Dan is joined by Lighthouse Hockey’s Jenny Berman to discuss the acquisition of Brayden Schenn and the games surrounding this season’s Trade Deadline.
It was a wild weekend for the Islanders, who dropped two massive duds in Anaheim and LA, then made a shocking last minute trade for the St. Louis Blues captain on Friday’s deadline that no one saw coming. After speaking with Schenn in person at the hotel both the Blues and Islanders were staying at, he agreed to waive his no-movement clause to join the veteran-heavy squad as they march towards the playoffs. The trade plus the re-signing of J-G Pageau was puzzling (and pricey) but Mathieu Darche’s post-deadline presser helped bring the plan into more focus. The deal also ended the Islanders’ Jonathan Drouin saga, which is probably a relief to him, the team and, in an odd way, Jenny’s dad.
A day later, the Islanders got two massive points in San Jose thanks to Bo Horvat’s latest OT goal. They’re still in the driver’s seat in the Eastern Conference playoff race, but things are still very much up-in-the-air for the few teams that haven’t sunk to the bottom of the standings. The week ahead has more opportunities to pick up valuable points and finally come back home for much of the rest of the season.
Fresh off a plane from Singapore, where she spent an enjoyable but sweltering week, Jenny gives us her thoughts on the games, the trades, the number exchanges, some other deals around the league and on following the NHL from the other side of the world (or on a plane). Thanks again to Jenny for stepping in after a long day. She’s earned a vacation from her vacation.
We also take a call from a “Mike from Long Island,” who has many feelings on the newest Islander and how the deal went down.
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What was striking after Arsenal’s grim 1-0 win at Brighton on Wednesday was less Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler’s attack on the Gunners’ style than the way his criticism seemed to resonate. In England, it feels as though almost nobody, other than Arsenal supporters or anyone-but-City fans, wants them to win the title.
“If I would ask everyone in the room: ‘Did you really enjoy this football game?’ I’m sure maybe one raises his arm because he’s a big Arsenal fan but, besides that, no chance,” Hürzeler said.
This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.
GOODYEAR, ARIZONA - MARCH 4: Christian Encarnacion-Strand #33 of the Cincinnati Reds bats during the sixth inning of the World Baseball Classic exhibition game against Team Cuba at Goodyear Ballpark on March 4, 2026 in Goodyear, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cincinnati Reds made another wave of cuts from spring camp on Monday morning, and in doing so got the number of players still in camp down to 42.
Both infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand and right-hander Chase Petty were optioned to AAA Louisville, while catcher Michael Trautwein – in camp as a non-roster invitee – was reassigned to minor league camp. The Reds announced the moves on Twitter.
Both CES and Petty have gotten their feet wet at the big league level, and at times both have risen to be perhaps the top prospects in the entire organization at what they do. That said, each’s production (or lack thereof) during the 2025 season slid precipitously, and both have clearly been passed on the organizational pecking order for the time being.
CES swatted 6 homers at the big league level in 2025 but posted just a .208/.234/.377 line in 137 PA, and he was optioned back to AAA in July. While he turned it around to an extent while with AAA Louisville, he didn’t play at the big league level after July 8th. The Reds subsequently acquired 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes from Pittsburgh and watched as Sal Stewart emerged as one of the game’s top prospect and then signed old friend Eugenio Suárez in free agency, pushing CES out of a job at the big league level for the time being, at least.
As for Petty, his initial foray into big league baseball could not have gone much worse. He was shelled for 14 runs (13 earned) in just 6.0 IP across a trio of appearances with the Reds, and after being optioned back to AAA Louisville in late June his season continued to spiral. His final two appearances of the season saw him fire just 4.1 IP and allow 14 ER, and on the whole he posted an ugly 6.39 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in 112.2 IP at the AAA level in 2025. Still just 22 years old, though, Petty is very much still viewed as a player with big league stuff (when he can harness it), but he’s clearly fallen behind Rhett Lowder, Chase Burns, and Brandon Williamson for the time being.
The Detroit Red Wings started their four-game road swing off on the right foot, defeating the New Jersey Devils on Sunday evening at Prudential Center by a 3-0 final score.
In doing so, they're now back in the third overall position in the Atlantic Division standings, while the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins continue to be hot on their trail.
The Red Wings got goals from Moritz Seider, James van Riemsdyk, and Dominik Shine, who scored his first career NHL goal.
They also got a combined shutout from John Gibson and Cam Talbot, the former of which departed following the second period after getting shaken up when Devils forward Timo Meier pushed Lucas Raymond into him.
Thankfully, it appears as though Gibson won't be any worse for wear, according to head coach Todd McLellan.
"He got hit in a bad spot and didn’t feel good after that happened," McLellan said. "He should be fine, I would think."
The Red Wings played without team captain Dylan Larkin, who was injured during Friday evening's setback at home against the Florida Panthers.
It was also the debut of newcomer Justin Faulk, who was acquired on Friday from the St. Louis Blues. David Perron, acquired the previous day from the Ottawa Senators, is still over a week away from returning to game play.
The Red Wings hadn't had a combined shutout by two goaltenders in the same game since 2014 (Jonas Gustavsson and Jimmy Howard).
"I thought we got real good goaltending from both (Gibson and Talbot)," McLellan continued. "I thought Justin Faulk made a big difference. He settled a lot of things down. We got contributions from all the lines.
Some guys played 20 minutes, other guys played 10, but the minutes they played were important."
Detroit's road trip continues on Tuesday evening against the Panthers, and they'll look to avenge their 3-1 loss from Friday.
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BOSTON, MA - MARCH 6: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics looks on before the game against the Dallas Mavericks on March 6, 2026 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
CLEVELAND – Neither Cleveland nor Boston fans want to hear that their seasons just started, that 2025-26 only recently began, that the games didn’t really count until March. That nothing in the first four months of the campaign mattered, that basketball only begins when Jayson Tatum is healthy, or when Donovan Mitchell and James Harden are on the court at the same time.
Fans battled through too much winter – and 2025-26 was an award-winning winter – to buy that. Celtic corps committed to Anfernee Simons and his slashing slice of impermanence. Cavalier faithful recognized and acknowledged Darius Garland’s on/off splits before moving on, maybe keeping the jersey, there were plenty of Darius’ No. 10 floating around the Cavs’ arena on Sunday.
Even more freshly-spun James Harden jerseys, but not nearly enough of James in the box score: 6-16 shooting, 19 points in Cleveland’s 109-98 home defeat. Ten assists for Harden in his first game with Mitchell in a dozen days. Also, far too many murmurs online over what the postseason Cavaliers will look like in matinee performances, James rolling right out of the hotel he moved into last month.
Cavs fans don’t want to read about Cleveland coalescing down the stretch, that was what 2025-26 was supposed to be for, with Garland and Mitchell, Max Strus and DeAndre Hunter and Lonzo Ball. Instead, Cleveland boasts a completely different bench, with trade deadline acquisitions Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroeder buttressing potent holdovers Craig Porter Jr. and Most Improved Player candidate Jaylon Tyson. Center Thomas Bryant is out there to remind fans from his five other NBA teams why Thomas Bryant is out there with the Cavaliers, and not out there with any of those five previous teams.
It goes. It lost on Sunday, but the Cavs (fourth in the East, seventh in point differential, 8-2 fielding Harden) rested Mitchell for a dog day February/March fortnight, girding his groin for spring. When every other NBA superstar was out playing the Nets for the third time this season, Mitchell sat in street clothes and spectacles and watched his Cavaliers. His Cavaliers out there with Thomas Bryant.
Mitchell owns a championship core if he could ever get it on the court at the same time: Jarrett Allen missed his second straight game on Sunday with knee soreness, his 13th sit of the season after working all 82 in 2024-25. Cleveland won’t budge from the No. 4 seed before the season ends, all that means is Spider requires stealing a second round Game 2 in Detroit. And no better time to beat Boston for the first time this season than Game 1 of the Eastern finals.
Boston fans will laugh at this, and that’s fine, I’ll pretend they’re laughing at an old ‘Cheers’ joke and not my arguments for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Like the time Carla talked Sam out of trying out for the Red Sox not because she was his friend but mostly so she could snare a couple of Sox hunks inside Sam’s spring training dorm. Or when the whole bar ate sorghum, happily. Or when Woody made that amazing drink but couldn’t remember what went in it.
Boston fans don’t want to recognize that they wasted winter watching an incomplete team because Boston wasn’t, not when the Celtics are second in the East, second-best point differential in the NBA even without Jayson Tatum. The Celtics weren’t even supposed to clock in this season, may clock out with a champagne shower, goggles materializing from storage.
Sunday was whiplash, dragging an early seven-point Cleveland advantage to a 26-point Boston lead. Jayson Tatum working the closest an NBA team can get to a back-to-back (Boston worked in Cleveland 42 hours after tipping victoriously over Dallas, in Boston) and looking every bit the unruffled top NBA pitchman, 20 points in 27 minutes against Cleveland, 15-12-7 assists in 27 minutes versus the Mavs.
The Cavaliers enjoyed the opposite itinerary, the longest stretch of days off allowed, last working March 3 and in Ohio. Plenty of time for practice, plenty of space for growth. Couldn’t blame the layoff for Sunday’s snore, either, it wasn’t the emergence of March bloomery or the urge to spring forward that got in the way of Cleveland playing defense on Sunday.
While the Cavs obsessed over what went wrong on the other end, the Boston offense hummed with all the 2025-26 hallmarks: Jaylen Brown probing, Payton Pritchard crossing goofballs over, Baylor Scheierman tossing Cliff Hagen-styled lefty looks into the goal, Sam Hauser leaking, always leaking, splashing 5-10 three-pointers in a contest where Cleveland missed 20 of its first 22 from deep. Where Cleveland feints, then considers, Boston rolls and counters.
It scans: Cleveland is all new faces. Even Celtic breakouts Neemias Queta and Scheierman worked in Boston’s system as deep reserves in previous seasons. It makes sense when Jayson Tatum blends with the teammates he hasn’t worked with since May, he’s blended so successfully with each of them before. Save for rookie Hugh Gonzalez (several Larry Bird jerseys in Sunday’s Cleveland but even more Hugh Gonzalez jerseys, which makes sense, Larry’s last game was in “Cleveland“) and (capable Nikola Vucevic replacement) Luka Garza.
Cleveland, like Richfield, isn’t Cleveland yet. Not without Jarrett Allen, James Harden’s new video game, the piece to make the paint mightier. Allen was a crucial worry in previous postseasons but not with this crew, not with Harden. The Cavaliers boast the postseason luxury of keeping either Mitchell or Harden on the floor at all times, a stagger to sock the opposition’s jaw. All of this, admittedly, relies on James Harden showing up in the playoffs.
Boston’s potential championship return is no gimmick or novelty. The NBA’s second-best point differential boasts an MVP candidate, Jaylen Brown turning over from Pippen into Jordan in a single possession, then it added whatever Jayson Tatum makes of this comeback crusade.
Detroit is injured, New York unwritten, Boston was in business even if Tatum remained sidelined through October. The only thing to trip the Celtics might be Jayson Tatum confusing NBA games with intense one-on-one workouts while refamiliarizing himself with NBA protocol. Not turning the ball over by stepping in-bounds while in-bounding it, calling for the ball back after a miss, walking off the court to find a water fountain after making a three, little things like that.
The NBA had all this time to take our licks at the Celtics, this is the best we could come up with. Couldn’t even keep them in third place during a season where the Patriots made the Super Bowl. Boston avoids luxury taxes, and everyone got an extra biscuit when Tatum’s 20 field goal attempts per game took 62 games off. Luka Garza took two biscuits but that’s OK, he’s hungry, his shot diet is buttery.
Boston remains a problem. The only Eastern team that can stop them would be a surprise. Cleveland is capable, could be that surprise, but the Celtics demand so much. To surprise Boston four playoff times in seven playoff tries is to shock.
Beyond the strong performance by goaltender Connor Ingram on Sunday night, the Edmonton Oilers showed a level of urgency and attention to detail on defense that had been missing in recent games. The result? A 4–2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
In what many saw as a must-win game, several players who had struggled in recent outings stepped up with more complete efforts. Most importantly, the team came together and individuals played their roles in a much more effective way.
There were stronger performances across the board, but it was Trent Frederic, Vasily Podkolzin, Leon Draisaitl, and Kasperi Kapanen who picked up the goals for the Oilers.
One of the biggest differences was Edmonton’s physical response to Vegas. The Golden Knights are known for their heavy style of play, but the Oilers pushed back and matched that intensity throughout the night. The Oilers out-hit the Golden Knights 26-15, and instead of the loose plays winding up in their net, Edmonton focused on limiting mistakes and capitalizing on their opportunities.
One of those opportunities, and a key turning point in the game, came in the second period when a Vegas goal was overturned after a successful offside challenge. It was a bad goal against Ingram, but the play was challenged, and the goal was taken off the board. The play could have dramatically shifted momentum, but the Oilers caught a break and used it to keep the game under control. From there, they continued to play a disciplined game and eventually pulled away in the third period.
New additions also played important roles. Defenseman Connor Murphy logged over 22 minutes and contributed on the penalty kill, while Jason Dickinson added physicality with several hits and steady play down the middle.
There were also encouraging signs from younger players. Matthew Savoie continued to impress with his speed and work ethic, showing flashes that suggest he could earn a larger role if his play continues trending upward. Since the Olympic break, he's been one of the team's better two-way forwards.
Overall, the Oilers delivered the kind of detailed, physical effort that had been lacking recently — a promising sign as they push deeper into the stretch drive and continue on the road against some very tough teams they need to beat if they want to win it all this season.
Has Connor Ingram Become the Starter?
Ingram turned aside 24 of 26 shots for a .923 save percentage, delivering another quality start and helping Edmonton secure its third-period surge. The victory marked Ingram’s second win against Vegas this season and improved his career record against the Golden Knights to 2-1-1.
Ingram faced several dangerous chances throughout the game. Jack Eichel managed to beat him on a difficult shot, and Darnell Nurse deflected one into his own net, but overall, Ingram remained steady under pressure.
After the game, Ingram credited the team in front of him for the effort.
"I thought we did everything we’ve been talking about,” Ingram said after the game. “We talked about packing it in, in the d-zone, and just playing good defence. We’re good enough, we’re gonna get chances no matter what, so as long as we take care of the puck in [the defensive end] we’re gonna be fine.”
He added that this game was an example of what the team is capable of when everything clicks. “I think this is a good example of what we can do.”
"I think every game from here on out is just fight and claw,” Ingram said. “It’s time to go to work, and that’s what we did today. I think if we keep this effort and this mindset of just nose to the grindstone, and I think we’ll be okay."
The Oilers’ offense came alive late to put the game away. Vasily Podkolzin scored early in the third period, followed by a red-hot Leon Draisaitl, who buried his fifth goal in as many games. Kasperi Kapanen added another (an empty-net goal) to seal the win, while Trent Frederic also found the back of the net for Edmonton.
Meanwhile, Connor McDavid contributed two assists, extending his point streak to seven games. The Oilers captain now has 13 points during that stretch. Defenseman Evan Bouchard also picked up an assist to push his own seven-game streak to 13 points.
The loss continues a rough stretch for Vegas, which has now dropped five of its last six games, tightening the race in the Pacific Division as the regular season pushes toward the playoffs.
Full-back has struggled since his move but fierce strike took his side seven points off neighbours who could wobble
Pervis Estupiñán called it “the most important goal of my career”. He does, admittedly, have only 12 to choose from, but to score the winner in a Milan derby is something few players ever experience. It could only feel better for having done it towards the end of a difficult first season in Italian football.
The Ecuadorian was billed as a replacement for Theo Hernández when he joined Milan from Brighton last summer, lumbered with unreasonable comparison from the start. Hernández, at his best, was one of the most effective attacking full-backs in the world. Estupiñán, at 28, is yet to put himself in that conversation, but the hope was that he could offer some of the same directness and ability to get up and down the left flank.
Golden Knights defender Adin Hill has allowed three or fewer goals in 10 of his 16 appearances, with some of those allowances not his fault or freak occurrences.
Like during Sunday's 4-2 loss to Pacific Division-rival Edmonton, when Oilers center Leon Draisaitl scored on a 4-on-4 with 8:07 remaining after Knights defenseman Rasmus Andersson's stick broke and Vegas couldn’t clear the zone. Twice, in fact, the last time when the puck was cradled by the blade of Andersson's broken stick, which aided the Oilers.
Draisaitl essentially sealed the Vegas's fate when he buried the puck through Hill’s five-hole. Give an assist to Andersson's stick, and another bad-break - pun intended - for Hill.
After Sunday's game, Hill appeared in just his 16th game as he continued what's been one of his least productive seasons since entering the league in 2017-18, the same year the Knights themselves.
The 29-year-old, who will turn 30 on May 11, is 6-5-3 with a 3.40 goals-against average - well above his career 2.68 GAA - and an .859 shot percentage, also lower than his career .906 clip.
If the season were over, this would be his lowest-ever save percentage.
Before his injury, Hill had seemingly turned around a rough start that saw him lose his first two starts but then allow just four goals in three consecutive appearances, during which he had a save percentage of .927.
A lower-body injury during a promising start against the Calgary Flames lasted through late January, derailing what could've been, while leaving the Golden Knights scrambling.
After winning his return to the pipes in January, though, he lost four of his next five starts. And Hill began taking it personally, knowing what he was capable of and knowing he needed to do his part to help send the Knights in the right direction before the Olympic break.
"You always expect the best out of yourself, right?" Hill said. "So when things aren't going your way, or things are not panning out the way you feel like they should ... you feel good, and a few pucks get by or whatever, it's tough. I was really kind of disappointed in myself, and trying to work through it.
"So that's just kind of the thing, come to the rink every day with a positive attitude and on to the next game. We got a lot more here. So just trying to build more of those performances."
Hill answered the skid with his best performance of the season, stifling the Los Angeles Kings in a 4-1 win in the final game before the break.
Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) makes a save as Los Angeles Kings center Samuel Helenius (79) looks for the rebound in the first period at T-Mobile Arena during an NHL game on Feb. 5, 2026. <b>Photo Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images</b>
"Having that last performance for the break was nice - but just keep building off that. And as a group, we want to keep building each game, taking it one game at a time."
Rather than enjoy the Olympic break vacationing during the three-week break, Hill said he stayed close to home with his wife and son, taking an opportunity to reprieve from hockey and get his mind right for the final stretch.
"But also taking care of myself and making sure we're ready to go," said Hill, who is emphatic about his strength and conditioning routine, disciplined to spend several hours dedicated to his body almost daily. "We do everything we can off the ice, it's not just practices. We're doing a lot of stuff in the locker room and stuff at home. Just take care of our bodies.
"I'll be ready to go and just looking for some wins."
Hill, who helped the Knights hoist the Stanley Cup in 2023, knows the importance of March, which has been one of Vegas' most successful months in franchise history.
"We want to get on a roll," Hill told The Hockey News immediately after the Olympic break. "The Cup year, at the end of the season, we were flying. ... Just trying to get those details going, get into that mode, so when playoffs come, we obviously want to win games and create some separation or division.
"When the playoffs come, we're firing on all cylinders and just making sure that we're playing good hockey."
PHOTO CAPTION: Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) defends his net against the Edmonton Oilers during the second period at T-Mobile Arena.
TAMPA, FL - JULY 19: Zack Littell #52 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches during the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Saturday, July 19, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Carlee Calfee/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Nationals bolstered their rotation in a big way yesterday when they signed Zack Littell. Once Littell is built up, he should slot in as the Nats number two starter behind Cade Cavalli. This is an exciting addition, and one of the best free agents the Nats have signed in the past few years, but it does leave questions about how the rotation will look.
A rotation that looked like it would be a major question mark is now pretty crowded after adding Littell and Miles Mikolas. While the unit does not have a very high ceiling outside of Cade Cavalli, I actually think the floor is relatively high. I thought the pitching would be a disaster this year, but as I am watching this spring and seeing the late moves, I’m warming up to the staff.
Littell is actually an interesting story. From 2018 until the middle of 2023, he was an average middle reliever who was inconsistent. However, after the Rays rubbed some of their pixie dust on him, Littell became a solid middle of the rotation starter who went deep into games. He did that by becoming a command specialist who relies on his secondary pitches.
Zack Littell, 30, agrees to a deal with the Nats
Landing in TB in 2024 was a turning point. They increased his Splitter usage, while decreasing his FF usage. The mix change increased the effectiveness of his FF, allowing him to more easily finish batters with the FF (Highest%… pic.twitter.com/5V0p5gduLN
— Baseball Unstitched (@BaseUnstitched) March 8, 2026
It may take him some time to ramp up, but when he is ready, Zack Littell is a lock to be in the Nats rotation. Cade Cavalli and Foster Griffin have also locked down rotation spots, and I would be surprised if Miles Mikolas does not have a spot as well, at least to start the season. That leaves one spot for Jake Irvin, Josiah Gray, Mitchell Parker, Andrew Alvarez and Brad Lord.
Mitchell Parker has been the least impressive this spring, so I would not be surprised if he starts the year in AAA. Given his versatility, Brad Lord seems likely to be moved to the bullpen. It would be an easy move to make, and Lord is better in the bullpen.
That leaves Jake Irvin, Josiah Gray and Andrew Alvarez fighting for one spot in the rotation. I think Irvin is the slight favorite right now due to his ability to eat innings. Gray will be in the rotation at some point, but I think he could benefit from a few starts in AAA as he ramps up after missing the past two seasons due to injury. His breaking stuff looks sharp, but the velocity is not all the way back yet for the 28 year old.
Josiah Gray is making his second spring training start tonight.
He just got a punch out with a CB. Threw 7 breaking balls and just 4 FBs in a clean first. Topped out at 92. pic.twitter.com/uDf5oFvK49
If Irvin struggles to start the season, he would be an easy candidate to move out of the rotation for Gray once he is ready. I still think Gray has a slightly higher ceiling than Irvin because his breaking balls are sharper. However, Irvin has been a workhorse for the Nats the past couple seasons despite declining results.
The wild card in all of this is Andrew Alvarez. He dominated in his start yesterday, showing his deep pitch mix and strong command. The crafty lefty dominated a solid Astros lineup, leaning heavily on his curveball. I am not quite sure what the plans are for Alvarez, but he has been impressive this spring.
Andrew Alvarez (WSH) struck out five over four scoreless innings against the Astros pic.twitter.com/8ujRYG7iwC
— Pitcher List Stats (@PitcherListPLV) March 8, 2026
Alvarez can nibble at times, which leads to high pitch counts. He also does not go deep into games. This could make him a natural candidate to be a swing man, but the Nats already have Brad Lord. Given his performances in September and now this spring, it would be tough to demote Alvarez, but that may be what ends up happening.
With all this pitching depth, the 4 and 5 starters in this rotation will be under pressure to perform. If Jake Irvin and Miles Mikolas do not hit the ground running, there will be plenty of arms nipping at their heels.
Trevor Williams and DJ Herz will also join the fold at some point this season, once they are healthy. Riley Cornelio and Luis Perales are also power arms in the AAA rotation waiting for their opportunity. There may not be a ton of high end talent, but the Nats rotation has plenty of options. That is not something you could say very often the past few years.
As I wrote yesterday, this pitching staff could be surprisingly decent. There are no proven stars, but there are a lot of intriguing pieces and a new focus on development. A few of these guys are bound to break out, it is just tough to figure out which ones.
With Zack Littell in the fold, there could be a surprising level of competence in this Nats rotation. There is also a healthy level of competition that will force these guys to be on their A game. I am excited to see what this pitching staff has got, and after last season, it would be tough for them to be worse.
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 08: Tommy Novak #18 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates his overtime winning goal against Joonas Korpisalo #70 of the Boston Bruins at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 8, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Yesterday’s third period and overtime was a thrilling one for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The swing from the regulation loss that seemed to be developing as Boston went up 3-0 early in the game would have put the Pens with a 76.2% chance for the playoffs, according to Moneypuck’s modeling. Instead, the comeback win boost Pittsburgh’s odds of a playoff berth up in that model’s eyes to 86.9% as a result of that action. That’s a huge swing for early March and gives a taste of how great meaningful hockey can be this time of the year.
Here’s what some other models say for the Penguins as of today, while noting Moneypuck has adjusted the Pens’ odds down to 81.2% as of this morning after the other games from yesterday were completed.
Hockey-Reference: 85.3% The Athletic: 69.0% Stathletes: 57.9%
Here’s the standings as of today as the season makes the turn to all teams having 20 or fewer games remaining.
Columbus and Ottawa has experienced the classic catch up burst often seen by non-playoff teams to stay within shouting distance of the others, however it can be hard to make a lot of progress. Columbus was five points back of Pittsburgh when the teams returned from the Olympic break in late-February, today on March 9th CBJ remains the same five points behind the Pens (although CBJ has picked up a game in hand).
Ticking off more games without making any headway becomes a bigger and bigger issue as the games remaining evaporate. Last year the Blue Jackets were in this same position in chase mode, missing the playoffs by two points. A similar story could be developing again this year as the Jackets try to hunt down one of the Islanders or Penguins (as well as the fifth place Atlantic Division team, currently Boston).
Overall, and somewhat shockingly, we can probably close the book for good and officially on the playoff hopes for all of Toronto, Florida, New Jersey and Washington as the trade deadline passes. All four of those teams were tucked away safely within their respective top-3 divisional seed last year for a playoff berth. This year, it wasn’t to be for any of them. That opens the door for a lot of new teams to rise in their places. That looks like Buffalo, Detroit will certainly be taking advantage of that on the Atlantic side. It can be hard to remember since the Islanders tend to be annoyingly always in the picture, but they weren’t in the playoffs last year either. The Penguins haven’t been in a few years. Some of the prior mainstays heading for short seasons has opened the door for fresh blood in the playoff this spring.
Can the Penguins be one of them? Obviously the final answer is dependent on what happens in the last 19 games of the season. In the most simplistic terms, staying ahead of one of NYI or CBJ should be enough to get Pittsburgh back into the postseason for the first time since 2022. Even if both were to pass the Pens, it’s possible (though perhaps not likely) that Pittsburgh could earn a Wild Card by staying ahead of Boston and Ottawa. We’d call it unlikely, due to the common sense factor that it will be difficult to stay ahead of both BOS+OTT in a scenario where the Penguins also get surpassed by both NYI+CBJ, that becomes a difficult and unlikely proposition at this point, but still one that is technically possible.
Here’s what each team has on tap, and what to look out for. If you’re a Pens’ fan this week, you also will become a temporary supporter of the Los Angeles Kings this week, funny enough. The Kings have their own reasons to want to have a good week as they look to make a push back into a playoff spot in the West, if they are able to find a couple of regulation wins this week it would also prove to be beneficial to the Penguins.
NY Islanders: Finish up their Western trip (currently 1-2-0 on in it) with a game in St. Louis on Wednesday. Return home to play the LA Kings (LA defeated NYI 5-3 last week in California) and then a game against Calgary…On paper, not a very tough schedule with two teams (STL, CGY) who are non-factors. But the travel elements and the back-to-back make it a little more difficult than it might appear.
Columbus: Host LA Kings today, quick turnaround to play @TB tomorrow, stay on the road for a game @FLA on Thursday and @Philadelphia on Saturday…Currently 3/4 of those teams are not in the playoffs, though LA will be desperate to make progress to get back in it. Tough scheduling for that game tomorrow doesn’t do many favors for Columbus, though they should be setup to rebound for that with what looks like winnable games towards the end of the week
Pittsburgh: As mentioned, a road trip to Carolina, Vegas and Utah this week. Vegas is only 2-5-0 since the return from Olympics and the Pens just whomped the Knights 5-0 last week in Pittsburgh. That might be the game to have circled as really needing to count on getting something out of. The other item for the Pens is when can Sidney Crosby return and how much of a boost in skill and energy will it give them? Both could be significant, though it might not happen this week.
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It’s setting up for a fun and fresh spring for the Penguins to race to the finish line. It feels like it’s been a while since Pittsburgh was so close to a playoff spot so late in the year, though that’s not so. The Pens entered the last week of the 2023-24 season and Game No. 80 in a playoff spot before fading away. That was spurred by a frantic comeback over the last 15 games, the difference this time around is that Pittsburgh has long been in a playoff spot this season instead of in a desperation chase mode from the outside.
This Pens team does seem to have a different energy, spirit and pride about themselves that hasn’t been around in too much force the past few years. As of now it has them in a great position to return to the playoffs, but they will be put to the test and made to earn it with this last month+ of the season.
Sunday, as you know, the Cubs made their first Spring Training roster cuts. There are now 53 players remaining in camp, and that number’s likely to remain fairly large until the World Baseball Classic ends. There are still eight members of the Cubs’ 40-man roster off at the WBC, as well as several minor leaguers.
With the Cubs not playing Monday, one of two scheduled off days this spring, I thought it would be another good time to take a look at who will line up on the third-base line March 26 at Wrigley Field before the Cubs open the 2026 season against the Washington Nationals.
Catchers (2)
Miguel Amaya, Carson Kelly
There aren’t really any questions here.
Designated hitter (1)
Moisés Ballesteros
I’m listing Ballesteros as a DH because, well, that’s what he’s going to be most of the time. I would expect him to DH against all right-handed pitchers, some left-handers, and maybe catch once in a great while. He’s getting valuable time catching while Amaya is playing for Panama in the WBC, and as has been noted a couple of times, he’s pretty good at ABS challenges.
He can also hit. In a small sample size he’s batting .357/.400/.429 this spring, 5-for-14, with a double, a walk and six RBI.
Infielders (5)
Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman, Matt Shaw
I’m listing Shaw as an infielder here even though he’s played mostly outfield this spring. The Cubs are trying to turn him into a super-sub, and it might just work.
Otherwise this infield could be one of the best defensive infields the Cubs have ever had.
Outfielders (5)
Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, Dylan Carlson, Michael Conforto
Last week I asked you who you thought would make the team out of the three non-roster outfielders, Carlson, Conforto and Chas McCormick. A plurality said Carlson and Conforto and this is how I see it as well. Carlson is batting .400/.571/.500 (8-for-20) this spring with two doubles and six walks. The Cubs do need someone who can play center field occasionally to give PCA a rest and Carlson appears to be a guy who could do that. If he can recover even some of his rookie-year promise, this could be a great signing.
Same for Conforto, who was once a very good MLB hitter. There are plenty of guys who can go on the 60-day injured list to make room for those two NRIs.
Starting pitchers (5)
Cade Horton, Shōta Imanaga, Edward Cabrera, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon
With the addition of Cabrera, this is a very good rotation, especially if the Cubs can get the 2024 version of Imanaga back.
Craig Counsell hasn’t announced an Opening Day starter yet, but I suspect it will be Horton. I’ve listed these five in the order I think Counsell will put them, though of course that could change.
Relief pitchers (8)
Daniel Palencia, Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, Caleb Thielbar, Colin Rea, Hunter Harvey, Gavin Hollowell
It was reported Sunday by Meghan Montemurro in the Tribune that Porter Hodge and Jordan Wicks would start the year on the injured list. Hodge, in particular, had a rough spring and hasn’t pitched since Feb. 27:
Hodge will start the season on the injured list because of a flexor tendon strain. He is shut down from throwing for a couple of weeks, is scheduled to be reevaluated in two weeks and then start plyos at the end of March.
Hodge has talent and I think could still become a good MLB reliever.
This opens a spot, and opportunity, for Hollowell, who’s looked really good this spring: Four innings, two hits, no walks, one run, has struck out eight of the 14 batters he’s faced. Yes, small sample size and some are minor-league hitters. Still, Jed Hoyer has had good luck getting good relievers off the scrap heap and Hollowell could be another one of those.
Ben Brown likely heads to Triple-A Iowa. Whether that’s to start or relieve is an open question. Javier Assad also likely starts at Iowa, stretched out to start. The Cubs have several other relievers on the 40-man roster with options: Ethan Roberts, Jack Neely, Luke Little, Ryan Rolison and Riley Martin. All of them are likely to see time in Chicago this year.
Rea is the swingman in the bullpen, as he was last year. He can go multiple innings in relief, or start when needed. He and Thielbar are the only ones of those eight who were in last year’s Opening Day bullpen, and of the eight, four were not even in the Cubs organization last year.
That’s how I see it with 17 days until the season opener. What do you think?
Mar 8, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; Mexico center fielder Alek Thomas (5) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against Brazil pitcher Joao Gabriel Marostica (0) (not pictured) in the sixth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Team news
[Arizona Sports] Brandon Pfaadt: Staying aggressive on defense is ‘the ultimate game plan’ for 2026 season – “One of the interesting things (Torey Lovullo) told us was when we’re on defense, we’re on offense,” Pfaadt said on Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke. “I think that kind of stood out to me, and spring training is a perfect time to work on those things. More the pitcher than anybody else, especially in that situation, is knowing that you’re on the offensive side of the ball and knowing that you’re going to be aggressive towards the hitter and give him everything you got. I think it’s the ultimate game plan.”
[Dbacks.com] Kelly gets back into groove with 1st live BP bullpen session – “All good,” Kelly said after the outing. “100 percent. So, full steam ahead. Another rung on the ladder, another box checked, so we keep moving forward.” Both general manager Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo watched the session. “It looked like everything was coming out OK,” Lovullo said. “He was able to get on the mound. No setbacks or limitations between pitches, so I feel like things went well. I asked the people in back of me what his velo was and it was 90 mph, up to 93 mph, so that’s pretty normal. The stuff looked sharp. Everything seems to be OK. Post-outing, he seemed to be feeling just fine. So that’s really, really good news.
[AZ Central] Merrill Kelly, Corbin Carroll health updates; top prospect sent down – Carroll took at-bats for the second time in the past three days against live pitching, facing Kelly in the morning at Salt River Fields. He could be nearing a return to a more structured game setting, though Lovullo said he did not believe that would happen on Monday, March 9. Lovullo said he would expect that Carroll’s first game action would come in a backfields game rather than in the Cactus League. “That’d be my thought,” Lovullo said. “More live at-bats. Running, sliding, throwing, all that type of stuff needs to take place, as well. Probably a backfield game would be a pretty safe bet. … When that happens, I’m not sure.”
[SI] Diamondbacks Make Massive 15-player Roster Move – Waldschmidt may be the most disappointing name for D-backs fans to see on this list, as the No. 1 prospect and exciting outfielder had garnered plenty of attention thus far in the Cactus League, with a possibility — however improbable — of cracking the major league roster. While Waldschmidt did collect four extra-base hits this spring (including a homer), was hitting the ball extremely hard, and was playing solid defense, he also displayed more swing-and-miss than usual. Waldschmidt’s 34.6% strikeout percentage was an uncharacteristic number for a player who walked nearly as many times as he struck out in the minor leagues.
Pool play in the World Baseball Classic continued on Sunday. Mexico blitzed Brazil 16-0, to set up a clash of undefeated countries with America tonight (5pm Arizona time, on Fox). Alek Thomas went 3-for-3 with a home-run (above), driving in three. In other games, Japan were pushed hard by Australia in a 4-3 win, and the Dominican Republic run-ruled the Netherlands 12-1. Great Britain lost another first-inning lead, in a 7-4 defeat to Italy, and will now face Brazil (10 am on Tubi) to determine which country has to qualify for the next iteration of the WBC, in 2029. At end of play Sunday, seven spots in the next round were still up for grabs, with all but five teams still alive.
[Houston Chronicle] MLB players eye the Olympics in 2028 as they revel in World Baseball Classic – Baseball will be back in the Olympics in Los Angeles in just over two years. The question still remains, however, will MLB players participate? Bruce Meyer, the head of the baseball players’ union, confirmed to The Athletic on Saturday that discussions have begun, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said at last month’s owners meetings that “we’re a lot closer” and was confident of an agreement. “As players and owners we have to come to an agreement that works for everybody,” Bryce Harper said. “Understanding that you can get hurt playing during the regular season, you can get hurt playing during the Olympics.”
[WKRC] Creating new mascots for all MLB teams based on city history – The phoenix is the most powerful and literal symbol of the city itself—rising from the desert and reborn from fire. The name ties directly to Phoenix’s identity, intense heat, and dramatic desert sunsets, while “Sunwings” reinforces Arizona’s year-round sunshine and blazing summer climate. Visually, a phoenix provides dynamic motion, bold flame shapes, and high-impact orange and gold tones that stand out on merchandise and branding. The concept captures resilience, energy, and rebirth—qualities that align with both the city’s growth story and the competitive spirit you want in an MLB franchise.
Jackson Wolf pitching in Spring Training | Getty Images
A surprise pitcher of the spring so far hasn’t been any of the known starters, or even a member of the Padres dominant bullpen. Left-handed starter Jackson Wolf, who pitched for El Paso and San Antonio in 2025 with a combined ERA of 5.04, has appeared in five games and seven innings pitched with a 2.57 ERA and four strikeouts. The 26-year-old had a cameo appearance with the Padres in 2023 with five innings pitched in his start. He was traded that season to Pittsburgh and was DFA’d in March of the 2024 season. The Padres traded for Wolf in April of 2024, and he has been in the minor league system, between Double-A and Triple-A.
As one of the NRI this spring, Wolf has not started but has been a reliever for all his appearances and has shown that a funky delivery with a fastball that tops out in the low 90s, with a non-traditional changeup and a slider, can be effective and could be a surprise arm during the season.
Logan Gillaspie
Coming into camp, manager Craig Stammen detailed the role of NRI Logan Gillaspie. He would be stretched out and used as the ‘jack-of-all-trades pitcher for the Friars. The birth of his child interrupted his spring the second week of camp, but he is back to developing in his role. Starter Nick Pivetta has some arm fatigue and is working in the bullpen so his start will be skipped and Gillaspie made the start in his place. In his two games and 3.2 innings before his start, Gillaspie had no runs and one hit allowed.
In his Sunday start, Gillaspie pitched four innings with two hits and no runs, keeping his ERA at 0.00 over 7.2 IP with eight strikeouts. His fastball velocity sat mid-90s with a sinker, slider, sweeper, changeup, curveball and cutter mixed in.
A spot for Gillaspie could be in the mix for a starter if things don’t work out with the options currently competing or if Bryan Hoeing has a significant injury. The reported elbow soreness that he has experienced has motivated him to go outside the organization for more opinions. That is never a good sign and surgery could be an option. If Hoeing is on the IL to start the season, someone else will get a shot at the spot-starter/long-man role. Most likely that would be Gillaspie, Kyle Hart or Ron Marinaccio.
Matt Waldron
Knuckleball pitcher Matt Waldron had a great start to his camp with a back field appearance that showed increased velocity per reports. He appeared in one Cactus League game with a two-inning start on Feb. 21 against the Kansas City Royals. Waldron allowed one hit, one walk and had two strikeouts. Then, after his live BP, manager Craig Stammen reported an “infection in his back side” which was later explained to be surgical treatment for infected hemorrhoids.
Waldron threw a bullpen last week and will be built back up slowly, most likely starting the season on the IL for a second consecutive season. He is out of options so will have to be put on the roster when ready to return or pass through waivers.
Song-Mun Song
Pulled from the 27-6 wind-aided blowout on March 5, Song felt soreness in his previously injured right oblique that slowed his start to learning new positions as well as his adjustment to MLB pitching. Listed day-to-day by the Padres, Song will be slow-played in his return to practice and game action. That might open the door for a player like Ty France or Jose Miranda to make the team, at least until Song is completely able to return.
In past seasons, Mason McCoy would have the best chance to be the infielder off the bench for the Padres but it seems they are entertaining a different option this year. Searching for improved offensive production from the bench seems to be the theme for 2026 and McCoy might not be able to fill that role.
Giving Song a roster spot as well as signing Miranda and France shows that the bat might be just as, or more important for this team.
Yuki Matsui
Another victim of injury, Matsui had to withdraw from the WBC after straining his adductor. Groin strains are notoriously unpredictable and he might start the season on the IL, which could open an opportunity for another reliever to break in with the Friars dominant arms in the ‘pen.
Bradgley Rodriquez, Ron Marinaccio, Alek Jacob and Kyle Hart could be the pitchers on the borderline for the bullpen. Marinaccio has no minor options for 2026.
Jake Cronenworth
AJ Cassavell highlighted this past week the changes that Cronenworth has made during the offseason and during this spring. The opposite field home run he hit in the blowout on March 4 was his first one in his career. Although he drives the ball all over the field, his power has always been on the pull-side.
New hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. sees a road to changing that and we have seen Cronenworth hit with authority this spring. In his 21 at-bats he is hitting .381 with a home run, a double, a triple, two walks and three RBI for a 1.102 OPS.
Griffin Canning
It has become obvious that Canning is being slow-played and will not be available until after the start of the season. He has been seen doing drills in the outfield with coaches and is throwing bullpens on a regular schedule. He will not be doing active fielding drills until cleared by the medical staff. The current thinking will be a return in late April or May, depending on how his achilles responds when he starts working on movement and agility.
Jason Adam
Adam, on the other hand, has repeatedly stated he wants to be available for Opening Day. His manager has been much more coy, refusing to commit to any goal other than to make sure Adam is healthy and strong when he pitches.
To the goal of playing from day one, Adam took part in pitcher-fielding drills this weekend. He had already done all his backfield agility and running work before his PFP was okayed by the staff. This seems to point, with two-and-half-weeks until the season opens, to Adam being a part of the bullpen on March 26.
Owner update
After the report from local sports media that corrected the error made regarding the duo of Joe Kudla and Drew Brees submitting a bid for the Padres, there has been no further information coming out about the ownership change. The bids from the five bidders were in more than a week ago and there could be a second round after some eliminations are made. It still remains possible for the team to be sold by April or May. There was a hypothesis that the rumor regarding Kudla and Brees was due to them expressing an interest in joining one of the other bids for the team.
The Seidler family has shown to be adverse to information being leaked out and we might not know anything else until the deal is done. All Friar Faithful continue to hope that Chairman John Seidler spoke the truth and the Padres will be sold to the party best suited to keep the team competitive and invested in San Diego.
Alex Verdugo
Former Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo was signed by the Padres to a minor league deal after spring camp began. He did not receive an invite to big league camp and is working on the backfields with Padres coaching staff. In 2025, Verdugo played 56 games for the Braves with 197 at-bats and a .239 average and .585 OPS. He will not be 30 until May and still has a lot of baseball left after being DFA’d by Atlanta in July last year. He has not played in any MLB or MiLB lineup since July of last season.
Minor League camp
Minor league camp officially started on March 3 after multiple mini-camps were held over January and February. After camp opened, many of the NRI’s with the Padres were optioned to minor league camp, as well as several Padres prospects.
Padres prospects LHP Jagger Haynes, RHP Ryan Och, RHP Manuel Castro, 1B Romeo Sanabria and RHP Miguel Mendez were also optioned to minor camp. There remain 67 players in Padres camp. Many of the players now seen in later innings of Padres games are minor league players invited to join the team as later inning subs.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 16: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Nolan McLean #26 of the New York Mets in action against the Seattle Mariners at Citi Field on August 16, 2025 in New York City. The Mets defeated the Mariners 3-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
By the technical definition of a “rookie”, as outlined by Major League Baseball’s eligibility requirements, Nolan McLean enters 2026 as a rookie, in so far as he’s thrown fewer than 50 major league innings in his career (48 innings, to be exact). By way of his performance, composure, and talent level, McLean is anything but a rookie.
McLean’s rise from top prospect to top of the 2025 rotation was something to behold. The right-hander entered last season ranked No. 5 on the Amazin’ Avenue top prospects list (No. 6 on MLB Pipeline’s list), but he was ranked behind both Brandon Sproat (the consensus top pick on both lists) and Jonah Tong (No. 4 on Amazin’ Avenue, No. 5 on MLB Pipeline). A combination of injuries and poor performance ravaged the Mets’ rotation and became the clear weak spot on a collapsing club, making starting pitching an obvious area in need of a fix. While the team was clearly desperate for an injection of new talent and some hope, no one could have predicted that McLean would be the first man up at the start of the season.
McLean dominated from the jump, tearing through Double-A Binghamton with a 1.37 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings pitched. He was promoted to Triple-A in early May and didn’t skip a beat. In 87 1/3 innings for Syracuse, including 13 starts and three relief outings, he posted a 2.78 ERA with 97 strikeouts. As the season progressed, the calls grew louder for the Mets to bring him up to the majors, including from this site. McLean finally got promoted to make his big league debut in August, taking Frankie Montas’ spot in the rotation—Montas, remember him?
From there, the 24-year-old gave the Mets arguably their most electric start to a career from a starting pitcher this side of Jacob deGrom. For a rotation in need of stabilization, McLean became a force and captivated fans and analysts across the sport. He put forth a terrific debut performance against the Mariners, limiting Seattle to two hits while striking out eight over 5 1/3 frames. He picked up a win in his first four starts, something not even Tom Seaver or Dwight Gooden did with the franchise, and put up numbers few, if any, had put up, and he enjoyed a scintillating 1.37 ERA with 28 strikeouts across his first four starts.. He struck out seven over seven innings of two-run ball against Atlanta, and then followed that up with his most eye-popping start of his young career, hurling eight shutout frames at Citi Field against the Phillies in the middle of the team’s four-game sweep of their bitter rivals—perhaps the last time people would be forgiven for thinking the Mets could make the postseason.
Through six starts, he posted a 1.19 ERA and ended his eight-start run with an 11-strikeout performance in a win against the Cubs. He concluded his not-quite-rookie campaign a 2.06 ERA and a 2.97 FIP, with 57 strikeouts and 16 walks in 48 innings. His ERA was the fourth-best among starting pitchers from his August debut onward, behind Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (how’s that for some good company?) His 30.3% K% was the ninth-best among starters during that stretch, his FIP was 11th best, and his 0.75 HR/9 was 12th best.
Across the board, he went toe-to-toe with the best in the sport and quickly took the mantle as the de facto ace. His numbers across his first eight starts compare quite favorably to Skenes, who put up a 2.14 ERA with 61 strikeouts over 46 1/3 innings. If you want to compare him to Matt Harvey’s terrific 10 starts in 2012, Harvey had McLean beat on strikeouts (70 to 57), but McLean bested him in ERA (2.06 to 2.73), ERA+ (196 to 140), K% (30.3 to 28.6), BB% (8.5 to 10.6) and bWAR (1.8 to 1.6). In his season review for McLean, Michael Drago called attention to his sweeper and his curveball, the latter of which generated a 50% whiff rate, along with his sinker as the right-hander’s most lethal weapons, and his overall pitch mix led to him making major league batters look quite foolish.
While McLean, Sproat (who was eventually traded for now-ace Freddy Peralta) and Jonah Tong all enjoyed some action in the majors, McLean was the one who was definitively viewed as a lock for the Mets’ 2026 rotation. His poise on the mound and his fearlessness should help him slot comfortably behind Peralta in the rotation. To add another feather in his cap at a young age, he was selected to represent Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, and he is slated to make the start against Team Italy in the final game of pool play on Tuesday. Because he remains a rookie, he enters the year as the consensus top prospect on the Amazin’ Avenue and MLB Pipeline list, and he is listed as the sixth-best prospect in all of baseball.
Probably because of his youth and his anticipated growing pains (which he never quite experienced last year), as well as teams having a more detailed scouting report on him following his breakout, the projection models are a bit reserved on his season outlook. ZiPS has the righty posting a 3.94 ERA and a 3.95 FIP in 144 innings pitched, with a 22.9% K% and a 9.2 K% in his 26 starts. His projected 1.9 fWAR ranks fourth among Mets’ starters, behind Peralta, David Peterson, and Clay Holmes. PECOTA similarly sees McLean throwing just 150 innings and posting a 100 DRA- with less than a 2 WARP. Baseball Reference, meanwhile, has McLean posting a 3.34 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 84 innings.
Projections aside, the Mets have high hopes for McLean in 2026 and beyond, and there’s every chance he could become the natural successor for the homegrown ace that was vacated with deGrom bolted for Texas back in 2022. Because he retained his rookie status, and because he’s already shown glimpses of greatness in the majors, there’s every possibility McLean could win NL Rookie of the Year and get Cy Young votes. At the very least, he could get votes for both awards, which would be a rare and exciting feat to behold.
There’s every reason to believe last year’s performance was far from an aberration. While it’s not entirely fair to expect that level of performance across a full 162-game schedule, McLean should figure to give the team a strong performance as he acclimates to the majors, and he should help stabilize a rotation that really struggled for large portions of the previous season. For a team with postseason, and even World Series aspirations, McLean remains one of the most exciting players to watch.
They can be invisible when everything is working and painfully obvious when they’re not. Over the course of a long season, though, they quietly shape the outcome of dozens of games.
And for a rebuilding team like the Colorado Rockies, they matter more than ever.
The Rockies’ bullpen in 2025 was… not great.
Colorado finished 29th in MLB in reliever ERA, and if you’re wondering who finished 30th, yes — somehow the Washington Nationals were worse. The group pitched a heavy workload and struggled in several key areas that tend to matter a lot at Coors Field. Rockies relievers ranked 28th in strikeouts per nine innings (7.86); walked the fifth-most batters in baseball; and allowed the most home runs of any bullpen in the league.
That combination is difficult to survive anywhere. At Coors Field, it is especially unforgiving. Walks create traffic. Traffic plus home runs create crooked numbers. Without a strong strikeout rate, escaping those jams becomes even harder.
But here’s the thing: The bullpen might actually be one of the more interesting areas of the roster right now.
There’s real talent here. Several arms can touch the upper-90s. There are intriguing young pitchers trying to establish themselves. And perhaps most importantly, the organization appears to be rethinking what a successful bullpen at Coors Field should actually look like.
Does high velocity play at altitude? Can a swing-and-miss monster survive at Coors? Or does the ideal Rockies reliever look more like Jimmy Herget — command, deception, and controlled contact?
Those questions may start getting answers this season.
A lot of turnover
The bullpen looks very different as we head into the 2026 season.
Five of the top ten relievers by innings pitched in 2025 are no longer on the roster:
Jake Bird
Angel Chivilli
Tyler Kinley
Ryan Rolison
Anthony Molina
Bird and Kinley were traded at the deadline, while Chivilli was moved over the winter in a trade for first baseman T.J. Rumfield. Molina and Rolison were both designated for assignment this offseason and subsequently landed with other teams.
That’s 234 innings of work walking out the door.
Turnover like that creates opportunity. A bullpen in transition is uncomfortable, but it also gives the organization a chance to reshape its identity.
Currently on the roster
Jimmy Herget was the clear standout last season. His funky delivery creates deception, but more importantly, he throws strikes and limits self-inflicted traffic. That profile actually fits Coors Field surprisingly well. He might not light up the radar gun, but he consistently drives results. In 2025, Herget logged 83.1 innings with a sterling 2.48 ERA, striking out 81 batters while maintaining a solid, if unspectacular, 2.81 BB/9.
For a Rockies reliever working that many innings, a combination of durability, strike-throwing, and run prevention was quietly one of the most valuable performances in the bullpen last season. Given the turnover and uncertainty elsewhere in the relief corps, the Rockies will likely look to Herget to shoulder a similar workload again in 2026, serving as both a stabilizing presence and a reliable bridge in the middle and late innings.
Victor Vodnik, Juan Mejia, and Seth Halvorsen represent the power side of the bullpen. The velocity is there — upper-90s fastballs and the kind of raw stuff that can miss bats in high-leverage situations.
Vodnik in particular showed flashes of becoming a late-inning option in 2025. He finished the season with 10 saves, a 3.02 ERA, and 50 innings pitched, though his fastball was occasionally hit hard and his walk rate remains something to watch. His changeup, however, has proven effective at generating ground balls and limiting damage.
Halvorsen might possess the loudest raw stuff in the bullpen. His fastball velocity ranks near the top of the league, touching triple digits, but like Vodnik, the command has been inconsistent. Despite that, he still finished an uneven season with 11 saves, showing the kind of late-inning upside that power arms can provide.
And that’s part of the current evaluation process: The Rockies still appear to be sorting out who ultimately handles the highest-leverage innings. Vodnik and Halvorsen both saw time closing games last year, and neither has definitively locked down the role yet.
Mejia has primarily leaned on a two-pitch combination — a fastball and slider — which allows him to attack hitters aggressively without overcomplicating pitch sequences. That approach helped him carve out a role last season, but he’s working to expand his arsenal heading into 2026. Mejia has been developing a changeup, a pitch he admitted he didn’t have much confidence throwing last year but is now beginning to trust more as he continues refining it this spring. If that third pitch becomes a reliable option alongside his power fastball and slider, Mejia could take another step forward and emerge as one of the bullpen’s more dependable high-leverage arms.
Brennan Bernardino was brought in via trade to anchor the left-handed side of the bullpen. Bernardino isn’t a strikeout-heavy reliever, but he features a diverse pitch mix and excelled last year at generating weak contact on the ground. Behind him, the left-handed depth is thin, making that side of the roster one of the more interesting battles to watch this spring.
R.J. Petit (No. 23 PuRP), a Rule 5 selection, will need to remain on the roster, works with a mid-90s fastball and a gyro-spin slider — a pitch type that tends to play well at Coors Field due to its movement profile. However, some recent forearm tightness calls his near-term future into question.
Keegan Thompson was claimed off waivers to provide depth and potential bulk innings, and Antonio Senzatela could also see time in multiple roles as he continues expanding his pitch mix.
Zach Agnos, Jaden Hill, and Luis Peralta are all vying for innings. The stuff flashes with all three, but consistency remains the question.
Non-Roster Invitees
The Rockies also have several non-roster arms competing for bullpen opportunities worth monitoring.
John Brebbia brings the most big-league experience of the group. He has had an up-and-down major league career, but he has looked sharp this spring and could provide veteran stability if the Rockies want an experienced option in the middle innings.
Parker Mushinski is an intriguing left-handed candidate. He features a deeper pitch arsenal than many relievers and tends to generate weaker contact rather than relying purely on strikeouts. His spring has been uneven — including a rough outing against Texas — but he has also flashed swing-and-miss ability.
Evan Justice, a left-hander drafted by Colorado in the fifth round in 2021, offers a fastball-slider combination and familiarity with the organization. His 2025 performance was largely uninspiring, but as a left-handed arm he could still factor into the depth picture.
The prospect angle
Welinton Herrera (No. 17 PuRP) is one of the more fascinating arms in the system. The left-hander dominated in the Arizona Fall League and has real bat-missing ability. In 46.1 innings at Double-A, he posted a 13.6 K/9 with a 3.50 ERA.
The strikeout ability is real. The walks and fly-ball tendencies will be something to monitor in a Coors Field context, but if a left-handed prospect forces his way into the picture quickly, Herrera has the type of stuff that could do it.
Carson Palmquist (No. 19 PuRP) is another intriguing variable. He has developed primarily as a starter, but his path to impact in Denver could ultimately run through relief. In shorter outings, a modest velocity bump and a simplified arsenal could change the profile of his fastball and breaking pitches. A left-handed arm capable of throwing strikes and navigating multiple innings could be extremely valuable in this environment.
Several arms — including Vodnik and Halvorsen — can reach the upper-90s, and that kind of power arsenal should theoretically translate into strikeouts and late-inning dominance. But velocity alone does not solve the Coors Field equation.
Poorly located velocity combined with walks is a dangerous formula anywhere, and at altitude it becomes even more volatile. Walks create traffic, and traffic paired with a misplaced fastball often turns into multi-run innings.
That dynamic defined much of the Rockies’ bullpen struggles in 2025.
Rather than chasing velocity alone, the organization appears to be placing greater emphasis on command and inducing weaker contact. That approach matters even more at Coors Field, where the expansive outfield and elevated batting averages on balls in play can quickly turn hard contact into extra bases.
A successful Rockies bullpen may ultimately look less like a group of pure strikeout specialists and more like a balanced mix of power arms, command-focused pitchers, and relievers capable of generating ground balls.
Another useful way to evaluate bullpen stability is inherited runners scored. In 2025, Rockies relievers allowed roughly 37 percent of inherited runners to score, placing them near the bottom third of MLB. League average typically sits closer to 30-31 percent.
That gap may sound small, but over a full season it represents dozens of additional runs allowed — many of them in high-leverage moments.
One way to see how much bullpen stability matters is through win probability. When a team enters the seventh inning with a lead, the game is largely in the hands of the bullpen. Across MLB, teams win roughly 85-90 percent of games when leading after seven innings. When that lead disappears, it is often because the bullpen allows traffic through walks, poorly timed hits, or inherited runners scoring.
For the Rockies, improvement doesn’t require perfection. It simply requires finishing games more consistently.
Even modest improvements in walk rate and strand rate could turn a handful of late losses into wins over the course of a season.
The big picture
This bullpen is not without talent.
Rather, it’s a group still defining itself.
Herget provides a command-forward template. Vodnik, Halvorsen, and Mejia bring velocity and strikeout potential. Hill, Agnos, and Peralta represent the next wave of development.
The late-inning roles — including who ultimately claims the closer’s job — are still being evaluated, and that competition may be one of the more interesting storylines of the season.
If the walk rate drops and a couple of the power arms harness their command, the bullpen could stabilize faster than expected.
And in a rebuild, stabilization matters.
But it also raises an interesting question for Rockies fans: What should a successful Rockies bullpen actually look like at Coors Field?
Should Colorado lean into velocity and strikeouts? Should it prioritize command and weak contact? Or is the answer somewhere in the middle?
The next season or two may provide that answer — and the comment section will probably have a few ideas in the meantime.
