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Speaking to reporters ahead of the Yankees’ final spring training game, Aaron Boone confirmed the team’s plans for their Opening Day roster. Luis Gil will be optioned to the minors, while relievers Jake Bird and Brent Headrick will take the last spots on the team. Peter wrote a little while ago about Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest also making the big club.

New York had already announced that Gil would not open the season in the rotation, leading to speculation that he would ultimately begin the year in the minors. The move makes sense; the Yankees don’t need a fifth starter until April 11th, and starting Gil with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre allows the right-hander to stay stretched out at around 80-90 pitches in the meantime. It also gives Gil a chance to further refine his release point, something he and the team appear to have been tinkering with this spring.

The Yankees will spend the extra roster spot on relief pitching, meaning the Opening Day roster includes nine relievers. The first five spots were all but spoken for: David Bednar, Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz, Tim Hill, and Ryan Yarbrough. Paul Blackburn seemed like a good bet to make the team after returning on a major league deal over the winter, and as Peter wrote up earlier, Cade Winquest made the club, on the strength of an interesting arsenal and his Rule-5 status, if not his spring training performance. 

Bird and Headrick now both have a chance to audition for a longer stay with the club prior to Gil’s potential call-up in mid-April. The right-handed Bird was dreadful after coming over from Colorado last summer, but pitched reasonably well in spring and still has the kind of stuff that convinced the team to acquire him in the first place. Headrick gives the Yankees another lefty out of the pen, and a fairly powerful one at that, with his 94 mph fastball playing up due to his 6-foot-6 frame.

With that, the roster is all but officially set. What do you think? Is this how you would have deployed the extra roster spot with Gil sent down?

Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Tuesday that right-hander Luis Gil will begin the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

This was an expected move, as the Yankees won't need a No. 5 starter through the first couple of turns through the rotation due to off days in the schedule. The Bombers have four scheduled off days through April 6. 

There had previously been some thought that Gil could stay in the majors and be used in piggyback situations, but the Yankees clearly want him to stay in a routine of starting games.

Boone previously announced that Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers will start the team's first four games, in that order. 

The Yankees of course, will eventually see Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt return to the rotation, which will give them plenty of starting options. 

Gil, 27, was terrific in 2024, winning AL Rookie of the Year thanks to a 3.50 ERA and 10.1 strikeouts per nine. Last year was a different story, though, as Gil was limited to just 11 starts due to a lat strain suffered before the season.

He was up and down this spring, posting a 4.66 ERA. He had one very tough outing, allowing seven earned runs and three home runs in 3.0 innings against the Detroit Tigers on March 15.

Cade Winquest makes team

Boone also told reporters that right-handed reliever Cade Winquest has made the team, along with fellow relievers Jake Bird and Brent Headrick.

Winquest was a rare Rule 5 Draft pick by the Yankees from the St. Louis Cardinals this past March. In order to retain him, the Yankees had to keep him on their 26-man roster. If Winquest were to clear waivers, the Yankees would have to offer him back to the Cardinals.

Winquest was the first player selected by the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft since 2011, when they selected right-hander Brad Meyers from the Washington Nationals. Meyers spent the entire season on the IL and was later returned to Washington.

Winquest pitched to a 7.20 ERA in nine games this spring.

The Braves made a roster move on Tuesday, claiming RHP Osvaldo Bido off waivers from the Yankees.

To make room on the roster, the Braves added LHP Joey Wentz to the 60-Day IL. This is the result of Wentz tearing his ACL a few weeks ago, which will cause him to miss all of 2026.

Bido has bounced around teams (6 total) all off-season, including being previously claimed and waived by the Braves a few months ago. While his production in 2024 was intriguing, he fell off quite a bit in 2025. The interesting note with Bido is that he is without minor league options.

With the Braves having now claimed Bido twice this offseason, it certainly seems they see something in his arsenal that could lead to untapped potential. With all the injuries that have occurred to the pitching staff, it will be worth watching to see if Atlanta makes any further moves before Opening Day.

Here we are! The last day of spring training as the Brewers will take on the Reds in their second of two exhibition games at American Family Field. Then, after an off day tomorrow, the Brewers will welcome the White Sox to open the season on Thursday afternoon.

Brandon Sproat is slated to start in this one, with Kyle Harrison also expected pitch. Sproat has made three appearances this spring, spanning nine innings with five runs allowed on 10 hits and a pair of walks while recording 10 strikeouts. His last outing came against the Rockies on March 14, when he went 4 2/3 innings and allowed two runs with three strikeouts. Harrison has made four appearances this spring (though only three officially, as the first of those came against Great Britain in an exhibition). Over 12 2/3 innings, he’s allowed 12 runs (eight earned) on 14 hits and four walks with 17 strikeouts.

Most of the regulars will once again start in the lineup, with Jackson Chourio returning to the outfield after an appearance at DH yesterday. Brice Turang bats second, followed by William Contreras and Christian Yelich (who replaces Chourio at DH). Andrew Vaughn, Jake Bauers, and Sal Frelick follow, with David Hamilton and Joey Ortiz rounding out the order. They’ll face Cincinnati right-hander Chase Burns.

In roster news, the Brewers acquired right-handed reliever Jake Woodford from the Rays, sending right-handed prospect K.C. Hunt and cash considerations back the other way. Outfielder Akil Baddoo, who suffered a quad injury earlier this month, was also placed on the 60-day IL to open the season.

Woodford, 29, is a former first-round pick by the Cardinals who has appeared in 111 MLB games (25 starts) over the last six years, with a career 5.10 ERA and 4.84 FIP over 256 innings. He spent 2025 with the D-backs, appearing in 22 games with a 6.44 ERA, 4.26 FIP, and 23 strikeouts over 36 1/3 innings. A non-roster invite by the Rays this spring, he made four appearances (two starts) with them, pitching to a 1.23 ERA with five strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings. He’ll seemingly replace Easton McGee as a depth righty in the bullpen.

First pitch is at 4:10 p.m. As was the case yesterday, no TV tonight; catch the game on the radio.

And just like that, Spring Training is over. Just one game stands between the Dodgers and the start of the 2026 season.

In the Freeway series so far, the Dodgers have scored 20 runs, and the high-powered offense looks ready to go.

On the pitching side, Shohei Ohtani also makes his last start before the regular season. Ohtani has only had one start so far this spring, pitching 4.1 innings, allowing one hit, hitting one batter himself, and striking out four. His fast ball topped out at 99.9mph.

Shohei pitched 61 pitches in his first outing and should be looking to extend that pitch count to five innings, 75 pitches. With his start on Tuesday, it slates his first start of the season to be next Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians.

Justin Wrobleski was thought to have been a piggyback partner for Ohtani if he didn’t get built up in time, but since Roki Sasaki’s starts have been suboptimal so far this spring, that may not be the case.

Jack Kochanowicz will start for the Angels.

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Angels
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 5:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, Fan Duel Sports Network West (Angels), MLB Network (out of market)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

We’re almost there, folks.

It’s time for one last hurrah at Salt River Fields before the Colorado Rockies ship out to Florida to open the 2026 season up against the Miami Marlins. Opening Day is almost here!

To wrap up spring training, the Rockies will face off against the Detroit Tigers for the second straight game, following yesterday’s 6-5 win.

Taking the mound for the Rockies is Tomoyuki Sugano. The offseason acquisition looked solid in his limited work this spring, posting a 0.00 ERA and giving up one unearned run on four hits with a strikeout in his lone start. Hunter Goodman will slot in at DH today and utility man Willi Castro will take first base. Jake McCarthy will lead things off, with Ezequiel Tovar batting cleanup.

Justin Verlander, returning to Detroit this season to finish his career where it began, will pitch for the Motor City Kitties. The 43-year-old vet is set to pitch fourth in Detroit’s rotation. He posted a 5.40 ERA in 10.0 innings across three starts this spring, giving up nine hits (five of which were home runs) with 15 strikeouts.

The Rockies hope to head into the regular season with one last win. See you on the other side!

First Pitch: 1:10 p.m. MDT

TV: None

Radio: None

Lineups:

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Following on the heels of Julio Rodríguez and Noelvi Marte, Felnin Celesten was supposed to be the Mariners’ next big international signing success story. The Mariners gave him $4.7M to sign Celesten out of the Dominican Republic in 2023, the largest signing bonus they’ve ever handed out in IFA. However, injuries have slowed Celesten’s development and he only just completed his first full professional season in 2025, a fine-but-not-spectacular season in Low-A with Modesto.

It’s not the incandescent rise the Mariners nor Celesten himself might have imagined for a player nicknamed “The Phoenix,” although it’s a name that’s becoming more apt as Celesten battles back from one injury after another. In a conversation with Celesten this past summer while he was at Everett for a short while, Celesten spoke about how the various physical challenges and injuries he’s gone through have taught him how to take better care of his body, prepare himself better for the demands of the season, and know himself better in a general sense.

“I know what I need now,” he said through translator Hecmart Nieves. “That’s the biggest thing. I need the training room. I need to take care of my body, to stay healthy on the field. That’s been the biggest adjustment…Injuries, it’s probably not the best way to find out what you need, but it’s definitely helped me to know myself better and what things I need to improve on.”

Part of taking care of his body was also taking care of his mind, something Celesten said the Mariners helped him with. Instead of allowing feelings of frustration to overtake him or viewing his injuries in a negative light, Celesten, who comes from a background of deep Christian faith, asked himself: what does God want me to learn from this? How can I come back better from this?

“Baseball is a hard game, and it comes with ups and downs. I’m proud of how I’ve handled myself this season, not letting the lows get too low and overcoming whatever gets in the way. Everything that has happened to me is like God giving me a message, opportunities to grow, and that’s the way I see the game and my life.”

With the WBC in action, Celesten got several opportunities to play with the big-league club this spring, getting into six games and collecting three hits. While the slight-framed shortstop doesn’t seem like he’s going to grow into a power hitter, he’s been working on putting the ball in the air more while still hitting the ball hard, and continues to hit from both sides of the plate, putting up near-identical lines against both lefties and righties.

While there’s a chance a stronger and more durable Celesten, removed from the hamstring injury and broken hamate bone that plagued him early in his career, can hit for more power, it seems like much of his prospect value will remain in his glove.

Celesten is a natural shortstop but has at times not made the routine plays, something he looked to have cleaned up during the Spring Breakout game. Playing behind a dominant Ryan Sloan, who induced groundball after groundball, Celesten ranged around the six, showcasing smooth footwork and clean mechanics.

He then went on to boot a routine ground ball in the Mariners’ final spring training game, because development isn’t linear, and Celesten is a prime example of that. His 2026 will be about, first and foremost, staying healthy; beyond that, continuing to maximize his modest power while spraying the ball all around the field and letting his plus speed do the rest. Easy to say, difficult to do, but Celesten’s early-career struggles have set him up to know just how hard, exactly, the task is ahead of him, and what he needs to do to best prepare himself to accomplish it.

If you still don’t know who Devin Williams is, you’ve definitely seen him pitch before. You’ve seen him throw the same pitch, in fact, over and over again—rocking back and firing a changeup on the lower-outside corner which Pete Alonso connects with the other way as the Mets’ dugout erupts and Howie Rose delivers the call of a lifetime. In the time it took for you to read that sentence, you probably could have watched the highlight another couple of times.

So, who is Devin Williams? To the Mets, he used to be the man who gave up Alonso’s iconic 2024 homer in the Wild Card Series. Now, he’s the new face of their bullpen. But to the rest of the league, Williams has simply been one of the best relievers in baseball for the better part of a decade.

The Mets signed the 31-year-old Williams to a three-year, $51 million deal, marking the first of two ex-Brewers whom president of baseball operations David Stearns would reunite with (along with Freddy Peralta) this offseason. Williams was signed in early December, back when he was expected to be the setup man to Edwin Díaz; but Díaz, of course, broke for Los Angeles to join the back-to-back champion Dodgers, leaving Williams slotted into the closer spot on the roster. It’s a role Williams has played before. Over the course of his six scintillating seasons in Milwaukee from 2019-2024, Williams oscillated between the role of setup man and closer depending on whether bullpen-mates like Josh Hader or Trevor Megill had the job at a given time. One thing that remained consistent was Williams’ spectacular performance. From 2020-2024, Williams put up a 1.70 ERA (the second-lowest among qualified relievers in that span) while posting a 14.64 K/9 rate (second only to — you guessed it — Edwin Díaz). Along the way, Williams earned two All-Star selections, two N.L. Reliever of the Year Awards, and a Rookie of the Year Award for his absurd 2020 season in which he pitched to a 0.33 ERA while striking out 53 of 100 batters faced.

Despite what the Alonso homer may have led you to believe, Williams’ calling card has always been his un-hittable changeup, better known as the “Airbender” pitch. From ’20-24, Williams’ changeup produced an incredible 46.8% Whiff rate while yielding just a .135 opponent batting average, both marks ranking the best in baseball for any pitch among right-handers (min. 2000 pitches thrown). Since 2020, no single pitch by a reliever has produced as many strikeouts (284) as Williams’ Airbender.

But after being traded from the Brewers to the Yankees following the 2024 season, the ever-consistent Williams had a confusingly ineffective season. In 2025, he pitched to a 4.79 ERA while recording -0.3 bWAR. A look at his underlying metrics don’t reveal all too many problems — in fact, they seem to bear all the signs of a usual dominant season from Williams. His changeup still had its good break, while his Chase%, Whiff%, and K% all ranked in the 97th percentile or higher. Most perplexing of all, Williams’ xERA (expected ERA) was 3.02, almost two full runs-per-nine below his actual ERA.

So…who is Devin Williams really? Is he the dominant arm from his Milwaukee days, or the struggling Yankee trying to avoid further damage? The most likely answer does actually seem to be the most promising one, though perhaps also the least satisfying: it really was just a fluke. The baseball gods with their small sample sizes and unpredictable balls in play may have just done a number on Williams’ numbers, while the expected stats and underlying metrics tell the true story of a still-elite reliever. 

There are statistical deep dives arguing the above point with far greater precision, but for a perhaps more digestible piece of evidence: Williams did put up good traditional numbers for significant stretches of the season. From May 7 through July 13, he pitched to 1.90 ERA in 23.2 IP. From September 7 on, he threw nine scoreless innings in nine appearances. That’s about three months of the season where Williams wasn’t only getting great results, but elite results — the kind he’s become accustomed to over the course of his career.

This spring, Williams gave up a solo home run to Cardinals prospect J.J. Wetherholt on the first pitch he threw: a new cutter that he’s been developing with the Mets’ coaching staff. Since that swing, he’s allowed no runs and two hits in four more spring appearances, striking out six batters and utilizing his signature changeup to record four of those (one in each appearance). It’s a hard thing to truly believe in a bounce-back season, especially after a player puts up negative WAR with an ERA near 5.00, but if there ever was a time to do so it’s now. The predictive stats are there. The not-so-cherry-picked traditional stats are there. The spring stats are there. And perhaps most importantly, Williams is here. The Mets committed to having him in their bullpen for three years — not a carefree expenditure, especially for a reliever — after seeing the numbers he put up last year. That should be a sign to any who trust Stearns’ front office that they firmly believe his 2025 season was an anomaly, and that he’ll be ready to deliver high-quality, high-stakes innings in 2026 and beyond.

So, one final time: Who is Devin Williams? He’s no longer a show-stopping rookie, but he’s not necessarily past his prime. He’s coming off an ugly season, but not a damning one. He’s not Edwin Díaz—nobody is—but he doesn’t have to be. He’s been one of the best relievers in baseball, all signs point to him continuing to be one of the best relievers in baseball, and he’s the Mets’ closer for the next three years. Even if he’ll forever be “the guy who gave up the homer to Alonso,” maybe we haven’t yet seen the most famous Williams changeup in Mets history.

Inspiration.

In the AZ Snake Pit’s pre-season wagers, I risked embarrassment.  Three of my wagers depend on Geraldo Perdomo.  

• OVER Perdomo .275 BA.
• OVER Perdomo 17.5 homers.
• OVER Diamondbacks 80.5 wins. 

But what if Perdomo’s performance regresses from last season’s highs? That could tip the Diamondbacks below 81 wins.  And three of my five wagers would be losers. Let’s look at what will likely happen.

Was his 2025 breakout real?

One stat was so extraordinary, that his breakout was certainly real instead of a technical fluke.  That stat was Wins Above Replacement (WAR). 

Jim McLennan wrote that Geraldo Perdomo Should Have Been the MVP Runner Up.  What impressed me most was the WAR table.  It had three data columns:  bWAR, fWAR, and the average of the two.  All three columns showed Perdomo as the clear runner up to Ohtani. 

Will he regress?

The argument for regression is well articulated in the following quote. “After hitting just 14 home runs in 1,420 plate appearances during his first four seasons in the big leagues, Perdomo’s home run total [20] was the most unexpected part of his elite 2025 campaign. However, his average exit velocity (16th percentile), hard-hit rate (11th percentile) and bat speed (7th percentile) raise some serious questions about the sustainability of his power surge. His defense and on-base ability still give him a 3-WAR floor, but significant regression seems likely.” — Joel Reuter, Feb 2026

My view is that it’s not valid to predict regression by looking at Perdomo’s batting weaknesses, without also looking at Perdomo’s batting strengths that resulted in his “elite 2025 campaign.”  Nevertheless, regression could happen. 

I looked at eight projections for Perdomo homers in 2026.  Each projection had its own PAs and homers.  It’s a big assumption, but assuming the same PAs as last season, and no change in the homers per PA of the projections, then with 720 PAs, the projections ranged from 12.2 to 15.7 homers.  My wager of Perdomo hitting 18 or more homers is equivalent to roughly 15% more homers than the most optimistic projection. However, my wager was based on more than just raw optimism.  Read on!

How can I understand his 2025 breakout in context of his batting weaknesses?

The following graph (courtesy of Baseball Savant) shows his below-average bat speed (68.3) and his above-average squared up per swing (32.3%).  Perdomo is circled in red and a red arrow points to him.

Also, Perdomo was above-average in launch angle sweet spot percentage (36.2%). With his below average bat speed and his below average hard-hit percentage (31.9%), his 20 homers were exactly in the middle of the 145 qualified batters.  That shatters the preconception that high bat speed and a high percentage of hard hits are ‘the only way’ to hit homers.

Another shattered idea was that batters who hit homers were focused on hitting homers.  Geraldo Perdomo said the following about his focus: “I know I had a little bit of pop. I don’t try to hit for homers.  I just try to hit more line drives. If it happens sometimes on accident, I take it. I think it’s going to come with time.” —  Geraldo Perdomo, February 2025

Another important idea is that Perdomo has two types of swings; homer swings and non-homer swings; each with its own swing speed.

“…Perdomo dramatically increased his swing speed on home run swings. Each of the first 2 seasons, we see that the split in swing speed from home run to non-home run was right around 2-2.5 MPH. This season, those splits grew to 4-5 MPH. How rare is that? The league average swing speed split between homers and non-homers in 2025 was 2.8, basically right where Perdomo has been for the last 2 seasons. In 2025, his overall split of 4.3 MPH was 12th-highest out of over 140 qualified hitters in MLB.” — 1AZfan1, February 2026

The graph shows that in 2025, Caleb Durbin was most like Perdomo in bat speed and squared up per swing.  It was Durbin’s rookie season.  Remarkably he earned 2.8 WAR.  Durbin and Perdomo were born exactly 4 months apart.  It will be interesting to compare them at the end of this season.

In 2026, will his breakout continue?

His batting strengths have existed since 2022, when he was a rookie in the Majors.  In December of 2023, my player review included the following table that compared Perdomo to the other Diamondbacks batters.

“Thus the combination of bat control along with a faster swing is producing a marked increase in the quality of contact, making his [Perdomo’s] above average batting line appear much more sustainable than in the past.” —Jack Sommers, April 2025

In 2023 and 2024, one stat (created by 1AZfan1) showed Geraldo Perdomo was top-two in the Majors. That stat is Peskiness; a combination of many pitches per PA, few swings outside the strike zone, and few whiffs. In short, pitchers see him as the most Pesky batter in the Majors. My view is that the most important part of Peskiness is that he gets more pitches per PA, which gives pitchers more chances to make a mistake pitch that allows Perdomo to hit a homer.   

In 2025, what happened?  Is Geraldo Perdomo Still Pesky? Yes, he is still number one!

Three consecutive years as the best in the Majors shows consistency that argues that his breakout will continue.

Perdomo has gone beyond Pesky.  He improved his batting.  Details are in the following quote.

“Perdomo has gotten bigger and stronger. He’s changed his mechanics from both sides of the plate. He’s somehow chasing and whiffing even less than he did last season, and he’s somehow doing so while lifting the ball more, swinging a bit harder, and hitting the ball a bit harder.” — Davy Andrews, September 2025

All things considered, I’m confident his breakout will continue.

Two Very Positive Projections for 2026.

In his Positional Power Ranking for Shortstop, Dan Szymborski ranked the Diamondbacks as number 6.  “He [Perdomo] might even still be underrated; I’m surprised at how little attention was given nationally to his elite performance in 2025.” — Dan Szymborski, March 2026

“It wouldn’t surprise me if … Geraldo Perdomo becomes a top-three shortstop in baseball this year. … Either way, Perdomo’s skill set — more walks than strikeouts, power, speed, glove — puts him in a position to lock up the spot in 2026.“— Jeff Passan,  Mar 13, 2026

Summary.

His 2025 breakout was real.

Perdomo has batting weaknesses that could lead to regression. But it’s not valid to look at his batting weaknesses without also considering his batting strengths that caused his breakout.

Perdomo’s batting strengths include squared up per swing and launch angle sweet spot percentage.

My wager of Perdomo hitting 18 or more homers is equivalent (with 720 PAs) to roughly 15% more homers than the most optimistic projection.

Thoughtful ideas included:

• High bat speed and a high percentage of hard hits are not the only way to hit homers.
• With a focus on hitting line drives, Perdomo hit 20 homers.
• Perdomo has two types of swings; homer swings and non-homer swings; each with its own swing speed.

His breakout will likely continue.

• His batting strengths have existed since 2022, when he was still a rookie in the Majors.
• Bat control and a faster swing increased the sustainability of his breakout.
• For three years, pitchers have found Geraldo Perdomo the most Pesky batter in the Majors because of his many pitches per PA, his few swings outside the strike zone, and his few whiffs.
• Beyond being Pesky, last season Perdomo improved his batting with more strength, better mechanics, more lift of the baseball, swinging a bit faster, and hitting the baseball a bit harder.

Two writers have projected that this season Perdomo will be the third and sixth best shortstop in the Majors.

I’m confident that Perdomo’s performance will exceed .275 BA and 17.5 homers, helping the Diamondbacks win more than 81 games.

The Texas Rangers bid farewell to spring training with a final exhibition matchup against the Kansas City Royals this afternoon in Arlington.

RHP Jack Leiter will take the mound for his final warmup before the games begin for real on Thursday. Meanwhile, KC will counter with RHP Seth Lugo.

You can catch the telecast on CW33, listen to the radio broadcast via 105.3 The Fan, or you can follow along on Gameday. First pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 1:05 pm CT.

Go Rangers!