Category: Sports News

Detroit Tigers (4-8) vs. Minnesota Twins (6-6)

Time/Place: 1:40 p.m., Target Field
SB Nation Site: Twinkie Town
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Jack Flaherty (0-1, 7.56 ERA) vs. RHP Mick Abel (0-2, 11.05 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Flaherty	2	8.1	18.6	18.6	34.8	5.23	0.0
Abel	2	7.1	16.7	16.7	20.0	4.96	0.0

The apparel company with the big swoosh logo has deemed that it’s time for a number of MLB teams to change up their City Connect jerseys so they can sell people a new round of jerseys. The Orioles are in this year’s wave for updated uniforms, so the black ones with the boring block lettering are out and a new set of jerseys are in. The new jerseys will debut tomorrow night. No one will have to wait too long to see them in action.

The team released some promo photos of players in the new uniforms to go along with this rollout. Here are the jerseys on some players:

For me, these are a substantial improvement over the previous City Connect jerseys. That’s not to say that I think they are good, or that I would ever wear them. They are not, and I would not. I am confused by the people who spend their money on these jerseys. You’ll only get this jersey on my body if I’m in a coma or dead. If you put this on my corpse, my spirit will haunt you to the fullest extent it is able.

As you may have guessed from my opening paragraph of this article, I take a cynical view of the whole City Connect endeavor. This whole thing is there to rope people in with feeling like they are getting something limited edition and special. Now that the pattern is established that the jerseys change every few years, the thought will be that you’d better get it before it’s gone. Buy, buy, buy. This is never far from your sports fandom, people wanting to make money off of it. I feel it is uncommonly out in the open with the City Connects.

The most interesting jerseys since the start of this whole project have been the ones that were different and unafraid of being bad. You may remember those yellow and blue Red Sox ones that are meant to evoke Boston Marathon race numbers. Terrible jerseys. They are, at least, distinct from the usual Red Sox fare and that makes them interesting. A small handful of designs have ended up being truly cool and interesting, such as the original Nationals design that had the cherry blossoms. There was more personality in those jerseys than that franchise has ever had in the entirety of its existence.

The previous Orioles ones were primarily black when the team already had a primarily black weekend home game jersey top. That’s boring. The little splashes of color on the edges of the jerseys just weren’t enough to change that. It was a complete waste of an opportunity. I blame John Angelos even if it was probably someone else’s fault.

Now, you’ve got these new ones. They’re terrible, just in a more interesting way. From a distance, they look like minor league gimmick jerseys, not all that far removed from SpongeBob SquarePants jersey night. Up close, there are some cool details. The orange trim on the sleeves is patterned in a way that evokes the brick of the B&O Warehouse. That’s good. The sleeve that isn’t being taken up by the investment company sponsorship has one of the Eutaw Street home run plaques on it. Instantly iconic.

The white with mostly green and then a little bit of orange is a distinct color pattern compared to the existing array of Orioles jerseys. That’s a plus. They should just wear the jerseys they already have. But if they must exist, then at least they might as well exist while being something like this. I would go so far as to say this is one of the better ones that was unveiled today:

These new jerseys are coming tomorrow night. I hope that the Orioles win the game so I don’t have to spend multiple years again hearing about how the jerseys are cursed.

Right before Wednesday’s series finale between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Angels, I got a chance to chat with former Braves reliever and current BravesVision TV analyst Peter Moylan. Moylan was gracious enough to share some of his time with us and so I got the chance to ask him some questions about the past and also about the future of the sport as well.

As Braves fans, we’re all familiar with the Australian hurler who became a bit of a cult legend no matter where he went. He’s been all over the place as well, as he even had a stint in the Czech Republic. There aren’t too many people who can say that they’ve played baseball in MLB, Australia and Czechia so when you get a chance to chat with someone who has, you absolutely have to take it.

Here’s our interview with Peter Moylan and I hope y’all enjoy it!

---

_{This interview has been edited for clarity when needed}

Demetrius Bell: So, about [Tuesday] night! You were a teammate of [Jorge] Soler’s and you played under Walt Weiss when he was a coach here. What were your thoughts on the fight?

Peter Moylan: I don’t know what ticked Jorge off — obviously there’s a little bit of history there with Reynaldo. I think [the pitch] might’ve been a little too close for comfort for him and I think something sparked when there was a little break. Everybody was caught off guard and honestly, I’ve never seen Jorge look like that! He’s such a mild-mannered guy so something obviously ticked him off. But Walt was able to defuse the situation! They were not pushing and shoving, they were throwing haymakers! I think Walt’s thought process was ‘I just want to get Soler on the ground and hopefully everything can calm down after that.’ It kind of did but it was mad crazy!

DB: Yeah, it was absolutely crazy. It was also a good thing that there was somebody with Taekwondo knowledge in there to deal with the situation.

PM: Let me tell you something: No one’s going to mess with Walt. Everybody knows that Walt spends as much time as anybody in the weight room and he’s not just doing band work. He’s throwing some serious weight around and he definitely knows how to take someone down as we saw.

Come put on the pads, Skip pic.twitter.com/A2XtqeWiaj

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) April 8, 2026

DB: Yeah, that was an absolutely crazy incident. But now that we can get to the actual questions for this interview: How does your preparation go for every game? What’s the process like for you when it comes to getting information ready to share out to the fans?

PM: I like to get to the studio or the field about three hours before the game. I’ll check the lineups if we have those. Then I’ll just run through a checklist: I’ll check out the starting pitchers, I’ll check out the opposing lineups, who’s hot, who’s not, potential base stealers, any little features that we want to work on. Anybody who’s been hot for us, we usually do some sort of story on. Recently it’s been Drake Baldwin and Mauricio Dubón for most of this year. It all depends on what’s happened in the couple of days before and where we’re at in the series.

For instance, this [the series finale vs. the Angels] is the last game of the series. We want to win this one today obviously to come home with a positive road trip and then they have the first day off of the year following that. So this is a big game today.

DB: Moving on, so you have experience as a coach in Australia. Has that changed your perspective on the game as both an analyst and a former player?

PM: Let me tell you: As a manager, the game speeds up on you so fast. You’re just worried about so many different things — the pitching changes, moving the infield, placing the outfield, do you put a bunt down, are you going to hit-and-run in a certain situation, do you pinch-hit for a guy? There’s just so much information getting fed to you so quickly. In close games and tight games, that’s where it gets really interest. I’ve got a whole different level of respect for managers and coaches in general, for sure.

DB: Right? I remember seeing of yours from the past where you said that you felt more nervous as a coach than you did as a player.

PM: Well, it’s because you can’t control anything. You just hope you’ve done enough to get these guys prepared so that when they get in a situation where they have to either perform or not that they can perform. Your hands are tied at that point once the game starts — you’re just sitting back and hoping that you can do what you taught them.

DB: Right, it’s a very different situation. Even though you have control of the tactics, it’s still different from being actually on the field to actually do it.

PM: I can have the perfect ‘pen night lined up but if one guy comes in and he doesn’t have his best stuff that day and he struggles then all your plans are gone and you’re going to have to try to figure it out after that.

DB: So, from your experience in Australia to playing in places like the Czech Republic, how did that time in the Czech Republic influence your thoughts on baseball? Have you carried anything with you from that experience?

PM: It’s interesting because growing up in Australia, baseball is not the number one sport. Obviously our facilities have never been the greatest. So when I went to the Czech Republic, it was very similar to what [I had when] I grew up playing so it was very comfortable for me. To go over there and experience that level of the sport like I did when I was growing up, I think the Czech Republic and a lot of European nations are really putting a lot of effort into improving their baseball teams and they’re very passionate about it.

Much like our Australian Baseball League, a lot of the guys that are on those teams [in the Czech Republic] have regular jobs. They’ll have a 9-to-5 and they’ll show up to training a couple of times a week. They played more games on the weekend and train a couple of times a week, so they’re really into it over there. It was just such an amazing experience.

I’d never been to Europe before! I’d pitch on a Friday night and then I’d travel Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday somewhere around Europe and then I’d come back and pitch again on the next Friday night and try to get a win for the guys. It was just incredible.

DB: Did you play with any of the players who were on the Czech team during this most recent World Baseball Classic?

PM: Oh yeah, definitely. The team I actually went and played for had about eight or nine representatives for the Czech National Team. The reason why I was over there was because one of my really good buddies from home is the pitching coach for the National Team and he was the pitching coach for the [club] team that I went and pitched for as well. So the connection was there and it was a really fun time.

DB: In terms of your experience in playing across all types of countries and continents, you’re really a unicorn in the baseball world, so that’s a really interesting thing to take with you.

PM: It’s a great game. It’s a great game at any level. The passion you see at those kind of local levels is just incredible to watch.

DB: Going back to yourself, if you could go back in time and commentate on yourself as a pitcher, what would the present-day version of you think about the pitcher version of you?

PM: I think I would’ve liked myself! That sounds funny to say that but I honestly think I would’ve enjoyed breaking down my appearances for sure. The Ryan Zimmerman home run that I gave up, I would’ve absolutely ripped myself for that! I think there’s been a few outings where I’ve had a bit of success where I would’ve loved to have broken it down. I would’ve said that I was a nice piece to a bullpen. Obviously often injured but when healthy, I was pretty good at my job.

DB: When it comes to your approach as a pitcher back then, do you feel like it would work in today’s game or would you have to adjust to what’s going on today?

PM: That’s a great question. I think, sure; I faced a lot of right-handed hitters and my strength was to face right-handers since we didn’t have the three-batter minimum when I was playing. We didn’t have the technology that they have available now but if we did, I would have probably added a couple of more pitches if I was playing today. I would’ve liked to have had something that cut and maybe something that stayed true to the top of the zone so I could work all four quadrants. I mainly worked down in the zone for most of my career.

I think if I was pitching now, I would learn how to elevate and I’d learn something else to get left-handed hitters off of my stuff. I think I would’ve adapted to it but it certainly would’ve been a lot different. I had a lot of one-pitch outings, a lot of one-out outings so you just don’t see them anymore unless it’s ending the inning.

DB: Like you mentioned with the three-batter rule, you’ve got to be out there for a little bit longer now.

PM: I called myself the original right-handed specialist, because there weren’t a lot of us! [Laughs]

DB: So again, coming from Australia, you probably didn’t see baseball a ton of TV. If you did, though, who was your inspiration as a broadcaster?

PM: When it comes to broadcasting, Vin Scully – you really can’t go past him. But, we did used to get some [coverage] on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). They’d show us highlights of the World Series and I remember the VHS tapes that they used to send out of every single World Series. I would get ahold of those anytime that I could going back to the ‘89, ‘90 [World Series], right the way through the ‘90s with all of the Braves success. I would still try to keep up with it even from over there.

I remember specifically when [Mark] McGwire and [Sammy] Sosa were chasing down the home run record and that was everywhere. That even got to us in Australia. I went online once and bought one of the newspaper clippings from the St. Louis newspaper when McGwire finally broke that record. We were far enough away from it but because I was so interested in the game as it was, I tried to get my claws on it over here [in Australia] as well.

DB: That had to have been a pretty big task since there’s a pretty loaded sports environment out there in Australia with footy, rugby, etc.

PM: Big time. That’s why we don’t get the best athletes trying to play baseball in Australia because they’ve all had to funnel down from Australian Rules football, rugby, cricket, tennis, basketball and soccer. It’s a sporting capital where I grew up and everybody loves their sports.

DB: Going back to your current career, what made you realize that commentary was a viable path for you as a post-playing career option?

PM: When they called me once I announced my retirement and said ‘Hey, do you want to give television a go?’ I didn’t see myself doing this and I didn’t plan to do this right after I left. But when I got that call, I thought to myself ‘I’m going to have to do something and this is worth a try.’

I was totally uncomfortable the first couple of times doing it, obviously as most people would be. But as I got into the groove, I really enjoyed still being able to be around the guys and breaking down the game and honestly watching it evolve. It’s just evolved so much over the last few years with all of the rule changes that have been introduced and all of the different technologies that guys have now. I still really love the game! I love the game at its purest form but I also really appreciate the improvements that have been made to it.

DB: When it comes to the rule changes, which ones do you like the most so far?

PM: Obviously, the three-batter minimum would’ve affected my career the most out of all of them. I love the pitch clock and I especially love the [ABS] system now. I think being able to challenge balls and strikes has added a whole new element to the game. There’s still a level of frustration because we’re not getting 100 percent of the calls right but I think the fact that they have the ability to challenge in big situations and you have to figure out when you want to do that and when you want to risk it [adds a lot to the game].

We saw a game earlier where the Braves lost all of their challenges within four outs of the game. That was obviously huge [that they ended up] winning that game but that could come back to bite them. I think it’s a whole new element. I think every rule change that has been introduced, I was a little skeptical to start off with but since they’ve been implemented, I really enjoy them.

DB: It’s very interesting to talk about the strategy when it comes to challenging. Do you feel like you’d follow in Chris Sale’s footsteps to where you’ll let the catcher do all the work when it comes to challenging or would you get involved?

PM: I think I would want to challenge most of the pitches that I thought were close, so I would be on the Chris Sale program probably implemented by my coaches and managers where they say ‘Peter, you’re an emotional man. Let’s go ahead and hold the challenges to the catchers.’ If I was a batter, I’d probably have a little more confidence but as a pitcher, I’d feel like everything I’d throw is a strike.

DB: Yeah, that sounds about right for a pitcher! [Both laugh] So, winding down, what’s the most exciting or favorite event that you’ve gotten to call or work during your time as an analyst?

PM: Well, we got to cover the World Series. That was so out of the blue. We all know how the Braves were going that season. They were just trying to scrape into the playoffs in 2021. They ended up going on a run after the All-Star break and after the Trade Deadline that was just incredible. Just to be a part of that, you could just sense the energy change as the guys started to play better, as they started to look like they were going to make the playoffs. I guess the lack of expectations for them to do any damage in the playoffs just let them hide under the cover of night and run through the playoffs like they did.

The Battery at the time and the energy of Atlanta was just incredible. I just know that everybody involved here wants to get back to that.

DB: Jumping off of that, I don’t want to put you on the spot here since you’ve played in many spots but which one would you consider to be your favorite ballpark that you’ve played in or just visited?

PM: I got lucky enough to pitch in Truist Park after they built it. It’s a great stadium. The facilities are still just incredible. However, I like the old stadiums. I love Wrigley Field, I love Fenway Park. When it comes to success, I also enjoyed pitching in Miami. I had a lot of success down there even if the [old] stadium wasn’t the best. I can tell you where I didn’t like pitching and that’s Philly.

DB: Sounds about right [laughs]. So yeah, that’s about it. Can you tell everybody where they can find you and how they can get set up to watch the Braves on TV?

PM: Of course. You can sign up at Braves.TV. We’re obviously new with BravesVision. We are learning at the big league level but we are all excited to bring the product to as many faces as we can. I know it’s been a struggle for people to find Braves games in the past. I think we’ve done a really good job to partner up with a lot of the major cable companies and a lot of the smaller ones as well.

More eyes are on it and that’s been the goal from the start of this — to get as many eyes on Braves baseball and the Braves product as you can. We’re going to try to bring you an entertaining product and as the season goes on, I’m sure the team on the field and off the field is going to be just as good.

DB: Alright, thank you so much for your time!

PM: Of course, mate!

The Yankees haven’t had many losses on the young season, but you could argue that Wednesday’s was the most frustrating so far. After starting the game with a couple hits and a couple runs in the first innings, they proceeded to not do much for the rest of the game. That allowed the Athletics to come back and eventually take the lead for good.

Thanks to that, the Yankees will now have to win Thursday’s matinee to avoid their first series loss of the season.

For this afternoon’s finale, the Yankees will send Ryan Weathers to the hill. While his regular season debut when well enough, Weathers struggled in his last time out, looking more like the pitcher we saw struggle in spring training. We’ll see if he can right the ship today.

With a lefty on the mound, the Yankees are giving starts not only at Amed Rosario but to Randal Grichuk, who has received just two at-bats thus far. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham are the ones getting days off, with the lineup fairly normal besides that. It is worth noting that Ben Rice is starting against a lefty, affirming the Yankees’ commitment to him as very much the primary first baseman, with only occasional looks from Paul Goldschmidt behind him.

Said lefty for the A’s is Jeffrey Springs. The Yankees have seen Springs a decent amount over the years, back in his days with the Red Sox and Rays, and he has a career 2.03 ERA against the Bombers. He mostly stymied the Blue Jays’ and Astros’ lineups during his first two times out in 2026 and had a 105 ERA+ in 171 innings last year, so he could be a challenge.

We hope that you’ll come join us in the game thread for this afternoon’s action!

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — New York, NY

First pitch: 1:35 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES Network (NYY) | NBCSCA (ATH)

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast (ATH)

Online stream: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Wrapping up the homestand 🔥#RepBXpic.twitter.com/vz8Dogsv5w

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 9, 2026

Baseball for breakfast 🥞 pic.twitter.com/rzGAPLcpL3

— Athletics (@Athletics) April 9, 2026

It’s a long season that’s just getting underway, but the St. Louis Cardinals are performing in some surprising ways. Jordan Walker…might be a thing? (Crosses  fingers, avoids black cats, throws salt over shoulder. Let’s just do everything we can do to manifest it for this kid.) JJ Wetherholt looks to be the player advertised. Matt Svanson thinks he’s a Little League pitcher (that is not something I saw coming), and the bullpen at large seems as though it’ll be raising our blood pressure all year. Through two starts, Michael McGreevy’s baseball card numbers look really nice, but there are more warning signs than redacted portions of the Epstein files. To put it succinctly, he’s dancing on the edge of a knife.

Before we go diving into numbers to back up my claim, I think it’s important that we establish some groundwork. Michael McGreevy was never going to be a top of the rotation arm. He’s a quintessentially a Mozielak era draft and develop story as there ever has been. You’re familiar with the trope: a polished, college righty with pitch-to-contact stuff. Last year he had fans clamoring for more as he bumfuzzled major league lineups while he was riding the Zach Thompson Memorial Bullet Train back and forth to Memphis. He’s destined to be a back-of-the-rotation innings guy. There’s nothing wrong with that, that’s just the ceiling. Long term, I’m afraid McGreevy is going to be swamped by the tidal wave of K punch the organization is developing in the minors.

In fact, if you’re interested in audio/visual content, we talked more about Michael McGreevy with Kevin Wheeler (!) in the latest edition of Cardinals on My Time (™ Scott Plaza!). You can check it out here if that’s of interest to you, Apple and Spotify.

With that context established, let’s look at the data through three starts for Mr. McGreevy. As I mentioned, the baseball card stats are good. He’s averaging 5.1 innings per start with a 2.16 ERA and a 3.12 FIP. He’s been the most valuable pitcher in this young season thus far. On the surface, this is looking like the very best years of the Miles Mikolas experience. Ok, now while you’re recovering from that name drop, let’s be honest: McGreevy’s profile is quite similar to Mikolas’. Here’s the thing, Miles Mikolas had not one, but two, legitimately all-star caliber seasons for the Cardinals. I know that’s hard to remember through the mists of the hard contact, but it’s true. 

There are going to be stretches where Michael McGreevy looks…pretty good. If all things go well, I wouldn’t even rule out a fringe all-star season a la Mikolas. And, honestly, I’m rooting for his success, aren’t you?

This is where the Mike Schildt happy talk ends though. Because McGreevy scares the you know what out of me right now. Those ERA and FIP stats are nice and glittery, but the xERA is like the evil stepmother lurking in the shadows. Michael McGreevy’s expected ERA is 7.80. That is…catastrophic. Miles Mikolas this year is running an 7.85 expected ERA. I know I just kinda sorta praised Mikolas (I took a shower right after, don’t worry), but you do not want to be linked to Miles Mikolas’ pitching performance in 2026.

So, what gives? Expected ERA is one level smarter than ERA. ERA doesn’t care how you got there, xERA does. It factors in the quality of contact against a pitcher to give a better picture of how well they’re actually pitching. And, well, McGreevy is terrifying right now. While you’re reading these next stats, play the crescendo of a horror film in your mind. His barrel percentage is in the 26th percentile. His groundball percentage is below average. He’s not missing any bats at all with a whiff percentage in the fifth percentile and not fooling any batters with a chase percentage in the 28th percentile.

Translation: McGreevy is getting smoked. What’s worse is this damage is occurring in the air at levels we’ve never seen in his career before. Why is air contact worse? How many groundball homeruns and doubles have you ever seen? What’s keeping him afloat? He’s currently running a .204 BABIP – he’s getting crazy lucky. 

A deeper look at his arsenal and command reveals the conundrum that looks ready to plague him his whole career. He has a Location+ of 110. That’s amazing and in line with his career averages. McGreevy is one of the best pitchers alive when it comes to placing pitches where he wants them to go. The problem comes when you look at his Stuff+. Right now it’s checking in at an anemic 76. To put it bluntly, that’s not competitive in a major league setting. McGreevy must maintain elite command if he’s going to be a viable pitcher with a long MLB career.

This brings us to the final, and most worrying issue. That Stuff+ rating is directly tied to his fastball. And that fastball is currently dragging him down faster than an Old Testament millstone around the neck. In 2024 and 2025 he averaged exactly 93 mph with the heater. He’s only at 90.7 mph thus far. He’s been literally quoted as saying that the fastball velocity issue keeps him up at night. So, we know they haven’t solved it yet. Unfortunately, there’s only so much pinpoint control will do for you. His “stuff” is in danger of slipping off the earth and into the void where major league hitters are teeing off on him.

Is he injured? There’s no indication of that. Maybe it’s a cold April, early season thing? Perhaps a mechanical issue is at fault? Whatever it is, it’s going to have to be solved if McGreevy is going to survive in this rotation. He’s probably always going to be on the edge of competitiveness because of his stuff. It’s just that right now with the velocity decrease he’s dancing on the edge of a knife. Hopefully, they can solve it – I’ll be rooting for that outcome!

If you’d like #evenmorecoverage, feel free to follow me on twitter @mksmith86. I’m usually watching the game. Honestly, your best bet is to follow our podcast on twitter @redbirdrundown2 – we post a lot more there. 

Let me know how you’re feeling about McGreevy in the comments. Thanks for reading!

There are very few baseball players capable of doing the things that Ryan Sloan does on a daily basis. At just 20 years old, Sloan has ascended from high schooler to consensus top 100 prospect in just 82 innings, supplanting himself near the top of pitching ranks over players with far more professional experience. A tremendously gifted player with as much potential as any pitching prospect the Seattle system has seen in years, Sloan is on a rocket ship toward the big leagues and could be a major league contributor far sooner than anyone could have anticipated at the time of his drafting.

MLB's No. 4 RHP prospect Ryan Sloan (@Mariners) retires his final 7 batters faced and finishes with 4 K's across 4 IP in his Double-A @ARTravs debut: pic.twitter.com/VbW0WYZBNZ

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 5, 2026

Physically, Sloan has an imposing 6’5 frame with plenty of strength to hold velocity deep into games. More impressively, however, is how he’s able to move given his size. Sloan is smooth down the mound and rarely looks like he’s overexerting himself, repeating his mechanics exceptionally well for someone as green as he is. His athleticism is an underrated aspect of his game and is foundational to what makes him so tantalizing as a prospect.

The arsenal is immense. His fastball, arguably his “worst” pitch, is now sitting 98 mph, up a few ticks from last season. It doesn’t get much carry through the zone and isn’t spectacular metrically, but his velocity helps it play up and makes it a solid offering. His slider, a hellish breaker with bite and sweep, is a true strikeout offering that profiles as a plus-pitch long term. His changeup, a pitch he picked up at a high school event one day to combat a lefty heavy lineup, is equally as impressive, dropping off the table for hitters and getting some arm-side fade to boot. He’s added a cutter and sinker as well, giving him a five-pitch arsenal to deploy on opposing hitters. The stuff is not a concern whatsoever.

Final line for Ryan Sloan: 3IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 3K, 39 pitches, 24 strikes. pic.twitter.com/8pfTljj8tb

— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) March 20, 2026

The command is typically where young pitchers falter, but for Sloan, it’s arguably better than his stuff. Sloan rarely walks batters and has commanded his pitches rather well, working a sub 2 BB/9 in his first professional season and landing his putaway pitches in good spots to induce chase. His aforementioned athleticism and repeatable mechanics corroborate the notion he’ll throw strikes, and he’s given little reason to believe adding new pitches to his arsenal impacts his overall control of the zone. It’s borderline anomalous talent.

At the risk of egging on the hype train even further, there is not an obvious critique of Sloan’s game. Sure, the fastball is generic in shape, but any heater that’s sitting 98 is going to play at any level, particularly one that’s well located. At 20 years old, Sloan has already ascended to Double-A and seems destined for the elite upper echelon of prospects leaguewide. He’s polished, he’s “stuffy”, and he’s got a great head on his shoulders that’s equally personable as it is competitive. It’s tough to poke holes in his game right now, and fans should get excited to watch Sloan pitch in a Mariner uniform for many years to come.

With the Cubs off today, let’s have a bit of fun by looking back at some players we used to root for when they were members of our favorite team.

These men are all the former Cubs on other MLB 26-man active rosters as of today (with one exception, noted below). Notes: This does not include players who played in the Cubs minor-league system but never for the MLB Cubs.

Further, there are currently just six players who played for the 2016 World Series Cubs still on active rosters as of now: Jeimer Candelario (yes, he played in five games for the Cubs in 2016, going 1-for-11), Aroldis Chapman, Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber, Jorge Soler and Javier Báez. Kris Bryant remains on the Rockies’ 60-day injured list and it’s unclear when, or whether, he will play again.

Here is the entire list — a total of 36 players on 23 of the other 29 MLB teams. Many of these players had very brief Cub careers, but all wore the blue pinstripes at one time.

NL Central

Brewers: Trevor Megill

Cardinals: No one

Pirates: No one

Reds: Pierce Johnson, P.J. Higgins

NL East

Braves: No one

Marlins: Owen Caissie

Mets: Richard Lovelady, Brooks Raley, Luis Torrens, Jared Young

Nationals: No one

Phillies: Brad Keller, Kyle Schwarber

NL West

Diamondbacks: Michael Soroka, Ildemaro Vargas

Dodgers: Kyle Tucker

Giants: Caleb Kilian

Padres: Nick Castellanos, Jeremiah Estrada

Rockies: Willi Castro

AL East

Blue Jays: Tommy Nance

Orioles: No one

Rays: Hunter Bigge

Red Sox: Aroldis Chapman, Willson Contreras

Yankees: Cody Bellinger

AL Central

Guardians: Shawn Armstrong

Royals: No one

Tigers: Javier Báez, Zach McKinstry

Twins: Victor Caratini

White Sox: Anthony Kay, Reese McGuire, Sean Newcomb

AL West

Angels: Jeimer Candelario, Drew Pomeranz, Jorge Soler

Astros: Isaac Paredes

Athletics: Aaron Civale, Mark Leiter Jr.

Mariners: No one (Miles Mastrobuoni on IL, currently on rehab assignment)

Rangers: Joc Pederson

Paul Skenes is the undisputed face of the Pirates’ franchise, right? To many fans, that’s the case.

But Skenes thinks it’s Konnor Griffin.

After Griffin inked a nine-year, $140 million extension with the Pirates on Wednesday, Skenes was asked of the deal.

“He’s gonna be the face of the Pirates for a long time,” Skenes said of Griffin.

Of course, that distinction undoubtedly falls on Skenes right now.

The 2023 No. 1 overall pick won the National League Cy Young Award last season in just his second year in the league.

He also captured Rookie of the Year honors the campaign prior after posting a 1.96 ERA and 170 strikeouts over 23 games.

Last year, Skenes was even better, leading the league with a 1.97 ERA in 187 2/3 innings, while also punching out 216 batters. That is what you call the face of a franchise.

But for Skenes, he thinks that should be Griffin.

In 2025, he split time between three levels, eventually finishing the year in Double-A. Before the season, Griffin was ranked as the No. 1 prospect in baseball at just 19 years old.

He started this season in Triple-A, where he batted .438 in just 21 plate appearances before being called up to the majors.

Griffin has played in six MLB games thus far, racking up three hits and four RBIs but hitting .167.

His extension marks the largest contract in Pirates history, surpassing Bryan Reynolds’ $106.75 million deal in 2023.

“I see a winning organization here,” Griffin said after inking the deal. “We’re gonna do a lot of great things with the players that we have. I wanna be a part of it for nine years. I wanna continue to be a part of the build of winning playoff baseball. This is a great place for me, a great place for my family. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Now, Skenes hasn’t exactly agreed with that sentiment recently. After Pittsburgh fired Derek Shelton midway through last season, Skenes blasted the team for its poor play.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t shocked,” Skenes said. “At the end of the day, we’re (12-26). Someone’s gotta be held accountable. Right now, it’s him. That’s just kind of how it goes. I don’t know if it fixes the root of the issue, which is that we need to play better.”

In contrast to Griffin, Skenes has yet to sign an extension with the Pirates, and he would currently become a free agent after the 2029 season.