Reese McGuire came to the Cubs and produced when they really needed him — right after Miguel Amaya suffered an oblique injury in May. McGuire homered twice in his first game as a Cub and was a suitable backup for Carson Kelly the rest of the year.
The Cubs, as you know, had fallen far behind the Brewers, nine games back by early August. They had crept to within five games of the NL Central lead after sweeping the Angels in Anaheim.
Hopes were high as the Cubs headed up the coast to San Francisco.
Welp. They lost the series opener 5-3 and then took a 3-1 lead in the second inning of the second game of the set when Nico Hoerner smashed a three-run homer.
It was all downhill after that on that evening in Oracle Park. Colin Rea didn’t make it out of the fifth inning, allowing eight hits and seven runs, one of his worst starts of the year. Taylor Rogers, acquired at the deadline and a former Giant, allowed a three-run homer to Rafael Devers, his second of the game. That gave the Giants a 10-3 lead and they scored another off Rogers in the seventh on a solo homer by Matt Chapman.
It was 11-3 heading to the bottom of the eighth when Craig Counsell summoned McGuire to pitch, to save the pen for an afternoon game the next day.
McGuire, as you know, recently signed a minor-league deal with the Brewers and he seems likely to break camp as the backup to William Contreras.
That concludes this series on Cubs position players pitching in the divisional play era. Tomorrow I’ll have some thoughts about position players pitching in general.
Mickey Lolich, the 1968 World Series MVP for the champion Tigers and a one-time Mets pitcher, died Wednesday.
He was 85.
The Tigers said Lolich’s wife told them he died after a brief stay in hospice care, though his cause of death wasn’t disclosed.
Mickey Lolich pitching for the Tigers during the 1968 World Series. Getty Images
Lolich’s finest hour in baseball came during the 1968 World Series, when he tossed three complete-game victories, including a one-run gem in Game 7 against the Cardinals on just two days’ rest.
That came after Lolich briefly lost his rotation spot during the regular season following a string of rough outings in July. He wasn’t pleased.
“I was having a few problems, but I had been a starting pitcher ever since 1964,” Lolich said. “I remember telling [manager Mayo Smith], ‘If we win this thing this year it’s going to be because of me.’ But I was only talking about the season. I wasn’t talking about the World Series.
“I got my revenge back in the World Series.”
Mickey Lolich (29) and first baseman Joe Torre (9) of the Mets pose on a Kawasaki motorcycle at Shea Stadium during the 1976 season. Focus on Sport via Getty Images
Lolich spent 13 seasons with the Tigers and was a three-time All-Star, finishing in the top three of the AL Cy Young voting twice.
The Tigers traded Lolich to the Mets after the 1975 season for Rusty Staub; Lolich initially exercised his 10-and-5 rights to veto the deal, but Mets brass convinced him to accept the trade.
He had a 3.22 ERA in 31 appearances (30 starts) for the Mets in 1976 before retiring. After sitting out the ’77 season, he came back for two seasons with the Padres before retiring for good.
Lolich finished his career with a 217-191 record, 3.44 ERA and 2,832 strikeouts, the 23rd most in MLB history.
Mickey Lolich in 2018. MLB Photos via Getty Images
“Lolich will be remembered as one of the most durable and dominant left-handed pitchers of his era and a cornerstone of Detroit’s pitching staff for more than a decade,” the Tigers said in a statement.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 04: George Kirby #68 of the Seattle Mariners at bat against the Detroit Tigers at T-Mobile Park on October 04, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The grass isn’t always greener. The skies, famously, aren’t liable to be much bluer elsewhere either.
George Kirby has thrived in Seattle. A perfect fit for the Mariners as an organization, obsessed as they are with avoiding free passes and controlling the count and zone. Intense on the mound and, seemingly, off of it, Kirby is a beneficiary of the organization into which he was drafted. A fly ball pitcher who, for most of his career, has been among the most contact dependent hurlers in the sport, Kirby thrives in Seattle.
All until 2025.
There was no catastrophe for Furious George, but things began on the wrong foot. Not only was he sidelined to start the season with shoulder inflammation, but his knee had been bothering him as well, contributing to a longer-term outlay that also doubled as Kirby’s first ever trip to the injured list in his big league career. Upon his return, for the first time ever, Kirby struggled. Extensively. He was drubbed out of the gate by the Astros and Nationals, and spent the rest of the season attempting to claw back into alignment. Kirby feasted upon the Angels for 37 strikeouts to just three walks and six earned runs in 19.1 innings, but the rest of the league ran him for a 4.64/3.58 ERA/FIP in 106.2 IP.
In any representation of his last campaign, two clear storylines stand out. First is Kirby’s willingness to work outside the zone, as the famously walk-averse righty ran his highest-ever walk rate. 5.5% is still 18th-lowest in MLB among pitchers with at least 120 innings (of which there were 105), but Kirby’s been 6th, 1st, and 2nd in the category since entering the league. Cause for concern? Not… really. Kirby’s strikeout rate ticked up in essentially equal measure, perhaps circumstantial or perhaps with intent as he looked behind him (more on that in a moment). By K-BB%, Kirby has ranked 21st, 17th, 20th, and… 16th from 2022-2025, echoing Luis Castillo in his capacity to consistently deliver high-quality numbers despite frequent tweaks to his pitch mix and locations.
Yes, Kirby pitched out of the zone more than ever, but he got the expected outcomes. More whiffs than ever, the best called strike-plus-whiff rate of his career. Fewer swings, sure, and less chase even, but the chases he did get were more impotent. If Kirby’s intention was to mitigate some of the ambushability inherent to his strike-pumping ways, however, he only partially succeeded. Hitters still didn’t clobber Kirby, but while they were whiffing more, they barreled him up more frequently too. It’s not clear to me that this is connected, but that’s the confusion of gauging Kirby’s last campaign: what is tied to injury and rust, and what was intentional alteration?
Kirby cut his splitter and barely worked in a lesser changeup due to difficulty in using the pitch comfortably as he returned to health. Was the lowered arm slot which shifted the shape of his sinker and blurred the previously-distinct movement of his slider and curveball a tactical adjustment, or a compensation for his preseason discomfort? What was his plan, and what was what he did after getting hit in the mouth?
The second point of delineation is evident in Kirby’s overall line a year ago, a 4.21/3.37 ERA/FIP. We know better now than to attribute batted ball outcomes as pure fortune, but as we’ve addressed already, Kirby didn’t start giving up purely rockets. A small uptick in hard hit rate does not explain the 9th-highest ERA-over-FIP in MLB (among our same 105 player, 120+ IP cohort). Three of the top-10 in this range are, as to be expected, Colorado Rockies, with Diamondbacks and Phillies in the mix as well.
To have things go this poorly requires some ill fortune, as Dylan Cease and Sonny Gray can attest. But to have this occur with Seattle as your home park is difficult to reconcile. Kirby’s 0.85 gap between his earnie and his fippie (don’t love that) is the worst in a decade for a Seattle starter at this workload. Marco Gonzales ran a 0.57 gap in 2018, 15th in MLB, the last time a Mariner entered this range of ill fortune despite the contact-suppressing confines of T-Mobile Park at their backs. It requires a retreat to 2016 James Paxton to find a Seattle pitcher more maligned than Kirby, whose 0.99 ERA-FIP presaged a stretch of several brilliant seasons for the Big Maple. In T-Mobile Park history, only the most contact-managing, cartoonishly unfortunate have outpaced Kirby’s bitter, season-long pill.
This is about where I’ve hit my wall. Kirby’s issues are somewhat intertwined to defensive ineptitude, but neither by BABIP nor contact outcomes does his performance stand out too egregiously. Instead, it seems like Kirby’s mistakes were punished, even when they stayed in the ballpark, often enough that the exemplar of efficiency was unable to methodically carve through opponents with the ease he’s shown in seasons past.
Kirby’s plan in 2026 appears to be that of a player dissatisfied with his previous campaign. His splitter had been an adaptation of Kevin Gausman’s famous out pitch, and its jettisoning for comfort forced him to tie a hand behind his back. If he’s intending to return the pitch to his mix in 2026, as has been intimated, that alone will aid him in his efforts to build on a more strikeout-shaped repertoire. A season ago, Kirby seemed primed to ascend to ace-hood in Seattle’s staff. The first struggle-filled season of his career may finally grant the New York suburbanite what fuels him best: a chip on his shoulder.
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 18: Michael Fulmer #51 of the Boston Red Sox poses for a portrait during photo day at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on February 18, 2025 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
He had missed all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery and last season for the Red Sox and Cubs he threw a combined 5.2 innings. Previously, he’d thrown 674 innings across three teams and seven MLB seasons with a 3.94 ERA (4.00 FIP), 7.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, and 1.0 HR/9. More importantly, he was AL Rookie of the Year in 2016 for Detroit and an All-Star the following season, in both seasons as a starting pitcher.
In his first three major league seasons, he made 75 starts and went 24-31 with a 3.81 ERA. His 8.2 fWAR over this stretch made him as valuable as David Price, Marcus Stroman, and Kevin Gausman.
He had knee surgery at the end of 2018 and missed all of 2019. When he came back, he wasn’t the same starter and was converted into a reliever and did very well there. He features a 94 mph fastball and a sweeper, so you can see how he vaguely fits into the mold the Giants have made for their relief corps. And 2026 being his second year removed from Tommy John is typically when the benefit of that procedure bears fruit, so, the Giants have added another high upside lottery ticket to their lottery bullpen.
Bericoto has some of the best power in the system […]
While Bericoto is a bat-first player, he’s no slouch with the glove. He’s perfectly competent at first base, and I’d go so far as to call him decent in the outfield. He doesn’t need to light the world on fire in the batter’s box to be a valuable Major Leaguer … if he can hit above league average, he can help the Giants, and it wouldn’t be a shock if he finds his way onto the big league roster sometime this summer.
Davidson offers one of the best combinations of raw power and speed among Giants farmhands, grading as plus in both categories. He won’t fully tap into his pop until he starts turning on more pitches and lifting them more frequently, but he has the bat speed and strength to hit 20 or more homers per season. He could be one of the best pure hitters in the system, as he has a sound left-handed swing and a fairly disciplined approach that allowed him to handle southpaws and all types of pitches in Single-A despite his inexperience.
Jared Oliva
Oliva had been signed to a minor league deal on January 12, and the 30-year old outfielder has a .755 OPS in 8 minor league seasons to go with 225 stolen bases. He’s had just 59 major league plate appearances (all for the Pirates), but the most recent were in 2021. In each of the last four seasons, he’s spent the full minor league season in Triple-A for the Pirates, then the Angels, then the Mariners, and last year with the Brewers.
Infielders
Osleivis Basabe
Basabe slashed .249/.309/.412 for Triple-A Sacramento last season and might provide another option if Christian Koss fails to hold on to hearts and minds or Casey Schmitt isn’t quite ready to go or Tyler Fitzgerald has fully turned back into a pumpkin.
Nate Furman
He was the player to be named later in the Alex Cobb trade of 2024. To quote me from my writeup of that transaction:
He’s 5’8”, bats left-handed, and has played second, third, and shortstop across his two minor league seasons. […] If the power really was coming along before [a] shoulder injury, you could imagine a ceiling of a left-handed version of Tyler Fitzgerald — that delicious power-speed combo. Although, don’t sleep on 91 walks and 93 strikeouts in his brief MiLB career (158 games, 666 PA).
Furman played four levels of Giants minor league ball in 2025 and slashed .369/.493/.601 across Rookie ball, A-ball, High-A, and Double-A. He spent the bulk of his time at High-A Eugene and posted a 1.139 OPS in 96 PA. He had a .970 OPS in the 39 PAs following his promotion to Double-A.
Buddy Kennedy
The Giants signed him to a minor league deal on December 15th. He has an .816 OPS in 8 MiLB seasons (3,004 PA) and a .545 OPS in 181 career MLB PA. Like Basabe and Furman, he can play multiple positions on the infield, but especially second base.
Parks Harber
Acquired from the Yankees in the Camilo Doval trade, he’s a corner guy (first and third bases) who can also play a little outfield (right field, specifically). The 23-year old right-hander lit up the Arizona Fall League with a line of .383/.513/.683 in 76 PA and even participated in the Home Run Derby:
Jake Holton
The Giants picked up this 27-year old first baseman on a minor league deal back in December. The former Tigers farmhand has a career .806 OPS in six minor league seasons and spent the last three full seasons playing all year for Detroit’s Double-A team. He has 69 career MiLB home runs.
The veteran backstop signed a deal back in January that could be worth at least $1.6 million (there are also incentives) if he makes the roster. His highwater mark was back in 2021 when he hit 22 home runs for the Tigers.
Logan Porter
He makes it onto the non-roster invite list for the second season in a row. This, despite Porter getting into five games for the Giants last season. He’s best known for his OBP. He had a .346 OBP in 286 PA with Sacramento.
Bednar has been rising in the CPL: last year he came in at No. 42, and the year before, he went unranked. But three years ago he was ranked No. 25, and in his CPL debut he was all the way up at No. 8.
[…]
Bednar will need to keep making strides in the walk department if he wants to follow in his brother David’s footsteps and become a high-quality MLB reliever. But he certainly did a fantastic job using 2025 to remake his game, and show off new electricity, as he added a few extra MPHs to his pitches, and flirted with triple digits. The strikeout stuff really was remarkable: his 14.49 strikeouts per nine innings ranked eighth out of the 1,383 Minor League pitchers who threw at least 50 innings last year (and if you remove his AAA stint, his 14.92 mark would have ranked third). There’s the makings of not just an MLB pitcher in there, but a very good one.
2025 was a tale of two stories for Harris. It was just his second full season of Minor League Baseball, as he joined the organization in the summer of 2023 as an undrafted free agent (remarkably, the Giants have three UDFAs in their top 30). Harris, who is 6’2 and well built, began the year with AA Richmond, where he was utterly dynamic. He posted a 1.69 ERA and a 1.73 FIP in 13 relief appearances, while striking out 25 batters in just 16 innings … and only walking four. Everything was going brilliantly, and he received an early promotion to AAA Sacramento.
That’s where the struggles began,
RHP Caleb Kilian
The 28-year old signed a minor league deal with the Giants back in December. In three seasons with the Cubs, he threw 27.1 innings, struck out 21, walked 20, and allowed just 2 home runs. He’s another fastball-sweeper combo reliever, but the Statcast numbers suggests he needs a little more velo and a lot more spin to make it an effective combo.
LHP Nick Margevicius
The Giants signed the 29-year old to a minor league deal at the end of December in a move I thought was strange. Bizarre. Dissatisfying. In 2019, this dude was front of mind as he handcuffed the Giants as a Padre, allowing just a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings. But his soft-tossing lefty ways only worked on that one team for that one season, because he hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2021.
RHP Wilkin Ramos
The Giants signed him to a minor league deal back in November and he spent all of 2025 in Pittsburgh’s minor league system, dominating at Double-A and struggling in Triple-A. He’s a sinker-slider reliever with perhaps below average spin on the latter type. This post makes a case that he keeps getting work because of his pitch shapes.
LHP Juan Sanchez
Now that he’s in his Tommy John recovery, the Giants will be very excited to get a look at this 25-year old long-time farmhand to see if his electric stuff from the left side of the plate can translate against minor league competition.
RHP Gregory Santos
The prodigal reliever returns? After a breakout 2023 with the White Sox (66.1 IP, 2.65 FIP) he struggled the past two seasons with the Mariners mainly due to injury (14.1 IP, 4.41 FIP).
The only other surprise for me was an omission. I was almost certain the Giants would’ve added left-handed reliever Matt Cronin, who is a free agent and did play for Tony Vitello at Arkansas.
The list also reflects the state of the Giants’ farm system. Bryce Eldridge is now on the 40-man roster and after him, the talent pool isn’t even ready to make the jump to Spring Training invites. Maybe next spring for some of the talent way, way down on the farm.
This year’s group is one less than last year’s group and we saw a decent bunch of them make it to the big league team in 2025, so, get familiar with some of these names!
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 13: Ke'Bryan Hayes #3 of the Cincinnati Reds waits for the pitch against the Athletics during the sixth inning at Sutter Health Park on September 13, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Scott Marshall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s easy to forget, but Elly De La Cruz made 29 starts (and appeared in 32 overall games) as the 3B of the Cincinnati Reds back in his first year in the big leagues in 2023. That was in deference to Matt McLain, current 2B and resident backup SS, who made 52 starts at short that year.
Though I doubt there’s a realistic scenario that sees Elly ever need to play some 3B on the regular, he’s got the chops and the experience there. That’s some versatility from the planned starting middle-infield, with McLain also having a wealth of outfield experience from his days at UCLA, in Cape Cod League play, and even in the Arizona Fall League, too.
To their collective left is a logjam at 1B, it would appear. The way the Reds plan to un-jam those logs is, once again, through versatility. Sal Stewart, a 3B and 2B by trade prior to his 2025 call-up, will presumably rotate through all three positions (as well as DH). The recently signed Eugenio Suárez is himself a former shortstop of these very Reds, and while those days are long over, he’s been a 3B at the big league level for a decade and will presumably be fully capable of providing cover there when not at DH or 1B himself.
Then, there’s Spencer Steer, a Gold Glove finalist at 1B this past season who may well be staring at the starting LF job right now. He’ll play both of those spots often, while there’s word that the former 3B and 2B will get time at 2B, at least, to keep his bat in the lineup. Though putting him at SS for any serious time is a bridge too far, Steer profiles as the most versatile player on the roster – that is, of course, if the Reds remain committed to keeping former 3B/SS/2B Noelvi Marte as their everyday RF, something he only just began to to last August.
(Even then, it’s easy to see Marte sliding back into the infield mix in a 15 inning game with tons of other switches, or if someone gets injured unexpectedly, and the club wants him to learn more CF, too.)
There’s been some talk of seeing if TJ Friedl can get some run in LF, as that would allow Dane Myers – a platoon OF who’ll play all over the OF – to cover CF and increase the defensive quality of the overall outfield. Catcher Tyler Stephenson has played 1B in 32 games in his career, with 76 additional appearances at DH to keep his bat in the lineup against LHP. Even fringe roster guys like Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Tyler Callihan have positional versatility, with CES experienced at both corners on the infield and Callihan playing just about everywhere but short.
That’s a comical level of flexibility, really. If it were truly his goal, manager Terry Francona could go weeks of fielding lineups every single day that a) were actually feasible and b) never played the same player in the same position two days in a row, especially with the likes of Will Benson and JJ Bleday experienced at all three OF spots on top of all the rest.
Then, though, there’s Ke’Bryan Hayes. Somehow, every time I try to figure out what the Reds are actually up to, it all seems to make sense until we get to Hayes.
Hayes has over 9100 innings logged as a professional since being a 1st round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates all the way back in 2015, and all but 5.0 of those innings have come as a 3B (with those handful in a trio of late-game appearances at short back in 2022). He’s a 3B, a 3B only, and does so with glovework that may well be the best of any player in the sport despite a bat that’s been one of the worst of any regular for over two seasons running.
Hayes is the lone position player on the roster outside of backup catcher who plays nowhere else, making him something of a unicorn on a roster that’s otherwise put together specifically to highlight versatility. Hayes is also a unicorn in the sport itself as a glove-first player at a position otherwise populated by big-hitting sluggers, a glove-first player who doesn’t play the defensive positions higher up the pecking order of importance like CF or SS.
If you look at how this roster is actually put together, the one glaring thing they don’t seem to have is a classic glove-first guy who can fill in at every single infield position as a late-inning guy, as a utility knife for precisely the right scenarios and alignments. You know the archetypes – the Jose Oquendos, the Tony Phillips, the Craig Counsells, the Juan Uribes, the Ryan Freels (RIP). In Hayes, they found a guy with two of the most overriding characteristics of classic utility guys – great glove, no bat – but didn’t get a guy who, for whatever reason, has never been tasked with taking that elite defense all over the diamond to unlock the rest of his roster.
So, he’s on a versatile roster as the guy who most profiles as a player who should move around a lot, but doesn’t. Instead of being paid like a guy who’s a utility player, he’s on a long-term deal that guarantees him $36 million and makes him one of the higher-paid guys on the team. Despite all of that, he’s not just a guy that the Reds overpaid for something he’s not and ended up in this situation of mutual volition, he’s the guy the Reds went out and got specifically because this is who he is, and did so despite having a handful of better bats who also look like they should probably play 3B most days.
Perhaps there’s a renaissance with Hayes’ bat in there somewhere that I don’t see. Perhaps the Reds are, for whatever reason, simply content to get 1.6 dWAR from Hayes at 3B batting 9th most days and nothing more, all while one of Stewart, Suarez, or Steer sits on the pine those days.
The Yankees made a roster move on Wednesday, claiming outfielder Yanquiel Fernandez off waivers from the Colorado Rockies.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Yankees designated right-handed pitcher Dom Hamel for assignment.
Fernandez, a 23-year-old corner outfielder, made his major league debut with the Rockies this past season. He appeared in 52 games overall, slashing .225/.265/.348 with four home runs, 11 RBI, and a 62 OPS+.
Hamel's stint with the Yankees didn't last very long, as the team had just claimed him off waivers from the Texas Rangers on January 27. The former Mets prospect -- who turns 27 in March -- made his major league debut with the Mets last season, pitching just 1.0 inning while allowing three hits and walking a batter, though he was not charged with an earned run.
He was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles last September and then claimed off waivers yet again, this time by the Rangers, a week later.
April 4, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte (46) throws a pitch in the sixth inning against the New York Mets at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images
“Back in Pinstripes and on Mound, but Only for Fun.”
So read The New York Times’ headline when word got out that Andy Pettitte — winner of 240 big league games, five-time World Series champ, and the man who had started more games as a Yankee than anyone but Whitey Ford — was making his way to spring training in 2012. The 39-year-old, who had retired after the 2010 season, was the latest in a long line of legends transitioning gracefully into an elder statesman of the game. Pettitte had gamely volunteered to throw some batting practice to the current team, a role that everyone understood as more tongue-in-cheek than consequential. “I’m not looking to coach anybody or anything,” said the retiree. “If guys want to ask me questions or anything, then obviously I’ll be more than happy to talk to guys. I’m here to hang out and mess around.”
A couple of weeks later, Andy Pettitte was no longer messing around. Instead, he was putting pen to paper and signing on for his 14th season in pinstripes.
Andy Pettitte Signing Date: March 6, 2012 Contract: One year, $2.5 million
As one of the most famous Yankees in modern memory, the average fan probably already knows the story of Andrew Eugene Pettitte. But before getting to March 2012, we’ll offer an abridged refresher.
Born in Baton Rouge in 1972 and raised just outside Houston, Pettitte performed well enough at Deer Park High School to catch the eye of the Yankees, who selected him as a draft-and-follow pick in the now-defunct 22nd round of the 1990 MLB Draft. After spending another year pitching for San Jacinto College North, Pettitte signed with New York in 1991, beginning a long and deeply fruitful partnership. The southpaw rose quickly through the ranks, excelling at each level of the minor leagues until earning his promotion to the Yankees in 1995. He was effective immediately, winning 12 games and posting a 4.17 ERA in 175 innings en route to a third-place Rookie of the Year finish—and the first of 44 career playoff starts.
If 1995 was an encouraging debut for Pettitte, ’96 was his coming out party. The 24-year-old went 21-8 with a 3.87 ERA, finishing second to Pat Hentgen for the Cy Young and helping the Yankees to their first championship in nearly 20 years, a run that included one of the signature performances of his career. Fresh off a seven-run drubbing at the hands of the defending champion Braves in Game 1 of the World Series, Pettitte rebounded to outduel future Hall of Famer John Smoltz, twirling 8.1 innings of scoreless ball on the road to win a crucial Game 5 in Atlanta.
Pettitte remained a key cog in the Yankees’ rotation throughout their dynasty run, starting 276 games between 1995-2003 while maintaining a sub-4.00 ERA in an era of high-flying offense. When he became a free agent after the ‘03 season, however, the team’s front office slow-played negotiations, failing to make a formal offer during their window of exclusive negotiations with their homegrown starter. “He’s come this far,” GM Brian Cashman said matter-of-factly. “He’s going to go out and find out what his market is first. He’s going to elect free agency.”
Pettitte’s camp expressed bewilderment at the lack of momentum towards a long-term deal. He was hearing very little from owner George Steinbrenner too, which was a bit insulting with the owner not hesitating to try to woo the likes of Gary Sheffield. “They keep saying he is their No. 1 priority,” said Tom Pettitte, Andy’s father. “’We’ve been hearing that since that day we left. If 14 days goes by before you even call someone you’re interested in, you’re dragging your feet. That doesn’t seem like a whole lot of interest to me.”
Whether due to this breakdown in negotiations or an interest to return home to Texas, on December 11th Pettitte agreed to sign a three-year, $31 million deal to join the Astros. The Yankees had reportedly scrambled to make a higher offer, but by then, Pettitte had already given his word to Houston. By way of explaining his decision, in clear contrast to his view of the Yankees’ negotiations with him, the newest Astro said simply, “They really wanted me here.”
While injuries limited Pettitte in his first season in Houston, he had a monster year in 2005, posting a career-best 2.39 ERA in 33 starts while helping lead the team to their first-ever National League pennant. After a strong follow-up campaign, the veteran was once again on the open market. Upon evaluating his options—including returning to Houston and retiring—Pettitte made the decision in December 2006 to rejoin the franchise with which he’d found his greatest success, signing a one-year deal for his age-35 season with a player option for the following year. That turned into four years back in New York, a renaissance during which he secured his fifth ring in 2009 while winning the clincher in each round of the playoffs.
Following the 2010 campaign, Pettitte hung up his spikes, ostensibly content to leave baseball behind. There was even a press conference to announce his retirement in February 2011.
But the door never fully closed.
Cashman engaged Pettitte in December 2011 about a possible comeback, reportedly offering him between $10 million and $12 million. He demurred until spring training, by which point contractual commitments limited Cashman’s offer to a $2.5 million, minor-league deal. But, after spending time with the team at spring training and some encouragement from Mariano Rivera — who, upon seeing his longtime teammate in Tampa, reportedly “pinned him against a wall and implored him, ‘Let’s go!’” — Pettitte threw a secret bullpen session. The itch was back.
YES Network’s Jack Curry reported the news of the stunning un-retirement, causing a social media stir:
The Yankees have signed Andy Pettitte to a 1-year minor league deal worth $2.5 million. The team is thrilled to have 240-game winner back.
“I expect to be as good as I was,” Pettitte said when combatting concerns about his age and long layoff. “I don’t think I’m going to fail.” His GM expressed similar confidence. “I know what a healthy Andy Pettitte from the left side can do,“ said Cashman. ”We’re all in, and he’s all in.”
The other reviews on Pettitte’s return were mixed. With CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Freddy Garcia, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, and Phil Hughes already slated for rotation spots, adding the aged Pettitte seemed likely to block the ascent of young starters in favor of what, to some extent, was an unknown quantity. As The New York Times’ Tyler Kepner wrote at the time, “grooming young starters for sustained success is tricky enough as it is. Adding another veteran, no matter how revered, could make it even harder.”
Some of Pettitte’s new teammates seemed to agree. In light of the new competition created by the franchise icon’s signing, Hughes somewhat dejectedly said, “I worry about things I can control. What’s going to happen is going to happen. It is what it is.” When asked if he thought the signing would be good for the Yankees, Pettitte’s fellow veteran Garcia said, “I don’t know. Ask the people. I don’t know. I guess.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Of course, as the old saying goes, you can never have too much pitching. Pineda would miss the whole season (and the next one) with a shoulder injury. Garcia saw his ERA balloon to 5.20 as he lost his spot in the rotation. And Pettitte himself would be limited to 12 regular-season starts after beginning the year late as he stretched out in the minor leagues and subsequently missing time with a broken fibula sustained on a Casey Kotchman comebacker. Still, when on the field, he was sharp as ever, using his pitching smarts and guile to post a 2.87 ERA that was his best mark as a Yankee.
May 13, 2012 Andy Pettitte makes his 2012 debut after coming out of retirement pic.twitter.com/2RMGTwzFMw
— NY Yankees Throwbacks (@yankeethrowback) March 1, 2023
Pettitte returned in time to make two more playoff outings, both of which were quality starts at age-40, though the team was swept out of the postseason by the Tigers in the ALCS.
Pettitte returned for one last ride in 2013, making 30 starts and ending his career once and for all with yet another homecoming, tossing a complete-game victory over the Astros in Houston in his final start. That year was about Mariano Rivera’s farewell tour, but Pettitte’s fate was unclear until he broke the news in September that he’d be walking away as well.
Pettitte’s legacy in pinstripes begins with his incredible model of consistency, both in the regular and postseason, over 15 seasons in baseball’s toughest market. But surely, too, a part of his legacy is his multiple reunions with the Yankees, first from Houston and then out of retirement. They paint a picture of a tenacious competitor who charted his own path, with love for both his home state of Texas and his adopted city of New York.
The Yankees retired Pettitte’s No. 46 in 2015, cementing that legacy among the greatest players in their franchise’s history. His 2012-13 comeback was just another fun chapter in his remarkable journey — the cherry on top.
SURPRISE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 28: Cody Bradford #61 of the Texas Rangers pitches in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs during a spring training game at Surprise Stadium on February 28, 2025 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rangers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
As things currently stand, the Texas Rangers have four spots in their Opening Day rotation filled, with Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, MacKenzie Gore and Jack Leiter.
The fifth spot is a question mark currently. The Rangers no doubt hope that Cody Bradford will be healthy and ready to join the rotation at some point in May, but even if things going as well as could be hoped with Bradford, and even if everyone else stays healthy all spring, someone will have to man the fifth starter spot in the interim.
So in our Rangers Reacts Survey today, we want to know…who do you think should be the team’s fifth starter?
Nov 12, 2019; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Boston Red Sox general manager Chaim Bloom speaks during media availability at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
It is with much happiness that I say out loud that we are now only days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training. That means we can now look at what St. Louis Cardinals President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom was able to accomplish. What grade would you give him for his first real offseason of work?
Chaim got an early jump on the winter months by trading Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox. That was followed by convincing Willson Contreras to also waive his no-trade clause and accept a trade to Boston. He also signed free agent pitcher Dustin May to a one-year deal. Chaim also managed to find a home for Nolan Arenado as he was traded along with several briefcases of cash to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a low-end prospect. Finally, this week the St. Louis Cardinals only all-star last season Brendan Donovan was traded to the Seattle Mariners for 3 prospects and 2 draft picks.
While I am more interested in your take on Chaim Bloom’s many offseason moves, I’ll kick in my two cents. My grade for Chaim Bloom would be an A-. He accomplished nearly everything he said he wanted to do when the offseason began. He moved veteran players that were impeding play time for young talent along with big chunks of their large salaries and he acquired young players, some with a very high upside. Why not a perfect score? As of this moment, the St. Louis Cardinals still have JoJo Romero on their staff which isn’t a bad thing, but he’s likely a valued trade option for many teams needing a left-handed relief arm. In the press conference explaining the Brendan Donovan trade, Chaim Bloom did say that he would not be turning his phone off if other teams wanted to make additional moves so maybe that perfect A grade is still attainable.
Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder (or not), what is your opinion of the St. Louis Cardinals offseason moves? Would you give Chaim Bloom a high grade or is there something about the trades and acquisitions that trouble you?
TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 01: Andrés Giménez #0 of the Toronto Blue Jays turns a double play after tagging out Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers at second base in the seventh inning during Game Seven of the 2025 World Series presented by Capital One between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Saturday, November 1, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Andrés Giménez is a 27-year-old, left-handed hitting, middle infielder.
The Jays picked him up in trade from the Guardians in early December 2024, along with Nick Sandlin for Spencer Horwitz and minor leaguer Nick Mitchell. Horwitz was quickly flipped to the Pirates.
Horwitz hit .272/.353/.434 with 11 home runs for Pittsburgh, playing first base with a 1.6 bWAR. Not bad.
Mitchell played 85 games across three levels (rookie, A, A+) hitting .273/.386/.370 with 30 steals. FanGraphs has him #36 on their top 46 Guardian prospects.
Giménez hit .210/.285/.313 with 7 home runs (3 of them came in our first 5 games), for a 1.1 bWAR in 101 games. He was slowed by injuries, missing 23 games due to quad tightness and 31 due to an ankle sprain. It was his first time on the IL since 2020, when he was a Met. Unfortunately, the injuries slowed him when he came off the IL.
The bat wasn’t great, but the defence, on the other hand, was great. FanGraphs has him at 10 Outs Above Average (second best in the majors) at second base, which is amazing considering he only played about half a season worth of games at the position.
The first few games, when the team decided, against all logic, to have Giménez cleanup, were surreal, especially when he homered in the first game (and third and fifth). Of course, after those first five games, he hit .169/.247/.200 in the cleanup spot. Using him in that spot was the most puzzling lineup decision of the season (and there were several puzzling lineup choices).
This year, he’s going to be a shortstop. I guess there is a question of whether he’ll be as good at short as he is at second. We watched him play short in the playoffs, and he looked good there to me. He has plenty of arm, generally middle infielders play second because they don’t have the arm for short, but Giménez doesn’t seem to have any issues there. I think he has a good shot at being a Gold Glover at short.
The other question is, ‘Will he hit any better next year?’ That one I can’t answer, though I’d like to think that, without the leg and ankle injuries, he’d have to hit better. And he’d likely steal more bases (he had 12 steals last year, 30 in each of the two previous seasons).
The real answer is ‘He couldn’t hit much worse than last year.‘
Andrés hit much better vs. RHP (.221/.301/.329) than against LHP (.175/.233/.263). We platooned him some at second base; I doubt he’ll be platooned much at short.
Steamer thinks he’ll play in 134 games this year, hitting .253/.311/.384 with 12 home runs and 18 steals. Yeah, that won’t make us forget Bo, but then I’m hoping he’ll make up for it on defense.
SURPRISE, AZ - NOVEMBER 05: Seaver King #5 of the Scottsdale Scorpions bats during the game between the Scottsdale Scorpions and the Surprise Saguaros at Surprise Stadium on Wednesday, November 5, 2025 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Baseball America released their farm system rankings, and they are not the only outlet to do so in the past week or so. ESPN and The Athletic have also put out their rankings. The general consensus is that the Nats farm system is in the middle of the pack, though that feeling is not universal.
BA is the lowest of the three outlets on the Nats farm, ranking them 16th. The Nats have been in this range for them over the past few years. Last year, the Nats were 14th and in 2024 they were 15th. The system was at its strongest in 2023, ranking 7th. This makes sense, given that it was right after the Juan Soto trade.
🚨 NEW FARM SYSTEM RANKINGS 🚨
The @Pirates have baseball's best system entering 2026.
The reason the Nats system is lower is because of graduations and some regression. At this time last year, Dylan Crews was still prospect eligible. He was regarded as a top 10 prospect in the game. Brady House, Cade Cavalli and Daylen Lile all graduated as well.
The Nats 2024 draft class also struggled in their first taste of professional action. Seaver King and Luke Dickerson were very disappointing in 2025. Caleb Lomavita was fine, but did not exceed expectations either. With none of those guys emerging as top 100 caliber prospects, the Nats were unable to replace the guys they graduated from within.
Paul Toboni saved the Nats from being ranked deep into the 20’s with his moves. BA noted that the Nats acquired half of their top 20 prospects within the last year. The additions of Harry Ford, Gavin Fien, Luis Perales and others have made the Nats system deeper than ever.
The biggest reason why they are not higher is the lack of a true blue chip prospect. Eli Willits is the closest thing the Nats have, but BA has him ranked at 30th overall. He is not a top 10 prospect in the game like the Nats have had with Wood and Crews. Prospects like Travis Sykora, Jarlin Susana, Harry Ford and Gavin Fien are all very good, but also come with plenty of risk.
Keith Law of The Athletic really sees the promise in these guys. That is why he has the Nats system ranked as the 6th best, by far the highest I have seen. He noted that the Nats have done an impressive job restocking their system under Paul Toboni and in the 2025 draft.
The #Nationals have the 6th best farm system as ranked by Keith Law of The Athletic. The #Nats are ranked by him in his Second Tier. https://t.co/1g6rOrWKCB
However, he also notes the risk in a lot of these players. Law said that a lot of the talent the Nats have picked up is underperforming talent, based on where they were drafted or when they emerged as prospects.
I am not sure I agree with the underperforming part, but I do think a lot of the top guys have questions. Susana, Sykora, Perales and Alejandro Rosario have injury concerns. Harry Ford has some defensive issues and young infielders like Eli Willits and Gavin Fien are years away. There is no Konnor Griffin or Kevin McGonigle in the Nats system.
In the past, the Nats system has been very top heavy. They had a couple blue chip prospects, but not a ton else beyond that. Now the Nationals system’s strength is its depth. The question now is whether some of these promising pieces become top prospects.
Kiley McDaniel over at ESPN is one of my favorite prospect evaluators going back to his days at Fangraphs. He has the Nats system ranked as the 14th best. Last year, McDaniel had the Nats at 12. That was on the back of the top end guys like Dylan Crews. This year, the strength comes from the depth.
and here's my ranking of each farm system 1 through 30 with dollar values so you can see how quickly your team can rise https://t.co/TIUtsK5MOk
According to his write-up, the Nats acquired four of his top 200 prospects this winter. He pointed out Landon Harmon as a prospect to watch. I like that shoutout a lot. Harmon is quite similar to what Travis Sykora was coming out of high school a couple years ago. Both are 6’6 righties with upper 90’s heaters.
Sykora had a more filled out frame, but Harmon’s fastball might be even better. Harmon’s heater has good shape, while Sykora’s was more velocity dependent. However, Harmon’s secondary pitches are not as advanced as Sykora’s were.
At this time next year, I would be pretty surprised if the Nats did not have a consensus top 10 system in baseball. We wrote about what the system could look like at the end of the year, and Paul was very optimistic.
There are so many breakout candidates in this system. The reason the Nats system is not top 10 right now is that not a ton of these guys have done it yet. Once the Nats youngsters prove themselves, they will rise in the ranks. Even if the ranking is lower, the Nats farm is as healthy as it has been in a long time under Paul Toboni. Finally, the Nationals prospect pool has depth.
Kiner-Falefa, 30, is a versatile defender with big-league experience at every position except first base. He has primarily played shortstop (450 games), third base (234 games) and second base (90 games) in his eight-year MLB career.
Last season, Kiner-Falefa played in 119 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates before being claimed off waivers by the American League champion Toronto Blue Jays. In 138 games between Pittsburgh and Toronto, he slashed .262/.297/.334 with two home runs and 40 RBI.
The Red Sox aimed to improve their infield defense this offseason, and Kiner-Falefa should help in that department. He was a Gold Glover in 2020, when he primarily played third base for the Texas Rangers. Last season, he recorded two Outs Above Average as a third baseman but -3 OAA at shortstop and 0 OAA at second.
Kiner-Falefa should spend most of his time at second and third base for the Red Sox in 2026. Since the organization prefers to play former top prospect Marcelo Mayer at the hot corner, Kiner-Falefa will likely primarily be used at second. He could also see some time in the outfield when needed.
While Kiner-Falefa checks two boxes for Boston as a right-handed hitter and solid defender, he isn’t the upgrade the lineup needed. The Red Sox should still look to add an impactful right-handed bat before Opening Day.
Jul 12, 2019; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) laughs with broadcaster Rex Hudler before the game against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
The Royals will once again air ten games on free, over-the-air television, including the home opener on March 30 against the Minnesota Twins. The team is renewing its partnership with Gray Media and will air ten home games on KCTV5 in Kansas City. They are:
March 30 – vs. Minnesota Twins
April 3 – vs. Milwaukee Brewers
April 24 – vs. Los Angeles Angels
May 22 – vs. Seattle Mariners
June 12 – vs. Houston Astros
June 19 – vs. St. Louis Cardinals
July 17 – vs. San Diego Padres
August 7 – vs. Chicago Cubs
August 21 – vs. Detroit Tigers
September 7 – vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
This does not include the season opener against the Braves, as was previously reported. The home opener on Monday, March 30 has a 3:10 CT start time. It is the first time the home opener has aired on free TV since 2007.
The games will be a simulcast of the Royals broadcast on Royals.TV with the same broadcast that includes Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler. For fans outside of Kansas City, those games will still be available on Royals.TV or MLB.TV.
“We know that KCTV5 helped bring the personalities and talents of our exciting team to a broader audience, so we’re thrilled to continue and grow our partnership,” siad Royals President of Business Operations Cullen Maxey in a statement. “We want to build those connections with fans, and we’re thrilled they can continue to access our games on cable, streaming, and local TV.”
Last year, the Royals also aired ten games on over-the-air television on either KCTV5 or KSMO-62 in Kansas City.
Other Royals games will air on Royals.TV, a new venture as the team ended their relationship with Main Street Sports, the company that owns FanDuel Sports Kansas City. Those games are available for a direct-to-consumer streaming option, and will be made available for certain cable and satellite providers, to be announced at a later date.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MAY 6: Manager Pedro Lopez of the Albuquerque Isotopes hits infield before a game against the Oklahoma City Comets at the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) | Denver Post via Getty Images
The primary objective for the Colorado Rockies is to solve a single question in 2026: How do you consistently win in Colorado?
For over 30 years, the team has failed to find a suitable solution. Instead, winning was based on a hope that things would work themselves out and the answers would fall in their lap. However, after six-straight losing seasons, capped by the 119 losses in 2025, the Rockies have now set off on a path to find the answers to that evergreen question.
So how will they do it?
Honestly, the answers may lie with the minor league affiliates.
We know that quality development has been lacking for the Rockies for a long while, even since their inception. Despite identifying as a “draft and develop” team, the Rockies have gotten very little out of their prospects. This will be a major area of focus for Paul DePodesta and the rest of the front office, as rehauling the infrastructure of the whole organization is paramount to solving the big league woes.
The Rockies have a unique inherent advantage when it comes to their affiliates. Playing at elevation in Colorado presents a wide range of issues when it comes to pitching at Coors Field and trying to hit on the road. The path to enlightenment has always been right in front of the organization, but they have failed to understand how to utilize their tools correctly.
Albuquerque: Thriving on the mound
When it comes to pitching, having the Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque and Colorado Springs before that is the perfect spot for the Rockies. Thanks to similar elevations, it’s uniquely tailored for the Rockies to expose their prospects to playing in an extreme environment of that nature. The same goes for the wide range of offensive-friendly environments in the Pacific Coast League.
Pitching stats have been inflated for many years for the Triple-A affiliate. In 2025, the Isotopes had a 5.97 ERA, which, oddly enough, was only the third highest in the PCL behind Reno and Salt Lake. However, the starters had a 6.68 ERA, which was somehow an improvement on the 7.07 ERA they recorded the year before. Often, it seemed that the Rockies’ preference was that starting pitching prospects wouldn’t have to stay in Albuquerque long, feeling it’s better to experience Coors Field for itself. Triple-A became a heat lamp to keep middling depth in the forms of veterans and young players who already debuted and struggled in Colorado.
From the outside, it looked like the Rockies were afraid of what pitching in Albuquerque would do to a starting pitcher who was forced to be there for an extended period of time. It’s a valid concern, but rather than address it, they left experienced cannon fodder on minor league deals just get them through the season. As we saw in 2025, they chose to skip Triple-A options entirely and turn to someone like McCade Brown from Double-A Hartford. Ignore the problem, and hope players can just figure it out and that it would weed out the worst options.
While the Rockies try to figure out pitching at Coors Field, why not let the Isotopes stadium live up to its nickname of “The Lab”? Sure, the team has a facility of the same name in Arizona, but Albuquerque could be the place where the team can better prepare prospects to temper the extremes of Coors Field. It could help pitchers learn what to expect from their pitches so that when they are debuting in the Mile High City, they are better suited for the adaptation because they have some valuable starts under their belt in Albuquerque.
Learning to thrive on the mound in Albuquerque is way more beneficial than learning how to survive on the mound.
Spokane and Hartford: Offensive extremes
Hopefully, enjoying success on the mound in High-A and Double-A lays a foundation to build up on Triple-A, thanks to the pitching environments of Spokane and Hartford. However, the offensive conundrums can unlock the key to one of the Rockies’ toughest challenges.
The Rockies, historically, have been fairly good at home on offense and abysmal on the road. The challenge in trying to hit a ball in Denver and then moving to sea level, say San Francisco, and trying to hit a ball that is simply moving differently than it was the day before. It’s daunting for players, and it takes a unique skill set and discipline to maybe even replacement-level production.
Positioned on opposite coasts, the Rockies’ two minor league affiliates are some of the hardest places to hit. Hartford ranked middle of the Eastern League pack with a team slash line of .229/.313/.347 while Spokane slashed .239/.322/.372 in the Northwest League. Spokane’s OBP and SLG were near the bottom of their league.
Both teams showcased a lack of power in the sea level environments. It’s not much that there was a lack of power, but moreso a lack of plate discipline and approach that could lead to a more productive offense. For years, the Rockies simply focused on being aggressive at the plate and praying you don’t strikeout. Unfortunately, that approach can only take you so far as strikeouts have run rampant through the organization. Both Hartford and Spokane struggled with drawing walks, and their OBP suffered because of it. They weren’t trying to play to their environment, but rather the style of Rockies baseball that boiled down to “you just know they are going to hit” because they play at Coors.
Again, it was more about learning to survive as opposed to learning to thrive.
The Rockies have made it clear with their big league additions that the ability to get on base is a coveted trait. Getting on base on the road was especially rough and something that demands improvement. Can you guess what team finished 30th in all of baseball with a .259 OBP on the road last season?
Establishing a much better plate approach in the lower levels, Low-A Fresno included, the Rockies can go to work developing better hitters who can succeed on the road in the pitcher parks as well as the hitter-friendly confines.
Conclusion
I’m definitely excited to see what the Rockies can improve on this season at the big league level, but I’m even more intrigued to see what processes are put in place to give the team a coherent vision to start reaping the fruits of the draft in the development process.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 9: Ian Happ #8 of the Chicago Cubs bats in Game Four of the National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field on October 9, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Ninth in the series.Today we look at the Cubs’veteran left fielder,
Pittsburgh-area native and former Cincinnati Bearcat Ian Edward Happ is a figure of some controversy among Cubs fans, who decry his numbers while praising his numerical consistency. Happ has amassed a tidy 22.4 bWAR (20.6 fWAR) in a nine-year career in which he has averaged 20 HR and 62 RBI in real numbers, as two of his campaigns were partial or truncated.
He’s been an MLB regular since 2021, also logging considerable time in 2017-18. He has long stretches of hitless inadequacy, which are maddening, but he is always on base. Happ hasn’t yet turned in a 100-walk season but he’s capable of it.
Which is just the thing. 24 long balls in his rookie season increased expectations he hasn’t yet delivered on, and people don’t trust the agencies that keep fitting his right hand for a Gold Glove.
He can bat 1, 3, 5, or 6 in a Counsell lineup, and has, though 1 and 3 are his most common places in the batting order. As a switch-hitter with a good eye, he’s a valuable leadoff man in today’s lineups, where sheer base-stealing speed isn’t as valuable in that spot. Happ is reasonably fast but isn’t good at the stolen-base game.
Ian Happ is in his walk year and will be needing a new deal. Plenty of fans would let him roll on to another squad. I’m not one of them, but it might depend on the length of the contract, as Happ is 31 and his skills are likely to diminish some.
The Cubs don’t have a likely replacement, though, and that complicates matters. Matt Shaw? Maybe. Prove it to me. Kevin Alcantara? Same. Dylan Carlson? I want some of what you’re smoking.
Extend Happ for three years? Do it now. Ethan Conrad and Kane Kepley aren’t ready yet, if they’re going to be. That isn’t guaranteed. And Seiya Suzuki is in his walk year, too. There’s not a lot of youth in the 2027 Free Agent list, and the guys that are good are likely to be locked in during the season, or traded.
In 2026, Happ is going to turn in a 20+ HR, 75 RBI, 90-walk season, hit around .240 and be nominated for a Gold Glove. That’s okay by me. The future is hard to see.
