Category: Baseball

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Troy Melton gets shutdown

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

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

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

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

First cuts from spring camp

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

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

Meet the Mets

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Around the National League East

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

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

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

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

Around Major League Baseball

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

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

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

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

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

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

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

This Date in Mets History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Figure out the ideal outfield alignment.

Decide which of the six pitchers make the rotation.

Put together another bullpen of doom.

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

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

I am sure that makes you all feel better.

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

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

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

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

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

But I’m going with this guy:

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

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

Who would you pick?

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

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

MLB News:

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

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

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

Good morning, baseball fans!

As you’ve probably noticed, we’ve been checking in all month to get your opinions on various topics around the San Francisco Giants and baseball in general.

But now, it’s time to discuss the most important aspect of McCovey Chronicles, and that is YOU! The wonderful community!

Today’s prompt is less about baseball and more about the community: Who among your fellow community members deserves a shout out for making this community the awesome place that it is, and why?

I’ll be reading through the responses and I’d like to highlight a few next week in a follow up post. So make sure you give your shout outs in the comments below!

Who are your McCovey Chronicles community All Stars?

No TV, no radio. Absolute BS. Baseball teams can afford to take the loss in order to promote the game. But they won’t. And it isn’t going to get better.

For the cost of an NRI longshot or, even better, some minuscule portion of CEO salary, these games could be made available to you and me. But it’s not going to happen, because infectious inimical capitalism is rife. Gordon Gekko might have been talking about sports culture.

Don’t let Rob fool you. He hates baseball. He likes money.

Meanwhile, in Arizona:

Swanson also singled home another run in the bottom of the sixth. Porter Hodge had another subpar outing. Jefferson Rojas and Pedro Ramirez had good days, and the Cubs took away an 8-6 victory.

*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.

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): More than half of MLB teams would be outside reported salary cap and floor sought by owners. “Very early estimates suggest the proposed cap (ceiling) might be set around the $260M-$280M range and the floor around $140M-$160M.”
• Justin Kaufman (Axios*): Chicago Cubs spring training draws record crowds at Sloan Park in Mesa. “After a strong offseason, the Cubs believe they’re positioned for another playoff run.”
• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball*): Shota Imanaga’s arm angle is back up, along with his velocity. “… last season, Imanaga tried a mechanical tweak that didn’t work…”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): How Cubs hope to maximize pitcher Edward Cabrera’s talents this spring. “It’s really just that onboarding process,” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy told the Sun-Times.
• David Laurilla (Fangraphs*): Ben Brown pitch-designed a sinker over the offseason. “Clay Holmes introduced me to the grip,” Brown said.
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Catching up with Nico Hoerner, the glue guy who holds the Cubs together. “As the club’s union representative, he will play a leading role during the final year of the sport’s current labor deal.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Alex Bregman and Dansby Swanson’s careers have run parallel — now they’ve converged for a second time. “Long before they reunited with the Cubs, Bregman and Swanson were teammates for one memorable summer.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Rojas jumping at his chance to make a splash. “Jefferson’s made a great impression,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs camp notes: Matt Shaw learning on the fly in right field — and Jonathon Long withdraws from WBC. “… Shaw described playing the outfield as a learning process.”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): ‘It leaves you hungry’: Michael Conforto motivated to make the Chicago Cubs — and get back to World Series. “You’re betting on the history,” Counsell said. “He had a rough year last year, but he’s been a really good player.” Jordan Bastian has more.

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.

Good morning Birdland,

The final day of February has arrived. Our long wintery nightmare is nearly over. Today is expected to be a sunny one around Baltimore, with temperatures nearing 60 degrees! And while I don’t want to jinx anything, I may have taken a gander at the ever-inaccurate 10-day forecast and spotted an upcoming day with a high in the 70s. The great thaw has begun.

It’s not just the temperatures that are heating up this week. The baseball is too. What a segue!

The World Baseball Classic will get underway in the next few days. There are a ton of exhibition games on Tuesday, including an Orioles game against the Netherlands. On Wednesday night at 10 p.m. ET, Taiwan and Australia will play the first game of Pool Play, and then we are off and running. The United States’ first game is against Brazil on Friday night at 8 p.m. ET.

The Orioles have a rather lengthy list of players that will be taking part in the WBC. Many of them are prospects, but it also includes Gunnar Henderson, Dean Kremer, and Tyler O’Neill, as well as a few bullpen options. Just stay healthy out there, guys!

Speaking of health, we are still waiting to hear more on Samuel Basallo. The latest there is that the side injury he suffered earlier in the week was not a major issue. Craig Albernaz said the catcher could have stayed in the game, but the team was being cautious. For now, he is not scheduled to get any testing done. He’s just resting it.

But these are the Orioles weren’t talking about. They aren’t known for their transparency on the injury front. We’ll believe it when we see Basallo back in the lineup, and not a moment before.

Maybe he will return to the field this weekend. We shall see! The O’s will play the Braves today at 1:05, and then the Red Sox at the same time on Sunday. Both games will be on MASN and local radio.

Links

Baz shows why O’s traded for him with electric 1st outing of spring | MLB.com
If you had to pick one player as “the talk of Orioles camp” it’s probably Pete Alonso, but Shanze Baz might be a close second. All of the reviews of his stuff have been raving, and now he has an impressive Grapefruit League outing under his belt. The Orioles are putting a lot of eggs into the Baz basket, so they need him to pan out.

Blaze Alexander’s slight swing change shows promise; Shane Baz makes Orioles debut | The Baltimore Banner
Whatever the Orioles get from Alexander offensively is a bonus. They really just need him to lock down second base—or wherever he plays—while the lineup gets healthier. Run prevention can be just as important as run scoring, especially while Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday rehab their respective injuries.

Orioles appear to catch a break with Basallo | Roch Kubatko
The indications on this are good. Basallo is saying he feels good. He is still around the team and smiling. Hopefully there are no setbacks and we see him back on the field in the next few days.

Orioles’ Bradfield on playing for Team Panama in World Baseball Classic: ‘A fun opportunity’ | Baltimore Baseball
For players that haven’t made it to the majors yet, the WBC seems like a great chance to play in a competition with elevated stakes and major league-adjacent talent. Bradfield is a player that will probably get to Baltimore sometime this summer, so anything he can do to prepare himself for those slightly brighter lights feels worthwhile.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Mike Milchin turns 58 today. The lefty pitched in 13 games for the Orioles in 1996, accumulating a 5.73 ERA over 11 total innings.
• Dallas Williams is 68 years old. He had a two-game stint with the Birds in 1981.
• The late Dick Kokos (b. 1928, d. 1986) was born on this day. He was on the Orioles team that came over with the organization from St. Louis in 1954. He had spent four seasons with the Browns, but lasted just 11 games with the Orioles.

This day in O’s history

2023 – The Orioles and Pirates play an unofficial bottom of the ninth inning without umpires. The home team Pirates had already won the game, 7-4, and the umpires headed to the locker room. But both teams agreed to play another half inning in order to get more spring reps for their players. Orioles catcher Maverick Handley fills in for the missing officials, receiving the pitches and calling the balls and strikes. No additional runs are scored as Orioles pitcher Ofreidy Gomez allows just one hit before the game ends…unofficially.

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

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

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

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

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

Goodman echoed that, but also added this.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I love it!” Fulford said.

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

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

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

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

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

Heading into 2026, both have similar goals.

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

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

To Read (Rockpiles)

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

To Read (PuRPs)

Full Stream

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

To Read (Other)

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

Weekend Discussion Topics

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s pitching preview time, ladies and gentlemen. Over the next several days, I’ll be writing 10,000 words or so about everyone you might see pitching for the Red Sox to start the season.We’re done with the rotation options and are moving on to the bullpen. We’ll start at the back, with the high-leverage options.

Aroldis Chapman

Aroldis Chapman is coming off arguably the best season of his career, believe it or not. He posted a 1.17 ERA over 67 appearances. He was so good that it’s almost impossible for him to repeat that performance, and that’s okay. If he’s even 90% of the pitcher he was in 2025, he’s still one of the game’s best closers.

The key for Chapman is throwing strikes. Last season, he posted a career low 6.6% walk rate. I still have a hard time believing that he was able to start locating for the first time in his career because he actaully started aiming, but whatever the reason for his newfound control, it made him virtually unhittable. His fastballs, a four-seam and sinker, are what he’s known for. They averaged 98 and 99 mph, respectively,

He used a fastball and sinker most frequently; they averaged 98 and 99 mph, respectively, and had strike rates of 74% and 67%. The four-seam had a swinging strike rate of 15.6%, while the sinker had an insane 21.5% swinging strike rate. Those two pitches accounted for about 75% of his offerings, with more four-seams early and sinkers late. Ahead in counts, he turned to a slider that was untouchable, returning a 34% putaway rate and a whiff on about one in every three pitches. He also used a splitter that caused hitters to chase at a 42% rate and whiff on one in every four pitches. The stuff is overpowering, and Chapman was in the zone enough to harness it. It’ll be hard for him to post another 1.17 ERA, but he’ll handle the ninth inning as long as he’s healthy.

Garrett Whitlock

As dominant as Aroldis Chapman was in 2025, the mere fact that he’s Aroldis Chapman is inherently nerve-wracking. He could throw nothing but strikes for two months straight, I’d still be slightly afraid he’ll completely lose control and start handing out walks to everyone. With Garrett Whitlock, that isn’t the case.

Whitlock moved back to the bullpen full-time in 2025 and made 62 appearances with a 2.25 ERA. From August 19 through the end of the regular season, he didn’t allow an earned run. I will not be elaborating on what happened in the postseason.

He was equally effective against both sides of the plate, holding both lefties and righties to an OPS below .600. He both struck out and walked more righties, but the differences were negligible. Whitlock is a strike-throwing machine. Each of his three pitches hold a strike rate over 65%, led by his sinker at 70%. The sinker, due to its shape, functions more like a four-seam fastball. It has two-plane movement with high velocity and elite extension that allows it to miss bats at the top of the zone. Righties see his sinker about 50% of the time, while lefties see it about 40%. He utilizes a slider and a changeup as secondary pitches, 31% and 21%, respectively.

Against righties, Whitlock goes to his slider most often, and it was excellent. The two-strike chase rate was 35% while the putaway rate was 30%. He’s also one of the few pitchers on the Red Sox staff who utilizes a changeup against same-handed hitters. They predominantly came with two strikes, but he’d occasionally flip one in early to steal a strike. It was a solid offering and got righties to expand the zone, but was fouled off more than he’d like in two-strike counts. I’m probably nitpicking, but his pitch plot shows he might have been in the zone or too near the zone, costing him whiffs. As I write this, I realize I’m criticizing a pitcher with a 30% strikeout rate. Ignore me.

Alright, focus back up. We’ve still got his approach against lefties to talk about. Lefties swing and miss at his sinker often, though the contact is louder when they do connect. His changeup is his go-to secondary pitch, and it’s mostly great. It generated a chase rate near 50%, an 18% swinging strike rate, and a paltry 20% ideal contact rate. I say it was “mostly” great because of its performance with two strikes. In 54 two-strike counts, he only recorded three strikeouts. Despite good locations, lefties either fouled the ball off or took pitches just off the plate. His changeup is the only pitch he throws away from lefties, so throwing low two-strike fastballs might be able to freeze opponents and make them respect the changeup. Again, I’m nitpicking a 30% strikeout rate pitcher, but it is a place to improve. Regardless of the changeup’s ineffectiveness in putting hitters away, his fastball and slider each pulled their weight. Each pitch had a putaway rate of 25%, allowing him to keep that strikeout rate high.

Whitlock was one of the most reliable relievers in baseball and should continue to be in 2026.

Around the Division

David Bednar (NYY)

David Bednar was born in Pittsburgh and went to high school in Eastern Pennsylvania before moving across the state to play college ball at Lafayette College. He walked out to Renegade by Styx when closing games for the Pirates, and they still traded him to the Yankees. Kinda messed up if you ask me.

Bednar’s arsenal is similar to Craig Kimbrel’s. It’s high 90s fastballs up, and then he’ll pull the string with a 75 mph in the dirt and make you look like an idiot. He struggled for a stretch in 2025 and was briefly demoted to the minor leagues, but was completely dominant upon returning. I’d love to be a fan of his, but he was forced to put on pinstripes, so I’ll wait until 2027 when he becomes a free agent.

Jeff Hoffman (TOR)

Hoffman was up and down in 2025, most notably allowing a game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series. His fastball, slider, and splitter each miss bats at a high rate, but the fastball in particular was hit hard in 2025. Walks were an issue as well; Hoffman handed out free passes to 9.4% of hitters. He also surrendered 15 home runs, although his 37.5% home run per fly ball rate should regress to the mean in 2026. While he’s slotted in as the Blue Jays’ closer now, he might be on a short leash to begin the season.

Ryan Helsley (BAL)

Ryan Helsley comes over to the American League East after spending the second half of the season with the New York Mets, where he really struggled. He throws as hard as anyone, but opponents were able to handle his fastball last season. While his four-seam has always allowed some hard contact, 2025 was an outlier in terms of ideal contact rate. His slider is excellent, returning a 23% swinging strike rate. The Orioles paid him like a closer, so the ninth inning is likely his to lose to start the season. He’s a major bounce-back candidate after a rocky 2025 season.

Edwin Uceta/Griffin Jax (TBR)

Pete Fairbanks took off for Miami, so the Rays have an opening at the back of their bullpen. While they likely won’t have a designated closer, Edwin Uceta and Griffin Jax are two names likely to get late-game opportunities. Uceta throws a flat fastball from a near-sidearm release with a crazy delivery that gives hitters a really difficult time, and follows it up with a changeup with great fade. He gets a ton of strikeouts, but was prone to the home run ball in 2025. He also has a lingering shoulder injury that puts his status for opening day in question.

Jax came over from the Twins, and I have no idea why Minnesota let him go. His sweeper and changeup each have swinging strike rates over 20%, while his fastball has a solid shape and great velocity. He leaves the ball over the plate some, which was punished in 2025, but his strikeout numbers are off the charts. It seems that the Rays want to use him in the bullpen, but you could convince me that he could succeed in a rotation. He’ll also represent Team USA during the World Baseball Classic.

Last week, Angels owner Arte Moreno made a bit of a scene by saying that the team’s fans aren’t “overly concerned with winning.” His claim, based on fan surveys, said that visitors to “the Big A” are more concerned about things like affordability at the ballpark. While there’s something to not wanting to spend an arm and a leg just to go to one baseball game, I feel like Angels fans would also like to win, but that’s just me.

That being said, in recent years the team has had Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani — and still employs one of them — but hasn’t really had much to show for it, as one famous tweet points out.

Their 11-year absence from the playoffs is the longest in baseball and they last finished over .500 a decade ago. Despite all that, there are still people attending Angels games. If Moreno means what he says on the affordability front, this year would be a good one to prove that he cares about that, since I don’t think the winning thing will be changing in 2026.

Los Angeles Angels

2025 record: 72-90 (5th, AL West)
2026 FanGraphs projection: 74-88 (5th, AL West)

As mentioned, the Angels still do have half of their once all-world combination in Mike Trout. While he did appear in 130 games in 2025 having missed a lot of time due to injury in previous seasons, he’s definitely not the Mike Trout you remember. He was still a pretty good hitter, posting a 120 wRC+, that’s a far cry from where he was in his prime, not even factoring in that his defensive ratings have taken a dive. He put up only 1.8 fWAR last year, when the previous season he appeared in over 100 games — 2022 — he put up 6.0. Projections still expect him to be a decent hitter, but he had a hard enough time trying to drag the Angels to the playoffs at his peak, never mind now.

The issue with the Angels’ lineup in general is that, Trout included, they just don’t have a ton of guys you can project to be middle order stalwarts. FanGraphs projects seven Angels regulars to put up a wRC+ over 100 in 2026, which sounds decent. It’s just that the highest of those projections is Trout at 117. That’s lower than what Ben Rice is projected to do for the Yankees, and Rice is not the projected best hitter for the Bombers.

That being said, the Angels do have some possible solid contributors. The likes of shortstop Zach Neto and first baseman Nolan Schanuel have the makings of solid contributors and are both younger than 26. There’s just not much going on in their lineup that makes you really take notice.

Their situation on the pitching front is somewhat similar: they have some guys that could put up solid numbers but no one who looks like a capital-A “Ace.” They did acquire Grayson Rodriguez from the Orioles and Alek Manoah, formerly of the Blue Jays. Both those guys have been top prospects in the not so distant past, so maybe they could mine some gold out of one of them.

Besides Rodriguez and Manoah, the Angels acquired a bunch of “oh hey, it’s that guy(s)” this offseason. Other additions for them in 2026 include Josh Lowe, Drew Pomeranz, Kirby Yates, and Jordan Romano.

One person you will not be seeing for the Angels this year is Anthony Rendon. If you look up the Angels’ roster, you’ll still find Rendon listed — probably with the injured list distinction — but he and the Angels came to an agreement to rework his contract, effectively ending his time with the team, and probably concluding his MLB career.

In order to actually be a good team, the Angels would need to have guessed correctly on a bunch of coinflips. It’s technically possible, just hard to do. That being said, they’ll still probably take two of three over the Yankees in Anaheim in some stupid fashion.

More Pinstripe Alley MLB team season previews can be found here.