Category: Sports News

Good morning Birdland,

Could the vibes be any more immaculate? The Orioles followed up their 2-1 win on Opening Day Thursday with the news on Friday that they are signing Shane Baz to a five-year, $68 million contract extension. For the first time with Mike Elias leading the front office, the Orioles have made a long-term commitment to a pitcher.

Now, Baz is probably not the pitcher that most fans expected (or even wanted) the Orioles to lock up. He certainly doesn’t have the track record of Trevor Rogers or Kyle Bradish. But that could be exactly why he was the one they set their sights on.

Baz is extremely talented. The Orioles have reminded us of that quite frequently ever since they traded for him back in December. He’s also young, not turning 27 until mid-June, and already had three years of team control remaining. On top of that, he has had some injury problems. That’s enough uncertainty to make him open to an extension, but far enough behind him that the Orioles were OK with the commitment. That combination of factors seems to have made him an ideal candidate for an extension in Elias’ eyes.

MLB Trade Rumors reported the breakdown of the contract as follows:

• 2026: $1 million salary, $4 million signing bonus
• 2027: $7 million salary
• 2028: $10 million salary
• 2029: $21 million salary
• 2030: $25 million salary

That averages out to $13.6 million per season with most of it coming in ‘29 and ‘30, the two years of free agency that Baz will now be forgoing. It’s a lot of money for someone that is yet to even throw a pitch in your uniform and has just one full healthy season under his belt, but it’s not bad if Baz ends up being everything that they hope he can be.

It’s a gamble. The Orioles are betting on Baz staying healthy, and on the ability of the organization to help him hit his ceiling. You would have to assume that whatever they saw this spring convinced them that he is the guy to pin their hopes to moving forward.

So what does this mean for other Orioles pitchers hoping for a big deal? Rogers has been/is still likely to bet on himself. He’s a free agent after the year. If he can even come close to duplicating what he did in 2025, he is going to be the most sought after free agent next winter. Bradish, on the other hand, could be open to something. He is still rather fresh off of Tommy John surgery and won’t hit free agency until after the 2028 season. The question could be whether the Orioles are interested. Bradish is already 29 years old. Do they want buy out his age 32, 33, or 34 seasons? That doesn’t sound like an Elias move.

For 2026 anyway, the Orioles have assembled a very fun staff. Baz is part of that. Hopefully things go well, because we will be watching it for a long time to come.

Links

3 of 6 largest contracts in O’s history have been signed since August | MLB.com
Elias is finally spending money, and the team certainly feels better for it! Now they need to win some games and go deep into October. Incentivize these billionaires to spend even more!

A healthy Kyle Bradish? The Orioles can hardly wait. | The Baltimore Banner
To me, Bradish is the best pitcher on this Orioles team. The only thing holding him back this year will be the kid gloves with which the Orioles are likely to handle him to make sure he gets to October unscathed. That could mean a lot of four- or five-inning starts where he leaves after 80 pitches early in the season. If that’s what it takes, and the Orioles are winning games, I’m cool with it.

Orioles extension candidates: After Baz, Basallo, who could be next? | The Capital Gazette
Gunnar Henderson needs to be the answer here. It sounds like the Orioles are laying the ground work there, but nothing has come together yet. Scott Boras is Henderson’s agent, and he does not like for his big clients to sign ahead of free agency. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but the Orioles will need to knock his socks off with an offer.

Taking another look back before moving ahead to Game 2 | Roch Kubatko
Relive the glory of Opening Day once more before we get into the action of Game 2 later today. Hopefully the Orioles bats wake up a little bit in the encore. We want some dingers!

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Christian Walker turns 35 today. Drafted by the Orioles back in 2012, he would play in just 13 games for them between 2014 and ‘15 before he was DFA’d and eventually claimed by the Diamondbacks, where he became one of the more consistent first basemen in the game.
• Shawn Boskie is 59 years old. He spent the 1997 season as a swingman on the Orioles pitching staff.
• Glenn Davis turns 65. He played parts of three seasons in Baltimore from 1991 through ‘93, accumulating just 0.7 bWAR total in that time. What did it cost the Orioles to get him from the Astros? Three players: Steve Finley, Pete Harnisch, and Curt Schilling. Yikes.

This day in O’s history

1999 – The Orioles become the first major leaguers to visit Cuba since 1959. In an exhibition against the Cuban national team, the O’s win 3-2 in 11 innings. Charles Johnson hits a two-run homer, and Harold Baines drives in the winning run. The two teams will play a rematch at Camden Yards on May 3.

Opening Day in Cobb County couldn’t have gone any better for the Atlanta Braves if they had scripted it themselves. I’d imagine that every team in baseball would absolutely take a 6-0 win to start the season — especially if that win saw the team succeed in nearly all facets of the game.

Walt Weiss spoke with the media following his winning debut as manager of the Braves and the very first thing he did (unprompted, mind you) was to shower praise upon Chris Sale for getting things started on the right foot — both in this game and the season as a whole. “That last inning out there, he can still go and get 98 (mph) when he wants it. This is a special guy,” said Weiss about Sale. “The manager’s dream is to have a guy like that on Opening Night to set the tone.”

Weiss went on to talk about the total team effort that helped push the Braves to victory in this one. “We played outstanding defense,” said Weiss. “That game probably could’ve turned if we don’t make a few of those plays. Eli [White], Austin [Riley], [Ronald] Acuña. Jr., [Matt] Olson made a great play down the line. Turned two double plays early when Chris’s pitches were starting to mount a little bit in the first two innings.”

Chris Sale spoke with the media before Weiss did and he confirmed that he was pretty happy with the defense that was behind him on Friday night as well. “Unbelievable defensive plays,” said Sale. “I mean, half the [SportsCenter] Top 10 is going to be from when I was out there. I mean, half the texts I’m getting [after the game] is like ‘You better do something for your defense!”

The manager continued to heap praise upon his team for their effort with the gloves on Friday night. “Great defense. It was just a really well-played game,” continued Weiss. “We hit the ball into the seats. We ran the bases well…we made some good reads on some balls on the bases so it was just a really good game.”

Speaking of the base running, that’s certainly been a point of emphasis for Walt Weiss and his staff once they took over coaching duties here in Atlanta. I asked Weiss how he felt about the aggressiveness that was shown on the base paths on Friday night and he certainly seemed pleased with what he witnessed. “[Aggressive base running] is going to be part of our identity moving forward. That’s the plan,” stated Weiss. “We had a caught stealing and that’s okay — I’m willing to trade a few outs here and there on the bases to create an identity. We want to put heat on people, whether it’s in the box or on the bases and we have the personnel to do that.”

Weiss then brought up new first base coach Antoan Richardson and how he’s already having an impact on stressing the importance of strong base running. “I talked about Antoan making base running really important to our guys,” emphasized Weiss. “That’s what he did this Spring and yeah, we hit the ball into the seats tonight but I think on the nights that we don’t, we’ll have a better chance to score some runs this year.”

The manager also went on to explain his reasoning behind placing Ozzie Albies in the third spot in the lineup. That was a decision that certainly raised some eyebrows when it was announced but it ended up paying off based on his performance at the plate and Weiss was pretty happy about that as well.

“I love seeing Ozzie in the box right-handed, I just do,” explained Weiss. “I thought that was the perfect spot for him in the lineup. [Cole Ragans] is a left-handed starter but even later in the game, they’ll go to the bullpen and they’re going to target [Drake] Baldwin and Olson with their left-handed relievers and they’ve got to pay the price. You’re going through Ozzie with the three-batter rule. I’ve always loved Ozzie from the right-hand side. [The lineup] will look a little different against right-handed starters but he made me look good tonight. Thanks, Ozzie.”

Finally, the Braves players did make a note of celebrating Weiss’s first win as Braves manager by letting him partake in the Player of the Game celebration that they have going in the clubhouse. Chris Sale spoke to the media before Weiss did and while he was tight-lipped about whatever the ceremony was, Weiss was willing to talk about it with us. “They got this thing when you’re Player of the Game — I wasn’t Player of the Game, of course, that was Chris Sale. They did let me take a putt. I guess it’s probably about a 30, 40-footer and there’s a lot of hooting and hollering and a lot of stuff on the line. I got to do the Player of the Game putt and they gave me a nice little gift for my first win, so it’s a great night.”

Naturally the follow-up question was whether or not he made the putt. “I missed the putt,” said Weiss, sadly and faceitiously. “You weren’t supposed to ask that. You know I would’ve said ‘I made it’ if I did, you wouldn’t have had to ask!”

Despite the missed putt, the new manager was clearly in high spirits. It might just be one game in a long marathon of a season but everybody will take starting 1-0 over 0-1. The Braves now have their first win under their belts, Walt Weiss has his first win as manager of the Braves and now the team will be looking to pick up their first series win with a victory tomorrow night as Reynaldo López gets the start against the Royals.

Winning Opening Day at home is fun. Hey, Opening Day at home is fun all by itself. First Opening Day win at home since 2018 and that Nick Markakis home run. The Braves needed to rally from down five runs that day. But they controlled last night from the jump. Chris Sale got double plays in the first two innings. Ozzie Albies’ home run just scraped by the left field pole. Drake Baldwin’s home run just got over the fence. Michael Harris basically called game with a no-doubt home run. Then Chris Sale and the bullpen cruised for the shutout.

How’s that for a palette cleanser? Last year, those double play ground balls versus Sale would have found a way through the infield. A pelican would have come out of nowhere to push Albies’ home run foul. The Braves had at least seven long fly balls like Baldwin’s hit the top of the wall and bounce back into play. And Michael Harris would have barely missed a home run. Is the nightmare of 2025 over? I think I need to see about 90 more of these games to be sure.

When the Los Angeles Dodgers added closer Edwin Díaz this offseason, they locked down the back end of their bullpen, which was an issue for them at times during the 2025 season.

They also set the stage for one of baseball’s most dramatic entrances shifting to the West Coast.

Díaz made his Dodgers debut on Friday night, entering in the ninth inning to close out a 5-4 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and his entrance was as electric as ever. Not only did he come out of the bullpen to Timmy Trumpet’s “Narco,” the song Díaz used while closing games for the Mets at Citi Field, but he was accompanied by a live trumpet player, Los Angeles artist Tatiana Tate:

Díaz kept the crowd electrified as he struck out two of the four batters he faced, for his first save in Dodgers blue:

After the game, both Díaz and manager Dave Roberts talked about the entrance, and the save.

“I was surprised a little bit,” said Díaz about Tate’s performance. “I heard a trumpet sounding before I was coming out. I said, ‘No way, they got a live trumpet.’ It was pretty fun. I enjoyed it, and I know fans enjoyed, too.”

“I got word that there might be a trumpet player,” said Roberts. “That was great. I was hoping to get him in there, and it worked out, and he performed. I think the fans got what they were hoping for.”

Friday night, Dodgers fans got exactly what they were hoping for, and more.

Meet the Mets

There is a realistic scenario in which the 2026 Mets could wind up with the most productive outfielder in all of baseball.

Where do things stand between Freddy Peralta and the Mets regarding a potential contract extension?

Jorge Polanco and Bo Bichette both handled themselves adequately at their new positions on opening day.

The Mets are hoping that the RISP opportunities that Bichette had on Thursday are a sign of things to come.

Vidal Bruján and Ben Rortvedt were sent through waivers for the Mets, while Bryan Hudson was claimed by the White Sox.

Around the National League East

Chris Sale had a strong first start and the Atlanta bats socked three homers en route to a 6-0 opening day win for the Braves over the Royals.

Sandy Alcántara pitched seven strong innings to help lead the Marlins to a 2-1 victory over the Rockies in their first game of the season. Don’t look now, but the National League East is undefeated in 2026.

It’s been quite a road from high school to the big leagues for top Phillies prospect Andrew Painter.

Federal Baseball wrote about how new manager Blake Butera will keep fans guessing with his lineup construction this year.

Around Major League Baseball

The Orioles have locked up one of their offseason acquisitions, inking Shane Baz to a long-term extension.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a magical season last year, but the best is yet to come for the young superstar.

Edwin Díaz got his first save as a member of the Dodgers last night with the accompaniment of a live trumpet player.

There are plenty of feel-good stories from different players who made an MLB team’s opening day roster this year.

ESPN looked at where each team stands in the World Series contention cycle.

Jason Heyward announced his retirement after a sixteen-year career in the big leagues.

Clayton Kershaw will stick around with the Dodgers as a special assistant.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

We discussed a number of the takeaways from Thursday’s opening day win yesterday—including reviewing the performances of Carson Benge and Freddy Peralta, discussing the overall contributions from the newest members of the team, and looking at some of the quotes from Mets personnel following the victory.

Steve Sypa provided some minor league offerings, first by examining the roster for the 2026 Syracuse Mets and then by reviewing the hitting and pitching prospects’ spring training performances.

This Date in Mets History

The legend of Sidd Finch was born on this date in 1985.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Roger Clemens arrived as the Guest of Honor for WooSox Opening Day with core memories of the 40th anniversary of a special season. 

The 1986 campaign started a run of over two decades in the majors as one of the best starting pitchers in the sport. From learning from Hall of Famer Tom Seaver to earning a World Series trip, “The Rocket” hit the ground running in Boston. 

“Great memories,” Clemens said Friday at Polar Park. “For me, Boston being my home, getting drafted out of the University of Texas, winning the Eastern League. And before I actually went back to Texas after that season, the Sox had me come. That’s the first time I got to see Fenway Park. So I thought it was amazing. And actually, the game, still remember it, was Dennis Eckersley against Jim Palmer. And so I got to see those two guys work. And so that was a treat for me.”

It was April of 1986 when Clemens introduced himself as a star in the league with a 20-strikeout effort against the Seattle Mariners, the first such game in MLB history, on a night to remember at Fenway Park. Clemens matched the feat 10 years later in Detroit, though the first instance means just as much four decades later. 

“Both 20 strikeout games were really cool,” Clemens recalled. “The first one that stands out, basically it was early in the year and I was proving to my teammates and to the ball club that I was healthy.”

The Red Sox right-hander gave plenty of credit to the late Bill Fischer, Boston’s pitching coach in 1986, for guiding him and persistently prioritizing the ability to fill up the strike zone.. 

“So I was able to get a lot of knowledge from him and he always stressed not to walk guys,” Clemens explained. “Both 20 strikeout games when you’re throwing that high rate of speed and you’re striking guys out, I didn’t walk a guy. So I think I’m most proud about that. That’s probably why I never threw a no-hitter.”

Clemens took control on the mound from the jump, where he believes he called up to 95% of the pitches he threw to catcher Rich Gedman, who caught his old starter’s ceremonial first pitch Friday afternoon. In the modern era of PitchCom and MLB’s adoption of the ABS system, Clemens brought his own context to pitching in 2026. 

“Yeah, I love it,” Clemens shared. “You know, I love that they also are featuring the high strike. They pinch you a little bit east and west now. And of course, with the ABS system, makes you say, I don’t think the pitcher should be allowed. … I think it should be the hitter and the catcher. They have the best look. Even if you’re a mitt looker, you’re a pitcher that stares at the mitt the entire time, you still lose sight of the baseball, flight of the ball at some point. But yeah, I love it.”

Clemens reached the World Series with Boston before a heartbreaking loss to the New York Mets. The 2026 Red Sox look to find their way to the Fall Classic for the first time in eight years. Clemens gets his first look at the squad when Boston visits his home state to take on the Houston Astros next week. 

His keys to the season? Renewed chemistry in the clubhouse after dramatic stretches of 2025 in addition to the ability to lean on established pitching depth to counter the summer months. 

“I think there’s a lot of team chemistry,” Clemens said. “That’s very important, which if you guys were around me last year when I came up here on radio and TV, the first baseman (Triston Casas) got hurt and I thought that would be a perfect scenario for the third baseman (Rafael Devers) at that time to move over to first. He’s a very good player, he’s in San Francisco now. So that didn’t work out. Your team chemistry has to be there.”

The 63-year-old entered the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2014. He’s yet to hear his name called in Cooperstown due to steroid scandals, though he knows his performance landed him among the best to ever throw a major league pitch. 

“For me, which I’m hoping to do something really cool that you guys will see, my son’s gonna go with me,” Clemens shared, alluding to new projects surrounding his baseball career. “I’m not even gonna tell you what it is, but I gotta go to Ohio for something. This Thurman Munson Award, which I had the privilege to win that. But I’m gonna do something else that deals with Cy Young. And when you’re mentioned with guys like Cy Young or Babe Ruth or ahead of Willie Mays and guys like that, you’re in pretty good company. So that’s good enough for me.”

LOS ANGELES — Charley Steiner returned to the Dodgers broadcast booth on Thursday, calling the first three innings of the opening day game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on radio.

Steiner has battled health issues in recent years, including multiple myeloma and a back injury that made it difficult to walk. His workload for this season is unknown, and will depend on how he’s feeling. At the very least, expect Steiner to be a part of some radio pregame segments with Rick Monday.

This is the 22nd season calling games for the Dodgers for Steiner, who turned the microphone over on Thursday to Stephen Nelson to call the final six innings alongside Monday on opening day.

Every locker in the Dodgers clubhouse on opening day had a Seiko bag from Shohei Ohtani with a note saying “Three Peat!!” Inside was a luxury watch. It’s the third such season Ohtani has given a gift to his teammates before the first game.

“He’s just very generous, very thoughtful,” manager Dave Roberts said Thursday. “I think we’re all very grateful.”

Sonja Chen at MLB.com has more on the watch.

Mirjam Swanson has high praise for Andy Pages at the Los Angeles Times, along with Dave Roberts saying Thursday, “He’s a complete player, and I’m excited to see what he can do this year.”

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Opening weekend is all about value.

With teams just getting underway, the market is still finding its footing. That can lead to softer prices, especially when public perception hasn’t caught up to current form or roster changes.

Below, we break down the top moneyline MLB picks for Saturday, March 28.

MLB moneyline picks for March 28

Matchup	Pick
Rays vs Cardinals	+107
Nationals vs Cubs	-217
Athletics vs Blue Jays	-175
Twins vs Orioles	-182
Rangers vs  Phillies	-127
Pirates vs  Mets	-150
Red Sox vs Reds	+109
Rockies vs Marlins	-154
Angels vs Astros	+134
White Sox vs  Brewers	-250
Royals vs Braves	-120
Yankees vs Giants	+114
Tigers vs Padres	-120
Diamondbacks vs Dodgers	-250
Guardians vs Mariners	-175

Lines courtesy of Kalshi as of 3-28.

Expert MLB moneyline picks for March 28

Rays vs Cardinals: Cardinals (+107)

This matchup is tighter than the odds suggest, but St. Louis offers value as a near coin-flip underdog. Tampa Bay’s offense can be streaky, and if the Cardinals can get out to an early lead, they can steal this one

Nationals vs Cubs: Cubs (-217)

A common theme for me is to find whenever Miles Mikolas is pitching and fade him. The Cubs' offense isn't going to be the problem this season, and I expect Cade Horton to receive plenty of run support. 

Athletics vs Blue Jays: Blue Jays (-175)

Dylan Cease will make his Blue Jays' debut, and that's enough for me to back the home side. He's coming off a down year last year, but showed good stuff in his last spring training start.  

Twins vs Orioles: Orioles (-182)

Give me the Orioles at home here. It's tough to trust Taj Bradley's form coming into this game. He gave up plenty of contact in ST, with very poor command. 

Rangers vs Phillies: Phillies (-127)

Philadelphia’s lineup depth and power give them a strong edge in this matchup despite going up against Jacob deGrom, who is usually starved for run support. 

Red Sox vs Reds: Red Sox (-154)

I just don't believe the Reds are going to be any good this season, so I will look to fade them as much as possible early on. Sonny Gray gives the Sox the pitching edge here.

Pirates vs Mets: Mets (-150)

Welp, the Pirates had a really good first inning in Game 1, before the wheels fell off. Expect much of the same in this spot. 

Rockies vs Marlins: Marlins (-200)

Everyone's favorite matchup to not care about. I like Eury Perez more than I do Michael Lorenzen, so give me the Marlins at home. 

Angels vs Astros: Angeles (+134)

Let's take a shot with the Angels here. Jeremy Pena is still day-to-day with an injury and the Astros lineup tends to go really cold when they are cold. 

White Sox vs Brewers: Brewers (-250)

Betting on bad teams is not a recipe for success. So, let's take the better team here with the decided hitting advantage. 

Royals vs Braves: Braves (-143)

I think Michael Wacha is on the decline and won't last the season in the majors. Give me the Braves at home. 

Yankees vs Giants: Giants (+114)

It's tough to go against the Yankees, but I think the Giants have the pitching edge here in this matchup of Will Warren vs. Tyler Mahle. 

Tigers vs Padres: Tigers (-120) 

The Tigers are going to be a really fun team to watch this year, and they should be able to beat up on Randy Vasquez, who gave up 10 hits, eight runs, and three home runs in his last two spring starts. 

Diamondbacks vs Dodgers: Dodgers (-250)

I don't know about you, but I believe there are going to be very limited spots to bet against the Dodgers this year... and this spot is not one of them. 

Guardians vs Mariners: Mariners (-175)

Bryan Woo was one of Seattle's better pitchers last year, and he comes into this one with two solid spring training outings under his belt. I'm banking on pitching being the difference in this game. 

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