Category: Baseball

As another former Mets’ skipper, Yogi Berra, once famously opined: “It’s getting late early”.

Fair or not, the writing is on the wall for current Mets’ manager Carlos Mendoza: His time with the club is approaching its end.

It felt somewhat inevitable with last year’s collapse, and it appears all but etched in stone as the team’s losing streak reached an unfathomable, incomprehensible eleven games. The Mets haven’t lost 11 straight since the 2004 season—incidentally, the team fired Art Howe about a week after that losing streak ended. If they lose on Tuesday, their losing streak will reach 12 games, their longest since 2002. Bobby Valentine was fired at the end of that season. It’s simply hard to survive that much prolonged failure, whether it’s directly your fault or not.

The current Mets’ situation calls to mind another skipper who faced the ax. In 2006, the Mets seemed poised for a World Series run, and their season was cut short in the NLCS (sound familiar?) In 2007, the Mets suffered a monumental collapse which concluded with a loss to the Marlins on the final day of the regular season (again, familiar?) In 2008, a lethargic start with sky-high expectations led to the team firing Willie Randolph in one of the most embarrassing (and inappropriate) ways imaginable, in the middle of the night after a win at the start of a June West Coast trip. While these two situations are not entirely mirror images, they do bear striking resemblances, and will likely end the same way—did I mention the Mets also poached Randolph from the Yankees, much like Mendoza?

I think the current Mets regime knows well enough not to repeat the same mistakes of the past regime—I will add, for no reason in particular, that the Mets do have a trip to Anaheim Los Angeles coming up in a couple of weeks, so Mendoza may want to book a back-up return flight, just in case. Hell, Mendoza may not even have a job by Tuesday, let alone two weeks from now. But the greater point is that, when captaining a ship that goes down the way the 2007 and 2025 Mets, it’s hard to recover in the court of public perception, unless everything goes right (and everything has, decidedly, gone wrong).

One could argue that, in both instances, the Mets should have never let it get to the point it did. The collapse of 2007 greatly overshadowed the success of 2006, to the point that Randolph entered 2008 a dead man walking. Similarly, the failures of 2025 all but erased the good will built up during the 2024 OMG/Grimace/Rally Pumpkin playoff run. With the Mets jettisoning basically every coach besides Mendoza after last season, it seemingly made sense to just clean house entirely. In failing to do so, Mendoza entered 2026 on a short leash, one that has all but run out with a disastrous start nobody, not even the most pessimistic in the fanbase or in the media, could have seen coming.

So that brings us to the $64,000 question (or, more accurately, the $381 million question): What should the Mets do with Mendoza? In times like this, when expectations are what they are and results are…well, this…something has to be done, and as we’ve all come to learn, you can’t fire or trade an entire team. The torches are getting hotter, the pitchforks are getting sharper, and the screams are getting louder, so much so that Steve Cohen and David Stearns cannot ignore it for that much longer. This failure, to be clear, falls squarely on the shoulders of the players, and while Mendoza is far from a great manager, he is the easiest target to do something and show the outside world that they are taking this seriously.

I’m of the belief that most managers don’t really have much of an impact on the day-to-day results, especially in modern baseball. I can’t even really point to much he could do differently in this exact scenario to make things better. I don’t think firing Mendoza will functionally change anything, and I’m not a huge believer of firings to “light a fire under the players’ asses” or whatever phrase you want to use. If nothing else, the players, led by Francisco Lindor, have given Mendoza a vote of confidence, but the way they’re playing, that means less than nothing. At the end of the day, Mendoza is the public face of this mess, and there’s enough criticism of his work that it won’t seem like a desperation move and people will come to understand the rationale.

Mendoza has two things strongly working against him: a) the aforementioned collapse, and b) an expiring contract. The Mets have fired managers with many more years left on their deal, so parting with a manager with a few months left to go anyway will not phase them. If anything, it makes a decision much easier, allowing them to review an interim—Kai Correa? Carlos Beltran? Probably the former more than the latter—and make a determination on the future direction they want to go in.

We can’t close this discussion without addressing the elephant in the room: David Stearns. Fans are extremely split, to put it mildly, on the job he has done here, with some praising his focus on modernizing the organization and improving the farm system, and others blasting the choices he’s made to field a competitive major league roster. Many fans already entered this season ready to throw hands with Stearns for letting some fan favorites go, and that was before these results. Stearns, it stands to reason, should face as much criticism as anyone for the early-season struggles, but let’s make one thing clear (and I say this without any inside knowledge whatsoever): Stearns is under no threat to be fired, this year or likely in many future years. Steve Cohen has put a lot of trust into Stearns, and letting go of him this early will torpedo any trust the organization may have in searching for his replacement, and make the organization a laughingstock—well, more of one, anyway. Moreover, Cohen would have to return to making the baseball decisions, and he does not seem eager to do so. Love him or hate him, Stearns is here to stay, to make the decision on both the Mets manager and future player and personnel moves for the foreseeable future.

So that brings us back to Mendoza. The Mets ultimately face two choices: Fire Mendoza or do nothing at all. There are no player moves to be made and no front office decisions to be had. As such, Mendoza is probably gone, if not in April, then before Memorial Day. Aside from the brief boost that inevitably follows a move like this—a warning to the players, an improvement in performance, a reprieve of negative public perception—the team will likely continue to underwhelm and miss the playoffs. Very few teams have lost 11 straight and rebounded, and this one, while loaded with talent, doesn’t inspire confidence that it can buck that trend.

This is the time for decisive action, not waffling from the team’s leadership. Stearns and Cohen currently have the media and weight of the fanbase breathing down their necks, and are facing harsh economic blowback (an empty stadium, fewer merch and concession sales, etc.) if they do nothing. If this is the decision the team is currently leaning towards, then the firing should probably happen before tomorrow’s game, because if the team builds up any momentum between now and, say, when they decide to fire him, it’ll look even worse. Mendoza’s time is clearing ticking, so the best (and perhaps most humane) thing to do would be to not let it drag on any longer and relieve him of his duties. It’s not entirely fair, but as we’ve learn, baseball isn’t always that fair.

The New York Yankees have obviously had many successful decades in their history, but despite winning more games than anyone in baseball in the ’80s, it ranks among their lowest-achieving. After losing the World Series in 1981, the Bombers wouldn’t play postseason baseball for well over a decade, not playing meaningful October ball again until 1995. Though that stretch was rough on the organizational level, they were fortunate enough to at least enjoy a player who would be one of the franchise greats during that stretch, Don Mattingly.

The Captain of the Yankees, despite having his career cut short by injuries, was a six-time All-Star, won nine Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, and an MVP award. In a so-so stretch in the Bronx, Mattingly provided excitement by reaching heights few players do.

Donald Arthur Mattingly
Born: April 20, 1961 (Evansville, IN)
Yankees Tenure: 1982-95

Drafted out of an Indiana high school in the 19th round of the 1979 MLB Draft, Mattingly absolutely tore up minor-league pitching from the beginning, and ascended to the big leagues within just a few years. After a solid season in Triple-A in 1982, Mattingly earned a call-up late in that season to join the big club in the Bronx. Wearing No. 46 at the time rather than the number that he would soon make famous, Mattingly recorded a pair of hits in seven games that season.

The future star earned himself a roster spot in 1983, but was unable to find much playing time on the veteran-laden team before returning to Triple-A Columbus. He once again destroyed the minors with an OPS over 1.000, and when a roster spot opened up due to Bobby Murcer’s retirement, Mattingly was called to fill it. Donnie Baseball would never look back.

That season, he showed he could at least survive in the big leagues with a 107 OPS+ in 305 plate appearances. As the years to come would show, Mattingly could do a far more than just survive — as he would enter more than a half-decade as one of the game’s better position players.

1984 was Mattingly’s first chance at a full-time role out of camp, and the lefty took full advantage of it. In 153 games, Donnie Baseball led the league in hits, doubles, and batting average (edging out teammate Dave Winfield in a memorable battle), while topping 20 homers and posting an astute 156 OPS+. That first All-Star season was only a sign of things to come, as Mattingly continued to blister American League pitching throughout the 1980s.

1985 saw Mattingly hit a different level, as he was now paired with speedster Rickey Henderson at the top of the lineup. The combination worked out as well as it could, as Henderson led the league with 146 runs, and Mattingly in RBI with 145. It was another step forward in the power department as well, as he swatted 35 homers, including 26 in the final 76 games. He led the league again in doubles, as well as RBI and total bases, while collecting another All-Star selection, a Silver Slugger, and the first of five straight Gold Gloves. His monster season was capped off with his selection as the 1985 American League MVP.

The following year was debatably even better for Mattingly. In 1986, the Yankees’ first baseman played in all 162 games, leading the league with a franchise-record (!) 238 hits and 53 doubles, also leading the majors at 388 total bases while swatting 30-plus homers once again en route to an AL-best (and career-best) 161 OPS+. He placed second in MVP voting, behind Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, but he continued to build on his trophy case, in the middle of what continued to be a stellar run.

As Mattingly entered his late-20s, he continued to produce as the leader of the Yankees. From 1987-89, the team captain averaged well over 20 homers, hit to the tune of a 136 OPS+, and collected an All-Star selection and a Gold Glove Award in each of those three years, as well as a Silver Slugger for good measure. The first of those seasons was one for the record books in two different ways, as Mattingly tied a record with homers in eight consecutive games from July 8th through the 18th and set a new standard with six grand slams in one year (a mark since tied by Cleveland’s Travis Hafner in 2006). It was a bit of a quirk, as he never hit a slam before ’87 and never hit another one after that year, but it was impressive nonetheless.

At the very beginning of the 1990 season, Mattingly signed a five-year $19.3 million deal, making him the highest-paid player in baseball. Despite the big price tag, this was also the time that Donnie Baseball’s career took a turn for the worse. By mid-season, he was hitting under .250, with essentially no power in the bat. It was not without reason, as the back he injured a few years prior was acting up again, and it was enough to force him to miss most of the season from July onward. It was the worst year of his career, as he hit just five homers with a 72 wRC+ in 428 plate appearances.

1991 was a subpar offensive year again, as Mattingly had a 99 wRC+ and hit just nine home runs in 152 games. He would experience a couple of bounce-back seasons in 1992 and ‘93, hitting 14 and 17 home runs respectively, and posting a 114 OPS+ in that span. He was no slouch, but his career was slowing down awfully fast for a 32-year-old former superstar.

Mattingly played well in the 1994 season, in what looked to be a prime chance for him to make his postseason debut with the Yanks leading the AL at 70-43, but it was a year that was cut short due to the strike. Although play resumed in ‘95, it was another disappointing year for Mattingly, now 34, and his worst in a few years with just six homers and a .754 OPS. Despite all this, he turned on the jets down the stretch as the Yankees just barely secured the first AL Wild Card with a 22-6 finish, Mattingly batting .321 with a .472 slugging percentage in his final month of regular-season play. He knew that he was probably jeopardizing any playing future due to severe wear and tear on his back through this kind of play, but his long wait for meaningful October baseball was over.

Although their postseason run only lasted through the Division Series thanks to a furious comeback by Seattle, Mattingly hit .417 with four doubles and a homer in his first postseason experience. It was a run that included one of the most thrilling moments in Yankees history, which literally made the old Yankee Stadium shake.

That postseason would come to stand as the end of Mattingly’s playing career at the age of 34. The Yankees would, of course, go on to win four World Series in the next five years.

Despite the lack of team success during his tenure, Mattingly’s impact on the franchise is impossible to deny. Not only did he help to usher in that new era of success, but there is something to be said for being the statistical and emotional leader of a team through forgettable times. Mattingly was also simply one of the game’s best at the peak of a career that was unfortunately cut short. The ripple effects of his leadership were felt during the dynasty that followed, as his character was held in the highest reverence by the likes of Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, and Paul O’Neill.

After his playing days were over, Mattingly went on to a successful career in the dugout, beginning as a hitting coach with the Yankees from 2004-06. He was bumped up to bench coach in 2007 and interviewed to succeed Joe Torre as Yankees skipper, but the club elected to go with Joe Girardi. So Mattingly joined Torre when he took the job as Dodgers manager, and he ended up succeeding him in LA in 2011. He was there at the ascendance of the Dodgers’ dynasty, winning the first three of their dozen division titles since 2013 before Dave Roberts replaced him. Mattingly then went on to lead the Marlins and garnered NL Manager of the Year honors for a surprise Wild Card berth with the Fish in the shortened 2020. He got his first taste of World Series play as the bench coach of the 2025 Blue Jays, but a ring continues to elude him. He currently serves as the bench coach for the Phillies, where his son Preston is the GM under Dave Dombrowski.

Although Mattingly has made a fair mark in the dugout for other franchises, it obviously pales in comparison to his impact on an otherwise dark period for the Yankees. His excellent play was poorly timed as far as the team goes, but that does not diminish its significance.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

In 2023, I thought it would be fun to title my series previews using lyrics from Beastie Boys songs. It seemed like a fine idea until the Phillies found themselves seven games under .500 in early June. I decided that they no longer deserved me making the effort to find an appropriate song lyric. Once I stopped, the team promptly began to play better.

As you may have noticed, I had been using Guns N’ Roses lyrics for my series preview titles, and just like in 2023, it hasn’t been going very well for the team. Therefore, GNR is being shelved, and I am switching back to the player-focused opposition research previews from last season. If the team’s fortunes turn around, feel free to thank me.

After a dreadful homestand, the Phillies will head to Wrigley Field to face the Cubs. Despite the Phillies’ success at home in recent seasons, it is probably for the best that they get away from the understandably irate hometown fans for a little bit.

After a slow start, the Cubs enter the series on a five-game winning streak, partly because they’ve had the good fortune of playing the Phillies and the Mets. One of their hottest hitters in second baseman Nico Hoerner, who appears to be adding top offensive performance to his elite defensive game.

Hoerner spent the first seven years of his career as an excellent defender (two Gold Gloves) and adequate hitter. You can do far worse than a Gold Glove middle infielder putting up an OPS over .700. But this season, he has been far more than adequate. He’s batting .325 with three home runs (his career high for a season is ten) and leads the NL with 21 RBIs.

There’s a good chance the Hoerner won’t be able to keep it up and he’ll slowly regress closer to the numbers we’re used to. But if he can find a way to continue this performance for a full season, he’ll likely find himself in MVP discussions at the end of the year.

Pennant year song battle

It’s a Mistake by Men at Work defeated Clumsy to hold on to the title.

The next contender comes from 2022 and describes how most Phillies fans feel about the team right now: I Hate U by SZA:

Vote now:

Additional thought about the series

Maybe the team really has collapsed, and the future is as bleak as some want to believe. But I still have trouble looking at the roster and seeing a bad team, despite what the on-field results indicate. It would be one thing if the older players were showing a drastic drop off, but that hasn’t really been the problem. It just seems to be a team-wide malaise in which they’ve been a special combination of unlucky and bad.

This core has gone through other awful stretches in recent seasons (Think May 2023 and July 2024) and eventually came out of it, so there’s reason to believe they will do so again. But darned if this hasn’t been painful to watch.

This past Friday, amid the Mets' then-eight-game losing streak, president of baseball operations David Stearns spoke with reporters in the dugout ahead of the team's three-game series with the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Stearns, who regularly makes himself available to reporters once per homestand and also speaks to provide updates on big injuries or big player moves, does not ordinarily have the kind of press gaggle that he did on Friday.

The Mets were on the road. There was no injury to announce. There was no move to discuss.

Stearns was simply being accountable, given the Mets' rough stretch.

That day, Stearns expressed confidence in manager Carlos Mendoza, talked about the team's offensive difficulties, and said that urgency was not the issue.

Then, the Mets went out and got swept by the Cubs, extending their losing streak to 11 games while falling to 7-15 on the year.

The season is by no means lost, but it's getting to a point where the Mets are flirting with digging a hole that might be too big to climb out of.

With that as the backdrop, who is to blame for what has gone wrong this season?

Let's assess it, from least responsible to most...

Carlos Mendoza

Managers are often the fall guys when teams underperform. And Mendoza, who is in the final guaranteed year of the three-year contract he signed when he was hired by Stearns in November of 2023, is a lame duck of sorts.

The Mets hold a club option on Mendoza for the 2027 season, but just overhauled most of his coaching staff and jettisoned a big chunk of the roster's core.

Still, there's seemingly not much Mendoza could be doing that would change what has befallen the Mets.

During their 11-game losing streak, the Mets have lost nine times because they couldn't score more than a few runs, and lost twice because Kodai Senga got shellacked.

This entire streak has also come without Juan Soto, which should add an asterisk to it -- especially when assessing the manager.

Meanwhile, already without Soto, the Mets recently lost Jorge Polanco to the IL.

That has left Mendoza to insert players who would either be backups or in Triple-A into a lineup that was already drastically underperforming.

If there's one thing that is fair to partially lay at the feet of Mendoza, it's the alarming amount of mental errors the team has made, including forgetting how many outs there are and being out of position. But it's unfair to blame him for whatever has been going on with Francisco Lindor, who has been in a bit of a fog in the field at times.

With all that said, it's fair to wonder what the Mets will do if their losing streak reaches 13 or 14 games, or if they have a brutal nine-game homestand against the Twins, Rockies, and Nationals.

David Stearns

As the person responsible for assembling the roster, it is Stearns who shoulders much more of the blame for what is happening.

That these struggles are going on a few months after Stearns really put his stamp on the team by moving on from Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, and Edwin Diaz has put an even bigger magnifying glass on the situation.

However, it's fair to point out that most people who cover baseball for a living (and most projection systems) had the 2026 Mets being a very good team. And after the 2025-26 offseason started slowly for New York, Stearns pounced late, turning the Mets into a team many thought would win the NL East.

But paper doesn't always translate to the field. And while Stearns brought in players whose additions were lauded (including Bo Bichette), his plan also meant that a big portion of the roster would be adjusting on the fly to a new team, a new market, and -- in some cases -- a new position.

About the positional situation...

Bichette being at third base (where he's looked much more smooth lately), a revolving door of players who aren't natural first basemen manning that position, and some others who are natural infielders being in right field with Soto out (including Brett Baty) hasn't helped. But it has also been blown out of proportion. Specifically, fielding issues haven't cost the Mets any games during this losing streak.

It should also be noted that Stearns' infamous "run prevention" term had just as much to do with pitching as it did with defense. It's strange that many seem to have forgotten that.

In any event, the early on-field returns on Stearns' offseason are poor. Aside from Luis Robert Jr., all of the key offensive additions have performed poorly at the plate. That includes Bichette (54 OPS+, uncharacteristically high strikeout rate), Jorge Polanco (who had a 52 OPS+ before landing on the IL) and Marcus Semien, who was brought in mostly for his glove, but whose struggles have been a tough juxtaposition with how Brandon Nimmo is performing for the Rangers -- slashing .311/.386/522 with four homers.

While Nimmo has excelled, the three other core pieces who are no longer Mets are not performing well. Alonso (92 OPS+, two homers), McNeil (94 OPS+), and Edwin Diaz (10.50 ERA, 2.33 WHIP, diminished velocity, possible health issue) have all had their own issues.

Devin Williams, Diaz's replacement, got off to a great start before getting tagged last week in the first game he had pitched in eight days, and blowing the save in Sunday's loss. So the jury is still very much out on that move.

The players

There have been some unforeseen circumstances thrown in the players' way to start the season.

The most crippling was the injury to Soto, which has taken an MVP-level bat out of the middle of the lineup.

Another is the fact that Lindor could still be dealing with the after-effects of surgery on his hamate bone.

The Mets have also played in some truly awful weather conditions over the first three-plus weeks of the season, and have been handed a schedule that borders on the absurd (including the fact that they've already made two separate trips to the West Coast).

But good teams persevere through obstacles, and this Mets team has not done so.

The most alarming thing on the offensive side has been the performance of Bichette. And while Lindor's bat has start to come around, others -- including Baty and Mark Vientos -- haven't done much. Carson Benge has been better lately, but still needs to do a lot more.

There's also the approach, which has been in between far too often, with hitters expanding the zone, failing to work deep counts, hitting the ball on the ground too much, and watching hittable fastballs go by.

On the pitching side of things, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, and Freddy Peralta have been formidable in the rotation. But both Senga and David Peterson have struggled so badly lately that their spots in the rotation came into question. 

The bullpen performed well out of the gate, but has stumbled lately, including poor performances by Williams, Luke Weaver, and Brooks Raley -- who were all terrific for the first few weeks of the season.

As has been noted already multiple times, though, this tailspin has been mostly on the offense. And it will be on that group to turn this around before it's too late.

Crochet concerns, and more takeaways from series split with Tigers originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox offense woke up Monday to help salvage their four-game series against the Detroit Tigers with an 8-6 victory.

Boston mustered only four runs across the first three games of the series. Left-hander Ranger Suarez carried the load in Friday’s 1-0 win with eight scoreless innings, but Brayan Bello and Garrett Crochet failed to make up for the lack of offense in Games 2 and 3. The Red Sox finally broke through with timely hitting — despite a glaring lack of power — in the series finale.

Now 9-13 on the season, the Red Sox will welcome the first-place New York Yankees (13-9) to Fenway Park for a pivotal three-game set. First, let’s get into our instant takeaways from the series split with Detroit:

Garrett Crochet’s struggles continue

After allowing 11 runs (10 earned) in just 1.2 IP in a nightmare start vs. the Minnesota Twins, Crochet had another rough outing against Detroit. The left-handed ace allowed five earned runs on seven hits, including two homers, in his third loss of the season. His ERA climbed to 7.88, effectively killing his American League Cy Young hopes after his runner-up finish last year.

A disastrous fifth inning spoiled what appeared to be a bounce-back start for Crochet on Sunday. He let up a Jahmai Jones solo homer before walking Gleyber Torres, allowing a single to Matt Vierling, and giving up a three-run homer to Dillon Dingler.

“Last one, it was so bad that you can’t really even have any emotion about it,” Crochet said after Sunday’s 6-2 loss. “This one, I felt like I was just dominating until I wasn’t.”

The good news is Crochet is fully healthy. His velocity returned to normal on Sunday as his 35 fastballs averaged 95.8 mph, up from his 94.9 mph on 13 fastballs in Minnesota. He’ll hope to rebound when Boston heads to Baltimore after its three-game series against the Yankees at Fenway Park.

Ranger Suarez has returned to form

Suarez has settled in after struggling through spring training, the World Baseball Classic, and his first two starts of the campaign. After tossing six scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston’s prized offseason acquisition didn’t allow a run in eight innings of work vs. Detroit.

With Crochet going through a rough patch, the Red Sox needed Suarez to step up and perform like the No. 2 starter he was expected to be when he signed a five-year, $130 million deal in free agency. He has done just that in his last two starts, and he’ll be counted on to continue that trend when he takes the hill against the Yankees on Wednesday.

Still no pop in the lineup

The Red Sox hit just one homer — a solo shot by Willson Contreras — in the four-game series against Detroit. They’re tied with the San Francisco Giants for the fewest homers (13) in MLB.

This was the expected consequence of failing to add another slugger to the lineup over the winter. Contreras, their lone significant offensive addition, leads the group with four homers this season. Wilyer Abreu (three) and Trevor Story (two) are the only Sox hitters with more than one homer thus far.

Ceddanne Rafaela stepping up

Rafaela was the hero in the series finale, coming through with a pinch-hit two-run double to put the Red Sox ahead in the seventh inning. It was a nice piece of hitting as he poked an 0-2 pitch down the right field line.

Rafaela has quietly been one of Boston’s most consistent bats. He ranks second among qualified Red Sox hitters in batting average (.286) and on-base percentage (.366), and third in OPS (.747).

It might be Payton Tolle time

Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray exited Monday’s start in the third inning due to right hamstring tightness. Manager Alex Cora stated after the game that the veteran will undergo an MRI on Tuesday to determine the severity of the injury, but it isn’t expected to be serious.

Even if it’s a minor issue, Gray could miss at least one start. That may open the door for top Red Sox prospect Payton Tolle to rejoin the rotation. The hard-throwing left-hander already joined the club after being scratched from his scheduled Triple-A start on Saturday, in case a weather postponement forced Boston to play a doubleheader on Monday. It’s unclear how Tolle would fit into the Red Sox’ plans once Gray returns (if he’s even placed on the IL), but he has to be considered the clear frontrunner to replace Gray for a spot start if necessary.

This week’s minor league roundup will only feature the numbers accumulated prior to the start of play on Monday.

This was the 1st a week of full minor league play.

According to FanGraphs (which factors in age and proximity to the big leagues), 22-year old backstop Caden Bodine the top hitter in the Rays system; the Rays acquired the former 1st round pick in the Shane Baz deal. Bodine is currently hitting .407/.475/.630 with 2 HR over 63 PA; notably, he has only struck out twice.

Meanwhile, Aidan Cremarosa is the team’s top minor league pitcher. The 22-year old was taken by the Rays in the 8th round of the 2025 draft out of Fresno State. Thus far in three starts, Cremarosa has a 4.50 ERA | 1.51 FIP with a 42.9 K% & 1.8 BB% over 14 IP.

RUMBLINGS

• Infielder Jader Areinamo made his debut after opening the year on the Injured List with a hamstring issue. He is hitting .222/.263/.556 with 2 HR over 19 PA.
• Homer Bush began a rehab assignment with Single-A Charleston. Once his rehab is complete, he should take a starting job in Triple-A Durham
• Theo Gillen hasn’t played since going 0-4 with 3 strikeouts on April 14th

TEAM LEADERS

• Must currently be assigned to that team
• Baseball America’s top ten prospects are featured below each team they’re currently assigned to.
• (minimum of 30 TBF for pitchers)

Tampa Bay Rays

Top 10 Prospects

• None currently on active roster

Durham Bulls

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .323, Victor Mesa Jr
OBP: .417, Victor Mesa Jr
SLG: .565, Victor Mesa Jr
HR: 4,Justyn-Henry Malloy and Dom Keegan
wRC+: 157, Victor Mesa Jr
SB: 14, Jacob Melton

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 0.00, Evan Reifert & Trevor Martin
FIP: 1.94, Andrew Wantz
K%: 35.3%, Logan Workman
BB%: 7.5%, Andrew Wantz
WHIP: 1.13, Evan Reifert
AVG: .080, Evan Reifert
WHIFF%: 17.8%, Kodi Whitley

Top 10 Prospects

• #1 Brody Hopkins
  • AAA: 2.45 ERA | 5.46 FIP | 26.3 K% | 21.3 BB% | .194 AVG | 12.7 WHIFF% | 18.1 IP
• #3 Jacob Melton
  • AAA: .207/.319/.397 | 41.1 K% | 15.1 BB% | 1 HR | 14 SB | 85 wRC+ | 73 PA

Montgomery Biscuits

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .341, Cooper Kinney
OBP: .453, Cooper Kinney
SLG: .591, Cooper Kinney
HR: 3, Will Simpson
wRC+: 171, Cooper Kinney
SB: 16, Austin Overn

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.00, Michael Forret
FIP: 4.63, Jack Kartsonas
K%: 28.3%, Santiago Suarez & Garrett Edwards
BB%:  6.5%, Jack Kartsonas
WHIP: 0.95, Garrett Edwards
AVG: .138, Michael Forret
WHIFF%: 16.3%, Santiago Suarez

Top 10 Prospects

• #4 T.J. Nichols
  • AA: 1.80 ERA | 2.12 FIP | 25.0 K% | 0.0 BB% | .300 AVG | 12.3 WHIFF% | 5 IP
    • 4/7: Placed on Injured List
• #6 Santiago Suarez
  • AA: 6.08 ERA | 5.48 FIP | 28.3 K% | 8.3 BB% | .241 AVG | 14.3 WHIFF% | 13.1 IP
• #8 Michael Forret
  • AA: 2.00 ERA | 7.09 FIP | 27.0 K% | 21.6 BB% | .138 AVG | 16.3 WHIFF% | 9 IP

Bowling Green Hot Rods

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .317, Nathan Flewelling
OBP: .404, Nathan Flewelling
SLG: .683, Nathan Flewelling
HR: 4, Nathan Flewelling & Connor Hujsak
wRC+: 185, Nathan Flewelling
SB: 7, Tony Santa Maria

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 1.29, Andres Galan
FIP: 2.71, T.J. Fondtain
K%: 29.5%, Trevor Harrison
BB%: 2.6%, Jacob Kisting
WHIP: 0.70, Jacob Kisting
AVG: .162, Jacob Kisting
WHIFF%: 15.6%, Andres Galan

Top 10 Prospects

• #2 Theo Gillen
  • A+: .290/.371/.774 | 28.6 K% | 5.7 BB% | 4 HR | 3 SB | 194 wRC+ | 35 PA
• #5 Anderson Brito
  • A+: 3.72 ERA | 2.94 FIP | 25.6 K% | 7.0 BB% | .237 AVG | 13.8 WHIFF% | 9.2 IP
• #10 Aidan Smith
  • A+: Hasn’t played in 2026
    • 4/2: Placed on the Injured List

Charleston River Dogs

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .407, Caden Bodine
OBP: .475, Caden Bodine
SLG: .630, Caden Bodine
HR: 3, Brendan Summerhill and Daniel Pierce
wRC+: 196, Caden Bodine
SB: 4, Derek Datil & Daniel Pierce

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.00, Trey Pooser
FIP: 1.51, Aidan Cremarosa
K%: 42.9%, Aidan Cremarosa
BB%: 1.8%, Aidan Cremarosa
WHIP: 0.73, Alex Wallace
AVG: .147, Alex Wallace
WHIFF%: 20.2%, Aidan Cremarosa

Top 10 Prospects

• #7 Daniel Pierce
  • A: .286/.364/.510 | 34.5 K% | 7.3 BB% | 3 HR | 4 SB | 134 wRC+ | 55 PA
• #9 Brendan Summerhill
  • A: .188/.235/.375 | 23.5 K% | 3.9 BB% | 3 HR | 0 SB | 61 wRC+ | 51 PA

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals begin a three-game set tonight at Kauffman Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET. 

With the reliable Seth Lugo on the hill, I’m eyeing Kansas City to end their seven-game skid in my Orioles vs. Royals predictions. 

Read more for my MLB picks for Monday, April 20. 

Who will win Orioles vs Royals today: Royals moneyline (+102)

The Kansas City Royals are struggling, sitting eight games below .500, and scoring just four runs across their last two games. However, right-hander Seth Lugo takes the ball in the series opener, and he’s compiled a 1.48 ERA across four starts.

Kyle Bradish takes the mound for the Baltimore Orioles, and he owns a 5.49 ERA. He sports a middling fastball that has been hit hard, and he's got an 11.4% walk rate, which ranks in the 33rd percentile.

It's a great opportunity for Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone to break out. Both rank among baseball's best in hard-hit rate, and average exit velocity, so their power outages to start the season are screaming positive regression.

KC has won two of its last three at Kauffman Stadium. While the Royals didn’t score a ton of runs in those games, they will capitalize on Bradish's uneven performance to eke out a win.

COVERS INTEL: Lugo is one of seven qualified starters not to allow a home run in 2026.

Orioles vs Royals Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (+106)

Neither team is scoring a lot of runs this season. The Royals are 30th in runs scored, and they’ve cashed the Under in two of their last three. 

Baltimore has also hit the Under in two of its last four games, and is batting just .201 on the road in 2026. Three of the last four meetings between these teams have cashed the Under. 

While I expect the Royals to score some runs off the shaky Bradish, they’ve shown no ability to explode offensively. As for Lugo, he’s consistent, and he will limit the O’s.

Orioles vs Royals odds

• Moneyline: Orioles -104 | Royals +100
• Run line: Orioles -1.5 (+150) | Royals +1.5 (-156)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-127) | Under 8.5 (+122)

Orioles vs Royals trend

The Kansas City Royals have hit the Game Total Under in 31 of their last 50 games (+10.40 Units / 19% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Orioles vs. Royals.

How to watch Orioles vs Royals and game info

Orioles vs Royals latest injuries

Orioles vs Royals weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Atlanta Braves are now just about halfway through a 13-game stretch of facing nothing but NL East opponents — including this Philadelphia Phillies team twice. Naturally, this seemed like the trickier proposition for the Braves to deal with since this was taking place in Philadelphia and they were dealing with a Phillies club that was desperate to get their season going in the right direction while also making a statement that they’d be nipping at the heels of the Braves sooner rather than later.

As it turned out, it was the Braves who made the statement. While Atlanta hadn’t dropped a series all season to this point, they still had yet to break out the brooms and establish real dominance over the course of a series. That changed after this weekend’s affairs, as the Braves picked a fantastic time to pick up their first sweep of the 2026 season. It’s one thing to sweep any other ballclub — it’s another to do it against the Phillies and in Philadelphia, no less. Let’s go ahead and take a look back at what ended up being a very lovely time for the Braves in Citizens Bank Ballpark.

Friday, April 17

Braves 9, Phillies 0

This was the perfect way for the Braves to start off this series, as Atlanta dominated this one from start-to-finish. The big story in this one was Austin Riley essentially picking up where he left off in that series win in Cobb County against the Marlins. He nearly had two dingers in that series finale, as one actually went over the fence and the other nearly went out but stayed in the stadium for a double. The ol’ bandbox in Philadelphia couldn’t contain Riley on this night, as he hit two bombs and plated four RBIs as he continued to make his presence felt for the Braves.

While the Braves were busy beating up on Taijuan Walker and the rest of Philadelphia’s pitching staff, the Phillies were unable to crack the code of Martín Pérez. The veteran hurler wrapped up a whirlwind week by going six innings and striking out four Phillies batters along the way. It was actually looking pretty shaky to start with for Pérez as he found himself in a bases-loaded situation in the very first inning but once he escaped that jam unscathed, it was relatively smooth sailing from there. Not even a one-out triple from Bryce Harper in the third could get Pérez to wobble.

Jose Suarez entered the game after Pérez was done and he ended up carrying the torch to the finish line as he covered the final three innings of this one. Winning a game 9-0 is very pleasing on its own merits. Winning 9-0, on the road, against a divisional rival and only having to use two pitchers in the process is worth its weight in gold, folks.

Saturday, April 18

Braves 3, Phillies 1

Right after the Braves got done shutting Philadelphia out with the unlikely-but-apparently-dynamic duo of Martín Pérez and Jose Suarez, it couldn’t have been a comforting thought for the Phillies knowing that their next trip to the ballpark meant that they’d have to contend with Chris Sale. Indeed, Sale ended up making life very difficult for Philadelphia’s lineup in this one as he finished up with just one run allowed on five hits while also striking out seven batters. The only blemish for Sale on the night came from Felix Reyes hitting a home run in the very fist at-bat of his major league career — outside of that, Sale did his job in ensuring that the misery continued for the Phillies.

That was as good as it got for the Phillies on the night, as they couldn’t figure out Sale and also had a devil of a time dealing with Dylan Lee and closer Robert Suarez — who closed this game out because Raisel Iglesias took the day off because he slept bad on his shoulder. As a 37-year-old, I can 100 percent relate to Raisel Iglesias being 36-years-old and having his day ruined because he slept funny. Brother, I feel you.

Anyways, the offense was delivered by Austin Riley (who is now on fire following his sluggish start to the season) and Mauricio Dubón. Riley’s luck has completely turned around because he plated one with an infield single that was hit basically in no-man’s land for the Phillies to effectively field. Mauricio Dubón continued to impress at the plate as his bloop RBI knock plated two runners in order to make it 3-1, which is how this game ended. If Chris Sale is on point, three runs is usually enough to get the job done and that was the case on Saturday.

Sunday, April 19

Braves 4, Phillies 2

We got another example of Walt Weiss putting his thumb on the scale when it comes to his bullpen decision-making. The Braves were clinging to the 4-2 lead (that eventually became the final score) in the fifth innings after they had pushed three runs across the plate in the top half of the inning in order to get to that point. Grant Holmes got into a situation where there was a runner on second with Kyle Schwarber set to come up to the plate. Instead of giving the Phillies a third crack at Holmes, Weiss made a shrewd decision to go to Aaron Bummer in order to get the final out of the fifth.

While Bummer did give up a double to Schwarber, he induced a ground ball that Austin Riley made a great play on in order to end the inning. Again, that decision ended up being crucial since the game ended up finishing 4-2. I’m not going to sit here and say that former manager Brian Snitker is a bad manager because that would be a lie but also I think we all know that this would’ve been handled differently if Snitker had been in charge. It’s likely that Snit would’ve kept Holmes in the game in order to let him get through five and qualify for the win. Instead of being loyal to a fault, Weiss decided to go with a fresh arm in that situation and the decision paid off. There are pros and cons to both approaches but if you’d rather see managers approach games with more of a sense of urgency then you had to have liked what you saw from Weiss in this moment.

Anyways. the fifth inning was certainly the decisive frame in this one. It started with the Braves loading up the bases down 2-1 (and running Andrew Painter from the game, who had been effective up until that point) and the game turned after Matt Olson collected an RBI on a groundout, Austin Riley legged out another infield RBI single to put Atlanta ahead and then Ozzie Albies delivered the double that gave them some cushion. The timely hitting and shutdown work from the bullpen helped ensure that Atlanta would leave Philadelphia with a satisfying sweep.

If last season’s start was the absolute nightmare scenario for the Atlanta Braves then this season’s start has been a dream start. Not only are they already eight games over .500 (as opposed to beginning the season seven games underwater), they’ve also gotten off to this hot start while everybody else in the division has been mediocre-to-bad. Having a five-game cushion already is pretty nice and being up 6.5 games on the Phillies and 8 games up on the Mets is pretty huge. I think we all know better than to start celebrating a divisional title in April but as far as opening up the season goes, the results couldn’t be more ideal for the Braves.

This might sound a bit silly or overcautious to say but the series-winning streak could very well be in jeopardy to begin this week. While the Nationals haven’t been in the best vein of form to get this season started (although it’s a pretty solid start for them relative to expectations), they have been hitting the ball pretty well so far and it’s always a tough ask of any road team to win a four-game series on the road. With that being said and when you consider how this Braves team is going at the moment, would you bet against them?

Either way, this is certainly an exciting start to the season for the Braves. Austin Riley is finally starting to heat up and look like himself, the pitching has continued to get the job done across the board, the defense has been lights-out (as you’ll see below) and there’s even help on the way in the form of Sean Murphy and Spencer Strider.

No matter how you slice it, the Braves are in a very good spot right now. They’ve started this 13-game NL East gauntlet with a 5-1 run and could potentially end this gauntlet by putting their divisional foes in a serious hole. We’ll see what happens going forward but for now, it’s time to have fun and enjoy this run. As we all know based on what happened last season, it certainly beats the alternative! Long may this strong run of form continue for the Braves, please.

All the good vibes from last week have disappeared as the Twins are now on a four-game skid, mostly thanks to an ineffective bullpen and bad defensive play. Despite three straight elite starts this weekend from Joe Ryan, Taj Bradley, and Bailey Ober, who only gave up three earned runs in 18.1 combined innings, the rest of the team was fairly ineffective. It seems like when it rains, it pours for the Twins, with the news today that Mick Abel, who has been fairly impressive to start the season, is now on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation, and the Twins, in response, have called up Kendry Rojas and Connor Prielipp. Let the youth movement begin!

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
• We’re starting a new segment called Daily Questions! Provide your opinion on the Twins and debate with the community!
• Game threads and recaps are back! Commiserate with your fellow fans as we experience the season together.
• After looking at the Twins’ results against lefties, Zach Koenig evaluates the recent run of success against Cy Young contenders.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• Aaron Gleeman at The Athletic looks at the Twins’ decision to promote pitching prospect Andrew Morris to the bullpen.
• Bobby Nightengale at the Star Tribune checks in on Tom Pohlad and his approach to the season.
• In some good news, Betsy Helfand at the Pioneer Press checks in on Kody Funderburk and his wife, Alicia, as they prepare to add a new member to their family.
• Matthew Leach at MLB.com reviews the numbers behind the Twins’ 11-11 start to the season.

In the World of Baseball:

• It’s still a logjam in the American League, with seven teams (including the Twins) within 2.0 games of the league-leading Yankees. Maybe what is most surprising is how far the Astros and Royals have fallen in the standings, with the Astros on a four-game losing streak and the Royals on a seven-game losing streak.
• The Mets have been the story of the National League, as they are on an 11-game losing streak. Their NL East compatriots in Philadelphia have also been uncharacteristically bad, as they are on their own five-game losing streak.
• AJ Cassavell at MLB.com looks at how Mason Miller is powering the Padres in their recent winning ways.
• It’s never too early to think about the trade deadline. David Schoenfield at ESPN provides a trade candidate for each team.
• More feel-good stories (even if it’s for an AL Central rival) – Austin Hedges had a memorable day in Cleveland with a win and a marriage proposal.

The Cubs had an excellent week after dropping the first game of their series in Philadelphia. Following that loss, they reeled off five straight wins over the Phillies and Mets and outscored those teams 39-13 in the five games. So they got excellent pitching and lots of hitting, too.

Here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs over the past week.

Three up

Nico Hoerner continues his MVP-level play

Nico had a pair of three-hit games over the past week and overall hit .346/.357/.577 (9-for-26) with two home runs, four runs scored, two stolen bases and 11 RBI. He leads all of MLB with 21 RBI following Sunday’s walk-off sacrifice fly.

Beyond that, Nico continues to play his usual stellar defense. Here are two outstanding plays he made on Friday.

First, a diving stop of this ground ball [VIDEO].

Then, a leaping grab of this line drive [VIDEO].

Carson Kelly had some big hits

Kelly started four of the six games, but his biggest hit was, of course, the pinch-hit three-run homer he hit on Saturday [VIDEO].

Overall, Kelly batted .333/.412/.733 (5-for-15) in the five games in which he played, with two home runs, two walks and six RBI. He’s got to be one of the best free-agent signings the Cubs have made over the last few years. The team has a mutual $7.5 million option with him for 2027. Most mutual options get declined, but I’d love for the Cubs to find a way to keep him another year.

Shōta Imanaga looks like he’s back to his 2024 form

Imanaga had a brilliant, dominant outing against the Phillies last Wednesday, throwing six innings, allowing three hits and a run, striking out 11 [VIDEO].

After a somewhat-rough first start this year, Imanaga has a 1.06 ERA and 0.529 WHIP over his last three starts, with three walks and 24 strikeouts in 17 innings — and only one home run allowed in that span.

Keep that up and the Cubs ought to offer him a contract extension.

Hat tip to Riley Martin, who has been really good in relief since being called up. Over the week, Martin threw 3.1 shutout innings. He faced 11 batters and retired 10 of them, and is rapidly joining Craig Counsell’s circle of trust. I really like what I’ve seen from Martin so far — good pitch mix, good mound presence, attacks hitters.

Another hat tip to Moisés Ballesteros, who went 6-for-10 with a home run in five games over the past week.

Three down

Michael Busch continues to struggle

Busch had a good year in 2024 and a great 2025. Last year he smashed 34 homers during the regular season and four more in eight postseason games. That’s a pretty good established track record over more than 1,000 plate appearances.

Thus his .164/.262/.192 slash line in 84 PA, with no home runs, seems somewhat inexplicable. Good hitters do occasionally have struggles, but generally not for this long.

Here’s hoping he breaks out of it during the Phillies series at Wrigley this week.

One of these days, Alex Bregman will break out

Bregman hasn’t been bad… he just hasn’t been all that good, yet. He does draw walks, three of them over the week giving him a .357 OBP in the six games. Going 7-for-25 gave him a .280 BA, which also isn’t bad… but all of those hits were singles, and Bregman has only three extra-base hits this year (a double and two home runs).

Historically, Bregman has been a slow starter, as his career .762 OPS in March/April is his lowest of any month. Hopefully, he will heat up as the calendar turns to May. (Before that would be okay, too!)

Pete Crow-Armstrong is also off to a rough start

PCA had a slow beginning to his season in 2025, too, batting just .211/.286/.263 (12-for-57) with no home runs over his first 15 games, before he had a breakout series at Dodger Stadium, hitting a double, triple and two home runs.

This year, in 21 games, pretty similar: .222/.276/.309 (18-for-81) with one home run. He’s also been caught stealing three times in seven attempts.

The Cubs get to Dodger Stadium this weekend. Perhaps that will get him going.

PCA does continue to play stellar defense. Here’s a nice running catch he made on Sunday [VIDEO].

The defense alone gives him 0.7 bWAR so far this year, and he leads all of MLB in defensive bWAR with 0.8.

It’s no secret that the Atlanta Braves track record with international free agents has been under scrutiny. The last decade has been defined by penalties, struggles, injuries, and also hitting some winning lottery tickets. I have decided to take a closer look at the classes of the last decade and break down what has actually happened with the players the team has signed.

This is a list of everyone of note that the Braves have signed on the international market since the infamous class with Kevin Maitan, for which the Braves were severely punished due to former GM John Coppolella breaking rules. For the years related to the penalties I am listing just the notable players who signed, or if none will list the player who made it the furthest up the system. In years where the Braves had even half of an international bonus pool available, I will list anyone who signed for at least $100k, as well as anyone else of relevance.

The 2026 class is being skipped over, as it’s impossible to have any judgements on a group of kids who haven’t even made their pro debuts yet. I am also trying to stay very conservative on my opinions on the 2025 class, as one season in the DSL isn’t much data to go on yet.

Bonus data is from Spotrac, though I have been able to verify some of the bonus data that they had listed as N/A through additional sources. Some of the small bonus data isn’t readily available, but anyone listed as N/A would most definitely have cost $10k or less as signings for that price do not count against bonus pools.

2016-2017

Jefrey Ramos $250k

Braulio Vasquez $100k

In the first class after that Maitan class, the Braves were very limited in what they could spend, getting to spend $830k in total without being able to go over $250k to sign anyone. They gave $250k bonuses to Ramos and Charles Reyes, then $100-130k to three more guys, including Vasquez. Ramos was once seen as a bit of a prospect, especially after a .930 OPS in the then-GCL in 2017. He never quite did much more after that, with a .715 OPS in then-Low-A Rome in 2018 being his next best mark. Ramos did reach Double-A, where he spent 2021 and 2022, but in 85 games there he posted just a .549 OPS. Reyes topped out a level above the GCL/FCL, at then short season Danville, but has been out of baseball since after his 2021 season. Vasquez is the player who advanced the furthest, reaching High-A in 2022, after some Low-A success that year. That was his last time playing in the US, as he played in Japan in 2024 and had a brief stint in a Mexican independent league last year.

While the results for this class weren’t good, it’s hard to complain about them due to the limitations on the front office.

2017-2018

Roddery Munoz $30k

Daysbel Hernandez $190k

Another year with some strict limitations, and the top bonus given was $300k to Asmin Bautista. Still the Braves managed to find a pair of lottery tickets that became big leaguers. Daysbel Hernandez, who signed for $190k, has appeared in 59 big leagues games over parts of the three previous seasons, posting a 3.38 ERA and 1.47 WHIP as an up and down depth piece in the bullpen. Last year he saw the most action of his career, totaling 37 innings pitched, and seeing himself cross the rookie eligibility threshold. Roddery Munoz, who received just $30k, was once a power-armed prospect. He was waived in-season in 2023, but has since appeared in 30 big league games with Miami, St. Louis, and Houston since the start of the 2024 season. He actually made 17 starts in 2024 for the Marlins, though his results haven’t been good and he has a career 7.10 ERA.

This class is pretty much as good as you could hope for with the penalties. When you basically can’t spend money and still end up with two guys who have reached the big leagues, it is very much a positive.

2018-2019

Francisco Floyd $200k

Frankelvin Vidal $165k

Cesari Moreno $135k

Royber Salinas $35k

Geraldo Quintero N/A

Rolddy Munoz $20k

Another year with strict limitations, with three guys signing for over $100k. Francisco Floyd got the biggest bonus at $200k, though he has been out of baseball since the end of the 2023 season, and had reached Low-A. The other two guys to count against the pool were Frankelvin Vidal and Cesari Moreno, who only got as high as the GCL/FCL. Still the Braves have found some things despite the limitations on them. Roddery Munoz’s brother Rolddy received just $20k, but has pitched in four big league games between last year and this year. Royber Salinas was a part of the deal to bring Sean Murphy to the Braves in 2023, but actually re-joined the Braves in 2025. Salinas reached as high as Triple-A in the A’s organization, though injuries held him back a bit. Geraldo Quintero spent the last two seasons in Double-A, posting a .225/.330/.340 slash at that level in 196 games, though wasn’t brought back for this season.

Considering the limitations this year was a bit of a win with the small money signings. The three guys who counted against the pool didn’t do anything, but they still found a big leaguer, a piece which brought back an impact trade addition – and another potential big leaguer if not for injuries, as well as a guy who spent multiple seasons in the upper minors. To get that kind of impact for under $100k has to be a positive.

2019-2020

Elison Joseph N/A

The roughest year in the sanction years was this year, as the Braves were banned for signing anyone for more than $10k. This was the year the Braves had been expected to sign top prospect Robert Puason – who has been a bust with the A’s. Still the Braves were able to land Elison Joseph, who is now in his third season in Double-A, and is still a prospect in the system. Joseph, who is a reliever, was one of the first cuts from Battery Power’s Honorable Mention list to our Preseason Top 30 prospects after he posted a 4.31 ERA and 1.66 WHIP with a 12.9 K/9 in 39.2 innings with Columbus last year.

Not being able to spend over $10k on a prospect makes this class seem like it would be a dud, however the Braves have found a legitimate prospect anyway – and one who could potentially see the big leagues at some point this year. Joseph presently has a 1.50 ERA and 1.83 WHIP through six innings of work, though command has continued to be an issue.

2021

Ambioris Tavarez $1.5M

Jhancarlos Lara $10k

This was the Braves first time actually getting to sign a prospect of note again, though they were limited to just 50% of their pool in the final year of their sanctions. The entire pool went to Ambioris Tavarez, who was significantly thought of when he signed for $1.5M. Tavarez is in Double-A this year after getting to spend 15 games there last year. While Tavarez has become a quality defender at short, he has never posted a .700 OPS at any stop of his career heading into this season. It is worth noting that he is off to the best start to his career, slashing .214/.371/.357 – though that is only nine games into the season. The Braves also signed the guy currently ranked as our #11 prospect in the system for just $10k when they hit on a lottery ticket in Jhancarlos Lara. Lara is presently in Double-A after spending last year between there and Triple-A, but is considered to be the potential future Braves closer with some improvement in his command.

Things haven’t gone to plan with Tavarez, who was signed for his bat but is now more known for his defense. It’s too early to write Tavarez off, especially with a promising start to the season, but he has been surpassed as a prospect by Lara. Even if Tavarez does not find enough offense to make it, hitting on Lara could make that a moot point.

2022

Diego Benitez $2.5M

Douglas Glod $1.3M

Alexander Martinez $400k

Josnaider Orellana $175k

Leiker Figueroa $100k

Maximo Maria $100k

Didier Fuentes $75k

Davis Polo N/A

The Braves first year back with a full bonus pool saw them go over a million on two prospects, Diego Benitez and Douglas Glod. Unfortunately both of those players were released recently after failing to live up to expectations. Benitez got to play 38 games in Augusta, but spent the majority of his time in the complex leagues posting a career .613 OPS and seeing himself move from shortstop to eventually first base. He has not been picked up since his spring release, though probably would have been released sooner if not for the fact the team sunk $2.5M into signing him. Things went a little better for Glod who spent 85 games in Low-A last year and posted a career .706 OPS – though he also hasn’t been picked up.

Among the other six figure guys Martinez reached Low-A in 2024 and stayed in the system through 2025 – but had a .485 career OPS. Figueroa spent 100 games in Low-A between 2024 and 2025, though he had a career .562 OPS. Maria has been out of organized baseball since posting a .461 OPS with the FCL team in 2023. Orellana reached Low-A for four games last year, but his career .685 OPS is the best of the six figure guys. Two lightly heralded signings have been the key to the class. Didier Fuentes has become the top prospect in the system and a Top 100 prospect in baseball, making his big league debut at age-20 last year and cracking the Opening Day roster this year. Davis Polo has returned to Low-A thus year after missing last year due to injury, and is off to a solid start through two multi-inning relief appearances. Polo isn’t quite a Top 30 prospect, but will remain one to watch as he is still going to spend all year at the age of 21.

The Braves whiffed on their two biggest signings and didn’t have much better luck with their six figure guys this class. It will be $75k signee Fuentes’ job to save this class from being a complete disaster, especially considering this was the Braves first chance to try to add some international talent back into the system following the sanctions.

2023

Luis Guanipa $2.5M

Carlos Monteverde $600k

John Estevez $310k

Jeremy Reyes $250k

Luis Arestigueta $240k

Mario Baez $240k

Carlos Cordero $200k

John Gil $110k

Cristobal Abreu N/A

Rayven Antonio $10k

As we get to the 2023 class it is starting to get too early to judge most of these guys properly, considering the majority of them are in their age-20 seasons this year. The only guy to break a million in this class is Luis Guanipa, coming in at $2.5M. After a strong start to his pro career in 2023, Guanipa got to Low-A in 2024, though injuries wrecked his year and he posted a .577 OPS between there and the FCL in 57 games. He repeated Low-A again last year, but once again injuries limited him, and he posted a .670 OPS in 35 games between there and the FCL. This year he is in his third go round with Augusta, and off to a great start with a .325/.372/.450 slash through nine games.

Carlos Monteverde was the second most expensive guy in the class, and he reached Low-A last year, but was released this spring after posting a .655 career OPS. It’s a similar story for John Estevez, who reached Low-A last year, who has a .645 career OPS, though he remains in the FCL for this year. Carlos Cordero has been out of baseball since his time in the FCL in 2024, while Baez looks to be opening in the FCL again this year.

Things start to look better from there with a trio of six figure guys and a pair of lottery tickets. John Gil, who signed for $110k, has emerged as one of the top prospects in the system, and is off to a solid start in High-A Rome this season after seeing his power take the next step late last season. Signed for $250k, Reyes is also with Rome, and was an Honorable Mention on our Top 30 prospects list this spring. Luis Arestigueta took $240k to sign, and while he isn’t quite a Top 30 prospect he also isn’t too far off that list, and he is repeating Low-A this season. Rayven Antonio has gone from $10k signing to our #22 prospect this spring, though he is starting in extended spring training after being one of Augusta’s best starters last season. Finally Cristobal Abreu is a power armed reliever whose exact bonus can’t be found, but he is in Augusta this year for the first time after missing last year with injury.

Things haven’t gone according to plan with Guanipa, but he appears fully healthy and is off to a good start to his season. The results for the higher six figure guys have been mixed, though Reyes and Arestigueta still have a chance to help the club. It’s been the lower end guys, Gil and Antonio, who have made the most noise in the system last year, and Abreu will get a chance to join them now that he is healthy.

2024

Jose Perdomo $5M

Juan Espinal $440k

Michael Martinez $155k

Manuel Dos Passos $130k

Juan Mateo N/A

Kendy Richard N/A

The bulk of this budget went to elite prospect Jose Perdomo, and it’s not gone as planned for the $5M man. Injuries wrecked his first two seasons, where he played just eight games in the DSL in 2024, then struggled through 54 games in the GCL last year with a .544 OPS. Things were looking up this year, as he appeared in the best shape he’s ever been in and got assigned to Augusta to open the year. Unfortunately he got injured in the second game of the season, and reports on his return aren’t particularly optimistic. Still he is just age-19 all season and he was a premium prospect not long ago, so not all is lost, even if this year ends up being a wash too. The next most expensive player was slugging outfielder Juan Espinal, coming in at $440k. Espinal struggled badly in the DSL in his debut, posting a .587 OPS. He repeated the DSL last year and looked better, posting a .845 OPS, and is likely to be in the FCL this year, though swing and miss is still an issue. Michael Martinez, who received $155k, looked great in repeating the DSL last year and quickly was promoted to the FCL, where he seems likely to open the year this year. Manuel Dos Passos struggled in his DSL debut, but did post a .687 OPS in the FCL last year, and looks likely to open his year there. Juan Mateo, who received a small bonus, hit his was out of the FCL into Low-A last year and is opening this year back there. Kendy Richard opened his season in the Low-A Augusta rotation, which is where he finished last year.

The jury is still out on Perdomo and his big bonus, though things aren’t looking ideal. It is too soon to call anything with this class, but Mateo made our Honorable Mention list with the Top 30 prospects this spring and Martinez was in the next few spots after that despite being so far away still.

2025

_{(subtract $2,500 from all of this year’s bonuses for exact figure)}

Diego Tornes $2.5M

Raudy Reyes $1.8M

Angel Carmona $450k

Elias Reyno $300k

Yassel García $250k

Arlenn Manzanillo $170k

Manuel Campos $150k

Luisberth Valdez $130k

The Braves signed two guys for over a million dollars for just the second time in this period last year, giving Diego Tornes $2.5M and Raudy Reyes $1.8M. Tornes looked good last year in the DSL, and is slated to open this year in the FCL once that season opens. Reyes has premium stuff, but command issues, and after some ups and downs in the DSL last year, he is set to miss this year with Tommy John surgery. It is important to remember he will spend the majority of his 2026 season at the age of 18, so all isn’t lost.

Among the six figure guys Carmona and his .827 OPS and Campos and his .776 OPS in the DSL stood out most, and are likely to be in the FCL this year. Reyno (.668) and Garcia (.686) both had some moments in their DSL debuts, as did Valdez (4.91 ERA, 1.64 WHIP). Manzanillo struggled a bit, posting a .540 OPS, but he also had the demands of learning the catcher position.

Million Dollar Signings

Jose Perdomo $5M

Diego Tornes $2.5M

Luis Guanipa $2.5M

Diego Benitez $2.5M

Raudy Reyes $1.8M

Ambioris Tavarez $1.5M

Douglas Glod $1.3M

This list frankly has been filled with more swings and misses than hits. Perdomo, Guanipa, and Reyes have been stalled out by injury- though Guanipa has started this year strong. Tavarez is off to a decent start to his season, but is no longer looking like the guy he was hyped to be. Benitez and Glod have already been released. That leaves just Tornes as a player who hasn’t either struggled with production or injury, and he hasn’t even begun his second season yet as he is set to open in the FCL.

While top international kids are very much hit or miss for everyone, this lack of success is still concerning. However being able to find guys like Gil, Lara, Mateo, Campos, Martinez, Antonio, Fuentes, Daysbel, and both Munoz for all under $200k means that the scouting department is still doing some very good things despite missing with their biggest swings.

Tacoma Rainiers

The Rainiers were able to secure a much needed series victory against the true Sacramento ball club by a score of 4-2, downing the River Cats with good pitching and just enough offense. The bats are starting to get things going with a bit more consistency, and despite having had their coffers raided by the big league squad, the team remains on the upswing with plenty of talent left on the roster.

Mandatory Colt Emerson check-in: It’s going good. Emerson launched his second homer of the year with yet another oppo shot in Saturday night’s contest, taking a lefty-lefty fastball and crushing it the other way. Additionally, he’s dramatically improving his comfort at the plate, drawing six walks in the series and punching out just twice. The offensive game is coming along nicely, and his glove has been the best Tacoma has seen in many, many years. Sneakily, he’s been running a lot more than he has in the past; he’s already up to six bags on the year after going 14/19 last season.

We are still #RidingWithRodden here at Lookout Landing, and the utility man has been proving us right the past week and change. Logging eight hits on the series, Rodden has shaken the dust off from his tough start and is lighting things up at the plate right now, a great sign for a typically steady producer. Since April 5th, he’s bumped his slash from .229/.216/.343 to his current .311/.349/.472, a dramatic change in that time frame regardless of sample size. He looks like a prime candidate to serve a similar role to Leo Rivas, as he brings a history of playing 2B, 3B, and SS in the minor leagues.

Arkansas Travelers

The Travs were unable to dethrone the mighty Drillers this week, dropping four of six to the Dodgers affiliate that’s loaded with talent from top to bottom. Some weeks you just get beat, and despite some solid performances from the household names on this Arkansas roster, it was pretty clear Tulsa is the better team right now.

Kade Anderson continues to shine atop this rotation, paying homage to his LSU days and working as the Friday night starter for a strong crop of arms. Despite surrendering his first run of the season, Anderson worked five innings of one run ball and struck out five along the way. Not quite as flashy as his dazzling performance last week, but wildly effective nonetheless.

Lazaro Montes is starting to get things moving this season, gathering a hit in each of the six games on the series. Swatting a trio of doubles and walking twice, Laz is yet another Mariner farmhand shaking off some rust and coming into form. A fully productive Montes would do wonders for this Traveler lineup, and recent returns are looking very promising.

An unheralded relief prospect, Charlie Beilenson has been nails to start the year. Yet to allow a run and punching out 11 across 6.2 innings, Beilenson’s allowed just four baserunners all season and looks like an interesting relief depth piece for this system. Expect him to make an appearance in Triple-A at some point this season.

Everett AquaSox

The Frogs dropped the series against a very good Eugene team, playing them close all series despite only managing two games in the win column. Everett is lacking a bit in the starting pitching department, but a stout bullpen has picked the staff up, and the offense is starting to get the ball rolling with more regularity. This team is better than their 7-8 record reflects and should be well within reach of a playoff spot by the end of the season.

Lucas Kelly got popped earlier this season with a tough outing that killed his ERA, but since then, he’s been absolutely disgusting on the mound and is looking like a weapon in the back of this bullpen. In his last 3.2 IP, he’s fanned 10 and allowed just one hit with zero walks. His low release and high octane velocity makes him a brutal look for opposing hitters, and he appears to have reworked his breaking balls a bit to give him a better out pitch outside of the heater. Kelly worked with the same trainers that Brock Moore did over the offseason, perhaps a promising sign of actual change considering the impact both have had for this team thus far.

Speaking of Moore, he continues to be untouchable. 14 K’s across 5.1 IP. Still no walks.

To help  contextualize this achievement, Moore walked 28 batters in under 19 innings of work last season and had an ERA north of nine. A truly unbelievable turn around for the former Oregon Duck, who now looks every bit of a lock-down bullpen arm that could move exceptionally quick through the minors.

Inland Empire 66ers

Inland Empire salvaged a split this week against the lowly Visalia Rawhide, with both teams struggling to show consistency in any facet of the game. The 66ers have had some guys pop, but the bright spots have unfortunately been few and far between. Hopefully they’re able to get things turned around sooner than later.

Mason Peters continues to dazzle as one of the few reliable rotation pieces for this 66ers squad, consistently befuddling Cal League hitters with his arsenal of spin. Tallying another seven punchouts across four innings of work, Peters allowed just one run, a solo shot, and is striking out the world despite his lackluster heater. There’s plenty of room for him to add some strength to his frame, and if he’s able to increase the velocity a tick or two, he’s going to pose a major threat to opposing hitters.

Another 2025 draftee, Jackson Steensma has been lights out to start the year, looking like yet another promising arm from last year’s class. The App State right hander didn’t pitch in 2025 due to injury, but he’s now dominating in the professional ranks and looking like a potential steal as a ninth round selection. He’s yet to surrender a run on the season and has struck out ten in six innings with just one hit allowed and one walk. He was a name Scott Hunter mentioned during his draft day press conference as a guy the team liked, and he has absolutely looked the part in the early goings of 2026.

MONDAY

The Mets were shut out for the fourth time in just 17 games this season. It’s only the second time in franchise history they’ve suffered four shutout losses in their first 17 games, having done so back in 1963.

The Mets were shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since August 9-10, 2024, in Seattle, and were shut out in three of four games for the first time since May 2-5, 2018 against the Braves and Rockies.

Joey Gerber became the first reliever ever to rack up five strikeouts while allowing no earned runs in their Mets debut. The most recent pitcher to record five strikeouts in their Mets debut out of the bullpen was Franklyn Kilome, who did so in his MLB debut in Atlanta on August 1, 2020.

TUESDAY

Francisco Lindor hit his 14th leadoff home run as a Met, tying him with Brandon Nimmo for third place on the franchise leader board behind Curtis Granderson and José Reyes, who are tied for first with 21.

The weekly McLean update: Nolan McLean now has a 2.13 ERA and 85 K through his first 12 career games. The only other pitchers to match those numbers in their first 12 games are: Paul Skenes (1.93 ERA, 97 K), Masahiro Tanaka (2.02 ERA, 92 K), and Hideo Nomo (2.05 ERA, 109 K).

The Mets mustered five or fewer baserunners for a third-straight game. It’s only the fourth time in franchise history they’ve managed that unfortunate feat, joining: August 1-3, 2014, September 4-6, 1978, and July 4-5, 1963.

WEDNESDAY

With Dalton Rushing’s eighth-inning blast off Devin Williams, the Mets allowed a grand slam at Dodger Stadium for the first time since May 29, 2000, when future Met Shawn Green took Al Leiter deep in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Chan Ho Park (another future Met who knows a thing or two about grand slam stats) the win.

FRIDAY

The Mets scored just four runs on 14 hits. That’s the fewest runs they’ve scored on 14+ hits since July 24, 2021, in a 10-3 loss against the Blue Jays at Citi Field which featured a combined 2 HR, 5 RBI, and 5 H from current Mets Bo Bichette and Marcus Semien. Friday was also the first time they’ve lost by 8+ runs while getting 14+ hits since an 18-9 loss on April 27, 2012, at Coors Field.

SATURDAY

Carson Kelly became the first batter to homer off Brooks Raley since August 13, 2023, when Matt Olson took Raley deep at Citi Field.

SUNDAY

The Mets suffered their first walk-off loss at Wrigley Field since almost exactly five years ago on April 22, 2021, when Jason Heyward hit a tenth-inning single to Mets right fielder Michael Conforto — the same man who delivered the game-tying RBI single in a Cubs uniform on Sunday. That loss came in the final game of yet another sweep at Wrigley, where the Mets are now 23-48 since 2003.

The Mets have scored 19 runs over their past 11 games, the fewest for the franchise in an eleven-game span since June 2-15, 2018. That tough stretch offensive rut was effectively broken for the 2018 team on June 16, when they received a big three-run homer in Arizona from — of course — Michael Conforto.

The Mets have now scored two or fewer runs through nine innings in 14 of their first 22 games, tying an unfortunate club record set in 1967.

The Mets have lost 11 games in a row for the first time since August 28-September 8, 2004. That losing streak also involved the Dodgers, as it began with the Mets dropping two in a row against L.A at Shea Stadium.

Miscellaneous Mets stat of the week:

The 1991 Mets are the only team in franchise history to go on both a winning streak of 10+ games (10, July 1-July 13) and a losing streak of 10+ games (11, August 9-August 21).

Cam Schlittler vs. Boston is a beef that just won't die. And the New York Yankees right-hander from Walpole, Massachusetts is ready to steer into it when he makes his first career start at Fenway Park.

Schlittler, the Yankees' 25-year-old fireballer who emerged as a playoff hero last season and a rotation mainstay this year, told news media that he and his family have received death threats prior to his scheduled start on Thursday, April 23.

Schlittler, who attended Northeastern and has a 1.95 ERA in five starts this season, is expecting a very rude welcome at Fenway Park, the latest twist in a saga of Area Man Gets Drafted By Hated Rival.

"Most normal fans could care less, right?," Schlittler told the New York Post. "It’s just those diehards that just have nothing else in their lives other than baseball or sports that really care about this, and the fact that I play for the Yankees makes it worse for them."

New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click or buy through our links. Featured pricing is subject to change.

The Bronx is burning banana-ing.

On April 25-26, the Savannah Bananas are swinging into Yankee Stadium for a pair of a-peel-ing games against their rivals, the Party Animals.

And if you’d like to be there, last-minute tickets are available for both games at the House that Jeter Built.

Better yet, they’re reasonably priced considering how much Bananas seats typically retail for.

Based on our findings, the lowest price we could find on tickets for this weekend’s Banana Ball Bronx battles was $91 including fees on StubHub at the time of publication.

100-level seats start at $135 including fees.

As fans may recall, this will be the potassium-friendly club’s second visit to the Big Apple; they previously dropped into Aaron Judge’s home last September.

Per usual, the unconventional club delivered an unforgettable, one-of-a-king experience tailored specifically to hometown fans at those late summer contests.

Just a few of the most notable highlights included their signature choreographed dances, a singalong with “Hamilton” star Miguel Cervantes and appearances by former Yankee Nick Swisher, former World Series-winning Yankees manager Joe Torre and Super Bowl-winning Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who cosplayed as an umpire.

Yes, really.

That’s not to mention the players on stilts, kooky rules (if a fan catches a foul ball, that’s an out!), catchers on bean bag chairs, elaborate walk-ups to the batter’s box and strict two-hour time limit to ensure the game doesn’t go too long.

“It might not look like anything you’ve seen in a baseball game, but it shouldn’t; this is Banana Ball,” Bananas/Firefighters player Noah Bridges told Yankees beat writer Jon Schwartz.

“…I feel pretty confident that we…gave [fans] more than enough to make it one of the most memorable days they’ll ever have at a ballpark.”

What will happen this time? Who will show up?

While we can’t say for certain, we do know the best way to find out is live.

For more information, our team has everything you need to know and more about seeing the Savannah Bananas at Yankee Stadium in 2026 below.

Savannah Bananas 2026 Yankee Stadium ticket prices

A complete breakdown of all the best prices on tickets for both Savannah Bananas 2026 Yankee Stadium games (along with dates and start times) can be found here:

Savannah Bananas 2026 schedule

Once the short stint in the Bronx wraps, the Bananas will hit ballparks all over North America from May through October.

Some of their most notable stops include Atlanta’s Truist Park (May 8-10), Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium (May 30-31), Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark (June 19-21), Chicago’s Wrigley Field (July 24-26) and Minnesota’s Target Field (Aug. 7-8).

They’ll return to the East Coast for two nights at the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium on Friday, Aug. 28 and Saturday, Aug. 29.

To find the game that makes the most sense for you, check out the Savannah Bananas’ complete 2026 schedule here.

Yankees giveaways 2026

Hoping to catch the Bronx Bombers…and maybe score a freebie while you’re at it?

Check this out.

Our team compiled a complete calendar of all Yankees giveaway home games, including dates, opponents, giveaways, special events and links to buy tickets below.

JAY-Z at Yankee Stadium

Savannah’s favorite team isn’t the only exciting guest headlining Yankee Stadium this summer.

JAY-Z is also swooping in for three unique shows celebrating the anniversaries of his classic albums. You can grab tickets for each concert here:

About the Savannah Bananas

After forming in 2016, the “exhibition barnstorming baseball team” made a name for themselves by embracing “exhibition” and “barnstorming” while halfway ditching “baseball.”

The team now plays Banana Ball which has quirky rules like fan-caught foul balls counting as outs, games not being allowed to exceed two hours in length and batters stealing first base.

Yet, still, that’s barely scratching the surface of the innovative game’s showmanship.

Simply put, we recommend following Savannah’s Instagram to see what hijinx the entertaining team is up to. Be warned though- their clips are so fun you just might end up scrolling for hours.

Savannah Party Animals

The Bananas aren’t the only attraction at Banana Ball games.

Their opponents, the Savannah Party Animals, also bring fun and skill to the field.

“I think there are some guys that are obvious fits for the Bananas, and some guys that are obvious fits for the Party Animals,” coach Nate Fish told Savannah Now following team tryouts.

“We need the games to be really competitive. We can’t load up one team. It’s not like the (Harlem) Globetrotters and the (Washington Generals). The games aren’t scripted. The games are highly competitive. Anyone can win. We have to take a look at balance to do that.”

Savannah Bananas 2026 roster

Who are the stars that make up the Bananas squad? Want to pick a favorite right now?

We’re here to help.

You can find the team’s colorful players (complete with fun facts) right here.

Fun events for the family in 2026

Get yer wholesome entertainment here!

We’ve got five shows that are guaranteed fun for the whole family below.

• “The Price Is Right Live”

• Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus

• Disney On Ice

• Monster Jam

• Blue Man Group

Want to go to a concert instead this year? Check out our list of all the biggest artists on tour in 2026 to find the show for you.

Prefer some good ol’ fashioned comedy? Click here to see our favorite comedians on tour this year.

Why you should trust ‘Post Wanted’ by the New York Post

This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.