Category: Baseball

Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta has spoken with a bunch of his new teammates since being acquired from the Brewers in a blockbuster trade last week.

In addition to getting a FaceTime from Tyrone Taylor (the two were teammates in Milwaukee), Peralta has also talked to Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, and Sean Manaea. 

"I can't lie. It makes me feel really good," Peralta said during an introductory Zoom on Tuesday. "I told them: I can't wait to be with you guys together and have fun together."

The exuberant Peralta is also excited about making the transition from Milwaukee to New York. 

"I feel really good," he said. "It's a different market, different city. There's a lot more fans, a lot more people watching. I like the competition that we're gonna face."

With Peralta set for free agency after the season, and with the Mets having given up two of their most prized prospects to obtain him and fellow right-hander Tobias Myers, one of the biggest questions following the trade has been whether Peralta would be open to an extension -- with reports beforehand indicating that he was.

"I just got here. I think that I got to share time with my teammates, think about different ideas," Peralta explained. "Learn about everybody -- coaches, the organization in general. And then we can see."

The above scenario -- feeling things out a bit before potentially discussing an extension -- is something that worked out with the Mets and Lindor in the not-too-distant past.

The Mets acquired Lindor from Cleveland on Jan. 7, 2021 and ultimately signed him to a 10-year, $341 million extension on the eve of Opening Day ahead of what was Steve Cohen's first season of ownership.

As Peralta gets acclimated to a new team and city, he already has familiarity with president of baseball operations David Stearns.

One of Stearns' biggest moves when he was in Milwaukee's front office was to trade for a then-19-year-old Peralta. And his biggest trade with the Mets was to trade for him a second time.

"It says a lot," Peralta said about the shared history. "It's funny, because my family -- we were speaking about that, too. Being traded for the second time for the same GM, there's a lot of things that come to my mind."

Peralta, who will report to spring training in a few weeks along with the rest of the Mets' pitchers and catchers, said he hasn't yet decided whether he'll be pitching for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic -- which begins on March 5.

The 29-year-old is coming off a phenomenal 2025 season, where he had a career-best 2.70 ERA in 176.2 innings. He posted a 1.07 WHIP, allowed just 124 hits, and struck out 204 batters -- a rate of 10.4 per nine.

In 139 starts over the last five years, Peralta has a 3.30 ERA and 1.09 WHIP and has fanned 895 batters in 738.1 innings while allowing just 536 hits. He has also been reliable when it comes to taking the ball, tossing 165.2 innings or more reach of the last three seasons.

His ability to miss bats and limit hits is elite, as is his stuff. 

Peralta relies mainly on a four-seam fastball (which he threw 53 percent of the time this past season), a changeup, and a curve. He'll also mix in a slider.

In 2025, his pitching run value graded out in the 97th percentile, via Baseball Savant. And all of his individual pitches were tremendous -- the fastball was in the 84th percentile, the breaking balls were in the 88th percentile, and the changeup was in the 96th percentile. 

The New York Yankees have claimed pitcher Dom Hamel on waivers from the Texas Rangers, it was announced today. The Rangers had designated Hamel for assignment to make room on the 40 man roster for newly signed reliever Jakob Junis.

If you aren’t familiar with Dom Hamel, that’s understandable. The Rangers claimed him on waivers from the Baltimore Orioles at the end of September. The Orioles had claimed him on waivers a week before that on waivers from the New York Mets. The Mets had drafted him in the third round in 2021 out of Dallas Baptist, eight picks after the Rangers selected Cam Cauley, and 16 picks before the A’s picked Mason Miller, who I think everyone picking ahead of them in the third round wishes they had selected instead of whoever they picked.

The Yankees didn’t have an open 40 man roster spot, so to open up a spot for Hamel, they designated infielder Marco Luciano for assignment. Luciano spent several years early in his pro career as a consensus top 20 prospect with the San Francisco Giants, then a couple of years as a consensus top 50 guy, and is now out of options and bouncing around the waiver wire. The Pirates claimed him on waivers from the Giants in December, then the Orioles claimed him from the Pirates in early January, and then the Yankees claimed him from the Orioles earlier this month.

The Yankees are no doubt hoping to sneak Luciano through waivers so they can outright him, and likely will try to do the same thing with Hamel before too long.

Aaron Judge is coming off his third American League MVP season, and now he gets to run back another accomplishment: being on the cover of MLB The Show 26.

"Aaron continues to rewrite history," San Diego Studio, publisher of the MLB the Show series, said in a statement on Tuesday. "... Aaron’s performances have not only inspired players on the diamond, but athletes and fans around the world. We’re excited to have him back as the cover athlete of MLB The Show 26."

3X AL MVP ✅ ️2X #MLBTheShow cover athlete ✅
Welcome back, Aaron Judge! @TheJudge44@Yankees@Yankees_Beisbolpic.twitter.com/2l0kOAt7Nu

— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow) January 27, 2026

This marks the second time Judge has been featured on the cover of the best-selling video game after first appearing in 2018 following his rookie season, joining Hall of Famer Joe Mauer (2010, 2011) as the only player to be selected for the cover twice. In the eight years since, the Yankees slugger has been a three-time MVP, seven-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger. His 62 home runs in 2022 broke Roger Maris' AL single-season record, which had stood for over 60 years. Judge was recently named captain of team USA ahead of this year's World Baseball Classic.

San Diego Studio teased the reveal on Monday night with a brief statement posted to social media that read, "we wanted to let everyone know we have decided that we will not have a new cover athlete. Please stay tuned to all of our social channels for more information to come."

🚨Breaking News: There will not be a new cover athlete for #MLBTheShow 26. 👀 pic.twitter.com/xhTW8D3u0g

— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow) January 26, 2026

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Judge announced as cover athlete of MLB the Show 26

Jonatan Clase is a 23-year-old (24 in May), switch-hitting outfielder from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He came to us in trade from the Mariners, along with catcher Jacob Sharp, for Yimi Garcia. Sharp played in New Hampshire in 2025, hitting .161/.271/.206 in 68 games

He has played 60 major league games, and lost his rookie status in 2024. In the 60 games, he’s hit .224/.294/.311 with 3 home runs, 6 steals, caught 2 times.

The big news is the MLB has given the Jays one more option year on Clase. Well, good news for the Jays, I’m not so sure it is good for Jonatan. It makes him less likely to be DFAed. But then, if he were on another team, he would be more likely to find a spot on the active roster. With the Jays, he looks to be waiting for an injury or two. He would be a good choice for the 27th man when we have a doubleheader. If you had room on your active roster, he would be the perfect guy to pinch-run in extra innings, being the Manfred Mann. And he would be an excellent defensive replacement. But then, he’d still have to hit better than .161.

At the moment, I’d think he would be behind Joey Loperfido, Yohendrick Piñango, as well as spring training invites RJ Schreck and Elroy Jiménez (though the latter two aren’t on the 40-man roster at the moment) in line for a job in the majors if there is an injury. Of course, we have Daulton Varsho, George Springer, Anthony Santander, Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, Davis Schneider and Addison Barger all who can play outfield and are expecting a spot on the active roster (I’m not sure how all of them can make it).

Clase played 87 games for the Bisons, last year, hitting .255/.335/.403 with 7 home runs and 30 steals (caught just 4 times). His defense is good, with the occasional poor route (but he generally makes up for that with his speed).

As much as I like him, I really don’t see a path to him getting major league at-bats. I guess a terrific spring training would help.

I often compare him to Otis Nixon. Nixon didn’t have a MLB season with over 200 PA until age 29. Nixon had 727 PA before age 30 and 5073 after age 30. So don’t count Jonatan out. Clase has more power than Nixon had and is a better defensive outfielder.

Steamer projects he will appear in 12 MLB games, hitting .225/.294/.367 in 45 plate appearances.

Rick Rizzs has announced through the Seattle Mariners that the 2026 season will be his final one as the radio voice of baseball in the Pacific Northwest, retiring following this year’s campaign.

The season will be Rizzs’ 41st in Seattle, and his 44th in the big leagues (having spent three years with the Detroit Tigers), and his 52nd overall. Rizzs has been bringing the Mariners to fans over the airwaves longer than any other broadcaster in the franchise’s history, surpassing even his longtime partner in crime, Dave Niehaus, with whom he called games for 25 years. The 72 year old’s career in broadcasting baseball is older than the franchise that he has been the voice of, and the kid from the South Side of Chicago has become a community cornerstone in his adopted home of Seattle for decades.

The Mariners noted that the 2026 season, which will also be the club’s 50th, will be spent celebrating Rizzs’ Hall of Fame-caliber career as the Voice of the Mariners. He is, by all accounts professional and personal, a truly kind man, whose capacity for consistency and warmth is as genuine in the broadcast booth as it is through his interpersonal interactions and indefatigable charitable work. The co-founder of Toys for Kids and the Rick’s Locker program, Rizzs has spent over 30 years raising funds and resources for kids and families in the Pacific Northwest, as well as housing, food, school supplies and scholarships, and baseball gear. Say friends, it’s hard to see him go.

The Yankees announced on Tuesday that they have claimed RHP Dom Hamel off waivers from the Texas Rangers.

Hamel, 26, was originally drafted by the Mets in the third round of the 2021 draft. The Arizona native worked his way up the Mets' farm system before making his major league debut in 2025 for the Mets. In that appearance, Hamel allowed three hits and hit a batter across one inning of work against the Padres back on Sept. 17. 

The Mets designated Hamel for assignment on Sept. 18 and he was claimed by the Orioles a few days later. The Rangers would claim him off waivers on Sept. 27 before he was DFA'd last week. 

In the minors last year, Hamel made 31 appearances (11 starts), pitching to a 5.32 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP across 67.2 innings pitched with Triple-A Syracuse.

Across 111 appearances (89 starts) in his five-year minor league career, Hamel has a 4.72 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP and 511 strikeouts across 438.1 innings pitched. 

The Yankees also announced they have designated for assignment LHP Jayvien Sandridge and INF/OF Marco Luciano, who they claimed off waivers from the Orioles a week ago.

Kiley McDaniel, one of the more respected writers in the prospect sphere of baseball coverage, released his top 100 prospects this morning ($). Three Phillies showed up on the list.

#10 – Aidan Miller

His above-average to plus speed is apparent on the basepaths as shown by his 59 stolen bases last season. Miller could lean more into his power with more loft to his swing path, but I have a feeling what he’s doing is already optimized for him and he’ll naturally find his way to 25 homers with a strong on-base rate along with real value in the field and on the bases.

#27 – Andrew Painter

Taking a step back, Painter has four above-average pitches (95-98, touching 100 mph fastball, cutter, slider, changeup) and the components for starter-level command with a real shot to break camp in the Phillies’ rotation in 2026. In my opinion, he should de-emphasize his sweeper (the slowest of his three breaking pitches) from his second-most-used pitch to fourth or fifth, but should get a bigger boost to his performance from simply being another year away from his surgery and long layoff.

#69 – Justin Crawford

Crawford has plus contact skills and a solid approach along with solid-average raw power; he’ll sting the ball (46% hard-hit rate) though without the secondary power skills (loft in the swing and pull/lift ability) to regularly put the ball over the fence. This kind of player is often more productive via WAR than a fan would guess, because he’s racking up solid value in all aspects of the game (hitting, baserunning, fielding) while his speed helps round up his raw hitting ability (legging out infield singles/bunts) and also helps his isolated power (bloop singles become doubles).

Nothing new about this trio making a list like this, but it’s nice to continually see national respect for them.

Even before trading MacKenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers in exchange for 5 prospects, the Nationals’ rotation was looking very subpar entering 2026. Following Gore’s departure, the unit now projects to be 29th in fWAR this season, according to Fangraphs, finishing ahead of only the Colorado Rockies, not great company when talking about pitching. Foster Griffin and Cade Cavalli project to lead the rotation, with fWARs just under 2 and ERAs just above 4, but outside of those two, the rotation isn’t looking pretty, with Brad Lord projected around a 4.50 ERA, and Jake Irvin and Josiah Gray with projected ERAs near 5.

The Nats have been mentioned in the starting pitching market a few times, but never tied to any names. It is expected that they won’t want to drop a large sum of money on a pitcher, ruling out top remaining arms such as Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen, but that they would bring in a name notable enough to lock into a rotation spot over one of Jake Irvin, Josiah Gray, or Brad Lord. Let’s take a look at a few of the remaining starting pitchers on the free agent market and find one or two who would best fit in the Nats rotation in 2026.

RHP Lucas Giolito

The best available free-agent starting pitcher in the Nationals’ price range is likely Lucas Giolito, the former Nats top prospect who was shipped to the White Sox for Adam Eaton before the 2017 season. After stops with 4 other clubs, including 3 teams in 2023, Giolito now hits the open market, following a 2025 campaign where he posted a 3.41 ERA and 2 fWAR in 145 innings pitched.

While Giolito was the most productive of any free agent arm in the Nats’ price range, there is a few reasons I would be hesitant to pay him. For starters, while the surface-level numbers looked strong for Giolito, a peek under the hood suggests regression coming for him in 2026. His FIP was 4.17, a respectable number, but far off from his 3.41 ERA, and his expected ERA was even worse, sitting at 5.06, in the 12th percentile among all starting pitchers in 2025.

Giolito’s peripherals also don’t suggest his 2025 success will translate so easily to 2026. With his 22nd percentile average exit velocity, 28th percentile strikeout rate, and 30th percentile walk rate, it’s hard to imagine a world where Giolito can be worth whatever the Nats would pay him this winter. Still, perhaps Toboni believes some change Giolito made during his time in Boston can translate long-term, and their connection from that time can get a deal done.

RHP Justin Verlander

After a shaky first half to Verlander’s age-42 season in which he posted a 4.70 ERA and 4.22 FIP in 76 2/3 innings pitched, it looked like the future Hall of Famer’s career may have been coming to a close. Then suddenly, in the second half, Verlander flipped a switch, posting a 2.99 ERA and 3.47 FIP in 75 1/3 innings pitched, showing he still has what it takes to pitch in the big leagues for at least one more year.

Verlander likely hopes to pitch for a contender in 2026, but if no contender is willing to take a chance on him at the moment, perhaps starting the year with the Nationals and being traded to one at the deadline could be what he’s looking for.

Proof that an old dog still can learn tricks is Verlander adding a sweeper to his arsenal in 2025. He used the pitch primarily against right-handed hitters, throwing it to them 13% of the time, and it was a huge success, with a .135 opponents’ batting average. If Verlander is a National in 2026, as the Nats coaching staff, I’d be looking to increase his usage of that pitch even more against righties, making it one of his more used pitches.

RHP Aaron Civale

Like Verlander, Civale got roughed up in the first half of 2025, but found another gear in the second half, posting a 3.58 FIP in 49 1/3 innings pitched. The difference between Verlander and Civale, other than Civale being 12 years younger, is that Civale finished the season as a relief pitcher, making it risky for the Nats to try him out again as a starter.

Civale did a strong job of limiting hard contact in 2025, posting a 69th percentile average exit velocity. He also does a solid job of limiting free passes, with a 59th percentile walk rate in 2025. Civale doesn’t get a lot of swing and miss, so he’s at his best when he keeps the ball out of the air and on the ground, and that was exactly the case in 2025, as when he cut his fly ball rate by 10% and raised his groundball rate by 8% in the second half of 2025 versus the first, his performance greatly improved.

While the 3 pitchers here would be my preference for rotation upgrades in 2026, I am open to whatever moves Paul Toboni and his staff believe they need to make. The new coaching staff specializes in unlocking players’ hidden potentials, and perhaps they see something in a pitcher none of us are thinking about that they can unlock.

I have been clear that the Guardians don’t have an excuse for not adding either a centerfield and/or a middle of the order hitter all off-season. Time have changed. Let’s talk about it.

For whatever reason, the Guardians did not land Willson Contreras or Brandon Lowe or Taylor Ward or Kaz Okomoto or Ryan O’Hearn (middle-of-the-order hitters) or Harrison Bader/Luis Robert, Jr./Dane Myers (centerfielders). I can’t really tell you why, except that in a couple cases, it seems to be because the team is reluctant to commit money in 2027 when they clearly expect their to be a MLB lockout initiated by MLB’s owners. I think they had to offer whatever in trades and salary necessary to land at least ONE of these players. They didn’t. It’s time to accept reality on that.

At this point in the offseason, I do not see enough of a needle mover for me to be promoting the Guardians’ sign a free agent. Austin Hays isn’t a centerfielder, Austin Slater is probably bad, Luis Arraez is not a good positional fit for his limited offensive value, Miguel Andujar and Rhys Hoskins are probably not enough of an upgrade over C.J Kayfus and David Fry, though Andujar’s case is the most persuasive to me of remaining free agents. Marcell Ozuna is someone who tried to strangle his wife whom I do not want to watch on my favorite baseball team. Eugenio Suarez is PROBABLY a DH-only and probably not enough of an upgrade over exisisting options (he also doesn’t hit LHP). I’d be varying degrees of happy if they decided to sign any of these players, but I do not believe there is any particularly compelling reason for them to do so.

Now, if the Cubs are interested in trading Nico Hoerner or the Diamondbacks revisit trading Ketel Marte, I would absolutely jump into those discussions if I were the Guardians. I understand not being in on a potential Yandy Diaz trade because he is a DH-only and the Guardians, clearly, want the DH spot to rotate between Kyle Manzardo, Chase DeLauter, David Fry and others. Given that these teams are probably planning to enter the season with each of these three options as part of their roster, it’s probably better to revisit these kind of potential trades at the trade deadline (to be clear, by the trade deadline, Ketel Marte would have to waive a no-trade clause that will vest by then). I think the Guardians WILL be aggressive in finding players, especially rentals, as needed in July to fill any roster holes if their team is competitive in the AL Central – as they should be.

The roster, as is, looks likely to be, on Opening Day:

Lineup:
Catcher: Bo Naylor, Austin Hedges and (as a 3rd catcher/pinch-hitter) David Fry
First Base: Kyle Manzardo, C.J. Kayfus and David Fry
Second Base: Gabriel Arias
Shortstop: Brayan Rocchio
Third Base: Jose Ramirez
Left Field: Steven Kwan
Center Field: Nolan Jones and Stuart Fairchild platoon
Right Field: Chase DeLauter (load management concerns for DeLauter will create reps here for David Fry and Daniel Schneemann and Stuart Fairchild)
Designated Hitter: Kyle Manzardo, David Fry, Jose Ramirez

Utility Player: Daniel Schneemann

Please hear me that I PERSONALLY would prefer the team move on from Arias now and give Juan Brito Opening Day reps, and DFA Jones to Columbus and take the risk of DeLauter as your primary centerfielder and George Valera as your strongside platoon starter in right. But, I am trying to be realistic about what WILL happen. I don’t think Arias or Jones will have a lot of rope, but I do think they both get at least another brief look to see if there’s something there.

Rotation: Whoever is healthy among Gavin Williams RHP, Tanner Bibee RHP, Joey Cantillo LHP, Slade Cecconi RHP, Parker Messick LHP and Logan Allen LHP

Bullpen: Peyton Pallette, LHP, Pedro Avila, RHP, Tim Herrin, RHP, Erik Sabrowski, LHP, Matt Festa, RHP, Shawn Armstrong, RHP, Hunter Gaddis, RHP, and Cade Smith, RHP
(Connor Brogdon and Colin Holderman also strong options, with Holderman having a minor-league option remaining. Franco Aleman and Daniel Espino should also have outside chances at making it.)

As I noted above, I think the Guardians WILL be aggressive with promoting outfielder George Valera and infielder Juan Brito, but I expect them to give players like Jones and Arias some additional time in April. I also think we could see Travis Bazzana sometime in June if he performs well in Columbus. Petey Halpin and Kahlil Watson will also be knocking on the door if the Jones/Fairchild platoon fails (as we likely almost all expect to be the case).

Is this my ideal? No. Is this roster LIKELY to win a World Series? No. But, IF the Guardians are aggressive with giving players like Kayfus and DeLauter as many reps as possible, and in promoting players like Brito, Valera and Bazzana by May/June, I see plenty of reasons to be optimistic and to back up their oft-repeated refrain of “not wanting to block young players.” If the Guardians try strict platoons with young players and drag their feet on promotions of deserving prospects, however… fans will have plenty of reasons to complain and picket Progressive Field.

I still can’t believe the Guardians didn’t find a way to make a significant upgrade either to the middle of their lineup or to centerfield. It seemed like an absolute necessity and I don’t think the gamble of not making that move (LIKELY caused by ownership concern over the impending lockout) is going to turn out well for the team. I am not looking forward to fans complaining about the Guardians having the lowest payroll in baseball and using it as a reason to not attend games. I get those feelings, but, in reality, this IS a very exciting group of young players who – IF the team is aggressive with promotions – should play a winning and thrilling brand of baseball.

The Yankees are staying in-house for another notable hire.

Mario Garza has been named the club’s new director of international scouting, a source confirmed Tuesday, replacing longtime head Donny Rowland after he was let go earlier this offseason.

Garza, 44, is entering his 16th year with the Yankees organization and has plenty of fans inside it, most recently serving as the director of baseball development while working with minor leaguers. He has also been the coordinator of baseball development, director of Latin American operations, assistant director of international player development and a manager at Single-A and the Gulf Coast League.

YES Network first reported the hire.

In his new role, Garza will be tasked with getting the Yankees international pipeline back on track after it had too often come up empty on many of its high-priced signings. The organization typically has one of the smallest international signing bonus pools because it regularly goes over the highest luxury tax threshold, and while it has had more success with lower-priced signings, it has not gotten strong enough returns on the biggest chunks of that money spent, especially of late.

After dismissing Rowland following 15 years on the job, the Yankees lost out on one of the top prospects in the current signing class, shortstop Wandy Asigen, who backed out of his agreement and instead signed with the Mets last week.

The Yankees took their time in finding Rowland’s replacement, interviewing a group of candidates that included former Astros international scouting director Oz Ocampo, before hiring from within.

Garza becomes the latest member of the Yankees player development system to be promoted this offseason, joining new first base coach Dan Fiorito and assistant hitting coach Jake Hirst.

The Yankees waiver carousel took another spin Tuesday, this time taking a shot on a former Mets minor league pitcher of the year.

The club claimed right-hander Dom Hamel off waivers from the Rangers and designated lefty Jayvien Sandridge and infielder/outfielder Marco Luciano for assignment — one of which cleared a 40-man spot for re-signing Cody Bellinger.

The 26-year-old Hamel has only appeared in one big league game, throwing an inning of relief for the Mets last September. He spent most of 2025 at Triple-A Syracuse, pitching to a 5.32 ERA in 31 games (11 starts). The former third-round pick was the Mets’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2022, which he split between Single-A and High-A.

Today ESPN and writer Kiley McDaniel – who is a former Braves scout, put out their Top 100 Prospect list for the 2026 season found here. Once again Cam Caminiti leads the way, but for the first time this year Didier Fuentes is also included, along with JR Ritchie making the third of the four big Top 100 lists.

Caminiti came in at #53, on the 50 FV tier – the eighth highest ranked prospect on that tier. McDaniel listed him as the type of prospect who is “Smooth, projectable, athletic lefty with three good pitches who could make the leap at any moment.” The most promising comment was that “Caminiti’s scouting report — 92-95, touching 97 mph with solid shape, an improving but roughly average sweepy slider, and a roughly average changeup — isn’t overwhelming at the moment, but he’s the right kind of prospect with the right markers for future growth and scouts are expecting a breakthrough in the next few years”.

McDaniel also noted that “a young pitcher who got into the mid-90s among the earliest in his class but chose to develop as a strike thrower with multiple average-or-better pitches rather than a velo-chasing circus act also speaks to Caminiti’s mindset and maturity. He tweaked and improved his breaking ball when he was told it was a weaker part of his scouting report during the draft process, another key marker for projecting future improvement.”

As for 2026 McDaniel mentioned this change “I thought Caminiti should add an upper-80s cutter to round out his repertoire and asked someone who would know, and it turns out we’ll be seeing that in 2026; the early data looks positive.” He closed with this note on Cam’s upside: “If he doesn’t take a big step forward, Caminiti will still be a solid back-end starter, but there’s front-line potential if everything clicks.”

Fuentes came in at #88, with the type of “Fastball-dominant starter who probably has enough off-speed to be a third/fourth starter.” Fuentes fastball velocity and movement is praised, with the concern being “his other pitches (sweepy slider, slurve, cutter, splitter used in that order) are the concern here. None of them are better than average pitches, though they’re all 45- or 50-grade offerings that play a role in getting weak contact and keeping hitters honest.”

McDaniel used a pair of very interesting comps to close out his talk on Fuentes, saying his “release profile is similar to Bryan Woo and his stuff is similar to Joe Ryan, so this somewhat unusual profile is one that sleeper prospects have used to become standout starters; Fuentes could be next.”

Ritchie was directly behind Fuentes at #89. His type is listed as “Six-pitch righty with starter traits fully back from elbow surgery and ready to join the big league rotation.” McDaniel noted that “His draft report was that of physical projection and command with average to above raw stuff, and that’s still basically the report.” He went on to talk about the upside and closed by saying “A tick more arm speed or a tick more velocity would make Ritchie a mid-rotation starter, but he’s more of a solid fourth starter as described; often the second full year after elbow surgery is when everything comes back.”

Inspiration.

The name (Loaisiga) has three consecutive vowels.  Guess what, Hawaii does too!  With that serendipity, let’s look at Jonathan Loaisiga.

Many articles talk about his past injuries.  Because he was signed to a minor league contract, my take is that in spring training either he wins a position or he doesn’t.  But please don’t misunderstand – I very much hope he takes care of himself and avoids re-injury. 

“I’m hoping I’m done with injuries.  I want to sign with someone and pitch like I can. The way I’m feeling, I’m confident it can happen next season. I’m working hard. I’m feeling good.” – Jonathan Loaisiga

What did Make Hazen say about him?

He has an opportunity to win a position in the bullpen.

“I think he’s got great stuff. We’ve always liked him from afar.” — Mike Hazen

“He’s going to go into the mix and there’s going to be opportunity in our pen. …Coming into spring training, we should be a very attractive place for players to come in and compete. We have a number of good young arms, but there are still a couple spots in our pen that are not established.” — Mike Hazen

He chose the Diamondbacks.

At least three teams (Cubs, Giants, and D-backs) made contingent offers to Loaisiga.  The offers were contingent on him pitching in the Nicaragua Winter League. 

In December/January, in the Nicaragua Winter League, he pitched in 5 games for Indios del Boer.  After that, he seriously considered two solid offers.

“Loaisiga passed on [a] one-year, $1-million major-league contract with the Minnesota Twins to accept a minor-league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks in which he’ll make around $3.8 million if he makes the club out of spring training, Nicaraguan baseball reporter Levi Luna told NJ Advance Media.” — Levi Luna

It’s impressive that Jonathan Loaisiga bet on himself; he bet that he will win a position in spring training instead of accepting a guaranteed million dollars. 

Another positive was that the Diamondbacks have warmer weather and Chase Field has a roof – perhaps helping him avoid injury.  Another positive was that he would allow less home runs at Chase Field (home run park factor of 88 compared to 102 for the Twins).

How would I choose bullpen pitchers?

With the addition of Nolan Arenado at third base, I would look for pitchers with high ground ball rates, and especially high ground ball rates to third base. 

Let’s compare four right-handed relief pitchers who are competing for a bullpen position.  My view is that these four pitchers will have roughly equivalent ERAs in 2026 (based on their xERAs last season).  A caveat is that Cristian Mena’s 3.07 xERA was better than the other three xERAs (3.56 to 3.77).  Also, they all have fastball velocities higher than 94 MPH, which a foundational requirement for success as a reliever per this AZ Snake Pit article.

The following table compares the four pitchers.  My first focus was on ground ball percentage of balls-in-play (BIPs) and ground balls to third base percentage of BIPs. Next, I considered hard-hit percentages and bases-on-balls percentages.  Data from Baseball Savant.

Although all four pitchers would have a lot of ground balls, including a lot of ground balls to third base to take advantage of Nolan Arenado’s excellent defense, when adding consideration of hard-hit percentage and walk rates, Jonathan Loaisiga has a significant chance to win a spot in the bullpen. 

Summary.

Jonathan Loaisiga has a chance to win a spot in the bullpen.

It’s impressive that Jonathan Loaisiga bet on himself; he bet that he will win a position in spring training with the Diamondbacks instead of accepting a guaranteed million dollars. 

He was compared to three other ground ball pitchers, each with roughly equivalent xERA and each with a fastball velocity greater than 94 MPH. Based on ground ball percentage (especially to third base where excellent defender Nolan Arenado will play), based on hard-hit percentage, and based on walk-rate percentage, Jonathan Loaisiga has a significant chance to win a spot in the bullpen.

The Cubs signed Tucker Barnhart to a two-year, $6.5 million contract before the 2023 season to be the backup catcher to Yan Gomes.

This was another miscalculation by Jed Hoyer, as Barnhart was released before the ‘23 season ended after batting just .202/.285/.257 and throwing out only 18.9 percent of runners trying to steal. And he had hit pretty much for the same numbers the previous year with the Tigers.

Anyway, Barnhart played in just 43 games with the Cubs — and four of those were as a garbage-time pitcher, the second-most for any Cubs position player in a single season (Eric Sogard, as you know if you’ve been following this series, had five in 2021).

Here’s a brief summary of each of Barnhart’s four pitching appearances.

May 25 vs. Mets: The Cubs trailed 10-1 going to the ninth inning and Barnhart threw a scoreless ninth, allowing two singles. The Cubs didn’t score in the bottom of the ninth and lost 10-1.

July 16 vs. Red Sox: A key error by Nico Hoerner led to a five-run Boston fifth and the Cubs trailed 11-0 after seven. They scored three in the eighth so down 11-3, Barnhart threw the ninth. He allowed a one-out single but no runs. The Cubs scored two in the bottom of the ninth and lost 11-5 when Christopher Morel struck out to end the game.

Aug. 4 vs. Braves: The Cubs were down 8-0 going to the ninth. Barnhart allowed a one-out single to Ronald Acuña Jr. but no runs, and the Cubs failed to score in the bottom of the inning, losing 8-0.

Aug. 7 vs. Mets: Just three days after his previous mound appearance, Barnhart entered a game the Cubs were losing 10-2 heading to the bottom of the eighth. He allowed three hits, including this RBI single by Pete Alonso [VIDEO].

Check out the “speed” of that pitch:

The Cubs lost that game 11-2.

Barnhart played in just one more game for the Cubs after that, Aug. 16 vs. the White Sox, before being released Aug. 20. The Cubs ate the second year of the deal so he wound up playing 31 games in 2024 for the Diamondbacks and hitting even worse (.173/.287/.210). He played in eight games for the Rangers in 2025.

He also pitched in one game for Arizona and one for Texas, in addition to one for the Tigers in 2022, compiling a 7.88 ERA and 2.375 WHIP in eight total innings, with 19 hits allowed.

The Milwaukee Brewers announced a list of nine prospects who are invited to the team’s spring training as non-roster invitees. The group is headlined by shortstop Jesús Made, who ranks as the team’s No. 1 prospect and as a consistent top five MLB prospect across expert rankings.

Plenty has been said about Made on this site, so I’ll direct you to the latest article from Adam, our minor league reporter. The same can be said about shortstop Cooper Pratt and utilityman Jett Williams, who are also consistently in the top 100 prospects. You can read more about them here.

The other six prospects included in the non-roster invitees are 1B/3B Luke Adams (team No. 10 prospect in 2025), LHP Tate Kuehner, OF Luis Lara (team No. 14), C Ramón Rodríguez, 3B Brock Wilken (team No. 19), and C Matt Wood.

While Adams, Lara, and Wilken all rank among the team’s top prospects, Rodríguez and Wood are arguably the most interesting names of that group, as the team’s catching depth is close to zero beyond William Contreras. After Danny Jansen left for Texas in free agency and Eric Haase agreed to a minor league deal with the Giants earlier this month, it seems all but certain that the team’s backup option behind Contreras is Jeferson Quero, who is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster.

After Quero, though, Rodríguez and Wood seem to be the next two men up. Rodríguez, 27, was a 30th-round pick by the Dodgers all the way back in 2016. He’s bounced around in minor league free agency since then, appearing in the Orioles’ system for a few seasons before signing with Milwaukee in late 2023. He spent 2025 with Double-A Biloxi, hitting .359/.457/.484 with two homers, 19 RBIs, and eight runs scored across just 21 games.

Wood, who turns 25 in March, was a fourth-round pick by Milwaukee in 2022. He split the 2025 season between High-A Wisconsin and Biloxi, hitting .256/.372/.380 with seven homers, 43 RBIs, 41 runs, and 10 steals over 89 games between the two levels.

Just to quickly touch on the other players included here:

Adams, who turns 22 in April, was a 12th-round pick in 2022 and spent most of 2025 at Biloxi. In 64 games with the Shuckers, he hit .232/.409/.450 with 11 homers, 38 RBIs, 50 runs, and 10 steals.

Kuehner, who turns 25 in February, was Milwaukee’s seventh-round pick in 2023 out of Louisville. He turned in a great season at Biloxi, pitching to a 2.50 ERA with 112 strikeouts across 100 2/3 innings. He was promoted to Triple-A Nashville late in the year and didn’t have much success with the Sounds, with a 5.59 ERA and five strikeouts over 9 2/3 innings before an injury ended his season in late August.

Lara, 21, was an international signee out of Venezuela in 2022. He spent all of 2025 at Biloxi, hitting .257/.369/.343 with a pair of homers, 40 RBIs, 79 runs, and 44 steals. While he doesn’t bring a ton to the plate, he’s one of the best defensive players in Milwaukee’s system, with a 60 FV grade (on the 20-80 scale) for both his arm and his fielding.

Wilken, 23, was Milwaukee’s first-round choice in 2023 out of Wake Forest. He spent the 2025 season with Biloxi, hitting .226/.387/.489 with 18 homers, 46 RBIs, 46 runs, and a pair of steals across 79 games as he dealt with some injury troubles.

The pre-2026 prospect rankings lists continue to swoon over Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo.

In ESPN’s top 100 list published today, Kiley McDaniel ranks Basallo as MLB’s #4 prospect, behind only the consensus top three in baseball, Konnor Griffin (Pirates), Kevin McGonigle (Tigers), and Jesús Made (Brewers). ESPN’s ranking is the highest that Basallo has received among the prospect publications thus far, though he’s been a top 10 guy for all of them. MLB Pipeline and The Athletic both ranked Basallo at #8 and Baseball America #9.

Basallo is one of three Orioles prospects to appear on ESPN’s list, along with Trey Gibson (#46) and Dylan Beavers (#57).

McDaniel praises Basallo’s “huge bat speed and raw power” and writes that the youngster reminds him of “some Salvador Perez, a bit of Gary Sánchez, maybe a sprinkling of (whispers) Jim Thome.” I think any Oriole fan would be happy if Basallo’s career follows the path of Perez, who has 303 homers in 14 seasons and is still going strong for the Royals. And if Basallo hits anything like the Hall of Famer Thome, well…look out, baseball.

McDaniel is also more bullish on Basallo’s defense than some, calling his work behind the plate “acceptable.” (Yes, that qualifies as bullish.)

In terms of blocking and framing, Basallo is below average but respectable and is capable of improving a bit more. His arm is a true weapon, even though his exchange keeps his pop time from landing in plus-plus territory. In an automatic strike-calling future, this skill set could fit well.

As for the Orioles’ other prospects, ESPN joins Baseball America and MLB Pipeline in putting Beavers on its list. (The Athletic excluded him.) McDaniel touts Beavers as “likely a solid every-day right fielder in the big leagues,” predicting him for “an above-average on-base percentage” along with 15-20 home runs and stolen bases.

The biggest surprise on ESPN’s list was Gibson, the 23-year-old undrafted free agent who reached Triple-A in 2025 in his third season in the organization. McDaniel isn’t the only prospect writer who’s high on Gibson — BA also included him, at #72 — but he’s the only one to include him in his top 50 and rank him ahead of Beavers.

McDaniel calls Gibson a “supinator” — a pitcher who has a bias toward cutting the ball — and compares Gibson to current Orioles ace Kyle Bradish, former Orioles ace Corbin Burnes, and former O’s draft pick Nolan McLean, now ranked as the #13 prospect in baseball for the Mets. McDaniel is impressed by Gibson’s assortment of pitches, with a fastball that can hit 98 mph “backed up by three standout breaking balls and headlined by a plus curveball.” He pegs Gibson as a future MLB contributor in some capacity.

Gibson has massive, 7-foot extension and his higher arm slot means he works primarily with a riding four-seamer and vertical curveball versus McLean’s running two-seamer and sweeper, but the general shapes are quite similar. There’s a high floor for this type of arm — Gibson is almost a slam dunk to be a later-inning reliever if starting doesn’t work — but there’s also No. 2/No. 3 starter upside with one more tick of command refinement.

Unlike the three other publications, ESPN’s list doesn’t include High-A outfielder Nate George among the top 100 prospects.

A complete list of which Orioles are ranked on each prospect list so far, with publications such as FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus still to come:

• Baseball America: Basallo (#9), Beavers (#21), Gibson (#72), George (#86), Luis De León (#95)
• MLB Pipeline: Basallo (#8), Beavers (#69), George (#93)
• The Athletic: Basallo (#8), Wehiwa Aloy (#73), George (#78), Ike Irish (#85), Enrique Bradfield Jr. (#97)
• ESPN: Basallo (#4), Gibson (#46), Beavers (#57)