Good morning. This is a little shorter edition than I normally do for this because the overwhelming amount of news over the weekend was about the WBC. I think we have that pretty well covered around here elsewhere. We do have some WBC stuff and some other stuff as well.
Tigers ace Tarik Skubal had said that he was only going to make one appearance in the World Baseball Classic. But after his start against Great Britain, he said he’s considering agreeing to make one more appearance. Skubal said he found the experience pitching for his country to be very emotional for him.
Brittany Ghiroli says that MLB’s drug policy is not strong enough to deter users. (The Athletic sub. req.) Her point is that Profar is still getting paid for 2027, even though the Braves would not have given him a three-year deal if they knew he was using PEDs.
Colorado Rockies bullpen coach Matt Buschmann stands on the mound and works with pitchers during spring training in Scottsdale, Arizona. | Kyle Cooper | Colorado Rockies
Scottsdale, Ariz. — Matt Buschmann, like many coaches, is new to the Colorado Rockies in 2026. He came to the Rockies after working for both the Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants, and has been making his mark on the team right out of the gate.
“I learned a ton [in my previous positions],” he said.
“I think a lot of it is just making sure that the information you’re giving players is creating the right feedback loop for the change you want. So [we’re] being very intentional about constantly reinforcing the things we talk about every day, and not unintentionally undercutting that with something we’re saying or doing or information we’re giving.”
And that goes back to his coaching philosophy, which is all about “trying to get [players] to come to the conclusions themselves and creat[ing] the right environment to come up with the solution that works for them.
“Instead of telling them how or a technique, it’s just giving them the information and trying to make it as simple as possible and trying to get them to understand where they’re going” he continued, “If I give them where they’re trying to go, and then I can kind of help them along the road… if they own that solution, it’s going to be so much easier to repeat that and make the adjustment they need to make.”
One thing about Warren Schaeffer’s new coaching staff that we’ve written about ad nauseam are the open lines of communication they’ve been establishing between themselves and the players. And that’s something Buschmann has also embraced.
“It’s just creating an open environment,” he said. “I think sometimes when you force it, it can get kind of weird. But it’s giving the players the understanding that there will be constant touch points. It’s not set times. There’s constant communication every day, and it’s very organic.
“And they know that at any given moment, [they] can come and talk to us and we want to make that so it’s like, ‘Come grab us.’ It’s not, ‘I’ll come talk to you’ because I don’t want to create an environment where the only times I’m talking to [them] are when things are going poorly,” he continued. “You don’t want to create that kind of feedback loop, either. I think it’s just constantly giving touch points and being conscious to reinforce the things you want.”
The open communication is especially important for this young Rockies team, and something that the coaching staff is looking to model.
“When a player’s young, to me, it’s just like, ‘Do they understand the day-to-day? Do they understand what it means to be good over 160 games and then playoffs, and what it takes in a calendar year?’ It’s not only in season and the constant routines, and it’s the mundane nature of baseball, but how important that boring stuff is,” he said.
“So how do you do that on a daily basis? Are you consistent in your routines and then understanding how important the offseason is to prepare for another 160 games? Players that are young, that’s what they’re learning,” he continued.
“To me, we know guys have the stuff and the talent, and now it’s just like… I think the quote I like to go back to is, ‘Success is very boring.’ It is very boring day-to-day. And so it’s getting guys to understand that every day is not this ‘Aha!’ moment. The ‘Aha!’ moment comes because you were very consistent in your daily routing.”
And the collaboration permeates through the coaching staff, as well.
“I feel like the staff will offer input in roughly equal amounts throughout our pitchers meetings,” said RHP John Brebbia.
“It might not all be on the same topic – one person could be more pitch sequencing, while the other person is more biomechanical or aerodynamic-oriented – but I feel like everyone has an area of pitching that they like or they’re interested in, or that they are maybe responsible for. They all provide input and you can tell they’ve done their research and they care about it. And Busch is one of those guys that is doing that exact same thing.”
“We’re all part of a pitching staff trying to prevent runs,” Buschmann said, “so there’s this team ethos of, ‘How do we prevent runs?’ And then what you have are just different routines, and therefore, that’s where they separate. Relievers are training for less more often, and starters are the long-distance runners. So sometimes you separate in that regard. But as far as attacking hitters and all that, it’s very collective. ‘How are we preventing runs against this team in this series?’”
But the biggest strength that Buschmann brings to this team is his emphasis on workload management.
“The in-depth nature of the way he thinks about arms and recovery and workload management is huge, and it’s game-changing for us, especially at altitude. I think that’s going to pay huge dividends throughout the season and for years to come,” said Schaeffer.
The players echoed that, as well.
“I think his big thing for us is just managing our workload because as a bullpen, it’s really hard to know when you’re going to throw next,” said Zach Agnos.
“He’s been really good on the workload end just by telling us, ‘Hey, don’t take it too heavy today.’ or ‘Hey, we’re gonna keep it light, but we’re gonna make a lot of throws today.’ He’s been really good at that, and it’s been keeping us fresh and allowing us to feel our best every time we go out on the mound. And I think that’s going to be huge come August and September this year.”
Learning to manage the pitching staff at Coors Field is a challenge for any coach, but Buschmann is up for it.
“I’m very excited. I think you come here because you like challenges, and we’d like to build something,” he said. “And I think the plan is that it’s a feature for us, not a bug. It’s not something we have to fight, it’s something we need to embrace, and it’ll be part of what helps us be better.
After a challenging 2025 season, Brenton Doyle has been on the comeback trail this spring. However, things were derailed a bit by a wrist sprain and Doyle missed 11 days. He returned to the lineup on Saturday night against the Dodgers, going 1-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base. With just 15 games left in spring training, Doyle will look to give ‘100 percent’ to the final weeks.
The Rockies signed Tomoyuki Sugano at the beginning of spring training, but he was only with the team for a few days before he left for the World Baseball Classic in Japan. He started Sunday’s game against Australia, pitching four scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Here’s his postgame presser.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 03: Victor Bericoto #83 of the San Francisco Giants gets ready in the batters box against the Team United States during an exhibition game at Scottsdale Stadium on March 03, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s hard to believe it, but the San Francisco Giants are already more than halfway through their Cactus League schedule. They’ve played 15 games, with 14 remaining. They’ve also played an exhibition against Team USA, while the future has four more exhibitions: a Spring Breakout prospect game with the Cincinnati Reds, one game against their own AAA affiliate, and two games against Sultanes of the Mexican League.
And then it’s on to the good stuff!
Critically, the Giants have played enough games that we can start to get a feel for how each player’s spring is going, though Carson Whisenhunt on Saturday offered a very strong reminder that a spring can flip — for better or for worse — in a moment’s notice.
With that said, which player has, to this point, stood out to you the most, both positively and negatively?
While I think that Victor Bericoto’s spring has been the most surprising, I’m instead picking Bryce Eldridge as my spring standout to this point. There have been endless discussions over the last month as to Eldridge’s roster status — does he have to hit his way onto the roster, or does he have to hit his way off of it? But I’m just going to parrot something that Alex Pavlovic said on Thursday’s Giants Talk podcast: I don’t see how you can watch the at-bat he had against Paul Skenes and conclude that he shouldn’t be on the Opening Day roster.
Eldridge’s at-bats have been competitive, poised, and most impressively, loud. And his defense has even been very impressive. There will no doubt be bumps and bruises — he’s still striking out quite a lot — but that’s going to occur at the Major League level whether he’s called up on March 25 or on July 25. Ultimately, Eldridge has looked like he is without a doubt one of the team’s best bats, and that’s a happy sight in my eyes.
As for the biggest disappointment, the easy choice is certainly Hayden Birdsong. There’s unfortunately not too much to say there.
Who have been your biggest Spring Training standouts and disappointments so far?
SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - MARCH 03: Kevin McGonigle #85 of the Detroit Tigers throws the ball during the second inning against the Dominican Republic at Estadio Quisqueya on March 03, 2026 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a few weeks of work that generally has zero predictive value on the upcoming season, spring training is finally reaching a point where pitchers and hitters are no longer just shaking off the winter’s rust. The Grapefruit League season concludes on March 25. Opening Day is March 27 in San Diego. So while we saw Tarik Skubal and Enmanuel de Jesus pitching for their countries on Sunday, and the WBC is ongoing and the Spring Breakout game lays ahead as the final notable day on the the spring calendary on March 20, the focus now turns more acutely toward the Tigers’ Opening Day roster decisions. There are still a few big questions left to answer.
It’s natural to worry over Grapefruit League production, but year in and year out, it just doesn’t mean anything for established big leaguers. Currently, Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling lead the team with 22 plate appearances. Essentially, no one else has even had five full games worth of trips to the plate yet. So while seeing important players struggle feels a lot worse than seeing everyone cranking homers and looking sharp, the last three weeks of games were little more than a warm-up.
We should see a significant amount of cuts from major league camp in the coming days, and the regulars starting to get 3 or 4 plate appearances per game more often. If the Tigers don’t already have their Opening Day position player roster basically locked in, the last two weeks could potentially tip the scales somewhat, but more than likely they only have one or two questions at most that they’re looking for answers to in the final weeks of camp.
Focus for the Tigers position player group will center around two positions, center field and shortstop, as it has all along. And one player is the key to the final Opening Day roster.
Is Kevin McGonigle the starting shortstop?
The one roster decision that controls the whole equation is whether top prospect Kevin McGonigle is the Opening Day shortstop. It’s not a certainty that he’s got the job, but it’s been a very impressive camp for an already very impressive young player. He’s done nothing to change our preseason opinion that he was already one of the top hitters on the roster, and so far he’s answered all the defensive questions after an offseason of intense focus on improving his defensive game at the shortstop position. The Tigers may have other ideas, but it certainly feels like something would have to go very wrong for McGonigle to end up in Toledo to start the season.
The 21-year-old prospect came to camp needing to show that he’s cleaned up his footwork and transfer, and could now play a more consistent and efficient brand of defense at the position. He’s done that. The double pumps and extra steps that sometimes plagued him in what has only been a short time of actual play in the minor leagues have been banished so far this spring. His range has looked average or better, his hands and reactions are good, and his decision making with the ball has been excellent. There’s nothing to be done about his arm strength. McGonigle is going to give up a few singles in the hole that a more typical, strong-armed shortstop would not, but the Tigers will have to live with that until a better option, namely #3 ranked prospect Bryce Rainer, arrives in a few years. I don’t think it’s going to hurt McGonigle’s numbers too badly in the meantime.
Assuming that McGonigle is the Opening Day shortstop, that really alters the roster by pushing Javy Báez and Zach McKinstry into full utility mode rather than splitting time at shortstop as they would if McGonigle wasn’t ready. It makes no sense to promote McGonigle, open a 40-man spot for him, and then only play him part-time trying to ease him into the job. Just turn him loose. In turn, that makes the Tigers roster a lot more flexible with Báez and McKinstry capable of playing every and anywhere. In that scenario, carrying someone like Jahmai Jones as a pure bench bat or Parker Meadows as a defense first center fielder becomes easier.
With Colt Keith starting at third base most of the time, Báez might end up handling the weak side of the platoon there. The Tigers could also use him in center field against left-handed starting pitchers. He’ll be entering games to hit lefties or as a defensive replacement on the majority of days where he begins the game on the bench.
McKinstry can play anywhere but catcher, and while he probably won’t see time in center field, having McGonigle at shortstop frees him up to play all over the place and to pinch hit for someone like Meadows when needed, knowing they’ve several other players who are least solid in center field. Most days, McKinstry will probably freelance as a defensive replacement late in games, while taking occasional starts at second and third base.
Who plays center field?
Right now, the Tigers have Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, and Matt Vierling locked in as Opening Day outfielders. A.J. Hinch and Scott Harris love Vierling, and after a 2025 season ruined by a shoulder injury that never cooperated, the versatile 30-year-old outfielder is swinging the bat well and apparently healthy. He’ll get the opportunity to put 2025 aside and try to get back to his 2024 form. Vierling’s ability to play a reasonably solid center field, play the corners when Carpenter or Greene are the DH, and even backup Colt Keith at third base here and there, basically makes him a lock at this point, though he does have an option remaining.
That leaves, Parker Meadows, Wenceel Pérez, Jahmai Jones, along with minor league invite Austin Slater and former prospect Trei Cruz fighting it out for two spots in center field and as the fifth outfielder on the roster. Veteran minor leaguer Corey Julks is on the outside looking in, while Max Clark was never really an option yet and needs to get his seasoning in the upper minors before perhaps taking over in center field later on this summer. His timetable for full time work was always 2027, but he can certainly speed things up by tearing up the Triple-A level this year, particularly if the Tigers needs in center field remain pressing.
Obviously as the best defensive center fielder on the roster, the Tigers would really like Parker Meadows to show something at the plate over the final weeks of camp. This is shaping up like a below average defensive outfield otherwise, and the Tigers’ entire team strategy is to not worry too much about singles getting through the infield, and focus instead on preventing extra base hits. That means they need the best outfield they can put together. This is otherwise a mediocre defensive club other than behind the plate.
Riley Greene went from arguably the best defensive left fielder in baseball in 2024, to more middle of the pack with a below average defensive runs saved (DRS) mark, and only slightly above average according to Statcast’s outs above average (OAA) metric. Carpenter is even a little worse than those numbers, though he’s also expected to be the DH much of the time to try and keep him healthy. We can hope Greene bounces back somewhat, and having Vierling in the mix helps solidify things, but without a good center fielder, this is an average at best defensive outfield.
The two open roles here are the starting center fielder against right-handed pitchers, and the best bat possible to use against left-handed pitching at any outfield position or in the DH slot. For a heavily left-handed group of top hitters, that last role is crucial and Andy Ibáñez and Jones have both seen signficant playing time over the past two years specifically because they did that one thing fairly well, or in Jones’ case last year, extremely well.
Parker Meadows just needs to get the bat going a little bit, and he’ll continue to have an inside track to a roster spot, even if he’s mainly used as a defensive specialist. Has he been hitting the ball on the ground all spring? Sure, and he can’t just put a disaster at the plate into April without a course correction in the roster, but no one else fits the bill as an above average center fielder who is productive against right-handed pitching.
Cruz is more of an average center fielder, but he may be able to outproduce Meadows as a left-handed hitter, and his switch-hitting and ability to play all over the infield, including shortstop, gives him at least a broader profile. He’ll need a strong finish at the plate and in the field over the last two weeks to counter Meadows defensive advantage. Still, Cruz does have his fate in his own hands at this point. So does Wenceel Pérez. Now 26-year-old, Pérez has put up average numbers at the plate in part-time work, but he’s could really stand to convince the Tigers he’s ready to handle center field. He has the speed and overall athleticism to play the position well, but so far in his career he’s been a little too mistake prone.
Báez posted a 75 wRC+ against right-handed pitching last season, so he’s really not the everyday answer in center field. They could go with Vierling’s more balanced splits in center field against right-handed starters, but he’s a bit fringy in center field as a defender as well, and at least part of the time they may have him in right field with Carpenter in the DH slot. Slater does hit left-handed pitching pretty well, but he isn’t really a center fielder at this point in his career. Corey Julks isn’t a center fielder at all, so his opportunity was solely as a bat to hit lefties. He’ll be extremely hard pressed to convince anyone he’s the superior option to Jahmai Jones in that limited role.
So, assuming McGonigle making the team, this is a current guess at the 13 total position players the Tigers will take north. The flexibility thus added by freeing up Báez and McKinstry makes it a pretty simple decision to take Jones for his lefty mashing stick alone. They’ll still have six other players who are fully capable of handling the outfield, and six players capable of playing the infield, though clearly Torkelson, Torres, and Keith are not cut out to play shortstop.
C Dillon Dingler
C Jake Rogers
1B Spencer Torkelson
2B Gleyber Torres
SS Kevin McGonigle
3B Colt Keith
LF Riley Greene
CF Parker Meadows
RF Matt Vierling
DH Kerry Carpenter
UTIL Javier Báez
UTIL Zach McKinstry
UTIL Jahmai Jones
The first alternate plan to that positional player group is to take Trei Cruz or Wenceel Pérez instead of Parker Meadows. The other alternate possibility is that the Tigers drive everyone crazy by deciding they want McGonigle to get some Triple-A time for additional reps at shortstop and against upper level minor league pitching. We can hope that A.J. Hinch has a say in that matter, but should that occur, now you have Báez and McKinstry back at shortstop for a while. That opens up an outfield slot for Slater or Pérez, as well as ensuring Meadows or Cruz is playing center field a lot. I’d bet on Pérez in that instance, but Slater’s ability and track record against left-handed pitching could convince the Tigers to keep him through Opening Day and evaluatue him a little longer, knowing they can option Pérez and keep him in their back pocket in Toledo if needed.
Still, that would require cutting someone for a 40-man spot for Slater, something they’ll already have to do to add McGonigle to the roster at whatever point they choose, and thus two DFAs required before we even get to the pitching side of things. Overall I think the 33-year-old journeyman remains a real longshot to make the roster, though the Tigers would probably love to keep him stashed as a backup option in Toledo.
In the end this all revolves around McGonigle continuing to play well at shortstop over the final two weeks, and on Meadows showing a little more life at the plate. The McGonigle decision will determine how flexible the Tigers can be with the rest of the roster, and that decision will shape what the Tigers need from their outfield group. The bar isn’t that high for Meadows’ bat considering the Tigers defensive needs. He just needs to look more like he can approach his career numbers at the plate, but if not, we’ll see if Cruz or Pérez can seize the opportunity.
Andrew Kittredge is back in the orange and black — for the second time in less than a year. That fact alone tells you something about how the Orioles view him, and maybe about how he views the Orioles. After a productive first run in Baltimore last season ended at the trade deadline, the two sides wasted little time in November agreeing to a reunion. Now, heading into 2026, the 35-year-old right-hander will be expected to provide this young, rebuilding bullpen with experience, reliability, and a solid track record. He’s done it before, but there’s one hitch this time — he’’ll be starting the year on the injured list.
Kittredge has been around. That’s not a knock; it’s a fact. And quite an accomplishment for a reliever who didn’t stick in the majors until his late twenties. Drafted by the Mariners in 2008, he only debuted in 2016, and didn’t regular appearances until after being dealt to Tampa Bay, where he soon found his footing, grinding through middle relief work until he emerged as one of the Rays’ most valuable arms.
His peak came in 2021, when he posted a stellar 1.88 ERA over 71 2/3 innings pitched and earned his first-ever All-Star nod. It was nice validation for a dark horse not guaranteed to crack the Majors. Between 2020 and 2022, in fact, Kittredge was quietly exceptional, with a combined 2.17 ERA and 0.973 WHIP over 82 games. Tampa Bay always seemed to be discovering gems like this.
Until they lost it, and in this case, I mean Tommy John surgery, which was the diagnosis for Kittredge in June 2022, costing him significant time and disrupting the momentum he had built. Returning to the mound in 2023, he took a step backward, appearing in just 14 games, and in 2024, Tampa Bay dealt him to the Cardinals. Even then, he wasn’t bad, posting a cumulative 2.84 ERA in his next two seasons. When he eventually found his way to Baltimore on a one-year deal for the 2025 season, there was cautious optimism tempered by the awareness that players coming off major arm procedures don’t always return as the same pitcher.
Kittredge didn’t even take the mound for the Orioles until May 21st — a knee issue during spring training delayed his debut. That’s not the ideal start, but once he got going, he looked much like the pitcher Tampa Bay had relied on. In 31 games in Baltimore, he went 2-2 with a 3.45 ERA, and equivalent peripheral numbers. The stuff was there.
Unfortunately, the team wasn’t — in a playoff sense, at least. The Orioles finished 75-87, last in the AL East, and shipped Kittredge off to Chicago at the trade deadline in exchange for Wilfri De La Cruz, an 18-year-old Dominican shortstop prospect who’s now ranked 22nd in Baltimore’s farm system.
Kittredge’s time with the Cubs was, if anything, even better. He went 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA and a career-best 13.3 strikeout rate, then pitched in the postseason for good measure. He was, in short, exactly what a contending team wants: a veteran arm pitching in meaningful games with a clean ledger.
And yet, November came, and the Orioles came calling again. For cash considerations, Kittredge returned to Baltimore. The Birds-Cubs-Birds loop was completed, and the net result — sending Kittredge away in July and buying him back in November — was essentially that Baltimore acquired De La Cruz on the cheap while retaining the reliever it wanted all along.
That’s not a bad outcome, frankly. Kittredge brings something the Orioles’ bullpen sorely needs: a veteran who has pitched in October, who knows how to handle a high-leverage appearance without rattling, and who has the kind of career ERA (3.43 lifetime) that suggests consistency even across different teams and contexts. With Felix Bautista still working his way back from shoulder surgery, Baltimore needs experience at the back end, and Kittredge provides it.
The hope, of course, is that Kittredge’s getting ruled out for Opening Day due to shoulder inflammation — which manager Craig Albernaz announced last week — is simply precautionary, and that the team is protecting him rather than rushing him back in late March. If and when Kittredge returns healthy, Baltimore should have a valuable, proven arm stabilizing the back of its bullpen. There’s an “if and when” question here, though, and it’s worth monitoring Kittredge’s health as spring progresses.
Kittredge and the Orioles are running it back once more this year. Whether that partnership flourishes in 2026 depends, for now, on a shoulder that needs to cooperate. But the veteran righty has overcome worse odds before, including Tommy John surgery in ‘22, and an MLB career that didn’t get off the ground until his late-twenties. It’ll be worth seeing what he can do this season.
Milwaukee Brewers infielder Luis Rengifo (13) fields a ground ball during spring training workouts Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
It has been a roller coaster offseason at the hot corner in Milwaukee. It was a big question at the beginning of last season, too, but Caleb Durbin quickly snagged the job once given an opportunity and put up a very nice rookie season in which he was about a league-average hitter, stole 18 bases, and played better-than-expected defense on his way to a third-place finish in Rookie of the Year voting.
Well, things change quickly sometimes in Milwaukee. Sensing an opportunity, the Brewers shipped Durbin (along with Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler, who were the primary backups to all three of the Brewers’ non-first-base infield positions last season) to the Boston Red Sox for a pair of starting pitchers, Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan, and utility infielder David Hamilton. The Milwaukee front office perhaps also felt a bit squeamish about some of Durbin’s underlying metrics — there are some definite parallels between Durbin’s 2025 season and Joey Ortiz’s 2024 season, and of course, we know what happened to Ortiz in his second year.
While the Hamilton part of the return from Boston surely answered some of the question of “who is going to play third base now that we traded our entire 2025 depth chart in one deal,” it did not answer them all. That led to a week of wild speculation: was Jett Williams going to start the season at third? Could we be shocked by an aggressive promotion of someone else, like Brock Wilken or Cooper Pratt?
Well, no. The Brewers signed a real, actual major league third baseman exactly one week after trading Durbin, and he tops the depth chart, even if he comes with some questions.
Luis Rengifo
Rengifo comes to the Brewers after seven seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. Returns from Rengifo have been mixed, but he had three straight seasons from 2022-24 where he was an above-average offensive player, and he’s got two major league seasons on his record of more than 15 homers.
Those seasons are fading into the rearview mirror at this point, though: he last hit double-digit homers in 2023. While Rengifo is still in what we’d consider his “prime” based on his age, he struggled badly at the plate in 2025 after missing half of the 2024 season. I went pretty deep in the wake of the trade to try to figure out whether Rengifo’s bad 2025 was the new normal or whether we should expect him to return to the offensive levels of earlier in his career. (The conclusion there: if he can get his launch angle back up — it was around 9-10 degrees in 2022 & 2023 and around 6-7 degrees in 2024 & 2025 — then the homers might return, but we shouldn’t expect him to hit .300 like he did in 2024, a fluky BABIP year.)
Defense is a question with Rengifo, too. The advanced metrics, which should always be taken with a grain of salt, are all over the place. He’s played more second base than third in his career, and has sometimes graded out as a good defensive player and sometimes as a bad one.
The mathematician in me says that we should expect Rengifo to be about a league-average player on both sides of the ball (but please keep in mind that I haven’t had a math class since 2006). The Brewers can handle that. Rengifo is on a one-year deal, he’s not making a ton of money, and there are exciting reinforcements coming from the minor league system, maybe even this year. Rengifo should be able to handle things until the next generation is ready.
David Hamilton
Here I am talking about David Hamilton, third baseman. Guess how many times Hamilton has played third base in a regular-season game as a professional?
If you said “one,” then yes, you are correct, even if one is generous: he played third base for 1 1/3 innings of a game last season. That’s it. Never once in the minor leagues, nor in college, nor in the Arizona Fall League, nor in summer ball in the Cape Cod League.
Hamilton is likely to replace Monasterio as Milwaukee’s true utility infielder this season — in Hamilton’s two-plus seasons, he’s appeared almost equally at second base and shortstop. The Brewers are pretty set at those two positions, barring a continuing collapse of Ortiz’s offense; if they feel comfortable keeping Ortiz’s bat in the lineup regularly, then Hamilton’s opportunities are going to come most often at third. Hamilton is quite a good defensive middle infielder, so there is no reason to think that he won’t take to third, where he has been playing almost exclusively this spring (six of his seven starts have been at third base).
There aren’t a ton of reasons for optimism in Hamilton’s offensive game — he was almost a league-average offensive player in 2024, but he was bad in 2025, and the biggest difference between those seasons was not in anything you’d see on Statcast but in BABIP (.316 in 2024, .234 in 2025). Hamilton is pretty good at not chasing bad pitches, something the Brewers surely liked about him, and there’s a little bit more power in there than you might expect (he has 14 home runs in 511 plate appearances across the last two seasons).
The other thing the Brewers can (and will) do to help Hamilton is to essentially never let him face a left-handed pitcher: for his career, Hamilton is a .200/.233/.257 hitter against lefties and .226/.291/.376 against righties. Rengifo, a switch-hitter, has a career OPS that is 84 points higher against left-handed pitching, so a soft platoon is certainly in play (though it should be noted that Rengifo’s .665 career OPS against right-handed pitching is essentially the same as Hamilton’s career .667 OPS against righties). Regardless of how much platooning happens at third, Hamilton will never start against lefties.
Hamilton should function well as an occasional starter against right-handed pitching at third while backing up both Ortiz and Brice Turang in the middle of the infield. If he has to do more than that, the Brewers will likely be asking too much of him.
Who else?
I mentioned earlier the people who were being speculated about as being in the mix after the Brewers traded Durbin: Jett Williams’ future probably lies in the outfield, but he’s certainly capable of playing in the infield somewhere, and he is the furthest along of any of the Brewers’ big infield prospects. I went more in-depth on Williams in our second base preview, but I expect he’ll play somewhere (or, maybe, everywhere) in Milwaukee before the 2026 season ends.
I also mentioned Eddys Leonard in the second base preview. He’s played more at second in his career, but he’s appeared often at third as well. We’ll see if Leonard is even still in the organization when the season starts — there probably isn’t a place for him on the Brewers’ major league roster, and he’s an accomplished enough minor leaguer that he might be someone who can get a better opportunity elsewhere.
As far as prospects, Dave also looked atBrock Wilken as a long shot to get the job after Durbin was traded and before Rengifo was signed. Wilken has never played above Double-A, and while he’s probably okay as a defensive player, he’s not going to be nearly as good as Hamilton and likely not as good as Rengifo. Wilken has shown real power and patience in the minors, but he likely needs more seasoning.
Long term, the most likely answer here is that one of the Brewers’ big shortstop prospects ends up at third base. Who will that be? The consensus at this point seems to be that between Cooper Pratt, Jesús Made, and Luis Peña, Pratt is the best defensive player (though some think Made could get there). And while we’ve gotten used to the rocketship trajectory of Made and Jackson Chourio the last couple years, Peña is very young, and while he has shown some advanced offensive skills, if you say he won’t make the majors until he’s 22 — still young! — that still pushes him back to 2029. That puts this question off for a while, at least for him.
Maybe the 2027 Brewers have some sort of Turang-Pratt-Made alignment. Maybe Ortiz is still in the picture. Maybe Pratt gets traded. This will work itself out, but I don’t think we need to give a whole lot of thought to Pratt or Made as it relates to the 2026 Milwaukee Brewers season.
Conclusion
Expect to see Rengifo most often, with Hamilton starting a couple of times a week against right-handed pitching. I’m hopeful that Rengifo’s production will bounce back to about league average. Hamilton will likely not get there, but he can run into them occasionally, and he’ll be a good, reliable defensive player.
If Rengifo continues to struggle as he did in 2025, especially if he’s not playing high-level defense, Milwaukee will start looking to their minor league system for alternatives, but I think we’d need to get close to two full bad months from him before that happens. Hopefully, though, his bad BABIP luck from last season turns around and he starts hitting fly balls again, giving the Brewers a credible power threat in the lower part of their batting order.
JUPITER, FLORIDA - MARCH 14, 2025: Yairo Padilla #89 of the St. Louis Cardinals in the field during the seventh inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 14, 2025 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
It’s kind of unfortunate for Yairo Padilla that he came up at the same time as Rainiel Rodriguez. Some sites had him as the better prospect entering 2025. And then, well, 2025 happened. I think the perception of Padilla was certainly negatively affected by Rodriguez’s rise, even though that doesn’t really make sense, just because they were bunched together and then they very much weren’t. Now, I don’t know that Padilla will rank radically different for me, but he also wasn’t on my top 20 last year, so I don’t feel like I’ve downgraded him after a pretty positive year. Here’s the list:
JJ Wetherholt
Liam Doyle
Rainiel Rodriguez
Quinn Mathews
Jurrangelo Cjintje
Joshua Baez
Leonardo Bernal
Jimmy Crooks
Brandon Clarke
Tink Hence
Tekoah Roby
Tanner Franklin
Brycen Mautz
Nathan Church
Cooper Hjerpe
Ixan Henderson
Yairo Padilla
Comparable Player Poll
I think this is going to be the last comparable player poll. I already know the next two players I will add. Or I should say, I know two of the three people I will be adding to the vote. Obviously, one of them is this vote, so I certainly would hope I know who I’m adding right now. The third is between the two people below you. I haven’t decided if the winner of this vote is going on the next vote or the last vote. Both of these players have won comparable player polls and short of removing a player from the voting, which I might honestly still do, I’d kind of be guessing which one to add, which I’d prefer not to do.
Blake Aita was a 6th round draft pick in the same draft as Dutkanych, but not by the Cardinals. Drafted by the Red Sox, his command-oriented approach led him to play about half the season in Low A and half in High A. He posted average K rates, but didn’t walk many. He pitched well enough to earn a trip to AA, but I suspect the depth of the pitching will see him in High A to begin the year. He’ll be 23.
Andrew Dutkanych is someone you guys are very familiar with if you’ve been voting on every poll. He’s already been in two of these and won both of them. He was a 7th round draft pick, drafted with the full knowledge that he had recently undergone Tommy John surgery and thus was not going to be able to pitch much last year. He pitch in both rookie league and Low A, basically a glorified reliever, but missed some bats and some of the strike zone. He will be 22 and probably repeating Low A.
I always try to add a relief prospect by the 18th vote, and I do that because we’ve actually had a relief prospect be the 18th prospect in the system twice. If I add any doubt whatsoever about adding a relief prospect, it was removed when Luis Gastelum completely dominated the vote. Like he received 123 votes and the next highest total was 12. He should be in the voting for sure.
Scouting (FG): 30/45 Hit, 35/50 Game Power, 50/55 Raw Power, 40/40 Speed, 40/45 Fielding
There’s always one guy who I add to the voting too early. There’s a high upside, but high variance prospect who I’m not totally sure how this crowd feels about, and I add them as early as possible just so that I don’t add them too late. Well Baez has been on the vote since the 6th vote and I have long since run out of things to say about Baez. You get the picture. Jesus Baez personally ran Keith Law’s mother over with a car, he has a rep for chasing, and yet statistically, nothing looks bad from my eyes.
It is kind of crazy to be this late in the game and have guys like Baez and Fajardo still be in the voting and it not be some gross misjustice. Like just think about the fact that there is a 19-year-old who pitched very well in both rookie league and Low A and you can still vote for this guy at 18 or 19 or 20 and I just think this guy is already on the list in the other three years I’ve done this. I don’t think this group was even that high on Padilla, but by 15 last year, the other options were just not that exciting. We still have kind of exciting options at 18!
Yes, Gastelum is posting those numbers with effectively one pitch. I mean yeah you can see he has other pitches, but the changeup is how he strikes out over a third of batters he faces. As one can imagine, when you imagine someone throwing a changeup in your mind, it’s not going to look like Gastelum’s change. It looks more like what you expect a breaking ball to do. That is in fact what Mets’ announcer Gary Cohen called it in a recent spring training game.
What I find particularly fascinating about Hansen’s scouting report is that one would think Fangraphs was low on him, but they aren’t. They definitely aren’t. They ranked him 10th in the system last season. But that 35 fastball grade kind of pops out at you. It’s the kind of grade you give to a prospect that you aren’t typically high on, so I suppose it provides an insight into what FG thinks of the importance of command. You don’t usually see 60 command prospects.
Scouting: 40/50 Hit, 40/50 Game Power, 60/60 Raw Power, 30/30 Speed, 40/45 Fielding
The problems that Blaze Jordan needs to overcome in order to be a productive hitter strike me as very similar to the problems that Alec Burleson once had. Burleson flew through the minors, had a better hit tool, and had the platoon advantage in the majority of his plate appearances, but broadly speaking – guy who doesn’t strike out much needs to be more selective with his swing choices – that describes Blaze Jordan too.
Scouting: 30/35 Hit, 40/50 Game Power, 55/55 Raw Power, 50/40 Speed, 50/50 Fielding
Story is pretty clear cut on Ledbetter. He previously had a bit of a strikeout problem, but with the strikeouts came a lot of power. At AA last season, Ledbetter managed to get his strikeouts to a more reasonable level, but it did come with significantly less power. His goal I assume will be to merge the power with a more reasonable strikeout rate.
The scouting is definitely reflective of a relief prospect, but by no means are the Cardinals giving up on him starting. Mostly because you can actually start if you have a 70 fastball and a 60 change, that is a lethal combo. As you can also see by the scouting, he’s not there yet with either pitch. The slider isn’t great, but just having a third option to go to with two elite pitches can still work as a starter. He’ll need better command of course.
Ryan Mitchell, 19 – OF
No stats
Scouting: 25/55 Hit, 25/50 Game Power, 40/55 Raw Power, 60/60 Speed, 25/50 Fielding
No one carrying tool for Mitchell, but just an overall well-rounded profile, which also happens to be kind of a boring scouting profile. You can dream on a better power tool even if it came with a worse hit tool, but everything being average or above average all adds up to a potentially great player, just not real eye-popping in the way ranking prospects tends to reward.
I will once again mention that those scouting grades are his potential, but that Savant has not posted the “current” scouting grades. Although if you think about it, the current is not super relevant for a guy in High A. You can kind of draw your own conclusions based on the stats to some extent. Also you don’t necessarily care if they don’t have trouble with swing-and-miss at the lower levels, you want to know if he will have trouble. Ortiz cutting down his K rate upon promotion strikes me as a fairly good sign.
Scouting: 20/30 Hit, 30/50 Game Power, 50/60 Raw Power, 60/60 Speed, 45/55 Fielding
One thing I’ll note about scouting grades, and this is super relevant to Peete I think, is that the potential isn’t necessarily static. That does not mean his 30 grade potential hit tool is always going to be a 30 grade. From where the hit tool stands now, the scout can’t see better than a 30 in his future. But Peete can make improvements and changes. Joshua Baez probably had a 30 hit tool as his potential before last season. But he changed and made improvements.
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - MARCH 06: Seth Lugo #67 of Team Puerto Rico pitches during the first inning against Team Colombia at Hiram Bithorn Stadium on March 06, 2026 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Lugo looked sharp in the early going. He recorded two strikeouts in the first inning while displaying his extensive pitching arsenal. There was an emphasis to utilize his slurve and four-seam fastball.
Both pitches were effective. Lugo registered six swings and five called strikes with his slurve. Meanwhile, the fastball averaged 92.7 mph, an uptick from earlier in spring training.
At times, Lugo touched 95 mph while navigating the Colombia lineup.
Lugo entered this offseason looking to pitch with more velocity. He was able to command the strike zone with his fastball early in counts on Friday. As a result, he finished his outing with a combined 28% whiff rate on his pitches.
The Royals also made the first wave of reassignments, sending catchers Blake Mitchell and Ramon Ramirez, outfielder Carson Roccaforte, and pitchers Ben Kudrna, Chazz Martinez, and Steven Zobac to minor league camp.
“He’s an amazing leader,” Jensen said of Perez. “[I’ve learned] how to prepare myself every day and the work ethic. To play as long as he’s played and continue to be playing, it takes preparation, it takes taking care of your body.”
While the young catchers are learning Perez’s preparation from the plate, the Royals’ pitchers see his influence from the mound. For left-hander Matt Strahm, Perez is a great target, and his presence immediately threatens the running game.
“It’s been my favorite. I’ve thrown to some great catchers … but the target Salvy gives you is just massive, and none of them can replicate that,” said Strahm, Perez’s locker neighbor.
For Royals manager Matt Quatraro, the difference was immediately noticeable.
“He’s thrown three to four miles an hour harder. That’s a huge jump,” Quatraro said. “And that gives hitters a lot less time to react.”
Spence said the increase in velocity is the result of offseason work focused on refining his mechanics and strengthening his arm.
“The biggest thing this offseason was just cleaning up some stuff with my mechanics,” Spence said. “I started going to physical therapy and just kind of got my arm stronger from the workout program. I think it just kind of clicked.”
Vazquez said he is focusing less on results and more on the daily process that could shape the next step in his development. That includes physical conditioning, discipline and mental preparation — the same elements that fueled his surge last season.
“I’ve taken a lot from that,” Vazquez said. “Always respect the game, always play hard. And everything is about winning.”
The countdown to Opening Day is on and NBC Sports Philadelphia is gearing up for the regular season with a Phillies Spring Training Live Q&A!
Join Tom McCarthy, Ben Davis and Jim Salisbury following Sunday’s Phillies-Braves game at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida. Get your questions ready and head over to Frenchy’s Tiki Bar as soon as the game ends.
Can’t make it down to the event? Don’t worry.
You can also tune in and ask your questions virtually.
So, circle that calendar, set your alarm and we’ll see you Mar. 15 in person (and online) to get ready for the season.
Today we’re yet again talking about how Mizzou Baseball doesn’t seem to be able to not win at this point in time.
After some early struggles in their weekend series against UIC, the Tigers figured things out on the mound and in the box, run-ruling UIC during the final two games of the series and rolling to their 11th and 12th consecutive wins in style.
Across the last three games, Mizzou has scored 29 unanswered runs and held opponents scoreless for 22 straight innings.
Lefty Brady Kehlenbrinkenjoyed a career day on the hill, working six scoreless innings while only allowing three Flames to reach base. The Ballwin, Mo., native punched out a career-high 11 batters while improving to 3-0 on the season (4.29 ERA).
Look, no one is pretending the Tigers are out here downing the 2025 LA Dodgers, but they’re winning games (and lots of them) which is something they haven’t been able to do under Kerrick Jackson much during his time in Columbia. Winning is habitual, and the best thing Missouri can do right now is teach themselves how to win before the more intense competition heats up.
Mizzou’s margins have been thinner than we want all season, but the butter is made. There’s nothing left to churn. They are who they are. The improvement they can make will come in April and May, not now. Now you’re just hoping to extend what you have as long as you can.
At least the Tigers have seemingly done enough to secure a spot in the Tournament, regardless of what they’ll do in the SEC Tournament… though an extra win or two would be nice!
Mizzou Baseball didn’t just finish a sweep on Sunday. It finished a statement. Behind six scoreless innings from left‑hander Brady Kehlenbrink and a four‑homer afternoon from the lineup, Missouri rolled past UIC 10–0 in seven innings at Taylor Stadium, closing out a four‑game sweep and extending its winning streak to 12 games.
Mizzou is off to easily it’s best start under Kerrick Jackson, and they’ll look to keep the momentum rolling in the mid-week against Southern Indiana.
The poetry was the final hit that allowed star outfielder Taylor Shumaker to reach home plate for the game-winning run in the bottom of the 11th. The game-winning hit came from Mizzou’s home run leader from just a year ago: Madison Walker.
That’s the kind of thing that hurts a lot worse when you look at Mizzou’s lineup and think, “God, we could’ve used her this season.”
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PORT ST. LUCIE — The Jasson Domínguez left field experiment has had decidedly mixed results, which is among the reasons he’s likely headed to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start the season.
But there has been some growth, as he displayed Sunday in a 10-4 loss to the Mets at Clover Park.
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For a second straight game, Domínguez made a nice running catch, this time on a sinking liner by A.J. Ewing in the bottom of the fifth, and Domínguez followed it up with a strong throw home, where he threw out Vidal Bruján.
“It was a busy afternoon out there,” said Domínguez, who also had a ball hit by Tyrone Taylor get by him in the gap, but neither he nor Aaron Boone thought he could have gotten to it. “It was good to throw the guy out at home.”
It came after Boone said Domínguez, who has struggled for the most part since shifting from center to left, made some poor decisions with his throws last week.
“He’s made excellent throws the last two days,” the manager said of the plays he made Sunday against the Mets and Saturday versus Miami. “He’s playing a lot. He’s worked a lot. One of the best parts about this trip [to the east coast of Florida, with most regulars staying back or in the World Baseball Classic] is that we saw his athleticism.”
The Jasson Domínguez left field experiment has had decidedly mixed results. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
When he was coming through the Yankees system, Domínguez was said to have an elite arm, but that has not been on display much.
“I’ve always had a pretty good arm, it just hasn’t shown as much,’’ Domínguez said. “My arm wasn’t the problem. Maybe I’m more aggressive now getting to the ball and am in better position to make throws. Compared to last year, I’m a lot more comfortable [in left].”
Boone said the team hasn’t “even really begun discussions” on the final roster spots.
“We’ll continue to let that play out and let guys get their reps,” the manager said Sunday.
They’ve got decisions to make regarding the last arms in the bullpen, as well as deciding between perhaps a backup shortstop or third catcher.
Ben Rice hasn’t caught in a game, but Boone noted that he caught Carlos Rodón’s bullpen session Saturday.
With Anthony Volpe sidelined and José Caballero expected to start at shortstop, Boone said the backup shortstop situation is “up in the air.”
Boone didn’t rule out Ryan McMahon playing there in the future or going with a “super-utility” player for the final roster spot.
And with Randal Grichuk expected to make his Grapefruit League debut Monday in Tampa, the Yankees will get a better read on what the veteran outfielder can potentially contribute after signing with the team on a minor league deal.
“That’s what the next two-plus weeks will be about,” Boone said of the decision-making process.
One standout during a live batting practice at Steinbrenner Field: Ocean Gabonia.
The righty reliever from Hawaii completed two “ups,” allowed no hard contact and struck out Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger consecutively.
The 24-year-old, who pitched to a 3.27 ERA in 31 games with High-A Hudson Valley last year, received fist bumps from Stanton and Bellinger walking off the field.
Cade Winquest gave up a run on a walk and a hit as he tries to make the team as a Rule 5 pick.
“There’s definitely some pressure,” said the right-hander, who will be sent back to the Cardinals if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster and stay there the entire season. “They drafted me for a reason and I can just do what I do.”
He allowed a run on a walk and a hit in two-thirds of an inning Sunday.
— Additional reporting by Mark W. Sanchez in Tampa
PORT ST. LUCIE — The idea of Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing together in the same outfield is an intriguing proposition to Mets officials.
On Sunday, for the second time in three days, the team got that look.
Benge started in center field with Ewing in left against the Yankees.
Both contributed to the Mets’ 10-4 exhibition victory at Clover Park.
Benge, a top prospect competing for the starting right field job, finished 2-for-3.
Carson Benge is competing for the starting right field job. Corey Sipkin for the NY POSTA.J. Ewing rates among the organization’s top prospects. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Ewing, who also rates among the organization’s top prospects, delivered a two-run single against lefty Ryan Weathers.
“They have the ability to impact the game in so many different ways,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It wasn’t an easy matchup there with left-on-left with Weathers and the way he was throwing the ball. A couple of two-strike approaches when they put the ball in play and just make things happen. The way they run the bases, the way they play defense, it’s just good baseball from them so far.”
Benge started in center just to receive a taste of the position in camp, according to Mendoza, with Luis Robert Jr. scheduled for his first Grapefruit League game in a Mets uniform on Thursday.
“I felt like I was on time with everything,” Benge said of his plate appearances against Weathers. “I saw him well, he had really good stuff, but I felt like I stuck to my plan and did my job.”
Robert Stock will undergo surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.
The right-hander, who had discomfort after pitching three scoreless innings for Team Israel against the Marlins in a WBC scrimmage, said he could be back pitching before the season concludes.
Brandon Waddell was scratched from his scheduled Monday start because of shoulder fatigue, according to Mendoza, and will now pitch later in the week.
Zach Thornton will be summoned from minor league camp to start against the Marlins at Clover Park.
Mendoza is keeping tabs on his WBC pitchers from afar.
A day after Clay Holmes pitched three scoreless innings for Team USA against Great Britain, the Mets manager watched video of Holmes’ outing.
Feb 16, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees infielder Anthony Volpe (11) warms up during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
New York Post | Mark W. Sanchez: As he recovers from offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum, shortstop Anthony Volpe addressed reporters this week. At the moment, the former top prospect, who may have suffered the injury last May, has progressed in his rehab from simply fielding grounders to diving, has yet to face live pitching, and has no current timeline for his return to game action. When he does, he will face competition for the starting job for the first time since he won the position battle with fellow prospect Oswald Peraza in 2023, as the Yankees — not to mention their fans — are high on José Caballero.
SNY | John Flanigan: Ever since watching the 2017 World Baseball Classic ahead of his rookie season, Aaron Judge has been eager to join Team USA for the international tournament. When asked about the experience, this year’s Captain America stressed the “lack of egos” in the group, noting that the roster is filled out with ace pitchers, closers, and star hitters willing to play supplemental roles. So far, this collection of All-Stars have worked out, as Team USA won their first two games and are currently all-but-guaranteed to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.
MLB.com: We’re still a few weeks out from Opening Day, but that doesn’t mean it’s not time to think about the Opening Day lineups are going to look like. As is usual, the MLB.com projections are fairly cookie cutter — the Yankees’ projected lineup and rotation have absolutely no surprises — but the collection of all 30 teams in one place does provide a nice way to get up to speed on news throughout the league all in one spot.
Overall, the Braves have got good production from their pitching this Spring, including Wentz and Elder. However, today was an all too familiar sight. The need for the Braves to add to the rotation remains clear as day, And with the additional money in place after Jurickson Profar’s suspension, the lack of urgency to strengthen the staff as the season draws closer is odd. Hopefully, at some point this week, common sense will prevail and a move will be made to strengthen the staff.
TAMPA — Arguably the greatest strength of the Yankees this decade is their bullpen, which is consistently excellent in part because of the organization’s talent in identifying and maximizing talented arms who had failed elsewhere. They found Clay Holmes and Lucas Luetge in 2021, Ian Hamilton and Luke Weaver in ’23 and Tim Hill and Jake Cousins in ’24.
The discoveries largely halted last season, which helps explain why their bullpen was the 21st most valuable, according to FanGraphs, and not good enough in the postseason.
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For the Yankees’ relief corps to bounce back this year, they would love to stumble across a difference-maker.
Perhaps that will be Dylan Coleman.
Coleman is a 29-year-old in camp as a non-roster invitee who has a big arm that can touch 100 mph and has been a quality major league reliever: In his first two seasons, 2021-22, the 6-foot-5 righty pitched to a 2.66 ERA in 74 ¹/₃ innings with the Royals.
But he had a poor 2023 campaign then was traded to the Astros for the 2024 season, struggled at Triple-A and was released in August.
He popped up with the Orioles last season, was ineffective in 11 minor league games and was cut in May.
Dylan Coleman is a 29-year-old in camp as a non-roster invitee . Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The turning point, Coleman believes, occurred next.
He stepped away from organized baseball and spent a few weeks with Mason Feole, who runs a pitching instruction company in Rhode Island.
In his last outing in the Baltimore organization, Coleman said he was throwing 93-94 mph and touching 95 mph.
“Went up there [to Rhode Island] after I got released,” Coleman said. “Five days later, I was like 99, 100 or so.”
The couple of weeks were encouraging enough for Coleman to then spend a couple of months training with Feole over the offseason, making small tweaks to feel and look like the pitcher he wanted to be.
They worked on small mechanical things that added up to big things: getting Coleman’s arm and body in sync, releasing the ball with ideal timing, and cleaning up the direction of his delivery—ensuring he moves straight to the plate rather than falling toward the left, a habit he had to kick.
Dylan Coleman pitches during the Yankees-Pirates spring training game on Feb. 23, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“When my direction is good,” Coleman said, “the throw takes care of itself.”
He also added a sinker that he hopes can record quick outs to a repertoire that already included a hard four-seamer plus a sweeper and cutter.
The Yankees found him and took a flier on an impressive arm with a respectable résumé and one who can be optioned to the minor leagues.
In a pair of Grapefruit League games, Coleman has pitched two scoreless innings while allowing three hits and a walk and striking out two.
More importantly, Coleman is happy with how he feels, believes his mechanics are sound and is seeing the velocity begin to tick up.
“I’m in a way better spot than I’ve been in a while,” Coleman said after throwing a live batting practice at Steinbrenner Field on Sunday.
