Welcome to Pinstripe Alley’s coverage of the 2026 World Baseball Classic! We previewed Pool A, Pool B, Pool C, and Pool D in the linked articles. Since the first several days of the WBC feature a bevy of games, we’ll be recapping them in batches. Enjoy!

It was wall-to-wall baseball on Friday, the WBC truly exploding into action with eight games on the docket. Tournament favorites USA and Dominican Republic both opened their tournaments with statement wins, their star-studded lineups combining for 27 runs. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s jump right in.

Pool A: Puerto Rico (1-0) 5, Colombia (0-1) 0

Brilliant pitching by the Puerto Rico staff and a five-run fifth inning outburst by their offense told the whole story of this game. 2024 Al Cy Young runner-up Seth Lugo was on the mound for Puerto Rico and he already looked to be in midseason form, leaning on his nine-pitch arsenal to twirl four scoreless innings with Colombia scattering just three hits and a pair of walks. The six relievers that trailed him out of the bullpen followed suit, combining for six scoreless innings allowing just three hits and three walks. Colombia’s best chance to score came in the eighth when they loaded the bases with two outs, but Yankees setup man Fernando Cruz induced a Jordan Diaz fly out to end the threat. Newly-minted Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz stamped an exclamation mark at the end, striking out the side after a leadoff single to nail down the combined shutout, exorcising some of the demons of the season-ending knee injury he suffered during the last WBC.

The Puerto Rico offense is seriously neutered after the likes of Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, and others found themselves unable to participate in the tournament after failing to secure insurance. It certainly looked the case, the Colombia pitchers facing the minimum in seven out of the nine innings. However, that didn’t prevent them from exploding for five runs in the fifth after they got into the Colombia bullpen, the newest Rockies starter Jose Quintana having thrown three scoreless to start the game. Carlos Cortes and Darell Hernaiz led off with a pair of singles, the former scoring on a Gio Urshela fielding error at third on an Emmanuel Rivera grounder. Eddie Rosario followed with a single of his own to plate Hernaiz, and after a Matthew Lugo groundout, Martín Maldonado came through with the fourth single of the frame to score Rivera. Following a pitching change, Willi Castro doubled to right to bring Rosario home and advance Maldonado to third, who was then able to jog home on a Heliot Ramos sac fly to deep right.

Pool A: Dominican Republic (1-0) 12, Nicaragua (0-1) 3

Cristopher Sánchez finished runner-up to Paul Skenes in last year’s NL Cy Young balloting, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way he struggled against Nicaragua in the early innings of this game. He loaded the bases surrendering two singles and a walk with one out in the first, and though a strikeout-wild pitch allowed the opening run of the game to score, it also allowed Sánchez to become one of a few pitchers in WBC history to record four strikeouts in an inning. His offense grabbed the lead in the bottom half on a Ketel Marte RBI double and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. RBI groundout, only for Sánchez to cough it back up in the second. Cristian Sandoval led off with a single, Freddy Zamora doubled him home, and a Chase Dawson single to left and subsequent fielding error from Juan Soto plated Zamora as Nicaragua retook the lead.

From that point on, it was all Dominican Republic. Julio Rodríguez leveled the scores at three apiece with a two-out RBI single in the third. Junior Caminero gave his team their second lead with a two-run bomb in the sixth after Manny Machado led off with a double.

Vlad drove in his second run of the game in the seventh with a sac fly with the bases loaded, though Caminero left the bases juiced when he grounded into the inning-ending double play. It all proved a prelude to the DR’s six-run eighth to make a laugher out of a game that was close throught the first five innings. Rodríguez kicked things off with a leadoff home run and Oneil Cruz — pinch-hitting for Marte — followed with a 450-foot, three-run missile to right after Geraldo Perdomo walked and Fernando Tatis Jr. singled. Soto walked and Vlad collected his third RBI with a double to left, and after Machado drew a walk, Rodríguez came to bat for the second time in the inning, picking up his third RBI of the contest with a single to drive Vlad home.

Pool A: United States (1-0) 15, Brazil (0-1) 5

You want your captain to set the tone in tournament opener, so of course Aaron Judge homered in his first ever WBC at-bat. Judge declined to participate in the last tournament, but was the first player to commit to the team this time around, manager Mark DeRosa hand-selecting the three-time AL MVP to be the team captain, a role he already holds with the Yankees. After Bobby Witt Jr. singled to open the contest, Judge got the green light, 3-0, and leaned on a sweeper right down the middle, sending it 405 feet into the stands in right for a two-run blast.

They had to feel good handing a two-run lead to one of the most consistent starters in MLB over the last few years in Logan Webb. It took him a batter to settle into his outing, surrendering a leadoff home run to Lucas Ramirez — at 20 years old the youngest of Manny Ramirez’s three sons — but Webb would then retire the next 12 batters he faced, six by strikeout. It was certainly a day to remember for the Ramirez the younger, the High-A right fielder in the Angels system smacking his second solo shot of the game in the eighth off Michael Wacha, this pair of home runs made all the more remarkable by the fact that Ramirez has all of three home runs to his name in his professional career.

Ramirez wasn’t the only son of a former big leaguer to impress for Brazil. Joseph Contreras is the son of former Yankees pitcher Jose Contreras, and at just 17 years old he is still a senior in high school in Georgia. However, he seemed unfazed by the moment, pumping in 97 mph fastballs and a nasty vulcan grip forkball right out of his father’s playbook. With the bases loaded in second, he broke Judge’s bat, getting the USA captain to ground into the inning-ending double play.

Other than a Victor Mascai two-run homer in the seventh off Gabe Speier to briefly make a contest of this game, those were about all the highlights for Brazil. A super-patient approach by the entire US lineup, a home plate umpire whose zone clearly favored the home team, and a trepidatious Brazil pitching staff terrified of making mistakes in the zone combined to create one of the most remarkable (and admittedly painful) on-base displays in recent WBC memory. The US lineup combined to draw 17 walks including five free passes/hit-by-pitches with the bases loaded. Brazil’s nine pitchers combined to throw 221 pitches, and you seriously worry how they are going to make it through pool play.

USA’s biggest outburst came in the fifth and ninth, when they scored four and seven runs, respectively. Brice Turang’s three-run double was the big blow in the fifth — part of a 3-for-6 day with four RBIs for the Brewers infielder. Kyle Schwarber and Roman Anthony each contributed a pair of singles, the latter driving in a pair on the night. Judge finished the day 1-for-4 with the homer, two walks, two RBIs, and three runs scored.

It was hardly a flawless performance from Team USA, with the offense going 5-for-21 with runners in scoring position and stranding 13 men on base. However, this patient approach looks like it can grind down any pitching staff, and we see the offense they are capable of at the end of games. (Shoutout to Brazil and anyone who had them out-homering the US on their bingo card.)

Pool A: Chinese Taipei (1-2) 14, Czech Republic (0-3) 0

The nightcap featured the two early doormats of the tournament, and poor Czechia can’t catch a break. After some strange scheduling conspired to have them play a day game after a night game (both losses), they found themselves on the receiving end of a drubbing by Chinese Taipei, themselves still smarting from getting mercy ruled by Japan earlier in the day.

Chinese Taipei ambushed Czechia starter Jan Novak for six runs in the first two innings and continued to pour it one from their as Czechia’s offense simply had no answer. Tsung-Che Cheng and Stuart Fairchild singled to open the contest. A double steal attempt and throwing error by the catcher allowed Cheng to score the game’s opening run, and a Yu Chang single plated Fairchild as the second run of the frame. In the second, Chen-Wei Chen singled while Tsung-Che Cheng and Cheng-Hui Sung drew a pair of two-out walks, setting up a Fairchild grand slam, a feat he never achieved in his 277 major league games.

After a brief reprieve in the third, Chinese Taipei put their foot back on the accelerator in the fourth. Chang drove in another pair that frame one a two-out line drive single to center, and then in the fifth, Lyle Lin doubled to lead off, advanced to third on a Kun-Yu Chiang single, and scored on a Chen sac fly. That set up a five-run blitz in the sixth that brought this game to a merciful end for the Czechs. Fairchild drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and scored on a single from Chang, his fourth RBI of the contest. Czech relievers then plunked back-to-back hitters to load the bases, after which a Chiang walk plated a run and a Chen double brought home a further pair. Cheng rolled over a soft grounder to score the 14th and final run of the game, which ended after seven innings thanks to the mercy rule in effect for the tournament.

It’s another action-packed day of baseball on Saturday, with another eight-game slate for all our enjoyment. Just like we did yesterday, we will break down the recaps into two posts, one for the first four games of the day, followed by a recap of the four late games to run later on (likely tomorrow morning). Here’s what to look forward to today:

South Korea vs. Japan (Pool C)
Pitching matchup: RHP Young Pyo Ko vs. LHP Yusei Kikuchi
Time: 5:00 a.m. ET
TV: FS1
Venue: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan

Colombia vs. Canada (Pool A)
Pitching matchup: RHP Julio Teheran vs. RHP Michael Soroka
Time: 11:00 a.m. ET
TV: FS2
Venue: Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, PR

Nicaragua vs. Netherlands (Pool D)
Pitching matchup: RHP Erasmo Ramírez vs. RHP Jaitoine Kelly
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: Tubi
Venue: loanDepot park, Miami, FL

Brazil vs. Italy (Pool B)
Pitching matchup: TBD vs. LHP Sam Aldegheri
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
TV: Fox Sports App
Venue: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

Panama vs. Puerto Rico (Pool A)
Pitching matchup: RHP Ariel Jurado vs. LHP Eduardo Rivera
Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
Venue: Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, PR

Israel vs. Venezuela (Pool D)
Pitching matchup: RHP Ben Simon vs. LHP Enmanuel De Jesus
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS2
Venue: loanDepot park, Miami, FL

Great Britain vs. United States (Pool B)
Pitching matchup: RHP Tyler Viza vs. LHP Tarik Skubal
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Venue: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea (Pool C)
Pitching matchup: TBD
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS2
Venue: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan

Sean Manaea finally made his spring debut against the Marlins. He was solid in his three innings of work but the offense was stymied by Marlins pitching.

• Manaea’s final line against the Marlins was 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• Craig Kimbrel pitched a clean inning and struck out two in his appearance
• Devin Williams walked one and struck out one in his one inning of work
• A.J. Ewing went 1-for-3 with a stolen base while also making a nice diving catch in left field
• Carson Benge went 1-for-4

Next up Kodai Senga will make his first appearance this spring against the Cardinals in Jupiter, Florida. Game action kicks off at 1:05pm.

Roki Sasaki has been a mess in his first two starts this spring, still working through some new pitches and fighting his command, having through 38 strikes and 43 balls thus far in Cactus League play, allowing seven runs and recording 10 outs.

Sasaki has expressed confidence in his mechanics and the coming adjustments, and the Dodgers have every intention of having him in the opening day rotation.

Michael Baumann at FanGraphs looked at Sasaki’s mechanics and his new pitches (a cutter, plus a smattering of a sinker), and has been worried at the results thus far:

And now, Sasaki’s release point is drifting. Instead of getting the ball out at full extension, his arm is drifting out and up. That’s going to affect movement and command, but it’s also going to hurt the perceived velocity on his fastball: an even 100 mph during last year’s postseason, down to 98.5 mph now.

Let’s see how these next three spring starts go.

Tyler Kepner at The Athletic walked through the slew of decisions from Game 7 of the World Series with manager Dave Roberts, plus a handful of players involved as well. It’s a fantastic look back, paired with Kepner weaving similar decisions from other World Series for comparison.

From Kepner:

“I talk to our guys every day about playing for something bigger, and I try to remind myself all the time that I’m a baseball fan first,” Roberts said. “And yes, I’m going to manage to win and make our players better. But I don’t ever want to lose sight of how great this game is.”

Minor league right-hander Christian Zazueta talked with Jesús Cano at Baseball America about potentially pitching for Mexico in the next World Baseball Classic, and also about potentially playing with the Dodgers in Los Angeles:

“It’s like playing at home,” Zazueta said. “Even in the minors, I’ve seen so much support from a lot of the Mexican fans. It makes being part of this organization even more special.”

Zazueta is on the preliminary list of Dodgers prospects available for the spring breakout game, which will be Saturday, March 21 against the White Sox at Camelback Ranch.

MLB Pipeline unveiled its updated Dodgers top-30 prospect list, which included Zazeuta at 10th in the system, after being outside the top 30 before last season. Said Jim Callis of MLB.com: “Roughed up in his first crack at Single-A in 2024, he dominated in his return at age 20 and already is one of the system’s more polished pitchers.”

At this point in spring training, the starting second baseman remains a mystery, but Red Sox fans should be ready to go along for the ride. Bring an open mind and a hopefulness that comes from knowing that the Sox seem poised to get better contributions from the keystone position than they have been in some time. Instead of making assumptions and predictions, which Alex Cora himself has been discouraging, let’s lay out what we know.

What Do We Know About Second Base in 2026?

We know a lot, even if nothing is set in stone.

The first thing to know: the Red Sox have lots of options. The two primary ones are Caleb Durbin and Marcelo Mayer. Durbin came over from the Brewers primarily as a third baseman, which is the position Mayer (a natural shortstop) temporarily took over during Alex Bregman’s absence last season.

Next, Alex Cora hasn’t made any promises to anybody. He’s deliberately played both Durbin and Mayer at second, as well as at third. He’s challenged Mayer publicly to step up his game and win a spot on the roster, without indicating where that spot could be.

Also, the Sox made a long-overdue institutional decision to strengthen their defense at all levels. This resulted in several offseason acquisitions of glove-first players, rather than the clear power bat most expected after Bregman’s departure. Clearly there isn’t room for all of these players in Boston (and maybe not even at the minor-league level), but the Red Sox have depth options now that they didn’t previously have. The infield is nothing if not deep, and most of these players can play other positions.

That segues to injuries. The Red Sox have already had two that affect the second base position directly: Romy González and new pickup Brendan Rodgers.

The trends so far for 2026 seem to be defense, versatility, and depth. A head-spinning array of options is just how Alex Cora likes it, and a deep bench and Triple-A team will proactively address injuries. The Red Sox weren’t prepared in past seasons and were forced to call up Quad-A players far too often for far too long.

The Starter

Well, we’re not sure yet. But that’s okay. As Alex Cora said earlier in spring training: “Everybody is competing for something here and I think the roster will dictate what we do.”

He has steadfastly refused to be pinned down about the infield, playing both Durbin and Mayer at second and third, and saying things like: “It’s not a given that [Mayer’s] second baseman or third baseman for this team.”

The Red Sox officially haven’t made any decisions yet, but there are clues all over the place…or are they red herrings? And some of the clues contradict each other. Both Durbin and Mayer are versatile: Mayer is originally a shortstop and covered third base for the Sox when Alex Bregman was injured last season. In that small sample size, he had 3 OAA. Durbin has played second, third, and short in the minors but was primarily a third baseman in Milwaukee. Comparing their time at third base (both relatively small sample sizes, as Durbin is only entering his second year in MLB), Avery Hamel notes that Mayer might be the more agile fielder, which could give him an edge at getting the job at second base.

The Bench

Romy González is injured, so we’ll put him aside for now. Look for him to return to his spot on the bench and to doing his share of mashing lefties when he’s ready.

For a short time, it looked as though Isiah Kiner-Falefa might be the starting second baseman, or at least platoon with González. Durbin’s arrival has changed the infield equation, and that’s to Izzy’s liking. He embraces his role as a super utility player and wants to be among the best there is in 2026. He’ll spend time at second, third, and short.

Andruw Monasterio is another Swiss Army knife, but his primary positions are second and third base. He’s had a good spring and likely positioned himself to take Romy Gonzalez’s spot on the bench, especially since he hit lefties well in 68 games with the Brewers. If not, he’ll spend significant time in Worcester, working on his pop—which hasn’t been a problem at all in spring training. If he goes to Worcester, he’ll be a spot call-up, and will also help in developing minor league players like Mikey Romero.

Though his primary positions are outfield and third base, don’t be surprised to see Nate Eaton slot in occasionally at second. There’s no denying his speed, versatility, and the way he contributed down the stretch in 2025.

Minor League Depth and Other Options

It’s hard to know if Nick Sogard will win a spot on the bench or begin the season in Worcester. With Monasterio’s hot spring, Worcester seems most likely for Sogard, but expect to see him as a callup at second base as needed.

Mickey Gasper is another utility guy, a switch hitter who is primarily a catcher but who has played second base in a handful of games at the MLB level. He’s had a good spring. Look for Cora to use his versatility with the glove and bat from time to time, but he’ll mostly be stationed in Worcester.

Anthony Seigler is yet another recent arrival who could play second or third. Craig Breslow has had only good things to say about Seigler, who performed well in Triple A last season for the Brewers.

Claimed off waivers as a glove-first guy, Tsung-Che Cheng is another insurance policy at various positions, including second base. He’s currently representing Chinese Taipei in the World Baseball Classic and came off the bench in their only game. With all of the options the Red Sox have available, Cheng will start 2026 in Worcester.

Vinny Capra is another versatile infielder who can play second, third, and short. He’s a glove-first player who doesn’t hit. He will help with developing young minor leaguers but won’t see much (or any) time at the big-league level.

Although Cora praised Brendan Rodgers’ defense and expressed hope that he’d unlock some offense, the frequently injured Rodgers will almost certainly require surgery on his shoulder after a spring training dive went wrong. His future for the 2026 season, let alone at the MLB level, is uncertain at best. He signed a one-year contract with the Red Sox, and may never play for them outside of spring training.

The Future

The same theme emerges: versatile players who can play multiple positions. Mikey Romero and Franklin Arias seem to be the future of the infield in one way or another. Romero plays second, third, and short. Though he’ll probably start the season in Triple A, he is likely to see a callup in 2026 as another utility infielder. Arias is primarily a shortstop who occasionally handles second base. We won’t see him this year, but he is likely to anchor the Red Sox infield in some way down the line.

Who Definitely Won’t Play Second Base?

It’s useful to consider who won’t play second. Not only is this category easier to predict, but it’s also helpful to see the path the Sox have traveled to arrive at a point of much-needed depth.

The many second-base options at this point are partly a testament to kicking the tires in spring training, and also to Alex Cora’s devotion to moving players around and making aggressive moves with matchups. But these Not Second Basemen are worth noting:

• Thankfully, David Hamilton has returned to Milwaukee from whence he came, removing Cora’s deep and abiding temptation to get him into the lineup.
• We can also expect not to see Ceddanne Rafaela at second in 2026. Although this promise was made early in the offseason, it became a possibility again after Alex Bregman decamped to Chicago. However, the front office has worked hard to bring in needed depth. With the quantity of infielders and utility players who have arrived, Rafaela should stay firmly in center field where he belongs, and where he can help the team most.
• Less confidently, Kristian Campbell can be added to this list. After 2025, Campbell has most likely converted into an outfielder/first baseman. He looked awkward at second, and the experiment ultimately affected his play and confidence. The Sox may have learned a lesson about quick promotions and asking too much of a player, a very young one at that.

What About the Offense?

We don’t need a table to know that not a single one of these players are so-called big bats. They are glove-first, which will bring its own rewards like cleanly fielding all the ground balls generated by Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suárez, Sonny Gray, and Brayan Bello. Durbin consistently gets on base, so no matter what position he plays, look for him to do that and get driven home. Mayer has yet to prove what he’s capable of offensively. It’s still too early in his career to make any predictions there.

Don’t think the Red Sox have lost speed at second with Hamilton’s departure and González’s injury. Spring training has brought reports about Mayer’s speed, and Durbin is highly regarded for his speed but even more for his baserunning smarts. Eaton’s speed is a known quantity, should he get time at second (and is a lock to steal bases no matter where he plays). Given the likely roster makeup, look for an increased emphasis on manufacturing runs: out of Durbin’s singles, stolen bases, and turning on the speed to stretch out base hits.

Around the AL East

There’s been a lot of turnover at second base in the AL East since October; possibly only Jazz Chisholm, Jr. of the Yankees will look familiar as a regular. Jackson Holliday broke his hamate bone in spring training, so the Orioles will rely on depth to start the season. Like the Red Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays also find themselves considering multiple options, partly because of Ernie Clement’s red-hot 2025 postseason. Andrés Giménez, the primary second baseman last season, and Davis Schneider are in the mix too. Gavin Lux, offseason addition to the Tampa Bay Rays, is expected to be the primary second baseman as they return to Tropicana Field, but the team has taken a slow approach with him during spring training due to upper body soreness, so it’s difficult to say. He may share time with Richie Palacios. With all these unknowns, including for the Red Sox of course, it’s impossible to attempt any rankings at this point. Let’s put in a pin it for now and circle back later, after the Sox infield settles into some kind of groove.

Second base has gone from being a black hole in 2025 to the great unknown, and it’s exciting. Let’s go.

Chad Baker-Mazara is the poster child for 2026 college athletics. A 26-year-old basketball mercenary at his fifth school, Baker-Mazara is the average age of an NBA player. Dismissed from USC for disciplinary reasons, Mazara makes the “student athlete” moniker laughable. He is obviously nothing more than a professional basketball player not good enough to play in the NBA.

Mark S. Roth
Playa Vista

Chad Baker-Mazara is 26 years old. USC is the fifth school he has played for, with a spotty (at best) record at each. So USC dismisses him for a number of reasons and Gilbert Arenas is quoted as saying "when you the best player on the team, whatever you say, you right." So forgive and forget?

School number six coming up.

Bert Bergen
La Cañada

So Gilbert Arenas says “when you the best player on the team, whatever you say, you right.”

So in other words you can be disruptive, not hustle, ignore your coach, etc., because you’re the “star” of the team.

Alijah Arenas, please do not listen to your father.

Oscar Rosalez
Diamond Bar

True blue

Bill Shaikin’s suggestion that Freddie Freeman wear a Dodger cap on his inevitable Hall of Fame plaque will be even more appropriate if Freeman becomes the first player to collect hit number 3,000 while wearing Dodger blue.

With Freeman needing only 569 more hits to get to his stated goal of at least 3,000 — barring a long-term lockout in 2027 or the unthinkable, a failure to extend Freddie’s contract by at least two more years — he should reach that milestone in 2029.

Ken Feldman
Tarzana

Helping hand

The Dodgers' efforts in helping former player Andrew Toles and his mental health condition are truly commendable.
More major league teams should follow suit similarly should their current and former players need this kind of support.

These types of humanitarian actions are why our Dodgers are looked upon so favorably in the baseball community, and why most players don’t hesitate in joining them should they have the chance.

Marty Zweben
Palos Verdes Estates

Kudos to the Dodgers for placing Andrew Toles on its restricted list these past years. Now is the time to really step up to the plate and pay for his health insurance going forward.

Felice Klein
Northridge

What the Halo?

I just read Bill Shaikin's column on the Angels and Zach Neto. In it, Angels owner Arte Moreno was quoted as saying that among Angels fans' priorities for the organization “winning is not in their top five.”

I almost dropped my coffee on my lap reading that one. Who did he poll to get that ridiculous response? Dodgers fans at a Dodgers game? If winning was not even in their “top five” what was?

Speaking as a very long-suffering Angels fan, I can tell you what my No. 1 priority is for the organization. Somehow get Arte Moreno to sell the team to a serious owner who does want to make winning the priority and not just an apparent tax writeoff for himself.

Chuck Lucero
Thousand Oaks

Bill Shaikin's column on Zach Neto and the Angels says all there is to know about the Angels poorly run organization. The owner says the fans do not care much about winning, and obviously neither does he. The GM refuses to talk, but the failure to sign or even offer a good young infielder speaks volumes. Will the Angels owner and front office ever wake up?

Bill Francis
Pasadena

There’s no doubt that the Angels’ Zach Neto is talented and a cornerstone for the team to build around. But in Bill Shaikin’s article, he’s quoted as saying, “I am going to be where my feet are every day, and that is here, with the city of Los Angeles and with the Angels.”

It seems like he has Arte Moreno disease, wanting to be in L.A., but living in the Orange County. Zach, if you don’t know where you are, you won’t know when you get there.

Bob Kargenian
Yorba Linda

What're the odds?

When Mirjam Swanson writes about the Lakers, "They're 1-8 against the league's top four teams," and Thuc Nhi Nguyen reports, "Five of the Lakers' next eight games are against the three teams directly ahead of them in the Western Conference," how am I supposed to like the Lakers' chances?

Vaughn Hardenberg
Westwood

Reign of pain

The Kings’ future is very dim with ownership (AEG) that doesn’t care about the success of the team and management that is clearly misguided. If only there was a partnership (Guggenheim) out there (Guggenheim) with a proven local team ownership record (Guggenheim) that could step in and begin the top to bottom house cleaning this organization desperately needs!

Nick Rose
Newport Coast

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The age of the Cardinals position player core could be the team’s secret weapon in 2026. While the roster is young, this isn’t a team built around 20- and 21-year-olds that are expected to contribute immediately. The projected starters on the position player side of things are all either in their prime or about to enter it. JJ Wetherholt is the youngest projected starting position player entering his age 23 season. On the other end of the spectrum, Lars Nootbaar, once healthy, will be the grizzled veteran of the bunch at 28 years old. This tight cluster of ages on the position player side prompted me to ask a couple of questions: 

1. How much more likely are we to see a career year from one of these players because of where they are on the aging curve?  

2. How does the age distribution of the team’s position players compare to rivals in the NL Central? 

One of the criticisms of the Cardinals over the last three seasons has been their overreliance on aging veterans and young players not ready to contribute at the big league level, with very few players in their mid-twenties. We are all familiar with the idea that players improve in their early 20s and decline after 30, as a general rule. As you would expect, players are far more likely to put up a career year in their mid-to-late 20s than any other time. I looked at data, courtesy of FanGraphs, from 1900 to 2025 to see at what age players are most likely to put up a career high in WAR.

Data notes: This is limited to players that have at least one season of 2+ WAR. Any season with 300+ plate appearances was included for players that have completed their age 34 season as of 2025.  

This chart simply shows in aggregate at which age players have posted their career high in WAR. You can see a fairly normal distribution peaking around age 27. Overall, 81% of career years occur between the ages of 24 and 31. 

Another way to slice the data is to see what a player’s chances are in any given season of posting a career year. 

Paul Goldschmidt defied the odds and put up an MVP year in his age 34 season in 2022. This is the exception that proves the rule and the next two seasons were a case study on why relying on older players can backfire. Goldschmidt’s decline also coincided with Jordan Walker debuting at 21, leaving the Cardinals relying on players either too early in their careers or too late in them.    

How the NL Central Stacks Up

So, how do the Cardinals compare to their Central Division rivals? To estimate this, I looked at the FanGraphs Depth Charts projections for the 2026 season. This projection allocates a full season of plate appearances (6,240 per team) based on current depth charts for each team. Looking at the projected plate appearances and the age of the players, we can get a sense of the general shape of the rosters. 

This table outlines the percent of each team’s plate appearances that are expected from each age group. The Cardinals are projected to get 9% of the team plate appearances from 18- to 23-year-olds, all of which belong to JJ Wetherholt. 86% of the team’s plate appearances are projected to be taken by 24 to 31-year-olds led by Masyn Winn (24), Alec Burleson (27), and Ivan Herrera (26). The 5% in the 32+ category all belong to Ramon Urias. The Cardinals leading the division in projected plate appearances from players in their prime provides a glimmer of hope that this roster could produce a few career years. 

The 24-31 age bracket is probably the best way to identify players in their prime for the upcoming season, but there is obviously a huge difference between the 24- and 31-year-olds for a team’s long-term prospects. Breaking things down in a bit more granularity paints an even more descriptive picture.

A couple of things that jump out to me when looking at this breakdown:

• The Pirates’ Konnor Griffin is the only player in the division 21 or younger projected to get an at-bat this year. Pittsburgh has a surprisingly old position player group outside of Griffin.
• Milwaukee’s projected 69% of team plate appearances from the 26-29 demographic is tops not only in the division, but also in all of baseball. Small market teams will have to dominate this bracket of players because teams like the Brewers are unlikely to get much production from star free agents that are still producing into their 30s. 
• Chicago has a great roster, but they are going to get old fast with Dansby Swanson (32), Alex Bregman (32), Ian Happ (31), Seiya Suzuki (31), and Carson Kelly providing roughly half the team’s plate appearances and projected value. This is certainly not a problem in the short-term as teams like the Dodgers and Phillies have even older rosters, but if they don’t increase their payroll, they may be gliding into a rebuild over the coming seasons. 

A roster full of players in their prime doesn’t guarantee success, the players still have to perform, but it does provide some upside that might not be obvious when scanning the roster. The Central Division will remain open for the taking over the next decade unless the Cubs start spending like a top-tier team. The Cardinals may not have the star power of some National League contenders, but their roster construction places them squarely in the part of the aging curve where players are most likely to produce their best seasons. With 86% of their projected plate appearances coming from players between 24 and 31, St. Louis has more hitters in their statistical prime than any other team in the division. If even a couple of those players reach their peak in the same season, the Cardinals’ offense could look much better than many projections currently expect.

Did you happen to see the lineup that the Phillies put out yesterday against the Pirates? Sure they won in a 14-10 barnburner, but man did that scorecard contain a lot of names that will be forgotten in a few short weeks. Such is life in the WBC spring training.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Keaton Anthony has been getting some BP looks in left field this spring ($). He tried it during a game Thursday; it didn’t go well.
• The Cristopher Sanchez-Curtis Mead trade takes at the time have not aged well. A lesson in being patient with trades rather than make snap judgements ($).
• Jhoan Duran still won’t discuss what his new pitch actually is, even if we kind of already know thanks to Statcast.

MLB news:

• Jeremy Pena will miss the WBC for the Dominican Republic with a fractured finger tip. A sizeable blow for the DR’s roster.
• Whenever there is a suspension for PED usage, the takes on the situation can range from considered to outlandish. Let’s place this one closer to the latter ($).
• The Angels are the latest team to try their own television channel. Maybe the people watching it won’t care about winning either.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked fans who they think will round out the 13 position players on Milwaukee’s roster come opening day.

As a reminder, here’s a quick run down who should make the roster.

1. William Contreras (C)
2. Gary Sánchez (C)
3. Andrew Vaughn (1B)
4. Jake Bauers (1B)
5. Brice Turang (2B)
6. Joey Ortiz (SS)
7. Luis Rengifo (3B)
8. David Hamilton (UTIL)
9. Jackson Chourio (OF)
10. Sal Frelick (OF)
11. Garrett Mitchell (OF)
12. Christian Yelich (DH/OF)

With those 12 in mind, I left our fans with four options for the survey: Akil Baddoo, Tyler Black, Brandon Lockridge, and Blake Perkins. Here’s what the results showed:

It was a pretty solid four-way race, though Perkins prevailed with 40% of the vote. He was followed by Black (32%), Lockridge (17%), and Baddoo (11%). It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise for a few reasons.

Firstly, Perkins is the most experienced Brewer. While Baddoo has more major league experience, Perkins has been in the fold for Milwaukee for the last three seasons, spanning 242 career games with a .232/.314/.339 lin to go with 13 homers, 82 RBIs, 107 runs, and 35 steals along with plus-plus defense. Lockridge and Black both have less than a full season of experience, and Baddoo has only appeared in 38 MLB games the last two seasons (and just seven in 2025).

Second, Perkins is easily the best defensive player of the group. While Lockridge and Baddoo can hold their own, Black is a below-average defender, and Milwaukee’s preference for solid defense is arguably greater than any other team in baseball. Perkins was an NL Gold Glove finalist in 2024 and probably could have been a finalist in 2023 and 2025 had he played enough games to qualify. All you need to see is him cutting Starling Marte (still one of the fastest players in baseball at 36) down at the plate in the ninth to beat the Mets last season.

Disagree with the results? Feel free to weigh in with your opinion in the comments. Thanks for participating in our Reacts survey, and be sure to use FanDuel Sportsbook for all of your sports betting needs.

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