Category: Baseball

Observations from Yankees spring training Sunday:

Hess, sir!

Ben Hess, one of the top Yankees pitching prospects, tossed two scoreless innings of relief, including setting down Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm.

Crash test

Ben Rice gave Aaron Boone a scare when he went crashing into the short wall by the rolled-up tarp down the first base line trying to run down a pop-up.

Fortunately for the Yankees, Rice was no worse for wear.

Caught my eye

Anywhere the Yankees put George Lombard Jr. on the infield, he has delivered a highlight-reel play over the first 10 games this spring.

After doing so at shortstop and third base last week, the prospect played second base Sunday and made a strong play on a chopper past the mound, throwing on the run to first, where Rice provided a scoop for the out.

Monday’s schedule

The Yankees will have their first off-day of camp before returning to action Tuesday against Panama at Steinbrenner Field, with Max Fried and Giancarlo Stanton set to make their spring debuts.

MESA, Arizona — The Cubs’ 5-1 loss to the White Sox on another very hot afternoon was painfully reminiscent of some Shōta Imanaga starts last year.

Imanaga threw 47 pitches in 2.2 innings. Three of those pitches left the yard, solo homers by Edgar Quero, Austin Hays and Braden M0ntgomery, two of whom will likely be starting players for the White Sox this year and the third, one of their top prospects.

But should we really be concerned about three homers in a Spring Training game in a hitters’ environment where the temperature reached into the 90s? Let’s look at each of the homers.

Here’s the Quero homer, with one out in the first [VIDEO].

Now look at where that pitch was:

That was … I dunno, chopped out of the ballpark? That has to be three inches above the strike zone. I don’t think that ball is a home run at Wrigley Field with the wind blowing in. On a hot day in Mesa? Sure.

Here’s the Montgomery long ball [VIDEO].

Here’s where that pitch was:

That’s a pretty good pitcher’s pitch, jamming Montgomery low in the zone, and he golfed it out of the yard.

Now here’s the Hays blast [VIDEO].

And the pitch location:

Again, that’s not a bad pitcher’s pitch, low and away. Hays just got it. Credit to the hitter on this one.

So … am I worried? Not really.

The Cubs’ only run scored on Alex Bregman’s first homer in a Cubs uniform, in the bottom of the first [VIDEO].

Bregman, like Quero, got a high fastball and did not miss it:

Lenyn Sosa also homered for the White Sox, off minor leaguer Zane Mills. The fifth Sox run came off Hunter Harvey in the fourth, and after that scoring was done for the afternoon. Caleb Thielbar, Luke Little and Corbin Martin threw scoreless innings, and Grant Kipp, who might be at Triple-A Iowa this year, put six Sox minor leaguers down in order in the eighth and ninth.

Bregman also doubled and walked in what’s likely his final game for the Cubs for a couple of weeks, as he heads to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Pete Crow-Armstrong, also headed for Team USA, singled twice in three at-bats.

It was another very hot day in Mesa (Bluesky link):

Attendance watch: A full house of 15,270 attended Sunday’s game. That makes the season total for six dates 71,309, or 11,885 per date.

After the game the Cubs announced they had claimed Ben Cowles on waivers from the Blue Jays. I don’t know exactly what’s going on with Cowles; the Cubs keep waiving him and re-claiming him. To make room on the 40-man roster for Cowles, Shelby Miller was placed on the 60-day injured list.

Monday, the Cubs head to the west Valley to play the Reds at Goodyear. Jameson Taillon will start for the Cubs, and then he, too, heads to the WBC to play for Team Canada. Brady Singer will go for Cincinnati. Game time Monday is 2:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will again be via Marquee Sports Network, and also on Reds TV. No radio on Monday.

After a live bullpen session on Sunday before the Mets faced off against the Houston Astros at Clover Park, Kodai Senga’s next step appears to be headed for a real game.

Speaking to the media following a 4-3 win, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that Senga’s next outing “will be in our game.” He followed that up by saying that will probably be on Saturday when New York plays the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla.

For what it’s worth, Senga had a couple of strikeouts on the backfields against Mets hitters on Sunday. And after such a promising season was hampered by injury last season, Senga will surely be excited to get back on track and find his footing once again.

How much Senga will be able to give the Mets in 2026 remains to be seen, but Saturday’s outing could show some insight. At the very least it’s a step in the right direction for the talented right-hander.

Meanwhile, Christian Scott has also been getting his work in as he continues his return from Tommy John surgery in September 2024 that cost him the entire 2025 season.

The youngster who debuted in May 2024 threw a live bullpen on Saturday in which he went two innings, per Mendoza.

“[He’s] continuing with his progression, feeling really good too,” the skipper said. “Velo is there.”

Mendoza wasn’t able to confirm that Scott would be ready for Opening Day, saying he would have to check, but he did say that the right-hander “continues to progress accordingly.”

In nine starts after his promotion, Scott had a 4.56 ERA (1.20 WHIP) with 39 strikeouts in 47.1 innings. Still just 26 years old and once a top prospect in New York’s system, Scott remains a part of the Mets’ plans this season and beyond.

Observations from Mets spring training on Sunday:

Two For Taylor

Tyrone Taylor, whose role on the team is unclear with Luis Robert Jr. penciled in as the center fielder and Carson Benge vying for the right field spot, hit his second homer of the spring and can provide solid defense in the outfield.

Walk this Way

Right-hander Jack Wenninger, the organization’s No. 11 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, walked five batters in 1 ²/₃ innings.

He allowed two runs to the Astros in the 4-3 win.

Caught My Eye

Benge went hitless but still had the hardest-hit ball of the afternoon — a 110 mph grounder in the first inning.

And he displayed a strong arm in the third on a fly ball to medium right field by Isaac Paredes, as he fired home to force Nick Allen to scramble back to third.

Monday’s Schedule

The Mets have the day off, returning to action Tuesday at Clover Park against Team Nicaragua in preparation for the WBC.

The Dodgers didn’t tie their Cactus League game on Sunday, but settled for 4-3 win over the Angels at Camelback Ranch.

Mookie Betts made his game debut on Sunday and played four innings at shortstop. He grounded out to shortstop in both of his plate appearances, but reach on the first of those thanks to a fielder’s choice at second base. That allowed Betts to score from first on Freddie Freeman’s double to the wall in left center in the first inning.

Betts after outing spoke with Kirsten Watson in the dugout for SportsNet LA, and included that this offseason he incorporated throwing javelins in his training, something Yoshinobu Yamamoto has done for several years.

“It’s going good. I don’t throw it nearly as far as Yoshi, but from when I first started to now, it’s a night-and-day difference. Even me just throwing the ball across the diamond, it’s a lot different than last year in a very positive way,” Betts said. “Yoshi, what he did, going back to back, and how he stays healthy, why not?”

Not-for-long balls

Landon Knack allowed a home run every 18.5 plate appearances last season, 12th-highest rate in the majors among pitchers with at least 40 innings. So it wasn’t all that surprising that the Angels homered twice within Knack’s first four batters faced.

A double ended Knack’s first inning at 26 pitches. After a brief conversational embrace with manager Dave Roberts just off the mound, Knack watched the rest of the first inning from the dugout. Rather than re-enter in the top of second inning, which is allowed by the lax rules of spring training, Knack’s day was complete.

Staying on schedule

Most of the relief pitchers on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster have pitched every third day so far this spring, and bullpen mainstays Jack Dreyer, Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia each pitched a scoreless inning on Sunday. Vesia struck out the side in the fourth inning against the Angels and this spring has retired all nine batters he faced, with five strikeouts. What a way to make a living.

Kyle Hurt, after missing all of last season while rehabbing, struck out two in his perfect frame as well, making his third appearance, every third day. Edgardo Henriquez and Paul Gervase are on the docket to pitch Monday against the Rockies, on that same schedule.

Making the most of it

With the Dodgers showing restraint in playing some regulars until a little after the spring schedule started, the team leader in starts in the Cactus League is non-roster outfielder Zach Ehrhard. Acquired with outfielder James Tibbs III from the Boston Red Sox last July in the Dustin May trade, Ehrhard was the designated hitter on Sunday for his seventh start in 10 days.

Ehrhard singled in the second inning, then went first to third on a dump single to right field, then challenged old friend Chris Taylor’s arm in center field to score on a sacrifice fly, showing the aggressive baserunning that led to 37 steals in 41 attempts in the minors last season. The 23-year-old Ehrhard this spring has six hits, including three doubles in his 17 at-bats (.353/.450/.529), plus two walks and a hit by pitch.

Tibbs is tied for the team lead with eight games played, and Sunday was his sixth start, this time in right field. His opposite-field home run in the sixth inning tied the game at 3-3, part of a two-hit game for the former first-round pick.

Up next

The Dodgers take a trip to Scottsdale to take on the Colorado Rockies on Monday afternoon (12:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Ryder Ryan will be first on the mound for Los Angeles, with Jimmy Herget taking the ball first for Colorado. Ryan, like many other relievers in camp, will be pitching three days after his last outing.

Box Score

Today’s Cactus League game gave us a good opportunity to get a first look at two pitchers who will figure prominently into the team’s plans this year, Chad Patrick (who started the game) and Trevor Megill (who was first out of the bullpen). The lineup also got a chance to test themselves against a 2025 All-Star in Royals starter Kris Bubic. Unlike their previous few games, in which the Brewers had scored at least five runs in five straight games, this was a low-scoring affair in which the Milwaukee offense had very little going.

But it didn’t look like that right at the beginning. The top of the Brewers’ order kept yesterday’s hit parade going: Luis Rengifo led off with a single off of Bubic, and after a Garrett Mitchell strikeout, Gary Sánchez and Akil Baddoo singled too, scoring Rengifo. Brock Wilken and Jesús Made struck out to end the inning, but Milwaukee was up 1-0 early.

Patrick greeted old friend Isaac Collins in the bottom of the frame by striking him out looking with a perfectly-placed cutter on the low inside corner. Patrick walked the next two batters but worked out of it, as Made made the play on a scalded Carter Jensen ground ball to second to end the inning. The Brewers got nothing in the second except for a two-out infield single from Luis Lara.

Josh Rojas led off the Royals’ second with a double, and he came around to score after a wild pitch and an RBI groundout. Michael Wacha entered for the Royals in the third and retired Mitchell, Sánchez, and Baddoo in order, with strikeouts of Mitchell and Baddoo. The bottom of the third was Megill’s inning: he got the first two, then issued a two-out walk to Jac Caglianone, but erased him with a pickoff. His fastball was sitting at 97-98, which seems encouraging for this point in the season.

Megill spoke to reporters about the outing after the game and said his elbow trouble from the end of last season is no longer an issue:

Milwaukee got some hard contact on Wacha in the fourth but had nothing to show for it. After he started the inning by striking out Wilken, Wacha gave up batted balls of 108 and 105 mph to Made and Jeferson Quero, respectively, but both resulted in outs. Grant Anderson replaced Megill, and the Royals were all over him; three of the first four batters he faced hit balls over 100 mph, the first of which was a Carter Jensen solo homer (Josh Rojas also lined out, and John Rave hit a single). But despite the hard contact, Jensen’s homer was the only run against Anderson, and the Royals led 2-1.

Cooper Pratt led off the fifth with a solid single, but nothing came of it; Lara struck out (on a ball that he unsuccessfully challenged), Rengifo grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Mitchell grounded out to second.

The Brewer pitcher in the fifth was Craig Yoho, and Collins rudely greeted him with a double to left. He scored when the next batter, Jonathan India, singled, but Yoho recovered to get Pasquantino, Caglianone, and Jensen in order to end the inning.

Little else happened after that. Neither team scored again, and the Brewers only got baserunners when Pratt was hit by a pitch in the seventh, when Mike Boeve walked and Eddys Leonard singled in the eighth, and when Ramón Rodríguez doubled and was followed by a Daniel Dickinson infield hit in the ninth. Peter Strzelecki, Jacob Waguespack, and Garrett Stallings pitched scoreless innings in the sixth, seventh, and eighth.

Not much of note offensively for Milwaukee today; eight hits, with the only extra-base hit being Rodríguez’s ninth-inning double, and no players with more than one hit. The pitching staff performed fairly well; Megill was the highlight, while Patrick, Yoho, and Anderson all allowed a run.

The Brewers are off tomorrow, then get back in action with an interesting little twist on Tuesday when they take on Great Britain’s World Baseball Classic team in an exhibition.

It’s Sunday once more, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! As of this morning, Opening Day is officially this month, and the World Baseball Classic this week. What have the Bombers been up to this week? Let’s find out!

Congratulations, CC!

This past Wednesday, the Yankees announced that CC Sabathia will be the next Yankee to be enshrined in Monument Park, as his No. 52 will be retired this September.

Get Better Soon, CC!

Of course, that wasn’t the only Sabathia-related news this week. The Hall of Fame lefty also revealed that he had knee replacement surgery last month. Fortunately, he has seven months to work back to health so he can take the mound and throw out the first pitch when his number is retired.

Out-of-this-world Pictures

Yankees outfielder and former top prospect Jasson Domínguez served as the team photographer during Thursday’s game, as the Yankees piled on the runs with their A-lineup.

Media Day Pics

We have some more photos from Media Day — this time, from minor leaguers.

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Yankees first baseman/catcher Ben Rice celebrated his 27th birthday this week. The Yankees honored his special day by giving him a gift — Ben’s Original Rice!

Celebrating Black History Month

The Yankees wrapped up Black History Month by highlighting the career of 14-time All-Star and 5-time World Series champion Reggie Jackson.

Fun with Cam

We got to see Cam Schlittler hang out with cats.

Daily Shenanigans

We wrap up this week with some more daily shenanigans from the Yankees’ social media team. This week, in honor of the US Olympic team winning the gold medal in both men’s and women’s hockey, they asked the players to take a shot on goal with some, uh, comically-sized hockey sticks.

We also got another round of Jenga.

And lastly, we got some old school photos with a Blackberry phone.

The Mets optioned RHP Alex Carrillo to Triple-A Syracuse and reassigned LHPs Anderson Severino and Matt Turner to minor league camp, New York announced after Sunday's 4-3 spring training win over the Houston Astros.

Seventy players remain in the Mets' major league camp.

Carrillo, 28, allowed one hit and one walk in one inning of work this spring. He scattered seven runs on six hits while striking out four and walking two in 4.2 innings over three games with New York last season.

Severino and Turner closed out Sunday's game against Houston.

Severino, 31, allowed one hit while striking out two and walking one in two innings over two games this spring. The 26-year-old Turner, meanwhile, yielded one hit while striking out five and walking two in three innings across three games.

The Mets walked off the Houston Astros in the ninth inning on Sunday afternoon to win 4-3.

Here are the takeaways...

-- In his second start and last appearance for New York before leaving to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, Clay Holmes put together a great outing in four innings of work.

The right-hander allowed a run on three hits and a walk while striking out four and throwing 63 pitches (39 strikes). He lowered his ERA to 3.52 after allowing two earned runs in 3.2 innings in his spring debut on Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Despite a solid afternoon, Holmes did have some traffic on the basepaths and wasn't able to contain the running game as Jose Altuve stole second base in the first inning before Nick Allen stole third in the third inning. 

Holmes allowed a leadoff hit in the first three innings, however Joey Loperfido's infield single in the second should not have counted after the ball hit off his foot before entering the field of play which the umpires missed. Holmes got even less help on the next batter who hit a double-play ball to shortstop Vidal Brujan who struggled to get the ball out of his glove before throwing it wide of Marcus Semien at second base. Loperfido advanced to third on the error.

With runners at the corners and nobody out, Holmes swiftly struck out Joseph Sullivan and induced another ground ball, this one handled by Brujan for the inning-ending double play. 

The lone run surrendered by Holmes came on a sacrifice fly by Zach Cole in the third inning. Right before the sac fly, though, Isaac Paredes hit a ball to shallow right field that had Allen tagging up and thinking about trying to score, but Carson Benge showed off his arm and unleashed a throw home that stopped Allen in his tracks before retreating back to third base. Holmes finished his outing with a strikeout in the fourth, capping off his first 1-2-3 inning of the day. 

As for Benge, he finished the day 0-for-3.

-- The Mets got on the board in the bottom of the fourth after Tyrone Taylor cranked a solo shot over the left field wall to tie the game. It was Taylor's second home run of the spring after he hit just two homers all of last season. Taylor went 1-for-2 and is now hitting .273 with a 1.091 OPS so far in camp.

-- New York took the lead a few batters later after a two-out rally started with two walks. Cristian Pache cashed in on another opportunity, doubling home a run on a line drive up the middle to give the Mets the lead. 

Pache has been a star in camp for New York with eight hits in 11 at-bats (.727 average), including a home run and two doubles, good for a 1.932 OPS. Sunday's double was also impressive because of Pache's hustle on a ball hit up the middle. The 27-year-old is fighting for a spot in the outfield, although he's struggled throughout his young MLB career.

-- Jack Wenninger, SNY's Joe DeMayo's No. 11 Mets prospect, saw some more action this spring in relief of Holmes and after a clean fifth inning with two strikeouts, he struggled with his command and lost the strike zone, walking five straight batters to start the sixth (plus a wild pitch) and letting the Astros tie it up.

-- Houston took the lead in the seventh on another wild pitch, this one by Bryce Conley, but New York tied things up again in the bottom half of the inning on a solo homer by Chris Suero. Things stayed tied going into the bottom of the ninth inning where Austin Barnes led off with a double, followed by a walk to Suero before finally Yonatan Henriquez sealed the win with a single to right field.

-- Ronny Mauricio continued his impressive spring with a hit and a stolen base. He's hitting .286 with a .904 OPS and has two steals in two attempts.

Game MVP: Cristian Pache

Pache's torrid spring keeps helping the Mets and his hustle could be the difference between making the team when camp breaks.

Highlights

Clay Holmes works out of a jam with a strikeout followed by an inning-ending double play pic.twitter.com/4BkLmJyt0N

— SNY (@SNYtv) 

Nick Allen thinks twice about testing Carson Benge's arm in right field 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/RxIXGcaxr7

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) 

Clay Holmes ends a 1-2-3 fourth inning with a strikeout pic.twitter.com/NXB0UPKboK

— SNY (@SNYtv) 

A rocket off the bat of Tyrone Taylor! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/J4ZLW8qFwC

— SNY (@SNYtv) 

Cristian Pache puts the Mets on top! pic.twitter.com/X2oslVBspf

— SNY (@SNYtv) 

Chris Suero ties the game up with a solo shot! pic.twitter.com/yn1M2WSrjK

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) 

What's next

The Mets will host Nicaragua in an exhibition game on Tuesday at 1:10 p.m. New York returns to Grapefruit League action on Thursday, March 5 when it takes on the Washington Nationals at 1:05 p.m.

Both the Yankees and Phillies ran out partial lineups in Sunday’s afternoon action, with many players on both sides gearing up for action in this year’s World Baseball Classic. Despite that fact, it was a relatively tight game, that moved quickly end-to-end, featuring plenty of good pitching on both sides and promise for their starters, Will Warren for the Yankees and Andrew Painter for Philadelphia. The Yanks got the better of the Phils at the end of the afternoon, 5-3.

Warren, who co-led the American League in starts last season and will almost certainly have a regular role in 2026, looked excellent in his second spring outing. The right-hander was cut off at 50 pitches on the afternoon, but he certainly made the most of them. Across 3.2 innings of work, Warren punched out three Phillies, allowed just one hit while avoiding any walks and keeping the scoreboard blank.

This was obviously a promising start for Warren and the Yankees. If the 26-year-old can take a step forward in his second full big league season, it could be a major relief to a rotation that will be missing several key pieces in the early part of the season.

The first half of this ballgame flew by, thanks in large part to Warren’s performance in tandem with an equally dominant showing from Painter. The prized Phillies pitching prospect worked two innings against the Yankees, keeping things scoreless and striking out one in his limited 20-pitch outing. The Yankees did not record a hit against the 22-year-old.

For both sides, scoring kicked off in the fifth inning, after the bullpens had gone to work. The Yankee got things rolling their half when J.C. Escarra reached with a sun-aided double deep into center field. Two batters later, former Athletic Seth Brown singled to bring him home and give New York a 1-0 lead.

The Phillies punched right back in their half, however. The Yankees had Cade Winquest on the mound, who met Bryson Stott leading off for Philadelphia. The second baseman poked an 0-2 changeup deep and out to center field for a game-tying solo shot.

Against the Phillies ‘pen in the seventh, New York once again took the lead thanks to some high-quality two-out at-bats. With Jorbit Vivas in scoring position after a walk and a stolen base with two outs, Miguel Palma kicked off scoring with an RBI knock. Yanquiel Fernández continued the rally with a run-scoring double, before Duke Ellis piled on with a triple off the wall in left-center. Ernesto Martinez Jr. put the finishing touches on the inning with an infield single toward the hole on the left side, bringing the score to 5-1 after an eventful top half of the seventh.

After Stott’s homer, the Yankees relievers continued to keep the Phillies’ bats quiet. Angel Chivilli recorded two quick outs after Winquest left the game, and Ben Hess followed with two scoreless inning, allowing just one hit in his solid effort.

The Phillies put a solid fight together in the bottom half of the ninth against Michael Arias. After a walk, Philadelphia’s Dylan Campbell plated their second run of the day with a deep triple off the wall in left-center, before being quickly scored himself thanks to a single from Felix Reyes. Suddenly, the Yanks had their backs against the wall, with the tying run at the plate, but Reyes was able to induce a flyout to the center fielder Ellis to put a cap on their 5-3 victory.

With the win, the Yankees improve to 8-2 in Grapefruit League play, and will next take on Panama’s WBC team this Tuesday in a tune-up game for the national team.

Box Score

Sure, there is another loss in the ledger for the Phillies, one that will likely be forgotten in due time. We’re still gettin the good Bryson Stott right now, something to keep an eye on once the games actually begin to mean something. But today, this was the day to talk about Andrew Painter.

This was his 2026 spring debut, his first spring start since 2023. That meant that we were finally going to see how he looked three years later. How did it go?

His two innings of work really couldn’t have gone much better. He was getting whiffs, throwing all of his stuff for strikes and generally looking like he belonged. That last part may not seem like a big deal, but it’s no secret he wasn’t up to snuff last year in the minor leagues after we heard all spring how he was a part of their July plans.

His stuff?

The fastball is still a little meh, but the velocity of it today was such that he was able to get some late swings of hitters still getting their sea legs under them. The secondary pitches all looked quite good, that slider to Jasson Dominguez particularly drool worthy.

Painter has a decent amount of expectations on his shoulders this year, so starts like this do have value. It’s nice to see him get off to a good start to his spring.

Game Summary

The Pirates come to town for their first visit to RDS ever and leave with a 28-year streak of never having lost a game in Jupiter. The Pirates broke on top early with a 2-run HR by phenom Konnor Griffin, added a 2 spot in the second inning and single tallies in the fourth and seventh. Offensively, the Cardinals mustered by one hit and scored a lone run a rally killing GIDP in the fifth.

Pre-Game Notes

The venue remains unchanged. Roger Dean Stadium. Pittsburgh is in.

• Barco pitches for the Pirates. Leahy for the Cardinals.
• Mautz, Rincon, Romero, Roycroft, Moreno to follow Leahy, not necessarily in that order.
• Herrera at lead-off today. Followed by Urias, Gorman, Walker, Fermin, Pozo, Church, Davis, Rivas
• Looking forward to seeing K. Griffin.
• The big news is Oli’s extension gets rolled out today. Have you heard?
• Otherwise, a quiet day at camp. MiLBers have the day off.

The Manager’s Corner (pre-game)

• Oli came into the media room shortly after the press conference.
• Noted Herrera at lead-off is a way to get him ABs early in the game and still get him some time behind the plate. Still in build up mode, but they like what they see.
• Does not think WBC attendance by the 9 players listed will be nearly as disruptive as last time. Sounds like it can be hit-and-miss on what information they get back from WBC teams on how their players are progressing. Some orgs are better at that than others. Isn’t it that way with everything?
• Seems he might know the Team USA manager.
• Urias has been a topic of Q&A each day. I will explore that more in-depth in an article later in camp.
• First trip ever into RDS for the Pirates. Cardinals return the favor this upcoming Thursday.

Game Observations

• A double and a Griffin HR put a quick 2-spot on the board for the Bucs. Griffin launched a center-cut sweeper that swept into the hitting sweet spot instead of out of it.
• Another 2-spot in the second inning, featuring more bloops and bleeders than anything.
• Bedell into take the last batter of the third inning, with Leahy’s pitch count in the 50’s.
• Through three innings, the Cardinals are hitless (been a bit of that at the start of this camp) and find themselves down 4-0.
• Jhostynxon Garcia greets Romero in the 4th with a solo shot, otherwise a quiet inning.
• Cardinals load the bases in fifth to make some noise. Davis GDP plates a run but ends the noise.
• Mautz pitches 2.2 with 3 Ks, complicated by 3 walks, ultimately giving up a run. Nunez finishes the inning with a K after giving up a run scoring single to right. He is high octane.
• Roycroft pitches a scoreless 8th w 2Ks.
• The bottom of the eighth produces a Tai Peete sighting. He K’s looking. He loses the challenge and the Cardinals are out of challenges.
• Rincon in to cap off the ninth. 11 pitches. 4-seamer tops at 97, avg closer to 95. Slider got outs.

The Manager’s Corner (post-game)

• Leahy wasn’t as sharp as he’d want to be today. Got back in the 1st after the HR and got out in 11 pitches.
• Herrera and Leahy seemed to be on the same page, Ivan managed the game well
• Roycroft was sharp!
• Mautz let some counts get away.

Final notes

• Will work the back fields tomorrow in the AM and then begin to long trek home, so this is the last game recap.
• Will recap the back field experience for my Friday article. It may take that long to re-surface and process all the impressions I’ve gotten. Some may marinate all summer.

Next up would be Anthony Santander, but he’ll be going on the 60-day IL Let’s skip to Davis Schneider.

Davis Schneider is a 27-year-old, right-handed hitting, left fielder/second baseman. Last year he played 59 games in left and 24 games at second. He was drafted in the 28th round of the 2017. He’s the only player from that round of that year to make the majors.

He has two option years left.

Davis is entering his fourth season with the Blue Jays, taking it for granted he’ll made the team.

You’ll remember, he started his major league career like a house on fire, with 9 hits in his first 3 games, then a 9-game hitting streak. 2024 didn’t go as well, he hit .191/.282/.343, and had the same bWAR as you and I, 0.0.

I really didn’t think he would make the active roster in 2025, but he had an excellent spring training. Then he started the season without getting a hit in his first 10 games, and he was sent off to Buffalo.

He was recalled June 1st and things went much better from then on. On the season he hit .234/.361/.436 with 11 home runs and a 1.3 bWAR.

Davis does a lot of things well. He barrels up the ball well, he doesn’t chase out of the zone, walks a lot and hits home runs.

And, just by watching, I thought he was robbed on more strike calls than anyone on the team. He’s going to be helped by challenge system. There is a report that he and Alejandro Kirk (more on the defensive side) are going to be the two who will be allowed to challenge whenever they want, other guys not so much.

Defensively? Well, he’s average ish at second and in the outfield. He was a 0 in outs above average at second and -1 in left last year. And he’s average as a runner. He’s never going to get any awards for his glove.

Steamer figures he’ll play 74 games, with 11 home runs, and a .217/.325/.394 and a 0.9 fWAR.

We were treated to a split-squad day on Sunday, with Reynaldo Lopez starting at home against the Rays, backed by most of the regular bats remaining in camp after a few WBC departures and Grant Holmes starting on the road at the Twins’ facility, backed by mostly quad-A players and a few prospects.

At home, Reynaldo Lopez sat around 92 MPH with his fastball, a few ticks down from his 95.5 and 95.7 MPH averages in 2024 and 2025. He allowed a few hard-hit balls, but struck out three and walked one through three innings. He generated 6 whiffs and kept Tampa scoreless in what was overall a nice outing for Reynaldo, even if the velo remained down in the lower 90s. Tyler Kinley followed Reynaldo and allowed a solo homer but got a strikeout and three whiffs in his one inning. Dylan Lee followed with a 1-2-3 inning of contact outs and 3 whiffs. Bullpen candidate Dylan Dodd got the sixth and immediately allowed two monster homers, hurting his chances of making the Opening Day roster over a guy like James Karinchak. Dodd ended up with 2.0 innings of work, allowing two homers, two singles, and two strikeouts.

The offense was pretty quiet to start the game, but scored one on an error after a Yastrzemski walk and two on a 111 MPH Michael Harris single. Austin Riley crushed a homer in the sixth, for his second ball hit over 106 MPH of the day, a promising sign. Toolsy prospect Diego Tornes made an appearance in the seventh inning, pinch-hitting for Michael Harris and worked a nice walk, still at only 17 years old.

On the road, Holmes gave up some hard contact, but struck out two and walked one through 2.2 innings of scoreless ball, sitting around 93-94 with his fastball. Garrett Baumann started the fourth inning and struck out the side on only one whiff, going on to collect another strikeout but only 3 whiffs total on 2+ innings of work, as he got unlucky on some soft contact to start his third inning. Hayden Harris continued his strong spring with three strikeouts and one walk in his 1.0 inning outing.

On offense, John Gil struck out and walked once each before scorching a 109.7 MPH line drive homer in the eighth inning, as he continues to have a really strong spring showing. Jorge Mateo struck out twice and had a sharp groundout in his three plate appearances.

Overall, it was a very promising split-squad day for most of the major league regulars and key prospects. John Gil has the looks of a guy who could break out and be a top 100 prospect this year, Grant Holmes and Reynaldo Lopez looked generally effective, although with diminished velocity, and Austin Riley and Michael Harris made hard contact. Dylan Dodd’s rough outing was a rough moment for him, as he seems more likely to be optioned rather than make the Opening Day roster, but there is time yet for him.

We’ll be back tomorrow as the Braves host the Twins and the WBC gets underway.

Jays 4 Tigers 4

I know it is spring and all, but I’d like a win again, one day.

But we were able to watch a bunch of minor league types (some of whom I had never heard of)

Pitchers:

• Grant Rogers: 3 innings, no hits, no walks and 3 strikeouts. He was impressive.
• Tommy Nance: 1 inning, 4 hits, 2 earned, 1 strikeout. He wasn’t impressive.
• Chase Lee: 1 inning, 1 hit, 2 strikeouts.
• Javen Coleman: 1 inning, 1 hit.
• Michael Plassmeyer: 1 inning, 1 k.
• Alex Amalfi: 1.2 innings, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 k, 2 earned. and a blown save.
• Hayden Juenger: Got the last out, but Sportsnet decided not to show it.

Hitters, Starters:

• Jonatan Clase: 3 for 3, 2 RBI, double. .300 BA on the spring. Really good game for him.
• Daulton Varsho: 1 for 3, double. .429.
• Jesus Sanchez: 1 for 4, RBI, k. .143.
• Brandon Valenzuela: 1 for 3, RBI. .300.
• Yohendrick Pinango: Ok, who names their kid Yohendrick? 0 for 3, k. .077.
• Arjun Nimmala: 0 for 3, 2 k. .182.
• Rafael Lantigua: 0 for 1, walk. .545.
• Charles McAdoo: 0 for 3, k. .357. He made an error, a rushed spin throw from short. He likely shouldn’t have thrown it but it was close enough for the first baseman to make the catch on. Actually it wasn’t an error, a hit, the throw wouldn’t have gotten the baserunner anyway.
• Sean Keys: 1 for 3, double. .188.

Others:

• Carlos Mendoza: 1 for 2, double. .571.
• Jay Harry: 0 for 1, k, but he reached on a wild pitch for strike three.
• Robert Brooks: 0 for 1, k.
• Je’Von Ward: 1 for 1, double.
• Josh Rivera: 0 for 1, k.
• J.R. Freethy: 0 for 1, k. He looked 12 (to me).
• Cutter Coffey: 0 for 1, k.

The Jays are now 2-6-2 on the spring.

Tomorrow, the Jays are hosting the Red Sox. Cody Ponce starts for the Jays. It is a 1:00 Eastern start.