Category: Sports News

The Good Guys will be up late in the desert tonight as they use two split-squad teams in Arizona for a Cactus League doubleheader. The opener is against the Diamondbacks at 8: 05 p.m. CST and will be followed by the Padres game at 8:10 p.m. CST. Remember…double your pleasure, double the fun!

Davis Martin’s got the ball against Arizona, and the spotlight, for whatever that’s worth, in March. The righthander has been solid this spring, going 2-1, with a 3.00 ERA, and 10 Ks. Last time out on March 13, he spun four scoreless, gave up a single hit, and punched out four. Efficient, clean, no drama. If he can whisk that into the regular season, that would be terrific now that he has his position in the starting rotation locked down.

Across the diamond, it’s old friend Michael Soroka. How has he done this spring? Well, he’s been a mess with a 9.82 ERA and 2.73 WHIP through four innings. Sure, it’s a small sample size, but the wild command is what’s plagued his entire big league career. Maybe he finds it tonight, or maybe the Sox bats make him sweat. He did play for Team Canada in the WBC and was a bit less of a disaster, going 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA over 5 2/3 frames.

This South Side lineup is a grab bag with your regulars, prospects, and a few wild cards. Andrew Benintendi and Colson Montgomery top the card with Austin Hays and his hot bat in the three-hole. Munetaka Murakami brings some mystery to the middle, batting cleanup followed by Chase Meidroth, Lenyn Sosa, Jarred Kelenic, and Luisangel Acuña.

Here’s how the D-Backs will go up against Martin:

There will not be any TV for this one. If you want in, it’s radio or bust. Old-school. Tune in to ESPN 1000 to hear Len and DJ on the call.

Five minutes later, because preseason is weird like that, the second squad takes on San Diego.

Jonathan Cannon starts this one, even though he was optioned to Charlotte on March 17. Spring Training rules: more suggestions than law. Mike Vasil’s injury cracks the door open, so Cannon’s outings suddenly matter a little more. A good night here, and he’s back in the conversation.

The Padres counter with Michael King, who’s been roughed up this spring to the tune of a 0-2 record, 9.95 ERA, and 1.74 WHIP in four starts. Don’t be fooled, though. When he’s right, King can deal. Last year, he was 5-3 with a 3.44 ERA in 15 starts. The stuff is there. The question is whether he can stay on the mound and keep it together as the 30-year-old battled through several injuries in 2025.

Chicago’s lineup in this one is very much a “prove it or pack it” group. Outside of Korey Lee, Miguel Vargas, and probably Curtis Mead, there aren’t many locks, or even near-locks, for the 26-man roster here. That leaves a whole lot of guys playing for one of two things: a last-minute bench job or a strong impression heading into Charlotte. It’s the kind of lineup where every at-bat matters a little more, whether it’s someone trying to force their way north or just making sure they’re first in line when the inevitable injuries hit.

Friars’ skipper Craig Stammen trots out his offense looking for their 14th win:

Tonight’s bonus for you is that MLB.TV is giving this one away, so you can actually watch without selling your soul or finding a sketchy stream.

This afternoon, the Colorado Rockies continued to make their spring training transactions as they refine the roster heading into the start of the 2026 season.

The following players were assigned to Minor League camp:

• Infielder/outfielder Cole Carrigg (No. 4 PuRP)
• Infielder/outfielder Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP)
• Infielder/outfielder Vimael Machín

The decision to reassign Carrigg and Machín does not come as a surprise. Condon, however, was a contender for the first base starting position. In 39 at-bats, Condon slashed .385/.457/.713 with a 1.175 OPS. He also hit three home runs.

At this point, all signs point to T.J. Rumfield as the Rockies Opening Day first baseman.

Colorado has 40 active players remaining in Major League camp, including seven non-roster invitees.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Hayden Birdsong didn’t get the second opinion he was seeking after visiting Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas this week, and now the Giants‘ young starter will miss the 2026 season.

Meister will surgically repair the ulnar collateral ligament in Birdsong’s right elbow, otherwise known as Tommy John surgery, ruling out the 24-year-old right-hander until at least early next season.

The operation typically comes with a timetable of about 12-16 months for a full recovery.

The Giants announced Birdsong’s decision Thursday and said he will undergo the procedure next week.

“It’s hard to [say] you’re happy for him, based on the circumstances, but it is nice that after a few days of muddy waters to have some clarity,” manager Tony Vitello said.

Birdsong said he felt a “pop” and a “snap” in his elbow after throwing a curveball on the second-to-last pitch of what turned out to be his final outing of the spring last Tuesday. An MRI revealed a Grade 2 sprain of his UCL and a strain in his forearm, indicating there was structural damage.

Vitello said Birdsong was “convicted” in his decision, even while considering nonsurgical options. The second opinion from Meister, one of the leading specialists in pitchers’ elbow repairs, sealed the deal.

“He would just like to move on and make sure there aren’t any creeping thoughts in the back of his head, like, ‘Am I healthy?’ or this or that,” Vitello said. “Just push forward with what he and others think the best thing is.”

Meister also performed Robbie Ray’s elbow reconstruction in 2022 and Giants minor-leaguer Cole Waites’ operation in 2023. Ray, like Birdsong, had issues in his forearm and elbow.

“Meister did mine; he’s been great,” said Ray, who didn’t try to influence Birdsong one way or the other. “Just trying to be encouraging. Let him know that whatever happens he’s in good hands. Our training staff here is excellent.”

The decision probably doesn’t impact the Giants’ plans for their Opening Day roster — Birdsong had fallen behind Landen Roupp and Trevor McDonald among their young pitchers — but losing him for the year is a blow to their pitching depth in the upper minors.

Birdsong likely would have been among the first pitchers called up from Triple-A when a need arose in the Giants’ rotation or bullpen. He has performed both roles and had appeared to make strides in his last time on the mound before, as he described it, a “freak” pitch put an end to his season.

“He was really sharp his last time out, but you can’t undo the past,” Vitello said. “I think the big thing for him is to take that baton … and carry it. Because you can still watch the game, have conversations, learn. You’d like to think the best-case scenario, like a lot of guys in the past, you can come back stronger.”

The loss makes the Giants more likely to call on Carson Whisenhunt, who was optioned to Triple-A on Wednesday. Carson Seymour, Blade Tidwell and Tristan Beck are all still in camp and should also be candidates to contribute at some point.

SF Giants injury report

Infielder Parks Harber will miss 4-6 weeks after straining his hamstring in a Cactus League game last week. Harber, 24, had been one of the Giants’ spring standouts with a .357 batting average and .996 OPS in 33 plate appearances. He was acquired from the Yankees at the trade deadline last summer in the deal for Camilo Doval.

A pair of prospects were ruled out from the Giants’ spring showcase game Thursday night, including highly touted shortstop Josuar Gonzalez. The 18-year-old top prospect suffered a mild hamstring strain in minor-league action at Papago Park earlier this week. Johnny Level, another infield prospect, also missed the game with low back tightness.

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His command has remained alarmingly inconsistent. His explanations are starting to sound more like excuses.

Roki Sasaki has done little this spring to inspire confidence that he will be an effective starting pitcher this season.

But he will be on the Dodgers’ opening-day roster.

“He’s going to be one of our starters,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters this week.

Asked by Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group whether Sasaki was one of the team’s 13 best pitchers, Roberts offered a revealing non-answer.

“He’s going to start the season in the rotation,” Roberts said.

In other words, no.

That doesn’t mean the Dodgers shouldn’t have the unseasoned 24-year-old on their major league roster. Just because they technically have the right to option Sasaki to the minor leagues doesn’t mean they should.

Sasaki trusted them when he chose to play for them. Regardless of whether they believe he will succeed, they now owe their second-year right-hander the same courtesy.

Doing right by Sasaki is in the best interest of everyone involved – for Sasaki, who believes he can start in the major leagues, and for the Dodgers, whose dealings with him could influence how they are viewed by the future Japanese players.

Examining the Dodgers’ position with Sasaki requires revisiting the circumstances under which he was signed. 

Because he was only 23 when the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese league made him available to major league teams before the 2025 season, he was classified as an international amateur. As such, Sasaki could only sign a minor league contract.

The bargain price made Sasaki the most desirable Japanese free agent in history outside of Shohei Ohtani.

Yu Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzaka were comparable to Sasaki in stature when they moved stateside, but each cost their original major league teams more than $100 million. 

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Sasaki could have fetched $200 million on the open market. The Dodgers landed him for just a $6.5-million bonus.

Rules prohibited teams from making any promises to Sasaki about a future contract or roster spot, but the Dodgers had to know they were taking on unspoken responsibilities when they signed him. 

Here was a pitcher viewed as arguably the most talented ever produced by his home country, one pursued by other teams as a frontline starter.

The scale of the vision they sold Sasaki became evident at his introductory news conference when president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said he would be part of the rotation from the start of his rookie season. There were mentions of a Cy Young Award and comparisons to Paul Skenes.

Sasaki flopped in the regular season last year. 

Maybe it was because his preparation was rushed so that he could start in the Dodgers’ season-opening series in Tokyo. Maybe it was because of the unfamiliar part of the major league game such as the pitch clock or slicker American baseball. Maybe it was the shoulder problem that ended up sidelining him for four months. 

Or maybe he just wasn’t as good as the Dodgers thought.

He managed to salvage the year by returning as a reliever in the final week of the regular season. 

He became the closer in October, his festive entrance music and 100-mph fastball transforming him into a crowd favorite. While he became less dominant with each passing round of the playoffs, he was without question a major reason why the Dodgers won the World Series.

Something else worth recalling: Sasaki agreed to pitch in relief under the condition that he be given an opportunity to start this year.

The Dodgers are honoring their arrangement, and it’s important they do so. 

The reality is that Americans are viewed as particularly untrustworthy in many parts of the world, and that perception is strengthened every time a foreign player and his major league team have entirely dissimilar interpretations of the same deal. 

In the case of Sasaki, he obviously expects to be afforded the luxury of treating spring training as a time to experiment in preparation for the regular season rather than to prove anything.

He wouldn’t be the only Japanese player to have treated the exhibition season in this way. 

Ichiro Suzuki was famously doubted by his own manager in his first major league camp. Ohtani was compared to a high school hitter in a Yahoo Sports article that quoted several scouts who broke down his miserable Cactus League performance.

Sasaki has a 13.50 earned-run average in three exhibition starts, but he hasn’t sounded concerned.

“If I’m able to pitch the entire season,” Sasaki told reporters after his most recent Cactus League game, “I don’t think anyone will remember spring training.”

The Dodgers are giving him the same chance the Angels once gave Ohtani to prove the skeptics wrong, and why not?

Sasaki is not pushing Tarik Skubal out of the rotation. 

Sasaki’s spot comes at the expense of River Ryan, whose workload the team will carefully monitor this year because he is coming back from Tommy John surgery. 

What happens from here is entirely up to Sasaki.

He won’t be able to point a finger at the Dodgers for demoting him right as he thought everything was about to come together.

He won’t be able to complain about how they didn’t trust him after telling him how much they believed in him.

If he fails, this will be squarely on him.

If World Baseball Classic organizers want more MLB stars in the tournament’s mix, Max Scherzer said this week he has a solution that “would get everybody to participate.”

During a sitdown interview with Foul Territory’s A.J. Pierzynski and Erik Kratz, Scherzer claimed a small schedule tweak would have players lining up for WBC uniforms.

“I wish this tournament was pushed back two weeks,” the future Hall of Famer said, before explaining 14 additional days would significantly lessen athletes’ concerns about injuries.

“Two more weeks here and in my opinion, you’d really drop the risk factor for pitchers,” he said, “and you would get everybody to participate.”

The WBC traditionally kicks off in early March, and while that’s not necessarily a problem for Big League hitters, Scherzer told Pierzynski and Kratz it’s a significant issue for pitchers.

The Blue Jays starter called throwing in high-intensity games so early in the season “a huge risk factor.”

But if the showcase started in late March, Scherzer said it’d change everything.

“Everybody wants to be out there competing for their country,” said the 42-year-old, who’s never participated in a WBC. “Full stop. There’s no argument about that. Everybody wants to. It’s just you have a risk factor to this. This is hard on your arm.”

Scherzer acknowledged that might mean the MLB season would have to drop from 162 games to 155 and there would be a financial loss, but he said the benefit for the sport would be worth it.

“The WBC is great. Everybody is watching,” Scherzer said. “Can you imagine if all the players were in it and it’s even better? You’re having even better baseball. The WBC can be even better with that regard.”

Plus, Scherzer noted April matchups are “not high-revenue games” for MLB teams.

The WBC began on March 5 and concluded on March 17. Team USA advanced to the finals, but lost, 3-2, to Venezuela.

Red, white and blue fans have pointed out that adding star pitchers like Garrett Crochett and Bryan Woo — or even getting more innings out of Tarik Skubal and Mason Miller — could have resulted in a championship, and Scherzer said his idea would have paved the way for that reality.

“Where’s the perfect slice here?” he said. “It’s right now (in late March). Start it right now and that would solve a lot of this.”

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