Category: Baseball

Despite allowing only one hit in three innings of work, Landon Knack was unable to keep the Rockies off the board in what ultimately became a 6-4 loss to the Rockies. More important than the result, Knack struggled with an aspect of a starter ’game he ought to navigate well in order to have the desired impact. The young right-hander didn’t make the most out of allowing only one hit in three innings of work, done in by the Rockies small-ball game—one that works particularly well with a speedster like Jake McCarthy at the top of the batting order.

In the first inning, a walk was all it took for Colorado to get on the board, with McCarthy stealing back-to-back bases in order to score on a simple sacrifice fly. A couple of frames later, a ground rule double and a pair of sac-flies got Colorado on the board once again. Knack, who had a 1.394 WHIP last season, needs to do a better job of stranding runners and controlling the running game if he is to compete at even a decent level, much less a high one.

Sadly, Knack, who has multiple youngsters ahead of him in the pecking order for innings on this staff, wasn’t even the most disappointing Dodger pitcher of the evening, a distinction that belonged to Blake Treinen. Severely underwhelming in 2025, particularly in the postseason, Treinen came into this season on the final year of his deal, looking to bounce back to the form that made him one of the more dependable relievers of this team not so long ago. After a couple of scoreless outings in spring, the veteran got roughed up by the Rockies, who hung a four-spot on him in the sixth without the need of a single extra-base hit. On the flip side, there wasn’t a lot of hard contact to go around, so for now, we chalk it up to an isolated, unfortunate incident, even if the downward trend was cause for concern well before spring got underway.

For a game with 10 runs scored, neither offense looked particularly potent, with them combining for only three extra-base hits in the whole game—responsible for the Dodgers only one, Andy Pages continued his terrific showing this spring, now 7 for 20 in eight games. The first five hitters in the batting order all got three at bats with each of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, and Max Muncy going 1 for 3. Both in the eighth and ninth innings, the Dodgers had the tying run in scoring position, but failed to capitalize once all the starters had left the game.

Up next, the Dodgers will go to Mesa to face the Athletics with a couple of left-handers taking the ball—Justin Wrobleski for Los Angeles and Jacob López for the A’s.

Mets starter Clay Holmes had himself a dazzling World Baseball Classic debut for Team USA on Saturday night.

While coming in relief for reigning American League Cy Young champion Tarik Skubal during the Untited States’s’ 9-1 blowout win over Great Britain in Group B pool play, Holmes, 32, threw three scoreless innings and struck out six batters.

The Mets right-hander also struck out five Great Britain hitters in a row across the fourth and fifth innings.

Saturday’s game was Holmes’ first appearance in the WBC, with the two-time All-Star previously telling reporters that he was ready to represent his country.

“I feel ready,” Holmes told reporters earlier this month, according to MLB.com. “Whether you know you’re in spring training facing a big league lineup or you’re going to face another team in the WBC, you’re trying to get outs, and you’re doing the best you can.”

After initially being held scoreless for the first four innings, Team USA erupted for five runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth and never looked back.

Following Holmes, Yankees closer David Bednar came in and threw a scoreless seventh inning, striking out two.

Great Britain did start the game hot, however, with outfielder Nate Eaton taking Skubal deep on the first pitch of the game and Trayce Thompson robbing Will Smith of a homer in the second, but Team USA rolled after that.

After losing in heartbreaking fashion to Japan in the 2023 WBC, Team USA came back stronger than ever for this year’s tournament, with manager Mark DeRosa assembling a star-studded team this time around.

“Not only can we talk about players, but our coaching staff, too,” Team USA captain Aaron Judge told reporters on Monday, according to The Athletic. “We’ve got All-Stars, Silver Sluggers, World Series champs, [pitching coach Andy] Pettitte, one of the best postseason pitchers ever.

“It’s just some of the best baseball players that ever played the game in one room, so it was pretty cool to get a chance to address them and talk with them. That’s what I kind of started out with: It’s just an honor to be here in front of you and be wearing the same uniform as you guys.”

Observations from Yankees spring training Saturday:

Good Will Warren

Despite saying his “stuff wasn’t as sharp” later in his outing as he wanted, Will Warren threw four solid innings and gave up just an unearned run in a 50-pitch outing.

No-show on ‘O’

The Yankees left most of their main players — the ones who aren’t in the WBC — back in Tampa.

But the lineup that faced the Nationals didn’t impress, putting up just three hits — all singles.

Caught my eye

Washington right-hander Josiah Gray missed all of last season after July 2024 Tommy John surgery.

The New Rochelle native and Yankees fan appears to be all the way back, with three scoreless innings against the Yankees.

Sunday’s schedule

The Yankees continue their East Coast (of Florida) road trip with a game against the Mets at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie with offseason addition Ryan Weathers on the mound. 

The midway point through Spring Training brings a little more clarity to the roster competitions going on in camp for the San Diego Padres with almost three weeks to go. The scores of the games don’t matter; the games often include minor league players that will never see a major league roster. Even the performances by the veterans are not too important as it is the process that is the focus in spring.

Everyone is working on stuff. Hitters are refining approaches and tweaks to their mechanics. Pitchers are working on new pitches, grips, sequences and building stamina. Despite all of that, it is still possible to impress the coaching staff if you are a non-roster invitee or minor league prospect. There are many factors that go into making the final roster decisions at the end of camp and some of those decisions are made easy by performances.

Randy Vasquez

When camp opened in February, manager Craig Stammen sent a message to starter Randy Vasquez. You have to earn your spot on this staff; nothing is a given. It appears Vasquez took that challenge to heart and has been impressive. His fastball velocity is averaging 2.2 mph higher than last season, and he is using it a lot more. The whiff percentage has gone from 16% to 27.3% in his appearances so far. Last year, of his seven-pitch mix, he had a stuff+ rating of 100 or more for his cutter, sweeper, curveball and slider. This spring, his stuff+ is 100 or more for all of his pitches.

In the 4.2 innings pitched in his two starts, Vasquez has allowed one hit with five strikeouts and three walks and no runs allowed. The exhibition against Great Britain on March 4 featured the first start for Joe Musgrove in his return from Tommy John. Vasquez came on in the fourth inning and pitched four shutout innings, allowing one hit and three strikeouts with no walks. That is a drastic contrast to watching him in past seasons, where his nickname was “Strandy Vasquez” with his penchant for getting out of messes he created for himself.

The Padres staff has expressed excitement with his performance so far and Vasquez has no worries if he can keep this up.

Fifth rotation spot

Triston McKenzie will not be in the rotation. The velocity is impressive but the control and command are everywhere. No one can fix that in three weeks.

Marco Gonzales has improved from the start of camp, but his competition is pushing him to the back of the line due to his low velocity compared to the other starter options.

JP Sears has improved his velocity (up to 94 mph on his fastball) but the command of his pitches has not been consistent. If he is to compete, he must improve his location on all his pitches.

Germán Márquez has also improved as the number of starts have increased. His fastball in the mid-90s is used about half the time and he mixes in his knuckle curve, slider, sinker and changeup. Only his curve has a stuff+ of 100 or more and the rest are below average.

Walker Buehler has a seven-pitch mix with a fastball that currently hits 94 mph. His stuff+ is better on his secondary pitches and his only appearance for the Padres showed a starter that knows how to pitch. If he improves over the course of the rest of the games, it will be hard to imagine the other starters beating him.

The last starter spot will continue to be competitive until late in spring. An improvement in performance and execution could significantly affect the final decision. As things stand now, Buehler seems to be the frontrunner but that can change. There has been no clarity on what happens with the veterans who don’t make the roster. The opt-out rules and contract details aren’t totally clear, and those details could be part of the final decision.

First base and DH

The competition for the platoon partner for Gavin Sheets at first base and DH seems to have concluded with both Miguel Andujar and Nick Castellanos showing major league performances in spring games. Castellanos can play corner outfield and DH but spent his offseason working at first base. Despite learning a new position, Castellanos has looked comfortable and made some good plays. There have also been enough misplays to allow him to learn and get coaching and mentoring from those around him. Offensively, his 21 at-bats feature a home run, two doubles and six RBI with a .333 average and 1.011 OPS

Andujar, who can also play third base and left field, has had 21 at-bats with a double, two homers and three RBI. He is hitting .381 with a 1.233 OPS. Although spring stats mean very little, seeing them both make good contact and have good at-bats is encouraging for improving the production in the last half of the lineup.

Infield/Outfield depth

Sung-Mun Song looks good in infield drills, showing athleticism and excellent defense. He has played mostly third base so far this spring. He debuted at shortstop in the game on March 5, making a good play with quick reactions and a strong throw. He also hit a home run 430 feet with an exit velocity of 105 mph on a 95-mph fastball. Watching his hits so far this spring, hitting velocity hasn’t been an issue.

Unfortunately, he came out of that game with soreness in his right oblique. That is the same side he injured before camp began and is now day-to-day. Depending on his progress, there could be some competition for infield depth as infielder Ty France has impressed this spring. In his 24 at-bats, France has three doubles and five RBI while playing strong defense at first base. If the Padres test him at third base and second base in coming games, it could be a sign that he has a chance for the roster.

Coming into spring, most everyone figured Bryce Johnson had a lock on the fourth outfield job. He played well last year and is a defensive plus at all three outfield positions. It’s possible that may not be the case. Johnson has options remaining and there are multiple players in camp who have experience in the outfield. Castellanos and Andujar are infielders who have played the corner outfield spots. Gavin Sheets has also seen time. The real issue is the backup for Jackson Merrill in centerfield and only Ramon Laureano has been able to fill in. That isn’t a great fit, but Johnson could be called up in case of a longer-term issue.

It will be interesting to see if there is a true fourth outfielder on the roster when camp breaks.

Bullpen

The only clarity to come with this battle is that Bryan Hoeing appears to have a significant injury and may not be in the conversation at all. The team has been suspiciously quiet about details regarding his status. The only report is elbow soreness, and he is exploring second and third opinions on his options. None of that sounds good and it is possible surgery would be what is being debated.

The surprise has been the rise of Logan Gillaspie as an option for the long role. His velocity is also up from previous years and there looks to be more movement on his pitches as well. The 3.2 innings pitched so far have been over two games with one hit and six strikeouts. Nick Pivetta is backing off from his start on Sunday and Gillaspie will start in his place.

The final decision for the bullpen will probably come down to the last days of camp, unless there are further injuries. Fingers crossed that the performances will continue to make it hard on the Padres staff to make those final decisions.

Catcher

The start of his tenure as the new manager featured Craig Stammen naming Luis Campusano as his back-up catcher. He left no doubt he was counting on Campusano to win the job this spring. So far, Campusano has looked good behind the plate. He is noticeably more engaged with the pitchers, and his work seems a lot more focused. Although his throws were a bit off to start, his last couple have been on target and crisp.

Unfortunately, his offense hasn’t kicked in yet. It seems obvious that might lag behind if he is dedicating most of early camp to the pitchers and his defense. Watching for more offense as the games go on and we get closer to the regular season would relieve some anxiety among fans who have never seen a consistent Campusano in a Padres uniform.

If positive vibes and confidence from the manager have any effect, then Campusano should begin to bloom soon. If you buy into the theory that 80 percent of baseball is mental, then having confidence in a player and giving him all the opportunities should bring out the best in him. I continue to hope that Stammen supporting and encouraging Campusano will unlock the player we haven’t seen yet.

Saturday night was supposed to be about Tarik Skubal, at least from a Tigers fans’ perspective. The best pitcher in baseball had a perfectly fine short outing for Team USA against Team Britain, but it was southpaw Enmanuel de Jesus who put on a show. Taking on Team Israel, which does feature a few major league caliber hitters, the southpaw struck out seven of the first 14 hitters he saw in perfect fashion. A triple and a single in the fifth allowed a run before de Jesus punched out his eighth hitter of the night to wrap up five stellar innings. Team Venezuela went on to win 11-3 on homers from Eugenio Suarez and a pair of blasts from Luiz Arraez.

Granted, outside of Harrison Bader, Team Israel is composed of Triple-A caliber hitters. But considering how well de Jesus has pitched all spring, it wasn’t surprising to see him absolutely dominate in the spotlight. His fourseam and sinker command was outstanding, and he was working cutters and changeups just off the edges with a lot of precision. It reminded me of watching prime Jose Quintana out there.

De Jesus has 6 1/3 scoreless innings for the Tigers already in Grapefruit League play with an excellent strikeout to walk ratio. He signed a minor league deal worth a potential $1.3M if he makes the Tigers’ major league roster this offseason. After pitching well in the KBO the past few seasons, the lefty’s command of his 93-94 mph fourseam-sinker combination, cutter, and changeup, have all looked very good so far. It’s not the kind of arsenal that screams frontline MLB starter, but as long as his command is this good, it’s going to be hard to keep him off the Opening Day roster with a straight face.

The Tigers might prefer to keep him stretched out, but with Keider Montero and Ty Madden already optioned to minor league camp, there’s really no need. We also don’t know the specifics of de Jesus’s minor league contract. If he has an opt-out date if not called up to the major leagues, the Tigers are probably best served by taking him on Opening Day and optioning Brant Hurter. Let’s just say that Hurter needs to get it going in a real hurry or he’ll be tuning up with the Toledo Mud Hens while de Jesus occupies the longman/lefty role in the Tigers’ bullpen.

It’s easier to pitch well early in camp before the major league hitters are ramped up and clicking on all cylinders, but just watching the stuff and command, it’s obvious this isn’t just a fluke run. De Jesus pitched very well and really learned his craft overseas, and it looks like the Tigers are set to benefit so far this spring.

As for Skubal, he was only scheduled to throw 55 pitches or so, as he’s put his emphasis on preparing for the regular season. He surrendered a first pitch home run to Red Sox infielder Nate Eaton before getting into full Skubal mode and punching out five hitters in three innings of work. Team USA leads 7-1 in the seventh inning as of this writing.

This one was a win for the red coats.

Great Britain outfielder Trayce Thompson robbed a potential game-tying home run during their World Baseball Classic Group B pool play game against the U.S. in their 9-1 loss to the American on Saturday night at Daikin Park in Houston.

With one out in the second inning, Team USA catcher Will Smith belted a ball opposite field, but Thompson leaped and made the catch to keep the ball in the diamond.

Trayce Thompson at the wall!! What a play!

: WBC on FOX pic.twitter.com/hETGR2g5jS

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 8, 2026

Thompson, 34, is the brother of five-time NBA All-Star Klay Thompson, and spent this past MLB season playing for the Red Sox’s Triple-A affiliate in Worcester.

He has spent parts of seven seasons in the MLB, playing for the Dodgers, White Sox, Cubs, Padres, and Athletics.

Despite being a native of California, Thompson is eligible to play for Great Britain because his father, former NBA center Mychal Thompson, is from the Bahamas, a former British colony.

Thompson’s catch comes as Great Britain started surprisingly well start against a powerful U.S. team.

On the first pitch of Saturday’s game, Great Britain outfielder Nate Eaton blasted a solo shot off of reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.

Reliever Najer Victor also struck out four batters in just 1⅓ innings pitched.

Great Britain also kept Team USA scoreless through the first four innings, until Team USA third baseman Ernie Clement came home on a wild pitch in the fifth inning.

Designated hitter Kyle Schwarber then followed with a two-run blast to give the U.S. their first lead of the night.

Shortstop Gunnar Henderson then hit a two-run double to break the game open for Team USA, putting them up 5-1, and they didn’t look back.

Great Britain is still seeking its first win in the WBC this year. They lost 8-2 to Mexico in their first pool play game on Friday.

Perhaps the feature player of Great Britain’s roster is Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., who joined them for this year’s tournament after originally playing for them at 18 years old back in the 2016 WBC qualifiers.

Introduction

Last week we began a series of articles reviewing the offseason moves of each National League West team, starting with the worst team in the NL West (and possibly all of MLB), the Colorado Rockies. (Here’s a link to that article). Continuing our NL West offseason reviews, we’re going from worst to first with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are not only the best in the NL West, but are the back-to-back World Series Champions and are arguably the best run organization in all of MLB.

2025 Season Overview/Recap

The Dodgers won 93 games and took the NL West division title. This in spite of a lot going wrong throughout the season, like Mookie Betts having the worst season of his career, big offseason acquisition SP Roki Sasaki not being anywhere close to the starting pitcher he was in Japan, and injuries to many key players. They’d go on to win their second consecutive World Series Championship for the first time in franchise history, and the first since the Yankees won back-to-back-to-back titles from 1998 to 2000

Notable acquisitions:

• OF Kyle Tucker (4 yr, $240Ml) 
• RP Edwin Díaz (3 yr, $69M)
• MI Miguel Rojas (re-signed; 1 yr, $5.5M) 
• UTIL Kiké Hernández (re-signed; 1 yr, $4.5M) 
• RP Evan Phillips (re-signed; 1 yr, $6.5M)

Notable subtractions:

• RP Kirby Yates (Angels)
• RP Anthony Banda (traded to Twins for International bonus pool money)
• SP Clayton Kershaw (retired)

Offseason Summary and Review

So how do you improve upon a roster that was just the first to win back to back World Series in over twenty years, while you already have the highest payroll in baseball, if at all? Well as far as the latter goes, you just ignore the consequences of the luxury tax completely, and pay it if you’re the Dodgers. The Dodgers roster did have a few areas that could be improved. And, coincidentally, adding the top free agent hitter in Kyle Tucker, along with top free agent reliever Edwin Diaz just so happened to perfectly address the two biggest weaknesses on the roster.

While I do not like the optics of the team with the highest payroll in baseball raising their payroll even further by giving Tucker a 4 year, $240m contract and setting a record for AAV (average annual value), along with another $85m spread out between the other four FA signings, that’s more taking an issue with the business/financial side of the game. This is not what I’m evaluating here. I will criticize the fact that the Tucker signing cost them two draft picks, which is never a good thing long term for a sports franchise.

Honestly, there really isn’t much you can knock the Dodgers for this past offseason as far as the baseball operations side goes. They could have easily and justifiably stood pat this winter, but improving a team is what every fan wants their team to do during the offseason. I would knock the Kiki Hernandez signing based on his career during the regular season .(236/.305/.403, a 91 wRC+) , but he has hit extremely well (272/.339/.486 and a 122 wRC+) in the postseason, and apparently clubhouse vibes really are an actual thing, U guess. I do not like the Rojas signing either because he also looks like he’s about to hit the age cliff, but it’s nitpicking over a contract that’s essentially a World Series bonus.

Over on Fangraphs.com, not only does ZIPs projection system project the Dodgers to be the best team in baseball, but they also have the highest playoff odds. Their lineup against RHP also looks particularly strong:

• Freddy Freeman 1B
• Shohei Ohtani DH
• Mookie Betts SS
• Kyle Tucker RF
• Teoscar Hernandez LF
• Will Smith C
• Max Muncy 3B
• Andy Pages CF
• Hyeseong Kim 2B

That looks like a fairly strong lineup to me, even if it’s starting to get a little long in the tooth. The starting rotation will probably continue to be oft injured, with Blake Snell and Gavin Stone on the injured list as we speak. But the Dodgers have the depth to weather it, while still having one of the best starting pitchers in baseball in Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Ohtani will keep being an alien when he’s healthy.

Grade

Overall, I give the Los Angeles Dodgers a B+ for their offseason, with the lower grade stemming from the wider implications of the Tucker signing, along with the ages of the guys they brought back.

It’s absolute nonsense that a game featuring so many top prospects and recent graduates wasn’t televised, but then again, maybe we’re all better off for not having seen this matchup on Saturday night. The Yankees really didn’t bring much to West Palm Beach, with a sextet of pitchers walking more Nationals than they struck out, and a collection of people who called themselves hitters failed to manage much from the Yankee side of the box score. It’s a good thing these games don’t count, because New York went down without a whimper 3-0.

I thought Will Warren was fine today, if not electric. He was facing a lineup that’s pretty representative of what the Nationals will throw out there in the regular season — and that’s an indictment on the state of that once-again-rebuilding franchise. He threw the four-seam fastball nearly half the time, and half his whiffs came against the heater as well. Warren did struggle a little more with his control than in his previous outings, walking two in four full innings against three strikeouts.

One of those walks was a successful Dylan Crews challenge under the ABS system, and I wonder how (if at all) we will distinguish reviewed walks/strikeouts over the course of a full season. The one run that Warren allowed was unearned, as George Lombard Jr. couldn’t cleanly throw out Luis García Jr. to load the bases in the fourth, then Crews would come home on Brady House’s sac fly to make the game 1-0.

Jake Bird took over for Warren and struggled mightily, walking the first man he faced, allowing a single, then a triple off James Wood’s bat that pushed those two runners across. He would get Crews swinging and a lazy fly ball from CJ Abrams, but for a player who landed flat on his face upon acquisition last year, this wasn’t exactly the best way to stake your claim on a regular-season MLB bullpen role.

A bunch of the Yankee first-stringers are playing in the World Baseball Classic, and even the second-stringers didn’t seem to make the trip to West Palm Beach. That left a bunch of prospects and org depth, and while Jasson Domínguez, Lombard, and Spencer Jones all managed to reach base — Jones twice, with a single and a walk — there wasn’t much offense to go around. The club managed just three hits overall on the day, and the one time that Lombard Jr. did reach, he was picked off at first base for an easy retirement. It’s rarely a good thing when your side manages one hit more than the cumulative number of errors they made.

There’s been plenty of buzz about Lombard in camp, between his strong showing in Grapefruit League games and Anthony Volpe continuing to rehab, the nominal incumbent hasn’t even played so far this spring. Today’s a good reminder of how far George still has to go though, and how he is still a product requiring some sanding, polishing and seasoning. We’ve all seen and read about the talent the 20-year old boasts, but there’s still a long way from Double-A to the majors.

The Yankees stay “on the road” tomorrow, bussing to Port St. Lucie to take on the Mets. Ryan Weathers will get the ball for his second exhibition start, coming off that stellar start against these same Nationals, the outing that had the internet abuzz about his raw stuff. The challenge for Weathers will be refining that raw product into something a little more dependable, and that will be the focus of his start tomorrow. First pitch comes at you at 1:10pm Eastern, note the time change tonight, and this one will be on TV (SNY).

Box Score

With the Brewers top middle infielders off playing in the World Baseball Classic, Pat Murphy has been getting quite the look at Jesus Made and Cooper Pratt as the potential future up the middle and they aren’t missing their opportunities.

The Cactus Crew got the scoring started with three runs in the 2nd inning on an RBI fielder’s choice from Luke Adams, then an RBI single from Pratt, and an RBI fielder’s choice from Made.

The next inning, Andrew Vaughn slugged a solo homer to put the Brewers up 3-0. The Angels got their lone run of the game in the 4th inning from an RBI double by Zach Neto off Brewers reliever Grant Anderson.

Blake Perkins added a sacrifice fly to score Pratt in the 5th inning and then in the 6th, Jesus Made ripped a 2 RBI single to give him his second hit and 3 RBIs on the day.

On the pitching side, Brandon Woodruff was the big news for the Brewers. He made his spring debut this year, throwing 2 scoreless IP with 3 Ks on 32 pitches. His fastball velo was sitting 92-93 as he continues to ramp up for the regular season. He talked to reporters after his outing that his goal is still not necessarily Opening Day, but being healthy for the whole season.

Following Woodruff was Trevor Megill, who struck out the side in his one inning, then Anderson and Easton McGee. Non-roster players Drew Rom, Yerlin Rodriguez, and Bryan Rivera rounded out the pitchers for this one.

Pratt and Made both went 2-for-3 as they continue to impress. Luis Rengifo went 1-for-2 with a pair of runs scored.

The Brewers take on the Seattle Mariners tomorrow at AFFOP with Kyle Harrison scheduled to start.

One day, two losses. The A’s split the team up and dropped both sides of Saturday’s double header, first falling to the Cubs in Arizona 4-3 and then seeing the other half lose to the Angels 3-0 in front of their future Las Vegas fans. Not a great day for scores but still exhibition!

More to come…

Featuring in the last game of Saturday’s slate, the Landon Knack-led Dodgers play host to the Colorado Rockies.

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Rockies
• Stadium: Camelback Ranch, Glendale
• Time: 5:05 p.m. PT
• TV: MLB Network & SportsNet LA
• Radio: Dodgers Radio AM 570

TAMPA — Anthony Volpe is not sure when he will debut this season and not sure when his swing progression will graduate to live at-bats, but he is checking off boxes and progressing well.

The tallest hurdle for the recovering shortstop had entailed diving, which he began doing last week.

Thus far, his left shoulder, which underwent surgery in October to repair a torn labrum, has held up well through the dives.

“I feel like I’ve been able to handle everything thrown at me so far,” Volpe said Saturday from Steinbrenner Field.

Volpe is swinging and “in the middle of the hitting progression” he said, and has experienced no setbacks following a procedure that will keep him out of games until April or — more likely — May.

The shoulder issue began in early May of last year, when Volpe heard a “pop” diving for a ball.

What followed were two midseason cortisone shots and perhaps Volpe’s worst stretch of play in his three major league seasons, when his usually reliable defense faltered and he hit poorly enough to lose some September time to José Caballero.

Exactly how much Volpe’s hurting shoulder contributed to his downturn is a matter of debate.

Does his shoulder feel significantly different now?

“I definitely feel like it’s healthy,” Volpe said. “I think I’m just progressing. The way I can tell [it’s improving] is it’s responding to the treatments. Every day is better, even if it’s a very small amount. I feel better every day.

“Whereas [last year], you do a bunch of treatment and you just don’t respond or you feel worse.”

The second cortisone shot, given in September, appeared to work and preceded an upturn in Volpe’s production defensively and offensively.

Still, the season ended with Volpe’s bat struggling in the ALDS after a campaign in which he was again a below-average hitter.

In 472 major league games, the New York native has posted just a .662 OPS.

For the first time since Volpe won the job from Oswald Peraza in spring training of 2023, there is some shortstop competition.

Caballero, who was excellent in 40 games with the Yankees (.828 OPS and 15 steals) after coming over from the Rays, is expected to be the Opening Day shortstop.

There is reason for Volpe to try to get back on the field as soon as he can.

So far, so good.

“I’m in a good spot,” Volpe said, “and I feel like I could do more, which I think is what [the trainers] want.”

JUPITER, Fla. — Kodai Senga’s four-seam fastball scintillated Saturday, a positive development that didn’t match his results from this first Grapefruit League outing. 

One of those fastballs disappeared behind the fence at Roger Dean Ceverlot Stadium.

An inning later, Senga threw a forkball that also went for a solo homer. 

“Overall, really good outing,” Senga said through an interpreter on a day the Mets beat the Cardinals 3-2. “The results, a couple of homers, but no big deal. I’m working on things and we’ll continue to work on things the next outing, but overall it was really good today.” 

Senga, who allowed two earned runs on three hits with two strikeouts over 2 ²/₃ innings, peaked at 98.9 mph with his four-seamer.

He averaged 96.7 mph with the pitch — an increase of 2 mph from last season. 

“It’s not something that I have seen the last two years that I have been here,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “On the first day [of camp], he’s 94-95 and then Day 1 when he’s playing in a real game you see 97-98, and just how sharp he was. He’s healthy and you can see it now.” 

Senga, who threw 50 pitches, allowed a homer to Joshua Baez in the second inning and another to Miguel Ugueto in the third.

He got Nolan Gorman to hit into a double play to end the first inning after allowing a single to Alec Burleson. 

“Not only the 98 [mph], but his ability to spin it, too,” Mendoza said. “I thought he stole a couple of strike ones with his breaking ball, but he used the fastball, he used the split. You have got 98 and got that forkball, it’s pretty impressive.” 

The right-hander finished last season at Triple-A Syracuse following a second-half nosedive.

Senga, who carried a 1.47 ERA into mid-June, never really regained his mojo following a stint on the injured list with a hamstring injury. 

Senga cited mechanical adjustments as the biggest factor in his increased velocity. 

“I’m getting my body back to where I need to be so that I can perform,” Senga said. “I feel like I’m there right now.” 

If the Mets escape spring training with full health among the starting pitchers — a big “if” — the plan is to deploy a six-man rotation that includes Senga. 

And Senga said he is prepared to pitch on the normal fifth day if that is what the organization decides. Over his first three seasons, Senga has mostly been afforded an extra day of rest. 

“I’ve never said that I can’t throw on regular rest or that I prefer an extra day,” Senga said. “If I’m told by the organization, ‘Hey, you are going on this day,’ that is what I am going to prepare for. As long as I know beforehand, I have no issues with that. Nothing has changed.” 

Senga appears more relaxed to Mendoza. 

“You see a Kodai Senga in the clubhouse smiling, more interactions with teammates,” Mendoza said. “He’s not in the training room getting treatment. He’s a healthy player that is able to do a lot of different things, but it affects the personality, so definitely a different version this year.” 

How different is Senga’s level of confidence from the second half of last season? 

“It’s pretty high because he’s feeling good,” Mendoza said. “We have got to keep it there. He’s working hard and he’s listening. Not that he didn’t listen before, but he’s just a different guy.”

JUPITER, Fla. — The Mets’ double-play combination is finally getting together, albeit only in drills.

Marcus Semien in recent days has begun taking ground balls alongside Francisco Lindor, as the Mets shortstop rehabs from hamate bone surgery in his left hand.

“It’s exciting to see him joining us for defense, and hearing that he is swinging the bat — it’s impressive to be at the point he’s at right now,” Semien said.

Lindor is on a progression the Mets are optimistic will land him in the Opening Day lineup.

Semien, who arrived in a trade with Texas during the offseason to play second base, is looking to build familiarity with Lindor.

In the meantime, he’s getting exposure to Ronny Mauricio, a strong possibility to begin the season at shortstop if Lindor isn’t ready.

“Ronny is 6-foot-4 and moves like a very good shortstop,” Semien said. “I think we have a great coaching staff that identifies things he needs to work on immediately. Just taking double-play feeds from him, and little tips that either me or Francisco give him to keep him sharp.”

Luis Robert Jr.’s initial start this spring in the Grapefruit League is slated for Thursday against the Cardinals.

The Mets have been slow-playing the outfielder’s spring, limiting him to minor league games every other day in attempt to keep him healthy.

“He’s in a good place right now and you just watch him take batting practice and the way the ball comes off his bat is just different,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Our goal is to keep it on the field. If he stays on the field, it could be special.”

David Peterson has been pushed back a day to start Tuesday against the Cardinals in Port St. Lucie.

Mendoza said the switch was made after deciding there wasn’t a need to pitch the left-hander on the fifth day after only one exhibition start.

Brandon Waddell will start against the Marlins on Monday.

Freddy Peralta is scheduled to face the Yankees on Sunday at Clover Park.

Luke Weaver was slow in returning to the mound after sliding into first base to record an out, but remained in the game to complete the fifth inning.

“A lot went through my mind,” Mendoza said when asked about his level of relief that Weaver was uninjured. “But that’s who he is, he’s an athlete, a competitor and when they are out there the game is going to dictate, but it wasn’t a good feeling.”

It’s certainly nice to watch a White Sox game where the team that looks like it has no idea how the game is supposed to be played is the other guys.

It was the supposedly good Mariners (yeah, yeah, they’ve got 18 guys playing in the WBC, but so what?) who misplayed two bunts, started a two-run giveaway with an obvious error that was somehow called a hit by a verrrry friendly official scorer, hit four batters, wild-pitched a run home, went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, etc., etc., etc. … meanwhile, the Sox played pretty decent ball.

Early on, it looked like typical Soxdom. Facing the very good Logan Gilbert, Chicago got the bases loaded with one out in the second on one of those hit batters, a walk and a bloop single — only to have Braden Montgomery strike out and Chase Meidroth pop up.

But once Gilbert left in the fifth for Carlos Vargas and his 16.88 spring ERA, Montgomery singled, went to second when a Meidroth bunt went for what was called a hit, went to third on a force out and scored on a wild pitch. In the seventh, Dru Baker (in for Montgomery) doubled, Meidroth walked, Dustin Harris (in for Luisangel Acuña) bunted for what was called a hit for no reason, and lo and behold, up came Andrew Benintendi.

That made the score 3-0, and Sox added two more in the eighth on a Caden Connor single (in reality an error, when the throw from short that had him by 15 feet went 10 feet wide of the bag), a couple of hit batters and a Harris single.

Benintendi and Harris each had two of the 10 White Sox hits. The Sox ended up 4-for-17 with runners in scoring position, which isn’t great, but will do considering 17 is a whole lot of runners to get to second and third.

Meanwhile, Sox pitchers mostly cruised. Grant Taylor acted as an opener, after which Davis Martin had an easy three innings, with one hit, one walk, no runs, and four K’s. Four pitchers later, the Mariners finally scored off Tyson Miller in the eighth. They threatened in the ninth, but decided actually scoring was too much work.

Meanwhile, before the game the White Sox optioned Tanner McDougal to Charlotte and reassigned Noah Schultz to minor league camp. He’ll end up in Charlotte, as well.

The Sox host the Royals tomorrow, with a 3:05 p.m. start time because of that Daylight Savings weirdness.