The Colorado Rockies have been busy lately with the signing of free agent pitcher Michael Lorenzen and the reported signing of utilityman Willi Castro. It’s been clear that the Rockies are hoping to build a team in 2026 that affords them the ability to let the young players of 2025 get more time to develop properly. It’s been about gaining depth with players that can allow them to rebuild a bit more smoothly this season.

The starting rotation remains the main area of focus as the team is interested in adding another starting pitcher in the same vein as Lorenzen. While it’s very unlikely they go after the high-profile, there are still several available free agents that could still be helpful in 2026. Particularly, there is one familiar face that could be an interesting flyer if both sides are willing to take a chance.

Left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson has settled into a fairly solid arm since his days with the Rockies. The Rockies’ 20th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Anderson turned in three solid years with the organization before an injury took him down in 2019. He became a journeyman over the next few years, once he was healthy, spending stints with the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Los Angeles Angels. In his career, Anderson, now 36, has posted 17.3 WAR per Baseball Reference and owns a career 4.30 ERA through 231 games, including 223 starts, and was an All-Star in 2022 and 2024.

So, why could he be a fit for the new look Rockies?

Well, one of the first things that sticks out is that he is a relatively reliable innings eater. Now, he isn’t going to go out and deal 200 innings, but he can regularly take the ball every five days and throw five or six innings a game. Since 2018, he has worked at least 130 innings in each full season and made at least 25 starts. His career high of 179 1/3 innings came just recently in 2024. In 2025, Anderson made 26 starts and failed to complete at least five innings just seven times. Of those seven starts, he failed to record at least one out in the fifth inning just twice. For a backend veteran starter, that’s the kind of length the Rockies need in 2026 that they have been lacking for several years now.

Giving length is a useful skill, but what about the run prevention? Obviously, Anderson isn’t going to go out and throw up zeros night after night. He only had four scoreless outings on the year, but for a backend starter, that’s not necessarily required. The job of any starter, particularly one in Colorado, is to mitigate damage and keep things from spiraling out of control. Anderson has continued to do that in his career, and last season, he allowed more than four runs in a start just three times. He gave the Angels plenty of chances to win games, but bullpen failures and a rough offense just couldn’t offset some nights.

Still, Anderson can be effective on the mound and give you a chance to win a game if the offense can keep pace with the opposition. But the inner workings of Anderson’s game should still be intriguing for the new age Rockies.

Per Statcast, he finished with the 16th-lowest hard-hit rate in baseball last season. He remains around league average in Whiff rate with 25%, but places in the 68th percentile in Chase rate with 29.8%. He manages to limit hard contact and gets a decent number of ground balls and fly balls. He manages to do this with an arsenal of pitches to work with.

Anderson is the definition of a soft-tossing lefty. Over his 10-year career, nothing has really changed in terms of the overall velocity of usage of his pitches. The fastball roughly sits at 89 mph while he deploys an assortment of offspeed and breaking pitches. His changeup has been a particularly solid offering against right-handed batters. In all, he has roughly six pitches at his disposal that he could tinker with and deploy that could give the new pitching leadership more info to chew on.

There is a sense of familiarity that could also help the combined collaborative effort the Rockies are fostering now. Anderson has the reputation of being a studious pitcher, constantly taking notes and reflecting on his outings. He is a student of the game, a professor continuously trying to hone his craft and perfect his approach. That type of mentality would play well with the Rockies, as he can impart some knowledge not just from his time in other organizations, but also from Colorado. In 46 appearances at Coors Field, a total of 258 2/3 innings, Anderson sports a 4.04 ERA.

Now, of course, it’s worth pointing out some of the concerns. One of the main ones is that Anderson is not a pitcher who will strike out batters. With a career 19.4% strikeout rate, Anderson has at least been consistent in that department, but 2025 saw the lowest rate of his career at 17.4%. His career walk rate does come in under league average, but over the last three years with the Angels, he had at least a 9.5% walk rate.

Additionally, home runs have always been a concern for Anderson. In 2018, he led the league with 30 home runs allowed, but to his credit, he has reigned things in a bit and been more consistent, but last season some a spike in home runs. Coincidentally, his fly ball rates have also increased over the last few years.

It’s always going to be risky picking up a player who is pitch-to-contact, especially at Coors Field. Anderson would need to truly perfect his execution and utilize his defense accordingly. But that’s the type of problem that the new regime is eager to figure out and Anderson could easily fit the mold of what they are trying to do.

The biggest question would concern the price. Per Spotrac, Anderson’s market value is projected to be roughly $6.97 million. That’s not an awful amount for a one-year deal that he might have to settle for, but it’s unclear how much more the Rockies are willing to spend on the big league roster. Still, he’s an affordable free agent that could be worth serious consideration at that price.

Ultimately, the Rockies need another arm. I like Anderson because he is familiar, has carved out a nice career, is relatively cheap, and would add another lefty to the rotation to re-join Kyle Freeland. He’s older and wiser and could be a unique fit to help mentor the young pitchers on the team while bringing back some of the magic of the 2017 and 2018 seasons. 2026 is all about throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, and Anderson is worthy of joining that discussion.

Freeland embracing all of the Rockies’ changes | MLB.com

We’ve heard a lot about how the organization is excited about the new additions to the coaching staff for pitching, but we haven’t heard as much from the players. Well, count Kyle Freeland as someone who bought in and is extremely excited about the new direction for the Rockies. Thomas Harding caught up with Freeland to discuss his thoughts on the team’s new front office.

Marlins acquire starter Bradley Blalock from Rox | MLB.com

When the Rockies made the signing of Michael Lorenzen official, Bradley Blalock was designated for assignment. After a few days, the team was able to swing a deal with the Miami Marlins, acquiring minor league pitcher Jake Brooks in return for Blalock.

Affected by Altitude Episode 196: Willi or Won’t He? | Rocky Mountain Rooftop

This week, Evan Lang and I discuss the finalization of Lorenzen’s signing, what Willi Castro’s signing signals for the Rockies and what other moves they may still need to make, while also talking about the return of Nolan Arenado to the NL West alongside the Dodgers spending big on Kyle Tucker.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Good morning.

• In case you haven’t heard, the White Sox and the Mets made a trade late last night. The White Sox sent outfielder Luis Robert Jr. to Queens for infielder Luisangel Acuña and right-hander Truman Pauley.
• The big news, however, was that outfielders Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones were elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
• Here are the complete voting results.
• Anthony DiComo has a recap of Beltrán’s career. Beltrán wis the sixth Puerto Rican to be inducted into Cooperstown.
• Beltrán has not decided yet whether he wants a Mets or Royals cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.
• Jake Mintz says Beltrán’s election shows that the voters, at least, have forgiven him for his role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.
• Mark Bowman looks at Jones’ Hall of Fame career.
• Jayson Stark has five things that struck him about the Hall of Fame voting. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Hall of Fame voting winners and losers according to the ESPN dot com writers.
• Matt Snyder offers his winners and losers in this year’s ballot.
• Gabe Lacques has his winners and losers. I’m sensing a trend.
• Jason Foster has six players who made moves towards induction in future votes.
• Bob Nightengale wonders why admitted PED-user Andy Pettitte moved towards induction when other tainted candidates have not. He also says if Pettitte gets into Cooperstown, there is no excuse to not elect the many others connected to PED use. He thinks this is a bad thing.
• Tom Verducci explains his Cooperstown ballot and why his approach has changed.
• Andrew Simon takes a look at the next five Hall of Fame ballots.
• Manny Randhawa has four storylines for next year’s Cooperstown vote.
• Turning to other matters, Evan Drellich reports that other owners are “enraged” by the Dodgers’ deal with Kyle Tucker and are demanding a salary cap. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• The Dodgers are also reportedly trying to deal for Brewers starter Freddy Peralta. (The Athletic sub. req.) Katie Woo has the details.
• Ken Rosenthal explains why a potential lockout next seasons is not slowing down signings this year. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Mike Axisa ranks all 16 players who would have been free agents this year if they had not signed extensions. He also estimates what they would get on the open market this winter had they entered free agency.
• One other deal yesterday. The Rockies traded right-hander Bradley Blalock to the Marlins for minor league right-hander Jake Brooks.
• Ben Clemens evaluates the recent three-way deal between the Reds, Rays and Angels.
• The Twins have signed free agent catcher Victor Caratini. Kiri Oler breaks down what in store for the Twins and Caratini.
• Chad Jennings puts all 30 teams into tiers based on how much they are trying to improve this winter. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Sad news as former White Sox knuckleballer Wilbur Wood has passed away at 84. Wood put up some insane innings totals from 1971 to 1975—insane even for the early seventies. I also wonder if the knuckleball isn’t dying out. There aren’t many living knuckleballers left. But our condolences go out to Wood’s family, friends and former teammates. Also to the knuckleball.
• Davy Andrews has an article about pitch models and how (and why) they’re becoming less predictive of success.
• The Rays took their first step towards a new stadium in Tampa after Hillsborough College voted in favor of a non-binding resolution that would allow the Rays to explore building a stadium at one of their campuses.
• Eric Fischer has more on what this means and how it could lead to a new stadium for the Rays.
• Good news as a followup to last week’s story about Angels farmhand Rio Foster, who has badly injured in a traffic accident last year. The Angels have now committed to signing Foster to a minor-league deal, which would keep him on their insurance plan throughout his rehabilitation. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• And finally, Bryan Hoch has the greatest Yankee player of all time by their uniform number.

On Tuesday, Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones were elected by the Baseball Writers of America Association as the two latest inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Those of you who have paid some attention know that I’m a Hall junkie, so I thought it would be fun to take a look to the future, to see who is in a good position from this year’s results and who will be joining the ballot next year; we’ll also see if there are any former Brewers coming up for consideration anytime soon.

Who’s in a good position after this year’s results?

Next year’s Hall of Fame ballot will be a really interesting one. There’s one strong newcomer (see below) but there are no slam-dunk first-ballot choices like we saw with Ichiro Suzuki last year, and there are no players coming back to the ballot who just missed—both Beltrán and Jones were over 65% last year and needed to make only small jumps in support to make it.

We aren’t going to see that with returning players next year, and in fact, it’s definitely possible that no returning players get elected.

After Beltrán and Jones, the next highest vote-getter on Tuesday was the former Phillies second baseman Chase Utley at 59%. That’s a big jump for Utley, who got just 39.8% of the vote the year before, but he’d need another leap of almost 20% to make it in next year. It’s not inconceivable: as we saw with the selections of Ichiro, Billy Wagner, and CC Sabathia a year ago and no super-strong first-ballot candidates this year, others will tend to soak up votes from writers who now turn their focus elsewhere.

This could get Utley close. His case is a bit non-traditional—he finished his career with just 1,885 hits and 259 homers, he never won a Gold Glove, and he never finished higher than seventh in MVP voting. 20 years ago, he’d have no chance. But the analytics that have become the most popular tools to evaluate players suggest that we were missing something with Utley, and his WAR-based case does not just make him a borderline candidate; if you believe the WAR numbers, he’s a pretty ironclad Hall of Famer. Not everyone believes those numbers, which is why Utley is still 16 percentage points short after his third appearance on the ballot.

There are a couple of other interesting returning cases: Andy Pettitte, a staple of the late-90s Yankees dynasty and one of the most prolific postseason pitchers of all time, also made a big jump—even bigger than Utley’s, from 27.9% to 48.5%. Pettitte is also reaching the end of his time on the ballot; he’ll have two more chances before his eligibility expires. Pettitte’s case is complicated by his connection to performance-enhancing drugs, a connection which is viewed as far less egregious than some of his contemporaries but is, nonetheless, an issue for many voters.

The other big mover this year was Félix Hernández, who improved by 26.1 percentage points from year one to year two (the largest single-year gain under the modern voting system, according to Ryan Thibodaux, who runs the Hall of Fame tracker) and, at 46.1% after two ballots, is in excellent position. Hernández’s counting stats are far lower than the traditional Hall of Fame starting pitcher, but it looks like he may be the test case for what Hall voters will have to start looking for in an era when starting pitchers do not play the same way as they used to.

Other returners include Alex Rodríguez (who topped 40% this year on his 5th ballot but probably has a hard cap on the number of voters who will vote for him), Bobby Abreu (who made a modest leap to above 30% but is running out of time), Jimmy Rollins (the counting stats support him over his teammate, Utley, but the advanced stats do not), Dustin Pedroia, Cole Hamels, Mark Buehrle, David Wright, Omar Vizquel, Francisco Rodríguez, and Torii Hunter. Vizquel, who got 18.4% on his ninth ballot, will be back for the 10th and final time next winter. The one first-ballot player who will make a second ballot is Hamels, who received 23.8% of the votes on his first ballot. That’s an uphill climb, but it’s better than Hernández did on his first try.

Who’s new to the ballot?

The next big question is who the new players are. This group is headlined by a player who I think has a strong chance at becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer but has a tricky case: Buster Posey. Posey, from a quality perspective, certainly played at a Hall of Fame level: he won an MVP in 2012, something only two other catchers have done since the 1970s (Iván Rodríguez in 1999 and Joe Mauer in 2009), and by rate stats had one of the best careers of any catcher, ever. FanGraphs’ version of WAR, which includes a player’s pitch framing prowess, is especially fond of Posey.

But Posey had a short career. He played only 1,371 games (that’s almost 150 fewer than Pedroia and over 200 fewer than Wright, both great players who we think of as having careers that were “too short”), and in terms of counting stats, finished with just 1,500 hits and 158 home runs. Even at catcher, where physical demands tend to limit the number of games played per season and shorten careers, that’s low; that’s fewer hits than Thurman Munson, another catcher who some feel played at a Hall of Fame level but isn’t there because his career was cut short when he died in a plane crash not long after turning 32.

Posey’s case will be fascinating. I think the lack of great catchers, historically, will probably work to his advantage, and I think he’ll be recognized for what he was, which was—from a pure peak perspective—probably the best catcher of the 21st century (though Joe Mauer and Cal Raleigh fans will argue, and I’m sure Yadier Molina fans would argue too, though Molina’s case is more about longevity than peak prowess).

There is really only one other new name on the ballot next season who might garner enough support to make it to a second year, and that’s pitcher Jon Lester. Lester probably didn’t do enough to get real Hall support—he has just 43.4 bWAR for his career—but he won 200 games, a rarity in modern times, struck out almost 2,500 batters, had three top-four Cy Young finishes, and was a postseason hero who won an NLCS MVP and three World Series. That should be enough of a resumé to get him to the 5% needed for a second showing.

Other interesting but not exactly compelling first-year players include Brett Gardner, who won a World Series, was one of the best defensive corner outfielders of all time, and was about a league-average hitter; Ryan Zimmerman, one of the great heroes of the Washington Nationals franchise; and Kyle Seager, who has no shot at all at making the Hall of Fame but was a better player than people remember.

Are there any former Brewers debuting on next year’s ballot?

We will not know who the new players on the ballot will be until it’s announced late next fall, but we can make a few guesses at what former Brewers could join Francisco Rodríguez in representing the franchise.

One very notable former Brewer shouldget a spot on next year’s ballot: Jonathan Lucroy. Lucroy, who is the best catcher in Brewers history (though William Contreras is coming for that crown), had a 12-year career that included a couple of All-Star games and a fourth-place MVP finish in 2014, the best season ever by a Brewers catcher. Lucroy was also one of the first players to get extra shine because of the new ways in which pitch framing was being measured, and FanGraphs’ version of WAR viewed him as a legitimate star, with four straight seasons with at least 5.6 WAR. Lucroy’s 17.7 career bWAR is nothing particularly special, but his 35.2 fWAR ranks 38th all time among catchers in that database.

The next former Brewer who should get a spot on this ballot was only in Milwaukee briefly, and that’s reliever Joakim Soria. From 2007-2010, Soria was one of the best relievers in baseball. A lost season in 2012 derailed him a bit but he continued to have solid seasons into the mid 2010s, and in 2018 the first-place Brewers acquired him from the White Sox at the trade deadline to bolster their bullpen for the stretch run (Milwaukee sent Wilber Pérez and former first-round pick Kodi Medeiros to Chicago; neither ever made the majors). Soria pitched 26 times for the Brewers in the regular season and suffered some bad luck (a 2.93 FIP but 4.09 ERA) but had a difficult postseason. He had three scoreless outings (including a win and a hold) in the divisional round against the Rockies, but he gave up multiple earned runs twice in four outings in the NLCS against the Dodgers. Soria became a free agent after the season and left for Oakland, and his brief Brewers career was over. In all, Soria amassed 229 saves and had a 3.11 ERA (137 ERA+) and 3.12 FIP in 763 innings pitched.

The last guess is more borderline, and that’s that Wisconsin native and former Brewer—for all of 5 2/3 innings—Jordan Zimmermann will get an honorary spot. Zimmermann pitched 1,614 innings across 13 years, almost entirely for the Nationals and Tigers, and he had a respectable career that saw him make back-to-back All-Star Games and seventh- and fifth-place Cy Young finishes in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Zimmermann, who was from Auburndale, Wisconsin and pitched at UW-Stevens Point, made his last two big-league appearances for the Brewers in 2021.

None of these players has any shot at making the Hall of Fame, and I’d be surprised if any got more than a token vote or two, but it’s still fun to see their names.

Brewers fans will need to wait until 2029 before anyone who spent time in Milwaukee will actually make some noise on the ballot. That’s the year when Zack Greinke should become a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But he’s not the only former Brewer with a good chance of getting a little support: Brewers Legend Josh Donaldson also debuts that year. (Let’s go out for a beverage and I’ll tell you why Donaldson should get serious consideration for the Hall of Fame.)

The shortstop is sometimes referred to as “captain of the infield,” and filling that role in a starting big-league lineup is a huge responsibility. There’s an added layer of pressure when assuming the role of New York Yankees Shortstop, following the career of our own Captain, the legendary Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter. For the past few years, that responsibility has fallen on Anthony Volpe, the former top prospect who was deemed by many to be a storybook successor to Jeter due to his own lifelong Yankee fandom and a photograph he took with The Captain as a little boy.

As great a story as that would be, Volpe is entering his fourth season as the starting shortstop and has never been able to produce enough offensively to be considered a franchise cornerstone. His wRC+ over those three years (83, 87, 83) has been consistently underwhelming, and his defense suffered major regression last season as well following a strong 2024 with the glove. The Yankees have more star potential in their farm system at shortstop than any other position, so 2026 will be a make-or-break year for Volpe.

The Yankees acquired José Caballero from the Rays at the trade deadline in 2025, and he provided an immediate boost during the final two months of the season in the field, on the basepaths, and even at the plate. The team also signed veteran Paul DeJong in free agency. DeJong is another glove-first shortstop who hasn’t posted an above-average season offensively since 2019 and is unlikely to play a major role as a Yankee, but he could realistically make the Opening Day roster while Volpe recovers from shoulder surgery. Amed Rosario, who will likely make most of his appearances at second and third base or in the outfield against left-handed pitching, can also fill in in a pinch at short.

Behind all this major-league depth, there are a number of exciting young shortstops in the minor leagues looking to keep the momentum alive or break out in 2026. Here are the players working their way through the organization at short.

Projected to start the year in Triple-A are three shortstops with modest big-league experience the Yankees have acquired at some point over the last calendar year: Braden Shewmake, Zack Short, and Jonathan Ornelas. Shewmake is entering his age-28 season with just 31 MLB games on his resume, and he’s never been a reliable option at the plate in his career. He played 85 games with the RailRiders in 2025 and slashed .244/.318/.362 with four home runs. Short spent 2021-23 with the Tigers, bounced between the Red Sox, Braves, and Mets in 2024, and was an Astro in 2025. He has 243 games played in his career and has been a below-average option on both sides of the ball. The same can be said for Ornelas, who spent most of his 32 career games with the Rangers and has yet to homer or steal a base in 58 plate appearances.

The Yankees’ top prospect, George Lombard Jr, should take over the starting shortstop role in Triple-A at some point in 2026, but will most likely begin the season where he left off, in Double-A with the Somerset Patriots. The Yankees drafted Lombard in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft, and he quickly ascended to the top of the farm system thanks to his defensive upside, raw power, and advanced plate discipline. He obliterated High-A pitching in 24 games to start the 2025 season before earning a promotion to Somerset, where he underwent an adjustment period but finished strong. Lombard will not turn 21 until early June, at which point he may be with the Triple-A team. A 2026 MLB debut is probably not in the cards for Lombard, but he is Volpe’s most direct competition long-term for the starting role. His upside is through the roof.

Directly behind Lombard on the depth chart are three players from the Yankees’ most recent draft class who will either be in High-A or Low-A to begin 2026: Dax Kilby, Kaeden Kent, and Core Jackson. Kilby was the team’s first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, and looks to be on a similar trajectory to Lombard as he’s already a consensus top-five player in the farm system. He was drafted out of high school and went directly to Low-A, where he slashed .353/.457/.441 with 16 stolen bases and a 159 wRC+ in 81 plate appearances. Kilby turned 19 in November, and his batted-ball metrics, plate discipline, and power-speed blend indicate star potential. He and Lombard could easily be the team’s two most enticing prospects by midseason.

Kent and Jackson were the Yankees’ third- and fifth-round picks from the same draft class. Kent (the son of recently elected Hall of Famer Jeff Kent) is a well-rounded player with slightly above-average tools across the board. His big-league debut in High-A was underwhelming through 25 games, but the sample size is small enough that it can be considered a footnote on a promising, high-floor profile. Jackson is in the same boat, as he hit .363 and .364 in his last two seasons at Mississippi but also struggled through a subpar 25-game sample with Hudson Valley to begin his big-league career. Both players will look to right the ship in 2026.

Also in the mix for at-bats around these levels is Roderick Arias, who once headlined the team’s international free-agent class in 2022 but has regressed mightily since then. Arias has spent the last two seasons with Low-A Tampa, and last year he slashed .208/.325/.315 with a 88 wRC+. Barring a major and immediate turnaround, it is difficult to be excited about Arias as a future big-leaguer at this point in his career.

The two main rookie ball shortstops to be aware of are Mani Cedeno and Stiven Marinez. Cedeno signed as part of last year’s international free-agent class, and is considered a promising young prospect due to his smooth right-handed swing and advanced plate approach. However, he struggled in his first season of rookie ball with a 35.7% strikeout rate in the Dominican Summer League. While this is certainly a red flag, Cedeno is still just 17-years-old and has time to turn it around. Marinez, who is a year older than Cedeno, has a similar offensive profile but found more success in the DSL in 2025. He posted a 116 wRC+ in 47 games with 22 stolen bases, and speed is considered one of his defining traits. Both players will need to develop physically before reaching their full game-power potential, but that’s to be expected at this point in their careers.

Shortstop is a deeply competitive position within the Yankees organization entering 2026. Those hoping for a Year 3 breakout from Volpe were sorely disappointed, but he’ll have at least one more opportunity to retain his role moving forward after recovering from shoulder surgery. If he’s unable to ever reach his full potential, the Yankees will hopefully be able to look to Lombard and Kilby as long-term options. The duo of first-round draft picks will look to continue developing into future stars this season, and we should hear their names a lot more as their careers continue to play out.

Phillies News

• In what seemed like a very awkward press call, Dave Dombrowski talked about trying to get Bo Bichette while announcing the team’s reunion with JT Realmuto.
• Will Cristopher Sanchez participate in the World Baseball Classic?
• A horse that is somehow able to type is wondering if its not the end of the world that the Phillies are running back most of their roster.

MLB News

• Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Hans Crouse signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles.
• MLB Owners are going to push for a salary cap in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.
• The New York Mets acquired Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox.

Good Morning Birdland,

The Orioles aren’t involved in any major rumors right now. Of course, that may change. The team doesn’t usually let much slip, so they could always make a splash out of absolutely nowhere. We shall see.

The big baseball news of the day surrounds the Hall of Fame, where another class of inductees has been announced. Did you know the announcement was coming? I certainly didn’t. As usual, MLB does next-to-nothing to reassert its place in the cultural consciousness. They announce season-end awards in a scattershot manner, long after any non-diehards care. Their draft is crammed in alongside the chaos of All-Star week. Free agency and offseason trades take four months to complete. And the Hall of Fame class gets announced on a seemingly random Tuesday in January, when most people aren’t really paying attention.

Maybe this is truly the best that MLB and baseball can do. As gets said regularly, baseball, more than other sports, is regional. Fans love their team, and probably know a lot about their division rivals, but anything outside of that is fuzzy. The piece meal approach to national broadcasts doesn’t help. In 2026, there will be exclusive games or events on each of FS1, TBS, ESPN, Apple TV, Peacock, and Netflix in addition to NBC and FOX. People just aren’t go to pay for all of those things. So it gets harder for any one player, outside of Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, to be recognizable to casual fans. That will eventually trickle down to Hall of Fame voting, where seemingly anonymous faces will be getting honored one day. But that is a deeper conversation for another day.

The 2026 class of the Baseball Hall of Fame will be Jeff Kent, Carlos Beltrán, and Andruw Jones. Kent was elected last month by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. Beltrán and Jones earned their way in the traditional way, garnering more than 75% of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

The players that finished behind Beltrán and Jones in the voting were Chase Utley (59.1%), Andy Pettitte (48.5%), Félix Hernández (46.1%), and Alex Rodriguez (40%). Two former Orioles earning votes were Francisco Rodríguez (50 votes, 11.8%) and Nick Markakis (1 vote, 0.2%). Because he did not reach the 5% threshold, Markakis will drop off of the ballot in 2027.

Voters have drawn a line of demarcation when it comes to cheating.

Steroids continue to be an issue for them. Pettitte and Rodriguez are yet to pass even 50% and seem unlikely to get anywhere close to 75%. Manny Ramírez got 38.8% of the vote in his 10th and final season of eligibility. And Ryan Braun, who had an incredible peak (MVP, five-time Silver Slugger, over 200 homers in six seasons), won’t even get a second season on the ballot.

But Beltrán, who is reported to have been a central figure of the Astros sign-stealing scandal in 2017, gets in after four years. You can argue that sign stealing has always been part of the game, the Astros were just putting a modern spin on it, but it was egregious enough that the entire sport was furious about it, for a little while anyway. The league fined the Astros, suspended coaches and managers for their role, and it cost Beltrán the Mets manager job at the time. Several years removed from it now, it feels like the sport has moved on entirely.

Links

Orioles Sign Hans Crouse To Minor League Deal | MLB Trade Rumors
Unless the Orioles make big league additions to their bullpen, it feels like some random we have never heard of could make the Opening Day roster. Crouse could be the guy. He has big league experience, and was once a top pitching prospect. Let’s see if the Orioles’ pitching lab can work some magic with him between now and Opening Day.

Crouse latest depth signing, some spring training names and storylines | Roch Kubatko
Roch touches on the state of the roster, which does not currently include a typical utility player. That may be intentional as the Orioles also still have Coby Mayo and Ryan Mountcastle. If they plan to carry both, they aren’t going to have room for a utility option.

Cardinals Showing Interest In Austin Hays | MLB Trade Rumors
That would be a neat landing spot for Hays. The Cardinals are resetting a bit, but it’s a good baseball town and an organization that usually knows what they are doing. Maybe he could rebuild his career a bit.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Keith Shepherd turns 58 today. He pitched in 13 games for the Orioles in 1996, his final season of MLB action.
• Bob Reynolds turns 79. The righty was a steady part of the O’s bullpen from 1972 through ‘75, posting a 2.43 ERA over 196 total innings.
• The late Johnny Oates (b. 1946, d. 2004) was born on this day. He appeared in two seasons with the Orioles (1970, ‘72) as a backup catcher, and then went on to bounce around the league for a decade. After his playing career ended, he went into coaching, which included a return to the Orioles organization. He rose from their Triple-A team in Rochester in 1988 to become the big league first base coach in 1989. After Frank Robinson was fired as Baltimore manager in 1991, Oates was promoted to the role, sticking around through the 1994 campaign. The team posthumously inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2010.

This day in O’s history

January 21 has been a slow day in Orioles history, according to Baseball Reference. Maybe that will change today! Until then, here are some happenings from beyond Birdland:

1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.

1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, dubbed USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut.

1976 – Commercial service of Concorde airliners begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes

1981 – Production of the DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.