Category: Baseball

There has been a decent bit of discussion around Alex Anthopoulos’ comments regarding essentially only looking to add a starter who would be a middle/top of the rotation guy and not really trying to add just a guy to fit into the back of the rotation. I have conflicted feelings on these comments. A guy like Chris Bassitt would have made this roster better on paper. That’s not really something disputed. I think there is an argument if you think that Bryce Elder and/or Joey Wentz are 1-1.5 fWAR/162 starting pitchers, then adding a 2-2.5 fWAR/162 starter for just under $20 million isn’t good return on investment and doesn’t substantially improve depth when it results on the likely loss of a guy like Elder from the roster entirely. One counter-argument to that would be that Elder or perhaps a Holmes or Lopez could be stashed in the bullpen to preserve depth if a guy like Bassitt had been added, but I don’t see Elder as a particularly strong bullpen candidate and that scenario wouldn’t have made much sense until Schwellenbach’s injury status was discovered. That said, adding a top 3 starter to the roster for reasonable cost is a very difficult task, so perhaps that is an unrealistic self-imposed bar for adding to the pitching staff. It’s an interesting approach and I hope that the Braves don’t suffer from another plague of injuries to their pitching staff this season.

Braves News

We put out some early roster predictions including the starting rotation and the backup catcher spot.

MLB News

The Orioles acquired pitching depth from the Twins for cash.

The Padres signed longtime Rockies starter German Marquez to a one year deal with a mutual option in 2027.

Zac Gallen’s one year $22 million deal in Arizona will be considered worth $18.7 for luxury tax purposes after considering deferrals.

Greg Joyce | X: After learning on Friday that Cam Schlittler was dealing with a back/lat issue that is not believed to be serious, the team reported that first baseman Ben Rice is also nursing a minor injury. The young first baseman, per Joyce, ‘slept on his neck wrong the other night’ and that’s why he has not been hitting the last few days. The hope is that he starts swinging again in a matter of days, possibly hours. Big things are expected from Rice, who put together a breakout season in 2025 with 26 home runs and a 133 wRC+.

Francys Romero | X: Heavily criticized in recent seasons for their lack of success in the international market, the Yankees secured their first major prospect in the Mario Garza era: Venezuelan catcher Sebastian Pérez, who is expected to sign for a $1.7 million bonus. The real challenge for the Yankees will be actually signing the young star when the next period opens in January 15, 2027. According to Romero, Pérez “features elite exit velocity at the plate and premium defensive skills behind the dish.”

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Gerrit Cole threw his first official bullpen session of the spring on Friday, and reportedly touched 96 mph on the radar gun. Despite the pitcher himself doing his best to control expectations, he looks ahead of schedule and could return in April. When asked about his ace and how he looked, manager Aaron Boone gave an encouraging response: ‘He looked like Gerrit Cole.’

“Just really efficient, really great command,” Boone told Hoch. “When I think of Gerrit and his greatness, a lot of it ties to his delivery. Everything looks like it’s coming out free and easy. I liken it to a diver that dives off the high board and just goes in the water, making no splash. That’s Gerrit.” Catcher Austin Wells also praised the veteran pitcher, saying he could get outs in the majors right now. The Cole Train is in full swing this spring.

MLB Trade Rumors | Anthony Franco Late on Friday, the Yankees added a veteran right-hander to their bullpen mix. They signed Rafael Montero to a minor league deal with an invitation to camp, with a $1.8 million base salary if he makes the club. Montero played with three clubs in the 2025 campaign: the Astros, the Braves, and the Tigers, compiling a 4.48 ERA in 60.1 innings pitched.

SNY | Phillip Martinez Last spring, Yankees prospect Chase Hampton was diagnosed with a flexor strain that resulted in Tommy John surgery. After several months of grueling rehab, the right-hander is trying to show the organization he is ready to pick right where he left off.

“I don’t know his progression, so to speak. I’ve seen a couple of his bullpens now and it keeps ticking up,” Boone said after Saturday’s practice. “I know he is chomping at the bit for a little bit more because he is feeling really good as well. Boone added that Hampton is looking ‘pretty good right now’ and that bodes well for his future and his chances. The skipper didn’t want to predict if the young righty is going to pitch in Grapefruit League games, though.

PHOENIX — Baby got back.

Pocket-sized World Series hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto has returned to the Dodgers with a substantial posterior that was sculpted over the winter to withstand what promises to be a demanding year that includes the World Baseball Classic.

Everything about the 5-foot-10 right-hander looks stronger, from his chest to his shoulders to his lower body — especially the backside.

Yamamoto said he gained weight but declined to reveal how much.

“A little,” he said in Japanese.

Yamamoto smiled and made a completely unnecessary clarification: “It’s not from a slackening of the spirit.”

No kidding.

Yamamoto looks like a boulder. He looks like a little tank. He looks like he will be the National League’s Cy Young Award winner this year.

If resilience was his greatest obstacle in becoming Japan’s first pitcher to win the prize, he has addressed it.

A year after acknowledging he was “awfully interested” in the Cy Young Award, Yamamoto said of baseball’s greatest pitching honor, “I think it’s a lovely award, record. I’d like to be able to pitch in a way that would make me be appraised like that.”

Just a day earlier, Shohei Ohtani also said he wanted to win the award.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts chuckled when asked whom his money was on.

“I’m not going to say,” Roberts said.

Based on what the 27-year-old Yamamoto did last year, he figures to be the safer choice of the two Japanese aces. He was the only pitcher on the team, regardless of nationality, to stay in the rotation for the entire regular season. An All-Star selection, he was 12-8 with a 2.49 ERA in a team-high 30 starts.

The playoffs elevated him even more. He pitched a complete game against the Brewers in the NL Championship Series. He pitched another against the Blue Jays in the World Series. When the Dodgers ran out of pitchers two days later, he offered to pitch and went as far as to start warming up in the bullpen before Freddie Freeman ended the game with an 18th-inning homer. Yamamoto won his Game 6 start. The very next day, he returned to pitch the final 2 ⅔ innings in a Game 7 victory.

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His efforts made him the World Series MVP.

As much as he pitched in October, Yamamoto said he didn’t feel any more worn down than usual. If anything, he said, he felt better.

“Honestly, the degree of fatigue on my body wasn’t as bad as in years past,” Yamamoto said. “When I started moving my body after taking a month off, the feel and condition of my body was much better than usual.” 

When he went back to work, he did so again under the watch of his longtime trainer, Osamu Yada. After his start in Game 6 of the World Series, it was Yada who advised him to prepare his body to at least be able to throw in the bullpen the next day. Yada convinced him that his presence in the bullpen would give the Dodgers a psychological advantage over the Blue Jays. 

“That’s how I got tricked,” said Yamamoto, who wound up giving the Dodgers more than just a mental edge.

Yada’s training program for Yamamoto is unusual, consisting of handstands, back bridges and javelin throws. The trainer makes tweaks every year based on what he thinks Yamamoto needs. This winter, he wanted Yamamoto to add some bulk. With Yada by his side, Yamamoto worked out six days a week.

The pitcher has a demanding year ahead of him, but he said he wasn’t concerned about the possible workload.

At the end of the month, Yamamoto will join the Japanese national team for its WBC training camp. He is expected to be the team’s No. 1 starter in the tournament.

In the months that follow, he will lead the Dodgers’ rotation, this time looking to avoid the midseason slump that removed him from Cy Young contention last year.

These will be chances for Yamamoto to further elevate himself. As it is, he was already being called the best pitcher on the planet by Ohtani when the Dodgers won the World Series last year. When Yamamoto threw live batting practice on Friday, Ohtani and Roki Sasaki watched him from behind home plate in the seiza kneeling position, with their lower legs tucked under their hamstrings. The traditional Japanese method of kneeling is intended to convey respect. In this case, Ohtani and Sasaki were poking fun at Yamamoto, but the premise of their joke was that Yamamoto was a great pitcher.

Now literally bigger, Yamamoto could be on his way to becoming figuratively bigger. By this time next year, the opinion Ohtani shared about Yamamoto’s place in the game could be the consensus.

PORT ST. LUCIE — Marcus Semien has seen two significant developments in the Mets infield in recent weeks that couldn’t have been anticipated when he was traded to the club in November.

First, they signed Semien’s former Blue Jays teammate Bo Bichette to play third base.

Then, before Semien even reported to spring training, he learned that double-play partner Francisco Lindor would be sidelined in camp, with Opening Day in question, after he underwent hamate bone surgery in his left hand.

The new Mets second baseman plunged into his initial spring workouts Saturday upbeat about his reunion with Bichette and lamenting Lindor’s absence.

Bichette, a former shortstop, began his transformation to third base last week after arriving on a three-year contract worth $126 million.

“He’s a little older, a little more seasoned, and now he’s learning a new position,” former shortstop Semien said of the 27-year-old Bichette, with whom he played in 2021. “I was in that position when I met him. I was learning second base, so there’s things we can talk about.

“It’s two different positions, but being in a new place and learning a new position can get uncomfortable at times, I am sure. And because he’s such a pure hitter and a great hitter, you know he’s going to be one of the best hitters. I think we’ll just talk about defense and see how well we play together.”

Lindor underwent hamate bone surgery Wednesday and faces a six-week recovery.

It leaves Semien to work mainly with Ronny Mauricio, Vidal Bruján, Grae Kessinger and Jackson Cluff in the middle infield.

“It was really a bummer,” Semien said of Lindor’s surgery. “I was looking forward to this time of the spring, but it doesn’t take away the fact he’s going to be back, hopefully for Opening Day, and we’ll get as many games as we can together. But I think communication is a big thing. We’ve already been talking this offseason how we want to do things, and I just can’t wait until he gets here to kind of talk through some things that maybe we won’t be able to work on here in spring.”

The Mets acquired Semien, 35, in a trade that sent Brandon Nimmo to Texas.

Semien brings Gold Glove defense to second base but was below average offensively last season, when he posted a .230/.305/.364 slash line with 15 homers and 62 RBIs.

It was a second straight season in which his OPS fell below .700.

The Mets also value the veteran’s leadership qualities.

“This is a guy who has been in that role on winning teams,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s been in the league for a long time, and the one thing from him is to lead by example. We have a bunch of leaders in that clubhouse, and he’s another one that we’re counting on, not only posting and playing and performing but just the way he works, with the way he goes about his business. He’s not a guy that is going to be saying much.”

Semien said his conversations with the team’s new hitting staff, headed by director of major league hitting Jeff Albert, began immediately following the trade.

Troy Snitker is the team’s new hitting coach.

“Conversations about what they thought of my last two seasons offensively and what are some adjustments maybe I can make to get back on track,” Semien said. “Those conversations were good. I think I have been able to control the strike zone for the most part, but it’s about hitting the ball with more authority and getting my body in the right position to do that more consistently.”

TAMPA — Ben Rice is now experiencing how opposing pitchers probably felt about him last season: a pain in the neck.

In the first few days of camp, the Yankees slugger has not yet joined his teammates to hit on the field because he is dealing with a minor neck issue after recently sleeping on it wrong, Rice said Saturday.

He has been getting treatment on his neck and was hoping to resume swinging in the coming days.

“I fall asleep in one position and wake up in another — something everyone deals with,” Rice said.

The neck issue did not prevent Rice from catching Carlos Rodón’s bullpen session later Saturday morning, as he continues to mix in work behind the plate in addition to his duties as the Yankees’ regular first baseman this season.

Chase Hampton, who underwent Tommy John surgery last March, threw a bullpen session Saturday that he said was his eighth as he continues his rehab from the full UCL reconstruction.

Only two years removed from being one of the Yankees’ top pitching prospects, Hampton has thrown just 18 2/3 innings over the last two seasons because of elbow issues.

He does not yet know when he might be able to return to game action this season, but the right-hander indicated that being added to the club’s 40-man roster this winter (to protect him from the Rule 5 draft) gave him some peace of mind that the Yankees still have him in their future plans

“It took a lot of weight off my shoulders,” Hampton said. “It puts me in perspective of, I got some time to get my feet under me and not have to worry about going out there and performing so early. I feel like right now, I’m in a really good spot to continue what I’m doing and continue to get better each day.”

Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough each threw two innings of live batting practice Saturday afternoon.

Warren struck out both Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt while Amed Rosario took Yarbrough deep.

Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest also faced hitters and flashed some “electricity,” Aaron Boone said.

The rest of the Yankees position players (who are not participating in the WBC) are set to report to camp Sunday. … Cam Schlittler continued to play catch as he deals with mid-back/left lat inflammation.

PORT ST. LUCIE — MJ Melendez has played several positions over his major league career, but center field isn’t among them.

To strengthen his résumé, the 27-year-old received action in center field this offseason in winter ball.

It leaves the Mets with another option beyond Tyrone Taylor to back up Luis Robert Jr.

It’s also possible that rookie Carson Benge, who has a chance to crack the roster this spring, will see occasional action in center.

“I knew center field was something I wanted to implement into my game and it’s something that now I feel comfortable that I can do, playing all three outfield positions,” said Melendez, who arrived last week on a one-year contract worth $1.5 million.

Last season was a difficult one for Melendez, who was optioned to the minor leagues with the Royals during an April slump.

He returned for just 13 plate appearances for the season’s remainder.

Melendez finished with a .321 OPS in 23 games.

“It was definitely tough — not anything that I expected,” Melendez said. “Being optioned was something I hadn’t experienced in the past, so it’s definitely something different. I feel like I was able to learn from it physically, mentally, emotionally and I think it will definitely be better moving forward.”

The Mets experimented with the ABS challenge system during live batting practice, with catching instructor J.P. Arencibia as the plate umpire.

Teams will get two challenges of balls and strikes per game (with retention of a challenge when a call is overturned) beginning this season.

The system will be unveiled during the exhibition season.

“Everybody is going to be free to challenge,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “If they want to challenge, go ahead, but we are going to start tracking who is right, and then we’ll come up with some guidelines. Right now, it’s pretty fluid.”

Nolan McLean threw 44 pitches over three ups in live batting practice.

The right-hander is ahead of most Mets pitchers this early in camp as he builds up for the World Baseball Classic.

McLean will pitch for Team USA.

The San Diego Padres got off to a good start with their first week of Spring Training for the 2026 season. From all reports, all the pitchers and catchers reported on time and healthy with multiple position players reporting early or on time and with no injuries noted.

While the players were meeting one another again after several months of separation, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller held his usual media scrum on the first day of availability and repeated his desire to add another bat or two and another starting pitcher to the roster.

New manager Craig Stammen made his first remarks, emphasizing communication and relationships as his early priorities. He also wasted no time in naming Luis Campusano as the second catcher to Freddy Fermin as well as designating that newly acquired bat Miguel Andujar would get work at first base along with utility player Sung-Mun Song.

Pitcher Kyle Hart will be tried as a starter to begin with but no other pitchers on the staff will be stretched out as a starter.

With super-utility man Song getting opportunities to start at first and the outfield, the team was still lacking a platoon partner for first baseman Gavin Sheets, as well as more options for the rotation.

Stammen designated Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove and Michael King as locks for the rotation and indicated that Randy Vasquez, though the leading candidate, would compete for the fourth spot with JP Sears, Matt Waldron, Marco Gonzales, Kyle Hart and Triston McKenzie. That group would also fill the fifth rotation spot.

Like any manager who supports his players, Stammen expressed complete faith in this group to get it done but also reminded everyone that Preller is always working and new players wouldn’t be a surprise.

None of us should be shocked that Stammen was correct. On Saturday, the day before the official first day of workouts for the whole squad, Preller signed OF/DH/1B Nick Castellanos to a one-year deal for the league minimum of $780,000 after being released by the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday. This is a low risk move for the Friars and Castellanos has reportedly been working out at first base during the offseason in preparation for a move in position.

Within minutes of that report, another popped up on the internet. Right-handed starter Griffin Canning reportedly signed a one-year deal and profiles as a backend of the rotation starter. He is coming off a season-ending Achilles injury and surgery while playing for the New York Mets. Reports are that he could be ready for the start of the season.

A few hours later there was another reported signing. Right-handed starter German Marquez signed a one-year deal with the team. He had Tommy John surgery in 2023 with a difficult return and then had a stress reaction and biceps tendinitis in 2024 and 2025 with the Colorado Rockies. He seeks to get back to being the reliable back-end starter he was during the first years of his time in Colorado.

Instead of two bats and a pitcher, Preller signed two bats and two pitchers to add much needed depth to the roster. With only one 40-man roster spot available after signing Andujar, fitting all these players on the roster will require some moves before they can become official.

Minor league signings

Before all this excitement, outfielder Jake Cunningham, 23, was signed to a minor league contract and should be assigned to either Fort Wayne or San Antonio this season.

1B/DH Leandro Cedeño, 27, distinguished himself with the Venezuela winter league champions and bypassed a reported intention to play in Mexico this year by signing a minor league contact with the Padres. He played the last three seasons in the NPB.

RHP Daichi Moriki, 22, was signed to a minor league contract from the NPB. He had a 6.87 ERA over four seasons and has had command issues.

International agreement

The Padres reached a pre-agreement for the 2027 International class with RHP Yoel King, 16, from the Dominican Republic. He is considered the best pitcher in the class and will receive the highest bonus of his class. He reportedly already throws 100 mph with his fastball.

WBC updates

Padres reliever Alek Jacob was selected to pitch for Team Israel in the WBC and will also leave camp when the others leave on March 1. The Padres have regulars Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts all leaving. Relievers Mason Miller, Wandy Peralta and Yuki Matsui are also joining their WBC teams.

Padres minor league pitchers Victor Lizarraga and Omar Cruz are both joining Team Mexico as reserves for the WBC.

Padres pitcher Yu Darvish released a statement on social media stating that he will be with Samurai Japan for the WBC as an advisor for the team. Although he intends to join the Padres spring camp at some point, he will be gone helping Japan in the tournament. Reports continue that Darvish will walk away from his Padres contract after the details are worked out. He has not announced any plans beyond that.

Some of the game’s best

Miller, Morejon and Adam were all named as top 10 relievers by MLB Network. They join Machado as the No. 5 ranked third baseman, Tatis Jr. as the No. 6 right fielder and Jackson Merrill as the No. 5 center fielder. All three were rated higher in fan poles than the official rankings by MLB Network.

Jhonny Brito update

Manager Craig Stammen was asked in his Saturday morning media scrum about the progress of RHP Jhonny Brito, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Stammen said he is throwing off a mound and has had no setbacks yet. He will not be available any earlier than mid-season and it could be later than that.

MLB media

The Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Red Wings are officially joining MLB media for their broadcast rights, terminating their agreement with FanDuel Sports Network. The Tigers will be broadcast by MLB starting this season while the Red Wings have this season left on the FanDuel Network and will join MLB as their media partner starting in the 2026-2027 season. Although not yet official, there could be 14 to 16 teams with MLB as their broadcast partners for the new season.

TAMPA — Last spring, Carlos Lagrange’s only taste of the spotlight came in a showcase for prospects.

This spring, the hard-throwing 22-year-old will get a chance to show the Yankees up close why he has begun to climb onto many of those Top 100 prospect lists.

Lagrange is a few days into his first big league camp and, judging by his first bullpen session, Saturday, there will be plenty of eyes on him as long as he is here.

A 6-foot-7 frame with a big arm that can reach triple digits will do that.

“We’re excited about him, for good reason,” manager Aaron Boone said. “His size obviously stands out. But just the downhill he creates with obviously a huge fastball, really good changeup and then the slider and the sweeper. For him, it’s just a matter of continuing to get better with the command and strike throwing.

“And on top of it, just one of those kids over there that you get really great makeup reports on. He’s a leader, takes initiative. He’s got a lot of the intangibles as well as obviously a ton of talent.”

Lagrange is coming off a big year for his development, when he stayed healthy and pitched to a 3.53 ERA with 168 strikeouts across 120 innings across High-A and Double-A.

The right-hander also made some strides with his command, which has been his bugaboo (and remains a work in progress) since the Yankees signed him as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic.

He walked just 12 batters in 41 ²/₃ innings at High-A before walking 50 in 78 ¹/₃ innings at Double-A.

The Yankees want to give him every opportunity to remain a starter, though some scouts believe he will eventually end up in the bullpen, which is also where he could make a more immediate impact in The Bronx — perhaps as early as this season.

“I want to show I can compete,” Lagrange said. “Try to help my teammates and the team, do whatever they want.”

General manager Brian Cashman has mentioned Lagrange (among others, including fellow top prospect Elmer Rodríguez) multiple times when talking about the pitching depth the Yankees have that could help fill spots in the bullpen.

Asked specifically Friday whether he would be comfortable with Lagrange or Rodriguez pitching in a relief role this season, he did not rule it out.

“It’s easy to always say you want to keep guys staying in the starting rotation and stay on their turn and be depth and continue their journey to build innings as they’re developing, but at the same time, you got to rob Peter to pay Paul at times and do that balancing act where you got to service the major league club,” Cashman said. “A lot of major league starters historically break in out of the pen, too, when they get their feet wet.”

When the clock ran out on the Yankees' 2025 season, it wasn't long before Carlos Rodon went under the knife to shave down a bone spur and remove loose bodies from his elbow.

The procedure was a surprise to many in the industry, but the southpaw revealed to the media after Saturday's workout that he had been managing the pain in his elbow through the season.

“It was fun every day to challenge myself to go pitch,” Rodon said. “Did it hurt sometimes pitching? Sure, but I’d rather go out there and compete. I was throwing well, so I couldn’t just say, ‘Oh, I can’t pitch.’ It was manageable." 

A big reason why the announcement of the surgery came as a surprise was that Rodon enjoyed his best season as a Yankee in 2025. He pitched to an 18-9 record and a 3.09 ERA, en route to his third All-Star selection. Rodon said he's had aches in his elbow for three or four years, describing it as "chronic" and that had gotten worse over time.

However, Rodon said he decided to undergo surgery because he noticed his velocity dip as the season went along. 

Post-surgery, Rodon said his arm felt like it "got ran over by a bus" but he has since received two PRP injections. The most recent came about 10 days ago. 

Despite those feelings, Rodon is on the mend and has already thrown a few bullpen sessions this spring. On Saturday, he threw off a mound for the first time since that second PRP injection and he is just working on upping his velocity, and that it's a slow progression.

Manager Aaron Boone said that Rodon's range of motion in his left arm is right where they want it to be after his latest bullpen, which was an issue a season ago. In fact, by the time the season ended, Rodon admitted he could barely button his shirt due.

Rodon, who had Tommy John surgery as a member of the Giants in 2019, didn't worry about his elbow issues in 2025. He knew he could be serviceable and that he wanted to be there for his team. 

“Being a guy that’s been on the injured list a good part of his career, missing that time sucks,” Rodon said. “Not being able to compete, it’s hard. I’d rather be pitching. If I think I can pitch at 80 percent, or whatever it is, and help the team win and I could do that, I’m gonna do that because that’s what I was brought here to do.”

So, now that he's thrown five or six bullpens, when can Rodon get into a spring training game? He said he hopes sooner rather than later. When asked if April was a possibility, the 33-year-old said with a laugh, "that would be great."

Rodon will likely miss the start of the season, but he won't be alone as the Yankees won't have Gerrit Cole (Tommy John rehab) and Clarke Schmidt (Tommy John) to start the year as well. 

"His range of motion is right where they would want it to be" @NikiLattarulo breaks down day four of Spring Training, including an update on Carlos Rodón's progression after receiving a PRP injection in his elbow and when to expect him back: pic.twitter.com/81NZoOCVW9

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 14, 2026

Griffin Canning is moving on from New York.

The right-handed pitcher has agreed to a deal with the Padres on Saturday, according to multiple reports.

The 29-year-old, who is working to come back after rupturing his left Achilles last summer, is expected to add to much-needed depth to San Diego’s starting rotation.

Terms of the contract are not yet known.

The deal, which has yet to be confirmed by the club, was followed by a one-year contract with starting pitcher Germán Márquez, according to ESPN.

The 30-year-old Marquez will be looking to have a bounce-back season after struggling with a 6.70 ERA in 2025 with the Rockies.

On top of the Padres’ pitching moves, an offense-boosting one-year deal was made on Saturday with veteran outfielder Nick Castellanos, who was released by the Phillies after four seasons on Thursday.

Canning was a second-round draft pick by the Angels in 2017 and made his debut two years later.

Nevertheless, with a 4.78 ERA across five seasons, he never lived up to high expectations.

And in 2024, he went 6-13 with a 5.19 ERA in 31 starts before getting dealt to the Braves as part of a Jorge Soler salary dump. But Canning was non-tendered by Atlanta, and the Mets eventually grabbed him.

In New York, Canning was in the middle of career year last season before suffering the Achilles injury on June 26, holding a 3.77 ERA in 16 starts.

It’s unknown when Canning will return from his injury, but there is a possibility he could be ready to return around Opening Day.

When healthy, he could slot into the back end of the Padres’ rotation.

I hope the weekend has been treating y’all well so far! Happy Valentine’s Day to everybody who’s celebrating. Here’s a random clip:

The college baseball season is officially upon us.

UConn baseball team opened its 2026 campaign on Friday night under the lights in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Huskies took part of the MLB Desert Invitational at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the spring training home of both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, but took a gut punch from the Nebraska Cornhuskers. UConn fell 12-2 in a game that was decided by the end of the first inning.

Charlie West received the starting night nod from head coach Jim Penders, to mixed results.

West’s changeup showed elite strikeout potential, evidenced by his six punch-outs across just 3.2 innings of work. The left-hander struggled to limit the baserunners, though. The junior allowed six hits and six free passes, with two of those being hit-by-pitches.

Out of the bullpen, Evan Hamberger made his season debut, while Charlie Hale and Garret Garbinski made their UConn debuts.

Hale performed best out of the three. After working as a starter for most of last season with Endicott College, the righty gave up just one run in 1.2 innings as the swingman. 

Garbinski struggled immensely after missing all of last season with Tommy John surgery. The 21-year-old was shellacked for four runs in the game’s final inning.

University of Maine transfer Evan Menzel got first cracks at replacing Ryan Daniels’ infield spot, getting the start at second base and reaching base once.

Menzel, primarily a third baseman at Maine, was pushed off the hot corner in deference to the returning Maddix Dalena. After being named 2025 Preseason Big East Player of the Year before missing most of the season with a wrist injury, Dalena returned to UConn’s lineup and picked up one of the team’s four hits on the night. 

That knock, an RBI single to score Menzel, gave UConn a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Jackson Marshall also singled in the inning.

That advantage was short lived, though. The Cornhuskers picked four runs in the bottom of the frame and never looked back. Another run in the second and three more in the sixth pushed the game into blowout territory.

Preseason All-Big East selection Tyler Minick scratched one more across with an RBI single in the top of the seventh, one of two hits on the night for the outfielder. That would be it for UConn while Nebraska scored four more in the bottom of the inning for the mercy rule win.

Shortstop Dylan Carey tripled in the final two runs of the night to walk it off. That was part of a bigger three hit, four RBI performance for the senior. 

As a team, the Cornhuskers collected 16 hits. In addition to Carey, Case Sanderson and Cole Kitchens both had three-hit nights.

On the mound, Ty Horn got the start for Nebraska. After allowing the run in the first, the right-hander finished his night with 3.2 scoreless and a total of six strikeouts.

The Huskies will be back on the field tonight, looking to regroup against Kansas State in a 7 p.m. Valentine’s Day showdown at Scottsdale Stadium, the spring training stadium of the San Francisco Giants. The game will stream live on MLB.com.

2025 stats:95 G, 348 PA, .237/ .305/ .401, .163 ISO, 24 K%, 8 BB%, 101 OPS+, 0.6 bWAR

Luis Arraez’s 2026 defensive reclamation project has kicked Casey Schmitt to the curb, and once again the infielder has found himself without a hook to hang his hat.  

Schmitt has been the question mark of the Giants’ infield conundrum for more than a year and a half now. Since Matt Chapman’s signing, which blocked Schmitt from his natural position in early 2024, he has wandered the infield desert, kicking stones from position to position, filling in but never settling in while having to scratch and claw for playing time scraps with other rag-tags like Thairo Estrada, Nick Ahmed, Marco Luciano, Brett Wisely, Tyler Fitzgerald, and Christian Koss. 

Better suited for the more aesthetic left-side of the diamond, Schmitt has had to adapt to the right-side’s restrained pragmatism as a last resort once Willy Adames locked up the shortstop position. Half of his defensive appearances from 2024 and 2025 have come at second base, a position he had never played until 2023. At the start of last year, Schmitt found himself with a lobster claw on his hand, forced to learn first base in order to stay roster relevant. He made 18 appearances there, most of them coming in April before an injury, and the arrival of Dom Smith, then Rafael Devers. 

While Schmitt’s flexibility has been invaluable to the club, it has also come with a personal cost. I’ve wondered at times if the inconsistencies of his schedule and the uncertainties of his role year-after-year has toyed with his development. Instead of being able to focus on his offense, Schmitt has been forced to rethink his defense in a way he never really had to before. His willingness to serve the whims of fickle coaches and front offices in order to gain access to the field has affected his play on it.  

There are certain traits that lend oneself to being able to play anywhere at any time with little notice. There is a temperament and style required to be a successful utility infielder. Christian Koss has it. I’m not sure Schmitt does. To me, Schmitt feels like a homebody. A man with simple but essential needs: iced coffee in the fridge, a California burrito to eat, a couch to sit on. In order to really access his power and hit in the way that separates himself from players like Koss, Schmitt needs to be comfortable positionally. He’s a defense-first player at his core. Home is where the glove is, and it’s clear from his defensive position splits where home his, no matter how long he’s been away.

As a third baseman: .286/ .349/ .454 / .803 OPS (217 PA)

As a second baseman: .204/ .259/ .383/ .641 OPS (294 PA)

On June 8th, Matt Chapman injured his hand trying to dive back to first base. On June 10th, Schmitt started at third base for just the second time all year. He was hitting .180 with a .521 OPS while sporadically covering first. In the 9th inning of that game, he lasered an elevated fastball 408 feet for his first homer of the year. That solo shot sparked a 4-run game-winning rally and set Schmitt off on a 14-game tear in which he slashed .375 with a 1.090 OPS.

Though he committed a costly error in the Colorado finale, Schmitt made amends by becoming the first player in franchise history to hit a grand slam in back-to-back games — both made that much sweeter by coming against, and in, LA.

Schmitt was back in his element, his natural and preferred state. He was a third baseman again. The comfort and ease he felt being in a familiar position led to an outburst at the plate — was it as simple as that? I mean, we had seen something like it before at the end of the 2024 season when Schmitt responded to three consecutive starts at the hot corner against Baltimore with five hits and three RBIs. 

Here’s his defensive splits from 2025:

Rather cruelly Schmitt took a fastball to his left wrist in a game on June 25th that promptly brought an end to his hot streak. The two-week stint at third felt like a fever dream. When he returned from the IL, Chapman was back, and reality resided on the right-side of the diamond. Second base beckoned, and though it has never been his position of choice, it gave him the chance to keep riding the wave if he could, providing him the most consistent playing time he has ever had in his short career. From early July to the end of the season, he played in 61 games, most of them at second — and he hit just .220 with a .663 OPS.

Schmitt had the chance in the second half of the season to assert a claim on second base, and he kind of chunked it. Was he homesick for the hot corner? Still focusing a disproportionate amount of energy learning the intricacies of the new position at the expense of his offense? Still dealing with discomfort in his left wrist (which he had surgery on in December)? Or was this just an inevitable leveling out for an offensively temperamental player?  All of the above?    

Overall, Schmitt made some impressive strides with his plate discipline, but he still ranked below average in BB, K, Whiff, and Chase percentiles. His slightly above average ability to hit the ball hard (when he hits the ball) buoyed him to becoming a pretty average offensive player (101 OPS+) in 2025. Though a MiLB Gold Glove winner years ago, he didn’t rate too well defensively either. All of that so-so-ness meant Buster Posey was keen on finding a replacement. The fact that the replacement was Luis Arraez caused some consternation, but there’s no doubt that the three-time batting champ adds a much-needed, and immediate, contact dynamic to the Giants’ line-up that Schmitt does not. 

So with another year gone, Schmitt’s job options remain limited. The soon-to-be 27 year old is currently the front runner for the Giants’ utility role, staring down the barrel of another season pieced together by planned off-days, injury-coverage, sporadic plate appearances, late-game defensive substitutions, and getting really good at sunflower seed stuff. Perhaps it’s what he’s earned, and it’s certainly better than nothing, but it’s definitely not preferred. I feel for the guy. It’s been two years since third base became an impossibility, and yet the base is still there, staring at him from across the infield, reminding him of what could’ve been. It must feel so frustrating to be boxed of your natural position like that, occasionally teased with brief stints of play separated by months…then to be roster-blocked again by another late-signing. But that’s also life on this seamed hardball we call Earth. Adapt, or die. Second base is the only way forward for Schmitt. It’s not ideal, sure, but that’s the deal.

One of the biggest surprises this offseason was reliever Edwin Diaz signing with the Dodgers instead of the Mets.

Seemed like a reunion was a no-brainer, but the former Mets closer's decision to take his talents to Los Angeles even caught owner Steve Cohen by surprise. 

Speaking with Mets radio broadcaster Howie Rose on Friday, Cohen called the move "perplexing." 

“I’m not sure exactly how Edwin arrived at that decision, obviously it’s a personal decision, and I thought we made a pretty respectable bid -- I could argue our bid might’ve been better," Cohen said. “But he made his decision, and I’ll tell you something, when things got hot and heavy, when this was coming down, I felt pretty good about our decision to sign Devin Williams. I described it to David [Stearns] that it was really clever, because it was a good hedge in case things didn't work out with Edwin.”

Diaz spoke with the media on Saturday and was asked his thoughts on Cohen's comments. 

"It's a market I was in. I was a free agent, so I got the chance to talk with everyone," Diaz told the media, including ESPN's Alden Gonzalez. "And I think the Dodgers did a great job recruiting me. At the end of the day, I chose to be here. I have a lot of respect for the Mets organization, players, staff, ownership. They treated me really good. I don't have anything bad to say about them. But at the end of the day, I'm here. This is a new journey for me and I'm happy to be with the Dodgers, so let's see how it goes." 

Diaz signed a three-year, $69 million deal with the Dodgers in December and, in his introductory news conference, said it wasn't an easy decision to leave the Mets. But he admitted he ultimately chose Los Angeles because he is "looking to win."

The Dodgers enter the 2026 season winning back-to-back World Series.

Diaz spent seven seasons with the Mets (one missed due to injury), recording 144 saves with 538 strikeouts and owning a 2.93 ERA while making two All-Star teams and winning two NL Hoffman Reliever Awards.

TAMPA — Carlos Rodón made 33 starts last season, tied for the most in the majors, and enjoyed his best year in pinstripes. 

And yet, by the end of it, the enjoyment may have been subjective for someone who couldn’t bend his arm to do simple tasks like buttoning his shirt, all while trying to gut through some of the biggest games of the season. 

“It was fun, let’s just put it that way,” Rodón said with a chuckle Saturday. “It was fun every day to challenge myself to go pitch.” 

Rodón’s range of motion was greatly limited because of loose bodies in his left elbow, which he eventually had removed via surgery in October that also included shaving down a bone spur.

The procedure was a long time coming — Rodón said the elbow issues were a slow progression over three to four years — and will land him on the injured list to start this season, with the hope that he can return by May at the latest. 

“Just [doing] normal things were interesting,” Rodón said of his compromised state. “Now did it hurt? Sometimes, sure, pitching. But I’d rather go out there and compete. And I was throwing well, so I couldn’t just say, ‘Oh, I can’t pitch.’ It was manageable. 

“The reason I did [the surgery] is the velocity and things were kind of taking a step back. It was just not who I normally — I was serviceable, but it wasn’t the normal version of me. So I wanted to make sure we got this fixed.” 

Despite being limited physically, Rodón still pitched to a 3.09 ERA while striking 203 out across a career-high 195 ¹/₃ innings.

He then turned in a quality start against the Red Sox in the AL wild-card series before getting roughed up by the Blue Jays in Game 3 of the ALDS, though that was the case for almost every Yankees pitcher that series. 

Rodón acknowledged Saturday that he was managing the elbow “probably every start,” but it became part of who he was. 

“I adapted to what the arm gave me and we just went out there and competed,” he said. “That was it. I got what I got and I was going to go use it.” 

It was plenty good enough on most nights as the $162 million pitcher earned his money.

But he did so with the peace of mind from the medical staff that he was not at risk of making things worse by pitching through it, with surgery the likely end result regardless. 

“If I think I can pitch at 80 percent and help the team win and I can do that, I’m going to do that, because that’s what I was brought here to do, was to compete and try to win baseball games for the New York Yankees but also my teammates,” Rodón said. “That’s why I kept going. I was winning games, we were winning games and that’s what was important. 

“The frustrating part was I knew I had more, but when your body’s betraying you, it’s an interesting battle. It’s an interesting dynamic in your head going through that.” 

The Yankees are hoping that Rodón’s velocity — his four-seam fastball averaged 94.1 mph in 2025, compared to 95.4 in 2024 — will begin to return now that he has his range of motion back in the arm after surgery.

But he is also still working on dialing in his command with the extra range of motion that he is not used to. 

“Hopefully this is something that as he continues to build, it just frees him up a little bit more,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It can add to his stuff, having that next level of range of motion.” 

As for when he might get back on a big league mound?

Boone said earlier this week that he was “not far behind,” though Rodón pumped the brakes a bit, not wanting to overpromise an early return.

He has received two PRP injections as part of the rehab process — the first after feeling like his arm “got ran over by a bus” and the second about 10 days ago — and threw his fifth bullpen session Saturday. 

“The volume has got to pick up,” Rodón said. “The velo[city] was good today, so just more volume, more pitches.”