We’re officially one sleep away from entering into February, which means that spring training will be here before you know it. Excited yet? I know, it’s just spring training but that’s one step closer to the regular season so every little bit needs to be celebrated at this point, right?

Anyways, I hope y’all are staying safe and warm out there. Here’s a random clip:

As we prepare to head into a transitional season for the St. Louis Cardinals, one of the bigger projects will be to determine if Ivan Herrera can become the team’s regular catcher. The question is if you have confidence that Ivan can make the changes needed after his time behind the plate last season was less than inspiring and do the Cardinals really need him to be a catcher long-term?

In 2025, Ivan Herrera caught a grand total of only 14 games. We know that he battled elbow issues that limited him resulting in his move to DH where he appeared in 89 games. At the Winter Warmup, Ivan was very positive about how his elbow feels now. He also elaborated on how his elbow was a key factor into his efforts as a catcher. “Yeah, I mean…I basically couldn’t straighten my elbow”. The surgery has created one issue he’s never had to deal with before and that’s the fact that he hasn’t been able to do his typical off-season workout.

There’s more to Ivan and his development as a catcher than just his elbow issues. President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom has said that he believes that Herrera was “not set up for success”.MLB.com quoted manager Oli Marmol as saying ““There’s a real curriculum that’s been put together for him to follow and build upon,” Marmol said. “It’s a very hands-on approach” that will be led by catching coordinator Ethan Goforth that will work with Ivan and help him develop the workflow he needs. Herrera said that he and Goforth have been meeting every week of the off-season going over his defensive approach as he’s just now been able to start ramping up his physical activities.

I will admit that I initially balked at the idea of the Cardinals trying to give Ivan another shot at being the team’s catcher especially after the dumpster fire of the Willson Contreras catching situation. The Cardinals wanted Contreras to be the regular catcher for the same reason they want Herrera behind the plate. They want/need that bat in the lineup and the team is much better if their catcher is also a positive offensive contributor. My knee-jerk reaction is don’t try to turn a player who isn’t a natural catcher into one, but I’m now completely on board for several reasons with only one big picture reservation.

As was mentioned by Jake Wood a few days ago, the St. Louis Cardinals really benefit if Ivan Herrera is the catcher. I’ve also had to adjust my thinking from approaching the season as an expected contender to understanding the St. Louis Cardinals have really shifted to an emphasis on development. I would never want to enter a season with a question mark at the catcher position if the St. Louis Cardinals were a serious playoff contender. That being said, the team really has nothing to lose with Ivan Herrera being given a shot and turning his development as a catcher around. We have Pedro Pagés, Jimmy Crooks and Yohel Pozo to fall back on if this new attempt at making Herrera a reasonable defensive catcher falls short.

The only question that remains in my mind is if we really need Ivan Herrera as catcher with top prospects Leonardo Bernal and Rainiel Rodriguezwaiting in the wings? If either or both players are ready for the majors either sometime in 2026 or 2027, wouldn’t Herrera be a block to their progression? I understand you can never have too many great catchers as any one of them would be prime trade candidates. What do you think? Do the St. Louis Cardinals need Ivan Herrera to be a catcher or are we about to create a problem we don’t currently have?

An anonymous pitcher whose entire life changed with four innings is standing in a crowded Dodger Stadium bullpen in the middle of winter when he hears a voice from the stands.

“Will, thank you so much!” shouts a fan, and underneath his thick beard, the pitcher blushes.

“This is something I’ve never had before,” said Will Klein.

And this is ruining baseball?

On a crowded concourse in the middle of a Saturday morning two months before the start of the season, fans are chugging beers, scarfing Dodger dogs, and even doing a line dance.

The queue at the elevator is endless. The screams from the crowd are constant. Blake Snell is walking along one of the barriers giving every nearby fan — every one — a fist bump.

And this is ruining baseball?

Read more:Shohei Ohtani will not pitch for Japan in WBC: 'Just seemed like the right decision'

The Dodgers officially opened their doors for the 2026 season Saturday, holding an annual DodgerFest that has sent a clear message to a landscape of whiners.

This is what winning looks like.

This is why winning is worth it.

The baseball owners will likely lock out the players after this season in hopes of installing a salary cap that will curb the sort of spending that has fueled the Dodgers’ consecutive championships.

They don’t get it. In hoarding their revenue-sharing money, the owners don’t realize the benefits of reinvesting that money in the players and, by extension, the fans.

The Dodgers do that more often, and more effectively, than anyone.

The result Saturday was a mid-winter party that felt different than any of their previous bashes. Some years they spent this day apologizing for their playoff collapses. Last year they spent the afternoon tentatively talking about going back-to-back.

This year the constraints were off, the party was on, and they all spoke freely of becoming the first time in National League history to win three consecutive World Series titles.

”I don’t mind the ‘three in the air’ as a carrot,” said manager Dave Roberts, adding, “There’s a challenge we’re not going to run from.”

And so the players showed up brandishing hope for this summer while sweetly admitting the emotion that still lingers from last fall.

Klein, who came out of nowhere to rescue the Dodgers with four scoreless innings in the marathon Game 3 of the World Series, was still pinching himself about being recognized in public.

“A guy told me I looked like me,” he said. “I said, ‘Thank you.’”

Then there was Miguel Rojas, finding deeper meaning in his ninth-inning homer that tied the World Series Game 7.

”The most important part is that everybody continues to say that is the best moment that they have in their life, the best moment of sports they watched,” said Rojas. “That makes me feel really good, because we were part of something bigger than just a home run.”

And Rojas said he hears that a lot.

“I waited 20 years in professional baseball to have that moment ... something different happened to my life,” he said. “I’m walking around Rome, I’m seeing Dodger fans saying thank you for that home run. It’s crazy, it’s overwhelming.”

Equally overwhelmed was Freddie Freeman, who grew tearful on the stage when talking about hitting the winning homer in the 18th inning of the World Series Game 3 and the impact of winning two titles in his four years here.

“I’m home playing baseball in front of the best fans day in and day out,” he said. “I couldn’t even wrap my mind around coming back and signing here and being part of this. This has blown me away.”

Read more:Add Dodgers' Miguel Rojas to the list of those unable to play in the World Baseball Classic

Even the struggling players seemed thrilled to be here, Tanner Scott acting amazingly relaxed when asked for his 2026 goals.

“Not being as bad as last year,” he said. "I was terrible."

OK, then.

Bottom line, on a midwinter day when most of this country’s major-league baseball stadiums were empty, Chavez Ravine was full of life and wonder and winning.

“Today we see a lot of fans and that really gets me going,” said Shohei Ohtani.

And this is ruining baseball?

“This organization is never ready to be done ... they continue to add players, they continue to add talent, that is a good thing,” said Rojas. “We push ourselves ... we believe we can always get better.”

Like he said, a good thing.

“I like winning,” said Klein. “People are always going to be jealous of teams that try to win when they feel like others aren’t. Everybody can go out and do the same thing.”

Spring is here, the haters are out, and the Dodgers are ready.

Seeing players here, seeing their energy, obviously seeing the energy of the fans, its certainly time,” said Roberts.

Three-peat, you’re up.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Introduction

With just over two weeks left until pitchers and catchers report to spring training and less than a month remaining until the first spring training games, the offseason has entered its final stretch. As such, we’re fully into the projection phase of the offseason, which includes minor league prospects. We just got a pretty significant update on the sport’s young stars last Wednesday when Baseball America released its Top 100 paywalled list of the best prospects and MLB Pipeline followed suit two days later. For the second year in a row, the lone Diamondback on the Pipeline list is Ryan Waldschmidt while Baseball America deigned to include Kayson Cunningham at number 97. While prospect evaluations and rankings are inherently subjective, it’s fascinating to see how external evaluators view Arizona’s minor leaguers and there’s genuine value to be had if any ranked prospect wins end-of-the-year award.

Ryan Waldschmidt

The sole Arizona representative on the MLB Pipeline list for the second straight year, Waldschmidt continues to impress less than two years after being drafted with Corbin Carroll’s prospect promotion incentive (PPI) pick out of Kentucky. Across two minor league levels last year, the native Floridian posted a .289/.419/.473 slash line while walking nearly as often as he struck out (106 strikeouts and 96 walks in 601 plate appearances). For context, an 18% strikeout rate would place Waldschmidt among the likes of Francisco Lindor and Bobby Witt Jr from last season. I sincerely doubt he’d be able to maintain that kind of performance in the majors and FanGraphs specifically calls out his strikeout proclivity as a limit on his ceiling. But even with that caveat, both FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline project him out as a middle-of-the-order batter who could ably hold down a corner outfield position or even center if needed. That kind of profile makes him a dark horse candidate for securing a spot on the Opening Day roster out of Spring Training given the Lourdes Gurriel Jr-sized hole the team currently has in left field.

Kayson Cunningham

A newcomer to the franchise after being selected with the 18th overall pick in last summer’s draft, Cunningham was viewed as a well-developed high schooler who fit the team’s preference for undersized up-the-middle talents. He had a relatively rough introduction to pro ball with a .255/.308/.277 slash line in a couple weeks of play at Low-A Visalia while getting some pretty poor reviews on his fielding where the game seemed to be too quick for him at times. He’ll need to hit since he’s not projected for much power – likely a result from his relatively slight 5’10” frame that might fill out a little as he ages into his 20s but will likely still be somewhat undersized for a big leaguer. As it stands, he’s listed as a shortstop by ESPN and that’s where he spent his time during his first cameo with Visalia, but he’ll need to make some significant strides with his footwork and reads to stick there. Otherwise, he’ll end up at second base where his reads and footwork won’t be nearly as important. Overall, we’re looking at a player that has a much longer developmental road ahead of him than you might expect for a first-rounder, but there’s still an old-fashioned leadoff hitter who could hit .300 and steal 30 bases lurking at the end of that road.

Tommy Troy

I’ll be honest, I was pretty surprised to see Troy drop off MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 after appearing at #74 there just two years ago and still hanging on at #96 for Baseball Prospectus last year. In the interim, all the first-rounder has done is hit: across two levels last year, he combined for a .289/.382/.451 slash line while also swiping 24 bases on the year. Admittedly, some of that damage came while he was with Reno in the inflated offensive environment that the Pacific Coast League can represent and he didn’t hit a ton of homers even in that inflated environment. There are also some questions on where he’ll play too as he spent significant time at second and centerfield raising the possibility of a utility role rather than a single defensive position. Even still, the combination of hit tool and speed means that Troy could easily morph himself into a solid big league contributor even if he doesn’t become a bonafide star.

Hello everyone and welcome to February. We’re trying out something new this month with “Today on Pinstripe Alley” in alignment with many of our fellow SB Nation sites. Instead of getting two occasionally random questions per day at the end of the Today on PSAs, we’ll be choosing one and offering our own answers before turning it over to you all for discussion. We’ll still be detailing what’s ahead on the docket at PSA, but the goal here is to really engage on something of note, so let’s see what happens!

There’s no time to waste! So what’s the strongest reason to believe this Yankees season won’t be a waste? I think there’s a number of ways to approach this. There’s the very obvious, and that’s the 6-foot-7, three-time AL MVP who patrols right field for the Yankees. Anytime you get to pencil Aaron Judge into a lineup, you feel like good things will follow.

The only time the Yanks have missed the playoffs since he broke out as a rookie in 2017 was when the Dodger Stadium outfield fence rudely interrupted another MVP-caliber campaign in 2023. They’ve been one of the last four teams standing in four of those eight seasons, and while the rest of the team wasn’t as sharp last October, Judge was en fuego, shaking off some playoff doldrums. He’ll be another year older in 2026, but it’s not as though 34 is ancient; former teammate Paul Goldschmidt didn’t win his first career MVP until his age-34 season in 2022. Judge can absolutely be as good again, or at least at a highly impressive level.

One player cannot make a team though (ask the Angels). And yet for as much as I would’ve liked to see the Yankees do more this offseason to bolster their championship odds and better safeguard them from potentially ruinous injuries, it’s still a very good ballclub. They have flaws, but ask an opposing fan if their own preferred team has any flaws; trust me, they’ll be sure to find ‘em! (Yes, even on the Dodgers.) The Yankees’ offense easily led the majors last year with 274 homers, and non-Judge players still combined for 221 bombs, which would’ve still ranked six without Judge. Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham, Giancarlo Stanton, and Ben Rice all provided hefty support, and for as frustrating as the “run it back” approach is in some aspects, that’s not really the case for the offense. They should rake again, and for as uneasy as fans were with the non-Gerrit Cole pitching staff last year, they still recorded more strikeouts than every AL team outside of Houston — and Cole will rejoin them eventually.

Is this the rose-colored glasses view? Perhaps, but hope springs eternal. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

Today on the site, Matt will celebrate a very familiar Yankee second baseman’s birthday as part of our ongoing series and Peter will look into pitcher Nick Martinez as a free agent addition, given the recent news of the Yankees’ possible interest in the erstwhile Reds righty. Later, John will present the weekly Social Media Spotlight.

Every offseason here at Amazin’ Avenue, our overlords editors set up a spreadsheet for season reviews and send out a for us writers to claim them. There’s an initialrush for the best players – Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Nolan McLean – though most folks usually show a modicum of discipline and don’t claim too many of the elite guys. Personal favorites get snapped up next, followed by the large group of guys in the middle. Your useful contributors, like Tyrone Taylor and Luis Torrens and Max Kranick.

Then there’s a Mexican standoff as most of us look at the remaining spots on the sheet. Did that guy really play for the Mets last season? Did his presence matter in any way other than for comprehensive record keeping? Do we really need to write about him? These are the folks that you and most everyone else will forget on the annual Sporcle quizzes, leaving you frustrated as you sit at 55/63 and can’t progress any further. Slowly, but inevitably, those guys get claimed, and we eventually finish out the list.

It is in this spirit that we now discuss Chris Devenski, who did indeed actually pitch for the Mets in 2025. He appeared in 13 games, starting once (as an opener) and tossing 16.2 innings of 2.16 ERA ball with a 3.50 FIP. It was a disjointed tenure in Queens; Devenski had a single outing in April, another in May, got two outings in the middle of June, actually stuck around for a bit in July with 7 appearances, and then finished the season with single appearances in each of August and September. In between, he spent his time posting a broadly similar performance for Triple-A Syracuse. If anything, the most impressive part of this performance was his willingness to put up with the Triple-A / MLB shuttle as a 34-year-old veteran.

Was any of this particularly memorable? No, not really. Even though Devenski was broadly decent as an up-and-down guy, this is the sort of performance that gets lost in the wash of a 162-game season. Don’t feel guilty about not remembering though because it doesn’t seem anyone else around the league noticed either; Devenski signed a minor-league deal with the Pirates in early January. So it goes for the late-career middle reliever. Just do your best to remember him on your next Sporcle quiz.