WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 28: Jeremy Peña #3 of the Houston Astros warms up prior to a spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on February 28, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Jeremy Pena will lead off tonight and play shortstop as the Houston Astros play their final exhibition game of the spring, hosting the Sugar Land Space Cowboys tonight at Daikin Park.
RHP Lance McCullers Jr., who was named the Astros fifth starter yesterday, will get the start for the Astros tonight opposite prospect RHP Miguel Ullola and the Space Cowboys.
ABOUT MCCULLERS: RHP Lance McCullers Jr. is set to make his fourth official start of the Spring season. He last pitched a week ago on March 17 at PIT, when he allowed one run on three hits and three walks in 4.0 innings.
He made his return to the mound in 2025 after missing the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons due to a right flexor tendon injury that required surgery. He worked around four IL stints in 2025 to go 2-5 with a 6.51 ERA (40ER/55.1IP) and 9.92 SO/9IP in 16 games (13 starts).
ABOUT ULLOLA: RHP Miguel Ullola (pronounced oo-YOH-lah) enters the 2026 season as one Houston’s top pitching prospects. I
In 2025, he spent his first full season in the Triple A rotation and went 7-6 with a 3.88 ERA in 28 appearances (23 starts). Among PCL starters with 100+ innings pitched, he ranked first in ERA (3.88), first in BAA (.183), first in strikeout percentage (26.6%), first in strikeout-per-nine (10.37), second in strikeouts (131) and fourth in WHIP.
PENA BACK: Jeremy Peña is scheduled for six innings and three at-bats tonight. The Astros have an optional workout tomorrow and can get Peña live at-bats there as well, Joe Espada said. (from Matt Kawahara/Houston Chronicle)
ABOUT THE SPACE COWBOYS: The Space Cowboys, who play in the Pacific Coast League, are entering their fifth year as the Astros Triple A affiliate. The Astros officially acquired the franchise (then known as the Sugar Land Skeeters) in April of 2021, and sold the franchise this offseason. After the 2021 season, the franchise rebranded and the Space Cowboys were born.
YESTERDAY’S ROSTER MOVE: Prior to yesterday’s game, the Astros optioned RHP Spencer Arrighetti to Triple A Sugar Land. Arrighetti will remain with the Astros through tonight’s game before beginning the season in Sugar Land. Arrighetti is slated to be the Astros’ sixth starter when they expand the rotation approximately April 10.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 22: Spencer Bivens #76 of the San Francisco Giants on the mound during the spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Scottsdale Stadium on February 22, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Opening Day is tomorrow, and the San Francisco Giants still have a handful of players they need to trim from the roster before announcing the 26-player roster. But on Tuesday, a few hours before their final exhibition game of the preseason, the Giants took a step closer to finalizing things, by optioning a quartet of right-handed pitchers to AAA Sacramento: Spencer Bivens, Trevor McDonald, Tristan Beck, and Carson Seymour. In addition to those four, outfielders Drew Gilbert and Will Brennan were also optioned.
Bivens is the most surprising name on the list, and a reminder that different coaching staffs value different players. He broke camp with the team in 2025, and spent the entirety of the season on the active roster, leading many to believe that he was a lock for this year’s bullpen. It turns out that wasn’t the case.
It would seem that his role will likely go to JT Brubaker. Last year, Bivens was more good than great (4.00 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 6.8 strikeouts per nine innings, 2.8 walks per nine innings), but amassed a lot of value due to his ability to enter in any situation and eat a lot of innings. He made 54 appearances out of the bullpen, and pitched 81 innings — a mark that ranked fourth among pitchers in the Major Leagues who didn’t make any starts.
Similarly, his Spring Training was also more good than great, and seemed to reinforce his roll as a valuable piece of bullpen depth, but not a weapon. With Tony Vitello replacing Bob Melvin, it seems the valuation of Bivens has shifted a bit, though he’ll surely still play a role this year.
As for McDonald, he had a breakout camp early on, and was certainly trending towards making the roster, especially after Hayden Birdsong went down with an injury. But after three scoreless outings to start the spring — during which time he gave up just two hits in six innings — McDonald hit a wall. In his next/final three games, he gave up 10 hits — including four home runs — and nine earned runs in just 5.2 innings, culminating in a Spring Training finale in which he was unable to complete an inning. So back to the Minors he goes, where he’ll prepare to rejoin the squad, perhaps in a relief role, or perhaps as a the next man up in the rotation.
For Seymour, his optioning was a little less surprising. The power righty showed some really nice things this spring, en route to a 2.92 ERA and a 3.74 FIP, but he never felt in very strong consideration for a bullpen job, and his fate was likely sealed during Monday’s exhibition win, in which he gave up four hits and two runs in an inning of work. But like Bivens and McDonald, we can expect to see Seymour in the Majors plenty this year.
Beck’s optioning was also not surprising. He struggled a bit last year, with a 4.75 ERA and a 6.11 FIP, and didn’t look sharp during Cactus League. He was strong in an inning of work on Monday night, though, and is valuable depth who could be called upon during the season.
Seymour and Bivens both have two option years remaining, while McDonald and Beck have only one.
As for the outfielders, there’s nothing surprising there. Gilbert seemed like a favorite to land the fourth outfielder role when Spring Training began, but he was hampered by a shoulder injury, and never found his rhythm when he returned, hitting just .265/.324/.324. Brennan impressed, but it became apparent over the last week than NRI Jared Oliva had surpassed him on the depth chart. Both players will be everyday outfielders in Sacramento, and will surely provide depth at the Major League level at some point in the season. Brennan has two option years remaining, while the ever-exuberant Gilbert still has all three.
Notably, with Gilbert, Brennan, and Grant McCray optioned, the Giants have committed to not having a left-handed player off the bench. The only outfielders left in camp (save for the starters) are righties Oliva, Luis Matos, and Jerar Encarnación. It would appear that those three are fighting for two spots, which would finalize the bench. That’s assuming that both infielders left in camp — Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss — make the roster, and that Daniel Susac beats out Eric Haase for the backup catcher role.
With these six cuts, the Giants are now down to 33 players in camp, though that number is functionally 31, as Reiver Sanmartin and Sam Hentges will be added to the Injured List soon. Five other players will need to be optioned, reassigned, placed on the IL, or waived between now and Wednesday morning.
Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey made history this offseason, hiring an incredible college baseball personality with zero big league experience as San Francisco’s new manager.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred joined KNBR’s “Murph & Markus” on Tuesday morning to give his opinion on the Tony Vitello hire.
“I think the hiring of a college coach to be a big league manager is part of a larger evolution in the relationship between college baseball and MLB,” Manfred claimed.
Vitello, on Wednesday, will become the league’s first manager without any prior professional experience, but his preparation isn’t in question.
The Giants went 19-9 in spring training, even without some key pieces due to the World Baseball Classic. It’s challenging to gauge talent from spring training for several reasons, but the culture shift since Vitello’s arrival is hard to miss.
“The college programs … many of them are high quality,” Manfred continued. “They produce players that we draft in increasing numbers every year.”
There are many ties between Vitello and players within the Giants organization, including Drew Gilbert, who played under Vitello for three seasons at the University of Tennessee.
“I don’t think that there’s anything unusual about the development of someone who’s been tremendously successful at the college level getting a major league job,” Manfred concluded.
San Francisco is set to take on the New York Yankees on Wednesday night at Oracle Park to begin the 2026 MLB season. This entire year will be full of firsts for Vitello, but those around him are confident he has what it takes to get this team out of mediocrity and back into the playoffs.
Johnson’s final out of the 1969 World Series clinched the Mets’ first championship, and he then guided the Mets to their next and most recent title as manager in 1986.
The Mets will wear a patch to honor World Series champion manager Davey Johnson. Getty Images
He is the winningest skipper in franchise history (595), owns the best winning percentage (.588) and kept a steady hand from 1984-90, when his Mets clubs averaged more than 95 wins per season.
“Davey was a bold manager who led with a quiet confidence and an unwavering belief in his team,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “He cared deeply for his players both on and off the field. Some of the greatest players in our team history credit him for their successes.
“In the 40th anniversary of the 1986 championship, this is a fitting tribute to the man who guided the team to that title.”
Johnson’s family will be around for Thursday’s season opener at Citi Field and take part in the ceremonial first pitch.
Davey Johnson died last year at 82. Robert Sabo for NY Post
His widow, Susan, will escort Johnson’s stepson, Jeremiah Allen, and grandson, Kai Casebolt, to the mound.
Darryl Strawberry and Mookie Wilson, key members of the ’86 Mets, will catch the first pitches.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 26, 2023: Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds walks off the field during the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on September 26, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Just when you thought Joey Votto had retired to a quiet beach somewhere, content to read Verne and Hiaasen and learn four new languages, he has popped back up on the radar of the Cincinnati Reds once again.
In typical Votto fashion, he did so with brilliant, understated style. According to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, he gifted the Reds a custom made Verdin clock that was installed outside Great American Ball Park, a ‘thank you to the club for his 22 years in the organization.’
Not only is it the absolute perfect addition from a guy like Joey, but locals obviously know that the Verdin Company has been a Cincinnati stalwart dating back to 1842. Joey himself sent a message along with the clock, which the Reds relayed to the masses on Twitter.
The man deserves a statue, a spot in the team’s Hall of Fame, a number retired, and a spot in Cooperstown as a first ballot Hall of Famer. He’s truly one of the absolute gems of the sport, and we were all lucky to have been able to follow him so closely for so long.
Sep 25, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Detroit Tigers right fielder Wenceel Perez (46) celebrates his solo home run in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images
Switch-hitting outfielder Wenceel Pérez entered camp this spring needing to make a strong case for an Opening Day outfield slot. He failed to do so, putting up ugly numbers all spring. Yet even in the final game of spring camp, he launched a pair of home runs, including one at 108.5 mph, illustrating why he still has a role on the 40-man roster and could prove more important to the Tigers chances this spring that it might appear at the moment.
While Matt Vierling returned from an injury plagued 2025 season and raked all through camp, and Parker Meadows caught fire in recent weeks, the 26-year-old Pérez floundered. For an established player that doesn’t matter, but with Pérez, Meadows, and Vierling all pretty evenly matched, it left him the odd man out to start the season. Even so, the Tigers are probably going to need him this season, and while his overall profile isn’t likely to change much at his age, there are still elements in his game that could use a little polish, and doing so would seriously increase his chances of helping the Tigers in 2026.
Pérez is a career .243/.304/.405 hitter across parts of two seasons and 808 total plate appearances. That’s essentially league average. Job number one is just to become a little more selective at the plate. Profiling as a contact and speed guy, Pérez has struck out just a bit too much, at a 22.2 percent rate for his career, and walked 7.8 percent of the time. Those numbers are basically league average, but because he’s not really built to hit 25 homers a year, he’s got to do a little better job just getting on base. The simplest way is to do a bit better job waiting for his pitch early in counts. He’s shown a tendency to slash at the first pitch he can reach, and as a result, he puts the ball in play a good amount, but doesn’t make as much hard contact as he should.
His 30.4 percent chase rate tells the tale of his discipline, while his better than average 9.9 percent whiff rate on swings speaks to his good hands and compact swing. He got a little free swinging last year, and while that led him to some modest power gains he’d like to retain, his game at the plate still needs to be balanced around contact, walks, and just slightly better swing decisions.
Even so, Pérez has a career 98 wRC+ compared to Parker Meadows’ 94 wRC+ mark. Pérez has matched him as a hitter, and has overall been more consistent as well, while Meadows erratic performance features wilder hot and cold stretches. Where Meadows has him is defensively, and that’s an area that hopefully Pérez will continue to get chances to work on in Toledo. Max Clark will presumably play CF most days, and Trei Cruz might fight for some of those reps, but Clark needs to work in RF some as well to improve his versatility. On those days it would be great if Pérez got the CF reps. He didn’t play there that much in the minor leagues, converting almost directly from second base in the minors to becoming a major league outfielder to get his bat and speed on the roster. While Pérez consistently grades out above average in right field, getting used to having to read the curve of the baseball off the bat in center field is a different beast. If he can get some more time out there in Triple-A, it would be good for him, and good for the Tigers should Meadows fall on his face at the plate.
That leads us to the final point, which is that Pérez should be running aggressively in Toledo, trying to improve his reads and jumps off of pitchers at the Triple-A level. He appeared in 100 games in 2025, but he only stole 8 bases. Pérez has certainly lost a step since his days as a skinny, slap-hitting prospect. Adding the muscle that makes him a 15-20 HR threat presumably came with a trade-off. Pérez and Colt Keith both grade out with the same Statcast sprint speed, just modestly better than average. However, Pérez naturally gets better jumps and has a good deal more base stealing experience. He averaged about 20 steals a year through most of his minor league career. If he can work on this and get back to being a little more of a stolen base threat, that would also add another boost to his game.
Pérez has proven better than Meadows so far, though the margins are slim, as a hitter. It’s Meadows edge as a plus center fielder and a little more of a stolen base threat that keeps Pérez in second fiddle position. Hopefully, rather than being disappointed for too long, the 26-year-old continues to work on the finer points of his game under manager Gabe Alvarez.
In the long run, Max Clark is coming to take over. His debut is likely to come in June or July as needed. Meadows himself needs to get it in gear this season or he might end permanently relegated to defensive specialist mode. Pérez’s better contact ability gives him an element Meadows lacks, even as Meadows defensive superiority keeps Pérez in Toledo for now. Both are reaching a point in their career where they need to clean things up and play a more consistent, bankable brand of ball to remain viable as full-time major league players.
With one option remaining after this year, Pérez doesn’t need some breakthrough, but if he can make some subtle improvements, he’s more likely to impress in whatever time he earns this year. Meadows’ defense will always give him that edge, but should he fail at the plate, Pérez could still prove an important player for the Tigers by filling the gap from Meadows to Clark by playing a mix of center field and right field. With an injury prone Kerry Carpenter on the roster, and Mesdows still a big question mark at the plate, odds are good that the Tigers will need them some Wenceel Pérez this year.
At this point, Pérez is too old for his underlying skills to improve much, but he has plenty to work with already. The trick is squeezing every last bit of production out of his tools. A league average switch-hitter, with some power, some stolen base ability, and the chops to play an average center field is a pretty polished profile if he can improve his routes, steal a few more bags, and show just a little more discipline at the plate. Those are small asks individually, but tougher as a group. Maybe his time in the organization runs out this year, and maybe not, but if he takes the demotion as a challenge and can make some subtle gains, there are going to be a lot of teams around the league interested in his services. Hopefully Pérez is up the challenge, because there’s still a path to a long career as a major league outfielder there for the taking.
Mar 19, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez (24) slides into second base at the end of the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
Spring training is over! The Yankees wrapped up the exhibition portion of their season with a big win over the Cubs down in Arizona — 8-3 is your final. Let’s talk about it so we can turn our attention to the stuff that will matter in pursuit of #28.
Gerrit Cole had a power pitcher’s outing today, striking out Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch to start the game, Alex Bregman took him deep, and then sitting down Ian Happ to end the first inning. He would get two outs in the second before being replaced by Harrison Cohen (???), for a total of 26 pitches, 17 of them strikes, a crisp 65 percent strike rate.
While we don’t have video of his outing, Statcast still tracks nontelevised games. Cole was red hot in the first, sitting 96mph and getting it up to 98, before taking a little off in the second and sitting 94-95. I said in the gamethread that this phase of Cole’s rehab is built around balancing his velocity and command, and I think that’s reflected in how he approached his start today. The first inning was proof positive that his fastball can still pop, which is encouraging to see given how hard he was throwing in his first Grapefruit League game last week. The second inning was briefer — just four pitches — but the pitch plots and tick down in velocity indicates to me he was trying to locate better, and two outs off contact help show that side of his recovery seems to be going well.
The Yankees got that Bregman dinger back quickly, with Jasson Domínguez appearing eager to win back a roster spot on the big-league team. The Martian singled to lead off the second, stole a base, advanced on a groundout and came home on Ryan McMahon’s sac fly, a nice bit of Big Fundamental baseball and a hustle run that will help him get more MLB time at some point in 2026. Domínguez followed that up a couple innings later with a more traditional source of offense, as he and Randal Grichuk hit back-to-back solo shots in the fourth.
Ben Rice had given the club the lead an inning earlier, blasting his second home run of spring in a highlight that probably would have been cool to see. With just a .771 OPS Rice hasn’t had the best results in Grapefruit League play, but he’s still one of the players I’m most looking forward to watching when the games count for real.
Four-slot in the rotation Ryan Weathers also had himself a decent enough day, working five innings and allowing just a solo home run to Miguel Amaya. Weathers managed four strikeouts over that stretch, and after a bit of a rough patch in camp, he ended exhibition play on a high note and we can be reasonably optimistic that this four-man rotation to open the year will be able to hold up.
Reliable bench option Amed Rosario added on to the lead, driving in a pair of runs in the sixth on the back of two Duke Ellis stolen bases. This is the last time I’ll have to give spring training caveats for an entire year, but it does feel as though the Yankees, at the MLB level and within the org, present more threats on the bases than we’ve seen in years past. Spencer Jones also swiped a bag, his fourth of camp. Rosario himself was brought around on an RBI double off Paul DeJong’s bat.
The boys in the dugout now go their separate ways, some heading to San Francisco, some Scranton or Somerset or Tampa. The real work begins tomorrow, and we’ll have plenty of coverage ahead of Opening Day against the Giants — remember, first pitch is at 8:05pm Eastern, exclusively on Netflix.
The Cubs’ final spring training game was a clunker, an 8-3 loss to the Yankees at Sloan Park. So this is going to be a very short game recap, as the team’s focus turns to the 2026 season opener Thursday at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs scored both of their runs on solo homers.
That was Bregman’s fourth of the spring and his second in as many days. Of course, spring stuff doesn’t usually carry over to the season, but let’s hope Bregman hits the ground running beginning Thursday.
Personally, I think Amaya is ready to have a breakout year, presuming he can stay healthy. That would be a huge bat to have, along with his good defense.
Edward Cabrera started this one, his final tuneup of the spring. It wasn’t a great outing, as he served up three home runs to Yankees hitters over 4.1 innings. Ben Rice took Cabrera deep twice. Hopefully this is just a one-off and Cabrera will also hit the proverbial ground running, whenever his first start is (I suspect it will be against the Angels in the season’s second series). Here’s more on Cabrera’s outing [VIDEO].
All the starting players in this game had a couple of at-bats and then left for the late afternoon flight to Chicago.
Attendance watch: 13,880 attended this afternoon’s final spring game of 2026 at Sloan Park. The Cubs again led the Cactus League in attendance, with the season total at 239,459, or 13,303 per date.
The Cubs open the 2026 season Thursday at Wrigley Field against the Washington Nationals. Matthew Boyd will take the mound for the Cubs, his third Opening Day start (also twice with the Tigers) and Cade Cavalli will go for the Nats. Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT, TV coverage is via Marquee Sports Network… and the temperature is forecast to be in the 70s!
The Yankees socked three home runs, including a long drive by Jasson Dominguez, and GerritCole struck out three as New York scored an 8-3 win over the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, Arizona, in the final game of spring training on the eve of Opening Day.
Here are the takeaways...
- Cole got another turn in the spring as he continued his rehab from Tommy John, with May as his target return date. And the right-hander looked good to start, getting the first two batters on 97 mph heaters at the knees, first Pete Crow-Armstrong swinging and Michael Busch looking.
With two down, Alex Bregman got a 1-0 sinker at the bottom of the zone and launched it 413 feet to center for a home run. Facing a third lefty in the inning, Cole got a familiar result, with a 97 mph 3-2 fastball on the inside corner freezing Ian Happ to strike out the side.
Cody Bellinger made a nice play in the gap to give Cole an out to start the top of the second on a ball off Nico Hoerner's bat. The Yanks' ace allowed another hard-hit ball on a hanging knuckle-curveball as left fielder Dominguez ran down a sharp liner (105.2 mph off the bat) from Dansby Swanson. That was the end of the day for Cole after two pitches found the middle of the zone and were hit well, his final line: 1.2 innings allowing just the one run on the homer with three strikeouts on 26 pitches (17 strikes).
- Dominguez, who will begin the season at Triple-A, opened the top of the second by cracking a sharply hit single to left (105.2 mph). He didn’t stay at first for long, swiping second with a head-first dive and came around to score two batters later.
In the fourth, Dominguez got a slider on the inner-half of the plate and turned on it for a 434-foot homer to right, just clobbering it 109.1 mph. He grounded into a fielder’s choice and was caught trying to steal second in the fifth. The left fielder finished 2-for-4.
- Randal Grichuk, likely the final man on the Opening Day roster, made it back-to-back homers to start the fourth, driving a 2-1 fastball deep to center field for his first home run of spring. He went 1-for-2 with a walk in his final time up in the sixth.
- Ben Rice got the green light on a 3-0 pitch in his second at-bat and smashed the center-cut 97 mph fastball 431 feet to center field off Chicago starter Edward Cabera. The ball was just tattooed, 111.4 mph off the bat, and was a no-doubter. The first baseman finished 1-for-2.
- Bellinger, after going down swinging on three pitches in his first at-bat, singled up the middle on a sharply hit ball (106.9 mph) in the third, finishing 1-for-2.
- Ryan McMahon had a sac fly to right to score the Yanks' first run in the second. He lined out on a sharply hit ball (110.1 mph) to center his second time up, finishing 0-for-2 with a strikeout swinging on a slider in the sixth.
- J.C. Escarra ripped a two-out triple with a smashed liner (112.2 mph) off the first baseman's glove in the fourth. The catcher went 1-for-4 with a strikeout swinging.
- Spencer Jones, who will also begin the season at Triple-A, worked a walk, stole second, and came around to score on minor league catcher Payton Henry’s single to right with one out in the fifth. The big outfielder went hitless in his next two times up.
- Amed Rosario added a two-RBI single to right, going with a pitch for a two-out single in the sixth. He went 1-for-3 with a hard-luck lineout in his first at-bat.
- Some other notable Yanks: Jazz Chisholm Jr. went 0-for-1 with a walk, Paul Goldschmidt went 0-for-2 with a strikeout swinging, and Jose Caballero went 0-for-2 with a strikeout swinging.
- Out of the bullpen: After Harrison Cohen got Moises Ballesteros looking to end the second, Ryan Weathers put two men on in the home half of the third with a one-out double and a two-out walk, but kept the Cubs off the board. The left-hander had a 1-2-3 fourth, but got tagged for the longest homer of the day, 446 feet by Miguel Amaya, on an over-the-plate slider in the fifth.
Weathers, facing Cubs minor leaguers, retired six straight after the home run with two strikeouts before a one-out single in the seventh. His final line: 5.0 innings, one run on four hits with a walk and four strikeouts on 80 pitches (57 strikes).
What's next
They count for real beginning tomorrow as the Yankees open the 2026 MLB season in San Francisco. Left-hander Max Fried gets the Opening Day start and will face off with Giants righty Logan Webb. First pitch is set for 8:05 p.m. ET.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27: A general view of a Los Angeles Dodgers logo is seen before the game against the Detroit Tigers on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on March 27, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After 32 exhibition games over the last five and a half weeks, things get real on Thursday for the Dodgers, who host the Arizona Diamondbacks on opening day at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles stalwart Keith Williams Jr. will sing the national anthem on Thursday, and Magic Johnson will throw the ceremonial first pitch. The opening ceremonies start at 4:45 p.m., and will include traditional opening day player introductions, plus the raising of the championship flag and 2025 World Series emblem at the stadium.
MESA, AZ — The Chicago Cubs and outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong have agreed to a six-year, $115 million contract extension, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told USA TODAY Sports, with a press conference scheduled for later this week in Chicago.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team has not yet announced the deal.
The contract extension begins in 2027 and takes Crow-Armstrong through the 2032 season — two years past his original free agent date. The deal includes no option years, enabling Crow-Armstrong to still hit free agency again at the age of 30. It also includes contract escalators that could make the deal worth as much as $133 million.
It’s the largest contract with no club options for a player with five or more years of control at the time of the signing, ranking among the top three contracts for a player not surrendering team control past the age of 30.
While Crow-Armstrong will still earn $894,000 in 2026, the Cubs have spent $347 million this winter, the most by any team in baseball.
“Look, young, very talented players, you want them to be in your franchise for a long time,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday morning. “I think that’s every franchise’s goal.”
Crow-Armstrong, who turns 24 on Wednesday, is certainly the Cubs’ most electrifying player and has been a fan favorite since his arrival from the New York Mets. He became the fastest player in Cubs’ history to reach 30 home runs and steal 30 bases last season, finishing with 31 homers, 37 doubles, 35 stolen bases and 95 RBI.
“He plays with an energy that the fans really appreciate,’’ Cubs veteran Ian Happ told reporters Tuesday outside the clubhouse. “Major League Baseball is like, ‘What do the fans want? They want more stolen bases. More triples. Highlight plays.’ He is everything that the fans want and that the fans enjoy watching. He feeds into that with the energy that he plays with on the field.
“It’s been really easy coming up as a top prospect for the fans to fall in love with him. Obviously, he loves Chicago and has really embraced that part of it.”
Crow-Armstrong, who earned an All-Star berth last summer, has emerged as one of the game’s brightest young stars, and perhaps the finest defensive center fielder in the National League. He was on an MVP-pace in the first half last season, hitting .265 with 25 home runs and 27 stolen bases, but tailed off the second half, hitting just .216 with six homers and eight steals.
“Pete is an incredibly entertaining player,’’ Counsell said. “That's a kind of a gift that he has. And you know he's, he's an emotional player. That's great for fans, but as long as fans can understand you're going to get the good and the bad with that. It’s not always the hip-hip hooray stuff, and that's part of it. I love that, and I think fans love it, too. It's just who Pete is.
“He's not trying to put on an act. Players have to be themselves, and a different player it wouldn’t work for, but it’s how Pete needs to play. One of the things I really hope for Pete is that the emotion that he plays with, he harnesses it a little in some better directions at times. But it’s always evident to the fans. I think it's a great thing, and it's a wonderful thing to watch. It really is.’’
Logan Webb always is in the picture for most innings pitched at the end of the year, but wins have been another story.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield weighed in on what the Giants can expect from Webb entering his eighth MLB season, all with San Francisco.
“It’s not bold to predict that Logan Webb will lead the National League in innings pitched,” Schoenfield wrote in a piece published Tuesday. “He has done that three seasons in a row.”
Webb barely had the edge on Garrett Crochet last season for innings pitched in the entire league with 207.1.
“The last pitcher to lead his league four consecutive seasons was Greg Maddux,” Schoenfield continued. “He did it five years in a row from 1991 to 1995. Before Maddux’s run, Robin Roberts was the last to do it from 1951 to 1955.”
Webb has been the ace in San Francisco for years now and has gained the respect of everyone in the clubhouse, from teammates to coaches. Schoenfield had a hot take that could age well when it’s all said and done this season.
“Let’s up the ante, though,” Schoenfield continued. “Webb also gets more run support than he’s used to and leads the NL with 18 wins — the first Giants pitcher to top the circuit since John Burkett tied with Tom Glavine in 1993 with 22 wins.”
Freddy Peralta led the NL in wins last season with 17, but Webb wasn’t too far behind. Going 15-11 last season, the run support for the Rocklin native was less than expected.
With the additions of Harrison Bader, Luis Arráez, and a full season with Rafael Devers, the Giants are expected to make a leap offensively this season.
If Webb is on the mound when the offense is clicking, 18 wins is an extremely attainable goal.
On Tuesday, the team released behind-the-scenes video of Benge finding out his fate. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza brought Benge into his office to give him the good news.
Mendoza first started his spiel.
“You carry yourself like a big leaguer. You play like a freaking big leaguer,” he told the rookie.
Then, he finished with one question.
“You come to Citi Field, you take batting practice, what was going through your head that day?” Mendoza asked.
“Well, guess what? On Thursday, you’re gonna get that opportunity,” Mendoza said. “You made the team, you’re gonna be in the lineup, you’re gonna be playing right field for the New York Mets.”
The decision came after Benge had a phenomenal spring training in Port St. Lucie, where he hit .366 with an .874 OPS in 14 games. His chances were also improved when outfielder Mike Tauchman suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee.
Carson Benge has hit over .350 in 14 Grapefruit League games this spring. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
In the offseason, the Mets also shipped off Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers, leaving an outfield of Juan Soto, Tyrone Taylor, Luis Robert Jr. and potentially Brett Baty.
“I am happy that I carried myself in a really good way,” Benge said. “I showed everyone what kind of person I am and I feel like that is what spoke the loudest for me.
“Joy over everything, I would say,” Benge later added of how he felt after receiving the news.
Last year, Benge split time between High-A Brooklyn, Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. He had a batting average over .300 and on-base percentage over .400 at both High-A and Double-A but struggled in Syracuse, albeit in just 24 games.
Carson Benge will likely start next to Juan Soto and Luis Robert Jr. in the outfield on Opening Day. Getty Images
He slashed .178/.272/.311 in 103 plate appearances, though his improvement this spring outweighs those numbers.
As Mendoza alluded to, Benge will likely mostly play right field, but the Mets also said he could rotate into center when Robert needs a day off.
His first MLB action won’t be easy, though — he’ll face Paul Skenes and the Pirates on Opening Day Thursday.
With the Yankees just a day away from their Opening Night matchup with the San Francisco Giants, the club announced a trade on Tuesday afternoon.
The Bombers have traded veteran infielder Zack Short to the Washington Nationals in exchange for cash considerations.
Short, 30, had 18 at-bats for the Yankees this spring, hitting .278 with one RBI.
Signed to a minor league contract in December, Short had a chance to earn a bench role for the Yankees, but with the Opening Day roster now set, the Yankees sent Short to Washington.
Short has appeared in 241 career regular season games, including 10 games with the Mets in 2024.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 20: Chris Campos #62 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws a pitch during a Spring Training game against the San Diego Padres at Camelback Ranch on March 20, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Kelly signed to a minor league deal by the Dodgers in November after pitching six minor league seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, and Colorado Rockies systems. The 26-year-old left-hander has yet to reach the majors, but it’s not hard to see that changing some time this season after his impressive spring.
Kelly led Dodgers pitchers in Arizona with nine appearances, with 11 strikeouts and a 34.4-percent strikeout rate in 8 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and walked four, and was consistently pitching in the high-90s along with an effective slider.
“Big fastball, easy velocity, slider. He’s been filling up the strike zone. He’s had a tremendous camp. And I think as far as some guys that weren’t on our radar that are now, he’s one of them,” manager Dave Roberts said Monday. “For us, just getting him here on this trip was something that he earned, and we wanted him to kind of reward him with his spring. So yeah, he’ll go down to OKC, and won’t be surprised to see him at some point with us in a relief role.”
Campos grew up going to games at Dodger Stadium, born in Montebello and playing baseball at Damien High School in La Verne. He was a two-way player at St. Mary’s College, the same school that produced Corbin Burnes and Tony Gonsolin, to name a few.
Campos pitched almost exclusively as a starter or in bulk relief in his four professional seasons since getting drafted in the seventh round in 2022. This spring as a reliever, he allowed only a run on 11 hits in his 10 innings of work over seven appearances this spring. Campos didn’t walk a batter until issuing two free passes Monday night in his Dodger Stadium debut, and struck out 12 of his 43 batters faced (27.9 percent).
“I like him. He’s just very confident, and I wish everyone carried themselves the way he carries himself on the mound, with the confidence that he has,” Roberts said of Campos. “He’s not a high velocity guy, he’s a command guy. Uses three, four different pitches, and so just probably lets his stuff play up in a relief role and see how he can, you know, bounce back”
They didn’t make the opening day roster, but Kelly and Campos sure pitched themselves into consideration for a call-up at some point this season.
