Category: Sports News

Well, that’s the name they went with. Remember when everyone was excited about Wandavision? Are you more or less excited about this? What about just this name? In any case, read on. Or, just go here, which has all the details that I’ll attempt to summarize: https://www.mlb.com/braves/schedule/watch.

Basically, BravesVision is the new, wholly-Braves-owned media home for the team. Since chances are that you are reading this to understand how you can watch the Braves in 2026, let’s go through the options, based on the information provided in the above link.

• Cable or satellite. BravesVision is a direct-to-distributor model, so it will work just like Bally Sports/FanDuel used to in this regard. Your current cable/satellite provider is currently negotiating with the Braves on fees for adding BravesVision to their list of channel offerings. If they successfully negotiate, then you’ll have access to BravesVision (possibly within your tier, or you’ll have to change tiers, I don’t know, I haven’t had cable in decades). If not, you’ll need to use another option. Things like YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV are probably in a similar boat: they can either successfully negotiate to have BravesVision, or not.
• Over the air. As mentioned before, some but not all games will be simulcast on Gray Media. There’s a handy map identifying the over-the-air Gray Media station for a given locality at the link above. This won’t cover every game the Braves play, but it is something.
• In-market streaming. In addition to the direct-to-distributor offering, the Braves are also offering a direct-to-consumer channel called Braves.TV. Basically, this is essentially the single-team MLB.tv package, but Braves-branded. There are no blackouts when you buy this, but, see the next clause: this is an in-market package only. In other words, if you were blacked out because you lived in the Braves’ “home broadcast area” per the MLB.tv regional map, you can use this to get every non-national broadcast Braves game. Yay for you. You can also upgrade your subscription to include all the out-of-market MLB.tv games, too, if you want all Braves games and basically every other game, too. I don’t know anything about pricing at this time, but it’ll likely be comparable to other single-team MLB.tv packages, a la ~$20 per month. It is unclear exactly how stringent the offering structure is going to be — will you be able to get Braves.tv if you live not that far outside the Braves’ region per the blackout map? I have no idea, stay tuned! Theoretically, the Braves aren’t supposed to sell a direct-to-consumer streaming option to people living outside their local rights footprint, but… it’s a digital transaction with a login. Will they inadvertently or purposefully end up doing so anyway? Anyway, there’s no link to sign up yet, but stay tuned.
• Out-of-market streaming. Nothing has changed here. MLB.tv will still carry all Braves games, but will black out any games in your local market. For me, that’s Red Sox games. For you, it might be something else. Actually, I lied: what has changed is the insane rigmarole that ESPN absorbing MLB.tv is now imposing on folks that want to subscribe to MLB.tv for the first time. But, if you already have MLB.tv, then nothing has really changed for you.

Does that cover everything? What questions do you have?

Probably the key thing here for the Braves financially is that BravesVision is apparently owned (and possibly wholly owned?) by the Braves. While we don’t know exactly what this means for the franchise financially at this point, it does open up opportunities that they didn’t previously have in terms of revenue and profit — including earnings based on their in-market TV rights that would not be subject to the league’s revenue sharing requirements.

Anyway, stay tuned, but hopefully the above was helpful. Theoretically, there should be more clarity on deals with distributors as we hurtle towards Opening Day.

Meet the Mets

The Mets topped the defending American League Champion Blue Jays 4-3 to earn their second spring win. Newcomer Tobias Myers earned the win in his first outing with the club after pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Vidal Bruján did leave the game with an injury after stealing second base.

Clay Holmes, who started yesterday’s game for the Mets and threw 57 pitches over 3 2/3 innings, talked about being recruited to the join Team USA in the WBC by ex-Yankee Andy Pettitte.

Juan Soto is determined to become the first Mets’ MVP, and even more determined to steal the crown from perpetual winner Shohei Ohtani, saying, “I’ve got to find a way to beat him.”

Darryl Strawberry was ‘shocked’ that Pete Alonso left the Mets, and believes the former Mets’ first baseman will regret the decision to leave New York. Strawberry, who made a similar move in his career and has noted his own regret at leaving New York, said he disagreed with Alonso’s decision.

Speaking of ex-Mets, Brandon Nimmo squashed any claims of their being clubhouse issues with the 2025 squad.

It looks like former Mets beat writer Adam Rubin has lobby for a job with the Pirates as their new Director of Communications.

Around the National League East

Ronald Acuña Jr. has returned to the leadoff spot for the Braves.

Mark Bowman shared some early observations from Braves camp.

David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer talked about the breakouts the Phillies need in 2026.

Paul Cubbage of Federal Baseball discussed the anti-fastball revolution that is taking hold in Washington.

Around Major League Baseball

The MLB.com staff identified one dark horse candidate to make their club for each of the 30 MLB teams.

Thomas Harrigan picked ten players who are primed to rebound.

Buster Olney compiled a list of the top ten third basemen in baseball, with Bo Bichette coming in at seventh.

Jeff Kent ended up answering a call he believed was a spam call, only for it to be Johnny Bench on the other end of the line.

Bryce Harper dished on MLB’s number one prospect, Pittsburgh’s Konnor Griffin, whom he said will be a ‘stud’.

Brewers assistant GM Will Hudgins discussed the science of measuring players for the ABS system, which is difficult because, “People shrink over the course of a day”. Hudgins is Milwaukee’s point person on ABS.

In the loss to the Mets, Kazuma Okamoto hit his first home run as a member of the Blue Jays.

José Ramírez hit a no-doubt-about-it home run one at-bat after being denied in spring action yesterday.

The Yankees are confident that top prospect George Lombard Jr.’s bat can catch up to his MLB-ready glove.

Michael Massey of the Royals studied physics and talked to a pilot in an effort to fix his swing.

Colson Montgomery of the White Sox, who was an ex-Indiana baseball recruit, learned a lesson in the Hoosier football’s title run

Michael McGreevy of the Cardinals was convinced the baseballs were different this year, until he learned they were batting practice balls.

Coming off a year in which he earned a World Series ring as a member of the Dodgers, old friend Michael Conforto has signed a minor league deal with the Cubs. Chicago skipper Craig Counsell spoke about his team’s latest signing.

Alex Vesia felt the love from fans in an emotional return to the mound.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Chris McShane previewed Nate Lavender’s 2026 campaign, while Linus Lawrence did the same for catcher Ben Rortvedt.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 1966, Tom Seaver signed a $40,000 deal with the Braves, a contract that was later nullified by Commissioner William Eckert, who said Seaver was ineligible to sign because he played two exhibition games earlier in the year with his collegiate baseball team. One year later, he was a Met, and the rest is history.

On Monday, the it was reported that the Braves could be joining with a few other pro teams in the Southeast on a new RSN for the games in 2026 and perhaps beyond. Well moments ago, the Braves officially announced the new home for their games this season, BravesVision:

Obviously, there will be more to come on this exciting new venture for the Braves and the future of their TV Broadcasts. Make sure to stick with Battery Power for the latest.

Braves News

Mark Bowman looks at some early Spring observations for the Braves, including the current setup for the top of the lineup and the starting rotation.

MLB News

Juan Soto has set his sights on beating Shohei Ohtani for the 2026 NL MVP.

Brandon Woodruff of the Brewers may not be ready for Opening Day but is on track for full health.

The Diamondbacks and Merrill Kelly continue to await the latest on MRI results after he experienced arm discomfort over the weekend.

Alex Vesia pitched a scoreless inning on Monday against the Seattle Mariners at Camelback Ranch, which in itself wasn’t all that irregular. After all, the left-hander has been a staple in the Dodgers bullpen for four years, including 142 scoreless appearances lasting at least one inning last season during that time, most on the Dodgers.

But this was his first game action since last season, and the first since he and his wife Kayla lost their newborn baby in October. That was not lost on Vesia, nor was it lost on the fans in Arizona, who gave him a nice ovation after finishing the 17-pitch inning.

Vesia spoke with reporters on Monday after his outing, which was recapped by Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register:

“It’s been hard, actually. Hard in a good way. Because I want to interact with the fans and all that, but I know I have a job to do,” Vesia said. “Even on the back fields the first day, we walk out the doors, and (there were) cheers and lots of love.

“It means a lot to myself, and Kay too.”

News & notes

Outfielder Alex Call has yet to play in any of the three Dodgers Cactus League games this spring. He’s being slow-played with “a minor foot issue,” per Jack Harris of The California Post.

Blake Snell hasn’t yet pitched off a mound yet this spring, consistent with his slow offseason having him behind to start camp. Katie Woo at The Athletic with an update on the left-hander:

Gavin Stone gets the ball for the Dodgers on Tuesday, in his first game action in 542 days. Roki Sasaki starts Wednesday on the road against the Arizona Diamondbacks and, per Plunkett, Tyler Glasnow will start Thursday against the Chicago White Sox.

Old friend Brent Honeywell Jr., who did not pitch in 2025 after pitching whenever needed the year before, signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants, per Justice delos Santos of the San Jose Mercury News.

Good morning baseball fans!

As we approach the beginning of the season, we’re going to be doing some questions for y’all about your thoughts about the San Francisco Giants and baseball in general!

Keeping with the theme of the week (the potential work stoppage after the upcoming season), today’s question: Who would be to blame if there is another work stoppage?

This is a tricky question, because there’s politics involved. Theoretically, if both parties are operating in good faith, the blame would fall equally if they failed to come to a mutually beneficial agreement.

But that is rarely the way these things play out.

So for me, I look at who has the power. While the players ultimately have the ability to strike if a deal can’t be reached, they are (generally speaking) approaching negotiations in good faith. But I don’t feel like I can say the same of the other side. And they have the power.

They have the power to push a media narrative about players just being “greedy,” or “difficult,” or whatever else they want to say about them to get fans to turn on them. They have the power to implement a lockout if they want to. And they have the ultimate power to get a deal done either way; they just tend to choose not to in order to wear the players down and extract concessions from the union.

As always, that’s just my opinion after watching the way things have played out over the last decade or so for both the sport, and labor issues in general.

Who would be to blame for another work stoppage?

Something the Detroit Tigers have lacked for a long, long time is speed. Sure, they have some players who can run and plenty who grade out around average, but I’m talking about a real burner. A guy who is a threat to steal a bag every time he gets on base. At various times over the past two decades, the Tigers have brought in a player like Cameron Maybin in 2017, or you’ll recall Quintin Berry back in 2012, but they haven’t really developed that kind of player. The fact that we have to go back a good ways just to find two free agent acquisitions who fit the bill says it all. Perhaps, center field prospect Seth Stephenson will finally be the homegrown player who provides elite speed off the bench.

The 25-year-old right handed hitter has racked up a whopping 179 stolen bases over the past three seasons in the minor leagues. His 5’9” 165 pound frame isn’t built for power, it’s built for quick jumps, and high end straightline speed. That was his strength when the Tigers selected him in the seventh round out of Tennessee, where he was a star defensive center fielder. After some slow early progress, Stephenson has done a great job over the past two years in building a hitting foundation from which his speed can play a decisive role for his teams.

The element of excitement at West Michigan Whitecaps and Erie SeaWolves games when Stephenson was on base was palpable in 2025. He has not only the speed, the ability to get good reads on pitchers and jumps that make even courtesy throws to second base from minor league catchers ill-advised. Even better, he finally got stronger and developed some batspeed, moving from slap-hitting fringe prospect you might want as the 26th man on the roster solely to pinch-run, into more of a quality contact oriented hitter who can make things happen with his legs. As a result, Stephenson looks more like a player who may be able to hold down a full-time bench role in the future. Think of him as potentially a right-handed hitting Jarrod Dyson from the Royals run circa 2014-2015

Boasting 70 grade speed, Stephenson profiles as a plus defender. Stephenson has a solid arm as well, fitting into right field well on top of being a good center fielder. His role as a future major leaguer would mainly be to start against left-handers, though his splits are nicely balanced, and otherwise come in to pinch-hit and boost the outfield defense in close, late game situations. He’s very well suited to that task.

At the plate, Stephenson puts the ball in play a ton, and has really worked hard to build himself up physically over the past two seasons. His batspeed has perked up, and more and more he’s been on time to pull the ball while still spraying the ball around to all fields with a little more authority. Not only does he have the speed to beat out singles on throws from shortstops and third baseman going into the hole on the left side of the infield, routine singles down the line or up the gaps can turn into doubles as he regularly beats throws into second from outfielders who don’t hustle or can’t make strong accurate throws to second base. Over a quarter of his knocks in 2025 were extra base hits as a result, despite 45 FV power grades.

Stephenson struck out just 14.2 percent of the time in 2025, and actually cut his strikeouts down two percent when he moved up to Double-A Erie after the All-Star break. His walk rates are just average, but again, as long as Stephenson is putting the ball in play a lot, he’s a menace on the basepaths for any defensive unit in the game.

Over the past two years he’s worked to develop a little more power, and while he hit 8 home runs in 2025 after never topping 5 in a season, that’s clearly not his game. Stephenson hits the ball in the air a good amount, but his swing is built to hit the ball hard on a line, and he tends to hit a ton of pop-ups if pitchers get him swinging up in the zone or chasing pull side power too much. It’s good that he’s trying to develop some pop, but the sweet spot for him is line drives and gap power. His max exit velocities say it just isn’t worth it for him to try and hit like a light-hitter with good HR totals, like Isaac Paredes. The more balls in play that aren’t routine fly outs or easy pop-ups, the better for Stephenson’s speed game.

The increased strength doesn’t need to translate into much more over the fence power. It’s more about having the batspeed to handle velocity and still turn on inside pitches. Stephenson accomplished that much in 2025, and he’ll be looking to solidify himself at the Double-A level this season and get into a position where the Tigers might value him enough for his defense and havoc wreaking speed on the bases to call him up as a bench weapon sometime this summer.

The road to a full-time gig is probably closed at this point. The road to a part-time gig where he brings plus defense and high end base-stealing ability with plenty of contact at the plate, is wide open to him. ZIPS projection systems is a big fan, forecasting a part-time role in which Stephenson racks up 25-30 stolen bases a year, puts the ball in play a lot, and plays plus defense in the outfield. That’s good enough for 1.3-1.4 fWAR projections in the big leagues in the years ahead.

That’s a bit optimistic in terms of his likely playing time, but it does lay out the upper floors of his potential impact. All he needed was a quicker bat to handle better stuff, and the strength gains produced that jump in 2025. Now we’ll see how far he can take it as he tries to break into the major leagues in 2026-2027.

Some surprises out in Surprise? Possibly. I mean, the surprise for us right now would be a Cubs victory… the team was 0-3, started a lineup of Triple-A players and PCA, with Ben Brown on the mound, against the Royals ‘A’ lineup.

Brown worked two scoreless innings and that was good. Javier Assad took the ball and followed suit with a scoreless frame. They were supported by a Jefferson Rojas big fly in the fourth. Jackson Kirkpatrick, a decent-looking prospect, followed Assad. Porter Hodge, Ryan Rolison, and others threw for the cause. Tyler Ras gave up a solo shot to KC’s Josh Rojas in the eighth.

Former Cubs prospect Alex Lange pitched for KC. and didn’t throw enough strikes. He loaded the bases with one out and James Triantos liked one of his offerings enough to pound into the outfield between first and second for two runs.

In the end, the Cubs prevailed for their first victory of the spring. Al has details in his recap.

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Inside Cubs camp: How elite talent, data and discipline are shaping spring training. “On the backfields, it’s impossible to miss the technology that has proliferated across the game.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}) Cubs reliever Phil Maton still showcasing passion for development in Year 10. “Maton is adding a new pitch to his arsenal.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): 4 takeaways from Chicago Cubs spring training, including another low-risk signing to bolster the bench. “Counsell said he’s not considering Matt Shaw as a potential backup at first.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Visa issues resolved, Cubs catcher Moises Ballesteros reports to camp. “Ballesteros likely won’t appear in the first week of spring-training games as he ramps up.” Jordan Bastian has more Mo.
• Wayne Drehs (Chicago*): Welcome to the PCA Show. “Cubs fan favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of baseball’s most exciting young talents — and his own biggest critic.“
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): World Baseball Classic, contract year with Cubs present opportunities for Seiya Suzuki. “Playing the field helps me with the rhythm of the game,” Suzuki said. “But it’s up to the coaches.”

Food For Thought:

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series. We will not wittingly publish A. I. – driven articles or clickbait, and insist on unimpeachable sources.

“I mean, it was a weird day.“

That’s recent Arizona Diamondback and now Colorado Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy when asked about scoring the Rockies first run of 2026 against the team that traded him away back in January.

“I’m used to coming out that other down the left field foul pole, and then being in the other dugout,” McCarthy said. “And there were some funny, funny faces that they were making at me. So, yeah, it was a weird day, but I’m excited to be here playing baseball again.”

Then he added this: “It was good.“

Clearly, playing for a new team is always a challenge, but for McCarthy, the adjustment has been relatively modest so far.

He’s still in the same spring training complex he played in as a D-back, given that the Snakes and the Rockies share Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. As he commented at Rockies Fest, the biggest adjustment would be turning into the correct parking lot when he went to camp.

“I kind of like going in the way I’ve always gone. So every now and then I see one of those guys, and I’ll just lay on the horn or something,” McCarthy said. “It’s a funny part of my commute every day.”

But so far, he’s impressed what’s happening on the Colorado side of Salt River Fields.

“I think there’s a lot of good energy around here, and a lot of talented players who are excited to make their marks,” McCarthy said. “So, I’m really happy to be a part of it, and I want to play a big role in it.“

Plus, given that the D-backs and Rockies play each other a lot during the course of an MLB season, Coors Field is not unfamiliar to him. Over the course of his career, McCarthy has played 14 games at Coors, and he’s accumulated a .375/.423/.500 slashline that includes seven stolen bases on 18 hits. (He’s had 48 at-bats.)

Then there’s the fact that McCarthy is fast — really fast — “one of the fastest players in Major League Baseball,” Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta commented after the trade became public. “He’s been a very good base runner.”

McCarthy’s sprint speed is 29.9 feet/second, the eighth best in MLB. (The very speedy Benton Doyle clocks in at 29.5 feet/second.)

Currently, McCarthy is getting to know his new outfield colleagues though he is quick to point out their familiarity.

“I think we all know each other pretty well through playing against each other for so long,” McCarthy said.

Right now, though, they’re working on becoming an outfield unit, something McCarthy sees strengthened by their diverse experiences.

“A guy like Mickey, he’s played for a couple teams. I just came from Arizona. Tyler Freeman was with Cleveland. So I think we all have different things: ‘Hey, I worked on this over at this spot that I really like.’ So it’s cool. We have conversations every day, just about things that help us get a little bit better.”

For McCarthy, this marks a change from his time with the D-backs when the outfielders had all come up together.

“For the most part, we had been D-backs for five or six years. So that was all that we knew — not that that’s a bad thing, but it’s cool hearing different sides of it.”

Fellow outfielder Mickey Moniak sees things coming together.

Of McCarthy, Moniak said, “He’s dynamic,” then added, “I think that’s the best way to describe our outfield unit as a whole – dynamic.”

After all, having McCarthy on the roster gives the outfield more options.

“We’ve got four guys who can play center field, along with [Tyler] Freeman when he’s out there – he can also play center field in the big leagues,” Moniak said.

Manager Warren Schaeffer is clear about what he sees in McCarthy:

And don’t overlook the experience McCarthy brings with him.

“[He’s] a guy who gets on base a lot,” Moniak said. “He’s had success in the big leagues, and brings that experience. He’s been in the postseason and been to the World Series. He fit right in from day one. I think it’s clear that bringing him in was a great move, and getting to play alongside of him is going to be a lot of fun.”

Center fielder Brenton Doyle referred to McCarthy as “awesome,” and said that the two are neighbors in the clubhouse. “

“I’ve had a lot of good opportunities to talk with him,” Doyle said, “and he’s a super, super awesome guy — great clubhouse guy — and super easy to get along with. So I think that play to our advantage on the field.”

And even though Coors Field will be his new home, it’s not unfamiliar.

“I think [the D-backs] did a pretty good job over there understanding that obviously with the elevation, the ball is going to go a little farther, and it’s a bigger outfield,” McCarthry said. “But I’ve always taken pride in playing defense, so in the 10 or whatever games I’ve played there, I think I’ve done a decent job of accounting for all of that. But I’m excited to play 81 games there, so it’ll be cool.”

Perhaps McCarthy’s biggest challenge over the course of his career has been its unevenness.

• 2022 — .283/.342/.427; 23 stolen bases; 2.2 fWAR
• 2023 — .245/.318/.326; 26 stolen bases; 0.1 fWAR
• 2o24 – .285/.349/.400; 25 stolen bases; 3.0 fWAR
• 2025 — .204/.247/.345; 6 stolen bases; 0.1 fWAR

It’s easy to see the difference between the even and odd years of McCarthy’s career.

At Rockies Fest, he said his focus was “just getting back to what makes [him] go as a baseball player.”

Then he added, “I think it could be dynamic, and I think that means getting on base for guys like [Hunter Goodman] and playing good defense, especially in a field like this. I think there were parts of last season that maybe I got away from that a little bit. So again, just eager — eager to kind of get back on track.”

In a way, McCarthy and a rebuilding Colorado Rockies are a good pair for each other when it comes to “getting back on track.”

“I think it’s a great opportunity to sort of prove people wrong,” McCarthy said.

“I think it’s really exciting to be on the way up and be a part of something. So I just think everyone in this room has a great opportunity.”

This week on the internet

Okay, here’s today’s question: Would you give the Rockies a fist bump or keep walking?

2026 MLB Team Preview Series: Colorado Rockies | Pinstripe Alley

I am always curious about how fans of other teams see the Rockies. This is from our SBN sister site for the New York Yankees, Pinstripe Alley.

Dugout-called pitches? Giants under Tony Vitello might give it the old college try | The Athletic ($)

Are other teams exploring the possibility of calling pitches from the dugout? The Marlins and Giants are thinking about it, and Warren Schaeffer is quoted in the article:

My new pitching coach feels very strongly about it, and he’s presented me with the reasons why, and they are very intriguing reasons,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “It’s something that’s being discussed across the game internally. It’s the most important part of the game, what pitches are thrown. There’s nuance there in terms of trusting your catcher and all the preparation he puts into the game. But at the end of the day, I’m definitely open to it. It would take a lot of communication. The whole team would have to be in on it. And there’s lots of ways to go about it. The pitcher still makes the ultimate decision on what to throw.

This is surely a topic we will discuss in more detail later, but what are your initial thoughts?

Introducing the FanGraphs Lab | FanGraphs

FanGraphs has added a very cool data visualization tool. Nerds, this one’s for you.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

On January 2, 2020, Jeff Passan posted on Twitter a list of twelve members of the Chicago White Sox who were under team control for multiple seasons, saying, “If everything falls right, this has a chance to be a sustained run for the Chicago White Sox.” At the time, this was a normal, rather uncontroversial statement; although they had won only 72 games in 2019, their farm system was considered one of the best in the game, and that farm system was all reaching The Show at the same time. Two years later, that squad won 93 games, losing in the ALDS to the Houston Astros, and looked to all the world to be the next team to rule the American League Central.

Oh, how the baseball gods are merciless. That 2021 team would prove to be the entire extent of the window. Chicago went just .500 in 2022, lost 100 games in 2023, and then set the Major League record for losses in a season with 121 in 2024. Of the twelve players Passan listed in his now-infamous tweet, none of them remain with the organization, and several of them — including Tim Anderson, Dallas Keuchel, and Yasmani Grandal — are currently out of baseball. At the moment, only one thing has gone right for the White Sox in recent years, and that is the fact that Pope Leo XIV, is a diehard White Sox fan.

In his ZiPS projections back in November, Dan Szymborski of FanGraphs summed up the 2025 White Sox in the best way possible: “The 2025 White Sox performed the very weird dual feat of being one of baseball’s most improved teams compared to 2024 and losing more than a 100 games.” It is important to keep that in mind when looking ahead to 2026, because though the names have changed — e.g., gone is Luis Robert Jr., who Chicago finally found a buyer for in the New York Mets — the expectations remain the same. FanGraphs’ Depth Chart projections have the White Sox at 93 losses, and honestly, that might be a tad optimistic.

Despite the low expectations, however, Chicago did have a fairly good offseason. In addition to trading Robert, and getting an actual prospect in Luisangel Acuña as the return, they made a flurry of moves bringing in players on short-term contracts both in free agency and via the trade market, with the headline of course being Japanese corner infielder Munetaka Murakami.

This is exactly the type of offseason a team like the White Sox should be having. On paper, they are a better team than last year. Are they going to be a contender? Probably not. After all, FanGraphs has just one projected starter with a wRC+ above 105 (Murakami, at 120), and their starting rotation is headed by a trio of pitchers under the age of 30 with barely a year experience apiece (Shane Smith, Davis Martin, Sean Burke) — not exactly a recipe for success. But at this stage of the rebuild, being able to put a team that looks remotely competitive on the diamond day in and day out, with the possibility of flipping some players on short-term deals to contenders at the deadline for prospects to restock a farm system that ranks among the league’s bottom-third.

But hey, at least they have the pope on their side.

More Pinstripe Alley MLB team season previews will be available here.