Category: Baseball

Good morning everyone! Your Seattle Mariners get to enjoy this off-day in sole possession of first place in the American League West after confidently toppling the A’s last night 9-1.

The squad will now head back home for a pair of interleague battles against the Diamondbacks and Mets. What are you most looking forward to during this homestand?

In Mariners news…

• Dan Wilson and Jerry Dipoto each privately met with pitchers Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo to smooth over any potential issues revolving around the piggyback situation. The club reiterated that it plans to continue with the setup for the foreseeable future.

Around the league…

• The MLBPA presented its first official proposal in the latest round of Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations. Among many items in the proposal were a near-doubling of the league minimum salary, a reduced year of club control for players older than 30, and a “competitive-integrity tax” which would serve as a pseudo-salary floor. The league will present its first proposal later today.
• Evan Drellich at The Athletic explained how league owners are thinking heading into this round of negotiations, with MLB seeking franchise values that rival the NBA and NFL. ($)
• Veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen has been DFA’d by the Rangers. I really wish he was even half-decent, because he’s right-handed (which the Mariners sorely need) and a ton of fun to root for.
• Christian Yelich assured reporters that the beef between the Cardinals and Brewers — stemming from Milwaukee reliever Abner Uribe’s obscene celebration gesture — has been “handled.”
• Dodgers utiltyman Kiké Hernández was diagnosed with a “significant” oblique tear, expected to sideline him for a while.
• Los Angeles outfielder Teoscar Hernández left last night’s game with a hamstring strain.
• Dodgers prospect Kendall George suffered a leg injury while trying to avoid colliding with the Tulsa Drillers’ bat dog. In response, the team announced that it will suspend the bat dog program.
• Phillies right-hander Cristopher Sánchez broke the franchise record with 41 consecutive scoreless innings pitched.
• Complex league baseball is in a really rough spot, and its struggles could have reverberating consequences on the sport as a whole, writes Jake Mintz at Yahoo! Sports.
• Michael Baumann at Fangraphs dug into the interesting profile of new A’s left-hander Gage Jump.
• Ben Clemens at Fangraphs wonders what’s going on with the Giants offense, which is running a staggeringly low walk rate.
• Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski has entered ace territory in record time, writes Jay Jaffe at Fangraphs.
• Speaking of the Brewers, Dan Szymborski of Fangraphs wonders why his own predictive model won’t buy into Milwaukee’s success.

Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below. Check out the previous day’s recap here.

AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (23-30) won 5-3 (BOX SCORE)

Sugar Land got on the board in the 3rd inning on a Cole RBI single. They scored another run in the 6th on a Loperfido groundout. Gordon got the start and was great tossing 6 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts. Hader pitched in relief but allowed a 2 run home run, though both runs were unearned, over one inning. Sugar Land took the lead in the 8th on a Biggio RBI single and Winkler 2 run home run. Murray allowed a run in the 9th but held on for the save as Sugar Land won 5-3.

Note: Biggio is hitting .328 in May.

• Cavan Biggio, 1B: 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB
• Joey Loperfido, LF: 1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB
  • Jack Winkler, PH: 1-for-1, R, HR, 2 RBI
• Zach Cole, CF: 1-for-5, RBI
• Tommy Sacco, 1B: 1-for-3, R, 2B, BB

• Colton Gordon, LHP: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
• Josh Hader, LHP: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Roddery Munoz, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (WIN)
• Jayden Murray, RHP: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (SAVE)

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (22-25) won 11-3 (BOX SCORE)

The Hooks got on the board in the first inning on a Sullivan 2 run home run. They got another run in the third inning on an Austin RBI triple. Mayer got the start and pitched well allowing 1 run over 4.2 innings while striking out 9 batters. The offense added more runs with a Holy RBI single in the 6th and Ferreras 2 run single in the 7th. The offense added more runs in the 9th on a Bruthcer 2 run single, Guillemette 2 run single and Holy sac fly.

Note: Mayer has 46 K in 29 innings this season.

• Max Holy, SS: 1-for-5, 2 RBI
• Lucas Spence, RF: 1-for-5, 2 R, BB, SB
• Joseph Sullivan, LF: 2-for-4, 3 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB
• Jason Schiavone, DH: 1-for-2, R, 2 BB, 2 SB
• Trevor Austin, 3B: 2-for-4, R, 3B, RBI, BB
• Pascanel Ferreras, 2B: 1-for-5, R, 2 RBI
• Drew Brutcher, 1B: 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI
• Garret Guillemette, C: 2-for-5, 2 RBI

• Bryce Mayer, RHP: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
• Trey McLoughlin, RHP: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (WIN)
• Julio Rodriguez, RHP: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Michael Cuevas, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Hudson Leach, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

A+: Asheville Tourists (9-37) lost 11-5 (BOX SCORE)

Rodriguez got the start for Asheville but struggled allowing 6 runs over 3.2 innings. The offense got 4 runs back in the third inning on a Frey 2 run double, Call RBI double and Lytle sac fly. The offense got another in the 7th on a Frey RBI double but the pen allowed another 5 runs. The offense was unable to score again as Asheville fell 11-5.

Note: Frey is hitting .274 in May.

• Kyle Walker, 2B: 1-for-5, R
• Justin Thomas, CF: 1-for-4, 2 R, BB, SB
• Ethan Frey, RF: 2-for-3, R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, BB, SB
• Chase Call, RF: 1-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB

• Luis Rodriguez, RHP: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
• Raimy Rodriguez, RHP: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Yeriel Santos, RHP: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 1 K
• Nate Wohlgemuth, RHP: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (20-27) won 3-2 (BOX SCORE)

The Woodpeckers got on the board in the first inning scoring 2 runs on a Wakefield solo home run and Huezo RBI single. Potter got the start and was pitching well tossing 3 scoreless innings but a rain delay caused his start to end early. The Woodpeckers got another run in the 8th inning on a passed ball. Oakes pitched well in relief allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, over 5 innings. Cassedy tossed a scoreless 9th inning as he closed out the 3-2 win.

Note: Potter has a 2.55 ERA this season.

• Josh Wakefield, CF: 4-for-5, R, HR, RBI, SB
• Xavier Neyens, SS: 0-for-4, BB
• Kevin Alvarez, RF: 2-for-5, R, 2B
• Nehomar Ochoa, 1B: 1-for-2, R, 2 BB, SB
• Anthony Huezo, DH: 1-for-4, RBI, SB
• Arturo Flores, C: 1-for-2, BB

• Nick Potter, RHP: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• Kellan Oakes, RHP: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (WIN)
• Brandon Cassedy, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (SAVE)

Today’s minor league starters:

SL: Ethan Pecko – 7:05 CT

CC: James Hicks – 7:05 CT

AV: TBD – 5:45 CT

FV: TBD – 5:30 CT

Once upon a time, Kansas City was effectively the farm team of the Yankees despite being a fellow major league franchise. They were the Athletics back then, but flash forward to modern times and Kansas City felt like a home away from home as the Yankees demolished the Royals. After sweeping them to open up their road trip, New York has given themselves a chance to charge right back in the AL East race provided they could get a bit of help from an unlikely source. As it turns out, the O’s were up to the challenge.

Baltimore Orioles (26-30) 11, Tampa Bay Rays (34-19) 2

Baltimore has gotten a win in just about every way possible in this series against Tampa Bay, opening with a barnburner 13-inning win before getting a dominant performance from Shane Baz against his former team. Wednesday saw them mix the two, getting an outing from Trey Gibson that could’ve easily gone sideways as he allowed 10 baserunners yet only one crossed home plate in 5.2 innings. That was more than enough to put him in line for the win, thanks to his lineup gifting him a 5-0 lead after the first inning.

The Orioles couldn’t have asked for a better start, with their first six batters reaching base. Gunnar Henderson launched a two-run shot to start the scoring, and after a Pete Alonso single (which was his 1,000th career hit) and a pair of walks loaded the bases, Leody Taveras poked a single out to right to score a third. Tyler O’Neill made the first out on a strikeout, but Blaze Alexander lined another to right to cash in the next two runs before Steven Matz finally got out of the inning.

O’Neill made up for dropping the hit baton earlier by driving in a run in the third to make it 6-0, and Alexander doubled in two more in the fifth to make it a whopping 8-0 Orioles lead. After Tampa scratched across one in the sixth to chase Gibson at last, Henderson got it right back with his second homer of the game. Alexander completed an incredible day at the plate for himself with a two-run shot in the seventh, giving him six RBI on the night. The Rays worked a bases-loaded walk in the eighth to give them their second run, but an actual rally was denied as Andrew Kittridge struck out the next three batters and Anthony Nunez retired the Rays in order in the ninth.

The Orioles exacted revenge after getting swept by Tampa a week ago down in the Trop by sweeping them in Camden, and with the Yankees’ sweep of the Royals the top two teams in the East are tied with 34 wins. Tampa’s played less than New York at the moment though, so they still have a crucial 1.5 game lead built up off of having three less losses, but after a split washed out their chance to gain ground against them directly they got as good of an immediate result as they could’ve asked for.

Other Games

Toronto Blue Jays (27-29) 2, Miami Marlins (26-31) 1: The Jays continue to try and claw their way back to .500, and they narrowly made progress in that quest with a nail-biter against Miami. Kevin Gausman coughed up a run in the first inning after a leadoff double got cashed in, but wound up going five innings with just that one blemish on his record. Toronto couldn’t get anything going against Eury Perez, but he left the game after just four innings of work and they tied the game in the very next frame on a Nathan Lukes RBI double before taking the lead for good on Kazuma Okamoto’s solo shot in the sixth. Miami couldn’t come up with an answer, running into an out in the seventh and a strike-‘em-out, throw-’em-out double play in the eighth to end any threat of scoring.

Cleveland Guardians (33-25) 3, Washington Nationals (29-28) 2: Gavin Williams did more than enough to keep the Guardians in this game long enough for their offense to wake up, tossing seven innings and scattering enough weak contact to allow just one run despite only getting four strikeouts. His endurance paid off, as the Guardians cashed in for three runs in the fifth inning, benefitting from a leadoff error to start the frame. Travis Bazzana hit a one-out double and a sac fly tied the game at one, before Chase DeLauter and Angel Martínez knocked in runs on RBI singles to tip the needle.

The extra run was needed as the Nats had a ninth inning rally, both Curtis Mead and CJ Abrams singling to put the tying run on base ahead of a sac fly to cut the deficit to one. Abrams stole second to put himself in scoring position, but Cade Smith hunkered down and struck out the next two Nationals to secure the save.

Seattle Mariners (28-29) 9, Athletics (27-29) 1: At long last, the defending AL West champs have taken back first place. The West has been a mess throughout the first third of the season with the Athletics leading it for most of this run thanks in large part to the expected competitors tripping all over themselves, but the Mariners have charged back thanks to a sweep bookended by nine-run eruptions by the offense.

Rob Refsnyder got them off to a good start with a three-run homer in the first inning, and Colt Emerson made it a sizeable lead with a two-run triple in the fourth. Emerson tacked on one more in the sixth on an RBI groundout, and Julio Rodríguez got in on the action with a three-run home run in the eighth to put the game well out of reach. The A’s broke the shutout in the ninth inning, but it took a double-play to do so effectively ending their chance of chaining enough hits together to make things interesting.

Houston Astros (25-32) 4, Texas Rangers (25-30) 3: Jacob deGrom and Mike Burrows handed in solid starts for their respective teams, giving six and seven innings respectively with two runs allowed each. The difference-maker came after their exits, with the eighth inning wrapping up our scoring: Yordan Alvarez hit a solo shot to break the tie, and after Christian Walker lived up to his last name and walked Taylor Trammell dropped a sacrifice bunt that got real goofy when pitcher Tyler Alexander fielded it and chucked it past his first baseman. Walker scored all the way from first, and that run proved pivotal as Joc Pederson crushed his second homer of the night to leadoff the bottom half. The rest of the Rangers managed just a walk after that though, giving Houston the W.

Wednesday was the night of offense for the Phillies prospects. There were quite a few hitters to make note of on the evening, including one that might just might force his way back into the major league picture.

Lehigh Valley 7, Buffalo 6

Felix Reyes just continues to hit minor league pitching. This time, he goes three for five with two home runs and four runs batted in.

This time, joining in on the fun, was Gabriel Rincones, Jr., who also had three hits on the day. At least there were some outfielders in the Phillies organization able to hit the ball.

Harrisburg 8, Reading 4

The Jean Cabrera downfall continues as the right hander allowed five runs on six hits and a walk over 4 2/3 innings. He did strike out seven, but he still continues to struggle this season. Wonder if there is a hidden injury. On a lighter, more positive note, Raylin Heredia had two hits for the Fightin’ Phils, one being a home run.

For me and my limited prospecting knowledge, Heredia is still one to watch as he continues climbing the minor league ladder.

But hey, it’s Thursday and that means it’s Gage Wood Day for Reading!

Jersey Shore 5, Frederick 4

Kodey Shojinaga had three hits for the Blue Claws, leading the offense. Luke Davis chipped in with two hits of his own. On the pitching side, maybe the biggest news was the continued rehab of Wen-Hui Pan. He threw another scoreless inning as he continues working his way back from Tommy John surgery. While he likely won’t impact the big league team this season, this is something to watch in the future as they continue to try and develop relief arms from within.

Clearwater 16, Dunedin 6

The pitching? Eh.

The hitting? Well that’s a horse of a different color. Matthew Ferrera had three hits on the night. Griffin Burkholder had two, Alirio Ferrebus had one. Heck, Robert Phelps and Jonathan Hogart had four runs scored a piece. It was a veritable explosion from the Thresher offense. What’s nice though is that it was some of the team’s more prominent prospects in Ferrera, Burkholder and Ferrebus that were doing the damage. Would be nice if some of them made themselves a little more attractive to other teams.

Heading into last week’s series against Detroit, our fearless leader Mark Brown proclaimed that the Orioles were “at another crisis point.” Believe it or not, this team actually responded. Baltimore secured back-to-back series victories over the Tigers and Rays to inch closer to .500. The team exploded for five runs in the first inning and completed the sweep last night at Camden Yards. Don’t let the O’s get hot!

The Orioles will have an opportunity to make up more ground against another AL East opponent that has struggled to start the season. The Blue Jays entered 2026 as the reining American League champs, but they will enter this series at a disappointing 27-29. Similar to Baltimore, the Jays hold consecutive series victories over Pittsburgh and Miami. Toronto squeaked out a 2-1 win over the Marlins yesterday afternoon.

The Jays have been trying to overcome early injuries to several key players. The team lost Dylan Cease, José Berríos, Shane Bieber, and Max Scherzer from its rotation. Alejandro Kirk is out with a left thumb fracture, and our old pal Anthony Santander has yet to make an impact for his new team after undergoing left shoulder labral surgery.

Former international free agent Kazuma Okamoto leads the team with 11 home runs. Vlad Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Daulton Varsho, and Jesús Sánchez remain offensive threats. Louis Varland (2-1, 0.31 ERA) has taken over the closer job from near Orioles Jeff Hoffman (3-3, 4.81 ERA). I can’t imagine Hoffman will find much pity in the comment section.

The Orioles have a long way to go, but the team appears to be clicking at the right time. Another series win would go a long way toward getting this season back on track.

Game 1: Thursday, May 28, 6:35 PM

RHP Chris Bassitt (4-3, 5.51 ERA) vs. LHP Patrick Corbin (2-1, 3.86 ERA)

The Orioles provided Chris Bassitt an extra day of rest by sending out rookie Trey Gibson last night. Bassitt allowed three earned over 4.1 innings his last time out against Detroit. The veteran has fallen short of expectations so far this season, but the 37-year-old still has a chance to get things right. He displayed glimpses of past success with six innings of one-run ball against the Athletics and 6.1 innings of one-run ball against the Astros.

Patrick Corbin joined Toronto after spending 2025 with the Rangers. The former National routinely earned “credit” on the Tony Kornheiser Show for going out there and pitching every five days despite struggling at the end of his tenure in Washington. Corbin led the league in earned runs allowed in 2021, 2022 and 2024, but he eclipsed 150 innings over each of the last five seasons. He’s off to a decent start up north with a 2-1 record and 3.86 ERA.

It will be interesting to see if the Orioles send out Samuel Basallo and Jackson Holliday against Corbin. Both sat against a left-handed starter on Wednesday.

Game 2: Friday, May 29, 7:05 PM

LHP Trevor Rogers (2-6, 6.96 ERA) vs. TBD

Speaking of players that have fallen short of expectations, Trevor Rogers has entered the chat. Rogers has struggled to put away hitters over the last month and has allowed a crazy amount of damage with two strikes and two outs. Rogers failed to complete five innings and allowed four earned runs last week. He’s provided some candid and emotional post game remarks but does not believe he’s tipping his pitches.

Can the Orioles accomplish any of their goals without getting Rogers back to form? The lefty earned a long leash after an absolutely dominant 2025. The Orioles gave Rogers a 15-day breather when he went down with the flu, but he obviously still needs a reset. The team will continue to give the free-agent-to-be opportunities, but the leash will only grow shorter with time.

The Blue Jays had yet to list starters for Game 2 or Game 4 as of Wednesday evening.

Game 3: Saturday, May 30, 4:05 PM

RHP Brandon Young (3-1, 3.47 ERA) vs. RHP Trey Yesavage (2-1, 2.25 ERA)

I spent some time giving Brandon Young his flowers earlier this week. Nobody expected Young to play this big of a role this early in the season. The 27-year-old was reassigned to minor league camp on March 7 with 67 players still on the roster. The Orioles turned to Young after losing several starting pitchers to injury, and the Big Texan has outperformed projections up to this point.

Trey Yesavage made quite the impact down the stretch last season. Yesavage capped an impressive debut with 5.1 scoreless innings against the Yankees in the ALDS. Yesavage still has his rookie status intact, and he’s right in the mix for AL Rookie of the Year with Munetaka Murakami, Kevin McGonigle and Samuel Basallo.

Game 4: Sunday, May 31, 12: 15 PM

RHP Kyle Bradish (2-6, 3.86 ERA) vs. TBD

Kyle Bradish appears to be back on track after hitting a few speed bumps. Bradish shutdown the Rays in his last two appearances and has his ERA back in the threes. The Orioles could not afford to have Bradish and Rogers struggling at the same time. The righty has looked the part of a rotation leader over his last five outings. Maybe he can provide Rogers a template to follow.

It’s tough to win a four-game series against another talented team, but the Orioles can do it if they play liked they did against Tampa. How many games do you expect Baltimore to win in this four-game set against Toronto? Let us know in the comments below!

The San Diego Padres are coming to town, which means one thing, it is time to re-examine the Juan Soto trade. Back in 2022, Mike Rizzo and AJ Preller swung arguably the biggest trade of the 21st century. With the Nats in full rebuild mode, and in need of help on the farm, they traded their crown jewel Juan Soto to the Padres for an historic prospect return.

As we all know, this trade will define the next decade of Nats baseball. Usually, when you are trading a top 5 player in the sport at 23 years old, it is tough to win that deal. However, to Mike Rizzo’s credit, he hit this out of the park. The foundation of the Nationals is built around the pieces from this Juan Soto deal.

At the time, people debated who the true headliner of the deal was. That was not because there was a lack of blue chip talent coming back. It was quite the opposite, with the Nats getting 4 high end young players in the swap. CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, and James Wood all had arguments at the time to be the best piece.

Abrams and Gore were former top 10 picks who had already reached the big leagues. Tough MLB debuts had dropped their stock ever so slightly, but they were still ultra-valuable pieces. Robert Hassell was yet another top 10 pick who was doing great things in High-A at the time. He seemed like such a safe profile due to his great hit tool. However, James Wood was seen as having the most upside. He was still years away, but his freakish size, power and athleticism immediately stood out in pro ball.

As someone who values upside, I was probably most excited about Wood. I had never seen him play, but I heard tales of his freak athleticism. He was not a top 25 prospect in baseball yet, but it only felt like a matter of time before he got there.

As it turns out, Wood became the prize of the deal. He raced through the minor leagues in 2023 and 2024, making his debut in July on ‘24. His stock kept exploding, even becoming Baseball America’s number one prospect and getting compared to Dave Winfield. 

There have been some swing and miss issues, but Wood has turned into one of the best young hitters in the sport. So far in 2026, he has taken his game to another level. His 175 OPS+ is historic for a player his age. Last season, he tailed off in the second half, but if he avoids doing that again, he is well on his way to being an MVP candidate one day.

Usually when you trade a generational talent, you don’t get another guy with nearly as much upside in return. The Nats did just that when they got Wood. While Wood is not the pure hitter that Soto is, he has even more raw power and is a better athlete. He is such a special player and is only 23 years old.

However, Wood is not the only player from the Soto trade performing at a star level this season. CJ Abrams is playing the best baseball of his career, with a 162 OPS+ and a .937 OPS. While Abrams has gotten off to hot starts in the past, he has never been this good for this long. Wood and Abrams lead all of baseball in offensive WAR this season.

The Nats have shockingly been the best offense in baseball through two months, with Wood and Abrams being the catalysts. Meanwhile, the Padres are bottom five in runs scored and Soto has been off the team for years now. The Padres still have a solid record, but it is because of their pitching staff. If they had Wood and Abrams, the Padres would arguably be the World Series favorites.

It has not been totally smooth sailing for the Soto return though. The previously mentioned Robert Hassell has seen his development stall out. He had some time in the big leagues last year, but he has been passed by a lot of outfielders in the organization. Hassell’s hit tool simply was not as good as advertised. That sunk the profile, but this did not really hurt the Nats that much.

The other big piece in the Soto deal was MacKenzie Gore. At the time, Gore was injured, so he did not pitch in 2022. However, he became a fixture at the top of the Nats rotation from 2023 to 2025. Gore showed flashes of ace level upside, but never was able to put it together. Like a lot of these guys, Gore had a tendency to fade down the stretch.

In Paul Toboni’s first offseason, he traded the enigmatic lefty to the Texas Rangers for a prospect haul that looks really good so far. Devin Fitz-Gerald, Yeremy Cabrera and Abimelec Ortiz have all looked great. Headliner Gavin Fien has spent a lot of time injured, but he still has a lot of promise. These youngsters just add to the Soto trade legacy and make the tree even larger.

Speaking of the Soto trade tree, the Padres eventually realized they would not be able to re-sign Soto. The wheeling and dealing AJ Preller decided to trade Soto to the Yankees, in a deal that worked out well for them. Michael King and Randy Vasquez are both in the Padres rotation. They also sent Drew Thorpe, who they got in that deal to the White Sox in the Dylan Cease deal. While Cease is gone now, he had two solid years with the Padres.

That trade and its after-effects are still so big for both teams. I have not even mentioned Jarlin Susana yet either. He was the last piece of the deal, but he has turned into a flame throwing pitching prospect with electric stuff. Susana is hurt right now, but he will be pitching for the Nats at some point.

The Juan Soto trade will forever connect these two franchises. It is one of the biggest trades in baseball history. As you guys know, I get on Mike Rizzo a lot, but he absolutely hit this deal out of the park. It takes guts to trade a player the caliber of Soto, who was still only 23 years old. Rizzo knew it was the best move for the team, and I think he took the best package he could have possibly gotten.

With the Nats on the upswing now, hopefully Wood and Abrams will be making impacts in playoff games before too long. A lot has gone wrong for the Nats in the 2020’s, but the Juan Soto trade was not one of those things. It is a shame Soto was not a National for life, but this trade set up the Nats very well for the future. Hopefully James Wood can be the Nat for life that Soto could not be.

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Yankees head West to take on the Athletics in a three-game set starting Friday...

5 things to watch

Rodon looking to get on track

The Yankees rotation is almost whole again with the returns of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon. 

And while Cole has looked like his Cy Young self, Rodon has scuffled a bit. In three starts since coming off the IL, the southpaw has a 4.15 ERA. He's pitched five innings just once so far, which was his first start back, and has progressively allowed more runs in each start. 

His last start saw him allow three runs on five walks across 4.1 innings against the Brewers. 

Now, the Athletics are not the NL Central-leading Brewers, but they can hit -- and they play in a minor league ballpark. It could be tough for Rodon, but seeing him get through a quality start on Friday could give the veteran starter some confidence moving forward.

Hitting in the minors

Yes, the Athletics play in West Sacramento in a ballpark meant for a minor league club. It's a bandbox, as we saw last season when 230 long balls were hit out of Sutter Health Park -- second most in MLB. The A's have hit 26 homers at their home ballpark already this year, and with the hot starts from catcher Shea Langeliers and 2025 AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz, those numbers will continue to climb as the season goes on.

Yankees hitters need to take advantage of the park as well. Last season, they hit eight bombs in Sacramento -- the same series that saw Jasson Dominguez have a three-homer game -- and they should be able to do it again. 

Volpe rising?

Anthony Volpe continues to produce at the plate and manager Aaron Boone continues to reward his shortstop by starting him every game.

Volpe is 7-for-26 (.269) over his last seven games but he's gotten on base in all but three of his games since he was called up (11 games).

With Volpe at shortstop, Boone has been creative with Jose Caballero. He's started at third base and in the outfield. Continuing to monitor that situation will be interesting. Two right-handers are slated to pitch for the A's this weekend, so Ryan McMahon and Trent Grisham could get starts on Friday and Saturday.

Let the lineup juggling continue. 

Getting their wins back

When the Athletics came to the Bronx in early April, they took two of three from the Yankees. After the Yanks won 5-3 in the series opener, David Bednar allowed the go-ahead run to cross in the ninth in their 3-2 loss in the middle game of the series. Then the bats went quiet in the series finale as New York was no-hit into the seventh inning in their 1-0 loss.

It was not a great series for the Yankees, but with the weather warmer and the team a little more rounded into form, this is the time to try and get those wins back as they look to continue their climb up the AL East standings.

Early scoreboard watching

Yes, it's way too early to be scoreboard watching for the division, but with the way the Rays were playing this season, any lull for Tampa needs to be taken advantage of.

The Rays have lost four straight and are 5-5 in their last 10 games as the Yankees have pulled within 1.5 games of them after their four-game winning streak. 

Now, the Rays will take on the 21-35 Angels this weekend, but Tampa was just swept by the Orioles -- who were 23-30 heading into their series. So who's to say what will happen. The Yanks need to take care of business in Sacramento, and perhaps they'll find themselves atop the division by the time Sunday is over.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Ben Rice

Rice will take on two right-handed starters and will be hitting in a band box. 

Which Yankees pitcher will have the best start?

Will Warren

Warren continues to be solid and although there are some scary hitters in the A's lineup, I believe he'll get the job done.

Which Athletics player will be a thorn in the Yankees' side?

Shea Langeliers

Langeliers is tied with Atlanta's Drake Baldwin for most home runs by a catcher this season (13) and with Rodon and Ryan Weathers (both lefties) on the mound this weekend, the backstop could do a lot of damage. 

The San Diego Padres came into the final game of the three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies hoping that Walker Buehler would hold the Philly offense down enough that San Diego could score a couple of runs and avoid the sweep. Buehler did his part, but the Padres offense failed to provide any run support. San Diego was shutout and swept by Philadelphia with one final 3-0 loss before they go on the road to face the Washington Nationals.

Buehler made through 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on three hits with no walks and two strikeouts. His counterpart for the Phillies, Christopher Sanchez, pitched seven scoreless innings. He allowed six hits with no walks and nine strikeouts. The seven-shutout innings from Sanchez pushed his scoreless innings streak to 44 2/3 innings, surpassing Grover Alexander’s 41 innings for the most ever by a Philadelphia pitcher.

The Padres had their chances to score runs and get in the game. They outhit the Phillies, 7-6 but once again San Diego was unable to come up with hits with runners in scoring position. The Padres were 0-for-8 in those situations while the Phillies were 1-for-3. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill each had two hits, while Xander Bogaerts, Ramon Laureano and Nick Castellanos each added a hit.

San Diego travels to Washington, D.C. for three games against the Nationals before they head to Philadelphia for three more against the Phillies. If the offense continues to do what it has been doing — or not doing — it could be a long six-game road trip. The Padres and Nationals open their series, Friday at 3:45 p.m.

Padres News:

• The San Diego farm system did not get much attention prior to the season, and it is still not among the best in baseball according to experts, but there are plenty of players making news and Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball provides insight as to who they are.

• Ethan Salas has been healthy during the 2026 season and his time off the field last season seems to be paying dividends as the top-prospect hit his seventh home run of the year.

• The Padres have been one of the best teams in MLB if you just look at their win/loss record. They have also been one of the worst teams in MLB if you look at their offensive statistics. Dennis Lin of The Athletic asks if San Diego is the best worst team or the worst best team.

Baseball News:

• The Texas Rangers designated veteran Andrew McCutchen for assignment.

• The Milwaukee Brewers survived a no-hit scare to comeback and beat the St. Louis Cardinals.

• Kike Hernandez tore his oblique according to Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and will miss time.

• The Boston Red Sox scored six runs in the fourth inning and used the momentum to beat the Atlanta Braves.

• Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is now a minority owner of the Cleveland Guardians.

• The Seattle Mariners took over first place in the AL West with a sweep of the Athletics.

• The Detroit Tigers got a win over the Los Angeles Angels, but they lost Casey Mize and Kenley Jansen.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks did just enough to beat the San Francisco Giants and earned a 3-2 win.

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After getting blown out Wednesday night, the Atlanta Braves will look for a series win in their rubber match with the Boston Red Sox.

My Braves vs. Red Sox predictions lean on the visitors, who bring baseball’s best road record to Fenway Park, and start one of the league’s nastiest lefties in Chris Sale.

That should be plenty to cover their -1.5 run line at +127 for my MLB picks on Thursday, May 28.

Who will win Braves vs Red Sox today: Braves -1.5 (+125)

Chris Sale is the perfect starter to expose a Boston Red Sox lineup ranking second in batting average over the last week.

Batters are hitting .181 against him, and he’s allowing 5.8 hits per 9 innings — both Top-2 ranks in the majors.

Sale relies on a fastball-slider combo that has stymied opponents even into the advanced stages of his career, as evidenced by a 98th-percentile chase rate and a 93rd-percentile strikeout rate.

Sale’s backed by a lineup that knows how to rebound: in the four previous times they’ve lost by at least six runs, they’ve averaged 8.8 runs the next game.

I’d take the Atlanta Braves' run line up to -2.5 at +215.

COVERS INTEL: Boston’s MLB-worst .118 ISO against four-seamers sets up perfectly for Sale. Play Braves Run Line -1.5 (+127)

Braves vs Red Sox Over/Under pick: Over 7.5 (+112)

Even with Sale pitching, it doesn’t always mean a low-scoring affair. In his last seven starts, the Braves and their opponent have combined to top 7.5 runs four times.

Boston starter Payton Tolle was dinged up in his last start, surrendering three runs on four hits in six innings against the Twins. A 10th-percentile ground ball rate means he could be more susceptible to home runs than he has been. 

He’ll be in tough with an Atlanta lineup that puts up 6.04 runs per game on the road, which is tops in MLB.

That’s a big part of the reason the Braves’ Over record on the road is 10-5-0 over the last 15 away games. I'd take the Over down to +105 or avoid the market if it goes any shorter than that because Sale can put up zeroes.

Braves vs Red Sox odds

• Moneyline: Braves -138 | Red Sox +133
• Run line: Braves -1.5 (+127) | Red Sox +1.5 (-133)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (+127) | Under 7.5 (-133)

Braves vs Red Sox trend

Boston lost seven straight home games following a win. Find more MLB betting trends for Braves vs. Red Sox.

How to watch Braves vs Red Sox and game info

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Braves vs Red Sox weather

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The Chicago White Sox will be looking to keep it rolling offensively this afternoon at 2:10 p.m. ET against the Minnesota Twins after scoring 15 runs on Wednesday. 

With their ace Davis Martin on the mound, my Twins vs. White Sox predictions are targeting Chicago to grab another win in the finale. 

Find out more in my MLB picks for Thursday, May 28. 

Who will win Twins vs White Sox today: White Sox moneyline (-140)

The Chicago White Sox exploded offensively in the second game of the series, winning 15-2. They've been solid at the dish all year, ranking seventh in runs scored.

The hosts typically give Davis Martin run support as well, as he owns a 7-1 record and 2.04 ERA. 

Martin has been lights-out at home this season, compiling a 1.14 ERA. 

Minnesota Twins reliever Kendry Rojas will "open" the rubber match. Although he's been solid with a 1.26 ERA across five outings, he's still a reliever, and won't be in there long,. Minnesota's bullpen is poor overall, posting a 4.94 ERA. 

I'd play this to -150.

COVERS INTEL: Martin has collected a very impressive 2.29 FIP this season, the lowest mark of his career. 

Twins vs White Sox Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-138)

Three of the last five meetings have cashed the Under, and with Martin taking the hill, I expect most of the offense to come from Chicago. He's practically unhittable at home, and the Twins have only scored a total of eight runs so far in this series.

Minnesota enters this game ranked 15th overall in OPS.

It will be a relatively one-sided offensive affair, but don't expect another 10+ runs. I'll play the Under to -140. 

Twins vs White Sox odds

• Moneyline: Twins +133 | White Sox -138
• Run line: Twins +1.5 (-170) | White Sox -1.5 (+163)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+122) | Under 8.5 (-133)

Twins vs White Sox trend

The White Sox have hit the moneyline in 12 of their last 15 games at home (+9.60 Units / 61% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Twins vs. White Sox.

How to watch Twins vs White Sox and game info

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Before this season, if you threw a paper airplane out of the stands and onto the field [not advised] with Ceddanne Rafaela at the dish, I’m pretty sure he would have swung at it. But things are changing in 2026, and we need to discuss what that means when you stack this sudden and newfound restraint atop his already wonderful bag of tools.

Up until a couple of months ago, all the things that made Rafaela a good baseball player were flashy: The speed, the clutch hits, the athleticism; and of course, his signature ability to play gold glove defense in centerfield with the grace of a gazelle. Here’s a video showcasing some of his best defensive plays from last year:

But we’re not here to talk about those, because the thing that’s transforming Rafaela from a good to potentially great player in 2026 is far more mundane. Here’s a much shorter, and admittedly much less interesting video showcasing what’s making Rafaela so good in 2026:

That may not seem like a huge deal, but that’s Ceddanne Rafaela not swinging at a tempting pitch sweeping out of the zone, and that’s a huge change from previous seasons. It’s subtle when it unfolds early in an at bat, but it’s the key to unlocking his ceiling at the plate — And if we’re being fair, it’s a ceiling that’s far higher than he’s ever been given credit for.

Anyway, here’s what happened later in that same at-bat because he hung around with a little better count leverage and proved to Kerkering he wasn’t going to chase the sweeper:

You want a more recent example? Here’s Rafaela taking another 0-1 pitch on Tuesday. This time, it’s a slider above the zone, which is a location and pitch opponents have always used to get him to chase with great success.

Not here. Strider had to come back on the very next pitch with an offer lower and in the strike zone, and here’s what Rafaela did with that:

Rafaela has always been able to pound pitches in the zone, and for whatever reason, we’ve largely overlooked that. Perhaps it’s because of his size — he’s listed at 5’10” and a 165 pounds. Perhaps it’s because he’s a defensive first guy. Or maybe it’s because before this year, he’s swing at anything and everything.

Taking away the hyperbole and drilling down on the numbers, Rafaela swung at 59 percent of all the pitches he saw last year, which was the third most among qualified hitters in all of baseball. That was only slightly better than the 62 percent of pitches he swung at in 2024, which was good for the second most in all of baseball.

This year? Out of 188 guys with at least 2.1 plate appearances per team game, Rafaela ranks 73rd in swing percentage, dropping the number to just 48.6 percent of the time.

How about just swinging at the first pitch of an at bat? In both 2024 and 2025, he did that the fourth most of any hitter in baseball. Now, from that same list of 188 players, he’s moved to 71st.

But of course, the most important number revolving around this topic is swinging at pitches out of the zone, and there’s been major improvement there as well. Rafaela went from swinging out of the zone the most in all of baseball in 2024, to second most in 2025, to the 46th most this season at 34.8 percent. That’s not just improvement, that’s potentially finding the keys the castle and transforming as a player.

Furthermore, he’s doing it with a stat that usually solidifies pretty quickly, and if these trends continue, you’re talking about a guy who is going to start finishing in the top ten in MVP voting very soon. Think about it: He’s still just 25-years-old, he plays the best defensive centerfield in the sport, he’s already put up the third most WAR of anybody in a Red Sox uniform since the start of 2024, he’s got above average speed, he plays a premium position, and he’s always had a penchant for clutch knocks.

That last piece of his game was so apparent from the get-go, Coley Mick of the fabulous Section 10 Podcast made this evergreen observation nearly two years ago now:

But as I watch Rafaela grow as a player this year, I’m starting to develop a theory regarding his clutch hits from previous seasons and his refined approach at the plate in this one. Specially, Rafaela is just a good major league hitter when he swings exclusively at strikes, and he wasn’t doing that during the majority of his plate appearances before 2026. In other words, these things might be connected. Whether Rafaela was just locking in more during high leverage at bats or opposing pitchers had to throw him more strikes with men on base in a sticky spots, it led to increased production in these moments and swinging at more strikes (Rafaela was in the top ten in all of baseball last year in Fangraphs’ clutch metric).

Now, we’re seeing what happens when he makes better swing decisions across the board and adds a semblance of plate discipline to the mix (he could still add more). In other words, we might just be seeing what “clutch Rafaela” looks like when he shows up in all of his at bats throughout every game. Take a look at the across the board improvement in some general big picture batting stats:

We basically just need one more month of patient Rafaela at the plate for the swing numbers to say this is who he is now (again, plate discipline numbers solidify quick), and if that locks in, Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu are going to have some competition in terms of who is the best Red Sox outfielder over the next handful of years.

You knew the Cubs’ losing streak wasn’t going to last forever.

Right? Right?

The Cubs exploded with a 14-hit, seven-walk, two-homer offense and crushed the Pirates 10-4 Wednesday evening in Pittsburgh, at last ending their 10-game losing streak. The 10 runs were as many as they had score in the last six games of the streak — combined.

The onslaught began in the first inning. Pete Crow-Armstrong had an excellent at-bat, working a 10-pitch walk. Nico Hoerner singled him to second. Michael Busch also walked, loading the bases.

You could have been forgiven at that point if you thought, “In what soul-crushing yet entertaining fashion will they fail to score in this situation?”

But they did score. Alex Bregman struck out but then Ian Happ singled in two runs [VIDEO].

Seiya Suzuki, unfortunately, hit into a double play but the Cubs had a two-run lead. They’d led in only two other games during the entire losing streak.

They made it 3-0 in the second. Carson Kelly and Dansby Swanson hit singles with one out. One out later, Nico singled in Kelly [VIDEO].

That’s when the home run bug bit Jameson Taillon again. A walk, single and three-run homer by Brandon Lowe tied the game 3-3. Lowe, who spent his entire career with the Rays until this year, has absolutely worn out Cubs pitching this year: .350/.435/.850 (7-for-20) with three home runs. I’ll be glad after today when the Cubs don’t have to see him again until after the All-Star break. Maybe by then they’ll be able to figure out how to slow him down.

A not-so-fun fact about that homer from BCB’s JohnW53:

The three-run homer off Jameson Taillon that wiped out a three-run lead was the 12th of its kind surrendered by the Cubs since 2021.

The previous one was Sept. 25 of last season, by Brett Baty of the Mets at Wrigley Field in the fourth inning off Shota Imanaga. It made the score 3-3.

The Cubs gave up four such homers in 2024, including one by TJ Friedl of the Reds off Jameson Taillon at home. It also made the score 3-3, as did three of the others, served up by Adbert Alzolay to Jack Suwinski of the Pirates in 2022, and by Jeremiah Estrada to Fernando Tatis of the Padres and by Jose Cuas to Joshua Palacios of the Pirates, both in 2023. All were at Wrigley.

The Cubs took the lead again in the fourth. Dansby Swanson hit a two-out double and PCA doubled him in [VIDEO].

But Taillon again could not keep the ball in the yard. Konnor Griffin’s solo homer tied the game. For Taillon it was the 19th home run he had allowed this year in 60.1 innings, yikes. That’s on top of 10 homers he allowed in Spring Training in just 13.1 innings. The 19 homers is four more than anyone else in MLB (Zack Littell of the Nationals, 15).

Taillon was removed after five innings and Jacob Webb threw a 1-2-3 sixth, striking out all three batters he faced. After a rough start to his 2026 season, Webb’s been really good lately.

Then the Cubs blew the game open in the seventh.

Michael Busch was hit by a pitch and Bregman doubled him to third.

Happ sent a ball deep into the right-field seats at PNC Park [VIDEO].

The scorebug on that clip says that the homer was on Pirates reliever Yohan Ramirez’s eighth pitch but looking at the pitch-by-pitch, Busch had a five-pitch at-bat before he was hit and both Bregman and Happ jumped on the first pitch. Pretty efficient, seven pitches, three runs.

The Cubs weren’t done in that inning, either!

Seiya Suzuki singled off Ramirez and the Pirates brought in reliever Justin Lawrence to face Michael Conforto, who was batting for Kevin Alcántara.

Conforto wasted no time, sending Lawrence’s first pitch out of the yard [VIDEO].

So if you’re counting, that’s six more pitches, so the Cubs put five runs on the board on just the first 13 pitches of the seventh inning. Impressive!

One more run crossed the plate in that inning for the Cubs. Swanson reached base on an error and stole second. After PCA struck out, Hoerner walked. Busch’s single to right scored Swanson with the sixth run of the inning [VIDEO].

About the six-run inning, from John:

The Cubs’ seventh inning was their first of the season with six runs. They scored seven on May 7 in an 8-3 win at home over the Reds. They scored five in three games, all between April 1 and 13.

Phil Maton, Caleb Thielbar and Ethan Roberts finished up with one scoreless inning each. They allowed two hits total, walked two and struck out two. Maton got this double-play ball to end the seventh [VIDEO]. The Pirates challenged both calls and were wrong on both.

Here’s the final out [VIDEO].

Now that’s the way to end a losing streak, just blast out of it with a huge offensive display. In addition to all the runs, hits and walks, the Cubs had five hits with RISP (okay, 5-for-16, but still). They could have had even more runs, as they left 13 on base. That’s not a complaint, just a comment. Speaking of comments, here are Craig Counsell’s postgame remarks [VIDEO].

And here’s Happ on his five-RBI night [VIDEO].

The comments are spot-on. A game like this really takes the pressure of that streak off, gives the guys a chance to have some happy moments in the dugout, and hopefully resets everything so, perhaps, another winning streak can follow.

One more fact from John:

This was the Cubs’ sixth game of the season with at least 10 runs: four between March 28 and April 17, then May 15 in a 10-5 win at the White Sox, their last win before Wednesday.

Which is, of course, interesting — they book-ended the losing streak with two 10-run outbursts. Hopefully there are more of those to come. The 10-run game put the Cubs back in sixth place in MLB in runs, passing the Brewers. The seven walks allowed them to maintain their MLB lead in that category, with 255 — that’s 4.55 walks per game, or a pace for 738, which would shatter the franchise record (656, set in 2016).

The win pulled the Cubs out of a last-place tie with the Pirates, and combined with the Cardinals’ loss to the Brewers, the Cubs are now in a virtual tie with St. Louis (one percentage point behind) for second place, 4.5 games behind Milwaukee. 106 games remain in the 2026 season. There’s plenty of time to turn this ship around.

And the Cubs now have the opportunity to split this four-game series, though it will not be easy, with Paul Skenes starting for the Pirates. Colin Rea will go for the Cubs. Game time is 5:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

The Guardians are playing sudoku with their long-term roster plan, using hints we can’t easily see.

Actually, pretty much any organization worth its salt treats roster management eerily similar to a sudoku puzzle. I’ll elaborate on that strange claim, of course, but before I do, let’s take a look at the unique mechanics of the puzzle the Guardians are trying to solve…

The rules of the roster puzzle.

If I’m Chris Antonetti or Mike Chernoff, I probably have this image (or one like it) pinned to a wall near my desk:

13 MLB hitters. 13 MLB pitchers. And at least 7 depth options stashed in the upper minors who could contribute at the MLB level if needed. This is what a major league ballclub needs in order to compete for a playoff berth, and ultimately, a World Series.

So what does “solving” this puzzle look like? Here’s my best effort at describing the objective:

Put together a roster with the best possible chance of winning a World Series within the next four years.

Winning a title is the organization’s stated goal, they’re currently contenders on paper, and it’s exponentially more difficult to accurately predict what the team will look like any further down the road than 2029. This parameter also lines up well with the fact that several of their MLB regulars become free agents after the 2029 season.

It’s a daunting puzzle, obviously. But much like sudoku, the puzzle starts with a couple of freebies.

The Proven Core

Like any team, the Guardians already have several proven MLB veterans they can rely on for relatively predictable production in any given year. Here’s what the puzzle looks like after adding those players…

All of these players are under team control through 2029, and barring major injuries or extremely dramatic performance decline, all seven will be on every Opening Day roster (and playoff roster) for the next four seasons.

With these seven players, over 20% of the puzzle is complete. It doesn’t seem like much, but as with sudoku, it’s enough to get started. And there are some exciting players that fit in nicely around them on the roster.

The Safe Bets

The next group of answers comes in the form of some players who have less experience, but have shown enough talent and staying power to merit a long, long leash at the MLB level.

These six players are worth plugging into the puzzle with confidence. While there’s some risk that they won’t pan out, they’re such safe bets that it’s worth committing to them for the foreseeable future, and building the rest of the puzzle around them. That’s good news, because it gets much trickier from here.

The Gotta See ‘Ems

The third group of players are all prospects, which means they introduce something new to the equation: genuine bust risk. The truth is, even Top 100 prospects only develop into average MLB regulars about 25% of the time.

Still, when you’re an organization with a long window of contention ahead and one of your top prospects fills an organizational need, the responsible thing to do is to see what they can do, and stick with them as long as you can.

These six prospects are all less than a year away from the big leagues, and have the potential to be top ten players at their positions. In the case of the relievers, it’s easy to carve out a spot for all of them.

For each of the position players, however, there isn’t a clear path to everyday playing time as of right now. So while the responsible thing to do is give them time to develop at the MLB level, tough decisions will eventually need to be made. Is being part-timers in MLB a good use of their value? Or will they (or someone blocking them) need to be traded to fill an area of greater need?

In order to make that decision, we probably need to fill in more of the puzzle.

The Chance Earners

Not every answer in a puzzle feels perfect when you write it in. The Guardians have a few players who have shown flashes of potential through some inconsistencies. While they may not all be extraordinarily exciting in terms of ceiling, they’ve all shown enough to prove they deserve a job for the time being.

Kahlil Watson is still at AAA, but tearing it up despite a somewhat flawed approach at the plate. David Fry is more of a DH than a left fielder, but so is Ralphy Velazquez, and they both fit well into this puzzle. Kyle Manzardo has been absolutely terrible in 2026, but he showed potential in 2026; Angel Martinez is the reverse of that.

Remarkably, most of the 26-man roster is filled by this point. And every player here is under team control through at least 2029, with the exception of David Fry (2028).

With that said, three questions remain:

1. How do we fill that last SP and RP spot?
2. Who’s our depth?
3. What do we do with the rest of the players currently on the roster or in the upper minors?

#2 is the easiest to answer, so let’s start there.

The Fringe Major Leaguers

Like any team, the Guardians have a few players who have been given all the opportunity in the world to prove themselves at the MLB level, but never really panned out.

With depth roles, there’s a limitation simply because players have a limited number of options. So unlike previous pieces of the puzzle, depth is more of a short-term outlook.

Slade Cecconi’s inclusion here was a difficult call, but at this point, he has a 5.14 ERA and 4.79 FIP across 281 career innings. We pretty much know who he is, and it’s not a dependable major league pitcher.

The Interesting Enoughs

The bar isn’t high for depth pieces. All an organization really needs from a depth spot is a guy who has enough talent to put up quality at bats/pitch quality innings, but it’s a nice bonus if that player has the potential to become an MLB mainstay.

CJ Kayfus gets the nod here for having more options than Valera. Juan Brito makes the cut in spite of his prospect stock tanking after a dreadful first look in MLB.

For long-term depth relievers, I actually had to go all the way down to the AA level because the AAA bullpen is so terrible outside of Aleman/Espino/Walters. Fortunately, depth relievers are pretty easy to come by, and the Guardians are good at spinning straw into gold in this department anyway.

So how do we go about filling the last SP and RP slot? Here’s my best effort.

The Whatever Remains

These two players are the best long-term options that the Guardians have in house.

Stephen has struggled with command in AAA, but has a much higher ceiling in general than Cecconi. Herrin has gone through highs and lows, but he’s a veteran southpaw in the ‘pen and the club will probably hang onto him.

So… the puzzle is complete now, right? Right??

The Extra Pieces

Turns out, there are at least two major differences between roster building and sudoku…

1. Each spot in the puzzle doesn’t necessarily have one perfect answer.

2. There are more players than there are spaces to write them all.

These players would make excellent trade chips if the Guardians decide to make a big playoff push at some point, but they also make great backup plans if some of the guys penciled into the puzzle don’t pan out.

Regardless, we’ve filled in the puzzle! So we’re done, right? Well… not exactly.

Finding the real solution.

Sure, we’ve filled in the puzzle the best we can, but remember, this is was the criteria we used for solving it:

Put together a roster with the best possible chance of winning a World Series within the next four years.

If I’m Antonetti and Chernoff, I’m proud of how this puzzle looks after using internal options only. But I’m also smart enough to realize that this roster does not have a very good chance of winning a title. Looking at the board right now, I’d be asking myself some tough questions, including…

1. What are my best options to improve my 1B/DH situation?
2. Is Angel Genao’s value really utilized appropriately as a backup infielder, or or should I maximize it by making him a trade chip?

3. What am I willing to give up in order to upgrade the top of my rotation?
4. Can I stomach Ingle’s defense enough to shoehorn him into a backup catcher role?
5. How long am I willing to wait for Steven Kwan to turn things around before deciding it’s time to move on?6. Which external trade candidates are actually available for a cost I’m comfortable with?

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Some puzzles take time.

The truth is that as much effort as we put into this exercise, the answers and outlook will continue to change as players develop, break out, bust, fall off, or rebound. We’ll almost never be able to put together a set of answers that still look satisfying a couple of months later.

Regardless, viewing roster building through this lens can give us some key insights into a front office’s process. It also may help us realize how tough these decisions can be, and why a lot of patience is necessary in order to make the right choices.

I’d imagine that if we can all find some of that patience within us, we’re much more likely to enjoy watching the answers take shape.

Columbus Clippers 6, Toledo Mud Hens 3 (box)

A bullpen game from the Hens went sideways as their pitchers issued 10 walks on the night. The offense was a little off, failing to capitalize on a few chances as they fell to the Cllippers on Wednesday.

Konnor Pilkington got the spot start and just dug himself a little hole in the second with walks, allowing a pair of runs. Tyler Mattison was lucky to only surrender a run in the fourth as he walked four hitters and only got one out in the inning. Tanney Rainey was the only one looking good as he cleaned up Mattison’s mess and tossed a nice fifth inning, collecting five outs with three punchouts.

So it was 3-0 Clippers heading into the sixth as Nick Sandlin took over for the Hens. He had a shaky inning with an assist from a Jace Jung error at second base as the Clippers scored two more for a 5-0 lead.

Finally in the bottom of the sixth, Max Burt drew a walk and singles from Ben Malgeri and Max Clark loaded the bases. Instead of a chance to come back in the game, they just ended up with one run as Max Anderson grounded into a double play. A Corey Julks solo shot and a Max Burt sacrifice fly to score Tyler Gentry made it 5-3 in the seventh.

Matt Seelinger allowed a run in the eighth, and the Hens couldn’t muster any more offense.

Malgeri: 2-4, 2B, K

Gentry: 1-3, R, BB, K

Pilkington (L, 1-4): 3.0 IP, 2 ER, H, 2 BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Chesapeake Baysox 9, Erie SeaWolves 2 (box)

The SeaWolves had an uncharacteristically quiet day at the plate while the Baysox did not on Wednesday.

Max Alba got the start, allowing a run in the top of the first. John Peck answered back in the bottom half with his ninth homer of the season to tie things up. It was Peck again in the third with a two-out double, scoring on a Thayron Liranzo single that sneaked through the right side of the infield.

So it was 2-1 Erie, but Alba ran out of gas in the fourth. He gave up three runs, and Johan Simon took over and gave up three more of his own as the Baysox took a 7-2 lead. The offense was out of juice at that point, and Yosber Sanchez gave up two more late runs as the Baysox ran away with this one.

Peck: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR, BB

Liranzo: 1-4, RBI, K

Alba (L, 0-1): 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start at UPMC Park on Thursday.

West Michigan Whitecaps 6, Lansing Lugnuts 5 (F/12)(box)

After being walked off over and over again over the past month, it was finally the Whitecaps who rallied late to win on Wednesday. It took 12 innings, but a wild pitch from Lansing and impressively game work from the Whitecaps bullpen got it done.

Ben Jacobs had a rough outing and the Lugnuts took advantage. A pair of walks in the bottom of the second, followed by a successful double steal got them in position for a sacrifice fly that made it 1-0 Lansing. In the fourth, Rodney Green Jr. got to Jacobs for a leadoff homer, and a single followed, ending Jacobs night. Luke Stofel took over and walked the first two hitters he faced, ultimately allowing two more runs and a 4-0 Lansing lead.

Jacobs struck out seven and intermittently looked outstanding as usual, but two walks and a lot of lengthy at-bats shortened his outing signficantly.

The ‘Caps had plenty of opportunities, but couldn’t break through until the eighth inning. Andrew Sojka led off with a walk and stole second base. Ricardo Hurtado was hit by a pitch with one out, and then Lugnuts relievers Ryan Brown threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt. Bryce Rainer stayed ball and flicked an RBI single to right field to make it 4-1, and Luke Shliger pulled a single through the infield to score Hurtado.

Jalen Evans spun a shutdown inning in the bottom of the eighth after good work from Duque Hebbert and Dariel Fregio shepherded the Whitecaps through the middle innings.

In the top of the ninth, with the game on the line, three straight singles from Clayton Campbell, Sojka, and Garrett Pennington scored a run and with two outs, Rainer and Shliger drew walks to force in the tying run. Unfortunately, Jackson Strong struck out to end the bases loaded threat, turning this one into an endurance test.

With Strong on second base to start the 10th, Cristian Santana sacrifice bunted him to third. That proved unnecessary as Juan Hernandez lined a single to make it 5-4. Campbell was hit by a pitch, but Sojka and Pennington struck out.

Logan Berrier allowed the tying run in the bottom half, and the game was only saved by a double play turn that went 4-6-3-2. CJ Weins was able to get a double play ball after a leadoff walk in the bottom of the 11th to keep things tied up after the Whitecaps failed to get the runner home in the top half.

Finally, in the top of the 12th, Strong came through with a good bunt for a single that moved the runner to third. A wild pitch scored the run, but that was all they’d get after they loaded the bases only to see Sojka strike out and Pennington fly out to end the threat.

Weins came back out and induced a pair of pop-ups, and then a grounder to Rainer at shortstop that ended it.

Hernandez: 3-5, RBI

Sojka: 2-5, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K, SB

Rainer: 1-5, RBI, BB, K

Jacobs: 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start in Lansing on Thursday.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 7, Palm Beach Cardinals 3 (box)

Cash Kuiper ran into some largely walk-induced trouble in his start, but Alistair Tanner and the offense were up to the task as the Flying Tigers pounded out 10 hits and took nine walks, running away with this one late.

Zach MacDonald opened the scoring in the top of the third with a drive over the left field wall for his 11th home run already on the season. Unfortunately, he’s still striking out a ton, because he’s an athletic outfielder with huge power developing.

Kuiper was solid early, but gave up two runs in the third and another in the bottom of the fourth. Beau Ankeney had cracked a two-run shot in the top half with Trei Cruz aboard after a walk, so it was 3-3 after four innings.

In the top of the fifth, the Flying Tigers took the lead for good. Jack Goodman reached on a swinging bunt, taking second on a throwing error, and then scoring on a Jordan Yost opposite field double. Trei Cruz spanked a ground ball single to score Yost and make it a 5-3 game.

Jan Carabello did nice work taking over for Kuiper and pitching a clean fifth inning. Then Ali Tanner took the mound for the final four innings, and the 19-year-old right-hander was untouchable. Tanner has a high overhand arm slot and gets massive ride on his fastball. The Cardinals couldn’t cope with it as Tanner mowed through them for four perfect innings and seven strikeouts.

Tanner topped out at 96.5 mph with his fourseamer, averaging 94.5 mph with 20 inches of induced vertical break. He got eight whiffs on 24 swings, but the Cardinals largely just couldn’t pick up his stuff out of hand, taking a ton of called strikes as well. He’s got a mean breaking ball to boot. Like most of the Tigers best young arms, Tanner is still years from Detroit, but his progress will be worth following.

In the seventh, Yost and Cruz drew walks to start the inning and the Flying Tigers were able to rack a pair of insurance runs. Nick Dumesnil bounced into a force of Cruz at second, but Ankeney singled in Yost, and Jesus Pinto plated Dumesnil with a single to make it 7-3 where it ended as Tanner was unhittable the rest of the way.

Yost: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, BB

Pinto: 3-4, RBI, 2B, BB

Ankeney: 2-5, R, 3 RBI, HR, 2 K

Kuiper: 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 K

Tanner (S, 1): 4.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 7 K

Coming Up Next: First pitch on Thursday is set for 6:30 p.m. ET with the series tied at a game apiece.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: The results from imaging taken on Giancarlo Stanton Tuesday showed enough progress to give him the green light to begin running again. Per Aaron Boone, he’s seeing “a lot of improvement” and, given the fact that he’s continued taking swings while on the IL, he might be able to return before too long. The Yankees DH landed on the shelf a month ago with an injured right calf.

In other injury news, Jasson Domínguez may be in a position to begin taking live BP next week, advancing him along in his recovery from an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder. The outfielder would likely need a rehab stint before he’s ready to be activated.

MLB.com | Brian Murphy: The Yankees accomplished an extraordinary team feat Tuesday in the middle game of their eventual sweep, with each starter recording at least two hits for the first time in franchise history. “It feels great to be part of Yankees history,” said third baseman Amed Rosario who notched four hits, two of which were round trippers. A few other statistical nuggets to underscore the rarity of the offensive explosion:

• Five players recorded at least three hits (the most since August 3, 2011)
• The lineup recorded 46 total bases (the most since July 22, 2007)
• The lineup had 24 hard-hit balls (the most in the Statcast era, which began in 2015)

MLB.com | Robert Falkoff: Amidst the Yankees’ historic 15-1 steamrolling of the Royals Tuesday, Cam Schlittler’s six-inning, one-run showing was an afterthought. It’s a testament to how dominant the sophomore hurler has become. “Not the best,” Schlittler said of his strong performance. “My stuff wasn’t as sharp, but I was able to put the team in position to win. That’s all you can ask for.”

His manager was more effusive in his praise of the right-handed phenom, highlighting his competitive edge. “He expects to not only pitch well, but dominate,” said Aaron Boone. “He has that mindset. Some people have that mindset but don’t have the confidence to go with it. He certainly does.”

The Athletic | Evan Drellich: ($) The MLB Players Association has proposed a new revenue sharing model, including a soft salary floor to encourage teams to spend at least $150 million. The proposal comes a day in advance of the owners’ plan, which is expected to include a salary cap. The union’s plan also includes nearly doubling the baseline MLB salary to $1.5 million with sizable increases in the pre-arbitration pool and arbitration minimums. In competing statements, the MLBPA and owners presented opposing viewpoints, with the union trumpeting competition while the owners drove home their purported belief in the importance of parity.