Category: Baseball

The Philadelphia Phillies already had Cristopher Sánchez locked into a long-term deal that ensured the left-hander could remain a Phillie through 2030.

Yet they feel so strongly about their All-Star ace that they guaranteed him an extra $60 million into his mid-30s.

The Phillies announced Sunday, March 22, they signed Sánchez to a six-year contract that begins in 2027, runs through 2032 and includes a club option for 2033. Including the $3.5 million Sanchez will earn this season, he’s now guaranteed $107 million through 2032, according to The Athletic.

It’s an interesting maneuver for both sides: Sánchez had signed a four-year, $22.5 million contract in June 2024 that included club options of $14 million and $15 million in 2029 and ’30. That’s a decidedly club-friendly deal for a lefty who led all pitchers in baseball with 8.0 WAR in 2025, crossed the 200-inning mark with a 2.50 ERA and finished runner-up in NL Cy Young Award voting.

So what was in it for the Phillies? Extending Sánchez for two years and $60 million at the end of the deal, which, given inflation in pitcher salaries, might look like a bargain come 2034 and 2035.

As for Sánchez, he locked in a degree of financial security in originally signing the deal, but now has guarantee of a salary approaching market value by the deal’s end, all while remaining with a team that appears in it for the long haul.

It’s a significant leap of mutual faith by club and player.

While unusual, it’s not without precedent a club would go longer with a player they’d inked to a deal that’s already been out-performed. The Kansas City Royals signed catcher Salvador Perez to three extensions after he sailed past the five-year, $7 million deal he’d originally signed – eventually inking a five-year, $52.5 million deal a year before his first one expired.

And the Cleveland Guardians locked up franchise player Jose Ramírez to a seven-year, $141 million deal entering the option year of an original five-year, $26.5 million extension. In January, Ramírez added a seven-year, $175 million extension that superseded the final three years of that old deal and added four more seasons.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cristopher Sánchez contract: Phillies ace gets $107M extension

The Yankees are quicklyfinalizing the 26-man roster that they’ll bring with them to San Francisco for Wednesday’s season opener, and with several bubble roster spots recently solidified, all that’s left is bookkeeping on the margins.

One of those moves was to figure out what to do with infielder Jorbit Vivas, who was out of minor-league options and either had to be rostered, DFA’d, or traded. A very deep Yankees bench made it so that the first option was off the table, so GM Brian Cashman worked the phones, and it appears he has found a partner. Per Andrew Golden of the Baltimore Banner, Vivas is heading to the Washington Nationals in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Sean Paul Liñan.

The Washington Nationals are acquiring INF Jorbit Vivas from the New York Yankees and sending pitching prospect Sean Paul Liñan back to New York, per sources.

Vivas debuted and played 29 games for New York last season.

— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) March 22, 2026

What’s interesting about this trade is that both of these players were originally signed out of South America by the Los Angeles Dodgers. For Vivas, who was signed back in July 2017, he showed enough promise to have his contract selected by the Dodgers in November 2021 while he was still in High-A. The 5-foot-9 infielder’s bat slowed down after that, but he was still considered a decent prospect through the end of the 2023 campaign, when he and relief pitcher Victor González were traded to the Yankees for former first-round pick Trey Sweeney (now of the Tigers).

González had a fairly forgettable stint with the 2024 Yankees, but Vivas would spend the majority of the year with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (aside from a cameo in the bigs that did not involve any in-game appearances), eventually making his MLB debut in 2025 due to injuries to DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., playing both second and third base while LeMahieu, Chisholm, and later Oswaldo Cabrera hit the shelf.

For a guy who had just 66 plate appearances and a putrid .516 OPS in 29 games, he still had two memorable moments in pinstripes, one good and one bad. The good was his hitting his first major-league home run in a 1-0 win against the Texas Rangers back in May, which earned him the honor of being mentioned in a witty Pinstripe Alley headline.

The bad was, unfortunately, him being on the wrong side of one of the best throws you’ll ever see from Ronald Acuña Jr. in July, which saw the former MVP hose Vivas tagging for third and not sliding. This clip will be replayed long after Vivas is done playing professional baseball and I think he’d rather never see it again.

Vivas was at least serviceable minor league depth, but the Dodgers’ decision to start his clock two years before he was traded to New York eventually reared its head, leading to him departing the organization just after his 25th birthday. He’ll now join a Nationals organization that will offer him a roster spot as he slides into a competition for reps with José Tena, Brady House, and Nasim Nuñez.

There’s reason to be intrigued by Liñan, who MLB Pipeline ranked as the Nationals’ No. 27 prospect. Acquired from LA for Alex Call at the deadline, he spent much of the last two months on the injured list after a very strong campaign with High-A Great Lakes, which saw him post a 2.65 ERA with 39 strikeouts to just 14 walks in 37.1 innings. A high point was on April 25th, when he fanned 11 in a single outing:

Liñan’s strikeout stuff flashed significantly more in Single-A and rookie ball, but with him entering his age-21 season, there’s reason to believe he can get back to the strikeout machine he was.

As for his offerings, he tosses a low-90s fastball and mid-80s slider that Pipeline believes limit his ceiling, but he offers “a legitimate claim for the best changeup in Minor League Baseball.” Pipeline describes it as a screwball-like pitch that registered a whiff rate of 60 percent and looked a lot like the deadly Airbender we got familiar with last year with Devin Williams. Lucas Apostoleris of Baseball Prospectus echoed the enthusiasm around the changeup:

We’ve seen players with outlier pitches be optimized to the fullest extent under Matt Blake and Sam Briend’s pitching development, so to get a player like Liñan with such a great offering who’s young enough to mold into something for an infielder who was going to get DFA’d is savvy business.

And here we are! The last day of (conventional) spring training, as the Brewers will take on the Cubs this afternoon before heading to Milwaukee to take on the Reds for a pair of exhibition games on Monday and Tuesday. Then, it’s Opening Day this Thursday, as the White Sox visit Milwaukee for the opening weekend.

Chad Patrick will make his last start of the spring this afternoon, as he’s set to enter the season in the rotation. After a solid rookie season in 2025, he’ll look to repeat that performance in year two. As was the case with Robert Gasser yesterday, Patrick enters this one with some less-than-ideal numbers in the spring, pitching to a 9.72 ERA with nine runs allowed over 8 1/3 innings, striking out nine. Six of those nine runs came in his last appearance against the mighty Dodgers, when he lasted 3 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and four walks. Peter Strzelecki is also slated to pitch behind Patrick.

Opposite Patrick will be another pitcher coming off a solid rookie season in Cade Horton. Horton sports a 5.91 ERA with 14 strikeouts over 10 2/3 innings this spring. The Brewers’ lineup against Horton features a lot of minor leaguers as the major leaguers travel to Milwaukee. That includes Dylan O’Rae, Jeferson Quero, and Mike Boeve in the top-third of the order, followed by Marco Dinges, Eric Brown Jr., and Jacob Hurtubise. Dasan Brown, Juan Baez, and Luis Castillo round out the lineup.

First pitch in this one is at 2:05 p.m. CT. It’ll be available to watch on Brewers.TV and nationally on ESPN Unlimited.

Catch today’s Cactus League finale for FREE on https://t.co/6ldviURCa7

📺: https://t.co/eycfmE2vgm#ThisIsMyCrewpic.twitter.com/OltNn688to

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) March 22, 2026

Spending the afternoon at @SloanParkMesa!

Watch the game live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/OZ3rBGFmDl

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 22, 2026

Javier’s results in spring have been solid, but his peripherals don’t back it up.

Astros SP Cristian Javier just finished his final outing of the spring. His stat line was solid:

5 innings, 1 earned run, 4 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 1 solo HR. Threw 40 of his 70 pitches for strikes.

You’d think he had just shown he is ready for the regular season. However, there are a couple of issues with that line of thought:

1. He is still facing lineups with a lot of weak hitters.
2. His velocity on his fastball and sinker are not only below par, but fall as the game goes on.

Now, every pitcher will face a lot of lineups that have backups and minor leaguers in them, and that is the far lesser of the two concerns.

The main issue is that Javier, now nearly two years removed from Tommy John surgery, still has not recovered his velocity. To make matters worse, his velocity falls even further as the game goes on.

While he has gotten away with low velocities in spring, when the regular season starts and you have to face quality lineups every start, those velocities will not hold up.

Much as we saw last year with Lance McCullers Jr. as he struggled with his velocity last season, MLB caliber hitters will wait you out, sit on a pitch and punish you when they get it if they have no fear of your ability to beat them with a fastball.

Javier, like McCullers, has tremendous breaking stuff. The impact of that stuff will be negated if there is no fastball to get quick outs with.

While Javier’s stat line today was strong, his velos were not, and they progressively got worse.

Here’s a breakdown of the velocity of Javier’s four-seams/sinkers by inning today (per MLB.com):

1st: 91.7, 91.8, 92.1, 92.6, 93.2, 92.9, 92.4, 92 – Avg 92.3 MPH

2nd: 90.6, 91.6, 91.3, 91.1, 91.3, 90.7, 91.2, 91.2 – Avg 91.1 MPH

3rd: 92, 90.4, 92.1, 91.6, 90.2, 88.9, 89.4, 90.6, 90.5, 91.3 – Avg 90.7 MPH

4th: 92, 91.4, 90.9, 90.7 – Avg 91.3 MPH

5th: 91, 90.1, 89.8, 89.4, 91.4, 89.9, 89.7, 90.1 – Avg 90.2 MPH

For the whole game, he averaged 91.1 MPH. He gave up an absolute rocket HR on a pitch 91.6 upper middle zone to Jordan Walker, who blasted it at 111.3 MPH and 413 FT to CF. Javier loves to live high in the zone. When you get caught at those velos high in the zone, the ball is going to fly very far.

He had a high mark of 93.2 in the 1st, and a low mark of 88.9 in the 3rd.

His final 11 four-seamers & sinkers maxed at 91.4 MPH. Those are not velocities that are going to translate to long term success at the MLB level for a righthanded pitcher.

While dealing with low and inconsistent velocity last season, Javier posted a career high 4.62 ERA in 8 starts after returning from Tommy John surgery. An offseason to continue strengthening his arm and refining his mechanics was supposed to help him regenerate his prior velocity. So far, he looks very much the same as he did last season.

The Astros entered this season expecting to count on Javier to be one of their top three starters. Mike Burrows and Tatsuya Imai will now take those places behind Hunter Brown.

What can the Astros count on Javier for? Javier has always been a bulldog on the mound. He will battle and fight with every pitch.

Over 162 games, if he can’t regain his velocity and maintain it, is the bulldog in him going to be enough?

The Washington Nationals made a late trade right before the season. Paul Toboni traded 21 year old pitching prospect Sean Paul Linan to the Yankees in exchange for infielder Jorbit Vivas. This move will bolster the Nationals infield depth. Vivas will be on the 40-man roster, so the Nats will have to make a corresponding move.

The Washington Nationals are acquiring INF Jorbit Vivas from the New York Yankees and sending pitching prospect Sean Paul Liñan back to New York, per sources.

Vivas debuted and played 29 games for New York last season.

— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) March 22, 2026

This is an interesting little trade that came out of left field. Linan just joined the Nats organization in July in a deal that sent Alex Call to the Dodgers. However, Toboni must not have loved what he saw. I am a bit surprised they traded him for an infielder with no options, who has a lot of overlapping skills with Jose Tena.

I would not be surprised if this move could mark the end for Tena. Vivas is an infielder who mainly plays second and third base. He is also out of options, so he will have to be on the big league roster. Clearly, Toboni prefers Vivas over Tena or maybe even Nasim Nunez.

While Vivas struggled in his first taste of big league action in 2025, he did show some intriguing traits. He only went 9/56, but showed solid contact skills and a good approach. There is not much power in his game, but he can go deep every once in a while. 

Nats have traded for Jorbit Vivas, Yankees get Sean Paul Linan in return

I like what Toboni got back here

pic.twitter.com/rdMKv5NlrZ

— Kev (@klwoodjr) March 22, 2026

Vivas will have to hit a decent amount in the MLB because he is a fringy runner and an average defender. Honestly, I do not really know if he is a huge upgrade over Tena and I probably would have kept Linan. However, there is a reason Toboni has the job and not me.

Linan is an intriguing pitching prospect, but there are reasons to be bearish about him. He has a phenomenal changeup that is one of the best pitches in the minors. However, he is a bit of a one trick pony. His fastball is pretty ordinary and his breaking balls are fringy. Linan was able to dominate A ball with his changeup, but how far will that one weapon take him?

sean paul liñan showing off the changeup‼️ pic.twitter.com/aQOV4ndL1D

— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) March 9, 2026

Clearly, Toboni was not a Linan believer given this return. After this move, I wonder if the Nats are done. I would not be surprised if they tried to see if they could get an arm for Jose Tena. The 24 year old should have at least a bit of value. Some team would probably want to give him a shot as a utility guy.

This is a bit of a weird move, but it is not a massive one by any means. Toboni must value Vivas’ contact and plate discipline a lot. Having worked for the Red Sox for many years, Toboni is likely to have seen a lot of this Yankees prospect. Vivas has a solid track record in the minors and is now likely to get some run in the big leagues with the Nats.

As the Yankees rounded out their 2026 spring training schedule on Sunday afternoon against the Phillies, the Bombers also pulled off a trade.

The Yankees are trading infielder Jorbit Vivas to the Washington Nationals for right-handed pitcher Sean Paul Liñan, according to multiple reports.

Vivas, 25, was out of minor league options. Since he was not going to make the Opening Day roster, the Yankees elected to trade him.

Vivas appeared in 29 games with the Yankees last season, slashing .161/.266/.250 with one home run and five RBI.

Liñan, 21, was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Nationals’ No. 27 overall prospect. Formerly an international free agent who was signed by the Dodgers, Liñan has worked as a starter and reliever. He spent the majority of his 2025 season in High-A ball, but he also made a pair of Triple-A starts.

By trading Vivas, the Yankees have also opened a spot on their 40-man roster.

The Dodgers on Sunday optioned Hyeseong Kim to Triple-A Oklahoma City, which decides the lone position-player battle still remaining in camp. This means Alex Freeland will make the opening day roster.

Kim and the switch-hitting Freeland were vying for the lefty-batting side of a platoon at second base while Tommy Edman continues to rehab in the early part of the season after right ankle surgery in November.

Kim had 11 hits in 27 at-bats with a home run this spring, hitting .407/.448/.519 with a team-leading five stolen bases without getting caught. He had one hit, a home run, in 12 at-bats for Korea in the World Baseball Classic.

Freeland homered on Saturday but otherwise has struggled at the plate this spring, with five hits in 43 at-bats, hitting .116/.286/233 with a team-leading 11 walks. Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic reported Sunday that Freeland was informed he will be on the opening day roster.

So this obviously wasn’t a decision based solely on spring training stats, at least not of the traditional variety. The concern with Kim, who signed a three-year contract with the Dodgers last January after eight years in the Korean Baseball Organization, was how he would fare against high-velocity pitching in the major leagues.

Dave Roberts on Friday at Camelback Ranch talked about this battle for a roster spot, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:

“It’s one of those things that you could argue both sides of either decision, as far as Alex or Hyeseong. And so I just don’t think it’s clear cut,” he said. “We still haven’t seen Hyeseong a bunch. Alex, I think he’s taken great at-bats, the numbers, the surface line certainly isn’t there, but it’s still spring training. There’s just deeper conversations that are going to be had.”

It’s Opening Day! …Well, not for the Orioles, but for Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Today the O’s will unveil the many upgrades to their home ballpark to fans for the first time, as they host the Nationals for the opener of a two-game exhibition set (to be followed by tomorrow’s spring finale in D.C.). Most noticeably, the Orioles have a huge, new, center field video screen and an upgraded sound system throughout the park. They’ve also added some new social areas, including an “exclusive” club behind home plate, shifting the press box over toward the third base side.

They’ve also promised additional TV screens throughout the concourse so that fans who aren’t in their seats can still watch the broadcast of the game. That had been one of my biggest complaints — that if you’re walking the concourse, there are large stretches where you have no idea what’s going on in the game that you paid to attend — so I’m glad they seem to have addressed it.

Hopefully the Orioles’ 2026 season will be as much of an improvement over last year as their ballpark is. Their batting order today looks almost like an Opening Day lineup, with only Taylor Ward and Samuel Basallo missing (and Dylan Beavers still sidelined by a knee injury). Kyle Bradish is on the mound, lining him up to start the second game of the season on Saturday. Today’s game will air on MASN.

In just four days, the Orioles will host the Twins for the first game that counts. In the meantime, enjoy the preview this afternoon.

Orioles lineup:

SS Gunnar Henderson
C Adley Rutschman
DH Pete Alonso
RF Tyler O’Neill
1B Ryan Mountcastle
3B Coby Mayo
LF Colton Cowser
CF Leody Taveras
2B Blaze Alexander

RHP Kyle Bradish

After signing a modest $22.5 million extension in the summer of 2024, it didn’t take long for star southpaw Cristopher Sanchez to prove he was severely underpaid.

It took even less time for Philadelphia brass to do something about it.

The Phillies and Sanchez have agreed to a new contract extension — a six-year deal with $107 million guaranteed, rewarding their ace for a breakout campaign in 2025, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed Sunday morning.

Sanchez, 29, was already signed through 2028 with team options for 2029 and 2030. Now, he’s inked through 2032, with a club option for 2033.

The lefty’s agent, Gene Mato, credited Phillies owner John Middleton and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski for taking care of their ace, when they certainly didn’t have to.

“John and Dave stepped up and decided to reward Cristopher with a deal more than commensurate with his abilities even though the club still had five years of control at minimal dollars,” Mato said, via The Athletic. 

“It’s really unprecedented.”

Sanchez’s amended deal comes hot on the heels of a torrid 2025, when he finished second in the National League Cy Young race behind Paul Skenes. 

The sinkerballer with a filthy changeup boasted a 2.50 ERA with 212 strikeouts across 32 starts (202 innings) before hurling a pair of dominant October outings in the NLCS against the eventual champion Dodgers.

He later made World Baseball Classic history as the first pitcher to strike out four batters in a single inning in the tournament’s history, doing so while representing the Dominican Republic.

Sanchez’s 8.0 bWAR last season was greater than that of Skenes (7.7), Tarik Skubal (6.5), and Garret Crochet (6.3) — along with every other pitcher on the planet, for that matter. 

He’s now set to start Opening Day for the first time in his career at home against the Texas Rangers on Thursday.

The Grapefruit League is done and the Washington Nationals are headed up north. However, the regular season is not here just yet. The Nats have a pair of exhibition games with the Orioles, with the first one being this afternoon. As a final tune-up, the local rivals are playing at Camden Yards.

As you would expect with the season just a few days away, the Nats have a strong lineup. James Wood will be leading off and in left field. Interestingly, Drew Millas will be hitting second. CJ Abrams is hitting 6th, lower in the order than we are used to. Luis Garcia Jr. will be playing first base, a position he should see more action at this season. While Mitchell Parker has already been optioned, he is on the mound today. It will be a good chance for him to leave a good impression before heading to Rochester.

we've got (almost) official baseball pic.twitter.com/yURtA6ALjX

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) March 22, 2026

The O’s also have a strong lineup, headlined by their new big money star Pete Alonso. Nats fans are very familiar with Alonso after his years with the Mets and now he will be just up the road. Familiar O’s stars like Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman are also in the lineup. Kyle Bradish, who is one of the O’s better starters will be on the mound.

Here’s how we’re lining up today for our exhibition against the Nationals!

SS – Henderson
C – Rutschman
DH – Alonso
RF – O’Neill
1B – Mountcastle
3B – Mayo
LF – Cowser
CF – Taveras
2B – Alexander

P – Bradish

Catch all the action on MASN+ ➡️ https://t.co/CQC97MrTXRpic.twitter.com/IoP7NqDNNa

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) March 22, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Time: 1:35 PM EST

TV: MASN

Radio: The Team 980

These next couple days will be a fun chance to see the Nats one more time before they start the season in Chicago. It is also fun to play a rival like the O’s. Hopefully these games are fun and the Nats come out on top. Follow along in the comments below and let’s go Nats!

Sunday notes…

• FORMER CUBS IN BREWERS CAMP: Trevor Megill, Rob Zastryzny. Reese McGuire was in Brewers camp but he opted out Friday.
• CUBS ROTATION: We still don’t have Cubs starters listed past Opening Day, but given that Colin Rea started yesterday and Cade Horton is going today, it could be Horton following Matthew Boyd against the Nationals. Shōta Imanaga is going to start Monday vs. the Yankees, so he could follow that, and Edward Cabrera goes Tuesday against the Yankees. If I had to guess? Boyd-Horton-Imanaga-Cabrera-Jameson Taillon. As always, we await developments.

Here are today’s particulars.

Neither the Cubs nor the Brewers lineup was available at press time.

Cade Horton will start for the Cubs.

Chad Patrick will start for the Brewers.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network, Brewers TV and ESPN Unlimited. There will be a radio broadcast on WSCR The Score.

MLB.com Gameday

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

Please visit our SB Nation Brewers site Brew Crew Ball. If you do go there to interact with Brewers fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

As we have done in the past, we’ll have a first pitch thread at five minutes to game time and one overflow thread, 90 minutes after game time. For today, that will be 2 p.m. CT and 3:35 p.m. CT.

These threads will not post individually onto the front page; instead, you can find links to them in the box marked ”Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page. There will also be a StoryStream on the front page with all the game thread links, as well as the recap after the game is over. The pitcher photos and regular-season stats will return on Opening Day.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

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Spring training is starting to wind down, but there are still some key matchups to pinpoint with our MLB picks.

I'm looking at the Under on a lofty total and a pair of moneylines, including the Seattle Mariners over the Chicago White Sox, on Sunday, March 22.

Spring Training predictions for March 22

Pick #1: Reds vs. Guardians - Under 11

Opening Day is less than a week away, so starters aren't aiming for one or two innings and calling it a day. They're looking to replicate the workload of an early-season start.

Cincinnati Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo and Cleveland Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams are poised to be front-end starters in their respective rotations.

And while both have inflated ERAs this spring, their peripherals have been encouraging (both have posted better xFIP numbers and have generally missed bats while not issuing a lot of walks).

Also, Cleveland has four left-handers in its starting lineup today, which seems at least somewhat counterintuitive against a top-flight southpaw like Lodolo. Runs will be at a premium here.

Pick #2: A's moneyline

It's tempting to take the Colorado Rockies at plus money, but with Michael Lorenzen and his 14.29 spring ERA on the mound, the A's could get into the bullpen early. It's a small sample size for the right-hander, but it hasn't been pretty, and the matchup couldn't be worse.

Even though leadoff man Nick Kurtz hasn't fully awoken yet, hitters 2-4, Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom, and Brent Rooker, each have an OPS north of 1.000 this spring. Lawrence Butler's .958 isn't far off, either.

A's lefty Jeffrey Springs has been uneven, thanks largely to a high walk rate, but he'll have better luck at keeping the opposing bats at bay.

I'd also consider Over 12.5 (-110), but that is a lofty number, especially if Springs pitches to his potential.

Pick #3: Mariners moneyline

Seattle Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo has pitched better than his 4.70 ERA (in 7 2/3 innings) suggests. He hasn't surrendered a home run and has only issued one walk.

Seattle also has the edge in any potential lineup comparison, with Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, and Randy Arozarena all back from the World Baseball Classic. 

The Chicago White Sox will be better this season than in recent years, but they're still in a full-on rebuild, and Shane Smith has been crushed this spring, so I'll pay a bit of juice to get the better pick here.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Jays last spring game. Then, Opening Day is March 27th.

And I’ll be on my way to Japan by the time the game is over.

I’m putting this together early so I don’t have the lineups but it should be Nick Martinez and Dylan Cease starting.

And we’ll likely have a better idea of who will get that last bullpen spot and last spot or two on the offensive side. I hate guessing, but with Eric Lauer getting a starter’s role, I’d expect the team to pick someone who can be a long man. Adam Macko? Yariel Rodriguez? I’d love to see Chase Lee get a spot. But Spencer Miles and Angel Bastardo could be good choices too.

I don’t know if Leo Jimenez did enough to make the Jays want to put him on the roster. Are they taking four lefty hitting outfielders? Davis Schneider hasn’t been lighting things up either, but they need more than one right-handed hitting outfielder (I don’t think Springer has played in the outfield this spring).

It will be interesting to see how it all works out.

I have the lineups now…..

Opening Day is just four days away. Though the roster is not completely set, we are close enough to the start of the regular season that we can get an idea of what the payroll will be. Since the last projection in January, there have been several changes. Let’s take a look at the updated payroll projection.

Here are some reminders for the projection.

• These numbers are from Cot’s Baseball Contracts and Spotrac, which have estimated payroll numbers for all MLB teams.
• Per the CBA, the minimum salary for players in 2026 is $780,000. Any pre-arbitration player has this salary listed by default. These salaries can be slightly different for each player, but not by a significant amount.
• Since we are a few days away from the start of the regular season, this is based on the current projected Opening Day roster. Any changes to the payroll should be small. Also, as usual, minimum salaries can be swapped out for any other minimum salary player that would be in the minors.
• The final projected payroll for 2025 was $156,266,827, per Spotrac. Eliminating some of the extra sources that they account for (such as the player benefits and pre-arbitration bonus pool), the projected payroll for players who were on the roster was $134,567,736.
• Cot’s Baseball Contracts lists the Brewers’ final payroll of their 40-man roster in 2025 at $117.1 million. For their Competitive Balance Tax payroll calculation, it came in at $145.5 million. One major difference between the two is factoring in the declined options. Spotrac factors them into 2025, while Cot’s factors them into 2026.
• In previous projections, I focused more on all of the sources that account for the Brewers’ payroll. To simplify it, this projection will focus just on the actual Opening Day roster.

First, here are the projections for the initial roster.

Position Players		Bench Players
C – William Contreras	$9,400,000	C – Gary Sánchez	$1,750,000
1B – Andrew Vaughn	$7,650,000	1B – Jake Bauers	$2,700,000
2B – Brice Turang	$4,150,000	UT – David Hamilton	$780,000
3B – Luis Rengifo	$2,000,000	OF – Brandon Lockridge	$780,000
SS – Joey Ortiz	$780,000
LF – Jackson Chourio	$7,000,000
CF – Garrett Mitchell	$950,000
RF – Sal Frelick	$780,000
DH – Christian Yelich	$22,000,000
Total	$54,710,000	Total	$6,010,000

Starting Pitchers		Relief Pitchers
Brandon Woodruff	$22,025,000	Aaron Ashby	$5,500,000
Jacob Misiorowski	$780,000	Trevor Megill	$4,700,000
Chad Patrick	$780,000	Angel Zerpa	$1,095,000
Brandon Sproat	$780,000	Abner Uribe	$780,000
Kyle Harrison	$780,000	Jared Koenig	$780,000
		Grant Anderson	$780,000
		DL Hall	$780,000
		Robert Gasser	$780,000
Total	$25,145,000	Total	$15,195,000

Injured List
Akil Baddoo	$1,250,000
Quinn Priester	$780,000
Rob Zastryzny	$780,000
Craig Yoho*	$780,000
Steward Berroa*	$780,000
Total	$4,370,000

Summary	Amount
Position Players	$54,710,000
Bench Players	$6,010,000
Starting Pitchers	$25,145,000
Relief Pitchers	$15,195,000
Injured List	$4,370,000
Initial Total for 2026	$105,430,000

For comparison, Cot’s lists the Brewers’ Opening Day 26-man payroll in 2025 at $108,058,836. That was 24th in MLB.

Here’s a summary of what has changed since the last version:

• William Contreras agreed to a $9.4-million salary, avoiding arbitration. His original projection was at $9.9 million.
• Gary Sánchez signed a one-year deal. His salary of $1.75 million replaces Jeferson Quero’s minimum salary.
• Following the trade of Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio, David Hamilton joins the roster in the utility spot. In additon, Luis Rengifo was signed to a one-year contract, adding his $2 million over a minimum salary.
• Some of the minimum-salary names have changed. Brandon Lockridge replaces Blake Perkins in the outfield. Quinn Priester starts the season on the IL, while Brandon Sproat and Kyle Harrison replace him and Logan Henderson.
• The original lists included a 14-position player and 12-pitcher split, but they have been updated to reflect the expected 13 position players and 13 pitchers.

Overall, the payroll is slightly lower than where it started in 2025. That could still end up slightly higher, though. There are still a few unknowns for the roster, mainly with the pitching staff. Brandon Woodruff and Kyle Harrison could both start the season on the IL, but that is still to be determined. If they open the season on the IL, there will be two more minimum salaries to add. Also, while I have Craig Yoho and Steward Berroa on the IL, it’s not clear if they would be on the major league or minor league IL.

These salaries will fluctuate as the season goes on. Some players have incentives built into their contracts that will raise their salaries. Also, there will be additions and subtractions as the season goes on. Cot’s has an initial projection of $126.3 million for the Brewers’ 40-man roster. Note that this projection does include some of the Brewers’ declined options following the end of the 2025 season. It also includes projected minor league player payments for the 40-man roster, as well as an estimated $3.96 million for injury replacements throughout the season.

Now that the Dodgers are done with the Arizona portion of spring training, they are back home in Southern California for another decades-long tradition — the Freeway Series against the Angels.

The Freeway Series began in 1962 with a single game in Palm Springs before settling into the mostly annual routine of games in Los Angeles and Anaheim ever since. The two teams meeting was a novelty for a long time, as National League and American League teams did not meet except for the World Series for most of baseball history.

But the Dodgers and Angels have played each other in the regular season every year since 1997, which removes a lot of the shine the exhibition Freeway Series. Given the few breaks in the spring training matchups — no Freeway Series from 1965-68, 1972, 1980, and 2000-02 — there have been more years the Dodgers and Angels have played in the regular season (29) than years when the exhibition Freeway Series was their only matchup (27).

Knowing the Dodgers and Angels will meet six times during the regular season — May 15-17 in Anaheim, and June 5-7 in Los Angeles — means folks won’t really be bursting at the seams for these three exhibition games. But in case you were wondering, here are the stats for the history of the Freeway Series.

The Dodgers are 60-79-6 all-time in the exhibition Freeway Series, with the last tie coming in 2017.

The Angels won that first game in Palm Springs, 6-5. The Dodgers are 33-37-3 at Dodger Stadium in these games, and 27-41-3 in Anaheim. Here are the splits by decade:

Decade	Record	Runs scored	Runs allowed
1960s	1-6	18	28
1970s	14-11-1	128	96
1980s	13-14	109	103
1990s	12-14	92	88
2000s	4-9-3	67	85
2010s	9-17-2	97	132
2020s	7-8	66	65
Totals	60-79-6	577	597

Sunday night’s game is at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, with Monday and Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.