Category: Sports News

The storied history of the Yankees is dominated in the popular perception by the team’s legends, from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, to Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, to Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge. But baseball is played with nine to a side, and even these superstars couldn’t raise the Yankees to fantastic heights on their own. There have always been great supporting players anchoring each great Yankees squad, players that may not have dominated the spotlight, but made important contributions all their own.

One of those players was Tommy Henrich, who we ranked 37th on our Top 100 countdown a few years back. An outfielder who played during a time when mythical figures like DiMaggio and Mantle roamed the grass at Yankee Stadium, Henrich was a superlative performer in his own right, one who was invaluable as the Yankees piled up championships in their glory years.

Thomas David Henrich
Born: February 20, 1913 (Massillon, OH)
Died: December 1, 2009 (Beavercreek, OH)
Yankees Tenure: 1937-50

Thomas Henrich was born in Massillon, Ohio, a city 50 miles south of Cleveland. Massillon was a football town, and Henrich’s high school, St. John’s Catholic High School, didn’t even have a baseball team, so Henrich grew up largely playing softball. Henrich would play semipro ball after graduating and caught the eye of a Detroit Tigers scout, spurning Detroit’s advances but eventually signing with Cleveland in 1933.

In Cleveland’s system, Henrich didn’t look like a man who played little baseball growing up. He hit .325 in his first year in the minors, and hit .337 in 1935. He was one of the best players in the minors by 1936, hitting .346/.411/.560 with 15 homers and 100 RBI across 157 games.

Yet Cleveland didn’t show much interest in promoting Henrich to the show, as the team tried to sell his contract to the Milwaukee Brewers. He and his father wrote to a letter Commissioner Kenesaw Landis, arguing that Cleveland was denying Henrich a shot at the majors that he obviously deserved. Landis ruled in Henrich’s favor, and Henrich became the first free agent in MLB history.

Given Henrich’s stellar record in the minors, there was quite a bidding war for his services when he suddenly hit the open market. The New York Giants offered Henrich a $15,000 bonus, a hefty sum for 1937. But Henrich had eyes for a different New York club. Despite growing up in Ohio, Henrich had been a Yankees fan, awed by the exploits of Babe Ruth. The Yankees offered him a staggering $25,000, and Henrich was off to the Bronx.

The little kid from Massillon arrived in New York confident. He told Arthur Daley and the New York Times, of the time he checked into his hotel in Manhattan:

I still have a vivid memory of coming to town for the first time and checking into the Hotel New Yorker. The bellhop took my bag and discovered who I was before we even reached the room. ‘So you’re the new Yankee outfielder,’ he said, sneering at me. ‘How can you break in ahead of—let’s see, who we’ve got—Joe DiMaggio, Jake Powell, Myril Hoag, George Selkirk and Roy Johnson? Did you ever see them guys hit?’ Not yet,’ I said bravely, ‘but they never saw me hit either.’

After a brief stint with the Newark Bears, Yankee manager Joe McCarthy called for Henrich, and he made his major-league debut on May 11, 1937. Plugged into a lineup that included a late-career Lou Gehrig and a second-year player named Joe DiMaggio, Henrich more than held his own when his number was called. Henrich would play 67 games as a rookie, hitting a robust .320 with a .972 OPS. The Yankees would win the World Series that year, though Henrich didn’t appear. He would make his first appearance in the Fall Classic the next season, following a similarly strong sophomore campaign that saw Henrich post an .882 OPS. Henrich doubled in his first World Series game, and in the deciding Game 4, Henrich hit a solo home run that would prove to provide the winning run as the Yankees swept away the Cubs for their third-straight title.

Henrich cemented himself early in his career as one of the Yankees’ most consistent producers behind their stars, earning the nickname “Ol Reliable” from Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen. However, a knee injury he picked up as a rookie returned to plague him in his mid-20’s, and though he posted an .800 OPS in 1939 and a .947 figure in 1940, he played in fewer than 100 games each season. He didn’t appear in the 1939 World Series, which the Yankees won to make it a four-peat, before the club finally saw their streak end without a pennant in 1940.

In 1941, Henrich put together the finest overall season of his career to that point, hitting a career-high 31 home runs with an .895 OPS, and adding another World Series home run as the Yankees reclaimed the crown by defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers. Amusingly though, his most memorable play came on a strikeout that should have ended Game 4 in a Dodgers win to tie the series at 2-2. Brooklyn catcher Mickey Owen couldn’t handle Hugh Casey’s low curve and it skipped away from Owen for an error. DiMaggio and company promptly started a rally and by the time the dust had settled, the Yankees had won, 7-4. They won the World Series the next day.

Henrich’s breakout spilled over into the next season as he made his first All-Star team, but his run was cut short as the United States entered World War II. Henrich joined the U.S. Coast Guard in August 1942 and served three years primarily stationed in Michigan.

Henrich returned to the Yankees in 1946 and, at age-33, began an uninterrupted run of success. From 1946 to 1948, Henrich made two All-Star teams and received a smattering of down-ballot MVP votes each year. He appeared in at least 142 games each season, the longest stretch of decent health of his career. And he raked, his .858 OPS over that span 35 percent better than league average, all while providing the excellent outfield defense that he so prided himself on.

He was no longer a role player, a nice background piece behind the Yankees’ cast of legends. Even if the likes of DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, and other future Hall-of-Famers took most of the shine, Henrich was a celebrated player in his own right. Casey Stengel, having taken over as manager of the Yankees in 1949, said of his outfielder:

He’s a fine judge of a fly ball. He fields grounders like an infielder. He never makes a wrong throw, and if he comes back to the hotel at 3 in the morning when we’re on the road and says he’s been sitting up with a sick friend, he’s been sitting up with a sick friend.

Stengel’s praise encapsulated what Henrich’s teammates liked most about him; that dependability and reliability. Though injuries finally caught up to him at the end of his career, Henrich produced all the way to the end, as he always had. He dealt with back and toe injuries in 1949, which limited him to 115 games, and his balky left knee, always a lingering issue since he was a rookie, kept him to 75 games in 1950. When on the field, Henrich was still at his best. He managed a combined 680 plate appearances across 1949 and 1950, his final two seasons, and in that span he hit 30 homers, drove in 119 runs, and ran a .936 OPS.

Henrich threw in one more World Series homer in 1949 as the Yankees trumped the Dodgers again — a game-winning clout off Brooklyn’s Don Newcombe to break a scoreless tie and win Game 1. It was the first walk-off shot in the history of the Fall Classic.

Henrich would retire after the 1950 season, having appeared in four World Series, all wins, and having contributed to eight different pennant-winning teams. He hung around baseball for a time, spending a year as a Yankees coach in 1951, going into broadcasting for a couple seasons, and doing a tour as a base coach with the Tigers and Giants. He ultimately seemed more content to stick to the sidelines in retirement, speaking of those golden years when he won ballgames alongside the likes of Gehrig and DiMaggio and Berra. He would become a fixture at Old-Timers’ Days, and wrote two books, The Way to Better Baseball and Five O’Clock Lightning: Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle and the Glory Years of the NY Yankees.

Looking back decades later, it’s easy to wonder about what could have been for Henrich, had he not injured his knee his rookie year, or if he hadn’t lost three prime years to war. It’s not hard to imagine a world where Henrich pushes closer to the inner circle of Yankee greats, or even compiles a reasonable Hall-of-Fame case. But Henrich authored a more than fine career as played. He passed away in Ohio in December of 2009, and was born on this day 113 years ago. Happy birthday to Old Reliable!

References

Baseball Reference

Edelman, Rob. SABR Bio.

Goldstein, Richard. “Tommy Henrich, Yankees Clutch Hitter, Dies at 96.” New York Times, December 2, 2009.

FanGraphs

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

For a team that has considerable questions defensively at multiple positions, catcher may be one of the Pirates’ strengths.

2021 No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis is in line to be the Pirates’ lead catcher in 2026.

Drafted for his bat rather than his defense, Davis has transformed his game into a considerable defensive player, while he tries to catch up offensively.

Despite a .167 average in 87 games, Davis registered a 0.7 WAR and a 28% caught-stealing rate last season.

Davis emerged as Paul Skenes’ primary catcher, securing him a roster spot on the Pirates as the trusted confidant for the 2025 NL Cy Young winner.

He is also expected to catch Mitch Keller and Bubba Chandler, the No. 11 prospect in baseball, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

If, and it’s a big if, Davis can improve at the plate, the Pirates will be in a considerably better position on the bottom third of the lineup.

Davis slashed .167/.234/.278 with only a .512 OPS in his third MLB season. 

This season will be a significant line of demarcation for what Davis could be moving forward. He was drafted as an elite hitter, rushed to the big leagues, and thrown in right field for his bat. 

Pirates pitchers trust him; it’s past time he trusts himself and figures it out at the plate to stay in the majors for good. 

Joey Bart is in line to be the backup catcher to Davis. Despite frequent trade rumors surrounding the former No. 2 pick by the San Francisco Giants, Bart remains on the Pirates roster and is a key offensive threat against left-handed pitching.

Bart’s power numbers dipped significantly last year, hitting four home runs in 93 games compared to 13 in 80 contests during the 2023 season. 

He hit .249 overall with a .340 slugging percentage, but ballooned to a .306 average and .472 slugging against lefties. 

Signing Marcell Ozuna likely takes at-bats away from Bart in the DH spot, primarily keeping his role behind the plate. 

The Pirates created a logjam at first base with Spencer Horwitz and free-agent signing Ryan O’Hearn.

Bart hasn’t played an inning at first, but is an intriguing option to add another right-handed bat to the lineup if the Pirates pursue the opportunity.

He drove in 45 runs with a near .800 OPS in 2024 as one of the Bucs’ best offensive players. The Pirates have potential at catcher from two players taken in the top two picks of the draft, but haven’t fulfilled their true potential offensively and defensively.

Acquired in the David Bednar deal at the 2025 MLB trade deadline, Rafael Flores is the biggest wild card of the group.

Flores, 25, made his big league debut on September 17 and recorded three hits in 15 at-bats.

He only caught one of his seven games, playing first base in six as a right-handed stick in the lineup.

The 6-foot-4, 232-pound catcher is a career .275 hitter in the minor leagues and hit over 20 home runs the past two seasons.

In 36 games with Triple-A Indianapolis following the trade, Flores clobbered six home runs and drove in 28 runs, slashing .281/.363/.459 in the process.

Flores has potential, but needs the opportunity. Trading Bart would open the door for him, but keeping Bart likely means Flores will begin at Triple-A.

Endy Rodriguez has dealt with injuries the past two seasons that cost him all of 2024 and limited him to 18 games last year.

Now listed as a first baseman on the Pirates website but still described in camp as a catcher, Rodriguez’s role remains a mystery.

He could return to Triple-A to get himself right and regroup with roster spots on the MLB roster, hard to come by this campaign.

GM Ben Cherington said before camp that he believed this is the best roster the Pirates have had in his tenure, looking to make the postseason for the first time in over a decade.

The former Pirates Minor League Player of the Year is still only 25 years old, a valuable switch hitter, and a lifetime .292 hitter in the Minors. 

Rodriguez hit .323 with 25 home runs and 95 RBIs in 2022 and looked to be one of the next solid bats in the Pirates’ lineup for many years to come.

The Pirates play the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. in the first Spring Training game of the season.

The start of spring training signing of Chris Bassitt to get him into the Orioles starting rotation has made the role of a couple of incumbent O’s pitchers much less certain. If the team makes it through spring training without any injuries to the rotation mix – a big if – what happens to Tyler Wells?

Before the Bassitt signing, Wells figured to be the “next man up” for the starting rotation mix, who might get some play if Zach Eflin is more delayed in his return from back surgery than has been indicated so far. Now, it’s less clear what they will or should do with him, assuming nothing else changes.

Entering his sixth major league season at age 31, do the Orioles want to keep him as a long reliever? Will they prefer to have him stretched out as a starting pitcher, in which case they could still choose to use one of his remaining minor league options to send him to Triple-A Norfolk? They could even return him to the sort of relief role he occupied in his rookie year, when it looked like he might have some potential as a late-inning guy.

What do you think happens with Wells? Let us know in the comments below.

It’s pitching preview time, ladies and gentlemen. Over the next several days, I’ll be writing 10,000 words or so about everyone you might see pitching for the Red Sox to start the season. I’ve put the team’s starting options into tiers because that’s how my brain works. Don’t think of them as rankings, but rather buckets based on some similarities I see.

After starting with a look at Garrett Crochet, one of the best pitchers in baseball, and then moving onto the two big offseason acquisitions, today we shift to four pitchers who hope to fill out the back of the rotation, but who each have some questions to answer.

Tier Three: Veterans With Questions

Tier three is made up of Brayan Bello and Johan Oviedo, two pitchers who have established themselves as major leaguers but who have yet to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. The potential is off the charts, but the floor is low.

Brayan Bello

2025 in a sentence:Bello had a solid year, but his strikeouts were down, the ball was in play, and he struggled late in the season.

Sonny Gray’s season line would lead many to believe he’s a bottom-of-the-rotation pitcher, when the underlying numbers tell a better story. Brayan Bello’s season line, on the other hand, paints him in a more positive light than a look under the hood.

In 29 appearances (28 starts and 1 weird five-inning appearance to resume a rain-delayed game), Bello posted a career-best 3.35 ERA. That mark was the ninth-best in the American League among qualifiers. At the same time, his K-BB%, one of the best predictors of future performance, was 48th of 52 qualifiers. Most public projection systems have Bello’s 2026 ERA somewhere between 4.00 and 4.50.

We’ll start with the good. Bello throws a 95 mph sinker that reached up to 99 mph at times. He uses it 50% of the time against righties, and there’s not a ton they can do with it. It has 18 inches of horizontal break; he gets it in on righties’ hands well, and induces tons of weak contact as a result. The sinker is a great table setter for Bello against righties, but he needs to refine the rest of his approach.

He introduced a cutter that became his second-most thrown pitch to right-handers by the end of the season. It worked well, earning strikes at a high rate and limiting hard contact. He struggled in September when he had a hard time throwing the pitch in the zone, and the strike rate fell about eight percent, but end-of-season fatigue could be to blame. Overall, the pitch was a solid addition to his repertoire.

More pressing than getting strikes, for Bello, was ending at-bats. His putaway rate was just 16.6%, 90th of 127 starters with at least 100 innings pitched. Against righties, he used a sweeper most often and had some success, but overall, it was an average offering. He paired it with backdoor sinkers that also had limited success. His four-seam fastball was ineffective with two strikes despite solid command at the top of the zone, and he left too many cutters over the plate rather than landing them on the glove side.

Bello had similar problems against lefties. His sinker and cutter went for strikes frequently, but lefties made better contact than righties. With two strikes, he doesn’t have a single above-average offering. He went to his changeup frequently, but the slow ball was never in the zone and wasn’t enticing enough to punch hitters out. He tried his four-seam and sweeper as well, but neither provided positive results. Overall, it resulted in a 16.3% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate to lefties. Bello was able to navigate through jams and keep runs off the board, but that style is likely unsustainable over a larger sample.

When Bello takes the mound for the first time in 2026, he might look different. He’s reportedly working on a new curveball in Spring Training. It remains to be seen what the shape will look like, but in theory, it could be flipped in for early strikes against lefties and serve as a putaway pitch in the dirt later in counts. Edward Cabrera throws from a similar arm slot and could provide a blueprint for the shape, though Cabrera is a few inches taller. Bello’s also reportedly tinkering with his changeup. An improved changeup is arguably the most important pitch for the righty, who needs something to put away lefties with regularly. If he can’t figure out complementary pitches, his sinker still gives him a solid floor as a back-of-the-rotation arm, but Bello’s sights should be set much higher.

More Bello: 2025 Red Sox in Review: Brayan Bello wasn’t quite a number two

Johan Oviedo

2025 in a sentence: Oviedo flashed serious potential when he returned from Tommy John surgery and a lat injury.

Of the Red Sox’s starting pitching acquisitions, Oviedo is the least flashy, but you could make the case that he has the highest ceiling. He made his season debut in August and made nine appearances for the Pirates, posting a 3.57 ERA and 24.7% strikeout rate.

The story for Oviedo, basically since he entered the league, is about throwing strikes. His career walk rate is 11%, much higher than your typical top-of-the-line starter. “Fixing” his walk problem is fairly straightforward, and it comes down to his fastballs. Oviedo has a five-pitch mix: four-seam, sinker, slider, curveball, and changeup. The slider and curveball each function as strike-getters. The slider is used early in counts, is in the zone a ton, and manages to avoid hard contact, while the curveball is in the zone less, but still gets strikes at a high clip. Lefties see more early curveballs, while righties see a heavy dose of sliders.

With two breaking balls getting strikes at a high clip, you’d think walks wouldn’t be an issue. However, in 2025, and for most of his career, his fastballs weren’t holding up their end of the bargain. Against righties, his four-seam and sinker accounted for about 50% of his pitches, and the strike rates were just 54% and 52%, respectively. Lefties saw 39% four-seams, and just 55% of them were strikes. Here’s the kicker: his fastball, by stuff, is probably his best pitch. It averaged 95.5 mph and was thrown with 7.4 feet of extension. The approach angle is among the flattest in the league. It’s not dissimilar from Payton Tolle’s lauded fastball.

If Oviedo can rein in his fastball and get the strike rate closer to 65%, he could be an All-Star. I’d actually be willing to bet that if he throws 65% strikes with his fastball, he will be an All-Star. If he can’t, there’s a case to be made for leaning even further into “pitching backwards”. Throw more breaking balls early in counts, and use the fastball above the zone to put hitters away. He has an option year remaining, which could make him the odd man out at the start of the season. Regardless of his role, he’s a 6’6”, 275-pound sculpture that just needs the finishing touches.

More Oviedo: Red Sox acquire Johan Oviedo from the Pirates for Jhostynxon Garcia in five-player trade

Tier Four: Returning from Injury

Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval make up the next tier. It’s difficult to project either of them as they haven’t pitched since 2024, but they’ve each shown bat-missing stuff in the past.

Kutter Crawford

2025 in a sentence: Knee and wrist injuries kept Crawford off the field for all of 2025.

Kutter Crawford was a pitcher who many picked to break out in 2024, and while he put together a solid season (4.36 ERA over 183.2 innings), he didn’t quite make the jump that many expected. He struck out 23.1% of hitters while walking 6.7% over 33 starts, but home runs were an issue as he led the league with 34 allowed.

Crawford had reverse splits, limiting lefties to a .683 OPS while righties posted a .732 mark. Lefties did account for 20 of the 34 home runs with a roughly equal number of at-bats, however. The key to his success against lefties is, you guessed it, his cutter. The pitch has more horizontal movement than the average cutter, while holding its vertical plane well. He’s able to throw the pitch high and glove side against lefties early in counts, racking up strikes and jamming hitters. His four-seam has elite vertical movement, but it didn’t miss as many bats as you’d expect in 2024. Against lefties in 2023, the 16.6% swinging strike rate was remarkable, but that number fell to just 10.5% in 2024. The velocity fell about a tick, potentially due to the knee injury he was fighting, which could explain the regression, but it was a worse pitch regardless of the reasoning. The ICR% also jumped from a stellar 29.4% to a terrible 48.3%. Hopefully, additional velocity comes with health and can help the pitch become a plus offering once again because it’s such an important pitch for Crawford. The fastball and cutter do most of the heavy lifting, but he also featured a splitter that performed well in 2024. He used it in about 16% of his two-strike counts, and the results were great. Despite a high zone rate, he generated swings and misses on 21% of his pitches, reliably punching lefties out. The contact against it wasn’t hard either, as he kept it on the outer half consistently. I should note that his mistake rate with the splitter was high, though it wasn’t punished. Regardless, Crawford needs a two-strike offering against lefties, and the splitter fits the bill.

Against righties, it’s a similar story. In 2024, he used a nearly equal split of four-seams, cutters, and sweepers. The four-seam and cutter each generated strikes at a high rate, but the former was hit incredibly hard. Unlike against lefties, its performance was in line with 2023, besides a slight dip in whiffs. His cutter was excellent against righties, located down and away rather than up and in. His sweeper was a solid third pitch, though a true putaway breaking ball might help him find more strikeouts.

The last version of Crawford we saw has the makings of a solid pitcher, though unspectacular. Home runs were his undoing, with almost 50% of his earned runs allowed coming via the long ball. While his plan of attack will always present the opportunity for home runs, his 23.1% home run/fly ball rate is sure to come down to a more reasonable number.

To me, velocity feels like the key for Kutter going into 2026. If he’s sitting 93-94, he likely will be one of the best five pitchers on the roster. If he’s closer to 91 mph, his upside will be limited. He’s already a little bit behind schedule due to the flu, so he could start the season in the bullpen. Part of me has always wondered how he would look throwing 91 mph cutters 50% of the time. He’s got the arsenal to start, but he could be an elite relief option if things shake out that way.

Patrick Sandoval

2025 in a sentence: Sandoval hasn’t pitched since June 2024 due to elbow trouble.

It’s been almost two years since Sandoval saw game action, and his last season wasn’t a good one. He registered a 5.08 ERA over 79.2 innings before being shut down with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. He’s a reclamation project, which hasn’t worked for the Red Sox recently, but his ceiling is high if they can figure it out.

At his best, Sandoval gave lefties a ton of trouble. In 2022, he struck out almost 25% of lefties while walking just 6%. He did it with a slider-heavy approach, using it 49% of the time to great effect. It’s a gyro slider that he was able to use in the zone effectively for both called strikes and whiffs. In 2023, he leaned more into a cutter shape and had a hard time finding the zone with it, limiting his strike rate. In 2024, he threw the pitch harder than ever and in the zone more than ever while cutting the usage, which kept the strike rate high, but led to hard contact against it. After the slider, his sinker has always been his most used secondary pitch to lefties. In 2024, Sandoval had control problems, and hitters were patient. Aside from that season, when he wasn’t fully healthy, the pitch has returned high strike rates and poor contact quality. With usage around 30%, the ground ball rate against it has never been lower than 56%. He used a four-seam as a surprise two-strike offering as well, but it’s never been a particularly effective pitch. Going forward, I’d expect to see more sinkers on the inner half to lefties, while continuing to use his slider in and out of the zone. There’s a case to be made for creating two distinct pitch shapes as well, throwing a harder cutter and a softer sweeper or slider.

Right-handed hitters have been more of a problem. Throughout his career, Sandoval has never had a great answer for them. He uses a changeup about 30% of the time that performs well, but it doesn’t return strikes at a high enough rate to limit walks. He uses his sinker, four-seam, and slider as well, with none generating great results. “Just add a cutter” is cliched advice, but for Sandoval, it could provide a pitch to get ahead of righties and allow him to use both sides of the plate.

There’s also the question of whether he will be on the team. Sandoval’s name has been floated in trade rumors all offseason due to his salary. A pitching-needy team with an injury or two could take a flyer on the lefty to fill out their rotation. The Red Sox are also short on lefties. If he’s not in the rotation, he’ll likely remain stretched out for a long-relief role, but he could be used to match up with some lefties in leverage spots as well.

• Luis Robert Jr. continues to show his big-time potential offensively, if he can stay healthy
• A healthy Kodai Senga touched 97 mph in his latest bullpen session in Port St. Lucie
• Sean Manaea, also back healthy, has been working on fixing his mechanics after his rough campaign
• Plus, what the Mets want to see from Carson Benge in his bid for a spot on the Opening Day roster
• However the Benge situation plays out in RF will have a ripple effect on the bench spots
• John Harper discussed Jonah Tong's addition to his arsenal, and his confidence helping the MLB team 
• Harper also wrote about Brett Baty, and his comfort level taking reps in the outfield this spring
• Francisco Lindor said he respects Steve Cohen's decision to never name a Mets captain
• MLB's new ABS system is explained, and a look at how the Mets plan to use it heading into this season
• On the latest Mets Pod, the guys discuss Juan Soto, Francisco Alvarez, and other observations from Mets camp
• The Mets are signing 31-year-old right-hander Bryce Conley to a minor league deal 
• WATCH: Soto, Benge, Robert Jr. take some cuts in PSL

Freddie Freeman is now at the latter third of his six-year deal he signed with the Dodgers following the 2021-22 lockout.

After spending parts of 12 seasons with the Atlanta Braves, concluding with a World Series championship in 2021, Freeman has created a new legacy in Los Angeles, setting the team’s single season doubles record in 2023 and helping the Dodgers win two straight titles, being named World Series MVP in 2024. Although his current contract is up after the 2027 season, Freeman has shown no indication of wanting to take his talents elsewhere.

Sonja Chen of MLB.com writes about Freeman’s desires to play until he is 40 years old, noting that he would like to do so while still wearing a Dodgers uniform.

“I love being here,” Freeman said Thursday… “I’m not worried about another contract, not going to bring it up, not going to talk about it. I got two years left. I’m just an employee. I just do my job, and if they want me back, they want me back. But I think [president of baseball operations] Andrew [Friedman] and everyone knows that I love being here.”

Links

Mookie Betts suffered the worst offensive season of his big league career last year, and yet, he was still one of the most valuable shortstops in the National League due to his superb defense. But that alone won’t satisfy him.

Dave Roberts will be eyeing a bounce back season for Betts in 2026, one that will include him in MVP conversations, and will be prioritizing Betts’ health throughout the duration of the year, notes Jack Vita of the Los Angeles Times.

“He will be in the MVP conversation this year,” Roberts said this week. “But again, I think, speaking for Mookie, his main goal is to help us win a championship. So, I think whatever falls out from there, I think that will happen. I just want him to focus on just being healthy, helping us win, and then whatever happens outside of that, will happen.”

Evan Phillips discussed his foray in free agency this offseason, ultimately ending with him returning to the Dodgers, and noted that despite not being to take the field until midseason, he is glad to be back in Los Angeles, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

“It was my first crack at free agency, at least on this side of things. Being a minor-league free agent was probably less attractive to most teams. Yeah, it was different… I’m not too worried about the timeline yet but definitely glad to be back in Dodger blue.”

With Blake Snell questionable to be ready by opening day, Justin Wrobleski is a name to keep an eye on as the Dodgers formulate their starting rotation for the beginning of the season, notes Chen.

New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. has his sights set on joining Shohei Ohtani in the 50-50 club, writes Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Chisholm has career-highs of 31 home runs and 40 stolen bases, so a 40-40 season would be a much more realistic expectation.

Happy Friday, everyone! Well, we survived the week. Let’s give ourselves a collective pat on the back. To celebrate, we can get excited over the fact that baseball games return today. Sure, it’s Spring Training and you can tell me all day these games don’t count, but this is the first baseball we’ve seen since October, so I’ll take what I can get, even if it is a game against the White Sox.

We’ve got news below updating the Tony Clark situation with the MLBPA, and introducing his interim replacement. We look at some up-and-coming prospects, and also spotlight when some current stars might be hanging up their cleats for good.

Plent to look forward to, plus baseball, so let’s just get right into it.

• Patrick Andres reports on the MLBPA’s interim executive director, Bruce Meyer.
• Meyer is apparently “passionate” about protecting player rights, shares Jesse Rogers.
• Stephanie Apstein digs into the scandal behind Tony Clark’s exit and what it means for the MLBPA.
• Ben Clemens and Sean Dolinar introduce us to FanGraphs Labs, sure to delight baseball data nerds everywhere.
• Bryan Hoch looks at Jazz Chisholm Jr and his quest to join the 50/50 club.
• Sonja Chen reports that Freddie Freeman would like to play until he’s 40 and retire with the Dodgers.
• Do these odds feel right?

• Evidently, Mountain Dew Baja Blast is the official soft drink of Major League Baseball.
• Davy Andrews asks an important Olympics question: which baseball players would make the best ice dancers?
• Anthony Castrovince wonders if we are selling Paul Skenes short with the “ace” label.
• Madison Williams reports that ESPN will replace Sunday Night Baseball with a full slate of women’s sports coverage.
• Buster Olney ranks the best first basemen in baseball.
• Jim Bowden looks at the rookies to keep an eye on in Spring Training. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• The Tigers have unveiled new home and road alternates and they’re pretty swanky.

• Davy Andrews has some fun with meaningless splits.
• The Brewers and Pat Murphy are in agreement on a new 3-year deal. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Is the AL East the most stacked division in baseball? (MLB)
• Stephen J. Nesbitt shares how Team America finally managed to convince the best pitchers in the game to participate. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• We love a WBC hype video.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.

Baseball players are famously superstitious. In Charlie Blackmon’s case, he confessed to being a “little stitiious,” while mic’ed up during the 2018 All-Star Game. 

More than banking on luck, Blackmon was notorious for his dedication to his routine. Gabe Bauer, the Rockies director of physical performance, shared a prime example of Blackmon’s meticulousness during Rockies Fest in January.

“He’d show up early, he’d go through all the prep work, he was a very routine-oriented person. Down at the minute,” Bauer said.

“[T]here’s one story in spring training, one of the affiliate strength and conditioning coaches was around Charlie. Charlie went up to this person and asked him what time is game time, because spring training is usually, like, 1:05 or 1:10, right? The strength coach said 1:05. The game was actually at 1:10. Charlie never spoke to that strength coach again. So, I mean, that’s how detail-oriented Charlie is.”

Bauer said that Blackmon was so strict about his routine, which included post-game workouts that could go deep into the night, that he wouldn’t even skip it after the final game of his 14-year career in 2024.

Blackmon’s disciplined regimens, from habits developed in spring training to pre- and post-game workouts, have undoubtedly left an impact on Rockies players and staff, including director of baseball operations Amir Mamdani. Mamdani joined the Rockies in 2021 as an analyst in the baseball ops department before being promoted three times, including assuming his current role in November. 

Part of his job is learning what kind of information and what format different players prefer for their data. Mamdani said Blackmon preferred lots of video analysis, especially of opposing starters, as opposed to other players who may like analytics-heavy reports. Whatever the style, getting the information has to be part of that routine, and Mamdani believes Blackmon’s routine played a significant role in his career’s longevity.

“Like Charlie Blackman, who many of us were lucky to kind of observe, had one way of preparing, and that was how he got every ounce of juice out of his major league career,” Mamdani said.

For most players, their routines are year-round efforts. Bauer has noticed a difference in recent years because players are coming into spring training in good shape and ready to go. 

“I feel like, nowadays, guys do a really good job of preparing themselves coming into spring training,” Bauer said.

“A lot of them have their own trainers that they work with at home. Some of them go off with a program that we give them, but there’s always that constant checking with them, and making sure that they’re getting their stuff done, getting their work in.”

Mickey Moniak, who the Rockies signed on March 27 before the best season of his career in 2025, is now experiencing his first spring training with the Rockies.

The first overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, Monaik took advantage of his playing time in 2025 and said he feels even more prepared for his seventh MLB season. 

“For me, personally, I feel like I’ve gotten into a good routine in the offseason,” Moniak said at Rockies Fest. “You know, you’re trying to get stronger, you’re trying to get faster. But most of all, you want to go to spring training healthy and in a good spot.” 

Another Rockies newcomer, RHP Michael Lorenzen — who inked a one-year deal in mid-January — credits developing a routine early in his career to his longevity on the mound. Entering his 12th season, Lorenzen said he didn’t need a lot of the elements of his routine in his early years at the time, but that he knew it would pay off in the long run. 

“A daily routine is a must-have,” he said at Rockies Fest.

“I feel like for [my new teammates], as we start working together, they could show up to the field and they’re gonna know exactly where on the field they can find me at this time because I’m living in my routine all the time.

“I feel like everyone having a consistent routine where their body feels consistently the same before they pick up the baseball every single time,” Lorenzen continued. “It’s just the discipline of having that allows you to… as you throw harder, as you get older, you kind of match the experience with your stuff, and then that’s where you’re gonna hit your peak. That’s where, in this game, you get to do some fun things.”

When it comes to preparation and strict routines, it certainly looks like Lorenzen is the new Blackmon in the Rockies clubhouse.

Over the next five weeks in Arizona, the Rockies will develop or continue their routines to build the foundation for the grueling 162-game baseball season. This work will help dictate how their minds and bodies can hold up over the long grind as the Rockies look to improve in 2026.

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Chris Forbes, the senior player development director for the Rockies, has become a pro at fending off cancer. Thomas Harding chronicles Forbes’ treatments and outlook on fighting the disease. Forbes has been through it, and this is a great look into his amazing attitude about all of it.

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New starter Michael Lorenzen talks about embracing the challenge of pitching at Coors Field, being willing to try new things and not being afraid to fail.

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