Category: Sports News

6. Robert Calaz (470 points, 19 ballots)

At the end of 2024, Calaz seemed to be on a rocket ship toward the big leagues after a season in which he was named the MVP of the Arizona Complex League and tore up the Low-A California league in a small sample. Instead, the 2025 season saw the 6’2” toolsy right-handed 20-year-old Dominican outfielder repeat in the California League and perform at an above-average (but not elite) level as one of the youngest players in the league. Calaz, who was 24th on MLB.com’s international amateur free agent prospect rankings for 2023, received Colorado’s top international signing bonus in the 2023 January period at $1.7 million, which is similar to what fellow PuRP Sean Sullivan received as a second-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Calaz began his professional career with a bang in the Dominican Summer League, producing a 149 wRC+ and playing center field with a bit of right field mixed in. In 2024, Calaz came stateside to play with the Arizona Complex League and flat-out murdered the ball. In 210 PA with the ACL team, Calaz hit ten homers among his 27 extra-base hits with 12 steals in 13 attempts en route to a monster .349/.462/.651 line, good for a 172 wRC+. He led the ACL in several major offensive categories (AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS/HR/RBI/TB) en route to a well-deserved league MVP award. The Rockies promoted Calaz to Low-A Fresno after the ACL season in early August, where he was 3.1 years younger than league average. That didn’t stop Calaz — he hit .327/.386/.571 with two homers, two triples, two doubles, and three steals in 57 plate appearances (147 wRC+).

In 2025, the Rockies chose to send Calaz back to Fresno for a longer run, where he was still 2.2 years younger than league average. The season started inauspiciously, as Calaz suffered an injury in the first game of the season that knocked him out for three weeks. In 424 plate appearances, Calaz hit .259/.338/.399 with ten homers among his 29 extra-base hits. Calaz performed above average offensively (105 wRC+), but not nearly as high as Rockies fans were expecting considering his performance in 2024 at the same level.

Additionally, Calaz struck out in 26% of plate appearances (9% walks), which is pretty high for low minors pitching (though he improved his contact % from 66% to 70% year over year). It is of course important to remember that Calaz only faced a younger pitcher than him in 6% of plate appearances in 2025, but at some point Calaz will need to figure out how to beat upper minors pitching that can execute a scouting report. In the field, Calaz split time between right field (71 games, five assists, nine errors) and center (25 games, two errors).

Here is a look at Calaz from 2025 in Fresno, including some slow-mo looks at his swing:

Keith Law of the Athletic ranked Calaz 11th in the system earlier this month:

Calaz got a lot of attention after he hit .349/.462/.651 in the Arizona Complex League in 2024, but he did so mostly on physical ability rather than a feel for the game, and that deficiency caught up to him in Low A last year. Still just 19, he hit .259/.338/.399 in Fresno with a 26 percent strikeout rate driven by high whiff and chase rates, including a 34 percent swing-and-miss rate just on fastballs. He wasn’t ready for the level and probably needed short-season ball — he would have put up stupid numbers in Grand Junction — so take some of that with a grain of salt, but his baseball instincts just aren’t that advanced yet. He’s going to be big and strong with 30-homer upside in an outfield corner, with a lot of work to do on approach to get there.

Baseball America recently ranked Calaz 9th in the system:

Calaz stands 6-foot-2 with room to add more strength to an already-mature frame. He brings explosive raw power to the plate, though his game remains a bit unrefined. Swing-and-miss concerns have followed him since signing—a common caveat with young, power-first hitters—but they’ve become more pronounced. Calaz’s swing starts with an extremely high hand-set, and he sometimes rests the bat on his shoulder before using a waggle to start his trigger.

Baseball Prospectus put Calaz 49th on their pre-season top 101 prospects list last January on the strength of that breakout 2024. That ranked third in the system, where Calaz was given a 60 OFP grade by Jeffrey Paternostro:

Calaz seemed a pretty easy scout last year, but nevertheless we underranked him. He hit the ball incredibly hard for a 17-year-old, but his contact rate in the DSL suggested better pitching would really undo his swing. Well, he came stateside and hit the ball incredibly hard for an 18-year-old, but made more contact than we expected in the process, making it all the way to full-season ball by the end of the 2024 season. It’s a pretty simple setup with a high back elbow creating a steep swing path that can really do damage in the air when he barrels one in the zone, but while Calaz’s ‘A’ swing is impressive, there’s really no ‘B’ swing a lot of the time, which can lead to in-zone whiff if the pitch isn’t where he expects, or topped/mishit contact even when he tracks it all right.

The thing is, even Calaz’s mishits sound loud, and there just aren’t a lot of teenaged prospects with this combination of damage potential and minor league production, even if it’s come only in the complex and Cal League. I think there is more in the tank here, too. Calaz has already reshaped his body some from last season—not really a surprise for a 17-year-old getting his first couple seasons of professional S+C work—and I’m more confident he will add even more strength and stick on the grass than I was at this time last year. It’s far more likely to be right field than center—he split time at both in 2024—but that’s better than first base or DH, and while the contact rate is still concerning, if he can maintain even this for another year at a higher level, Calaz will be one of the premier outfield prospects in baseball.

Calaz continues to show impressive power for his age, now we just need to see if he can hit upper-minors pitching in a year or two. That’s not that hard, tell ‘em Wash.

MLB Pipeline ranked Calaz fourth in the system as a 50 Future Value player last year, highlighted by a 55 power grade and 50 grades on every other tool:

[Calaz] managed to win the ACL Triple Crown without really having an idea of what he’s doing at the plate yet. Already strong and physical, Calaz hits the ball about as hard as anyone in the system, posting elite-level exit velocities, with tremendous raw power he’s still learning to tap into. He draws walks but still needs to tone down his swing tendencies as he is susceptible to breaking stuff away and out of the zone in particular.

The Rockies feel like Calaz is starting to show the makings of being a five-tool player and he’ll continue to get reps in center field. Most feel that his 6-foot-2 frame will continue to fill out and he’ll slow down more, necessitating a full-time move to right field, where his power production should profile perfectly.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked Calaz as a 40+ FV player (eighth in the system) last January, highlighted by a plus-plus future grade on his raw power, a plus arm, and even a plus future fielding grade:

The power aspect of Calaz’s profile is for real. Perhaps what is most absurd is how much thump he can generate without a leg kick — he starts with a very wide stance and uses just a little toe tap to get going. A very loose athlete, Calaz rotates with verve and ferocity, but in order to do so, his hips often clear very early, leaving him vulnerable to sliders away from him. This is a pretty serious issue already. Calaz ran a paltry 66% contact rate in 2024, worse than all but one qualified big leaguer (Zack Gelof). There are a handful of very toolsy whiff-prone power hitters in that contact rate area, including Christopher Morel and Logan O’Hoppe, both of whom are sound build/frame comps for Calaz. And Calaz projects to have raw power similar to other players in that group, like Brent Rooker and Adolis García. There’s 35-homer ceiling here, but there’s also a lot of bust risk because of how many rookie-level strikeouts we’re talking about.

Calaz is settling more into a right-field role than center and has some big contact rate questions. Still though, plus right-handed power is tough to come by, and the big signing bonus Calaz got is proof positive of its market value. Calaz is clearly a high-ceiling player who at least a couple years away (my bet is a late 2028 debut at age 22) and we’ll see how his plate approach develops as the opposition improves. The recently designated for assignment Yanquiel Fernández has some similar traits and in multiple cases took steps forward in repeat assignments.

Calaz will likely spend 2026 in High-A Spokane as a 20-year-old. I ranked Calaz fourth on my list as a 45 FV player because of the performance, signing bonus, and his ability to stick in the outfield, though I am leery of the contact rate struggles.

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For a team so accustomed to competing at the very top level, it’s easier for the worst of times to stand out more than the best of times. No offense, but if you ask a Colorado Rockies, it’s probably not hard to bring to mind an example of a player who earned a starting role despite underwhelming production. With the Yankees, and with most regularly contending teams, those kind of instances stand out. All of this is a way to introduce the next player in our Birthday of the Day series, who’s likely best remembered as being a particularly underwhelming starter for this team once upon a time.

Christopher David Stewart
Born: February 19, 1982 (Fontana, CA)
Yankees Tenure: 2008 and 2012-13

A 12-year veteran in the big leagues, Stewart spent the majority of his career in a backup role, floating around between teams wherever there was a need as a defensive specialist—especially lauded for his framing, even if not all aspects of his defensive work quite lived up to the expectation of a glove-first player. For one particular campaign, though, Stewart was the primary starter, even if not a full-time starter, and it came under a very unflattering set of circumstances, filling in as the Yankees’ primary backstop back in 2013. But before we get to that, let’s run through Stewart’s career from the beginning.

Stewart started his path with a year of raking in community college in Riverside before being selected by the White Sox in the 12th round of the 2001 MLB Draft. Initially assigned to Rookie ball, Stewart progressed through the minors with Chicago for five seasons until his first cup of coffee in the majors in 2006—his time in the bigs that year was minimal, with only a little over a handful of plate appearances off the bench.

At the end of the 2006 season, Stewart experienced what would be the first of many moves in his big league career—he was traded from the White Sox to the Rangers, where he spent the entirety of the 2007 campaign, mostly in Triple-A, before getting released for the first time. The Yankees took a shot at him, and over a two-month period, he featured in all of one game in the bigs—starting behind the plate in late-April against the Detroit Tigers, a 6-4 loss with the veteran Kenny Rogers outdueling Phil Hughes in Yankee Stadium. In Triple-A, Stewart was a steady presence, maintaining his low .700 OPS.

Stewart’s first prolonged exposure to the big league level came in 2011. Then, with the San Francisco Giants, he was one of the players who had to step in to cover for Buster Posey, whose horrific injury helped lead to changes in the rules forbidding home plate collisions. Although his offensive numbers were pretty poor even for a glove-first catcher, Stewart did enough behind the dish to lead the Yankees to take a second crack at him. Right at the start of the 2012 campaign, the Yankees sent George Kontos to the Giants, a reliever who would become an important part of the Giants’ bullpen for several years.

It was perceived as at least a somewhat-curious choice at the time because it seemed like the Yankees had a fine backup to Russell Martin already in the 26-year-old Francisco Cervelli, who had appeared in 178 games from them across the previous three seasons. But while New York liked Cervelli, they believed even more in Stewart’s pitch-framing ability and wanted the depth, so the former went down to Triple-A. In 55 games for the 2012 Yanks, Stewart accumulated 1.7 fWAR despite a paltry 65 wRC+ — the same as his 2011 with the Giants, but if nothing else, drastically improving his batting average from .204 to .241. Then came his most important season as a big leaguer in 2013.

The year before 2013, the Yankees had Martin as their starting catcher, and the year after 2013, Brian McCann was one of the team’s biggest offseason signings to fill in that role. While neither of these players were their best selves during their time with the Yankees, they belonged in a completely different category than Stewart. The journeyman backstop found himself thrust into the starting role for the Yankees by way of need, if not desperation, for a Yankee team that was struggling to retool while also still trying to contend.

Even if he wasn’t vintage Yogi Berra and was about to turn 30, it was somewhat odd to see the Yankees let Martin walk in free agency without making much of an effort to retain him since he only settled for a two-year, $17 million deal with the Pirates. But that’s what happened, and they set up a battle between the defensively-minded Stewart and the still-well-thought-of Cervelli for the starting role. Both were career backups to that point, vying for the No. 1 spot.

Cervelli won the job for Opening Day and played well in April until his season came to what would be an abrupt end on April 26th, when he broke his hand on a foul tip. He never returned in 2013, as he suffered an elbow injury during his rehab and then got suspended amid the Biogenesis investigation that more famously ensnared Alex Rodriguez. So that meant the Yankees had little choice but to go with Stewart with another no-hit, defense-first option backing him up in rookie Austin Romine.

On the general topic of catcher defense, it’s much better quantified now than it was back in 2013. So while we can look back now and see that Stewart had 2.4 fWAR in 109 games—an honestly adequate personal outcome considering the shaky circumstances—it sure didn’t feel that way at the time. The fact that his hitting somehow got worse from 2012 only made matters more frustrating, as he hit a paltry .211/.293/.272 with a 59 wRC+, a dramatic change for fans who for years had grown accustomed to Jorge Posada’s switch-hit excellence and saw Martin belt 39 homers across the prior two seasons. (As the Yankees struggled, Martin helped the 2013 Pirates snap a 21-year playoff drought.) Even on defense, it didn’t help that Stewart’s 12 passed balls were second-most in all of baseball.

There was also the time that Stewart struck out on just two strikes. Really.

The Yankees themselves deserved the most blame in hindsight for getting too cute at such an important position for the benefit of trying to save Hal Steinbrenner a few bucks. Stewart was unfortunately just the man who had to wear it in front of the fans all year. By September, fans wanted someone, anyone — be it the backup Romine, prospect John Ryan Murphy, recent Double-A promotion Gary Sánchez, or maybe the guy hawking Cracker Jacks — to get a shot behind the plate instead.

McCann was signed in November 2013, and all of a sudden, the Yankees had a plethora of options to choose from as his backup, but obviously not enough room for all of them. Stewart didn’t show enough in his extended sample to move ahead of a now-healthy Cervelli on the depth chart. It was time to move on. As such, Stewart was shipped off to Pittsburgh for a player to be named later, where he filled the role as Martin’s and subsequently Cervelli’s backup as well — Cervelli became the Pirates’ starting catcher in 2015 after Martin signed a big contract with the Blue Jays.

Once he lost that backup role with the Pirates, Stewart bounced around a few teams’ minor-league systems, with his final stop coming with the El Paso Chihuahua in 2019, San Diego’s Triple-A squad. Following his release from the Padres organization in July of 2019, Stewart announced his retirement at age-37.

Reading up on the player, Stewart might’ve featured in the bigs at the wrong time—his most praised skill set was framing, one that didn’t receive the same value it currently does, or at the very least, wasn’t as easily measured. Maybe these days, he would’ve gotten a better overall shake despite his shaky bat.

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

You can never have enough bullpen options, and the Mets, like every other team during the offseason, searched far and wide to find some intriguing pitchers that they could sign and try out in spring training. One of those options is Nick Burdi, a former second-round draft pick who is looking to rebuild his career after undergoing thoracic outlet surgery and a second Tommy John Surgery within the past few years. He’s enjoyed some limited success in recent season, which he will be looking to parlay into a spot in the Mets’ bullpen.

Burdi, a 33-year-old right-hander from Hinsdale, Illinois, was a standout Downers Grove South High School. He was a quarterback on the football team while also sporting a 95 miles-per-hour fastball. After garnering attention for his athletic prowess, he entered the draft straight out of high school with dreams of getting selected in the higher rounds, but fell to the 24th round. Instead of signing, he opted to go to college, where he excelled as a closer at the University of Louisville, posting a 0.78 ERA in 34 2/3 innings as a sophomore and a 0.49 ERA in 37 innings as a junior.

Those numbers helped him climb 22 rounds in the 2014 draft, where he was taken 46th overall by the Twins—the same team that took him in 2011—and Burdi was quickly tagged as a top prospect. He never did appear in a game for Minnesota, however, and he was eventually taken by the Phillies in the Rule V draft and immediately traded to the Pirates, for whom he made his major league debut in 2018. After two appearances that season, he made the team out of spring training in 2019 and appeared in 11 games for Pittsburgh, allowing nine earned runs on 11 hits, with 17 strikeouts and three walks over 8 2/3 innings. He was sent down in April, and he eventually underwent thoracic outlet surgery in June, which cut his season short. He made three appearances for the club in 2020, but eventually underwent Tommy John Surgery, an operation he also had in May 2017.

He missed all of 2021 while he recovered and was signed by the Padres ahead of the 2022 season, but he never made the team. Burdi eventually landed with the Cubs in 2023, where he allowed three earned runs in three outings before electing free agency at year’s end. His journey brought him to New York, where he signed with the Yankees. He enjoyed his most success at the big league level with the Bronx Bombers, posting a 1.86 ERA with 12 strikeouts over a career-high 9 2/3 innings. He finished the year with a career-best 0.3 bWAR after those 12 outings. He was fairly successful last year with the Red Sox, pitching 5 1/3 scoreless innings, with five strikeouts and two walks. He finished 2025 with a 0.2 bWAR with Boston.

The Mets signed Burdi early on in the offseason, the same day they also signed Robert Stock, Anderson Severino, and Jose Ramos as NRIs. The hard-throwing Burdi will get a chance to prove himself this spring, and given his recent track record and his former “top prospect” status, there is potentially some chance that he can make the roster. The bullpen, as it stands now, is fairly malleable and does have some spots that are left to be decided by the top performers this spring.

It’s far more likely that the 33-year-old Burdi will begin the year in Triple-A, if he accepts his post-spring assignment, and could find his way up to Citi Field later in the year if there are any injuries. But players like Burdi are never bad to have in Triple-A, and he could see some action for the club in 2026.

Fangraphs recently released its top 100 prospects list for the 2026 season, with 3 Nationals appearing on the list, Eli Willits at 15, Jarlin Susana at 29, and Harry Ford at 74, with Travis Sykora just missing the list and being in their next 10 off at 109. Yesterday, they released another prospect ranking, this one via their projection system OOPSY, which relies heavily on a prospect’s peak performance in the minor leagues rather than their most recent performance, and it had a lot of love to show towards the prospects in the Nationals farm system, with a stunning 8 Nats making the top 100.

List is absolutely littered with Nats
Travis Sykora #8 !
Alejandro Rosario #24 !!!
Jarlin Susana #34
Harry Ford #45
Eli Willits #59
Luis Perales #73
Devin Fitz-Gerald #96 https://t.co/xKjlrGZdKK

— Paul Cubbage (@PaulCubbage23) February 18, 2026

The first shocker on the list is Travis Sykora at 8, making him their third-highest-ranked pitching prospect, right behind Trey Yesavage and Jonah Tong and ahead of highly acclaimed pitchers such as Bubba Chandler and Nolan McLean.

Players are ranked by their projected peak season fWAR, and OOPSY projects that number to be 4.0 for Sykora at his peak, which would have made him a borderline top 10 pitcher in MLB in 2025. While I expect the ranking is only accounting for Sykora’s performance and doesn’t factor in his current injury, it’s still exciting to see a projection system be so high on the Nats top pitching prospect.

Another shocker on the list is Alejandro Rosario coming in at 24, making him their 7th-highest-rated pitching prospect with a peak fWAR projection of 3.5, which would put him in top-20 starting pitcher territory in 2025. It’s unsurprising that a list that values a player’s performance so heavily would rank Rosario highly, as his 2024 minor league season was one of the best by a prospect in recent memory. Like Sykora, I expect this ranking isn’t accounting for Rosario’s current injury, but it’s exciting nonetheless to see him so high on a prospect list.

Not far behind Rosario is Jarlin Susana, coming in as the 8th highest rated pitching prospect and 34th overall, with a peak fWAR of 3.3. While it’s a high rating for the big righty, it’s actually lower than his 29th overall ranking on Fangraphs main top 100 list, as the site has always been higher than most others on him.

Harry Ford checks in on the list at 45, a strong ranking for the Nats’ newly acquired backstop. OOPSY projects the bat to be above average, but also is a believer that he can be a positive defender behind the dish in the bigs, a sentiment not all rankings share.

The wildest ranking on this list, which I missed the first time I looked because I didn’t even think to look for him (and he was still labeled as a Ranger), has to be Yeremy Cabrera at 53rd overall, with a peak fWAR projection of 2.9, which would make him a top 10 centerfielder in baseball in 2025. While the projection sees the bat just slightly above average, it believes his speed and defense will be both well above average and make him an impactful everyday player.

Willits appears on the list at 59, much lower than his 15th overall ranking on the main Fangraphs list, but still the highest of all 2025 MLB draft prospects. To be expected, a list that values minor league performance will be lower than usual on prospects who haven’t debuted professionally or have very little time there, and it’s a testament to Willits performance in his short time in Low A in 2025 that he’s even this high on the rankings.

Luis Perales makes the list at 73rd overall, giving the Nationals 4 of the top 16 pitching prospects in the sport, according to OOPSY. It’s clear that whatever numbers and formulas are used to create OOPSY’s rankings, Paul Toboni has a very similar model he uses to make his moves.

Rounding out the list for the Nats is Devin Fitz-Gerald at 96, his first appearance on any top 100 list to my knowledge. He is listed as a third baseman, interestingly enough, and OOPSY projects him to be an above average defender there with a slightly above average bat.

Overall, while this list shouldn’t be treated as gospel, it’s exciting to see so many Nationals make an appearance, as lists like this in the past have been scarce when it came to Nats prospects.

One of the rituals for Major League Baseball’s players every spring is to pose for team and media photographers. These shots get used in a variety of ways; you’re probably most used to seeing them on player pages on various websites, or in the pitcher previews I do here at BCB.

If you think this kind of work is easy, think again. The players had to report to Sloan Park before dawn Monday to begin the shoot at 7 a.m. As a result, some of the poses turn out to be quirky, fun or otherwise notable and those are the photos I’ve chosen to share with you above. If a player doesn’t appear here, it means his poses were… pretty ordinary.

Enjoy the selection below of a couple dozen photos from Monday’s shoot, taken by Chris Coduto of Getty Images and Rick Scuteri of Imagn Images. You’ll see a good cross-section of the spring roster here, including some guys you know well and others… you might not.

I’m pretty sure Alex Bregman is recognizable without the note.

A pensive Dansby Swanson.

Phil Maton shows off his grip.

Jameson Taillon concentrates on that baseball.

Now this guy, you’d probably need the ID for.

Carson Kelly is ready to throw a runner out.

Can you guess the name of this Cub with a big bat? It’s Justin Dean.

Do you recognize Daniel Palencia from his eyes only?

A tip o’ the cap from Caleb Thielbar.

Another cap tip from Seiya Suzuki.

Ian Happ says, “Write your own caption.”

You can see the Jaguar design on Kevin Alcántara’s bat.

“I’ll be back soon,” says Justin Steele.

Another pitcher grip view, from Shōta Imanaga.

Jordan Wicks flips a baseball.

Nico Hoerner shows off his bat.

Just what is PCA thinking right here?

A big grin from Michael Busch.

Matthew Boyd, as if he’s staring down a hitter. Also, in this photo you can see the jersey “vent” that’s been restored for 2026, as MLB goes back to the pre-2024 jersey style.

Cade Horton and his tattooed arm are ready for the season.

The Cubs’ newest starting pitcher, Edward Cabrera, and his glove honoring his Dominican Republic home.

A new addition who might be in the Cubs outfield this year: Dylan Carlson

New Cubs left-hander Hoby Milner smiles for the camera.

Miguel Amaya, ready to hit.

The skipper, looking a lot younger than his age (55).

As Spring Training kicks into second gear, we have our first game of the season to look forward to on Saturday. It will be our first glimpse of the arms, the bats, and the gloves that our hopes and dreams this season will rest upon…but no pressure guys. There has been a flurry of ‘minor signings” that may add some competition that we didn’t see coming, but I think we’ll largely see what we expected come opening day with a few interesting twists. Of course, the qualifier that always comes into play is real, and that is “barring injury.”

An early projection for A’s Opening Day roster

Last week, A’s Beat Writer Martín Gallegosgave his thoughts on the opening day lineup. With all due respect for a guy who knows this team better than anyone, there are no bold or wild predictions, just solid insights into the roster skipper Mark Kotsay will likely use to start the season.

No surprises at catcher, we can expect Shea Langeliers to be the starter with veteran Austin Wynns serving as primary backup.

First base belongs to Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz. If heathy, I expect a monster year with no sophomore slump in sight.

Second base will surely go to one of this off-season’s trade acquisitions Jeff McNeil. Coming over from the Mets, he brings a multi-positional resume but will be a real upgrade offensively and defensively over Zack Gelof so until something drastically changes the job at second is his.

The biggest battle this spring will be for third base. We can expect a true competition between Max Muncy, Darell Hernaiz, and Brett Harris. My gut tells me that before his sweet contract extension expires that we might see Jacob Wilson over at third, but I seriously doubt that it will be this season.

Jacob Wilson is pretty much a lock for starting the season at shortstop. The ROY runner-up put together a solid season at the plate and should build on that for 2026. His range is somewhat limited so he may not be there forever but expect him to play a solid short and contribute nicely to the ever-improving offense.

I think we can safely expect Tyler Soderstrom, Denzel Clarke, and Lawrence Butler to roam the outfield on opening day. Soderstrom’s defense was one of the biggest surprises of 2025 having just moved from first base and yet being a finalist for a Gold Glove award. Clarke is a walking highlight reel in centerfield and if he stays healthy will be web gem superstar. Butler is evolving into a team leader and with more plate discipline will continue to grow as an offensive asset to this team. Expect three additional names to battle for the backup outfield roles: Carlos Cortes, Colby Thomas, and Junior Perez.

Veteran Brent Rooker will likely have a lock on the Designated Hitter role, his job for all but twenty-seven games in 2025. With McNeil likely leading off and setting the table for him, I expect Rook and Kurtz to drive in more runs this year than last.

With Andy Ibáñez picked up off waivers from the Dodgers, Max Schuemann was traded to the Yankees. That likely means that Ibáñez will take over the role of super-utility guy for Kotsay.

The starting rotation is far from settled, but all indications are that Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, Luis Morales, Jacob Lopez, and recent acquisition Aaron Civale will be the starting five. Civale effectively bumped J.T. Ginn to the bullpen, but it’s a long season so he may still get his shot.

The bullpen will have two fresh faces to start the season. We’ll see Mark Leiter Jr. and Scott Barlow join with Hogan Harris, Justin Sterner, Michael Kelly, Tyler Ferguson, Elvis Alvarado, and Jack Perkins. No closer has been officially named so we can expect a closer-by-committee at least as the season opens.

Only time will tell if this is truly how the A’s start the season, but the great news is, the first pitch is just three days away!

A’s Coverage

• Can Kurtz get his glove to match his monster bat?
• Zack Gelof: Outfielder?
• Athletics 2026 Top MLB Prospects Deep Dive
• A’s Community Prospect List: Baez Takes 13th spot
• Waiting For Gelof: What Do We Do?
• “Relievers Are Volatile”… But Why?
• A’s Trade Mitch Spence to KC Royals in exchange for minor leaguer
• Diamondbacks Claim Grant Holman
• Darrell Hernaiz to play for Team PR in WBC
• Are The Final Two Rotation Spots Really Up For Grabs?
• Story Lines To Watch As Spring Training Unfolds
• A’s Sign Starter Aaron Civale
• Athletics add developmental leaguer in trade with Yankees
• Little Signings Everywhere
• A’s Non-Roster Invites to Keep an Eye On
• A’s prospect Jump impressing in first big league camp
• What to know as A’s head to spring camp with high hopes for ‘26
• A’s Claim Andy Ibanez, Add Scott Barlow In Busy Roster Shuffle
• Extensions For Everyone! (Except Kurtz)
• Managers & Top Front Office Executives On Expiring Contract
• De Vries (No. 4 overall) leads Athletics trio on Top 100 Prospects lists

MLB News and Interest:

• All eyes on Verlander as throwing work begins again in Tigertown
• MLBPA leader Tony Clark resigns after revelation of inappropriate relationship
• Twins right-hander Pablo López has major elbow injury that likely will need season-ending surgery
• Phillies’ Trea Turner Reveals ‘Phone Never Rang’ Despite Interest In Playing for Team USA at WBC
• Bo Jackson rips modern MLB’s home run obsession over batting average
• Buehler joins Padres after years with Dodgers: ‘It feels a little weird’
• Phillies and 11-year-old shortstop reportedly agree on historic $1.8 million deal
• Corey Seager Discusses Rumors of ‘Toxic’ Marcus Semien Relationship After Mets-Rangers Trade
• Steven Cohen: Mets will never have captain while I own team
• Diamondbacks sign veteran starter Zac Gallen to one-year contract
• Cubs ink reliever Shelby Miller to one-year pact
• Bryce Harper addresses comments Dombrowski made about him
• Machaco embraces Dodgers’ big spending ways
• Boone: No restrictions for Judge this spring
• Castellanos embracing move to first base with Padres
• Roki Sasaki working on 3rd pitch
• A.J. Preller agrees to multiyear extension with Padres
• MLB TV strike zone box won’t indicate whether pitch is ball or strike due to ABS system
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X

Sneak peek 🫣 pic.twitter.com/uS7Zx4u4xw

— Athletics (@Athletics) February 18, 2026

Gage Jump vs. Tommy White. Battle of LSU Tigers. pic.twitter.com/h2F3tidKBr

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A full circle moment for the Biggio family 🧡 https://t.co/MjMW2spvWbpic.twitter.com/mRBphbaE8Z

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Young Giants left-hander Carson Whisenhunt shows off big jump in velocity originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SCOTTSDALE — Carson Whisenhunt has felt strong all spring, and since the start of camp, he has talked about his optimism that he’ll look much sharper than he did as a rookie. But early in a simulated game Thursday, a pitch felt different coming out of his hand. It felt just a bit better than the others, and he snuck a peak at the scoreboard.

“I was like, ‘I kinda want to see where I’m at,'” he said later. “I was not expecting to see 97.”

There were a lot of 97 mph fastballs for Whisenhunt in two innings against teammates, along with plenty at 96. As a rookie last year, Whisenhunt hit 95 mph just once, topping out at 95.3 mph but averaging 92.6 in five starts. 

The velocity Thursday opened plenty of eyes in the seats behind home plate, where just about the entire front office was sitting. Even Whisenhunt was surprised. His velocity had been good in bullpen sessions, but he planned to be sitting around 95 mph in the simulated game. 

“That was a little different,” he said, smiling. “I’m feeling a lot better than I did last year. I’m moving better (and) the mechanics, especially — everything is kind of flowing right now. I’m trying not to overdo it but it came out hot today.”

Whisenhunt dealt with a back strain late last season, but in the offseason he focused on making sure he was physically ready for what will be an important spring. He also made some mechanical adjustments to tap into more of the velocity he had in the minors. He was 94-97 mph throughout his first full professional season and topped out at 98. 

“Last year I was sinking into my back hip a lot more and getting lower and I feel like it was kind of blocking velo, so to speak,” he said. “Now I’m a little more upright, not sinking as much, but still trying to get in my back hip a little bit, and then just kinda throwing the s— out of it. That’s the best way to put it.”

With the first spring games two days away, there is no obvious spot for Whisenhunt on the initial roster. The rotation is currently full and he’s probably too good of a starting prospect to be put in the bullpen in April. The Giants likely would want him to stay stretched out, and they have enough lefty relief options in camp at the moment. 

But Whisenhunt certainly made a statement Thursday about how ready he might be when a starter is needed. In addition to the fastball, he showed off what has long been one of the best left-handed changeups in the game, getting three strikeouts on the pitch. He also mixed in his new cutter, a pitch he learned from assistant pitching coach Christian Wonders.

“I’m just trying to get a little bit more feel with it,” he said of the cutter. “It’s still new so I’m playing around with the grip a little bit and finger pressure on certain aspects of it. But it was good today.”

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The San Diego Padres have not added a big-name pitcher since the re-signing of Michael King earlier this offseason. Instead, the Padres have picked up players on one-year or minor league deals seemingly hoping that quantity will deliver quality. The Padres added Griffin Canning, German Marquez and Walker Buehler. Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball believes that San Diego is looking for at least one of these arms to play a significant role in 2026.

Padres News:

• Projected rankings for the Padres as a team and the individual players came out and Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball thinks San Diego may be being overlooked. In almost all areas the 2026 team has improved over the 2025 team that finished second in the NL West and made the postseason. The Padres have a chance to prove the projections wrong if they can make a return to the playoffs as they are not expected to do so.
• The Padres had a busy holiday weekend making additions to the roster and extending general manager A.J. Preller and AJ Cassavell of MLB.com provides a recap of all the moves now that all the players have shown up in Peoria, Ariz.
• Catcher Luis Campusano is out of options and potentially out of time with the Padres. HE has the support of new manager Craig Stammen, and the belief is that he has the support of his teammates as well. If Campusano can produce at the major league level he could have a significant role this season, but if he cannot, he may find himself with another organization.
• Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune points out the fact that Walker Buehler in brown and gold is an odd sight considering all the time he spent in Dodger blue, but Acee also believes the Padres coaches and players are hoping Buehler can make the rotation. Although it will be strange to root for a player the Friar Faithful vehemently rooted against not too long ago, the odds of Buehler making the team could receive a boost if San Diego employs a six-man rotation.
• Front office executives from around MLB were apparently not fans of newly acquired Nick Castellanos. Jayson Stark of The Athletic wrote an article where he spoke with executives about which player subtraction would benefit their former team. The answer he got was Castellanos and this poll was conducted prior to him being released by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Baseball news:

• With the unceremonious departure of Tony Clark as the head of the MLBPA on Tuesday, the need for a new executive director became evident. The MLBPA named Bruce Meyer as the interim executive director, Wednesday.
• The Atlanta Braves are already absorbing injuries to their pitching staff, and they have yet to play their first game of the spring. Spencer Schwellenbach had surgery to clean up his elbow which will land him on the 60-day IL. Hurston Waldrep is expected to have the same procedure and he rook will start the season on the 60-day IL.

There was a long stretch of Red Sox history in which you could roll into spring training and write down the guy who would dominate the DH position in permanent ink.

For 14 years from 2003 through 2016, it belonged to David Ortiz. Then, after he retired and the Sox tried Hanley Ramirez there for a season in 2017, J.D. Martinez took over and led the team in games played from the position for five years from 2018 through 2022. Basically, if you wanted to get in the lineup and your last name didn’t end in a z, you’d better have a glove, and you better have spot where you could play every day.

But those days, much like the balls those guys hit, are long gone. Starting with Martinez’s final year in Boston in 2022, the Red Sox have now had four different guys lead the team in games from the DH slot in the last four seasons. And given the makeup of this roster going into 2026, we might be about to go five-for-five.

First up, here’s the guys who have played the most games at DH for the Red Sox over the last four years:

• 2022: J.D. Martinez (139 games)
• 2023: Justin Turner (98 games)
• 2024: Masataka Yoshida (101 games)
• 2025: Rafael Devers (RIP) (73 games)

Secondly, as a quick side note, not have having a permanent DH really changes the way you build a roster. Back in the days of Ortiz and Martinez, any other everyday position player signed or traded for had to make sense in some specific spot. But now, you can have overflow — because hey, “if both guys are good and you have extra at-bats, the other guy can just DH. Problem solved!”

Well, Craig Breslow and company have taken that theory and pushed it to its limit as, right now, I don’t have a clue who is going to get the most at-bats at DH in 2026.

It could be Jarren Duran, who might get displaced from the outfield for most of the season if Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu stay healthy and anchor down at their positions.

It could be Masataka Yoshida, who, if healthy, may bounce back offensively and doesn’t have anywhere to go defensively on this roster.

It could be Triston Casas, who still has serious upside power after a pair of injury plagued seasons and is now a less obvious fit at first base with Willson Contreras on the roster.

It could even be Kristian Campbell, who, unlike the other three guys I just mentioned, is right handed. He might work his way into the lineup against left-handed starters if his retooled swing sticks better than his glove at any one position.

Or who knows — it could be somebody else who gets shuffled in the deck we’re not even thinking about right now. Who do you think will lead the 2026 Red Sox in games played at DH?

Talk about this and whatever else you’d like, and, as always, be good to one another.