Category: Baseball

Outside T-Mobile Park, at the corner of Edgar and Dave, a small crowd gathers.

They wear well-loved King’s Court t-shirts, increasingly esoteric shirseys and BreakingT collabs whose pit stains betray their age. One of them has on a few different variations of leopard print, some are festooned in arboreal paraphernalia, another a MacDougall Bats polo. There is no evidence of Night Court, but there are many pairs of glasses.

“One of us, one of us, one of us!” they chant gleefully as the 6’5” figure of Ryan Loutos disappears inside the ballpark.

A computer science graduate from Washington University in St. Louis, where all the best, brightest and most beautiful people go to school (Hi Claire! I love you! Does this very public shout-out make up for the fact I’m very delinquent in returning your phone call?), Loutos signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cardinals in 2021. His fastball velo bloomed from 92 to 97 MPH in their system, and he made his big league debut in 2024. Midway through 2025, the Cardinals designated him for assignment, then sent him to the Dodgers for cash. Shortly after that, Los Angeles DFA’d him and the Nationals picked him up. 2025 produced an objectively catastrophic performance from Loutos, but in November the Mariners scooped him up off waivers.

Every time Loutos has surfaced in the news, there’s been some heralding of his non-baseball skills. Namely, he’s a big ‘ol nerd. He used his computer science degree to develop a pitching analytics software while pitching for the WashU bears, and before the Cardinals signed him he had plans to accept a job offer as a software engineer in Chicago. The winter after joining the Cards, Loutos partnered with their front office to create a similar software to be used throughout their minor league system (called “Chirp,” which is extremely cute). He also became the de facto tech support in the locker rooms.

“I’ve definitely been that guy for all my minor league teammates,” Loutos told MLB.com after he was promoted back in 2024. “The players will come to me first because I’m their friend and they’re comfortable around me. Because I know the ins and outs of the app, I was always the guy players would go to. The number one question was always ‘Why is my velocity so low on here?’. But it was good to know the app and be able to help out.” 

He’s since worked in the offseason with Premier Pitching, helping them develop similar software for pitching analytics. With the Mariners’ reputation as a pitching analytics powerhouse, Loutos is a natural fit, particularly in continuing to build connection between the front office and the data they generate and the players who are producing the, ahem, raw material.

To be honest, I couldn’t find much of notable interest in his pitching profiles, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I queried John Trupin, who, as podcast listeners know, is incapable of delivering a succinct answer. He noted that Loutos’ four-seamer is similar to Justus Sheffield’s (oof) in that it has hardly any spin to it, and that his sweeper has scarcely any sweep, presenting so convincingly like a 12-6 curveball that some write-ups on him note a curve as part of his arsenal. 

A little more from John: “My initial sentiment on Loutos is that there’s a little Taylor Williams in him – his sweeper and slider are both astonishingly close to purely vertical/12-6 curveballs that do not actually sweep. For Williams that was a “gyro” slider that didn’t break but just dropped and spun like it should break. His four-seamer is really just a sinker, I’m struggling to ID who it reminds me of. They may try to get him to expand use of his split-change, he’s been working on it for a couple years.”

From a pure pitching standpoint, Loutos is clearly just another arm for the pile. But with his analytical knowledge and background, there could be some interesting ways for him to grow within the Mariners system. (And a shared high school alma mater with skipper Dan Wilson certainly doesn’t hurt either!)

The Washington Nationals just released their 2026 Minor League coaching staff. With Paul Toboni taking the reins, there are naturally a lot of new faces. However, there are also some returning staff members. The staffs are also bigger than they have been in the past, which is an example of Toboni’s focus on player development.

Here’s the entire player development staff, including all levels of the minor and coordinators: pic.twitter.com/kMx2yDd8uz

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) January 29, 2026

Every minor league team is going to have more staff members than they did last year. To build a player development machine like Paul Toboni wants, you need plenty of cogs. That is what he is trying to build here. 

There are going to be new staff positions this year. Last year, there was only one trainer and one conditioning coach at each level. This year there will be an assistant trainer and an assistant conditioning coach at each level. There will also be a defense coach at each level, something we did not have last year. Lastly, there are assistant hitting and pitching coaches at each level as well.

Few things that stand out about the Nats’ minor league dev. staff at first glance:

– An assistant/associate athletic trainer & strength and conditioning coach at each level (Only 1 trainer/S&D coach before)
– A defensive coach at each level
– Asst. pitching coaches at affiliates

— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) January 29, 2026

All of this is very exciting for an organization that will be built on player development. These new hires also show a real commitment to Paul Toboni’s vision. While they may not be spending in free agency, ownership is putting their money where their mouth is here.

Despite all the new faces, the Double-A and Triple-A managers will remain the same. Matt LeCroy has been a beloved minor league manager for a long time now. This will be his sixth season managing Triple-A Rochester and his 18th season in the Nationals organization. From all of the clips you see of him, LeCroy seems like a wonderful person. He was also in the mix to be the Nats interim manager last year.

Double-A manager Delino DeShields will also be back. This will be his fourth season managing the Harrisburg Senators. However, the Nats are bringing in new managers for both A ball clubs. Chris O’Neill will serve as the Fred Nats manager. He was previously the hitting coach at VCU. The High-A manager will be Ted Tom, who also served in the college ranks. He was most recently the hitting coach at UCF. 

There are going to be so many new voices in the organization, which I love to see. These staffers have a mix of youth and experience, though the Low-A staff is very young. The pitching coach for the Fred Nats is only 27 and the assistant pitching coach is even younger at 24. Both have experience working in pitching labs, such as Driveline. The physical therapists name is also James Wood, which I found funny.

A few takeaways:
1. There are a lot more people on these staffs than what we are accustomed to, which I love
2. I looked at the press releases and the Fred Nats staff is crazy young lol. At least half of them are in their 20's.
3. WHO is the physical therapist haha https://t.co/msGdZhRHU3

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) January 29, 2026

As you get into the upper minors, the coaches are usually older, which makes sense. Most of the Triple-A staff is in their 40’s or 50’s. Following the progress of the minor league teams should be very exciting this year.

The Nats have a deep pool of prospects after their offseason trades. The system is especially deep at the lower levels. With this revamped development team, we should see prospects have breakout years. I am excited to see who will be helped the most by these changes. This kind of stuff is why the Paul Toboni hire is so exciting.

Giants trade Kai-Wei Teng to Astros for minor-league catcher Jancel Villarroel originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants haven’t announced the Harrison Bader move yet, but when they do, they’ll need an open 40-man spot. They made room with a minor trade on Thursday.

The Giants sent right-hander Kai-Wei Teng to the Houston Astros for minor league catcher Jancel Villarroel and international slot money. The trade cuts into their pitching depth a bit, but they needed the spot for Bader, who agreed to a two-year, $20.5 million deal earlier this week. 

Teng, 27, made 12 appearances for the Giants the past two seasons, including seven starts last year. But the Giants added two free agents to what currently is a full rotation, and they have plenty of young depth. There are high hopes for Hayden Birdsong, who had his 2025 season go off the rails, and Teng likely would have entered camp behind Carson Whisenhunt, Blade Tidwell and Trevor McDonald, who opened eyes in two late-season appearances. 

Teng’s path to a roster spot would have been as a reliever, and there are reasons to think that might have been successful. While he struggled with his command as a starter and had some wild innings, he also struck out 39 batters in 29 2/3 innings.

The trade closes the door on the Sam Dyson trade, which ultimately favored the Giants. Dyson made just 12 appearances for the Twins and then never pitched in MLB again. The Giants got Teng, along with outfielder Jaylin Davis, who recently retired, and right-hander Prelander Berroa, who got traded to Seattle for Donovan Walton.

Villarroel, 21, was No. 13 on MLB Pipeline’s Astros top 30 last year and is currently ranked 20th on their Baseball America list. He has a .378 on-base percentage in four minor league seasons and finished last season in High-A. 

The Giants have been light on minor league catching depth, and they also got international slot money, which could be helpful at a time when they’re hoping to add to their 2026 class that originally included just three players because Luis Hernandez got a $5 million bonus.

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Remember when everyone was excited about Matt “Mash” Mervis making the major leagues?

In 2022, he had batted .309/.379/.605 with 36 home runs at three levels of the Cubs system, and got off to a good start at Triple-A Iowa in 2023. When both Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini were found somewhat wanting at first base, Mervis was called up to make his MLB debut.

I’ll never forget the sight of fans wearing Mervis jerseys at Wrigley Field that day — before he had played a single MLB game.

He went 1-for-4, an RBI single, in his debut game. And got a hit the next day, and two the day after — but also struck out six times in 14 at-bats. And that would be his undoing. In 27 games and 99 plate appearances for the Cubs in 2023, Mervis batted .167/.242/.289 with three home runs — and 32 strikeouts. He was sent back down.

Called up about three weeks into the 2024 season, Mervis was pressed into service as a pitcher April 27 at Fenway Park, with the Cubs down 11-0 to the Red Sox going to the bottom of the eighth.

He began with a ground out, allowed two singles, then a line drive to left.

And then… things spiraled out of control. The next five Red Sox got hits, with five runs scoring. Here is one of those hits, a two-run double by Bobby Dalbec [VIDEO].

The Cubs trailed 16-0 when Mervis was replaced by Patrick Wisdom. We’ll cover that in the next installment of this series.

Mervis never did hit for the Cubs, batting .155/.222/.259 with three home runs in 36 games and 127 plate appearances. He was traded to the Marlins before the 2025 season for Vidal Bruján. There’s a trade that didn’t work for either team. Bruján rarely played for the Cubs and departed in August. Mervis had a hot streak in April and over a 12-game span hit .263/.364/.763 (10-for-38) with six home runs.

Had he turned a corner? Nope; Mervis batted .134/.205/.224 (9-for-67) with 26 strikeouts through the end of May, at which time he was sent to Miami’s Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville. The Marlins released him in August — literally one day after Bruján was claimed on waivers by the Orioles. Mervis wound up with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno. where he hit 13 home runs in 35 games — the kind of guy often called a “Quad-A hitter,” someone who could wear out Triple-A pitching but not hit in the majors.

Mervis signed a minor-league deal with a NRI with the Nationals for this year. He grew up in the DC area, so it would be a nice story if he could make the Nats roster, and with Washington seemingly rebuilding again, he might have a chance to do that. If so, we’ll see him at Wrigley Field on Opening Day.

I’m taking a break from looking at players on the 40-man roster, because there is one man outside it, who increasingly appears to be a candidate to make the Opening Day 2026 squad for the Diamondbacks. Ryan Waldschmidt was selected in the draft barely eighteen months ago, being picked by Arizona in the 1st round (31st overall) of the 2024 event. We largely have Corbin Carroll to thank for Waldschmidt’s presence, because that was the pick the team gained for Carroll’s Rookie of the Year win. Ryan signed on July 23rd, getting the full slot value for a #31 pick, of just over $2.9 million.

He had a brief stay in A-ball Visalia after getting signed, playing just fourteen games for the Rawhide. The following spring, he was put in High-A Hillsboro, and found that not much of a challenge. His .862 OPS was the best on the team, Waldschmidt batting .268 with almost as many walks (51) as strikeouts (53). In late June, Ryan was promoted to Double-A Amarillo. As we previously discussed, that’s the most hitter-friendly park in the minors, but even allowing for that, Waldschmidt’s numbers impressed. He had a line for the Sod Poodles across 66 games of .309/.423/.498 for a .921 OPS – the team average was almost 150 points less, at .777 – and a K:BB of 53:45.

There, for the moment, his progression rests. Ryan has already been named the team’s top prospect by both Fangraphs and Prospects 1500 this winter: I fully expect MLB Pipeline to follow suit when they publish their list. He was also recently the only D-back to be listed in the top hundred prospects list by Kiley McDaniel (ESPN) and Keith Law (The Athletic). Worth quoting the blurb from some of them in more depth:

• Fangraphs: “While he lacks a signature plus-plus tool, the 23-year-old does just about everything you want at the plate and he looks the part of a bat-first future regular in the box… The bat should carry Waldschmidt to a productive career, and he projects as a middle-of-the-order hitter. It’s a power-and-OBP-over-hit skill set, but Waldschmidt’s median outcome is as a regular, and there’s 30-homer upside if everything clicks.”
• McDaniel: “I still think Waldschmidt is a long-term left fielder, but now he looks pretty good out there defensively. He looks like he’ll hit 20 to 25 homers with a roughly average on-base percentage and some value on the bases.”
• Law: “He has excellent feel for the strike zone, chasing pitches well out of the zone just 12% of the time, although Double-A pitchers showed that he needs to work on picking up spin.. He looks like a solid regular with above-average defense in an outfield corner who could get to All-Star level in years when he gets to 20-plus homers.”

Going into his age 23 season, and with less than 150 games in his professional career, the general expectation would be to have Ryan advance to Triple-A, and if he does well, perhaps look to have him make his debut as a September call-up. However, the team’s needs suggest that timeline could end up being brought forward. Because after the trade of Jake McCarthy to Colorado, the D-backs have only four outfielders on the 40-man roster – and that includes Lourdes Gurriell Jr, who is currently rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn ACL. It also includes Jorge Barrosa, who hit barely a buck forty across 33 appearances last season.

The D-backs have certainly seen young outfielders become everyday players before, and experience good results there. Obviously, Corbin Carroll was 22 when he made 645 PA during his rookie season. And he was positively geriatric, compared to Justin Upton, who debuted while still a teenager, and was an All-Star in his age 21 campaign. Chris Young was, like Waldschmidt is going to be this season, 23 when he came fourth in Rookie of the Year in 2007. Other outfielders that age or younger, to have trod the field at Chase with some success, include Ender Inciarte, Brandon Drury and Alek Thomas.

Nor is it unprecedented for an Arizona prospect to skip (or almost skip) Triple-A on his way to the majors. The first to come to mind is Mark Reynolds, who not only skipped AAA, he only made 67 appearances in AA ball, before reaching the big leagues at age 23. In 2011, Ryan’s neo-namesake Paul Goldschmidt also went straight from Double-A to the show. Carroll made just 33 appearances for Reno, before never enduring bus travel again. Outside of the D-backs, Manny Machado and Juan Soto also bypassed Triple-A. Indeed, the latter almost skipped Double-A and High-A too, with just eight and fifteen games respectively at those levels.

It is still possible the team may sign an experienced major-leaguer to play left field until Gurriel returns, and be a fourth outfielder thereafter. However, we’re now less than two weeks from the start of spring training, and every day that passes seems to make this less likely. They could also use Blaze Alexander, who acquitted himself very well in left field last year. After the signing of Nolan Arenado to play third (probably… but let’s not get into that here!), this might be the most likely scenario. Tim Tawa or Jordan Lawlar are other candidates for the position, with varying degrees of experience in the outfield.

In the slightly longer term, once Gurriel comes back, he is being paid $13 million so will have a place in the line-up. But if the ACL issue hampers his defense, he could end up moving to DH, and whoever is playing left could take over on a full-time basis. If Alek Thomas doesn’t improve on his career 76 OPS+, and if Waldschmidt’s bat represents a clear upturn, then the team could decide to use Ryan in center. That would depend on his defense there being serviceable, and not outweighing the offensive positives. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the team opts to handle things in 2026, with Carroll in right about the only certainty.

The Mets will broadcast 13 spring training games across SNY and PIX11, beginning with February 21st against the Marlins, and wrapping up on March 21st against the Astros. All of the SNY/PIX11 broadcast games will take place at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie.

As per usual, the bulk of the Mets’ spring games are against the fellow east coast Grapefruit League teams of the Cardinals, Astros, Marlins, and Nationals. The Mets will also face off against the crosstown rival Yankees and see the American League champion Blue Jays.

While the spring broadcasts often feature fill-ins due to other obligations and/or last minute vacations, the Mets’ broadcasts will be anchored by some combination of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling ahead of their 21st season together.

All told, the Mets will play 30 games this spring, mostly against other MLB clubs, but also featuring exhibition games against the World Baseball Classic teams for Nicaragua and Israel. Some of these other games will likely be broadcast on MLB Network, ESPN, and elsewhere, though no additional broadcasts have been announced yet.

SNY/PIX11 games:

2/21 1:10 PM SNY vs. Marlins
2/24 1:10 PM SNY vs Astros
2/25 1:10 PM PIX11 vs Cardinals
2/28 1:10 PM SNY vs Nationals
3/1 1:10 PM SNY vs Astros
3/8 1:10 PM PIX11 vs Yankees
3/9 6:10 PM SNY vs Marlins
3/10 1:10 PM SNY vs Cardinals
3/13 6:10 PM PIX11 vs Marlins (Split Squad)
3/15 1:10 PM PIX 11 vs Blue Jays
3/16 6:10 PM SNY vs Nationals
3/20 1:10 PM SNY vs Cardinals
3/21 1:10 PM PIX11 vs Astros (Split Squad)

With the 2025 Texas Rangers season having come to an end, we shall be, over the course of the offseason, taking a look at every player who appeared in a major league game for the Texas Rangers in 2025.

Today we are looking at relief pitcher Cole Winn.

So is Cole Winn good now?

Winn, the last man standing (or, at least, still in the organization) from the disastrous 2018 draft, seemed to be destined for perpetual NRI-land not too long ago. A consensus top 100 guy heading into the 2022 season, he got his shit rocked in AAA in both 2022 and 2023, to the tune of a 6.83 ERA in 222 innings for the Express in those two campaigns. A more successful 2024 in AAA, in a relief role, led to opportunities in the majors, and after five scoreless appearances to start his major league career he allowed 15 runs in his final eight major league appearances before missing the final three and a half months of the season with “right shoulder discomfort,” which is never good.

So coming into the 2025 season, the answer to the “is Cole Winn good now?” question would have likely been, no, probably not.

But that was then, this is now, as the Monkees once sang, and as we used to see on the HBO listings constantly in the mid-80s (I guess someone there was a big Emilio Estevez fan). And as of now the answer is…probably different?

Winn was sent to AAA to start the year and put up 12 straight appearances without allowing any earned runs. That’ll get you noticed. It led to him being brought up to the majors in mid-May, and he continued that remarkable streak, putting up 11 straight appearances in the bigs before allowing a run in late June against the Mariners. Two days later he gave up a three run homer to Mitch Garver in the 12th inning, and even though he’d shut down the M’s in the 11th, he was sent back to AAA (though really, that was about fresh arms more than anything).

Continued good work in AAA got Winn back to the majors after the All Star Break, and he kept putting up zeroes, registering 11 more straight scoreless appearances before going K, walk, homer (to Bobby Witt Jr., so I mean, whaddya gonna do?), HBP in a mid-August game, after which he was put on the injured list with nerve irritation in his hand. Winn returned in mid-September, allowed two runs in eight appearances, then spent the final series on the injured list because of shoulder irritation again.

Winn ended the year with a 1.51 ERA in 41.2 innings over 33 appearances for the Rangers, and his 1.1 bWAR was second highest among relievers, behind Shawn Armstrong’s 1.5 bWAR, unless you consider Jacob Latz a reliever despite his eight starts, in which case Winn was third on the team. Either way, pretty good.

Ah, but now, as Paul Harvey says, you’re going to hear the rest of the story.

Winn didn’t miss a ton of bats in 2025. His K rate of 21.6% was a shade below league average. That’s fine, except he also walked 10.5% of batters he faced. That’s not good. That’s comfortably below average. In addition, his hard hit rate of 48.1% was way below average.

So not surprisingly, the non-ERA stats show reasons for concern. Winn had a 3.90 FIP, a 4.37 xFIP, and a 4.12 xERA. He did allow just 3 home runs, in large part because he generated lots of ground balls. But he also allowed just a .194 BABIP, with over 90% of the runners he allowed being stranded. Neither of those are encouraging from a sustainable-future-performance standpoint.

Winn, unusually for a middle reliever, threw five pitches regularly, six pitches in all (he threw his curve just six times, so we can ignore that). He threw three varieties of fastball — a four seamer, a sinker, and a cutter. None of them featured a lot in the way of movement. All three had a xwOBA over .300, and his sinker, which he threw 21% of the time, was especially lit up, as he allowed a .400 wOBA and .389 xwOBA off of it.

On the other hand, his slider and split-finger were both much better. The slider showed a ton of horizontal movement, and his split finger had a bunch of drop. The slider resulted in a .154 wOBA against (though a .276 xwOBA) with the splitter resulting in .206/.255. His splitter was his least used pitch, though he still threw it 12.1% of the time.

Simplistically speaking, we could say Winn should use the slider and splitter more and junk the sinker, though of course reality is much more complicated and we are talking about a rather small sample size of pitches.

So is Cole Winn good now? I don’t know. He’s obviously quite reliant on his defense as a groundball guy who doesn’t strike out a ton of guys. The 3.90 FIP and 4.12 xERA make him someone who is fine, I guess, in a low-leverage role in the pen, though obviously, if you think his true talent is more like the 1.51 ERA he put up (oh, and the 0.59 AAA ERA last year), then you can slide him much higher up in terms of the leverage role he fills.

Winn is out of options, so barring injury (and after two i.l. stints with shoulder issues and an i.l. stint with a nerve issue in the past two seasons, I’m starting to worry about whether there’s a TOS issue looming), he’ll be in the Ranger pen to start the season. There’s not a lot of blue chip, skins on the wall relievers in the mix, so he will get the opportunity to show what he can do.

It would be nice if he turned out to be a solid relief pitcher. I think the Rangers could use one of them.

Previously:

Gerson Garabito

Tyler Mahle

Kyle Higashioka

Adolis Garcia

Luis Curvelo

Alejandro Osuna

Blaine Crim

Jake Burger

Jacob Webb

Nick Ahmed

Jon Gray

Carl Edwards Jr.

Josh Jung

Leody Taveras

Dustin Harris

Marc Church

Luke Jackson

Danny Coulombe

Wyatt Langford

Dylan Moore

Michael Helman

Evan Carter

The snow lingers.

Anyone in the Philadelphia area looks outside today and sees white, frozen nothingness that will permeate our thoughts these next few days as the continued frigidness lingers. It’s things like this that cause our minds to wander to Clearwater, to the impending sound of bats against balls, rawhide being hurled on leather, a color other than white that helps us realize dreams of warmth and sunshine.

Spring training is nearing and what better time to think about the Phillies than to take a guess as to what they are going to look like once the curtain drops on the 2026 season. Here is the first guess.

Catcher – J.T. Realmuto, Rafael Marchan

Another season with this tandem behind the plate should lead to the pitching staff doing backflips. There are some serious questions that need to be answered by both of these catchers though:

• Can Realmuto improve both behind the plate and at the plate?
• Can Marchan hit enough to justify Rob Thomson giving him more playing time?
• Will Thomson actually give Marchan more playing time?

The answers to all three of these questions are probably obvious, but there is hope that the opposite answer can be given.

Infield – Bryce Harper, Bryson Stott, Trea Turner, Alec Bohm, Edmundo Sosa, Otto Kemp

The starting four, obvious.

The bench, also kind of obvious.

What’s interesting is how much the team is talking up Kemp this winter. We hear platitudes heap upon Kemp by the manager and the POBO, something that is interesting considering his skillset. He’s a good bench piece, but there seems to be a sentiment behind their comments that they see something more.

I’d like to know why.

Outfield – Brandon Marsh, Justin Crawford, Adolis Garcia, Johan Rojas

The question with this outfield alignment is: how far is the gap between the worst case scenario and the best case. Where the arrow points more towards this season is going to determine a lot about their direction. If it’s more worst case scenario, not only are they having to trade more prospects for a band aid, they also have an answer to their question about the viability of Crawford as a major league piece, about Marsh and if he can be something closer to a regular, not needing a platoon and about Garcia and whether that one-year deal was a wise choice.

If it leans more towards the best case scenario, then the biggest weakness this team has is suddenly something better, perhaps even – dare I say it – a strength?!?

Personally I’d be happy with splitting the difference.

Designated hitter – Kyle Schwarber

There are about 150 millions reasons why this is a stone cold lock. The more interesting question about Schwarber is the other positions he might play. If we set the over/under at games played at first base and/or left field at 15, which are you taking?

Starting rotation – Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker, Andrew Painter

There is a capital A “Ace” here in Sanchez, a solid #2 in Luzardo…

…and a whole lot of question marks.

Getting back Aaron Nola to his pre-2025 form would be a boon for this rotation. Based on his history, betting on something closer to that form would be wise, but building in some buffer would also be wise. If Andrew Painter can take a step forward for this rotation, it would also be a large boost as he might be able to settle into something between a #3 and 4 were that to happen, something more being his ceiling. I’ve never really considered Taijuan Walker as anything more than a LAIM (League Average Innings Muncher), so if he can give the team five innings each start, that’s a win for the team.

It’s just that there are so many question marks for a team that leans into the rotation as its strength. Getting Zack Wheeler back and healthy makes this unit looks so much better, but that’s something can’t really be counted on until we actually see it in practice.

Relief pitching – Jhoan Duran, Jose Alvarado, Brad Keller, Tanner Banks, Orion Kerkering, Zach McCambley, Seth Johnson, Jonathan Bowlan

It’s probably been said before, but on paper, this might be the team’s best complete bullpen in a long, long time. There is depth, there is swing and miss stuff, there is upside, there are projects that can be worked with unlock something a little more. A lot of that is something the Phillies’ bullpen hasn’t had in quite some time.

For me, the biggest question is: where does Kerkering rank among all of these arms? Fifth? Sixth? Seventh?

Injured list – Zack Wheeler

As badly as he might want to be ready for the first series of the season, it’s likely that the team proceeds cautiously with Wheeler. There is little doubt he’ll be working his tail off to get ready, but with the team pumping the brakes a bit, a late April season debut is far more feasible than to be ready by Opening Day.

Though, I wouldn’t count him out just yet…

Lázaro Estrada is a 26-year-old (27 in April), right-handed pitcher, from Cuba.

He made it to the majors for the first time last year, pitching in two games, 7.1 innings. He was hit pretty hard, 10 hits in 7.1 innings, but he also had 10 strikeouts.

Lázaro was #36 on our Top 40 Prospect list in 2024 (in 2025, he turned 25, and we don’t consider players 25 and over ‘prospects’). Tom_M wrote:

There are three pitches in Estrada’s arsenal. The fastball is a four seamer that’s not hard, sitting 91-94, but has nice vertical ride and horizontal run. His changeup is rarely used and doesn’t have impressive shape, but it does sit 10mph off his fastball and can get some chases. In the past, his breaking ball has been the star of his arsenal. Before 2023, it was a curveball that he could occasionally snap off with spin rates up to an elite 3,400 RPM. This year the curve was replaced with a slow slider. He still spins it at around 2,700 RPM, which would be in about the 90th percentile in MLB, but in a couple of looks this year the movement wasn’t as impressive as that would suggest. Estrada’s command is solid and seems likely to end up average.

Estrada profiles mostly as a reliever, with only one pitch that looks like it has the potential to be a difference maker in MLB and a spotty track record of durability, but he’s performed so far and the breaking ball bears watching. At 25 and rule 5 eligible, he’ll need to move this year to have a hope of reaching Toronto.

He pitched most of the 2025 season in Buffalo. He had a 5.73 ERA in 26 games, 25 starts, with a 5.73 ERA. In 97.1 innings, he had 99 strikeouts and 32 walks.

Estrada has two option years left, but I’m thinking this is a pretty important year for him, if he’s going to have a major league career.

Steamer thinks Estrada is going to pitch in 23 games, 23 innings, with a 4.19 ERA with 21 strike outs.

The team has added a bunch of relievers this off-season and there are younger arms coming up quickly behind Lázaro. But he gets a lot of movement on his pitches, as you can see in this gif from Sportsnet. He would be better off on a team that could let him pitch and find his way in the majors. But, unless he’s DFAed, I think he’s going to end up in Buffalo, hoping to be next in line when we need a pitcher in case of an injury.

I don’t think there is enough prospect shine left on him to be a trade piece, but who knows. I think he could be a good major league pitcher. I’m not sure he’ll get the chance.

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is set to begin in less than three months, as Team USA is looking to avenge a runner-up finish at the hands of Shohei Ohtani and Japan back in 2023.

Manager Mark DeRosa heads up the American squad, a team that is headlined by several big-name stars. Let’s take a quick look at MLB players participating in the upcoming event, beginning with Team USA. Note: Rosters are not yet finalized, meaning there will surely be additions to this list in the coming weeks. I’ll try to keep this updated over time.

USA

• RHP David Bednar (Yankees)
• SP Matthew Boyd (Cubs)
• 3B Alex Bregman (Cubs)
• OF Byron Buxton (Twins)
• OF Corbin Carroll (D-backs)
• RP Garrett Cleavinger (Rays)
• INF Ernie Clement (Blue Jays)
• OF Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs)
• SS Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)
• RHP Clay Holmes (Mets)
• RP Griffin Jax (Rays)
• OF Aaron Judge (Yankees)
• RHP Brad Keller (Phillies)
• LHP Clayton Kershaw (retiring after WBC)
• RHP Nolan McLean (Mets)
• RHP Mason Miller (Padres)
• C Cal Raleigh (Mariners)
• RHP Joe Ryan (Twins)
• DH Kyle Schwarber (Phillies)
• RHP Paul Skenes (Pirates)
• LHP Tarik Skubal (Tigers)
• C Will Smith (Dodgers)
• LHP Gabe Speier (Mariners)
• 2B Brice Turang (Brewers)
• RHP Logan Webb (Giants)
• RP Garrett Whitlock (Red Sox)
• SS Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals)

Team USA is not short on big names, as the team is headlined by reigning AL MVP (and three-time winner) Aaron Judge and runner-up Cal Raleigh, who broke MLB’s record for homers by a catcher in a season. Both the AL Cy Young (Tarik Skubal) and NL Cy Young (Paul Skenes) are also on the roster.

Players returning from the 2023 WBC roster for the US include designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, catcher Will Smith, and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.

The Brewers’ lone representative in the 2026 WBC, as it stands, is infielder Brice Turang, who is coming off the best season of his young career. Turang, 26, accumulated 5.6 bWAR in 2025, hitting .288/.359/.435 with 18 homers, 81 RBIs, 97 runs, and 24 steals while finishing as a finalist at second base for both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.

Australia

• 2B Travis Bazzana (Guardians)
• RHP Liam Hendriks (free agent)
• INF Curtis Mead (White Sox)

Australia’s roster includes veteran reliever Liam Hendriks, who is currently a free agent after spending an injury-shortened 2025 season with the Red Sox, struggling to a 6.59 ERA and 12 strikeouts over just 13 2/3 innings. Travis Bazzana is arguably a bigger name than Hendriks despite having not yet reached the majors with Cleveland. The 2024 No. 1 overall pick and MLB’s No. 17 prospect split time across three levels in 2025, hitting .245/.389/.424 with nine homers, 39 RBIs, 71 runs, and 12 steals in 84 games.

Bonus: Former Brewer Dave Nilsson, who played for Milwaukee from 1992-1999 and earned an All-Star appearance in his final MLB season, is the manager of Australia.

Brazil

• INF Bo Bichette (Mets)

Canada

• OF Owen Caissie (Marlins)
• 1B Josh Naylor (Mariners)
• C Bo Naylor (Guardians)
• RHP Matt Brash (Mariners)
• SS Otto Lopez (Marlins)
• LHP James Paxton (retired)
• RHP Cal Quantrill (free agent)
• RHP Michael Soroka (D-backs)
• C Liam Hicks (Marlins)
• 1B Tyler Black (Brewers)
• RHP Jameson Taillon (Cubs)

Colombia

• LHP Jose Quintana (free agent)
• 3B Gio Urshela (free agent)
• RHP Julio Teherán (free agent)

Cuba

• OF Andy Pages (Dodgers)
• 3B Yoán Moncada (Angels)
• RHP Yariel Rodríguez (Blue Jays)
• INF Andy Ibáñez (Dodgers)

Dominican Republic

• RHP Sandy Alcantara (Marlins)
• RHP Brayan Bello (Red Sox)
• 3B Junior Caminero (Rays)
• SS/OF Oneil Cruz (Pirates)
• 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays)
• LHP Cristopher Sánchez (Phillies)
• OF Juan Soto (Mets)
• OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres)

Junior Caminero is the headliner on the D.R.’s roster. The 22-year-old third baseman had a breakout 2025 season, accumulating 4.4 bWAR as he hit .264/.311/.535 with 45 homers, 110 RBIs, and 93 runs, garnering an All-Star spot and a ninth-place AL MVP finish.

Great Britain

• LHP Aroldis Chapman (Red Sox)
• C Harry Ford (Nationals)

Israel

• OF Harrison Bader (Giants)
• RHP Dean Kremer (Orioles)
• C Garrett Stubbs (Phillies)

Team Israel is led by Giants outfielder Harrison Bader, who had a great season between the Twins and Phillies in 2025, totaling 3.9 bWAR as he hit .277/.347/.449 with 17 homers, 54 RBIs, 61 runs, and 11 steals to go with strong defense. Dean Kremer of the Orioles and Garrett Stubbs of the Phillies both return from the 2023 team.

Italy

• 1B Vinnie Pasquantino (Royals)
• OF Jac Caglianone (Royals)
• RHP Adam Ottavino (free agent)

First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, or “Pasquatch” as he’s affectionately known, will represent Team Italy for the second consecutive WBC in 2026. He’s had a solid four-year career with K.C., hitting .266/.330/.456 with 70 career homers across 424 games.

Japan

• DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)
• LHP Yusei Kikuchi (Angels)
• LHP Yuki Matsui (Padres)
• INF Munetaka Murakami (White Sox)
• INF Kazuma Okamoto (Blue Jays)
• RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (free agent)
• OF Seiya Suzuki (Cubs)
• RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers)

I don’t think I need to say much more about Shohei Ohtani at this point. Everyone knows he’s the best player on the planet at this point, and no other player (with the possible exception of Aaron Judge) is even close to being in that conversation. Ohtani helped lead Japan to the title in 2023 and will look to do so once again in 2026. Dodger teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto is also on the roster.

Mexico

• 1B Jonathan Aranda (Rays)
• OF Randy Arozarena (Mariners)
• OF Jarren Duran (Red Sox)
• C Alejandro Kirk (Blue Jays)
• RHP Andrés Muñoz (Mariners)
• 1B Rowdy Tellez (free agent)
• INF Luis Urías (free agent)
• INF Ramón Urías (free agent)
• RHP Taijuan Walker (Phillies)

Randy Arozarena and Jarren Duran both return to the Team Mexico roster after participating in the 2023 WBC. Arozarena was a star in that edition, hitting .450/.607/.900 with a homer, six doubles, nine RBIs, eight runs, and six walks in four games. Duran is, notably, a name that has come up often in trade rumors this offseason, as Boston looks to deal from their outfield depth.

Netherlands

• OF Ceddanne Rafaela (Red Sox)

Nicaragua

• 3B Mark Vientos (Mets)

Mets third baseman Mark Vientos is the lone MLB player on Nicaragua’s roster, though he’s coming off a disappointing season after a breakout campaign in 2024.

Bonus: Milwaukee pitching prospect Carlos Rodriguez was on the 2023 Nicaragua WBC roster, pitching four innings of one-run ball (2.25 ERA). We’ll see if he’s on the team once again in 2026.

Panama

• LHP Logan Allen (Guardians)
• C Miguel Amaya (Cubs)
• C Iván Herrera (Cardinals)

Puerto Rico

• 3B Nolan Arenado (D-backs)
• UTIL Willi Castro (Rockies)
• SS/3B Carlos Correa (Astros)
• RP Fernando Cruz (Yankees)
• OF Riley Greene (Tigers)
• SS Francisco Lindor (Mets)
• SP Seth Lugo (Royals)
• OF George Springer (Blue Jays)

The Mets train continues, as shortstop Francisco Lindor is included on Puerto Rico’s roster. Lindor had a solid 2023 WBC with the team, hitting .450/.500/.550 with a triple, five RBIs, six runs, and a steal over five games.

Venezuela

• OF Wilyer Abreu (Red Sox)
• OF Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves)
• OF Jackson Chourio (Brewers)
• INF Maikel Garcia (Royals)
• C Salvador Perez (Royals)
• SS Ezequiel Tovar (Rockies)

The 14-year veteran catcher Salvador Perez will participate in his fourth WBC with Venezuela, this time as the team captain. Across eight career WBC games, he’s hit .346/.393/.808 with two homers and eight RBIs.

It is prospect list season! The Royals have a few names that rank highly on lists, providing reasons for optimism. But despite signs of improvement, it is clear that the team still needs more progress to become a sustainable winner.

Baseball America is the gold standard of prospect lists, release their 2026 update last week. They are quite high on Royals catcher Carter Jensen, ranking him #11 among all prospects. Other than Bobby Witt Jr.’s #3 ranking in 2022, it is the highest a Royals prospect has ranked in a Baseball America preseason ranking in the last dozen years. Jensen hit .290/.377/.501 with 20 home runs in 111 games across Double-A and Triple-A, then joined the Royals in September and impressed, hitting .300/.391/.550 with three home runs in 20 games.

Pitcher Kendry Chourio also broke into the top 100 prospect list at #82, after being aggressively promoted this year. He went from the Dominican Summer League, to the Arizona Complex League, finishing with six starts at Low-A Columbia, all at age 17. With the Fireflies, he posted a 5.16 ERA but with 24 strikeouts and just 4 walks in 22.2 innings. The publication singles him out as a prospect who could be a riser this year, writing he “blends now stuff with uncommon poise into a skill set,” and that a strong season could give him “a case as the sport’s best pitching prospect.”

Baseball America pre-season top 100 rankings for Royals prospects

Just missing the top 100 prospect list was pitcher David Shields, who also impressed this year at a very young age. The 18-year-old left-hander posted a sensational 2.01 ERA with 81 strikeouts and just 15 walks in 71.2 innings. In their article about the prospects that just missed, Josh Norris writes that he “doesn’t have the kind of blow-away stuff as some of the other pitchers in the minors, but his pitchability and command should help him become a mid-rotation starter in a few years.”

MLB Pipeline also came out with their prospect list last week, with Jensen ranked #18 and former first-round pick Blake Mitchell ranked #75. Mitchell had a tough start to his 2025 season, suffering a wrist injury in spring training that kept him out for the first half of the season. When he returned, he continued to show a very patient eye at the plate, but his power was sapped as it often is for players returning from wrist injuries. The 20-year-old catcher hit .207/.372/.296 with two home runs in 49 games for High-A Quad Cities. Mitchell was ranked #48 by the publication last year, and was ranked #75 by Baseball America last year before falling off their list this season.

Keith Law has high praise for Jensen, ranking him #10 overall. He writes the 22-year-old is a “legit Rookie of the Year candidate this year as a true catcher who could hit 20 homers with a strong OBP, and with 3-plus WAR potential right away thanks to the defense and positional adjustment.” He ranks Mitchell #56, despite what he calls a “lost year.” Law believes Mitchell is “the best defensive catcher in the Royals’ system, a plus receiver and framer with at least a 60 arm, and has the raw power to be a regular at the position even if he doesn’t hit for a high average.” He also ranks Chourio #61, writing that although there are injury concerns when a pitcher his age throws so hard, he is “everything you’d want to see in a young pitching prospect, including the potential upside of 80 command.”

Kiley McDaniel at ESPN had Jensen as the only Royals prospect in his top 100 list at #25, but he ranked Kendry Chourio (#124), Josh Hammond (#132), and Blake Mitchell (#143) in his 101-200 list. He had high praise for Chourio, writing the right-hander “has the elements to become a front-line starter I’m looking for: enough velocity, plenty of command, the potential for three above-average pitch shapes and surface number performance.” But he adds that the right-hander needs to tweak his “breaking ball shapes.” Curiously omitted from the ranking is Shields.

As for the overall state of the Royals’ farm system, they still seem to rank in the bottom third. McDaniel ranks them #24, praising top prospects Jensen and Chourio and their draft picks of Hammond and pitcher Michael Lombardi. But he writes, “the rest of the system is made up of mostly role players and higher-variance types.”

Jon Hoefling of USA Today came out with a farm system ranking last week, putting the Royals at #26, writing, “they might have a dry spell of great prospects coming to the big leagues for a few years. However, in his top five list of Royals prospects, he omits Chourio or Shields, instead listing Jensen, Mitchell, 2025 first-round picks Sean Gamble and Josh Hammond, and 19-year-old shortstop Yandel Ricardo.

MLB Pipeline last August ranked the Royals #26, although they write the Royals had “one of the most interesting and dynamic international classes of 2025” that netted Chourio. A recent MLB Pipeline poll of executives regarding relative strengths of farm systems did not mention the Royals at all. Kiley McDaniel at ESPN ranked the Royals #27 last August, writing, “Hammond and Gamble could be the high-end prospects needed to pull this system out of the bottom third of the league.”

Prospects1500 ranked the Royals #26 at the end of last season, writing that if “Kendry Chourio continues his breakout and Blake Mitchell can bounce back after an injury-filled 2025, the top of this system could look stronger this time next year. Fangraphs has farm system rankings based on Future Value metrics of top prospects in each system, ranking the Royals 28th.

The Royals are one of six clubs to place just two prospects on the Baseball America list, with the Diamondbacks, Braves, Cubs, Phillies, and Rangers. Three clubs – the Rockies, Angels, and Padres – have just one prospect, and the Astros have none.

You could argue that the Royals’ farm system ranking is low because they graduated players to the big league roster. But that isn’t quite accurate. Jac Caglianone has graduated from lists, but other homegrown players have been in the big leagues for a significant amount of time – Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Maikel Garcia have all spent at least three full seasons in the big leagues. Noah Cameron and Freddy Fermin are the only significant players who have debuted in the last three seasons. Besides, a successful small market team needs to continually produce prospects to build a sustainable winner. Having a farm system that has dry spells will lead to a thin roster.

But there is reason to think things are turning a corner for the Royals. They have taken a more data-driven approach since J.J. Picollo took the helm, and have been more aggressive in spending in the international market, landing top prospects like Ricardo, Chourio, and shortstop Warren Calcaño. Scouting director Brian Bridges took over after the 2023 season, and his first two draft classes have an intriguing mix of prospects that includes Caglianone, Shields, Gamble, Hammond, and pitcher Drew Beam.

Still, the Royals have a long way to go before they are even close to the top farm systems in baseball. And unlike the free agent market, the financial disparities haven’t made it impossible for small-market teams to compete for prospects. The Guardians are tied for the most prospects on Baseball America’s list with six, with the Brewers and Marlins close behind at five. Kiley McDaniel tweeted that the Brewers will rank #1 when he comes out with his overall farm system rankings.

Until the Royals can consistently produce impact talent year after year, and not just rely on the occasional standout prospect, the farm will remain closer to the bottom than the top of industry rankings. Progress is evident, but sustainability remains the real test.

The 2009 season marked a transitional year for the Yankees, coming off the final season in the original Yankee Stadium and the team’s first season without a postseason appearance since 1995. The team’s aging core was still producing, but veteran slugger Jason Giambi’s contract expired after the season, leaving a hole at the cold corner.

Thankfully, there was a marquee first baseman available on the market: Mark Teixeira. The switch-hitting slugger and Gold Glover was coming off an MVP-caliber season — he had been traded from the Braves to the Angels at the trade deadline, which wiped out his vote share because of the change in leagues. Several teams attempted to woo Teixeira, but the Yankees were ultimately successful, inking him to an eight-year pact. Tex would be one of the most important contributors to the 2009 team which baptized the new Yankee Stadium with the franchise’s 27th championship. While he struggled with injuries on the back half of the deal, he was a fearsome presence in the heart of the Yankee lineup for most of those eight years.

Mark Teixeira
Signing Date: January 6, 2009
Contract: 8 years, $180 million

Teixeira was born on April 11, 1980 in Annapolis, Maryland and attended Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore. He excelled enough there for the Red Sox to take a flyer on him with a ninth-round pick in the 1998 Draft, but he chose to honor his commitment to Georgia Tech, where he became one of the top college hitters in the country.

Now a consensus first-round talent, Teixeira was selected fifth overall in 2001 by the rebuilding Texas Rangers. It wouldn’t take long for him to blossom in the bigs. He made the Rangers’ roster out of spring training in 2003 and from that point forward was a lock to slug at least 25 home runs a season. By 2005, he had already exceeded 100 career homers, reached the All-Star Game, and taken home a pair of Silver Sluggers as well as a Gold Glove. But he wouldn’t reach the postseason until 2008, at which point Teixeira had been traded at the deadline twice in as many seasons; first from the Rangers to the Braves for a king’s ransom, then from Atlanta to the Angels.

That offseason, Teixeira entered free agency as the best hitter on the market. The Angels were interested in bringing him back, but several other teams made big offers. The Red Sox, who had drafted him back in high school, were in the mix — though Teixeira had vocally criticized Boston in the past for their pre-draft negotiations with him. The Nationals and Orioles both tried for the Marylander who grew up close to both Baltimore and DC.

Eventually, the Angels and Red Sox got cold feet, providing an opening for the Yankees. Teixeira, who idolized Don Mattingly growing up, ultimately chose the Bronx as the place to continue his career. The eight-year, $180 million agreement, announced right before the holidays, was made official on January 6th. Teixeira joined starting pitchers CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett as part of a gargantuan free agent haul as the team awaited the grand opening of the brand new Yankee Stadium.

Teixeira proved a perfect fit in the Bronx, providing a strong baseline of production at the plate with sterling first-base defense, but also capable of entering incendiary stretches in which he was impossible to pitch to. Like the rest of the team, Teixiera took a bit to get going in April, but was the AL’s best hitter in May, smashing 13 home runs with a .330/.391/.748 slash line. He made the All-Star Game and then was an even better hitter in the second half, finishing the year with 39 homers and 122 RBI. He finished second in MVP voting behind Minnesota’s Joe Mauer.

Mauer and the Twins, of course, would meet Teixeira and the Bombers in the ALDS. The Yankees took Game 1, but Game 2 would be a battle requiring extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th, Teixeira smashed a line drive down the left field line and over the wall for a walk-off home run to put New York in the driver’s seat.

Teixeira struggled in the playoffs despite the early highlight, but the Yankees took down his former team, the Angels, in the ALCS, and hosted the Phillies in the World Series. After Philadelphia snatched the series lead in Game 1, a homer from Teixeira off Pedro Martinez tied Game 2 and lit the spark for an eventual Yankee win. Finally in Game 6, Tex provided an RBI single in the fifth to help bring the Commissioner’s Trophy back to the Bronx.

The Yankees would not return to the Fall Classic again during Teixeira’s tenure, but his presence at the heart of the order helped extend a window which appeared to be closing before his arrival. In 2010, he registered another strong season, with an .856 OPS, 33 home runs, and his second Gold Glove in as many seasons at first base. Unfortunately, Teixeira struggled again in the playoffs before a hamstring injury put him on the shelf. The Rangers, the franchise which had drafted him nine years before and was now a powerhouse, kicked the Yankees out in the ALCS in six games.

In 2012, Teixeira began to struggle with injuries. He suffered from a persistent cough that plagued him throughout the early part of the season, then endured a pair of DL stints for calf injuries late in the season. He returned in time for the postseason and hit well, but with no home runs, and the Yankees were swept by the Tigers in a demoralizing ALCS.

That marked the final postseason run of Teixeira’s career. The Yankees entered a somnambulant period after 2012, overloaded with veterans who couldn’t stay on the field. Teixeira was one of them, only playing 15 games in 2013 after injuring his wrist during the World Baseball Classic. In 2014, Teixeira’s production dropped as he again dealt with hamstring and wrist injuries. New York missed the postseason both years.

Entering the 2015 season, it appeared Tex’s halcyon days had come to an end. But in his age-35 campaign, the embattled first baseman authored a terrific comeback campaign, returning to the All-Star Game for the first time since ‘09. He finished the year with 31 home runs, a total which would have been even higher had it not been for August 17th. That night, with the Twins in town, Teixeira fouled a ball off his leg and staggered out of the box. He left the game and was diagnosed with a bone bruise, but after several weeks of tests and negative X-rays, was finally found to have suffered a shin fracture. That would spell the end of what had been a stirring resurgence.

Then, at last, came 2016, the final year of Teixeira’s deal. His final ride was an unproductive slog, in which his average hovered around .200 and his formerly prodigious power wilted, even as he slugged his 400th career homer on July 4th in San Diego. In August, he announced in a press conference that he would retire at the end of the season. But he did have one last magical moment in him: a walk-off grand slam against the Red Sox in one of the final games of his career.

The main objective for Teixeira in coming to New York was to win. He did, right away, playing an instrumental role on a championship team. Despite failing to return to the mountaintop in his successive years in the Bronx, Teixeira provided high-quality play on offense and defense for as long as his body would allow him to do so. He retired as an accomplished and dedicated 14-year major leaguer with nothing left to prove.

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See more of the “50 Most Notable Yankees Free Agent Signings in 50 Years” series here.

Fifth in the series. Today we look at the Cubs’newly-anointed utility man.

Matt Shaw is a controversial figure in Cubdom right now. Not for his political beliefs (at this time), but because the signing of Alex Bregman necessarily leads to a change of position for the young man, and because it looks a bit like fan favorite and team leader Nico Hoerner is going somewhere else after this season to facilitate Shaw’s transference to second base, should there be a 2027 season.

The chance of that is non-zero, but that won’t be our focus.

Shaw had two different seasons in one. His first half was iffy — the entire third base contingent were not very good, and none of them got to midseason, except for Shaw, who took over the spot, made a lot of really good defensive plays, and held his own with the bat. His slash line of .226/.295/.394, with a bWAR of 3.1, isn’t anything to write home about, but it’s leagues better than Jon Berti was turning in.

Indeed his bWAR figure is in the same ballpark as Bregman’s 2025 (3.5 bWAR). Bregman’s numbers were reduced due to injury. Shaw’s were bolstered by his very good second half. Fangraphs, who aren’t as influenced by defensive numbers, awarded Shaw 1.5 fWAR, while Bregman garnered 3.5 fWAR.

We’ll have to see how Shaw adjusts to a utility role. Team management has said that he’ll spend some time in the outfield, which would lead me to think that Kevin Alcántara will be spending the bulk of his time in Iowa, provided that Tyler Austin’s power shows up, which would make Austin the backup 1B/DH, as noted in his profile.

It would not surprise me if Shaw flourishes in that role. He certainly has the speed and athleticism to get the job done. I wouldn’t vote against his chances.

SNY, the official television home of the New York Mets, today announced its exclusive spring training schedule for the start of the Mets 2026 season. Live Mets baseball swings back into action on SNY on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. as the Mets host the Miami Marlins at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Former Mets All-Star Daniel Murphy will again join the SNY broadcast booth. Murphy will serve as an analyst alongside Gary Cohen for the Tuesday, Feb. 24 game vs. Houston and the Wednesday, Feb. 25 game vs. St. Louis.

Here are some schedule highlights: 

-- Spring training home opener vs. Miami on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 1:00 p.m.

-- Mets vs. Yankees in spring training Subway Series action from Clover Park on Sunday, March 8, on PIX11

 -- The Mets' spring training home finale will be on Sunday, March 21, when the Mets host the Houston Astros at 1:10 p.m., with Opening Day against the Pittsburgh Pirates set for Thursday, March 26, at 1:10 p.m.

🌴 OUR 2026 METS SPRING TRAINING BROADCAST SCHEDULE IS HERE 🌴

Join us on these dates for Mets spring training action! ⚾ pic.twitter.com/nXdyY506Pz

— SNY (@SNYtv) January 29, 2026

Mets right-hander Jonah Tong will not be pitching for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic in March, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.

Tong, a native of Markham, Canada, is set to report to spring training along with Mets pitchers and catchers on Feb. 11.

The 22-year-old made his big league debut late last season, starting five games after tearing through the minors as he established himself as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball.

In 113.2 innings over 22 starts for Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse in 2025, Tong had a 1.43 ERA and 0.92 WHIP while striking out 179 batters -- an eye-popping rate of 14.2 per nine.

With an arsenal that features a high-octane fastball, developing slider, and curve, Tong missed bats at an elite level last season.

Tong will enter camp with a chance to win a job, but opening the season back with Triple-A seems likely -- considering the rotation depth ahead of him and the need to refine his stuff a bit.

After adding Freddy Peralta via trade, the Mets could feature a six-man rotation that also includes Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea, David Peterson, and Kodai Senga. 

McLean and Holmes will be on Team USA for the WBC. Francisco Lindor is playing for Team Puerto Rico, while Mark Vientos will play for Team Nicaragua. 

The WBC begins on March 4.