Worldwide Sports News

Spring Training games start today! Like, real baseball games (that don’t count in the standings)!

In yesterday’s Rumblings, Max posted that Stephen Kolek would start today’s game against the Rangers. Jaylon Thompson wrote an entire story about it for The Star:

“I’m excited for it,” Kolek said. “It’s a great honor to be the first one out for us and (I am) just ready for the opportunity to kind of continue what I was doing last year at the end of the season. I’m excited to get out there and get the team rolling on a good note.”

He also collected Mike Moustakas’s thoughts about the late Terrance Gore:

“It’s sad,” Moustakas said Thursday at the Royals’ spring training camp in Surprise. “You know, losing a member of our family and the Royals family, it’s really sad…”

“As great as a baseball player as he was — you guys saw what he was able to do on the field with all the speed — he was such a better person,” Moustakas said. “Just a great human, a great friend, father and husband.

“And, you know, we miss him a lot. We love him and his family. This organization is so great, we are going to do everything to help (his family) out.”

He also wrote about Jac Caglianone:

“When I went to see him in January, he’s completely open to what he learned from last year and how he wants to make corrections and move forward from last season,” Royals hitting coach Alec Zumwalt said. “And he’s come in here and is in a great spot mentally and physically.”

And, finally, he listed “three things” he was hearing:

This season, the Royals have a few NRIs who can earn a spot. MLB veterans Jose Cuas, Hector Neris and Eli Morgan have an opportunity. Each has experience pitching in the bullpen and could be welcome additions for organizational depth…

The offensive side features Brandon Drury, Abraham Toro, Kevin Newman and Josh Rojas, among others. There is expected to be a competition for the final bench spots, and these players could impress with a strong spring.

One of his other “things” was about Jonathan India, whom Anne Rogers wrote about:

Calling it a “family-involved offseason,” India trained at a local youth park near his house so his wife, daughter and parents could come with him. He trained in the gym with his dad. On the field, he reunited with the coach he trained with in high school, Bruce Charlebois, who runs a baseball school in Florida and is someone India has known since he was 7 years old.

“It was like bringing it back to my roots,” India said.

Looping back around to The Star (and because I don’t want stadium stuff harshing my Spring Training buzz), Michael Collins suggests Truman and Troost for the new Royals stadium. I don’t hate the idea.

A stadium near Truman and Troost would be served by an 18th Street streetcar expansion, linking it to the Riverfront, City Market, the Central Business District, the Crossroads, the West Side, Union Station and Crown Center, Midtown, the Country Club Plaza and 18th and Vine., Kansas City’s major cultural and entertainment districts would be connected by a single transit line, allowing people to move easily between neighborhoods and share in the city’s energy — connectivity we have not seen since the 1950s.

Listicles?

At the Athletic ($), Jim Bowden gives us his “MLB rookies to watch this spring: 20 players poised to make an impact in 2026”:

5. Carter Jensen, C, Kansas City Royals

Scouting grades: Hit: 60 Pwr: 60 Run: 45 Arm: 60 Fld: 50

When last season began, Blake Mitchell was considered the Royals’ top catching prospect. During spring training, however, manager Matt Quatraro kept raving about Jensen, 22, and his ascension as a prospect. That conversation continued throughout the year until Jensen was promoted to the major leagues on Sept. 1. He lived up to Quatraro’s expectations and beyond as he slashed .300/.391/.550 with three homers and 13 RBIs in 60 MLB at-bats, good enough for a 161 OPS+.

Jensen profiles as a middle-of-the-order hitter and his power will benefit from the new, smaller dimensions at Kauffman Stadium this year. The most improved part of his game is his defense and it certainly helps that he has future Hall of Famer Salvador Perez as a mentor as he continues to develop as a big-league catcher.

J.J. Piccolo, Royals GM: “Carter is a gifted hitter who makes great decisions at the plate. Great combination of on-base (skills) and power. He’s also done an incredible job working on his defense and has become a well-rounded defensive player.”

At ESPN, Buster Olney is doing position rankings. Yesterday was 1B:

10. Vinnie Pasquantino, Kansas City Royals

After a string of injuries, Pasquantino stayed on the field in 2025 and finished with 66 extra-base hits, 113 RBIs and a career-high 120 OPS+. He played 126 of his 160 games at first base last season but could have more time at DH in ’26, as the Royals rely more on Carter Jensen behind home plate and Salvador Perez plays more games at first.

Blogs?

At Inside the Crown ($), David Lesky looks at players with a lot to gain in Spring Training:

Daniel Lynch IV

I don’t think Lynch is a lock for the Opening Day roster, and if he goes to AAA, he may never see the big leagues again. That’s probably hyperbolic because lefties get chance after chance after chance after chance af…fine, I’ll stop. But this is the first camp that Lynch isn’t doing any starting in. Once a starter gets moved to the bullpen because he’s not good enough to start, there isn’t really anywhere to go if he’s not good enough to relieve either. Last season, he put up a great ERA. The underlying numbers, though, were anything but great. He struck out just 15.6 percent of hitters while walking 9.0 percent. He gave up a hit per inning.

He looked nothing like the pitcher he was down the stretch in 2024 when he was starting to look like a legitimate weapon. He has an edge over a lot of guys because the only other lefty in the bullpen who isn’t guaranteed a spot is Bailey Falter. The non-roster lefties are Chazz Martinez, Frank Mozzicato, Hector Olivares and Hunter Patteson. Knowing the Royals would like multiple lefties in their bullpen, Lynch has a huge edge, but if he looks as hittable as he did last season, he might not lose his job for Opening Day, but he’s going to be on thin ice. And, truly, if he’s on thin ice now, his career will start looking like a lot of non-roster spring training invites.

Over at his new Into the Fountain digs (update your URL), Craig Brown asks “Did the Royals do enough this winter to contend in the AL Central?”

So from this list, I’m left to wonder how the Royals missed out on Harrison Bader? When the offseason started, I didn’t rate Bader as a good free agent bet. The industry consensus projected something like a two year contract at close to $30 million. I just kind of saw that as an overpay if that was the deal he was truly able to sign. He inked with the San Francisco Giants for two years at $20.5 million. That seems more than fair. Again, I did not see Yaz getting a bigger contract than Bader.

We can mark it down as a miss, but it’s not a huge whiff. The larger point is, there just weren’t many good options that fit the Royals needs on the free agent market. We see where the Royals spent the majority of their money: signing Lane Thomas. Maybe he will have that bounce-back season and impress.

Despite the less than appealing optics on how much they spent in the free agent market, their roster and the players available always made a Royals-sized splash something of a long shot. Doesn’t make it any less disappointing, though.

At Royals Keep, Kevin O’Brien picks out one pitch from three different pitchers to watch in Spring Training:

Bergert threw six pitches and produced an overall TJ Stuff+ of 105, which is impressive. He also sported five pitches with grades of 52 or higher and a 51.7% zone rate overall. Unfortunately, his chase rate was 25.1%, his whiff rate was 23.9%, and his xwOBACON was .373. Those are all mediocre marks, to put it nicely, and Bergert should produce better results with that kind of TJ Stuff+ profile. 

One thing Bergert seems to be working on this spring to help him overcome this issue is adding a new breaking ball. 

Blog Roundup:

• Philip Ruo at Royals Keep: Who Will Lead Off for the Royals in 2026?
• Caleb Moody at KOK: Royals’ duo of rotation contenders can build their cases in first Cactus League games
• Andrew Banks at KOK: Predicting the Royals’ best Opening Day bullpen ahead of spring training

Since we’re about to start a new season, let’s continue on with our nuts and bolts from last week. This week, I’m going to look at the state of Royals media. Back in 2023, when I changed over my OT format from video games to… everything, one of my first topics was “How to Write a Rumblings”. As mentioned:

I have an incomplete, unpublished story called “Future Royals Rumblings Notes” which is a giant scratch pad of story ideas and lists of content I’ve already used (to avoid duplicates)… I organize my Rumblings into 5 main sections: “Official Royals news”, “Royals blogs”, “MLB news”, “Off Topic”, and “Song of the Day”. I often combine a couple, especially in the slow offseason.

Let’s check in on those sources and see how they’ve changed.

BIG REQUEST: If you know of any Royals site that I’m missing, please post them in the comments!

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For the first section, here’s what I consider “official” sources. Some writers have come and gone but the sites are all still there. Bluesky has also added another avenue for social media.

KCRoyals.comhttps://www.mlb.com/royals – And associated Twitter/BlueSky accounts like the Royals official account (https://twitter.com/Royals ; https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:3rkgpi6qhb4p6ne4jk2kspzw), Royals Player Development account (https://twitter.com/KCRoyalsPD; https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:x6tn4x7vcrgtxmzzuxjzj4lz), Royals PR account (https://twitter.com/royals_pr), beat writer Anne Rogers (https://twitter.com/anne__rogers ; https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:i4yq27mpdcvjy7brupe3kaee), broadcaster Joel Goldberg (https://x.com/goldbergkc), and communications VP Sam Mellinger (https://twitter.com/mellinger/).

KCStarhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals – The local newspaper of record needs no introduction. Its writers can be found on social media. Since this list was last created, Lynn Worthy went on to St. Louis and Jaylon Thompson has taken over at the primary Royals beat writer (https://twitter.com/jaylonthompson). Other writers at The Star who cover the Royals include Pete Grathoff (https://twitter.com/pgrathoff) and Blair Kerkhoff (https://twitter.com/BlairKerkhoff).

The Athletichttps://theathletic.com/royals/ – They don’t have a “beat writer” for the Royals after Alec Lewis moved to cover the Minnesota Vikings a couple of year ago. I have a number of former Royals writers who also occasionally write for this or similar outlets. I think these names are all recognizable to longtime Royals fans: Joe Posnanski (https://x.com/JPosnanski ; https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:3fip3tf6aqianjsuq7qqdwop), Rany Jazayerli (https://x.com/jazayerli ; https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:yckd7jrcohsawasws2zdqilf), and Rustin Dodd (https://www.twitter.com/rustindodd)

Royals MLBTRhttps://www.mlbtraderumors.com/kansas-city-royals – Not “official”, per se, but if any little transactions fall through the cracks, the Royals page for MLB Trade Rumors might have them

Google Newshttps://news.google.com/search?q=kansas%20city%20royals – Finally, for anything I might have missed earlier, this is a bit of a catch all. It’s a random aggregator and sometimes has stuff days or weeks old. It’s also a good place to pick up oddball stories from non-standard outlets.

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Next up is my first checks for the “MLB” section. I have links to major sports outlets as well as their Royals-specific pages to try and grab even more stories to share.

MLB.com

Fangraphshttp://www.fangraphs.com/http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/category/royals/

ESPNhttp://www.espn.com/mlb/team/_/name/kc/kansas-city-royalshttp://www.espn.com/mlb/

CBS Sportshttps://www.cbssports.com/mlb/
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/teams/page/KC/kansas-city-royals

Yahoo Sportshttps://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/
https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/kan/

Associated Presshttps://apnews.com/hub/mlb (Their Royals-specific site is gone, but their MLB hub remains)

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Blogs have had the most turnover.

Reddit (not really a blog, but you know what Reddit is) https://www.reddit.com/r/KCRoyals/

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Inside the Crown (David Lesky) The first of two OGs. Many of David’s stuff is behind a paywall, but he still has free posts. (https://insidethecrown.substack.com) (Twit: https://twitter.com/DBLesky)

Into the Fountains (Craig Brown) In the last couple of months, Craig moved from Substack to Ghost. https://intothefountains.ghost.io/ (old site: https://intothefountains.substack.com/) (https://bsky.app/profile/craigbrownkc.bsky.social)

Royals Keephttps://royalskeep.com/ Kevin O’Brien continues to write at the #3 Royals blog after he moved here from Royals Reporter (https://royalsreporter.com/); social media: (https://bsky.app/profile/royalskeep.com, https://x.com/royalskeep)

Kings of Kauffmanhttps://kingsofkauffman.com/ Maybe I was too hasty. We’re lumping the venerable Fansided KOK in with Royals Keep at #3. Keep has longer posts, KOK has more plentiful posts. Both are frequently cited in this space like today.

UL’s Toothpickhttps://ulstoothpick.substack.com/ Darin Watson (https://twitter.com/Darin_Watson) is doing something wholly unique. His site is fairly old. But what he’s been doing the last few seasons is a “This Date in Royals History”. Last year, he was looking back at 1985. So, on July 6th, his entry would be about what the Royals were doing on July 6th, 1985.

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In the last couple of years, we’ve lost a couple of major Royals minor league sites. Pour one out for these two.

Royals Farm Report: hxxps://royalsfarmreport.com/ (Alex Duvall’s farewell)

Farm to Fountains: hxxps://farmtofountains.com/ (Preston Farr’s note about the site)

EightOneSixhttps://royalsminors.substack.com/p/roster-preview-10-royals-sign-john Looks like Preston has a new gig that I just learned about today (https://x.com/royalsminors)

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Below are sites that post infrequently but you never know who will wake up for a new baseball season

Royals Data Dugouthttps://royalsdatadugout.substack.com/

Diamond Chronicleshttps://diamondchronicles.substack.com/

Powder Blue Nostalgiahttps://powderbluenostalgia.substack.com/

Kansas City Royals on SI (formerly Inside the Royals, now mostly a junk news aggregator) https://www.si.com/mlb/royals/

Fansided KC Kingdomhttps://kckingdom.com/kansas-city-royals/

Swinging Buntshttps://swingingbunts.substack.com/

Bleeding Royal Bluehttps://bleedingroyalblue.com/

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And there’s my full list of links. Again, if you know of any others, please post them in the comments. I’m happy to link to Royals sites, particularly blogs that could use the extra hits.

If you’ve been reading me for a while, you know what clip is coming today:

Good morning baseball fans!

As we approach the beginning of the season, we’re going to be doing some questions for y’all about your thoughts about the San Francisco Giants and baseball in general!

Today’s question: If you could change one moment in franchise history, what would it be?

My brain instantly thinks of the 2002 World Series, but as painful as that was, it made 2010 that much more special.

So I’m going to go ahead and pretend like I can use this power to magically cure baseball players of what is ailing them, and poof! The Giants get 10 more years of quality Tim Lincecum starts.

I don’t care if that doesn’t change the trajectory of those seasons, I don’t have the brainpower to manage the monkey paw on that one. But I do think I’d trade one of the World Series championships of the 2010s to have gotten to see Lincecum at his prime pitching for the Giants for another decade.

If you could change one moment in franchise history, what would it be?

The loss of franchise cornerstone Kirby Puckett was an enormous setback to start the 1996 Minnesota Twins season. But the show must go on, as they say, and whether narrated through Dick-n-Bert on MSC or Herb-n-John over the air, the ‘96 Twins were off and running.

Offense (97 team OPS+)

The three guys Puckett was supposed to pair perfectly with all performed admirably…

• Chuck Knoblauch: 197 H, 140 R, 35 2B, 14 3B, 45 SB, .341 BA, 143 OPS+
• Paul Molitor: 225 H, 99 R, 41 2B, 8 3B, 113 RBI, 18 SB, .341 BA, 116 OPS+
• Marty Cordova: 176 H, 97 R, 46 2B, 111 RBI, .309 BA, 112 OPS+

Alas, six others batsmen had to come to the plate each game, accounting for the below-average 97 team OPS+.

Pitching (97 team ERA+)

The “Rick Aguilera as a starter” disaster and sub-90 ERA+ campaigns from the likes of Greg Hansell, Eddie Guardado, Jose Parra, & Pat Mahomes Sr gave this team a reputation of being pitching-poor.

But the likes of Brad Radke (114 ERA+), Frankie Rodriguez (101 ERA+), Rich Robertson (100 ERA+), and Scott Aldred (100 ERA+) all held their own in the rotation while Mike Trombley (170 ERA+) & Dan Naulty (110 ERA+) were solid firemen.

Other ‘96 highlights included…

• Molitor’s 3,000th hit—a triple, no less!

• Beating the Detroit Tigers 24-11
• Collecting 8 doubles in a single contest
• Sending Knobby to the All-Star game in Philadelphia
• Trading Dave Hollins to Seattle for a Player To Be Named Later—who turned out to be David Ortiz
• Drafting Jacque Jones & Chad Allen
• Chip Hale’s remarkable 19 pinch hits!

Without the legendary Kirby panache to draw paying customers, attendance sagged to 17,745/game—11th of 14 in the American League. Well, until Kirby Puckett Tribute Night, which predictably packed the house…

All told, the ‘96 Twins played exactly like a team without their leader, finishing a listless 78-84. They avoided the AL Central cellar, but were still a whopping 21.5 GB crown-wearing Cleveland. The team was below-average in the first half (41-45) and below-average in the second half (37-39). They were below-average at home (39-43) and below-average on the road (39-41). Remarkable consistency for such a middling squad.

Baseball players are famously superstitious. In Charlie Blackmon’s case, he confessed to being a “little stitiious,” while mic’ed up during the 2018 All-Star Game. 

More than banking on luck, Blackmon was notorious for his dedication to his routine. Gabe Bauer, the Rockies director of physical performance, shared a prime example of Blackmon’s meticulousness during Rockies Fest in January.

“He’d show up early, he’d go through all the prep work, he was a very routine-oriented person. Down at the minute,” Bauer said.

“[T]here’s one story in spring training, one of the affiliate strength and conditioning coaches was around Charlie. Charlie went up to this person and asked him what time is game time, because spring training is usually, like, 1:05 or 1:10, right? The strength coach said 1:05. The game was actually at 1:10. Charlie never spoke to that strength coach again. So, I mean, that’s how detail-oriented Charlie is.”

Bauer said that Blackmon was so strict about his routine, which included post-game workouts that could go deep into the night, that he wouldn’t even skip it after the final game of his 14-year career in 2024.

Blackmon’s disciplined regimens, from habits developed in spring training to pre- and post-game workouts, have undoubtedly left an impact on Rockies players and staff, including director of baseball operations Amir Mamdani. Mamdani joined the Rockies in 2021 as an analyst in the baseball ops department before being promoted three times, including assuming his current role in November. 

Part of his job is learning what kind of information and what format different players prefer for their data. Mamdani said Blackmon preferred lots of video analysis, especially of opposing starters, as opposed to other players who may like analytics-heavy reports. Whatever the style, getting the information has to be part of that routine, and Mamdani believes Blackmon’s routine played a significant role in his career’s longevity.

“Like Charlie Blackman, who many of us were lucky to kind of observe, had one way of preparing, and that was how he got every ounce of juice out of his major league career,” Mamdani said.

For most players, their routines are year-round efforts. Bauer has noticed a difference in recent years because players are coming into spring training in good shape and ready to go. 

“I feel like, nowadays, guys do a really good job of preparing themselves coming into spring training,” Bauer said.

“A lot of them have their own trainers that they work with at home. Some of them go off with a program that we give them, but there’s always that constant checking with them, and making sure that they’re getting their stuff done, getting their work in.”

Mickey Moniak, who the Rockies signed on March 27 before the best season of his career in 2025, is now experiencing his first spring training with the Rockies.

The first overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, Monaik took advantage of his playing time in 2025 and said he feels even more prepared for his seventh MLB season. 

“For me, personally, I feel like I’ve gotten into a good routine in the offseason,” Moniak said at Rockies Fest. “You know, you’re trying to get stronger, you’re trying to get faster. But most of all, you want to go to spring training healthy and in a good spot.” 

Another Rockies newcomer, RHP Michael Lorenzen — who inked a one-year deal in mid-January — credits developing a routine early in his career to his longevity on the mound. Entering his 12th season, Lorenzen said he didn’t need a lot of the elements of his routine in his early years at the time, but that he knew it would pay off in the long run. 

“A daily routine is a must-have,” he said at Rockies Fest.

“I feel like for [my new teammates], as we start working together, they could show up to the field and they’re gonna know exactly where on the field they can find me at this time because I’m living in my routine all the time.

“I feel like everyone having a consistent routine where their body feels consistently the same before they pick up the baseball every single time,” Lorenzen continued. “It’s just the discipline of having that allows you to… as you throw harder, as you get older, you kind of match the experience with your stuff, and then that’s where you’re gonna hit your peak. That’s where, in this game, you get to do some fun things.”

When it comes to preparation and strict routines, it certainly looks like Lorenzen is the new Blackmon in the Rockies clubhouse.

Over the next five weeks in Arizona, the Rockies will develop or continue their routines to build the foundation for the grueling 162-game baseball season. This work will help dictate how their minds and bodies can hold up over the long grind as the Rockies look to improve in 2026.

Rockies’ T.J. Rumfield, out of Triple-A limbo with Yankees, takes his shot at wide-open first base job | Denver Post ($)

Patrick Saunders checks in with the newest player in the competition for first base this spring training in T.J. Rumfield, the prospect the Rockies acquired in the trade for Angel Chivilli in January. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound lefty will be trying to earn time at first with Troy Johnson, Blaine Crim and Julien Edouard, along with prospect Charlie Condon, in a battle that manager Warren Schaeffer labeled as “completely wide open.”

Forbes attacking cancer with ‘first-pitch breaking balls’ | MLB.com

Chris Forbes, the senior player development director for the Rockies, has become a pro at fending off cancer. Thomas Harding chronicles Forbes’ treatments and outlook on fighting the disease. Forbes has been through it, and this is a great look into his amazing attitude about all of it.

Lorenzen looks to conquer Coors Field, build winning culture with the Rockies | Denver 7

New starter Michael Lorenzen talks about embracing the challenge of pitching at Coors Field, being willing to try new things and not being afraid to fail.

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Happy Friday, everyone! Well, we survived the week. Let’s give ourselves a collective pat on the back. To celebrate, we can get excited over the fact that baseball games return today. Sure, it’s Spring Training and you can tell me all day these games don’t count, but this is the first baseball we’ve seen since October, so I’ll take what I can get, even if it is a game against the White Sox.

We’ve got news below updating the Tony Clark situation with the MLBPA, and introducing his interim replacement. We look at some up-and-coming prospects, and also spotlight when some current stars might be hanging up their cleats for good.

Plent to look forward to, plus baseball, so let’s just get right into it.

• Patrick Andres reports on the MLBPA’s interim executive director, Bruce Meyer.
• Meyer is apparently “passionate” about protecting player rights, shares Jesse Rogers.
• Stephanie Apstein digs into the scandal behind Tony Clark’s exit and what it means for the MLBPA.
• Ben Clemens and Sean Dolinar introduce us to FanGraphs Labs, sure to delight baseball data nerds everywhere.
• Bryan Hoch looks at Jazz Chisholm Jr and his quest to join the 50/50 club.
• Sonja Chen reports that Freddie Freeman would like to play until he’s 40 and retire with the Dodgers.
• Do these odds feel right?

• Evidently, Mountain Dew Baja Blast is the official soft drink of Major League Baseball.
• Davy Andrews asks an important Olympics question: which baseball players would make the best ice dancers?
• Anthony Castrovince wonders if we are selling Paul Skenes short with the “ace” label.
• Madison Williams reports that ESPN will replace Sunday Night Baseball with a full slate of women’s sports coverage.
• Buster Olney ranks the best first basemen in baseball.
• Jim Bowden looks at the rookies to keep an eye on in Spring Training. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• The Tigers have unveiled new home and road alternates and they’re pretty swanky.

• Davy Andrews has some fun with meaningless splits.
• The Brewers and Pat Murphy are in agreement on a new 3-year deal. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Is the AL East the most stacked division in baseball? (MLB)
• Stephen J. Nesbitt shares how Team America finally managed to convince the best pitchers in the game to participate. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• We love a WBC hype video.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.

The Atlanta Braves got a taste of the future of umpiring this week, testing Major League Baseball’s new Automated Ball Strike Challenge System during Spring Training in North Port. The system gives teams two opportunities per game to challenge a called ball or strike and forced Braves players and coaches to begin adjusting to what feels like a new strike zone. 

MLB plans to implement the challenge system league wide in 2026, making this spring an important trial run. While the technology has been tested in the minor leagues, its arrival in big league games will add a new layer of strategy and decision making that could subtly shift the rhythm of every matchup.

More Braves News:

A healthy Austin Riley might be the key for Atlanta’s offense this year, and here’s why. 

Gabe Burns of the AJC discussed how prospect JR Ritchie can help the 2026 Braves.

MLB News:

Bob Melvin is returning to the A’s, this time as a special assistant to the baseball operations department. 

Back in January, arbitration-eligible players and teams who did not come to an agreement on a salary for the 2026 season at the deadline had to file for the salary they thought the player deserved. This year, 18 players exchanged figures with their clubs to head to arbitration. The Brewers had just one player among that 18, the same one they couldn’t agree with at the deadline last year, William Contreras.

Now that we’re into spring training, the hearings are all done and the verdicts delivered. Some of the 18 players were able to settle with their teams before going into a hearing, however.

The Brewers and William Contreras were one such example of that. Contreras filed for a $9.9 million salary while the Brewers filed at $8.55 million, but ultimately, just before heading into a hearing, the two settled on a $9.4 million salary with a club option for $14.5 million in 2027, Contreras’ last year of team control. That $9.4 million salary figure is a new record for a second-year arb-eligible catcher.

Here’s a quick rundown on the rest of the players who filed for salary figures after that January deadline:

• Reid Detmers (filed at $2.925 million, Angels at $2.625 million) – Angels won hearing
• Yainer Díaz (filed at $4.5 million, Astros at $3 million) – Díaz won hearing
• Isaac Paredes (filed at $9.95 million, Astros at $8.75 million) – Agreed to $9.35 million contract with club option for 2027 at $13.35 million
• Eric Lauer (filed at $5.75 million, Blue Jays at $4.4 million) – Blue Jays won hearing
• Dylan Lee (filed at $2.2 million, Braves at $2 million) – Lee won hearing
• Bryce Miller (filed at $2.625 million, Mariners at $2.25 million) – Agreed to a $2.4375 million contract with club option for 2027 at $6.075 million
• Calvin Faucher (filed at $2.05 million, Marlins at $1.8 million) – Marlins won hearing
• Cade Cavalli (filed at $900,000, Nationals at $825,000) – Agreed to a $870,000 contract with a club option for 2027 at $4 million
• Kyle Bradish (filed at $3.55 million, Orioles at $2.875 million) – Bradish won hearing
• Keegan Akin (filed at $3.375 million, Orioles at $2.975 million) – Orioles won hearing
• Edwin Uceta (filed at $1.525 million, Rays at $1.2 million) – Uceta won hearing
• Graham Ashcraft (filed at $1.75 million, Reds at $1.25 million) – Ashcraft won hearing
• Tyler Stephenson (filed at $6.8 million, Reds at$6.55 million) – Stephenson won hearing
• Vinnie Pasquantino (filed at $4.5 million, Royals at $4 million) – Agreed to a two-year, $11.1 million contract that pays $4.2 million in 2026
• Kris Bubic (filed at $6.15 million, Royals at $5.15 million) – Bubic won hearing
• Tarik Skubal (filed at $32 million, Tigers at $19 million) – Skubal won hearing
• Joe Ryan (filed at $6.35 million, Twins at $5.85 million) – Agreed to $6.1 million contract with club option for 2027 at $13 million

Overall, 12 of the 18 players ended up going to hearings, with the players going 8-4 in those hearings. Six players, including William Contreras, were able to settle with the club prior to heading into the hearing. It was a good year for the players in 2026.

Dermis García. Wilkerman García. Raimfer Salinas. Antonio Cabello. Alexander Vargas. Oswald Peraza. Hans Montero. Hoy Park. Have you heard of them recently? Do you remember them?

A few of of them reached the majors, yes, or had moderate success in the minors in 2025, but in all fairness, their careers haven’t developed the way they wanted. Some fans might even include Brando Mayea and Roderick Arias in that group, but they still have a chance to have an MLB career. It’s important to note, however, that the former hasn’t made it out of the Complex League, and the latter had an 88 wRC+ in 465 plate appearances in Low-A last year — his second in a row there.

Those are some of the highest-profile international free agency busts in recent memory, with some of them collecting bonuses as high as $4 million. The Yankees’ system, however, was also damaged by the signings that didn’t take place, or the ones they lost through the years: it seems that, except for Jasson Domínguez, they haven’t had an amateur free agent making a real impact since maybe Luis Severino, and he was signed in 2011. One could certainly pick nits at Domínguez’s level of impact as well.

It’s hard to point the finger at the players in this group: they were 16 or 17 at the time of signing their contracts, getting hefty bonuses that changed their lives for better or for worse. They often fell victim to huge and unfair expectations for prospects of that age. In the end, their failure to establish themselves as major leaguers was hardly their fault. Of course, maybe one or two of that group could have achieved more and didn’t have the fortitude to make it happen. That’s baseball, Suzyn. However, the Yankees’ employees making the decisions and paying the bonuses on the team might have misjudged their talent and failed to give them the tools to succeed.

Those misses likely led to the organization parting ways with Donny Rowland, their director of international scouting since 2010. To replace him, the Yanks recently appointed Mario Garza, whose experience didn’t come in scouting per se, but instead, in player development and coaching.

Garza hopes to leverage that knowledge and experience into a solid job in his new position. He speaks Spanish and, per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, learned how to build lasting relationships with Latin American players. The Yankees have a lot of ground to make up on the race to dominate the Latin American market, but they feel Garza’s ability to communicate and generate trust can result in more quality signings.

Garza is also willing to lean on smart, prepared people to reclaim their place as a preferred landing spot for Asian players. The West Coast teams—mainly the Dodgers—have nabbed most of the elite Japanese and Korean talent in the last few years, including some players the Yankees pursued, such as 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Reports that the Yankees added Matt Slater and Nao Masamoto to the mix are extremely positive. The former, who worked 18 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, is “very connected in Asia,” as Garza told Kuty. The latter became a key cog in the Cubs’ ability to recruit Asian players in recent seasons. Yu Darvish, Seiya Suzuki, and Shota Imanaga are some examples.

To make a long story short, the Yankees needed to implement some changes to their international scouting and player acquisition practices. And the moment they decided to take that step, everybody knew it was going to hurt for some time. Indeed, Rowland’s preexisting agreements with the latest IFA prospects, like Wandy Asigen, became unfortunate casualties.

It’s important to be patient, though, because changes of this magnitude often take time. We are talking about overhauling an entire system, modifying the way dozens of people work, and how they approach the young players, coaches, instructors, agents, and even their own scouts.

Right now, the Yankees are just starting to implement these changes, so expecting them to land top-notch talents immediately is not realistic. They did well to reach a pre-agreement with top international catcher Sebastián Pérez a few days ago, but they will have to actually get his signature on January 15, 2027, and it’s no longer just a formality with them. It has to happen before everyone can pop the champagne, with Pérez and other potential recruits for next year.

It’s also pertinent to point out that we are in the final year of the current collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLBPA. A contentious labor fight is on the horizon, and for all we know, the current controversial signing system could change (a draft was floated last time around). Nonetheless, the Yankees—and every MLB team—will still need quality scouting of Latin American and Asian talent anyway.

Changes needed to be made, and they finally happened. Now, patience is required.

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

I’ve got good news and bad news for you, Orioles fans. The good news is that baseball is happening today! The O’s will play the Yankees in their Grapefruit League opener in Sarasota at 1:05. The game will be broadcast on MASN and WBAL radio as the Orioles return to the field after nearly five long months.

The bad news is Jordan Westburg’s murky injury status, which is hanging like a dark cloud over the early days of camp. As reported by The Baltimore Banner, Westburg — who was already sidelined by a sore oblique — had imaging done on his elbow, which indicates the possibility of a much more serious injury. The O’s haven’t announced a diagnosis for Westburg, but in general, when a player has pain in his elbow such that it requires imaging, it’s hard not to assume the worst-case scenario. The initials T.J. jump to mind, and I don’t mean Thomas Jefferson.

Again, nothing is official yet. Maybe we’ll be pleasantly surprised and the imaging won’t reveal any serious damage to Westburg’s elbow. Even if that’s the case, though, he’s still got the oblique injury that will cost him some time, and he almost certainly won’t be ready for Opening Day, further weakening an O’s infield that will already have Jackson Holliday sidelined for a few weeks.

Newly acquired utility guy Blaze Alexander can’t fill both positions at once, which means the Orioles are either going to have to give Coby Mayo another shot at playing third base — something he’s struggled with throughout his minor and major league career — or they’ll need to make an emergency trade or free agent signing. I’ll note that former O’s Gold Glove third baseman Ramón Urías is available, having been non-tendered by the Astros in November, but there’s been no indication so far that the O’s are interested in a reunion.

The Orioles’ season isn’t over just because of Westburg’s injury, nor Holliday’s. There’s a full slate of spring training baseball and then 162 regular season games ahead of us. Still, after the 2025 Orioles were so badly ravaged by health problems that tanked their season, the fact that 2026 is starting with injuries to two key players is turning the spring vibes a little bit sour.

Links

Taking another look at possible position players, German impressed Alonso in live batting practice – School of Roch

I was racking my brain trying to think of what player the O’s had signed from Germany before I realized the headline was referring to Nestor German. I need more sleep.

Rogers will start Orioles’ Grapefruit League opener – BaltimoreBaseball.com

Don’t necessarily take this as a sign that Rogers will be starting on Opening Day for the Orioles. Case in point: the Yankees’ starting pitcher in this spring opener is Elmer Rodriguez.

Three reasons why – Kyle Bradish is vital for the 2026 Orioles – Steve Melewski

These all boil down to: Kyle Bradish is really good.

Jon Meoli: How did Jean Carlos Henriquez end up in Orioles camp after a decade out of baseball? His ‘brazo de goma’ – The Baltimore Banner

I had never heard of this particular non-roster invitee before Meoli’s article, but now I’m pulling for Henriquez all the way. What a baseball journey he’s been on.

Nelly, Vanilla Ice to perform at Camden Yards in Orioles’ concert series – The Baltimore Sun

Phew! What a lucky break that Vanilla Ice was available.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! The two former Orioles with Feb. 20 birthdays are outfielder Julio Borbón (40) and the late right-hander Jim Wilson (b. 1922, d. 1986), an All-Star with the 1955-56 Birds.

On this day in 1990, the Orioles signed former Red Sox designated hitter Sam Horn. While Horn went on to put up decent numbers in three years in Baltimore, hitting 42 homers and posting a .797 OPS, he infamously struck out six times in one game on July 17, 1991, forever prompting a six-K game to be known as a “Horn.”

And on this day in 2017, the O’s signed free agent Craig Gentry. The veteran outfielder played 145 games in two seasons with the Birds, providing some defense but little in the way of offense, before calling it a career. The Orioles sure had some pointless signings near the end of the Dan Duquette era.

The end of the College of Coaches and other feel-good stories.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths.

“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire.

Today in baseball history:

• 1920 – The Chicago Cubs give an unconditional release to Lee Magee after having learned from him a week ago that he has been betting against his team. Magee will sue the Cubs for his salary of $4,500, charging that his livelihood as a ballplayer was destroyed through the sudden canceling of his contract. The Cubs will ask for a dismissal of the suit, saying that “previous to the making of the contract the plaintiff was guilty of betting against the team of which he was a member, and sought to win bets by intentional bad playing to defeat said team.” (2)
• 1929 – The Boston Red Sox announce they will play Sunday games (allowed for the first time in Boston) at Braves Field, because Fenway Park is located too close to a church. (1,2)
• 1943 – Chicago Cubs owner Philip Wrigley and Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey draw up charter for the “All-American Girls Softball League”, which will eventually become the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The league, originally conceived in the belief that the major leagues would suspend play because of World War II, will operate from 1943 to 1954 around the Chicago area. When the league changes its name and switches to hardball, the pitching distance is 40 feet and bases 68 feet apart. After struggling through poor attendance in its early seasons, the league will draw over one million fans in 1948. (1,2)
• 1953 – August A. Busch buys the St. Louis Cardinals from Fred Saigh for $3.75 million and pledges not to move the team from St. Louis, Missouri. (1,2)
• 1953 – The U.S. Court of Appeals rules that organized baseball is a sport and not a business, affirming the 25-year-old Supreme Court ruling. This effectively dismisses the antitrust suits of Jack Corbett and former Brooklyn Dodgers minor leaguer Walter Kowalski. The $300,000 suit of Corbett, the owner of the El Paso Texans, is based on his belief that he lost money when Major League Baseball prohibited him from signing several players suspended for participation in the Mexican League. Kowalski’s $150,000 suit is based on the general principles of the antitrust and restraint-of-trade laws. Their lawyer in these cases is Frederic Johnson, who also represents player Danny Gardella in his suit against Major League Baseball. (2)
• 1963 – The Chicago Cubs put an end to their radical “College of Coaches” system and hire Bob Kennedy* as manager. Under Kennedy, the Cubs will sport a respectable record of 82-80. (2)
• 1992 – The episode of the animated series The Simpsons entitled “Homer at the Bat” gets its first broadcast on FOX. In the episode, Springfield Nuclear Plant owner C. Montgomery Burns hires a team of major league ringers in order to win a bet he placed on a softball game against a rival businessman. In the end, though, it’s the hapless Homer Simpson who saves the day with a walk-off hit-by-pitch. A number of contemporary major league stars, many of them future Hall of Famers lend their voices and likeness to the show, which is considered one of the classic episodes of the series. (2)

• 2015 – Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announces a series of measures to quicken the pace of the game. Chief among them are that a batter will need to keep at least one foot in the batter’s box at all times during an at-bat, and that the intermission between half innings will be strictly timed. Pitchers will be required to complete their warm-up pitches before there are only 30 seconds left before resumption of play, or risk forfeiting any unmade pitches. More dramatic changes, such as adding a pitch clock, are not introduced at this time. Violation of the new guidelines will result in fines, and not in game-related penalties. (2)
• 2025 – The first day of spring training games also marks the introduction of the ball and strike challenge system at the major league level, although there are no plans to use it in regular season games this year. There is a scary moment in the Cactus League game between the Dodgers and the Cubs as Dodgers P Bobby Miller is hit on the side of the head by a hard line drive off the bat of Michael Busch. Miller has to exit the game and is placed in the concussion protocol, but it seems that he has escaped serious injury.

Cubs Birthdays:Frankie Gustine, Jesus Figueroa, Ryan Sweeney, Julio Borbon, Spencer Patton. Also notable: Sam Rice HOF.

Today in history:

• 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a dowry payment.
• 1792 – US postal service created, postage 6-12 cents depending on distance.
• 1933 – US House of Representatives completes congressional action to repeal Prohibition.
• 1942 – Lt E.H. “Butch” O’Hare single-handedly shoots down five Japanese heavy bombers, becomes America’s first World War II flying ace.
• 1952 – Emmett Ashford is certified to be first black umpire in organized baseball; has to wait until 1966 for MLB debut.
• 1959 – Jimi Hendrix (age 16), rock and roll guitarist, plays his first gig in the Temple De Hirsch synagogue basement, Seattle; fired from the band after the first set due to “wild” playing.
• 1962 – John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, aboard Friendship 7.

Common sources:

• (1) — Today in Baseball History.
• (2) — Baseball Reference.
• (3) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (4) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
• (5) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
• (6) — Wikipedia.
• (7) — The British Museum
• (8) — For world history.

*pictured.

Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, in order to help correct the record.

Welcome to the last Friday without Phillies baseball for a while. Well, that’s not strictly true: there’ll be a Friday off after the home opener. But you know what I mean.

Onto the links.

Phillies news:

For those of us lucky enough to go to Clearwater, the Phillies announced the fan amenities you can expect at BayCare Ballpark.

The Phillies’ new-look bullpen is off to a good start.

For a while, J.T. Realmuto thought his 2026 would see him wearing different colors.

MLB news

Jazz Chisholm isn’t content with just having the coolest name in baseball: he also wants to join Shohei Ohtani in the 50-50 Club.

Uniform nerds, rejoice (to be clear, I count myself among your ranks): the Tigers have unveiled a pair of alternate uniforms.

Davy Andrews of FanGraphs has an unusual, but highly timely question: which ballplayers would be good at ice dancing? ($)