Category: Baseball

The Michael Siani offseason rollercoaster looped around to make a second stop in Los Angeles, as the center fielder was claimed by the Dodgers off waivers from the New York Yankees on Tuesday. This comes 11 days after the Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Dodgers.

It’s been a busy offseason for the defense-first center fielder, who ended 2025 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Since then:

• November 6: Claimed off waivers by Atlanta Braves from Cardinals
• December 12: Claimed off waivers by Dodgers from Braves
• January 23: Claimed off waivers by Yankees from Dodgers
• February 3: Claimed off waivers by Dodgers from Yankees

Siani was available this time around because the Yankees designated the outfielder for assignment last Wednesday when New York acquired pitcher Angel Chivilli from the Angels. He was previously designated for assignment by Los Angeles when the Dodgers finalized their four-year contract for outfielder Kyle Tucker.

In parts of four seasons with the Reds and Cardinals, Siani is a .221/.277/.270 hitter in 160 games and 383 plate appearances, and 17 Outs Above Average in the outfield.

Maybe the more interesting part of this transaction is the Dodgers, to make room for Siani, designated infielder Andy Ibáñez for assignment just three weeks after signing a one-year, $1.2 million contract.

Ibáñez was thought to provide depth to an infield that includes Tommy Edman coming off right ankle surgery. As a right-handed hitter, the 33-year-old Ibáñez has a 115 career wRC+ against left-handed pitching, and could have spelled Max Muncy at third base when needed.

Now, Ibáñez is in roster limbo, as the Dodgers have a week during which they will need to place him on waivers, trade, or release him. As someone who was previously sent outright to the minors in 2023 by the Detroit Tigers, Ibáñez if he clears waivers can refuse any outright assignment to the minors.

Aroldis Chapman won’t be playing in the World Baseball Classic after all. 

The Red Sox closer was left off Great Britain’s roster after it was found that he “did not meet the blood lineage requirements” to play for the team, according to MassLive. 

Chapman, 37, was named to the preliminary roster and expected to be eligible to play for Great Britain as his grandparents emigrated from Jamaica, which had previously been a British colony. 

The eight-time All-Star is the latest big name to be ruled out of the WBC. 

Team Puerto Rico has floated the idea of potentially dropping out of the tournament after several key players, including Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, José Berrios and Emilio Pagan, were forced to withdraw. 

Venezuela has also been hit hard by insurance issues, losing José Altuve, Miguel Rojas and Carlos Narvaez.

Chapman, 37, played for Cuba in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. 

The flame-throwing southpaw had one of the best seasons of his career in 2025, posting a 1.17 ERA across 61 ⅓ innings while saving 32 games for Boston. 

Chapman was dominant out of the bullpen, and he received American League Cy Young and MVP votes for just the second time in his career. 

After signing with Boston in free agency last winter, Chapman inked a one-year, $13.3 million extension with a mutual vesting option for 2027 with the Red Sox near the end of the 2025 season.

Playing in their second WBC, Great Britain is led by Yankees star Jazz Chisholm Jr., who did not play for the team last time around in 2023 due to injuries. 

The tournament will kick off in Japan on March 5.

This might be a sign of the apocalypse. For once, I’m really hoping that ESPN is right about something. Today, they have made the bold prediction that JJ Wetherholt will be the National League Rookie of the Year-sort of.

The 2026 season predictions for MLB’s top prospects on ESPN is a fun read for St. Louis Cardinals fans. They begin by saying they believe that the Philadelphia Phillies Aidan Miller will win the third base job by Memorial Day and win the NL Rookie of the Year, but they second-guessed themselves and said that the Pittsburgh Pirates Bubba Chandler would instead hoist that trophy. Finally, they decide on the St. Louis Cardinals JJ Wetherholt as the most likely to be the National League’s top rookie specifically because of the opportunity that Brendan Donovan’s trade provides him. Kiley McDaniel believes that JJ has the most opportunity to see full-time playing time compared to other top NL rookies which leaves a more likely path to NL Rookie of the Year.

If you saw JJ Wetherholt’s interviews during the Winter Warmup a couple weeks ago, you know that he believes that this type of preseason hype is “poison”. He said that he began to deal with “bold predictions” about his future during his college time at West Virginia.

JJ Wetherholt – “Where there were articles about me…all the preseason stuff, that’s what we label it. It’s poison. It’s cool to have people talk about you, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to perform. Those guys who hiked you up will be the same ones that tear down as soon as it goes bad. You try to tune all that stuff out and just do the work you can and hopefully that comes true”.

As I shared earlier in the winter, I think there’s good reason to hop on board the JJ Wetherholt hype train, but the optimism should be measured. I have yet to see a player not have to overcome struggles when they first break into the big leagues. The only exception I can think of is Albert Pujols. Major league pitchers have a way to find holes in your swing. The good/great ones adjust and overcome and I’m hopeful that will be JJ Wetherholt’s story. If he even comes close to ESPN’s prediction, I’ll be thrilled.

I believe Houston needs to move on from their CF.

Astros fans, here I am again, the voice of reason. A few weeks ago, I floated the idea that it might be time to trade Jeremy Peña. Now I’m back with another uncomfortable but necessary conversation: the Houston Astros should seriously consider trading Jake Meyers while his value still exists.

This isn’t about disliking Meyers or dismissing what he’s brought to the organization. It’s about timing, roster construction, and the reality of where this team stands as it tries to extend its championship window. If you don’t move him now, his value may plummet and you may never be able to sell at this rate again.

Why the Astros Should Explore a Jake Meyers Trade

The Astros desperately need left-handed pitching to complement a rotation overloaded with right-handers. That alone should push Dana Brown and the front office to explore every viable trade chip they have. Moving Meyers could help address that need while simultaneously opening playing time for younger talent—most notably Zach Cole.

Meyers has been an above-average defender for much of his Astros tenure, but injuries have been a recurring issue. When he’s had to return from those injuries, the defensive confidence hasn’t always followed. Fly balls become adventures, throws become liabilities, and the overall impact starts to wane.

The bigger question, however, is offensive sustainability.

Was 2025 Peak Jake Meyers?

Teams around the league still value defense, and that’s where Meyers maintains trade appeal. But can he replicate last season offensively? Was that production a stepping stone toward more growth—or a fool’s gold season that inflated expectations?

I lean toward the latter. When all is said and done, last year may very well represent the best offensive season of Jake Meyers’ career. That belief matters even more when you consider the Astros’ depleted farm system, which doesn’t provide the same luxury of trade capital that other contenders enjoy. If Houston wants to upgrade areas of need, they must be strategic with the few movable pieces they have.

If Meyers Is Gone, Who Plays Center Field?

This is the natural follow-up question, and it has a legitimate answer.

I believe the Astros traded Jacob Melton because they see a higher ceiling in Zach Cole. Cole’s first major league home run understandably grabbed headlines, but his real value lies in his complete skill set. He can play all three outfield positions, runs well, owns a solid arm, fields at a high level, and competes at the plate.

That combination makes him a legitimate candidate to take over in center field, as he can play all three outfield positions.

Cole is only going to improve, and going to spring training with the big league club for the first time represents a critical developmental step. The Astros need to start identifying long-term everyday players, and Cole has the tools to become a quality, if not cornerstone piece if given the opportunity.

An Outfield Full of Questions

While the infield is overloaded with talent, the outfield remains unsettled. It underperformed last season and enters spring training with far more uncertainty than answers. Injuries and the Kyle Tucker trade exposed just how thin this group can be when things go sideways.

Jesús Sánchez adds another layer of complexity. He has league-wide value and a team-friendly salary, but unless Houston gets a meaningful return, moving him doesn’t make much sense. He provides insurance, especially if Cam Smith continues to look more like the player we saw late last season rather than the cornerstone prospect expected in the Tucker deal. He has experience, some pop and can play everyday, so the value is there both here and possibly elsewhere.

Smith’s situation is delicate. Once a young player has tasted the major leagues, sending him back down can have developmental consequences. Dana Brown and the coaching staff will have to balance patience with production. If he starts the season on the big league roster and they plan on starting him in right field, then Sanchez is a much needed insurance policy for the team in case Smith fails.

Yordan Álvarez and the Position Shuffle

Then there’s Yordan Álvarez. The Astros must decide whether to honor his preference to play the field or keep him primarily at DH to reduce injury risk. Beyond Yordan, the remaining outfield options are largely converted infielders: Zach Dezenzo, Shay Whitcomb, Brice Matthews, and the ongoing experiment involving José Altuve.

At some point, experimentation has to give way to clarity.

The Bottom Line

The Astros need to clear the outfield logjam and define their core starting outfielders. Moving on from Jake Meyers now, while his value remains intact, makes sense to me. I believe we’ve already seen the best version of him, and if another team believes there’s more upside, Houston should capitalize.

Whether the future belongs to Zach Cole, Brice Matthews, or someone else entirely, the Astros can’t afford to stand still. The time to make a decisive, forward-thinking move is now.

So I’ll ask the question again:
Should the Astros trade Jake Myers? If the answer is yes, who would you want in center field?

The Nationals are going to have a number of position battles this spring. Not many spots on the pitching staff are secure, and it is anyone’s guess as to who the first baseman will be. However, the camp battle that intrigues me the most comes at the catching position. 

Keibert Ruiz has been the full time starter since 2022, and has a contract that runs through the 2030 season. However, the last two seasons have been disastrous for Ruiz. His combined OPS since the start of 2024 is only .610, which is an issue for a bat first catcher. With the trade for top catching prospect Harry Ford, Ruiz is fighting an uphill battle to be the starting catcher.

It is telling that the first major transaction Paul Toboni made in DC was trading for a catcher. When speaking to fans yesterday, Toboni said there are no limits on Ford. He said the trade was a unique opportunity for the Nats that was only possible due to the fact the Mariners have such an elite catcher.

“Candidly, I think one of the only reasons we were able to make that trade is because the Mariners probably have the best catchers in all of baseball with Cal Raleigh.” Toboni added that there will be “no limits” on Harry Ford this season, and the work with him has begun. pic.twitter.com/DjNldacPYQ

— Ryan Shenker (@RyanShenker) January 31, 2026

While Toboni has said all the right things about Ruiz, his actions tell me that he is high on Ford and has questions about Keibert Ruiz. If the organization had things their way, I think they would want Ford to win the job. That does not mean the job will be handed to the youngster though.

Ford is going to have to earn the job. While he has made his MLB debut, he is not proven enough to have a job handed to him. The Nats are committed to both players, so this will be a real competition. Ownership is committed financially to Ruiz and the new front office is committed to Ford because they are the ones who traded for him.

One interesting twist in this competition is the World Baseball Classic. Harry Ford will be playing for Great Britain during the event. It is a great honor for Ford, who has British parents, but it also could cost him in this competition. This could be a major opportunity for Ruiz or even Drew Millas to impress the new staff while Ford is away.

Harry Ford will play for Great Britain in the WBC once again pic.twitter.com/1r6EXtqoSS

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) January 5, 2026

Great Britain play their first exhibition on March 3rd, and their last group phase game is on March 9th.  That means Ford will be gone for at least a week of Spring Training. Britain is in a group with the US, Brazil, Italy and Mexico. The top two teams in the group will advance. America will be a shoe in, but the second spot will be up for grabs. With Ford and Jazz Chisholm on the team, Britain has a chance to advance. If they do, Ford will be out even longer.

Despite this, I still think Ford should be considered the favorite to be the starting catcher. He has already proven he can do it at AAA. Last season, Ford hit .283 with an .868 OPS at the highest level of the minors. If the Mariners did not have Cal Raleigh, Ford would probably have more MLB experience by now.

Harry Ford had a very great past season for the Seattle Mariners organization. He spent most of the year playing in Triple-A for Tacoma where he was the PCL Top MLB Prospect and got called up to the majors in September. The top prospect was traded to the Washington Nationals this… pic.twitter.com/0PFNaCj4eS

— Milb Central (@milb_central) January 30, 2026

The Nats are a young team with low expectations. That is the perfect spot for a player like Harry Ford. He will get the chance to learn on the job and get MLB reps. Unless he struggles mightily this spring, I have a hard time believing he will not be on the roster.

Another thing to consider is how the playing time will be split. Davey Martinez really rode his starting catchers hard, especially Keibert Ruiz. The new regime is probably going to be more open to playing two catchers. It would not be surprising if we see Ford catch 60% of the games and Ruiz catch 40% of them. That timeshare will be important for Ruiz in particular, who has suffered the wear and tear of being an everyday catcher.

The Nats also have depth options behind these two. Drew Millas has never been given an extended run of playing time, but has always looked good in his chances. He is also the best defender of the group. Despite being DFA’d, Riley Adams remains in the organization and has plenty of big league experience. He also has some interesting power upside that has not quite been realized yet.

With the addition of Ford, the Nats catching situation should be much better than it was last year. To be blunt, the production the Nats got behind the plate was abysmal. Toboni saw those numbers and knew he could not roll with the status quo. He added a young hot shot in Ford, while keeping the door open for the catchers on the team last year. 

Developing catchers has become a real art, and it is something the Nats have not been good at in recent years. Hopefully the new regime can improve the Nats catchers, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. 

If I had to bet, I think Harry Ford will be the Nats starting catcher. However, he is not going to be playing every day like Keibert Ruiz was under Davey Martinez. That will keep him fresh and give Ruiz one last opportunity to try to live up to his contract and potential. This is the happiest I have been about the Nats catching situation in quite some time.

The deal now gives the Astros, or any new team, two years of cost certainty.

Earlier today, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported that the Houston Astros have come to a contract agreement with 3B Isaac Paredes on a 2-year, $22.7M deal.

Source: the Astros have settled with IF Isaac Paredes for $9.35 million for 2026 and a 2027 club option for $13.35 million. If he's top 10 in MVP in 2026, the club option becomes mutual option.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 3, 2026

This deal having a second season with a club option (unless he finished Top 10 MVP) give the Astros a cost certainly on Paredes for the next two seasons, taking him through his final year of arbitration.

It also gives cost certainty to any team that should trade for him.

Paredes is a player that has high value on the trade market, and having the next two years salaries established would make it easier to deal him. The Astros currently have a clear logjam at 1B with Paredes and Christian Walker.

While the club would like to keep Paredes, GM Dana Brown has pined for a reliable lefty hitting outfield bat all offseason, and Paredes may be his best chance of getting one.

The Astros have had trade discussions revolving around Paredes all offseason with various teams. With a 2-year deal now in place taking him through his arbitration years, it may make setting compensation with an interested club easier.

David Hamilton. Trey Faltine. Jalin Flores. Adrian Rodriguez?

Over the last decade, the Texas Longhorns have featured elite play at the shortstop position, a standard that former Gold Glove winner Troy Tulowitzki has helped elevate since joining the coaching staff on the Forty Acres in 2019.

After playing second base, third base, and left field last year for the Longhorns, Rodriguez takes over the position that Flores played at a high level for three seasons as he works his way back from hand surgery.

The sophomore battled through pain after missing seven games when he was hit by a pitch against Missouri that forced him to only hit left-handed for the rest of the season and made it difficult for him to play in the infield.

As Rodriguez proved his toughness in earning Perfect Game Freshman All-American honors despite the injury, he was able to reach base safely in the final 25 games of the season, ultimately slashing .313/.410/.516 with 35 runs scored, 14 doubles, seven homers, and 23 RBI and tying for the team lead with 15 stolen bases.

The expectation is for Rodriguez to take a step forward in 2026 if he can stay healthy even though his offseason development was hampered by the hand surgery — his ability as a switch hitter ensures he always has favorable matchups, and his bat-to-ball skills were impressive even when it was painful for him to swing.

“He’s on track to come back from his hand surgery. He’s not swinging the bat right now, but he should be able to do that in about a week or two,” Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle said last week.

“The biggest thing with him was we had to hold him back. If you tell him five swings is good, he’s going to take 50. So we’ve to be careful with him that way.”

The double-play partner for Rodriguez is junior Ethan Mendoza in his second season on the Forty Acres. After gaining strength and showing early signs of a power surge after transferring from Arizona State, Mendoza was set back by a shoulder injury that forced him into a designated hitter role and seemed to sap his improved power.

Adding about 20 pounds of muscle during the offseason while focusing on making similar gains in straight-line and lateral quickness has further increased Mendoza’s pop with hopes that he can translate the four home runs he hit over a six-game stretch last season into more consistent power across the entire season. At the least, improvements in his exit velocity should translate to a higher slugging percentage thanks to better gap-to-gap power.

The Southlake Carroll product was also successful in altering his approach at the plate after arriving at Texas, showing more patience and working deeper into counts to get better pitches to hit, jumping from 13 walks in 2024 to 36 walks in 2025, although the side effect was nearly doubling his strikeout rate, a concession that Schlossnagle is willing to make.

To replace Kimble Schuessler, the former catcher who grew into one of the best defensive first baseman Schlossnagle has ever coached, the staff moved junior Casey Borba across the diamond from third base back to his primary infield position from 2024.

The focus for the California product has been improving his functional athleticism and understanding of the position because Schlossnagle wants to have a regular starter at first base.

“It takes some time to learn bunt defenses, where to play, where to position yourself, what balls to go get that are towards the second baseman, how to communicate in running away from the ball knowing that the second baseman can get the ball. And you only get those things through repetition and in the games and in practice,” Schlossnagle said on the Around the Horns podcast.

At the plate, the staff has continued to emphasize the need for an opposite-field approach. Borba hit 12 home runs in 2025 and improved his slugging percentage by 86 points, but his batting average suffered because he was hitting the ball hard into the shifts regularly employed against him, which put a hard ceiling on his ability to get base hits.

Borba did flash his upside in the Austin Regional win over Kansas State, recording the first multi-home run game of his career with a grand slam and a three-run blast on his way to a career-high eight RBI.

BorBOMB 💣#HookEm | @CaseyBorbapic.twitter.com/Ie29zpZUX5

— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) June 1, 2025

For Borba to have a true breakout season and capitalize on the potential that made him a near top-150 prospect nationally by Perfect Game out of Orange Lutheran in California, Borba will have to use the entire field as a hitter.

Back across the diamond at third base, Schlossnagle teased a platoon between Stanford transfer Temo Becerra, a defensive-minded former shortstop with a high contact rate and little power, and Wichita State transfer Josh Livingston, who has mostly played first base and second base.

“He worked his tail off to become a serviceable or even better than that third baseman — he’s really done a nice job,” Schlossnagle said of Livingston.

After leading the Shockers in home runs (15) and slugging percentage (.555) last season, Livingston brings a left-handed power bat to the Longhorns lineup and should receive starts against right-handed pitchers in addition to the possibility that he could see time at designated hitter.

Asked to pick a position player who could surprise, however, Mendoza nodded to Becerra.

“I think he’s a really good baseball player. Obviously, he’s been there for a really long time. He knows what the game is about, and he’s just a grindy player, too,” Mendoza said.

Sophomore Liberty transfer Callum Early provides infield depth after batting .295 for the Flames last year, as does well-regarded freshman Maddox Monsour, who has the versatility to play in the outfield, as well.

Schlossnagle would prefer to have more depth in the infield, but the starting group has plenty of experience and enough untapped potential to make the trajectories of Rodriguez, Mendoza, and Borba intriguing storylines to watch in 2026.

It’s only a motion away.

Could there be an Astros and Framber Valdez reunion? Maybe the odds are better than we previously thought?

Monday night on AREA 45 on Sportsradio 610, I posed the idea of the Astros getting back in on Framber Valdez with a short term, high AAV type deal with opt outs that would allow Framber to pitch in Houston this season, and go back on the market next year to search for his long-term deal without being attached to a Qualifying Offer.

Framber is the highest rated free agent still on the market, and the fact he has not signed yet is puzzling. Framber was easily the best pitcher on the market, and not only the best but most durable. Framber is baseball’s biggest ground ball machine and he eats innings. Framber pitched 192 innings in 2025, and has thrown 767.2 innings the past four seasons.

Five seasons ago was the last time Framber didn’t make at least 28 starts, and that was because of a fractured finger he suffered on a comebacker in Spring Training. He made 22 starts and pitched 134.2 innings.

For his career, Framber has a 3.36 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. His career groundball rate is 61.5%, and the MLB average is 42.4%. In an era of chasing the long ball, Valdez is the antidote.

Several teams have been linked to Valdez, but as the offseason has worn on, many have gone in different directions. There is now a question as to whether the long-term deal Valdez seeks will be available to him this season. Any team signing Valdez this season will also have draft pick forfeiture as a penalty for signing a free agent who rejected the Qualifying Offer. The combination of losing draft pick(s), losing international bonus pool money and paying out a long-term high value contract seems to have weakened teams’ desires to pay Valdez.

Enter the Astros.

Valdez clearly is familiar and comfortable in Houston. The Astros know Valdez’ temperament better than anyone, and know how to get the most from him.

For a team that may be offensively challenged (Houston has several ‘good hitters’ in it’s lineup but only one great hitter in Yordan Alvarez), having an elite rotation would catapult the Astros back into the World Series conversation. Framber is that kind of a difference maker.

A contract similar to the one Blake Snell signed in 2024, two years with a high AAV and an opt out, would make sense for all parties should the long term deal Valdez wants not be available.

Earlier today, Astros GM Dana Brown addressed the media and in his comments left the door open to a possible Framber reunion (Framber question in video at 3:06)

Astros GM Dana Brown made some big news on Framber Valdez and a possible LH bat today — plus what they learned this offseason on how to FIX their INJURY ISSUES.https://t.co/dPjj2HVXV4

— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelV) February 3, 2026

Adding Framber Valdez to a rotation that already has Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Imai, Cristian Javier and Mike Burrows would create a lot of competition for the sixth rotation spot and also give the Astros a chance to have two righthanders in the pen who can give multiple innings. Having multi-inning relievers in a short pen due to the longer rotation would be paramount for the club to keep key arms like Josh Hader and Bryan Abreu from being overworked.

It may be a longshot, but before today it seemed like a no shot.

Brown swooped in on Imai late and stole him when few in MLB thought Houston was a real player. Could he do it again with Framber?

When the Cubs signed Jon Berti as a backup infielder before the 2025 season, it seemed like a reasonable thing to do.

Berti had led the National League in stolen bases in 2022 with 41, and the following year posted a .748 OPS in 133 games with the Marlins, with 16 steals and 2.2 bWAR.

Even at age 35, it seemed like Berti would be a suitable infield backup. And, indeed, he started the season pretty well. On May 1 he was batting .306/.370/.347 (15-for-49) in 20 games, with seven stolen bases.

But yikes, after that Berti just stopped hitting. He didn’t play much, either, once Matt Shaw was recalled from Triple-A Iowa. After June 1 Berti started just four times and from May 2 until he was released in August, batted just .118/.151/.118 (6-for-51) with 11 strikeouts.

And so it was that Craig Counsell started using Berti as his mop-up pitcher in blowouts. Berti pitched four times in July:

• The ninth inning of an 11-3 win over the Cardinals July 4
• The eighth inning of an 8-1 loss to the Twins July 8
• The ninth inning of a 12-4 loss to the Royals July 21
• The eighth inning of a 12-5 loss at the White Sox July 25

Overall, Berti threw 3.2 innings and allowed four hits and four walks and three runs.

The most interesting of those outings was the one in the blowout win over the Cardinals July 4, the one in which the Cubs set a franchise record with eight home runs.

They led 11-0 going into the ninth so Counsell figured maybe he’d save the bullpen by letting Berti pitch. Whoops, bad idea. Berti got hit hard, allowing two hits and three walks. As noted, the Cardinals scored three times and had two runners on base (both in scoring position) with two out and they were probably one hit away from Counsell having to warm up a real pitcher.

During that inning, though, Berti did make this acrobatic fielding play [VIDEO].

That pitch was thrown very, very slowly:

Berti appeared in just four more games for the Cubs after his July 25 pitching outing on the South Side. No one picked him up after the release. It’s safe to assume his career is over — but he’ll always have that one year where he led the NL in steals.

Oh, and he used to absolutely kill the Cubs while with the Marlins. In 15 career games vs. the Cubs, Berti batted .319/.389/.532 (15-for-47) with three home runs, by far his best OPS against any team. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t hit as a North Sider.

It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do.
-Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried”

There is a powerful Tim O’Brien short story, part of a larger eponymous collection, called “The Things They Carried,” which catalogues the physical weight of the individual items a group of soldiers in Vietnam carried, as a way to interrogate the mental weight of what their assignment demanded they carry.

Baseball is a far cry from the foxholes of war—part of the reason people are consuming sports content especially fervently right now, I think, as an escape from The Horrors—but just as the soldiers in O’Brien’s short story are forever changed by the psychological weight of the things they now carry, so too are the 2025 Mariners altered by the weight of promise fallen short. I was personally taken aback, at a post-season media event held in late October, at how fresh the wounds still felt: I was expecting the team officials in attendance (Jerry Dipoto, Justin Hollander, Dan Wilson) to still be feeling the sting of disappointment but overwhelmingly proud of how far the team came, farther than any other Mariners team ever had. Instead, it was clear the bones of heartbreak hadn’t quite knitted: eyes were wet, mouths were tight, and the hurt hung over the room palpably.

Three months later, that pain hasn’t dissipated, but it has calcified, hardened into a sharp point of purpose. This past weekend, the Mariners held the first Fan Fest the team has sponsored since 2019, and while the overarching theme of the weekend was a joyous riot of excitement, from players and personnel alike there was a distinct sense of a job not done and an acute awareness of the task ahead.

Cal Raleigh, now a (mostly) year-round Seattle resident, was in attendance both days, thrilling fans wherever the should-have-been MVP showed up. He brought fans to their knees as a surprise guest in the photo opp area, oversaw a gender reveal, and generally sent whoever was in his vicinity into transports of delight. But while enjoying the outpouring of love and support, Cal was contemplative about the year that was, focused on the year that will come.

“Obviously last year was great. I’m glad we got to celebrate that, it was definitely a special season,” he said. “But at the same time, you have to be able to turn the page and look forward to a new year and understand that what we’re trying to accomplish here is win a World Series and setting the standard, the bar, the expectations super-high, because that’s where we want to be.

I think everybody’s going to be excited going into camp. It’s going to be hard work, though. It’s not going to be easy. New years bring new challenges.“

From all the Mariners in attendance this weekend, the message was clear: job not finished. But there’s also an understanding of the weight of expectations, the bar that’s now been set. George Kirby delivered his expectations for this upcoming season in typical unflinching Kirby style.

“I feel like I can speak for a lot of the guys, getting to where we did,” said Kirby. “I feel like that’s the floor for us this year. And anything else just kind of doesn’t cut it. So being able to get a taste of that, and then losing and seeing Toronto go on to celebrate all that stuff puts a fire in your stomach.”

Getting so close, but falling just short: the confusing cocktail of should-be pride mixed with with the sharp metallic tang of disappointment. Josh Naylor expressed a similar sentiment, although with a typical Naylor pragmatic twist.

“Yeah, obviously the loss was not easy to take. It sucked, especially knowing that we had them,” said Naylor. “But it is what it is, and it wasn’t meant for us to win it. God has really weird plans for people, and I trust Him. So I’m just gonna go out there every day and try to win ballgames. But having that experience and getting that close, I hope it fuels everyone in the off-season to come back stronger: a little bit bigger, a little bit better, a little bit smarter. It has for me. I’m trying to grow every single day in the off-season, trying to get 1% better in some sort of area. Obviously not every day can be sunshine and roses, but you can pick a little area to grow in.”

If the expectations are heavier than they’ve ever been, there’s a comfort in the fact that those expectations are now matched by experience. Kirby spoke about finding “learning lessons” from specific situations in postseason games and using that as a focus for training, physically and mentally, during the off-season. Emerson Hancock took a broader view on how that post-season experience might shape the course of an entire season.

“I think ultimately it makes you better, the whole experience of being in the postseason, understanding what’s at stake, the pressure, it makes you better,” said Hancock. “It stings. It’s hard. You know, you get to right there and you’re just almost—but it makes you want to get back there even more. And I think the people that were a part of that, now know that we go through the 162 game schedule like, all right: we grind through it, we know what’s at the end of this thing. We know what we want to play for and what we want to do.”

But for all the looking forward, players were also open about the fact that this is the kind of pain that doesn’t ever really go away. It becomes part of your story, part of your elemental self, something that can be managed and transformed into something productive, but can never truly be eliminated.

“That’s something that you carry with you, an experience that you had” said Julio Rodríguez, reflecting on the loss. “That’s something that I will carry with me, the experience that I had in those games, and I feel like it has helped me to become a better player. And bring a little adjusted mentality for this new year.”

The weight of the loss is still palpable when Cal Raleigh reflects on the season: despite the new heights he’s reached in his career, going from a catcher who never made a prospect top 10 list to a household name and narrowly missing out on an MVP award, all his personal accomplishments are wrapped up in a season where the team fell short.

“It was hard,” said Raleigh, sighing heavily. “Part of me is like, I don’t know if you ever really move on. You’re going to be feeling that one for a long time. And it doesn’t matter if you eventually go on to win it or not, you’re still going to look back and be like, that season, it felt like we had a real chance, a real shot. So I think part of me will always feel that.

But at the same time you can’t dwell on it. You have to understand that chapter is closed, and we’re opening a new one. It’s going to be a lot of fun this year, and also very challenging. We’re going to have to do some things and make sure that we’re improving and staying on top of things, and not just being satisfied with where we’re at.“

Maybe no Mariner knows more about closing the book on a painful chapter than skipper Dan Wilson, who understands both the disappointment that is baked into the sport of baseball and the particular experience of a Mariners team falling short. But that experience puts him in a unique position in order to be able to lead this club into a year heady with expectations.

“I think every time you’re eliminated, it’s disappointing. I mean, this one was maybe extra disappointing, because we were so close, but at the same time, I think it’s part of being an athlete, it’s part of being a baseball player. We talk about baseball being that game of failure, and you have to move on in a lot of ways. So yes, it becomes part of your story,” said Wilson. “I think our guys do a really good job of taking that and making it a motivator rather than something that slows them down. And I don’t anticipate that being any different. These guys are determined, as we all are, to get back there and get all the way to where we want to go to, which is that World Series championship.”

For Wilson and his team, the trick will be taking the things they’ve carried over the off-season – the disappointment, the hurt, the desire – and crystallizing that into purpose in 2026.

“Postseason baseball is different. When you experience it, you want to do everything you can to get back there,” said Wilson. “I think that’s where this fire came from with these guys. They want to get back there. They want to be a part of postseason baseball for the foreseeable future. And that’s what Mariner baseball is going to be about.”

“When you get a taste of it, there’s nothing like it.”

Carlos Beltrán will officially wear a Mets cap on his Baseball Hall of Fame plaque, according to a Tuesday afternoon announcement. Beltrán, who was elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on January 20 with 84.2% of votes, will be just the third Hall of Famer to wear a Mets cap in Cooperstown along with Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza.

Over the course of his twenty-year career, Beltrán tallied 435 homers and 312 stolen bases, becoming one of just five players in baseball history with 400+ homers and 300+ stolen bases. Beltrán played for seven different teams, winning a Rookie of the Year Award with the Royals and a controversial World Series with the Astros in 2017, but he spent the bulk of his prime (from ages 27 to 34) in Queens. During his six and a half seasons in New York, Beltrán hit 149 homers, recorded 559 RBI, and stole 100 bases, while earning three All-Star selections, three Gold Glove Awards, and a pair of Silver Slugger Awards. In 2006, Beltrán helped lead the Mets to a division title with a stellar 8.2 bWAR, matching a Mets record at the time with 41 home runs.

Beltrán will be inducted at Cooperstown alongside fellow players Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent on July 26. Beltrán will also be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame alongside Lee Mazzilli and Bobby Valentine at Citi Field sometime this summer.

The Mets will have a third former player representing the team on his Hall of Fame plaque.

Carlos Beltrán will wear a Mets cap on his plaque, the Hall of Fame announced Tuesday, joining Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza as the only players in the franchise’s history with such a designation.

Beltrán told The Post last summer that his plan, if elected, was to wear a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. A source indicated that Beltrán likely didn’t immediately announce his intention after his election last month as a show of respect to the Royals, for whom he spent 6 ½ seasons to begin his career.

Also, Mets officials have discussed the possibility of retiring Beltrán’s No. 15 this season, according to a source. Already, the organization has ceremonies planned to induct members into the Mets Hall of Fame (Beltrán, Lee Mazzilli and Bobby Valentine will be enshrined) and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the franchise’s last World Series title in 1986. Team officials must decide if they want to have a third ceremony that would affix Beltrán’s number to the rafters.

Beltrán, now a special assistant with the Mets, played for the team from 2005-11 and produced an .869 OPS over that stretch. Some of his luster with the organization is obscured by the called third strike he took with the bases loaded against Adam Wainwright to end Game 7 of the NLCS against the Cardinals.

Later, Beltrán returned to the organization as manager. He was forced to resign after only 77 days as part of the fallout from the Astros’ illegal sign-stealing scheme. Beltrán was named as one of the ringleaders.

If Beltrán’s involvement in the scheme stalled his Hall of Fame selection, the derailment was brief. This year, his fourth on the ballot, he obtained 84.2 percent of the vote by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America to gain entrance into the Hall of Fame. A candidate needs to reach the 75 percent threshold for induction.

Andruw Jones will join Beltrán as a BBWAA inductee to the Hall of Fame in July. Also gaining induction was Jeff Kent, who was selected in December by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.

Christian Zazueta is coming off a breakout season in 2025, posting a 2.41 ERA in 17 starts, 16 of them for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, with 81 strikeouts and 16 walks in 67 1/3 innings, his 23.8-percent strikeout-minus-walk rate tops among all Dodgers minor league pitchers with at least 50 innings last year.

The right-hander was named a California League All-Star after the season, and won Cal League pitcher of the month for allowing only six runs in his six starts in May, with 31 strikeouts against only five walks in 30 innings. His best start came on June 18 against Lake Elsinore, when Zazueta retired 15 of 16 batters faced with 10 strikeouts in his five scoreless innings.

Acquired from the New York Yankees for lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson in February 2024 — two years ago Wednesday — Zazueta last season won the Branch Rickey Award as the Dodgers minor league pitcher of the year.

Now just 21 years old, Zazueta is rising on various prospect lists this year. He was ranked the seventh-best prospect in the Dodgers system by Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs in December, with Longhagen noting an ankle sprain and second-half workload management by the Dodgers prevented Zazueta from ranking in an even higher tier.

More from Longenhagen:

The 2026 season is his 40-man platform year, so the Dodgers have incentive to stretch him out to 110-ish innings and push him to Double-A at some point to stress test that slider against better hitters. He’s on pace to make his big league debut in 2027 as a spot starter and then establish himself as key rotation cog in the years beyond. Our grade in this instance leaves room for Zazueta’s fastball velocity and command to improve thanks to his build and athletic traits.

Zazueta was ranked 12th by Baseball America, rated 16th by Baseball Prospectus, and 17th in the system by The Athletic. Kiley McDaniel at ESPN last week ranked Zazueta as the No. 156 prospect in baseball entering 2026, 11th in the Dodgers system.

Thomas Nestico at his TJ Stats newsletter this week had high praise for the minor league right-hander, including him in the “stuff savants” category of prospects he expects to make the top 100 entering 2027.

“Christian Zazueta may be the top pitching prospect in the Dodgers system, combining strong strike throwing with electric stuff,” Nestico wrote. “His fastball sits 93-94 mph with 14 inches of [induced vertical break], a shallow -4.3° [vertical approach angle], and excellent whiff rates, while his slider and changeup round out a prototypical three-pitch starter mix.”

Zazueta made one shortened (one-inning) start for High-A Great Lakes in August to end his 2025 season, so it’s likely that’s where he starts this season.

Carlos Beltranwill wear a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque, becoming just the third player ever to have that distinction -- joining Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza.

One of the best players in Mets history, Beltran made a leap this year to 84.2 percent of the vote to gain election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. It was his third year on the ballot.

"I didn’t do this alone," said Beltran in a statement that was released by the Hall. "Every team I played for shaped my journey, and I’m grateful to all of them. With the Mets, I experienced my greatest individual growth and success. I’m honored that my Hall of Fame plaque will feature the Mets logo, and I’m proud that every team I played for will be listed on the plaque."

There was a very easy case to make for Beltran wearing a Mets cap on his plaque.

Three of Beltran's best six seasons (2006, 2007, 2008) came for the Mets, while his other three came for the Royals (2001, 2003) and during a season he split between the Royals and Astros (2004).

Beltran had more home runs, doubles, RBI, and runs scored with the Mets than any other team, and also had his highest OPS during the years he spent with them (excluding the 44 games he played for the Giants).

In addition, Beltran made five of his nine career All-Star appearances while in Queens.

Beltran is set to enter the Mets' team Hall of Fame during the 2026 season, and it's possible to envision his No. 15 eventually hanging in the rafters.

The former center fielder and current member of the front office, Beltran signed in Queens ahead of the 2005 season, helping to usher in a new era for the team shortly after Pedro Martinez arrived.

In 839 games with the Mets from 2005 to 2011, Beltran slashed .280/.369/.500 with 149 home runs, 208 doubles, 559 RBI, 551 runs scored, and 100 stolen bases.

Beyond his offensive prowess, Beltran was one of the best defensive center fielders in the game during his peak, and won all three of his Gold Gloves while with the Mets (2006, 2007, 2008).

During his 20-year career, Beltran hit .279/.350/.486 with 435 home runs, 565 doubles, 78 triples, 312 stolen bases, 1,587 RBI, and 1,582 runs scored.

In addition to his Mets stint (2005 to 2011), Beltran played for the Royals (1998 to 2004), Astros (2004, 2017), Giants (2011), Cardinals (2012 to 2013), Yankees (2014 to 2016), and Rangers (2016).

It’s been a busy offseason for Nolan McLean. 

Outside of getting married, moving into a new house, and announcing he’ll pitch for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, the Mets' right-hander has already made his way to Port St. Lucie, throwing a two-inning live batting practice session on Tuesday.

“It’s good to get out here and compete a little bit,” McLean told SNY. "Kinda got snowed in in North Carolina for a little while, so getting down south in the warm weather and (throwing) off a dirt mound is always great.”

A third-round pick of the Mets in 2023, the former two-way star at Oklahoma State decided to stick with pitching, which certainly appears to be the right choice. 

Making his big league debut last August, McLean was sensational in eight starts with the Mets, posting a 2.06 ERA, a 1.042 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts in 48.0 innings. 

Even with that terrific start to his career, McLean said he took time this offseason to “reflect on the season and see what I can get better at.” That includes working on a pair of pitches to make his already-electric repertoire even more dangerous. 

“I think I’ve just got to keep developing my stuff. Go out there and compete every single time, control what I can,” McLean said. “Obviously, there are always pitches that can get better, and that’s at the forefront of what I’m trying to do with my changeup and cutter -- be able to implement those a little bit more into my arsenal.”

Ranked as Joe DeMayo’s top prospect in the Mets’ system, McLean is a virtual lock to break camp on the major league roster, and figures to slot in near the very top of the rotation, a group that was bolstered by the addition of two-time All-Star Freddy Peralta. 

With Peralta and McLean anchoring a rotation that will also include some mix of Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, David Peterson, and Kodai Senga, and with Jonah Tong, Christian Scott, and Tobias Myers as potential depth pieces, the Mets’ 2026 starting rotation very well could be a strength of the club.

And McLean thinks the sky is the limit. 

“I think [the ceiling is] very high,” McLean said of the Mets’ collection of starting pitchers. “Freddy’s been around and kind of introduced himself to everybody. Seems like a great dude and obviously a great pitcher, so should be awesome.”