Category: Baseball

Listen, I really liked the idea that the Phillies recognized that developing their own starters and relievers is the proper way to build and develop. Spending at the top of free agency each year is fine, but there has to be some counterbalance to what is being done. So spending higher draft picks on pitchers that fit best in the bullpen? I’m fine with that.

Cody Bowker – 137
Zach McCambley – 25
Cason DeMartini – 16
Alex McFarlane – 13
Yoniel Curet – 12
Griffin Burkholder – 12
Keaton Anthony – 9
Seth Johnson – 8
Mavis Graves – 6

As stated in previous articles, the team definitely took the right step in trying to develop arms themselves rather than having to trade for them each deadline. The hope is probably that if they can hit on one, maybe two arms, that can be used in major league bullpens, that’s a solid win.

Obviously, the hope would be there were more to develop and that’s possible. Getting two arms from this past draft to the major leagues with the belief that they could be successful is the dream. But after years of neglect, it’s at least refreshing that arms like Bowker, one who might start but is more likely to be a reliever, are in the system to provide depth when/if they are needed

2025 stats

Did not debut

Fangraphs scouting report

Bowker has an extreme drop-and-drive, low-slot delivery. His right shin is practically scraping the ground as he delivers, creating extreme uphill angle on his pitches. Bowker sat in the 91-94 mph range all year even as he blew through his career innings high, and he throws fastballs for strikes (70% strike rate with plus-plus miss and chase) despite mechanical funk. Though his secondary pitch feel is not as crisp, Bowker has a bunch of them. He changes speeds on two breakers — a mid-80s cutter and low-80s slider — that play nicely off his fastball near the top of the zone, and he can turn over a changeup in the low 80s if he wants something to finish low. It’s a starter’s pitch mix in a mechanical package more commonly seen in the bullpen, which is why Bowker is projected to slot into multi-inning big league role.

With each new post, we’ll reveal who won the voting for that particular slot, then post new players for you to vote on, adding another one to the list each time until we get to our final tally of 20. Once we get to 20 top prospects, we’ll do an honorable mention post at the end. If a player gets traded to another team, we’ll just chuck him right on outta here and all the players will move up a spot. If a prospect gets acquired, we’ll ask where he should go on the list.

Probably the most important thing about this whole process – please vote. Give us a few minutes of your time, just click a button and then we can discuss other players and things in the comment section, but don’t forget – VOTE!

In this special Spring 2026 preview episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast, Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco sit down with Kansas City Royals pitching coach Brian Sweeney for an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at how the organization is building its staff for the upcoming season.

Sweeney walks us through his daily routine during spring training — from 6 a.m. physicals and data review to individualized bullpen sessions and game-day preparation. Sweeney’s candid stories about player personalities, in-game adjustments, and clubhouse culture provide rare access to the human side of pitching development. For fans who want more than surface-level analysis, this episode delivers insider insight into how the Royals are preparing to compete in 2026.

Jacob and Jeremy also dive into bullpen construction, including why Lucas Erceg is viewed as a high-ceiling, swing-and-miss weapon, how Carlos Estevez factors into late-inning strategy, and which emerging arms — including Steven Cruz, Alex Lange, Nick Mears, Luinder Avila, and others — are pushing for meaningful roles in 2026.

Whether you’re a longtime Royals supporter or a baseball enthusiast interested in pitching strategy and player development, this conversation offers a valuable perspective on what it truly takes to build a modern MLB pitching staff.

Email Jacob directly at: jm17971047@gmail.com

Need your Royals fix? Head to royalsreview.com for news, analysis, and to engage with Royals fans around the world! Follow us online:

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– Jeremy Greco: @hokius.fromthehawkseye.com
– Jacob Milham: @jacobmilhkc.bsky.social

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– Podcast: @RoyalRundownPod

With the 2025 Texas Rangers season having come to an end, we shall be, over the course of the offseason, taking a look at every player who appeared in a major league game for the Texas Rangers in 2025.

Today we are looking at infielder Cody Freeman.

Cody Freeman spent more time in the major leagues in 2025 than I think any of us expected to be the case. Or wanted to be the case, for that matter.

Freeman had a short stint in the bigs right after the All Star Break when Sam Haggerty went on the injured list, and then was sent back down after about a week when Haggerty returned. A little less than a month later, Freeman was called back up again in mid-August, once again taking the place of Sam Haggerty, and ultimately sticking around until the end of the season due to, you know, everyone being injured.

Freeman had the role of “young-ish guy in AAA who can play a lot of positions who can be pressed into duty in the big leagues if need be” in the second half of 2025. That role had previously been held by Jonathan Ornelas, who was designated for assignment in May and then sold to Atlanta, because that’s where all the players DFA’d by the Rangers end up.

Freeman’s time in the majors in 2025 was relatively uneventful. he slashed .228/.258/.342 and played a variety of positions, none of them particularly well according to the advanced defensive metrics.

Freeman wasn’t on the 40 man roster until he was summoned in July, and would have been a free agent at the end of the season had he not been added to the 40 man at some point before season’s end. He ended up with a -0.3 WAR of both the f and b varieties. He seemed to generate a degree of enthusiasm among Rangers fans that was disproportionate to his actual performance.

Really, though, what is more interesting to me than Freeman’s 2025 major league performance is Freeman’s 2025 minor league performance. He appeared to be a completely different hitter in AAA than he had been throughout his entire minor league career up to that point.

In 71 career games in low-A, Cody Freeman has slashed .247/.357/.383.

In 196 career games in high-A, Cody Freeman has slashed .235/.308/.384.

In 124 career games in AA, Cody Freeman has slashed .262/.318/.428.

In 97 career games in AAA, Cody Freeman has slashed .336/.382/.549.

That’s a big jump! And yes, the PCL is a great league for hitters, and yes, Freeman had been one of the Rangers’ infielder-to-catcher conversion projects and was catching at least some of the time until the 2024 season, and so not catching anymore probably helped him.

But even so…that’s a big, big jump in performance.

In looking at his historical minor league data, one can see how that change manifested. Here’s Freeman’s K rates in the minors by year:

2021 — 15.8%

2022 — 16.1%

2023 — 18.4%

2024 — 18.1%

2025 — 8.7%

That’s a huge drop in Freeman’s strikeout rate in 2025 compared to prior years. And its at AAA, where he is seeing more experienced pitchers, and where one would expect his K rate to go up rather than down.

One would expect that Freeman was swinging less frequently once he got to AAA, but that wasn’t the case. He swung at 44.4% of pitches with Round Rock in 2025, compared to 44.2% and 46.3% the previous two seasons.

The difference is in contact rate — after putting up contact rates a little above 80% in his career prior to 2025, with a high of 82.8% in AA in 2024, Freeman had an 89.9% contact rate at AAA in 2025.

To put these numbers in perspective, Steven Kwan had an 8.7% K rate in the majors in 2025, which was the fourth lowest K% among qualified hitters.

Nico Hoerner had an 89.9% contact rate in the majors in 2025. That was the fourth highest contact rate among qualified hitters.

Freeman was able to maintain an elite contact rate — 88.5% — in his time in the majors. His K rate jumped up to 15.7%, which is still well above average in terms of avoiding strikeouts.

The problem was, though, that Freeman didn’t walk in the majors — he had a well below average 4.1% walk rate — and he didn’t make quality contact. His hard hit rate and average exit velocity were both near the bottom of the league, and almost 60% of his balls in play were either ground balls or infield pop ups.

Freeman has two options remaining, and seems most likely to start the year back at AAA as infield depth. It will be interesting to see, should he be in Round Rock for the bulk of the year, whether he can replicate the offensive success he had there in 2025.

With the Rangers needing a righthanded bench bat, there’s been talk about Freeman possibly filling that role. However, Freeman has not performed especially well against lefties — in fact, he has reverse splits over the last three seasons. That makes it hard for him to have value in a big league bench role at this point.

2025 was a big step forward for Freeman. He had a successful year at AAA and got regular playing time in the bigs in the final six weeks of the season. Now we just need to see if he can build on that for 2026.

Previously:

Gerson Garabito

Tyler Mahle

Kyle Higashioka

Adolis Garcia

Luis Curvelo

Alejandro Osuna

Blaine Crim

Jake Burger

Jacob Webb

Nick Ahmed

Jon Gray

Carl Edwards Jr.

Josh Jung

Leody Taveras

Dustin Harris

Marc Church

Luke Jackson

Danny Coulombe

Wyatt Langford

Dylan Moore

Michael Helman

Evan Carter

Cole Winn

Rowdy Tellez

Dane Dunning

Marcus Semien

Billy McKinney

Jose Corniell

Jonah Heim

Francisco Lindor is now widely considered the leader of the Mets as their longest-tenured hitter, but seniority doesn't guarantee captaincy.

In fact, there isn't any player on the roster who should expect that title and status under Steve Cohen's watch, as the Mets owner revealed Monday he'll never appoint a captain while in control of the franchise.

"As long as I'm owning the team, there will never be a team captain," Cohen said at the Mets' complex in Port St. Lucie. "That was my decision. My view is, the locker room is unique and let the locker room sort it out, year-in, year-out. There'll never be a captain. I've felt that way all along."

Following the exit of slugger Pete Alonso, who became the Mets' all-time home runs leader before signing with the Orioles in free agency this winter, all signs pointed toward Lindor -- their de facto captain -- eventually earning the rank officially.

Lindor was an obvious candidate, considering the leadership traits and responsibilities he's assumed since joining the Mets in 2021. Just last spring, when the Mets reportedly mulled the idea of naming him captain, the veteran shortstop expressed the possibility as "an honor and a privilege."

"The captain thing is not up for me to decide. If it does happen, it would be fantastic, an honor and a privilege," Lindor said a year ago. "Something I would never take for granted. Something that would put me next to the greats of this organization forever and It would be very humbling."

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza even admitted to having captain conversations. He told WFAN last February he shared feelings on Lindor to Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, contending, "he doesn’t have the ‘C’ on [his uniform], but he’s doing a lot of the things that a captain will do."

Lindor also received an endorsement from Mets legend John Franco -- the third captain in franchise history -- who ran into the switch-hitter last spring training and told him he wants to see that 'C' on his uniform.

The only wrinkle was Mendoza never talked to Cohen on the matter then, which explains the change in tune now and why the Mets aren't inclined to name a fifth captain in franchise history and their first since David Wright.

"The way we see it is we have a bunch of guys there who are part of that leadership group," Mendoza said. "We lost a few guys who were part of that group, and then we gained some guys who have done that -- so I think when you're talking about a major league locker room, you need to have not only one guy, but a few guys."

The story of Cohen's reign can't be told without Lindor, however. He was acquired by the Mets in a blockbuster trade with the then-Indians five winters ago, and their commitment to a long-term relationship was cemented when Lindor signed a10-year contract extension prior to Opening Day.

Since then, Lindor has slashed .261/.338/.462 with 148 doubles, 141 home runs, and 445 RBI across 758 total games with the Mets. He nearly captured NL MVP honors in 2024, finishing second in the race, and earned Silver Slugger awards in 2023 and 2024.

There have only been four official captains in Mets history -- Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter,Franco, and Wright -- and the exclusive group isn't accepting new members, according to the boss.

PORT ST. LUCIE — The debate over who the next Mets captain will be is over, at least for the foreseeable future.

It won’t be anybody.

Mets owner Steve Cohen said Monday that as long as he owns the team, the title “captain” won’t be bestowed on a player.

“There will never be a captain,” Cohen said.

He added the decision is based on how he would like to see the clubhouse run.

“Every year a team is different,” Cohen said. “And let the team figure it out in the locker room rather than have a designation. Having a captain in baseball doesn’t happen often — it’s actually unusual. Whatever previous ownership did, that was their way of doing things. I look at things differently.”

In recent seasons, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso had emerged as potential captains. Nimmo and Alonso departed the organization after last season, which appeared to clear the way for Lindor to potentially land the title.

David Wright, who played his final game for the Mets in 2018, was the team’s last captain. Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter and John Franco have also worn the title for the Mets.

Since getting called up to the Dodgers in April 2018, Max Muncy has been a fixture in the Dodgers infield at three different positions, and has yet to reach free agency. The contract he signed Thursday — his fourth extension — keeps Muncy under contract through 2027 with another club option for 2028.

Muncy has expressed multiple times in recent years of his desire to stay in Los Angeles, and did so again on Saturday at Dodgers camp at Camelback Ranch.

From Jack Harris at The California Post:

“I know I’m leaving some money on the table,” Muncy said Saturday. “But I want to be here. I want to end my career here. I know who I am as a person, and I wouldn’t be happy trying to chase money somewhere else. I’ve never been comfortable trying to do that. And I wouldn’t be comfortable now.”

Also revealed on Saturday were some further details of Muncy’s latest contract, which added $10 million guaranteed for 2027 to his existing 2026 deal. Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic shared some of Muncy’s contract incentives, as did Robert Murray of FanSided, the latter shown here:

The 2026 incentives were included in the option that was picked up from the previous contract. It includes $15K in performance bonuses with each plate appearance from 401 to 550, with a maximum of $2.25 million.

From the extension: 2027 salary escalator based on 2026 plate appearances. $20K for each plate appearance from 401-500 and $35K for each plate appearance from 501-550, with a maximum of $3.75 million. The 2028 performance bonuses (if the option is exercised) includes $20K for each plate appearance from 401-500 and $35K for each plate appearance from 501-550, with a maximum of $3.75 million.

Let’s run through the history of Muncy’s contracts with the Dodgers, beginning when he was first eligible for salary arbitration after the 2019 season.

February 2020: three years, $26 million, plus club option

Covered all three arbitration seasons (2020-22), after Muncy and the Dodgers exchanged salaries for his first time through arbitration. Muncy was at $4.675 million and the Dodgers were at $4 million, with a midpoint of $4.3375 million. Muncy got a $4.5 million signing bonus and a $1 million salary in 2020, $7.5 million in 2021, and $11.5 million in 2022, with a $13 million club option and a $1.5 million buyout for 2023.

Muncy’s club option had salary escalators based on his placement in MVP voting, and his 10th-place finish in 2021 added $500,000 to his 2023 club option base salary.

August 2022: one year, $13.5 million, plus club option

The base salary for 2023 matched Muncy’s club option salary, with another club option for 2024 at $10 million and no buyout. The 2024 option salary had escalators based on 2023 playing time, and Muncy earned all $4 million with his 579 plate appearances, putting his club option at $14 million

November 2023: two years, $24 million, plus club option

This contract was signed on the first day of the offseason and four days before the club option decision was due. Instead of $14 million for one year, the Dodgers signed him for $12 million per year over two years, plus a 2026 club option. This time around, the Dodgers exercised Muncy’s option on November 6 without an extension. Yet.

February 2026: one year, $10 million, plus club option

Already signed for 2026, Muncy’s extension pays him $7 million for 2027, plus a club option worth $10 million for 2028 with a $3 million buyout.

The Dodgers have paid Muncy $37.5 million over the last three years, what would have been free agent seasons had he hit the open market. That’s a relatively modest sum for someone who has been an integral part of the Dodgers lineup who has been productive even while missing time with injuries the last two seasons.

Muncy in 2024 missed four months with a right oblique strain, and played only 73 games during the regular season. Last year he missed a month with a left knee bone bruise, then another three and a half weeks with an oblique strain, finishing the year with 100 games played and 388 plate appearances.

Muncy can earn up to $2.25 million in bonuses for 2026 and add to his 2027 option base salary based on playing time, but those bonuses don’t start until 401 plate appearances, something he hasn’t reached since 2023. He can max out those bonuses with 550 plate appearances, something he’s done four times in his career — 2019, plus 2021-23.

9. Zac Veen (388 points, 19 ballots)

A star ceiling was promised when Veen was made the ninth-overall pick in the 2020 draft and signed for a slightly above-slot value $5 million — but there are some ifs to be overcome. If the 24-year-old lefty-swinging, righty-throwing outfielder can stay healthy; if he can manage the swing-and-miss in his profile; if he can translate more of his raw power into game power; and if Veen can remain sober and clear-minded through it all… Then Veen could be a star at the big-league level.

After three years in an injury-affected purgatory (primarily a left wrist issue, but also back and thumb injuries last year) at Double-A Hartford, Veen finally ascended to Triple-A Albuquerque in late 2024. Veen played in 21 games for Albuquerque down the stretch, hitting a slugging-heavy .220/.281/.476 with six homers and three doubles in 92 plate appearances.

That was good enough for Veen to be considered a strong candidate for the Opening Day roster in 2025. While that didn’t quite happen (despite a strong spring training), Veen was up with the Rockies on April 8th after a 5-for-5 game with Albuquerque that included a homer and two doubles. With the Rockies, Veen played consistently in a two week stint but just didn’t hit very well. In 37 plate appearances across 12 games with the Rockies, Veen had only four hits, though one of them was a homer, en route to a .118/.189/.235 line (4 wRC+, -0.3 rWAR) — a humbling experience in his first taste of the big leagues.

Veen returned to Albuquerque in late April for a month, until in late May it was revealed that Veen had been nursing a spring training ankle injury that had hampered his performance (he had hit for just a .481 OPS in May). That led to a three week absence and a stint on the ACL team to rehab the injury and refine his hitting mechanics to improve his ability to hit high fastballs. Upon his return from that assignment, Veen promptly had a 14-game hitting streak that included eight multi-hit and two four-hit games.

In total for 2025, including the ankle-impacted beginning of the season, Veen recovered to hit .289/.354/.468 with 11 homers, five triples, and 23 doubles with 15 steals for Albuquerque in 412 plate appearances — a slightly below average 94 wRC+. He cut his strikeouts five points to 20% of plate appearances while walking 9% of the time. For as long as he’s been in our prospect consciousness, it’s also important to remember that Veen only faced a younger pitcher than him in 8% of plate appearances (and a chunk of those were during his ACL rehab stint). On defense, Veen played all three outfield positions, with the plurality of playing time coming in left field. He made four errors and had three outfield assists in 80 Triple-A games.

In a recent article by Thomas Harding of MLB.com, Veen explained that his last few years had been affected by substance abuse issues and that he has recommitted himself to the game, packing on 40 pounds vs. last year. We’ll see how that new body serves Veen this spring against fastball velocity as he fights for an Opening Day roster spot.

Here are some of Veen’s 2024 highlights, which show off all-fields power:

Veen was slotted 16th in the system by Keith Law of the Athletic earlier this month:

Veen was Colorado’s first pick in the 2020 draft and was the last player I saw live before everything shut down. In that game, he hit a massive home run, aligning with reports I’d heard for months before about his plus power, but that has not been a part of his game at all in pro ball. He hit 15 homers in Low A in 2021, and that remains his career high. He’s the king of medium-quality contact, and that might work if he were a more disciplined player in the box or on the bases. He chases way too many pitches — nobody in Albuquerque should be swinging at 33 percent of pitches out of the zone — and he tends to swing too uphill, hitting for power he doesn’t have. I thought Veen would have a very different career than this when the Rockies took him, and maybe the new front office can try to get him to be more of a contact-first hitter and give up on the power, but for now, he’s maybe a backup corner outfielder.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked Veen as a 40+ FV player, 14th in the system (despite a 70 run grade and 60 future grades on fielding and raw power) last January:

Veen’s lefty swing is still vulnerable to inner-half velocity, and he remains in a liminal prospect space more than he is a slam dunk big league star.

This grade remains skeptical of Veen’s future ability to hit and access his raw power, but appreciates how impactful his speed will be in a part-time outfield role.

I’m excited by Veen for the same reasons anyone would be: He’s a ferocious rotator capable of hitting some epic home runs, and he’s built as if Maserati started making human beings. Veen has one of the more electric power/speed combos in the minors, but his levers and long, low-ball swing make it very difficult for him to be on time to the contact point, especially against fastballs, which has led to a good number of strikeouts and mediocre contact. Pitchers work him in on the hands, then get him to swing over the top of back-foot breaking balls once Veen starts to cheat on heaters in that spot. He’s best able to create power against bad breaking balls and pitches located down-and-away from him, when he can get his arms fully extended. When he does, it’s very beautiful and easy to see why so many folks (including your author) have been gaga for Veen at various points in his prospectdom. Still, as it’s currently constituted, he presents a below-average contact and game power look.

Veen brings other meaningful stuff to the table. He plays with an elite motor, moves from base to base with just a few gigantic strides, and commits to the next base with abandon in borderline situations. There are more opportunities for speed to impact the big league game now, which helps elevate Veen into a more impactful FV tier. On defense, his speed allows him to turn would-be doubles into singles by chasing them down before they can trickle into the gap or corner, but he doesn’t get good reads and looks uncomfortable at the catch point. Despite his wheels, the Rockies have basically never given Veen any kind of extended run in center field because his reads and routes aren’t good. It makes Veen feel like a turbo charged fifth outfielder on a good team rather than a true fourth or platoon guy.

Veen is ranked as a 45 Future Value player by MLB Pipeline, 11th in the system, including plus grades on his speed and arm with a 55 on fielding and a 50 on his hit tool:

The 23-year-old outfielder still offers plenty of projection in his 6-foot-3 frame and game, if he can stay on the field. His 2023 wrist injury definitely wreaked some havoc with his swing mechanics, but it was encouraging that he started to get to some of his power again in ’24, albeit sporadically. He’ll have to be cognizant of not trying to get to too much loft, something that has happened in the past, also the reason why his strikeout rate is north of 25 percent at the upper levels. Earlier in his career, he offered better bat-to-ball skills.

A solid runner who squeezes every ounce of his speed by being aggressive with good instincts on the basepaths, Veen probably fits best in an outfield corner if he were to settle in as a regular. He’ll see time in all three outfield spots to provide options for when the need arises, but more than anything, he has to show that he can answer the bell over the course of a full, healthy season.

John Trupin of Baseball Prospectus ranked Veen sixth in the system last January with a 55 OFP grade:

Veen plays hard—a double-edged sword—as his gazelle-like strides generate a gait at paces he cannot always easily alter. That can lead to electric defensive plays and swipes of third and home, as well as self-injurious plays that are unfortunately the purview of those who burn particularly bright. At the plate, Veen’s prominent uppercut swing generates loft, while his patience and power earn him respectful approaches from pitchers. It can get long through the zone, and doesn’t offer much room for adjustment when fooled. His struggles in Triple-A Albuquerque following his activation from the injured list are not yet of high concern, as his power and defense fit the bill, but a 28.3% whiff rate highlights the ceiling limiter for one of the best athletes in this system. Ahead of last year, we’d hoped to see Veen dominate and stay healthy. He came up a little short of both, but is nonetheless on the cusp of the big leagues.

When he makes contact, you can see a superstar’s framework in Veen’s powerful swings and strides. But not only has he struggled to maintain that performance, his body has not held up to the pace at which Veen plays. Injuries that continue to sap his athleticism would leave a thimble-wide passage for success, while lasting health will make him a Coors Field mainstay.

First of all, Veen needs to be more forthcoming about injuries that are impacting his ability to perform — this has now happened at least twice (with his wrist and now his ankle). Veen is a player that Purple Row has stayed higher on than the scouting consensus due to what he can be when he’s not playing through injuries or on the shelf. Maybe Veen won’t be able to adjust to some holes in his swing that big league pitching will exploit, but he’s shown the ability to adjust before.

Veen is an excellent base-runner, a good outfielder, he has raw power to tap into. He’s making better swing decisions and he’s come into camp this year in much better shape. That makes him a candidate for a big league role this season and a 40+ FV grade (13th on my list).

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Morning everyone and happy President’s Day!

Yesterday afternoon we got word that right-handed reliever Grant Holman was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks, ending his time in the A’s system and thinning out the bullpen:

RHP Grant Holman has been claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

— A's Communications (@AthleticsPR) February 15, 2026

That’s lame. The A’s were clearly trying to sneak him though waivers and hoping he would go unclaimed. That would have opened up a spot on the 40-man roster but instead the A’s trickery comes back to bite them in the butt.

Holman was one of the more intriguing relief prospects that the A’s had developed in recent years. The 25-year-old, a former 6th-round pick in 2021, began his pro career as a starter but shifted to a relief role after struggling in his first couple years in the system.

That change in role did wonders for Holman. After a year adjusting to his new role Holman had a lockdown 2024 season split between Double and Triple-A, allowing just 3 earned runs in 40 appearances. That earned him his first call up to the big league squad and though he wasn’t as unhittable as he was in the minors he still showed plenty of potential in his brief call up.

Holman entered 2025 with raised expectations but fell flat this past season. He struggled when he was on the mound before eventually getting demoted back to Triple-A. There things continued to go south as he suffered rotator cuff tendinitis that more or less ended his season before he could ever fix things on the field.

Though he was coming off a down season it wasn’t long ago he was a hot relief prospect coming up through the system. The homegrown arm was likely looking at beginning the year in Triple-A but would have surely been an option at some point this season. That won’t be the case as he’ll instead be an option for the Diamondbacks down in Arizona. It’s not a crippling loss but it won’t feel good if we see him take off with his new team while the A’s continue to face bullpen struggles. Relievers are super unpredictable so we’ll have to see if this was a smart move to move on from Holman, but my gut says that we’ll regret letting him go before giving him a real extended chance.

Have a great week guys!

A’s Coverage:

• A’s Community Prospect List: Baez Takes 13th spot
• Waiting For Gelof: What Do We Do?
• “Relievers Are Volatile”… But Why?
• A’s Trade Mitch Spence to KC Royals in exchange for minor leaguer
• Darrell Hernaiz to play for Team PR in WBC
• Are The Final Two Rotation Spots Really Up For Grabs?
• Story Lines To Watch As Spring Training Unfolds
• A’s Sign Starter Aaron Civale
• Athletics add developmental leaguer in trade with Yankees
• Little Signings Everywhere
• A’s Non-Roster Invites to Keep an Eye On 
• What to know as A’s head to spring camp with high hopes for ‘26
• A’s Claim Andy Ibanez, Add Scott Barlow In Busy Roster Shuffle
• Extensions For Everyone! (Except Kurtz)
• Managers & Top Front Office Executives On Expiring Contracts
• De Vries (No. 4 overall) leads Athletics trio on Top 100 Prospects list

MLB News and Interest:

• Diamondbacks sign veteran starter Zac Gallen to one-year contract
• Cubs ink reliever Shelby Miller to one-year pact
• Bryce Harper addresses comments Dombrowski made about him
• Machaco embraces Dodgers’ big spending ways
• Rays generating interest in lefty reliever Garrett Cleavinger
• Boone: no restrictions for Judge this spring
• Castellanos embracing move to first base with Padres
• Roku Sasaki working on 3rd pitch
• Ha-Seong Kim could return in early May
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Pretty close to just about right but I’d still take Soddy over a couple guys higher than him:

Tyler Soderstrom is No. 15 on @JustBB_Media’s Top Corner Outfielders for 2026

Too low or just right? pic.twitter.com/SbFSCHykOo

— SleeperAthletics (@SleeperAth) February 16, 2026

Thoughts on that projected Opening Day lineup?

AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz headlines an up-and-coming @Athletics lineup 😤

Here’s how the rest of the A’s lineup and rotation projects for #OpeningDay. pic.twitter.com/mQsLuhdxXn

— MLB (@MLB) February 16, 2026

Recent roster moves, ICYMI:

MOVES
RHP Grant Holman claimed off waivers by AZ
RHP Mitch Spence to KC for RHP A.J. Causey (to MID)
RHPs Aaron Civale & Scott Barlow signed as free agents
IF Max Schuemann to NYY for RHP Luis Burgos (to DSL A’s)
IF Andy Ibanez claimed off waivers from LADhttps://t.co/joKXkyUAPy

— Bill Moriarity – A's Farm (@AthleticsFarm) February 15, 2026

Former fan favorite is joining division-rival Rangers:

The Rangers have signed Mark Canha to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Canha slashed .212/.272/.265 in 46 games for the Royals last year.

— Bill Moriarity – A's Farm (@AthleticsFarm) February 15, 2026

It is interesting, and potentially advantageous, that the Mets signed so many middle infielders during the offseason. As we all cross our fingers for a speedy recovery from hamate surgery for Francisco Lindor, we’ve been highlighting some of the potential players who may take some at-bats during spring training and (hopefully not) during the early days of the regular season.

Today’s spotlighted middle infielder is Grae Kessinger. A third-generation major leaguer, Kessinger was drafted in the second round by Houston in 2019. Much like Christian Arroyo, Kessinger was a top prospect who showed promise at times in the minor leagues, but he never had a slam dunk season on the farm, but his 2023 was solid, hitting .283 .397 .429 across AA and AAA. Later that season, he got his first shot in the big leagues. In 26 games for the Astros, he hit .200/.289/.325 with one home run while playing all four infield positions.

2024 saw Kessinger mostly playing in Triple-A, but he made 23 appearances for the Astros, but didn’t collect a single hit in 25 plate appearances. After the season, the Astros traded Kessinger to the Diamondbacks for minor league pitcher Matthew Linskey. However, after just 11 games for Triple-A Reno, Kessinger was designated for assignment.

While minor league releases happen all the time, it’s odd to see a relatively young (27) year old who made the majors in the prior season be released after less than a dozen games. Not that these are Babe Ruth numbers, but Kessinger collected 8 hits in 11 games, only to be released. MLB Trade Rumors was similarly surprised by the move:

It’s a bit surprising to see Kessinger released, as most DFA’d players are either traded or placed on outright waivers. An injured player can’t be placed on outright waivers, so a release is sometimes an indication that a player is hurt, though there’s been no reporting to suggest that’s the case with Kessinger. Another possibility is that he has been released to pursue an opportunity overseas, though that’s entirely speculative.

He was not signed by another club all season, either stateside or elsewhere. No official statement was ever released by either the club or Kessinger to explain his departure and lack of signing elsewhere.

Of all the potential middle infielders we’ve discussed so far, Kessinger’s story is the least conventional. While the money and minor league roster spot aren’t exactly a big deal to Steve Cohen’s budget, it’s rare to see a player who wasn’t playing organized ball of any kind for 90% of the season last year get signed at all.

But the same ‘former top prospect’ caveats that applied to Arroyo apply to Kessinger. He’s a versatile player with options remaining who isn’t terribly far removed from some moderate minor league success. As long as whatever led to his mysterious release in 2025 doesn’t pop up again, Kessinger seems likely to play a lot in Syracuse this season, maybe popping up to the majors for a cup of coffee.

During this past week’s run of press comments from members of the Red Sox organization at Fenway South (including Sam Kennedy, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about), catcher Carlos Narváez got some glowing reviews.

Manager Alex Cora noted that Narv/Narvi/The Narv did a great job exceeding expectations in 2025, per Gabrielle Starr the Boston Herald, while being “banged up” the entire time. Red Sox Hall of Famer and current team staff member Jason Varitek commended him for his preparation and mindset in the clubhouse. Cora himself ordained him as the team’s starting backstop, a call that was all but official leading up to Spring Training.

These are all good things for a guy who was basically an afterthought when he was traded from the Yankees to Boston in December 2024. After all, he was acquired by the Sox on the same day that ace Garrett Crochet was. A little over a year later and Narváez is starting his 2026 season in the good graces of those around JetBlue Park.

That Herald article did have one other point that I feel warrants further discussion, though: the idea of a contract extension for the 27-year-old Narváez.

“The only thing I may say is I would love to be a Red Sox forever. I would like to retire with this team. We haven’t talked about it, hopefully that will come in the future.

That’s something that I’m not paying attention to right now. Of course, I would love it, but we’ve got different goals this year, and I think this year is going to be very important for us, for everybody.

We got our goal set. Like, individual things, personal things that will come in the future, and of course I’m more than happy and welcome if that happens, but as of now, our goal is to get a World Series ring this year.”

Perhaps that extension topic won’t rear its head for a few more seasons. Carlos has only played in 124 major league games (118 of which came in 2025), he’s coming off a cleanup knee surgery this winter (one that he reportedly, according to MassLive put off until the conclusion of the previous season), and he’s still under pre-arbitration control.

But maybe now’s the time to at least start thinking about it, even if it’s just a fun thought exercise. Hell, I’ve got nothing better to do on this holiday.

From a 30,000 foot view, Narváez was rated as the 12th-most valuable catcher in 2025 according to fWAR (2.7) out of backstops who had at least 400 plate appearances. Much of that value at the position league-wide was driven by offensive output, though, and Narv’s bang-on average OPS+ of 100 was never going to set himself apart in that department. We’ve seen some encouraging signs of power at times from Carlos from the right-hand side of the dish (something we very well might need to improve heading into the new year), but there can be some big time holes in his swing as demonstrated by his 27.7% whiff rate and 24.9% strikeout rate (both below the 30th percentile mark last season, according to Savant).

However, his Def rating on FanGraphs (which is just the combined total of his fielding runs above average and positional adjustment) of 14.2 put him as the sixth-most valuable defensive catcher in the sport. Savant’s metrics confirm those defensive skills, as his fielding run value of 12 was good for the 96th percentile across MLB in 2025. Blocks, arm talent to catch runners stealing, framing (which may not be as valuable of a skill going forward due to the introduction of the ABS challenge system, but something that will still be useful in some fashion nevertheless), pop time, you name it: Narv was in elite company.

WAR may not be able to always tell the full story of a player, but it at least gives us a good benchmark. For perspective, catchers that Narváez was within one fWAR of last season—one way or the other—include Milwaukee’s William Contreras (3.6), the Giants’ defensive wiz Patrick Bailey (3.4), rookie of the year Drake Baldwin of Atlanta (3.2), Austin Wells of the Yankees (3.0), the Cubs’ Carson Kelly (2.6), Philly’s J.T. Realmuto (2.1), and Ryan Jeffers of Minnesota (2.1).

With that in mind, we can pop over to Spotrac’s catcher contract breakdown. Three of those names I just mentioned—Contreras, Jeffers, Kelly—have average annual values between $9.4 million and $5.75 million. A fairly comparable player within Boston’s division is Alejandro Kirk of Toronto, who inked a five-year extension with the Blue Jays last year worth $58 million ($11.8 million AAV) through 2030. Kirk is excellent defender behind the plate with a career OPS just south of .750 and a career OPS+ of 108. Maybe he doesn’t get there on offense the same way Carlos would—Kirk’s 15 home runs last year was a career high after only eclipsing double-digit dongs one other time beforehand, while Narváez had 15 homers in his first full MLB season—but the similarities are there.

So if:

1. Narváez is the equivalent of “We have Alejandro Kirk at home,”
2. He’s still in his 20’s with pre-arbitration years still in play, and
3. Catchers of similar caliber are making somewhere around the mid-to-high seven-figure range each season…

…what sort of deal might make sense for him?

Something around the lines of five years, $45 million feels about fair to me in a vacuum right now. Red Sox Payroll on Twitter—an excellent resource, by the way—said a deal starting in 2027 worth $50 million over six years with a club option, based on pre-arb extensions for catchers elsewhere, could be worth consideration. I think that’s a fair estimation too; tack on an extra year to lower the AAV, that’s sensible.

A Narvaez contract extension at 1+ yr of service would be interesting to estimate. Below are a bunch of pre-arb catcher examples.

The most relevant are Basallo, Ruiz & Murphy, but none are perfect comps.

Feels like 6yrs/$50M + team option starting in 2027 could be interesting. https://t.co/ABKXNqIkfqpic.twitter.com/YL7ZYp6aHI

— Red Sox Payroll (@redsoxpayroll) February 15, 2026

However, would either of those bids even make sense to offer at this point in time? The Red Sox front office certainly has to be considering the knee issue last season, right? Would an AAV of $8-9 million be worth eating into the arbitration years of a catcher? Do you let Narv play out 2026 and then come back to the table to negotiate a long-term deal? He’ll be closer to 30 years of age than 25 by the conclusion of this season; do you just let the arbitration years play out if he doesn’t take a step forward? If he does take a step forward on offense, are you gonna have to shell out even more money—Alejandro Kirk money, or even more given the nature of how the AAV line is always going to climb for talent—at this point next year if you want to keep him in the picture going forward?

Competitive balance taxes should never deter a franchise of this stature from making the moves they’ve got to make to stay competitive, and the contracts of Masataka Yoshida and Trevor Story will (probably) be coming off of the books over the next few years, but that’s another factor to consider when having this discussion.

At the end of the day, I guess I don’t expect an extension to be provided to Narváez in the near future. For clarity, let’s just call it the 2026 season; I don’t expect a long-term deal prior to the end of the World Series this upcoming fall. But Mr. Breslow does move in silence, so who am I to say for sure?

For now, I hope Narv is able to keep up that defensive presence while improving on offense. If he can do that, I’d be more than happy to entertain an eight-figure AAV extension for him—because that would mean he’d be a massive part of Boston’s success in 2026.

If this article is your first time hearing of Julian Fernández, I can’t blame you. The 30-year-old right-handed reliever was acquired in August off waivers from the Dodgers, and in 12.2 innings pitched with the Rochester Red Wings, he posted a 7.82 ERA and 5.47 FIP. He made his Nationals debut at the end of September in 2025, posting a 3.00 ERA and 5.80 FIP in 3 outings.

On the surface, Fernández’s Triple-A and major league numbers don’t suggest he is due for a major breakout in 2026. And yet, Fangraphs projects Fernández not only to be better in 2026, but to be one of the better rookie relievers in all of baseball, with Steamer projecting him to post a 3.72 ERA and 16 K-BB% in 59 innings.

Some other projection metrics, such as ZiPS and THE BAT, aren’t quite as high on Fernández, projecting him for an ERA in the low 4s, but the sentiment remains: Julian Fernández will be better in 2026 than his past performance dictates.

So what exactly does Fernández do so well that has the projection systems so high on him? It starts with the swing and miss stuff, as he struck out over 11 batters per 9 innings in 54 innings at Triple A in 2025. Fernández has a very intriguing pitch arsenal, throwing only 2 pitches: a fastball about 60% of the time and a changeup about 40% of the time.

The fastball is loud, sitting 97 MPH with the pitch in 2025, but gets hit around quite a bit, with a 46% hard hit rate in Triple A. The changeup, on the other hand, is lethal, with a 43% whiff rate and .162 opponents’ expected batting average on the pitch in Triple A.

Fernández also does an excellent job of limiting free passes, with a 77th percentile walk rate in Triple-A in 2025. Not many pitchers are able to combine strikeout stuff with strike-throwing ability like Fernández, and that’s why he ranked 10th in K-BB% among all Triple-A pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched.

The key culprit to Fernández’s struggles in 2025 was his unbelievably high home run numbers. In his 54 Triple-A innings in 2025, Fernández had a home run to fly ball ratio of 14.5%, including an unreal 30.8% HR/FB ratio as a National.

For reference, the average HR/FB is generally around 10.5% league wide, far below where Fernández was last season. While some of that was his tendency to give up loud contact, with a 23rd percentile barrel rate in 2025, he’s bound to see some positive regression in the home run department in 2026, which will lead to better results overall.

If I were Simon Mathews, the Nationals’ new pitching coach for 2026, my main focus for developing Julian Fernández into a plus big league reliever would be to start throwing his nasty changeup much more often, as well as looking to add a third pitch to his arsenal to keep hitters guessing.

He’s shown that he can miss bats with his stuff at Triple-A, and the addition of a new pitch, such as a sinker (which he did tinker with at the end of 2025, throwing it just 0.3% of the time overall) to help induce more groundballs could help him take him from an “if” to a sure thing in a currently shaky Nationals bullpen.

As the Yankees approached last season’s Trade Deadline, they’d squandered an early division lead and sat in need of reinforcements. The most logical area of the roster to augment was the bullpen. Devin Williams, acquired in a preseason blockbuster to serve as the team’s closer, had been a massive disappointment, closing out July with an ERA above 5.00, and few other Yankees relievers fared much better. GM Brian Cashman acted with heartening urgency, adding not one, not two, but three relievers to the mix. Alongside David Bednar and Jake Bird, he swung a trade with the Giants to acquire their off-and-on-again closer, Camilo Doval.

2025 Stats (with Giants and Yankees): 65.1 IP, 3.58 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 1.32 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, 4.8 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9, 0.6 fWAR

2026 ZiPS Projections: 64.3 IP, 3.64 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.26 WHIP, 10.5 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, 0.7 HR/9, 0.7 fWAR

Doval burst on the scene in 2021, posting an exemplary 37:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 27 innings for a surprising 107-win Giants club that dethroned the Dodgers as NL West champs for the only time since 2012. They fell back as a team the next year, but Doval secured San Francisco’s closer job, establishing himself as a ninth-inning stalwart before leading the NL with 39 saves in 2023. The Dominican Republic native appeared poised for a steady run as one of the game’s premier relief arms.

But, as has been proven time and again, the reliever is baseball’s most fickle creature. Doval regressed dramatically in 2024, recording a 4.88 ERA that called into question his long-term viability. While he fared better in the first half of 2025, his inconsistency—as well as the middling Giants’ inability to get back to October in an uber-competitive NL West—made him expendable at the deadline.

Doval’s Yankees debut came in a game that could not have been scripted better to shatter the hearts of the team’s fans everywhere. Riding high on the strength of their deadline additions, New York watched Bird allow four runs and Bednar allow another two to blow a comfortable lead against the lowly Marlins. New York’s third shiny new object, Doval, entered in the ninth with a two-run lead, promptly allowing three baserunners before, aided by an error from fellow newcomer José Caballero, Miami walked the game off on a dribbler.

Receiving an opportunity to enter the setup mix in a wide-open Yankees bullpen, Doval continued to flounder in his new uniform. Through his first 16 appearances with New York, the right-hander posted a 6.59 ERA. By the end of that run, he’d fallen largely into mop-up duty while an unfazed Bednar seized the closer spot and Williams settled in as setup man.

In this lower-leverage role, Doval started to turn things around. In late September, he allowed just one hit in six scoreless outings to end the season. Crucially, for a pitcher whose struggles with control had led him to give free passes in half of those first 16 appearances, Doval allowed walks in just one of those final six. He wasn’t used in the Wild Card Series but pitched reasonably well in three ALDS appearances. This included Game 2 in Toronto, where Doval entered with the Yankees down 2-0 in the fifth and tossed two perfect innings, making him one of a precious few hurlers able to keep the relentless Jays lineup at bay.

With Williams and Luke Weaver both departing in free agency, Doval would appear in line to get a crack at the setup job once again behind Bednar unless the Yankees add another top-end arm. The pressure is on, as Brian Cashman has on multiple occasions pointed to his Trade Deadline additions as a primary reason why the team didn’t add much to the bullpen this past offseason. The front office is optimistic about what they’ll get from a full season of Doval.

The big question is whether his inconsistency the past two seasons is an aberration or his early dominance has faded. ZiPS expects the latter, projecting a remarkably similar line to Doval’s last season, a performance that would land him more in the middle reliever category. Many of Doval’s peripherals remained strong last year — including a 53.6-percent ground-ball rate — but his 12.6 percent walk rate held him back from being reliably effective.

Entering 2026, expect control to be a focal point of Doval’s scouting report. If the former All-Star can keep traffic off the bases, Doval still has the stuff to be a back-end option. If not, the 28-year-old could once again cede his role and find himself in mop-up duty — and possible non-tender territory.

---

See more of the Yankees Previews series here.

It’s Friday morning as I write this, and for some reason, the boys are home, the first day of a four-day weekend. Such as it is, we had a movie night last night, and it was my turn* to pick out the film. As I’m impatiently awaiting the start of baseball, in any shape or form, I chose A League of Their Own, one of the best** baseball movies.

*We choose movies in order of birth, and my wife is the oldest of the group. She picked last time and chose The Mighty Ducks, which I hadn’t watched in years. It wasn’t bad! Except the part about Gordon Bombay landing a DWI in the first few scenes, and the opening scene where the coach belittles young Gordon for hitting the post. Stupid Gordon!

**My two favorite baseball movies are A League of Their Own and Major League. I also enjoy Field of Dreams and The Sandlot, but I have a hard time picking out a fifth favorite baseball movie. Probably the Albert Brooks and Brendan Fraser vehicle, The Scout, where Fraser’s character, at the end, strikes out the fearsome slugger…Ozzie Smith???

Watching a baseball movie is just one of the ways I’m gearing up for the baseball season, in particular, watching the Royals. I’m sure I’ll watch plenty of the World Baseball Classic, which begins in early March.

Team USA captured its first title in the 2017 #WorldBaseballClassic 🇺🇸

Will they bring another championship to the states in 2026? pic.twitter.com/H5pF1y3P3G

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) February 9, 2026

While the WBC isn’t that far away, it feels like it is. Closer is the start of college baseball. My beloved, woeful Missouri Tigers, who finished last season 16-39 (3-27 in conference play), begin their season the night I’m writing this piece as they take on Mount St. Mary’s in a neutral-site game down in Florida.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I took our sons to their first-ever Mizzou basketball game. During one of the first-half timeouts, the baseball team came out to throw t-shirts to the crowd. The next time out, head baseball coach Kerrick Jackson took the court to address the crowd. No one booed Jackson, but no one cheered him, either. I could tell that not a lot of the fans cared that much, or knew that much, about the baseball team.

Lady Behind Me: Is the baseball team any good?

Man Behind Me: [laughs]

Still, baseball is baseball. If you love it, you love it in all its shapes and sizes, from the SEC to the minors to the Majors to a film about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAPBL, thank you very much).

My sons really enjoyed A League of Their Own. The littler one asked if we could watch it again as soon as the credits rolled. My wife didn’t recognize Madonna. The older son and I engaged in a conversation that has surrounded the movie since it was released in 1992 – did Kit Hinson knock the ball out of Dottie’s hand, or did Dottie purposefully let it go?

It also warmed my heart when Tom Hanks first entered the picture—over thirty minutes in!—and the boys recognized him from the only other movie in which they’ve seen him (excluding the Toy Story movies, of course): The ‘Burbs.

The on-field action in League, if you will, is pretty good. Sure, there’s a scene or two where the batter clearly hits the ball to the right side of the field, and Rosie O’Donnell’s Doris, playing third, makes a play to her right. Whatever. The play has me gearing up to go.

With the Royals, there’s also the draft to consider. They moved up in the lottery and landed the #6 pick in the draft, which should enable them to land a premium player. Because of that draft position, I’m keeping an eye on the college baseball season as a whole (not just Mizzou, which is probably good for my sanity) as well as how certain prep players perform this spring.

Reading Baseball America is great for that coverage, and The Athletic seems to be upping its coverage of the college game, too. I’m sure there are other, possibly better (i.e., cheaper) sites for this sort of coverage, but these are the two on which I’m leaning.

Justin Lebron is a bona fide Player of the Year candidate.

Plus he could challenge Roch Cholowsky for the top spot in the 2026 Draft 👀

He's the top player in Alabama and arguably the most important to his team’s goals in the nation.

See other top players by state:… pic.twitter.com/wGW1WLFEiB

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) February 12, 2026

Then we have the Royals’ own farm system, which is getting stronger. Keith Law at The Athletic is great for prospect coverage, as is Baseball America, but MLB Pipeline, which is the only free site of the group, also provides strong work. All of them are helpful for keeping an eye on Royals prospects climbing the ladder toward the Majors or determining who the front office might dangle* in a trade to upgrade the 40-man.

*I’ll have another column on this soon.

Lastly, I’m reading a bunch of baseball books, to which I’ll be devoting an entire column in the coming days. It seems that there are more books about baseball than any other sport, even football. When I’m roaming the stacks at the local library, it’s clear that baseball—at least, the history of baseball—is thriving.

All of this is to say, I can’t wait to watch some baseball. Starting with Mizzou tonight, I should be watching or listening to baseball games from now until the end of October. I’ll be at Opening Day at the K for the first time in my life. I have finally convinced my youngest join a baseball team, too.

There’s nothing better.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone: baseball has returned.

The San Diego Padres have two catchers who need to prove they belong in the organization. Luis Campusano is taking what might be his last chance to make the major league roster and stick at that level as he is out of options. If he does not make the roster he would be cut by San Diego and would have to clear waivers for him to remain in the Padres’ system. Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball feels Ethan Salas is in a similar position but is nowhere near a potential cut candidate. If Salas can return to form after returning from a lost season due to a stress reaction in his lower back, his value could increase and he could once again be regarded as one of the top prospects in baseball. If he is unable to do that, he could potentially be traded to acquire another piece to improve the current iteration of the Padres roster.

Padres News:

• Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller has still not received a contract extension from San Diego and there is a lot of speculation as to why. If fans find themselves thinking the lack of an extension for Preller is strange, they might be comforted to know that clubhouse leader Manny Machado feels the same way.

• Fans who responded to this week’s Padres Reacts Survey were somewhat split about whether they love or hate Padres players competing in the World Baseball Classic. There are arguments to be made on both sides, but no matter where you fall on the topic the reality is the games will be played either way because it is a world stage event and the players are going to play.

• With the additions of Miguel Andujar and Nick Castellanos it was evident the goal for the Padres in the offseason was to improve their offensive power numbers. Adding Andujar and Castellanos to a roster with Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merril, Gavin Sheets, Ramon Laureano and Xander Bogaerts it’s easy to dream on drastic improvements in the areas of home runs and slugging percentage.

• Machado made it known during his media session on Sunday that he believes A.J. Pre12ller has earned an extension and that the fact he does not already have one is “weird.”

• Nick Castellanos reported to Padres camp on the first day of full squad workouts and is already doing and saying the right things in his new organization.

• Machado was not just stumping for Preller to receive an extension, he was also talking about the Los Angeles Dodgers offseason spending and about a potential salary cap.

Baseball News:

• Bryce Harper spoke at Philadelphia Phillies camp and addressed several issues including president of baseball operation Dave Dombrowski stating he was no longer elite.

• Cavan Biggio will follow in his father Craig’s lead and will play in Houston after agreeing to a minor league contract with the Astros, Sunday.

• Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto came out and said they are over past issues and that the locker room in New York will be better in 2026.

Meet the Mets

With a fresh new cast on his hand after successful surgery, Francisco Lindor returned to Mets camp to an almost entirely new group of guys.

Now that the 2025 Mets are scattered across the country on Johnny Appleseed’s path, Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor were given the chance to discuss the rancid vibes of the past clubhouse and the hopefully more pleasant ones to come.

Though it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, Lindor also confirmed that Bad Bunny did offer to pay for his insurance for the World Baseball Classic.

The Mets claimed World Series champion catcher Ben Rortvedt and his very large arms off waivers from the Dodgers.

In the early Spring bullpens, new closer Devin Williams is working on using his cutter more often and developing a tasty gyro slider.

Around the National League East

Making his first public comments on general manager Dave Dombrowski no longer viewing him as elite, Bryce Harper expressed shock at the quote and the public nature in general.

This week will not be much better for the Atlanta Braves rotation as Hurston Waldrep is out indefinitely after some loose bodies were detected in his elbow where tight and secure bodies are preferred.

In November, Jurickson Profar had surgery for a sports hernia, underwent six weeks of recovery, and is a full-go for Spring Training.

Around Major League Baseball

As MLB enters its Automated Ball-Strike era, all broadcasts will cease using a solid dot to indicate a strike on the K-zone and a hollow dot to indicate a ball.

You may hate how much money the Dodgers are spending, but Manny Machado personally loves it.

Thanks to a cranky shoulder Edwin Uceta, current Tampa Bay Ray and a Met for one game, will not be pitching for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

To join all of the other Old Friends, the Rangers signed Mark Canha to minor-league deal with a personalized invitation to Spring Training.

A freshly-shaved Nick Castellanos officially became a San Diego Padre and had an introductory chat with the media.

Cavan Biggio, the forgotten Blue Jays Baseball Son, is following in his father’s footsteps and signed a contract with the Houston Astros.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

The question of the day on Amazin’ Avenue was “After CarlosBeltrán, who will be the next player to enter the Hall of Fame in a Mets cap??”

Lukas Vlahos gave a sneak peek at Ryan Lambert: hopefully the next surprise arm coming out of the New York Mets Relief Pitcher Factory.

This Date in Mets History

On this date 14 years ago, Gary Carter died at 57.