Category: Baseball

Zac Gallen isn’t going to have to move.

The right-handed pitcher, arguably the best left on the free agent market, has agreed to a one-year contract worth about $22 million to return to the Diamondbacks, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed.

Per Heyman, the 30-year-old received multiyear offers but liked the idea of staying with Arizona.

The Athletic reported that the deal contains about $14 million in deferred payments.

The deal ends a long free agency for the 2023 National League All-Star after he rejected a $22.025 million qualifying offer in November, which is, ironically, about how much he’ll make in 2026 anyway.

The qualifying offer attachment meant that if a different team had signed Gallen, it would have had to forfeit draft picks, with Arizona getting awarded draft compensation.

The Orioles, before signing Chris Bassitt earlier this week, were interested in Gallen, Heyman reported in January.

The Cubs, Padres and Angels were among the other teams interested in his services.

But it’s Arizona he goes back to, a place he’s pitched the last seven seasons.

On Feb. 3, Gallen expressed an interest in returning to the Diamondbacks.

“It’s been humbling,” Gallen told reporters at the WM Phoenix Open. “That’s kind of been the constant thing the last couple of weeks. People have been like, ‘Hey, we’d really love for you to come back.’ I think people understand what Phoenix means to me.

“My wife is from here, I’m calling this home base now, so for us to be here would be awesome.”

Acquired by the Diamondbacks at the 2019 trade deadline from the Marlins for Jazz Chisholm Jr., he quickly established himself as a reliable arm at the top of the rotation, receiving Cy Young votes in three different seasons.

He had a strong three-year stretch from 2022-24 with a 3.20 ERA and 568 strikeouts over 542 innings.

But 2025 saw a dip in production with a career-worst 4.83 ERA.

Gallen’s peripherals weren’t great either, with his strikeout rate dropping from 25.1 percent in 2025 to 21.5 percent in ’25.

Still, he’s pitched over 180 innings three times over the last four years and should help solidify Arizona’s rotation as it tries to keep pace in the NL West.

TAMPA — When Jasson Domínguez was squeezed out of playing time late last season, the Yankees could have sent him to Triple-A.

But Brian Cashman “didn’t think that was right to do,” he acknowledged over the winter, because there was still a role for the outfielder to play off the bench in a playoff chase.

Now the Yankees are entering a spring in which they have another crowded outfield, with even more dollars committed to Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger, and Domínguez on the outside looking in.

Might the new year and new situation change the equation for whether Domínguez will be optioned to Triple-A once camp breaks?

“If everything stays the same, we’ll be forced to determine what’s our best course of action to help this team be impactful,” Cashman said Friday from Steinbrenner Field.

“I would concede it’s in his best interest to be getting everyday reps.”

Realistically, barring injuries, the only place for that to happen would appear to be at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Domínguez just turned 23 and the Yankees, through some of his growing pains last year, often pointed to the fact that he did not play a whole lot during his rise through the minors because of injuries and having a season wiped out by COVID.

So there is value in giving him a chance to go play every day in the minor leagues, even after spending all of last season in The Bronx and providing some production in 429 plate appearances.

That case is only bolstered by the fact that there is not a clear lane for Domínguez to play off the bench, other than pinch-running.

He is a switch-hitter who is stronger from the left side, but Grisham and Bellinger also hit left-handed.

The last spot on the Yankees’ bench — especially after they re-signed Paul Goldschmidt — may be better used for a right-handed hitting outfielder, and/or an above-average defensive left fielder, which Domínguez was not last season.

“Domínguez is an extremely talented player,” Cashman said. “He’s one of our best runners. So having him as a choice for our manager to use coming off the bench at times as a pinch-runner to steal a bag or first to third, second to home, what have you, definitely improves our chances of success because of his pure athleticism.

“We’ll just have to wait and see how the spring shakes out, who’s standing and then we’ll make the appropriate decisions when we have our meetings closer to the end of camp.”

It would only take one injury for Domínguez to jump back in the mix, though Spencer Jones — the center fielder with thunderous power but high strikeout rates — will also try to make his case to be the next man up this spring.

“Depth chart, in theory, you’d have him behind Domínguez going in because Domínguez has had more experience than he does,” Cashman said. “But that’s not going to stop him in competition.”

As first reported by Steve Gilbert, Zac Gallen is returning to the D-backs on a one-year deal. The amount involved is $22 million, which is basically the same amount as the qualifying offer Gallen declined at the start of the winter. However, Ken Rosenthal reports that approximately $14 million of that is deferred. It’s a stunning turnaround for both Gallen and the team. Zac was looking for a big payday, and MLB Trade Rumors projected a four year, $80 million contract for him. But coming off a poor year, with an 89 ERA+, the market for his services simply dried up.

For the Diamondbacks, even allowing for the deferred amount, this commits the team, one way or another, to more money that was expected to be available. The general belief was that Arizona would be looking to cut costs this winter, the team reportedly having run at a loss last year. But it looks like the payroll is going to be close to what it was in 2025. It also leaves the team with six starters, Gallen joining Merrill Kelly, Ryne Nelson, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Soroka. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the team opts to fit all those pieces into their roster.

More to follow…

TAMPA — He is 35 now, another year older, with some more facial hair, a slightly different windup and a surgically reconstructed ulnar collateral ligament.

But Gerrit Cole stepped onto the bullpen mound Friday morning at Steinbrenner Field and, as much as one can over the course of two simulated innings without any hitters in the box, looked like Gerrit Cole.

There is still a long way to go — in a best-case scenario, three months, with more hurdles to clear along the way — before Cole might take the mound in a big league game.

But just over 11 months removed from undergoing Tommy John surgery and having the entirety of his 2025 season wiped out, the former AL Cy Young award winner gave the Yankees a tantalizing reminder of what could be waiting for them later this year.

“He looked like a Cy Young pitcher,” catcher Austin Wells said. “He looked smooth and in control. Looked confident in his ability.”

Of course, it was just a bullpen session in February, one that checked another box on the way to potentially facing hitters in another week or two and possibly getting into a Grapefruit League game before camp ends.

In his conversations with the Yankees and the surgeon who repaired his elbow, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the target return date has always been 14-18 months, Cole said, and that remains on track.

He had the surgery last March 11, so 14 months would be May 11.

And exactly what version of Cole the Yankees get once he does return to game action remains to be seen.

For some pitchers coming back from Tommy John, it takes a full season to get their stuff back and feel like themselves.

For others, it comes quicker.

Cole knows this and is not getting ahead of himself for what to expect this season.

But to this point, every step of the rehab process that he described as “long and tedious” has gone well, giving him and the Yankees hope that there is some light at the end of the tunnel inching closer.

“I’m a confident guy. I have high expectations for my execution internally,” Cole said. “But overall, in terms of performance and expectations, I don’t really have any set goals or numbers or things like that. It’s been working really well to just stay day to day and execute the task at hand. So I think the challenge is to continue to do that as things become more exciting and things start to get rolling more and more.”

In his throwing session Friday, Cole’s fastball hit 94-96 mph, the pop of Wells’ glove ringing throughout the bullpen with a crowd of interested Yankees personnel watching.

At this point in the rehab process, Cole acknowledged that it is important for him to pay close attention to the velocity, making sure he is staying within the suggested ranges to “load the new [elbow] tissue strategically.”

“When I’m told to push, I push,” he said. “When I’m told not to, I don’t. I really haven’t deviated hardly at all from our targets.”

Along those lines, the Yankees will not push Cole back too soon, regardless of how encouraged they may be at each next step.

There is no sense in bringing him back quickly just to have him pitch in early-season games at the expense of having him available later in the year when the stakes are higher.

“We want to make sure we give him the proper time to make sure he is good and ready to come back, built up in a smart way,” manager Aaron Boone said. “So we won’t rush that with him, even if it continues to go incredibly well.”

Cole, too, expressed a cautious optimism about how he was feeling.

His old elbow got him 2,000-plus innings in the big leagues, and the new one is feeling “different than it has been in quite some time,” he said.

Whether that could mean throwing harder when he returns, Cole pumped the brakes and said with a smile, “We’ll see.”

More than anything, Cole just seemed to be longing for things to get back to normal, for the day when he can finally rejoin what has the potential to be a high-end rotation with him a key part of it.

“I just miss playing,” he said. “I miss that outlet of working hard and feeling exhausted every five days.”

There has been a big media presence around the Atlanta Braves during this first week of Spring Training which means lots of player availability. Earlier today, Alex Anthopoulos met with the media, and you can read those highlights here.

Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale made the media rounds as well, discussion a number of topics, two of which were most notable.

First, Sale said he will never challenge a pitch with MLB’s ABS system. Saying that he doesn’t want to take away a challenge and has dealt with missed pitched all his career, Sale stated he would leave it up to his catcher if the backstop wants to challenge a pitch. The full video of his answer is embedded below.

Second, and maybe more notable, was Sale discussing his pending free agency, noting that he hasn’t previously been in the position before of having uncertainty as to where he will play next season during his 15-year big league career.

When asked in a follow-up question if he’d like to retire as a Braves, he said that he would like to do so noting that Atlanta gave him a chance and helped get his career back on track.

You can watch his full comment in the embed below.

When on the mound, Sale has been arguably the best pitcher in the National League while with the Braves. Although he will pitch most of the 2026 season at age 37, Sale has compiled more than 10 fWAR across his two season with Atlanta, striking out more than 32-percent of the batters he has faced.

He won the 2024 National League Cy Young and if not for the freak broken rib suffered diving for a ball mid-season, he would have likely been at least a top five finisher for the 2025 award.

The Braves need Chris Sale to stay healthy and keep pitching like the future Hall of Famer that is likely is to contend this season. Whether the Braves offer him an extension prior to free agency or not will be an interesting item to watch as the year progresses.

PHOENIX — Shohei Ohtani wants to win the World Series.

Again.

He wants to win the World Baseball Classic.

Again.

He also wants to win his first Cy Young Award.

And then do it again.

Ohtani was unusually open on Friday, the ordinarily guarded two-way star revealing his goals and offering insights into his mindset after throwing a 27-pitch bullpen session in the Dodgers’ first workout of the spring for pitchers and catchers.

What Ohtani said confirmed the depths of ambition long described by those close to him.

Ohtani, 31, has won four MVP awards, two World Series and a WBC, but he said he wants more. And more. And more.

“I think that when you’re satisfied, it’s time to finish,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “I don’t feel that way at this point. The opposite way of saying it is that I think I should quit when I do.”

There aren’t many unchecked boxes in his career to-do list, but he said there’s value in checking the same box multiple times.

“Whether it’s winning the World Series or winning the WBC or being the MVP there, it’s not enough to do it once,” Ohtani said. “When you continue to do that, I think that’s when you’re viewed as a first-class player for the first time. Doing it twice is better than doing it once, and doing it three times is better than doing it twice.”

Nevermind that Ohtani proved he was a first-class player five years ago when he won his first MVP award with the Angels. He has already been at Camelback Ranch for close to two weeks. The bullpen session he threw on Friday was his third of the spring.

When manager Dave Roberts said a couple of weeks ago that Ohtani would focus on hitting and not pitch for Japan in the WBC, I wrote that it was a sign that he might have his eyes set on a Cy Young Award.

Ohtani basically said as much on this day.

“If I can get it,” he said, “I think that would be wonderful.”

Makes sense. Why else would a legacy-driven player such as Ohtani sacrifice potential glory in an event considered more prestigious than the World Series in his home country?

Ohtani said of the Cy Young Award, “To just be close would mean I’m pitching the required number of innings. I think the most important thing I have to do is to take my turns in the rotation for an entire year.”

The health of his arm figures to be front and center for Ohtani, who is very much aware that a third elbow operation could turn him into a full-time designated hitter.

“He’s gone through a lot of things,” Roberts said. “As much as people think that he’s not human, he’s still a human being that’s had two major surgeries. He’s got a long career ahead of him.”

Ohtani is under contract for eight more seasons. He underwent his second Tommy John surgery in 2023, his final year with the Angels. He returned to the mound in the middle of last season and went on to post a 2.84 ERA in 14 starts. He pitched four more games in the postseason.

Roberts was encouraged by what he saw.

“I think the thing that was most surprising from last year was his command,” Roberts said. “I’ll say that he still feels his command wasn’t up to par. But given the Tommy John and what typically command looks like the year after, it was above that. That was impressive. Just his ability to command a couple of different breaking balls, to change the shape of his breaking balls, was pretty impressive.”

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Ohtani sounded at peace with the decision to not pitch in the WBC, which he said was made jointly with the team.  

“Last year, I only pitched in the second half (of the season),” Ohtani said. “Timing-wise, if this came after pitching an entire season, I think the overall approach would’ve been different. Right now, at this stage, honestly, I’m satisfied with the feeling that it would be difficult.”

While Ohtani said he was relieved to finally have a normal offseason — he spent his two previous winters recovering from elbow and shoulder operations, respectively — he said he knew he would have to advance as a player to reach his latest round of goals. Pitching and hitting in the postseason, he acknowledged, was extremely demanding.

“Two years ago, I played as a DH, but it was a different feeling from last year,” he said. “It felt like a different task.”

So he continues to build up his pitching arm. He said he wants to pitch to batters next week.

Because after the WBC, he wants to be in position to do more. And more. And more.

TAMPA — Whenever Gerrit Cole returns to the big league mound, he plans to do so with a slightly tweaked windup.

During his first bullpen session of spring training Friday, Cole unveiled a new delivery in which he raises his hands over his head instead of keeping them by his belt or chest, as he previously did before undergoing Tommy John surgery last March.

“Just felt good,” Cole said of the change. “Throwing on the back fields during the summer and tried it out. I’ve had little idiosyncrasies that have changed over the years from still hands to a drop or hands off the body, close to the body. I think I generally just like the rhythm of it.”

Cole has long been known for his simple and repeatable delivery, which played a hand in the right-hander maintaining good health before finally needing elbow surgery last year.

But the 35-year-old still made the new-look windup look smooth Friday.

“When I think of Gerrit and his greatness, a lot of it ties to … his delivery is just so outstanding,” manager Aaron Boone said. “That’s [still] the case. Everything looks like it’s coming out free and easy, command. He looks to be in a really good place.

Gerrit Cole throws his first bullpen session in Spring Training. pic.twitter.com/nf7E8RxuLg

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) February 13, 2026

“I’ve been saying it around here today after seeing it, that diver that dives off the high board and just goes in the water and makes no splash — that’s Gerrit on the mound. He’s just really efficient.”

The Yankees officially invited veteran reliever Rafael Montero to big league camp Friday after signing him to a minor league deal to join their bullpen competition.

The 35-year-old posted a 4.48 ERA in 59 games last season, but he finished strong with a 2.86 ERA in 20 games with the Tigers down the stretch.

“There’s some things we really like that he was doing last year,” Boone said. “Maybe some small adjustments we can make to help him. Hopefully, he can push himself into the mix.”

Cam Schlittler played catch again Friday, as the Yankees have him continuing to throw on flat ground as he deals with mid-back/left lat inflammation.

“I haven’t got the end-of-day report on him yet but he kind of brushes it off, like, ‘No biggie,’ ” Boone said. “Hopefully this is something that just slowing him down serves him well in the total buildup — I think it will. We’ll see how the next day or two unfolds to see when he gets back on the mound. But hopefully pretty quick.”

Relievers David Bednar, Fernando Cruz, Jake Bird and Brent Headrick each threw an inning of live batting practice Friday afternoon.

The Cubs have reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with veteran right-handed reliever Shelby Miller.Fansided’s Robert Murray was reportedly first with the news.

Miller, 35, pitched quite effectively last year with the Diamondbacks, posting a 1.98 ERA and ten saves in 37 games before he was traded to the Brewers at the trade deadline, even though he was on the injured list at the time with a right-forearm strain. He returned from the IL in early August and mostly pitched well until a game on September 1 when Miller felt a “pop” in elbow. That turned out to be a torn ulnar collateral ligament, which lead to his second Tommy John surgery. Miller is expected to miss all of 2026 and return in 2027, so this two-year deal is really a deal for 2027 for the Cubs.

Miller is an 11-year veteran who has pitched for ten teams, including the Cubs in 2021. He signed with the Cubs in Spring Training in 2021 and made three mostly-poor relief appearances until he went on the injured list with a back injury. The Cubs released him in May of that year when it was time for him to come off the injured list. Since then, Miller has bounced around with good seasons with the Dodgers in 2023 and Arizona last year and a poor season with the Tigers in 2024.

Miller began his career as starter in the Cardinals system and was traded to Atlanta as part of a package for Jason Heyward in 2014. In 2015, Atlanta dealt Miller to Arizona as part of a package for Dansby Swanson. Miller has also pitched for the Rangers and Pirates. He has not started a game since 2019.

It’s Friday the 13th, folks. If you aren’t into slasher flicks or the Winter Olympics, then hello! Welcome! You’re one of us! Let’s talk baseball!

Tomorrow is the day of love, so they say. And to carry that theme, here’s Chris Sale talking about how he wants to retire as an Atlanta Braves player.

Would you like to see him retire in an Atlanta uniform?

Sound off below!

Dylan Ray might be ahead only of Jose Fernandez, in terms of being the least well-known player on the 40-man roster. Ray was a fourth-round pick in 2022, after barely thirty collegiate innings, and it has been an up-and-down struggle since. Of the four “real” levels at which he has played, High-A ball is the only one where his ERA has been below five. To be fair, pitching in Amarillo or Reno is going to play hell with any prospect’s raw numbers, and last year, he did well in Amarillo. He posted a 3.93 ERA across his ten starts at the Double-A level, which is more than an entire run better than the Sod Poodles’ collective figure. It was also an improvement on his 5.22 in sixteen starts there during 2024.

What’s interesting – and a little odd – is, Ray has managed to reach the cusp of the major leagues without anyone particularly noticing. In terms of written material, for example, I found an interview Michael did with him for the SnakePit in October 2024, when Ray was appearing in the Arizona Fall League. Jack spoke to him last spring, after he was given the ball to start the Spring Breakout game against the Royals, and Ray addressed the perils of high-offense environments: “I’ll look back at it not from a results oriented standpoint, but more process oriented. Did I execute the pitch, throw it where I wanted it to go. The results take care of themselves at the end of the day.”

Since that? A video interview (below) from the Aces on the dreaded Ticky-Tac, just after Dylan had made his first start for Reno, after his promotion from Amarillo. That came on the heels of him being named the organization’s minor-league pitcher of the month for May. He went a perfect 5-0 across five starts with the Sod Poodles, pitching to a 2.03 ERA and holding batters to a .168 average, with a stellar K:BB ratio of 35:3 across 31 innings. Reno proved a rough awakening, as his ERA was a hair above seven across his first ten starts for the Aces. His strikeouts and walks both went in the wrong direction (38:24 in 52.2 IP).

But Dylan was able to put together a good string out outings in August, with a 3.81 ERA and 22:8 K:BB over 26 innings. That included 5.1 shutout innings in Reno against Sacramento, a game where he struck out nine, matching a career high. While he may have run out of gas down the stretch – he faced only four batters in his last start of 2025 – Ray had still done enough to convince the D-backs he needed protecting from the Rule 5 draft. They duly added him to the 40-man roster in December, when other, higher-profile names like Christian Montes De Oca, A.J. Vukovich, and Kristian Robinson were left eligible.

It was something of a surprise, given he wasn’t particularly highly-ranked as a prospect in the Arizona system. A few days after the Rule 5 draft, Ray was only ranked #45 in Fangraphs’ list of our top prospects, though Prospects 1500 had him just inside the top thirty. The former’s write-up suggested he might be better off converted to a reliever. “He’s velocity sensitive — everything plays fine at the very top of his velo band, but he gets hit when he dips — and in my looks his gas has tended to tail off throughout his outing. It’s worth seeing if Ray can add velo and maybe turn his above-average slider into a plus hammer in short stints.”

The manner of that final departure – Ray left the mound with a trainer, his velocity being sharply down – does give some pause for concern. I haven’t found any indications of an injury being involved, but as the case of Andrew Saalfrank showed, we are often the last to hear about these things. Fingers crossed it was simply fatigue rather than anything more meaningful. Ray’s subsequent addition to the roster is a hopeful sign, though the situation with Rule 5 picks and the IL is a murky one. [If they aren’t active for 90 days, the roster restriction carries forward to the next year] Hopefully, we’ll see him in spring, and any concerns about his health can be put to rest.

PHOENIX — Fans lined up and raced around the back fields at the Los Angeles Dodgers spring-training complex Friday, shrieking at the sight of him.

Photographers lugged their equipment around the complex, scurrying to see where he was going to go next.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spent his media session talking about him more than anyone.

It was Day 1 of the Dodgers spring training camp, and once again, all the buzz was about Shohei Ohtani.

When will he pitch in spring training? When is he leaving for the World Baseball Classic? Are you sure he won’t pitch in the WBC? How can he prepare to pitch while he’s with Team Japan for three weeks? Will he continue to bat leadoff on the days he starts for the Dodgers? How often will he pitch this season? Is he the opening day starter?

So many questions, so few answers.

Yep, just like ol’ times.

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The difference this year is that there will be no limitations on Ohtani. He is fully healthy after undergoing two Tommy John surgeries. He had a completely normal offseason where he was able to pitch, as well as hit. And he feels as strong as he ever has in his spectacular career.

“I think it’s fair to say he expects to be in the Cy Young conversation,’’ Roberts said, “but we just want him to be healthy, make starts, and all of the numbers and statistics will take care of themselves. But man, this guy is such a disciplined worker and expects the most from himself. …

“Regardless of my expectations for him, his are going to exceed those.’’

Yes, when you’re the winner of four unanimous MVP awards − including three in a row − win two World Series championships, and are the only player to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in the same season, why not try to check off the final box on the Hall of Fame resume?

Cy Young award, anyone?

“If the end result is getting a Cy Young, that’s great,’’ Ohtani said. “Getting a Cy Young means being able to throw more innings and being able to pitch throughout the whole season. So, if that’s the end result, that’s a good sign for me. What I’m more focused on is just being healthy the whole year.’’