Category: Baseball

In the process of writing about every player who received votes in our biannual Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs) list — this edition it was 55 players across 19 ballots — I learned a bit about trends and system strengths and weaknesses. So for anyone who missed a few write-ups or even who has a more casual relationship with the farm system, I wanted to synthesize some of those thoughts into a bigger picture than any individual prospect. Even with a new baseball operations regime that looks outward more often, the players on this list are likely going to play a big role in the next 5-7 Colorado Rockies teams.

Here are the big picture items I took away after my review of Colorado’s top prospects as 2026 begins:

The system is weaker than it was at mid-season and sits in the bottom third of MLB

Some of this is understandable, as the Rockies graduated an abnormally large amount of players from rookie eligibility. The problem is that only Kyle Karros and Ryan Ritter project to have much of an impact on the 2026 Rockies from that graduated group, and both of them have seemingly been pushed into a backup role by offseason acquisitions. What remains is largely international amateur free agents (7) and players from the last two draft classes (10, including 4 of the top 5).

Considering the Rockies have lost 323 games over the last three years, you’d hope the Rockies would have a farm system that ranks higher than the bottom third of MLB, but that’s not the case.

Keith Law of the Athletic ranked the system 23rd overall in January:

There is talent here, and even before the change in GM, they were starting to turn the ship and do some more advanced things on the player development side, including creating their own pitching lab, so they could be set to see some real system-wide improvements in Year 1 with the new group in charge. There’s power potential all over the place, as they love those types in the draft, but all of those hitters have hit tool risk, and I’m sure Rockies fans will tell you that the team hasn’t developed a real starting pitcher in eons. Giving their player development people the resources and the autonomy they need will be a big step forward.

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com, who ranks farm systems according the expected Major League value of their prospects, listed the org in 28th place at $88 million in value in January, down from 18th and $185 million last year (in part because he’s way down on Charlie Condon:

The Rockies turned over their leadership this offseason, and it will be interesting to monitor how the preferences for scouting and development shift; we don’t have much evidence yet.

The final first-round pick from the past regime is a polarizing player with big potential and big questions in Holliday, their only top-100 prospect. I liked deadline addition 2B Roc Riggio, acquired from the Yankees. But there isn’t anyone else in the top 200, maybe even the top 250, with a lot of the depth in the system ranking after that.

FanGraphs uses a similar system to ESPN.com and ranked the Rockies 24th ($137 million) in their late 2025 rankings.

The team has drafted and signed interesting players, but by and large those players just haven’t made the same kind of developmental leaps that other organizations have managed with their players. I suppose that’s why there’s a refreshed baseball operations department in charge.

2026 PuRPs Impact

Though a number of the mid-season PuRPs have already graduated, there’s another wave of players right behind them who could contribute to the 2026 team.

Already made their MLB debut (3):

• Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP): former first-round outfielder who made a dramatic change to his body this off-season and has already hit two walk-offs this spring
• McCade Brown (18): key rotation depth with potential to earn a full-time rotation slot
• Carson Palmquist (19): he’s mostly started as a professional but ended 2025 in relief, where he was in college – provides some funk from the left side

Likely starting in Double-A, Triple-A, or MLB this year and could make their MLB debut this year (13):

• Charlie Condon (1): 2024 first rounder who has impressed this spring while playing both first base and the corner outfield.
• Cole Carrigg (4): primarily a center fielder now, but can play all over the diamond (he’ll be Team Israel’s shortstop in the WBC)
• Jared Thomas (5): talented hitter with utility at all three outfield positions and first base (where he played in college), currently nursing a hamate injury
• Sean Sullivan (8): command lefty starter who gets lots of strikeouts despite sitting in the mid-80s on his fastball thanks to excellent deception and extension
• Griffin Herring (10): lefty starter who was acquired from the Yankees near the deadline last year as part of the Ryan McMahon trade, put up excellent numbers in his first professional season
• Gabriel Hughes (12): first-round polished righty starter who is now two-plus years out from Tommy John surgery, has yet to fully recover the nastiness of his arsenal
• Sterlin Thompson (13): former comp round A pick whose refined hit tool stands out in the system, though he’s limited defensively even in left field
• Roc Riggio (14): second baseman acquired from the Yankees at last year’s trade deadline as part of the Jake Bird deal, short of stature but does a lot of things well (include getting his raw power into games)
• Welinton Herrera (17): lefty reliever who can touch 100, still just 21 but on the 40 man roster and on the verge of the big leagues
• RJ Petit (23): gigantic Rule 5 righty reliever from the Tigers org, will either stick with the Rockies for all of 2026 or get returned to Detroit
• Michael Prosecky (25): college lefty reliever turned starter as a professional, possesses a strong curveball but needs a third strong pitch to stay in the rotation
• Cole Messina (26): was known for strong production and leadership in college, hasn’t yet shown the offensive heft he’ll need to succeed at the big league level
• Konner Eaton (28): lefty starter who rose all the way to Double-A in his first full professional season

Of the players listed above, the most likely to break camp with the team is Petit due to his Rule 5 status, though I wouldn’t rule out Veen, Condon, Brown, or Thompson either. If I were wagering on it, I’d expect Condon and Veen to lead WAR production for the Rockies among the above players in 2026.

The top half of the PuRPs ranking remains flush with outfielders, the bottom half with pitching

Seven of the top 15 PuRPs are primarily outfielders, including four of the top nine and four who will begin the year at Double-A or higher. The five players below Double-A include the 2025 breakout prospect in the system, Roldy Brito (who has received some top 100 love by FanGraphs), 2024 breakout Robert Calaz, and the toolsy Max Belyeu.

You can never have too much pitching at Coors Field, so it’s no surprise the Rockies have historically prioritized pitching in the draft and in trades. The pre-season PuRPs list contains 16 pitchers, but only five of them are in the top 15. The top two of those ranked pitchers (Brody Brecht and JB Middleton) will likely begin 2026 below the Double-A level.

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As I do each PuRPs cycle, I’m going to look at the current system and project which players could be on the 40-man roster in the lead-up to the Rule 5 draft this off-season. The upcoming Rule 5 Draft will see players who were signed either in 2022 (if they were 18 or younger at signing) or 2023 (signed at 19+ years old) become eligible for the first time.

When I did this exercise in August, I listed 43 players who would be under contract, on the 60-day IL, had a likely team option, or were prospects that were very likely to be added before the Rule 5 draft. Today, 25 of the top 29 on that list (Yanquiel Fernandez, Angel Chivilli, Warming Bernabel, and Bradley Blalock are the exceptions) which I deemed “likely” are still around, while among the bottom 14 there are only six that are still in the org.

The new regime has accelerated the roster churn this off-season so far and I would expect the pace to continue during their first season in charge. With that in mind, let’s take stock of the 40-man roster moves which could occur between now and the end of the year.

Sure things (current)

These players are on the current 40-man roster, have already seen major-league action, and will still be on the roster after the Rule 5 draft barring trades (which is a condition that applies to every category). Players with multi-year guaranteed deals are generally ranked higher than arbitration-eligible and pre-arb players:

1. Ezequiel Tovar
2. Hunter Goodman
3. Jordan Beck
4. Brenton Doyle
5. Chase Dollander
6. Willi Castro

Likely (current)

These players have major-league experience, are currently on the 40-man, and will likely be on the post Rule 5 draft 40-man roster — but under-performance could cause them to lose their spot to a DFA or non-tender — or they could retire. I also consider players with a likely to be picked up player or club option in this category. Presented roughly in my order of confidence:

7. Kris Bryant (60 Day IL, possible “retirement” in which he’s still collecting checks a la Prince Fielder)

8. Michael Lorenzen (club option)

9. Seth Halvorsen

10. Victor Vodnik

11. Juan Mejia

12. Kyle Karros

13. Zac Veen

Likely (future)

These players haven’t yet seen MLB action but are in good shape to retain their 40-man roster spot or get added to the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 draft. Players who don’t need to be Rule 5 protected after the season (most notably Condon) aren’t listed, though a couple of them could also squeeze their way onto the roster. Again, presented in order of confidence:

14. Gabriel Hughes

15. Cole Carrigg

16. Sean Sullivan

17. Welinton Herrera

18. Jackson Cox

19. Sterlin Thompson

20. Roc Riggio

Under contract but at risk

These players are on the 40-man now but are serious candidates for a DFA or non-tender during or after the 2026 season (I also consider players with a possible player or club option in this category as well as those signed as minor league free agents who won’t have the service time for major league free agency) — presented from most safe to least:

21. Kyle Freeland (his vesting option requires 170 IP in 2026, which he hasn’t done since 2022)

22. McCade Brown

23. Ryan Feltner

24. Ryan Ritter

25. Adael Amador

26. Carson Palmquist

27. Tanner Gordon

28. Jake McCarthy

29. Zach Agnos

30. Jaden Hill

31. Jimmy Herget

32. Mickey Moniak

33. Pierson Ohl (will be 60 Day IL)

34. Edouard Julien

35. Brennan Bernardino

36. Keegan Thompson

37. Tyler Freeman

38. RJ Petit

39. Troy Johnston

40. Blaine Crim

41. Luis Peralta

42. Braxton Fulford

43. Jeff Criswell (60 Day IL)

I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the above players were not in the organization after 2026, but in particular anyone below Herget should consider their 40-man roster slot vulnerable. That gets us to 43 players (including four new prospects), so we’ve already got a full house.

Remember though that the Rockies will probably re-sign some free agents and/or exercise options, which also will take up spots (at the expense of some of the more vulnerable players above, some of whom could be designated for assignment or non-tendered).

Here’s how I would rank other players (among those with no non-IL MLB service time) in terms of getting a 40-man spot after 2026:

1. TJ Rumfield (could win the primary 1B job this spring)
2. Braylen Wimmer
3. Jordy Vargas
4. Yujanyer Herrera (depending on TJ surgery recovery)
5. Jack Mahoney
6. Michael Prosecky
7. Ben Shields
8. Carson Skipper
9. Cade Denton
10. Eiberson Castellano
11. Kelvin Hidalgo
12. Andy Perez
13. Roynier Hernandez
14. Luichi Casilla
15. Marcos Herrera
16. Dyan Jorge
17. Victor Juarez
18. Benny Montgomery
19. Isaiah Coupet
20. Austin Smith

I would guess the top three guys may be protected. I listed 20 players here and still somebody from off this list could make a surprise appearance, as I think the bottom 10-12 slots on the 40-man are quite fluid. With the 40-man roster, change is always the expectation.

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Hopefully that summary of the system and the 40-man roster was helpful, I’d love to read your own projections and opinions in the comments. Until next time!

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Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

In the 2021 MLB Draft, Kumar Rocker- who was seen at times by scouts and executives as a top 5 pick near the beginning of the NCAA season- fell to the Mets with the 10th overall pick. It turned out that there was a reason for that, and the two sides ended up failing to agree to terms over medical issues. Rocker ended up being drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 2022 MLB Draft but has so far looked unimpressive as a major league pitcher.

In that same 2022 MLB Draft, history seemed to repeat itself, as Kevin Parada- who was seen at times by scouts and evaluators as a top 5 pick near the beginning of the NCAA season- fell to the Mets with the 11th overall pick. Once again, things turned out to be too good to be true.

While he may have been a .341/.420/.636 hitter with the Yellow Jackets and hit 35 home runs and gotten to home plate with even more with a great deal of the roughly 13,000 female students enrolled at Georgia Tech, college baseball is not professional baseball, and three full seasons later, Kevin Parada just hasn’t been able to make the transition.

At times, the backstop has looked fine. In his brief taste of professional baseball in 2022 after he was drafted, the 20-year-old hit a combined .275/.455/.425 in 13 games with the FCL Mets and Single-A St. Lucie Mets. In 2023, he started off a bit sluggish but hit well upon being promoted to High-A Brooklyn, batting a solid .265/.340/.447 in 87 games with the Cyclones and a cumulative .248/.324/.428 in 105 games with St. Lucie, Brooklyn, and the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies. From there, it was all downhill. In 2024, Parada spent the entire season in Double-A and hit a paltry .214/.304/.359 in 115 games. Last season, he played 92 games with Binghamton and an additional 16 with Triple-A Syracuse and hit a combined .245/.319/.407. If his defense behind the dish was solid, the offensive numbers would be semi-palatable, but Parada doesn’t even have that going for him, as he is considered one of the worst catchers in full-season minor league ball.

So what went wrong?

If I knew, I’d be getting paid the big bucks.

In all likelihood, it wasn’t any one thing that caused Parada to spiral from top prospect to organizational farmhand, but a bunch of different things synergistically interconnected. Parada’s swing, most notably, was problematic. Parada had a unique pre-pitch setup, wrapping his bat behind his head and angling it down behind his back at about 4:00 while raising his lead shoulder. According to Parada himself, at times the organization has had him tinker with it, and for the most part, he has sanitized his swing, but what he is doing now is not what he is doing at Georgia Tech, where he had success. Nor is he using the same bat, nor is he facing the same kind of ACC pitchers. All of this seemingly has led to an elevated strikeout rate, poor contact- a lot of weakly hit infield fly balls in particular- and a weak pulled fly ball rate, sapping his ability to hit for much average or power. All of this coupled with, as mentioned, poor defense, has led to Parada turning into the most disappointing 1st round draft selection made within the top 15 picks that the Mets have made since Geoff Goetz back in 1997 (though his career faltered due to injury, not ineffectiveness).

Is Parada salvageable? He is still only 24-years-old, and the maturation and development of catchers takes place on a much different timeline than position players and pitchers, so maybe? He will begin 2026 with Syracuse but will really need to impress in order to get resuscitate his standing among Mets minor league players, let alone to give anyone hope for some kind of potential future major league career.

We generally cut our prospect rankings off when a player turns 26 but as right-hander Ty Madden has just a small amount of major league experience and missed his age 25 season with a strained rotation cuff that took longer than hoped to rehabilitate, we’ll make an exception. Long an interesting starting pitcher prospect with a deep, solid repertoire of pitches and average command, Madden has been unable to build on his 2024 debut due to the injury. If he’s finally beyond the shoulder trouble this year, the Tigers suddenly have another quality pitching prospect they weren’t necessarily counting on.

Madden was selected by the Tigers in the Competitive Balance A round of the 2021 draft with the 32nd overall pick. A hard-throwing starter with a deep pitch mix for the Texas Longhorns who put together a great college career, Madden’s stock faded a little going into draft day as concerns about his fastball shape started to crop up. The Tigers bet that his mid-to-high 90’s velocity, strike throwing, and good pair of breaking balls were enough to make him a future mid-rotation starter. He was occasionally a bit home run prone but still he really breezed through the minor leagues averaging 120 innings in 2022-2023 until he hit a wall at the Triple-A level in 2024.

With the Toledo Mud Hens, the fastball got exposed as advanced hitters and former major leaguers teed off on it for a 1.94 HR/9 mark. Madden was forced to nibble more, his walks spiked, and the whole profile got messy for a while. He turned things around by attacking with a deeper pitch mix in the summer months, and he was able to make his major league debut and contribute to the pitching chaos effort with solid work in six appearances as the “bulk guy” though he struggled in his one playoff appearance. Expected to give the Tigers some starting depth behind Jackson Jobe, Madden instead had some shoulder trouble in the spring which turned out to be a rotator cuff injury, and he never got back on the mound.

Now apparently healthy this spring and trying to rebuild his old velocity, the primary issue remains his fourseam fastball. In all other respects, Madden looks the part of a power right-hander with good breaking stuff and plenty of velocity. He’s always been able to reach back for 96-98 mph when he wants it, and learned to mix in his sinker to give hitters something else to think about when they’re sitting fastball. The problem is that his fourseamer had a classic bad fastball shape, and he and the Tigers have been working to improve it several years now.

The fourseamer has always gotten a pretty pedestrian amount of ride, and doesn’t run all that much either. It’s right in that middle ground where it’s often hit hard. He and the Tigers have tinkered with this quite a bit trying to optimize the shape. Some efforts to move his slot a little higher seemed to coincide with the shoulder issue, but he’s been so durable otherwise since his college days that wear and tear is plenty good enough as an explanation. Either way, the fourseamer has continued to be hit harder and miss less bats than it’s velo and look out of his hand says it should.

Madden has made one appearance in major league camp this spring, throwing two scoreless innings against the Phillies back on February 25. He’s since been optioned to minor league camp, but what we saw in that one outing was promising. His other pitches still looked very solid, particularly the cutter-slider combination. Even better, his fourseam velocity was back up to 94.4 mph, which is pretty close to his average throughout his minor league career. Even better than that, he was popping 19 inches of induced vertical break. That’s an above average mark. He’s typically averaged more like 16 or 17 inches, so that may be the sign that the move to produce more ride is paying dividends now. If that sticks, he should miss more bats and get a lot more weak contact in the air, and that would quickly turn him into a top 100 caliber starting pitching prospect.

He threw all six pitches at least once in that outing, and left the strong impression that he could be a help to the Tigers’ pitching staff this season. He needs time to stretch out and get his command fully back in form, but if he’s improved the fourseam shape finally, Madden may again look like a mid-rotation starting pitching prospect this spring. If that was more of a flash in the pan outing and the improved ride doesn’t really stick, there’s still a good chance for him to help as a spot starter or middle reliever by leaning into the cutter and slider more, and simply throwing that deeper pitch mix instead of relying on the fastball.

This is obviously a big season for Ty Madden. He turned 26 two weeks ago, and while he has all three options remaining, his 40-man roster spot means it’s time to become useful at the major league level. There are a variety of ways in which he might do that, but the improvement in fourseam shape is intriguing enough to keep him starting in Toledo with time to get his legs back under him fully. If all goes well, the Tigers might suddenly have a pretty good starting prospect again. If not, Madden’s deep pitch mix still gives him ways to contribute in middle relief or even a setup role as the 2026 season unfolds.

The term “old friend alert” usually applies to players who have taken the field in a major-league game for the Royals. Over a thousand athletes have worn a Kansas City uniform in the big leagues, but is that the only standard for being considered a “former Royal”?

Here are some players who didn’t play in a regular-season game for Kansas City. Should they be considered former Royals?

Players who were in the Royals farm system, but never appeared in a game with them

Thousands of players have been part of the Royals organization, but never appeared in a big league game for them. Many are guys you’ve never heard of. Charles “Pickles” Smith. Lance Jennings. Nick Van Stratten.

Some were high draft picks that busted. Rex Goodson. Juan LeBron. Chris Lubanski.

It includes guys who went on to fame elsewhere, like Cecil Fielder. That’s right, the two-time home run champ became an All-Star with the Tigers, but he began his career as an 18-year-old hitting .322 with 20 home runs in 69 games in Butte, Montana, for the Royals. But the Royals wanted to get veteran outfielder Leon Roberts from the Blue Jays, so they traded the rotund first baseman. In fairness, he didn’t really pan out with the Jays either, and it wasn’t until he returned to MLB after a stint in Japan that he became a star.

Other Royals farmhands who had solid careers elsewhere include Greg Minton, Ken Phelps, Greg Hibbard, Jon Lieber, Fernando Cruz, and Rookie of the Year Wil Myers.

Then there were those MLB veterans that the Royals signed to play in the minors, but who never appeared with the big league squad. Players like Todd Van Poppel, Erik Hanson, Benny Agbayani, Chris Truby, Pat Mahomes, Xavier Nady, Casey Kotchman, Travis Snider, Clay Buchholz, Kyle Lohse, Dallas Keuchel, Bobby Dalbec, and Nick Gordon.

And then there are those players that the Royals signed, but who couldn’t stay healthy enough to ever appear in a game with them. Former 20-game winner Kyle Wright was acquired by the Royals with the hopes he could join the rotation. But he suffered setbacks in his rehab and never appeared in a big league game with the Royals, signing with the Cubs this offseason. Is he an “old friend”?

Players who were in spring training with the Royals but didn’t make the team

Then there are the players that the Royals signed to a deal and invited to spring training, but never made a roster out of camp. Lee Smith announced his retirement in 1997 after 478 career saves. But he kept in shape that winter, and the Royals invited him to spring training the next year. “My wife told me to see about playing some ball. She was about tired of me. She had to cook every day. She said, ‘Go do something with yourself,” joked Smith.

Smith pitched well enough to be considered for the Opening Day roster, but the Royals had some pitchers out of options and asked the future Hall of Famer if he would go to Omaha for 30 days. He passed. “That’s kind of a weak act for somebody with 18 years in the big leagues to be waiting for somebody to screw up,” he reasoned.

Lee Smith pitched for eight different MLB teams in his career, and his bust in Cooperstown has a Cubs cap. But is he a former Royals pitcher?

Players that were acquired, but left the organization before ever playing a game with the Royals

Then there were those players who were Royals only on paper, never to adorn the blue jersey. Hoyt Wilhelm, another Hall of Fame reliever, was selected by the Royals in the expansion draft before their inaugural season. But he was immediately traded to the Angels for Ed Kirkpatrick and Dennis Paepke. Is he a former Royal?

The Royals signed pitcher Jeff Shaw to a minor league deal after the 1992 season, after he had a decent showing in Triple-A in the Indians organization. But a month later, he was shipped to the Expos in a four-player trade for pitcher Mark Gardner. Five years later, he led the National League in saves and became an All-Star closer. Do we consider him a former Royals pitcher?

So what exactly qualifies someone as a “former Royal”? Is it only players who appeared in a regular-season game for Kansas City? Or does time in the farm system count? Is it anyone that has ever been acquired by the team? Baseball transactions can be messy, and players pass through organizations in all sorts of ways. So where do you draw the line? Who counts as a former Royal?

Much of the Red Sox’s offense has been in flux over the last 12 months: Rafael Devers was traded, Alex Bregman walked, Wilson Contreras and Caleb Durbin were acquired, while the infield platoon was refreshed. The combination of moves sounds awful for offensive pop, it but does offer more stability defensively. Meanwhile, he team decided to stick to what they know at the catcher position. Let’s evaluate!

The Starter: Carlos Narvaez

There’s a lot to like about Carlos Narvaez, who finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting. But before recognizing Narvaez as a potential fantastic defensive catcher in due time, I must put my Scrooge hat on — because it wouldn’t be one of my articles if I didn’t — and state that he has some work to do at the plate. But I’ll also remain optimistic and state that he can probably do that work.

Narv slashed .241/.306/.419 last year for an OPS of .726, which ranked 18th in baseball amongst catchers, and his Savant page looks like a Frozen movie. But his career is still in his infancy, with still under 500 career plate appearances. The catcher bell curve was more steady than usual, meaning Narvaez was within striking distance from being an average catcher at the plate. Whether this is more noticeable on a team that doesn’t have the same offensive pop remains to be seen, but I’m willing to wait.

In retaining Carlos Narvaez as a starting catcher, the Red Sox have something that only a few teams in baseball can claim: a Gold Glove finalist behind the dish. Folks may want to point to Carlos Narvaez ending a game with a walk-off interference for just the second time in league history (and some of the folks may be in the room with us right now) as proof that he’s got some flaws as a defensive catcher. But, even though the Red Sox led the Major Leagues last year with nine catcher’s interference calls, the proof to the contrary is in the pudding.

As I referenced when Narvaez was nominated for the award that Detroit’s Dillon Dingler definitely dutifully (okay, sorry, got carried away with the alliteration) eventually won, the 27-year-old Narvaez was ranked in the 85th percentile in framing. All of these pitches below were called strikes, which is huge when an inning starts getting a little hairy. Here’s a visual on some of those pitches. Good framing keeps pitchers confident, controlled and, best case scenario, well rested. Now the ABS challenging system may put all this to rest, but remember that teams also need to be diligent with when they call for challenges, and managers may ask to be more strategic and only challenge defensively. For now, framing and taking away strikes is a huge strength of Narvaez’s.

Narvaez also led all catchers with 32 runners caught stealing, and his 90th percentile pop time proves his arm and reflexes are speedy. In time, Narvaez. may just become one of the most reputable defensive catchers in the game. And the best part of all is that he cost the Red Sox nothing and is likely ours to enjoy for at least five years.

The Backup: Connor Wong

The last remaining piece of the Mookie Betts trade, Connor Wong looked like he had it all in 2023 and 2024. He was quick, had power, and looked like a pretty good defensive catcher. The first two of those took a huge step backward last season, resulting in Narvaez taking his starting job. It took until the summer for Wong to record his second RBI of the season. His OPS was just .500 and he batted below the Mendoza line for the first time.

Even Wong’s defensive prowess dipped, as he dropped to 26th in catcher framing. But there was a curious anecdote about Aroldis Chapman’s world-renowned fastball that perhaps sparked some faith in Wong’s ability as a collaborative catcher. Wong reportedly told Chapman he can try to actually locate and place his fastball, resulting in him having a career year at 37 years of age. Remember, again, that Chapman’s fastball has topped out at nearly 106 miles per hour, that Chapman ha been in the Cy Young conversation at times, and that he could end his career with over 400 career saves. Here’s what Narvaez had to say about it:

“It’s kind of crazy, bro,” Narváez said. “Because I mean, when you ask a catcher, you want to call a fastball away, fastball in, fastball up and in, especially with the PitchCom. So, now, I mean he’s been in the league for a while and he’s just saying like ‘Okay, I’m actually locating my fastball now. In when I want it and away when I want it.’ It’s like ‘Okay, I didn’t know why you didn’t before but let’s do it.’ He’s pitching with conviction now and every pitch has an intent. It was a big adjustment for him, bro.”

The Red Sox brought Wong back on a 1-year, 1.375 million dollar deal without going to arbitration. He’s under team control for three more seasons, but if Wong isn’t producing either offensively or defensively it’ll be easy to say goodbye one day, though it will be a departure where that meme of Wolverine holding a picture with the words “2024 Connor Wong” comes to mind.

I’d also be remiss to not acknowledge the other options in the room, but these aren’t real options in my mind, nor should they be in anyone’s. Willson Contreras has almost 1000 career games logged behind the dish, but at this stage of his career, especially seeing as he was acquired in a trade for capital, he needs to preserve his health for the potential of this team. Anthony Seigler has also caught in his career (although just once in the Majors) but this is another break-glass-in-case-of-real-emergency option. There’s also old friend Christian Vazquez still in free agency, but his best years are well behind him.

The Minor League Depth

This team has notably been incredibly astute with depth signings this offseason. Matt Thaiss is probably most teams’ backup backup catcher in terms of experience, as he has 305 games in the bigs including 60 games in 2025 where he batted .218/.349/.288. Bbut as you can see, there’s no power to speak of and he’ll almost certainly be heading to Polar Park as the team has already assigned him to AAA. Nate Baez was brought in on a minor league deal. So, too, was another old friend (and native New Englander) in Mickey Gasper, who returns to the organization with his first Major League hit – and home run! – in tow from his time with the Twins. Jason Delay is another depth signing with Major League experience albeit with no seasons over replacement level yet (but he can slug!). Ronald Rosario sent one out of the park in the Northeastern game but hasn’t progressed past Double-A yet, and my own personal favorite WooSox player (if Nick Sogard stays on the Major League roster), Nate Hickey, hit 17 home runs in Worcester last season but, realistically, will be more of a first baseman, as he spends much more time there. Password’s little brother Johanfran remains in the organization following a promotion in 2025 and shares the power tool. And, finally, Brooks Brannon might surge up to Worcester as he’s been promoted once in each of the last four seasons and certainly looks viable at the plate.

Fangraphs Projections

Around the AL East

Throughout the Blue Jays’ run to nearly dethroning the Dodgers as World Series champions, it was evident that Alejandro Kirk is one of the best catchers in baseball. The Yankees’ Austin Wells, like Narvaez, is an excellent pitch framer in his own right with more Major League experience and a solidified starting spot. Adley Ruschmann had a down year but he remains the Orioles’ starter, with Samuel Basallo waiting in the wings, complete with long-term deal in hand. I’d probably slot Narvaez and Wong fourth. The Rays remain the only team I’d put definitively under Narvaez, marching out a tandem of Hunter Feduccia and Nick Fortes; that position will likely be a pain point for Tampa as the season grows long.

Ultimately, I feel great with Narvaez being the catcher of the present and the future, and we can at least pencil him in as part of the the next generation of winning in this organization.

Hello, friends.

There are now three weeks remaining until Orioles Opening Day. Between now and March 23 are more exhibition games that will hopefully help the team set a successful roster. They travel to play the Rays today, a game that will not be televised by either team and will only have a radio broadcast from the Rays side. Those are not my favorite spring training games.

Yesterday’s contest saw the Orioles lose to the Astros, 4-2. There was some sloppiness, including two runs that scored on the same strikeout – yeah, really – Pete Alonso getting thrown out by a mile trying to score, and Colton Cowser getting picked off first base. Reliever Keegan Akin gave up another run. The results aren’t there for him so far this spring. There is time to turn it around, but it seems like there’s some reliever every year who stinks in spring training and that’s just who he is this year. Akin would only be following in Cionel Pérez’s footsteps if he ended up that way.

One guy who IS getting the results is Vance Honeycutt. Oh yeah, he did it again. The outfield prospect whose 2025 season made him look like a complete bust hit another homer yesterday, which makes it four home runs in four at-bats. If you haven’t seen the video yet, trust me and watch this:

Holy mackerel. This latest blast from Honeycutt came off of a Triple-A pitcher for the Astros named Miguel Ullola. That’s not quite as impressive as hitting a homer off an MLB-experienced pitcher – which Honeycutt has done before, just to be clear – but it’s still a tougher pitcher than he was facing last year in High-A. It’s early yet to proclaim there’s something real going on here. He’s going to have to do this in real games, at multiple levels, before he can overcome last year’s track record. But, you know, maybe?

Not all news was good in Orioles camp yesterday. Manager Craig Albernaz revealed before Wednesday’s game that reliever Andrew Kittredge, who the Orioles went out of their way to re-acquire back in November, is suffering from shoulder inflammation. Kittredge is “a low probability for Opening Day,” and Albernaz also said “we don’t want to put any timetable on him,” which probably means a while. A bullpen that is light on proven names gets even thinner. Time will tell us if “sign only Ryan Helsley to improve the relief corps” was a good offseason strategy.

Helsley pitched a scoreless inning yesterday. So did Dietrich Enns, another expected Opening Day reliever. Tyler Wells struck out three batters over two scoreless innings. He’s yet to allow a run this spring. People have wanted Wells in the Orioles bullpen for a few years now and it might be happening this year at last, out of necessity but hopefully also because of performance.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Vance Honeycutt’s stunning home run streak gives hope for a slow-starting career (The Baltimore Banner)
The general sports columnists, too, have taken note of Honeycutt’s fascinating little spring accomplishment. He’s the only guy in all of spring training with four homers!

Kittredge’s shoulder injury, Wells’s role out of bullpen, Bautista’s progress after surgery (School of Roch)
It would be pretty funny, in a morbid way, if the Orioles traded Kittredge away at the right time only to trade for him again at the wrong time. At least they’ve still got prospect Wilfri De La Cruz out of the deal.

Do the Orioles have enough in the back end of their bullpen? (Steve on Baseball)
Steve Melewski observes there isn’t much of a backup plan if Helsley comes out of the gate looking as bad as he did with the Mets to close out last season.

Jackson Holliday to begin hitting with surgically repaired hand (The Baltimore Sun)
A solid incremental update, although not one that’s going to change the picture that he’s going to miss some time in the regular season.

Guest coaches Ben McDonald and Scott McGregor share their wisdom (Baltimore Baseball)
Albernaz said of these two and other guest coaches, “They’re great mental skills coaches.” McDonald is apparently a lot more excited about Orioles minor league pitchers than he was four or five years ago.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 1996, the Veterans Committee selected Earl Weaver for the Baseball Hall of Fame. His legend needs no elaboration in Birdland.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2012-13 three-gamer L.J. Hoes, 2002-07 pitcher Érik Bédard, 1993-98 outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds, and 2000-01 pitcher José Mercedes. Today is Mercedes’s 55th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: cartographer Gerardus Mercator (1512), magician Penn Jillette (1955), voice actor Yuri Lowenthal (1971), and singer-songwriter Madison Beer (1999).

On this day in history…

In 1770, British soldiers opened fire on a crowd of colonists in Boston, Massachusetts, killing five people. Though several years passed before ongoing open hostilities, this event proved a key rallying cry in the drive for independence for the North American colonies.

In 1872, engineer George Westinghouse received a patent for his air brake, the principle of which still forms the core of brakes on trains to this day.

In 1946, once and future British prime minister Winston Churchill gave a speech at Westminster College in Missouri where he coined the now-famous phrase “Iron Curtain” regarding the wall separating Soviet-controlled countries from the rest of the world.

In 1953, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who had been in power for more than 30 years, died days after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage.

A random Orioles trivia question

I received a little book of Orioles trivia questions for Christmas. I’ll ask a question in this space each time it’s my turn until I run out of questions or forget. I’ve been skipping stupid or incredibly easy questions, so we’re already on #56. In the book, they’re multiple choice answers, but that would be too easy here, wouldn’t it? Here’s today’s question:

How many members of the 500 home run club played for the Orioles during their careers?

Manny Machado, sitting on 369 home runs heading into his age 33 season, might well add one more to the tally before he’s done. He sure doesn’t count yet, though. If you were wondering, our recently signed Polar Bear Pete Alonso has 264 home runs. If he averages at least 35 home runs per year with the Orioles, he might get on the list before his career is done too.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on March 5. Have a safe Thursday.

The World Baseball Classic officially got underway last night with the first game in the Tokyo Dome that featured Chinese Taipei and Australia. There are a couple of lower-level Phillies prospects on Team Australia, but most of the names you would recognize won’t start official WBC play until tomorrow. Meanwhile, we still have plenty of meaningless spring training games to satiate your appetite!

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Jhoan Duran made his spring debut yesterday and he feels “fantastic.” ($)
• Bryce Harper has a plan for this season: controlling the zone.
• What does Johan Rojas’ suspension mean for the Phillies outfield?
• Dylan Moore, whose stock has risen in the wake of Rojas’ pending suspension, is embracing the uncertainty that comes with fighting for a roster spot.

MLB news:

• Hunter Greene is set to have an MRI on his elbow after feeling some stiffness that forced him to leave Reds camp and head to Cincinnati to consult with team doctors.
• A big ol’preview of everything you need to know as pool play starts at the WBC.
• Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts breaks down the insanity that was Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. ($)
• How will the exit of Tony Clark affect the MLBPA’s plan ahead of the upcoming CBA negotiations? ($)

It’s perhaps the ultimate rite of spring – poring over prospect ratings, getting too excited over a rookie’s chance to impact their Major League Baseball squad, going nuts over absurdly small samples of fake baseball in Grapefruit and Cactus league exhibitions.

Well, maybe this is the year to revel in it a bit.

Four top prospects have done little to dispel that they may not only be big league-ready, but poised to break through even before the most starry-eyed prospect-head could’ve imagined.

Yes, three weeks remain before Opening Day, plenty of time for twentysomethings to get schooled by superior pitching and steady veterans look more alluring to a manager. Noted.

Let’s take a minute to hone in on four uber prospects who have made the industry take notice with their early performances in camp:

Konnor Griffin, SS, Pirates

Might as well start with the aircraft carrier. Griffin is a teenager, at least until April 24, the game’s top prospect and a dude who has no idea how to tamp down the hype surrounding his name.

Thankfully, the dude finally mixed in a single in an exhibition against Colombia, ending his spring streak of every hit being a gargantuan home run. Alas, those tape-measure shots did little to dull the roar that emerged from a .333/.415/.527 first professional season that started at low A and concluded at Class AA.

At 6-foot-3, 222 pounds, Griffin looks the part and, in his comportment and style of play, acts it as well. Ace Paul Skenes has voiced his support that the kid start in Pittsburgh sooner rather than later.

And for whatever it’s worth, he’s still at shortstop while presumed incumbent Jared Triolo is getting reps at third.

Tea leaves will soon turn to brass tacks. And the most anticipated debut in several years may very well stay on the fast track.

Kevin McGonigle, SS, Tigers

Here’s the deal: The Tigers were a really good team last year, falling short of the ALCS only because the Seattle Mariners outlasted them in a 15-inning elimination game. And the really good team returned virtually intact on the position-player side.

Run it back? Not so fast, perhaps.

McGonigle is the consensus No. 2 prospect in the industry behind Griffin and we just have to say, this simply doesn’t happen. Nos. 1-2 never bust down the door in tandem, in spring training. Perhaps 1 is major league-ready and 2 is an uber talented kid ticketed for Class A.

But no. While Griffin’s loud noises in Bradenton have generated attention, McGonigle is doing even more to win a job up in Lakeland.

The Tigers keep putting him in high-profile positions – imagine never playing above Class AAA and suddenly playing behind Tarik Skubal – and he keeps answering. They batted him leadoff against the Dominican Republic’s World Baseball Classic team in front of a crowd in the D.R. ready to tear the roof off in support of their heroes.

And McGonigle hit a leadoff home run and produced a 3-for-3 night.

Never mind the stats, which are great – six hits in 15 Grapefruit League at-bats, a 1.137 OPS. The 21-year-old simply seems unbothered, and steady.

“The confidence that he's showing in his at-bats against these particular pitchers,” manager A.J. Hinch said after McGonigle lit up the Dominicans, “is impressive.”

There was little doubt McGonigle would impact the Tigers this season, especially as it got closer to the playoffs. The next three weeks will reveal just how much that timeline has sped up.

Justin Crawford, OF, Phillies

Don’t be alarmed, but the Phillies very much look poised to plug a young player into the lineup.

Nope, John Middleton’s store-bought NL East champions all won’t carry nine-figure contracts this season. In fact, one of the most important positions figures to be manned by a guy making his major league debut when he jogs out to center field March 26 at Citizens Bank Park, when the Phillies open against the Texas Rangers.

He’s had a very nice spring thus far, with six hits in 19 at-bats, including three doubles, a nice catch in center field and, like McGonigle, a feeling that he’s ready.

Probably more than ready.

Crawford is 22 and has 112 Class AAA games already under his belt. And it’s true ... legacy players are typically less fazed by the big league environment and Crawford bears many uncanny resemblances – looks and game-wise – to his father Carl, a four-time All-Star.

Unlike Griffin or McGonigle, Crawford carries neither the top two prospect hype nor the weight of franchise expectations. Batting ninth in a lineup of All-Stars is actually a pretty great way to break in.

Right now, it feels only a matter of time.

Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies

OK, it was just two innings in a fake baseball game in Clearwater.

Yet 20 pitches, two perfect frames against the New York Yankees and a sense of command – figuratively and literally – went an awful long way toward cementing Painter’s spot in Philadelphia’s rotation to begin the season.

“I was very encouraged,” manager Rob Thomson told reporters after the March 1 outing. “I thought it was great.”

It is no small thing. It’d been three years since Painter’s first exhibition start. Then came Tommy John surgery, sidelining what was then the game’s top pitching prospect, and two years spent largely on the mend. He fought himself and his new arm a bit last summer, costing him a chance at a late-season recall once Zack Wheeler succumbed to a blood clot and thoracic outlet surgery.

Wheeler won’t be ready until perhaps a month into this season. That created the opening Painter is vying for and, most likely, has already nailed down.

His next start is March 7 against the defending American League champion Toronto Blue Jays. They will see a guy with enhanced confidence and a five-pitch mix building himself up for his big league debut.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Konnor Griffin, Kevin McGonigle lead MLB rookies to watch in spring

Teams competing in the World Baseball Classic have a most delicate task: Carve out a legacy in less than two weeks.

Yet despite the microwaved format that’s inverse to how we typically watch the sport and assess greatness, the five championship teams all managed to both showcase their talents, conserve their resources and suppress some pretty elite competition to hoist the trophy at tournament’s end.

The WBC has changed almost as much as the sport itself in two decades. Ranking the best of the best is certainly a dicey proposition, as several mini-eras have emerged in the game during that span.

Still, some squads shined a bit brighter. With that, ranking the five WBC champions as the 2026 edition gets under way March 5:

5. Japan 2006

Record: 5-3, 60-21 run differential

Pool play: 2-1 (Lost to Korea 3-1, beat China 18-2, beat Chinese Taipei 14-3)

Second round: 1-2 (Lost to Korea 2-1, lost to USA 4-3, beat Mexico 6-1, advanced on tiebreaker among USA, Mexico, Japan).

Semifinals: Beat Korea 6-0.

Final: Beat Cuba 10-6

Star power: Daisuke Matsuzaka – one year away from making the leap from Japan to the Boston Red Sox for a total commitment of $103 million – won all three of his starts, giving up three earned runs in 13 innings, a 1.38 mark, striking out 10. Ichiro Suzuki showed he was still in the peak of his MLB career, ripping 12 hits in 33 at-bats and producing a .964 OPS.

And while Koji Uehara was most renowned stateside as a reliever, including with the 2013 champion Red Sox, he was a dominant starter then, having won 20 games as a 24-year-old in 1999. In this WBC, he was unbeaten in three starts with 16 strikeouts to zero walks. Uehara avenged Japan’s two previous losses to Korea, pitching seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts in the semifinals.

Championship: Matsuzaka tossed four innings of one-run ball while Suzuki reached base three times and scored three runs to subdue Cuba.

Legacy: They’re the lone WBC champ to suffer three losses, dampening the ledger a bit. Yet it was a harbinger for the next decade in the game, as Matsuzaka, Nori Aoki and Aki Iwamura went on to populate our TVs in subsequent Octobers.

4. Dominican Republic 2013

Record: 8-0, 36-14 run differential

Pool play: 3-0 (Beat Puerto Rico 4-2, beat Spain 6-3, beat Venezuela 9-3)

Second round: 3-0 (Beat Italy 5-4, beat USA 3-1, beat Puerto Rico 2-0)

Semifinals: Beat Netherlands 4-1

Finals: Beat Puerto Rico 3-0.

Star power: Robinson Cano, on a fast track to Cooperstown at the time, banged out 15 hits, two homers and a 1.296 OPS. Nelson Cruz and Jose Reyes contributed 10 and 11 hits, respectively while Hanley Ramirez, 29, and Carlos Santana, 27, each hit a pair of homers. Even 39-year-old Miguel Tejada put up a .316/.350/.368 line.

Hard to believe the lone unbeaten champ in WBC history called upon Sam Deduno as its ace, but he gave up one earned run in 13 innings (0.69 ERA) of three starts. Edinson Volquez also started three games but struggled, striking out nine but walking six. That’s OK – the bullpen was heroic. Fernando Rodney – who saved seven of their eight wins – Pedro Strop, Santiago Casilla, Octavio Dotel and Kelvin Herrera gave up zero runs and 11 hits across 28 innings.

Championship: Deduno pitched five shutout innings against a Puerto Rico lineup with 36-year-old DH Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina in the middle, but precious little else. And, of course, Dotel, Strop and Casilla combined for four innings of one-hit, no-run relief.

Legacy: It’s tough to argue with an unbeaten squad, and the bullpen managed to hold down the fort. But the lack of a true No. 1 – and the tepid opponent they faced in the final – downgrades the Dominicans just a bit here.

3. USA 2017

Record: 6-2, 41-21 run differential

Pool play: 2-1 (Beat Canada 8-0, lost to Dominican Republic 7-5, beat Colombia 3-2)

Second round: 2-1 (Beat Venezuela 4-2, lost to Puerto Rico 6-5, beat Dominican Republic 6-3.

Semifinals: Beat Japan 2-1

Finals: Beat Puerto Rico 8-0

Star power: The home team finally got one, though it was due in large part to high-end grinders rather than superstars. Shortstop Brandon Crawford and Eric Hosmer each had 10 hits and OPSes north of 1.000. Christian Yelich scored a team-high seven runs. And the consensus starting squad had Gold Glovers (Buster Posey, Hosmer, Ian Kinsler, Crawford, Nolan Arenado, Adam Jones, Yelich, Andrew McCutchen) at every position.

Marcus Stroman carried, starting three games, pitching 15 1/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. Danny Duffy started and won two games, including the must-win quarterfinal against the Dominicans. Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek combined for nine innings of scoreless relief.

Championship: Stroman pitched six innings of one-hit ball, while Kinsler – who also homered – Yelich, Arenado, McCutchen and Giancarlo Stanton each had two-hit games. Puerto Rico started Seth Lugo and had a star-studded lineup compared to its 2013 finalists: Francisco Lindor, a young Carlos Correa, Beltran, Molina and Javy Baez.

Legacy: This team remains the only group that beat all the Latin American powers – Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico – as well as Japan to win it all. And this WBC marked a turning point, with Jones’ home run robbery of Manny Machado in the quarterfinals at Petco Park turning it into a can’t-miss event.

2. Japan 2009

Record: 7-2, 50-16 run differential

Pool play: 2-1 (Lost to Korea 1-0, beat Korea 14-2, beat China 4-0)

Second round: 3-1 (Beat Cuba 6-0, lost to Korea 4-1, beat Cuba 5-0, beat Korea 6-2)

Semifinals: Beat Venezuela 10-2

Finals: Beat Korea 5-3

Star power: Perhaps the apex of Japanese talent, both old and new. Suzuki banged out 12 more hits and scored seven runs, and Aoki also had a dozen hits and drove in seven. Catcher Kenji Johjima never found stardom with the Seattle Mariners but had a 10-for-30 WBC with a home run.

Meanwhile, Matsuzaka was back, as he posted a 2.86 ERA and Japan won all three of his starts, but this time he had company. Yu Darvish, the 22-year-old who was still three years away from debuting with the Texas Rangers, struck out 20 in 13 innings with a 1.000 WHIP. And Hisashi Iwakuma, who won 63 games in six seasons with the Mariners, posted a 1.35 ERA in three starts an a relief appearance.

Final vs. Korea: Iwakuma pitched four-hit ball into the eighth and Suzuki had four hits, including a two-out, two-strike two-run single in the top of the 10^th inning off Chang Hong Lim, giving the WBC a thrilling finish that wouldn’t be matched for 14 years.

Legacy: Let it be known that the Japanese WBC squads of the aughts struggled mightily with Korea. But they were more or less unbeatable otherwise and this team’s pitching depth separates it from almost all the champions.

1. Japan 2023

Record: 7-0, 56-18 run differential

Pool play: 3-0 (Beat Korea 13-4, beat Czechia 10-2, beat Australia 7-1)

Quarterfinals: Beat Italy 9-3

Semifinals: Beat Mexico 6-5

Finals: Beat USA 3-2

Star power: Might be oversimplifying it to say any team with Shohei Ohtani is a default No. 1. Yet he truly never disappoints. Ohtani led Japan with 10 hits and 10 walks, produced a 1.345 OPS and, on the mound, a 1.86 ERA in winning both his starts and adding his epic relief strikeout of Mike Trout to end the championship. Munetaka Murakami – catch him on Chicago’s South Side this spring – produced an .845 OPS while American-born Lars Nootbaar posted a .424 OBP.

Future Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto had his international coming-out party, striking out 12 in 7 1/3 innings. The youngsters – Shota Imanaga, Rōki Sasaki and Yamamoto – ensured that Darvish, now 36, could get hit a little harder and Japan survived it.

Final vs. USA: Ohtani’s strikeout of Trout was the Polaroid moment; home runs from this year’s spring curiosities – Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto of the Toronto Blue Jays – pushed them toward victory. Kyle Schwarber got Team USA within 3-2 with a solo homer, but that only made Ohtani’s heroics all the more necessary.

Legacy: It’s debatable whether this squad is deeper overall than the 2009 edition; it will take a few seasons to gauge Murakami and Okamoto’s MLB production to further contextualize the talent. But any team with Ohtani already has a massive edge – and he proved it emphatically.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: World Baseball Classic: Ranking the previous five champions

The Pittsburgh Pirates are in the middle of Spring Training, but they have a couple of players who are playing in the World Baseball Classic, including two bullpen guys who will be suiting up for the Dominican Republic.    

Right-handed pitcher Dennis Santana and left-handed pitcher Gregory Soto showed up against the Detroit Tigers in an exhibition match at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo on March 3.

Soto entered the game in the third inning where he struggled early. He walked first baseman Spencer Torkelson and allowed a single to Tigers third baseman Colt Kieth.

 After the struggle, the lefty was able to get out of the inning without allowing a run. He got center fielder Max Clark to ground out, then he struck out second baseman Zack McKinstry and designated hitter Thayron Lizano to end the inning. 

Santana then came in the fourth inning where he struck out catcher Jake Rodgers on an 85 mph slider. 

Santana just threw 18 pitches after allowing an unearned run from the bat of Riley Greene. Even though it was a short outing for the righty, he looked solid against a Tigers team that made the playoffs last season. 

Santana and Soto are two of the Pirates best bullpen arms and they are going to be important pieces to one of the better pitching staffs in all of baseball going into the 2026 season.

Santana was picked off of waivers from the Yankees in 2024. He has quickly improved with the team and had a strong year in 2025. He became the full time closer after the Bucs traded David Bender to the Yankees at the trade deadline. 

He finished with a 4-5 record in 70 appearances, a 2.18 ERA over 70.1 innings pitched, 13 holds, 16 saves in 19 opportunities, 60 strikeouts to 17 walks, a .179 opposing batting average and a 0.87 WHIP.

The Pirates signed Soto to a one-year, $7.75 million deal, which was made official on Dec. 15, giving them an important piece of their bullpen. Soto is coming off of a 2025 season where he had a 3.96 ERA over 45 appearances and 36.1 innings pitched with the Baltimore Orioles, before they traded him to the New York Mets at the deadline. 

I am excited to see what Santana and Soto will do for the Pirates this season. Pittsburgh’s starting rotation should be great which will put pressure on the bullpen to do its job as well.  

I will obviously be rooting for team USA and pitcher Paul Skenes during the World baseball classic but I will also keep a close eye and see what two of our top bullpen guys are doing for team Dominican Republic.  

Shohei Ohtani will once again be one of the top players in the World Baseball Classic with Team Japan.

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar designated hitter/pitcher helped Japan to its first World Baseball Classic title in more than a decade at the 2023 World Baseball Classic when he struck out then-Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout to clinch that victory over Team USA inside LoanDepot Park in Miami.

The Ohtani-Trout matchup remains one of the more cinematic and talked-about moments in baseball history three years later.

REQUIRED READING: Can Shohei Ohtani win Cy Young Award? He expects to be in conversation

But as the 2026 World Baseball Classic begins, that matchup won't be seeing a Round 2 in the international tournament, as Trout was not named to the United States' roster after serving as its captain because of insurance issues.

Ohtani also is not expected to step on the mound for Japan, whose rotation will be headlined by his Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto, at the World Baseball Classic.

Japan starts its title-defending run on Friday, March 6 against Chinese Taipei bright and early at 5 a.m. ET over in Japan at the Tokyo Dome in Pool C play.

Here's what to know on whether Ohtani is pitching for Japan in the WBC:

Is Shohei Ohtani pitching in World Baseball Classic for Japan?

No, Ohtani will not be pitching for Japan in the World Baseball Classic. He will only hit for the defending WBC champions and will be slotted in at the designated hitter spot.

Why is Shohei Ohtani not pitching in World Baseball Classic for Japan?

Ohtani's decision not pitch in the World Baseball Classic was announced at DodgerFest in January, and appears to be one made by him to manage his workload before opening day with the Dodgers on Thursday, March 26 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"It’s been a great offseason. Mostly business as usual," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton on Saturday, Jan. 31 according to MLB.com. "I think the good thing is that I wasn’t hurt this year or had any injury. … I’m very healthy. Glad that I am. The only wrinkle is going to be the World Baseball Classic, so I’m wrapping up (the offseason) a little early."

Ohtani's manager, Dave Roberts, mentioned at a Dodgers' offseason fan event that he wasn't surprised by his star player's decision not to pitch in the WBC, and that it was Ohtani's decision to make himself.

"Understanding what he did last year, what he had to go through to then how best to prepare himself for '26 to do both – it just seemed like the right decision," Roberts said on Jan. 31 according to MLB.com. "So, I wasn't surprised – and feel really good with that one."

It also appears that Ohtani's decision not to pitch in the WBC, where he could get injured before opening day, has to do with one of his bigger goals: winning the Cy Young Award with the Dodgers.

"Getting a Cy Young means being able to throw more innings and being able to pitch throughout the whole season," Ohtani said through Dodgers interpreter Will Ireton on Friday, Feb. 13. "So if that's the end result, that's a good sign for me."

Japan schedule for World Baseball Classic

Here's a full breakdown of Japan's schedule for the World Baseball Classic:

All times Eastern

Pool C Play

• Game 1: March 6 vs. Chinese Taipei | 5 a.m. | Fox Sports 1 (Fubo)
• Game 2: March 7 vs. South Korea | 5 a.m. | Fox Sports 1 (Fubo)
• Game 3: March 8 vs. Australia | 6 a.m. | Fox Sports 1 (Fubo)
• Game 4: March 10 vs. Czechia | 6 a.m. | Fox Sports 1 (Fubo)

Knockout round

• Quarterfinals: March 13/14 in Miami
• Semifinals: March 15/16 in Miami
• Final: March 17 in Miami

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Shohei Ohtani pitching for Japan in 2026 World Baseball Classic?

There’s nothing like the early days of spring to get the imagination going. Pitchers show up with new pitches, hitters show up with improved swings and approaches, everyone is in the best shape of their lives, and hope springs, well, eternal.

Among those bright spring training traditions is letting one’s optimism run wild when it comes to prospects. Prospects are unproven, untested, but that they’re untested means we haven’t yet seen them fail, making it that much easier to dream. George Lombard Jr., the Yankees’ consensus top prospect, certainly gave us a reason to dream yesterday:

That’s a 20-year-old shortstop, facing perhaps the second- or third-best pitcher on the planet, taking a 97-mph fastball in a 1-2 count way out to left field. Lord knows we can’t jump to conclusions based on spring training, much less one swing in spring training, but if there was ever a swing to get excited about, it’s that one.

We won’t know what Lombard will ultimately become for many years, but after seeing him do that against Garrett Crochet, it’s not hard to ask: will he play a major role for the Yankees this year? The smart money probably says no. He’s still only 20, and he’s coming off a minor-league season that was fine more than anything, posting a .748 OPS across two levels, albeit while flashing big tools and playing largely against players much older than him. The Yankees also have José  Caballero, Ryan McMahon, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. lined up to start on the infield dirt, with Anthony Volpe likely to reclaim a starting job once he’s healthy.

Yet is it crazy to wonder if there’s any way Lombard could force himself into the conversation? Caballero and McMahon both project as average-ish players. If one of them played slightly below that standard, and Lombard was tearing up the high minors in the first half of the season, could he enter the picture? And then there’s the matter of Volpe, who was basically the worst regular starter in baseball for a good chunk of 2025. Better health could and should help him regress in a positive manner this year, but we’ve all grown weary of Volpe struggling for infuriatingly long periods. If he does it again, will the Yankees resist in challenging their top prospect, much as they did with Volpe himself three years ago?

Most 20-year-old prospects don’t end up playing a prominent roles for their big-league clubs. But we’re at spring training, and it’s time to dream big. Do you think Lombard will make an impact as soon as this year?

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It’ll be another loaded day on the site today, starting off with Kevin’s recap of the official opener of the WBC, which took place late last night between Chinese Taipei and Australia. Josh will also finish off our preview coverage of the WBC with an overview of Pool D, while Jeff will continue our general 2026 MLB Preview with a look at the St. Louis Cardinals. Also, Michael brings us our latest player preview by analyzing Giancarlo Stanton, and Peter profiles Doug Bird as part of our Yankee Birthday series.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins

Time: 1:05 p.m. EST

Video: YES, Gotham Sports App, Twins.tv

Venue: George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, FL

USA's ice hockey teams restored some national pride as both won gold at the Winter Olympics.

Now their men's baseball team aims to follow suit at this month's World Baseball Classic.

The sport may be known as 'America's Pastime' but the USA are not the reigning champions.

In fact, Japan have won three of the previous five editions, beating the US on their own turf in a thrilling finale in 2023.

But the US have named a star-studded roster and sought help from the nation's most decorated Olympian, with Great Britain among the teams standing in their way.

What is the WBC?

The World Baseball Classic was first staged in 2006 as an invitational event before replacing the Baseball World Cup - held for the 39th and final time in 2011 - as the sport's official world championship.

Each tournament has been held in multiple countries, with 16 teams competing in the first four editions before expanding to 20 for the fifth staging in 2023.

Japan won the first two tournaments before the Dominican Republic triumphed in 2013, followed by the USA in 2017.

Then came an epic ending three years ago, as two of Major League Baseball's best players went head-to-head in the final at-bat with the title of world champions on the line.

Japan's Shohei Ohtani faced his then Los Angeles Angels team-mate Mike Trout and struck out the US captain to clinch a 3-2 victory.

As in 2023, there are three host nations, with 20 teams having qualified. They are spread across four pools and will play a round-robin format, with the top two teams from each pool qualifying for the quarter-finals.

All Pool C games take place in Tokyo, Japan, including Thursday's opener between Chinese Taipei and Australia, while all Pool A games will be played in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Houston and Miami will host Pools B and D, respectively, and share the quarter-finals. Miami's LoanDepot Park will then stage the semi-finals and final from 15-17 March.

How USA are trying to channel Olympic spirit

In the early editions of the WBC, America's top players were reluctant to take part, preferring to focus on spring training or recovering from injury. Even now, some players are unable to play because of insurance issues.

But the perception of the tournament began to change in 2017. Watching the USA triumph convinced Trout to make himself available for 2023, and other MLB stars decided to take up one of the few opportunities they have to represent their country.

The unique circumstances of that 2023 finale also helped to build the WBC's prestige, and this year the tournament will boast the highest calibre of players it has ever had.

This will be the first WBC to feature the holders of MLB's four most prestigious awards - Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.

Three-time Most Valuable Player Judge, 33, will make his Classic debut as captain of a US roster that includes Bryce Harper and Cal Raleigh.

Legendary swimmer Michael Phelps spoke to the team on Monday and the 23-time Olympic champion stepped into the dugout during Tuesday's exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants.

"He was intense, I thought it was an awesome speech," said Team USA manager Mark DeRosa.

"There's nothing better than winning gold for USA - it's pretty much what it centered around," added Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher. "We've got to keep that moving."

Which other stars will play?

Most of the other 30-man rosters feature mainly minor league players with a smattering of stars. Of the 600 players in total, about half are affiliated with MLB teams, with 190 currently on MLB rosters.

They include a record 78 players who have been named to an All-Star team, with 36 selected last year. The US have the most, but the Dominican Republic and Venezuela have at least 12 All Stars.

Juan Soto plays for the New York Mets on the most lucrative contract in world sport - worth a staggering $765m (£600m) - and he will lead the 2013 champions while Ronald Acuna Jr stars for Venezuela.

Czechia are the only team without an MLB-affiliated player but again have Ondrej Satoria, the electrician who struck out four-time MVP Ohtani in 2023.

Ohtani will not pitch as the two-way superstar continues his recovery from elbow surgery and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to release team-mate Yoshinobu Yamamoto because they "understand how important the WBC is to everyone in Japan".

The 27-year-old pitcher, who was series MVP as he and Ohtani helped the Dodgers win last year's World Series, added: "I'm in good shape, so I can play in the WBC and be ready for the Dodgers' opening game."

Nolan Arenado has switched allegiance from Team USA to Puerto Rico, who will feature pitcher Edwin Diaz, while Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran will play for Mexico, and Australia will be led by Travis Bazzana, the first overall pick of the 2024 MLB draft.

And with baseball returning to the Olympics, the two highest-ranked teams from the Americas will qualify for LA 2028, besides the hosts USA.

Who are the GB stars to watch?

Great Britain made their WBC debut in 2023, winning one of their four games to finish fourth in their pool and secure an automatic place in this year's edition.

Their current roster features 11 of those players while Jazz Chisholm Jr of the New York Yankees will represent Britain for the first time in 10 years.

The 28-year-old is the only All Star on the British roster after injury prevented the Bahamas-born infielder from taking part in 2023.

He will be co-captain with catcher Harry Ford, who was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Washington Nationals in December and hit two home runs during GB's 2023 campaign.

They are two of 20 GB players currently affiliated with an MLB team, while eight have MLB experience.

GB are in Pool B so will be based in Houston and begin their campaign on Friday against Mexico before facing the USA, Italy and Brazil.

US pitcher Tarik Skubal is set to make his only start of the tournament against GB on Saturday, while GB's best chance of victory will come in their final pool game on Monday against Brazil, the lowest-ranked team in their group.

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It probably was not the exact start Joe Musgrove had in mind for his return to the mound in the San Diego Padres’ 2-2 tie with Great Britain at the Peoria Sports Complex on Wednesday, but it was positive. He got one out in the first inning, allowed a run and was taken out with the bases loaded and one out. Reliever Johan Moreno came into the game and recorded back-to-back strikeouts of Trayce Thompson and Nick Ward to end the inning and leave the bases loaded.

Musgrove returned to the mound to start the second inning and recorded a strikeout and a flyout against the first two batters. He then allowed a single to Nate Eaton, who advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Musgrove then got Jazz Chisholm to pop out to end the inning, stranding Eaton in scoring position.

Musgrove returned to start the third inning and recorded a groundout before allowing a single to BJ Murray. Musgrove followed that with a strikeout of Matt Koperniak for the second out of the inning, which ended Musgrove’s day on the mound.

Welcome back, Java Joe 💛 pic.twitter.com/kcy1WPKSTG

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 4, 2026

Musgrove threw a total of 60 pitches with 36 of those pitches going for strikes. His final stat line was two innings pitched with one run allowed on five hits with three strikeouts and a walk. Musgrove left the outing with his fastest pitching topping 95 mph and used an array of fastballs and off-speed pitches.

Joe Musgrove shared his thoughts on his first outing of the spring after missing all of the 2025 season: pic.twitter.com/4WZGDGRxXZ

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) March 4, 2026

The most important part of the outing was that Musgrove walked off the mound healthy and officially kicked off his return to the MLB mound, which is expected to occur sometime during the season-opening series against the Detroit Tigers on March 26-28 at Petco Park.

It never feels good to have someone tell you that “almost isn’t good enough,” or that “close doesn’t cut it.” Growing up in the south, the phrase I always heard was “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” People use these sayings whenever some who failed to reach a goal says that it’s okay because they were “close.” And often, they’re right. If you were “close” to making that big sale or if you “almost” didn’t crash your forklift the end result is still a disaster. Hell, the Mariners were close to making the World Series last year, and we all remember how that turned out.

But often, especially for the small stuff, close does count, so long as you do your best. Today, I almost did all my laundry. I’ll finish tomorrow. I’m close to finishing the book I’m reading, but I see how it’s going to end. Tonight the Mariners were, for a while at least, close to winning a Spring Training game. Maybe they’ll win the next one.

The Mariners almost had some productive at-bats against Robbie Ray in the first inning. Cole Young led off the game and worked a six pitch at-bat by fouling everything off before whiffing on pitch 6. J.P. Crawford watched from the on deck circle and wanted in on the fun, working a 7-pitch AB that ended in a groundout. Brennen Davis got bored and grounded out on the first pitch. Almost some productive outs.

The Giants almost put a rally together in their half of the first, with Matt Chapman and Will Brennan hitting back-to-back one out singles, but Mariners pitcher Cooper Criswell neutralized the threat by inducing a double play from Casey Schmitt. The Mariners were also close to putting a rally together in the second, but likewise stranded runners on first and second.

In the top of the third Jonny Farmelo hit a leadoff triple, and almost didn’t score with Cole Young and J.P. Crawford making back-to-back outs, but was able to scamper home on J.P.‘s groundball. After a few quiet innings it looked like the Mariners were close to carrying their slim lead into the “every starter leaves the game” portion of a Spring Training game. Alas, close did not count.

Carlos Vargas replaced Criswell on the bump in the bottom of the fourth, and sadly wasted no time in getting hit all up and down the field. Brennan, Schmitt, and Matos led off the inning with a trio of singles to load up the bases and put all of the pressure on Vargas’ shoulders. That pressure may have gotten to him, as he found it impossible to find the zone and issued a free pass to Grant McCray. From a pitcher’s perspective, a no-out bases loaded walk is very close to the worst possible outcome. You’re in the same situation and you just gave them a run for free. The worst possible outcome is of course a grand slam — hey what’s this video of Jake Holton doing here?

After that back-breaker, the Giants really wanted to get another rally going. Christian Koss almost even got a hit to speed that along. But just almost, thanks to Cole Young.

Afterwards, the Giants went into full Spring Training mode and pulled half their starters from the game. The Mariners clawed back a couple of runs on a Cole Young single and a J.P. Crawford sac fly, but couldn’t keep the line moving long enough. And honestly? They didn’t even come close.

The Giants secondary squad contended with Jose A. Ferrer on the mound in the bottom of the 5th, and had no trouble extending their lead back to five runs, with the capper being a two-RBI double by Bryce Eldridge. Even though the Mariners were able to get another run back in the sixth, the game still wasn’t nearly close enough. In a close game when the offense is clicking, singles can turn into doubles and doubles can turn into homers. But when you’re down by a grand slam or more, everyone is sad. And no one plays good baseball when they’re sad.

[Speaking of sad, Jake had to end the recap here, because he is in Texas and did not realize this game would end at midnight his time. I am here to tell you things did not get better, tonight. The Mariners will try again tomorrow, in a home game back in Peoria at the normal 12 PM PT start time. -KP]