Category: Sports News

Here are the latest updates on current Mets who are playing in the World Baseball Classic...

March 15

USA vs. Dominican Republic

It was not Juan Soto's day at the plate as the Dominican was knocked out of the WBC with a 2-1 loss to the United States in the semis on Sunday night in Miami.

Soto finished 0-for-4 with a strikeout and grounding into a 6-3 double play with runners on first and second to end the fifth inning. He was robbed of a hit to start the fourth inning when ex-teammate Aaron Judgemade a nice diving grab in right.

Of course, the Mets' slugger did have some horrible luck on the strikeout as home plate umpire Cory Blaser called him out on a 1-2 slider from Garrett Whitlock that appeared two inches below the zone.

Soto did have a running grab in the gap in left-center to rob Will Smith of a hit to start the top of the fourth.

Huascar Brazobán continued to have a very strong spring in the WBC and Grapefruit League, as he looks primed to make the Opening Day roster. The right-hander retired all four batters he faced, including striking out the side in the sixth, first getting Smith swinging through a cutter above the zone, Roman Anthony looking at a 96 mph sinker on the corner at the knees, and Brice Turang whiffing on a changeup off the plate.

Brazobán needed just 14 pitches and got four whiffs (on six swings) and four called strikes. 

The USA sealed the win with the tying run on third base thanks to another generous called strike three from Blaser. This time, Mason Miller got Geraldo Perdomo looking at a 3-2 slider that was even lower than the one to Soto.

Juan Soto tracks it down in left field

(via @WBCBaseball) pic.twitter.com/J0vqROHCvB

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 16, 2026

Huascar Brazobán strikes out the side in the 6th

(via @WBCBaseball) pic.twitter.com/EiaQtgyzqM

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 16, 2026

March 13

Dominican Republic vs. Korea

Team DR crushed Korea in the quarterfinals on Friday night, beating them by the mercy rule, 10-0, in just seven innings.

While Yankees catcher Austin Wells delivered the final blow with a walk-off three-run homer, Juan Soto's slide was the highlight of the night.

Soto hit a leadoff single in the third inning and then scored from first base on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s double, using a perfect swim move to avoid the tag at the plate. Korea challenged the safe call, but it was upheld and pushed the Dominican Republic's lead to 4-0.

He finished the game 1-for-4 and is hitting .316 with a 1.090 OPS during the tournament.

The DR will now face the United States, which beat Canada, in the WBC semifinals on Sunday in Miami.

JUAN SOTO WITH THE SWIM MOVE TO SCORE!

(via @WBCBaseball) pic.twitter.com/xZcJIvKYbI

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 13, 2026

USA vs. Canada

Down 5-3 in the ninth, Team Canada asked Mets outfielder Jared Young to pinch-hit. Leading off against Mason Miller, Young fought back from a 0-2 count to work it full.

Young, however, struck out looking on a pitch that may or may not have clipped the inside corner. 

Canada would ultimately lose to the USA and Young's WBC ends with him going 1-for-6 with three strikeouts.

March 11

Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela

Team DR closed pool play with a win on Wednesday, and two Mets were directly involved in the victory. 

Juan Soto got the scoring started, lifting the first of four DR homers on the night, giving them a two-run advantage just three batters into the game.

Venezuela was able to retire Soto in his next two ABs, but he reached on an infield single in the top of the seventh and then drew a two-out walk in the ninth, raising his OPS to 1.233 for the tournament. 

He's also hitting .333 with a double, two homers, and four RBI. 

Huascar Brazoban also enjoyed a strong night on the mound, striking out three batters around a leadoff walk and stolen base in the bottom of the fourth. 

Brazoban has five strikeouts over three scoreless appearances in the tournament. 

The DR will now play Korea in the quarterfinals on Friday night.  

Italy vs. Mexico

Mets prospect Nick Morabito came off the bench as a pinch-hitter late in Italy's victory over Mexico, and he grounded out in his only at-bat. 

It was just Morabito's second appearance of the tournament. 

The Italy victory is good news for Nolan McLean and Clay Holmes, though, as Team USA advanced to the knockout round, where they'll take on Canada on Friday night.  

March 10

Italy vs. USA

Mets rookie Nolan McLean was on the mound starting for Team USA on Tuesday night against Italy. It was the young right-hander's WBC debut and it started off great.

McLean needed just 11 pitches to strike out the side in the first inning. That dominance carried over into the second inning when he got the first two Italian batters to ground out. However, young White Sox catcher Kyle Teel ambushed McLean, swinging at a 96.3 mph fastball in the zone and sending it 347 feet over the Crawford Boxes in Houston's Daikin Park. 

The second inning would get worse for McLean after he hit Jac Caglianone with a pitch and went up against Sam Antonacci. The shortstop squared up McLean's fastball at the top of the plate and sent it 403 feet to give Italy a 3-0 lead.

McLean would have a better third inning. After walking Jakob Marsee to lead off the third, he got Jon Berti to fly out and Vinnie Pasquantino to strikeout looking. After a walk to Dominic Canzone, McLean ended his night getting Zach Dezenzo to ground out.

McLean pitched three innings (55 pitches/34 strikes), allowing the three runs on two hits, two walks and striking out four batters. With Team USA falling 8-6, McLean took the loss.

Israel vs. Netherlands

Young Mets pitcher Ben Simon finished off Israel's 6-2 win over the Netherlands on Tuesday afternoon.

Simon walked three but struck out three in his one inning of work. 

March 9

Mexico vs. USA

A pair of Mets each delivered scoreless innings of effective relief work in Mexico's 5-3 defeat to the Americans on Monday night in Houston.

Alex Carrillo, who made his big league debut for the Mets last season and is on the 40-man roster but assigned to minor league camp, allowed a single and a walk while striking out two in the fourth inning on 23 pitches (14 strikes).

After allowing a leadoff double to Bobby Witt Jr., the 28-year-old got Bryce Harper swinging on a down-and-in splitter. And after walking Aaron Judge, the righty got Kyle Schwarber swinging at another down-and-in splitter before inducing Alex Bregman to pop out to short.

Daniel Duarte, who signed a minor league deal with the Mets this offseason, was charged with getting Mexico through the bottom of the sixth and keeping it a three-run deficit. And the 29-year-old righty walked Witt to start the inning and saw him steal second. Duarte then got Harper swinging through a 97 mph fastball in the zone, and Schwarber to fly out to the big part of the park in center, needing just 15 pitches (eight strikes) to strand the runner.

Venezuela vs. Nicaragua

Mark Vientos went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in Nicaragua's 4-0 loss to Venezuela. In that game, Mets minor league right-hander Carlos Guzman allowed a single and a walk in 0.2 innings for the victors.

Dominican Republic vs. Israel

Juan Soto went hitless in four times up with a walk and a strikeout in a 10-1 win.

Cuba vs. Puerto Rico

MJ Melendez, serving as the DH, went hitless in two at-bats with two walks, a run scored, and a strikeout in a 4-1 win.

Colombia vs. Panama

Jose Ramos, on a minor league deal, had aRBI single in four at-bats with two strikeouts and a run scored in a 4-3 defeat.

March 7

Great Britain vs. USA

In his 2026 WBC debut for Team USA, Clay Holmes looked unstoppable in his three innings of work. The right-hander struck out six, including former Yankee teammate Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the sixth inning, and allowed just one hit while throwing 38 pitches (28 strikes).

Holmes entered in the fourth inning with Team USA down 1-0 after starter Tarik Skubal allowed a run on two hits while striking out five in his three innings of work. Team USA broke through in the bottom of the fifth inning by scoring five runs and taking the lead, which put Holmes in position for the win.

Israel vs. Venezuela

Young Mets pitcher Ben Simon took the mound to start for Israel on Saturday. However, the right-hander's night was short-lived. He allowed four runs on three hits and a walk, and recorded a single out -- a strikeout -- before he was pulled. The big blast was the two-run shot from Eugenio Suarez that gave Venezuela a 4-0 lead that they wouldn't give up. 

Nicaragua vs. Netherlands

Mark Vientos had another tough night at the plate. Starting as the team's DH on Saturday afternoon, Vientos went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. The young Met is still looking for his first WBC hit as the Netherlands walked off Nicaragua, 4-3. 

Clay Holmes strikes out the side in the 5th 💪 pic.twitter.com/JrACacYkD4

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 8, 2026

March 6

Dominican Republic vs. Nicaragua

Juan Soto helped Team Dominican Republic in their WBC-opening game against Nicaragua.

The Mets slugger went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.

Soto did have an error in the outfield that allowed a Nicaraguan run to score, but Team DR still rolled to a 12-3 win.

Mets reliever Huascar Brazoban helped DR by pitching 1.2 scoreless innings in relief of starter Cristopher Sanchez.

On the other side, Mark Vientos went hitless in his four at-bats, but did walk and made a nifty snag at third base to rob Fernando Tatis Jr. of a hit.

Mexico vs. Great Britain

In an earlier game, Mets reliever Alex Carrillo allowed a tying home run to Great Britain in the sixth inning.

Despite that, Carrillo struck out one in his 0.2 innings pitched.

1.2 scoreless innings for Huascar Brazobán with Team Dominican Republic 👏 pic.twitter.com/iEzZHkLO7J

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 7, 2026

When New York Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury issued a letter on Jan. 16 outlining the team’s plan to “retool” the roster, the expectation was that the Blueshirts would be busy ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline. 

That was partly correct. 

The Rangers made a major move before the Olympic break, trading Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Liam Greentree and a conditional third and fourth-round pick.

Panarin was expected to be traded, given that he was set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season, and the Rangers did not intend to offer him a contract extension. 

After Panarin was traded, the attention shifted to Vincent Trocheck, who many expected to get dealt before the March 6th deadline. 

Trocheck even addressed the media earlier this week, where he openly discussed the possibility of moving to a different team and what that might look like. 

On March 5, Trocheck was held out of the Rangers’ lineup due to roster management, as a trade appeared to be imminent. 

However, the Rangers opted not to trade Trocheck despite all of the speculation and retooling direction. 

Drury ultimately wasn’t satisfied with the value Trocheck was generating on the trade market and decided it was best to hold onto him.

“Vincent Trocheck is a great player,” Drury said “He's been a great Ranger for us and a leader on and off the ice. Broadly speaking, to any player in the organization as it pertains to a retool and this trade deadline and moving forward is we're going to make deals that make sense. 

“The deals we made today and leading up to this deadline, to us made sense. Certainly weren't going to make a trade on any player just to say we made a trade. We will always continue to try and make the team better. It certainly doesn't stop today at the 3 o' clock deadline.”

The Rangers were relatively quiet in the days leading up to the trade deadline. 

The Rangers traded Sam Carrick to the Sabres in exchange for a third and sixth-round pick while also sending Brennan Othmann to the Calgary Flames for Jacob Battaglia, but no substantial move outside of the Panarin trade was made by Drury.

Rangers Trade Brennan Othmann To Flames In Exchange For Prospect The New York Rangers have reportedly traded Brennan Othmann to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Jacob Battaglia. 

There still may be seismic shifts to the Rangers’ core on deck, but we’ll have to wait until the offseason to see where this “retool” takes the franchise. 

"There's a certain amount of teams, obviously, that are pushing towards getting in the playoffs. Teams and rosters look to get reset and do different things in the offseason,” Drury said.

“Teams will be looking at free agents and different things, and maybe moving draft picks once picks are set in stone after the lottery and after the playoffs. So, a lot of factors that go into it, and we'll certainly be ready and opportunistic when and where we can."

Sean Manaea worked a ton over the offseason to rediscover his arm slot. 

The left-hander, of course, experienced a breakthrough with the Mets down the stretch in 2024 thanks to a lower slot, but he struggled mightily last season after lowering it even further. 

Manaea battled through a loose body in his elbow, as well. 

Now healthy and back closer to where he was, he’s feeling good. 

“I think it’s good,” he said. “I feel strong, I feel all of these things and I’m not worried about it -- that’s the biggest thing, just going out there and throwing and not worrying if I’m too over the top or too low, so yeah, I feel good about it.”

And Manaea certainly looked as such on Friday as he made his first start of the spring. 

The veteran southpaw gave up a two-out solo homer to Conor Norby in the bottom of the first, but that was it as he worked his way through three efficient innings in a loss to the Marlins.

He struck out just one batter on the night, but stretched out to 33 pitches. 

“I felt good,” Manaea said. “I mean, some pitches need a little work, but I felt healthy, for the most part was throwing strikes -- overall it was a good one to build off of, and just got to continue from there.”

Manaea dipped into his full arsenal but mainly leaned on his cutter, four-seam, and changeup. 

His fastball velo sat a couple of notches below last season's average, but nobody is sweating it after just his first time out. 

“I feel healthy, so I’m not worried,” Manaea said. 

“Not going to make too much out of the first one,” Carlos Mendoza added. “I liked the movement of all of his pitches -- he says he feels really good physically, so no concern.”

The 34-year-old staying healthy and finding his way back to that ’24 form would be a ginormous boost towards helping this rotation. 

TAMPA — The last, but perhaps most anticipated, piece of the Yankees’ projected Opening Day rotation has finally joined the fold. 

Cam Schlittler, slowed earlier in camp by mid-back/left lat inflammation, made his spring debut Friday night, throwing 2 ¹/₃ scoreless innings against the Rays at Steinbrenner Field. 

As long as he continues to bounce back well the rest of the spring, the Yankees believe Schlittler can get built up to throw around 65-80 pitches in his regular-season debut. 

“We got a plan laid out, so I’m very confident that I’m going to be good to go that [first] weekend,” Schlittler said. 

The 25-year-old right-hander brought the heat from the jump, striking out the first batter he faced on three pitches, capped off with a 99.4 mph fastball.

That pitch averaged 98.7 mph across his 39 pitches, scattering two hits and one walk while striking out four. 

But the pitch that may have jumped out the most Friday was Schlittler’s cutter, which he used to strike out a pair of batters. The pitch peaked at 96.5 mph and averaged 94.9 mph, up noticeably from the 91.9 mph it averaged last season. 

“It’s nasty, too,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Couple of his live [batting practices], just standing behind him, it’s kind of wicked. I think if he can get the consistency on that downer curveball that he has, then if you want to count the cutter as the third fastball [along with a four-seam and two-seam], the three fastballs with the curveball, then he gets pretty tough to deal with.” 

Schlittler credited Gerrit Cole with having him split the cutter into two pitches before his final start of the regular season last year, focusing on a harder cutter that he predominantly threw up in the zone. 

“Continue to hopefully keep the velo and location as well,” he said. 

Schlittler has the potential to elevate the Yankees’ rotation this year if he can build off his 14-game cameo last season, when he was called up in July to replace the injured Clarke Schmidt and pitched to a 2.96 ERA the rest of the way. He was even better in the playoffs, delivering an historic performance against his hometown Red Sox in the clinching Game 3 of the AL wild-card series, striking out 12 across eight shutout innings. 

Boone said that Schlittler’s confidence, combined with his competitiveness, is what impressed him the most. 

“He comes up and he’s able to make adjustments without it being stressful,” Boone said. “He was just at ease right away, in the best kind of way.”

A high schooler got the best of Aaron Judge during Friday’s World Baseball Classic matchup between Team USA and Brazil.

Yes, a high schooler.

With the bases loaded in the top of the second inning, 17-year-old right-hander Joseph Contreras — son of former Yankee pitcher Jose Contreras — got Judge to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Contreras fared better against Judge than Brazil starter Bo Takahashi, who gave up a two-run homer to the three-time American League MVP that gave the U.S. an early 2-0 lead.

Despite his brief appearance, Contreras’ outing was impressive, throwing a fastball in the high-90s while giving up one earned run in 1⅓ innings.

Contreras is the youngest player in the entire 2026 WBC, and currently attends Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, Georgia.

According to MLB.com, Contreras is ranked as the No. 47 draft prospect and is committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt.

“He could fit into the top two rounds as one of the higher-ceiling arms in the high school class, though teams will have to sign him away from a Vanderbilt commitment,” Contreras’ MLB.com prospect profile says. “He still has room to pack plenty of muscle on his lanky frame, so he could add more power to his heater and his secondary offerings.”

Contreras’ father, Jose, spent 11 seasons in the big leagues (2003-13), spending time with the Yankees, White Sox, Rockies, Phillies and Pirates.

Across his MLB tenure, Jose posted a 4.57 ERA and 889 strikeouts through 299 appearances, along with having an All-Star appearance in 2006 with the White Sox.

Despite Jose being from Cuba, Joseph is eligible to play for Brazil in the WBC because his mother is Brazilian.