Category: Baseball

Organizational depth and a quality bench could be connected, but they don’t necessarily mean the same thing. The Yankees have an option in Jasson Domínguez who, for all the reservations some of us may have, most teams would be perfectly willing to hand him the reins and at least try to maintain a starting gig. As things currently stand, that won’t be the case, but at the same time, the Yankees can’t simply restrict him to coming off the bench, as it’d likely be detrimental to his development. The better option to fill that role of a fourth outfielder for New York is Randal Grichuk, signed to a minor league deal a few days ago.

If we strictly look at Grichuk’s production last year, it’s hard to argue he’d represent a better fit than anything the Yankees might turn to in-house, acknowledging Grichuk will earn a 2.5 million salary if he makes the Opening Day roster. The veteran right-handed hitter followed up an exciting 2024 campaign with arguably the worst season of his career. Grichuk was treading water with a 99 OPS+ in a little under 200 plate appearances for Arizona before being shipped off to Kansas City at the deadline, where he struggled mightily, producing a .566 OPS in 105 plate appearances with the Royals.

On a very basic level, Grichuk is predictable in his unpredictability, and this volatility is what makes him attainable with little to no resistance or risk. Over the last three seasons, he’s been good with the Rockies, then not good with the Angels, good again with the Diamondbacks, then very bad with the Royals.

A closer look at that 2025 campaign would suggest Grichuk got severely unlucky with his final stat line, and there is a nice blend of contact and power to be tapped into here. Grichuk ended the year with an impressive average exit velocity of 92.4 MPH, and he did it all without chasing that much, and most importantly, making a ton of contact in the zone (north of 90 percent). The .452 xSLG Grichuk ended the season showing there was a lot more there to work with.

A hitter with a strikeout rate of 28.3 percent in his first five seasons in the bigs, Grichuk has taken the less-traveled road of a player who’s able to drastically cut down his strikeout rate. Even through his worst period of the 2025 season, Grichuk’s strikeout rate of 21 percent with the Royals was manageable, in part thanks to his ability to make consistent contact in the zone. Odds are, Grichuk won’t deliver a big campaign for the Yankees, and as things currently stand, it’s unclear if he even makes the roster. What’s undeniable is that for what he costs, a hitter who showed his contact skills and raw power represents a worthwhile gamble for a team in need of a better bench.

After covering the potential for improvement, what’s been consistent throughout Grichuk’s career is his reliability to perform significantly better against left-handed pitching, something particularly appealing for a team with two-thirds of its starting outfield being left-handed hitters. Back in 2024, Grichuk delivered a .319/.386/.528 slash line against southpaws, and throughout his entire career, the outfielder has an OPS north of .800 against southpaws.

Spencer Jones and Jasson Domínguez are doing quite well during the start of spring, but neither fits the profile of what the Yankees would look for in a fourth outfielder. Grichuk is this team’s clear-cut top option right now.

Hello, friends.

We have made it to the month that has real Orioles baseball! It is March and Opening Day is 25 days away. From now through the 23rd, though, the O’s will be playing near-daily exhibition games to keep getting ready for the season. A road trip to the Red Sox spring home awaits with a 1:05 start time this afternoon. This game will be on both TV and radio in the Baltimore area.

Yesterday’s spring training game ended up in the loss column as the Orioles were on the wrong end of a 7-5 score in their game against the Braves. The ultimate difference-maker late in the game was reliever Chayce McDermott giving up three solo home runs in the span of three pitches. Not great! It is often the case in spring training games that some guy who was never going to matter for that year’s team is the one to struggle late, so it’s not important.

McDermott is someone who the Orioles are hoping will succeed. His struggles matter a bit more than some complete random guy. Although maybe they shouldn’t, which is a whole separate thing. Nothing about the career statistics of McDermott paint him as a guy to be relied upon for anything, and he’s 27 now so it’s not like he’s even really still a prospect or anything. Regardless, he’s not in the projected Opening Day bullpen and any McDermott dislikers can hope that other players will pass him by in short order.

Some good things did happen in yesterday’s loss. Namely, Adley Rutschman hit his first homer of the spring and had a double off of Spencer Strider earlier in the spring. Also, the possible revival of outfield prospect Vance Honeycutt continues. The strikeout-prone slugger hit his third home run since spring games began – this one off of seven-year MLB veteran pitcher Sean Reid-Foley. It’s not like Honeycutt roughed up some High-A jabroni who was there just in case.

Does it mean anything yet? Probably not, but Honeycutt continues to be interesting and he might just be worth keeping more of an eye on when the real games begin than he would have been if he wasn’t having this kind of spring. With multiple Orioles outfielders committed to World Baseball Classic teams, there will be a little time for Honeycutt to keep playing deeper into camp than a player in his situation might have otherwise gotten.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Notes from yesterday: Rutschman impresses from both sides of the plate, Honeycutt homers again (School of Roch)
Roch Kubatko delivers some impressions from yesterday’s game, with quotes from manager Craig Albernaz about both Rutschman and Honeycutt.

Adley Rutschman’s pair of extra-base hits build confidence for an Orioles bounce-back (The Baltimore Banner)
I’ve just been burned too many times to really believe, but it would sure be nice, wouldn’t it?

Breaking down the bubble of Orioles roster battles (Orioles.com)
There are a WHOLE lot of names on the pile for the final two bullpen spots. Hopefully that means whoever gets them has really earned them.

Orioles former pitching prospect aim for post-hype success (The Baltimore Sun)
On reading the headline, I asked myself, do the Orioles even have any former pitching prospects still around who had hype once? Your own hype level may have been and still may be higher than mine for McDermott, Cade Povich, and Brandon Young.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Nothing of particular note is recorded for this day in Orioles history. That probably won’t change here in 2026 unless something very weird (and probably bad) happens.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2003 pitcher Omar Daal, 1973 infielder Larry Brown, 1958 pinch hitter Bert Hamric, and 1954 pitcher Howie Fox.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: composer Frédéric Chopin (1810), trombonist and big band leader Glenn Miller (1904), Mercury Seven astronaut Deke Slayton (1924), The Who vocalist Roger Daltrey (1944), actress Lupita Nyong’o (1983), and singer-songwriter Kesha (1987).

On this day in history…

In 293, joint emperors Diocletian and Maximian of Rome appointed two Caesars to share authority. This period of Roman imperial history, known as the Tetrarchy, lasted for 31 years before a series of civil wars eliminated most people who claimed power.

In 1692, three women were brought before the magistrates in Salem in the colony of Massachusetts, marking the beginning of the now-infamous witch trials.

In 1867, Nebraska was admitted into the United States as the 37th state of the union.

In 1932, Charles Lindbergh’s 20-month-old son was kidnapped from his home in New Jersey. Though there was a ransom note and payment made, the child was eventually found dead more than two months later.

In 1954, four militants supporting independence for Puerto Rico opened fire in the House of Representatives, injuring five members of Congress.

A random Orioles trivia question

I received a little book of Orioles trivia questions for Christmas. I’ll ask a question in this space each time it’s my turn until I run out of questions or forget. The book gives multiple choice answers, but that would just be too easy for us. Here’s today’s question:

Who was the first Orioles pitcher to record a 20-win season for the team?

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on March 1. Have a safe Sunday.

Today is something of a big day for the Phillies. Andrew Painter makes his spring debut for the team as they look to see if he is the best option for the fifth spot in the rotation. There has been excitement surrounding him this camp as he works his way back from a disappointing 2025, so we should be also excited to see him.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• While the big names on the squad are going to the WBC camps, some of the kids will take over Clearwater. Here are some of those names to know.
• Otto Kemp has been mentioned a lot by the manager as an important piece. He has been working hard at his defense to make sure he is ready ($).
• Bryson Stott made an in-season swing adjustment in 2025. So far, the results have carried over into spring at bats.

MLB news:

• Samuel Basallo had to leave his game on Friday with “abdominal discomfort”. He’s important to the Orioles getting to the playoffs this year.
• Speaking of young phenoms, Kevin McGonigle is going to make it tough for the Tigers to leave him in the minors to start the season.
• Starling Marte and the Royals have agreed to a one-year deal once he passes a physical.

The spotlight on the Yankees’ roster is expected to shine on a number of faces: Aaron Judge as the reigning back-to-back AL MVP, Ben Rice as the promising young star joining the roster, Cody Bellinger as the newest owner of a big contract from this offseason. The list goes on and on. But one name that has slid down towards the back half of the lineup after enjoying a constant presence in the heart of it is Giancarlo Stanton.

The slugger is by no means an afterthought, as his prodigious power was on full display in 2025 in the second half of the season. Yes, he’s always expected to miss time at some point in the year, but he’s made his impact on numerous postseason runs and collected plenty of bombs in the regular season as well. The big No. 500 is within grasp for Stanton, but his health has been put further under the microscope as of late — the DH told the media that he struggles to open chip bags and do other mundane tasks at this point due to the chronic tennis elbow issue he’s had over the past few seasons. His career will be a fascinating test of the milestone voters for the Hall of Fame to consider should he reach that mark, but he’s still 47 homers away entering this season.

With that in mind, how much of the gap can Giancarlo cover in 2026? As mentioned he had a renaissance season last year, swatting 24 long balls in just 77 games, but his pace has been a lot slower outside of that hot stretch: he hit 27 out of the park in 114 games back in 2024, and matched those 24 homers with 101 games played in 2023. He did get over 30 homers in 2021 and 2022, but his body has put on a lot of mileage since those days.

It would require a lot of clocks being turned back for Stanton to get within shouting distance of 500 homers this year, but he can set himself up to have a shot at it in 2027 if he does well this season. At his current pace, he should at last be able to rack up another 20 homer season and put the possibility of getting it done there, but that would require a much greater season despite adding another year of wear and tear. Hitting 25 homers out doesn’t sound too outlandish given the run he most recently was on and would make next year’s mark much more attainable, and anything beyond that would almost assure he could make it with a relatively healthy season. But perhaps you just don’t see him staying on the field enough to do that — he hasn’t playing in 120 games or more since 2021 after all, and his hot streak last year salvaged what looked like a doomed campaign for the milestone after he missed nearly the entire first half of the season. Personally, I’d pin him just shy of reproducing his total homers from last year and predict 23 trips around the bases for Big G, but spread out over close to 100 games. What do you expect from the Yankee slugger, and will 500 home runs be a reasonable target for him next year based on those expectations?

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Today on the site, Estevão leads off for us with a look at why Randal Grichuk has the fast track to winning the fourth outfielder spot, and then Kevin wishes current Yankee Oswaldo Cabrera a happy birthday with a look back on his career to this point. Jeremy previews the Baltimore Orioles and their attempt to get back to the upper half of the AL East after signing Pete Alonso, and John wraps us up with the latest social media spotlight.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Time: 1:05 p.m. EST

Video: NBCSP

Venue: BayCare Ballpark, Clearwater, FL

The Dodgers have played mostly great baseball in Los Angeles for 68 years. How many position players wear the iconic L.A. cap on a Hall of Fame plaque?

Go on, take a guess.

Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers’ star first baseman: “Three?”

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations: “Two?”

The correct answer is zero.

The players that wear the L.A. logo in Cooperstown: Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Don Sutton. The Fox ownership deprived us of Mike Piazza, and the voters deprived us of Maury Wills, but the answer remains zero.

“That is fascinating,” Freeman said. “That is amazing.”

Read more:Shaikin: Dodgers hype time: How many games will they win in 2026?

That means the first position player to wear an L.A. cap in the Hall of Fame might well be the one that shed tears over leaving the Atlanta Braves. Freeman preferred to stay, but the Dodgers offered him a six-year contract and the Braves did not.

“Going into that offseason, it was hard to imagine him in a different uniform,” Friedman said. “And now it’s really hard to see him in a different uniform than ours.”

Yet the love affair between Freeman and Braves fans was so evident in his 2022 return to Atlanta that, in the moment, Clayton Kershaw said, “I hope we’re not second fiddle.”

Said Freeman: “I don’t shy away. I had 12 great years in Atlanta, but I’m having a blast here. It’s been four wonderful years, a couple of World Series titles. I’m here. I love every minute of this.”

We remember best what we remember last. Freeman is well aware of his legacy.

“Walk-off grand slam,” he said.

No one else in major league history has hit one in the World Series. That was the “Gibby, meet Freddie!” moment.

What is Kirk Gibson remembered for? Do we have to ask?

Gibson played 12 years in Detroit and won a World Series. He played three years in Los Angeles, won a World Series, and one of the greatest moments in baseball history was immortalized by one of the greatest calls in baseball history: “In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!”

Gibson is a Dodger.

Freeman played 12 years in Atlanta and won a World Series. He has played four years in Los Angeles and won two, with the walk-off grand slam to end one World Series game and a walk-off home run to end an 18-inning World Series game.

Freeman is a Dodger.

Read more:'Things I need to work on.' Dodgers' Roki Sasaki struggles in first Cactus League start

If you could follow him around town, you would see.

“I haven’t been able to leave my house once in the last few years without someone coming up to me,” he said. “Sometimes you just want to incognito and get to somewhere, but you can’t. It’s OK. That just means we’re doing something special here.

“Even in Orange County, it’s kind of taken over. There’s a lot more L.A. hats walking around than Angel hats in Orange County.

“It’s just fun to be a Dodger right now. It’s hard not to watch us wherever we go, and that’s special. It’s a great place to play. People want to come here and play. The fans obviously love us, and we appreciate all of it.”

Even the traffic. Freeman grew up in Orange County, so he takes the L.A. traffic in stride.

“The 55 isn’t that good either,” he said with a grin. “Or the 91.”

It sounds crazy to say that Freeman could play two or three times as long with the Braves and enter the Hall of Fame as a Dodger.

The totals through 12 years in Atlanta: one championship, five All-Star appearances, one most valuable player award, three top-5 MVP finishes, .295 batting average, .893 OPS.

The totals through four years in Los Angeles: two championships, four All-Star appearances, two top-5 MVP finishes, two legendary moments, .310 batting average, .907 OPS.

Freeman is 36. His contract covers two more seasons, although he said he would like to play four more with the Dodgers and then call it a career. That would make 12 years with the Braves, eight with the Dodgers.

Read more:'Maybe you're in the wrong business.' Blake Treinen fires back at Dodgers' spending critics

Then, assuming his career does not fall off a cliff: Cooperstown.

“I’ve only been here for four years, and you’re already talking about this?” Freeman said. “That makes me happy because that means I’ve done my job well.”

Reggie Jackson played 10 years with the Oakland Athletics, five with the New York Yankees. His Hall of Fame cap features the Yankees.

Nolan Ryan played nine years with the Houston Astros and eight with the Angels. His Hall of Fame cap features the Texas Rangers, his team for five years.

If Freeman is elected, he and the Hall will confer about which team should be represented on his cap. That conversation might be a decade away, but I’ll say it now: In L.A. and in Cooperstown, Freeman is a Dodger.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

TAMPA — Paul Blackburn could be a bargain.

Blackburn, who was re-signed to a one-year, $2 million contract after joining the Yankees in August, looked the part of a former All-Star while starting and throwing four shutout innings in Saturday’s 5-1 win over the Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Blackburn, 32, hasn’t allowed a run in six innings of spring work.

“We feel like he’s in a really good place,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We were hoping to get two or three innings out of him probably and he was so efficient he ends up going four … [He] was excellent, really from the jump. Really crisp. Command was excellent. I was really pleased. I thought his stuff looked real sharp.

“He’s been an All-Star. This guy’s been a good starting pitcher. And he’s not old. You see him go out there and watch that, he’s carving out there. He’s in complete control of things, commanding the ball well. We brought him back for a reason.”

Blackburn provided reasons for optimism last season, but also provided plenty of evidence that a reunion could be a mistake.


Before the Mets released him last year, the right-hander posted a 6.85 ERA in seven appearances (four starts).

Blackburn then took a beating in his Yankees debut — allowing seven runs in mop-up duty — but quickly found his footing in the bullpen, posting a 1.50 ERA with 14 strikeouts in his next 12 innings (seven appearances), which he credits to lowering his arm slot.

“I felt like I was fighting myself a lot,” Blackburn said Saturday. “I didn’t feel like I was myself at all. In August, I kind of said, ‘Screw it,’ and went back to how I was — more over the top, more trying to drive the ball down. When I came here, I talked to the pitching guys and that’s where they want me. When I showed up here, [I was] just getting a little more comfortable back in that arm slot I’ve always been in, just being able to get my pitches back to where they were in previous years, being able to move the ball around and roll good outings together.

“I’m not gonna throw gas by people, so I just gotta locate and change speeds.”

Boone envisions using Blackburn “potentially [in] a lot of roles,” with the option to use him as a starter until his rotation is back at full strength.


But Blackburn’s greatest value likely lies in the bullpen, filling that role in every appearance with the Yankees last year. In his first eight seasons, Blackburn only worked in relief in four of 86 appearances.

“I think my time here last year definitely got me really familiar with it,” Blackburn said. “You had guys down there like Luke [Weaver] — I know he made that transition — and he helped a bunch, picking his brain about what he did. … The more I did it, the more comfortable I felt doing it.”

Observations from Mets spring training Saturday:

Pitching in

It’s still unclear if Tobias Myers will be a starter or long reliever for the Mets, but he has been sharp in both roles this spring — including his three-inning stint in his start against Washington at Clover Park. He allowed just a run on two hits and struck out four.

WBC ya later

Several big names on the Mets are ready to leave camp and head to the World Baseball Classic, with Juan Soto at the top of the list after playing both Friday and Saturday. Soto has looked comfortable so far in left field after moving from right this spring.

Caught my eye

Francisco Alvarez, in his first game behind the plate this spring, made a strong throw to second on a stolen base by Harry Ford and said he felt good afterward. He also won an ABS challenge during his own at-bat to draw a walk.

Sunday’s Schedule

Clay Holmes will make his final Grapefruit League start with the Mets before leaving to pitch for Team USA in the WBC when the Mets host Houston at 1:10 p.m. at Clover Park.

Detroit Tigers vs. Toronto Blue Jays

Time/Place: 1:05 p.m., Joker Marchant Stadium – Lakeland, FL
SB Nation Site: Bluebird Banter
Media: MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Spencer Strider looked pretty good on Saturday, even if he didn’t necessarily look like the Spencer Strider that we have been used to. His pitches looked good in terms of shape and he threw them for strikes. His velocity was sitting lower-90s though, so it will be worth monitoring whether that is a new normal or just a first start of spring trend.

In the bullpen. James Karinchak continues to be impressive on the mound. He had his third one-inning appearance of spring today and had his third inning of two strikeouts, which is promising for the former star reliever. He earned 3 whiffs in his inning of work and continues to make a compelling case for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Braves News

Spencer Strider had an interesting start against the Orioles’ starters, in which he was fairly effective but with low-90s velocity and good pitch shape. Meanwhile, a few infield prospects showed promise at the plate, with John Gil homering and Alex Lodise absolutely lacing a double.

Mark Bowman wrote up thoughts and stats on Spencer Strider after his first start of spring.

MLB News

Astros’ star Josh Hader’s availability is in question for Opening Day, as he continues to deal with a bicep issue.

The Royals agreed to a one year deal with former star outfielder Starling Marte.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Brian Cashman spoke to reporters before yesterday’s game against the Blue Jays, and he reiterated his belief in this team, stating that they’re “capable of great things.” He pointed to the electrifying stuff many of their pitchers have shown early in camp, from Ryan Weathers touching 99.8 mph, to young prospects Carlos Langrage and Elmer Rodríguez demonstrating their immense potential. And of course, Cashman pointed to Gerrit Cole, who’s already run his fastball up to 97 mph against live hitters, 11 months removed from Tommy John surgery.

MLB.com | Jason Foster: Speaking of reasons for optimism, Carlos Langrage authored another great spring outing, this time fanning four batters in three scoreless innings on Friday against Minnesota. Langrage pushed his fastball a hair above 102 mph, and according to MLB Pipeline, he’s thrown the three fastest pitches across spring training thus far:

Carlos Lagrange dials it up to 102.1, throwing 12 pitches 100+ mph (11 for strikes) with 4 K's in 3 scoreless frames.

The @Yankees' top pitching prospect owns the three fastest pitches in Spring Training so far. pic.twitter.com/3Q0vvqa6zS

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 27, 2026

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Cody Bellinger is dealing with a back issue again, seemingly a similar ailment to one that bothered him early last season. “He’ll probably, I’m guessing, (miss) a couple of days,” Boone said Saturday. “He’s quite a bit better today. So we don’t think it’s anything.” Boone noted that Bellinger could be back in the lineup by Tuesday.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: There aren’t many positional battles to follow in camp for the Yankees this year, with the main competition coming down to the underbelly of the bullpen and the end of the bench. As far as the bench goes, Amed Rosario and Paul Goldschmidt are locks as right-handed platoon bats, but the last two spots are still up for grabs. J.C. Escarra has a leg up as the likely backup catcher, but Ben Rice’s ability to catch gives the Yankees flexibility to break camp without a backup backstop. Oswaldo Cabrera would also figure to be a favorite, but Phillips writes the Yankees are “easing him along” and that the utility player may not be ready for Opening Day. That may open things up for Randal Grichuk, who just made it to camp and could be another right-handed bench option for New York.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: ($) The Yankees have two lefty relievers in camp who are likely to make their bullpen, Tim Hill and Ryan Yarbrough. If they want a more powerful lefty option, though, there seems to be a clear choice: Brent Headrick. The left-hander showed flashes in brief spurts in the Bronx last year, running his fastball up to 95 mph by the summer, while also posting a 2.63 ERA in Triple-A. With the team’s low-leverage bullpen slots unspoken for, Headrick has every chance to make the team with a solid spring.

It’s been a big week here at Purple Row.

We finished our PuRPs ranking. (Big shoutout to Jeff Aberle for that one!)

The World Baseball Classic is just around the corner.

And the Colorado Rockies actually have a winning record, including a few double-digit wins.

(I know: Spring training results mean nothing, but I feel like we’ve suffered through enough over the last five years that we’ve earned a reprieve, no matter how fleeting.)

So here’s tonight’s question for the Purple Row Night Owls: How are the vibes?

We know from the players that the energy in the clubhouse is positive, but what’s the mood among fans?

Let us know in the comments!

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

Observations from the Yankees spring training on Saturday:

Wells to do

In his last game before leaving for the WBC, Austin Wells crushed his first home run of the spring, a no-doubter off Blue Jays minor league righty Nate Garkow.

Cruz under control

Fernando Cruz, also headed for the WBC, battled some command issues in his inning of relief, issuing a pair of walks that loaded the bases. But he got out of trouble unscathed with a double play.

Caught my eye

Before Cruz escaped the jam, he tried to get a 1-1 pitch to Davis Schneider flipped from a ball to a strike via the ABS.

Just as Cruz started to tap his cap to signal a challenge, Wells tried to shake him off, knowing the pitch was well out of the strike zone. But the catcher was too late, as the Yankees lost a challenge.

Sunday’s schedule

Will Warren makes his second start of the spring when the Yankees visit the Phillies in Clearwater, Fla.

Despite their 12-3 loss to the Tigers, the Rays and their prospect Xavier Isaac had a heartfelt moment on Saturday.

In his first game back from having brain surgery last year, Isaac, 22, singled to right field in the eighth inning, a moment which was celebrated by his Rays teammates.

“It was awesome. The dugout was pumped up. Everybody shook his hand, high-fived him,” Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters, according to MLB.com. “No, [his results] don’t matter.

“But any time you get some positive reinforcement or a reward for the work that he’s been putting in on the back field — hopefully he values that as a pretty special moment. I know we all did.”

Isaac, who was selected by Tampa Bay with the No. 29-overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, underwent “life-saving” surgery back in July 2025 to remove a brain tumor, which sidelined the first baseman for more than eight months.

“Just being back on the field, just being at first, honestly, was the best. I haven’t been on defense in two years, so that was a good moment,” Isaac said. “And I got the hit. A lot of relief.”

Isaac last played for Double-A Montgomery before his surgery, which he previously said was “the scariest moment” of his life.

“As soon as I found out that, I was definitely not worried about baseball,” Isaac told reporters earlier this month.

Isaac is now spending spring training with the Rays as a non-roster invitee as he prepares for his fifth professional season.

After impressing across both Low-and High-A during the 2023-24 seasons, Isaac’s stats dipped last season, which he admitted was likely linked to his brain tumor.

“Mentally, I feel like I wasn’t there last year, wasn’t the same there, and it was something wrong — and I did not know what was going on,” Isaac said. “It was probably that, and that’s a big reason why.”

Isaac was the Rays’ ninth-ranked prospect in 2025, according to MLB.com

TAMPA — A bad back has sidelined another Yankee.

Cody Bellinger’s back “went out on him a little bit” Friday, manager Aaron Boone said, which kept him out of Saturday’s 5-1 win over the Blue Jays at Steinbrenner Field. Bellinger will not play in Sunday’s game against the Phillies, either, but the Yankees are hoping he could get back into action by Tuesday following Monday’s team off-day.

“He’ll probably be, I’m guessing, a couple days,” Boone said. “He was quite a bit better today. Trainers aren’t too concerned about it. And this is something that crops up on him every now and then, usually sometime in spring or early in the year.”

The 30-year-old Bellinger has played in three games so far this spring, the most recent one Thursday.

The veteran outfielder missed a pair of games last April due to the same back issue, but it proved to be a minor deal then, which the Yankees are hoping is also the case this time around.

An inflamed back forced Cam Schlittler to be slowed down earlier in camp, but the right-hander has since resumed his ramp-up and is expected to throw another live batting practice Sunday.

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The plan is for Giancarlo Stanton to make his spring debut on Tuesday when the Yankees host Panama at Steinbrenner Field. As has become customary, the veteran DH has been slow-played into games in an attempt to keep him healthy over the long haul.

And while Stanton has consistently maintained that the pain from his tennis elbow in both arms is never going away, he has continued to get his work in early in camp, including taking ground balls in right field on Saturday morning.

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A day after Gerrit Cole faced hitters for the second time in his rehab from Tommy John surgery, Brian Cashman joined the chorus of voices who have gushed about how everything has gone to this point.

“There’s twists and turns to rehab — you have good days, you have bad days — it feels like he’s had nothing but good days, which is fantastic,” Cashman said. “He had Tommy John in a little bit of an older part of your career and you don’t know how age is going to play an impact. Even if everything goes perfect, sometimes the velocity’s not there after they come back. But right now, it looks good.”

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Amed Rosario was a late scratch from Saturday’s lineup due to WBC travel. He was going to get only one at-bat in the game before having to fly out, so the Yankees opted to have him take it in live batting practice on a backfield instead. … Ryan Yarbrough was sick Friday, so his next outing has been pushed back after starting a game last Monday.