Originally from Cuba, Fernández, 23, was an international signing by the Rockies during the 2019-2020 cycle, inking a $295,000 deal. He rose quickly through the minor league system as he displayed immense power early on with 20-plus homer seasons in 2022 and 2023.
However, things began to taper off for Fernández once he reached Triple-A Albuquerque. In parts of two seasons — a total of 97 games — he slashed .259/.320/.437 through 409 plate appearances. 2025 was a better start for him as he hit .284/.347/.502 with 13 home runs, earning a promotion to the big leagues at the end of June.
He struggled at the major league level, however, hitting just .225/.265/.348 with a 30% strikeout rate in 147 trips to the plate. His power was a no-show as he hit just four home runs and failed to lift the ball with any authority. A lack of plate discipline resulted in chases and bad contact, highlighted by his 49.5% groundball rate. Despite the power potential and a plus-plus arm in the outfield, Fernández struggled to make an impact on either side of the baseball.
The Rockies will have five days to trade Fernández before he has to be placed on outright waivers. Given his history, age, tools, and pedigree, there is a good chance a team gives him a look or swings a small trade. He has one minor league option remaining, giving any team some flexibility. Otherwise, the Rockies could send him to Triple-A Albuquerque to give him more time to develop and earn a spot back.
The move opens up another 40-man roster spot for the club, giving them 38 total players on the 40-man roster.
In our first matchup of the “Last Man In” tournament, in which we look at the last free agent signed before the season over the past 16 years, Nick Castellanos breezed past Joe Ross to advance to the next round.
On to our next matchup: Seventh-seeded Luis Garcia vs. tenth-seeded David Lough!
7. Luis Garcia, 2013
Stats with the Phillies: 251 games, 244 innings, 12-14 W-L, 5 saves, 4.12 ERA, 223 K, 125 BB, 2.09 WAR
Originally signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent, Garcia was unable to make it to the big leagues and was pitching in independent leagues in 2013. The Phillies signed him as an amateur free agent, and after pitching well in the minors, he was called up to join the Phillies’ bullpen.
Garcia stuck with the Phillies for six seasons. He was fine in middle relief but never earned enough trust to be consistently used in high leverage situations and was eventually traded to the Angels. He’s bounced around the majors since then and pitched for three different teams in 2025.
Stats with the Phillies: 30 games, .239/.342/.655, 0 HR, 4 RBI, -0.1 WAR
After a promising rookie season with the Royals in 2013, outfielder David Lough was traded to the Orioles, but was unable to follow up on that showing. He was regarded as a strong defender but couldn’t hit well enough to earn a regular job.
By 2015, he was a free agent, and the talent-deprived Phillies picked him up before the 2016 season. He appeared in 30 games, mostly as a late-game defensive replacement. By August, the Phillies chose to go in a different direction and released him. He bounced around the minor leagues but was never able to make it back to the majors.
But the Yankees are intrigued by Chivilli’s elite velocity, as well as his swing-and-miss stuff and ability to get ground balls, even though that hasn’t translated to success in the majors.
He’ll be in the mix for a bullpen spot after the Yankees lost Luke Weaver and Devin Williams to the Mets in free agency, with David Bednar expected to close in front of Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval and lefty Tim Hill.
Paul Blackburn, Ryan Yarbrough and Yerry De los Santos also could be in the pen, as well as Jake Bird, who had a miserable stint in The Bronx after coming over from Colorado at the trade deadline last year.
General manager Brian Cashman called the bullpen a “work in progress, with a lot of quality choices,” with more potentially on the way — whether from the minors or outside the organization.
In exchange for Chivilli, who has remaining minor league options and can be sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees gave up T.J. Rumfield, a 25-year-old first baseman who spent last year with SWB. He was acquired by the Yankees in a small trade with the Phillies in 2021.
Angel Chivilli pitching for the Rockies on Sept. 10, 2025. Getty Images
To make room on the 40-man roster for Chivilli, newly acquired outfielder Michael Siani was designated for assignment.
Right-hander Kaleb Ort, who the Yankees selected off waivers from the Astros earlier this month and later designated for assignment, was claimed by the Angels.
Cashman said Garza’s job is to “relaunch” and “reinvent” the international scouting department.
Garza, 44, has been in the organization since 2011, most recently as the director of baseball development.
Cashman said the Yankees “did an extensive interview process” before landing on a candidate they knew very well.
“He’s already well-versed in all our systems,’’ Cashman said. “That gives him a head start already as we try to relaunch that department and move forward.”
The Yankees haven’t gotten great returns on some of their big-ticket international signings, with Jasson Domínguez failing to win an everyday role in The Bronx and others, like Roderick Arias, stalling in the minors.
“We’re just looking for better outcomes,” Cashman said of Garza’s hiring. “So he’s gonna reinvent that department and we look forward to seeing where it takes us.”
With Cody Bellinger back in left field, Domínguez and prospect Spencer Jones may be on the outside looking in.
“The reality is, it does change,’’ Aaron Boone said of how Bellinger’s presence impacts the pair of prospects. “We’ve got Cody back in the mix and [Trent Grisham] back, that maybe complicates some things for them. But we also know what potentially outstanding players they’re gonna be in this league. We have a long time to go between now and… certainly Opening Day and you never know what’s gonna come down the pike.’’
The Colorado Rockies announced they have agreed to a deal with the New York Yankees, sending right-handed reliever Angel Chivilli to the Bronx in exchange for minor league first baseman T.J. RumField.
The Rockies announced today they have acquired Minor League 1B T.J. Rumfield from the New York Yankees in exchange for RHP Angel Chivilli. pic.twitter.com/0NfWWaJIk5
Chivilli, 23, looked like he could be a staple of a fresh Rockies bullpen when he debuted with the team in 2024. After posting a 4.55 ERA in 31 2/3 innings, the hard-throwing righty struggled mightily in 2025. In 58 2/3 innings over 43 games, he struggled to a 7.06 ERA and a 1.688 WHIP. Despite an incredible 14.4% swinging-strike rate in his career and an 32.3% chase rate, Chivilli proved a bit too inconsistent in the zone and was prone to giving up the long ball, averaging 1.99 per nine innings in each of the first two seasons. He didn’t walk many batters, but also didn’t strike out very many, leaving him on the bubble for the new front office.
Looking to add some more depth at first base, the Rockies acquire Rumfield, who was ranked as the No. 22 prospect for the Yankees per MLB Pipeline in 2025.
Drafted in the 12th round out of Virginia Tech in 2021 by the Philadelphia Phillies, he was traded to New York before the 2022 minor league season. He struggled to find his footing in the first couple of years but began top gain traction, winning the batting title (.400) in the Arizona Fall League in 2022. After struggling in some aspects in Double-A in 2023, despite finding his power, Rumfield made a slight adjustment to simplify his swing for more consistency. In 2024, Rumfield hit .292/.365/.461 with 15 homers in 114 Triple-A games.
He spent the entire 2025 season with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton, slashing .285/.378/.447 with 16 home runs, 31 doubles, a triple, five stolen bases, a quality 11.9% walk rate, and an 18.4% strikeout rate that’s comfortably lower than average. Still, scouts indicate he chases a bit too much out of the zone.
Standing 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Rumfield has a modest power potential of 15 home runs a year, instead relying on hitting for contact. He won’t offer much on the base paths and is a decent enough defender at first base despite a lack of range and a questionable arm. Still, he gives the Rockies another left-handed option at first base, which would be their preference as a team.
Rumfield is not on the 40-man roster, leaving the Rockies with an open slot to work with as they still hope to add another free agent starter or the aforementioned first baseman.
With spring training about two weeks away, the Yankees are still assembling their roster for the 2026 season.
New York added to their bullpen on Wednesday, acquiring RHP Angel Chivilli from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for minor league 1B T.J. Rumfield, the team announced.
The Yanks also designated OF Michael Siani for assignment to make room for Chivilli on the 40-man roster. Siani was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Jan. 23.
Chivilli, 23, made his MLB debut with the Rockies in 2024 and has appeared in 73 games over the past two seasons, pitching to a 6.18 ERA with 71 strikeouts. He had a 7.06 ERA and 1.69 WHIP over 43 games (58.2 IP) in 2025, totaling 43 strikeouts.
Despite his record and ERA, Chivilli's fastball velocity averages at 97.1 mph, which is in the 88th percentile per Baseball Savant. He also owns a 29.7 percent whiff rate and a 49.8 percent ground ball rate, both well above the league average.
Rumfield, who'll turn 26 in May, hit .285 with 16 home runs, 31 doubles, and 87 RBI in 2025 for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He was originally selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Virginia Tech and later acquired by the Yanks in November 2021. Over five years in the minors, Rumfield owns a .271 batting average with 52 homers, 88 doubles, and 260 RBI.
No doubt somewhere in the Bronx or Tampa, Matt Blake is quietly singing Shaggy’s popular refrain to himself while watching video. YES Network’s Jack Curry reported that the Yankees landed Angel Chivilli, a right-handed reliever, from the Colorado Rockies, sending Triple-A first baseman T.J. Rumfield in return to Denver. The Yankees have since confirmed the trade, with the team designating recent waiver claim outfielder Michael Siani for assignment as the corresponding 40-man roster move. Rumfield had been with the organization since being traded from the Phillies in December 2021 for Nick Nelson, but he had topped out at Scranton and Ben Rice firmly passed him on the first base depth chart.
Immediately looking at Chivilli, the 23-year-old has yet to post positive value in The Show since coming up in June 2024. He notched a 7.06 ERA and 6.03 FIP last year in 43 appearances, “good” for a -0.7 fWAR. That’s not MLB-caliber!
Still, you can kind of figure out the play here. Chivilli will sit 97 mph with his four-seam fastball, and that will play in any bullpen if you can command it. While he did manage a ground-ball rate over 50 percent last year, which is good, command of that fastball needs to be one of the first things for pitching coach Matt Blake to work on:
You can’t throw fastballs there no matter what ballpark you play in, but 97 on the black becomes quite nasty. Fixing that fastball location is job no. 1, and probably the overall key to making Chivilli a real weapon.
Job no. 2 though might actually be a little easier. One of the problems with pitching at Coors Field is the thin air reduces the amount that pitches break, and Chivilli throws a real hard slider at 90 mph and notched a 42-percent whiff rate on his changeup last year.
Simply moving closer to sea level should help those pitches break more, and all of a sudden the Yankees have a 24-year-old with multiple secondary offerings.
None of this is destiny, the work needs to get done, and even then young pitchers shatter all the time. Still, you can see why Angel Chivilli is a tempting project for a pitching lab that’s seen as much success as Blake’s has, and he immediately becomes one of the more intriguing players to watch in spring training with spots in the big-league bullpen seemingly available.
There are a few things, perhaps two things, so potent in their nostalgia that I feel discomforted by them. I can’t quite pin down the emotion. Or emotions. And I don’t know that I can explain it, either. Perhaps what is so uncomfortable to me about them is the contradictory nature of the sensation. Bittersweet, brimming with memories and emotions, but empty. So vivid in the mind, but not in the world. It’s one of the most unique feelings I’ve ever felt. I still don’t quite know if I like it or not.
One of these antecedents, if you will, is Pokémon. Particularly, the original anime. That was, perhaps, my very first hyperfixation, which in hindsight makes it unsurprising that I allegedly learned how to read by playing Pokémon Blue. Watching the original anime always makes me flashback to childhood, and gives me that ineffable feeling I’m struggling to describe. And that other thing, or antecedent? It’s, of course, the Mariners.
Yesterday, the Mariners announced that their longtime radio voice, Rick Rizzs, would be retiring following the 2026 season. It’ll mark his 41st year with the Mariners, and the 50th season for the franchise. That means that 82% of the Mariners’ existence has been commentated by Rizzs, and that he’s done the same for 100% of my life. The Mariners quoted Rizzs as saying, “Calling Mariners has been the highlight of my life.” Little does he know, it’s been the highlight of mine, too.
Given what I’m piecing together, I figure that the beginning of my sports consciousness was around 2000. As far as timing goes, it doesn’t hurt to spawn in for a playoff season, and one season before what is the first- or second-best single season of all-time. My first memory at then-Safeco Field is being up in the nosebleeds when Alex Rodriguez got a concussion and sprained his knee trying to break up a double play where, ironically enough, Joey Cora kneed him in the face jumping over him. I figure that Rizzs was somewhere right below me, calling the game from the booth.
Most of my early memories are sports-related – many of which occur in the context of my living room. And almost all of them include my dad. When I first started writing for Lookout Landing, Matthew Roberson had me on the podcast, and one of the things I told him was that my single-favorite memory (really, a collection of memories) from my childhood was a near-daily ritual with my dad. One in which he would get home from his job after making the long commute to and from work, where he would toil for 10 or 12 hours as a welder. He’d get home and plop onto the couch, and I’d wrench off his heavy work boots. We’d turn on the Mariners game, and he’d scratch my back until he’d inevitably fall asleep, which, unless John Halama was pitching, usually wasn’t before the exit of a Mariners starting pitcher. In the background would be the reliable cadence of Rizzs, or Dave Niehaus.
My dad and I would pile into his 1990-something gold Toyota 4Runner on brisk autumn mornings on my way to preschool. I remember the way that he would masterfully balance a full mug of piping hot coffee while managing to juggle between the steering wheel and shifter. As steam billowed from his mug, the smell of hazelnut Coffee mate creamer and the sound of Seattle talk radio would both permeate the cold air of the 4Runner. There would inevitably be a soundbite from one of Rizzs’ signature calls from the previous night, in which he was likely borrowing a Niehausism, or using one of his own catchphrases. At night, on the way home from family events or working at our family shop, I remember the slow crawls from Georgetown in my dad’s Toyota T100. There was always the red hue of brake lights filling up the car, and the crackle of Rizzs’ steady, familiar voice over the radio, hissing in tunnels and under bridges.
I suppose it wasn’t until writing this that I realized that my fondness for the Mariners is, of course, intertwined with Rick Rizzs, but also with my dad. Some of the fondest memories of my life have been spent at the ballpark, on my couch, and in the 4Runner or T100. All with my dad, and most, or all of them, with Rizzs. There’s a beginning and an end to everything. You only notice the best and worst of them, and Rizzs’ retirement represents the end of something really special. It makes me think about mortality, and the impermanence of everything. Therein lies the contradiction, and what this ineffable, nostalgic feeling derives from: cherishing all of the good moments and memories, while also mourning them, and also the ones that won’t come, after 2026.
During the pandemic, I wrote about Félix Hernández and grief. I reflected on how Félix and I had both changed quite a bit over the years. Things continue to change. After the biggest year-to-year jump on a Hall of Fame ballot of all time, now it seems like a matter of when, not if, he’ll be in the Hall.
For Rizzs, I figure we ought to have the same sort of conversation. There’s no Hall of Fame for announcers. The highest honor a baseball announcer can receive is the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award, given to broadcasters for their “major contributions to baseball.” The list of Ford C. Frick Award recipients could probably double as a list of the greatest MLB announcers of all time. Our beloved Dave Niehaus won it in 2008, and fellow GOATs Vin Scully and Bob Uecker are on the list too, though, if you ask me, its merits are certainly watered down by the likes of Hawk Harrelson – and, as of a month ago, literally Joe Buck – receiving the award. I digress.
In many ways, the Mariners are one of the most unfortunate sports franchises of all time. But with Rizzs and Niehaus, we were spoiled with two people who could make the most fucked up of rosters not only watchable, and not only enjoyable, but cherishable. And for the entirety of their careers, that they did. We never got to give a proper goodbye to Dave, because he passed away at the age of 75, in between seasons he was meant to commentate full-time. At the age of 72, after 51 years of calling professional baseball, and 40 years with the Mariners, we have the opportunity to do what I would say we never got to do with Dave. Rizzs can get his farewell tour, and we can give him his flowers. And though we’ll miss him, he can enjoy the rest of his storied life with his family, rather than prepping meticulously for games and spending two to three hours a day creating the most vivid imagery of a baseball game that even the dullest of minds can conjure.
If we’re to consider Rizzs’ major contributions to MLB, they are many. He, of course, can be considered on his own merits, but no one has continued the legacy of Dave Niehaus more than Rizzs. Every grand slam, and many home runs, have become an homage from Rizzs to Niehaus, but with his own flair and, of course, with his own catchphrases of his own.
There’s also that, as the longest-tenured broadcaster in franchise history, Rizzs has truly, genuinely become the voice of the Mariners. I suppose in some ways, what I’m writing now isn’t different from what I wrote about Félix. Félix had been part of my life since I was in fourth grade. But Rizzs has been part of my life before I even knew he was. Perhaps in part because of Niehaus’ greatness, and in part because of the Mariners’ badness, Rizzs has sparsely been able to shine under the bright lights that we know he’s capable of. Luckily, this recent crop of rosters has lent itself to more playoff-caliber baseball, and that’s meant more opportunities for Rizzs to shine, and an environment much more suitable for him to leave on: on top.
To Rick Rizzs: I know I speak for all of Seattle Mariners fans when I say that you, along with many others, have made our fandom. Know that you’ve made us, and your good friend Dave, very, very proud, and we’re excited for you to make the most of your final season, and to have more of your cherished time spent with your grandkids. Congratulations on retiring on such a high note, and thanks for everything. Thanks for being the sound of my childhood.
The Dodgers’ two biggest needs this offseason were bullpen help and outfield production, and they went and signed the two best free agents at those positions in Edwin Díazand Kyle Tucker, each contract setting records for average annual value.
With Tucker the lineup looks much deeper, and can be considered stacked even for a Dodgers team that has finished first or second in the National League in both runs scored and wRC+ in each of the last eight seasons.
“There’s some things, but I think in terms of more seismic changes, It feels pretty well set,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said at Tucker’s introductory press conference last week. “There are still a few things we’re kicking around, and conversations that have been going for a bit that we’re going to continue to look at, try to enhance and build up depth.”
Let’s take a look at the current roster to see where some of those depth needs might arise.
Position players
Lineup locks (9): Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Tommy Edman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker
Bench locks (3): Miguel Rojas, Andy Ibáñez, Dalton Rushing
Depth with options (4): LF/RF Alex Call, 2B/SS/CF Hyeseong Kim, SS/3B/2B Alex Freeland, LF/RF/1B Ryan Ward
Starting depth (5): Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski, Landon Knack
Right-handed reliever depth (5): Will Klein, Edgardo Henriquez, Kyle Hurt, Bobby Miller, Paul Gervase
Left-handed reliever depth (2): Jack Dreyer, Ronan Kopp
Graterol had shoulder surgery after the 2024 season and did not pitch in 2025, so his readiness for the start of 2026 is at least somewhat in question, though he’s expected to be ready to go at the start of spring training. The Dodgers will have at least two and maybe three active roster spots to fill on the pitching side.
Gavin Stone and River Ryan are intriguing rotation options after coming off major surgeries and not pitching at all last year.
Ben Casparius and Justin Wrobleski have gotten extended roster runs in hybrid roles. Jack Dreyer was active for all of last season. With Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, and Anthony Banda, the Dodgers already have three left-handers in the bullpen. Do they add another for a half-southpaw pen?
The point here is, at the moment, the Dodgers have functional depth, with so many pitchers who could be optioned if needed, and two potential roster spots that can used for swapping as needed. Adding another reliever wouldn’t be much of a surprise, even if it limits that depth somewhat.
In somewhat the same mold as a Kiké Hernández return, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if the Dodgers find a way to bring back Evan Phillips, who will miss the first half or so of this season after Tommy John surgery last June. But that would be more for later in the season, and wouldn’t necessarily preclude adding another reliever as well.
By the mid-to-late-2000s, it was readily apparent the dynasty years were over. The Yankees hadn’t reached a World Series since 2003. Perhaps worse, they’d allowed the Red Sox to break The Curse, with one of sport’s wildest combacks in the ALCS That Shall Not Be Talked About. Despite those setbacks, however, the Yankees continued to keep winning, at least in the regular season.
Until 2008. That season, the unfathomable happened. The Bronx Bombers won a paltry 89 games, and unlike their 87-win 2000, that was was only good for third in the American League East behind Boston and Tampa Bay. And it wasn’t close. New York lagged eight games behind the Rays for the division and six behind Boston for the wild card. It was the first time the club missed the playoffs since 1993, as the lights were turned out at the old Yankee Stadium not in playoff glory but September irrelevance.
Clearly, changes needed made. And so we got the 2008 offseason, which saw the Yankees sign a flame-throwing right-hander coming off an 18-win season for the Blue Jays, a Hall of Very Good first baseman, and, most importantly, the unquestioned ace and crown jewel of the 2008 free agent crop: Carsten Charles Sabathia.
CC Sabathia Signing Date: December 10, 2008 Contract: 7 years, $161 million
Much of CC’s story is well-known to PSA readers who followed his playing career and who read Andrés Chávez’s write-up of the Sabathia signing as part of PSA’s 25 Smartest Moves of the Past 25 Years series in 2022. But let’s play the hits of his pre-Yankees days anyway.
Selected by Cleveland as a southpaw out of Vallejo High School in California, Sabathia was the 20th overall pick of the 1998 MLB Draft. Debuting just three years later at age 20, CC promptly carved through the American League, winning 17 games and allowing the fewest hits per nine inning of any qualified pitcher in the league. For his efforts, he was rewarded with a second-place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting, behind Japanese phenom, future Yankee teammate, and fellow Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki.
Fast-forward several years to 2008, with Sabathia set to enter free agency after the season, fresh off winning the 2007 AL Cy Young Award. In early July, the Milwaukee Brewers, determined to go do what they could to snap their 26-year playoff drought, set their eyes on the towering southpaw. In short order, they got him. Once in Milwaukee, Sabathia put together one of the great stretch runs in recent memory.
CC made 10 starts for the Brewers through late August. Five of them were complete games. In late September, he went to another level. His final three starts were all on three days’ rest, making his agency sweat by sticking his left arm out for the Brew Crew. The last of those outings, in Game 162, was another complete game, to get Milwaukee to October. CC spent the entire second half of the season aura farming, long before we’d ever heard the term.
Once the season ended, Sabathia entered free agency, fresh off his torrid second-half performance for Milwaukee. As free agency progressed, it did not look overly likely Sabathia would don pinstripes as talks between the two sides stalled.
Fast-forward again, this time to the Winter Meetings. A pair of meetings early on laid the groundwork for what ended up being the decisive moment. On Tuesday, December 9th, general manager Brian Cashman’s phone buzzed. On the other end, Sabathia’s camp was inviting him to California. In short order, Cashman was on a plane and headed to Oakland, with ownership’s approval to spend big bucks on the big lefty.
On Wednesday, December 10th, Sabathia and Yankees finalized what was the largest free agenct contract ever given to a pitcher at the time: 7 years and $161 million. To get the deal done, Cashman had to overcome serious qualms on Sabathia’s part.
First, CC was eyeing the Dodgers or Angels in free agency, which made sense considering his California home. Second, and perhaps more worrying, he was concered about the Yankees’ culture, specifically the clubhouse and the Derek Jeter-Alex Rodriguez divide. “We had a reputation for not being together. We had a reputation of fighting each other, and that was a big concern there,” Cashman recounted after the 2009 World Series.
Cashman leaned into Sabathia’s worry. Cashman admitted the clubhouse was broken and that a major reason the club wanted to invest in Sabathia was for his leadership skills, in the hope he could heal the Yankees. CC’s wife Amber helped pitch the Yankees to him, and Sabathia quickly decided to embrace the challenge. “I had been a big part of why the Cleveland clubhouse was fun, and why we won, even if I didn’t want to take credit,” Sabathia recalled in his autobiography. “I was ready for the free-agency uncertainty to be over. Right there, I decided to sign with the Yankees.”
A week later, the Yankees introduced Sabathia, alongside fellow newcomer A.J. Burnett.
The return on investment was almost immediate. Although Sabathia got shelled on Opening Day, he quickly recovered and when the regular season ended, he’d paced the Junior Circuit with 19 wins as the Yanks won 103 contests and stormed back into October.
CC took the ball for Game 1 of the ALDS against Minnesota. Over 6.2 innings, he allowed two runs, one earned, as the Yanks won 7-2 en route to sweeping the Twins. The 2000s playoff nemesis Angels loomed in the ALCS. Running a three-man rotation of Sabathia, Burnett, and the venerable Andy Pettitte, the Yanks gave CC the ball for Games 1 and 4. New opponent, same results. Two more wins for Sabathia earned him ALCS MVP honors, and the Yanks vanquished the Halos in six to return to the World Series for the first time since losing to the Marlins in 2003.
Facing the Philadelphia Phillies, the Yanks again handed the ball to CC for the series opener. As usual, he held up his end of the bargain. Seven innings of two-run ball will generally get the job done. Just not on a night when Cliff Lee threw a one-run complete game. CC’s former teammate absolutely dominated and the Phils were out to a 1-0 series lead.
Three days later, with the Yankees leading the series 2-1 after taking Games 2 and 3, Sabathia took the ball and again held down his playoff opponent. This time, 6.2 innings of three-run ball was enough to leave with the lead. The Phils battled back to knot the score at 4-4, but A-Rod delivered one of the biggest hits of his career in the top of the ninth to score two and New York held on, leaving them one win short of baseball immortality. After losing Game 5, New York clinched their 27th and most recent championship with a Game 6 victory.
Game 4 of the 2009 World Series was the last time CC ever pitched in the Fall Classic. But he was everything the Yankees could have hoped for, and more, in 2009. One year after missing the playoffs the Bronx Bombers were back on top of the baseball world.
On and off the field, CC was indispensable, shutting down opponents while making three consecutive All-Star teams from 2010-12 and functioning as a clear clubhouse leader. That included setting an example for self-care. On the eve of the 2015 postseason, he stepped away from the Yankees to address his issues with alcoholism that were threatening to ruin his life. Sabathia got cleaned up, began a mid-career resurgence upon returning to the team in 2016, and last October, he celebrated 10 years of sobriety.
Sabathia was prepared to exercise an opt-out in that original contract following the 2011 campaign as a negotiating tactic, but the the Yankees were able to avoid it by tacking on an extra year and $30 million. He would later re-sign two more one-year deals to finish with 10 seasons in New York, retiring with 251 career wins (134 of them in pinstripes, 10th on the franchise leaderboard), 3,093 strikeouts, and a place as one of the all-time great Yankees. A year ago, on January 21, 2025, Sabathia sailed into Cooperstown on the first ballot, appearing on 86.8 percent of the ballots and wearing a Yankees cap on his plaque. He entered the Hall with Ichiro, who also debuted in 2001.
Fifth in the series.Today we look at the Cubs’ new third baseman.
Alex Bregman should need no introduction. The Cubs wanted to sign him last year but were unable to close the deal. They made up for it this year, signing the free agent to a massive five-year, $175 million contract.
Bregman has won two World Sries championships with the Houston Astros and wears No. 3 with the Cubs, saying that he chose the number because he wants to win a third one. Bregman didn’t sign with the Cubs to get a haircut, to paraphrase a famous former Cub.
He’s well-known for his leadership skills and says he lives for his family and to win baseball games. It already looks like he’s found a comfort zone with the team and his responsibilities, and he’s been seen around town — notably at a Blackhawks game where he wore a red jersey with his number and name on it.
Bregman may not be up to his 2018-19 peak, where he amassed 7.6 and 8.9 bWAR seasons, but he can be penciled in for somewhere around 30 HR/100 RBI/100 walks if he plays a full season. His lifetime slash of .272/.365/.481, with his four MVP nominations and three All-Star Game appearances, speak to his excellence. He also has a Gold Glove from his 2024 season in Houston and a Silver Slugger from his superlative 2019 campaign.
He is perhaps a step below former teammate Kyle Tucker as far as offensive production, but his defense, leadership, and more outgoing personality should serve him well in his Chicago tenure. He is also well-aware of how the power alleys at Wrigley work, and will be aiming at that left-center zone with regularity.
He is also social-media savvy, with his own YouTube Channel and activity on Instagram, and gives good interview.
Last year’s third baseman, Matt Shaw, is penciled in as a utility man and will back up Bregman and Nico Hoerner, and probably log some time in the outfield. Bregman will likely mentor Shaw some, but his primary job is to eye those fences, looking for the jewelry.
Fangraphs’ 2025 spray chart shows that Bregman hits the ball from line to line, and, as a right-handed hitter, favors the left side of the park — his home runs are mostly from center-left, which is ideal.
This should be fun. He’ll hit 2,3,or 4, depending on who’s pitching, leading off, etc. I’ve seen the Cubs ranked as high as #2 in the NL Power Rankings — they’re definitely a contending team, and Bregman’s work will go a long way toward determining how that goes.
Organized professional baseball has been played in Kansas City since 1884, when the Kansas City Unions of the Union Association took the field. Despite this long history, the city has been light in witnessing baseball milestones.
Organized professional baseball has been played in Kansas City since 1884, when the Kansas City Unions of the Union Association took the field. Despite this long history, the city has been light on witnessing baseball milestones.
Not a single pitcher for the Kansas City Athletics threw a no-hitter at Municipal Stadium. The first two no-hitters in Royals history were thrown on the road. Neither franchise has had—or ever will have—a 300-game winner. The closest Kansas City came was Gaylord Perry, who pitched the final 14 games of his career here. George Brett remains the only Royal to eclipse 3,000 hits, and he recorded the milestone hit on the road—then promptly got picked off first base. The city has never had a 500-career home run hitter, save for Harmon Killebrew’s final 106 career games in 1975.
Of the notable milestones reached in Kansas City ballparks, one of the first occurred on June 26, 1947, when Carl DeRose—once the Yankees’ top pitching prospect—begged his manager for one more start. DeRose, a Milaca, Minnesota native, made his debut with the Amsterdam Rug Makers, the Yankees’ Class A affiliate, in 1942 and, at age 19, promptly went 19–6. Armed with what was described as a heavy fastball, DeRose was labeled the next Bob Feller.
World War II interrupted his ascension, costing him the next three years to military service. While pitching for a military team, DeRose threw a three-hit complete-game victory over Satchel Paige’s All-Star team. He appeared poised to make his Yankees debut, but a broken knuckle sent him to the Kansas City Blues for the 1946 season. DeRose went 12–6 and seemed ready for his breakthrough, but the baseball gods had other ideas.
He injured his shoulder on a cold, snowy day in Denver and was never the same. Experimental surgery loomed—the only chance to save his once-promising career. Thus, on that June evening in 1947 against the Minneapolis Millers, DeRose begged his manager for one last game. He gutted his way through nine innings, often with tears of pain streaming down his cheeks. Twenty-seven batters up, twenty-seven batters down. Carl DeRose, missing his once-prodigious fastball, threw the first nine-inning perfect game in American Association history at Municipal Stadium.
DeRose spent a couple more seasons bouncing around the Yankees’ minor league system before leaving the game after the 1950 season at age 27. He later played independent league ball in Iowa and Minnesota but never got the opportunity to toe a major league rubber.
On July 11, 1960, local fans—30,619 of them—got to see the game’s biggest stars when the Major League All-Star Game was played at Municipal Stadium. The contest featured 18 future Hall of Famers and was won by the National League, 5–3. The NL stars wasted no time. Willie Mays led off the game with a triple down the right-field line and scored on a Bob Skinner single. With two outs, Ernie Banks smashed a two-run home run. In the second inning, Del Crandall added another long ball to make it 4–0.
The Junior Circuit got on the board in the sixth inning and made it respectable in the eighth when Al Kaline cranked a two-run homer. Bud Daley was the only member of the Athletics selected and entered to a rousing ovation to pitch the ninth inning. He struck out Vada Pinson and Orlando Cepeda, and retired Roberto Clemente on a lineout. Daley later called the appearance the greatest thrill of his career. The game was also notable as the final All-Star Game for Ted Williams and the first for Clemente and Brooks Robinson.
On August 27, 1962, Municipal Stadium hosted the 36th—and final—Negro League East-West All-Star Game, a 5–2 victory for the West. It was the only Negro League All-Star Game hosted by Kansas City, which is notable given that the Negro Leagues were formed just a few blocks north of the stadium at the Paseo YMCA. Willie Hardwick of the Kansas City Monarchs homered in the second inning to spark the West. The East squad struggled defensively, committing five errors that led to four unearned runs. Another Monarch, pitcher Sherm Cottingham, earned the win. During the fifth inning, former Monarch Jackie Robinson was honored with a key to the city, and Satchel Paige and several other former Monarchs were also introduced.
On July 13, 1963, Early Wynn of the Cleveland Indians pitched five innings against the Kansas City Athletics to secure his 300th career victory in a 7–4 win. At 43, Wynn was the oldest player in the majors and became just the 14th pitcher to reach the milestone. He made his major league debut in 1939 as a 19-year-old with the Washington Senators and missed the entire 1945 season due to military service. His best years came with Cleveland, where he won at least 20 games in four different seasons. Wynn spent five seasons late in his career with the Chicago White Sox before returning to the Indians for the sole purpose of winning game No. 300. The victory against Kansas City proved to be the final win of his career, leaving him with a 300–244 record and a 3.54 ERA. That Athletics roster included an 18-year-old Tony La Russa, who appeared as a pinch runner. Future Royal Moe Drabowsky took the loss for Kansas City.
In a desperate attempt to boost attendance, Athletics owner Charlie O. Finley declared September 8, 1965, “Campy Campaneris Night.” The promotion centered on Campaneris playing all nine positions against the Los Angeles Angels. The stunt drew 21,576 fans to Municipal Stadium, and the 23-year-old Campaneris delivered a memorable performance. He started at shortstop before moving, in order, to second base, third base, left field, center field, right field, first base, pitcher, and finally catcher.
Things grew heated in the ninth inning when future Royal Ed Kirkpatrick led off with a single. Kirkpatrick promptly stole second, moved to third, and then attempted to steal home. Campaneris caught the pitch from another future Royal, Aurelio Monteagudo, and applied the tag as Kirkpatrick barreled into him in an effort to dislodge the ball. Campaneris held on for the final out and appeared ready to brawl before being restrained by José Cardenal, who also happened to be his cousin. Campaneris was removed from the game and taken to St. Luke’s Hospital with a shoulder injury. The Angels won, 5–3.
Next week, we’ll look at milestones achieved at Royals/Kauffman Stadium.
Former Blue Jays first baseman Lyle Overbay turns 49 today.
Overbay was selected by the Diamondbacks in the 18th round of the 1999 draft. He had a couple of brief stints in the majors in 2001 and 2002 before making the team out of spring training in 2003, having been ranked Baseball America’s 65th-best prospect. However, he struggled at the plate and was sent back to the minors after 86 games. In December 2003, Arizona traded him to the Brewers as part of a ten-player deal. The biggest name headed to the Diamondbacks was slugger Richie Sexson, who unfortunately played only 21 games for Arizona in an injury-plagued 2004 season.
Overbay went on to have two solid seasons with Milwaukee before being dealt to the Blue Jays, along with Ty Taubenheim, in exchange for Dave Bush, Gabe Gross, and Zach Jackson. Bush would go on to win 46 games (while losing 53) over five seasons with the Brewers, Gross posted a .251/.357/.440 line across parts of three seasons, and Jackson pitched 42 innings for Milwaukee. All things considered, that looks like a win for Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi.
The trade was the subject of the second-ever post on this site—Marc Normandin gave the deal his
He’s a great defensive first baseman, one of the best in the league. He hits well for a first baseman but lacks home run power. Though he makes up for it with doubles, his plate patience is good. Acquiring Overbay most likely means that Shea Hillenbrand or Eric Hinske is on their way out of Toronto. The good news? The Jays may get a helpful part in exchange for one of them, which would be a plus.
In 2006, he hit .312/.372/.508 with 22 home runs and 92 RBI in 157 games. He set his career highs for home runs, RBI, and batting average and finished fourth in the AL in doubles with 46.
After the season, JP signed Lyle to a 4-year, $24 million contract. Unfortunately, the contract didn’t help make him a favourite with Jays fans. mark w wasn’t sure about the signing at the time.
My views on this signing are somewhat mixed. At first glance, it is a thrifty signing, as the Blue Jays lock up a somewhat gifted hitter at a relatively low price. On the other hand, however, couldn’t the Blue Jays have waited another season, thus hedging their bets? I can’t imagine that Overbay’s value will skyrocket at this point in his career, especially considering he’s a likely candidate to “age quickly” — at least based on the career trends of statistically similar players from the past. Ultimately, I don’t think this contract will come back to bite them, if only because of its low cost to the organisation. And Overbay appears to be a safe bet for at least the next 2-3 years.
Of course, the trade did come back to bite the Blue Jays.
Lyle’s 2007 season was a tough one. He missed more than a month after breaking his hand on a pitch from John Danks on June 3. At the time of the injury, he was hitting .256/.332/.464, but finished the year at .240/.315/.391 with 10 home runs and 44 RBI. Hitting with a sore hand isn’t easy, but he still managed 30 doubles. That season, Lyle also had a pronounced reverse split, posting a .794 OPS against left-handers but only .676 against righties.
He bounced back in 2008, hitting .270/.358/.419 with 15 home runs, 32 doubles, and 69 RBI in 158 games. He even set a team record by reaching base 12 straight times at the end of May. However, he struggled badly against lefties, batting just .215/.285/.255—a concerning trend that would continue. Before 2008, he was decent against left-handers, but after that year, he just couldn’t hit them anymore.
Overbay put together another solid year in 2009, slashing .265/.372/.466 with 16 home runs (including his first walk-off homer, against the A’s in April), 35 doubles, and 64 RBI in 132 games. According to FanGraphs, he posted a 2.4 WAR—the best of his Jays tenure—and his fielding was rated much higher than in 2006. However, his struggles against lefties persisted (.190/.256/.278), and his platoon partner, Kevin Millar, didn’t fare any better against either side.
2010 was Lyle’s final season with the Jays, and it wasn’t his best. He hit .243/.329/.433 with 20 home runs (the second-highest total of his career), 37 doubles (his seventh consecutive season with at least 30), and 67 RBI in 154 games. Manager Cito Gaston was reluctant to platoon him, partly because Lyle was entering free agency and Cito was known for ‘doing right by his veteran players’—sometimes at the expense of winning games. Still, Lyle led AL first basemen in double plays (150) and assists (101), and collected his 1,000th career hit at the end of June.
After leaving Toronto, Overbay bounced around with the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Braves, Yankees, and Brewers before retiring after the 2014 season. He finished with a .266/.347/.429 career line, 151 home runs, and 675 RBI over 14 seasons—83 homers and 336 RBI came as a Blue Jay.
Happy Birthday, Lyle.
It is also Bob File’s birthday. He’s also 49.
Bob was a reliever with the Jays and had a very good rookie season in 2001, with a 3.27 ERA in 60 relief appearances and 74.1 innings, but some luck was involved. He only struck out 38 and walked 29. The .233 BABIP wasn’t repeatable. Over the next two seasons, he pitched 37 innings with a 6.08 ERA, which was the end of his major league career.
*In an effort to make the nomination voting easier for everyone, I will comment, “NOMINATIONS”, and you may reply to that with your picks and upvote the player you’d like to see on the next nominee list.
Well we are now officially through the first four rounds of our annual Community Prospect List, where A’s fans choose the prospect rankings instead of national media writers that don’t know the ins and outs of the Athletics’ farm system. After seeing the first three rounds end in obvious decisions, the fourth-best prospect voting was much closer. Left-hander Wei-En Lin came out on top though, securing the spot over the likes of more well-known names like Henry Bolte and Braden Nett.
Lin, a native of Taiwan, is just 20-years-old but has already begun turning heads in the A’s system. After he signed on with the Athletics during the 2024 international signing period for a decent chunk of change ($1.13 million), Lin immediately stepped into the Stockton Ports’ rotation and impressed in 50 innings, earning a promotion to High-A. His ascent last year didn’t stop there as he made it all the way to Double-A, albeit for just a quick cup of coffee with the Rockhounds. Lin has five pitches that look like they could be quality offerings with a bit more refinement. Scouts believe he’s going to grow into his frame more as he gets older, which should help him not only stay healthy for a six-month season, but should also add a few miles to his already quality fastball. Expect him to start the coming season in Double-A but a quick promotion to the final level of the minors shouldn’t be out of the question, with a September call-up to the big league squad absolutely on the table.
The next prospect that will join the nominees list and take Lin’s spot will be right-handed pitcher Steven Echavarria. A third-round pick back in 2023, Echavarria has had some bumps in the road during his first two years in the professional ranks thanks to questionable control on the mound. That said, he’s got a fastball to die for that can reach the upper 90’s and he pairs that with an above-average slider and a work-in-progress changeup. It’s important to remember that Echavarria is still young and has plenty of time to get his control issues under control. If he can manage to reign those problems in we could have a quality starter on our hands, and if not then a move to the bullpen could make his stuff play up even more.
The process for this public vote is explained below. Please take a moment to read this before participating:
Please only vote for one. The player with the most votes at the end of voting will win the ranked spot. The remaining four players move on to the next ballot where they are joined by a new nominee.
In the comments, below the official voting, the community will nominate players to be put onto the ballot for the next round. The format for your comment should be “Nomination: Player Name”.
If a prospect is traded, his name will be crossed out, and all other players will be moved up a space. If a prospect is acquired, a special vote will be put up to determine where that player should rank.
The voting continues! Who do you got as the Athletics’ fifth-best prospect? Here’s a quick rundown on each nominee— the scouting grades (on a 20-to-80 scale) and scouting reports come from MLB Pipeline.
Bolte is a tooled-up athlete who continues to fill out his big 6-foot-3 frame. His impressive raw power continues to show up in the Minors, though there is still a real concern over his swing-and-miss and high strikeout rate as he continues to struggle with offspeed stuff out of the zone. The A’s have worked with him to revamp his swing in order to improve his bat path and cover more of the zone, which has produced slight improvements in those areas, though there is still plenty of work to be done.
Another shining tool for Bolte is his near-elite speed, which was on display last season as he swiped 46 bags. That speed also comes in handy on defense, combining that with a strong arm that makes him a solid outfielder at all three spots. Further refining is required, but he remains an exciting talent with a very high ceiling who continues to steadily advance through the system.
While working around the injuries, Nett has continued to show stellar velocity, touching as high as 99 mph in the Minor Leagues last season. He typically sits 95-97 mph and gets swing-and-miss up in the zone thanks to ample carry. He also throws a tight 81-84 mph slider that ran a 38 percent whiff rate in ’24 and a sharper 90-92 mph cutter that can catch hitters off guard. He’ll mix in an upper-70s curveball with more vertical drop and he’s scrapped a low-80s splitter in favor of a much more effective 88 mph kick-change that really neutralizes lefties.
Nett has some effort in his delivery, and the 2025 season (pre-trade) was the first time he’d posted a walk rate below 13 percent at any Minor League stop. Combine that with the early injury concerns, and it’s easy to think he could be a reliever eventually. But his arsenal is deep enough, and his stuff is promising enough — when combined with strides taken this season — to keep landing him in a starting role in the upper Minors.
It’s not often that teenage prospects launch home runs. But Colome has a tendency to get to that jumpy pop with frequency, consistently leveraging his swing well – so well in fact, that one evaluator mentioned the most recent occasion on which he saw an international prospect continually get to their launch point in such a manner was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Colome is a right-handed hitter with explosive hands and a solid contact rate, although he has been known to be a tad aggressive in the box as a means of getting to said power.
Something of an athletic marvel at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds at age 16, Colome is an agile athlete who shows a lot of lateral quickness. The fluidity of his movements and strong arm led to a Manny Machado comparison being hung on him defensively. Much like the seven-time All-Star, Colome may move off short as his frame fills out, but he’s a tremendously dedicated worker and has the feet, soft hands and instincts to stick at the premium position.
The A’s believe Echavarria’s stuff played better than the overall numbers might suggest. His fastball reached 98 mph and sat 95-96 with good ride up in the zone. The issue was struggling to command his arsenal when he would fall behind in counts. His mid-80s slider flashes plus, and his upper-80s changeup continues to improve. He also throws a two-seamer in the 92-93 mph range. He clearly dealt with some control issues, but the A’s are not at all sounding the alarm, instead patiently working with the teenager on adjustments.
Echavarria profiles as a starter for the long-term with his 6-foot-1 frame and sound delivery. Previously having shown an ability to consistently throw all of his offerings for strikes prior to the Draft, he will continue to work to rediscover that control in his second season of pro ball.
A switch-hitting shortstop, Montero has shown the ability to impact the ball from both sides of the plate, with his natural right-handed swing more direct to the ball, though his left-handed swing is more picturesque and he obviously gets more plate appearances from that side. He has the chance to hit for average and power, with a solid approach that has allowed him to walk more than he strikes out for much of the summer.
Last year, Montero was slower and less athletic, but attention to conditioning and nutrition has helped him get leaner and stronger. An average runner, Montero has the instincts and actions to stick at shortstop for a long time, with a solid and accurate arm. If his body gets bigger as he matures — he played all of 2025 at age 18 — he could move to the hot corner, but the A’s don’t see that in his future. What they are hoping for is that he comes to instructs this year and stays in the United States as one of the better prospects to come out of their Dominican academy in some time.
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Programming Note: Each CPL vote will run for around 48 hours, so don’t delay making your selections!
Braden Montgomery enters spring as Chicago’s top prospect and a cornerstone of Rebuild 2.0.
Spring Training is nearly here, and not a moment too soon for those of us shoveling snow from our driveways and scraping ice off the windshields. As the Sox pack up for Camelback Ranch, they have fresh validation that Rebuild 2.0 is stocking the system with real upside. MLB Pipeline’s updated Top 100 Prospects list dropped last week, and Chicago landed five names on it, tying them with the Brewers, Cardinals, Dodgers, Marlins and Pirates. The Good Guys trail only two clubs, the Mariners (seven) and Guardians (six).
That presence also nudged the Sox into the organizational top 10 in regard to “prospect points,” where they finished tied with the Boston Red Sox at 214. While it’s not parade-worthy, it’s a modest and meaningful margin for a system that’s been steadily reshaped over the past two seasons.
Headlined by Braden Montgomery at No. 36, the White Sox have strong representation thanks to GM Chris Getz and a front office aggressively upgrading the farm through both trades and the draft. The switch-hitting outfielder, the crown jewel of the haul Boston sent back in the Garrett Crochet trade, heads into camp as the organization’s clear No. 1 prospect. He brings legitimate middle-of-the-order power potential from both sides of the plate and immediately slots in as one of the system’s most impactful offensive bets — something reflected in his rising stock across the industry.
The rest of the list underscores the system’s growing balance, particularly on the mound. Lefthander Noah Schultz (No. 49) and fellow southpaw Hagen Smith (No. 72) give the White Sox something few organizations can match: two left-handed hurlers with frontline-starter upside. Schultz’s size and angle have long intrigued evaluators, while Smith adds polish along with swing-and-miss ability. Together, they offer the South Siders a potential one-two punch anchoring a future rotation that actually stays in Chicago this time around instead of being shipped off for parts.
Position-player depth is no longer a punchline and comes in the form of hitters with varying journeys and timelines. Alongside Montgomery is Caleb Bonemer (No. 61), who vaulted up prospect lists after a breakout campaign that showcased emerging power and defensive versatility at shortstop and third base, culminating in a Single-A Carolina League MVP award. Meanwhile, Billy Carlson (No. 73) remains further away but is already earning industry-wide praise as a defensive darling. If everything clicks, the Sox may have an elite long-term answer in the middle of the diamond.
The momentum for Chicago’s prospects carried into this week as well, when The Athletic’s Keith Law released his own Top 100 Prospects list on Tuesday, and again, the White Sox were well represented. It was a stark contrast to ESPN’s rankings published on Wednesday, which featured only Bonemer (No. 34), Schultz (No. 96) and Carlson (No. 100), leaving off both Montgomery and Smith entirely. Law ranked Montgomery even higher than Pipeline did at No. 30 overall, while also including Bonemer (No. 44), Smith (No. 58), Carlson (No. 66) and Schultz (No. 95). The overlap between evaluators — our friends at ESPN not withstanding — only reinforces what’s becoming harder to dismiss: the Sox aren’t just accumulating names, they’re stacking up some genuine talent.
What makes all of this particularly encouraging is the context. A year ago, the White Sox graduated three hitting prospects to the big leagues in Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero. Rather than leaving a void, the system has maintained its stability with Braden Montgomery, Bonemer and Carlson on the offensive side, while Schultz and Smith form the backbone of the next wave of pitching. With camp about to open and the 2026 No. 1 draft pick looming, maybe, just maybe, things are finally looking up on the South Side.
A multi-sport athlete who also played football as well as baseball at Springboro High School in Springboro Ohio, Andrew Joseph “A.J.” Ewing really stood out on the diamond. A natural right-hander whose father had him learn how to swing from the left side as a kid, Ewing quickly began standing out not just as compared to his little league teammates, but also as compared to fellow travel ball and high school players. He earned All-Conference First Team honors in his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons, earned All-Southwestern Ohio Conference honors in 2022 thanks to a .386 batting average to go along with 4 home runs, and was named Great Western Ohio Conference Player of the Year in 2023 after winning the triple crown, hitting .464 with 4 home runs and 37 RBI.
Ewing had a commitment to the University of Alabama but forwent it when he was drafted by the Mets the free agent compensation round of the 2023 MLB Draft, the 134th overall pick gained when Jacob deGrom signed with the Texas Rangers. The two sides agreed to a $675,000 signing bonus, roughly $200,000 above the MLB-assigned slot value of $483,000, and the promising outfielder became a professional. He was assigned to the FCL Mets to close out the summer and appeared in 7 games, hitting .286/.524/.357 in 14 at-bats with 1 double, 1 stolen base in as many attempts, and 5 walks to 6 strikeouts.
He remained in the complex when the 2024 season began and got off to a hot start. In 19 games for the FCL Mets, he hit .254/.422/.571 with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, 5 stolen bases in 6 attempts, and 19 walks to 22 strikeouts. He was promoted to the St. Lucie Mets in June and remained there for the rest of the season, hitting .228/.345/.344 in 71 games with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 8 stolen bases in 13 attempts, and drew 44 walks to 87 strikeouts. All in all, he appeared in 90 games in 2024, hitting .233/.361/.390 with 13 doubles, 3 triples, 10 home runs, 13 stolen bases in 19 attempts and drew 63 walks to 109 walks.
He began the 2025 season in St. Lucie, but the 20-year-old did not stay there long. In 18 games, he hit .400/.506/.615 with 3 doubles, 4 triples, 1 home run, 14 stolen bases in 16 attempts, and drew 15 walks to 10 strikeouts, earning a promotion to High-A Brooklyn at the end of April. Ewing hit the ground running in Coney Island and thrived where many players- especially left-handed hitters- have trouble. In 88 games for the Cyclones, Ewing hit .288/.387/.388 with 16 doubles, 4 triples, 2 home runs, 44 stolen bases in 51 attempts, and drew 46 walks to 66 strikeouts. He was promoted to Double-A Binghamton in mid-August and finished the 2025 season there, hitting .339/.371/.430 in 28 games with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 12 stolen bases in 14 attempts, and drew 7 walks to 29 strikeouts. All in all, Ewing hit a combined .315/.401/.429 in 124 games between Single-A, High-A, and Double-A, hitting 26 doubles, 10 triples, 3 home runs, stealing 70 bases in 81 attempts, and drawing 68 walks to 105 strikeouts.
Ewing stands square at the plate, slightly crouched, holding his hands high and wrapping his bat behind his head at 9:30. As compared to 2024, Ewing is opened up at the plate a little more and has his hands a bit lower. He swings with a slight leg lift or toe tap timing mechanism and a minimal load and weight transfer. Ewing swings with intent, getting every iota of power from his 6’0”, 175-pound frame and average bat speed. The 20-year-old certainly has room to continue growing and adding muscle mass, something that he has dedicated himself towards doing this off-season, but even without, he is still capable of making surprisingly loud contact with his long, whippy strike. In his 71 games with the St. Lucie Mets in 2024, where publicly available statcast data exists, he registered multiple 100+ MPH exit velocity readings, averaging 88 MPH and peaking at 108 MPH. In his 18 games at the beginning of the season, he once again recorded multiple 100+ MPH readings, with an average of 90.6 MPH and a peak of 108.7 MPH.
The outfielder makes excellent swing decisions, not just relative to his youth and experience, but in general as well. He posted a 15.8% walk rate and 15.6% strikeout rate in his 96 combined games with St. Lucie and Brooklyn before bottoming out in his first taste of Double-A baseball, posting a 5.3% walk rate and 22.0% strikeout rate with the Rumble Ponies. While his numbers did trend in the wrong direction upon his promotion from Single-A St. Lucie to High-A Brooklyn, Ewing is too good of a hitter to for such a drastic drop in walk rate to be indicative of a complete breakdown of his approach and eye as opposed to a small sample size at the end of long season in which he was one of the youngest players to play in the league. His increase in strike rate, however, may reflect a legitimate negative trend, as he showed weakness against breaking balls both in and out of the zone in Single-A and High-A, something likely exploited further by the more advanced pitchers in Double-A.
Ewing uses the entire field, pulling the ball at a 40.8% rate, going back up the middle at a 21.2% rate, and going to the opposite field at a 38.0% rate last season, numbers most identical to his 2024 season, which saw him going back up the middle a little more and going to the opposite field less. When combined with his 31.6% line drive rate, 40.3% groundball rate, and 28.2% flyball rate, it quickly becomes apparent where the young outfielder has room to improve. The majority of Ewing’s power is to his left side, so pulling and lifting the ball more would increase his potential power output from below-average to fringe-average.
Power is not Ewing’s carrying tool, though; speed is. The 20-year-old is one of the fastest sprinters in the system. Regularly posting plus speeds out of the box, a large preponderance of Ewing’s 114 singles were manufactured, the result of him busting out of the box. His 70 stolen bases were most in the Mets minor league system in 2025, 20 more than fellow speedster Nick Morabito in just six more games. His 86% success rate was also third-best among any player with 30 or more stolen bases in 2025, behind Boston Baro and his 93% success rate and D’Andre Smith and his 91%.
Ewing’s speed is also an asset on defense. Drafted as a shortstop and still technically listed as one, Ewing spent the majority of the 2025 season in center field, playing 76 games there. He also appeared in 15 games as a right fielder, 12 as a left fielder, and played 19 games at second base, but center is undoubtedly where he profiles best. In 2024, Ewing was much newer to the outfield and relied more on his speed to compensate for a lack of finesse, but in 2025, he was showing much improved reads of the ball of the bat and better routes to it. He closes in on the ball well, is exceptionally surehanded, and gets rid of the ball quickly and accurately with an average-to-above-average arm. With further improvements, Ewing has the potential to be a legitimate average-to-above-average defensive center fielder.
2026 Mets Top 25 Prospect List
7) Jacob Reimer 8) Ryan Clifford 9) Will Watson 10) Jack Wenninger 11) Mitch Voit 12) Jonathan Santucci 13) Elian Peña 14) Zach Thornton 15) Nick Morabito 16) R.J. Gordon 17) Chris Suero 18) Dylan Ross 19) Ryan Lambert 20) Antonio Jimenez 21) Edward Lantigua 22) Eli Serrano III 23) Randy Guzman 24) Daiverson Gutierrez 25) Boston Baro
