Category: Sports News

Well Game 1 of spring training is in the books, and let’s just forget that one happened, ok? The Yankees bludgeoned a chorus of Tigers minor league relievers to win 20-3 on Saturday. Yeah, it doesn’t matter, but nobody likes getting shelled out of the park.

The key notes on the Tigers’ side was a home run by veteran outfielder Corey Julks, who is in camp trying to compete for a bench outfielder role. Kevin McGonigle smoked a 100 mph fastball from Carlos Lagrange for a sharp oppo single and turned a nice, but fairly routine double play on a feed from Gleyber Torres. The veteran second baseman has been working with McGonigle since well before camp got underway, as each reported early and have been taking infield together the whole time.

Catching prospect Thayron Liranzo really does look like he lost, as claimed, 35 pounds since last season, and moved better behind the plate including pouncing on a little tapper down the third base line and firing a quick strike to first. Keider Montero’s command was pretty meh though he was also pumping a steady 96 mph and threw a couple of good changeups too. Right-handed reliever Cole Waites used to throw high 90’s heat, but returning from surgery he hasn’t found it yet and sat 92-93 mph on Saturday. Not a whole lot else to take away from that one.

Jack Flaherty and Bryan Sammons are both scheduled to pitch on Sunday against the Orioles, with Flaherty obviously getting the start. Tarik Skubal will make his debut in Lakeland on Monday against the Twins. Drew Anderson, offseason free agent signing, is also scheduled to pitch in that game.

Typically players get some days off the first few days of camp in particular, so we’ll see if McGonigle, Torres, Colt Keith, Max Clark, Josue Briceño, or Thayron Liranzo play on Sunday. Probably not, but we’ll likely see more of the Tigers regular lineup instead. We’re expecting to see Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter, and Javier Báez on Sunday, but possibly they’ll just package those core players behind Skubal on Monday instead.

The Tigers heard everyone’s pleas for clarity on the cable/streaming situation on Saturday. There are no doubt plenty of details to sort out on all the licensing contracts, so we’ll have to wait for next week when the Tigers say they’ll have things worked out.

In the meantime, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday’s games are all just on the radio anyway.

Meet the Mets

The Mets played their spring training opener yesterday and fell 2-1 to the Miami Marlins at Clover Park. Many of the team’s new faces took their first swings in a Mets uniform and Brandon Waddell pitched two scoreless innings. However, the Mets were held hitless until the fifth inning and didn’t score until an A.J. Ewing sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Francisco Lindor, who is recovering from hamate surgery, was not a participant in yesterday’s game, but his recovery is progressing.

Darryl Strawberry opened up to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com about his brush with death back in December—the second such incident in the past two years.

Back in the day, the Mets had a Cookie Club. Now they have a Chess Club and Sean Manaea is its leader.

“There’s a lot of stuff I can learn in the game, which is really important,” Bo Bichette said after making his spring debut at third base. “I’m enjoying the new challenge.”

Around the National League East

Phillies reliever José Alvarado is among the players who did not pass insurance protocol and will therefore be unable to participate in the World Baseball Classic.

Phillies owner John Middleton did a wide-ranging interview with The Inquirer, including about negotiations with now-Met Bo Bichette, about which he said he went “to bed at 11 o’clock thinking we had a deal.”

Marlins first baseman Christopher Morel talked about learning the new position.

Around Major League Baseball

Tributes continue to pour in for Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski, whose passing was reported yesterday. Not only did Maz hit a walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, he also was the first player to hit a home run against the Mets in 1962.

Twins pitcher Joe Ryan is undergoing an MRI after being removed from yesterday’s start with lower back tightness. The Twins will provide an update today on his status.

The Cardinals signed Ramón Urías to a one-year, $2 million contract.

The Yankees are dealing with a…stinky situation at their spring training facilities.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

A.J. Ewing is closer to the majors than you may think and you should be excited about it, writes Lukas Vlahos in his season preview.

This Date in Mets History

On February 22, 1966, the Mets traded OF Wayne Graham, IF Bobby Klaus, and C Jimmie Schaffer to the Phillies for slugger Dick Stuart. It didn’t exactly work out so great for the Amazins.

You could make an argument that the Orioles were baseball’s busiest team this offseason. They did a lot!

Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward were brought in to add pop to the lineup. Blaze Alexander was a late addition to provide flexibility to the position group. Ryan Helsley and Andrew Kittredge should stabilize the bullpen. Zach Eflin and Chris Bassitt are solid depth for the rotation. And Shane Baz is an upside play that the team is seemingly very excited about long term.

But it was not a perfect winter. While the current rotation does feel a lot better than it did a year ago, the front office failed to land the bonafide ace type it seemed like they were targeting. The bullpen is also a huge question mark, including the new closer Helsley, who had a rough second half with the Mets. And the lineup has already been hit with injuries to Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday. Can the bench adequately absorb the time that they miss?

With all of that said, let’s present today’s question: What grade would you give Mike Elias for his work this offseason?

I would peg him at a B+.

The signing of Alonso is a big deal. Even though the team’s overall payroll hasn’t really changed, the willingness to fork over a bunch of money to a proven veteran that can help right now sends a message. It matters both inside the clubhouse and around the league. Alonso also brings a ton of power, which the lineup lacked in 2025.

And while the rotation did not get that one single infusion of top-tier talent, the overall group is impressive to me. They have six legitimate big league arms, two of which are Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers, who each have a recent Top 10 finish in Cy Young voting on their resumé.

My biggest gripe is the bullpen. I can see the vision for the current group, but I’m not totally convinced. It would be nice to have one more veteran that feels like a sure thing. Instead it seems like they might head into the season with a whole lot of potential and depth. At least a bullpen is a relatively easy thing to improve as the season goes on.

What do you think? Was it a near-perfect offseason? Or does the lack of an ace addition make it closer to a failing grade? Let us know in the comments.

It has always been pretty easy for an athlete to come to Philadelphia and win over the fanbase. The only real thing that is asked is that the player play hard. Athletic talent is something of a desired quality, but there are plenty of players that have been embraced by the city that were short on that talent. Yet each time that happened, the player was one of those vaunted “lunch pail guys”. The ones that come to work every day, play hard, get a little dirty.

Good lord, I can feel the oiliness of sports radio closing in around me.

Still, there are players that this fanbase has embraced that were maybe a bit overrated. Players that maybe shouldn’t have been on the pedestal that was given to them. The reasons could be various, but whatever it was, that player was overrated just a bit too much. Who is one player that the fanbase has overrated for one reason or another? Could be any player from any era, but should be one that maybe we should dial it back a notch.

Week 1: The Starting Rotation

Week 2: The Catchers. All of them.

My Comparing the Cardinals Spring Training series moves forward to the other half of the battery as this week, I focus on the six… or seven… catchers that are trying to force their way onto the next great Cardinals team when this rebuild concludes. Speaking of rebuilds, this week, I had Sean Anderson from CHGO White Sox on to compare the two teams and to talk progress of the Sox. If you check it out, you’ll hear some things that sound similar to what the Cardinals are doing right now, like focusing on the “undercarriage” of the car, rather than the body. I think it was a great conversation, but that’s just me.

Back to the ‘Birds.

The Cardinals’ catching situation can go multiple ways in 2026

Last season, Cardinals’ backstops combined to put up a season that ranked 15th in baseball and 8th in the National League in terms of fWAR. That group was lead by Pedro Pages, who played 104 games behind the plate, with Yohel Pozo chipping in 39 games, Ivan Herrera suiting up for 14, and prospect Jimmy Crooks getting his first taste of the bigs with 12 games at catcher. In total, that group combined for a 2.7 fWAR and an 88 wRC+ season, although it admittedly felt way worse than that, at least to me.

St. Louis went into the season apparently ready to give Pages and Herrera a split of those catching duties, thanks to Herrera’s bat being top of the league potential, and Pages continuously being celebrated for his ability to handle a pitching staff. At risk of sidetracking too far, I found it funny how much the organization put into those compliments to Pages from the pitching staff when Gray, Mikolas, and Feddde put up mediocre seasons at best and were not even going to be around the next year. It was an interesting change of pace from when the pitching staff threw Contreras under the bus when he was catching, but still a talking point I felt was overblown because of that expected turnover and the long-term outlook of the Cardinals.

While Pages was lauded for his ability to catch and throw the ball, the offense left much to be desired. Outside of an absolutely scorching August where Pages put up a wRC+ over 200, that number did not surpass 82 in any other month and even dipped as low to a -19 value in July. By the end of the season, Pages ended up with a 77 wRC+, but ranked 7th in baseball for his defensive value. To me, that type of season and his expected progression puts Pages in the backup catcher category for me: great defender, can run into one every once in awhile, but does not move the needle enough with the bat to deserve five starts a week.

Pages’ role in 2026 relies a lot on Ivan Herrera’s progression, both in terms of his catching ability and his injury rehab. The latter part is more relevant for the short-term, as Herrera is missing the WBC due to insurance issues and his arm recovery is cloudy. At Winter Warm-Up, Herrera said he had not yet been cleared to hit or throw at 100%, which was a little surprising to us in the audience. Since then, though, we have seen videos from camp where he has thrown weighted balls and taken some swings. If he keeps moving in the right direction, the Cardinals appear ready to put Herrera behind the plate to maximize his value as a 25-year-old with above-average hitting ability.

For this season, I believe this plan makes the most sense as the Cardinals sort through their roster depth and determine who has or does not have a future with the organization, either because of poor performance or to maximize trade value. In Herrera’s case, 80-100 games behind the plate with near league-average defensive numbers could launch him even further up the Top 10 Catchers Right Now conversation, as he already cracked the Top 100 across the league without a clear position. If Herrera can stay healthy and maintain his effectiveness with a near-everyday role, I believe that he could be an annual front runner for the Silver Slugger Award at catcher, and even earn some down ballot MVP votes. In the unfortunate circumstance that Herrera is either not healthy or ineffective behind the dish, I am firmly in the camp that should then force him to full-time DH this season. I understand and can partially support the fans that clamor for him to pick up a first base or outfield glove, but as we have seen, it is extremely difficult to learn a new position at the major league level. If he cannot handle catcher, then I am all about a position switch, as long as he begins some behind the scenes work this season and can fully focus on that transition during next offseason as opposed to when the games actually matter (for teams other than the Cardinals).

If Herrera did not work out, that would shift Pages back to his 100-110 starts behind the plate and open up a very interesting competition for his backup. Fan favorite and trimmed up Yohel Pozo is back on the 40-man roster on a split major league deal, but he was mostly used as a pinch hitter who finished the game behind the plate last season. He performed well in those spots, with FanGraphs showing that Pozo hit an astounding .533 with a 255 wRC+ in 16 high leverage plate appearances. Because of that, Pozo could squeeze his way onto the back end of the roster, regardless of the catching conundrum, and simply be that late game replacement.

The inclusion of Pozo on the 26-man roster could spell problems for former top prospect Jimmy Crooks. As the only lefty hitter of the group, if Pages were to be the starter, Crooks could work his way into a platoon role. This would allow Pages to still be there for the pitchers who so dearly need him, while also allowing Crooks to learn at the major league level and not take reps away from those in the minor leagues who need them. That is not to say that Crooks is a finished product, in fact, he is far from it. But with the progression of the other catchers in the organization, and the fact that Crooks has already made the majors, a move back down to Memphis could be seen as regression. The depth in the Cardinals’ catching setup is envious, and I also wrote a story earlier last season about how trading Crooks or Pages could allow the organization to start pushing the prospects up the minor league ladder and see who sticks, rather than play the waiting game with all three promising minor leaguers. For me, assuming Pages grabs the starting role for one reason or another, I am a fan of putting Crooks in that 50/50 split role as a way to 1. limit Pages’ at-bats and 2. keep Crooks fresh but also seeing consistent enough playing time for a rookie backstop who has to manage a pitching staff and learn to hit MLB pitches.

The FIFTH and final catcher on the St. Louis 40-man is switch-hitting catcher Leonardo Bernal, who has put together an impressive resume since being signed out of Panama and debuting as a 17-year-old. I would say I am more excited for Bernal than Crooks, and that is not meant to discredit the solid MLB player I believe Crooks will develop into. It is a testament to Bernal, who took the challenge of becoming an improved receiver behind the plate and went a step further. At the end of last season, the switch-hitter won the Minor League Gold Glove Award for the work he did behind the plate. Over the past two years, Bernal has thrown out 67 out of 165 baserunners trying to swipe a bag, good for an amazing 40.6% caught stealing rate. While the arm plays, a little further look saw an increase in errors, up to 10 from seven the year before, as well as jumping from just five passed balls allowed in 2024 to 13 in 2025. Award voters were obviously not too put off by those numbers, though, and Bernal also added some more pop at the plate, knocking 13 homers, without sacrificing walks or strikeouts. After spending all season in Double-A, Bernal was added to the 40-man roster this offseason, so I would expect the Cardinals to get a little aggressive with him and push him up to Memphis, either to be the everyday guy or split time with Crooks.

Moving further down the organizational ladder is one of the most exciting prospects in the system that many still may not know about. Of course, the vast majority of you know and are pumped about Rainiel Rodriguez, who is ranked as MLB Pipeline’s 37th-best prospect despite only playing A-ball. The 19-year-old took off immediately last year, hitting six homers in his first 10 games in the Complex League. By the end of his second professional season, Rodriguez was bumped up to High-A and compiled a .276 batting average with 20 homers and nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Behind the plate, he threw out 30% of would-be base stealers, but did commit nine errors for a .985 field percentage. Picking the negatives in the surging prospects’ game is tough because for one, there are few, and two, the information and data on him is light compared to his peers because of being so young and at lower levels. Assuming the catchers above him all moved up in the pecking order, Rodriguez could start the season in Springfield, potentially sharing time as he continues to get acclimated to pro ball, before eventually taking over full time. By the end of the season, it is very possible that Rodriguez slides into the top 20 prospect rankings and becomes a national name. If that were to happen, the rest of the Cardinals’ catching corps could have different futures in store, ranging from trade bait to position changes, as all six of these backstops have potential to be something at the big league level.

Through fWAR sorted by ZiPS DC on FanGraphs, Ivan Herrera is ranked just outside the top 10 in projections at number 11, and Pedro Pages projects to be the 28th-best catcher in the MLB. Herrera was ranked as a top 10 catcher by MLB Network, so if he truly can just catch and throw the ball, while maintaining his offensive production, the Cardinals could begin extension talks despite Herrera not being a free agent until the 2030 offseason.

SELF PROMO OF THE WEEK

• As showed earlier, Cardinals on My Time talked White Sox and the rebuild. This week or so, I will have some Cubs creators on to do a little tour around the NL Central
• Random Cardinal of the Week kept celebrating Black History Month with Shake and Bake before Ricky Bobby ever thought of it
• Tonight at 6pm, Redbird Rundown talked about some 2026 storylines and were joined by the Podfather himself, Daniel Shoptaw (@c70 on socials). This was a fun one! Next weekend, we’ll be joined by Kareem to draft some prospects. Make sure you follow our Twitter, , YouTube, Spotify, and Instagram because there is going to be some expansion news for Redbird Rundown popping up this week!!!!

Thanks as always!