Category: Sports News

Yesterday, the Rockies beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-5 for their third win in five spring games. Cole Carrigg and Ryan Ritter stayed hot at the plate, and Charlie Condon launched his first home run of the spring. 

Today, Colorado faces the Chicago Cubs for the first time this spring, looking to extend their two-game win streak. The bats have shown encouraging signs early in camp: through five games, the Rockies have struck out 10 or more times just once – a welcome development for a lineup emphasizing contact and competitive at-bats. 

Defensively, things have been sharp as well. Colorado has strung together three consecutive error-free games, an impressive stretch considering how many players have rotated through multiple positions during the first week of action. 

On the Mound: José Quintana (Rockies) 

Veteran free agent signing José Quintana – a former Cub – makes his Rockies debut this afternoon. Quintana posted a 3.92 ERA across 131.2 innings last season with the Brewers, striking out 89 while continuing to rely on craft and pitch mix rather than overpowering velocity. 

Quintana now leans heavily on his sinker and off-speed offerings, with his four-seam usage dropping from 36% in 2022 to just 11.7% in 2025. He’s typically effective at limiting hard contact, generating ground balls, and pitching to contact rather than chasing strikeouts. For a Rockies staff looking to induce weak contact and stay efficient, that profile fits well. 

2025 Stats: 

11-7, 3.96 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 89 K, 131.2 IP 

In addition to our first look at Quintana in purple, Mickey Moniak makes his spring debut at DH (Moniak has been dealing with right oblique tightness). Today also offers another opportunity to evaluate players competing for roster spots: Troy Johnston and Zac Veen are in the outfield, TJ Rumfield gets the start at first base, and Nicky Lopez slots in at second. 

It’s particularly intriguing to see Johnston continue to get run in the outfield. If he’s going to make this team, what role does he actually fill? 

On the Mound: Jameson Taillon (Cubs) 

Opposing Quintana is veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon. Injuries interrupted Taillon’s 2025 campaign, but when healthy, he remained effective. Like Quintana, Taillon features a diverse pitch mix and relies on command and sequencing as his fastball velocity has ticked down in recent seasons. 

Taillon excelled at limiting hard contact last year, finishing with a 3.68 ERA and a stellar 1.05 WHIP across 129.2 innings. This will be his second outing of the spring; in his first appearance, he allowed four runs – including two home runs – in 1.2 innings against the White Sox. 

2025 Stats: 

 11-7, 3.68 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 98 K, 129.2 IP 

And now to the details.

First Pitch: 1:05 p.m. MDT

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Radio: None 

How to Follow 

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Lineups 

Rockies Starting Lineup 

Cubs Starting Lineup 

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It wasn’t supposed to go like this. When the Nationals looked to jumpstart their rebuild by trading Juan Soto to the Padres at the 2022 Trade Deadline, I imagine they expected to be reaping the competitive rewards by this point. It’s not often that you can acquire four foundational pieces of a future window of contention in one fell swoop — in the Nationals’ case a windfall of James Wood, MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, and Robert Hassell III looked like enough to remake their farm system entirely and form the core of extended success in the future.

Fast-forward three-and-a-half years and it’s hard to say the Nationals are in a better place competitively than the day after they made that blockbuster. 2025 was supposed to be the first year that it all started coming together, the year that the fruits of that trade would would pay off in the form of on-field performance. Instead, the Nationals endured a train wreck of a season with 96 losses.

They fired 2019 World Series-winning manager Dave Martinez and longtime team president Mike Rizzo in July after a sluggish start, creating massive upheaval just days before the MLB Draft and weeks before the trade deadline. They traded away one of the aforementioned foundational pieces of the Soto trade, sending Gore to the Rangers for a quintet of prospects to seemingly restart a rebuild that was supposed to be complete. By the end of the season, they found themselves dead-last in the NL East with the third-worst record in baseball. They had been leapfrogged by the upstart Marlins, who exited their own rebuild ahead of schedule, and were miles behind the Phillies, Braves, and Mets, whose spending effectively prevents the Nationals from climbing higher than fourth in the division for the foreseeable future.

The sum result of these developments is another dreary outlook for 2026. No matter which way you slice it, pretty much every projection system pegs them as a bottom-three team in MLB. FanGraphs forecasts a 94-loss season, third-worst and ahead of the Rockies and White Sox, with just a 0.7-percent chance to make the playoffs. PECOTA is even more pessimistic, pegging them for 96 losses — again, third-worst behind the Rockies and Cardinals — with a minuscule 0.5-percent playoff odds. Only the Rockies (23.0) are projected for less overall fWAR than the Nationals (25.6), Washington projected as the fourth-worst offense (17.1 batting wins) and the second-worst pitching staff (8.4 pitching wins) in the sport.

There’s not much help coming from outside either, as the Nationals were one of the quietest teams of the winter. Their most notable offseason addition saw them steal promising young catcher Harry Ford from the Mariners for a middle-inning reliever, and while they should be praised for that piece of business (since even a quality bullpen arm only matters so much for a rebuilding club), it’s still pretty disappointing for their biggest splash to be a relatively unproven, recently graduated prospect. They inked a pair of fifth starters to one-year deals in Miles Mikolas and Foster Griffin, so at least they’ll have a warm body at all five spots in the rotation.

Turning attention to the composition of the roster, there are a few bright spots in an otherwise bleak landscape. Wood had something of a breakout in 2025 and is expected to lead the line with a 128 wRC+ and 3.1 fWAR. He nearly set the single-season strikeout record with 221 (two shy of 2009 Mark Reynolds, pre-iconic Yankees tenure), but he can absolutely destroy a baseball, socking 31 homers at age-22. However, Wood is the only hitter on the roster with a projected wRC+ above 106 and the only player on the roster pegged for more than three wins.

Abrams turned in a decent three-win campaign last season in wake of a publicly embarrassing end to 2024 and is expected to just about replicate that production. A lot of the sheen has come off the second banana to LSU teammate Paul Skenes in the 2023 Draft, Golden Spikes Award winner Dylan Crews, but the 24-year-old should get a decent runout in 2026. Zooming out, however, it’s not a pretty picture — there’s not a single hitter projected to slug at least 30 home runs nor drive in at least 100 runs.

It’s even more depressing on the pitching side of the ball. They don’t have a single arm projected to reach two fWAR, and none of their starters are expected to log an ERA below 4.00 nor post a strikeout rate above 21.2-percent. Their rotation looks to be a cobbled-together mess, none of their starters projected to reach the 30 start threshold, though seven players are projected to make at least 13 starts. The bullpen is even worse — FanGraphs’ prediction for their best reliever: Yankees castoff Clayton Beeter (who admittedly pitched very well after arriving at the deadline for Amed Rosario).

Suffice to say there is not much to look forward to for baseball fans in the nation’s capital. The Nationals are more likely to deal away the remaining two blue chips of that Soto trade — Wood and Abrams — at the deadline than they are to contend for the playoffs. Washington was supposed to be competitive in 2026, but with erstwhile Red Sox executive Paul Toboni now steering the ship as the new president of baseball operations for a young front office, all signs point to them being back to square one.

More Pinstripe Alley MLB team season previews will be available here.

Move to bullpen was ‘definitely a career-changer' for new Phillie Brad Keller originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CLEARWATER, Fla. – A year ago, Brad Keller was in camp with the Chicago Cubs. He was a starting pitcher on a minor-league contract looking to put his career back together after a health issue and a lackluster 2024 season.

“I was basically destined to go to (Triple A) Iowa, be a bulk starter down there and kind of see what happens,” Keller said.

What ended up happening, in his words, was “definitely a career-changer for sure.”

The Cubs opened the season early, in mid-March against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tokyo. That necessitated carrying a reliever capable of pitching multiple innings.

“Are you willing to go to the bullpen?” the team asked Keller.

The rest, as they say, is history. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound right-hander went to the bullpen, pitched in 68 games, put up terrific numbers, and in the offseason scored a two-year, $22 million contract with the Phillies.

“It felt like a new lease on my career,” he said of the move to the bullpen.

Keller, 30, made his Grapefruit League debut with the Phils on Wednesday. He was the first of a cast of relievers to pitch against the Detroit Tigers. He needed just 11 pitches to retire the side. He got a line out, a strike out and a ground out. He topped out at 97.2 mph on the gun.

“Great,” manager Rob Thomson said of Keller’s performance. “He was high velocity and the slider was really good.”

Keller, who will join Team USA for the World Baseball Classic next week, was originally drafted by Arizona in 2013 and made it to the majors with Kansas City in 2018. After pitching well for a couple of seasons, he sputtered. The Royals let him walk after an injury-plagued 2023 season in which he pitched just 45 1/3 innings.

In October 2023, he had surgery to relieve thoracic outlet syndrome. He wore Sox in 2024 – White in Chicago and Red in Boston – but did not pitch well enough to earn a big-league deal entering 2025. He signed with the Cubs, moved to the bullpen and everything clicked. He pitched to a 2.07 ERA in 68 games. His WHIP was an impressive 0.962. After averaging 6.7 strikeouts per nine innings over the first seven years of his career, that mark jumped to 9.7 last year.

“Just getting back to the big leagues, taking advantage of an opportunity and then just being healthy, putting the TOS in the rearview mirror,” Keller said of his turnaround with the Cubs.

The move to the bullpen allowed Keller to empty the tank with his four-seam fastball. His average on the pitch rose to 97 mph last season. But he held on to his sinker, a pitch that he uses to get ground balls. He also added a sweeper and the pitch became a weapon once he got the feel for it around mid-season.

“I try to get outs and however it happens, it happens,” Keller said. “That’s why I don’t want to abandon the sinker. I feel like, especially to righties, it helps me a lot, especially incorporating the sweeper. I can play those two off each other.”

With the Phillies, Keller will be the right-handed setup man for closer Jhoan Duran. Jose Alvarado will be the left-handed setup man. Righty Orion Kerkering and lefty Tanner Banks will bridge the way to the late innings. Right-hander Jonathan Bowlan, acquired from Kansas City in the offseason for Matt Strahm, projects to have a role in the bullpen. That leaves two open spots with at least a dozen candidates, most of whom have big-league experience. Six of them – Zach Pop, Kyle Backhus, Zach McCambley, Tim Mayza, Trevor Richards and Genesis Cabrera – got work in Wednesday’s 5-3 win over Detroit.

The competition for the final two bullpen jobs will continue until the final week of camp. Keller knows what that feels like. He was there a year ago, but this year … different story. 

“It’s nice to have some comfort, knowing where I’m going to be,” he said. 

Other notes

Outfielder Brandon Marsh will miss a few days, Thomson said, after he jammed his hand in a sliding drill. X-rays and other tests were clean, Thomson said.

Infielder Aidan Miller is still receiving treatment for a sore lower back. He has yet to play. The team says it is not serious, but there’s no timetable for Miller to be back in action.

Alec Bohm had a pair of RBI hits and made a nice play at third base to start a double play in Wednesday’s win over Detroit. Otto Kemp homered and Bryce Harper had an RBI double. Center fielder Justin Crawford made a nice running catch at the wall in center field.

The Phillies host Washington on Thursday. Taijuan Walker will start. Here’s the rest of the Phillies’ upcoming pitching plans.

Harrison Bader gives hilarious memento to food truck he hit with Giants home run originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Harrison Bader blasted his first spring training home run for the Giants on Wednesday, and let’s just say he did more than just damage the baseball.

That’s because his fourth-inning big fly connected with a food truck that was positioned in the outfield of American Family Fields of Phoenix.

The player known as “Tots” leaned into the accident and even signed the vendor’s vehicle, inscribing “Sorry” onto the food truck.

Bader has been tearing it up for San Francisco so far in his four spring training games, going 4-for-9 at the plate with today’s home run and five RBI.

The 31-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Giants this offseason and will likely slot himself in center field for San Francisco for much of the next two seasons.

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In his first battle against the automated ball-strike system, Paul Skenes was no match for the robots.

Pitching his first inning of the spring as he ramps up for both the Pittsburgh Pirates and Team USA's World Baseball Classic squad, Skenes faced called strike challenges from Atlanta Braves batters on three occasions.

And the Braves successfully challenged all three calls by homeplate umpire Chris Segal - and added another in the second inning.

Two of the overturns definitely made life more difficult for Skenes. Braves first baseman Matt Olson - one of the game's most disciplined hitters - challenged a 1-1 curveball that Segal called a strike, nicking the outside corner. Olson, a sheepish grin on his face, tapped his head just, you know, to see what happened.

Matt Olson's eye is on point 👀

Olson overturns the strike call with this ABS challenge powered by T-Mobile. pic.twitter.com/0r8GmCyA8C

— MLB (@MLB) February 25, 2026

Sure enough, Segal erred - by one-tenth of an inch, ABS ruled - and a 1-2 count became a 2-1 count. Olson went on to draw a two-out walk, illustrating how certain counts - such as 1-1 - are more pivotal and perhaps crucial to challenge.

We are less than a week into Spring Training, but that does not mean we cannot make some observations. There have been a few trends I have noticed through the first five games of Spring Training. With the Nats sitting at the top of the Grapefruit League, things have mostly been good, but it has not been perfect.

The Boys are Winning Ballgames:

The first takeaway from the beginning of Spring Training is that the Nats are winning! They are 4-0-1 in their first five games and are the only unbeaten team in the Grapefruit League. Of course, these games do not count, so this does not matter much. However, I like the way the boys have been fighting. 

Building a new culture is a big part of this spring. It is a new regime with new ideas. We want to see that new philosophy manifest itself on the field. While these games do not count, we are seeing some promising signs. 

For years, the Nats have been overly aggressive at the plate. They have not made pitchers work, and often starters can just cruise through six innings in 75 pitches or less. However, the Nats are second in the league in walks so far this spring. This probably means nothing, as it is just Spring Training but I am going to monitor this as we get into the real season.

Cutting down on chase and being a pesky lineup should be a goal for the Nats this year. You do not need to be an Aaron Judge level talent to be a tough out. If the Nats just become a pesky lineup, they could find a way to be close to an average offense this year. With James Wood, CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile and other young players, this lineup is not devoid of talent. They just have not had a great approach as a team. Hopefully that will change this year.

Nats Saying No to Fastballs:

In my opinion, the most consequential storyline of Spring Training so far is the Nats pitchers moving away from fastballs. We did a deep dive on this the other day, but I want to revisit it here. 

Last season, the Nats were near the top of the league in fastball usage despite not really having many pitchers with dominant heaters. Mitchell Parker and Jake Irvin, two guys without premium velocity, were throwing their heaters over half the time. If the start of this spring gives us a hint, the Nats will be throwing way fewer heaters. Heading into last night, the Nats were throwing fastballs at the third lowest rate of any team this spring.

This is something I love to see. I have been calling for this for a while now. We saw what happened when Kyle Finnegan cut his fastball usage when he went to Detroit. He became a much better pitcher who struck out hitters at a significantly higher rate. Cutting fastball usage has been low hanging fruit for smart organizations for years. It is nice to see the Nats joining the party.

Last season it was so frustrating to see Nats pitchers trying to establish their mediocre fastballs. Pounding fastballs that are not good was an example of the Nats outdated philosophy. It is not some magical elixir, but throwing your best pitches more often will be a helpful strategy for Nats pitchers.

This is a trend that I am confident will carry over into the regular season. Paul Toboni came from the Red Sox, who have been as aggressive as anyone in cutting fastball usage. It seems like he is bringing that trend with him to DC and I love to see it.

Defense Still a Work in Progress:

While it has been a really strong start to Spring Training, things have not been perfect. Last season, the Nats defense was really bad and that still appears to be an issue. The Nats made four errors in a game against the Phillies the other night and have been prone to mistakes early this spring.

One thing I have noticed is that the pitchers have not been fielding their position well. It is still early in spring, so I am willing to give grace. However, the Nats are going to have to clean this up as we get deeper into camp and approach the regular season.

Defense has been a major point of emphasis at camp so far. There have been many videos of Nats players working on their fundamentals and fielding ground balls. Yesterday, I saw a video of the Nats working on defense and situational plays in the main stadium. 

You cannot accuse the new regime of not trying to improve the defense, but these changes do not happen overnight. Guys are also shaking off rust and have not been in game action for a long time. Errors are going to be inevitable, but I hope to see the Nats play cleaner baseball as we enter March.

Overall, I have been impressed with the Nats early this spring. They are competing hard and seem bought into the new vision. These players have a lot to prove in Spring Training, so I am not totally surprised to see them come out of the gates hot. It is just a few games that don’t count in February, but this week has me looking forward to the start of the season which is just a month away now.