Category: Sports News

PORT ST. LUCIE — Juan Soto is moving across the field.

After spending his first season in Queens as the right fielder, the franchise player has agreed to begin playing left field full-time, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Tuesday.

Soto is slated to play left field for the Dominican Republic in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. It led in recent weeks to conversations between Soto and manager Carlos Mendoza about a switch to left field for the Mets, according to Stearns.

“It made sense for us from a roster perspective so we’re going to go forward with everyone on board with it,” Stearns said. “It’s not something we really contemplated coming into the offseason, but as we had conversations over the last month it made sense.”

With Soto in left field and Luis Robert Jr. in center, right field is now the unclaimed outfield position. Candidates for the spot include Carson Benge, the organization’s top prospect among position players, Brett Baty, Tyrone Taylor and MJ Melendez, who was signed to a major league contract Sunday.

“We have got a lot of athletic outfielders at or near the major league level, so having right field available to them isn’t a bad outcome,” Stearns said. “[Soto] is comfortable in left and it fits our roster.”

Soto has considerable left field experience — he last played there regularly with the Padres in 2023. He was also the starting left fielder for the Nationals in his first two major league seasons. All told, he’s appeared in 460 games as a left fielder and 603 in right field. Soto has started 22 games as a DH in his career, but has previously indicated that spot is not preferable to him.

“Early in the offseason we didn’t know how rosters for the WBC were going to shake out,” Mendoza said. “Once we started [getting] closer to the teams announcing their rosters … the left field conversation came up and he took me down the road of when he first came up [playing left]. He also mentioned that with the Yankees, they had him playing left field when they were playing the Red Sox at Fenway Park. He was very honest and very genuine about it, so that is how I decided.”

Soto was among MLB’s worst defenders last season, when he ranked in only the first percentile for range, at minus-12 outs above average, according to Statcast. He rated better in arm strength, landing in the 66th percentile. But his arm value was only in the 18th percentile.

But the Mets signed Soto to a record $765 million contract over 15 years mainly because of his bat, and in that regard he produced: Soto finished third in the National League MVP voting (behind Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber) after posting a .263/.396/.525 slash line with 43 homers and a career-best 38 stolen bases (which led the NL).

The Mets roster overhaul this winter made the possibility of Soto switching positions more palatable: Brandon Nimmo was traded to Texas for Marcus Semien, leaving the vacancy in left field.

Semien, a Gold Glove winner last season, should improve the Mets defensively at second base. The larger questions are whether Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco, who are set to start at third base and first base, respectively, will seamlessly adapt. Bichette, a former shortstop, has not played third base in the major leagues. Polanco has one inning of major league experience at first base. But Stearns has indicated the infield’s athleticism has improved, leaving him optimistic that the unit will bolster the team’s run prevention. Robert, a former Gold Glove winner with the White Sox, will also potentially boost the team’s defense.

Welcome to Larissa’s Lessons, a weekly takeaways series in which some combination of Karen, True and Dylan will break down the biggest takeaways from the weekend’s games. We love an alliteration and puns around here, so be prepared for some word play.

Because the Tigers are playing a ridiculous number of games in a weekend and most of aren’t televised, this will be a look at more of a big picture of a bunch of games as opposed to a recap of each game. Once the home opener comes around in March, this will likely go in a different direction, but we’ll see!

It was a pure delight to hear the metallic ping of a ball hitting a bat or the sound of a fastball smacking into a catcher’s glove again. Softball is BACK, friends. Enjoy!

Mizzou Loves Liberty

Well, to beat down on Liberty, anyway. For the second year in a row, the Tigers doused the ranked Liberty Flames, this time by a score of 13-2 in six innings. We love to see it. The Tigers took an early lead in this one thanks to the bat of Abby Hay, who hit Mizzou’s first homer of the season. In the 3rd, they tacked on another run as freshman Sidney Forrester doubled, scoring fellow freshie Addy Waits. In the 4th, RBI doubles by Madison Uptegrove and Kayley Lenger made it 4-0, before yet another double, this time by Hay, made it 5-0. In the 6th, Stefania Abruscato’s bases loaded single made it 6-0, before Forrester’s bases-clearing double made it 9-0. Just for funsies, the Tigers tacked on three more after the other Abby (Carr) walked, Lenger was HBP — is Bruiser back?!? — and so was Waits. To top it off, Lenger then scored on a wild pitch to make it 13-0. The Flames would avoid the shutout with a two-run single in the bottom of the 6th, but those Flames were already extinguished. Love a fiery pun, y’all. I could do this all day.

Abby Carr: As Advertised

We knew she was going to be one to watch coming into the season, with all her high school accolades, but you never truly know how a freshman will adjust. Turns out, it was pretty darn well!

It’s been quite some time since Missouri has utilized a true two-way player, and as only a freshman, albeit one of her talent, it will be important to do a bit of load management, just as Shannon Welker has done with fellow freshman Kimarra Echols on the gymnastics mats.

“We’ve talked about her a lot, and we know what her potential is going to be, but I think the biggest challenge is, how do we manage the two-way player?” Anderson said. “How do we get her to so she’s able to get time in the bullpen to put her in game situations that she’s prepared for if she’s in the starting lineup?”

She continued. “But we got to manage her workload. That’s the biggest thing is being able to manage how much training she does and not burn her out mentally as a freshman, trying to be a two-way player.”

It will be hard not to go to her, however, as she’s a solid bat in the lineup and she’s the Tigers’ best pitcher through five games, posting a 1.35 ERA in 10.1 innings.

In the 13-2 Liberty win, Carr threw all six innings and had a no hitter heading into the final inning before allowing two hits and a couple runs.

Against South Alabama, she got in on the hitting AND pitching action, launching her first home run, and then also coming in in relief and pitching 4.1 innings of one-hit ball.

While hitting .200 in 10 at-bats, she’s got a .933 OPS (top 3 on team), a run scored, two hits, a double, the aforementioned home run, two walks, and four RBI. Not too shabby. Good enough that between the hitting and the pitching, the freshman was the lone Missouri Tiger named to the NFCA Leadoff Classic All-Tournament team.

Of her performance, Anderson was effusive in her praise. “It was great for her. I was so glad with her pitching outing out there, [showing] great composure in some really, really tough situations that she battled through and just really stayed true to who she was. She didn’t deviate from that, and then being able to get some offensive numbers out of her.”

What I hadn’t thought of is the creativity having someone like her available. Anderson, of course, noted this.

“What I absolutely love about it is my creativity that I can manage the game. I love being able to have her being in one through nine as the DP and put someone else in the flex position, and being more creative and making some double switches defensively. Then I’m able to have some stronger nine hitters in the lineup, and then being able to flip it to have nine different defensive players out there, it gives me a lot more creativity that I can get more people in the game and maximize how they’re going to contribute.”

Welcome Back, Abby Hay!

It’s great to see a healthy Abby Hay, eh?

There were flashes of it last season at times, but to see it in the season-opening weekend is quite exciting. Hay finished the weekend as Mizzou’s top hitter, leading in about every category. Hay opened Day 2 with the Tigers’ first home run of the season, a solo bomb in the second inning against Liberty. Then she added another one in the second inning of Mizzou’s matchup against BYU. Two home runs, two wins.

“You know, she’s simplified some things, and it’s great, because we obviously need her,” Anderson said.

Aside from the bombs, she also had two big RBI in extras against South Alabama. Obviously it didn’t end the way the Tigers would have liked, but, it wasn’t because of the Rock Bridge alum.

If Hay can stay consistent this season, it’d be HUGE for Missouri. There’s plenty of upside with younger players but Hay is a junior now, she’s only got a couple years left. It’s time for her to start showing why HCLA recruited her so early in high school.

“Being able to make the adjustments not only what pitch you’re looking for, but what pitch you’re trying to eliminate. I think Abby did that extremely well this weekend,” Anderson said.

Start ‘em Young

When HCLA said “The game doesn’t care what grade you’re in” during the preseason press conference. She wasn’t kidding.

It took 0 seconds for freshmen to make their debuts for the Tigers, and guess what? Neither of them were Carr. Yes, we all knew Abby Carr would be starting out of the gates — and she showed why on Day 2 — but I think everybody was pretty surprised when Addy Waits and Sidney Forrester were batting first and third, respectively, out of the gates. They also held these batting spots throughout the entire weekend.

The two players had quite different tales.

Forrester finished the weekend with the Tigers’ third highest batting average and tied for the second most RBI. Extremely impressive from a true freshman. Waits on the other hand has had some major struggles adjusting to collegiate ball. She is 1-for-14 with a lone RBI. The one upside is she has been walked five times so she has some plate discipline. I’d be surprised if HCLA doesn’t test out adjustments but we do know one thing for sure: She doesn’t think the game matters what grade you’re in.

The Donahue Experiment Continues

Maybe I’m being too harsh, y’all, as it is early, but I’m kinda over the Courtney Donahue experiment, sorry. In the season opener loss to Penn State, the former JuCo transfer entered after starter Cierra Harrison went five innings of three-run ball, and proceeded to give up three hits and four runs (two earned) in five innings of work, including the dagger that did ultimately did them in the 10th.

In the team’s final game against South Alabama, she actually got the start, lasting just three innings and allowing four hits, two earned runs, a walk and two wild pitches. After allowing back-to-back singles which plated two runs and allowed the Jaguars to take the lead, she was relieved by Abby Carr in the 4th, who was removed from the DP role and slotted into the circle, who went four innings.

Familiar Issues Remain

Remember when the Tigers were unable to close out games last year? Yeah, well, turns out that’s still a thing. Two times over the course of the team’s first five games, Mizzou went to extras, and two times, they just couldn’t get it done.

Against Penn State, there were four ties and the back-and-forth scoring was enough to give you whiplash. The Tigers struck first in the 2nd, taking a 1-0 lead before Penn State plated two in top of the 3rd. In the home-half, Mizzou tied it up on a bases-loaded Abby Hay walk, but the Nittany Lions regained the lead in the 5th on an RBI double. In the home-half, again Mizzou tied it up with a Madison Uptegrove RBI single. Would it last? NOPE. In extras, Penn State again re-took the lead in the 8th on a sac fly before a Kayley Lenger single tied it up once again 4-4. It wasn’t until the 10th that the Nittany Lions put down the death blow, scoring three runs an RBI double and a two-run shot. The Tigers had no answer for that offense this time.

Against South Alabama, the Tigers nabbed an early 1-0 lead on a homerun by Abby Carr, only to allow two unanswered and go cold until the 6th, when they tied it up. Both teams scored in extras in the 8th to knot it at 3-3, and again in the 10th to make it 4-4, before the Jags got the last laugh, scoring in the home-half of the 11th.

I’d also like to bring up the Oregon game, as even though they were facing AA pitcher Lyndsey Grein, they wasted a what ended up being a really nice complete game outing by Marissa McCann by being unable to get something — anything — going. They managed just two baserunners, both on walks, but that was IT. McCann held the Ducks at bay until the 6th inning, and then started to falter, breaking up the 0-0 tie on a sac fly, before allowing a two-run double in the 7th to seal the 3-0 victory. The team has to learn to take HELP their pitchers.

Talking with Anderson, however, she was happy they didn’t give in, which is a familiar trait of HCLA-coached teams, but definitely had some opportunities for improvement with the team.

“I would have liked to see two things. I would have liked to see us put up double or 12, two or three runs in those innings, rather than just one,” she said. “I don’t want to have to always sacrifice that runner to get to third base to try to get a fly ball.”

She continued. “I wanted to have better quality at bats. So that’s the first thing. And the second, I would like to see our pitchers get some more strikeouts in those situations. You know, we have the pitching staff that can get strikeouts. And if they’re getting the ball in play, like yesterday, for instance, McCann had a lot of balls put in play on the ground. She is not a ground ball pitcher, so if she’s creating ground balls, then the ball is not spinning the right way, so it’s making sure that her pitchers are spinning the ball the right way so she can get some strikeouts in those situations.”

Offensive & Pitching Leaders thru 5 games

• Abby Hay: .375 BA | 1.287 OPS | 16 AB | 4 R | 6 H | 1 2B | 2 HR | 6 RBI | .813 SLG% | 3 BB | 5 K
• Kayley Lenger: .333 BA | .941 OPS | 15 AB | 3 R | 5 H | 2 2B | 3 RBI | .467 SLG% | 1 BB | 3 HBP | 4 K
• Sidney Forrester: .294 BA | .780 OPS | 17 AB | 5 H | 2 2B | 4 RBI | .412 SLG% | 2 BB | 3 K

Overall, the team is batting just .238 with a .753 OPS. They’ve scored 30 runs, had 35 hits, 11 doubles (that seems good!), and 3 homers (2x Hay, 1x Carr). They’re slugging just .374. They’ve walked 27 times but also struck out 41. Their on-base % is .379.

• Abby Carr: 1.35 ERA | 1.06 WHIP | 10.1 IP | 5 H | 3 R | 2 ER | 6 BB | 8 K | 1 XBH | .143 Opp BA
• Courtney Donahue: 3.50 ERA | 1.13 WHIP | 8 IP | 7 H | 6 R | 4 ER | 2 BB | 5 K | 2 XBH | .259 Opp BA
• CC Harrison: 3.75 ERA | 1.50 WHIP | 9.1 IP | 12 H | 5 R | 5 ER | 2 BB | 11 K | 5 XBH | .300 Opp BA
• Marissa McCann: 3.97 ERA | 1.22 WHIP | 12.1 IP | 13 H | 9 R | 7 ER | 2 BB | 4 XBH | .283 Opp BA

Overall, the team ERA is 3.15 through 5 games and 40 IP. They’ve allowed 37 hits, 23 runs (18 earned), 12 walks, 35 strikeouts, 6 doubles, 3 triples, and 3 home runs. Opponents are batting .250 against them.

What’s to Come

After facing UCF on Wednesday night, the Tigers will head back to St. Pete/Clearwater for the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational. Here’s who they’re facing and how their seasons have started:

• UCF (Feb 11 at 5pm on ESPN+): 5-1 at Black & Gold Classic (home) | W 13-0 (5 in.) v. Boston U | W 10-0 (5 in.) v. CSU Bakersfield | L 2-5 v. #16 Duke | W 15-7 (5 in.) & W 9-1 (5 in.) v. Maryland | W 12-2 (5 in.) v. Buffalo
  • In case you’re keeping track, the Knights played six games and run-ruled their opponent in FIVE of them. That’s crazy, crazy.
  • They’re hitting .360 with a 1.178 OPS. In six games, they’ve scored 61 runs, had 49 hits, 13 doubles, 2 triples, and 9 homeruns. They’re slugging .684.
  • Pitching-wise, the staff has a 2.41 ERA in 32 innings, and have allowed 21 hits, just 15 runs (11 earned). They’ve walked 23 batters but struck out 26, and allowed just 5 extra bases (3 home runs). Opponents are batting just .184.
• NC State (Feb. 13 at 11:30am on ACCN): 2-3 at Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge | W 7-1 v. Lamar | L 3-11 (5in.) & L 5-7 v. #16/13 LSU | W 9-4 v. Illinois | L 0-1 v. Nevada
  • The Wolfpack is hitting .281 with a .809 OPS. They’ve scored just 24 runs, had 34 hits, 7 doubles and 3 home runs. They’re slugging just .413. They’ve walked 22 times while striking out 25.
  • On the pitching side, their team ERA is 4.79 in 30.2 IP. They’ve allowed 32 hits, 24 runs (21 earned), 23 walks with 21 strikeouts, and a lot of extra bases (8x doubles, 3x triples, 2x HR). Opponents are hitting .258 against them.
• #7UCLA (Feb. 13 at 5pm on ESPN+): 5-0 at Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament (home) & Mark Campbell Invitational (Irvine) | W 18-1 (5 in.) v. UC-SB | W 10-1 (5 in.) v. Northern Colorado | W 12-4 (5in.) v. Oregon State | W 11-0 (5 in.) v. Utah | W 17-0 (5 in.) v. UC-Riverside
  • Like the other opponent that starts with UC (UCF, duh), the Bruins won 4 of their 5 games via run-rule. Neat!
  • As a team they are batting a whopping .487 with a gawdy 1.751 OPS. They scored 68 runes, added 58 hits, 9 doubles, a triple, and TWENTY-THREE HOME RUNS. No, that’s not a typo. They are slugging 1.160%. They’ve also walked 27 times and struck out JUST FIVE. Their OB% is .591…. I’m laughing so I don’t cry, you guys. I know it wasn’t against the best competition, but wow. Just wow. Against UC-Riverside, they had 8 HR from 5 different Bruins.
  • Oh, and their pitching is really good, too, with an ERA of just 1.68 and 0.92 WHIP in 25 innings. They allowed 16 hits and just 6 runs (all earned). They’ve walked just 7 while striking out 32, and have allowed 7 extra bases (3 HR). Opponents are batting just .182.
  • Jordan Woolery earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors after a team-high 10 hits — she was 10/15 at the plate — with 14 RBI and 5 HR. Read it (and weep) here.
• Northwestern(Feb. 14 at 9am on ESPN+): 3-2 at Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, AZ | W 9-1 (5 in.) v. Toledo | L 3-4 & W 7-1 v. Texas State | L 0-8 (6 in.) v. AZ State | W 14-5 (5 in.) v. Memphis
  • The Wildcats are batting .333 with a 1.069 OPS. They’ve scored 33 runs and added 41 hits, including 9 doubles, 2 triples, and 9 homers. They’re slugging .659. They don’t walk much — just 12 BB, but do strike out a lot (29), with an OB% of .410.
  • The NW pitching staff has a sub-3.00 ERA (2.93) in 28.2 IP. They’ve allowed 30 hits and 19 runs (12 earned) to go with a 16 BB : 22 K ratio. They’ve allowed 8 extra bases (4 HR), and opponents are hitting .261.
• FAU(Feb. 14 at 2pm on ESPN+): 5-0 at Paradise Classic (home) | W 8-0 v. Indiana | W 10-6 v. Ohio State | W 4-3 v. Wisconsin | W 10-0 v. Stonehill | W 4-2 v. Delaware
  • As a team, the Owls are batting .382 with a 1.064 OPS, to go with 36 runs scored and 42 hits, including 10 doubles and 5 homers. They’re slugging .609. They’ve walked 16 times to 19 strikeouts, and their OB% is .455.
  • On the pitching side, their ERA is a miniscule 2.03 in 31 IP. They’ve allowed 25 hits, but only 11 runs (9 earned). Their BB:K ratio is impressive, sitting at 13 : 34, and they’ve allowed just 5 extra base hits (3 HR). Opponents are hitting just .217 so far this season.
  • With their strong start, the Owls swept the American Conference weekly awards with Lily Holtjie named Player of the Week and Autumn Courtney as Pitcher of the Week. Holtjie had a .688 OB% this weekend, with 5 hits (4 for extra bases) and 6 walks. Her weekend average was .556. Courtney, the reigning unanimous American conference pitcher of the year, earned two wins in the Owls’ first three games and had a save. She led the team with a 1.40 ERA with a AC-best 16 punchouts. This included a complete game in the IU opener, with 8 strikeouts and just 2 hits.
• #19Duke(Feb. 15 at 8am on ACCN): 4-1 at UCF Tournament | L 1-2 v. Boston U | W 5-2 v. UCF | W 3-1 v. Buffalo | W 13-4 (5 in.) & 9-0 (5 in.) v. CSU-B
  • The Blue Devils are batting .336 with a .943 OPS, to go along with 31 runs scored, 42 hits (16 for extra bases, including 4 HR), and a .552 SLG%. They’ve walked 11 times while striking out just 12, but have a pretty weak .391 OB%.
  • The pitching staff’s ERA is just 2.12 in 29.2 IP, allowing 21 hit but just 9 earned runs. They’ve allowed 12 walks but also whiffed 22 batters and allowed 7 extra base hits (4x 2B, 3 HR) for a .196 opponent batting average.
  • Per the Duke SB site: The Blue Devils also welcomed 10 newcomers, including transfers Layla Lamar (Florida), Larissa Jacquez (Incarnate Word), Tyrina Jones (Purdue) and Mallory Wheeler (Louisiana). The senior duo of Cassidy Curd and Aminah Vega were among the 53 players to earn a spot on the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List. Three Dukies earned Preseason All-ACC honors in Kairi Rodriguez, Jennings, and Vega.

Surprise, surprise: Kris Bryant is headed to injury reserve. 

The Rockies slugger was placed on the 60-day IL on Tuesday with a lingering lower back issue in the latest setback for the former National League MVP. 

Bryant, 34, has struggled mightily to stay on the field since coming to Colorado five years ago. 

Since signing a massive seven-year, $182 million free agent contract with the Rockies after the 2021 season, Bryant has played in just 170 out of a possible 648 games over four seasons with various injuries. 

Last season, Bryant appeared in just 11 games before being sidelined with lumbar degenerative disc disease, which is a lower back issue associated with wear and tear of the spine.

The latest stint is the 10th time he’s been placed on the IL since coming to the Mile High City.

Bryant hasn’t looked the part of the star worthy contract he signed when on the field either, hitting .244 with 17 home runs, 61 RBIs and an OPS of .695 when in the lineup. 

The development is the latest setback in what had at one point looked like a potential Hall of Fame career. 

Debuting for the Cubs in 2015, Bryant won the NL Rookie of the Year award that season while making the All-Star team and garnering some down-ballot MVP votes. 

A season later, Bryant won the MVP award at just 24 years old for the historic 2016 World Series champion Cubs team. 

Bryant would show some signs of wear over the next few seasons, although he still made two more All-Star teams for Chicago before being dealt to the Giants before the 2021 MLB trade deadline. 

Now, it appears his career is on life support.

I read a lot of baseball writing, either by book or some online article that happens to catch my eye. Sometimes the writing will say something that makes me perk up a bit, particularly when it involves the Phillies. So when I read this article from The Athletic ($), there was a note here that made me pause.

With respect to the Skubal-and-Valdez Tigers, depth matters. And the Phillies, Dodgers, Red Sox (the depthiest of the rotations, imo), Blue Jays and Reds (yes, the Reds) can all make a claim that their rotations, one through five (or in some cases, six) are the best in the game.

Huh. One through five as the best in the game.

It got me thinking about this rotation and whether that claim can be made any longer.

Of course, we need a full season’s worth of recent statistics to talk about it, but with the season not having started yet, it’s just conjecture. It’s one person’s opinion matched up against another’s. Last season can be used for teams that haven’t had a lot of turnover, but as it stands right now, the Phillies will likely have two, maybe three, different members of their initial five that are new compared to 2025.

So comparing the Phillies’ rotation as is to the others around the game before spring training happens seems foolhardy, but another question pops up when looking at that quote, at least to me.

Do the Phillies even have a deep rotation? That’s something that can be debated.

Right now, were the team to have their druthers, the rotation would look like this on Opening Day:

1. Cristopher Sanchez
2. Jesus Luzardo
3. Aaron Nola
4. Taijuan Walker
5. Andrew Painter

The top two that the team will trot out in the first series are as good as it gets around the league. Even with Sanchez’s 2nd place finish in the Cy Young voting, it still feels like he’s underrated around the game. Luzardo finally capitalized on his immense potential to have a great season in 2025 and will be pitching to hit it big in free agency following this season. It’s as good a start as any to filling out a rotation.

After that, things get murkier. We aren’t really sure what Aaron Nola we are going to get this coming season. One could believe in the even year Nola conspiracy theory, but until it is actually shown in action, one has to wonder if the toll of all the innings he has pitched over the years without missing starts has begun to affect Nola and his health. Walker’s role as end of the rotation pitcher/first choice to get bumped to the bullpen is well documented by this point. If he can give the team even league average production in 4 or 5 inning bursts each outing, that’s a win for the team. What Painter gives the team this year is one of its biggest question marks and one of the reasons for concern. What if Painter has a bad spring and shows he’s still not ready for the major league spotlight? That would obviously go against the team’s plans, but there have to be some contingencies in place in case this actually comes to fruition.

We’ve gotten this far and haven’t even mentioned Zack Wheeler, but with the latest update provided, he won’t be ready for Opening Day.

Which brings us back to the depth that this team has accrued. Is it actually enough? Wheeler’s injury has laid bare the fact that they have not backfilled as much as maybe they should have. Right now, there is Tucker Davidson and Bryse Wilson on the depth chart behind Painter, maybe even Jean Cabrera is you’re feeling generous. Alan Rangel and Yoniel Curet are technically options, but who are we kidding. Are those the kinds of guys the team is going to want to rely on if something were to befall one of their current rotation members?

A lot of this is of their own volition. There hasn’t been much of an effort to add these kinds of starters to their minor league stable, instead having the focus on making sure that the bullpen was full of viable options in case harmful events befall someone. That will mean a lot of breath holding each time one of those five takes their start this spring, be it in Florida or in the World Baseball Classic.

It’s easy to criticize them for not getting players to join them in free agency, but it’s also easy to forget it take two to tango. Players have to be willing to come to Philadelphia and usually, if a player is going to take a minor league (their likely best offer), they’re going to want to see a clear path to being able to pitch. That path isn’t exactly crystal clear with the Phillies. They have had a pretty remarkable string of being able to keep their starters on the field, which means free agents would probably look elsewhere. It is something of a curse, where the Phillies need starters to bide their time in the minor leagues in case of injury, but a lot of times, those injuries never come. So, convincing someone who has veteran status to join the team, likely on a minor league, is always going to be something of a challenge. If there is something to compare the Phillies to the Dodgers, it’s in this fashion. Both rotations are theoretically blocked with pitchers already that getting someone to join them is tough.

However, it would behoove the team to convince someone, be it a veteran or a pitcher with a checkered history, to take a minor league deal during spring training. They have avenues of doing so, financially speaking. Kolby Allard was given a decent chunk of change to spend his time in Lehigh Valley on a minor league deal before he was eventually called up for a few starts in 2024. Giving someone a larger than normal guaranteed amount of money to spend time in the minors is one way to flex that financial muscle we always hear about.

The top part of the starting rotation is good, something on which we can all agree, but there needs a bit more backfill at the end of it. Dombrowski would seem to agree as he acknowledged the team is still chasing down options to help create that depth. It’ll be something to follow as the team heads down to Florida to begin their preparations.

Things sure have gotten wild in Detroit over the past week. From Framber Valdez, to the Skubal arbitration battle, to adding Tigers legend Justin Verlander back to the roster, we haven’t seen a busier stretch in the Scott Harris era. Right after the Verlander deal was announced, another minor bit of news followed as the Tigers added veteran right-handed hitting outfielder, Austin Slater, on a minor league deal with an invite to camp. He’ll make $2 million should he play in the majors for them this year. There are also incentives attached up to $500,000.

Slater is a decent addition to the spring training roster, and provides some competition for both Matt Vierling and Jahmai Jones as the club’s other right-handed hitting outfielders. He has a long track record of hitting left-handed pitching, and he’s a solid defender in all three positions.

The now 33-year-old was drafted by the San Francisco Giants back in 2014. He had a few good seasons in a platoon role with them in his late 20’s. The past few seasons have seen him bouncing around the league, most recently as a depth outfielder for the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees both in 2025.

The Stanford grad has that in common with manager A.J. Hinch, as well as a reputation as a savvy veteran player who knows his role. Winning an Opening Day gig will be difficult, but he would make a fine Triple-A stash if they can keep him.

Slater is a career 119 wRC+ hitter against left-handed pitching. He really has never handled right-handed pitching well at all, so any role he carves out for himself will be quite limited. He hasn’t played center field in the major leagues at all since 2024, but he was worth +1 DRS and +1 Outs Above Average in left field last year, and neutral in right field. He only appeared in 65 total games.

He’s unlikely to have much impact on the Tigers, but as we discussed in an article earlier today, the outfield depth was a problem in 2025. While things already looked better headed into this season, adding Slater to compete in spring training is a nice little depth addition for insurance.

According to David Stearns in a pre-spring training media session in Port St. Lucie, Francisco Lindor is seeing a specialist about a stress reaction in the hamate bone on his left hand. Surgery is on the table, which would have an approximately six week recovery time. The Mets believe that, even if surgery is required, Lindor will be ready for Opening Day. He will be evaluated tomorrow.

Much like his teammate Francisco Alvarez, as well as Mets legends Jason Vargas and Tim Tebow, Lindor is the latest to deal with hamate issues, a bone whose name that I imagine that only osteopaths and baseball fans know. Lindor, a switch hitter, throws right-handed, and so this is a fracture on his glove hand. Lingering results from Alvarez’s injury were reported to be part of his ineffectiveness last season, though it is impossible to know to what degree.

Stearns named Vidal Bruján, Jackson Cluff, Grae Kessinger, Ronny Mauricio and Christian Arroyo as potential players to get reps at shortstop if Lindor has to begin the season on the Injuted List, but reiterated that the team believes that, even if surgery is needed, Lindor is expected to be ready for Opening Day.

Additionally, Stearns said that he does not know specifically why Lindor was not approved for insurance for the World Baseball Classic and thus could not suit up for Team Puerot Rico, saying that the insurance decision was “not dependent on the clubs.”

On the injury front, Stearns discussed A.J. Minter’s return after undergoing lat surgery last spring. Minter is expected to return in early May.

Stearns also revealed that Juan Soto would be moving to left field for the 2026 season, with Stearns saying that is where Soto “feels most comfortable.” Generally considered an easier defensive position because of the lack of arm strength needed, this should help the Mets’ overall outfield defense and may help Soto stick in the field for a little longer before his eventual migration to designated hitter. Stearns said the decision was made jointly between Soto and the club. “Juan was working out in LF…he felt really comfortable there. It made sense for us from a roster perspective. Not something we had contemplated, but as we’ve had conversations it made sense.” The expectation is that Carson Benge is the front runner for now-open right field, but Stearns mentioned Brett Baty as an option there as well.

As far as the rotation goes, Stearns said that they would discuss a six-man rotation “if they get to that point,” and mentioned that Tobias Myers will be working out as a starter in spring to give them the maximum amount of flexibility with his role.

Finally, Ryan Clifford, one of the prospects the Mets acquired at the 2023 trade deadline, will be starting the year at Triple-A Syracuse. Clifford, who has played first base, the corner outfield spots, and also got at-bats at DH, batted .237/.356/.470 with 29 home runs in 139 games across Double-A and Triple-A last season.

Major League Baseball is making streaming options available for fans to watch in-market games of 20 teams, including the Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres — a significant shift to respond to the fast-changing TV landscape.

The Angels on Tuesday announced its arrangement with the league to make its games more widely available. The club said the option — Angels.TV — would be available for purchase for $99.99 for the full season or $19.99 per month through the MLB app.

“We are excited to partner with Major League Baseball to bring Angels games to their streaming platform,” Angels President John Carpino said in a statement. “Our priority is making it as easy as possible for fans to watch Angels Baseball and MLB’s industry-leading app provides another great option to stay connected to the team.”

The league separately announced the move, which provides options for fans of other teams, through its MLB app. In-market games for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals will be provided through the app.

Games will still be available to traditional pay-TV subscribers.

Read more:Shaikin: Should Angels fans just give up and join the Dodgers bandwagon?

Spectrum, owned by cable giant Charter Communications, which distributes the Dodgers' SportsNet LA, had previously made available Dodger games as a streaming option through a separate app.

On Tuesday, ESPN announced that it would become the new streaming home of MLB.TV, bringing out-of-market live games to the ESPN App and ESPN.com.

“With MLB.TV now available through ESPN, we’re taking a significant step forward in reinforcing ESPN as the home of the MLB regular season while deepening the value proposition of the ESPN Unlimited plan — giving fans even more flexibility in how and where they watch all season long,” Rosalyn Durant, executive vice president, ESPN Programming & Acquisitions, said in a statement.

Read more:Play ball! Dodger Stadium gondola project claims early-season victory

The move comes as traditional regional sports networks struggle amid the exodus of pay-TV customers. Regional sports networks once were viewed as cash cows for teams and TV programming companies that owned them, but, in recent years, at least one regional sports network owner has filed for bankruptcy. That prompted the MLB to step in to fill the gap.

The league said it also was taking over the television production of games for 14 teams, including the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

I think it’s safe to say that many of us have our expectations set low for the upcoming St. Louis Cardinals season based on the newness of the rebuild process that’s underway, but it appears that we’re likely wildly optimistic compared to the new projections just shared by Baseball Prospectus.

The new PECOTA Standings shared by Baseball Prospectus are an eye-opener. Not only do they believe that the St. Louis Cardinals will be cellar dwellers in the National League Central, but they only envision the team with 66 wins and 96 losses. When you dig deeper into their depth chart for the St. Louis Cardinals, you see why. They project the team being outscored 624 to 761. Dang.

The individual player breakdowns are interesting as they see Ivan Herrera being in the lineup as a catcher only 20% of the time with 60% of his appearances coming as a designated hitter. JJ Wetherholt is predicted to be at second base 70% of his appearances with 5% also being at third base and another 5% at shortstop. Pedro Pagés is seen as the St. Louis Cardinals primary catcher behind the plate for 50% of his games. Nolan Gorman is projected as the team’s third baseman only 60% of his games with 10% at first base, 5% at second base and 10% as the Cardinals DH. Anyone else expecting Nolan Gorman to be at first base much? I certainly don’t.

The PECOTA depth chart for St. Louis Cardinals pitchers shows they believe that the team will lean on Riley O’Brien and JoJo Romero as the team’s closers. They see Matthew Liberatore and Andre Pallante averaging 5.6 innings per start with 5 innings for Michael McGreevy and only 4.1 for Dustin May. Kyle Leahy is expected to mix up his appearance between being a starter and a setup role with an average of 4.9 innings per game.

I’m not a gambler, but I’d take the over on what they predict for the St. Louis Cardinals. They have the lowest projection of wins for the team that I’ve seen so far this offseason and I believe that a 66 win campaign is way below what this team will achieve. If the St. Louis Cardinals team were a prospect, I’d say that overall they have a high upside with lots of fundamental work to be done. No, I would not predict 2026 to be a “winning” season when it comes to record, but I believe it will be the first really fruitful season we’ve seen in the past 3 years when it comes to getting the organization pointed back toward their former winning ways. If Baseball Prospectus is right, it will be a painful one to watch.

One other Cardinals news of note today is this. The St. Louis Cardinals today acquired right-handed pitcher George Soriano in a trade with the Washington Nationals in exchange for right-handed pitcher Andre Granillo. I’m doubting that will change the Baseball Prospectus outlook for us much.

Key pitcher of Phillies rival takes major injury hit originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Atlanta Braves have had one of the most talented roster in baseball over the last half-decade. The one main obstacle in their title hopes has been injuries.

2026, meet the Braves.

Today the Phillies’ NL East rival placed starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach on the 60-day disabled list with bone spurs in his right elbow.

This is yet another significant injury for a team that has dealt with its fair share over the past few years, particularly in its rotation.

Last season, Schwellenbach was 7-4 with a 3.09 ERA in 17 starts before being shut down for the season with a fractured elbow. New Braves manager Walt Weiss said Schwellenbach’s pre-spring training workouts were progressing well before this major setback.

“He was doing great,” Weiss told mlb.com. “He was throwing bullpens, and everything was great. The last bullpen he threw was a week and a half ago or so, and it wasn’t great. That’s when the red flags went off. So we’re hoping for the best.

In 2025, Bryce Elder was the only Braves starter to make more than 23 starts. Chris Sale missed 2 ½ months with a fractured rib cage; Spencer Strider had a hamstring injury that limited him to three starts through the end of May, after missing nearly all of the 2024 season due to elbow surgery. Grant Holmes’ season was shut down at the end of July with a partial UCL tear, that did not require surgery.

Now, Schwellenbach likely won’t take a big-league mound for Atlanta until at least June.

“I always say, before a season even starts, your pitching depth is going to get tested,” Weiss said. “It’s inevitable, you know. But you’d rather not have it happen right away in February.”

For a division race that will be as hotly-contested as it has, perhaps in its history, between the Braves, Phillies, and Mets, losing a pitcher of Schwellenbach’s quality is something Weiss and his team can ill afford.

Justin Verlander has signed a one year deal with the Detroit Tigers, the team announced today. Reports indicate that the deal is for $13 million, with $10 million of that being deferred payments that begin in 2030.

Verlander is returning to the team that originally selected him second overall in the 2004 Draft, and for whom he has had his best seasons. Verlander won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2006 for the Tigers, as well as winning the Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player Award in 2011. Sadly for Verlander, his Tigers got knocked out in the ALCS in 2011 by a team whose identity I can’t recall, with Verlander giving up 7 runs in 11.1 IP in two starts in that ALCS series.

While with the Tigers, Verlander also had a pair of second place Cy Young finishes, a third place finish, and a fifth place finish. His 24 wins in 2011 tie him with Randy Johnson in 2002 for the most wins in a single season by a pitcher in the 21st century. He was traded to the Houston Astros in 2017, and ended up finishing fifth in the Cy Young balloting that year, while also winning a ring in the trash can banging World Series. Verlander won another ring with Houston in 2022, won finished second in the Cy Young voting in 2018, and won his second and third CYAs in 2019 and 2022, with the 2022 campaign coming after he missed all of 2021 due to Tommy John surgery.

Verlander joined the New York Mets in 2023, but was traded to the Astros at the deadline. Verlander once again made it to the ALCS that year, only to see the Astros get knocked out in memorable fashion against a team I can’t remember. After putting up a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts for Houston in 2024, Verlander joined the San Francisco Giants in 2025, putting up a 3.85 ERA and 3.85 FIP in 152 innings over 29 starts.

Verlander spent too much time with the Astros for me to have warm fuzzies about him, but he’s an inner-circle Hall of Famer, one of the all time greats, and his returning to his original club for what may be his final season is pretty cool.