Category: Baseball

When the 2025 season ended, there was a narrative espoused by the Mets’ front office that one of the goals of the offseason was to focus on run prevention. This narrative more or less went out the window with the signing of Jorge Polanco and Bo Bichette, but the concept endures in the trade of Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers in exchange for Marcus Semien.

The deal was a palatable one for both sides because it was a swap of contracts that have not aged well, and for players who filled organizational needs for their new teams. Semien, the reigning American League Gold Glove winner at second base, is entering his fifth year of a seven year, $175 million deal. His deal has two fewer years remaining on it than Nimmo’s does. His story is a well-known one: a former shortstop who excelled defensively when he switched to second and who, after a few boffo offensive seasons, has cooled off with the bat considerably.

All of that somewhat belies what a useful player Semien still is. Over his past two seasons, he ‘s been worth 7.4 bWAR with an OPS+ of 103 and 97, respectively. Obviously, much of his value came from his defensive skills, but he was still the 13th most valuable second baseman in baseball last year. And while, yes, Semien is entering his age 36 season, he’s just three years removed from a season when he came in third place in the AL MVP voting and when he slugged 29 home run and 100 RBIs. It wasn’t his best season (that would be 2019’s 8.4 bWAR season), but it was a very valuable one.

But let’s pretend that 2025 is more where he is offensively for the last three years of his contract with the Mets. If he can provide quality defense up the middle and hit 15ish home runs while playing just about every day, the Mets’ offense should be able to more than carry him at the bottom of the lineup. That’s still a trade the Mets likely make, even if Semien isn’t quite who he used to be.

But the change of scenery, protection in the lineup, and his underlying skills could come together in another 2022 season for Semien. And if it does, the Mets’ lineup will be truly formidable.

Playing shortstop is a point of pride.

Even now, years later, it still visits me in dreams — the slow chopper that turns into a barehand play; the diving backhand deep in the hole; the thrill of a perfectly timed double play. Shortstop lives at the heart of the diamond. Every ground ball feels like it might find you. Every pop fly is yours to claim. You call teammates off, direct the rhythm of the infield, and for a moment, you feel like the quiet general of the defense. 

When I had to move to second base in college, it was devastating. Shortstop wasn’t just a position I played — it was the one I loved. 

Because I played shortstop, those were always the players I watched the closest. Luckily for Rockies fans, there have been some excellent ones to watch over the years — from Troy Tulowitzki’s all-around brilliance to Trevor Story’s power and athleticism. 

Today, the position now belongs to Ezequiel Tovar. 

This is a snapshot of where the Rockies’ shortstop position stands entering 2026 — anchored by Tovar’s elite defense and shaped largely by what happens if he isn’t on the field. 

At a glance

The Rockies’ outlook at shortstop rests on two pillars: 

• Elite defense. Tovar is already one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball. 
• Volatile offense. His aggressive swing decisions create both upside and inconsistency. 

Tovar enters the 2026 season at 24 years old (turning 25 on Aug. 1) and looks to be the long-term answer at shortstop in Colorado. 

His breakout season came in 2024, when he led the National League with 45 doubles, hit 26 home runs, and won a Gold Glove. That performance cemented his reputation as a cornerstone defender and one of the most dynamic young players on the roster. 

Defense remains the foundation of Tovar’s value. According to Statcast, he recorded 15 Outs Above Average at shortstop in both 2023 and 2024, placing him among the elite defenders at the position. Even in a shortened 2025 season, he still produced 3 OAA, continuing to provide positive defensive value. 

That 2025 campaign was limited to 95 games due to a hip injury in April and an oblique strain in June, which helps explain the offensive regression. But even in that abbreviated season, the underlying plate-discipline metrics moved slightly in the right direction. 

Tovar’s offensive profile is defined by aggression. In 2025 he posted a 41.1% chase rate and a 60.7% swing rate, both dramatically higher than MLB averages (28.4% and 47.3%). That approach limits walks and can create streakiness at the plate. 

However, there were encouraging signs beneath the surface. His walk rate improved from 3.3% in 2024 to 5.4% in 2025, while his strikeout rate dropped from 28.8% to 25.1%. They are small steps, but meaningful ones for a hitter whose biggest developmental hurdle is swing decisions. 

The raw power is also real. Statcast measured Tovar’s average exit velocity at 88.8 mph in 2024 and 89.4 mph in 2025, with a maximum exit velocity of 112.5 mph. Those numbers support the “sneaky pop” profile Rockies fans have already seen when he’s locked in. 

Another encouraging indicator is Tovar’s contact quality. Statcast’s Launch Angle Sweet-Spot percentage (LA Sweet-Spot %) tracks how often a hitter produces launch angles between 8° and 32°, the range most associated with productive contact. Tovar ranked in the 90th percentile in this metric, suggesting that when he squares the ball up, the underlying contact profile supports his potential for continued power production. 

The Rockies clearly believe in him. Tovar is signed through 2030 with a club option for 2031, a deal that could look increasingly team-friendly if his offensive game continues to evolve. 

2026 Outlook

FanGraphs’ Depth Charts projection system forecasts roughly 21 home runs and about 3 fWAR for Tovar in 2026. 

Across projection systems, the expected range generally falls between about 2.1 and 3.1 WAR, reflecting both the stability of his defensive value and the uncertainty surrounding his offensive approach. 

That defensive floor is important. Statcast’s Fielding Run Value credits Tovar with 13 defensive runs in 2023, 16 in 2024, and 3 in 2025, reinforcing the idea that even during a down year he remains a positive contributor in the field. 

But if the approach at the plate continues trending in the right direction — fewer chase swings, a few more walks, and continued gap power — the upside grows considerably. That’s where the All-Star conversation begins to enter the picture. 

Depth Behind Tovar

Shortstop depth in the Rockies organization largely revolves around Tovar staying healthy. 

Behind him, the options are mostly contingency plans rather than clear everyday alternatives. 

Ryan Ritter – Ritter has the athleticism and defensive ability to play shortstop, though questions about his offensive consistency remain. He has already filled in during past Tovar absences but currently profiles best as depth or a utility option. Ritter’s defensive ability is far ahead of his offense at this point, but Ritter is absolutely destroying the ball this spring.

Willi Castro – Signed to a two-year deal before the 2026 season, Castro provides versatility across the diamond and could handle shortstop in short stretches if needed. Castro has tallied over 1,200 innings at short in his big league career to mixed results.

Nicky Lopez (NRI) – A glove-first veteran invited to spring training as a non-roster player. If he makes the club, it would likely be as a defensive specialist capable of covering shortstop late in games. 

Cole Carrigg (No. 4 PuRP) – Carrigg is currently playing shortstop for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic, a valuable opportunity to continue developing the position. Within the Rockies system, however, he is viewed more as a multi-position athlete than a long-term major league shortstop. 

The broader point is simple: If Tovar misses significant time, the Rockies’ defensive stability up the middle takes a noticeable hit. 

In the Pipeline 

At the top of the Rockies’ shortstop prospect ladder sits Ethan Holliday (No. 2 PuRP), one of the organization’s most exciting prospects and the fourth-overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. The son of former Rockies star Matt Holliday, he enters the system with enormous offensive upside. The main question is whether he remains at shortstop long term or eventually shifts to third base. 

Beyond Holliday, the shortstop pipeline is still developing rather than overflowing with top-tier talent. Ashly Andujar (No. 20 PuRP), a young switch-hitting infielder signed out of the Dominican Republic, has shown strong bat-to-ball skills and defensive instincts in the lower minors but still needs to add strength as he climbs the ladder. 

Other names deeper in the system include Andy Perez and Dyan Jorge. Each shows defensive potential at shortstop but remains far from the major leagues. 

For the foreseeable future, the Rockies’ stability at shortstop depends on Tovar holding down the middle of the diamond. 

The Big Picture

There is a lot of weight on Tovar’s shoulders, but he doesn’t need to be a superstar. 

His defense already provides a valuable foundation. If the plate discipline continues to inch forward and the power remains part of his profile, Tovar could develop into one of the better all-around shortstops in the National League. 

But he doesn’t have to reach those heights to be integral to the Rockies. 

If he simply continues progressing — staying healthy, refining the approach, and anchoring the defense — Ezequiel Tovar can be exactly what the Rockies need him to be: A steady force through the rebuild, and a core piece of the next winning team in Colorado. 

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Over the last five years, we’ve written often about the outstanding job A.J. Hinch and his staff does in terms of getting the most out of a good, but far from dominant roster. From pinch-hitting, to bullpen usage, to creativity when things go wrong, to details like taking the extra base, the Tigers continue to do a lot of little things right to paper over weaknesses and play to their strengths. Sports Info Solutions gave us another example in an article written by Mark Simon on Monday.

Sports Info Solutions provides data and analysis to teams in many different sports, and has been a leader in that field over the last decade in particular. They are the creators of the defensive runs saved (DRS) metric used by FanGraphs and many other sites to evaluate team and player defense. And the defensive metrics on the Tigers the past two seasons are fairly eye-opening.

In 2024, the Tigers were a combined negative four defensive runs saved if you add up each players” individual DRS numbers. Yet the team was plus 40 in defensive runs saved in defensive positioning, far outweighing the modest collection of defenders’ actual ability.

In 2025? The Tigers were a negative 11 runs saved on defense individualy. And yet their positioning saved 47 runs, for a net +36 runs saved. Pretty impressive.

Defensive runs saved, on a player by player basis, functions much like Statcast’s outs above average. Each play made or not made is judged by where the fielder is on the field at contact, how fast the ball is moving and its trajectory, figuring the most direct intercept point, and judging difficulty of plays by those means. However, DRS also visually grades plays so that unique factors, like a baserunner crossing in front of a defender and blocking their view momentarily, the ball changing direction or off of the pitcher’s mound or the edge of the infield grass, and other factors that the raw data can’t pick up, can be taken into account. Statcast is much more straightforward. The ball was hit to this spot, this hard, and did the fielder take a good route, have the range to get to the spot, and did they make the play cleanly.

Defensive statistics are never going to be perfect, and their are valid arguments for both DRS and OAA. Still, actual defensive value is tricky to evaluate, particularly when you don’t have several years worth of data. Personally I tend to just rough it out between them, figuring that somewhere between each number is likely closest to the truth.

The difference here is that Statcast doesn’t issue a positioning metric for teams. Essentially, Sports Info Solutions is adding another layer of defensive analysis by grading how close to where the ball is actually hit a given team’s fielders are over the course of a season. Teams that routinely position their defense best in accordance with each individual hitters’ tendencies, have the advantage of being in a better starting position to make each given play.

I’m simplifying the whole methodology here, so if you’d like to learn more, read the full article here, with notes on individual players. You can go deeper and check out Sports Info Solutions numerous articles on the topic on their site, though they keep their full methodology under wraps.

Of course, this isn’t solely about George Lombard and Joey Cora positioning their fielders in accordance with the opposing teams’ spray charts produced by the Tigers’ analytics department. There’s also the component of getting the hitter to hit the ball where you want it to go, or to strike out. This is a group effort that also leans heavily on Chris Fetter’s game-planning and pitch sequencing acumen, and translating all that to his catchers to call the game.

Fetter and his staff’s ability to combine pitching strategy and defensive positioning to exploit hitter tendencies was a big part of his work with the Michigan Wolverines, and it’s part of the secret sauce that made him a sought after coach at the major league level. A.J. Hinch and the Tigers did well to land him, and as we’ve seen, the Tigers results often seem better than the raw pitching talent they’ve had over the last five seasons. This despite the fact that outside of Tarik Skubal and a few others, they haven’t actually made that many young pitchers radically better in isolation.

What’s interesting about these results, is that they suggest that the Tigers can make average defenders play like above average ones by positioning them better and getting the ball hit to that position more regularly. You might grade negative in DRS, but if you’re routinely being positioned closer to spot you need to be to make a play, the team is in good shape even if your individual defensive grades aren’t actually good. The plays you’re required to make are just made easier from the start.

Managers often talk about putting their players in the best position to succeed, but Hinch and his coaching staff have taken this very literally, to the Tigers’ benefit.

It’s pitching preview time, ladies and gentlemen. Over the next several days, I’ll be writing 10,000 words or so about everyone you might see pitching for the Red Sox to start the season. Last time, we took a look at the primary middle relief options. Today, we’re talking about the last part of the bullpen: the lefties.

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The left-handed relief group is lacking depth. Aroldis Chapman is the only southpaw in the bullpen with significant MLB experience, and he’ll handle the ninth inning almost exclusively. Patrick Sandoval could also figure into the mix here, but that will probably be in a long relief role to keep him stretched out for a spot start, if necessary. Past that, there aren’t many veterans in the mix.

While the three-batter minimum has changed the role of lefty reliever, it’s still a unique one. Oftentimes, you’re being called on to clean up someone else’s mess. Recent rule changes mean that these pitchers need to be able to get both sides of the plate out, though matching up with pockets of left-handed hitters is still their primary responsibility. The group isn’t very deep, so don’t be surprised to see an addition before the season begins.

Jovani Moran

Jovani Moran is in pole position to win the spot as the first lefty out of the bullpen, which is somewhat terrifying. Moran threw four innings in the majors last season; before that, he hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2023. Fortunately, while the track record of success isn’t there, there’s plenty to like about what Moran brings to the table.

Moran’s best season came all the way back in 2022. He posted a 2.21 ERA over 40 2/3 innings with a 33% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate. He was effective against both sides of the plate, but his stats against righties were slightly stronger. It’s thanks to his changeup, which has posted swinging strike rates over 20% in each of his four big league seasons. He keeps the ball down well, which prevents hard contact, though the lone zone rate contributes to his high walk rate. His four-seam fastball has a flat shape and is thrown with seven feet of extension, which led to decent swing and miss numbers, though righties didn’t expand the zone frequently. It’s up to 94 mph in Spring Training, and it will play well if he can locate it at the top of the zone.

Against lefties, it’s a similar story. Both his changeup and his fastball created whiffs, but the four-seam didn’t get hitters to chase. He mixed in a slider as well, although it was almost never in the zone, so it didn’t help with his walk issue. He showed a cutter and a slider last year in the minors and in Spring Training, though he’s thrown 92% fastballs and changeups for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. He’s faced almost entirely righties and done a good job keeping his fastball up. He’s yet to allow a run over three innings, striking out one and walking two. He needs to be in the zone and limit walks, but the strikeout potential is enough to give him the inside track to the opening day roster.

Tyler Samaniego

Samaniego came over in the Johan Oviedo trade and is a really intriguing arm. Stop me if you’ve heard this before — he’s a big lefty with huge extension. He has different approaches against each side of the plate. Righties see a four-seam fastball with solid vertical movement from a low release that should be able to miss bats with solid command. It’s paired with a changeup that can induce whiffs when he spots it on the arm side. Lefties see sinkers with solid horizontal movement, and a slider that’s both in and out of the zone. His velocity and extension give him a solid floor, although the secondary pitches need to be honed in to reach his potential. He walked 7% of hitters in 38 minor league innings last season, a level of strike-throwing that will help him get to the big leagues.

Samaniego was late to get into a spring training game, but he’ll be ready to go for opening day. He’s on the 40-man roster, but he has options remaining, so he’s not a lock for the opening day roster. He’s probably next in line behind Moran for the leverage lefty spot in the bullpen.

Alec Gamboa

Gamboa is a non-roster invitee who throws from a straight over-the-top arm slot. He spent part of 2025 in the KBO, where he struck out 24.6% of hitters but walked 10.3%. He has a 94 mph four-seam and sinker, as well as a hard slider and a steep curveball. He was shut down for a few days with elbow soreness, however, and is on the outside looking in for the 26-man roster.

T.J. Sikkema

T.J. Sikkema is a soft-tossing lefty who worked as a starter for a recent Spring Training game. The lack of velocity limits his upside and makes it hard to find a spot for him as the matchup lefty, but he’s shown good command in camp. He’s spotted his sinker consistently on the arm side, allowing him to get strikes and weak contact. He’s also thrown his cutter to righties on the glove side regularly, although the lack of velocity makes it possible for them to get around it. He’s unlikely to find a spot besides a depth option to provide innings, but his command in camp has been impressive.

Jeremy Wu-Yelland

Jeremy Wu-Yelland was already reassigned to minor league camp, so he won’t be on the active roster to start the season. That doesn’t mean he won’t appear in a big league game this year, though.

Wu-Yelland is similar to other Red Sox pitchers in that he has a low release that helps create a flat approach angle on his four-seam fastball. He’s also very different due to the fact that he has less than five feet of extension. He has a unique delivery that allows him to hide the ball, although the cross-body style he employs sometimes leads to inconsistency in command. His walk rate was 8.5% last season over 45 innings at High-A and Double-A, so he appears to have a handle on it, but strike-throwing was an issue earlier in his career.

While he’s yet to reach Triple-A, his ability to punch hitters out has stood out in the low minors. Last season, his strikeout rate was over 37%. His fastball has touched 97 mph, and he also has a hard cutter/slider that he’s uses as a primary offering. His go-to breaking ball is a sweeper that he hasn’t quite found a feel for, but it contributed to that huge strikeout rate by missing bats. Wu-Yelland isn’t on the 40-man roster, so Samaniego is probably in front of him, as is Moran, but he isn’t that far down the totem pole and has a chance to debut this season.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cubs fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

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The Cubs have clearly built this year’s team to be a strong contender, adding Alex Bregman and Edward Cabrera to the cast that won 92 games and took the Brewers to the limit in a division series.

Yes, Kyle Tucker’s gone, but the team will also have a full year of Cade Horton and hopefully improvements from Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matt Shaw, among others. The team is seen by many as a favorite to win the NL Central.

So with two weeks to go before Opening Day, how do you think this Cubs team is set for 2026? How many games will they win?

Fill out the survey below and I’ll have the responses later this week.

The San Diego Padres had a rare Spring Training off day before they host the Kansas City Royals at the Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday at 6:10 p.m. For many Padres fans that just meant their attention shifted to the World Baseball Classic where the Dominican Republic and Venezuela met in a game between two undefeated teams.

Fernando Tatis Jr. and his Dominican Republic teammates surely gave the Friar Faithful something to talk about with the Platinum Glove right-fielder delivering another multi-run homerun with an epic batflip.

NOW IT'S NANDO'S TURN!!! 🇩🇴 pic.twitter.com/up5kC3iGr7

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 12, 2026

The Dominican Republic used the power of four home runs including the three-run shot from Tatis to win the contest 7-5 after Venezuela failed to complete a late comeback. Juan Soto, Ketel Marte and Vladamir Guerrero Jr. all joined Tatis with home runs as part of 11 hits banged out by the D.R. who finished 4-0 in pool play.

Padres News:

• Joe Musgrove has had a tough road back to the big-league mound and it appears that road is not quite completed. Musgrove’s next start is to be determined after he was unable to bounce back from a start and a bullpen session. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball believes the best course of action for the Padres is to take it slow with Musgrove as his ability to pitch in-season and in the playoffs is much more valuable.

• Spring Training is all about position battles and the elite San Diego bullpen is no different. Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Wandy Peralta, David Morgan, and Jason Adam and Yuki Matsui (if healthy) are penciled into seven of eight potential bullpen positions. That means one spot remains and multiple players are looking to fill the role according to Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball.

• The Padres bats have been heating up in Spring Training and Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball provides numbers to show that new hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. may have unlocked the power that was missing from the San Diego roster last season.

• The Padres have known they need to address a hole at the back of the rotation and that hole could become larger if any of the four prospective starters already in place, Michael King, Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove or Randy Vasquez, miss time with an injury. But assuming they are all healthy, Walker Buehler, German Marquez, Marco Gonzales, Triston McKenzie, JP Sears and Matt Waldron are all fighting for the final spot. The Padres Reacts Survey question to Gaslamp Ball readers for this week, is who takes the fifth and final rotation spot.

• Kruz Schoolcraft took over as the top prospect in the San Diego system this season and is making a name for himself in Padres camp.

• Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune breaks down the competitions for roster spots on the San Diego roster.

• Miguel Andujar is the focus of the Padres roster review by Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Baseball News:

• Pittsburgh Pirates top prospect Konnor Griffin has had a solid Spring Training, but at just 19 years old, he may not make the Pittsburgh roster to start the season.

• Corbin Carroll, who is returning from Hamate surgery, is using an axe-handle bat to help protect his hand now that he is returning to Spring Training action.

• The Houston Astros announced closer Josh Hader will start the season on the injured list.

WBC News:

• Team USA advances to the next round of the WBC after Italy beat Mexico to remain undefeated. Vinny Pasquantino made WBC history with three home runs in the game.

• Canada beat Cuba to win the pool, allowing them to advance in the tournament for the first time.

• Keeping up with the standings and matchups of the WBC can be difficult, but MLB.com provides all the information needed to follow the competition in the coming stages.

All my homies hate Craig Breslow, but I don’t. I think he’s done a good job under constraints that seem to be slowly lifting as the years go by, as witnessed by the big-money signing of Ranger Suarez this winter, which woulda been unthinkable a few years ago. The team made the playoffs last year and seems pretty damn solid heading into this one, even if it could use a bit more power hitting in the absence of Triston Casas and Rafael Devers (and Kyle Schwarber, if we want to go even further back). But yanno, it’s cool enough.

To be sure, I don’t want to pooh-pooh the lack of oomph, but this is the best Red Sox team heading into a season since probably 2019 and I really, really don’t want to miss the forest for the trees. The team is fun again, even if the guy in charge isn’t very fun and has paid the price for it in the public’s opinion. “Aloof” has rarely been more correctly applied as an adjective. You probably wouldn’t want to hang out with Breslow, nor would I, but you probably would want to chill with Chaim Bloom (as would I), just to show you how much that particular metric is worth. And while I was always likely predisposed to be positive toward Craiggers simply because he’s not his nihilist, Baseball Prospectus-writing alum predecessor, I think he’s earned it.

There’s just one problem: He looks too much like prosperity gospel preacher Joel Osteen for me to take him fully seriously. Through no fault of his own, I can’t help but see him as a con man even though I know he’s not. I’d say I hate it, but it’s kind of funny. It’s also kind of scary. I mean, look at this shit:

Jesus Christ! 

Here’s the wild part: Osteen is 18 years older than Breslow (who’s younger than me, for fuck’s sake), though a good portion of Joel’s face is considerably younger. (In fairness, that photo is from 2015.) Growing up, I was obsessed with informercials of all kinds, as growing up on the Vineyard it presented me with a type of weirdo I wasn’t likely to encounter in our little Russillovian society. I didn’t take the bait – I own zero Shams-Wow, nor did I accept whom Osteen implored me to accept as my savior – but televised hucksters have always fascinated me, or did before they moved to YouTube, where now I swat them like flies as my son scrolls thru Shorts. 

Back on topic, I really think the resemblance is uncanny enough that Breslow knows about it. Though as a Jew and seemingly not of feeble brain, I don’t think he’s taken Osteen’s bait. I just find it hard to disbelieve my lyin’ eyes on this one. Something is amiss. I just can’t quite figure out what. I’ll get to the bottom of it and report back. Stay tuned.

Common convention states that the modern MLB needs as many as seven, eighth, and maybe even nine starting pitchers to make it through the grind of a season. Ryan Yarbrough exemplified teams’ approach to this problem, signed initially on a one-year deal to fill the vacant longman and lefty reliever roles in the bullpen. He went on to play an outsized role for the team as the rotation was hit by a wave of injuries, making it a no-brainer that the Yankees bring him back to fill a similar role in 2026.

2025 Stats: 19 appearances (eight starts), 64 IP, 3-1, 4.36 ERA (94 ERA+), 5.04 FIP, 4.30 xFIP, 20.8% K%, 7.2% BB%, 1.83 HR/9, 1.20 WHIP, 0.1 fWAR

2026 FanGraphs Depth Charts projections: 54 appearances, 62 IP, 4.41 ERA, 4.61 FIP, 19.0% K%, 6.9% BB%, 1.38 HR/9, 1.27 WHIP, 0.1 fWAR

Yarbrough began the 2025 season as a swingman and lefty specialist in a Yankees bullpen short on other southpaws. However, as injuries struck the rotation, he stepped up to make eight starts from the first week of May through the middle of June. He performed far better than even the most optimistic fan could have imagined, going 3-1 in those starts with a 3.83 ERA across 40 innings. He allowed two or fewer runs in all but one of those starts — an eight-run meltdown against the Red Sox dragging his overall numbers down — the most impressive being six innings of one-run ball against his former employers the Dodgers.

You’d be tempted to say that Yarbrough faces a reduced role this season than he did in 2025. Then again, I don’t think anyone envisioned that the southpaw would make eight straight starts, last season a reminder that it takes more than five starting pitchers to weather the attrition of a 162-game campaign. With Cole and Carlos Rodón returning from elbow surgeries and Rodón, Max Fried, Will Warren, and Cam Schlittler all coming off career-highs in innings pitched, Viewed in this context, it makes sense why the Yankees made Yarbrough their first piece of business over the winter, keeping him in the Bronx for a year and $2.5 million. The 34-year-old is a known quantity in pinstripes and veteran of the AL East — a steady presence to have waiting in the wings int he event of in-season injuries to any of the starters ahead of him on the depth chart.

Despite possessing one of the slowest fastballs in MLB at 88 mph, the wily veteran still has plenty of ways to get batters out. He keeps things unpredictable with a five-pitch arsenal of cutter, changeup, sinker, sweeper, and four-seamer, all thrown at least 14-percent of the time. Because of this unpredictability, Yarbrough remained one of the best in the league in limiting loud contact, finishing in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 92nd percentile in hard-hit rate.

The Yankees pitching lab exerted its influence on Yarbrough, making tweaks to pitch usage, shape, and mechanics. Just like with fellow lefty Fried, Matt Blake and the other pitching coaches convinced Yarbrough to use the cutter as his primary fastball instead of the four-seamer or sinker. They also helped him add over two inches of movement to the changeup, the pitch going from his fourth-most used pitch in 2024 to second-most in 2025, echoing a trend of the Yankees encouraging their lefties to use the changeup more as they did with Fried and Rodón. Finally, they had him lower his arm angle and move slightly more to the first base side of the rubber, increasing the deception of all of his pitches.

Because of the uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of Cole and Rodón when they return from injury rehab, and the moderate-to-significant injury histories of their other starters including Fried, Ryan Weathers, and Luis Gil, Yarbrough remains a valuable presence in the Yankees’ pitching room. The question is over the hierarchy of the next-men-up should any of their starters misses time with injury. The higher ceilings for guys like Weathers, Warren, and Gil give them the leg-up in the competition for fifth starter and to be the first name called if anyone goes down. What’s more, the emergence of top pitching prospects Elmer Rodríguez and Carlos Lagrange last season and this spring could lead to the pair leapfrogging Yarbrough as candidates to deputize in the rotation. At the very least, Yarbrough gives them an experienced lefty arm who can handle multiple innings in relief, while his success as a stand-in starter in 2025 gives confidence he can do the same in an emergency in 2026.

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See more of the Yankees Previews series here.

Welcome to the 2026 Pre-Season Contest! This is the 15th year that the current version of the contest has been in place. Back in 2011, the contest had 27 questions, including 15 “Which will be higher?” that featured gems like, “Which will be higher – Brian Matusz’s ERA or a gallon of gas at Royal Farm?” and “Which will be higher – Yankees wins or Orioles losses?”

This year, the contest has 30 questions in the following categories: Which will be higher, Over/Under, Yes/No, Multiple Choice, and Who will be the first. Whenever the Orioles’ season ends, whether it be at the end of the regular season, during the playoffs, or after they win the World Series, we’ll post the results.

For the first time ever, we are adding a bonus round! This round focuses on the MLB awards, which aren’t resolved until after the World Series. We’ll revisit those results when the votes are in.

If you’re new to Camden Chat since last year, the contest is easy. Just answer the questions, click submit, and wait to hear if you’re a winner.

Will Shane Baz outpitch Grayson Rodriguez? Will Jackson Holliday get that OPS up to a respectable number? What is Ryan Mountcastle’s future with the team? These topics and more are covered in this year’s set of questions.

Here are some groundrules:

• Player stats only count when that player is an Oriole. If a player is traded mid-season, his new team’s stats don’t matter.
• A series sweep must be at least two games. There is no such thing as a one-game sweep.
• The contest will close at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25th

Now, it’s time to answer some questions! The SBN story editor does not allow me to embed the form, so you can answer the questions at this link. Click through and do your best.

Good luck!

It was all going a little too well, wasn’t it? The sun was shining at Camelback Ranch, the beer was cold enough to forget the 2025 win-loss column, and Munetaka Murakami launched a grand slam in the World Baseball Classic. We were allowed to have nice things for exactly three weeks.

Then came the medical report on Kyle Teel. Our prized backstop is down for 4-6 weeks with that WBC-strained hamstring, and just like that, the “Sox Luck” tax has been collected. It’s a gut punch for a kid who looked poised to be the centerpiece of the 2026 youth movement from Day 1. But in true South Side fashion, we don’t have time to mourn. We just look at the next guy on the depth chart with a mix of desperate hope and guarded cynicism.

If there’s a silver lining here, and I don’t have to dig too deep into the gritty dirt of the Glendale infield to find it, it’s that Edgar Quero hasn’t just been “good” this spring; he’s been a revelation. We knew the bat was a weapon, and he’s more than ready for the “Starting Catcher” tag, even if the circumstances suck.

With Quero moving behind the plate full-time, the Opening Day roster will have a different texture. Here’s how the 26-man puzzle might fit together when the team flies north to Milwaukee.

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The Starting Nine: The “Kid-Heavy” Edition

1. Chase Meidroth (2B): The leadoff pest we’ve lacked for years.
2. Colson Montgomery (SS): The Captain-in-waiting.
3. Munetaka Murakami (1B): $34 million says he hits 40 bombs. Let’s see it.
4. Edgar Quero (C): No more DH reps. It’s his house now.
5. Miguel Vargas (3B): Needs to prove that mid-2025 swing change wasn’t a fluke.
6. Andrew Benintendi (LF): The high-priced veteran mentor.
7. Lenyn Sosa (DH): The beneficiary of the Teel injury. He’ll probably get the bulk of the ABs here.
8. Austin Hays (RF): Professional outfielder. Professional ABs.
9. Luisangel Acuña (CF): Speed that actually scares people.

The Bench: No More Room for Error

• Korey Lee (C): From the bubble to the primary backup. Hope you like 1:10 p.m. Sunday starts, Korey.
• Curtis Mead (INF): The ultimate “just in case” utility man.
• LaMonte Wade Jr. (1B/OF): A much-needed lefty bench bat who will likely see DH time.
• Derek Hill (OF): Because someone has to run for Murakami in the ninth.

The Rotation: The “Informed Guess” Five

1. Shane Smith (RHP): The Opening Day honors. A meteoric rise.
2. Anthony Kay (LHP): The veteran southpaw anchor.
3. Davis Martin (RHP): Our longest tenured South Sider.
4. Sean Burke (RHP): The breakout candidate.
5. Erick Fedde (RHP): The retread.

The Bullpen: The Bridge to Seranthony

The back end looks, dare I say, competent? Seranthony Domínguez has the ninth, with Jordan Leasure and Grant Taylor acting as the high-velocity bridge. Sean Newcomb and Mike Vasil can provide some length, while Jordan Hicks, Tyler Gilbert, and Brandon Eisert round out a group that probably — in theory — will be mostly serviceable.

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Losing Teel for April is peak White Sox. It’s poetic grit in its purest form. We finally get the Ferrari out of the garage, and the tire goes flat before we hit the expressway. But Quero has the chance to turn a tragedy into a transition. If he holds down the fort and keeps this young staff on track, the return of Teel in May won’t be a rescue mission, but a reinforcement. Until then, keep your expectations cautious and your humor gallows-adjacent.

There are also still a dozen Cactus League contests left on the schedule, plenty of time for the Arizona sun to bake a few more surprises into this roster. Whether it’s another late-spring breakout forcing a tough decision or the inevitable “tweak” that sends the training staff into a sprint, nothing is etched in stone until the team packs its bags for Chicago.

So, buckle up, South Side fans; the final two weeks of camp are rarely quiet. If there’s a difficult path to take, trust the White Sox to find it.

The pool stage is complete, the matchups are set, and we’re in line for what should be five days of box office baseball starting Friday night when U.S. takes on Canada in Houston and Korea takes on the Dominican Republic in Miami.

(Hard to believe the D.R. crowds could get any wilder than they were in the pool stage, but I’m sure they’ll find a way.)

FERNANDO TATIS JR. THREE-RUN HOMER!!! pic.twitter.com/6exLuQpTbk

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 12, 2026

The following afternoon, Puerto Rico will play Italy, and Japan will take on Venezuela Saturday night. From there, the semifinal matchups will be on Sunday and Monday night with the championship game slated for Tuesday. This should be awesome!

So the big question now is, who is going to win? Japan, the U.S., and Dominican Republic seem like favorites on paper, but it’s small sample size baseball and anything can happen. Also, Japan draws Venezuela right out of the gate in the knockout stage, which is a really tricky spot. But then again, they can’t complain about the U.S. and D.R. likely lined up against each other in the semis if they both advance beyond Friday. There are really no shortcuts here.

As far as interesting pitching notes go, if the U.S. beats Canada, Paul Skenes probably pitches in that Sunday game, which again COULD be against the D.R. For Red Sox purposes, Brayan Bello see significant significant time on the mound in one of these games. And who knows, that might even include a matchup against Roman Anthony in a high leverage at bat.

One thing for certain though is the atmosphere in south Florida is sure to be electric! I’m so confident in that aspect of this thing that I’m flying down there for the weekend to experience a piece of the Latin and Japanese baseball cultures in person. Can’t wait!

Anyway, talk about the WBC at its midway point and whatever else you’d like, and as always, be good to one another!

Meet the Mets

Bo Bichette seems to have a knack for clutch hitting, which he credits to his father Dante.

Opening Day is now just two weeks away, and a potential roster is starting to take shape after a month of Grapefruit League games.

Carson Benge and Nolan McLean’s college coach weighed in on what makes them elite althletes.

Around the National League East

Spencer Strider looked much better in his latest start for the Braves against the Rays.

Marlins righty Adam Mazur will miss the entire 2026 season after undergoing elbow surgery.

Bryce Harper has not looked great in the WBC and is struggling to catch up to fastballs, which is a concerning trend for the Phillies star.

The Nationals named Cade Cavalli their Opening Day starter, which will make him their fourth Opening Day starter in four years.

Around Major League Baseball

Vinnie Pasquantino hit three home runs in Team Italy’s win over Team Mexico which keeps them undefeated in the tournament.

Juan Soto hit another home run in the Domincian Republic’s win over Venezuela.

Team USA advanced to the quarterfinals with Italy’s victory, which grants Mark DeRosa a reprieve after his embarrassing managerial blunder.

Eight teams have advanced to the WBC quarterfinals, which are a single-elimination format and will begin this weekend.

Diamondbacks star Corbin Carroll made his spring debut after undergoing hand surgery in February.

White Sox catcher Kyle Teel was diagnosed with a hamstring strain and will miss 4-6 weeks after suffering the injury in the WBC.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Michael Drago previewed Freddy Peralta’s first season with the Mets.

Chris McShane wrote about Huascar Brazobán’s upcoming season.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 2003, Mike Piazza went after Guillermo Mota and caused a benches clearing incident after Mota hit him with a pitch.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are back-to-back World Series champions, but they may not have back-to-back White House visits.

Bill Plunkett of the OC Register has all of the details of how a trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave may or may not happen.

The main roadblock is that the Dodgers are playing the Washington Nationals in D.C. the first weekend in April, which also coincides with Passover and Easter. Furthermore, the games are all day games making the visit that much more difficult.

As Bill covers in the article, they have an off day the Thursday before they start the series with the Nationals, and they have an off day between a New York and Philly road trip in July. None of those dates are without issues, however.

It remains to be seen if they go to Washington at a later date.

Japan to Dodgers pipeline?

During the last World Baseball Classic in 2023, Team Japan had three future Dodgers playing for them – Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki. Dylan Hernandez of the California Post wonders if there are any other current Team Japan players that may become Dodgers in the future.

One player is Hiroto Takahashi, a 23-year-old righty who pitched in the WBC three years ago and got some people talking. He also in pitching this year but doesn’t seem to have improved nor declined on the last three years. The Dodgers are known for their pitching coaching staff, and they could help Takahashi take the next step. He is not expected to leave Japan for the States for at least two more years, and scouts currently have him as a number 3 or 4 starter.

So many questions

Katie Woo published the annual Dodgers Spring Training mailbag in The Athletic. Main topics of discussion include what will Roki Sasaki’s role actually look like this season, and what will Tommy Edman’s role be when he returns.

Most interesting to me was the discussion of who Edman’s replacement will be to start the season, and who of the three of Alex Freeland, Santiago Espinal, and Hyeseong Kim will make the 26-man roster to start the season. Spoiler alert – Freeland is the odd man out. Espinal, Kim and Miguel Rojas could be on rotation to cover the second base position, just as we all thought at the beginning of Spring Training.

Ah, the World Baseball Classic. The FIFA World Cup’s strange cousin who trades the English-invented soccer for an American invention with a stick and many strange rules based on the number nine. And just like how England gets consistently embarrassed by nations they technically exported soccer to, the United States looks well and truly poised to do the same with baseball (sarcastic applause). 

It is very hard to predict who is going to win this thing because trying to predict the outcome of a single baseball game is of similar statistical merit to getting a hit: if you succeed 30 percent of the time, you’re doing pretty well! Baseball is shockingly random, and three of the teams remaining have bona fide god squads. To keep things exceedingly simple, the United States, Japan and the Dominican Republic have easily the best three rosters on paper — they’re also the only three nations ever to win the WBC. Whether or not any of that will translate to a victory is anyone’s guess. I’m going to guess anyway.

1. Dominican Republic

They aren’t the defending champions and they have arguably a worse roster than the United States on paper but come on man… this batting order is just outrageous. 

Tatis Jr. leading off, never fun. Get through him and Ketel Marte cleanly you get Juan Soto. One of them gets on? Vlad Guerrero Jr. Heart of the order? Machado, Caminero, JRod. If you don’t understand what that means, it can easily be translated into two words: home run.

This team is power personified. It’s a walking bat flip. It’s every bit oozing with swag and intimidation as it is exit velocity and launch angle. There’s a reason most MLB home run derbies have a strong Dominican presence. There isn’t a single hitter to attack, and rock solid starting pitching to get them through the knockout rounds. 

Why are they above the United States and Japan? Well, for one, how am I out here picking the United States to win after the week they just had (more on that below)? And for all the Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto awesomeness for Japan, this lineup is just way better one through nine. And among all the lineups, it is so easily the coolest. In a world where I am predicted one game series’, cool counts for something.

2. United States of America

So… not great thus far. 

Just as a rule, I’m not a fan of my manager going on TV and saying that the team had clinched a quarterfinal berth when it had not and then my team going out there against Italy to not clinch because Red Sox legend Greg Weissert fanned Aaron Judge on four pitches in the bottom of the ninth with a man on down two… only to then get bailed out by Italy the next day because they’re a juggernaut and beat Mexico to get Team USA a spot.

All that said, it is undeniable that Team USA is an absurd collection of baseball talent that can and should be the best team in whatever game they play. The problem is they just haven’t been so far; that game against Italy was legitimately alarming, and the offense couldn’t get a leadoff hitter on all night. 

Pitching is so variable, and Team USA has amazing pitching even without Tarik Skubal. That said, the offense — and Aaron Judge, who has been a visible and obvious no-show in the WBC so far — needs to be better. There is no reason it shouldn’t be better, and it must be for the United States to achieve anything more.

3. Japan

Coming in at a very close second in coolness ratings behind the DR is Japan, boosted mightily by having the coolest dude ever leading off, the World Series MVP as your ace, newly minted Chicago White Sock Munetaka Murakami and Barry Bon… I mean Masataka Yoshida (who the Red Sox were or are still actively trying to trade) going crazy. Lots of other great MLBers too like Seiya Suzuki and Yusei Kikuchi, but Japan’s success comes, in truth, on the backs of their domestic league.

Japan is a country with a robust and professional baseball infrastructure, and they are the defending champions for a reason. One of the only countries in the world where baseball is the most popular sport and by far the most populous (for those who didn’t know yet, baseball is in third place in the United States… has been for a while now), Japan has shown an ability to develop talent and produce quality national teams for the entire existence of the WBC. They have the best player in the world and probably of all time on their team. 4-0 in the group. 

Frankly, it’s all well and dandy. From an on-paper talent perspective, it isn’t as good as the USA or DR, but Japan could totally win. They literally won last time.

4. Italy

I have chosen, against my better judgment, to provocatively put Italy here, bucking the trend of basically going in order of who I think has the best team when Venezuela is definitely a better group. That is for one simple reason: Italy is playing Puerto Rico and Venezuela is playing Japan.

Italy, described by some as “American 2: Italy Edition” since 24 players on the roster were born in America and only three in Italy, has been playing like the best team in the world (for some reason) for this entire tournament, pretty soundly annihilating Team USA until the very end when it got close. Our guy Greg Weissert had it covered, though.

This is a very solid team with a deep list of professional hitters — captain Vinnie Pasquantino is a power slugger for the Royals and straight up has an Italian Beef Sandwich named after him called the Pasqwich that they sell at Royals games. I mean, come on now. How are we doing any better than that?

I would not be surprised if Puerto Rico beats Italy — I thought they were a better team coming in (everyone did). But it would be disrespectful to the 4-0 Italians to have them lower.

5. Venezuela 

Second half of the provocative 4-5 slots is the second most populous country where baseball is the most popular sport: Venezuela, with a squadron of great players that is unfortunately playing Japan in the quarterfinals. 

Venezuela has a bunch of great players: Acuña, Arraez, two Contrerases (contrari?) and legends like Salvador Perez. They just aren’t as deep as other teams and will have to beat three great teams in a row to win it all. They are a great team themselves, but it’s simply not as likely.

6. Puerto Rico

A decent team with professional talent but even less depth than Venezuela, Puerto Rico would have to beat Italy (which they could do) but then defeat two consecutive titans (don’t see that happening. They are missing some of their best players, too, with Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa not playing in this year’s tournament. I will, however, take this moment to remind everyone that it’s not crazy for any team to beat any other team because this is baseball. I do not take responsibility if something crazy happens.

7. South Korea

Another team with lots of home league players, this team is also sneaky-solid. Jung Hoo Lee and Hyeseong Kim are the two players most MLB fans will have heard of, but South Korea took Japan the distance and could be an upset factor if their young hitting can get hot. That said, every team can be an upset factor if their hitting gets hot. And they’re playing the Dominican Republic, who was my number one. So…

8. Canada

Fun team, lots of fun players, two Naylors, my guy Abe Toro, major-leaguers all around the batting order. I just have a hard time imagining this team beating the United States with their pitching staff. They essentially do not have a single major league reliever, so unless they can go completely nuclear on offense, it’s a hard sell. Totally defensible to swap them with South Korea, too. You would not lose any points on the test if you did that.

If you didn’t watch the WBC game last night, Royals 1st baseman Vinnie Pasquantino saved Team USA’s bacon with his historic 3 home run game over Mexico.

It was quite the evening for Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who put on a show for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic.

Pasquantino hit three home runs vs. Mexico on Wednesday evening, becoming the first ever player to accomplish the feat in the WBC.

Not only did Pasquantino make history, but his performance also helped Team Italy and the United States advance to the quarterfinals of the classic, thanks to a dominant win over Mexico.

In related Team USA news, Michael Wacha has left the team… as planned.

Michael Wacha returned to the Royals’ Spring Training facility after his stint with Team USA, ready to get back to work with his Kansas City teammates in anticipation of Opening Day just over two weeks away. Wacha threw off the mound Wednesday and is scheduled for three innings in his next Cactus League start on Friday night against the D-backs.

“It was all around just a great experience,” Wacha said. “From being in the clubhouse with those guys to the atmosphere out there playing in those games, getting those juices flowing again. It really did just create a lot of excitement for myself getting this season started up. It’s a couple of weeks away now, and just fired up to be back here and get this season rolling.”

The Royals got swept in split squad action yesterday against the Cubs and Giants, but Gavin Cross, Brett Squires, Elias Díaz, Luca Tresh, Peyton Wilson and Blake Mitchell all homered.

Royals Keep asked if Michael Massey’s injury opens up a roster spot for Josh Rojas.

In other WBC news, the Dominican Republic beat Venezuela, Maikel Garcia went 4-4 with a walk as well. Former Royal Angel Zerpa threw a scoreless inning.

Kendry Chourio is selected in 30 prospect predictions for 2026.

Chourio exploded onto the scene in 2025 with 63 strikeouts and only five walks across 51 1/3 innings while climbing from the DSL to Single-A Columbia. His mid-90s fastball and upper-70s curveball both receive strong reviews, but it’s the ability to command the ball that has Kansas City officials so excited about his future. It’ll also help him rank among the Minors’ top five in K-BB% (min. 70 IP) in just his age-18 season.

Netflix to have first MLB broadcast on Opening Day?

Here is your song of the day: Home Sweet Home by Motely Crue. My favorite rock band of all time!