Category: Baseball

Meet the Mets

The Mets played their spring training opener yesterday and fell 2-1 to the Miami Marlins at Clover Park. Many of the team’s new faces took their first swings in a Mets uniform and Brandon Waddell pitched two scoreless innings. However, the Mets were held hitless until the fifth inning and didn’t score until an A.J. Ewing sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Francisco Lindor, who is recovering from hamate surgery, was not a participant in yesterday’s game, but his recovery is progressing.

Darryl Strawberry opened up to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com about his brush with death back in December—the second such incident in the past two years.

Back in the day, the Mets had a Cookie Club. Now they have a Chess Club and Sean Manaea is its leader.

“There’s a lot of stuff I can learn in the game, which is really important,” Bo Bichette said after making his spring debut at third base. “I’m enjoying the new challenge.”

Around the National League East

Phillies reliever José Alvarado is among the players who did not pass insurance protocol and will therefore be unable to participate in the World Baseball Classic.

Phillies owner John Middleton did a wide-ranging interview with The Inquirer, including about negotiations with now-Met Bo Bichette, about which he said he went “to bed at 11 o’clock thinking we had a deal.”

Marlins first baseman Christopher Morel talked about learning the new position.

Around Major League Baseball

Tributes continue to pour in for Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski, whose passing was reported yesterday. Not only did Maz hit a walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, he also was the first player to hit a home run against the Mets in 1962.

Twins pitcher Joe Ryan is undergoing an MRI after being removed from yesterday’s start with lower back tightness. The Twins will provide an update today on his status.

The Cardinals signed Ramón Urías to a one-year, $2 million contract.

The Yankees are dealing with a…stinky situation at their spring training facilities.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

A.J. Ewing is closer to the majors than you may think and you should be excited about it, writes Lukas Vlahos in his season preview.

This Date in Mets History

On February 22, 1966, the Mets traded OF Wayne Graham, IF Bobby Klaus, and C Jimmie Schaffer to the Phillies for slugger Dick Stuart. It didn’t exactly work out so great for the Amazins.

Week 1: The Starting Rotation

Week 2: The Catchers. All of them.

My Comparing the Cardinals Spring Training series moves forward to the other half of the battery as this week, I focus on the six… or seven… catchers that are trying to force their way onto the next great Cardinals team when this rebuild concludes. Speaking of rebuilds, this week, I had Sean Anderson from CHGO White Sox on to compare the two teams and to talk progress of the Sox. If you check it out, you’ll hear some things that sound similar to what the Cardinals are doing right now, like focusing on the “undercarriage” of the car, rather than the body. I think it was a great conversation, but that’s just me.

Back to the ‘Birds.

The Cardinals’ catching situation can go multiple ways in 2026

Last season, Cardinals’ backstops combined to put up a season that ranked 15th in baseball and 8th in the National League in terms of fWAR. That group was lead by Pedro Pages, who played 104 games behind the plate, with Yohel Pozo chipping in 39 games, Ivan Herrera suiting up for 14, and prospect Jimmy Crooks getting his first taste of the bigs with 12 games at catcher. In total, that group combined for a 2.7 fWAR and an 88 wRC+ season, although it admittedly felt way worse than that, at least to me.

St. Louis went into the season apparently ready to give Pages and Herrera a split of those catching duties, thanks to Herrera’s bat being top of the league potential, and Pages continuously being celebrated for his ability to handle a pitching staff. At risk of sidetracking too far, I found it funny how much the organization put into those compliments to Pages from the pitching staff when Gray, Mikolas, and Feddde put up mediocre seasons at best and were not even going to be around the next year. It was an interesting change of pace from when the pitching staff threw Contreras under the bus when he was catching, but still a talking point I felt was overblown because of that expected turnover and the long-term outlook of the Cardinals.

While Pages was lauded for his ability to catch and throw the ball, the offense left much to be desired. Outside of an absolutely scorching August where Pages put up a wRC+ over 200, that number did not surpass 82 in any other month and even dipped as low to a -19 value in July. By the end of the season, Pages ended up with a 77 wRC+, but ranked 7th in baseball for his defensive value. To me, that type of season and his expected progression puts Pages in the backup catcher category for me: great defender, can run into one every once in awhile, but does not move the needle enough with the bat to deserve five starts a week.

Pages’ role in 2026 relies a lot on Ivan Herrera’s progression, both in terms of his catching ability and his injury rehab. The latter part is more relevant for the short-term, as Herrera is missing the WBC due to insurance issues and his arm recovery is cloudy. At Winter Warm-Up, Herrera said he had not yet been cleared to hit or throw at 100%, which was a little surprising to us in the audience. Since then, though, we have seen videos from camp where he has thrown weighted balls and taken some swings. If he keeps moving in the right direction, the Cardinals appear ready to put Herrera behind the plate to maximize his value as a 25-year-old with above-average hitting ability.

For this season, I believe this plan makes the most sense as the Cardinals sort through their roster depth and determine who has or does not have a future with the organization, either because of poor performance or to maximize trade value. In Herrera’s case, 80-100 games behind the plate with near league-average defensive numbers could launch him even further up the Top 10 Catchers Right Now conversation, as he already cracked the Top 100 across the league without a clear position. If Herrera can stay healthy and maintain his effectiveness with a near-everyday role, I believe that he could be an annual front runner for the Silver Slugger Award at catcher, and even earn some down ballot MVP votes. In the unfortunate circumstance that Herrera is either not healthy or ineffective behind the dish, I am firmly in the camp that should then force him to full-time DH this season. I understand and can partially support the fans that clamor for him to pick up a first base or outfield glove, but as we have seen, it is extremely difficult to learn a new position at the major league level. If he cannot handle catcher, then I am all about a position switch, as long as he begins some behind the scenes work this season and can fully focus on that transition during next offseason as opposed to when the games actually matter (for teams other than the Cardinals).

If Herrera did not work out, that would shift Pages back to his 100-110 starts behind the plate and open up a very interesting competition for his backup. Fan favorite and trimmed up Yohel Pozo is back on the 40-man roster on a split major league deal, but he was mostly used as a pinch hitter who finished the game behind the plate last season. He performed well in those spots, with FanGraphs showing that Pozo hit an astounding .533 with a 255 wRC+ in 16 high leverage plate appearances. Because of that, Pozo could squeeze his way onto the back end of the roster, regardless of the catching conundrum, and simply be that late game replacement.

The inclusion of Pozo on the 26-man roster could spell problems for former top prospect Jimmy Crooks. As the only lefty hitter of the group, if Pages were to be the starter, Crooks could work his way into a platoon role. This would allow Pages to still be there for the pitchers who so dearly need him, while also allowing Crooks to learn at the major league level and not take reps away from those in the minor leagues who need them. That is not to say that Crooks is a finished product, in fact, he is far from it. But with the progression of the other catchers in the organization, and the fact that Crooks has already made the majors, a move back down to Memphis could be seen as regression. The depth in the Cardinals’ catching setup is envious, and I also wrote a story earlier last season about how trading Crooks or Pages could allow the organization to start pushing the prospects up the minor league ladder and see who sticks, rather than play the waiting game with all three promising minor leaguers. For me, assuming Pages grabs the starting role for one reason or another, I am a fan of putting Crooks in that 50/50 split role as a way to 1. limit Pages’ at-bats and 2. keep Crooks fresh but also seeing consistent enough playing time for a rookie backstop who has to manage a pitching staff and learn to hit MLB pitches.

The FIFTH and final catcher on the St. Louis 40-man is switch-hitting catcher Leonardo Bernal, who has put together an impressive resume since being signed out of Panama and debuting as a 17-year-old. I would say I am more excited for Bernal than Crooks, and that is not meant to discredit the solid MLB player I believe Crooks will develop into. It is a testament to Bernal, who took the challenge of becoming an improved receiver behind the plate and went a step further. At the end of last season, the switch-hitter won the Minor League Gold Glove Award for the work he did behind the plate. Over the past two years, Bernal has thrown out 67 out of 165 baserunners trying to swipe a bag, good for an amazing 40.6% caught stealing rate. While the arm plays, a little further look saw an increase in errors, up to 10 from seven the year before, as well as jumping from just five passed balls allowed in 2024 to 13 in 2025. Award voters were obviously not too put off by those numbers, though, and Bernal also added some more pop at the plate, knocking 13 homers, without sacrificing walks or strikeouts. After spending all season in Double-A, Bernal was added to the 40-man roster this offseason, so I would expect the Cardinals to get a little aggressive with him and push him up to Memphis, either to be the everyday guy or split time with Crooks.

Moving further down the organizational ladder is one of the most exciting prospects in the system that many still may not know about. Of course, the vast majority of you know and are pumped about Rainiel Rodriguez, who is ranked as MLB Pipeline’s 37th-best prospect despite only playing A-ball. The 19-year-old took off immediately last year, hitting six homers in his first 10 games in the Complex League. By the end of his second professional season, Rodriguez was bumped up to High-A and compiled a .276 batting average with 20 homers and nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Behind the plate, he threw out 30% of would-be base stealers, but did commit nine errors for a .985 field percentage. Picking the negatives in the surging prospects’ game is tough because for one, there are few, and two, the information and data on him is light compared to his peers because of being so young and at lower levels. Assuming the catchers above him all moved up in the pecking order, Rodriguez could start the season in Springfield, potentially sharing time as he continues to get acclimated to pro ball, before eventually taking over full time. By the end of the season, it is very possible that Rodriguez slides into the top 20 prospect rankings and becomes a national name. If that were to happen, the rest of the Cardinals’ catching corps could have different futures in store, ranging from trade bait to position changes, as all six of these backstops have potential to be something at the big league level.

Through fWAR sorted by ZiPS DC on FanGraphs, Ivan Herrera is ranked just outside the top 10 in projections at number 11, and Pedro Pages projects to be the 28th-best catcher in the MLB. Herrera was ranked as a top 10 catcher by MLB Network, so if he truly can just catch and throw the ball, while maintaining his offensive production, the Cardinals could begin extension talks despite Herrera not being a free agent until the 2030 offseason.

SELF PROMO OF THE WEEK

• As showed earlier, Cardinals on My Time talked White Sox and the rebuild. This week or so, I will have some Cubs creators on to do a little tour around the NL Central
• Random Cardinal of the Week kept celebrating Black History Month with Shake and Bake before Ricky Bobby ever thought of it
• Tonight at 6pm, Redbird Rundown talked about some 2026 storylines and were joined by the Podfather himself, Daniel Shoptaw (@c70 on socials). This was a fun one! Next weekend, we’ll be joined by Kareem to draft some prospects. Make sure you follow our Twitter, , YouTube, Spotify, and Instagram because there is going to be some expansion news for Redbird Rundown popping up this week!!!!

Thanks as always!

You could make an argument that the Orioles were baseball’s busiest team this offseason. They did a lot!

Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward were brought in to add pop to the lineup. Blaze Alexander was a late addition to provide flexibility to the position group. Ryan Helsley and Andrew Kittredge should stabilize the bullpen. Zach Eflin and Chris Bassitt are solid depth for the rotation. And Shane Baz is an upside play that the team is seemingly very excited about long term.

But it was not a perfect winter. While the current rotation does feel a lot better than it did a year ago, the front office failed to land the bonafide ace type it seemed like they were targeting. The bullpen is also a huge question mark, including the new closer Helsley, who had a rough second half with the Mets. And the lineup has already been hit with injuries to Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday. Can the bench adequately absorb the time that they miss?

With all of that said, let’s present today’s question: What grade would you give Mike Elias for his work this offseason?

I would peg him at a B+.

The signing of Alonso is a big deal. Even though the team’s overall payroll hasn’t really changed, the willingness to fork over a bunch of money to a proven veteran that can help right now sends a message. It matters both inside the clubhouse and around the league. Alonso also brings a ton of power, which the lineup lacked in 2025.

And while the rotation did not get that one single infusion of top-tier talent, the overall group is impressive to me. They have six legitimate big league arms, two of which are Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers, who each have a recent Top 10 finish in Cy Young voting on their resumé.

My biggest gripe is the bullpen. I can see the vision for the current group, but I’m not totally convinced. It would be nice to have one more veteran that feels like a sure thing. Instead it seems like they might head into the season with a whole lot of potential and depth. At least a bullpen is a relatively easy thing to improve as the season goes on.

What do you think? Was it a near-perfect offseason? Or does the lack of an ace addition make it closer to a failing grade? Let us know in the comments.

It has always been pretty easy for an athlete to come to Philadelphia and win over the fanbase. The only real thing that is asked is that the player play hard. Athletic talent is something of a desired quality, but there are plenty of players that have been embraced by the city that were short on that talent. Yet each time that happened, the player was one of those vaunted “lunch pail guys”. The ones that come to work every day, play hard, get a little dirty.

Good lord, I can feel the oiliness of sports radio closing in around me.

Still, there are players that this fanbase has embraced that were maybe a bit overrated. Players that maybe shouldn’t have been on the pedestal that was given to them. The reasons could be various, but whatever it was, that player was overrated just a bit too much. Who is one player that the fanbase has overrated for one reason or another? Could be any player from any era, but should be one that maybe we should dial it back a notch.

If you were faced to win one game, which nine players and starting pitcher would you have in a Cleveland starting lineup?

You can answer by sorting by WAR and wRC+, or by OPS and batting average. You can look and peak and longevity. You can go by your favorites and guys for whom injuries derailed promising careers.

Is it Jim Thome at first base and Jose Ramirez at third?

Is it Bob Feller, Satchel Paige or Corey Kluber on the mound?

Is it Lou Boudreau or Omar Vizquel at short?

Is it Tris Speaker, Kenny Lofton or Grady Sizemore in center?

Is it Travis Hafner or Eddie Murray or Andre Thornton at DH?

It’s one game for all the marbles so marshall your memories and tell us which 10 Cleveland Indians/Guardians you would be lining up to win it all!

The Guardians started off Spring Training 2-0, with wins against the Reds and the Brewers.

Nick has highlights here for you. Homers from Nolan Jones and Cooper Ingle headlined the day. Good at-bats from Travis Bazzana, David Fry and Gabriel Arias were also nice to see.

The Guardians play the Athletics at 3:05PM ET today. Baseball back on an everyday basis – what a joy!

Hello, friends.

There are now 32 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. They’ll be playing near-daily exhibitions from now until March 23. Yesterday’s game was an 8-2 loss to the Pirates, helped along by Dietrich Enns managing to give up six runs in one-third of an inning. The O’s hit the road for the first time today, with a 1:05 game coming against the Tigers. This will be broadcast on 98 Rock (97.9 FM) in the Baltimore area, with no local TV broadcast. The Tigers network is not doing a broadcast either.

Tough luck if you want to see anyone who is playing today. Or tomorrow or Tuesday. Although MASN is airing a lot more games this spring, there are gaps and those gaps are largely concentrated in the early games of the schedule. If you were watching yesterday, you got to see quite a few prospects get a little game action. Hope you enjoyed it while you could. There will be no live feed of Orioles baseball to help you feel warmer as it snows back in the home territory of Birdland today.

Not much to say about the exhibition games yet. The Orioles have played two fake games and they have one win and one loss. Probably not a ton to draw about today’s game either, since as a road game early in spring it’ll probably feature the bare minimum number of major league regulars required. There is an actual rule about this, which I believe was prompted because a number of years ago the Red Sox sent too many jabronis out on their early spring games and it was enough to make the commissioner’s office unhappy.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Mayo prepared to seize Orioles 3B job with Westburg out indefinitely (Orioles.com)
It does seem like he is going to seize the job. How happy people are about this is a question to be answered.

Figuring out who fills in for Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg (The Baltimore Sun)
It’s one of the big stories of camp and it’s understandable that there’s a lot of interest until we get the answers.

Notes on Eflin and Baz live BP, the plan for Kremer, and more (School of Roch)
Zach Eflin and Shane Baz did live batting practice sessions before yesterday’s game. Roch notes that questions remain about whether Eflin will make the Opening Day roster.

With a ‘death ball’, Orioles pitching prospect Trey Gibson making his mark (The Baltimore Banner)
That’s a heck of a metal pitch name for the prospect Gibson. It brought him some success in his first spring outing. Perhaps soon to come to the MLB level.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Nothing of particular note is recorded on this day in Orioles history. Unless there’s bad news, that probably won’t change today.

One current member of Orioles camp has a birthday today. Happy 29th to pitcher José Espada, who pitched three scoreless innings in one game with the team last year. Former Orioles who were born today: 2016 reliever Brian Duensing, 2014 infielder Kelly Johnson, 2005 outfielder Ramón Nivar, 2006 pitcher John Halama, Maryland-born 1960-67 pitcher Steve Barber, and 1954 one-game pitcher Ryne Duren. Though he allowed two earned runs in two innings of his MLB debut with the Orioles, Duren made it back to MLB several years later and carved out a ten-year career.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: general and 1st president George Washington (1732), baseball Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson (1934), basketball Hall of famer Julius Erving (1950), actor Kyle MacLachlan (1959), actress Rachel Dratch (1966), and actress Drew Barrymore (1975).

On this day in history…

In 1076, pope Gregory VII, not the pope Gregory the calendar is named after, excommunicated the reigning Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV, in response to Henry sending Gregory a letter demanding that Gregory abdicate the papacy.

In 1819, Spain and the United States signed the Adams-Onís Treaty, which provided that in two years time, Spain would sell Florida to the US for $5 million. The sale occurred two years later as indicated by the treaty.

In 1848, people in Paris sparked a revolution that, within three days, led to the abdication of the king, abolition of the revived monarchy, and the formation of the Second French Republic. This was the first of a wave of revolutions across Europe in 1848, though ultimately none were as successful in their goals as the French one.

In 1889, President Grover Cleveland signed the bill permitting the admittance of North and South Dakota, Montana, and Washington into the United States.

In 1980, the US men’s hockey team defeated the Soviet Union in Olympic competition by a 4-3 score, a game known in sporting lore simply as the “Miracle on Ice.” The American team went on to defeat Finland in the gold medal game. The 2026 men’s hockey team will play for a gold medal against the Canadian team today.

A random Orioles trivia question

I received a book of Orioles trivia for Christmas. I’ll ask a question each time it’s my turn in this space until I run out of questions or forget. The book gives multiple choice answers, which I typically think would be too easy for us but I’ll give you a chance at today’s question:

In what year was the B&O Warehouse built?

• A. 1904
• B. 1896
• C. 1900
• D. 1913

If you’re answering early in the day, please be considerate and use spoiler text in your comment so that others arriving later can still feel they get a fresh crack at the question. Thanks!

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on February 22. Have a safe Sunday.

Dodger baseball is officially back in session, and it began on Saturday with a thunderous 15-2 victory over the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Getting the nod for the cactus opener was the reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who tossed 29 pitches over 1 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) while striking out three and allowing zero walks. For added benefit, his offense supplied him with a nine-run cushion entering his final frame of work.

The Dodgers’ six-run second inning gave Yamamoto a wide gap between innings, where he allowed the Angels’ only offense of the day. He remarked that he still felt great on the mound and is feeling well ahead of his next cactus start, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

“I was already feeling good,” Yamamoto said. “And then somehow I was able to carry that to today’s game, especially the first inning. I think I was great, but due to the gap between innings, that affected me a little bit.”

Unbeknownst to Yamamoto, Dave Roberts assumed that he would be a one-and-done before joining Team Japan for the World Baseball Classic.

“Oh, is he?” a visibly surprised Roberts said before letting out a big laugh after Saturday’s 15-2 rout of the Angels. “I was in between, but then I was like, I didn’t want to miss him for sure. So that’s good that he confirmed that, that’s great.”

Links

With an open runway to assume the starting second base job at the beginning of the regular season, Hyeseong Kim made quite the impression on Saturday, going 2-3 with a pair of singles and three RBI. Kim spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA about his performance on Saturday, noting that he spent time this offseason working on his lower body movements.

“I spent a lot of time practicing my lower body movements, and luckily I was able to get some good results today.”

Hyeseong Kim (2-3, 3 RBI, R) discusses playing for Team Korea in the WBC, his strong start to Spring Training, his comfortability in year 2 and his skin care routine. @kirsten_watsonpic.twitter.com/wVOERvprCy

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) February 21, 2026

The Dodgers had a 50 percent success rate in using the new Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system, but don’t expect them to use it with high frequency. Anthony Solorzano of the Los Angeles Times writes about how the Dodgers will implement the ABS system, noting that they will take a more conservative approach when challenging balls and strikes.

“It’s good that we’re practicing in spring, but we’re having conversations about leverage and how to use it to our advantage.”

The Cubs were at it again at Sloan Park on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. A mite cool for locals but clear and sunny. Just ask PCA how sunny. Sources say they’re still adding less-well-known players.

“Everyone’s replaceable in this game,” Taillon said after giving up three runs in two innings in the Chicago Cubs’ spring training opener Friday afternoon. “Your track record now doesn’t matter as much as it did back in the day. So it’s kind of, ‘What have you done for me lately?’ I understand that. You’re only as valuable as your next start. I’m always looking for an edge and to keep up.” — Sharma{$}.

Matt Shaw looked decent out in right. Maybe this experiment will work.

The Cubs scored twice as many runs as against the Sox, but the Rangers scored three. With any luck they’ll score a bit today against the . Game time is 1:05 local.

*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*): Cade’s day? Ranking the Cubs’ Opening Day candidates. “The Opening Day starter is more of a ceremonial assignment than anything else.“ More Horton from the AP.
• Jason Ross (North Side Baseball*): Shōta Imanaga’s perilous journey from overrated to underrated. “Have Cubs fans been too quick to give up on him?“
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): How Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon keeps reinventing himself to stay ahead of aging curve. “Every athlete looks for ways to battle Father Time.“
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki blasts home run in first spring-training game, asks for sun to be moved. ‘‘I loved him,’’ Suzuki said of his Team Japan teammate (Murakami). ‘‘But after the [fly ball], I hate him, and I’m not going to support him.’’
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs notes from camp: Kevin Alcántara puts injury behind him — and a lockout ‘all but guaranteed’. “I need to be focused for whatever opportunity I have to do my job,” Alcántara said.
• Manny Randhawa (MLB.com*): Broadway Joe was nearly Wrigley Joe. “He could even drive a ball over the Forbes Field wall.“

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.

RIP Bill Mazeroski

The New York Yankees enter the 2026 season with a plethora of choices to pick for their leadoff spot. That said, one might be tempted to claim this team doesn’t have a prototypical leadoff hitter, but to do so, one would have to determine what makes a prototypical leadoff hitter these days. In 2026, the best leadoff hitters get on base by any means necessary, and any lineup aspiring to be one of the more productive offenses in the game has quite a few of those. At this point, flat-out good hitters dominate the top spot; guys like Kyle Schwarber, Shohei Ohtani, and Ronald Acuña Jr have become signature leadoff guys, though no one would’ve batted an eye to see them hit second, or even third or fourth.

The Yankees have number of good hitters, which means they have a number of options to bat first. Joshua Diemert wrote recently about the merits of Ben Rice as a potential option in the number one spot in the Yankee lineup —he made great points that align with some of what I’ll say today, trying to make a case for Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Our focus is that most of the other alternatives, Rice and Trent Grisham, specifically, are coming off two productive seasons that deviate quite a bit from the expectations surrounding them. As much as the underlying data supports them carrying on, at least to some extent, the less pressure on them to repeat, the better. Neither has a long track record of elite hitting, and allowing them to continue to prove themselves lower in the order could prove beneficial.

The qualifying offer was always a likely outcome for Grisham’s return—as much as the Yankees needed him back, it would be very difficult to justify a long-term deal off one season from a hitter with a below league-average batting line in each of the prior three campaigns. Rice is coming off a breakout season, but only a year before, he managed to play himself out of a starting role on a team that had no other suitable options for his position. Rice’s 9.4% walk rate last year is pretty good, but it’s not necessarily the anchor to justify a spot leading off on its own.

Someone playing devil’s advocate could argue that many of the concerns voiced above regarding choosing Rice or Grisham for that spot also ring true with Chisholm. But for all the ups and downs in his career, Jazz had already established himself at a productive level before joining the Yankees, and with the projection of a walk rate similar to Rice, his speed is best utilized in the leadoff spot. Since joining New York, Chisholm has a success rate in stolen absences of roughly 83 percent, swiping 49 bags on 59 attempts. Who is more likely to suffer more with the threat of Jazz running and Aaron Judge up at the plate? Judge and Chisholm themselves, or the pitcher? I would posit that there’s a decent chance that, leading off, Chisholm’s already stellar steal success rate would improve even further if he was taking leads off first base while pitchers were concerned with dealing with the best hitter

Chisholm got on base just as much as Rice a year ago, and I think it’s a pretty fair to claim that at this time, he is better suited for the pressure of hitting in front of Judge—a pressure that can turn into a gift if he performs, as no one is likelier to see more pitches to hit than the player hitting in front of the reigning back-to-back AL MVP. Maybe Chisholm won’t win MVP, like he’s said he hopes to, but he’s a great choice to hit at the top of the Yankee lineup nonetheless.

The Red Sox are entering 2026 coming off a lot of highs. Some lows, but a lot of really exciting performances, including by many, many outfielders. Like those playing center field. With one player in particular expected to claim the vast majority of the playing time.

The Starter: Ceddanne “Nuf Cedd” Rafaela

Ok, this isn’t quite true. But Ceddanne Rafaela is not only the best center fielder on the Red Sox but in all of baseball. Gold Glove defense, walkoff hits. Playing with intensity. He does it all.

In 2025 he had his breakout — with some qualifiers. At the plate he hit .249./295/.414 with 16 home runs and 20 stolen bases overall. Of course the season looked pretty different depending on when you were tuning in. Over the first half the triple slash was .271/.314/.483. In the second half it fell to .218/.268/.319. It was, in a word, brutal. Alex Bregman disappeared, first base turned into a zero, Roman Anthony got hurt, and Nuf Cedd fell into a slump or regressed to the mean. Probably more of the former but maybe some of the latter. His batting average on balls in play went from .303 to .271.

One thing in his favor is, as Yoda said, there was another. Pete Crow-Armstrong on the Chicago Cubs put up a .247/5.287/.481 line with 31 homers and 35 steals. His first half (.265/.302/.544) vs second half (.216/.262/.372) also showed a tale of two seasons. Similar hitters in some regards. They swing. They chase. They can hit the ball well when they make contact. And no one is giving up on PCA.

It might turn out that Rafaela isn’t as a good a player as his National League counterpart. But when he gives the team a hot stretch with the bat while catching everything in site, you can live with a little less thump during a slump. Preferably we won’t see quite as much of a drop-off as in 2025, though.

The Bench: Jarren Duran

Wait that can’t be right. No, that’s right.

Jarren Duran went from an 8.7 bWAR season in 2024 to “just” 4.7 in 2025 while still putting up a .256/.332/.442 line. He still hit 41 doubles (against 48), 16 home runs (21), and stole 24 bases (34). Oh, and he also hit 13 triples (14), leading the league for the second straight year.

Duran spent most of 2025 in left field but is likely to open 2026 in the left field and DH mix. With an embarrassment of riches in the outfield including Rafaela, Roman Anthony, and Wilyer Abreu, Duran is on the one team where he doesn’t immediately have a defensive home. On almost any other team in baseball he’d be in center field. And because of his difficulties facing left-handed pitching (.277/.363/.488 against righties, .211/.260/.340 against lefties) he’s not really set up for a platoon either. With Alex Cora explicitly saying his Gold Glovers, Rafaela and Abreu, will be in the outfield, that leaves Duran in Rio limbo.

Minor League Depth

With both Jarren Duran and Roman Anthony available and the prospects who might have taken over gone, we’re looking at Nate Eaton, maybe? As recently as 2023 Isiah Kiner-Falefa played 40 games in center. Somehow one of the most important positions on the defensive spectrum is stacked with talent in Boston.

FanGraphs Projections

FGDC, the FanGraphs Depth Charts projections put Nuf Cedd at .261/.303/.428 with 18 homers. Yes, famously no Red Sox are projected for more than 20 home runs in 2026. Duran is projected for .259/.326/.441 with 16 homers. With those two at the top of the center field heap, Alex Cora will have an easy time making his lineups.

Divisional Ranking

First. Rafaela is the best in the division, the American League, and MLB. If Jarren Duran or Roman Anthony are playing in center you’re probably still looking at the second-best in the division. Assuming no trades or major injuries, this position is one of if not the biggest strengths in Boston.

Another Phillies game on TV today? In this economy?

Listen, in between shifts of the United States-Canada gold medal match, check in on some of the news surrounding the Phillies today.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• John Middleton sat down for an interview that was pretty revealing. He talked about the offseason and the current payroll ($).
• Speaking of notes, in this section of notes, Jhoan Duran reveals that he has a secret pitch he’s been working on ($).
• The ABS is coming this season and the Phillies are doing their best to get prepared for it.

MLB news:

• The Twins are holding their breath right now as Joe Ryan was scratched from his start and is undergoing an MRI on his back.
• Bill Mazeroski, hero of the 1960 World Series for the Pirates, passed away at the age of 89.
• Jordan Westburg is going to miss quite a bit of time with a partially torn UCL. Dude is just never healthy anymore.

For me this is an easy question. Anyone who has a vested interest in the Tampa Bay Rays success knows there’s one team whose presence looms over the franchise, and soon the new owners will seek to undo decades of damage when they build a stadium that shadows over big brother.

Yes, I’m talking about the Yankees.

Nearing 30 years of Rays existence, there is no good reason for the Yankees to still be a 25% market share in the region. Local fans should be local fans! Or at least the next generation should be. The problem, so to speak, is that the Yankees are great neighbors to the place they call home — Tampa.

Charity events, taxes, good relationship with the Bucs… it’s enough to make me sick. We got one blissful year of the Rays wiping their marketing off Dale Mabry, and I can’t wait for that to be permanent.

God only knows how the Yankees and Rays could co-exist once the new stadium is built, and I hope they don’t. Send ‘em to Disney or Miami or Orlando, but Tampa is ours.

One night ago under the lights, it was heartbreak for Maryland baseball following a ninth-inning disaster. Less than 24 hours later, the hard times continued, as they were steamrolled by Louisiana, 9-1. 

“We just lost today… that’s just baseball sometimes, you know, I told the guys we didn’t do a good job necessarily, taking something away from the starter,” said Swope. “And sometimes you got to give him credit. He was good today … I like the way we finished. The last three innings kind of built it up, kept fighting. [And] that’s who we got to be.”

It was an afternoon of near perfection for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who won their first series of 2026. Left-handed starter Andrew Herrmann dominated with a six and one-third inning performance of two hits, one run, three walks and seven strikeouts on 116 pitches. 

Saturday was the lefty graduate’s best start of the season. He rebounded from a week ago, when he walked five batters and gave up two runs against Missouri State. 

The Terps only found offense from sophomore catcher Rylen Stockton, who delivered his second long ball of the season in the seventh inning. The newcomer is now up to a .389 average through six games. Outside of Stockton and his 2-for-4 day at the plate, the Terps combined to record three hits. 

Louisiana has won three games in a row, and its offense was hot in contrast to the Terps on Saturday — with 11 hits, nine RBIs, eight walks and just three batters retired on strikes. 

Terps freshman starter Nic Morlang made his second start. He kept things clean with scoreless pitching until the fourth inning. He surrendered six hits, four earned runs and two walks in 55 pitches. The next phase in the young pitcher’s game to develop is getting over the hump down the stretch in outings. 

“I wasn’t necessarily discouraged by the effort or anything like that. I thought Nic did a good job. Just kind of let things compound in that [fourth] inning,” Swope said. “We talked about trying to limit all that stuff. So I think today is more just a case that we [as a team] lost.”

Last week, in his debut against UNC Wilmington, Morlang’s momentum stalled in the third inning. This week, it was the fourth frame. Morlang, who is 0-2 to start the year, was only able to record one punch out in three innings of work against Louisiana. The Terps then had to rely on a struggling bullpen. 

On Friday, Swope tried to stretch reliever Cristofer Cespedes to four innings of relief work. He had built himself to four strikeouts, but then came an implosion of six earned runs and four free passes given from the bullpen. 

One Saturday ago, Maryland had to use five relief arms. This time around, appearances weren’t erratic, but in the blowout, the staff gave up four runs and six walks. One standout was freshman left-handed reliever Case Gibbs, who went an inning and ⅔, allowing one hit and two strikeouts. 

In the series finale, Maryland’s Sunday pitching plans and lineup will have to step up — the Terps will look to avoid a sweep for the first time since playing Illinois in April 2025. 

“I just told them we got to do whatever we can to salvage the series. Good teams sweep and they don’t get swept,” Swope added. “So it’s just one of those things, we got to come out and get a win.”

Three things to know

1. New adversity. After a 3-1 start, the Terps find themselves 0-2 in Louisiana. On Sunday, they will look to salvage a series after facing their first tall task in their non-conference schedule. 

2. Pitching troubles. Outside of right-hander Lance Williams, Maryland’s pitching staff has struggled. They have given up 10 total runs and walks across Friday and Saturday. 

3. Bud Coombs’ return. Freshman Bud Coombs returned Saturday in a substitution opportunity for the Terps. This came one week after he left Maryland’s Feb. 14 doubleheader against UNC Wilmington with an ankle injury. 

The Yankees hosted their spring home opener yesterday afternoon, and it was a fun one. Spencer Jones hit a mammoth home run, Aaron Judge already looked like he was in GOAT-mode with two dingers, and pitching prospect Carlos Langrage showcased some filthy stuff in an impressive start, a day after fellow prospect Elmer Rodríguez looked solid against the Orioles.

We should absolutely not overreact to the outings of Lagrange and Rodríguez to start spring, with the two young pitchers flashing over the course of just a couple innings. Yet just because we shouldn’t suddenly heap huge expectations on them doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun. If you had to choose now, which Yankees pitching prospect do you think will make the biggest impact in 2026?

We saw just last year how a young, hard-throwing prospect could rise quickly and make his mark, as Cam Schlittler dominated the upper minors and became a vital part of the Yankee pitching staff by the end of the season. There’s no guarantee that the Yankees will see a young starter do the same this year, but they certainly have some plausible candidates. Rodríguez hinted at improved command in his first start, and he’s coming off one of the most impressive seasons of any minor league pitcher in 2025, posting a 2.58 ERA in 150 innings with 176 strikeouts.

Lagrange, for his part, is a positively tantalizing talent. The righty wrings easy 100-mph gas out of his 6-foot-7 frame, and though bouts of poor control kept him from matching the run-prevention numbers Rodríguez posted in 2025, Lagrange still managed to run one of the highest strikeout rates in the minors, fanning 168 batters in 120 innings.

Rodríguez and Lagrange are the obvious prospect candidates to make their presence known in the bigs this year, but the Yankees do have at least a couple more dark horses elsewhere in the system. Ben Hess, their first-round pick in 2024, showed well in Double-A last season, and could be a pick to click if the Yankees’ pitching development can squeeze a bit more velo out of Hess’ fastball. There’s also Chase Hampton, perhaps the team’s best pitching prospect before going down with Tommy John surgery last year. It’s a long shot Hampton puts it all back together in his first season after injury, but who knows?

What do you think? Do you think there’s a prospect that has particularly good odds of doing a Schlittler impression this year? Or will the Yankees ultimately lean on their veteran starters all season?

---

On the site today, Matt profiles a fascinating figure in Ryne Duren, who was supposedly the inspiration for the Charlie Sheen’s character in Major League. Also, John spins around Yankees social media, highlighting a whole lot of shenanigans as the Yankees reported to camp. And we’ve got baseball, with the Yankees hosting their crosstown rivals down in Tampa.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees vs. New York Mets

Time: 1:05 p.m. EST

Video: MLB.tv

Venue: George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, FL