty of command, the potential for three above-average pitch shapes and surface number performance. The reason he just missed the top 100 is because he isn’t very projectable and needs to tweak his breaking ball shapes — but the spin rates and break suggest he has the ability to do that. At the same stage of development, there are parallels to Seth Hernandez — but Hernandez’s size, velocity and the athleticism he has demonstrated as a position player are why he has more upside and therefore ranked a good bit higher.

The Royals will cover the cost of admission to the Negro League Baseball Museum in February.

Pete Grathoff writes how Bobby Witt Jr. got a one-day job with his hometown Dallas Stars.

He also writes how Vinnie Pasquantino is not looking forward to his arbitration hearing.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep wants a reunion with Jackson Kowar.

Colorado acquires Edouard Julien from the Twins.

They also traded reliever Angel Chivilli to the Yankees.

The Brewers sign catcher Reese McGuire to a minor league deal.

The Braves are interested in free agents Lucas Giolito and Chris Bassitt.

A breakdown of the payroll disparity in baseball.

What teams could break out in 2026?

Will the Yankees trade their outfield depth?

Which players are ripe for a contract extension?

Will Cleveland get any help for José Ramírez?

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wants to manage Team USA in the 2028 Olympics.

The Giants will have a Pablo Sanchez Backyard Baseball bobblehead giveaway.

A look back at the interception that ended the last Patriots/Seahawks Super Bowl matchup.

What teams could trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo?

Cremations have become more popular than burials.

Is Dave Filoni bringing Darth Talon back to Star Wars canon?

The restaurant chain Twin Peaks files for bankruptcy.

Your song of the day is Jeff Buckley with Grace.

In the vote for the #4 prospect, Quinn Mathews did not win by a lot. It was a two-man race and Joshua Baez was only 14 total votes short of Mathews’ total. He received over double the votes of the third-place vote getter. It is not a hard and fast rule, but it was a pretty safe bet that Baez would win this vote and comfortably. That is exactly what happened. He received over half the votes in a poll with eight other players. The current list stands at:

1. JJ Wetherholt
2. Liam Doyle
3. Rainiel Rodriguez
4. Quinn Mathews
5. Joshua Baez

Comparable Player Corner

Last week, I ran a comparable player poll of two players I was considering adding to this poll. I in fact told you that I would add the player who won the poll, which I did do. This is maybe the opposite of that. There’s a certain class of prospect who could be just about anywhere on a Cardinals’ list, including well out of the top 20. Not top 10, but after that. And it’s especially hard to know who a relatively random collection of Cardinals fans will think is the 19th best prospect, when another site might think them the 50th best prospect. On the flipside, some site thinks a prospect is the 19th best prospect and this crowd might not give them a single vote if I put them on the voting. So occasionally, I need to put those kinds of prospects in this section to know if I need to start considering adding once we hit the 10th vote or if I can ignore them completely.

I try to find a hook when I place two players in this section. There needs to be something similar about the two players. A lot of times, I try to just compare two players who play the same position. Today’s two players are similar only because they are both probably going to be in Memphis and both have a decent shot of making their MLB debut. That’s just about the only similar thing about them.

Blaze Jordan’s big selling point, to be honest, is his age. Drafted out of high school, he’s been a professional since he was drafted in 2020, and yet he turned 23 a little over a month ago. He already has over 300 PAs in AAA. That gives him time. He is essentially a right-handed Alec Burleson, but a Burleson who probably can’t play 3B instead of probably can’t play OF. Jordan also has more questions about his contact quality than Burly did. But free swinger who makes a lot of contact who would benefit from being more selective? Yeah that’s Blaze.

Bryan Torres’ big selling point is his performance and his versatility. He can play anywhere, and he has. His pro career started as a catcher, so he would probably even be the emergency catcher. He destroyed AAA, albeit with a huge BABIP and not a lot of power. The question is really if his stats will translate, which is a question because of his age: he’s 28 next season. Why does that matter? Well, 26 and 27-year-olds hit in AAA all the time, it is a little bit more rare that they continue hitting in the majors. Nothing represents this more than the wide range of projections he has, as high as 108 from ZiPS and as low as 77 by THE BAT. (With 88, 93, and 101 in between – I don’t think I’ve ever seen such variety)

VOTE HERE

New Adds

As I said above, I ran a comparable player poll in which I told you I would add the winner of the head-to-head. Which means Brycen Mautz is getting added to the voting. As you will see below, he had a truly excellent season in AA. He is on the 40 man and stands a good chance of making his MLB debut in 2026. I mentioned in the past two votes that I was going to use the advantage of getting to add two players by using last year’s list for one of the players – a player I pretty much know how this crowd feels about – and also add a player that has never been voted on.

So in a way, I’m kind of skirting that when I call Mautz the player where I have last year’s list as a frame of reference. He was not actually on last year’s list. He was on the 2024 list. But most importantly, I did directly say that he was going to be in this vote, so he certainly fits the known quantity addition more than the unknown quantity. The unknown quantity is recent trade acquisition Jesus Baez. No idea how high you guys are going to be on Baez, but he’ll probably land in the top 20, so feels like a good time to add him.

Jesus Baez, IF – 21

Stats (High A): 416 PAs, .244/.327/.397, 10.3 BB%, 18.5 K%, .153 ISO, .270 BABIP, 116 wRC+, 121 DRC+

Scouting (FG): 30/45 Hit, 35/50 Game Power, 50/55 Raw Power, 40/40 Speed, 40/45 Fielding

So this was not intentional – I only realized after I had decided to add him – but Jesus Baez replacing Joshua Baez is kind of funny. There’s going to be a Baez in the voting for quite a few votes. It actually kind of worked out. It may have been confusing if Jesus and Joshua were ever on the same vote, and I’m kind of kicking myself for not thinking of replacing Joshua with Jesus before, because yeah them being on the same ballot would be confusing. Again total accident.

I listed Baez as an infielder and not a specific position, because I realized I didn’t know what position to put. He plays SS the most, but nobody really thinks he’ll stay at SS. The Cardinals actually played him at DH more than either 2B or 3B. That’s not to suggest he’ll land at DH, just that it’s an open question which position the Cardinals will prefer him at. If he’s heading to Springfield, Jeremy Rivas is in his way at SS, though he’s not considered a prospect, but he’s much better defensively. Deniel Ortiz may be in his way at 3B, although he also plays some 1B and there ain’t nobody at 1B in Springfield. So his position is infield for now.

Leonardo Bernal, C – 22

Stats (AA): 107 G, 455 PAs, .247/.332/.394, 10.8 BB%, 16.9 K%, .146 ISO, .274 BABIP, 103 wRC+, 113 DRC+

Scouting (FG): 35/50 Hit, 35/45 Game Power, 50/50 Raw Power, 40/30 Speed, 40/55 Fielding

Bernal seemingly had one weakness in his offensive profile and that was BABIP. He did have a .333 BABIP in High A last season and also his DRC+ does suggest he deserved a higher one. At the same time, he cut his K rate from 22.8% to 16.9%, and a possible consequence of that was he made weaker contact on plate appearances he struck out on in 2024. If that makes sense.

Also, these aren’t listed in my stats, but worth pointing out. Bernal allowed 42 stolen bases, but caught 27 base stealers for a 39.1% caught stealing rate. Pretty sure that’s good. Also fun fact, given he is not fast, he himself swiped 13 bases and got caught stealing just 3 times. He stole 7 bases to 7 caught stealing last season, so probably not a talent of his, but always fun to see a slow guy steal some bases.

Brandon Clarke, 23 – LHP

Stats (Low A): 3 GS, 9.2 IP, 47.2 K%, 5.6 BB%, 68.8 GB%, .125 BABIP, 0.93 ERA/0.98 FIP/1.32 xFIP/3.66 DRA

High A: 11 GS, 28.1 IP, 31.2 K%, 18.1 BB%, 62.5 GB%, .254 BABIP, 5.08 ERA/4.17 FIP/4.74 xFIP/4.75 DRA

Scouting: 60/60 Fastball, 70/80 Slider, 40/50 Change, 30/40 Command

Clarke threw so few of innings partially because of injuries, in particular nagging blister issues, which surely there’s a way to prevent those in the future. The other reason, if you can tell by his innings per appearance, was because of how the team used him. His injury history before ever entering pro ball caused them to limit his innings – he didn’t pitch at all in 2024 due to thoracic issues.

But in his limited time, he did two of the three things I want pitchers to do: he struck out a lot of batters and he got groundballs when hitters did make contact. In Low A, he also did the third thing, which was not walk hitters. He walked a lot of hitters in High A, definitely impacted by his nagging blisters, although I’m sure he struggled with control more generally too.

Jimmy Crooks, C – 24

Stats (AAA): 98 G, 430 PAs, .274/.337/.441, 8.4 BB%, 26.5 K%, .167 ISO, .352 BABIP, 105 wRC+, 106 DRC+

MLB: 15 G, 46 PAs, .133/.152/.244, 0 BB%, 37 K%, .111 ISO, .185 BABIP, 5 wRC+, 67 DRC+

Scouting: 35/40 Hit, 40/45 Game Power, 50/50 Raw Power, 20/20 Speed, 60/70 Fielding

There needs to be a term – and honestly there might be a term for what I’m looking for – for a player like Crooks, whose stock seems to be down by the fanbase due to limited exposure in the MLB. It’s not prospect fatigue – Crooks hasn’t been in the conversation long enough to suffer from that. But he looked bad in the majors. That has almost certainly impacted peoples’ opinions of him. He looked bad in 15 total games as a 23-year-old making his MLB debut. Do I need to share Mike Trout’s rookie stats to show you why maybe we shouldn’t put a lot of emphasis on those 15 games?

Now, there are almost certainly some fans whose opinions changed based on the totality of his 2025 season, primarily in AAA – which did come with a higher K rate. But there are definitely fans whose opinions changed because they saw him be terrible at the MLB level and for no other reason. And I’m saying honestly his MLB performance should essentially be completely ignored – it’s just too small of a sample, too big of an adjustment, too big a moment in Crooks’ life – to treat it with any kind of significance.

Tink Hence, 23 – RHP

Stats (Three levels): 8 G, 21.1 IP, 27.9 K%, 15.1 BB%, 45.8 GB%, .255 BABIP, 2.95 ERA/3.80 FIP/4.18 xFIP, 4.56 DRA

Scouting: 45/45 Fast, 50/55 Slider, 60/70 Change, 45/55 Command

Hence probably suffers from prospect fatigue however. Granted, it’s not like he hasn’t given us reasons to be fatigued. He just can’t seem to stay healthy. I did argue last year, when I ranked him high on my list, that his injury issues were a bit overblown, and that’s harder to argue this year. I will say that looking at his innings totals since drafted is rather misleading though – his 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons went according to plan. His 2024 season was his first hiccup, but he still threw nearly 80 innings. (and was amazing in those innings I must add)

Last year was probably the first year where he truly deserved his reputation in my opinion. Still only 23 in 2026, let’s hope they figure out a way to keep him healthy.

Ixan Henderson, 24 – LHP

Stats (AA): 25 GS, 132 IP, 25.2 K%, 9.6 BB%, 37.1 GB%, .278 BABIP, 2.59 ERA/3.16 FIP/4.00 xFIP/4.51 DRA

Scouting: 50/60 Fastball, 45/50 Slider, 30/40 Change, 40/45 Cutter, 40/50 Command

As more of a stat follower than someone who scouts players or even looks at scouting reports of players, I am rather surprised how Fangraphs rates his pitches. If forced to guess, I would have predicted his secondaries were good, but his fastball was below average. It’s almost the opposite. I don’t know if this is accurate of course. But he’s a fastball/slider pitcher who needs a third pitch – according to this person’s opinion of course. Certainly, these scouting numbers for his pitches suggest an easy transition to the bullpen at the least.

Cooper Hjerpe, 25 – LHP

Didn’t pitch

Scouting: 55/55 Fastball, 55/60 Slider, 50/50 Change, 45/50 Cutter, 45/50 Command

The good news is that Hjerpe should be ready to pitch fairly early in the season since he had his Tommy John surgery pretty early last season. Recovery is 12-16 months, so he seems to be in the window to pitch some innings this year. The bad news is that his career high in innings right now is 52 innings, so it does kind of feel like there’s a real ceiling in how many innings he will actually pitch this upcoming season.

Brycen Mautz, 24 – LHP

Stats (AA): 25 GS, 114.2 IP, 28.6 K%, 7.1 BB%. 41.2 GB%, .286 BABIP, 2.98 ERA/3.58 FIP/3.20 xFIP/4.54 DRA

Scouting: 45/45 Fastball, 55/55 Slider, 40/45 Curve, 35/40 Change, 45/55 Command

I imagine the thing they are working hard on with Mautz is figuring out a way to not allow quite so many homers. For the second straight season, he carried a fairly high HR/FB%. When hitters hit the ball in the air, they leave the park more than expected (hence the FIP and xFIP difference). But going from a pitcher’s park to a hitter’s park, Mautz improved in just about every way statistically, so his change from a 14% HR/FB% to a 13.1% HR/FB is actually a little more impressive than it sounds. It’s not that hard to hit homers in Springfield. He also struck out quite a few more batters, walked less, and induced more groundballs.

Deniel Ortiz, 21 – 1B/3B

Stats (Low A): 320 PAs, .285/.406/.446, 15.3 BB%, 27.5 K%, .162 ISO, .386 BABIP, 145 wRC+, 119 DRC+

High A: 130 PAs, .336/.438/.500, 13.8 BB%, 22.3 K%, .164 ISO, .436 BABIP, 168 wRC+, 97 DRC+

There are a couple questions with Ortiz. The first question is will he keep this up? He has a little more swing-and-miss in his game than you’d like, although obviously he managed to cut his K rate when he got promoted to High A. The second question I have is: when will scouts buy in? He was a 16th rounder and I don’t think he ranks particularly high on any Cardinals team list, but I mean clearly if you perform well enough, they’re going to start paying attention. Baseball America in their deep dive on the Cardinals’ system, mentioned him as a sleeper prospect. But you can’t be a sleeper prospect without ranking somewhat low. Will certainly be an interesting player to follow.

Tekoah Roby, 24 – RHP

Stats (AA): 10 GS, 47 IP, 31.1 K%, 6 BB%, 42.9 GB%, .273 BABIP, 2.49 ERA/2.90 FIP/2.73 xFIP/4.56 DRA

AAA: 6 GS, 31.1 IP, 22.6 K%, 6 BB%, 44.7 GB%, .319 BABIP, 4.02 ERA/4.01 FIP/4.04 xFIP/4.50 DRA

Roby had Tommy John surgery in July of 2025, so his ability to pitch next year is a little more question than Hjerpe. But he pitched well last year, re-establishing himself as a prospect. Without the injury, I wonder how high he would be selected. I also feel that Roby was an example of a prospect that didn’t get as much love because he was a deadline acquisition so there was less attachment. However, fans have gotten familiar with him for now two and half seasons, so he’s probably not harmed by this effect anymore.

VOTE HERE

We are within a month of pitchers and catchers reporting which means, the equipment truck is making its annual trek to Goodyear, Arizona. The truck departs today, signaling spring’s prompt arrival better than any groundhog.

To kick things off, José Ramírez will be signing his shiny new contract extension at Progressive today.

Now to some good news today, the #Guardians will officially announce the José Ramírez contract extension tomorrow at Progressive Field with the superstar third baseman, team owner Paul Dolan, President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti and Spanish Interpreter Agustin Rivero.

— Nick Camino (@NickCaminoWKYC) January 28, 2026

A couple of LGFT moments:

Grady Sizemore, first base coach for the Minnesota Twins did an interview on the Inside Twins podcast.

After being traded to the Colorado Rockies just before the start of the 2025 season, it looks like Tyler Freeman is hoping to develop into a leader on the field and in the clubhouse for the Rockies.

Around the League:

NBC is reportedly striking a deal with Clayton Kershaw for MLB coverage.

The Colorado Rockies haven’t exactly had a quiet off-season. They hired an entirely new front office and coaching staff as the organization begins their much needed modernization and rebuild efforts. They’ve signed two veteran free agents in Michael Lorenzen and Willi Castro to Major League deals, acquired Jake McCarthy from the Arizona Diamondbacks, brought on a full new class of young international free agents, and made a smattering of minor league deals.

However, it’s always felt like—with a crowded outfield and further roster evaluation needed—there had to be more coming.

Then, on Wednesday, the Rockies suddenly had one of their busiest days of the off-season.

The Rockies kicked off the day with a surprise by trading young right-handed reliever and former prospect Angel Chivilli to the New York Yankees in exchange for minor league first baseman TJ Rumfield.

The 25-year-old has a solid glove and turned in a strong season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, slashing .285/.378/.447 with 31 doubles, one triple, and 16 home runs. He can also draw walks regularly, doing so at a 11.9% clip compared to his 18.4% strikeout rate.

“We’re going to keep adding talent to this roster, but in no way are we not believing in the young guys we have,” DePodesta said. “I think we have a lot of really good young players that are in Double-A and Triple-A, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re going to earn their opportunities on this team. And once they do, they’ll have long runways with us.”

However, those long runways don’t necessarily apply to everyone. We have already seen the Rockies part ways with young players prospects this off-season. In addition to the Chivilli trade, the Rockies also dealt prospect pitcher Josh Grosz to the Arizona Diamondbacks and designated a player once believed to be the team’s catcher of the future in Drew Romo for assignment.

Later in the day, the Rockies added outfielder Yanquiel Fernández to that list by designating him for assignment. Once ranked as high as the Rockies’ no. 3 organizational prospect per MLB Pipeline, Fernández made his Major League debut in 2025. He slashed .225/.265/.348 with four home runs over 138 at-bats as both a right fielder and designated hitter. Fernández, despite having just turned 23, is now potentially out of the Rockies organization entirely after getting his first cup of coffee.

“We’re certainly at the point where we feel like every time we make a move we’re losing someone we like, or potentially losing someone we like, and that certainly was the case with Yanquiel,” DePodesta explained. “We now have a group in the big leagues that we feel pretty good about. We also have a handful of guys on the 40-man who haven’t yet gotten a lot of time in the big leagues, or even any time right now, like Sterlin Thompson. Guys that we like and guys that we think have a chance to help us.”

While DePodesta had plenty of praise for Fernández and Chivilli, his new front office’s decisions would indicate that this team isn’t as high on it’s current stock of youth and prospects as the Rockies of the past—especially when it comes to position players.

This would seem to be substantiated by moves today and throughout the off-season. While DePodesta says he believes the youth will earn their spots, his focus has been on bringing in competition and creating fluidity on the roster.

“I think what we’re really trying to do is create really healthy competition on our roster,” he said. “Most of the players we have acquired do have a good amount of versatility. I think there are lots of different ways that the pieces can fit, and I think that’s really what we’re looking for.”

Willi Castro—now officially signed to the roster—can play all over the field and create competition for younger players like Kyle Karros at third base and Adael Amador at second. Both he and Jake McCarthy’s outfield versatility creates competition for the aforementioned Thompson, the beleaguered Zac Veen, and other outfield prospects. Fernández ended up being the odd man out because—despite his strong arm and power bat—he lacked the flexibility of other outfielders on the roster. With his poor speed and defense, he was anchored exclusively to right field or as a designated hitter.

New first baseman TJ Rumfield represents another potential option for the Rockies in a first base group that has surprisingly become quite crowded alongside Blaine Crim, Troy Johnston—who can also play corner outfield—, and current top prospect Charlie Condon.

The Rockies continued their busy day with another trade, acquiring French-Canadian infielder Edouard Julien and right-handed pitcher Pierson Ohl from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for right-handed pitcher Jace Kaminska and cash considerations.

Julien, 26, was once a top prospect of the Twins organization and can play both first and second base. However, the Rockies also like him for another trend we have seen in their acquisitions: getting on base and batted ball skills. More Rockies on base means more runs to be driven in.

While Julien is coming off two down years, in 2023 and throughout his minor league career he has hit well against right-handed pitching and getting on base. He has a whopping .427 career on-base percentage in the minors, while carrying a solid enough .336 Major League OBP and a 13% walk rate.

The Rockies also believe that Julien—along with Castro and McCarthy—can have bounce-back seasons after losing a step in 2025.

“I think we feel really strongly about all their capabilities. Also. I think the underlying fundamentals of their performance have stayed reasonably consistent. So we think we have a chance to build on that foundation and get them back to,or maybe even exceed, where they were.”

With all of these roster moves, the Rockies are already showing a different approach to the off-season compared to the previous front office. There may also be more moves yet to come.

“We may not be done adding. Well, we’ll see…” DePodesta said. “But we did want to make sure that we had healthy competition at a handful of these different spots and then different ways to put the puzzle together.”

---

Willi Castro joins Puerto Rico for his first World Baseball Classic | MLB.com

The rosters for the World Baseball Classic are taking shape, and one of the newest members of the Rockies will be a part of it. Puerto Rican super utilityman Willi Castro will suit up for his first World Baseball Classic appearance alongside Nolan Arenado for Team Puerto Rico.

Twins Trade Julien, Ohl to Rockies | Twinkie Town

Our friends over at Twinkie Town discuss the trade of Edouard Julien and Pierson Ohl from their perspective. They see Julien as a reclamation project for the Rockies and have some concerns about his defense.

Yankees trade for Rockies reliever Angel Chivilli | Pinstripe Alley

Meanwhile, our friends at Pinstripe Alley have their own thoughts about their newest team member in right-handed pitcher Angel Chivilli.

---

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

There are a few more signing rumors out there, but we’ll wait for confirmation. The Dylan Carlson deal is done. More pitching and infield help (Gabe Klobosits, Karson Simas) may be on the way. We, um, await developments.

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Reddit AMA: What does the future hold for Brown, Alcántara, Ballesteros? “Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity.“
• Thomas Domol (North Side Baseball*): It’s time for the Cubs to win the NL Central. “Getting back to the playoffs isn’t the goal now.“
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Big splashes checked off their list, Cubs focusing on roster depth. “So, by no means are we done with the offseason. But I do think we’ve checked some of the big boxes that we were hoping to accomplish.”
• Brian Kelder (North Side Baseball*): What is the Point of Tyler Austin? “The slugging first baseman is intriguing, but will he play often enough to justify his roster spot?”
• Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors*): Cubs, Dylan Carlson agree to Minor League deal. “Carlson will make $2MM if he cracks the majors…”
• Andrew Simon (MLB.com*): Here’s why you can call Ian Happ ‘Mr. Consistent’. “The left fielder has been a human metronome over the past four seasons…“

Food For Thought:

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series. We will not wittingly publish A. I. – driven articles or clickbait, and insist on unimpeachable sources.

We’re here to talk about the one thing on everybody’s minds: who is going to be the Milwaukee Brewers’ backup catcher when the 2026 season starts?

There was a bit of news on this front on Tuesday, when the Brewers—after rumors swirled for some time—signed the Chicago Cubs’ 2025 backup, Reese McGuire. The wrinkle here is that McGuire was not signed to a major league deal; he instead received a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

McGuire, who turns 31 early in spring training, is still probably the best bet to open the season as the backup catcher, but since he is not yet on the 40-man roster and doesn’t have a guaranteed deal means that we cannot take that for granted.

Whoever the team’s backup catcher is may not have much of a role. William Contreras plays as often as any catcher in the league, and he’s one of the best at the position, so Milwaukee’s backups in recent years haven’t had a whole lot to do.

Let’s take a quick look across Milwaukee’s catching landscape to see who could be in the running here.

Reese McGuire

As mentioned, McGuire makes the most sense. Of all the catchers that we currently know will be in major league camp with the Brewers, McGuire is the only one other than Contreras who has ever played in a major league game. That seems notable.

Harrison did a good job running down McGuire’s bona fides yesterday, but a quick review: McGuire was the 14^th overall pick out of high school in 2013, and worked his way onto top-100 prospect lists within the next couple of years. But McGuire’s bat didn’t develop like some hoped, and it wasn’t exactly an “event” when he made his major-league debut with the Blue Jays late in the 2018 season.

McGuire spent most of 2019 in the minors, but he had an encouraging, brief 30-game run in the big leagues in which he hit .299/.346/.526 and clobbered five homers. That good offense turned out to be a mirage, though; after he struggled through the shortened 2020 season, McGuire settled in as a low-offense, solid-defense backstop in 2021, a season in which he played more games than any other Blue Jay catcher but eventually got a bit crowded out by the dependable Danny Jansen and the emerging Alejandro Kirk.

With both Kirk and Jansen playing well, Toronto broke up their catching trio by trading McGuire to the White Sox at the end of spring training in 2022. Chicago didn’t have as much invested in McGuire as the team that drafted him did, so after a rough season they cut bait and shipped him to Boston at the trade deadline. McGuire actually had a magical partial season with the Red Sox: in 36 games after the deadline, he hit .337/.377/.500. That magic didn’t last, though, and he spent the next two seasons playing rather poorly backing up Connor Wong.

McGuire became a free agent after the 2024 season. He signed with the Cubs in January but didn’t make the major league team out of spring training. But when Miguel Amaya strained an oblique in late May, the Cubs re-signed McGuire, and he was with them through the end of the season. In total, he played 44 games in 2025. He hit for a low average and walked only four times in 140 plate appearances (!) but did hit for power: nine homers put his slugging all the way at .444 despite a .245 OBP. That power bump was probably an outlier; through his first seven seasons, McGuire had an isolated power number of just .113, which shot up to .218 in his small sample with the Cubs.

McGuire’s profile is of a guy who features good-enough defense who can obviously run into one at the right moment, but his offensive production will likely be bad; in eight major league seasons covering just under 1,200 plate appearances, he holds an 84 OPS+ and an on-base percentage of just .293.

If McGuire doesn’t make the Brewers out of spring training, he has no minor league options yet, so he would need to be designated for assignment or traded.

Jeferson Quero

The only non-Contreras catcher on the 40-man right now is former mega-prospect Jeferson Quero, who finished last season at Triple-A Nashville. You’re all familiar with the Quero story, so I won’t spend much time on it: Quero ranked in the top 40 of all three major prospect rankings heading into the 2024 season, but he suffered a torn labrum in the very first game of the 2024 season, which cost him the whole year.

Crucially, it may also have cost him the weapon that set him apart as a catching prospect: his throwing arm. Quero was one of the best players in all of professional baseball at catching base stealers in 2023, but the early returns after Quero returned from his long injury journey last June were, at best, discouraging. At worst, it showed that the tool that was always the first thing mentioned in Quero scouting reports is no longer something that is going to help him.

There’s certainly a chance that with more time elapsed since the injury, Quero recovers some of his arm strength in 2026. And it’s not like that was the only thing that people liked about him; scouting reports laud his receiving and his work with pitchers, and he projects as a capable, if not good, hitter.

Still, Quero is unlikely to start the season as the team’s backup catcher even if the Brewers think he is ready, because that’s not how the Brewers act with their top prospects. Keeping him in the minor leagues for a month or two delays his service clock, which is something that Milwaukee has done with its other big prospects in recent years.

If I were guessing who finishes the season as the Brewers’ backup catcher, I might choose Quero, but I doubt we’ll see him on Opening Day.

Ramón Rodríguez or Matt Wood

Rodríguez and Wood are notable because they were on a list of Brewer minor leaguers invited to major-league camp recently. Wood, who turns 25 on the same day that McGuire turns 31, was a fourth-round pick in 2022 and has worked his way up to Double-A Biloxi, where he performed well at the plate in 2025.

Rodríguez was drafted by the Dodgers way back in 2016, and caught on with the Brewers as a minor league free agent in 2024. He played just 21 games in 2025, but he raked for the Shuckers in those 21 games, in which he hit .359/.457/.484. Rodríguez is a career .262/.335/.380 hitter in nine minor league seasons and reached Triple A when he was in Baltimore’s system but has never made the majors.

Neither Rodríguez or Wood likely factors into Milwaukee’s plans at the major league level, at least for now. But they’ll be working with the pitching staff during spring training, and one of them will likely start the season at Triple-A Nashville.

Any others?

Last season, Jorge Alfaro played 82 games with Triple-A Nashville, and Eric Haase played 19 after accepting an assignment there after the Brewers acquired Jansen at the trade deadline. Nick Kahle was another player who got some time behind the plate at the highest level of the Brewers’ minor league system.

Alfaro is gone: he signed a minor league deal with the Royals earlier this month. Haase, likewise, reportedly agreed to a minor league contract with San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. Kahle, as far as I can tell, is not under contract. Another player hypothetically in the mix is another guy with an early-May birthday, Darrien Miller, who is still in the Brewers’ system; he was a ninth-round draft pick in 2019 and has played the entirety of his last two seasons at Double-A Biloxi. But his progress has stalled; at the plate, Miller can take a walk but he can’t do much else—he hit .192/.381/.329 last season and hasn’t hit above .228 in a full-season league since graduating from Low-A in 2021.

The likely outcome

The names have changed, but I have long held the belief that Quero is going to be in Milwaukee as soon as the team is sure they’ve delayed his clock. I thought at first that the logical “first backup” was Eric Haase, who has served in that role before and knows Milwaukee’s pitchers, but McGuire makes a lot of sense here too. My official prediction is that, assuming health all around, McGuire makes the Brewers out of spring training, and is designated for assignment (or traded, or both) sometime in May or June when Quero makes his major league debut.

A few things could change that prediction, though: someone could get hurt; McGuire could continue hitting bombs like he did last year and prove himself a worthy, solid offensive option; or Quero could struggle in the minors.

If Contreras gets hurt, the Brewers likely call up Quero and make him the everyday catcher, though he’d likely split time with McGuire. If Quero or McGuire gets hurt, then the other is the backup. If Quero struggles, he likely just stays in the minors and McGuire continues as the backup. Hopefully everyone stays healthy and productive, and things work out for everyone.

Last year, on July 31st, the New York Yankees traded prospects Roc Riggio and Ben Shields to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for right-handed reliever Jake Bird, who had a 3.49 FIP to that point, albeit with a 4.73 ERA, in 53.1 innings. Unfortunately, he imploded upon reaching the Bronx, and just three outings were enough to see him optioned to Scranton after surrendering seven runs (six earned) in just two innings of work.

His walk rate was a respectable 9.7 percent in the Rocky Mountains, but he just couldn’t throw strikes and get himself in favorable counts in the Bronx. He paid the price with bases on balls and a couple of home runs, too, even if he did strike out four. Then in Scranton, Bird did a better job preventing the long ball, conceding just one in 15.2 frames, but control issues persisted as he put up a disappointing 16.7 percent walk rate. His 6.32 ERA in Triple-A didn’t paint a particularly encouraging picture about his prospects for 2026.

It appears, however, that the offseason has really come in handy for Bird, not just to perform a complete mental reset after a few rocky months upon landing in New York, but to actually attack his weaknesses. Speaking on the YES Network, Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake discussed some of the things Bird has been working on these last few months with his eye on winning a spot in the bullpen.

Jake Bird comeback? 👀🐦

Matt Blake speaks on reliever Jake Bird's offseason adjustments he's made and how he can bounce back in 2026 🔊 @RealMichaelKay@JackCurryYESpic.twitter.com/pDbgmGQn1S

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) January 28, 2026

While David Bednar, Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz, and others are exciting and talented, the Yanks’ bullpen just isn’t as powerful as it used to be, so having an in-form Bird would be a breath of fresh air.

“I think the biggest thing was trusting his stuff in the zone. (It) has really big shape: big sweeper, big breaking ball. The pitches are moving a lot. So, we got to get him in the zone at a higher rate and limit the walks,” Blake explained. With the Rockies, Bird’s Zone%, or the percentage of pitches throw in the zone, was 57. The number fell to 53 percent with the Yankees in MLB, and 50.5 percent in Triple-A.

It comes down to confidence and execution. In 2025 as a whole, Bird had success with his sweeper (33.8 percent whiff rate, .258 xwOBA) and curveball (38 percent, .158 xwOBA.) He had some bad luck with the former, which had a .338 wOBA in contrast to that solid xwOBA. But they are both good, usable pitches. Swing-and-miss pitches, even.

Luck aside, Bird can be a useful pitcher if he is throwing his breaking stuff for strikes. Since they have a lot of natural movement, trying to get creative with the corners and nibbling might be counterproductive and lead to a lot of balls. And balls lead to hitters’ counts. And, well, hitter counts lead to what we saw in pinstripes this year.

This is a glimpse of what the Yankees can have in Bird if he manages to find himself in favorable counts:

Jake Bird's 5 Consecutive Strikeouts. pic.twitter.com/BDKyVUQvHf

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 6, 2025

On the other hand, this is what could happen often if he can’t locate his breaking stuff and is forced to rely on his sinker to get back in the count:

Starting at-bats on the right foot is also crucial for Bird. In Colorado, he threw a first-pitch strike 60.6 percent of the time. That fell to 50 percent with the Yankees, and even though the sample size is tiny, the number was a horrible 44.4 percent in his short stint in Scranton, per Sports Info Solutions.

Blake talked about how Bird struggled to show his best version in his short Yankees stint, but warned that he has had a really good offseason. The pitching coach said the righty has also been working on some adjustments on his sinker to somewhat “limit some of the contact quality.”

Combining his stats with the Rockies and Yankees, it’s safe to say his sinker was inequivocally and unquestionably rocked last year, with a .420 wOBA and a .414 xwOBA. That’s definitely a problem when you throw the pitch a third of the time. Any improvements he can make regarding this particular offering, whether it comes in movement, velocity, or sequencing/usage, will immediately make his stat line look better.

While it’s safe to say that Bird’s 2025 with the Yankees was a disaster both in the majors and in Triple-A, there is a lot of room to improve and also a need for solid relievers who can miss bats. If he can show his Rockies version, the right-hander should have a chance to lock up a spot and slowly earn high-leverage work.

As mentioned in few other profiles, a part of the Detroit Tigers draft strategy under Scott Harris has been tilted toward allocating their bonus pool to lure prep talent from their college commitments. The corollary to that strategy is finding inexpensive college players who have some major league potential and trying to develop them into role players while hoping someone has a Kerry Carpenter level breakout along the way.

Most of these have been speedy, light hitting types, but while Pepperdine infielder John Peck played shortstop in college, he’s more interesting for the fact that he packs enough raw power at the plate to eventually be an impactful major league hitter. Like most college players who sign for close to the minimum, Peck, who got an extra $62,500 over the minimum from the Tigers in the seventh round of the 2023 amateur draft, has a lot of risk in his game, but there’s at least a chance he could put it all together in time.

While Peck has continued to play shortstop in High-A ball and will likely continue to get plenty of reps there in Double-A next season, he likely profiles best at second base, where he should be average. He has enough arm strength to play on the left side of the infield, and that should translate to playing a solid third base as well. He has pretty good hands, but his range limits him a little as a shortstop. He’s seen time at all three positions in his two full professional seasons since draft day. It’s not out of the question that he could play some shortstop at the big league level eventually, giving him plenty of versatility if he can conquer some swing and miss issues and a tendency to put the ball on the ground too much.

In his full season 2024 debut, Peck showed solid plate discipline in Single-A Lakeland, but then struggled in his first look at High-A, striking out quite a bit. He battled some minor injuries throughout the season, and his high hands setup, pre-pitch movement, and pronounced leg kick left him a little too vulnerable to more advanced pitching. He had a distinct tendency to fly open toward third base, opening him up too early and struggling with breaking stuff moving away from him.

In 2025, he took some steps to get his hands in a better position at pitch release and trimmed down his leg kick. Those were positive developments, and his swing decisions improved somewhat as well as he went on to a pretty good season for the West Michigan Whitecaps. He carried that into a solid month with the Erie SeaWolves late in the season. However, there’s still plenty of swing and miss and only modest success driving the ball in the air more often. He does make plenty of hard contact, spraying line drives and ground balls from line to line. If he can adjust a little more and change his batted ball profile, things will get much more interesting.

Peck is unlikely to become a low strikeout, high walk type of hitter, but there’s enough power in his solidly built 6’0” frame to rack up more homers and extra base hits if he can start handling breaking stuff better and driving the ball in the air more often. His splits are typically pretty even, though he defied them a bit by hitting 9 of his 11 home runs in 2025 against right-handed pitching. There’s a chance that Peck continues settling into the swing adjustments and everything comes together for him. In that case, the Tigers might have a 15-20 HR hitting, right-handed infielder who posts decent on-base percentages, but can play all over the diamond. That would be a pretty valuable platoon asset at least.

Peck was only 20 on draft day, so despite the fact that he’s got two full years of pro ball under his belt, he won’t be 24 until July. If he can handle the jump and put togehter a good Double-A season this year while adding more hard hit fly balls to his profile, he’ll be tracking like a future platoon infielder. His power potential, balanced splits, and defensive game give him a higher ceiling than some at this level, but it’s still a longshot that he hits his way to the major leagues in a regular role.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been busy this offseason in both free agency and the trade market.

The team signed designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn and traded for Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brandon Lowe, improving their offense. However, they have been slated for another big trade. Bleacher Report writer Kerry Miller suggested a trade that would send right-handed pitcher Jared Jones to the Houston Astros for infielder Isaac Paredes.

“Jones was electric when he first arrived in the majors in 2024, but he missed all of 2025 following UCL surgery. Would the Pirates be willing to give up his future in order to add another quality bat today? Paredes could be the final piece that actually makes Pittsburgh’s lineup reasonably formidable,” Miller wrote.

Paredes could play third base for the Pirates, filling in a hole that was occupied by Ke’Bryan Hayes last season before he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. As of now, it looks like Jared Triolo will spend most of the time at the hot corner, but the team could use an upgrade when it comes to a bat at the position.

Paredes played in 102 games for the Astros last season, batting .254 and hitting 20 home runs en route to his second consecutive All-Star appearance. The Astros may look to trade him because they have a surplus of infielders and a need for starting pitching. It’s why they made a trade earlier in the offseason with the Pirates to get Mike Burrows to add to their rotation.

The Astros could look for another piece in Jones while the Pirates get a necessary offensive addition in Paredes.

BD community, what do you think of this potential trade? Chime off in the comments section below.

It’s really, really hard to think about spring as everyone in the tri-state area continues to dig out from massive amounts of snow, but the Phillies equipment trucks will be setting out for Clearwater on Tuesday. Soon enough we’ll have some real news to share and discuss rather than whatever passes for news in this dead zone.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• FanGraphs has published their rankings of the Phillies farm system, and they are slightly more optimistic than most.
• Justin Crawford, one of the stars of that farm system, seems to be as MLB-ready as he can get.
• The automated ball-strike system is officially coming to MLB this year, and here’s how the Phillies are planning to adapt to it.

MLB News:

• The Astros’ Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa will not be participating in the World Baseball Classic due to not being able to receive insurance on their contracts for the exhibition tournament.
• The Rockies made a pair of trades yesterday, sending reliever Angel Chivilli to the Yankees and acquiring infielder Edouard Julien and reliever Pierson Ohl in a deal with the Twins.
• Even more prospect rankings, this time with the players who just missed Keith Law’s Top 100. ($)

Hello, friends.

There are now 56 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day, which is to say, real baseball will be back exactly eight weeks from today. That’s fun! Or will it be fun? I guess that’s up to the team that disappointed us last year. Only eleven days remain before WBC-participating pitchers and catchers are in camp.

We are close enough to the start of spring training that it’s getting increasingly weird that the top remaining free agent starting pitcher, Framber Valdez, has not signed. We can only guess what the holdup is. My suspicion is teams are refusing to budge beyond four-year offers, perhaps even three-year offers, and he’s hoping somebody will blink before camps open up.

Teams are probably waiting for him to blink as well. Lately, these sorts of situations have had a tendency to resolve with the player getting a shorter, high-AAV contract that allows for an opt-out by the player after only a year, or maybe two years. That doesn’t mean that’s what will happen with Valdez, but that’s the pattern. Something like a three-year, $100 million contract where he can dip out after this season and look for another guaranteed year or two, now removed from having a qualifying offer attached to signing him and perhaps, in his mind, having proven he’s still a high-end pitcher even though he’s headed for his mid-30s.

Other starting pitchers remain out there as well. Zac Gallen is another free agent who will cost a draft pick to sign. That might be a big problem for a guy who had a 4.86 ERA in 2025. If I was Gallen, I might have taken the QO offered by Arizona in a year and tried again for 2027. Guys like Chris Bassitt and Lucas Giolito are also still out there. You can never have enough starting pitching, and yet all of these people haven’t found teams yet. There are various questions around each player that probably answer why they haven’t gotten the money or years they hoped to get yet.

Unless there’s some injury to an Orioles starting pitcher that we don’t know about – which isn’t impossible – I don’t really think it makes much sense to commit an eight-figure annual salary like Gallen, Bassitt, or Giolito will command in order to shore up the back end of the rotation. Maybe Zach Eflin is going to be a month delayed or something. That’s fine. I’ll take my chances with Tyler Wells for that long and then with Dean Kremer as the #5. Pay the money for Valdez at the top or don’t bother. We got enough of those bad mid-tier signings in the Dan Duquette era.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

With new outlook, Henderson eager for new season with new faces (Orioles.com)
Gunnar Henderson getting himself back into 7+ win territory is as much a part of the 2026 Orioles formula for success as anything else. He’s feeling good for now, which probably doesn’t mean anything but at least is nice to hear.

Orioles are confident top prospect Samuel Basallo can continue developing in the majors (The Baltimore Banner)
And you know they mean it because they already gave him the eight-year extension.

MLB prospects who just missed Keith Law’s top 100 ranking, including Dylan Beavers (The Athletic)
Keith Law remains positive about Beavers even without having put him on the top 100.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

There are a pair of former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 2013 two-game pitcher Jair Jurrjens, and 1985-88 pitcher John Habyan. Today is Habyan’s 62nd birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Revolutionary pamphlet writer Thomas Paine (1737), 25th president William McKinley (1843), playwright Anton Chekhov (1860), Ramones drummer Tommy Ramone (1949), and TV personality Oprah Winfrey (1954).

On this day in history…

In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” was first published in a New York newspaper.

In 1907, Charles Curtis took office as a US Senator from Kansas. In the process, he became the first Native American to hold any Senate seat. (This also happened on the 46th anniversary of Kansas’s admission as a state.)

In 1936, the first Baseball Hall of Fame class was announced. The first five Hall of Famers were: Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner.

A random Orioles trivia question

I received a book of Orioles trivia for Christmas. I’ll ask a question in this space each time it’s my turn until I run out of questions or forget. The book has multiple choice answers, but I’m not giving you those because for most questions it would be too easy. Today’s question:

Who was the first opponent that the Orioles played at Memorial Stadium in 1954?

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on January 29. Have a safe Thursday.

There’s a reason why midterm winter grades are a foolish exercise in Major League Baseball: Simply, some teams do not yet begin to cook until well after the New Year.

With just one of the top 10 consensus free agents still available, and two of the best arms on the trade market changing hands, the heavy lifting is all but over. Certainly, we’ll see some end-of-roster and depth moves, and perhaps more trades during the course of spring training.

But with most of that tranasactional hay in the proverbial barn, USA TODAY Sports issues grades for all 30 teams this offseason:

American League

By Gabe Lacques

Athletics: C+

They locked down another piece of their ostensibly Vegas-bound core, signing slugger Tyler Soderstrom to a seven-year deal, and acquired Jeff McNeil to add some seasoning to their talented young infield. Yet serious competition doesn’t seem to be reality in the second of these three Yolo County years.

Baltimore Orioles: B+

This becomes an easy A if left-hander Framber Valdez falls to them in free agency, giving them admirable pitching depth. As it is, trades for right-hander Shane Baz and power-hitting outfielder Taylor Ward and the signing of Pete Alonso brings significant improvement. Ryan Helsley capably locking down the ninth would make this a fine winter.

Boston Red Sox: C

Picking apart the remains of the Cardinals organization for Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras was wise. Yet Alex Bregman was the guy they had to have and they let him slip away to Wrigley Field. Nice of them to pivot to Ranger Suárez to buff out the rotation, but too many potential holes and injury history in the everyday lineup.

Chicago White Sox: C-

Hey, it’s movement. The White Sox will more closely resemble a big league team this year, their fortunes largely hinging on seeing something in Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami that apparently everyone else missed.

Cleveland Guardians: C

Fairly standard winter here: A Jose Ramírez extension some onramp granted to young players like Chase DeLauter and little material external gains. At least Steven Kwan is still a Guardian.

Detroit Tigers: C

They held onto Tarik Skubal, thank goodness, and buffed out their late-inning look by re-signing Kyle Finnegan and adding Kenley Jansen. A really good team, one that should be prohibitive favorites to win the Central again. Just a bummer the activity wasn’t commensurate with the opportunity Skubal’s final year offers.

Houston Astros: B-

They finished 87-75 and three games out of the division race, and essentially swapped lefty Framber Valdez for Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai, while Mike Burrows was a nice low-key rotation add from Pittsburgh. Carlos Correa’s acquisition in August crowded the roster, with Isaac Paredes and prospect Zach Cole ticketed for part-time roles.

Kansas City Royals: B

Does moving the fences in count toward the grade? There were a few tucks around the edges, too, most notably a contract extension for Maikel Garcia and acquiring Isaac Collins and Nick Mears from Milwaukee, and reuniting with lefty reliever Matt Strahm.

Los Angeles Angels: C-

Just a little more snipping around the edges: A flyer on Grayson Rodriguez. Reuniting with Yoan Moncada. Vaughn Grissom is here. You get the idea.

Minnesota Twins: D+

The roster thoroughly flattened by the 2025 trade deadline added Josh Bell along with the more cost-effective Rogers relief twin. At least Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan are still here.

New York Yankees: C

Trent Grisham: Back. Cody Bellinger: Back. Ryan Weathers: Aiming to hold down the fort for the injured starters. A dynamic winter, this was not, but still an all right ballclub.

Seattle Mariners: B+

Something tells us they may not be done yet but it’s been a nice offseason anyway. Locking up productive glue guy Josh Naylor early on was huge and they probably hopped off the Jorge Polanco train at the right time. Probably one infielder short still.

Tampa Bay Rays: C+

A real classic Rays winter – Shane Baz, Brandon Lowe, Josh Lowe and Pete Fairbanks are out, Gavin Lux, Cedric Mullins and Steven Matz are in. They received an impressive haul for Baz, but it’s tough to ascertain how much more they improved for 2026.

Texas Rangers: A-

They needed a fairly big reset and got it, exchanging Marcus Semien for Brandon Nimmo and trading for coveted lefty MacKenzie Gore to immediately rebrand them as contenders. Winning that trade – and any shot at the West – must involve unlocking greater consistency from Gore.

Toronto Blue Jays: A

That’s not to say we’re thrilled with an endgame that includes no Bo Bichette. But the early strikes for Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce solidify a very good rotation beyond 2026, and the price for Kazuma Okamoto was not exorbitant. They may miss the elites like Bichette and Kyle Tucker not so much in topline production, but overall depth.

National League

By Bob Nightengale

Arizona Diamondbacks: C-

The Diamondbacks were able to pull off a couple of moves in their hopes of getting back to the playoffs, but they still have holes. The D-backs re-signed Merrill Kelly to a one-year, $20 million contract after trading him to the Texas Rangers in July. They acquired former Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado to replace Eugenio Suarez. They took a flier on starter Michael Soroka. And they re-signed backup catcher James McCann.

Still, they have yet to address their bullpen. Their best two closing options are A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez, but each are recovering from elbow surgeries. Puk could return in mid-season while Martinez is expected to be out until late season. They will rely on Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson for the time-being.

Atlanta: C

Some nice under-the-radar moves by signing former Padres closer Robert Suarez to a three-year, $45 million contract, infielder Mauricio Dubón and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski. They also re-signed Gold Glove shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, who will now be out until mid-May after fracturing his finger when he slipped on ice, and reliever Raisel Iglesias.

Still, they need a front-line starter if they’re going to return to being the class of the division. It’s hard to believe they won’t sign a free-agent starter to join Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider in the rotation.

Chicago Cubs: A-

Oh, what a difference a year makes.

A year ago, the Cubs were bidding for All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman, but finished third in the sweepstakes to Boston and Detroit. Well, after making the playoffs, and having their zealous fanbase feeling like it’s 2016 all over again, the Cubs went out and made sure they got Bregman this time around.

They also rebuilt their bullpen with veterans Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, Jacob Webb and Hoby Milner.

Now, after watching their little brothers up north in Milwaukee pound them year after year – winning three consecutive division titles and four of the last five – the Cubs believe this is the year it all changes.

They not only are favorites to win the NL Central, but perhaps could be a legitimate threat to the Dodgers too.

Cincinnati Reds: F

The Reds did make a strong push to bring Kyle Schwarber back to his home state and were willing to offer even more than the Phillies’ five-year, $150 million deal, but couldn’t make up for his loyalty and love for Philadelphia.

Instead of pivoting, they stopped and still haven’t added to their offense.

They did bring back closer Emilio Pagán, signed relievers Pierce Johnson and Caleb Ferguson and traded for reliever Brock Burke. They also acquired outfield depth with Dane Myers and JJ Bleday.

Still, there were no big moves for a team that made great strides and reached the playoffs last year.

Colorado Rockies: F

The Rockies have had three consecutive 100-loss seasons, including a 43-119 record last year.

They have done nothing this winter to believe it won’t be a fourth in a row.

The Rockies turned over the reins of the franchise to Paul DePodesta, who had been out of baseball for a decade, but their only notable moves were signing Michael Lorenzen to a one-year, $8 million deal and acquiring outfielder Jake McCarthy from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It will take years before the Rockies are even a .500 team again.

Los Angeles Dodgers: A

The Dodgers became the first team to win consecutive World Series since the New York Yankees in 1996-2000, so what did they do?

Got even better, positioning themselves for a three-peat.

The Dodgers’ biggest nemesis last season was their bullpen, becoming such a mess that starters Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and even Clayton Kershaw pitched in relief in the postseason.

So instead of simply hoping that their bullpen would improve and Tanner Scott would bounce back from his horrific year, they went out and grabbed perhaps the best closer in baseball in Edwin Diaz. And if the Mets weren’t infuriated enough by the Diaz signing, the Dodgers took their No. 1 free-agent target away from them in right fielder Kyle Tucker, paying him a sunning four-year, $240 million contract.

Just like that, the Dodgers become Exhibit 1-A for a labor war with their $413 million payroll, and mocking the mantra that the “Dodgers are ruining baseball.’’

Miami Marlins: D

The Marlins still want to contend in the powerful NL East, but how is that possible when you trade away starters Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers, and your only free-agent signing is closer Pete Fairbanks?

They at least kept former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, but that could change dramatically at the trade deadline. If Alcantara can improve on his finish – yielding a 2.68 ERA while giving up just 36 hits while striking out 42 in 53.2 innings – he can be an invaluable trade chip.

The Marlins offense should be improved, grabbing Cubs outfield prospect Owen Caisse in the Cabrera deal, but for a rotation that ranked 26^th in baseball with a 4.84 ERA last season, things got worse.

Milwaukee Brewers: D

The Brewers were able to keep veteran starter Brandon Woodruff, but dealt ace Freddy Peralta.They also let starter Jose Quintana and first baseman Rhys Hoskins walk, while trading outfielder Isaac Collins to the Royals for left-hander Angel Zerpa.

The small-market Brewers, who spent a grand total of $1.25 million on free agents this winter (outfielder Akil Baddoo), but every time you think they’ve got no shot, they find a way to playi in October.

Still, the cold-hearted reality in 2026 is that the Cubs got better, and  the Brewers got worse.

New York Mets: B

David Stearns, Mets president of baseball operations, isn’t going to win any popularity contests in New York after letting Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz walk away.

Yet, he badly wanted to re-shape the team after their historic collapse, remained patient, and then struck last week. In a matter of six days, he signed Bo Bichette to a three-year, $126 million contract, traded for Brewers ace Freddy Peralta and reliever Tobias Myers, and White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

Just like that, the Mets are back in business, but it’s a $343 million gamble in their new players. Bichette has never played third base. Jorge Polanco, who replaces Alonso, has never played first base. Robert has played more than 110 games just once in six years. And what if Bichette exercises his opt-out, costing them $47 million and $15.2 million in luxury tax penalties for one season?

Is this really an improved team over the one that won 83 games last season and missed the playoffs by a day?

We’re about to find out.

Philadelphia Phillies: D+

The Phillies wanted to shake things up after fizzing out the last three years in the postseason, and were poised to do so with a seven-year, $200 million offer to Bo Bichette – until the Mets swooped in at the last second.

So, now they’re running it back again with an infusion of youth led by rookie center fielder Justin Crawford, and the gamble that new outfielder Adolis Garcia can resemble the player who hit 39 homers with 107 RBIs two years ago with the Texas Rangers.

Yet, for the most part, it’s the same team, but a year older.

They had to re-sign DH Kyle Schwarber. They re-signed catcher J.T. Realmuto to a three-year, $45 million contract once Bichette left them at the altar. But outside Garcia, their only other notable acquisition is reliever Brad Keller (two years, $22 million).

The fanbase is upset they’re running it back, but it’s still a team that won 96 games last season and 95 games in 2024.

Pittsburgh Pirates: B-

The Pirates recognized they needed some offense, and this time actually opened up their wallet, giving Cy Young winner Paul Skenes and the rotation a real chance to win some games.

The Pirates brought in Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn and Jhostynxon Garcia to their lineup in what has been GM Ben Cherington’s most aggressive winter.

Lowe was their big acquisition after hitting 31 homers with 83 RBIs last season for the Rays. They spent $29 million on O’Hearn for two years after he slashed .281/.366/.437 with 21 doubles and 17 home runs. And Garcia was a Red Sox prized prospect who could make the team after hitting 21 homers with 75 RBIs last season at Class AA and Triple-A.

And, yes, don’t forget about having the game’s best prospect in Konnor Griffin, who turns 20 in April, and produced a.941 OPS across three levels in his first pro season last year. He’ll arrive at some point.

Who knows, maybe the Pirates will be a playoff contender before Skenes departs.

San Diego Padres: F

The Padres spent wildly for years, but suddenly the money has dried up, and so have the hopes of knocking off the Dodgers.

They were engaged in plenty of trade talks early in the winter, but since have flat-lined, losing starter Dylan Cease, closer Robert Suarez, and first base/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn.

They were able to bring back starter Michael King and signed backup infielder Sung-Mun Song, but that’s it.

Their best chance of improving the roster is if Yu Darvish walks away from the remaining three year and $45 million in his contract, and using that money to acquire more help.

San Francisco Giants: C-

The Giants’ offseason wasn’t bad, but acquiring a defensive center fielder and adding back-end starters were hardly the moves to make the Los Angeles Dodgers sweat.

After all, this is a team that is 18-40 against the Dodgers the last four years.

“Obviously, it's not fun for me to watch the team that won it and the team that kicked our ass a lot last year," ace Logan Web said at the club's Fanfest, “go out and get some really good players just to make it more difficult. But at the end of the day, you just got to play better and be better. Hopefully we do that."

The Giants did make a nice pickup signing defensive whiz Harrison Bader, 31, to a two-year, $20.5 million contract, helping shore up an outfield that ranked last in outs above average last season. He will play center field, pushing Jung Hoo Lee to right field and helping cover ground in left field for defensively-challenged Heliot Ramos.

The Giants added starters Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser to fill out their rotation behind Webb, Robbie Ray and Landen Loup, along with relievers Sam Hentges and Jason Foley.

Their best chance to make the playoffs is for Rafael Devers to start hitting like he did in Boston and Willy Adames to play like the shortstop who earned a $182 million contract.

St. Louis Cardinals: D-

The Cardinals, for the first time in 30 years, are going into a full-scale rebuild.

They dumped three veterans – Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras – and tossed in $59 million for them to go away, picking up horde of prospects.

And they still are hoping to trade infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan before spring training.

The Cardinals’ highest-paid player now is Dustin May ($12.5 million) and they don’t have a single player under contract past 2026.

This is going to be the first of several long years for the passionate Cardinals’ fanbase.

Washington Nationals: F

The Nationals were on their way to contention, with their front office believing they were about three free agent players shy of making ground.

Instead, president Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez were fired, and with Paul Toboni taking over, they have embarked on another rebuild. They already traded starter MacKenzie Gore with shortstop CJ Abrams on the trade block. And all they spent in free agency this winter was $5.5 million on Foster Griffin, who had been pitching for the Yomiuri Giants since 2023.

They did receive a nice package for Gore, highlighted by third baseman Gavin Fien, the Rangers’ first-round draft pick of a year ago and wound up getting five of the Rangers’ top 15 prospects.

Still, with a team so young that their only player under contract past 2026 is catcher Keibert Ruiz, it will be years before this team is competitive again.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB offseason grades reward Dodgers' super winter but who got an F?

The offseason weeks continue to blow by as we’re nearly done with January already, and spring training is officially around the corner. The Yankees’ retooling appears all but over barring a last-minute deal falling into place, and while Brian Cashman has done his best to defend against the impression that they’re just running back last year’s team, there’s not a lot of evidence to the contrary. That’s not unreasonable — they were the best offense in baseball and their rotation simply didn’t perform outside of Cam Schlittler in October after being a solid unit all year! But the hope of pulling in a significant improvement to the roster wasn’t an unreasonable one, and it looks like it’ll go unanswered at least to start the year.

Relievers past and present are on the lineup today, beginning with Andrés looking at Jake Bird’s potential to bounceback in 2026 after one of the rockiest Yankees debuts we’ve seen in a while. Then, Nick wishes a happy birthday to onetime Yankee closer John Habyan, and Jeremy takes us back to the Yankees signing one of their iconic 2009 retooling stars in Mark Teixeira.

Questions/Prompts:

1. Do you think Angel Chivilli will thrive under Matt Blake’s tutelage, or is this one a stretch?

2. What are your thoughts on Cody Bellinger opting to not join Team USA for the WBC to instead focus on getting ready for the season?