Category: Baseball

Now that we get Statcast data from Triple-A, Single-A, and spring training games, it’s a lot easily to find notable details in pitching performances. Even when things go poorly in early outings as pitchers and hitters shake off the winter rust, you can still get a nice baseline on pitchers’ velocity and movement profiles, and then track that progress though camp. Sometimes it means something, sometimes it doesn’t. You still have to command your stuff to handle major league hitters unless you’re just absolutely gifted with raw velocity or movement.

So, we’re through three Grapefruit League games at this point. Pitching hasn’t been particularly impressive, but if we look deeper into pitchers’ stuff, there are some interesting points to note on numerous guys in Tigers spring training camp. These are just going to be quick hits to get some ideas of what to look for as camp progresses.

Remember this is literally just the beginning of camp. There was really nothing much to say about brief appearances from Brant Hurter, Bryan Sammons, Konnor Pilkington, Tanner Rainey, Jack Little, Burch Smith, or Brenan Hanifee. No big changes are apparent after the offseason, so it’s just a matter of how well they use what they’ve got.

We haven’t even seen Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, Casey Mize, Troy Melton, Will Vest, Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan, or Tyler Holton yet. Wednesday’s split squad action should see several more spring debuts. Again, we’re just getting warmed up here.

Tarik Skubal

There wasn’t much to report from the two-time and reigning AL Cy Young award winner. He looked great in his two innings of work against the Twins on Sunday. Velocity was good on the fastballs and the induced vertical break was at the top of his range on the fourseam fastball, and he continues to reduce horizontal movement. Got whiffs on three of the four changeups he threw. Light work.

Jack Flaherty

Jack Flaherty looked very Jack Flaherty-like in his outing on Monday against the Orioles. He wasn’t particularly sharp but everything looks good under the hood. His fourseam velocity was up a tick over his average last year. Hopefully that’s a good sign as he tries to find his way back to his dominant 2024 form after a shaky 2025 season.

Drew Anderson

The Tigers offseason free agent pickup looked pretty good in following Skubal on Sunday. He sat 95.3 mph with his fourseam fastball though the vertical movement was a little off on average at 16 inches of IBV, whereas he’s usually around 18. The kick change looked good. The curve and slider still look pretty average, but that will do. Right now Anderson is going to start the season in the bullpen, but the Tigers will keep him stretched out in camp. He certainly wouldn’t be the first pitcher to figure it out in Korea and return an effective major league pitcher, and the stuff looked the part in his first outing.

Keider Montero

Montero got the start in the Grapefruit League opener on Saturday, and his command wasn’t particularly sharp against a lineup with Aaron Judge and several other regulars in the mix. He did average 96.3 mph with both his fourseamer and sinker, well above his 93.8 mph average fastball last year. However, the induced vertical break on the fourseam remains really pedestrian at 16 inches, and he left a couple up over the plate that went for a single and a double in the first inning, and then Spencer Jones blasted another fourseamer into orbit in the second inning.

It’s good to see the velo in terms of where he might sit in shorter outings in the bullpen, but unless he can get more ride on the fourseam he’s probably better off using the sinker more and just mixing the two up fairly evenly. That might be tricky given that his command is pretty average, but if his fastballs were just a bit less hittable everything else would play up nicely. Still a work in progress.

The spin rates on his breaking stuff remain elite, particularly with the knuckle curve, while the slider continues to have average depth but sweeps horizontally a good amount. It still feels like that pitch would do better if it dove more and wasn’t so distinguishable from his knuckle curve.

Cole Waites

The 27-year-old right-hander was drafted by the Giants and finally released last year, so he’s well known to Scott Harris. As a prospect, Waites scraped triple digits with an explosive fastball that drew 70 grades, but he never had a particularly good breaking ball, and like many hard-throwing relief prospects, his high effort delivery left him with poor command.

His return from September 2023 Tommy John surgery didn’t go particularly well in 2025. He wasn’t able to get back on the mound regularly until the end of the season, but he did average 95.7 mph at the Triple-A level. So far this spring the velocity is nowhere in evidence as he’s sitting around 92 mph. The big fastball was always his calling card and ticket to the major leagues, so until he recovers a lot of velo there isn’t much to talk about here. Maybe they’re rebuilding him up slowly, maybe he’s cooked. This is a longer term project.

Dylan Smith

Right-hander Dylan Smith is a former interest starting prospect turned reliever who has battled some injuries the past few years. He showed some potential in a brief 2025 major league debut before a shoulder strain shut him down after the All-Star break.

On Sunday against the Orioles, Smith came in at the end of the game against a minor league lineup. Still he averaged 19 inches of IVB, two more than his 2025 average, and it showed as the Orioles whiffed on all five fourseamers he threw in his inning of work. His sweeper is still pretty average and he’s going to need consistency back-footing it through dangerous territory against left-handed hitters. However, he doesn’t need to lean on the breaking ball too much either. He’ll be very effective with the fastball sitting 94-95 and getting that much ride on it. More of that, please.

Tyler Mattison

This 27-year-old right-hander has become a bit of a mirage over the past few seasons. Once a pretty good relief prospect with a dominant fastball who seemed pretty close to the major leagues, Mattison has gone through Tommy John surgery and a shaky return to action in 2025. He’s still in the same spot as a pitcher that could help the bullpen and give them a different look if he can stay healthy and get back to peak form. The Tigers released him from the 40-man roster at year’s end, but the two parties always intended to agree on a minor league deal and he’s back in the fold.

Mattison throws from a really high overhand arm slot with freakishly high spin rates (2600-2700 rpms), producing huge active spin and 19-20 inches of induced vertical break. His slider and changeup come out of the same slot, dropping steeply in either direction. He hasn’t really ever had precision fastball command, but pre-injury he was often 95-97 mph and pretty unhittable at times. The unique arm slot and stuff would be a really nice addition to the relief mix, but it’s mainly a question of staying healthy and getting back into a groove.

His velocity was still only around 93 mph in his first outing, so we’ll see if he can build that up. The stuff is still really good and Mattison is still a guy worth keeping an eye on. It wouldn’t take that much of a bump in command and velo to turn him into a legitimate setup caliber reliever.

We have seen one week of Spring Training games, so we know all we need to know!

-Chase DeLauter has to make this team and has to be given every opportunity to stay healthy and in the lineup.

-Travis Bazzana is the best option at second base already. We won’t see him until May at the earliest. They will use April to evaluate which of Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio they want to be the team’s shortstop when Bazzana is brought up to play second base.

-I am looking to be very wrong about Juan Brito so far, as he presses both in the plate and at the field. I do think the team is right to challenge him to prove himself as a first base-third base-second base-left/right field utility guy as it is the best way for him to impact the current roster, but I do wonder if it would be better to just have him compete for the second base job in spring, and then move him into more of the utility role in Columbus if he misses out on that opportunity. I can’t deny that the player who pulls fly balls and doesn’t whiff hasn’t shown up in spring, but it’s early and I do think he is letting the weight of the opportunity get to him.

-CJ Kayfus is only playing first base, so far, so it appears he is the player who will be in Columbus as depth, provided that DeLauter and George Valera stay healthy. Folks will be upset by this, but Kayfus is the kind of depth a playoff team should have on hand.

-I will be carefully monitoring if David Fry ends up playing any outfield by the end of camp, or if the team indicates he can start playing outfield during the year. Fry being able to fill in for left or right field would be huge for roster flexibility.

-Connor Brogdon looks like the real deal. Colin Holderman has an option and looks like he’ll need it to work on stuff in Columbus.

-I think Codi Heuer or Kolby Allard will make the roster while Tim Herrin will start the year in Columbus, if only to have some LHP depth in the bullpen.

-Peyton Pallette must have some sort of injury, as our intrepid insider TexasTribe reported, as he has yet to get in a game. It will be interesting if the Guardians can keep him on the IL to start the season and so preserve a lengthier time to take a look at their Rule 5 pick.

-Valera looks back with a vengeance and ready to secure a roster spot.

-Stuart Fairchild looks like a major league ballplayer. Angel Martinez does not. Martinez has an option, so expect Angel to open in Columbus and Fairchild to get a look as the fourth outfielder who hits right-handed, first.

What else have you noticed, so far? Give us your hot takes in the comments below

In recent years, the Mariners have developed a bit of a reputation as a major pitching lab. Not just through their minor league system, but also the success stories of journeyman relievers coming through Seattle and turning middling careers into All-Star/Team USA appearances. A part of that is that the Mariners have a very specific pitching philosophy and pitching profile they look for. Josh Simpson fits the profile and philosophy.

[Editorial note: The 40 in 40 series was scheduled to a triumphant, thematic close yesterday with the potential Opening Day battery of Bryan Woo and Cal Raleigh. Then accounting informed us we had overlooked one later-off-season acquisition. Management sincerely regrets the error. Please pretend this story ran early last week. And go back and read all the 40 in 40s you might have missed. Errrrm. 40 in 41.]

Rule 1: You gotta throw a slider and sinker

When I started writing this 40 in 40, I really expected to find a slight trend, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that to play in the Mariners bullpen, you have to throw a slider and expect to throw it all the time:

• Matt Brash Slider usage: 61%
• Andrés Muñoz Slider usage: 50%
• Eduard Bazardo Slider usage: 43%
• Gabe Speier Slider usage: 26%
• Carlos Vargas Slider usage: 19%
• Josh Simpson Slider Usage: 6%

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Mariners continue to use and acquire guys with high-end sliders with a lot of movement, and then help them to refine it into one of the most dangerous pitches in the league. More to the point, the Mariners were ranked 6th in terms of slider usage by pitchers in 2025. As a team, they threw the slider 26% of the time.

Now the Mariners are smart enough to know that most pitchers are not Mariano Rivera and can’t rely on one pitch most of the time. Which is why you also need to be able to throw a sinker if you wanna join the Mariners arm barn, and expect to throw it right alongside your slider:

• Carlos Vargas Sinker usage: 63%
• Eduard Bazardo Sinker usage: 41%
• Gabe Spier Sinker usage: 30%
• Josh Simpson Sinker Usage: 22%
• Matt Brash Sinker usage: 22%
• Andrés Muñoz Sinker Usage: 12%

As a team, the Mariners threw a sinker or sinker-like pitch 23% of the time, good enough for second in MLB overall.

While Simpson isn’t exactly a major slider pitcher, he does throw a sweeper more than any other pitch. At a time when the sweeper is still riding the back end of a crest in popularity, the Mariners have tempered their adoption of the pitch, throwing just 5.8% sweepers in 2025 (19th-most in MLB), down from 7.1% (14th) in 2024, 6.9% (12th) in 2023, and 7.2% (7th) in 2022 per Baseball Savant. Simpson is already a pretty heavy sinker thrower, but he favors his sweeper over his slider most of the time. With the Marlins, the sweeper was his most effective offering, generating whiffs over 40% of the time, but his infrequently-used slider had a distinct shape and could be effective as well.

That only tells some of the story for Simpson’s sweeper, however, as he only really uses it in lefty-lefty situations, rarely throws it to righties, if at all. Now, as a left-hander, it may be that he doesn’t pitch to many righties, but throwing the pitch to righties only 11% of the time suggests to me it’s a conscious choice rather than a lack of opportunity. Right now, Simpson goes to the sweeper and the curve most often overall, but I think the numbers are there to find success with a more slider-sinker combo. The slider and sinker are much closer in speed which makes tunneling pitches more effective. Plus, as told to me by John Trupin, the wrist motion for the sweeper and slider is very similar, the difference between throwing a frisbee and flicking a light switch. While it’s obviously not a one-to-one, I feel there’s potential for Simpson to fully embrace the Mariners’ pitching philosophy and succeed.

Rule 2: You gotta attack the zone

The Mariners have made no secret about keeping their pitchers in the zone and not being afraid to attack hitters directly. The Mariners were third in the league for pitches thrown inside the zone at just about 54%.Bryan Woo was second among all pitchers at 57% of pitches being in the zone. Clearly, this is a strategy the Mariners have fully embraced, and something the pitchers they bring in need to be able to do without fear. In 30 innings, Simpson had a zone percentage of 54%. Despite this, Simpson ran an atrocious 6.46 BB/9, the 3rd-highest in MLB among 475 pitchers with at least 30 innings in 2025. He’s the only pitcher in the top 150 of Zone% to manage such a poor walk rate (and really nobody else is close).

Clearly, Simpson is willing to go at a batter, and willing to do it at a rate the Mariners are happy with. He was, in some ways, astoundingly unsuccessful in this approach a year ago. There’s a reason the Columbia product (the school, not the country) only managed 30 innings for the Marlins last year, but with such an outlier on the outcome end Seattle may see this as a puzzle they can solve I’m hoping that, with some adjustments from the Mariners’ pitching lab, we could see a whole new player this season.

Rule 3: Be a part of at least one transaction

The Mariners have been very active on the waiver wire, trade market, and DFA postings to build out the bullpen they have now. None of the relief pitchers on the Mariners 2025 roster were originally drafted by Seattle, and only Brash made his big league debut with the Mariners. Not to be rude, but the Mariners take a real “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” type perspective to the bullpen, and to their credit, it has worked out for the most part. Simpson definitely falls within that category. Simpson was acquired from Miami for cash considerations in early February. I don’t know what it is, but the Mariners seem able to give guys on their second (or last) chance the spark to keep things going for a while longer or step up in a way they never have before. Gabe Speier was just a face in the crowd in Kansas City, Baltimore traded Eduard Bazardo for a low-minors reliever, Carlos Vargas was a toss-in prospect from the original trade of Eugenio Suárez to Arizona, Matt Brash was a player-to-be-named-later, Muñoz was a talented but unreliable and majorly injured prospect with the Padres.

It’s the engine that’s fueled much of Seattle’s success in the 2020s, fueled by bullpen body after bullpen body. Hm? What’s that? What happens after the Mariners are done with you? Don’t worry about all that; we’ll cross that bridge when we get there, or you’ll cross it not, so much for the rest of us. While Simpson has a questionable track record from his time in Miami, the variety of interesting secondaries and ability to get groundballs while pitching in the zone fits what the Mariners are looking for, and he’ll likely have the chance to tweak things in Tacoma before his big league return sometime this summer in Seattle.

The Phillies have had a bit of success finding guys that they can grab for free, raiding another team that is in a 40-man roster crunch. Curet could possibly be the next.

Yoniel Curet – 97
Zach McCambley – 82
Alex McFarlane – 11
Griff Burkholder – 9
Keaton Anthony – 9
Mavis Graves – 7
Seth Johnson – 7

The Phillies like to make moves with the Rays, acquiring high octane arms that Tampa needs to expose because of a roster crunch. It worked with Jose Alvarado and the team is hoping it works again with Curet. A starter with the Rays, it looks like the Phillies will be trying him out as a reliever to be some depth in their system. Curet looks like somewhat interesting if he can figure out some control.

2025 stats (w/ Tampa Bay org)

16 G (14 GS), 55 1/3 IP, 3.90 ERA (3.85 FIP), 25.5 K%, 12.8 BB%, 0.33 HR/9

Fangraphs scouting report

Curet pitched a couple of times in the Dominican Winter League and was still throwing hard, but he had very little feel, especially for his upper-80s slider. He’s an interesting change-of-scenery pickup by the Phils, as a little over a year ago, he seemed talented enough to pitch in the eighth or ninth inning even if things didn’t work out for him as a starter. Still, at this point, he’s purely a bounce-back candidate whose lack of option years puts extreme pressure on him to throw more strikes during 2026 spring training or else be on Philly’s roster bubble.

With each new post, we’ll reveal who won the voting for that particular slot, then post new players for you to vote on, adding another one to the list each time until we get to our final tally of 20. Once we get to 20 top prospects, we’ll do an honorable mention post at the end. If a player gets traded to another team, we’ll just chuck him right on outta here and all the players will move up a spot. If a prospect gets acquired, we’ll ask where he should go on the list.

Probably the most important thing about this whole process – please vote. Give us a few minutes of your time, just click a button and then we can discuss other players and things in the comment section, but don’t forget – VOTE!

Over the past few years, the Yankees have coveted a good deal of players from other teams who, despite not possessing star status, had profiles that Brian Cashman and his cohort of front office personnel nonetheless found appealing. Ryan McMahon was one of those players who routinely came up again and again in MLB trade rumors, and time after time, those rumors linked him to the Bronx.

Third base had been a sore spot for the Yankees for a few seasons, and when the hot corner situation reached its nadir last summer, Cashman finally pulled the trigger with a somewhat-limited market for improvement available to him. McMahon was at last a Yankee. One unspectacular half-season later, he enters his first full year in the Bronx with subdued expectations — even on a contract that will pay him $32 million across 2026-27.

Can McMahon finally unlock the full potential of his long-tantalizing toolset? Or will he continue to be a merely cromulent glove-first third baseman?

2025 statistics (total): 154 games, 586 PA, .214/.312/.281 (86 wRC+), 20 HR, 53 RBI, 32.3 K%, 11.9 BB%, 10 Defensive Runs Saved, 6 Outs Above Average, 1.9 fWAR

2025 statistics (with NYY): 54 games, 185 PA, .208/.308/333 (84 wRC+), 4 HR, 18 RBI, 33.5 K%, 11.4 BB%, 7 DRS, 0.6 fWAR

2026 FanGraphs DC projections: 113 games, 490 PA, .211/.304/.371 (91 wRC+), 17 HR, 1.7 fWAR

Once arriving in his new environments, McMahon did exactly what people figured he’d do: provide excellent defense at the hot corner while striking out far too often to be a productive presence at the plate. By the end of the year he was effectively part of a platoon with Amed Rosario, whom the Yankees re-signed this winter. While certainly Rosario is a nice depth add across the board, his return signals that the team is not bursting with confidence that McMahon will take a step forward at the dish.

And entering his age-31 season, there isn’t much reason to think differently. Despite consistently providing solid power numbers and demonstrating above-average plate discipline, McMahon has never posted a wRC+ above 97 in his nine-year MLB career. This is mostly because roughly 30 percent of his over 4,000 career plate appearances have resulted in strikeouts. In fact, McMahon had the highest strikeout rate among all qualified hitters in 2025. The tightrope you have to walk to eat that many K’s and remain productive is unforgiving, and McMahon has never been consistent enough in doing damage with the contact he makes to walk it effectively.

That’s not to say he can’t do damage. McMahon has always run high hard-hit rates and had a 12.1 percent barrel rate in 2025, the highest of his career. Last year also saw a massive jump in the percentage of batted balls that were pulled in the air: up to 17 percent from 11.1 percent. This is an encouraging development, and hints at the possibility that McMahon could become more consistent in reaching the seats with his fly balls if that trend continues into 2026.

But of course, there’s also the platoon stats you have to worry about. McMahon throughout his career has been worse against lefties, but in the normal way—a sizable but not dramatic split. In fact, he actually hit better against lefties in 2024. Last year, though, the gulf widened in the other direction: he managed just a .534 OPS against lefties compared to a .739 OPS against righties. That was the impetus for Rosario taking a bigger chunk of his at-bats versus southpaws down the stretch. Platoon splits can be volatile, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he does a little bit better this season, but if he doesn’t, that timeshare with the returning Rosario will continue.

Thankfully, McMahon remains dependable in the field. While he’s never won a Gold Glove for his work at third base, he made a big late push last year with 7 Defensive Runs Saved in his time with the Yankees alone. He’ll be in the mix to unseat incumbent Maikel Garcia and win the award at the hot corner this year, which will give him a leg up on Rosario—a comparatively poor fielder—in that platoon arrangement. And he’s already produced some spectacular highlights, most notably that Derek Jeter-esque catch in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series last year.

Ultimately, unless McMahon seriously shaves his strikeout stubble, there’ll always be a bit of a five o’clock shadow around his triple slash, so to speak. His defense nonetheless gives him a high floor even when he struggles at the dish—and eighth or ninth place hitters are never expected to challenge for the batting title anyway. We’re not prognosticating an All-Star selection for him, a Gold Glove could be in the offing—and if he can sniff that elusive 100 wRC+ figure, so much the better.

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See more of the Yankees Previews series here.

The St. Louis Cardinals have 4 new nominees for their Hall of Fame and Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina are among them. Brian Jordan and George Hendrick are also on the ballot.

The St. Louis Cardinals made the announcement today of the 2026 Hall of Fame nominees that fans can vote for now through April 17. You can vote here and the players with the most votes will be enshrined on September 12, 2026. Wow. I wonder if Pujols and Molina will make the cut? Yes, that’s the ultimate sarcasm. It’s unfortunate that George Hendrick and Brian Jordan will likely get overlooked in this vote as both players had big impacts on the Cardinals in their era. Henrick was a big impact bat from 1978 through the mid 1980’s. Brian Jordan was a part of the resurgent St. Louis Cardinals teams of the 1990’s and was a vital part of the 1996 team that nearly went to the World Series if not for the collapse against the Atlanta Braves.

At this point in the Romy Gonzalez injury story, we don’t so much have updates as we have a slow reckoning with reality. Gonzalez injured his shoulder in late September and has not been able to participate in baseball activities ever since. Yesterday, he spoke to the media and conceded that he probably won’t be ready to play by Opening day. Which, yeah, duh. He will have another medical check-in next Friday, but he is already anticipating that he still won’t be cleared to swing a bat then, either. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

Marcelo Mayer’s recovery from offseason wrist injury hasn’t gotten much attention. That began to change, though, once games got underway and people started saying, “Uh, hey, where’s Marcelo Mayer?” The answer is he’s in Fort Myers, but the Sox have deliberately slowed his hitting work in order to give the wrist more time to heal and strengthen. But the team has now announced that he’ll make his spring debut on Friday. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)

Willson Contreras is healthy, thankfully, and he’s already playing and hitting bombs in a Red Sox uniform. Let’s home he stays healthy, too, because he’s currently the biggest power threat in the Sox lineup. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

With all of the attention Mayer has received since being drafted fourth overall, fellow middle infield prospect Mikey Romero has flown under the radar a bit. But he’s now in his first big league spring training and he thinks you’re sleeping on him. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)

In fact, you don’t have to work too hard to come with some scenarios where Romero ends up getting more playing time with the big league club this year than just about anyone expects. Alex Cora certainly sounds intrigued by him, and wants to get a good long look at how he does playing second base this spring. (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

And speaking of young guys getting a run at second base in spring training, here’s a look at how Kristian Campbell tried to retool his swing this offseason. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

Morning, all!

Shawn McFarland is profiling the Rangers top 30 prospects and takes a look at number 29, Braylon Morel, and number 28, Frandel Pineda.

Sebastian Walcott had internal brace surgery on his elbow Mk day and is looking at a 4-6 month rehabilitation.

Walcott observed that you can’t speed up your recovery just by wishing it would happen faster.

Jack Leiter has been experimenting with a cutter this spring in an attempt to be able to offer three fastball variants to hitters.

Leiter says he learned the pitch from Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet over the offseason.

Evan Carter started in left and Wyatt Langford in center in Tuesday’s game against the Diamondbacks, though Schumaker says they will be moving them between those positions to see what works.

Former All Star closer Alexis Diaz threw a scoreless inning yesterday in an attempt to come back from back a 2025 season in which he had an ERA over 8.00 with three different teams.

Jacob Latz is absolutely determined to land a starting role on the Rangers even if the Rangers don’t seem all that enamored with the idea.

As Corey Seager enters his 12th major league season, Buster Olney has him ranked as the 5th best shortstop in the majors.

Kevin Sherrington pens an open letter to Chris Young where he asks if the Rangers really had a culture problem last year or if the just had a crappy offense.

While surfing Baseball Reference’s Frivolities page for unusual uniform number facts, as I do, I came across a “Cup of Coffee” page, listing players who only made one appearance in the majors. Surprisingly, there are only two players who appeared in their sole MLB games as members of the Twins, both pitchers, and one is in recent memory.

The first came in the Twins’ debut season, 12 games into their move away from Washington. Facing the Athletics in Kansas City on April 25, the home team took an early 7-0 lead, knocking starter Ted Sadowski out of the game after 2.2 innings. After Minnesota got two runs back in the top of the fourth, they brought Fred Bruckbauer to the mound.

A New Ulm native who attended the University of Minnesota, Bruckbauer had been signed by the Senators in 1959, receiving a $50,000 signing bonus. Two years later, he debuted for his home-state team… and faced four batters. After allowing three runs on two doubles, a walk, and a single, Bruckbauer was pulled for Chuck Stobbs, who induced a line-drive double play and got out of the inning without allowing any more runs. The Twins ultimately lost the game 20-2, and Bruckbauer never appeared in the majors again, ending his career with an infinite ERA.

Nearly 60 years later, during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Twins hosted the Cincinnati Reds on September 25. Down 4-2 entering the ninth, Minnesota called on Edwar Colina to hold the lead. The Venezuelan righty had been signed to the organization in 2015, finally cracking the big league bullpen nearly five years to the day later. Wearing #86, the first Twin (and fourth major leaguer, all in 2020) to do so, Colina’s outing and career lasted 24 pitches, the second of which Mike Moustakas clubbed over the right field fence. Colina’s next five batters consisted of two walks and three singles, and after Nick Castellanos grounded into a force at home, Colina was pulled for Jorge Alcala. He failed to crack the roster the following season (after a number switch to #52) and was eventually waived, claimed by the Rangers that October. Even with a new organization, he never made it back to the bigs.

We should remember that although Bruckbauer’s and Colina’s careers were short, they still worked hard enough and had enough pitching talent to make it to the majors in the first place. They may not have been great major league pitchers, but they were great pitchers, and they should not be disparaged for lasting a total of one-third of an inning.

It’s currently spring training. Some players getting a chance to play on the field with established major leaguers may never crack the big club’s roster. But even if they don’t make it — and of course, making it is the goal of every one of them — they have already achieved so much by getting this chance.

Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is close to ramping up his activity following surgery for a stress reaction in his left hamate bone.

Lindor, who had the surgery two weeks ago, recently got his stitches out and is roughly two-to-three days away from being cleared to start doing some "impact" activities, manager Carlos Mendoza said on Wednesday.

The expectation from the Mets all along has been that Lindor will be ready for Opening Day on March 26.

Speaking on Feb. 15, Lindor said he was "optimistic" he would be back by then.

While Lindor has been unable to swing a bat or field grounders since his surgery, he has been a constant presence at spring training, often on the dirt for infield drills he can't fully participate in just yet.

SNY spoke with a sports surgeon earlier this month about Lindor's injury, timeline to return (expected to be roughly six weeks from the surgery), and the potential impact the surgery might have on his power upon his return. 

"The hamate is a bone of the wrist that has a small hook on it. The hook is a weak point, susceptible to fracture from either getting hit directly or from repetitive stress," said Deepak Chona, MD, a Stanford and Harvard-trained orthopedic sports surgeon and founder of SportsMedAnalytics. "In Lindor’s case, it's a stress injury, which means it’s likely been developing for some time from the repetitive motion of the bat against that portion of his hand. Surgical treatment involves cutting out the fractured hook, and carries high success rates."

Chona noted that Lindor's six-week timeline is "likely very realistic," adding that the performance outlook upon his return is "favorable, with data demonstrating no significant change in WAR or power after surgery." 

As far as the power aspect?

"Most likely, this timing correlates with the recovery of grip strength and control of the bat," Chona said. "This dips after surgery (1) because of the generalized trauma/swelling to the muscles of the hand and (2) because the part of the bone (called the hook of the hamate) that they cut out to treat the fracture is involved in generating grip force as well."

One thing that could favor Lindor is that he's a switch-hitter who is having surgery on the hand that is dominant when he hits right-handed. That could be especially important for Lindor when you consider that he'll be hitting left-handed far more often, and that the majority of his home run power comes from the left side. Just seven of Lindor's 24 home runs in 2025 came from the right side of the plate, and his OPS as a lefty was nearly .200 points higher than it was as a righty.

"The area near the hamate sees greater force on a left hand when batting right-handed, so it’s possible – if not likely – that Lindor being a switch hitter may help him bounce back faster than other batters," Chona said.

"Limited data exists, but we’d anticipate a greater effect when he bats right-handed early on in the recovery. By one-to-two months post-return, most data suggests he’d be near his baseline level from both sides of the plate."

In the event Lindor is not ready for Opening Day, Ronny Mauricio and Vidal Brujan could be among the options to fill in.

This time last year, A.J. Ewingwas a prospect who was considered to have some upside but ended up ranking just outside of the top 30 prospects in the Mets' system. A year later, Ewing is a consensus top 100 prospect in the sport, ranking as high as No. 28 in baseball by ESPN.

Ewing gave a glimpse into his game during the Mets' first spring training game in Port St. Lucie when he showed off his range, going back on one fly ball and into the gap on another, seemingly with ease. His above-average arm also flashed when he threw a runner out at third trying to advance from second. He also worked a professional at-bat late in the game, resulting in a sacrifice fly for the only run the Mets scored in the game. 

His performance in that game and thus far this spring has caught the eye of Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. 

"There’s a lot to like there," Mendoza said. "And the defense, he made a couple of good plays, good jumps. His ability to give a good at bat, I have been really encouraged so far."

The Mets selected Ewing in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Springboro High School in Ohio with the compensatory pick they received when Jacob deGrom signed with the Rangers. Ewing was signed away from a commitment to the University of Alabama with an over slot bonus of $675,000. He posted a .751 OPS in 90 games split between the Florida Complex League and Low-A St. Lucie in his first full professional season in 2024.

Heading into 2025, the Mets assigned Ewing to repeat Low-A St. Lucie. 

"I told A.J. towards the end of spring training, 'Hey, you’re going back to PSL to start," Mets senior vice president of baseball development Andy Green told SNY’s The Mets Pod. Ewing’s response to Green: "That’s OK, I will be in Brooklyn by the end of the month."

Ewing’s proclamation came true, as he slashed .400/.506/.615 in 18 games with Low-A St. Lucie and was promoted to High-A Brooklyn before the end of April, making his Brooklyn debut on April 29.

Growing up in Ohio, Ewing exclusively played in the infield, mostly shortstop, but the Mets believed his raw athleticism would translate to the outfield as a professional. 

While it is expected that Ewing will continue to maintain versatility in the dirt playing second base, the focus for both him and the organization is going to be on working to become an elite defensive center fielder.

"He has all the athleticism to play center field at an elite level," Green said. "He has work to do to get to that level, but he has everything you look for." 

He made significant strides defensively in 2025, mostly based on his plus speed. The next step, according to Mets people, will be improving his routes and jumps. Those typically come with experience and reps. Ewing has appeared in just 132 games in center field in his life. 

When asked what his goals were to take the next step in his development in 2026, the first words out of Ewing’s mouth were about defense: "I think it’s the defensive part. I play a premium position in center field, and I think there’s a lot of value in that if I can become elite out there."

The success offensively carried over to Brooklyn, where he slashed .288/.387/.388 with 16 doubles, four triples and 44 stolen bases in 78 games before being promoted to Double-A Binghamton, which was the third minor league level he played at in 2025.

Ewing played a key role in Binghamton’s run to winning the Eastern League Championship. The interesting dichotomy in minor league baseball and player development is that players inherently must focus on self-improvement, but winning games is also important.

"Winning that (the Eastern League Championship) was awesome," Ewing said. "It creates a winning culture with us as teammates and we are friends in the clubhouse. It is about development, but you want to win because winning is what matters."

Ewing’s final 2025 season line was .315/.401/.429 with 26 doubles, 10 triples, three home runs, 55 runs batted in and 70 stolen bases in 124 games.

What may stand out is that he hit just three home runs in those 124 games. Especially in a time when there is focus on max exit velocities and home run power, that is not an emphasis on Ewing’s game.

"It is line drives all over the field," Green said. "It’s quality at-bats, and there are not a lot of players in professional baseball capable of stealing 70 bases. You’re talking about a guy who can get on base at the level he can, defend the field and steal bases, power doesn’t have to exist, but we do believe he has the attributes that eventually lead to power."

Even if home run power does not end up being a large part of his game, Ewing does show ability to impact the baseball with line drives and has shown above average exit velocities. He combines this with at least above average bat-to-ball skills and swing decisions.

Ewing is likely to start 2026 with Double-A Binghamton at just 21 years old, which will put him three years younger than the average pitcher he will face in the league. If he picks up where he left off in 2025, he should find himself in Triple-A in 2026, where he’d be nearly six years younger than the average pitcher in the International League and then just a call away from the big leagues.

He is an above-average defensive center fielder right now with the traits to be even better. He looks the part of a table-setter who hits for average and gets on base while causing havoc on the basepaths as a nearly elite baserunner.

Ewing has a chance to be a complete player who could be considered among the best prospects in baseball in the next few months.

The sports corruption trial of former Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz and recently arraigned co-defendant Robinson Vasquez Germosen remains scheduled for May 4, but legal maneuvers involving the receipt of discovery from the Department of Justice could delay it. If a magistrate grants either Ortiz or Vasquez their request for more time to prepare defenses, that could also push back the date.

Whenever the trial commences, it figures to be an adversarial proceeding, with Ortiz’s attorneys, who have sought a separate trial, contending that they will call one of Clase’s attorneys as a witness. They will also deny that Ortiz knew anything about what the government alleges: that the pitchers conspired to alter the location or speed of numerous pitches to allow gamblers to win prop bets on them.

Ortiz asking for a severed trial centers around his contention that as a late addition to a Clase’s gambling scheme that spanned parts of three seasons — he’s alleged to have rigged pitches for gamblers in two games from May through June last season — his involvement would be unfairly equated with Clase’s. Federal prosecutors claim Clase, who recruited Ortiz and communicated with gamblers about their alleged activities, is accused of attempting to rig pitches on far more occasions, upward of 48 from 2023-25 that have been alleged in court filings so far.

Ortiz (on right in above photo) and Clase (on left) are each charged with four counts: wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sports betting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy. Both pitchers pleaded not guilty. Vasquez is charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy.

A fourth co-defendant has not been named.

Gamblers allegedly won as much as $58,000 on some of the 19 documented Clase pitches in question, including $4,000 on one in Game 1 of the 2024 American League Division Series against Detroit. Clase bounced his first pitch of the ninth inning to Matt Vierling, but retired the side in order to close out a 7-0 victory. Cleveland won the series in five games.

Every Emmanuel Clase pitch from Game 1 of the 2024 ALDS against Detroit, where he is alleged to have thrown a rigged pitch https://t.co/BAVvBpDdq8pic.twitter.com/3l5FYW9LGS

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) February 13, 2026

Potential Clase-Ortiz trial conflicts

Documents filed by attorneys for Ortiz, Clase, and federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) reveal potential adversarial defense strategies. Clase’s attorneys filed paperwork supporting Ortiz’s request, citing their client’s desire for a May 4 trial.

Clase continues to favor that date, because an exoneration would allow him to receive his scheduled $6.4 million salary for the 2026 MLB season, according to his attorneys. Both Clase and Ortiz remain on paid administrative leave through an agreement by MLB and the players’ union.

Vasquez’s attorneys contend that they won’t be adequately prepared for trial before September. Ortiz’s attorneys filed documents contending that they are “unavailable” in October, but could begin a defense on Nov. 9.

Federal prosecutors oppose splitting the cases.

Revelations of potential conflicting defenses from these filings include:

Defense strategy

• Ortiz now claims that he didn’t actually participate in a gambling scheme knowingly and was an unwitting, non-complicit victim. His attorneys claim that Clase used scouting reports and casual conversations with his teammate to anticipate Ortiz’s strategies, which Clase then relayed to gamblers.
• Clase is expected to argue that no inside information was shared, refuting federal prosecutors’ allegations that the ring used code words like “chicken” and “rooster” to communicate the pitchers’ intentions.

Contradictions

• Ortiz will contend that a conspiracy existed, but that he wasn’t a part of it.
• Clase will contend there was no conspiracy.
• A jury accepting one premise would in theory hurt the other, although federal prosecutors said in a response to Ortiz’s severance request: “If Clase shared the information without Ortiz’s knowledge and without paying Ortiz a kickback, a jury could conclude that Clase was not involved in a conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, because the pitcher (Ortiz) was not bribed.”
• Ortiz must explain the $5,000 and $7,000 payments that the government alleges were made to him after he supposedly rigged pitches on June 15, 2025 and June 27, 2025. If he concedes that they were payments for acts he didn’t agree to commit, he would still incriminate Clase as the cog of a conspiracy.
• Ortiz’s lawyers told the EDNY before he was indicted that he had not communicated with Clase during either the June 15 or June 27 games. Now Ortiz contends that he shared information with Clase before those games, but without any inclination that it would be used to make prop bets. This flip is potentially damaging to both, because it implicates Clase in a conspiracy.
• Ortiz’s attorneys have indicated they plan to call one of Clase’s attorneys to impeach a witness, Bettor 1, that implicated Clase in the scheme.

Ultimately, federal prosecutors argue that the Ortiz and Clase defenses are not legally “mutually antagonistic” and therefore they can be tried fairly at the same time. From the response to Ortiz’s request to sever: “Critically, Ortiz is incorrect that a determination that Ortiz did not participate in the conspiracy mandates a finding that Clase did … In short, Ortiz’s proffered defenses do not constitute ‘mutual’ antagonism.”

ClasersponsetosevererequestOrtiz-1

Happy Wednesday, A’s fans.

There is no Athletics baseball today, as the team has a day off to right the ship and regroup. The A’s have been outscored 33-4 through their first four spring games — all losses by sizable margins. Last season, the A’s offense was one of the best in the league, yet this year they have not scored in half their games and have yet to hit a home run.

That said, it is far too early to panic. It is still February, and spring training results are always taken with a grain of salt. Starting position players only play half the game if at all before sitting to let the youngsters play. The pitching staffs are like turnstiles with new pitchers entering the game every inning to showcase their abilities against opposing hitters. Those factors make this part of the MLB calendar a more relaxing atmosphere for players and spectators alike.

However, that does not mean teams and fans cannot evaluate players during preseason action to see who has improved over the offseason and who looks ready for Opening Day. For instance, has a pitcher decided to use a new pitch and if so, how does it look against hitters? Pitching will be the focus of camp. The offense is strong, but the staff must improve for the team to take the next step. So far, the A’s have not had many positive pitching performances aside from J.T. Ginn and Luis Severino’s stellar spring debuts against the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Guardians.

At the moment, the A’s offense is lagging behind, but that could be due to the likes of Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker and Tyler Soderstrom needing to get their timing back and shake off any offseason rust. Fortunately, the A’s have nearly a full month of spring training remaining to sort out any kinks, get the offense rolling and prepare for what they hope will be a successful 2026 campaign.

A’s Coverage:

• Athletics Drop Fourth Straight Spring Contest, Fall To Brewers 10-0
• Prospect Wei-En Lin Making an Impression at A’s Spring Training
• 1st results for Ginn’s new windup? 3 K’s over 2 perfect frames
• A’s Make First Cut of Camp
• A’s Top Pitching Prospect Jamie Arnold Set to Debut Later This Week
• Circa Las Vegas bringing in A’s legend for baseball opening day festitivies
• A’s spending on $2B Vegas stadium passes $300m mark, is Fisher’s folly really happening?
• Bob Melvin opens up: A Giants firing, an A’s hiring, and what comes next
• Athletics Community Prospect List: Morii Voted As 17th-Best
• Athletics Drop Third Straight Spring Contest, Fall To Giants 6-2
• Athletics Drop Second Spring Contest, Fall To Guardians 6-0
• A’s Drop Spring Opener To White Sox 11-2
• Meaningless Stats Begin Today!
• See you later, soda: A’s Perkins ditches sugar for science
• Can The A’s Young Core Turn Defense Into a Strength?
• Pesky Drawback Of “Closer By Committee” (It Never Really Works)
• Can Kurtz get his glove to match his monster bat?
• Zack Gelof: Outfielder?
• “Relievers Are Volatile”… But Why?
• Are The Final Two Rotation Spots Really Up For Grabs?
• Story Lines To Watch As Spring Training Unfolds

MLB News and Interest:

• Tarik Skubal Explains Role on USA’s 2026 WBC Roster
• Angels Players ‘Took Notice’ of Arte Moreno’s Remarks About Winning, Fans, MLBPA Director Says
• Ex-MLB Player Dan Serafini Called a ‘Liar’ and ‘Manipulator’ by Judge as His Bid for New Murder Trial Is Denied
• Braves sign Chris Sale to one-year contract extension with option for 2028 season
• Braves launching own network to air 140 games
• Guardians reportedly sign first baseman Rhys Hoskins to minor league pact
• Twins’ starter Joe Ryan has lower back inflammation
• Red Sox interested in left-handed bullpen depth
• 2 for 1! MLB’s top prospect clears Monster twice for 1st spring HRs
• Cardinals sign veteran infielder Ramon Urias to major league deal for 2026
• Ron DeSantis, Florida cabinet approve land for Rays ballpark
• Yankees’ Gerrit Cole reaches 96.9 MPH in 1st session versus hitters
• Freddie Freeman hopes to retire with Dodgers
• Honus Wagner card sells for $5.124 million, third-largest for T206 Wagner card
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X

Not a great day at the office for the A’s yesterday.

A’S TODAY (2/24)
CF Marlowe: 1-1
RF Perez: 1-2
SS Wilson: 1-2
DH Kurtz: 1-3
LF Soderstrom: 1-3
RHP Barnett: 2 IP/3 H/2 ER/0 BB/2 K/Loss
RHP Sterner: 0.2 IP/1 H/2 ER/1 BB/2 K
RHP Beers: 0.1 IP/1 H/1 ER/ 1 BB/0 K
RHP Barlow: 1 IP/3 H/2 ER/0 BB/0 K
A’s lose 10-0

— Bill Moriarity – A's Farm (@AthleticsFarm) February 24, 2026

Jamie Arnold will make his A’s debut on Friday. Can he quickly ascend to the Majors like Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson did or will the left-hander need more time to develop in the minor leagues?

POV: Jamie Arnold just clinched a playoff spot for the A’s ⏳ https://t.co/ITVH81nhMLpic.twitter.com/VJ8jVetcXb

— SleeperAthletics (@SleeperAth) February 24, 2026

Luis Severino is one of many A’s players representing their countries in the World Baseball Classic, which starts March 5. He will toe the rubber for the Dominican Republic when they play Netherlands.

Estos serán los abridores de República Dominicana para la primera ronda del World Baseball Classic 2026, según anunció el dirigente Albert Pujols:

Cristopher Sánchez vs. Nicaragua
Luis Severino vs. Países Bajos
Brayan Bello vs. Israel
Sandy Alcántara vs. Venezuela pic.twitter.com/WKHPLBsYT8

— MLB Español (@mlbespanol) February 24, 2026

After four consecutive years of running out of starting pitchers in October, the Dodgers last year saw the other side of that coin, with all of their top four starters healthy and thriving during the postseason.

There isn’t one cheat code to win in October — after all, the Dodgers had three-ish starting pitchers healthy in 2024 but rode a strong bullpen and monstrous offense to a championship anyway. In 2025, the postseason bullpen and the offense was functional but not dynamic, but they had Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani make all 17 starts. Then all four starters pitched in Game 7 of the World Series to close it out.

Glasnow makes his first start this spring on Thursday against the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch, coming off of a regular season that saw him make 18 starts and 90 1/3 innings. The last three seasons have the top three start totals of his career — 21 starts in 2023, 22 in 2024, before 18 last year, averaging 114 2/3 innings during those three seasons.

Snell might not be ready to start the regular season, but the Dodgers will likely be conservative in making sure he’s fully ready before joining the rotation. That’s how they treated the shoulder-related stints on the injured list for both Snell and Glasnow last season.

Ohtani during his three full two-way seasons with the Angels (2021-23) started 23, 28, and 23 games, the latter cut short in August with the elbow injury that led to his second career Tommy John surgery. This spring, his pitching build up will be on the back fields both in spring training and at least through his time with Japan in the World Baseball Classic. We saw last year as Ohtani was eased into the rotation, the Dodgers are comfortable with having their extra 14th pitcher start games even if he’s not fully stretched out, as they’ll usually have a full complement of bullpen arms to back him.

We noted earlier in February how the Dodgers will surely use several other starting pitchers this season. But for now let’s focus on the big four. Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, and Ohtani during last regular season combined to make 73 starts, less than half of the season.

Today’s question is how many regular season starts will Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, and Ohtani make in 2026?

With Shane McClanahan hopefully returning to the rotation for the first time in two seasons, the Rays will need to manage his workload carefully to ensure he’s healthy for October – both this year and beyond. The goal isn’t necessarily to restrict or limit him, but to preserve his health while also allowing him to provide value in a structured way.

The most effective way to do that while maximizing overall rotation performance may be to abandon the traditional five-man model altogether.

Optimizing Performance

Below I’ve listed wOBA-against for starting pitchers by the number of days between starts for the league across the last decade including the postseason. For instance, two days since a pitchers most recent start would mean they had one day of rest (Player A pitched on a Monday, rested on Tuesday, and then pitched again on Wednesday):

Number of Days Rest Between Starts	wOBA-against
1 Day	.338
2 Days	.325
3 Days	.326
4 Days (Traditional 5-man rotation)	.319
5 Days (Proposed 5.5-man rotation)	.316
6 Days	.321
7 Days	.318
8 Days	.321

Two points of wOBA is worth roughly one run per 600 plate appearances. Over 3,600 batters (about what a rotation faces in a season), a three-point improvement translates to roughly nine runs, or about one to two wins. Of course, with off-days, rainouts, injuries, etc. not every start in a season will be made with five days between starts, but there’s still a clear benefit to aiming for that amount of rest. A one-win edge may seem marginal, but teams routinely spend millions of dollars in free agency to gain that same advantage. While these are marginal performance gains, the primary benefit would be sustainable usage/workloads and – as a byproduct of that – possibly reduced injury risk.

A six-man rotation would also maximize the number of starts made on five days of rest. However, it can limit bullpen flexibility unless there are multiple, optionable multi-inning relievers available on the 40-man. Unlike a six-man rotation, this approach intentionally caps McClanahan’s workload per outing while maintaining five traditional starters.

What a Rays 5.5-Man Rotation Could Look like

The deepest area of the roster may be the starting pitching group. They’ve got 10 guys on the 40-man roster who could realistically start games in the majors this season:

Established Starters

• Drew Rasmussen
• Ryan Pepiot
• Nick Martinez

Workload Management

• Shane McClanahan
• Steven Matz

Bulk/Piggyback/Flexible Pitchers

• Joe Boyle
• Ian Seymour
• Yoendrys Gomez
• Mason Englert
• Jesse Scholtens

Among this group, Rasmussen, Pepiot, and Martinez are all guys who will likely start without many limitations. The rest will have limitations in some capacity due to a variety of factors (recovery from injury, previous season’s workload, strike throwing consistency) but are still valuable in bulk and starting roles. Any shift away from the traditional five-day cycle would require buy-in from pitchers accustomed to routine.

There are also a handful of guys not on the 40-man roster who are capable of pitching in bulk and starter roles if needed: Chase Solesky, Jake Woodford (who we recently profiled), and Logan Workman.

The health of the group coming out of spring training will largely determine who is on the Opening Day roster. If the Rays were to go with a 5.5-man rotation, they would carry six pitchers from this group. The obvious counterargument is that it would shorten bullpen depth. However, if they carried a seventh pitcher capable of 3-4 inning outings in tandem with the “half” starter, they could avoid overusing their short-relief options. Those innings would be planned and assigned to designated multi-inning arms, rather than spread across high-leverage relievers. Boyle, Seymour, Englert, and Scholtens all have options, so they could easily rotate in and out of that role throughout the season to help keep the bullpen fresh.

Below is an example of what it could look like in practice.

The exact names at the back of the rotation and in the bullpen are less important than the conceptual part of how this could all fit together. The greatest area of depth (and possibly the roster’s greatest strength) on the roster is their starting pitching/bulk options, so why not leverage that in a creative way to get the most out of the pitching staff as a whole? The swingman in the bullpen would primarily be used in combination with the half-starter but could be deployed in tandem with another starter depending on the context of a game.

• SP: Drew Rasmussen
• SP: Ryan Pepiot
• SP: Nick Martinez
• SP: Yoendrys Gomez
• SP: Joe Boyle
• Half-starter: Shane McClanahan
• Bulk/swingman: Steven Matz
• RP: Griffin Jax
• RP: Edwin Uceta
• RP: Garrett Cleavinger
• RP: Bryan Baker
• RP: Hunter Bigge
• RP: Steven Wilson

A 5.5-man rotation wouldn’t be a gimmick. It would be a structural hedge against injury and fatigue through workload management – and a way to ensure McClanahan is at full strength when the games matter most.

The Rays have long embraced incremental edges, even when they challenge convention. This would simply extend a philosophy that has already produced openers, bulk relievers, and fluid roles.