Category: Baseball

Earlier, I described the various technologies that I’ve found are being used in baseball in general, and mostly, by the Cardinals.  As I followed the trail of breadcrumbs around, I began to discover that it wasn’t so much the technology the Cardinals had fallen behind in (yes, there was and still are some deficits there), but what really had shown up was that the Cardinals lacked the people behind the curtain, and in the few places they had the people, there wasn’t a lot of cohesion and coordination.  Not out of any sinister bureaucratic plot, but likely people spread too thin to be engaged in and knowledgeable about all the various moving parts of an organization. 

The People Behind the Curtain

As with all tech, there needs to be people to set up the tech, make it work, integrate it with other tech and so on.  It can be one whole job to know about and take care of the Force Plates technology and gather some data with it.  It can be a whole ‘nuther job (and a separate specialty) to know about and take care of the Kinatrax system.  Both produce mounds of data.

But how does one interpret and synthesize the data and make it actionable?   I might know about Force Plate technology, but now I need to know something about…pitching.  And what makes the act of pitching efficient (or inefficient)?

Then a third someone needs to bring the two tech domains together and understand how the Ground Force reading from the Force Plates can be seen affecting the kinetic chain reactions observed in the Kinatrax system.  And with that, someone needs to understand anatomy and physiology of the human body. On top, someone needs to figure out what the readings mean and how they might need to be different.

Then you need another specialty in physical therapy or physical training to work with players to develop isolated exercises that get muscles trained to operate differently than the current habit (no easy feat!).  It turns out, you can’t just tell a pitcher they need to lengthen their stride ¼” and rotate their hips .2 seconds earlier to get things more efficiently synced up. 

Enter, Carl Kochan, Director of Performance, St. Louis Baseball Cardinals, LLC. 

Anyone have any idea of who this is?  I did not.  He replaced Robert Butler, the prior Director just over a year ago.  From what I can tell, his charter is to reach across various stovepipes in the organization to develop a working performance model for players that addresses travel and fatigue management and in-game demands (high demand for pitchers/catchers and very bursty demand for other players).  In a 3-hour game, a position player might actually exert an acute work load for 5-10 minutes.  Pitchers and catchers?  The opposite. 

His charter seems to focus on the minor league side, and includes tech people, nutrition specialists, medical coordinators, physical therapists, rehab specialists and trainers.  He certainly has to reach wider than that if the coaches and development side of the organization is going to be in sync with the performance side. 

In the Performance Department underneath Mr. Kochan, there are 3 strength and conditioning folks plus a coordinator, 2 rehab folks plus 3 medical coordinators (one of these in the DSL), 4 MiLB trainers, a nutritionist and 4 performance science experts. Total of nineteen folks. Just in the Performance Department. Want to guess how many of these positions existed in 2020? If you have a guess of two, you are spot on.

Here is a current opening in this organization (via Indeed.com):

Did you see the part in the job opening about collaborating with the player development team? Let’s look there. They currently have 29 staff members, led by Larry Day. This includes pitching, hitting and field coordinators, various minor league hitting and pitching coordinators and assistant coaches. How many did they have in these roles in 2020? None. As recently as 2024, they had sixteen. Just about doubled in size in the last 18 months. As near as I can tell, all but one of the original 16 are gone, except one. Jose Oquendo. As near as I can tell, this is where the complete tear-down and rebuild occurred.

The ocean of data

As you might suspect, all these technologies produce mountains of data.   This creates challenges consistent with what other industries are encountering … managing “big data”. An organization can be awash with data but be unaware of what the most useful bits and pieces are.

There is a lot of scientific rigor in a group like this, which probably creates some interesting culture rubs with old-school baseball guys and the players themselves.  Paul DeJong probably would be an exception here. 

These guys are looking at challenges like where do they not have information they should?  How can the data they collect contribute to improved strength and conditioning.  Arm care appears to be a major focus of these efforts, pre-game, in-game AND post-game. 

Another challenge is integrating this stuff across the levels of the organization and a need to improve consistency with player feedback.  It probably doesn’t help if a player hears one thing at Driveline and another thing in the pitching lab at Jupiter.   

Another challenge, right now they have no centralized repository for biomech data.  It is hard to get a common understanding if the different professions and aptitudes can’t even access the data. 

Playing from behind, catching up and getting ahead

With all this data capture, there is greater visibility in more intricate detail, but not necessarily more knowledge in how to react to the inputs they are getting.  For instance, they might get a shoulder measurement from force plates that tells the reaction force of pitchers arm at full extension.  So what?  Is there benefit in custom tailoring a workout regime to increase that force?  What does it mean if that force measures at 5% lower the data after a start from the day before?  Does that indicate fatigue or low-level injury?  Normal or aberrant?   

What seems to come through all the noise is that this data is used to two different ends: 1) to help keep the players healthy and 2) to help them identify ways to optimize their performance. 

A Case Study:  Mathew Liberatore

I suppose most people remember that mid-season (early June, actually) start Liberatore had where his velocity cratered and he got hit hard by a not typically hard-hitting Kansas City lineup?   The decline was so abrupt many worried he was hurt. They put him through a battery of physical tests, checking for injury and came up empty. Then they looked at the bio-mechanics data (ie. the advanced video) from the start and came up with some issues in how his mechanics were “out of sync” (his words) and the expectation that this was caused more by overall “fatigue issues” (again, his words).

In this new modern world, they use this data to develop specific conditioning programs to reduce these issues (and they take time to implement). Simply put, you no longer are left with observations like “he is opening up too soon and the arm is dragging through”. Now they can see if that is occurring because of his stride, his hip rotation, the torso rotation, shoulder, arm angle, whatever. Unconfirmed, but I’d bet Libby has spent this off-season working to improve strength and stamina and getting the kinetic chain to sync and stay synced during acute workloads exceeding an hour.

The last challenge – working across the stovepipes

Almost all organization hierarchies have stove pipes and they can create cultural boundaries that can be difficult to cross. When the Cardinals hired multiple new people (Pierpoint, Day, Cerfolio, Kochan) in the 2024-2025 off-season, the common theme among them was their mission was to get the different parts of the organization to work together better.

It’s not hard to imagine some old school coach in some far-off minor league town not quite embracing or trusting a new PT regime a player has adopted coming out of the hitting or pitching lab. The players themselves don’t always embrace. I think it was Joshua Baez who said something along the lines of having gotten information overload and needing to simplify things to make the gains he has made.

There has always been a natural rivalry between scouting and development. Now you add in all the tech and performance guys and complexity expands. Plus, the geographic distances. Palm Beach, Peoria, Springfield, Memphis and St. Louis can all be hard to keep in sync, particularly when the technology and the knowledge of how to apply is uneven across those boundaries.

The last stovepipe I observe is cultural and linguistic. This stuff is hard enough for all the English speakers. I’m sure many people see this stuff as Greek to them. A good segment of the Cardinal prospects speak English as a second language, or not at all. They clearly did not have enough Spanish speakers in camp this past spring, and the few they had were very busy running from field to field trying to translate coaching instructions. I wonder how many ESL types were inside the labs doing the same.

Summary

The technology evolution that is sweeping baseball swamped St. Louis and they are just getting their organizational stuff together in this area. Lots of change. Likely lots more will change.

Capturing all this has been daunting and I am aware that I’m just scratching the surface. Meanwhile, the environment I observe changes as I observe. My learning goal in this arena is to see if I can get a tour of this stuff when I’m Jupiter next month. Wish me luck.

Good morning, baseball fans!

With the news earlier this week that (briefly) former San Francisco Giants outfielder Carlos Beltrán will be inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame this year, there was unfortunately bad news for another former Giants outfielder.

Hunter Pence, the very definition of a Forever Giant, did not receive enough votes to keep his campaign alive. Players have to receive five percent of the votes to stay on the ballot, and Pence received only two total votes.

While this is a bummer to hear, it isn’t necessarily a surprise.

Pence was (and remains) a beloved Giants player who had a huge hand in helping the team secure two of their three World Series championships in the 2010s. But his career numbers weren’t quite the caliber they’d need to be to be successful in this endeavor.

That’s not a knock to Pence, or any player that doesn’t get the votes. It’s an arduous process filled with arbitrary preferences by those with the power to cast a vote. Maybe one player per year gets in, two if we’re lucky. And there seems to be no rhyme or reason to most of it.

So while I’m bummed, I still think we have plenty to celebrate Pence for.

Meet the Mets

The Mets made yet another move yesterday, albeit a relatively minor one, as they acquired former top prospect Vidal Bruján from the Twins for cash considerations and designated left-handed reliever Richard Lovelady for assignment.

Deesha Thosar writes that the Mets saved their offseason with a pivotal week.

Fellow executives see the Mets’ trade with the Brewers as a win-win for both teams.

Ken Rosenthal wonders whether or not the Mets are a better team now than they were in 2025.

Speaking of prognostications, the 2026 Mets’ ZiPS projections were published yesterday.

Will the Mets get more than one year of Freddy Peralta? The 29-year-old pitcher is reportedly open to an extension.

David Stearns, who spoke to the media about the trade yesterday, didn’t want to speculate on a potential extension with Peralta, for whom he’s traded twice in his front office career.

If you want to mark you calendars for Mets games you’ll watch to listen to on the radio this season, FOX Sports released its schedule of broadcasts for the 2026 season.

Here’s how the Mets’ trade for Freddy Peralta—alongside the Yankees’ signing of Cody Bellinger—affects the market for the remainder of the offseason.

Neither the Mets nor the Yankees think they could meet the high asking price for Tigers ace Tarik Skubal in a trade.

Will Leitch looks at teams that missed the postseason in 2025 but might make it in 2026, and you likely won’t be surprised to hear that the Mets are included.

Carlos Beltrán visited the Hall of Fame yesterday ahead of his induction this summer, and he answered questions about his involvement in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

Jett Williams shared a post thanking the Mets organization and Mets fans.

The Mets announced their player development staff for 2026.

Around the National League East

Federal Baseball wondered if the Freddy Peralta trade was an indication that the Nationals would keep MacKenzie Gore. A few hours later, the Nationals traded MacKenzie Gore.

The Nationals also claimed right-handed pitcher Gus Varland off waivers and designated catcher Riley Adams for assignment.

Battery Power looked at what Chris Sale might do in 2026.

The Good Phight wrote about getting old and watching the Phillies’ roster do the same thing.

The Phillies are bringing left-handed reliever Tim Mayza back on a minor league deal.

The Marlins acquired prospect Carlos Martinez from the Giants in exchange for international bonus pool space.

Around Major League Baseball

The Mets weren’t the only team to pick up a former top prospect yesterday, as the Yankees claimed Marco Luciano off waivers from the Orioles.

The Twins signed left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers—not to be confused with his twin brother Tyler, who finished last season with the Mets—to a one-year, $2 million deal.

South Side Sox graded the White Sox’ trade of Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets, and Chicago’s American League franchise signed LaMonte Wade Jr. to a minor league deal.

Speaking of Chicago, the Cubs and Chas McCormick agreed to a minor league deal.

The Tigers signed outfielder Corey Julks to a minor league deal.

Baseball Prospectus looked at the effect that bat speed had on the free agent market this offseason.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

We got to know Freddy Peralta and Luis Robert Jr.

Our countdown of the Mets’ top prospects continued with number ten: Jack Wenninger.

This Date in Mets History

Legendary Mets broadcast Ralph Kiner finally got his place in Cooperstown when he was elected to the Hall of Fame for his fantastic career as a player on this date in 1975.

Baseball, in many cases, can serve as a very effective microcosm for the world and the country it inhabits. From social progression, justice, or the dawn of the information age, baseball has often travelled right along with the world surrounding it. Looking back, that means we can find stories that are nearly impossible to imagine in the modern world, a description the would fit that of Johnny Sturm quite well.

Born in 1916, Sturm played a mostly full season in his rookie campaign with the Yankees, and would never again play on a major league field after. It was due to circumstances mostly out of his control, in an unfortunate story, as Sturm’s Yankee tenure would last just a single year. His performance on its own was unimpressive, but Sturm stands as in interesting landmark for a time that feels long gone.

Johnny Sturm
Born: January 23, 1916 (St. Louis, MO)
Died: October 8, 2004 (St. Louis, MO)
Yankees Tenure: 1941

Johnny Sturm grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and began his professional career in the minor leagues in 1936. After five seasons at various levels in the Yankees’ organization, Sturm would finally get his chance with the big club in 1941. In the post-Lou Gehrig era, the team had struggled to fill the impossibly large void. Babe Dahlgren, who replaced Gehrig, was sent to Boston after the 1940 season, which prompted another change at the position. The Yankees first moved Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Gordon over to first, though it was a move that proved ineffective.

The Yankees eventually moved Gordon back to second, opening a spot for Sturm at first base. The club had struggled out of the gate, and likely hoped the move would help them take a step forward. Incidentally, the day the Yankees slid Sturm into the lineup was also the day Joe DiMaggio began his record-setting hitting streak.

On the whole, Sturm’s performance at the plate during the ‘41 season left plenty to be desired. The Yankee first baseman slashed .239/.293/.300 for just a 58 OPS+ in his rookie season. But, the season didn’t come without its bright spots. In June of ‘41, Sturm belted a two-run homer in the second game of a double-header, which kickstarted a run of 40 home runs in 25 games for the Bombers as a squad.

He also played a role in the World Series that year. Sturm went 6-for-21 in the five games, pitching in with a pair of RBI in the victorious Fall Classic effort for New York. It wasn’t the flashiest of campaigns, but doing his part for a winning World Series squad is certainly something on its own.

The offseason that followed was an eventful one for Sturm. He was married shortly after the successful World Series, and not long after, with the United States then fully entrenched in World War II, Sturm enlisted in the military. He was stationed at a base in Missouri and, fittingly, assumed the duty of building baseball fields and managing the post’s baseball team.

Sturm was obviously away from the team on Opening Day the following year, when his career took a turn for the worse. While operating a tractor, he made an ill-fated move which ultimately caused the amputation of the tip of his index finger on his right arm.

Post-recovery, Sturm served until November of 1945, stationed overseas for the latter part of his service. He attempted to make a return to professional baseball in 1946, with plenty of factors working against him. Having missed four seasons of play, and now playing with a significantly altered right hand, it was an uphill battle for Sturm.

Now 30 years old, Sturm had trouble reacclimating, and was unable to reclaim his former spot, and was forced to toil in the minor leagues. He remained in the Yankees organization through the 1949 season, eventually as a player-manager for the Joplin Miners (and actually putting up some solid numbers).

That would be the end of professional baseball for Sturm, however, as the missed time and injury trouble were too much to overcome for the first baseman. It was a stint with the Yankees cut too short by unfortunate circumstances, and it creates an interesting looking resume, as he was the last of just six players in MLB history to have 500-plus plate appearances in their lone season. A career like Sturm’s feels like something that only could have happened in the past, and serves as an interesting piece of baseball history.

Despite his turbulent experience in professional baseball, Sturm lived to be 88 years old. Born on this day in 1916, his story is one of a kind in Yankees history.

Research:

SABR Bio

If we’re being perfectly logical, the Phillies right now have not been completely successful in their offseason plan as they did not reel in the big fish in Bo Bichette. However, the word “completely” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here since we can still term this offseason successful by looking at what they did actually do.

Imagine this lineup without the 50 home run power potential Kyle Schwarber possesses. What if he signed with Cincinnati?

Imagine the bullpen without the impact that Brad Keller projects to have. Do we think Orion Kerkering deserves that kind of high leverage assignment again?

Are there still issues with the roster? Of course. God help us all if one of the main starting outfielders gets any kind of major injury. Are there depth issues in the rotation? Adding yet another starter would be kind of nice to mitigate some of the potential pitfalls that lay ahead. But calling the entirety of the offseason a failure is a bit extreme. It could have, and maybe should have, been better. But a failure? No.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Think the Phillies are going to ditch their policy of not offering opt-outs? THINK AGAIN, PAL!! (but seriously, they should think about it)
• Even though his presence still haunts the walls of Citizens Bank Park, the team still will let go of Nick Castellanos.

MLB news:

• You know what’s always a good time? Power rankings of farm systems by people that don’t really scout much.
• However, Baseball America gave their top 100 prospects in the game, a list that included three Phillies youngsters ($).
• MacKenzie Gore is no longer in the NL East thanks to his deal to the Rangers, but he’ll still see the Phillies at the beginning of the season!
• Jung Hoo Lee was briefly detained at the airport in San Francisco, but it seemed to be an issue of forgetting some paperwork, an issue that was resolved swiftly.
• With Cody Bellinger and Freddy Peralta on new teams, what does the free agent market and trade market now look like?

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths.

“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire.

Hack Wilson finds another new team. Happy birthday, Jeff Samardzija*and other stories for the discerning reader.

Today in baseball history:

• 1887 – In Alameda, California, Dave Foutz and a touring team based in Louisville are accused of throwing a game against another touring team of Eastern pros. These exhibitions and the local California League competition are making for a lively winter in the San Francisco Bay Area. (2)
• 1927 – In the continuing clash between Commissioner Kenesaw Landis and American League President Ban Johnson, the AL owners are prepared to censure Johnson. But his serious health problems convince them to change their stance and Johnson is given an indefinite leave of absence instead. Detroit Tigers President Frank Navin takes over control of the league on an interim basis and the owners adopt a resolution repudiating the charges that Johnson made against Landis. (2)
• 1932 – The Brooklyn Dodgers acquire slugger Hack Wilson from the St. Louis Cardinals. Wilson, who costs only $45,000 and a minor league pitcher, will sign for $16,500, half his previous year’s salary. He will hit .297 with 23 home runs and 123 RBI for Brooklyn.
• 1953 – Argyle R. Mackey warns ‘alien players’ they will face deportation if found jumping U.S. professional contracts. The Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization cites the McCarran-Walter Act as the basis of his decision. (1)

Further reading: The history of the Antitrust Exemption (NYT); Los Chorizeros.

• 1956 – Hall of Fame umpire Billy Evans dies in Miami, Florida, at the age of 71. Evans began his major league umpiring career in 1906, when he was only 22 years old. (2)
• 1981 – Faced with the possibility of losing star outfielder Fred Lynn to free agency because of a front-office blunder, the Red Sox trade Lynn and pitcher Steve Renko to the Angels for pitchers Frank Tanana and Jim Dorsey and outfielder Joe Rudi. The Players Association contends that Lynn and catcher Carlton Fisk are free agents because the Red Sox failed to mail their new contracts by the deadline provided for in the Basic Agreement. Lynn signs a four-year deal with the Angels and agrees to drop his case. Fisk’s case will go to arbitration. (1,2)
• 1988 – Arbitrator Thomas Roberts declares seven presently contracted players no-risk free agents as a result of the collusion suit against Major League baseball. The players, who include Kirk Gibson, Carlton Fisk, and Joe Niekro, have until March 1 to make deals with other clubs. (1)

MLB collusion, explained.

• 2013 – Coming off the best season of his career, free agent OF Scott Hairston signs a two-year deal with the Chicago Cubs.(2)

Cubs Birthdays:Bill Bowman, Joey Amalfitano, Don Nottebart, Dick Burwell, Jeff Samardzija*, Addison Russell.

Today in History:

• 393 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor.
• 971 – War elephant corps of the Southern Han defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops; Southern Han state forced to submit to the Song Dynasty. 1st regular war elephant corps in Chinese army.
• 1556 – Shaanxi Earthquake, the deadliest ever recorded, kills 830,000 in Shaanxi Province, China.
• 1812 – 7.8 earthquake shakes New Madrid, Missouri.
• 1930 – Clyde Tombaugh photographs dwarf planet Pluto.
• 1957 – Wham-O Company produces the first Frisbee flying disc (originally called the “Pluto Platter” – until 1958).
• 1973 – US President Richard Nixon announces an accord has been reached to end the Vietnam War.

Common sources:

• (1) — Today in Baseball History.
• (2) — Baseball Reference.
• (3) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (4) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
• (5) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
• (6) — Wikipedia.
• (7) — The British Museum
• (8) — For world history.

*pictured.

Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, in order to help correct the record.

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

MLB teams are continuing to make big moves for starting pitchers. Unfortunately, the Orioles are not currently one of those teams.

The Texas Rangers were the latest to strike for a high-upside hurler, acquiring Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore yesterday for a five-prospect package. The 26-year-old Gore was a first-time All-Star last season for Washington, posting a 3.02 ERA in the first half before injuries slowed him in the final month. He’s a hard-throwing, strikeout-happy, somewhat command-challenged lefty with two years of team control.

The rebuilding Nats had Gore on the market all winter, and there were some whispers that the Orioles were interested, but ultimately it was the Rangers who made the deal. They gave up five of their top 18 prospects (as ranked by MLB Pipeline), so it’s not as if Gore came cheap. That kind of package might have been too rich for Mike Elias’s blood, assuming the O’s were even interested in Gore to begin with. The Birds already parted with a number of prospects in their December deal for Shane Baz, another 26-year-old with an intriguing arm and multiple years of team control remaining.

With Gore off the board, one day after the Brewers dealt Freddy Peralta to the Mets, there are precious few starting pitchers left on the trade market. If the Orioles were hoping to go the trade route for a rotation upgrade, they might have missed their chance. Then again, they could swoop out of nowhere and acquire some pitcher that nobody even knew was available. That’s essentially what they did with Baz, who hadn’t been linked to the Orioles in any rumors before the O’s pulled off the trade. Elias tends to keep us on our toes, you know.

Do the Orioles have another pitching acquisition still to come, or are they going to roll into the spring with what they’ve got now? The latter would seem like a disappointing outcome, especially when so many O’s fans were convinced the team would act aggressively to land a top-shelf starter after the Pete Alonso signing.

It could still happen. But the opportunities are dwindling.

Links

Orioles claim Weston Wilson (another Birdland Caravan update) – School of Roch

The Orioles acquired another outfielder who will probably spend all year at Triple-A. Who says they weren’t busy yesterday?

Will Orioles be better with Shane Baz instead of Grayson Rodriguez? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com

These two pitchers are more similar than I’d like to admit. But Baz has the advantage of having already returned from injury and pitched a full season, which is more than can currently be said of Grayson.

Orioles cancel Saturday Birdland Caravan events due to forecast snowstorm – The Baltimore Banner

It’s the right decision, but it’s a real bummer that the Orioles’ fan event weekend will be cut short. I haven’t gotten to go bowling with Adley Rutschman in weeks.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have five Orioles birthday buddies, though you might not have heard of most of them: infielders Cord Phelps (39) and Marty Brown (63); catcher Charlie Greene (55); outfielder Sherman Obando (56); and the late infielder Chico Carrasquel (b. 1926, d. 2005), who was a four-time All-Star with the White Sox before joining the Birds.

On this day in 1984, the Orioles signed Dan Ford. On this day in 1986, the Orioles released Dan Ford. Jan. 23 sure has been an eventful day for Dan Ford.

And on this date in 2010, the Orioles reunited with All-Star infielder Miguel Tejada, signing him to a one-year, $6 million deal. Tejada had been a star in his first stint with the Orioles from 2004-07, including a franchise-record 150 RBIs in 2004, before the rebuilding O’s traded him to Houston. His second stint in Baltimore, though, was forgettable. The longtime shortstop shifted to third base and struggled defensively, while his offense also plummeted (seven homers and a .670 OPS in 97 games). The Birds dumped Tejada and his salary to the Padres at the trade deadline.

Another day, another pitcher off the market. The Rangers made a move to fortify their rotation by getting MacKenzie Gore from the Nationals for a haul of five prospects, including their 12th overall pick from the most recent draft Gavin Fien. With him and Freddy Peralta both getting moved over the last couple of days, the market for starters is rapidly thinning. The Yankees probably weren’t going to get either of those guys based on the tier of prospects they got back, but they could probably use one more quality arm as insurance for all of their returning starters coming off of major injuries — we’ll have to see if they come up with something before all of the options are gone.

One the site today, we’ve got a couple things to get us through the day. Sam starts us off with a birthday post for Johnny Sturm, whose career started out on the mountaintop but ended right there thanks to World War II, and then Jeremy relives the shock of Roger Clemens coming out of retirement to rejoin the ‘07 Yanks at the spry young age of 44. Later on, I’ll be back to answer your questions in our latest mailbag.

Questions/Prompts:

1. How crazy will the Juan Soto trade tree look when all is said and done now that the Gore trade has added onto it?

2. What pitcher left on the market would you want the Yankees to target, price aside?

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Everybody knew that after signing Cody Bellinger to a five-year, $162.5 million contract this week, the Yankees’ payroll was going to blow past $300 million quite comfortably. The projected CBT payroll is, according to FanGraphs, at $317.8 million. Cot’s Contracts has the number at $320.1 million, third behind the Dodgers and Mets. It remains to be seen if their current payroll projections stand in the way of the team filling the team’s remaining needs, such as pitching and a right-handed bat.

MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams: Just a few years ago, Marco Luciano was considered the shortstop of the future by the Giants. He was untouchable in trade talks, and fans imagined him holding down the position for the next 10-15 years. Baseball is known for taking unexpected twists and turns, though, and the 24-year-old has been claimed via waivers by the Yanks after being designated for assignment by the Orioles a week ago. Luciano didn’t play in the majors in 2025, and hit .214/.335/.413 with 23 home runs and a 96 wRC+ in 125 games in the Giants’ Triple-A squad. If he sticks in the Bronx, he’ll represent a fun reclamation project. The far more likely outcome is that he’ll be infield depth at Scranton if he can’t find a big-league job by the end of spring training.

Baseball America: Baseball America released its annual list of top 100 prospects this week, with four Yankees featured on it: George Lombard Jr., Elmer Rodríguez, Dax Kilby, and Carlos Lagrange. On Thursday, they published their top 100 pitching prospects for 2026 according to the advanced metric Stuff+, and Lagrange is sitting at the top with a 121 mark. Not too shabby for the 22-year-old flamethrower who finished the 2026 campaign having reached Double-A.

FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: Jaffe takes a candidate-by-candidate look at the 2026 Hall of Fame voting results, including some former Yankees. Outfielders Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones, two former stars who wore pinstripes in their careers, were voted in and will officially be enshrined in the summer. Jaffe also gave helpful updates on where other candidates are in the their Hall of Fame voting journeys, with old friends Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, and Alex Rodriguez among that contingent.

Carson Benge has a chance to make the Mets' Opening Day roster this spring, and the young outfielder is taking steps to prepare himself for that opportunity.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon reported Thursday that Benge is already in Port St. Lucie --  almost a month before the Mets' Feb. 16 full squad report date -- after spending time during the offseason working on his hitting with the Holliday family at Oklahoma State -- that's, of course, Orioles star Jackson and his father Matt. 

Benge has shown promise in the minors and is regarded as one of the organization's top prospects. He has enough upside to have caught David Stearns' attention and the president of baseball operations declared that Benge will have a chance to break camp with the squad.

“Carson Benge is going to come into spring training with a chance to make our team, and we’ll see where the offseason takes us beyond that,” Stearns said back in November.

“When you have good players at the upper levels of the minor leagues, we have to find space for those players to play. Carson is among them. He’s not the only one, but he’s among them. So, as we build out our team, we have to ensure that as we move forward, there is room for our young players to get to the major leagues when they deserve to get there, and have a chance to really contribute to our major league team.”

Of course, a lot has changed with the Mets' roster since Stearns made those comments, especially with the outfield. 

Stearns swung a trade with the White Sox to bring Luis Robert Jr. over to, presumably, play center field. That leaves left field open for Benge, or any other outfield option on the roster, to take this opportunity. 

But after the addition of Robert Jr., Stearns is sticking with what he said months ago.

"With Carson, I've been clear all offseason he has a chance to make the club and Robert's addition doesn't change that," Stearns said Thursday. "We're going to give him a chance to make the club out of camp. Doesn't mean he is, but we'll give him a chance."

Other options for left field include Tyrone Taylor and even Brett Baty, who will play the super-utility role after the addition of Bo Bichette to play third base. 

Stearns' comments reveal his confidence in Benge to potentially compete for that spot, no matter what the current roster looks like. But it's not just Stearns' words that illustrate his belief in the young outfielder. 

In the same report from Rosenthal and Sammon, Benge was "never seriously on the table" during trade conversations for Freddy Peralta. 

Benge started last season with High-A Brooklyn but ended up playing 24 games for Triple-A Syracuse before the season came to a close. The 2024 first-round pick -- and the first draft selection made by Stearns in New York -- struggled once he arrived in Syracuse, putting up just a .583 OPS. But Benge had an overall solid full season as a pro, posting an .857 OPS with 15 home runs and 73 RBI across all three levels.

On the latest episode of The Mets Pod, Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo recap a week that turned the tide on the Mets' offseason and outlook for 2026. 

First up, the guys react to the huge trade that landed top starter Freddy Peralta, along with Tobias Myers, in exchange for top prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. 

Then Connor and Joe move on to the acquisition of center fielder Luis Robert Jr, the official introduction of Bo Bichette, the addition of Luis Garcia to the bullpen, and maybe more moves to come.

The show also goes Down on the Farm to look at how the trades affect the organization, and answer Mailbag questions about adding another outfielder, and the September return of Pete Alonso to Citi Field with the Orioles. 

Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

MLB cleared ex-Giants reliever Sean Hjelle after he faced allegations of “abuse” from his wife this past summer, according to a new report.

NBC Sports Bay Area reported the league concluded its investigation and that Hjelle will not face any disciplinary action from MLB.

The league’s decision comes after Hjelle’s wife, Caroline, accused the righty of infidelity, along with “abuse” in a series of TikTok videos she posted back in June 2025.

“When my MLB husband abandons us on Mothers Day a week after this once I finally found out about his affairs and stopped putting up with his abuse so I’ve been raising two boys alone,” she wrote on a TikTok — which has since been deleted — which showed her and her two sons.

In the caption under the video, Caroline wrote, “Yeah I’ve had to be silent for too long about this.”

When asked about the allegations in June, Hjelle said that he did not have a comment.

“I don’t have an official comment right now,” Hjelle told reporters following a game against the Red Sox on June 21, 2025. “I would like to actually talk with my agent, my lawyer. This has been something that’s been going on for over a year now in terms of our relationship and our divorce and our separation and everything.  … I just want to talk to the appropriate people and figure out what the steps are, just kind of taking it stride right now.

“So no comment right now. I feel confident saying that I will have one eventually. I don’t have an exact timeline on that, but I would like to actually get with the people that are handling the situation with me and for me before I actually make an official statement.”

Hjelle, who spent four seasons in the MLB with the Giants, signed a deal with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s Nippon Baseball League after a shaky 2025 in San Francisco.

In 12 appearances with the Giants, Hjelle — who at 6 feet 11 is listed as the tallest player in MLB history alongside ex-Mets reliever Jon Rauch — posted a 7.80 ERA and was sent down to the minors in the middle of the season.

The Yankees added some depth to their minor league system Thursday, when they claimed Marco Luciano off waivers from the Orioles.

The 24-year-old Luciano last appeared in the majors for the Giants in 2024 and played 41 games for San Francisco from 2023-24, putting up an OPS of just .590.

Primarily a middle infielder earlier in his minor league career, Luciano spent all of last season with Triple-A Sacramento and played left field.

It’s been a busy offseason for Luciano, who was claimed off waivers by the Pirates and Orioles earlier in the offseason, so there’s no guarantee he’ll make it to Tampa for spring training with the Yankees.

Luciano was among the top international free agents when he signed with the Giants for $2.6 million in 2018 out of the Dominican Republic.

It’s hard to tackle a topic like this without unintentionally disrespecting the current manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, but I have to wonder if Yadier Molina might be the leader the team needs once the ongoing rebuild is complete. But, I also have a few reservations about why I fear that it might not be the great idea many of us think it is.

Let me be clear that I am not an anti-Oli Marmol person. While he’s not my favorite St. Louis Cardinals manager ever, I realize he’s been working with a roster that has been lacking to say the least. Oli did a good job handling a tricky lineup in 2022 when Albert Pujols rejoined the Cardinals for his final season, but let’s not talk about his bullpen use during the playoffs that year against the Phillies. No matter what you think of Oli as a manager, I think many in the Cardinals fanbase will forever view him as a remnant of the John Mozeliak era no matter if that’s fair or not. My point is I want to look at Yadi’s capabilities and not Oli Marmol’s faults.

We learned this week that the St. Louis Cardinals had hired Yadi again as a special assistant to the President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom. The Cardinals said “Yadi will provide input on our catching program, will advise our staff on catching and game planning strategy and will give…our front office valuable perspective from his unique vantage point.”. The St. Louis Cardinals emphasized the need for Yadi to communicate his “championship mindset” to the players. My mind immediately began wondering if the team will someday turn to Yadi to execute that as the manager.

Let’s pretend there will be no work stoppage after the season because the owners and players can’t get together on a new collective bargaining agreement. For the sake of argument, let’s also say the foundational aspects of the St. Louis Cardinals rebuild is in good shape after just a couple of seasons. If the team decides that Oli Marmol is not the manager that’s needed when the Cardinals are ready to seriously contend again, should Yadi Molina be the next St. Louis skipper? I have created a pros and cons list because there are some real concerns.

Let’s start with the obvious pros. Yadier Molina has elite levels of tactical knowledge. Tony La Russa once said that he considered Yadi as an extra coach on the field. He said that Yadi “thinks and manages a game and a pitching staff as well as anybody ever has”. I can’t think of anyone I would want handling the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen for a full season than Yadi. He’s also a proven leader, not just during his Cardinals playing career but also as a manager in the Puerto Rican winter league. Yadi was the on-field leader that helped bring world championships to St. Louis in 2006 and 2011. There is no aspect of team and field management that he does not possess.

The cons list isn’t substantial, but there are a few potential hurdles that would give me pause before I offered Yadier this opportunity. The first and most significant is his ability to commit to a full season and all that requires when his involvement with the team over the past couple of years has been limited by family needs. I also wonder if Yadi has the patience needed to deal with the media on a day-to-day basis. While I was often entertained by some of the tense Tony La Russa post-game interviews (especially after a loss), it’s vital that a manager be able to handle media responsibilities. Would Yadi’s sometimes intense demeanor have the patience for that? That would be interesting. A modern day manager needs to understand how to incorporate all of the new data and technology that’s available into decision making and I’m not aware of how Yadi feels about that.

One thing I do not question is Yadier Molina’s drive to accomplish something that he sets out to do and it’s clear that he envisions himself as a major league manager someday. I think his new “special” assistant role with the Cardinals could be the key step to preparing him for that opportunity. If his family demands allow him to be a full-time manager, I believe he might be the perfect next leader of the St. Louis Cardinals. When you factor in how much the St. Louis Cardinals fanbase loves Yadi, it’s a marketing team’s dream for him to someday become the manager. Let’s watch this coming season and see if Yadi is a more visible presence with a bigger time investment. If that happens, we could be seeing the transition of a legendary Cardinals player into the future manager he so longs to be.

Most of David Stearns’ work this offseason revolved around improving the lineup and defense, even though he made it clear he wanted to upgrade the rotation, as well.

He went to a familiar face in order to finally upgrade that starting staff when the former Brewers general manager traded for his former player Freddy Peralta late Wednesday night.

“Freddy has clearly established himself as one of the top starters in baseball, one of the most consistent starters in baseball, over the past few years,” Stearns said on a Zoom call Thursday from Citi Field. “He’s a player I know well. A player I trust. A player I think will mesh very well with the organization and the team and our city.”

Stearns called Peralta, coming off a career-best season, “a starter who can pitch in the top half of our rotation.”

Perhaps the two main concerns regarding the transaction — which also brought right-hander Tobias Myers to Queens for prospects Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams — are whether Peralta can duplicate his success from a year ago and whether the Mets will be able to keep him beyond this season.

The 29-year-old Peralta is due to become a free agent for the first time after this season and some opposing scouts believed the Mets paid a high price for what could be a one-year rental.

Stearns declined comment on whether an extension has been discussed, but acknowledged there’s never a guarantee of that happening when you trade for a player.

“I think as you evaluate a transaction where a player is under contract for a relatively short amount of time, you have to assume a player is under contract for a relatively short amount of time and make the transaction with those assumptions.”

For now, though, Peralta certainly gives the Mets an upper-echelon starter to join a group that includes Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea and Nolan McLean, with other promising young arms like Jonah Tong and Christian Scott waiting in the wings.

“We like our rotation,” Stearns said. “We think being able to add Freddy is something of a stabilizing force to help lead our rotation.”

Asked if the team had the ace it lacked last year, Stearns said, “I think we have multiple starters in our rotation who, at various points in their career, have pitched as No. 1 starters. Certainly, Freddy qualifies as that.”

He also noted that McLean was able to “flash potential as a No. 1 starter last year,” as well as the fact that Manaea and Senga have also looked like top-of-the-rotation arms in the past.

And Stearns is also confident Peralta hasn’t reached his height yet.

“He emerged as a really quality leader in the clubhouse with the Brewers,’’ Stearns said. “He’s constantly getting better. I had a front-row seat to that in his development during his first few years at the major league level [in Milwaukee]. He was never satisfied. He wants to get better.”

Peralta threw a career-high 176 ²/₃ innings in 33 starts for the Brewers last season, but has been roughed up in the playoffs, with a 5.56 ERA over his last five postseason starts since 2023.

After trading Luisangel Acuña as part of a package for Luis Robert Jr., the Mets acquired utility infielder Vidal Bruján from the Twins on Thursday for cash.

The 27-year-old played for three teams in 2025, combining for a .616 OPS in 60 games split among the Cubs, Orioles and Braves. He was selected off waivers from Atlanta a week ago. The Mets will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster to add Bruján, who must be sent through waivers in order to be sent back to the minors. … The Mets announced that Dick Scott would return as manager at Triple-A Syracuse. Michael Collins, who was on the Astros coaching staff for the past eight years, will manage Double-A Binghamton.