Category: Sports News

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

For the Red Sox:

Let’s talk about it (or the WBC stuff)

The Dodgers take on the Milwaukee Brewers in Phoenix on Monday afternoon.

Lineup

Alex Freeland 2B
Teoscar Hernández LF
Max Muncy 3B
Nick Senzel DH
Dalton Rushing C
Zach Ehrhard RF
James Tibbs III 1B
Noah Miller SS
Michael Siani CF

Emmet Sheehan is on the mound, making his first start this spring.

Other pitchers

The brothers Ryan — River and Ryder — are both scheduled to pitch in this one, as is Tanner Scott and non-roster invitee Antoine Kelly.

Up from the minor league side are Cody Morse (wearing uniform number 90), Myles Caba (91), Nicolas Cruz (92), and Nick Robertson (98), all of whom have been active for several games this spring.

Other position players

Non-roster invitees Ryan Fitzgerald, Zyhir Hope, and Seby Zavala are all active on Monday, as are a slew of minor leaguers.

Top-100 prospects Eduardo Quintero (07) and Emil Morales (06) made the trip, as did infielders Jose Izarra (00), Sean McLain (02), Austin Gauthier (89), and Kyle Nevin (93), plus outfielders Kole Myers (04) and Charles Davalan (87).

As the WBC rages on, the Grapefruit League plods along as well. Today, the Braves will give Carlos Carrasco a chance to eat some more exhibition innings as they give their regulars a few hacks in a home game against the Twins. Minnesota is sending a mixed bag of starters and not-starters, and will be giving the ball to Zebby Matthews, who is pitching for a potential rotation spot in the wake of Pablo Lopez’ injury. Matthews actually pitched really well in 16 starts last year (91 FIP- and xFIP-) but somehow unfortunately got saddled with a 135 ERA- in the process.

This will be the fourth time the Braves and Twins have tangled already this Spring Training.

First pitch against the Detroit Tigers is at 1:05 at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium and the Tigers will be providing radio coverage.

In the previous seven days, the Dodgers have sent a total of 23 players to minor league camp, including a dozen after Sunday’s game. All but two players from the two rounds of cuts have been non-roster invitees to camp, none of them unexpected.

What those cuts have done is thin the herd a bit, leaving only four non-roster pitchers still in big league camp. Cole Irvin is the veteran starting pitcher of the group, back from pitching in Korea and already built up to three innings this spring. He could potentially be an early option if the Dodgers feel the need for someone to fill bulk innings. After all, we know they will use a ton of starters.

Chris Campos is also still around. He’s been a starter since the Dodgers drafted him in the seventh round in 2022, other than the times he’s been used in bulk relief (11 of his 13 appearances out of the bullpen the last two seasons lasted at least three innings). So far this spring he’s pitched exactly one inning in each of his three Cactus League appearances, and he’s done well, with three scoreless innings, no walks, and five strikeouts among his 12 batters faced.

Whether Campos will pitch in relief going forward or him sticking around a little longer in camp is a reward for his earlier appearances remains to be seen. But the other two non-roster pitchers remaining in camp are more traditional relievers.

Ryder Ryan is River’s older brother by four years. He’s allowed two runs in seven innings this spring with five strikeouts. His first three appearances were one inning apiece, and he’s pitched two innings in each of his last two times out.

Left-hander Antoine Kelly has gotten results this spring, allowing only two walks and no hits in his five scoreless innings, with seven strikeouts among his 17 batters faced. A second-round pick of the Brewers in 2019, Kelly hasn’t yet reached the majors, spending time in the Brewers, Rangers, and Rockies’ system over the last seven years. But he’s touching 99 mph this spring to go with a slider. Whether the Dodgers found a harder-throwing Anthony Banda remains to be seen, but Kelly has pitched his way onto the radar this spring.

There are other relief pitchers on the 40-man roster. Ronan Kopp, just added to the 40-man roster in November, was optioned on Sunday. Kyle Hurt is back from injury, Paul Gervase at 6’10 is literally hard to miss, Will Klein could parlay his World Series heroics into a spot in the bullpen, among the group.

For today’s question let’s ignore the expected arms in the back end of the bullpen for a moment. Which under-the-radar Dodgers reliever are you most looking forward to watching this season?

Years ago, it was this exercise that sent me down a road of becoming mildly Rangers-pilled. This year, there is no such risk. 

If you are looking at the lineup and notable off-season moves and feeling lightly confused by the seeming absence of any clear strategy, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Led by beloved former Mariners legend Chris Young, Texas seems to have locked in on starting pitching and are employing the pop quiz style of light panic when it comes to their offense. Is this the baseball equivalent of the phenomenon where research has shown we are attracted to people who have similar features as us? Fortunately for Seattle, Jerry Dipoto does not seem to suffer as mightily from that affliction (although the bullpen has, of course, long been a strength). The Rangers have done little to refute the rumors that their 2033 World Series title was anything more than a fluke.

Notable Transactions

Out: OF Adolis García, 2B Marcus Semien, C Jonah Heim, UTIL Dylan Moore, 1B Rowdy Tellez, 1B/2B Donovan Solano
In: OF Brandon Nimmo, C Danny Jansen, OF Mark Canha, OF Andrew McCutchen, 1B Nick Pratto, UTIL Tyler Wade, INF Andrew Velazquez, INF Jonah Bride
Italics = Minor League Deals with Spring Training Invite

Texas caused a stir early on in the off-season when they traded infield staple and prized free agent star Marcus Semien to the Mets for outfielder Brandon Nimmo. It was a challenge trade to be sure but it remains to be seen what exactly either team was challenging. Their only other big league position player acquisition was Danny Jansen, who will slot into the distinctly sloping protrusion that was left by finally giving up on Jonah Heim. Danny, I’d sage the backstop if I were you. Finally free from the Lone Star State are a trio of ex-Mariners of mixed repute, and once-beloved slugger Adolís García. Two of those four are headed to the greener-ish (?) fields of Philadelphia, which doesn’t mean anything at all for this piece but damn am I excited to watch García absolutely molly-wop a baseball through the night air at Citizens Bank Park. 

Old, and I do mean old, friends (or foes), Mark Canha and Andrew McCutchen are competing for play time in the outfield and/or at DH alongside a smattering of 30-something infielders looking for their feel-good storyline. 

The Lineup

Thank goodness for Kyle’s brother, right? The new dad and late-August appendectomy patient will anchor the offense alongside homegrown outfielder and former first round pick Wyatt Langford in his third season in the bigs. Nimmo’s bat is a much-welcomed addition to the lineup and Evan Carter is looking to return to his historic 2023 postseason form. Everyone else in this lineup is projected to be under 2 fWAR (and we’re generously rounding up for Carter’s 1.9), and if you went “Hey wait, doesn’t that guy have some nagging injury issues?” about literally any of the names in this paragraph, yes. Yes they do. 

Jake Burger is hard-pressed to have a season worse than last year, so I could see him returning to mildly competent form. Similarly, if The Joshes can stay healthy and/or avoid whatever noxious vat of goo Smith fell into in the second half of last season, it wouldn’t shock me to see them both outperform their projections. That said, all of these if-festooned fellas still ultimately really only add up to a decent team at best. And as you’ll see later on this week, there are no reinforcements coming from the minors to Dave the day. But, depending on how you feel about their pitching, decent could be enough to be competitive. I would be surprised if they surpassed that, but these Rangers have certainly surprised before.

OKLAHOMA CITY—Coming to you live this morning (as I write this, that is) from The 405, Oklahoma City, home of the reigning NBA champion Thunder.

I’m here with my wife, who’s here for a continuing education course in her field of study. I spent most of the day yesterday by myself, but at night, she and I walked 12 minutes to Paycom Center to watch the hobbled Thunder face the maimed Golden State Warriors.

It turned into quite the game!

There’s a reason for that. Even though both squads are banged up—no Steph Curry for GSW, no Chet Holmgren for OKC—both are in the thick of the playoff race. For the Thunder, they’re shooting for the No. 1 seed in the West, but are only up a few games on the surging San Antonio Spurs.

Things are much more dire for the Warriors, though. Without Curry and Jimmy Butler (out for the year), they’re just trying to reach the Play-In Tournament for a shot at facing either the Thunder or Spurs in the first round. Last night’s loss drops them to 32-31, only a game up on the Clippers for the No. 8 seed, with the Blazers not that far behind.

The Warriors don’t want to have to win two play-in games to make the playoffs, which means they need to finish No. 7 or No. 8.

And so, both teams came to play.

This is in stark contrast to many other NBA games this time of the season. While the Play-In tournament expanded the playoffs, theoretically, from eight teams per conference to 10 teams per conference, tanking—losing for a higher draft pick—runs rampant. This is also despite the changing of odds for landing that first pick. It’s an issue that’s plagued the league for years but has only increased this season due to a strong upcoming draft class.

Now, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has vowed to make even more changes to combat tanking. Fans await with bated breath.

But they could just look at how Major League Baseball works its draft.

Really, baseball has done such a good job with its recent draft changes that tanking makes little to no sense. This is a rare dubya for Rob Manfred (though one does wonder if this was his doing or someone else’s).

I often look for ways that MLB could borrow from other leagues (i.e., the NFL, NHL, and NBA) to improve its draft, but in this regard, the NBA might take a page out of MLB’s book.

For example, one particular issue promoting tanking in the NBA is trading draft picks with protections on them. (This also occurs in the NHL.) For example, Team A trades to Team B a draft pick that is top-four protected, meaning that Team B gets that pick only if it falls anywhere from picks #5-32. If Team A then starts to have a bad year a shot at the playoffs—or title—look grim, or there’s an especially deep draft class on the horizon, Team A might pivot to tanking to try to land within the top four spots and keep its draft pick.

One idea floating around is eliminating such draft pick protections, at least in the range of something like picks No. 5 through No. 14, which are the last picks of the draft lottery. Another option would be to eliminate draft pick protections entirely, though I don’t think that will happen.

MLB, of course, does not have this problem, because except for specific instances, draft picks cannot be traded. I used to hate this rule as I think that a GM or team President or Baseball Czar (did that title fade with La Russa?) should have handy every tool in the box, including trading draft picks. But watching the NBA deal with something like a dozen teams basically trying to lose their games in the 4-6 weeks of the season shows that MLB has it right with the strict limitations on trading draft picks.

The NBA could also learn from MLB’s handling of teams drafting in the lottery. Sure, the lottery is different between the two leagues—four teams in the NBA to six in the MLB—but it could be adapted.

In the MLB, a team cannot receive a lottery pick in more than two consecutive years. This is why the woebegone Colorado Rockies will pick 10th in the upcoming draft despite finishing with the worst record in baseball in 2025—they’d drafted in the lottery in both 2024 and 2025. They weren’t tanking their way to 43 wins. They just sucked.

The NBA could grow its lottery to, say, six teams, and add a clause that a team can’t pick X number of consecutive years in the lottery—could even be two consecutive years. That would dissuade teams such as the Kings, Wizards, Pelicans, Jazz, etc. from continually employing a destitute roster.

Obviously, I don’t know the answer(s) to fix the NBA’s tanking woes, but I’m confident in saying that it could look to the MLB for help. Before MLB instituted the draft lottery, tanking for the top pick was rare. Now, it essentially never happens. Major League Baseball got it right on its first attempt in implementing the lottery.

Mr. Silver, take a look at America’s pastime to solve your league’s tanking woes. You’ll be glad you did.

Is it on TV?

No! It is not! And you better get used to that, because NESN isn’t showing the game tomorrow or Friday this week either and the Sox are off on Wednesday. I will never in my life understand this. Even if it’s “too expensive” to do a full broadcast, why not just stick a camera behind home plate and stream the feed on NESN360? I would watch it and I promise I’m not alone.

What’s the lineup?

What should we watch listen for?

It’s really too bad we won’t see this one, because only one of Crochet’s first three starts has been broadcast. It would be nice to get a look at how the Sox’ resident Cy Young contender is looking. Otherwise, this lineup has plenty of young guys with something to prove. This would’ve been a nice game to catch on New England’s first warm day of 2026.

First Pitch (CT):12:05
TV: MLB.TV/ATL Video (via Braves)
Radio:Braves – ESPN 103.7/WIFN 1340
Know Yo’ Foe: Battery Power

What to watch: Zebby Matthews is on the mound in his fight to keep the 5th rotation spot. Mick Abel has had a flawless Spring, but it’s Zebby’s spot to lose.

Lineups