The final price for the most recent piece of Shohei Ohtani memorabilia didn’t just climb, it skyrocketed like a baseball leaving off the bat of the Dodgers two-way sensation.
The jersey he wore during the 2026 World Baseball Classic for Team Japan on March 6 at the Tokyo Dome—his home soil, his stage—sold for a staggering $1,500,010 via MLB auctions on Sunday night, the highest price ever paid for an Ohtani jersey.
That night against Chinese Taipei, Ohtani didn’t simply play. He detonated—launching a grand slam, driving in five runs, and turning a WBC game into something closer to a national celebration.
The jersey absorbed it all: the roar of the Tokyo fans, the flash of cameras, the weight of expectation in a country that sees him as both athlete and a god-like figure.
Collectors felt it too.
Over seven days, 298 bids poured in, each one chasing something bigger than ownership—chasing proximity to greatness.
By the time the hammer fell, the price had dwarfed his 2023 WBC jersey, which sold for just over $126,000.
Ironically, that 2023 WBC jersey was worn during the title game that saw Ohtani strike out his then-teammate Mike Trout to win the crown for Team Japan. To this day, it is still one of the most iconic moments in WBC history.
Japan’s 2026 run ended earlier than expected, bounced in the quarterfinals by eventual-champion Venezuela. The jersey becomes something else because of that—less a trophy, more a relic of brilliance in a fleeting moment early in the tournament.
His Logoman baseball card recently fetched $3 million. Another dual MVP card with Aaron Judge sold for $2.16 million. His historic 50-50 home run ball from the 2024 season sold for $4.39 million. His 2025 NLCS Game 4 Home Run: A ball from Ohtani’s historic 3-homer, 10-strikeout game in the 2025 NLCS sold for $270,000, and that was just one ball. Together, all three could have sold for over a million dollars.
Japan designated hitter Shohei Ohtani rounds the bases after hitting a home run against Venezuela in the first inning during a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Back in Los Angeles, the Dodgers open their season Thursday at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani will step into the batter’s box again, under brighter lights, chasing new moments and a three-peat.
Somewhere, tucked behind glass, a jersey waits—worth $1.5 million.
Still not as valuable as what will probably come next.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Tatsuya Imai #45 of the Houston Astros pitches during spring training workouts at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on February 20, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Houston Astros will play the first of two exhibition games against their Triple-A team, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys today.
RHP Tatsuya Imai will get the start tonight for the Astros in his final tune-up before the season opposite LHP Colton Gordon and the Space Cowboys.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP Tatsuya Imai is back on the mound after last pitching in an intrasquad simulated game on March 17 at the Astros Spring Training complex in West Palm Beach, FL.
Imai has been stellar in his three official Spring Training appearances, working a combined 6.0 scoreless innings…in January, the Astros signed Imai to a three-year deal.
In 2025, he was an All Star for the Seibu Lions in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB), where he went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA (35ER/163.2IP) in 24 games.
TONIGHT’S SPACE COWBOYS STARTER: LHP Colton Gordon, who was optioned to minor league camp on March 5, is coming off a productive rookie season with the Astros, in which he recorded a 5.34 ERA (51ER/86IP) in 20 games, including 14 starts.
Gordon entered the 2025 season as one of the Astros top pitching prospects and finished the 2025 season with the third most starts in the Astros rotation.
Among AL rookies in 2025, he ranked first in walks per nine innings (1.99) and first in strikeoutto-walk ratio (3.79).
YESTERDAY’S ROSTER MOVES: Prior to yesterday’s game, the Astros informed four players that they would not make the Astros Opening Day roster in IF/OF Cavan Biggio, RHP Peter Lambert, C Carlos Pérez and OF Taylor Trammell.
ASTROS RADIO: Tonight’s game can be heard on the radio on KTRH 740 AM with Space Cowboys broadcasters Garrett Green and Gerald Sanchez joined on air with Astros pre- and postgame analyst Brian Bogusevic. The trio will also call tomorrow night’s game before giving way to the popular duo of Robert Ford (play-by-play) and Steve Sparks (color) on Opening Day.
ON THE TUBE: Tonight’s game will not be televised, but the Astros will be back on the air tomorrow night on Space City Home Network. SCHN will also televise the Astros Opening Day matchup vs. LAA.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 26: Manager Tony Vitello #23 of the San Francisco Giants greets a fan on the field before the spring training game during the lineup card exchange against the Colorado Rockies at Scottsdale Stadium on February 26, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 2026 Major League Baseball season begins in about 48 hours and, for reasons still unbeknownst to me, the San Francisco Giants have drawn the opening assignment. A brand new season, full of brand new baseball, kicks off on Wednesday at Oracle Park, with the Giants hosting the New York Yankees, while the rest of the baseball world tunes in, eagerly awaiting their turn on Thursday (when the Giants get the alway-annoying Day 2 off day).
You know what to do. This isn’t your first rodeo, unless it is, in which case, hello and welcome, we hope you enjoy your first date with baseball.
But in case you’ve forgotten — last Opening Day was a year ago, according to my calendar — well, here’s a refresher. Here’s 10 things you need to do before yet another season of baseball begins.
1. Stock up on beer and snacks
The older I get, the more I find myself gravitating to baseball over other sports. I only recently realized one of the main reasons: what sport has such a strong relationship with food?
You can’t go to the ballpark and not get a large, cold, overpriced beer, unless you don’t like beer, in which case you can’t go to the ballpark and not get a large, cold, overpriced margarita, unless you don’t drink, in which case you can’t go to the ballpark and not get a large, cold, overpriced lemonade. Or a water, I guess.
Most of us don’t make it to the ballpark often, for which our tailbones are appreciative. But over the years, I’ve learned that the couch experience of baseball-watching is greatly amplified by ensuring that baseball foods are exactly that: baseball foods, not ballpark foods.
And if you don’t eat baseball foods on Opening Day, when will you?
So my fridge is full of beer and hot dogs, and my pantry’s got enough sunflower seeds to ensure that my sodium levels stay delightfully in the red. Please join me.
2. Read Alex Pavlovic’s book
There’s still time to get and read Alex Pavlovic’s book, at least if you live in the Bay Area. Most bookstores within 50 miles of the ballpark should carry The Franchise: San Francisco Giants: A Curated History of the Orange and Black, and it’s a quick read. You can go get it tonight, read it tomorrow, and be ready to go on Wednesday.
Don’t let the double-colon insisted by the publisher trick you into thinking Pavs wrote anything other than a stellar book. I’ll be honest: I’m normally not a fan of this popular style of sports book, where writers are tasked with distilling a team into 20-something medium-length chapters. But Pavlovic wrote the best one I’ve read yet. While most of the books in this ilk are overly-formulaic, and read like someone curated 25 of the author’s articles from over the years, that’s emphatically not the case with this one. Pavs put in the work with countless interviews, and the result is that the book is filled with information that isn’t available elsewhere, and stories that haven’t been told.
If you haven’t read it yet, read it. You’ll have a good time, you’ll remember some great times, and you’ll learn a whole lot.
3. Check your subscriptions
Yes, it’s true: the streaming era has fully reached baseball, with countless “exclusive” options branching from the sport like snakes from Medusa’s head. Opening Day, as you’ve surely heard, is on Netflix, making it easier than ever to watch Love is Blind during commercial breaks. Saturday’s game eschews the local broadcast as well, going straight to FOX. Sometime next month, you’ll have to subscribe to Apple TV to watch the Giants play the Baltimore Orioles … while you’re there, I suggest binging Severance, unless the state of the world is bringing you down, in which case I recommend Ted Lasso.
What you shouldn’t do, is what I have a knack for doing with my accounts: waiting until 30 seconds before game time to make sure you’re logged in, and missing the first inning as you try to use your phone to send a code to your computer to let you in on your TV.
Technology, baby. Life’s never been more convenient.
You don’t just need to log in to Netflix and whatever platform you use for NBC Sports Bay Area broadcasts. Now’s also the time to check your written subscriptions, so you can digest as much Giants baseball as you’d like. I’m begrudgingly reporting that Vox Media still won’t allow me to take your money, so McCovey Chronicles will remain free to you. But we only cover so much: if you want reports from behind the scenes and the locker room, you’ll need to subscribe to Susan Slusser and Shayna Rubin at the San Francisco Chronicle, or Andrew Baggarly and Grant Brisbee (who?) at The Athletic, or Justice delos Santos at the Mercury News, or Kerry Crowley at the SF Standard.
Want to follow the Minor Leagues closely? You’ll needRoger Munter’s newsletter, which is second-to-none in Giants prospecting … or Baseball America and/or Baseball Prospectus if you want to follow prospects beyond those in Sacramento, Richmond, Eugene, San Jose, Papago, and Boca Chica. And if you want in-depth analytics and breakdowns, you’ll surely run through your monthly dose of free articles at Fangraphs.
If you’ve got a lot of money to spend and want to ingest as much Giants content as possible, you could easily spend triple digits monthly on subscriptions. Each one is well worth it, though you’ll probably want to pick and choose.
Also, if you’ve got a lot of money to spend, shoot me an email. I just want to talk. Got some questions.
4. Catch up on old friends
Sure, the Giants are your team, but we always end up watching extra baseball. And the best baseball, other than Giants baseball, is old friends baseball. Which means now is the time to see where those old friends are, so you can follow them this year.
Kyle Harrison is starting the year in the Milwaukee Brewers’ rotation. Mike Yastrzemski had a first Spring Training with the Atlanta Braves that would make Barry Bonds drool (seriously: he hit .400/.526/.900). Mason Black pitched well for the Kansas City Royals, though he’s beginning the year in AAA. Marco Luciano has been knocked down to AA for the New York Yankees. Wilmer Flores is headed to Mexico.
There are many, many others. We all have the players we’ve grown attached to over the years, even though they ultimately left. So see how they’re doing and where they are, so you can follow them.
Speaking of which…
5. Pick a second team
Having a second team is a rite of passage in baseball. If you don’t have a second team, who are you going to watch at night when the Giants play during the day? Who are you going to watch on Thursday and Sunday, when the Giants inexplicably don’t play? How can you be expected to survive on 162 games instead of 324?
My second team is the Houston Astros, because love makes you do things you previously thought were inconceivable. But if I’m recommending a second team to you, might I suggest the Seattle Mariners? They’re a fellow west coast squad, making them easier to follow. They have one of the most joyful players in baseball in Julio Rodríguez. They have a brewing intrasquad feud from the World Baseball Classic. Their best player is an MVP candidate with a nickname formed entirely due to his fat ass. They’ll likely make three or more trades with the Giants over the next 12 months.
But we all must choose our own journey, so pick the second team that makes sense to you. There are no wrong answers.
Except the Los Angeles Dodgers. That is emphatically a wrong answer.
6. Make sure your hat fits
Look, this one is very simple. You might be watching Opening Day from your couch, but you still need your gear. Hats have a way of magically changing size. Sometimes your head does a bit of Bruce Bochy wizardry and gets bigger. Sometimes you cut your hair and your size shrinks.
You can’t watch the first game without your memorabilia. Make sure your hat fits. Make sure your shirt is at the front of your closet. Make sure your lucky underwear is clean. I shouldn’t have to explain this to you.
7. Catch up on your lingo
Baseball has become a great sport for math nerds and linguistic nerds alike. There are acronyms and initialisms and phrases galore. If the future follows the recent past, you’ll hear some, like OPS (on-base plus slugging) and WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched), on the broadcast. You’ll hear a lot more, like FIP (fielding independent pitching), IVB (induced vertical break), and WAR (wins above replacement), on the radio and the podcasts. You’ll get deeper still, with things like wRC+ (weighted runs created plus), xwOBA (expected weighted on base average), and TOOTBLAN (thrown out on the bases like a nincompoop) in these articles, and with the ever-present FYMM (f*** you, Max Muncy) in the comment section. You’ll venture into territory I can’t even prepare you for if you geek out at Fangraphs.
No time like the present to get caught up on your lingo. Unless you don’t want to, in which case a well timed YOU SUCK when sitting in the bleachers still works wonders.
8. Familiarize yourself with the roster
Spring Training is a joyous time, but everyone utilizes it differently. Obsessing over the minutiae of the roster isn’t for everyone. There are plenty of you reading this who don’t have a great idea as to who will be on the Opening Day roster, and that’s completely fine. We all fan differently. Again: there’s no wrong way. Except rooting for the Dodgers.
Fangraphs has a great tool called RosterResource that you can look through to get a feel for the team’s depth chart, and familiarize yourself with the names you’ll see on Wednesday … and in April, May, and June. Get to know your guys: they’re about to break your heart, after all.
9. Make some bold predictions
Now is the time for bold predictions: we’re late enough into spring that they carry meaning, but early enough that they can easily be forgotten. Which means you can go wild. Making bold predictions in late March is like buying scratch-off tickets with someone else’s credit card: you get to enjoy the spoils of victory should things break your way, with no cost for the far-more-numerous defeats.
Head to the comment section, or to social media, or call your friends, and tell them your bold predictions for the season. If you predict that Patrick Bailey hits 20 home runs, the Giants win the World Series, and Casey Schmitt reinvents himself as an All-Star closer, you’ll look like a genius if PB somehow puts 20 balls over the fence, and no one will remember anything you said if the Giants win 70 games and Schmitt continues along as an infielder.
All glory, no accountability. Have at it.
10. Go toss a baseball around
This reads like the baseball equivalent of telling you to touch grass, but I really mean it. If you’ve got a ball, a mitt, and a friend, family member, or neighbor, go toss a ball around. Stand in the sun. Smell the grass. Take some Advil when your shoulder flares up after throwing 20 heaters at 45 mph. You’re not as young as you used to be. Don’t worry; I’m not either.
Mar 23, 2026; Mesa, Arizona, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) tries to stay cool against the Chicago Cubs in the second inning at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
With the Yankees already heading out west for the opening series of the regular season against the Giants, they decided to make a little pit stop along the way. On Monday, the Yankees were in Arizona to end their spring season, stopping for a pair of games against the Cubs.
As for the opener of those two games, well, at least this one didn’t count (and wasn’t televised). Starting pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange and pretty much everyone else the Yankees threw on the mound had a less-than-stellar day, as Chicago piled on the runs. The final tally ended up being a 15-6 Yankees loss.
The game actually started on a decent note, as the Yankees scored first. In the top of the first inning, Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-out single to score Paul Goldschmidt, who had led off the game with a walk. In the bottom of the first, Lagrange allowed two singles to the first two Cubs hitters, but then got Alex Bregman to ground into a double play. While he was on the verge of escaping, Lagrange then allowed a walk to Ian Happ and then another single to Carson Kelly to tie things up. That started a very long day for the Yankees’ pitching staff.
The Cubs really got to Lagrange a couple innings later. After Nico Hoerner led off the inning with a single, Michael Busch and Bregman hit back-to-back homers. Following another hit from Kelly, Lagrange was replaced by Will Brian. Before Brian eventually got out of the inning, he allowed a three-run shot of his own to Matt Shaw.
As it’s still essentially spring training and things are a bit looser, the Yankees did bring back Lagrange for the fourth inning, but Chicago picked up another couple runs, which ended up on his final statline.
Lagrange’s final line ended up being eight runs allowed on nine hits and two walks in 2.2 innings. He did strike out four batters, and his overall spring was impressive enough that we’ll write this off as a bad day against a good MLB lineup. There’s a reason why he’s not yet a finished product, for as tantalizing as his stuff can be at his best.
After giving up 10 unanswered runs, the Yankees finally go one back in the fifth. With Paul Goldschmidt on third after a double and an Aaron Judge single, Cody Bellinger got one in the air, allowing Goldschmidt to tag up and score.
This was just not a day for the Yankees pitchers in general. In the sixth, Cade Winquest and Yerry De los Santos combined to allow another five runs in the sixth. The Cubs didn’t even kick the extra point, they went for two and got to 15 runs on the day.
One good thing did happen before the end of the game, though. Spencer Jones hit his fifth and sixth home runs of the spring, coming off a pair of MLB relievers in Phil Maton and Jacob Webb. Jones did help lead a brief rally in the ninth, but that did come up way short.
Eventually, Kervin Castro and Osvaldo Bido came in and put in some good efforts, making the day not a complete waste on the pitching front. The good news about the pitching situation is that no one of importance right now — Lagrange is obviously somewhat important, just not to the MLB team yet — pitched in this won. The likes of Winquest and De los Santos could end up on the roster, but they’re not going to be relied on for big innings at the moment.
The Yankees will wrap up their 2026 spring slate tomorrow with another game against the Cubs in Arizona. Gerrit Cole is scheduled to get the start in that one, with first pitch coming at 3:05 pm ET.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MARCH 09: Pitcher Aaron Ashby #26 of the Milwaukee Brewers throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at American Family Fields of Phoenix on March 09, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Real baseball is so close that it’s back in our home ballpark. The big league Brewers are back in Milwaukee, set to take part in the first of two final tune-ups against the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field (the big one).
As far as newsy items today, the Brewers confirmed who will start in each of their first six games, giving us a clear picture of what the rotation will look like to begin the season. Before today, the question still remained whether Kyle Harrison, who has been dealing with a blister, or Brandon Woodruff, who is being treated cautiously after finishing last season with a lat injury, would be healthy enough to start the season with the team. Today, we got that answer: yes, Harrison and Woodruff are scheduled to start the fourth and fifth games of the season, respectively. They’ll follow Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, and Brandon Sproat, who will start the games in the White Sox series to open the year.
Also, yesterday’s announced optioning of Shane Drohan and Robert Gasser and the impending injured-list designations for Quinn Priester, Rob Zastryzny, Craig Yoho, and Akil Baddoo mean that the Brewers’ Opening Day roster is essentially finalized, barring an unexpected injury between now and Thursday afternoon. (It has happened before! Knock on the nearest wooden object.) A quick rundown, with more analysis later this week:
Catchers: William Contreras and Gary Sánchez
Infielders: Andrew Vaughn, Jake Bauers, Brice Turang, Joey Ortiz, Luis Rengifo, David Hamilton
Outfielders/DH: Sal Frelick, Jackson Chourio, Brandon Lockridge, Garrett Mitchell, Christian Yelich
Relievers: Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby, Jared Koenig, Ángel Zerpa, DL Hall, Grant Anderson, Easton McGee
As for tonight’s game, the Brewers are fielding a strong lineup — not unexpected, given that I assume most of the minor leaguers stayed behind or traveled elsewhere — a lefty-heavy group which could be a preview of the lineup they’ll use Thursday against Chicago’s Shane Smith. (If that’s the case, it looks like we might be in for more platooning between Ortiz and Hamilton than we may have expected.)
Defensively, though, there’s one curious note that I would not expect to see on Thursday, and that’s Christian Yelich in left field and Jackson Chourio as the designated hitter.
On the mound, it looks to be a big “final tune-up” day for a bunch of the guys in the Brewers’ bullpen: Aaron Ashby is scheduled to start, but all of McGee, Hall, Anderson, Koenig, Uribe, Zerpa, and Megill are listed as scheduled to pitch after Ashby. For those keeping track at home, that’s all eight of the roster’s projected relievers.
Brady Singer will start on the mound for Cincinnati. Speaking of odd DH decisions, Ke’Bryan Hayes — one of the league’s best defensive players and worst hitters — is the designated hitter for the Reds tonight. It might be in Milwaukee, but it’s still spring training.
First pitch at 6:40 p.m. No TV tonight, unfortunately; catch the game on the radio.
The 2026 Dodgers are already setting records, even before the first official pitch of the season.
According to the ticket site TickPick, prices for the team’s Opening Day game on Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks are hitting record highs, with an average purchase price of $392 on the resale market.
The 2026 Dodgers are already setting records, even before the first official pitch of the season. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
That marks the highest price for an MLB home-opener on record, according to TickPick.
It is also the most expensive price ever for a regular-season game played at an MLB ballpark.
The only game in league history that featured a higher average ticket price was the “Field of Dreams” game in 2022 between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds, but that was played before a capacity of less than 8,000 fans at the iconic Iowa cornfield used in the movie of the same name.
Tickets for this year’s home-opener, in which the Dodgers will raise a banner for their 2025 World Series championship during a pregame ceremony, are also 55% more expensive than the team’s home-opener a season ago, when they celebrated their 2024 championship.
A general view of Dodger Stadium during Game Five of the 2025 World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, October 29, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB Photos via Getty Images
The “get-in” price for the game is currently $196, as well, far surpassing the next most expensive home-opener for this season ($119 for when the San Francisco Giants host the New York Yankees on Wednesday).
Thursday will kick off a weekend-long celebration of the Dodgers’ 2025 title.
On Friday, there will be another pregame ceremony in which members of last year’s team are awarded their World Series rings.
The games will also feature the unveiling of the Dodgers’ new presenting field sponsor, Uniqlo. The team has a press conference scheduled for Wednesday to officially announce the partnership, which is expected to include the renaming of the stadium’s playing surface as “Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium.”
The Cubs met the Yankees in an Arizona spring game for the first time in 75 years and left the visitors wishing they hadn’t bothered.
In front of a full house at Sloan Park that included many Yankees fans, the Cubs exploded with three home runs in an 18-hit attack that defeated the visitors 15-6.
The Yankees scored first, off Shōta Imanaga in the first inning, though Imanaga struck out both Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger.
The Cubs matched that in the first. Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch led off with singles, but Alex Bregman hit into a double play with Hoerner taking third. But after that, Ian Happ walked and Carson Kelly singled in Nico.
The Cubs exploded with six runs in the third. Hoerner led off with a single and Busch followed with a home run, his first of the spring. Three pitches later, Bregman homered, his third. One out later, Carson Kelly doubled and went to third on a single by Michael Conforto. Dansby Swanson struck out, but Matt Shaw followed that with a three-run homer, giving the Cubs a 7-1 lead.
Three more Cubs runs crossed the plate in the fourth. Nico singled and went to second on a ground out by Busch. Bregman doubled in Nico to make it 8-1, then Happ walked. After Kelly struck out, Conforto tripled in a pair of runs and it was 10-1.
Most of this was off a Yankees pitcher named Carlos Lagrange, and I’m sure you can find some sort of movie script that has a guy like that as the anti-hero. (Though it’s pronounced “La-GRAN-hay” and not as it’s spelled.)
Imanaga allowed one more run to the Yankees in a good five-inning outing in which he threw 81 pitches (54 strikes). He struck out five, and here’s more on his outing [VIDEO].
Best of all, Imanaga did not allow a home run in this outing. He will likely start Saturday or Sunday against the Nationals.
As for the bullpen: Daniel Palencia threw a 1-2-3 sixth in what is likely his final tune-up before Opening Day. Phil Maton allowed a solo home run to Spencer Jones in his only inning, the seventh. Hunter Harvey threw a scoreless eighth. Jacob Webb served up two homers, one to Jones, his second of the game, and wound up being replaced with two out having thrown 20 pitches. Hopefully, Webb’s results beginning Thursday will be better. Minor leaguer Zac Leigh finished things up.
The Cubs put together another crooked-number inning, scoring five in the sixth. Conforto doubled in one of those runs.
Conforto had a big day as the DH, going 3-for-4 with a single, double and triple and had four RBI. Personally, I’d put Conforto in right field on Opening Day, not Matt Shaw. But that’s just me.
And ICYMI, Seiya Suzuki will in fact miss the opener:
Seiya Suzuki (knee) will open the season on the injured list, Cubs manager Craig Counsell confirmed. The club also informed pitcher Ben Brown that he will make the Opening Day roster. Javier Assad will be optioned to Triple A and start the season in the Iowa rotation.
It’ll be interesting to see how Craig Counsell deploys Ben Brown in relief. I’ve always said I thought Brown was better suited to relief, with his somewhat limited repertoire and the ability to throw 98 miles per hour. He could do multi-inning relief, or possibly be a useful setup man.
The Cubs will wrap the spring schedule Tuesday with another game against the Yankees at Sloan Park. Don’t expect any of the Yankee regulars to play as they have likely departed for San Francisco for the MLB season opener on Wednesday. Cubs regulars, if they play, probably won’t play more than four innings or so. Edward Cabrera will start for the Cubs and Gerrit Cole will go for the Yankees, so that’ll be interesting. Game time is 2:05 p.m. CT. No TV Tuesday and the radio broadcast will be via the Yankees flagship WFAN 660.
The Yankees fell to the Chicago Cubs, 15-6, on Monday afternoon at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz.
Here are the takeaways...
-- After an impressive spring, Carlos Lagrangehad a tough Monday, allowing eight runs on nine hits across 2.2 IP. He struck out four and walked one on 66 pitches (38 strikes).
The 22-year-old let up two straight hits in the bottom of the first inning and nearly got out of the jam thanks to a double play. However, he surrendered a two-out knock to Carson Kelly that tied the game up at 1-1. Lagrange bounced back and struck out the side in the second inning, but couldn't maintain the momentum in the third.
The righty let up back-to-back home runs -- a two-run homer to Michael Busch and a solo shot to Alex Bregman that put Chicago up 4-1. He struck out Ian Happ following a mound visit, but then allowed a double to Kelly. The results didn't change when he came back out to pitch the fourth inning, allowing a single, an RBI-double, and a walk before getting pulled again.
-- Will Brian came in for relief in the third inning and things didn't get better for the Yanks. Brian let up a single to Michael Conforto, and after a strikeout, gave up a three-run blast to Matt Shaw that made it a 7-1 game. Cade Winquest later entered for Lagrange in the fourth, allowing a two-run triple to Conforto before getting a flyout to end the frame.
-- New York took a 1-0 lead in the first inning against Shota Imanaga thanks to some two-out hitting as Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm Jr. had back-to-back singles, with Chisholm driving in Paul Goldschmidt from second base. The Yanks had another scoring chance in the third inning after Goldschmidt was hit by a pitch and Aaron Judge singled, but the 3-5 hitters went down in order.
-- Goldschmidt and Judge continued to provide the offense, as the first baseman doubled and the reigning AL MVP singled in the top of the fifth inning. Cody Bellinger drove in Goldschmidt on a sac-fly to make it a 10-2 game.
-- Yerry De los Santos allowed three runs on five hits in the sixth inning as the Cubs scored five runs overall in the frame to push the lead to 15-2.
-- Spencer Jones hit a solo home run off veteran Phil Maton in the top of the seventh inning. The slugging prospect blasted another HR in the ninth, this time a two-run shot to give him six home runs this spring. Max Schuemann joined in on the fun and went back-to-back with Jones, hitting a solo homer to cut the Cubs' lead to 15-6.
What's next
The Yankees will stay in Mesa, Ariz. for their final spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at 3:05 p.m. on Tuesday.
After that, Max Fried will take on Logan Webb and the San Francisco Giants to open the 2026 regular season on Wednesday at 8:05 p.m.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - SEPTEMBER 28: Brady Singer #51 of the Cincinnati Reds throws a pitch in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on September 28, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cincinnati Reds got bogus news early in spring camp when Hunter Greene needed elbow surgery to remove bone spurs, setting back their ace until the All Star break in July. Aside from that doozy, though, things had mostly been OK on the injury front (aside from Caleb Ferguson’s oblique issue).
As the heat ramped up down in the desert, though, a plague of blisters descended upon Goodyear. Yesterday we found out Nick Lodolo had one (that was bad enough to need popping), and that came on the heels of Brady Singer dealing with one, too – not the kind of news you want on the eve of Opening Day when things had already been seemingly set with the pitching staff.
As things stand, though, it appears Singer dodged any blistering that was bad enough to set him back, and he’ll get the ball tonight in Milwaukee as the Reds face off against the Brewers in a pre-season exhibition game at American Family Field.
(It’s Miller Park. It’ll always be Miller Park.)
Cincinnati has effectively set their Opening Day roster, so there aren’t really any position battles still ongoing in camp. That said, there are still a handful of non-roster players who made the trip with the big league club, as each of Michael Chavis, Garrett Hampson, Hector Rodriguez, Tejay Antone, and Michael Toglia are available off the bench tonight.
Doug Gray of Redleg Nation once again was kind enough to relay the travel roster on Bluesky, which features a conscious decision by manager Terry Francona to let Ke’Bryan Hayes DH for the night from the #2 spot in the lineup.
If you’d like a reminder of how old you are, I’ll point out that lefty Aaron Ashby is on the mound for the Brewers tonight, and the Reds have put together a lineup featuring TJ Friedl (in LF) and an entire fleet of right-handed hitters behind him to counter. Ashby, of course, is the nephew of longtime big league righty Andy Ashby, who last pitched two years after Joey Votto’s professional career begin in the Reds system.
Sal Stewart will start at 2B, Dane Myers gets CF for the night, and Eugenio Suarez will man the hot corner with a glove for a turn.
First pitch is slated for 7:40 PM ET, and to answer your question…no, you cannot watch it on television. 700 WLW will have the radio feed, however.
TEMPE, ARIZONA - MARCH 05, 2026: Luis Morales #19 of the Athletics throws a pitch during the first inning of a spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium on March 05, 2026 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Bernacchi/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
You just don’t want to read too much into spring training results. The ball flies in the desert air, pitchers are building up arm strength and sometimes even working on secondary pitches they haven’t mastered, the adrenaline isn’t pumping like it will be on Friday.
Then again, when a pitcher comes to camp showing the exact weaknesses that have plagued him prior, it can be informative. Such was the fate of the talented-but-wild Jack Perkins who came into camp with the question of “Will he be put into the rotation or maybe slotted in as the closer?” The answer, as it turns out, is “No.” Perkins has been optioned to AAA to continue working on throwing more strikes.
Still standing, and presumed to be in the A’s rotation when camp breaks, is another highly talented, but also raw, RHP in Luis Morales. Now 23, Morales got a taste of the big leagues in 2025 and generally acquitted himself well putting up a solid 3.14 ERA albeit it with less gushing underlying metrics (4.42 xERA, 4.54 xFIP).
Morales has a plus fastball and a wicked slider, but not always the ability to throw them where he wants to. This leads both to high walk totals and also centered pitches that can get whacked around. The hope, of course, is that with experience Morales can throw more and more quality strikes and harness the terrific arm he brings to the mound.
So far so bad.
Morales got knocked around again today, mostly thanks to a bases clearing double that followed 3 walks to load the bases. His final line today? 2.1 IP, 1 hit, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K. To get just 8 outs, Morales threw 61 pitches of which only 34 were strikes.
This only continues a trend from throughout the Cactus League. Here’s where Morales’ numbers stand at the end of spring training:
2-2, 7.58 ERA, 19 IP, 21 hits, 16 ER (3 HR), 14 BB, 17 K. For those of you scoring at home that BB/9 IP rate is 6.63.
Here’s where if the A’s had “too many starting pitchers” (a baseball oxymoron) they would probably send Morales to join Perkins at AAA to start the season. But with the only alternatives being JT Ginn, who faded terribly the second half of spring training, and Luis Medina, who has returned from Tommy John surgery electric and wild as ever (7.1 IP, 9 BB), it appears that Morales’ spot is safe and that he will most likely face the Toronto Blue Jays or Atlanta Braves on the first road trip.
Watching Kade Morris carve up the #1 farm system yesterday, he looked far more ready to toss 6 quality big league innings than Morales currently does. Morris threw just 56 pitches in his 4 innings, 37 for strikes (that’s 2/3).
Without question Morales has big time talent and stuff — there’s no question you would want him in your organization over any of the alternatives that could make starts in April. But whether that means he’s going to be at all effective in the big leagues now? You wonder.
Hopefully the natural talent wins out, but far more electric arms have been taken to the cleaners because they couldn’t find the strike zone or couldn’t stay out of the middle of it. Count me as one fan who will watching anxiously as he (presumably) toes the rubber in Atlanta. He doesn’t look ready to me — but ready or not here he comes.
Feb 27, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter JJ Wetherholt (77) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the New York Mets during the fourth inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
This is not something that I would categorize as a surprise, but at least we have confirmation of what the St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day roster will look like in its final form. MLB Trade Rumors has confirmed that JJ Wetherholt, José Fermín, Thomas Saggese and Nathan Church will all head to St. Louis with the Cardinals while Nelson Velázquez will be sent to Triple A Memphis.
This is the video that the St. Louis Cardinals just dropped on social media as a tease of the JJ Wetherholt promotion.
Going into the 2026 campaign, the San Diego Padres are seeking to stabilize their starting rotation. Joe Musgrove and Griffin Canning will open the season on the injured list, while Yu Darvish’s elbow surgery will cause him to miss the entire 2026 campaign.
In the meantime, the Padres will start Nick Pivetta on Opening Day and patiently wait for Michael King to return to form. If so, he will become the staff’s No. 1 starter. A young pitcher has the opportunity to prove his place in the rotation until Musgrove is ready to come back.
Vasquez could save Padres from starting pitching woes
Randy Vasquez has positioned himself to exceed everyone’s 2026 expectations with an outstanding Spring Training. It was enough to impress Friars first-year manager Craig Stammen to move Vasquez up in the rotation order. And if he continues to dominate opposing lineups, it will be tough to take the young right-hander out of the third starter’s role.
Vasquez has shown several flashes of success during his time in San Diego. Coming off a 3.84 ERA last season, he came into camp throwing with newfound velocity. His four-seam fastball gained nearly three miles per hour after throwing it at 93.5 MPH in 2025.
Often, Vasquez was hitting 96 MPH, as he posted 8.2 innings of shutout baseball in early Cactus League contests. The third-year pitcher allowed only two hits and struck out eight batters. His strikeout rate was above 30%, as the hitter’s chase rate was nearly 40% in Arizona. It was higher than his career rate.
Spring Training does not answer all the questions
However, Vasquez did struggle in the later stages of Spring Training. Granted, pitchers are refining and simplifying their pitching repertoire. Vasquez was working to improve the effectiveness of his sweeper and curveball, the latter of which ranked in the 98th percentile for spin rate last season.
However, it might be time for Vasquez to phase out the cutter, as the pitch was continually getting pounded by hitters. You cannot ignore that his ERA rose to 4.86 at the tail end of the spring schedule.
Nevertheless, Vasquez was a standout performer, as he had an impressive 1.04 WHIP and a 15-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 18.1 innings pitched.
To have a breakout season, Vasquez must continue to pitch with the confidence he found in Peoria, Ariz. It is time to translate potential into wins this season.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 11: James Wood #29 of the Washington Nationals at bat during a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on March 11, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If you have been watching the Nationals at all this spring, you would know that the offense has struggled. When you look at the box scores, most of the players OPS numbers begin with a 4, 5 or 6. The Nats hit just .194 with a .592 OPS this spring. As the team heads into the season, how concerned should we be?
Personally, I am moderately concerned, but not totally panicked yet. It is a bit alarming to see the struggles of guys like Dylan Crews and James Wood, but again, it is still Spring Training. The new regime is teaching these players a lot of new things, and clearly, it has been easier for the pitchers to translate those teachings into the game.
The pitching staff is the reason the Nats still finished this spring with a record above .500. The Nats were 29th in scoring this spring, averaging 3.5 runs per game. However, they only allowed 3.7 per game, which was 4th. The slate is clean when the regular season begins, but I would not be surprised if the pitchers were ahead of the hitters early on.
Nats drop the exhibition finale, 2-0. They scored 1 run yesterday in Baltimore. They finished the spring with 3.5 runs scored per game (29th out of 30 clubs). The pitching staff, though, only gave up 3.7 runs per game (4th out of 30 clubs).
It is a lot easier for a pitcher to add a pitch or tweak their mechanics than it is for a hitter to change things up. Pitching has become so scientific, while hitting is still more of an art. Some changes that sound good on paper could have adverse effects. Even if they do, it could sometimes be worth it to stick with those tweaks for a while to see if things click. Clearly, the transition to a new style of hitting has not been smooth so far.
For years, the Nats have been at or near the top of the league in ground ball rate, and that is something the new regime wants to change. However, trying to lift the ball comes with some tradeoffs like more pop ups and a bit more whiff. Finding a balance will be important for this team. This new regime also seems willing to experiment until they find the right combination.
One thing that Blake Butera said that I found interesting was that he thinks the offense will improve as they see guys more. He talked about how it can be tough to “fly blind” when you keep seeing different pitchers in Spring Training. Hopefully the Nats will be able to make those sorts of adjustments.
Blake Butera noted concerns with the offense, but said he believes they’ll benefit from having more info on pitchers and more at-bats off starters during the season.
This struggling Nats offense will be challenged right off the bat with series against the Cubs, Phillies and Dodgers. The Phillies and Dodgers in particular have very strong staffs that will happily feast on a lineup trying to find an identity. Now that Spring Training is over, it is time to lock in. Maybe some hitters should go back to what works best for them, at least in the short term. The two exhibitions against the O’s were not pretty offensively. The Nats better be ready because they will be challenged by some high end arms to start the season.
A couple weeks ago I talked about the Nats offensive concerns. I attributed a lot of the struggles to guys just getting going, but as we enter the regular season, I am a little worried. The Nats offense last year was not great by any means, but they showed some promise, especially in the first half. It has been really ugly so far this spring.
There have been a lot of positives for the Nats this spring but the offense has not been one of them. Should we be worried? https://t.co/f6vr4OBmK0
I would not be surprised if the trend of the pitching being better than the hitting continues into the season. Obviously the gap will not be as extreme, but I believe the pitchers will be ahead of the hitters. They seem to have responded to the new coaching better.
Hopefully this is all Spring Training noise and the offense can start the year hot. However, I do not think the bad offense is totally fluky. There are some real growing pains here. I hope things start to click as Matt Borgschutle gets more time with the guys because it has not been pretty so far.
PEORIA, ARIZONA - MARCH 14: Nick Pivetta #27 of the San Diego Padres pitches during a Spring Training game against the Cleveland Guardians at Peoria Stadium on March 14, 2026 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s official. Nick Pivetta will start for the San Diego Padres this Thursday. They’ll put up their best fight on Opening Day against fearsome lefty Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers as they seek to return to the postseason for the third year in a row.
Pivetta will be the fourth starting pitcher in as many years to take the mound for San Diego’s Opening Day.
The unicorn year
Pivetta will pitch on March 26 for the Friars after having the best season of his career last year. Pivetta and Padres fans were waiting for manager Craig Stammen to announce the Opening Day starter. If Pivetta can retain anything from last year, the starting rotation will be a lot closer to elite than it is now.
There’s obviously upside, tremendously so, but it’s shaky. Pivetta has never had an ERA below 4.00 until last year’s 2.87 mark. Michael King and Joe Musgrove are coming back from injury, and the back end of the rotation looks a little messy.
Pivetta was a workhorse last year. He pitched 181 ⅔ innings and almost topped 200 strikeouts across 31 starts.
The Padres desperately needed him then and they may need him even more now.
Concerning news out of camp
A few weeks ago, Pivetta missed a start in Spring Training due to arm fatigue. Immediately questions of depth sprang up and San Diego fans everywhere lost their collective minds.
But then he started against the Cleveland Guardians with his fastball sitting around 94-96 mph and all was well again.
The hope is that even if Pivetta isn’t as much of a surprise ace pitcher as he turned out to be last season, he’ll still be serviceable and eat innings this season. There’s plenty of underlying metrics to suggest the turnaround he had will continue to be the case, but nothing will be sure until it’s proved on the mound this season.
However Pivetta’s season shakes out, the Friar Faithful can be excited to watch him duel it out against one of the best pitchers on the planet this Thursday. He has the stuff to dominate this Tigers lineup. And this Padres lineup has the ability to take Skubal out.
With Opening Day finally here, one thing’s certain: we’ll all be cheering for a San Diego win Thursday.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 22: Bryce Eldridge #47 of the Sacramento Rivercats reacts after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of an exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants at Sutter Health Park on March 22, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Scott Marshall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In the latest SB Nation Reacts poll, we learn that San Francisco Giants fans have a pretty sober view of the roster:
This question was asked before the Giants optioned Bryce Eldridge to Triple-A Sacramento; and, as you can see here, the majority saw which way the wind was blowing, given the performance of the top prospect. Maybe it didn’t take the powers of a fortune teller to foresee what was going to happen with a guy who needs some experience, but it speaks to some degree of integrity for voters that they didn’t vote what they wanted to happen.
Then again, maybe Giants fans don’t want a struggling prospect to struggle at the major league level right now. Maybe they want to see what the more experienced guys can do. That’s a perfectly reasonable perspective, and it’s plausibly what 63% of the voting body believes. Indeed, if you scan through the comments thread here on McCovey Chronicles after the SB Nation Reacts poll went live, you’ll see this sentiment:
PGBreaker I’m leaning against Eldridge breaking camp with the big squad. Half a season or more of AAA at-bats, then bring him up (if ready). I’m guessing Matos hasn’t done enough in Spring Training to make the 26-man. Ce la vie…
11 I said before Spring Training that he might start the season in AAA and I don’t think he’s done enough to make the roster. He has to cut down the K’s.
roberto96 I wish I could say I am sold on Eldridge, but I am not. When he’s not striking out he’s making loud outs. Great. Not at the expense of Matos or Encarnacion who are out of options not making the team. And with his speed and defense don’t wanna see McCray going down either.
RU_Sirius No. He’s not ready. He shouldn’t have been on the team last season. Felt like they brought him up just to get some fan interest because the Giants had slipped out of contention. I still believe he could be a really good player. Let him start at AAA – it makes other roster decisions easier, too.
With the regular season about 51 hours away, fans who called this Eldridge move and others throughout the Spring might be feeling confident enough to see if they can try their luck. It’s one thing to wager on an untested and very young prospect whose position(s) is (are) easily duplicated with literally Rafael Devers and a hodgepodge of experienced hitters, it’s quite another to see if there’s money to be made gambling on the rest of the team. How will the Giants do this season? Is there another Ryan Boruckiesque move coming up just before they finalize the Opening Night roster? This is the test of every fan every season. Is your gut on to something?
However you feel, at least the Giants are on the same page as the fandom in some respects. It would be quite something if the team was committed to making Bryce Eldridge stick at the major league level despite strong evidence at the moment to the contrary.
The latest national poll questions were about the World Baseball Classic, which saw such a viewership increase that it might’ve been a contributor to the stark decline in ratings for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony (which had popular films up for major awards). But enough about ratings. Here were voters’ thoughts:
Who knew that baseball fans liked to see competitive baseball during what’s normally quasi-competitive Spring Training?
