Category: Sports News

The Toronto Blue Jays announced contract extensions for GM Ross Atkins and Manager John Schneider, both of whom were finishing the final year of their contracts. This move wasn’t a surprise, especially considering the 2025 Jays season results, coming within a few inches of a World Series Championship and the earlier 5 year contract extension given to President Mark Shapiro in December. Atkins deal extends him through 2031, so one year beyond Shapiro’s extension. Schneider’s extension is through 2028 after finishing second in Manager of the Year voting for 2025. No financial details were released. What is clear is how much Shapiro and ownership value continuity through their leadership.

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The Jays are playing an intersquad game with Lauer scheduled to throw 5 innings against AAA Buffalo. The Jays made more moves to finalize the roster, informing Yariel Rodriguez, Jorge Alcala and Angel Bastardo did not make the MLB club. That leaves the final spot in the bullpen down to Spencer Miles, Chase Lee, and Adam Macko.

1955
Roberto Clemente made a huge splash with a spring training performance at Fort Myers, Fla. against the White Sox. The rookie clouts a third-inning triple some 425 feet off of the center field fence, the deepest spot in Terry Park. The good news for the White Sox? Clemente attempted to stretch the hit into an inside-the-park home run, but was thrown out at home with ease.

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1977
In a completely under-the-radar swap, the White Sox sent Clay Carroll to St. Louis for Lerrin LaGrow. That minor transaction would pay major dividends for the 90-win 1977 White Sox.

LaGrow, at the time mostly a starter in his six-year MLB career, moved into the White Sox bullpen and ended up as the South Side Hit Men closer, finishing 49 of the 66 games he appeared in (after finishing 20 in his career to that point) and earning 25 saves. His ERA a stellar 2.46, LaGrow’s 98 2⁄3 innings resulted in him racking up an extraordinary 4.2 WAR, tied for 55th in major league history for a full-time reliever. That WAR also ranks fourth in White Sox history for a full-time reliever.

Alas, LaGrow (like the Hit Men) could not repeat the success in 1978, suffering a setback of a -0.6 WAR before a staggeringly bad -1.3 WAR in just 11 games to open 1979 saw him sold to the Dodgers in May.

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1985
Seven years too late, Oscar Gamble re-signed with the White Sox.

Returning to the scene of his greatest season (1977, 3.5 WAR almost through pure slugging), it would be the only year Gamble would play back in Chicago after the six-year, $2.85 million (some of the money deferred) deal he took with the San Diego Padres upon leaving Chicago. While fellow South Side Hit Man Richie Zisk was a foregone loss heading into the 1977-78 offseason, owner Bill Veeck was optimistic about keeping Oscar in Chicago for the long term. But at the last minute, San Diego owner Ray Kroc swooped in and outbid Veeck.

Gamble disappointed on the West Coast, hitting just seven long balls and seeing his home run rate drop to an anemic 1.6%. He was dumped back to the Yankees before the 1979 season.

To his credit, Gamble was always at least an average regular for the first five years of his big-money deal. By the time he returned to Chicago, it was as a punch-and-judy hitter rather than slugger.

In his last full game in the majors, on August 3 at Yankee Stadium, Gamble homered — and his final hit and run in the majors came the next day, during Tom Seaver’s 300th win. A week later, the White Sox released Gamble, forcing his retirement at age 35.

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1989
The White Sox traded Ken Williams (who later became the club’s GM) to Detroit for pitcher Eric King. 

Williamsnever achieved any measure of consistency in the big leagues. King, at least, had a spectacular 1990 campaign, going 12-4 with a 3.25 ERA for the “Doin’ the Little Things” White Sox that shocked baseball by compiling 94 wins in 1990.

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2000
Former White Sox outfielder and future Hall-of-Famer Tim Raines announced his retirement.

However … there’s a twist, as Raines would return to the game for two more seasons, after trying out for (but failing to make) Team USA re-established his love of the game. Raines had a strong 2001 season (.303 batting average) with Montreal and was traded to Baltimore during that year so he could play on the same team as his son, Tim Jr. (joining the Griffeys as the only such father-son pairing ever). With his added longevity, Raines also became a four-decade player and one of just four (along with Ted Williams, Rickey Henderson and Omar Vizquel) to steal a base in four different decades Raines was also the last player in major league history to wear a batting helmet without a protective ear flap.

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2011
Future White Sox first baseman José Abreu hit his 33rd home run, on the final day of the Cuban Serie Nacional season. Both he and Yoennis Céspedes broke the two-year-old Cuban home run record of 32.

Amazingly, Abreu produced 33 home runs and 93 RBIs despite missing a quarter of the season. His slash for the 2010-11 season was a remarkable .453/.597/.986. For those of you a little short with math, that’s a 1.583 OPS.

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2012
Former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks was arrested during Red Sox Spring Training in Fort Myers, Fla. for numerous infractions relating to DUI. Jenks claimed to have taken too many muscle relaxers, as he battled through his recovery from two back surgeries in the offseason. It would later become known that one of the surgeries was botched, ending Jenks’ career.

Despite the premature end to his career and failure to make a mark in Boston, Jenks improved his health enough to begin a coaching and managing career. That second career in baseball was cut short in 2025, when Jenks passed away from stomach cancer.

As the saying goes, prospect development isn’t linear. Switch-hitting catcher Thayron Liranzo entered the 2025 season as a top 100 prospect, lauded for his potential 70 grade raw power and his ongoing improvements behind the plate. He was only 21 at the time, and while he was riding high after a good breakout season at the High-A level in both the Dodgers and Tigers’ farm systems in 2024, that’s pretty young to reach Double-A, especially for a player with all the added workload as both a switch-hitter and as a catcher. It was a really rough year, but we predicted it would go that way in his first look at the level. And while some prospect sites reacted by dumping him down their rankings to varying degrees, shout out to FanGraphs, who did not, we’re pretty unmoved. Time will tell who is correct, but Liranzo was never expected to just rocket through the upper levels in the first place.

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed the then 17-year-old Liranzo out of the Dominican Republic in January of 2021, accepting a meager bonus of just $30,000. His broad 6’1” frame promised future strength and power gains, and Liranzo already had a pretty good arm. The joke is always that no one wants to play catcher in the DR, but Liranzo took to the position pretty well from the start.

He had a good season in the Complex League at age 18, and then served notice with a 24 home run campaign in Single-A as a 19-year-old in 2023. He got off to a shaky start in High-A the next year, but by midsummer his bat had really heated up and his work behind the plate finally started showing more refinement and athleticism. The Tigers acquired him as the centerpiece of the Jack Flaherty trade, and Liranzo put together an impressive closing stretch to the season with the Whitecaps.

Liranzo got a bit overshadowed in the Arizona Fall League, as 19-year-old fellow catching prospect Josue Briceño went crazy out there, hitting 10 homers to win league MVP, but it’s worth remembering that Liranzo hit .375/.492/.667 with a pair of homers in 15 games, with half his hits going for extra bases. There was clearly stiffness in his swing and a tendency to whiff unless a pitch was in his hot zones, but he also showed the plate discipline to make it all work. That strong finish to his 2024 season got him 50 FV grades a spots on national top 100 lists heading into 2025.

No doubt it was a tough go in Erie. Liranzo played through some minor injuries, but he got off to a pretty good start anyway. By June and July, he was doing plenty of damage and looking as though he was adapting well to the tougher class of pitching. Everything then turned on him the rest of the season. He injured his shoulder and was limited to first base and DH days for the second half of the year. There was rumored to be some conflict with SeaWolves manager Andrew Graham over the injury and his effort level. It later emerged that Liranzo’s long-time trainer, who he regarded as a father figure, had passed away during the season as well. By year’s end, Liranzo was looking sluggish at the plate, and getting beat by fastballs to a degree we didn’t see in the first half of the season. His numbers really collapsed in August and September. Meanwhile, after nearly 20 years in the organization, Graham was reportedly let go at the end of the season, so we’re still waiting to hear who will be running their new coaching staff this season.

Liranzo showed up in camp this spring in outstanding condition, having cut a reported 35 pounds while adding strength. Scott Harris remarked that he came to camp looking like a center fielder rather than the thick-bodied catcher they had previously. Once again, his pop times and arm strength are back to above average levels, and while his blocking and framing continue to need work, he looks even more the part of the athletic, agile catcher we saw early in his time with the Tigers. Developing as a catcher takes time. Dillon Dingler was considered an advanced, highly athletic catching specimen coming out of college, and it still took four years to really get him to the point of being a top defender by age 25. Liranzo won’t turn 23 until July.

While Liranzo had a good first half last year in Erie, and continued to post high walk rates and show a discipline approach, there is still plenty of swing and miss in his game. He struck out 31.7 percent of the time at Erie, and while some of that can be attributed to the other struggles last year, we predicted heading into last year that he was going to get carved up more than he did in High-A.

Liranzo has a little more of a compact, line drive oriented swing as a right-hander, but it’s the power in his left-handed stroke that really got everyone excited. He’s posted some huge exit velos already, and when he gets a pitch he likes down in the zone, he is likely to do damage. The problem is that he doesn’t really have the bat control and smooth mechanics to adjust in flight. Especially as his condition deteriorated in the second half, he was really yanking the knob through the zone violently without much feel for the barrel and guessing too much as his discipline evaporated.

His future success is going to depend on his swing discipline remaining strong. Against good stuff in the zone, he’s always going to run higher than average whiff rates. Still, there are few profiles more coveted around the game than a viable defensive catcher with power who hits left-handed. To put it in Tigers terms, Liranzo probably slots in as something like a Jake Rogers type hitter, with the upside of a high strikeout, high walk, power producer like prime Alex Avila.

The hope is that the combination of weight loss and strength gains help Liranzo to be more athletic both in the box and behind the plate. If he can get his legs more involved in his swing it would help him to be a little more adjustable in the box rather than just waiting on mistake pitches and trying to grind out long at-bats. He has the zone discipline to make this work if he can just start putting a few more balls in play deep in counts.

Behind the plate, Liranzo already has posted plus pop times, and his blocking and framing have improved from his A-ball level work. He’s still struggled with his transfer at times, and with his overall mobility in terms of blocking. The better physical condition he’s in this spring bodes well for his sustained development in the catcherly arts.

The Tigers put a big emphasis on catcher defense, and while Liranzo may not develop enough in his blocking and framing to be a major league regular, that’s probably not going to be his role in Detroit with Dillon Dingler holding down most of the reps anyway. The goal is to develop into a viable backup to Dingler, while getting some reps at first base and in the DH slot. That’s not too high a bar for Liranzo to clear, but that extra seasoning in his defense could easily take another two seasons with an ETA of 2028, when he’ll enter the season at age 24. In 2026 he just needs to wash his 2025 campaign, get back to his disciplined approach at the plate, and continue to refine his defensive game in Erie. The risk profile remains high, but if things work out the Tigers will have a very valuable player in Thayron Liranzo.

By the time we hit Friday, March 27th, it’ll be 180 days since the Kansas City Royals played a regular-season game. So much has changed since then; the Royals have been active, trading and signing players to fill the holes in their roster from last season.

In fact, three different Royals who started that afternoon game in Sacramento are guaranteed to not be on the Opening Day roster – John Rave, Adam Frazier and Mike Yastrzemski. Sam Long even pitched an inning in that game! He’s not even playing baseball in this country anymore.

With injuries and other guys dealing with some nagging stuff or straight up underperforming while battling for a roster spot against someone else, who makes your final cut for the Opening Day roster? Remember, rosters have to be finalized by Wednesday.

Here are the locks to make the team:

A rotation of Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, Kris Bubic, and Noah Cameron.

The bullpen will be Lucas Erceg, Carlos Estévez, Nick Mears, John Schreiber, and Matt Strahm. Bailey Falter and Daniel Lynch IV seem likely to make it, barring a trade. Alex Lange likely has the inside track with veteran non-roster invitees Jose Cuas, Eli Morgan, Héctor Neris, and Aaron Sanchez competing for a spot. Ryan Bergert, Mitch Spence, Luinder Avila, and Steven Cruz have all been assigned to the minors.

For the hitters, the ten locks are: Salvador Perez, Carter Jensen, Maikel Garcia, Jonathan India, Vinnie Pasquantino, Bobby Witt Jr., Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel, Starling Marte, and Lane Thomas. Isaac Collins and Michael Massey have been battling injury. Tyler Tolbert, Drew Waters, and Nick Loftin could be in the mix, and non-roster invitees Jorge Alfaro, Elias Diaz, Josh Rojas, Kevin Newman, Abraham Toro, Brandon Drury and Connor Kaiser all seem likely headed to Omaha.

Who do you think makes the final cut to start to season with the Royals?

Monday notes…

• FORMER CUBS IN YANKEES CAMP: Cody Bellinger. That’s it.
• CUBS vs. YANKEES IN SPRING TRAINING: Today’s games will be just the fifth and sixth between the Cubs and Yankees in spring training, and the first in 75 years. On April 1, 1915, when the Yankees were known as the Highlanders, the Cubs won, 7-0, at Savannah, Ga. On March 29, 1936, the Cubs won, 4-3, on Gabby Hartnett’s two-out, 12th-inning RBI single, at St. Petersburg, Fla. On March 29, 1951, the Cubs lost, 7-5, at Phoenix, where they won the next day, 5-2. The Cubs and Yankees have met in 28 regular-season games, of which the Yankees have won 19. They won all eight against the Cubs in two World Series, 1932 and 1938. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

Here are today’s particulars.

Neither the Cubs nor the Yankees starting lineups were available at press time.

Shōta Imanaga will start for the Cubs.

Carlos Lagrange will start for the Yankees.

No TV today. There will be radio broadcasts on WSCR The Score and also the Yankees radio flagship, WFAN 660 AM.

MLB.com Gameday

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

Please visit our SB Nation Yankees site Pinstripe Alley. If you do go there to interact with Yankees fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

As we have done in the past, we’ll have a first pitch thread at five minutes to game time and one overflow thread, 90 minutes after game time. For today, that will be 2 p.m. CT and 3:35 p.m. CT.

These threads will not post individually onto the front page; instead, you can find links to them in the box marked ”Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page. There will also be a StoryStream on the front page with all the game thread links, as well as the recap after the game is over. The pitcher photos and regular-season stats will return on Opening Day.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

We’ve reached the gap between the end of spring training and opening day. The Jays don’t play until Friday night. To fill that gap, we’re going to run our annual top 40 prospect ranking this week, with two editions per day from now through Thursday. We’ll take opening weekend off and come back on Monday to count down the top 8. Without further ado…

40. Brandon Barriera, LHP, Age 22 (DOB: 3/4/2004), Grade 35, 2025: 14th

Brandon Barriera’s trajectory has been mostly downwards since he was selected 23rd overall back in 2022. He showed up to camp the next summer visibly out of shape and had a thoroughly disappointing first pro season that ended early due to elbow soreness. He cleaned up his conditioning, and reports out of camp in 2024 were good. That lasted just 1.1 innings into the regular season before he went down with elbow issues again, this time requiring Tommy John surgery. He made it back in June of last summer and pitched 5.2 extremely messy innings before going down yet again, this time with a fractured ulna. It’s been a rough ride.

So why is he still here? Because in the brief flashes we’ve gotten the stuff that made him a first round pick still appears to be there. He touched 99mph with his four seamer in his good outings last summer, and has apparently been regularly showing 98 in camp this summer. He has actually shifted to his cutter as his primary weapon, though. It’s a plus pitch that sits in the mid 90s. His slider is also plus, and he’s shown some feel for a change that could be average or a little better. His command was rough last year, but that’s often the last thing to come back after TJ and he never got to get himself established. There’s hope that it can get to fringe average because he’s a good athlete with a reasonably clean delivery.

Injuries and lost reps point to Barriera’s future being in the bullpen, if his body can stand up to even that workload. The upside is such that we can’t quite quit him, but he’ll really need to log a few innings in 2026 or it’s likely that his career just never gets off the runway.

39. Chay Yeager, RHP, Age 23 (DOB: 9/11/2002), Grade 35, 2025: NR

Yeager was the Jays 12th round pick out of Paso Hernando Community College in 2023. He threw 8.1 innings that season, somewhat unusual for a drafted pitcher, looking good against A ball competition. He scuffled a bit at A+ Vancouver the next season, walking nearly as many batters as he struck out (41:33 in 54.0 innings) and posting a 5.50 ERA. He came into camp throwing much harder in 2025, and the results followed. In his second go-round in Vancouver, he struck out more batters in 35.2 innings (43) than he had in 54 innings the year before while bringing his walks under control. That earned him a promotion to AA, where he punched out 21 against 7 walks in 20.0 innings. Overall, his season finished with a 2.75 ERA and more than three strikeouts per walk.

Yeager has added velocity since signing and now sits 96-97 and touches 99 with good vertical carry. His other pitch used to be a slider in the mid 80s, but he’s firmed it up into a cutter-ish pitch that sits in the low 90s and makes hitters look bad. In his AA time, his 15.9% swinging strike rate was in the 92nd percentile for pitchers with 20+ innings at that level. It’s a pure one inning reliever look, with two pitches and solidly below average command, but both offerings can be plus and he gets enough of the zone often enough to let them play. The upside is limited, as repertoire depth and the lack of command or a 70+ grade pitch probably keep him from being a true closer, but he needs minimal additional development to fill his likely eventual role as a 7th inning guy.

38. Franklin Rojas, C, Age 19 (DOB: 3/20/2007), Grade 35, 2025: NR

Rojas signed for just under $1m as part of the 2024 International Free Agent class. Prior to signing he was described as the top catchers in that year’s class, with a solid build and strength for a 16 year old, sound swing, and plus baseball IQ. Scouts project him to stick behind the plate as a solid average receiver with an above average arm.

At 5’10” and already looking physically mature, it’s unlikely that Rojas will ever have more than 45 grade raw power and right now his in-game production is well below that. A switch hitter, his swings both produce a lot of pulled fly balls, so as he develops that fringe power should actualize in games.

Rojas chased aggressively in 2024, swinging and missing at a high rate because he was so often out of the zone. He repeated the Domincan Summer League this past year and his swing and contact numbers were much better. He’s produced at a better than league average clip both years, and looks ready for the American complex this summer.

Rojas’ upside is capped by his limited offense, but if he can continue to make contact at an above average rate and refine his now decent plate discipline, he could profile as league average on both sides of the ball. Given the offensive bar at catcher, that’s an above average everyday player. More likely he fits eventually as a backup who can get on base enough not to be a major liability in the 9 spot.

37. Carson Messina, Age 19 (DOB: 4/15/2006), Grade 35, 2025: 39th

Messina was a major over slot singing in 2004, getting $550,000 in the 12th round to buy him out of a commitment to his home state school of South Carolina (his older brother Cole went in the third round to the Rockies in that same draft). He was shut down after the draft. In 2025, he was assigned to the complex, where he made one appearance before again being shut down for the season with elbow inflammation. He was reportedly throwing again by the end of last season and looks to have avoided surgery for now.

Messina is a stocky 6’2”, 225lbs. He pitches with a deep drop and drive delivery and a 3/4 arm slot that gives him a low release point and a tough angle to the plate. The fastball sits 93-94 but plays above average due to heavy arm side run. He throws two breaking balls, a cutter-like slider that drew some future plus-plus grades before he was drafted and a low-80s downer curveball that apparently looked better in his limited work last season. He has a fringy change-up that needs development. His command is below average right now, and at draft time he was evaluated as needing work to clean up his mechanics, but if he’s able to do that he has the foundations of a #4 starter.

This is basically a placeholder ranking for Messina. His bonus and draft reports suggest considerable upside, and the stuff appeared to be as advertised in the limited looks scouts got last season. We’ll get our first real looks at him as a pro in 2026. If he’s been able to begin moving his development forward in spite of last season’s injury, he has the potential to move quickly up this list.

After months of waiting, Opening Week is finally upon us, and the Nationals’ 2026 regular season campaign will finally kick off Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. It will be the second time they’ve kicked off a season on the road against the Cubbies, with the last time coming in 2012, when Stephen Strasburg threw 7 scoreless innings and an Ian Desmond go-ahead single in the 9th lifted the Nats to a 2-1 victory.

Opening Day is one of the most-watched and discussed games every year for every ballclub, and the Nationals have played some thrillers in their history. Let’s go ahead and rank the very best Opening Days the Nats have been a part of.

Honorable Mentions

HM: 2005, Nationals 4 Phillies 8

Opening Day 2005 marked a historic moment in DC baseball history, the first game in Washington Nationals history and the first game for a DC ballclub in 34 years. It was a rather unremarkable game, but marked some important milestones in team history, such as Josh Willingham knocking the first hit in club history and Terrmel Sledge hitting the first home run.

HM: 2013, Nationals 2 Marlins 0

Opening Day 2013 marks what truly was a golden age of Nationals baseball at the time, as the 2 young phenoms, Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, led the way to a 2-0 victory, with Harper hitting 2 solo home runs and Strasburg throwing 7 scoreless innings. While the 2013 season didn’t go the way the club or fans would’ve hoped it would, that reality couldn’t dampen the vibes on game 1, as the defending NL East champ Nats handled their division rival Marlins with ease in front of a sold-out home crowd.

Top 5

5th: 2016, Nationals 4 Braves 3

After an extremely disappointing 2015 campaign, which led to the firing of manager Matt Williams, the 2016 club, led by new manager Dusty Baker, faced high expectations to get back to postseason play. From game one of that year, this team showed why they were different than the year prior’s team, showing resilience in an extra innings win at Turner Field against the Braves. Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy both clubbed solo shots in the early innings, and a Murphy double down the line in the 10th inning sealed a 1-0 start to the year.

4th: 2012, Nationals 2 Cubs 1

Opening Day 2012 was a similar story to 2016, a resilient late-inning win, but this one had some extra emphasis to it, as it marked a new chapter in Nationals history as serious contenders. In his first career Opening Day start, Stephen Strasburg threw 7 innings of one-run ball, our first glimpse at the kind of big game pitcher he would eventually become. A Jayson Werth bases-loaded walk tied the game in the 8th inning, and an Ian Desmond go-ahead single in the 9th would get the Nats their first of 98 wins in the 2012 campaign.

3rd: 2021, Nationals 6 Braves 5

The 2021 Washington Nationals would not go on to be a great ballclub, but that doesn’t take away from the hope fans had on Opening Day 2021, when in the first game with fans in the crowd for the club since 2019, Juan Soto hit his first career walkoff to lift the Nats over the Braves 6 to 5. The wildest part about this Opening Day was that it was not supposed to be the first game of the year, with the original opening series against the Mets being postponed due to 4 Nationals testing positive for COVID-19. Opening Day 2021 truly marks what an odd time it was for both Nationals baseball and the world during that time period.

2nd: 2014 Nationals 9 Mets 7

Similar to Opening Day 2016, the 2014 Nats had high expectations after a disappointing 2013 season, and they showed in game one why they had what it took to get back to playing October baseball. Tied 5-5 entering extra innings, Ian Desmond gave the Nats the lead with a sacrifice fly before a then 24-year-old Anthony Rendon hit a 3-run shot that would secure the Nationals a 9-7 victory. The Nationals have had a lot of great road victories on Opening Day, but this is the best of the bunch on the road, and would be the best overall if not for another special one.

1st: 2008 Nationals 3 Braves 2

2008 is and will likely always remain the most iconic Opening Day in Nationals history, as in game one at the newly constructed Nationals Park, Ryan Zimmerman hit a walkoff home run into the red porch seats in front of a sold-out crowd and on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Festivities were large, and vibes were high, with President George W. Bush throwing out the first pitch and fans getting accustomed to the place the Nats have called home now for 18 years. The 2008 Nationals were not a good baseball team by any means, but Opening Day isn’t for worrying how the following 161 games will look; it’s about celebrating the return of baseball and taking it one day at a time.

Earlier this morning, the Twins announced that they optioned Ryan Kreidler, Alan Roden, and Eric Wagaman to AAA. Combined with Zebby Matthews getting options yesterday and the Twins letting Liam Hendriks and Andrew Chafin walk, and the Opening Day roster is nearly finalized.

We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/c0mIUmRLMO

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) March 23, 2026

With the recent round of cuts, Minnesota appears to have set their position players in stone.

Starters

• C Ryan Jeffers
• 1B Josh Bell
• 2B Luke Keaschall
• SS Brooks Lee
• 3B Royce Lewis
• LF Trevor Larnach
• CF Byron Buxton
• RF Matt Wallner
• DH Victor Caratini

Bench

• OF James Outman
• IF Tristan Gray
• UTIL Kody Clemens
• OF Austin Martin

The team will likely rotate through options at DH/LF, with all three of Outman, Clemens, and Martin seeing significant time when Caratini is catching or Larnach needs some days off his feet. Gray will likely only play when Lee needs a day off.

The pitchers are less set, but there’s essentially only a single spot up for grabs. Mick Abel dazzled this Spring and stole the 5th starter slot from Zebby Matthews. Matthews will undoubtedly see plenty of time with the Twins throughout the season, but Abel will get the first extended chance to establish himself as a regular.

Starters

• RHP Joe Ryan
• RHP Bailey Ober
• RHP Simeon Woods Richardson
• RHP Taj Bradley
• RHP Mick Abel

Relievers

• LHP Taylor Rogers
• LHP Kody Funderburk
• RHP Cole Sands
• RHP Justin Topa
• LHP Anthony Banda
• RHP Eric Orze
• RHP Zak Kent

That leaves one bullpen slot open that appears to be a competition between veterans Dan Altavilla and Matt Bowman. Cody Laweryson is also still in camp, but the Twins don’t risk losing him for nothing if he doesn’t make the team like the vets. There’s also a good chance the Twins search the waiver wire for an outside addition as other teams make their final cuts today and tomorrow. Regardless, with three lefties already on the team, the final reliever will undoubtedly be a righty, it’s just a matter of finding the right one.