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Shane Smith, the South Siders’ 2026 Opening Day starter, was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday. Smith’s demotion comes after his start on Tuesday, where he flashed some of that nasty swing-and-miss stuff we saw for stretches last season.

Smith was still erratic, however. He walked five Orioles, plunked a sixth, and burned through 99 pitches in 3 2/3 innings. Despite failing to end the fourth inning, Wednesday was still Smith’s longest outing of the year. That kind of tells you everything you need to know right there.

The issues are easy to diagnose. Smith has completely lost the ability to spot his fastball. Compare his 2025 heat map to 2026:

At his best, Smith features one of the liveliest four-seam fastballs in baseball. The pitch can overpower hitters even when they are sitting on it. Smith also added 1.3 inches of rise to his four-seamer early in 2026, which could help generate more swings and misses in the strike zone. None of this does a pitcher any good, however, when he’s constantly missing wide of the zone.

James Fegan got Smith and some of the White Sox development staff to talk about the fastball issues on Monday, and I was struck by this quote from Brian Bannister:

“He lost some of the qualities that made him unique,” Bannister said. “He had this unique little step forward that threw hitters off on their timing, and then he would speed up right after that to go slow, fast. You get some visual deception in a way that Tarik Skubal does.”

This isn’t the first time Bannister has talked about “visual deception” this season. Bannister is one of those guys who is always looking for the next big thing; in 2024 and 2025, he bet on the kick changeup and was correct. He’s now wagering on “funky,” a concept that has long been a staple of Japanese baseball culture but has grown more en vogue recently in MLB, from the more obvious (Nestor Cortes’s double leg kick) to the more subtle, like Shane Smith’s herky-jerky tempo from last year. The organization even has a term for them: “residuals.”

Smith took it upon himself over the offseason to regulate his windup tempo — we’re left to infer that Bannister hadn’t communicated his philosophy of funk to his pitchers before the offseason — and in doing so, he took away a piece of what made him a budding star last year. It’s like taking the loud parts out of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”—now the song is just some mumbly guy playing two notes over and over.

While an early-season demotion does not seem so bleak after last year’s extended Spring Training, where Colson Montgomery got his groove back, it also doesn’t instill much confidence in a ballclub when the Opening Day starter can’t make it to Tax Day. It’ll be up to the White Sox brain trust to get Smith back to the funk.

Veteran Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas announced Wednesday on Instagram that his father Miguel Rojas Sr. died.

“With immense sorrow on behalf of the entire Rojas family, I must inform everyone who had the opportunity to know and share time with my father, Miguel Rojas—known as “Micky”—that he passed away suddenly yesterday afternoon, April 7th,“ Rojas said in Spanish, translated roughly here to English. ”I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has reached out to me and my family to offer their love and let us know just how deeply cherished my father was throughout his life. May God welcome him into His glory, and may he rest in peace.“

Rojas was originally slated to start at shortstop on Tuesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, but was a late scratch, replaced in the lineup by Hyeseong Kim. At the time, the Dodgers announced Rojas was scratched “to tend to a family matter.”

After Tuesday’s game, manager Dave Roberts told reporters in Toronto that the Dodgers would play shorthandedfor Wednesday’s series and road trip finale if Rojas was not available. But on Wednesday, Rojas is right back in the lineup, batting ninth and playing shortstop.

Should the Dodgers decide to place Rojas on bereavement leave and call up a replacement on the roster once the team returns home on Friday, the minimum stay on the bereavement list is three days, with a maximum of seven days.

The Seattle Mariners announced today that they have placed OF Victor Robles on the 10-day IL with a right pectoral strain. To take Robles’s place on the roster, the Mariners have selected INF/OF Connor Joe. Joe will wear #9, last worn by INF Ben Williamson.

Joe, 33, is a journeyman player who’s been with several organizations, most known as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team that drafted him, and the Rockies, where he played two seasons. The Mariners brought him in this spring on a minor-league deal and invited him to camp as an NRI, where he saw significant playing time while many Mariners regulars were away at the WBC.

Joe impressed in camp, knocking in six doubles, a triple and a homer over 20 games, showing some surprising thump and recording consistently loud exit velocities for a player who’s never been known as a power threat. Joe credited that this spring to the Mariners’ up-the-middle philosophy, saying it suits him well as a hitter. He told me this spring how quickly he took to the Mariners’ offensive philosophy, and coaching specifically:

“From [Kevin] Seitzer to Mags [Bobby Magallanes] to Pap [Ed Papprella], we had such productive talks, and Mags even pulled up some video from when I was going really well with the Pirates and compared it to some of the moves I was making when I first got to camp, and talked about how I could add some more rhythm in there, get a little bit more separation, just be more athletic in the box, and it’s really helped me. The work with them and the communication with them has been very, very consistent.”

What the Mariners were really excited about when acquiring Joe, however, is his plus makeup and leadership abilities. Joe, whose father ran Chinese restaurants in the San Diego area and often worked 15-hour days, is a testicular cancer survivor who speaks often about the importance of early detection and his difficult journey to fatherhood. (I strongly recommend you read the linked article, written by now-Mariners AP beat reporter Andrew Destin, who covered Joe back when he was in Pittsburgh.)

In addition to these moves, the Mariners also moved RHP Carlos Vargas to the 60-day IL with a lat strain. Vargas was placed on the 15-day IL on March 27th after feeling discomfort during his regular throwing routine. RHP Cole Wilcox was selected from Tacoma to replace Vargas and has since appeared in three games, punching out six of the sixteen hitters he’s faced so far.

The Milwaukee Brewers have a chance to win their first four series of the regular season today if they can take the rubber match against the Boston Red Sox.

On the mound today for the Brewers is Shane Drohan, who will be making his MLB debut. Drohan was acquired from the Red Sox right before spring training along with Kyle Harrison and David Hamilton in exchange for Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Siegler. Drohan impressed the Brewers in spring training, but wasn’t able to make the Opening Day roster in the crowded rotation picture.

With Chad Patrick needing an extra day of rest following the rainout and double-header forcing his last start back a day, the Brewers decided to give Drohan his first opportunity.

On the field, Brice Turang is out for the second straight game as he’s dealing with a minor ankle/foot issue. This will allow Turang three straight days off his ankle before the Brewers play on Friday against the Nationals. William Contreras also gets the day off in a day game after a night game.

Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell lead things off for the Brewers, followed by Christian Yelich, Jake Bauers, and Gary Sanchez. Sonny Gray is on the mound for the Red Sox for this series finale.

First pitch is at 12:35 p.m. on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620, and the Brewers Radio Network.

Here’s the Royals’ lineup:

Here’s the Guardians’ lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

On Tuesday night in San Francisco, the Phillies faced left-handed Giants’ starter Robbie Ray. The 34-year-old lefty entered the contest with two solid starts under his belt, a 5 1/3 inning performance against the Yankees in which he gave up two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts in a 3-0 loss, and a 5 1/3 inning outing in which he allowed two runs to the Mets on three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.

But against the Phils, he was even better, logging 6 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, giving up three hits and three walks with 7 Ks against a makeshift lineup that featured right-handed platoon hitters Edmundo Sosa in place of Bryson Stott, Otto Kemp in left instead of Brandon Marsh, and Dylan Moore subbing for an injured Alec Bohm. Adding injury to insult, J.T. Realmuto had to leave the game after taking a foul ball off his foot behind the dish, with Rafael Marchan replacing him before Realmuto’s first at-bat.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson, along with the team’s analytical department, likes platoon match-ups. Marsh and Stott in particular have traditionally struggled against left-handed pitching. Sosa has long been one of the best utility infielders in baseball and rakes against lefties, while Kemp is a right-handed bat Dave Dombrowski and the rest of the front office has been overly enthusiastic about since last year ended.

So far, left-handed pitchers have owned the Phillies, particularly their right-handed hitters.

The Phils have slugged just two dingers off left-handed pitchers this season, one by back-up catcher Rafael Marchan and one from Bryce Harper. Their .158 team batting average against them is dead last in MLB, their .268 on-base percentage (OBP) is 4th-worst, and their team .510 OPS is 3rd-lowest.

Their strikeout and walk rates are middle of the pack. They’re just not squaring anything up. That can be seen clearly with a 14.9% line drive rate and 21.6% hard-hit rate that both rank 27th out of 30 teams. It’s a lot of weak contact, lazy fly balls and pop outs.

Here are the lines left-handed starters have put up against the Phillies thus far:

• MacKenzie Gore (Rangers): 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 7 K
• Jacob Latz (Rangers): 4 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K
• Foster Griffin (Nationals): 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K
• Robbie Ray (Giants): 6 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 7 K

They are 0-4 in games started by a left-hander and 6-1 in games started by right-handers. Against all righties, the Phils are hitting a robust .260 with a .333 OBP and a .429 slugging percentage. Their .762 OPS against right-handers is 6th-highest. Thankfully, most pitchers throw with their right hand, but enough throw with their left for it to be kind of a significant problem.

Last year, the Phillies enjoyed pretty good success against lefties. Their .747 team OPS against southpaws was 6th-best, with a wRC+ of 106 that was 9th. Schwarber, a lefty himself, was best against them, sporting a team-high .964 OPS with 23 home runs. Three right-handers followed, Sosa (.895 OPS), Trea Turner (.836) and Alec Bohm (.818), with Harper (.815) the only other regular with an OPS above .800 against them.

In a more limited sample size this year, only Marchan, with a 1.000 OPS in just five plate appearances, is over .800. Bryson Stott, who usually sits against left-handers and very rarely starts against them, has the 2nd-highest OPS (.750) in six PAs. Harper is next with a .748 OPS in 23 PAs.

While Schwarber is off to a really slow start (.461 OPS, .150 AVG) against them, it is the Phils’ right-handed batters that are dragging their production down. Adolis Garcis is hitting only .200/.200/.200 in 10 PAs, Kemp is batting .143/.205/.143 in eight PAs, Turner’s slash line is an obscene .059/.158/.118, and Realmuto has yet to get a hit off a left-hander in just four plate appearances.

It is still early days in 2026. Thomson will continue to implement his platoons, but at some point, some tinkering may need to be done with the back-end of the roster.

Right-handed hitting outfielder Bryan de la Cruz has followed up a solid spring with a powerful start to the season in Lehigh Valley, sporting an .866 OPS and three home runs in his first nine games. And power-hitting prospect Felix Reyes, who opened some eyes with his raw power this spring, is learning to play the outfield and has an .827 OPS in nine games at AAA. Both could be options to replace Kemp if his defense in left field and offensive production doesn’t pick up in the next few weeks.

As for the rest of the lineup, it’s going to require the team’s right-handed stars, Turner, Bohm, Garcia and Realmuto, to start making a dent against left-handed pitching.

The Chicago White Sox are once again looking to avoid yet another series loss. They’ll try to salvage the finale against the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon after dropping the first two games of the set. It’s not quite panic time because it’s far too early for that, but a win would at least allow fans to feel slightly less miserable.

There is, however, a reason for a bit of cautious optimism today: Sean Burke.

The righthander (0-1, 3.60 ERA) was sharp his last time out on April 3, tossing six innings of one-run ball while allowing just four hits and striking out seven. It was the kind of outing the South Siders desperately need more of, as he was competitive and, most importantly, efficient. Manager Will Venable didn’t have to start burning the bullpen in the third inning. If Burke can come anywhere close to that form again today, the Sox might actually have a chance to keep things respectable.

On the other side, the Orioles hand the ball to Kyle Bradish (0-2, 6.23 ERA), who, on paper, looks like an opportunity. Baltimore’s righty has been hittable to start the season, and if there were ever a time for the Sox lineup to resemble a functional offense, this would be it. That said, we’ve been here before, as “get-right” spots have not exactly been automatic for this group.

Chicago’s skipper will once again try to piece together enough offense to support a starter who’s giving them a fighting chance. With the injuries starting to pile up, this lineup is looking more and more like a patchwork quilt.

Meanwhile, Baltimore just keeps doing what good teams do: applying pressure and waiting for mistakes.

The first pitch is set for this afternoon at 1:10 p.m. The weather is finally warmer, and hopefully the bats take notice. You can watch on CHSN or listen in on ESPN 1000.

When the Yankees acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon last July, the general consensus was that they were bringing in a player who made up for his lack of pop at the plate with some of the best defense in the game. Although he has yet to earn a Gold Glove, this lack of hardware has been less the result of his defensive prowess and more the unfortunate reality of manning the hot corner at the same time as Nolan Arenado and Matt Chapman: his 66 Defensive Runs Saved and 46 Outs Above Average since 2017 trail only these two. McMahon’s first few months in pinstripes last season reinforced this expectation, for as he struggled with the bat down the stretch, the third baseman flashed the leather repeatedly, putting together a nice defensive highlight reel that culminated in a timely catch falling into the Red Sox dugout during Game 3 of the Wild Card Series.

Heading into 2026, the Yankees hoped that they would be able to unlock some of his potential at the plate, but were ultimately content with him serving as the defensively-strong left-handed half of a third base platoon with Amed Rosario. Unfortunately, while his offensive woes to start the season were not unexpected (even if this season-opening slump is particularly bad), it has been his early-season defense that has attracted the most attention — and not in a good way. After accruing 10 DRS and 7 OAA last season, making him a finalist for the NL Gold Glove at third despite only spending half the season there, McMahon has struggled out of the gate this season, having accrued -3 DRS and -2 OAA in just 67 innings heading into action last night.

While these numbers are drastic, we are still just a few games into the season, and defense is something that can take some time to stabilize. A quick film analysis, though, can give us a bit of insight into whether or not we should worry just yet, or if we can pump the brakes on the defensive alarms and instead focus all our criticism about McMahon’s bat rather than his glove. And so, I dove into the MLB Film Room, which had 14 plays listing McMahon as the primary fielder heading into last night’s game — six groundouts, three popups, three singles, one double, and one E5. Of these plays, I found a handful worth going through.

Let’s get started with the one E5, a throwing error by McMahon against the Seattle Mariners back on March 30th.

At first glance, this error might not look like a throwing error, as the ball reaches first baseman Ben Rice on one hop, and indeed, you can make the argument that a more experienced first baseman than Rice probably makes that play—even if he’s improved early on. But the truth is, this shouldn’t have been a tough play in the first place. The ball gets to McMahon on a fairly easy hop, and the batter, Seattle backup catcher Mitch Garver, is not a fast runner (he ranked in the 16th percentile last season). There’s no reason for McMahon to underthrow it to such an extent that the ball bounces on the grass as far out as it did, especially since he took a second to set himself before throwing.

Fortunately, while throws from the hot corner are more likely to need a scoop than one from the shortstop or second baseman, McMahon’s arm being this wild seemed to be very much a fluke thing. Here’s another play from the very next day:

An almost identical play, with a very different result: a throw right at Rice’s eye level.

What about the three singles? Well, two of those three occurred on slow “swinging bunts” down the third base line:

Of these two, the first was an almost impossible play, with the ball winding up in no-man’s land. The second is a play I would’ve liked to see McMahon make, and indeed one that he has made frequently; but there is ultimately a reason why it was listed as a single, not a throwing error.

The third single, on the other hand, is a bit more concerning to me:

I’m not quite sure what happened here; thanks to the lefty shift, McMahon was playing in the role of the shortstop, and wound up in a position where he could neither make the play or get to the third base bag with enough time to give Cody Bellinger a target to throw the ball, resulting in A) the pitcher essentially covering the bag as the same time as him, and B) because of that, nobody backing up the throw. The good thing about this play, though, is that this isn’t so much an issue to watch for than it is a weird confluence of events. If it happens again, would I be concerned? Absolutely — but not about McMahon’s defense, but about the infield’s assignments when in the shift.

Last, but certainly not least, the double:

Ouch! The ball, 104.1 mph off the bat, deflected off McMahon — first off his glove, then possibly off his head — before careening into left field for a double off the bat of Randy Arozarena. Yea, these plays happen; I’m not too concerned.

And ultimately, that’s where I think I current stand after watching McMahon’s defensive highlights so far: not too concerned. At the end of the day, good, dependable defense doesn’t exactly skyrocket up the OAA and DRS charts, while one or two misplays can drop you down quite a bit, allowing statistical noise to rear its head in the early going. Now, if the metrics remain negative in May and June, then it’ll be time to start looking more deeply under the hood; but for now, we don’t need to stress it when the ball gets hit to third — only when the third baseman comes up to the plate, with Amed Rosario perhaps breathing down his neck.

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With all 30 teams taking to the diamond today, the bases are juiced for MLB player props options, and I’m ready to drive in some winners.

My best bets for today include Will Warren going super punchout on the free-swinging A’s, and the Tigers’ Riley Greene finding his timing against a familiar foe.

Those and more MLB picks for Wednesday, April 8 below.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Owen Caissie	2+ Hits, Runs, and RBI	+110
Will Warren	Over 5.5 Strikeouts	-108
Riley Greene	Over 1.5 Total Bases	-105

Owen Caissie Over 2+ Hits, Runs, and RBI (+110)

The Miami Marlins are a young and fun team, and I can’t wait to see how ownership screws this up again. For now, I’m along for the ride, and they’re providing us with some great value when it comes to player props as well.

It looks like they have something in rookie outfielder Owen Caissie. The 23-year-old was part of the return for Edward Cabrera, and he’s off to a great start. Caissie enters this game against the Cincinnati Reds, hitting .296 with a .947 OPS, with two home runs, nine RBI, and four runs scored.

Basically, he’s been doing it all for the Fish, and should be back in the lineup tonight after getting a couple of days off thanks to facing some left-handed starters.

The Reds hand the ball to right-hander Brady Singer. The veteran right-hander has a 4.62 expected ERA over the last three seasons and is off to a tough start in 2026, giving up five runs on 11 hits and three walks in nine innings.

I love Caissie to continue his production tonight.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Reds.TV, Marlins.TV

Will Warren Over 5.5 strikeouts (-108)

Will Warren is coming off a solid first season with the New York Yankees. But the 26-year-old right-hander is ready to take his game to the next level in 2026.

Warren has surrendered three runs on nine hits over his first two starts and is coming off a performance against the Marlins in which he struck out six batters. And I’m betting he keeps racking up the Ks in tonight’s matchup against the Athletics.

The A’s have a lot of exciting young pop in their lineup, but their “swing for the fences” mentality also results in a lot of strikeouts.

Their 30.1% strikeout rate is the highest in the big leagues at this point in the season. So, at close to even money, I’m more than happy to back Warren to go Over 5.5 punchouts.

• Time: 7:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Prime Video

Riley Greene Over 1.5 total bases (-105)

It’s been a bit of a slow start to the season for Riley Greene, but I like the Detroit Tigers’ star outfielder to find his swing against a familiar foe.

The Tigers visit their Central Division rivals, the Minnesota Twins, on Wednesday night. The Twins hand the ball to Bailey Ober for this one.

Ober has also been trying to find his good stuff through his first two starts, surrendering six runs on eight hits and three walks over eight innings of work.

That should make getting Greene out tough. Greene is 6-for-18 with a double and two dingers in his career vs. Ober. That’s good for a .338 expected batting average and a .719 expected slugging.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: FS1

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