Category: Baseball

Truck Day is happening later this week, and the Royals still seem to be short of what many fans hoped they’d accomplish this offseason. For those uninitiated, Truck Day is when the team loads up most of the equipment it will need for Spring Training into a truck and begins driving it from Kansas City down to Surprise, Arizona. It traditionally marks the end of the offseason and the beginning of the preseason.

Of course, the preseason doesn’t preclude teams from continuing to make moves. I’ve argued for more than a month now that the Royals have a history of making at least one significant move between the end of January and the beginning of the regular season. In 2023, it was signing Zack Greinke. In 2024, it was trading for John Schreiber and signing Adam Frazier. In 2025, it was signing Carlos Estévez. Having written them all down like that, they’ve also got a pattern of progressively more impactful moves in that timespan.

There are also plenty of big moves left to be made around MLB. Eugenio Suárez finally signed a contract this week, but Framber Valdez is still looking for a home. So are Chris Bassitt, Justin Verlander, Marcell Ozuna, and Miguel Andujar. The Red Sox still haven’t traded from their outfield glut or fixed their lackluster infield, the Mets still haven’t addressed their infield glut, Brendan Donovan is still a Cardinal*, and the Twins could yet make some additional baffling moves.

*He was when I wrote this, and then, before I had to quit checking for the night, it was reported that the Mariners were close to a deal for him.

But what if the Royals don’t make an impactful move between now and the beginning of the regular season? Would that be the end of the world? ZiPS projects the Royals to 83 wins, which would tie them with the Tigers for the division crown. Most other projection systems see the Royals similarly neck-and-neck with the Tigers at the top of a relatively weak AL Central. Last year, ZiPS projected the Royals to finish 82-80, third in the division – exactly where they ended up. Of course, it thought the Twins would be the team between KC and the division-winning Guardians, so it’s not perfect, but there’s certainly some value to these projections. In 2024, they were projected to go 74-88 – Dan noted at the time that ZiPS just didn’t see the Royals as being as advanced as they were acting. But most projection systems tend to be a bit conservative about team improvement, and it wasn’t yet a given that Bobby Witt Jr. was one of the three best players in the AL at any given time.

All that to say, the Royals, as currently constructed on February 3, are contenders for the Central Division in 2026. Something that was not a given in 2024, when they were tied for the division lead as late as August 27, nor last year, even when most expected them to take at least a small step forward from the success of 2024.

The Royals’ offseason work has given them options

An additional move might make them clear favorites in 2026, but the move just may not be out there to be made. I don’t think any of us would argue that the 2025 Royals wouldn’t have been improved by having Mike Yastrzemski on the roster for the entire year, but the Giants believed they could be contenders and weren’t going to trade him before the season. However, the moves the Royals have made this offseason have much better prepared the team to get to the trade deadline in better shape than in 2025.

The Royals had two problems that held them back last year: the absolute worst corner outfield setup in MLB and a series of injuries to their starting rotation that they didn’t have the depth to cover. Those things will not be true this year, even as the rest of the team around those flaws looks remarkably similar. Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek are markedly better than any options the Royals had to replace injured pitchers once Noah Cameron joined the rotation in place of Cole Ragans last year. Heck, even Bailey Falter is likely an improvement over Rich Hill, Thomas Hatch, and Trevor Richards. Mason Black, as things currently stand, would seem to be the fourth or fifth guy up in case of injury, and he’d have been the second if he had been a part of the 2025 squad.

Jac Caglianone represents a lot of uncertainty, while Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas are no one’s ideal corner outfield duo. But together they represent a much improved group compared to what MJ Melendez, Hunter Renfroe, Drew Waters, and John Rave could offer the team in 2025. Most importantly, they do this by drastically raising the floor.

Floors are something I wrote a lot about back in the 2023-2024 offseason, so let’s just quote what I wrote back then:

When we talk about sports performance one of the most useful metaphors I like to use is the concept of ceilings and floors. The ceiling of a player is the best likely outcome, so a high-ceiling player is going to be very productive at their best while a low-ceiling player is one who, even if they do the best we could possibly expect, doesn’t move the needle a lot. Similarly, the floor defines the worst likely outcome.

The 2023 Royals ended their season chock-full of low-floor, high-ceiling players, but added a bunch of high-floor, low-ceiling players that December. Of course, as it turns out, Seth Lugo had a much higher ceiling than I’d given him credit for, while Will Smith and Chris Stratton had lower floors. But while most analysts were arguing that the Royals hadn’t done enough to improve their upside, I saw value in what they had done to limit their worst-case scenarios. It’s something they failed to do last offseason when they couldn’t or wouldn’t start the season with starting corner outfielders other than Melendez and Renfroe.

The 2026 Royals have, once again, looked for opportunities to limit their worst-case scenarios, even if they haven’t done a ton to expand their best-case scenarios. And what that does is buy them time. What kind of time does it buy them? Well, let’s look at a few scenarios:

• Teams may not be as interested in Kris Bubic as they could be later because they haven’t seen him pitch healthily since the All-Star Break last year. KC has time to showcase him both in Spring Training and, if it comes to it, in the regular season.
• Teams that currently think they’re on the edges of competing may realize by the Trade Deadline that they really aren’t and will finally give up a piece the Royals want.
• The Royals’ farm system may gain some more steam as the additional results come in through 2026, giving them more pieces to trade or make the pieces they have more valuable or easier to part with. See: Kendry Chourio going from someone most of us had never heard of to a top-100 prospect over the course of a few months last year.
• Carter Jensen could come close to maintaining his breakout September 2025 performance, and Jac Caglianone could finally live up to the hype that got him promoted to the big leagues after less than a year in the minors. The Royals suddenly wouldn’t even need to beef up their lineup.

The Royals got to the end of July last year with a 54-55 record. Had they had competent outfielders, it’s safe to say it would have been something more like 57-52. Had they had better options for replacing injured starting pitchers, maybe they’d have even been at 60-49. That brings us to the one caveat of this exercise.

The Royals’ outfield was so bad last year that they could trade an unranked prospect for a middling outfielder and drastically improve the roster. They’ve already got the middling outfielders on the roster this year. If they want to make a similar deadline improvement, it’s going to cost more and/or be harder to find that upgrade. Hopefully, if the Royals’ plan is to survive the first half to the point that an aggressive trade deadline gets the job done, they know what they’re getting into.

In Mariners news…

• ICYMI: The Mariners have acquired All-Star infielder Brendan Donovan in a three-team trade with the St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays. Top prospects Jurrangelo Cijntje and Tai Peete have been sent to the Cardinals, in addition to a 2026 Comp B draft pick from both the Mariners and Rays, and third baseman Ben Williamson is headed to Tampa Bay.
• Adam Jude at The Seattle Times explains the Mariners’ plan for both the right field and DH positions this season.

Around the league…

• Philadelphia Phillies top outfield prospect Justin Crawford recently worked through weeks of defensive drills with three-time Gold Glove winner Eric Davis.
• The Chicago White Sox are adding a unique feature to their clubhouse for new signing Munetaka Murakami.
• Michael Rosen at FanGraphs details the intricacies of catcher blocking statistics.
• Los Angeles Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz has committed to playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, despite his unfortunate injury at the tournament in 2023.
• Outfielder Avisail Garcia has announced his retirement after 13 MLB seasons.

Over the last couple of years, a number of MLB teams have had their RSN deals either end or collapse, and their TV rights have reverted to the league.

Prior to 2026, the Padres, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Guardians, Twins and Mariners had their TV rights assigned to MLB Local Media, the league’s production arm for local broadcasts. The Mariners continued to broadcast games on ROOT Sports Northwest for the 2025 season, but that RSN shut down near the end of the season and the Mariners created “Mariners.TV” to broadcast their games in 2026.

The Nationals, as I noted here last month, have also joined the group of teams with rights reverting to MLB for this year.

Monday, six more teams joined that group:

Main Street Sports Group, operator of the FanDuel Sports Network RSNs, has reached the end of the line with its Major League Baseball partners.

The nine Major League Baseball teams who were under contract with Main Street Sports Group have officially left the company, according to Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal. Earlier Monday, John Ourand of Puck reported on social media that six of the nine teams — the Brewers, Cardinals, Marlins, Rays, Reds and Royals — were leaving Main Street for the MLB in-house production arm, with the Angels, Braves and Tigers said to be undecided.

Three of those teams — the Cardinals, Brewers and Royals — made announcements Monday. Here’s the Cardinals announcement, here’s the one from the Brewers, and here’s the one from the Royals.

I would expect announcements from the Marlins, Reds and Rays soon, if not today. For the other three, from the Sports Media watch article:

As for the other teams, the next step was not entirely clear. While Ourand reported that at least six teams are moving their rights in-house, Friend was less definitive, reporting that eight — the aforementioned six, plus the Tigers and Angels — would shift their rights either to MLB “or alternative platforms,” with Victory+ and Kiswe among possibilities.

At least one of those teams, the Tigers, would seem to be leaning toward MLB, as Friend reported that its ownership group is “expected” to move both the Tigers and NHL Red Wings under the MLB Media umbrella. (MLB already handles production of the NHL Network.)

The Braves, per Friend, are expected to follow in the footsteps of the Rangers and create their own RSN.

Thus, close to half the league will have local TV rights controlled by MLB. As you’ll recall, Commissioner Rob Manfred would eventually like to have all local TV rights in-house. The theory is that if MLB could sell local and national rights together, rights fees could be higher. Whether that’s true remains to be seen.

There’s another issue with these rights reverting to the league and going mostly to streaming (though in markets where this has happened, a regional cable/satellite deal is usually struck). Travis Sawchik explains at MLB.com:

For the clubs that lost their RSN deals, the broadcast deals replacing them have, on average, paid out about 50% of what clubs had received from their former cable deals. Local TV revenue matters more to MLB clubs than any other major sport.

Well, obviously that matters. If a team is getting only about half what they used to receive via their RSN deal, that’s clearly going to cut into the amount they have available for player payroll.

Thus, as you can imagine, this might be one of the driving forces behind some owners pushing for a salary cap. Here are some thoughts about that from Darragh McDonald at MLB Trade Rumors:

It will take a few years to see how that all plays out. In the shorter term, it could impact the upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations. The current CBA expires December 1st of this year. Presumably, MLB doesn’t want those talks to lead to canceled games in 2027. Ratings and attendance have been up lately, with the faster pace of the pitch clock a possible explanation. Missed games due to a lockout would hurt that momentum, which wouldn’t help the league in selling rights the following year.

As always, we await developments.

18. McCade Brown (275 points, 18 ballots)

Brown is what I’d call the first consensus PuRP on this list — he was on all but one ballot and he received five top-ten votes, including mine (I ranked him seventh as a 45 FV player who should be a big league contributor in 2026). The 6’6”, 25-year-old right-hander has long teased prospect watchers with potential big league rotation stuff when he’s been on the mound (he was a PuRP from mid-season 2021 until pre-season 2023). That includes three above-average pitches: a mid-90s fastball up in the zone with some deception, a mid-80s slider he commands well, and a high-spin rate curveball.

Brown just hasn’t been on the mound enough — even in college at Indiana, when he managed just 67 2⁄3 innings in three years. Those innings were enough for the Rockies to give Brown a $780k signing bonus. After a decent full-season debut in Fresno that saw Brown post an 11.8 K/9 rate in 89 2⁄3 innings, he had Tommy John surgery in April 2023 and was out until May 2024. The Tommy John surgery recovery and another six-week IL stint limited Brown to only 23 ²⁄₃ innings in 12 games between the ACL and Low-A Fresno in 2024. In that limited sample, Brown had a 6.85 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and 6.5 BB/9 rate, but at least he struck out 13.3 batters per 9 innings.

Brown then pitched another 11 ¹⁄₃ innings in the Arizona Fall League, where he appeared in a relief role exclusively and had good run prevention results (3.18 ERA, 12.7 K/9 rate) despite control issues (1.68 WHIP, 8.7 BB/9 rate). With such limited results, it’s no wonder that Brown was not protected and wasn’t unselected in the Rule 5 draft after the 2024 season when he was first eligible.

In 2025 though, a healthy Brown (thanks in part to a re-made delivery) was a revelation on the mound in both High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford (where he was still 0.9 years younger than league average). First, Brown made nine starts with Spokane, posting a sparkly 1.60 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 12.8 K/9 rate, and 4.0 BB/9 rate in 33 2/3 innings, which was enough to garner a late May promotion to Hartford. In 11 more starts with Hartford against upper minors hitting, Brown threw 43 innings with a 3.14 ERA (3.03 xFIP), 1.07 WHIP, 11.9 K/9 rate, and 3.1 BB/9 rate.

The Rockies were clearly putting Brown (who was the organization’s Pitcher of the Month in June) on a pitch count given his injury history, as he didn’t go more than the six innings he went in his final Hartford start, with 9 of the 20 going less than four innings. Nonetheless, the strikeout stuff was clearly there for Brown (105 in 76 2/3 innings) and the run prevention numbers (2.47 ERA) were also good.

Brown completed his climb up the organizational ladder in late August, as the Rockies selected his contract and jumped him straight up to the big leagues. Brown made seven straight starts with the Rockies down the stretch, and in six of those starts he was pretty rough, never going more than 4 1/3 innings while allowing multiple runs each time. Against the playoff-bound Mariners though in late September, Brown struck out 10 batters in five innings, allowing one run on two hits and two walks.

In total, Brown threw 25 2/3 frames for the Rockies across those seven games, allowing a 7.36 ERA (6.14 xFIP) and 1.83 WHIP with an 8.1 K/9 rate and 6.0 BB/9 rate while allowing six homers, which was worth -0.2 rWAR on the season (Brown was 31st in our Ranking the Rockies series).

Here’s some 2025 MLB highlights for Brown, about half of which is the aforementioned start against the Mariners:

For a lengthier look at Brown, check out this video from his last start in Hartford in mid-August.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs moved up Brown from a prospect of note (and a reliever) before the 2025 season to a 45 FV pitcher and 5th in the system in an updated system ranking, highlighted by a 60 grade on the fastball and 55 future grades on both the slider and curveball:

Brown was drafted as a big-framed developmental project who pitched just six innings as an underclassman at Indiana and missed all of 2023 and most of 2024 because of a Tommy John. He was back late in 2024 and looked mechanically inconsistent at Fresno and again in the Arizona Fall League. In 2025 he changed his placement on the rubber (now third base side) and began employing a more cross-bodied stride toward the plate. The results allowed Brown’s stuff to tunnel well and he had a breakout 2025 en route to his big league debut. Loose-bodied for a 6-foot-6 guy, Brown’s heater sits in the mid-90s with very little effort, and he hides the baseball for a long time, especially with his new delivery. Brown attacks with a lot of elevated fastballs and bends in a couple different breaking balls, commanding a mid-80s slider more than his upper-70s curveball. It’s plausible a better changeup will come with time (remember, Brown has been hurt a bunch and his delivery has recently changed) but for now he’s forced to use his fastball and curveball to deal with lefties, which could be an issue at Coors Field. We’re talking about a no. 4/5 starter as he’s currently constituted with the possibility for more as Brown’s career unfolds and he accrues big league experience. Either way, this is a feather in the cap of Rockies pitching dev, which is a welcome surprise.

Brown was recently ranked 24th in the system by Baseball America:

After an electric albeit erratic college career, Brown’s strike-throwing took a step forward in pro ball in 2022 only to see that progress halted by Tommy John surgery in 2023. Following a lengthy recovery, Brown looked revitalized in his first full season back in 2025, striking out minor league hitters 34.3% of the time while maintaining a 9.8% walk rate. His jump in effectiveness stems in part from a move to the third-base side of the rubber, a subtle adjustment that better syncs with his mechanics. The new setup enhances his natural deception, allowing him to hide the ball behind his head before delivering from a three-quarters arm slot with a cross-bodied stride.

Brown’s ceiling likely fits toward the back of a rotation and he should compete for a spot in Colorado’s rotation out of spring training.

Brown has finally been healthy and productive with the strikeout stuff in evidence as high as the big league level. I’ve been monitoring Brown for years hoping for such a resurgence and he was a bright spot in what was a dreadful year for the Rockies org in 2025. Brown’s stuff is clearly Major League quality, but he will need to get more efficient against big league hitters to provide consistent length for the Rockies. He might begin the season as the top rotation depth candidate while getting his first look at Triple-A, or he could sneak into the big league rotation to open the year.

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The people have spoken and Joey Oakie is our No. 15 Cleveland Guardians prospect for 2026. Oakie raked in an impressive 40.6% of the vote, beating out Alfonsin Rosario (20.8%), Juneiker Caceres (16.0%) and (11.3%).

Oakie was Cleveland’s third round draft pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Ankeny Centennial High School in Iowa.

Unlike second round pick and fellow prep player Braylon Doughty, Oakie did not immediately debut in full-season Single-A to begin his professional career, instead kicking off in the Arizona Complex League in early May.

Oakie did not get off to the best start to his professional career, walking four players in two innings in his first game with three wild pitches. He ended up making 12 appearances (nine starts) with the ACL Guardians and while his strikeout rate was solid at 27.6%, he also posted a high walk rate of 13.5% with a whopping 7.46 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in 35.0 innings pitched.

Despite his struggles, Cleveland decided to promote Oakie to full-season Single-A Lynchburg. After arriving in the Carolina League, a switch got flipped for Oakie. Three of his six starts with the Hillcats were scoreless, with the final two being two of the most dominant outings of any pitcher in Cleveland’s system for all of 2025.

On August 28th, Oakie struck out 11 batters and did not allow a single hit while walking four in 5.0 innings against Washington’s Single-A affiliate. He followed that up five days later by obliterating the Baltimore affiliate with another 11-strikeout performance, this time only walking one and allowing one hit without allowing a run in 4.2 innings.

When the playoffs rolled around, Oakie was Lynchburg’s game one starter, tossing 4.0 innings with six strikeouts to lead the team to a 2-1 victory and Lynchburg went on to win the Carolina League championship.

Oakie stands 6-foot-3 with a significant amount of projection in every single one of his pitches. Walks still appear to be an issue, but the fact that Oakie’s performance got stronger in his final starts of this debut season is extremely promising. Most high school players struggle down the stretch, but if he can tap into the version of himself that became nearly unhittable, he could be one of Cleveland’s top prospects by the end of the 2026 campaign.

Now, it’s time to determine who is number 16 in the Guardians’ loaded farm system and you now have a whopping 10 players to choose from! Your options are below:

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Juneiker Caceres, OF (Age 18)
2025 (CPX) 160 PA, .289/.419/.469, 3 HR, 5 SB, 16.9 BB%, 11.3 K%, 139 wRC+
2025 (A): 130 PA, .250/.331/.345, 1 HR, 2 SB, 6.9 BB%, 13.1 K%, 103 wRC+

Impressed at the complex league, then hit the ground running in a late season promotion to Single-A before running out of steam late in his age-17 season. Loaded with potential.

Dean Curley, 3B (Age 21)
2025 (NCAA) 294 PA, .315/.435/.531, 14 HR, 8 SB, 15.3 BB%, 16.0K%, 118 wRC+
2025 (A) 35 PA, .242/.286/.273, 0 HR, 1 SB, 5.7 BB%, 31.4K%, 67 wRC+

Cleveland’s second round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Curley plays all infield positions, but needs polish. He was part of Lynchburg’s championship run after joining the team late in the 2025 season.

Dauri Fernandez, SS (Age 18)
2025 (ACL) 176 PA, .333/.398/.558, 6 HR, 16 SB, 9.1 BB%, 12.5 K%, 147 wRC+
2025 (A): 24 PA, .273/.250/.318, 0 HR, 2 SB, 0 BB%, 12.5 K%, 57 wRC+

One of Cleveland’s top performers in the Arizona Complex League in 2025. Undersized, but makes solid contact and doesn’t strike out often. Earned a small taste of full-season ball at the end of the year.

Franklin Gomez, LHP (Age 20)
w/ Mets 2025 (A): 14 G, 82.0 IP, 1.85 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 21.4 K%, 11.7 BB%, 1.09 WHIP
w/ Mets 2025 (A+): 6 GS, 48.2 IP, 1.70 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 23.4 K%, 9.9 BB%, 1.83 WHIP

Acquired from the Mets in a trade for international bonus cash, Gomez lit up Single-A in his age-19 season, then improved his walk and strikeout numbers after being promoted to High-A.

Yorman Gomez, RHP (Age 23)
2025 (A+): 17 G, 76.0 IP, 2.84 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 27.3 K%, 9.5 BB%, 1.11 WHIP
2025 (AA): 10 G, 45.2 IP, 3.15 ERA, 2.50 FIP, 28.0 K%, 9.5 BB%, 1.25 WHIP

Venezuelan prospect who broke out in with increased velocity in 2025, putting up nearly identical numbers at both High-A Lake County and Double-A Akron. Gomez was added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster.

Josh Hartle, LHP (Age 22)
2025 (A+): 22 GS, 103.1 IP, 2.35 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 24.0 K%, 8.9 BB%, 1.05 WHIP
2025 (AA): 2 GS, 10.0 IP, 4.50 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 16.3 K%, 4.7 BB%, 1.50 WHIP

Acquired from Pittsburghin the Spencer Horwitz trade, Hartle was one of Cleveland’s most successful starting pitchers in its minor league system in 2025. Stands 6-foot-6, but doesn’t have a ton of velocity.

Austin Peterson, RHP (Age 26)
2025 (AA): 11 GS, 55.0 IP, 1.47 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 23.9 K%, 4.9 BB%, 0.84 WHIP
2025 (AAA): 15 GS, 90.2 IP, 4.27 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 20.2 K%, 7.8 BB%, 1.37 WHIP

Absolutely dominated Double-A to begin 2025 looking well on his way to repeating his tremendous 2024 season, but then struggled after an early-season promotion to Triple-A. Remains on the 40-man roster.

Gabriel Rodriguez, SS (Age 18)
2025 (ACL) 122 PA, .294/.393/.402, 1 HR, 11 SB, 12.3 BB%, 18.9 K%, 116 wRC+

One of Cleveland’s top recent international signings, Rodriguez put up strong offensive numbers in his stateside debut in his age-18 season in 2025. Expected to transition to full-season ball this year.

Alfonsin Rosario, OF (Age 21)
2025 (A+) 354 PA, .268/.362/.490, 16 HR, 12 SB, 10.8 BB%, 25.1 K%, 139 wRC+
2025 (AA): 145 PA, .211/.303/.391, 5 HR, 2 SB, 10.3 BB%, 33.1 K%, 105 wRC+

One of Cleveland’s most impressive hitters in its minor league system during his stint at High-A Lake County as a 20-year-old. Rosario has a unique combination of speed and power, but will need to overcome his strikeouts.

Andrew Walters, RHP (Age 25)
2025 (AAA): 12 G, 12.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 1.91 FIP, 46.0 K%, 18.0 BB%, 1.17 WHIP
2025 (MLB): 2 G, 1.1 IP, 13.50 ERA, 9.89 FIP, 33.3 K%, 0.0 BB%, 1.50 WHIP

Walters maintains his rookie status due to limited MLB appearances because of an injury in 2025. If he returns at 100%, he’ll once again be a factor in the back end of Cleveland’s vaunted bullpen.

Our list so far:
1. Chase DeLauter, LHH OF
2. Travis Bazzana, LHH 2B
3. Parker Messick, LHP
4. Ralphy Velazquez, LHH 1B/RF
5. Angel Genao, SH SS
6. Braylon Doughty, RHP
7. Cooper Ingle, LHH C
8. Khal Stephen, RHP
9. Juan Brito, SH 2B/1B/RF/3B
10. Jaison Chourio, SH OF
11. Kahlil Watson, LHH OF
12. Daniel Espino, RHP
13. George Valera, LHH OF
14. Jace LaViolette, LHH OF
15. Joey Oakie, RHP

As the Mariners traded for Brendan Donovan, the Guardians boldly countered by bringing left-handed reliever Kolby Allard back on a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training.

In all seriousness, it’s nice to have Allard back who did yeoman’s work for the Guardians in a swing role out of the pen last year.

Nine days until all pitchers and catchers report for the Guardians in Goodyear.

After the Naylor signing at the very outset of free agency, the Mariners went uncomfortably quiet until the buzzer-beater Brendan Donovan deal yesterday. While we’ll get into more specific breakdowns of the AL West rosters over spring training, we were curious: with this latest move, how do you feel about the Mariners lineup (or team as a whole) compared to the rest of the AL West? As a jumping-off point, here’s what we’re imagining for the Mariners starting nine:

• Brendan Donovan
• Julio Rodríguez
• Cal Raleigh
• Josh Naylor
• Randy Arozarena
• Dominic Canzone/Rob Refsnyder
• Luke Raley/Victor Robles
• Cole Young (Colt Emerson?)
• J.P. Crawford

Feels a lot better than when we were trying to work Ben Williamson’s name into that, right? Spoken as a Ben Williamson truther.

Meanwhile, the now- Semienless Rangers look to line up like this:

• Brandon Nimmo
• Wyatt Langford
• Corey Seager
• Jake Burger
• Josh Smith
• Jac Pederson
• Evan Carter
• Kyle Higashioka
• Josh Jung

The A’s lineup, featuring longtime Mariners fantasy trade target Jeff McNeil:

• Nick Kurtz
• Shea Langeliers
• Tyler Soderstrom
• Brent Rooker
• Jeff McNeil
• Jacob Wilson
• Lawrence Butler
• Max Muncy
• Denzel Clarke

The oops-all-infield Astros:

• Jeremy Peña
• Yordan Álvarez
• José Altuve
• Carlos Correa
• Isaac Paredes
• Christian Walker
• Yainer Díaz
• Cam Smith
• Jake Meyers

And the Angels:

• Zach Neto
• Nolan Schanuel
• Mike Trout
• Jo Adell
• Yoan Moncada
• Josh Lowe
• Jorge Soler
• Logan O’Hoppe
• Christian Moore

I was listening to a Cardinals fan podcast and one of the hosts said, “if Brendan Donovan is the fifth or sixth best player on your team, you are a legitimate World Series contender” and was trying to think of which of these squads Donovan would be the “fifth or sixth best” player. While I’m not crazy about the right field mecha-platoon, I think the Mariners still check that box. I might put the A’s into that conversation too, if pitching wasn’t also a thing when considering World Series contenders. What do you think?

After the Brewers chose to exit their contract with Main Street Sports Group (the parent company for FanDuel Sports Network), they were looking for a new broadcast partner for the upcoming season. Yesterday, they announced that MLB will produce and distribute their broadcasts in 2026. Brewers’ President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger confirmed the arrangement in a press conference.

The new deal with MLB will ensure that broadcasts will remain uninterrupted through 2026. All 162 games for the Brewers will be available to watch in 2026, either through local distribution or through a national broadcaster. They will also all be available through MLB.TV, which is now owned by ESPN under their new media rights agreement. The exact schedule is still to be announced in the coming weeks. This will also include a selection of spring training games.

While there will be some changes to the distribution of games, overall the number of options will increase. Here’s the breakdown on how to watch games this year.

• Streaming in-market: The Brewers will offer a TV package available to purchase directly. Pricing will be announced in the next few weeks as well. It will likely be similar to what the Cardinals announced, which is a $19.99 per month or $99.99 per year package. One important note is you will need to be in the Brewers’ broadcast zone to purchase this package. This includes all of Wisconsin and Iowa, as well as parts of Minnesota, Illinois, and the upper peninsula of Michigan. (These areas match up with the Brewers’ blackout zone.)
• Streaming out-of-market: If you are not in the above areas, nothing changes. While the specific package for the Brewers will not be available, games will still be viewable through MLB.TV. The only restriction is that games in the local team’s market will be blacked out.
• Cable/satellite TV: Games will still be available through select providers. The specific providers and channels have not been announced but will be in the upcoming weeks. (A selection of games will also be broadcast over-the-air locally.)

This means that games will be distributed to more people, including some who haven’t had a way to watch the Brewers in previous years. With the cable TV distribution model, viewing games in-market could be challenging. Disputes between cable providers and the channels distributing the games could mean that games were pulled off of TV packages for parts or all of the season. In addition, people not living close enough to the team could find themselves in zones where they had no TV option available but were still in the blackout zone so couldn’t watch through MLB.TV either. One of the biggest examples was the state of Iowa, who had no local team yet was claimed as a blackout zone by six different MLB teams.

The new arrangement is much simpler. People who are in the blackout zone still have the option to purchase a cable, satellite, or streaming TV package that includes the Brewers. They can also choose to buy a package direct from MLB for just the Brewers. Outside the blackout zone, MLB.TV remains the primary option. There will be some blackouts included based on local teams, but the majority of games will be viewable.

As for the broadcasts themselves, it will be the same crew returning for the 2026 season. Adam McCalvy reports that the broadcast crew of Brian Anderson, Bill Schroeder, Sophia Minnaert, Tim Dillard, Vinny Rottino, and Jeff Levering will remain on the broadcasts.

The Brewers are not the only new team that MLB will directly produce and distribute. Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors notes that the Cardinals, Marlins, Rays, Reds, and Royals will also fall under MLB’s umbrella. This means that at least 13 of the 30 teams will be produced by MLB in 2026. This also leaves just three teams — the Angels, Braves, and Tigers — still looking for a TV provider after the collapse of Main Street Sports. The Angels and Tigers will likely partner with MLB as well but are still reviewing their options. An additional factor for the Tigers is that the same group also owns the Red Wings, who are currently still under contract by Main Street Sports. As for the Braves, they may choose to start their own platform, similar to what the Rangers did last season. Depending on what they choose to do, MLB may produce the broadcasts for 16 of 30 teams — over half the league.

The main disadvantage of this arrangement is the money that the Brewers will receive. Even though the financial situation of Main Street Sports Group has been in question the last few years, they offered a more lucrative contract than MLB could. The exact numbers are not known, but in a recent post discussing payroll disparity, Travis Sawchik of MLB.com notes that teams earn about 50% of what they would earn with a traditional RSN deal. This is part of the reason that the Brewers have been reluctant to spend this offseason. McDonald also mentions in his article that MLB’s goal may be to hold on to these deals until after 2028. At that time, most of the broadcast deals expire, and these rights could be used as leverage in new deals.

As for Main Street Sports Group, they could be liquidated as soon as this week. Last week, Tom Friend of the Sports Business Journal reported that they could be forced to liquidate unless they reached last-minute deals with MLB teams (subscription required). Since several teams announced their partnership with MLB yesterday, that option has fallen through. While Main Street Sports intends to finish the NBA and NHL seasons, they reportedly missed their February payment to teams in both leagues as well. For now, those games will continue as planned, though regulations prohibit team officials from speaking on the current situation.

The new arrangement with MLB will make sure that Brewers’ games will be broadcast without interruption in the new season. There are still questions to resolve for revenue in the future, which is the main downside of this deal. At the same time, the demise of traditional regional sports networks continues, as well as the revenue they provided. The Brewers and other teams will have to adapt to this new reality, but for now, the games will continue to be viewable without interruption.

Joe Musgrove is returning to the field for the San Diego Padres for the 2026 season. His health and availability will be the keys to keeping him on the mound and Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball says his results will be a determining factor in whether the Padres reach the postseason. Musgrove missed the 2025 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and has said in recent interviews he is looking forward to toeing the slab for San Diego throughout the season and into October.

Padres News:

• The most exciting move of the offseason for the Padres was re-signing Michael King. The right-hander had an up-and-down season in 2025 as a result of a nerve injury and a resulting knee injury, but when he was on the mound, he was one of the best pitchers in the rotation. Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune looks at what King can provide the Padres in 2026 in his latest installment of the Padres roster review.
• The catcher position was a question mark in 2024 and 2025, but the Padres enter the 2026 season knowing Freddy Fermin will be behind the plate. He learned his craft behind future Hall of Famer Salvador Perez as a member of the Kansas City Royals. Fermin came to the Padres as a surprising trade deadline move and stabilized the catching position in San Diego. He enters this season as the starter and Luis Campusano will have his chance to earn the backup role.  
• Keith Law of The Athletic previously ranked the San Diego minor league system as the worst farm system in MLB. He focused solely on Padres prospects for his recent rankings, which assigned individual rankings to various players in the San Diego system including Ethan Salas, Kruz Schoolcraft and Kash Mayfield among others.

Baseball News:

• Rumors of a potential Brendan Donovan trade have circulated in baseball circles for months. The rumors became reality when the Seattle Mariners acquired him from the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-team trade on Monday.
• Edwin Diaz was officially added to the Dominican Republic World Baseball Classic roster.
• Outfielder Avisail Garcia announced his retirement from baseball on Monday.
• Major League Baseball will take over broadcasts for six additional teams, including the Milwaukee Brewers, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. The Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angles and Atlanta Braves have not decided if they will join MLB.

Good morning! Yet another infield option is off the board, as the Seattle Mariners acquired All-Star Brendan Donavan in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday. Perhaps you’re still holding out hope for an Isaac Paredes deal, but it’s looking increasingly likely that the Red Sox will head into Opening Day with Marcelo Mayer at third and a second base platoon of David Hamilton and Romy Gonzalez.

Gonzalez had a career year last year, putting up 2.0 bWAR, while David Hamilton rebounded from a horrible start to post 1 bWAR. A three-win second base platoon isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it carries a lot of risk given the limited track records of both players. And let’s not forget that the left side of the infield will be manned by an unproven prospect and a 33-year-old, both of whom struggle to stay healthy. Things could get ugly in the infield rather quickly if the Sox get a few bad breaks.

Are you happy with Romy and Davy at second, or is there someone else out there you want the Sox to target?

Talk about that, whatever else you want, and, as always, be good to one another.

As Danny Russell reported, the Rays have traded for infielder Ben Williamson.

Williamson is known for his plus plus defense, but he’s struggled to translate his college and minor league hitting success to the majors. The Mariners promoted Williamson early in 2025, but sent him back to Triple A Tacoma to work on his hitting. He had a very good run in Tacoma, hitting .314 with a bit more pop. The Mariners included him on the Division Series roster, but he did not play.

Williamson attended the Mariners Fanfest in Seattle yesterday, and there he was interviewed by Kate Preusser of Lookout Landing, our sister site.

Among the most interesting things from the interview is hearing how a 25-year-old baseball hopeful manages the emotions of baseball’s ups and downs.

For Williamson, his 2025 promotion, coming just two years after he was drafted, was a big boost.

“I think that that was the biggest thing for me, is just kind of proving to myself that I belong here and I can at least compete right now.”

But if the promotion was a confidence boost, the July relegation to Triple A was harder to deal with. We see players sent down to the minors all the time and we probably don’t give it much thought, but imagine if your bosses gave you a major promotion and then a few month later said, “well, actually, we don’t think you are ready for this.” It would be devastating!

In Williamson’s words:

Yeah, when I got sent down, the first thing going through my head was like, I can’t be mad. Like, I’m going down here to work on stuff. And honestly, like, I think that was a big mistake, because part of me was really frustrated.

Clearly his first impulse was to, well, suck it up, go about the task of “working on stuff” and not admitting how much it stung.

So when stuff started not going well in triple A kind of snowballed a little bit. So I think going forward, like just being able to recognize when I’m frustrated and kind of let myself feel that, accept that it’s human to feel that, and just kind of build off of that and use it as motivation going forward.

In other words, he learned it’s a mistake to bury negative emotions, which only leads to digging a bigger hole.

Fortunately, he had support in getting to a better emotional place.

Talking to [my fiancee] helped out a lot, but … during that period, … I was a very closed book, and it took her, like, kind of like egging me on a little bit to kind of open up and kind of really explore that, that side of it. Because I was kind of confused at first while so frustrated. And I think that, like, once I figured out, okay, I was frustrated from this, but like, now I can finally move on from it, instead of kind of holding on to it.

You can imagine how hard it is to feel let down, disappointed in yourself and frustrated, and to be able to share that with someone.

Looking ahead, Williamson hopes to take some of that new-found equanimity into the 2026 season.

For me, not having expectations is kind of what’s going to let me be free. Because as soon as I start putting expectations on myself, I feel like I start putting pressure on myself, start getting in my head. Things start to speed up on me a little bit if I’m not performing to the level I want to perform at.

Although Williamson knows he has to improve his hitting to stay in the majors, on a daily basis it’s his outstanding glove that will keep him competitive.

I mean, …just knowing that the glove will help the team win, and the bats just kind of a plus, like, that’s the biggest thing for me. What I pride myself on, like, just being fundamentally sound and knowing that if a ground ball is hit to me, I’m gonna get an out, and that’s what I can bank on.

Williamson comes with a reputation for “coachability,” baseball for “he is willing to take advice and he’s proven he has a learning curve.” Kate Preusser spoke to those who have worked with him as his skills have developed, and perhaps my favorite quotation, From Pat McKenna, who coached him in college:

“He was doing okay,” says McKenna, “but it wasn’t like, oh man, this guy is going to be a dude.”

“But he ended up being a dude.”

For more on Williamson, take a look at the video Darby posted .

We are beyond grateful to Lookout Landing and Kate Preusser for generously sharing this interview so that Rays fans could get to know their new player.

Quickly piggybacking on yesterday’s news, the question is simple.

What’s your excitement level?

In theory, it doesn’t have to be very different. MLB.tv is still MLB.tv for out-of-market folks like me, though this may offer you a cheaper monthly option than A) buying all teams through MLB.tv or B) whatever FanDuel direct-to-consumer option previously existed, which of course bundled a bunch of non-Braves stuff too. It won’t have the FanDuel branding, which I guess could be a plus? Maaaybeee there’s more Braves-relevant programming eventually, though that’s clearly not the Braves’ main concern at this time given that they have about a month to get things up and running to be able to cover Spring Training.

Anyway, hype or de-hype here.

Good morning.

Kennedi Landry takes a look at what to know about the Texas Rangers as they prepare to open camp in Surprise, Arizona next week.

Jeff Wilson’s spring training preview kicks off with a look at which young hurlers need to step up for the reconstructed bullpen.

At FanGraphs, Ben Clemens has some takeaways from their newly released playoff odds for the upcoming 2026 season.

R.J. Anderson put together a top 100 prospect list for CBS Sports and you won’t have to look long or hard for Rangers prospects with Sebastian Walcott the only guy for Texas near the top of the list.

Meanwhile, over at The Athletic, Keith Law checks out the state of the Texas farm system, one that has been impacted greatly by the current World Series-winning window.

And, Evan Grant notes that Team USA wanted Jack Leiter for the World Baseball Classic, but the righty won’t be on the roster.

Have a nice day!

For the last 10 days, Maryland has been encased in a covering of frozen snow perpetuated by near constant freezing temperatures. The feeling of being imprisoned by the winter months is something most baseball fans share, as they wait for the offseason to thaw into the renewed hope that comes with spring and the start of a new season.

The feeling of being stuck in an unending cold stretch is also something all too familiar to Orioles fans. Over the last 24 months, Birdland has watched as the O’s plummeted from the top of the American League to the bottom of the AL East. Over the last season and a half, it’s seemed like the Orioles couldn’t get out of their own way as the stars that form the core of this franchise played like their feet were stuck in blocks of ice.

But just like the temperatures will eventually turn and melt away the snowcrete, there is hope that the coming 2026 season will melt away the Orioles’ previous shortcomings. After all, the Orioles are projected to have the best offense in the American League! Newly signed star slugger Pete Alonso is preparing the rest of the team for the glory that comes after “the storm and the war!” And surely more reinforcement for the starting rotation is on the way!

Despite having a solid B+ offseason up to this point, the O’s will need to shake off ongoing slumps if they want to truly have a successful 2026. Here are three cold streaks the Orioles will look to break during the upcoming season:

1. Adley Rutschman’s injury-riddled slump

For the last four seasons, the Orioles go as Adley Rutschman goes. From his debut in May of 2022 through June 2024, Rutschman was one of the best catchers in baseball. Over those first 300+ games of his career, the former No. 1 overall pick hit .274, had an OPS above .800 and provided Gold Glove caliber defense. In short, he was everything the Orioles hoped he’d be when they drafted him in 2019.

During that same time, the Orioles’ performance skyrocketed. After being baseball’s worst for the four seasons prior to Rutschman’s arrival, the O’s went 221-147 from his debut through the end of June 2024. That .601 winning percentage translates to a 97-win pace over 162 games—a mark that would have led the American League each of the last two seasons.

All of that seemed to change when Rutschman fouled a ball off his hand in the series opener against the Rangers during the last series of June 2024. The unfortunate foul ball didn’t land him on the IL, but for the rest of the season, it seemed like the Orioles’ All-Star backstop was always playing through pain. Across July, August and September, his offensive output fell off a cliff, with the backstop’s batting average dropping 100 points and his OPS more than 250 points.

After a demoralizing end to 2024 that saw the Orioles swept out of the playoffs for the second year in a row, Rutschman came into last season with a seemingly renewed sense of purpose. A noticeably slimmer and more muscular Rutschman dominated in spring training and looked set to return to his All-Star form. Then the injuries set back in. Multiple oblique injuries limited Rutschman to 90 games in 2025, while his offensive numbers continued to decline.

As the Orioles’ catcher enters his age-28 season, the Orioles need him to break out of this prolonged offensive rut if they’re to return to the playoffs. The solution may just be staying healthy, as the last time he was fully healthy for a full season, he played like the best catcher in baseball.

Rutschman should also benefit from the additions of Alonso and Taylor Ward. Over the past two seasons, there were definitely times Rutschman was trying too hard to fill the Orioles’ need for a power bat in their lineup. Overly aggressive upercut swings replaced the patient and balanced approach that propelled the former No. 1 overall pick to early-career success. With Alonso and Ward brought in specifically for their ability to rain home runs across Camden Yards, Rutschman can now return to his well-rounded approach that made him such a potent offensive force behind the dish.

2. Their ice-cold approach with RISP

The Orioles built the legacy of this franchise on the prowess of the three-run home run. But it’s still nice to score from a well-place single with a runner on second. Last year, Baltimore was easily one of the worst teams in the league with RISP. Their .234 average with runners on second/third bested only the White Sox, Rockies and Pirates—three of the four worst teams in baseball. Their 25% strikeout rate was the third-worst in MLB, with only the Rockies and Angels getting punched out more in run-scoring situations.

If the Orioles are going to make it back to October, they need to hit better with RISP. Of the 12 teams that made the playoffs last year, only the Mariners hit under .250 with runners on second/third. Last I checked, the Orioles do not have the same pitching talent as Seattle, so they shouldn’t look to follow the Mariners offensive blueprint if they want to make it back to the playoffs.

Instead, if the O’s want to reclaim the Top 10 offense they boosted in 2024 and 2023, they’ll need to hit better with second and third occupied. This is one of the areas where Alonso should be a major catalyst. The 5-time All-Star hit .309 with a 1.035 OPS last season when there were runners in scoring position. Of returning Orioles who had at least 50 PAs with RISP, only Gunnar Henderson (.342) and Jordan Westburg (.358) hit above .300 with RISP, while the other returners all hit .221 or worse. Ward was below league average last year with a .246 average with RISP, but still should help improve the Orioles’ numbers.

3. The 10-game playoff losing streak

Despite finishing in last place in 2025, playoffs are very much the expectation for the 2026 Orioles. Fangraphs currently gives the O’s a 55% chance to play October baseball, the sixth best chance of any AL team. That number should only go up with if Baltimore can add a pitcher like Framber Valdez or Zac Gallen to further solidify its revamped rotation.

If the Orioles can make it back to the postseason, it will be the first time since 1974 that the O’s made the playoffs in three out of four seasons. However, just making the playoffs won’t be enough to placate the frustrated fan base in Birdland. The Orioles’ last playoff win game in the series clincher over Detroit in the 2014 ALDS. For context, Gunnar Henderson was in middle school, Adley Rutschman a sophomore in high school and Peter Alonso a sophomore in college the last time the Orioles won a playoff game.

Manager Craig Albernaz, his staff and these players will have a hard enough task getting the Orioles back on track and back to October. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that the most important cold streak the O’s need to break in 2026 is their losing streak in the postseason.

Harper. Schwarber. Realmuto. Turner. Wheeler.

The Phillies have some of the biggest names and best players in baseball today — at least, on paper. The five core names on this roster have been together for a few years now, and will mostly be together for the next few years as well. We’ve seen what they’re capable of in the regular season, both individually and as a team, but the past three postseason campaigns have been disappointing to say the least.

Today’s question of the day is: Have the Phillies kept this core together for too long? If so, what realistic options are even available to get them to the next level?