Worldwide Sports News

Italy has been the biggest surprise at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, nearly eliminating the United States by beating the Americans and Mexico in pool play before advancing to the semifinal round for the first time. A spot in the WBC championship game against the United States could await if the Italian team can beat Venezuela on Monday, March 16 in Miami.

Italy has reached this point with a roster made up of players born predominantly in the United States, though there are some players from Italy, Canada and even Venezuela that will be part of the semifinal round. There's also a notable roster adjustment after a calf injury suffered by Seattle Mariners infielder Miles Mastrobuoni in pool play.

Team Italy manager Francisco Cervelli announced Sunday that Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio, who was born in Venezuela, is set to join the Italian team for its Monday game against Venezuela. Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is set to start. Here's a breakdown of the full roster for Italy ahead of the WBC semifinals:

Team Venezuela reached the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic for the first time in 17 years by beating Japan on Saturday, March 14, sending the defending champions home early for the first time in the WBC’s 20-year history.

And if Venezuela wants a shot at the United States – 2-1 winners against the Dominican Republic on Sunday night – in Tuesday's title game, it will have to upend Team Italy, which has won all five games at this tournament and knocked off Puerto Rico Saturday to reach the WBC semifinals for the first time.

This semifinal matchup is set for Monday, March 16, at Miami's LoanDepot Park (8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1)

Here's the Venezuela's roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic:

While much of Braves Country were watching the snow this morning, the Atlanta Braves made a Spring Training move.

The Braves sent Aaron Schunk and Brewer Hicklen to minor league camp today. Schunk gives them infield depth at the minor league level, but not a ton more. Aaron had 131 somewhat forgettable plate appearances with the Colorado Rockies during the last two years. He failed to impress in Spring Training, with a .174/.208/.174 line in 24 plate appearances. The projections think he would be replacement-level with Atlanta. So if he’s needed, they have a baseline perhaps.

Brewer Hicklen, an outfielder from UAB, was sent to minor league camp as well. Hicklen has bounced between Detroit, Milwaukee, and was drafted by Kansas City. He hasn’t been able to stick anywhere, however. So he’ll most likely wait with Schunk in Gwinnett until needed.

They won’t be making the Opening Day roster. That’s not to say they won’t appear in another Spring Training game. Because in preseason games, the rosters are made up and the stats don’t matter. They’re like, I don’t know, Braves Country TV options in Montana. The Braves have 43 players in camp.

MESA, Ariz. –– Last fall, Yoshinobu Yamamoto collected the final outs of the Dodgers’ World Series title defense.

Now, as the team embarks on a historic three-peat bid in 2026, the Japanese right-hander will be the first to return to the bump as the opening-day starter on March 26.

Manager Dave Roberts announced on Monday that Yamamoto will get the nod in the Dodgers’ regular-season opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks later this month. It marks the second consecutive season that Yamamoto receives the opening day honor, after pitching in the team’s Tokyo opener last March.

“It is a pretty easy decision,” Roberts said. “It’s an honor to be the Opening Day starter.”

It also further cements his status as the ace of the team’s pitching staff, coming off a 2025 season in which he was a Cy Young Award finalist and World Series MVP.

Last year, Yamamoto was the Dodgers’ most effective pitcher during the regular season, leading the team in starts (30), wins (12–8 record), and ERA (2.49) while finishing third in Cy Young voting.

He was also their most clutch performer on either side of the ball in the playoffs, posting a 5–1 record and 1.45 ERA in a tour-de-force October that included two complete games and his World Series Game 7 heroics out of the bullpen on zero days’ rest.

That heavy workload hasn’t had any ill effects on Yamamoto’s ramp-up for the start of this season.

He bulked up his body over the offseason. He came into camp ahead of schedule in preparation for the World Baseball Classic. And in two starts with Team Japan, he pitched well, allowing just two runs over 6 ⅔ innings while striking out seven batters.

“Part of being a gamer, being a great competitor in big moments, is the preparation,” Roberts said earlier this week of Yamamoto, praising the unique training program that has helped him adapt to the majors and unlock the potential of his undersized 5-foot-10 frame. “When you prepare the right way, that eliminates a lot of doubt and fear. For me, that’s the core of who Yoshinobu is. That’s what we’re trying to get all of our guys to feel that same way.”

Yamamoto becomes the Dodgers’ first repeat opening day starter since Clayton Kershaw did it in eight consecutive seasons from 2011–2018. 

Last year, he pitched five innings in the team’s Tokyo season-opener against the Chicago Cubs, giving up one run on one hit and one walk while striking out four.

“He started for us last year on the road (in Tokyo),” Roberts said. “But for him to get that start on Opening Day at home I think it’s going to be special.”

Entering the final week of camp, there are still questions about how the Dodgers will line up the rest of their opening day rotation behind Yamamoto.

Tyler Glasnow will be in the group, as will Shohei Ohtani –– who returned to Dodgers camp from the WBC on Monday, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session later this week, and remains on track to be built up to 3-4 innings by the start of the regular season despite having not yet pitched in a real game this spring.

Beyond that, however, there remains competition.

Roberts said the Dodgers will open the year with a five-man rotation instead of six, given the abundance of off days the team is scheduled to have during the first couple weeks.

The last two spots seem likely to go to Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan, but Roberts said Justin Wrobleski and River Ryan remain in the mix, as well.

If Wrobleski doesn’t make the rotation, he would likely serve as a multi-inning option of the bullpen, perhaps capable of piggybacking with Ohtani as he builds up to full-length outings.

Ryan, meanwhile, could wind up in triple-A to begin the year despite his impressive 1.86 ERA this spring. The Dodgers are still trying to be mindful of his workload as he returns from Tommy John surgery, and could elect to ease him into the year as they manage what will be a limited workload for him this season.

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After a split squad and two games on Sunday, the Dodgers are back to facing just one opponent at a time for the rest of spring training, beginning Monday afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers at Camelback Ranch.

Lineup

Miguel Rojas DH
Freddie Freeman 1B
Mookie Betts SS
Max Muncy 3B
Teoscar Hernández LF
Hyeseong Kim 2B
James Tibbs III RF
Zach Ehrhard CF
Eliézer Alfonzo C

Tyler Glasnow starts for the Dodgers.

Other pitchers

Blake Treinen and Jack Dreyer are also slated to pitch.

Active pitchers from minor league camp are veteran Keynan Middleton (wearing uniform number 97), Kelvin Ramirez (93), Robby Porco (98), and Evan Shaw (91). Shaw was a 16th-round draft pick in 2024 out of Kansas who had a 2.22 ERA in 52 2/3 innings for High-A Great Lakes last season.

Other position players

Michael Siani is active on Monday, as are non-roster invitees Ryan Fitzgerald, Nick Senzel, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Zyhir Hope.

Up from the minors are Chris Newell (00), Joe Vetrano (95), Eduardo Guerrero (87), John Rhodes (09), plus catchers Victor Rodrigues (05) and Frank Rodriguez (92).

Detroit Tigers vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Time/Place: 1:05 p.m., Joker Marchant Stadium – Lakeland, FL
SB Nation Site:
Media:Tigers Radio Network

26-year-old Ben Cowles has been on the Cubs, the Blue Jays, and the White Sox so far this year. The aim is obvious, to get him off the 40-man roster and onto the Triple-A team. If he gets put on waivers, someone claims him, and the circus is back in town.

Cowles can play a little bit. But not enough to claim a starting or utility spot on a team like Chicago, with championship ambitions. He’s more of a fill-in or Quadruple A player. His lifetime .258/.346/.409 slash line in the minors over 459 total games in five seasons isn’t going to get him anything but the taste of old coffee.

I’m not really sure why people keep claiming him, to be honest. He doesn’t have anything that the Cubs don’t have already but okay, let’s play that game.

Good luck to Ben. I hope he helps Iowa win it all. I suspect he’ll be on the way to another team, but maybe this time we can get this published before it actually happens. (We originally had this scheduled to run on the very day he was claimed by the Blue Jays.)

Opening Day for the 2026 Texas Rangers is on March 26, 2026, at Philadelphia against the Phillies. Ten days away from Opening Day, it seems like we have a pretty good idea what the Opening Day roster is going to look like.

On the position player side, things have seemed pretty well set since Andrew McCutchen signed. Yes, McCutchen got a minor league deal, not a major league deal, but he’s Andrew McCutchen. Even at the age of 39 and coming off of a 95 wRC+ season, he’s not someone you’re bringing to camp to as an insurance policy or to kick the tires on. You’re signing Andrew McCutchen because you’re planning on him being on your 2026 roster.

Had McCutchen come to camp and struggled, then maybe the Rangers would have had a decision to make. But McCutchen has torn it up in five Cactus League games so far, slashing .586/.706/.833, and while you aren’t going to make a decision based on five spring games, that performance thusfar certainly helps McCutchen solidfy his hold on a roster spot.

McCutchen will presumably be platooning at DH with Joc Pederson, who had an awful 2025 season and hasn’t been good in 2026. Pederson is getting reps at first base as the Rangers look to provide manager Skip Schumaker additional lineup flexibility, and he’s going to get a chance to get going in 2026, though his leash won’t be as long as it was last year.

So barring injury, the Rangers seem set with Danny Jansen and Kyle Higashioka behind the plate, Jake Burger, Josh Smith, Corey Seager, Josh Jung and Ezequiel Duran in the infield, Evan Carter, Wyatt Langford, Brandon Nimmo and Sam Haggerty in the outfield, and Pederson and McCutchen platooning at DH. Smith was nominally competing for the second base job, a competition he’s clearly won at this point. Duran’s spot as the utility infielder likely was locked up when Cody Freeman, his primarily competition for the job, went down with an injury. Tyler Wade is still hanging around, but I’m not sure that the Rangers would see any compelling need to clear a 40 man roster spot and send Duran down to give Wade a major league job.

On the pitching side, the first four rotation spots seem set, with Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, MacKenzie Gore and Jack Leiter. Jacob Latz and Kumar Rocker are each fighting for the fifth spot in the rotation, with Latz seemingly having the edge, although his usefulness in the bullpen could result in him going to the pen and Rocker getting the fifth starter spot, especially as it is anticipated (hoped?) that Cody Bradford will be ready to join the rotation in May.

Most of the spots in the bullpen also seem locked in. Robert Garcia, Chris Martin, Jakob Junis, Tyler Alexander, and Jalen Beeks are all safe. Cole Winn is out of options and Carter Baumler is a Rule 5 pick, so both have to be on the roster or potentially be lost, and each has pitched well enough that you figure the Rangers will keep them around to start the season.

Which leaves one spot up for grabs. That would potentially be going to Latz, if Rocker gets the fifth starter spot. If not Latz, Luis Curvelo is the pitcher on the 40 man roster who would seem to have the inside track. Aside from Latz and Curvelo, the options would seem to be a bevy of NRI arms. Ryan Brasier is a veteran who has veteranocity. Patrick Murphy impressed the Rangers last year in camp, got hurt, and then spent half the year in Korea. Josh Sborz is back, but his velocity isn’t, and while he’s had decent results this spring, I don’t think he’s a viable major league reliever if he’s only throwing 94 mph. And of course, the Rangers could end up with a late waiver claim or minor trade acquisition filling that spot.

So as things stand now, the only real questions appear to be, who the fifth starter will be and who will get the last bullpen spot, with the answer to the first question possibly answering the second question.

From a 40 man roster standpoint, the Rangers will need to add McCutchen, and possibly would need to add a reliever, depending on who ends up earning that final spot. Michel Otanez and Dairon Blanco would seem the most likely candidates to be designated for assignment to open those spots up — but then, I said that last week, when the news broke that the Rangers were signing Jalen Beeks, and Alexis Diaz got dropped instead.

The Good Phight will be previewing the 2026 season by going over each position on the field. We’ll talk about the players that will occupy them, the players behind them, their strengths and weaknesses and give a few takes about how we think the season will shake out.

One of the more controversial roster decisions in a while was made this offseason when the Phillies decided that they were going to bring back J.T. Realmuto. While the temptation to say “they needed to move on” is tempting, the options that were available to them on the free agent market were, let’s call it, less than appealing. They would have made due had a few free agent decisions been different, but here we are in 2026 and we still have Realmuto here.

Should we expect anything to change?

The starter: J.T. Realmuto

Yup, back for another go’round. Signed to a three-year deal this offseason after losing out on Bo Bichette, Realmuto returns to the Phillies hoping to pull a Cher. Disappointing from both an offensive and defensive viewpoint in 2025, the team is hoping that Realmuto can stare down Father Time a few years longer while they try and find some kind of long term solution in their player development system.

The backups: Rafael Marchan

There has been hope for some time that Marchan might be able to hit juuuuuust enough to maybe unseat Realmuto as the starter and/or take some of his playing time. However, when we look at the games played totals for both, there’s Realmuto with 132 games as a catcher in 2026 while Marchan came in at 42 (math doesn’t work, but Realmuto came in plenty as a pinch hitter and stayed in the game).

It seems that no matter what, Marchan just will not unseat Realmuto any time soon. So, he’ll have to be content with continuing to be a good caddie for him. Besides, he’s probably not a starter anyway.

The depth: Garrett Stubbs, Mark Kolozsvary, Paul McIntosh

To those that wonder why Stubbs keeps getting minor league deals with a significant minor league guarantee attached, I present to you the team’s depth.

It’s pretty funny to look around at other teams in the league and see who has/doesn’t have catching depth. The Cardinals are probably the outlier as they have about five catchers that are legitimate options at the major league level, but many others are in the bind the Phillies are. They need someone in case of injury, particularly when your starter is entering his age 35 season. Stubbs can do that job for a few weeks, but if there is a real injury to Realmuto and the Phillies are forced to start Marchan and Stubbs for an extended period, there might be trouble.

Strengths: the starting rotation loves ‘em!

We can’t really put a number on the love that the starting rotation has for Realmuto. Even Marchan was getting some love from the pitchers with his preparation prior to games. It’s something that we cannot quantify yet, how good pitchers feel with certain catchers behind the dish for their starts. We can look at rudimentary stats like catcher’s ERA to have some kind of idea, but how much of that belongs to the pitcher and his talent level, and how much goes to the catcher’s ability to call and receive games?

However, with a team that has its foundation poured in its rotation, maybe keeping Realmuto around a while longer is the wise move when considering some of the alternatives that they actually had (Adley Rutschman was not getting traded, folks).

Weaknesses: how will Realmuto’s bat and glove fare another year older?

If there was a statistic that could be used to tell a part of Realmuto’s game last season, he was worse in it than he was in 2024. Everything from the back of the baseball card stats to the ones that are more obscure, under the hood types. He just was not good last year….which makes me wonder.

Was it a blip on his career radar or the new norm?

The skeptic in us believes this is it, the decline phase manifested. Aging curves that have historically shown catchers decline quickly seems to be coming true for Realmuto. Yet there is still a tinge of me that believes he still can get back to at least an average catcher behind the plate and at it. Is that a point of view taken with the rosiest colored glasses known to man? It’s possible, likely even. It’s also probably one of the bigger questions facing the team this year.

Hottest take: J.T. Realmuto makes the All-Star game

Here come those rose colored glasses again.

Listen, there are better options at National League catcher. There is one in Los Angeles, one in Colorado that might be their lone representative, and that’s just the top of my head. Yet with a decent start to his season, it’s easy to think fans would vote for Realmuto, mainly thanks to name value alone. What might that decent start have to constitute?

I have no idea!

Does it mean at least double digit home runs and a batting average that makes even your favorite uncle nod in agreement? Probably. But Realmuto’s reputation around the league is probably such that if he is off to a good start, the players might send him to Philadelphia this July.

Realistic take: it doesn’t look great on paper, but the catching duo is perfectly fine

Listen, we all succumb to Father Time at some point. When that happens usually depends on how well we take care of ourselves. Realmuto still takes quite good care of himself, but his production is not enough that he should be dictating how much playing time he gets in June, July and August. It is finally the year that Thomson tells Realmuto he’s getting games off during the week and that Marchan is going to play more often. We’ve been saying it for some time, but we have reached the point where, for the good of the player and the team, it needs to be done.

Should that happen, there is a path where the cumulative production they put up (and anyone else should an injury occur) is good enough to be at least average when compared to catching across the game. Will they hit 20+ home runs? No. Will they hit .250? Probably not. But the defensive value, both what we can and cannot quantify, will probably add to whatever offensive output they have to give them one of the better catching tandems in the game.