Worldwide Sports News

Good morning, LSB.

Shawn McFarland has three observations from another Rangers spring training game, one in which MacKenzie Gore left the beats impressed.

Kennedi Landry writes about the impact that pitching behind deGrom and Eovaldi is having on the lefty.

Tim Cowlishaw even goes so far as to call him Clayton Kershaw 2.0 while raving about how much the Rangers like him.

Elsewhere Jeff Wilson says now that Jack Leiter doesn’t have to worry about making the team he’s free to just focus on improving.

McFarland writes about the opportunity in front of Josh Smith.

Maxton Martin and his raw power come in at 25 on the DMN’s list of top prospects.

Evan Grant spoke with former Rangers shortstop and current Team Mexico manager Benji Gil in his latest podcast episode.

And Grant also put on a live YouTube Q&A on Friday where he answered a heaping of Rangers spring training questions.

That’s all for this morning. Have a great weekend!

Hello friends, and welcome to the weekend!

Last night the Mariners dueled in the desert with the fearsome Snakes, losing 3-1 in what Kate aptly described as a snoozer.

Speaking of sleep, I’m coming to you live after finally getting a decent night’s rest. I am a pretty picky sleeper. Not on purpose, mind you. I just need to be in a bed, in an adequately cold room with minimal light and sound (except my requisite white noise machine or app) and I will generally sleep fine. But I am not the kind of person who can sleep on couches, recliners, cars, trains, or planes.

How about you? Are you someone who can sleep just about anywhere, or are you a more restless soul like myself? Sound off in the comments.

In Mariners news…

• After a lost season last year, Ryan Bliss is back and ready to prove that he deserves a spot on the big league roster. Adam Jude at The Seattle Times has the story. ($)
• Brendan Donovan and Rob Refsnyder are already making a positive impact in the clubhouse, writes Daniel Kramer.
• Bryce Miller opened up about his elbow issues and why he decided to forego surgery this winter. It turns out that, like all of us, even Miller himself was initially confused why he shouldn’t just get the procedure done.
• Could Colt Emerson make a serious run at an Opening Day roster spot this year? Daniel Kramer has the latest.
• Justin Hollander spoke about the Mariners’ ongoing contract discussions with Logan Gilbert. It sounds like for now, the ball is in Logan’s court to resume those talks.
• New Mariners reliever José Ferrer appears to be fitting in with the Mariners, and the team is impressed by what he’s bringing to bullpen sessions.

Around the league…

• The Dodgers inked former Mariners reliever Keynan Middleton to a minor league deal.
• Jay Jaffe at Fangraphs wrote about the players who had the most dramatic month-to-month changes in wRC+ last year, with Jorge Polanco headlining the group.
• Matt Monagan at MLB dove into the legend that Negro Leagues sensation Josh Gibson hit a 600+ foot home run in Puerto Rico.
• Players around the league were asked about the strangest superstitions they’ve seen in the league. I feel like I’m learning a lot about Logan Gilbert today.

Anders’ picks…

• I am all the way here for the island vibes. 2027 can’t come soon enough!

Matt Quatraro is having Bobby Witt Jr. leadoff in spring training a bit.

“We talked about it earlier in the spring,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters in Surprise, Arizona. “We talked and toyed with the idea of all different lineups. But this, specifically, was to give him a chance (to bat leadoff), because I’m pretty sure he is going to do it with Team USA (in the upcoming World Baseball Classic). Let him do it for a couple of days before he leaves.”

Anne Rogers writes that Maikel Garcia is focused on winning another Gold Glove

The goal was to work on Garcia’s first-step quickness and both his backhand and forehand plays. There’s a reason third base is called the hot corner, and if Garcia can see as much quick spin and create as many angles as he can in practice, theoretically, it makes it easier in the game.

“The spin when the right-handed hitter hits to my backhand is a little bit tough in the game because it’s the big leagues and they hit it hard,” Garcia said. “So it’s kind of hard to read it. But when I moved to third, I just started waiting for the ball, don’t go forward too much because they hit it too hard. And then when we [went] to the forehand, we [were] trying to work on my first step, right after I got the ball with the backhand. That’s going to help me because I can get to more balls in the hole.”

The Royals handed out organizational awards for 2025.

“It’s just a reminder of how strong our culture is, which we take a lot of pride in,” president of baseball operations and general manager J.J. Picollo said. “We want to celebrate accomplishments and celebrate our team, but there are times when we need to celebrate individual accomplishments, and this day is one of them.”

Yahoo Sports! ranks the Royals #9 in baseball for most 26-and-under talent.

Joining Witt and Garcia as the next potential core pieces of Kansas City’s lineup are Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen, who had wildly different debuts last season. Caglianone arrived in June with a heaping helping of hype following his legendary collegiate career and speedy ascent through the minors, but he faceplanted as a rookie, ranking as one of the least productive hitters in baseball. That Cags was exposed so harshly was not a massive surprise, considering his hyper-aggressive approach. Now it’s on the talented 23-year-old to flush his forgettable debut and figure out how to tap into his tremendous raw power more reliably against the best arms on the planet.

Baseball America ranks the Royals #13 in their preseason power rankings.

The Royals’ top-tier talent is good enough to claim a playoff spot. It will be up to the supporting cast, and possibly two young hitters who could step forward. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is an MVP candidate. A healthy season from lefthander Cole Ragans could result in Cy Young Award votes. The Royals developed third baseman Maikel Garcia, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and lefthanders Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron into their best selves. The X-factor for Kansas City is the performance of second-year slugger Jac Caglianone and rookie catcher Carter Jensen. Breakthroughs from them would lengthen the lineup.

Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown ranks the top five pitchers in Royals history.

Pete Grathoff writes that Royals pitchers did well in fantasy football.

Max Scherzer returns to the Blue Jays on a one-year deal.

Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell won’t be ready for the start of the season.

Freddy Peralta will start the Mets opener.

Which teams lost the most in free agency this past offseason?

Who is the ultimate bandwagon team for 2026?

Which teams are dealing with option crunches?

Giancarlo Stanton is suffering from elbow tendinitis so bad that he can’t even open a bag of chips.

What should we make of the ABS challenge data from last year?

Warriors owner Joe Lacob and former NFL quarterback Drew Brees are among the bidders to own the Padres.

MLB gives TikTok creators access to their library in a new partnership.

The NFL salary cap will be set at $301.2 million this year.

What are some names to know as the college basketball coaching carousel begins?

Warner Bros signs a merger agreement with Paramount.

Burger King will use AI to check if employees say “please” and “thank you.”

How can infinity come in many sizes?

Your song of the day is Juice Newton with Queen Of Hearts.

From the very beginning of the offseason, David Stearns—normally one who plays things extremely close to the vest—has been fairly clear whenever the subject of the 2026 outfield comes up. He has repeatedly stated that 2024 first round pick Carson Benge will enter spring training with a chance to win a starting job for the major league team. The team’s actions over the past few months—trading franchise stalwart Brandon Nimmo, pursuing exactly one starting outfielder (ultimately settling on center fielder Luis Robert Jr.) while leaving the other empty spot wide open—have only further proven that Stearns has not been misleading us on the subject. And while he is facing some competition this spring, it’s not exactly a murder’s row of alternative options—recent signings MJ Melendez and Michael Tauchman would probably be the likeliest alternatives, but they are both players who have some strengths but may be better served as backups.

Indeed, while Benge is not an absolute lock to make the team—there is always the chance that the Mets could decide he needs a little bit more time in the minors—it seems clear that the front office’s hope is that he will head north with the club as their starting right fielder. And if he happens to not make the team right out of camp, it’s fair to assume that he would still get the call to the majors before too long.

It’s not hard to see why the Mets are enamored with Benge. After being drafted with the 19th overall pick out of Oklahoma State in the 2024 draft, the 23-year-old outfielder was sensational in his first full pro season last year. He started off his year in Brooklyn, whose park has a history of being murderously tough for left-handed hitters specifically. It was perhaps a sign of how high Benge’s stock would ultimately rise that he was up to the task of playing in that difficult environment, as he put up a 168 wRC+ in 60 games in High A ball along with a respectable .178 ISO despite hitting just four home runs. Once he received a midseason promotion to Binghamton, his power numbers surged, as he put up a .254 ISO and doubled his home run output from his Brooklyn numbers in almost half the games played in Double A ball. That dramatic surge against improved competition caused the Mets to once again promote him, though shortly after arriving at Syracuse he was hit in the hand with a pitch and subsequently missed a few weeks. His numbers upon returning to finish out the season were not particularly impressive (more on that in a bit), but those couple weeks of middling production were not enough to dampen an exceptional season. Splitting time across three different levels, he put up a .281/.385/.472 slash line with 15 home runs (good for a 150 wRC+) and 22 stolen bases across 116 total games.

All of these factors have caused Benge to dramatically rise on various prospect lists this offseason. Virtually every reputable outlet has ranked him as the second best prospect in the Mets’ farm system, behind only Nolan McLean. In overall MLB prospect rankings, he has come in at 16th by MLB Pipeline, 19th by Baseball America, 15th by ESPN, 18th by The Athletic, 10th by Baseball Prospectus, and 21st by FanGraphs. Virtually all of the write-ups from these outlets have painted a similar picture of a player who is solid in virtually all aspects of the game (if not outright great in any one particular area). Evaluators have also praised Benge’s outfield defense, suggesting that he could prove to be an above-average center fielder. While the Mets may end up giving him some playing time there, the acquisition of Robert means that the majority of his playing time in 2026 will almost certainly come in right field, where he should grade out as a plus defender.

Despite all the factors working in Benge’s favor, there has been a somewhat surprising lack of excitement from Mets fans—a group that, historically, has not had problems with placing grand expectations upon prospects with much lesser pedigrees—at the idea of him playing a major role for the 2026 team. Some have outright questioned the logic of almost handing him a starting job right out of the gate and called for Stearns to acquire another outfielder before the season starts. Two primary reasons have been cited for this skepticism: 1) Benge’s poor numbers in his limited Triple A action last year suggest that he could use more seasoning before being fully ready for the big leagues, and 2) putting this much confidence in any rookie with zero major league experience is a big gamble for a team with playoff aspirations.

Let’s address both of these points. The first one is fairly easy to counter: While a cursory glance at Benge’s Baseball-Reference page will suggest that he struggled in Syracuse, the actual batted ball data shows that he was hitting the ball about as hard and consistently as he was in the lower levels. MLB.com’s Sam Dykstra provided the specific numbers recently:

Benge ran an above-average 105.9 mph 90th-percentile exit velocity at Triple-A, topped out at 110.4 mph and made contact on 87 percent of his pitches inside the zone. (MLB average for Z-contact was 83.2 percent.) His chase rates were fine, too, if closer to average, while his 18.4 percent K rate and 8.7 percent walk rate didn’t scream struggle. Instead, Benge may have fallen victim to rough luck in a smallish sample – his .188 BABIP was significantly lower than his marks of .372 and .337 at High-A and Double-A, respectively.

When taking these factors into account, it makes sense that the front office was not particularly discouraged by Benge’s showing in Syracuse. Perhaps something about his performance in spring training will suggest that he needs more minor league time after all, but pointing to his bad topline numbers in 24 Triple A games without looking at the larger context is not an effective argument against his major league readiness.

The second point is perhaps a bit more complicated. Because yes, trusting an unproven rookie inherently carries some amount of risk. Benge wouldn’t be the first top prospect who couldn’t translate his minor league dominance into major league production, and he wouldn’t be the last. And if he proves to not be ready, the Mets will be in a bit of pickle, as they might well have a major hole in their outfield. But let’s consider a couple of factors here:

1. Given the additions the Mets have made to the offense this offseason—Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, the aforementioned Robert—there are, on paper, relatively few gaping holes in the lineup right now. Benge will probably start out the season in the bottom third of the lineup, where there won’t be all that much pressure on him to put up huge numbers. If he winds up being the great player the Mets expect him to be and they move him up in the order, great. But it’s not an outright requirement for the team to be successful.
2. Recall who Benge would be replacing in the outfield. Brandon Nimmo, despite showing clear signs of decline, was broadly fine in 2025 but no more than that. He put up a 114 wRC+ last year with defensive statistics (0 OAA) that, quite frankly, probably undersell the level of degradation in his outfield skills. Benge is a very, very safe bet to be a significantly better defensive outfielder than Nimmo in 2026. If he provides even comparable offensive numbers (i.e. slightly above average production), he will almost certainly prove to be an upgrade over what the Mets got out of the position in 2025. And that is a somewhat measured projection for Benge—there is upside for a much greater level of offensive output.
3. Again, the Mets would not be in an ideal position if Benge proves to not be ready for a major league role—but they wouldn’t necessarily be helpless. Tauchman or Melendez are not particularly exciting options, but maybe one of them proves to be at least passable if pushed into a more meaningful role. Maybe Baty proves that he can be at least passable in the outfield and the Mets just end up playing him there more. Maybe one of the team’s other top prospects with outfield flexibility—A.J. Ewing, Ryan Clifford, maybe even Jacob Reimer—becomes ready at some point in the season and can take the job. Or—worst case scenario—the Mets may need to address the hole at the trade deadline, where it is usually not particularly hard to find decent corner outfield options available. Point being, there will likely be ways for the team to pivot if they need to.
4. Here is what I would consider the most important point: Every front office makes decisions about which risks they are willing to accept and which ones they are not, but virtually every player the Mets might have acquired to play over Benge would have carried some type of risk. Stearns could, for instance, have decided that the safety of acquiring a proven major league contributor would have made it worth it to beat the Yankees’ offer for Cody Bellinger and place in one of the corner outfield spots. That might make us feel more comfortable projecting a baseline level of production in 2026, but the team would then be assuming risk in potentially locking themselves into a player for more years than they were comfortable with. He could have signed a smaller name to a lower-level contract—Mike Yastrzemski or someone of that ilk—but then you are locking out the potential higher upside that a player like Benge provides. You can do this with essentially every other player the Mets could realistically have pursued. So when the subject of risk comes up with Benge, we should acknowledge the potential fallbacks, but we should also note that the risk of placing trust in a top 20 prospect is not actually THAT high when compared to the risks that alternative moves would have held. It’s just a different type of risk—but nevertheless a calculated one.

All of this is an extremely long-winded way of making a pretty simple point: we should be very, very excited to see the Mets giving Benge runway to be a major contributor to the team right out of the gate this year. Given his prospect pedigree, the median scenario we should be hoping for is that he will at least be a solid starting player—someone who perhaps needs to sit against some tough lefties to start but provides good offensive and defensive value on the whole. And again: the upside for even greater outcomes is there. Along with McLean, Benge could well be a leading candidate for National League Rookie of the Year (and it is worth noting that either of those two players winning the award would grant the Mets a PPI draft pick in the following year’s draft, provided they are both on the major league roster for most of the season). And given the emotional blow of the team losing numerous homegrown core players this offseason, the prospect of Benge coming up this year and cementing himself as a stalwart piece for the franchise’s new core should be one that puts a smile on every fan’s face.

We are finally back. Now a week into Spring Training, quite a few pitchers are showcasing a lot of intriguing tweaks and adjustments to their arsenals, starting with Gavin Williams.

First off, a quick shoutout to TJStats for chart images and more! A more than worthwhile site that you should use throughout baseball season.

Secondly, I *WILL NOT* be looking into a pitcher’s velocity unless it is substantially up or down. We will call this the Doug Nikhazy rule.

Gavin showcased a sinker at times in 2025, going to it less than 7% of the time, but in his first Spring start, it was heavily featured and likely lends to the belief that he will lean on it more in 2026. It was mislabeled at times on Statcast on Tuesday against LA and only tracked four sinkers, labeling three others fastballs, but thanks to the TJStats daily ‘Pitch Editor’, I was able to switch over the fastballs that matched the sinker profile, and came out with a quality breakdown of where Gavin’s sinker is at heading into the season.

Gavin’s sinker last season averaged 9.7 inches of induced vertical break and 15.1 inches of arm-side run. He went to it almost exclusively against right-handed hitters. In his first outing of the Spring, he turned to it against just righties, and it profiled with better shape, generating 11.7 inches of induced vertical break and 16.4 inches arm-side. Similar to his cutter last season, I expect his sinker to take a step forward in usage this season as he continues to round out his arsenal.

Now we’ll take a look at another Guardians starting pitcher, Slade Cecconi, who showcased more aggressive changes in arsenal in his first outing, and I am very excited about it.

Above shows the difference in movement patterns between Cecconi’s slider and cutter from 2025 to his first outing in the Spring. Cecconi’s cutter got him into quite a bit of trouble when he used it last season. It often turned into a cement mixer and hovered in the middle of the plate far too often, getting barreled at a 20% rate. In his outing on Wednesday, Cecconi’s cutter worked along an axis identical to his 4-seam (1:15), finding a more stable horizontal axis. His slider also generated nearly three inches more glove-side break with less induced vertical break.

He slider went through a more pronounced change. It works along a better horizontal axis, and in doing so, it’s become more sweeper-like. Cecconi generated more horizontal separation between his cutter and slider during his outing where it was more of a diagonal drop last season. This is a much needed change for Cecconi, whose struggles to work across the zone with his breaking pitches got him hit hard throughout 2025. He will need to utilize his slider more consistently to do this (3.1% usage in ‘25), and with a far better shape (106 TJStuff+ on 2/25, 98 TJStuff+ in 2025).

BULLPEN NAMES TO WATCH

• Shawn Armstrong showcased his good cutter/sweeper combo in his first outing on Wednesday
  • Expect Armstrong to be a strong help along the back-end of the ‘pen. Gaddis will need him.
• Cody Heuer has struggled substantially early in his first couple outings this Spring.
  • 31.4% overall zone-rate and 30% walk rate across 10 batters faced…not great!
• Franco Aleman’s two appearances have been split results
  • First outing saw better command with swing and miss on slider
  • control woes continued in second outing; allowed a home run and walked two batters, struggling to locate his secondaries still

SPOT START SQUAD WATCH

1. Will Dion: 2 IP // 3 K // 0 ER // 4 whiffs // 28.6% whiff rate // .225 xwOBACON
   • Showcased great command, quality low 90s fastball with good VAA traits; slider looks to be improved; likely this year’s Nikhazy
2. Austin Peterson: 1.1 IP // 1 K // 1 BB // 3 whiffs // 4 ER // .565 xwOBACON
   • Lived in the heart of the plate; does not have the stuff to venture inside the shadow; doesn’t have the stuff to get deep in counts to nibble
3. Doug Nikhazy: 2 IP // 1 K // 1 BB // 0 ER // 3 whiffs // .663 xwOBACON
   • Breaking stuff continues to be impressive
     • fastball continued to look fringy; both induced whiffs and got smoked

When the San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies meet in a road matchup, it usually results in a high number of hits and an equally high number of runs. That was not the case on Friday when the Padres traveled to Scottsdale, Ariz. to play the Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. The game turned into a pitchers duel and it was decided in the bottom of the ninth when Zac Veen hit a walk-off home run to give Colorado a 3-2 win. San Diego managed just four hits in the game with three of those hits coming from the starting lineup. Jake Cronenworth, Ramon Laureano and Sung-Mun Song got on base with hits and the fourth hit was added by Samad Taylor, who had an RBI-single in the top of the eighth inning. The Padres return to the Peoria Sports Complex to host the Seattle Mariners in their second meeting of the spring on Saturday at 12:10 p.m.

Padres News:

• AJ Cassavell of Padres.com looks at four big questions facing manager Craig Stammen and the Padres with Opening Day less than a month away.
• San Diego has been using the ABS challenge system frequently throughout Spring Training and that is helping the Padres get a feel for how they will use it during the regular season. Luis Campusano, who used the system in the minors last season, has appeared to be the most comfortable and successful, but fans have seen Freddy Fermin, Ty France and Nick Castellanos all have calls successfully overturned.
• Sung-Mun Song had his second hit in as many games against the Rockies and appears to be getting a handle on the velocity at the MLB level. He should get more opportunities to see live in-game pitching in the coming weeks as Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts head to the World Baseball Classic.
• Randy Vasquez had another strong spring outing for the Padres with no runs and no hits allowed over 2.2 innings. San Diego was unable to pull off a win, but Vasquez appears to be taking advantage of his opportunity to be the fourth starter in the Padres rotation.

Baseball News:

• Former Padres pitcher and now Kansas City Royals pitcher Stephen Kolek has been diagnosed with an oblique strain and will miss time.
• Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts does not think Blake Snell will be ready to return by Opening Day.
• Rockies center fielder has missed time due to a wrist sprain and will continue to sit out games in an effort to be healthy by Opening Day.
• Boston Red Sox players Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela collided on the field while trying to make a play in the outfield, but both players are expected to be okay.