Category: Baseball

Well, at least you can file this one under “it shouldn’t theoretically affect the Braves in 2026, I guess,” if it makes you feel any better:

Jurickson Profar underwent sports hernia surgery in November. The procedure required six weeks of recovery. He doesn’t have any restrictions entering camp. He felt discomfort in September and again when he began his offseason workouts.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) February 15, 2026

This does seem more like a holdover from 2025’s injury woes than a continuation into 2026, but it is what it is. The notable thing here is that once again, per Mark Bowman’s reporting, that another Braves player felt a twinge (or more) of something, but played through it — in a lost season, no less. Sure, you can say that Jurickson Profar was already out of action for the whole season and didn’t want to bail on his teammates further with the offseason coming up so soon, but a version of that logic is part of the problem when it comes to the Braves and injuries as it is.

Profar posted a .294 xwOBA in September after a .396 xwOBA in August. It’s tempting to say that at least part of his dropoff was something related to the aforementioned discomfort, but he also had a .291 xwOBA in July, so… who knows. I guess you could ascribe the July struggles to getting back up to speed after a suspension, and then September to the hey-I-have-a-hernia, but now you’ve got a whole assumption stew going and I mostly just want french fries and a candy bar.

Anyway, this shouldn’t affect Profar in 2026 (even though, if you’ve been following along, of course it will). He’s still penciled in to be a primary starter, though may DH a lot given the presence of Mike Yastrzemski and Profar’s ineptitude in the field. Maybe that makes the had-a-hernia-that-required-surgery situation a bit better.

Meet the Mets

Marcus Semien’s quiet leadership will be key in getting the Mets’ new infield to jell, writes Laura Albanese of Newsday. Semien is looking forward to a reunion with Bo Bichette and playing alongside Francisco Lindor, he said.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com provided his early spring training observations from Port St. Lucie.

Edwin Díaz responded to Steve Cohen’s quote that Díaz’s decision to join the Dodgers was “perplexing” by saying in part, “I think the Dodgers did a great job recruiting me.”

David Lennon of Newsday wrote about the Mets’ strategy for the debut of the automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system that will debut in the big leagues this season.

This spring, Craig Kimbrel finds himself in unfamiliar territory: he is the most accomplished pitcher in camp with the Mets, but he is not guaranteed a spot on the team.

To help strengthen his resume, MJ Melendez played some innings at center field in winter ball and is hopeful this added versatility will help secure him a spot on the Mets’ Opening Day roster.

Around the National League East

Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said the Braves are still looking to add an arm to the top of their rotation.

Battery Power projected what the Braves’ Opening Day roster will look like.

The Miami Marlins won their arbitration hearing against righty Calvin Faucher, who will make the $1.8 million offered by the Marlins rather than the $2.05 million figure he filed at. This was the final salary arbitration case of the year; players won eight cases and clubs won four cases.

The Nationals signed left-hander Cionel Pérez to a minor league deal.

Around Major League Baseball

The Padres went on a spree yesterday, adding Nick Castellanos—recently released by the Phillies—former Met Griffin Canning, and lefty Germán Márquez.

The Diamondbacks signed veteran righty Joe Ross to a minor league deal.

Cal Raleigh provided his reflections on coming in second in a hotly contested AL MVP race last year and how he’s looking to build on that in 2026.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Chris McShane previewed what 2026 may hold for Dylan Ross, who will try to compete for a spot in the Mets’ bullpen.

This Date in Mets History

The Mets reunited with Jason Isringhausen on this date in 2011. The deal actually turned out okay from a baseball perspective and Izzy earned his 300th career save with the Mets in August, but unfortunately he faded in the second half overall after a solid first half.

The Orioles made a significant effort over the offseason to shore up multiple positions. The team boosted its starting pitching depth by adding Shane Baz, Chris Bassitt and Zach Eflin. Baltimore added Ryan Helsley and Andrew Kittredge to help in the late innings. The O’s added plenty of power with Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward, and the addition of Blaze Alexander should help the team survive an injury to Jackson Holliday.

All of that being said, there’s always a reason to worry in Birdland. The bullpen is particularly thin on established big leaguers after Helsley and Kittredge. The rotation, while improved, is still banking on Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish to stay healthy at the top.

The Orioles have three power hitters that play the same position in Alonso, Ryan Mountcastle and Coby Mayo. Both catchers will need at bats as the DH, and Mayo could find his way to other positions (yikes). Recently announced injuries to Holliday and Jordan Westburg put a dent in Baltimore’s best unit, while Leody Taveras remains the only back up to Colton Cowser in center field.

Hope springs eternal in spring training, and there’s plenty of reason for optimism right now. That being said, what position makes you the most nervous in the middle of February?

If you’re a Guardians fan, you have probably collected some Cleveland baseball memorabilia.

Whether it’s baseball cards, baseballs, bats, gloves, hats, shirts, jerseys or something completely different… we want to hear about it!

Personally, I rank my autographed José Ramírez bat first in my collection. Then, I have an autographed photo of Mike Hargrove from the day he told me I should propose to my girlfriend (now-wife). And an autographed picture of my dog by Bob Wickman whom I named her after. Finally, I pulled an autographed photo of Corey Kluber from a random drawing.

How about you? What is your favorite item?

It’s here! It’s finally here! The Dodgers will be playing baseball in less than a week’s time.

As the team begins to regroup at Camelback Ranch, old faces and new alike make their way into the clubhouse, and among the new faces to the Dodgers is Edwin Díaz.

Díaz was the first major signing this offseason for the Dodgers, as he inked a three-year, $69 million deal to become the new closer during the winter meetings. The Dodgers still have relievers who at one point in their careers have done well closing games, such as Evan Phillips, Tanner Scott and Blake Treinen, but Díaz will now be the guy called upon with a close lead in the ninth inning.

While Dodgers fans anticipate the blaring of trumpets with his first entrance, fans of the New York Mets are left with the memories of Díaz’s tenure, illustrated by both frustration and triumph. With Mets fans wondering why Díaz chose greener pastures in Los Angeles, the right-hander explained his decision to join the Dodgers, noting that their recruitment process played a huge role in him abandoning New York, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

“I was a free agent, so I got the chance to talk with everyone,” Díaz said Saturday from Dodgers camp in Glendale, Ariz. “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.”

Links

Brusdar Graterol has not thrown off of a big league mound since the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees. After undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum, Graterol, just like many young Dodgers arms, had his 2025 season dashed before it could begin.

Although Graterol has had a full offseason to recover and ramp up, his velocity is not up to par with where the Dodgers want it to be, and that might delay Graterol’s return until after opening day, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

“It’s still kind of the velocity’s not near where it’s going to be,” Roberts said. “So I think that it’s a slow progression. I just don’t know where that puts us. But it’s a slow process for Brusdar.”

Last season, Yoshinobu Yamamoto showed baseball fans why he received a 12-year, $325 million deal from the Dodgers without ever throwing a major league pitch, finishing third in NL Cy Young voting and being named the World Series MVP.

Yamamoto’s trophy mantle already boasts some serious hardware from his time in both the NPB and MLB, but his sights are set on a new challenge this upcoming season; winning the Cy Young award, notes Chen.

“He’s just such a good competitor. He takes care of himself, but he wants to be great,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He wants to win a Cy Young. He hasn’t done that yet, so that’s a carrot. But I think he prides himself on being consistent and being really good.”

Team Japan will only get one half of the Shohei Ohtani experience during the 2026 World Baseball Classic, but Dodgers fans will finally get the full experience in his third year with the team. While a Cy Young award is something that Ohtani does dream of receiving, the goal for two-way superstar this season is simply to stay healthy on the mound, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

“Getting a Cy Young means being able to throw more innings and being able to pitch throughout the whole season, so if that’s the end result, that’s a good sign for me. What I’m more focused on is just being healthy the whole year.”

The Pittsburgh Pirates are going into the season with a lot of hype as Paul Skenes and Konnor Griffin highlight the team’s bright future.

ESPN is projecting that the Pirates should win close to 80 games this season, which would mark the team’s best record since the 2018 campaign.

“The starting rotation should rank in the top 10, a great building block for any rising team, and could crack elite status if Bubba Chandler takes a leap to become Robin to Paul Skenes’ Batman. The staff should strike out a lot of batters, which helps. Still, playoff teams tend to turn balls in play into outs, and the Pirates’ positional alignment seems to put too many regulars in tension with their ideal slot on the defensive spectrum,“ ESPN analyst Bradford Doolittle wrote.

“At the same time, projecting team defensive rankings is an inexact science, to say the least, so maybe skipper Don Kelly can make it work. A quick ascension by Konnor Griffin at shortstop would surely help.”

The Pirates have had seven consecutive losing seasons, two of which saw the team drop a hundred games or more. In 2020, had the season been 162 games like a normal campaign, the Pirates would have been well on pace for another hundred lost season.

The Pirates have gone through the trials and tribulations of this rebuild, and it looks like things could be improving for the franchise. Skenes is the tip of the iceberg, and several other players are coming to help improve the team around him. If they can live up to expectations, the Pirates should be much better in 2026.

Maybe you’re a regular at Detroit Tigers spring training camp. Maybe you’ve made the pilgrimage once, like myself. And maybe your best spring training memory came from a story or from watching Grapefruit League action on television.

I went down once, long before the whole Lakeland complex was completely renovated, before I even started writing about baseball. One of these years, I’ll get back to check it all out, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen this year.

Still, there are a lot of fun memories even just from the last 5-10 years. I look back fondly but also with sorrow at a certain Matt Manning appearance in 2020 spring camp before COVID sent everyone home. For a brief moment, there was the Tigers pitching prospect looking more built than ever before, firing 97-99 mph fastballs past Yankees hitters. Sadly, that was kind of a high point in his development, and we rarely saw that velocity ever again. My dreams of a second Noah Snydergaard lie in ruin.

My favorite recent memory though, was from that same 2020 camp, and also against the Yankees, when Miguel Cabrera took Gerrit Cole deep twice for two monstrous home runs in a Grapefruit League matchup. That felt like the last time we saw the real Miguel Cabrera before age finally took their toll. Sorry I’m in a bittersweet mood this weekend apparently.

Check these bombs out. The first one looked like it carried 470 feet downwind out to left center field. The second was off the batter’s eye in straightaway center.

So how about you? What memories come to mind when you think spring training and Lakeland?

Hey now. The players are in camp, except for a couple, who (as far as I know) are still having visa trouble. They’ll actually play a competitive game this week.

I don’t know about you, but I’m studio-tanned, restless, and ready-to-wear. I’m in the best shape of my life (round) except for my hand, which is going to take a month or so to heal, so playing guitar is out, typing is, um, interesting, and my wallet, which is soon to be $150 thinner when MLB.TV renews.

But those are small things. Baseball is back. I’m of the coterie that believes next year is toast so, from my perspective, there’s much more at stake and I shall be especially attentive. That makes the window of contention 2026 unless that toast lands butter-side-up, and I have little faith in Bruce Meyer and no faith whatsoever in Rob Manfred getting that done.

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): PCA, Bregman tout stacked Team USA. “I mean, how can you put together a better roster than what we’ve got?” Crow-Armstrong said.
• Bradford Doolittle (ESPN*): MLB 2026: Why your team didn’t do what you wanted this winter. “… for baseball fans, spring has sprung early.”
• Paul Niemiec (North Side Baseball*): Chicago Cubs non-roster invitees: Breaking down everyplayer invited to Spring Training. “Let’s see who else is in camp outside of the players you already know.”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): How lefty Shota Imanaga and the Chicago Cubs are planning to tweak his arsenal for a bounce-back season. “I’m very excited for Shota to have an outstanding season,” manager Craig Counsell said.
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Three relievers looking to bounce back as the Cubs look for their next surprise. “Part of the fun of spring training is trying to figure out which performances are real and which aren’t.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs get camp debuts from top pitching prospect … and Sir Charles! “NBA legend Barkley stops by while Wiggins hits the mound to kick off 1st Spring Training.“
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): What Pete Crow-Armstrong can learn from Cubs and Team USA teammate Alex Bregman. “Bregman joined the Cubs this offseason with a glowing reputation for his leadership skills.” Jordan Bastian has more*.

Food For Thought:

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series. We will not wittingly publish A. I. – driven articles or clickbait, and insist on unimpeachable sources.

This post is part of a series of daily questions that we’ll ask the community here at Amazin’ Avenue throughout the month of February. We hope you find the questions engaging and that our prompts can spark some fun conversations in the comments. We’ll see you there and plan to have staff chiming in, too.

After Carlos Beltrán, who will be the next player to enter the Hall of Fame in a Mets cap?

From his first day attending classes at Harvard-Westlake’s middle school campus, which includes seventh- and eighth-graders, Louis Lappe was being recognized as a celebrity.

“A few of the seventh graders I guess they know me kind of,” Lappe said humbly.

Not kind of.

“Every day, I hear them,” freshman teammate Nate Englander said. “'Are you Louis Lappe, the kid who hit the walk-off home run in the Little League World Series?' Every grade, seriously.”

THIS IS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF!

A walk-off to win the #LLWS Championship 🙌 pic.twitter.com/aVZVvIKIwi

— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 27, 2023

It’s time for the Louis Lappe Show to hit the high school ranks. The national hero as a 12-year-old who led El Segundo to the Little League world championship in 2023 is now 15 and set to begin his first year of high school baseball. He'll be starting at third base for the Wolverines. He’s 6 feet 2 and is joined by two other top freshmen on Harvard-Westlake's varsity team, the 6-2 Englander, an outfielder-pitcher, and the 6-2 Mateo Mier, a pitcher.

This reminds scouts of the spring of 2021, when Bryce Rainer, Tommy Bridges and Duncan Marsten started on the Wolverines' varsity team as freshmen. Rainer became a first-round draft pick, Marsten is a standout pitcher at Wake Forest and Bridges went to Northwestern.

Englander still hasn’t forgiven Lappe for eliminating him and Sherman Oaks Little League in the 2023 regional playoffs.

“Obviously, it was difficult at the time,” Englander said. “We’re boys now. It’s amazing to reconnect. It’s going to be fun."

During fall and winter ball, Lappe displayed occasional power, similar to what he did as a 12-year-old that allowed him to hit five home runs at the 2023 Little League World Series, including his walk-off home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat Venezuela.

He had a .445 batting average in winter ball, second only to Vanderbilt-bound senior James Tronstein.

It’s still going to be a transition season for Lappe.

“It’s a whole new game. A whole new chapter I have to get used to,” he said. “The main thing will be getting used to the speed of the game. It’s much faster than 14-, 15-year-old travel ball. Everyone runs faster, throws harder. When we get used to that, we'll be just fine.”

Harvard-Westlake freshmen Louis Lappe and Mateo Mier make the USA 15U baseball national team. pic.twitter.com/UuiDxvjjlQ

— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) August 8, 2025

Lappe and Mier won gold medals during the summer playing for the USA 15U national team.

Mier is going to be placed immediately on the mound as part of a three-man starting pitching rotation used by pitching coach Joe Guntz to deal with some of the best hitters in the Southland.

“I think it's more about finding your spot on the team,” Mier said. “It’s a team game. Travel ball is very self-centered. The challenge is learning how to pitch and not be a thrower. I feel coach Guntz is the right person to teach me that.”

All three look like they could be playing basketball or football with their physical statures. That will mark them early on as no ordinary freshmen.

“We’re in the Mission League, which is one of the most difficult and prestigious leagues in the country,” Englander said. “There’s a lot more talent, whether it’s guys throwing harder, hitting the ball farther."

The Mission League has had an influx of outstanding players from the class of 2029, including Jordan Leon at Sierra Canyon and Brody Brooks at Loyola.

"I think we’ll hold our own," Englander said. "We look the part. Hopefully we can play the part.”

Mark down Harvard-Westlake’s games against Loyola because the Cubs have four former El Segundo players on their team, including the manager, Danny Boehle. Imagine the trash talk that might be transpiring with Lappe on second base talking to Brooks, one of his best friends who plays shortstop.

“It will be fun to mess with them and also beat them,” Lappe said.

It’s going to be a memorable four years of high school baseball for Lappe and his fellow class of 2029 players.

Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Bryce Harper calls surprising offseason remark ‘wild' originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Bryce Harper isn’t searching for motivation.

But when he spoke Sunday in Clearwater for the first time publicly since Dave Dombrowski’s end-of-season comments about his “elite” status, it was clear the tone of that conversation still stuck with him.

“For me, it was wild, the whole situation of that happening,” Harper said.

Part of Harper’s reaction comes from the standard he felt was set when he started negotiating with the club in 2019.

“When we first met with this organization, it was, hey, you know, we’re always going to keep things in-house, and we expect you to do the same thing,” Harper said. “And so, when that didn’t happen, it kind of took me for a run a little bit.”

The dynamics have shifted since then. Dombrowski wasn’t overseeing baseball operations when Harper joined the team. He was with the Red Sox at the time. 

Harper’s 13-year deal has hardly been a disappointment and overall does not deserve a whole lot of criticism. Since coming to Philadelphia, Harper owns a .912 regular-season OPS and a 1.010 postseason OPS, along with three Silver Sluggers and an MVP.

The frustration is also rooted in what 2025 looked like. Harper didn’t dodge Dombrowski’s evaluation.

“Obviously, I didn’t have the year that I wanted,” he said. “Obviously, I didn’t have the postseason I wanted. My numbers weren’t where they needed to be. I know that.”

If there’s a single place the season stung, it’s October. In the NLDS against the Dodgers, Harper went 3-for-15 with one extra-base hit, good for a .600 OPS. It was the fewest extra-base hits he’s had in any postseason run with at least 10 at-bats and his toughest five-game-or-more series since his 19-year-old season in 2012.

And it wasn’t just Harper. Between Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber, the trio slashed .208/.309/.375 in the series for a .684 OPS.

Harper’s focus now is less about statements and more about adjustment. Some of it is approach, some of it is what he’s being given.

“Yeah, I think there’s a lot of things that, you know, chasing pitches or chasing stuff out of the zone… not missing pitches over the plate,” Harper said. “I’ll hopefully see a couple more pitches in the zone this year.”

Harper’s chase rate backed up the point. His outside-the-zone swing percentage was 36 percent, his highest since 2022 (37.2). He saw 42.9 percent of pitches in the zone, about in line with last year, and he hasn’t seen 44-plus percent since 2022.

The 2022 and 2025 profiles weren’t identical, but they carry similarities. Harper tore his UCL in 2022 and still slashed .286/.364/.514. The .877 OPS that year and the way he was pitched in 2025 fit into a familiar theme: if pitchers don’t have to challenge him, they won’t. 

That’s where the lineup protection conversation comes back, especially with the cleanup spot still unsettled.

“I think it’s a huge impact in the four spot,” Harper said. “I think the numbers in the four spot weren’t very good last year either for our whole team. So… whoever is in that spot is going to have a big job to do.”

Whether it’s Schwarber, Alec Bohm, or Adolis García, that spot affects how teams choose to pitch Harper. And if he’s seeing fewer hittable pitches again, the Phillies will need to create offense through other avenues.

Before the regular season even begins, Harper will have another stage. He’s set to play in the World Baseball Classic, something he spoke about with obvious excitement.

“I can’t wait to represent your country. There’s nothing better… the feeling of putting USA on your chest and playing for something so much bigger than yourself,” Harper said. “And having Aaron Judge hit behind me is going to be a lot of fun as well.”

It also changes his calendar. Harper ramped up earlier than usual this offseason with the WBC ahead, and he noted an offseason regimen that included Extracorporeal Blood Oxygenation and Ozonation (EBOO). 

He described on Instagram in December that the process is where a portion of blood is drawn, filtered, and exposed to ozone before being returned to the bloodstream.

The goal is simple: stay on the field all year. Harper hasn’t played 150 games in a season since his first year with the Phillies, and disruptions can impact one’s readiness for the postseason.

That’s the part hovering over everything in Clearwater. Harper can post strong regular-season numbers again. The Phillies can win 90-plus games again. But if the stars fade when the games tighten, the ending stays the same.

Harper knows that. He doesn’t need to be pushed. He’s looking for the version of the Phillies that shows up when it matters most.st.

We’re back with another daily question on this unseasonably warm Sunday!

We asked a few weeks ago which prospect you’re most looking forward to seeing this spring, and on Friday, Dave covered a few dark horse roster candidates, which got me thinking: Which non-roster invite has the best chance of making the Brewers?

There are a whole lot of non-roster options this spring — 18 to be exact — but as Dave said on Friday, there’s always a surprise or two. I won’t cover all 18, and I won’t look at any of the three Dave mentioned, but I will at least bring up a few.

While there are several prospects and players you probably haven’t heard of in that group of 18, one a lot of people will remember is pitcher Peter Strzelecki. Strzelecki, who was added on a minor league deal with a spring invite earlier this week, pitched for the Crew in 2022 and 2023 before being sent to the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline. He made just one appearance with Arizona that year before making 10 appearances with Cleveland in 2024. He spent 2025 at Triple-A Indianapolis and Durham, the affiliates of Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, respectively, though with little success (9.41 ERA over 22 innings). We’ll see if he can turn it around in his return to the Crew.

Catcher Reese McGuire is another name to watch, though with this week’s addition of Gary Sánchez, his spot on the major league roster has become less clear. New addition Jett Williams is one of those prospects to watch, and he could compete for an infield/outfield depth spot, while outfielder Greg Jones has a slim path to the majors, as Milwaukee has several names ahead of him on the depth chart.

Who do you think has the best shot at making the team out of spring training?

Weigh in in the comments, and join us throughout the month as we keep these conversations rolling into spring training. Have a question you’d like to ask in a future BCB Daily Question? Drop one in the comments and we may use it later this month.

Well, that didn’t take long.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Nick Castellanos is now gainfully employed once again, this time signing with the Padres to play three positions. That’s what’s in.
• J.T. Realmuto “never felt like a Plan B” option as catcher ($). He continues fighting to make sure catchers are paid well.
• Aaron Nola is in the crosshairs this spring as a bounceback candidate. Here is why he should succeed in that quest.

MLB news:

• Castellanos wasn’t the only player that agreed to go to San Diego. The Padres inked a pair of starting pitchers to one year deals.
• The Astros and Blue Jays hooked up for another trade with Joey Loperfido going back to Houston and Jesus Sanchez going north of the border.
• Elroy Face passed away at the age of 97. He was a stalwart for the 1960’s Pittsburgh Pirates.
• The ESPN/MLBTV partnership is a little odd to parse out, so here is a handy guide to everything you need to know.

Hello, friends.

There are now 39 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. It’s only one day more until all position players are required to report to camp, and on Friday, the Grapefruit League schedule will begin for the O’s. We have made it to the week that has something resembling Major League Baseball, even if the real thing must wait a while longer.

The main thing I don’t like about spring training is that nothing good can happen. There can pretty much only be bad news. It doesn’t matter how good such-and-such guy looks or who is looking forward to doing what. The only thing that matters is that nobody important gets hurt between now and March 26. But all the guys are down in Sarasota and all of the beat writers are down there too, so assorted daily narratives come along anyway, like yesterday with Trevor Rogers looking good in simulated game throwing:

Sometimes guys look good in spring training and it doesn’t mean anything in the regular season. Sometimes guys look bad in spring training and it doesn’t mean anything in the regular season. Depending on how things go, sometimes it does feel like it means something, but on the outside, we have no way of knowing what really could connect to what will happen in 39 days and what won’t.

Still, for this kind of thing, my philosophy is that it’s better to have things that don’t matter where you need to remind yourself to pump the brakes on excitement rather than have it be where you have to make excuses for why it will be better when it matters. So, Rogers? Looking great. And since position players aren’t even required to have reported yet, we will just not worry about how hitters looked on Valentine’s Day.

In fringe of the roster news, the Orioles yesterday sent cash considerations to the Twins to acquire reliever Jackson Kowar. The 29-year-old Kowar had been in “DFA limbo” after the Twins cast him off; Kowar had already been waived by the Mariners early this offseason. He is out of minor league options after a 2025 season where he posted a 4.24 ERA in 15 games. Over four major league seasons, he’s appeared in 54 games and has an 8.21 ERA. He might just stink enough to be an O’s bullpen candidate.

The team transferred Colin Selby to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster. Selby was reported to have shoulder inflammation, so the team must think he’ll be out for a while for him to go on the 60-day.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Chris Bassitt just missed out on a title in Toronto. He wants to win it in Baltimore. (The Baltimore Banner)
One thing can always pierce right through my jaded defenses: Guys showing up and immediately talking about wanting to win a World Series here. I still remember Brett Phillips arriving and doing that. Why do I even remember that Brett Phillips existed, let alone that he was an Oriole for a short time? It’s a sickness. Anyway, let’s hope this goes better for Bassitt than with Tomoyuki Sugano saying similar stuff (minus the just missing out on a title) last spring.

Bassitt says Alonso ‘one of the big reasons why I came here’ (The Baltimore Sun)
I dream of the day when top-end starting pitchers are saying things like this as they sign with the Orioles. This offseason was not the one.

Albernaz says Bassitt will ‘fit in right away’ with Orioles (Baltimore Baseball)
The manager has not, as yet, tipped his hand about his plans for the starting rotation. Which he doesn’t really need to divulge for a month anyway until he sees if someone gets hurt between now and then.

New Orioles closer Helsley standing out with stuff, work ethic early in camp (Orioles.com)
This is another example of a story that only gets written because there’s nothing real to say. But hopefully it ends up meaning good things in the season!

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 2018, the Orioles announced the signing of free agent starting pitcher Andrew Cashner to a two-year contract. Cashner, who wasn’t even the latest-signing Orioles starting pitcher that year (with Alex Cobb to come later in camp,) put up a 5.28 ERA in 28 starts that season. Let’s hope the recently-announced Chris Bassitt signing goes much better.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 1997 reliever Brian Williams, 1991-93 outfielder Luis Mercedes, and 1960-64 pitcher Chuck Estrada. Today is Estrada’s 88th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you as well! Your birthday buddies for today include: astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564), philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748), jeweler Charles Tiffany (1812), women’s suffrage activist Susan B. Anthony (1820), Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton (1874), The Simpsons creator Matt Groening (1954), comedian/actor Chris Farley (1964), and rapper Megan Thee Stallion (1995).

On this day in history…

In 1493, while on his return journey to Europe, Christopher Columbus wrote an open letter of his discoveries on his voyage to the New World that was widely distributed after he returned to Portugal the following month.

In 1898, the USS Maine suffered an explosion while in the harbor of Havana, Cuba. The explosion and sinking of the ship, which killed 274 of the ship’s 354 crew, was almost certainly an accident, but some American officials and newspapers instead chose to blame Spain and the incident sparked the Spanish-American War.

In 1945, the third and final night of the fire-bombing of the city of Dresden took place. This combined effort by the Royal Air Force and US Army Air Force destroyed much of the city center and killed around 25,000 people.

A random Orioles trivia question

I received a little book of Orioles trivia for Christmas. I’ll post a question each time it’s my turn in this space until I either run out of questions or forget. The book has multiple choice answers, but I’m not giving you those because it would be too easy. Here’s today’s question:

Whose 68 career triples put him atop the Orioles franchise leaderboard?

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on February 15. Have a safe Sunday.

Preseason All-Star baseball team for the Southland.

PITCHER: Striker Pence, Corona Santiago, So.; Throws legitimate 101-mph fastballs for strikes.

PITCHER: Jared Grindlinger, Huntington Beach, Jr.; Whether pitching or hitting, Grindlinger stands at the top of 2027 class.

UTILITY: Jack Champlin, St. John Bosco, Sr.; UC Irvine commit was phenomenal during playoffs last season as a closer.

CATCHER: Carson Scheffer, Oaks Christian, Sr.; Oklahoma State commit has electric arm and power at the plate.

INFIELDER: Brody Schumaker, Santa Margarita, Sr.; TCU commit has speed, instincts and can bunt with the best.

INFIELDER: Dylan Seward, Norco, Jr.; Tennessee commit can hit and field with work ethic that is off the charts.

INFIELDER: Trey Ebel, Corona, Sr.; Texas A&M commit gets to move from second base to shortstop to show off his arm.

INFIELDER: James Clark, St. John Bosco, Sr.; Showed off his impressive skills for USA 18U national team.

INFIELDER: James Tronstein, Harvard-Westlake, Sr.; Vanderbilt commit moves to shortstop and hit above .500 in winter ball.

OUTFIELDER: Blake Bowen, JSerra, Sr.; Oregon State commit might be best pro prospect in Southern California.

OUTFIELDER: Jordan Ayala, Norco, So.; Throws fastballs in the 90s and also hits bombs.

OUTFIELDER: Anthony Murphy, Corona, Sr.; LSU commit is center fielder who chases down flyballs, hits home runs and can run.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.