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There’s one pitch that sums up Eduard Bazardo’s 2025 season. I don’t need to beat around the bush, we all know it. Let’s just roll the clip and get it over with:

Bleh. Thank goodness that’s over with, no more MLB Network re-runs needed.

On July 12th, in the bottom of the 8th inning, against the then-AL-best Detroit Tigers, the Mariners felt antsy, even with their 11-5 lead. They’d won the night before in a 12-3 romp, sending reigning and future Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal running with four earned runs in five frames, albeit just a 4-3 lead headed into the sixth inning. In that July 11th game, Seattle turned to Bazardo, who deftly glided through two shutout, hitless frames, watching the M’s swell their lead by a trickle, then later a flood after he’d retired to the dugout for good.

Not expected to be a mainstay, active injuries to Gregory Santos, Collin Snider, and Bryce Miller, as well as the early absences of other rotation and bullpen options had forced Bazardo to the fore. There he’d shone, and would continue to all season long, running a 2.52 ERA somewhat belied by his 3.64/4.12 FIP/DRA, but hey, that’s a strong 4th reliever or a dynamite 5th one. But for Bazardo to get that opportunity, he had to pitch a lot. Unheralded as a trade acquisition from the Baltimore Orioles back in 2023, and originally signed for just $8,000 out of Venezuela by the Red Sox in 2021, his ascension from mop-up to to leverage arm was well-chronicled by Kate just before this pre-All-Star break series in Detroit.

But Bazardo never fully was solidified in any one particular role, even as necessity and his performance merited heightening responsibility. While Santos, Snider, Troy Taylor, Jackson Kowar, Casey Legumina, Trent Thornton, Carlos Vargas, and others struggled, Bazardo maintained his composure. In so doing, he was used heavily. Bazardo had the 8th-highest innings total on zero days rest in MLB, with 18.1 frames in 18 games of back-to-backs. All but two of the names ahead of him were their club’s closer, and Bazardo is the only one in the top-16 to have thrown more innings than games he appeared in on no rest. Those two were RHP Tony Santillan of the Reds, who is 6’3, 285, and more easily fits the “workhorse” archetype, and RHP Tyler Rogers of the Giants and Mets, who is a submariner which typically requires less strain on the body for those who can master it.

Bazardo is sturdy for his size, but is more Fjord than Percheron (thank you LL equine consultant Isabelle Minasian), and his 78.2 innings in 73 regular season frames were the sixth-most of any reliever in 2025. Tack on the 11.2 innings in nine playoff games and Bazardo was the most used reliever in baseball in 2025, with 90.1 innings on the hill. He was able to find so much success and merit his usage thanks to a series of tweaks highlighted by Mikey Ajeto early in October, but Seattle simply needed innings all the time. It led to an interesting cadence from Bazardo, exemplified from July 3rd thru August 7th, wherein he pitched 14 times and, aided by the All-Star Break, received three or more consecutive days off four different times, but pitched back-to-back seven times in that stretch.

Let’s come back to the pitch at this piece’s outset. It’s likely the worst offering Bazardo throws all year, a heart-shot four-seamer in a 1-2 count, pitching on the heels of a two-inning appearance the night before, with a six-run lead against Detroit. The situation is not dissimilar from the at-bat highlighted by Mikey in his piece, but Bazardo is not yet fully actualized. It’s not too different from a few situations of memorable note, in fact, where Bazardo was called upon following a heavy workload the night before, and left a fastball over the plate’s heart.

A different bullpen has two different men for its bridge inning mop-up and high leverage, but Bazardo wore both hats, particularly as Carlos Vargas floundered beyond trustworthiness. The Venezuelan outperformed expectations right until the last, aided by a .228 BABIP against, but earning a certain role moving ahead. There is standing on your head, and then there is coming in for a shutdown in extra innings with two on and no out, escaping, and working ANOTHER inning and a half scoreless.

Just… let this man get a little more rest this year.

It’s the eve of Spring Training for the San Francisco Giants! If you’re sad that this is the first day without football, you can rejoice that it’s the last day without baseball!

There will be a little overlap between Spring Training and our Community Prospect List, which will see us rank the top 44 prospects in the organization. But there won’t be much overlap, because we’re somehow already almost done!

The next name on the list is someone who is facing a critical season ahead of him: it’s outfielder Rayner Arias, who has been voted as the No. 38 prospect in the system. It’s a drop of a whopping 34 spots for the right-handed hitting and fielding Arias, who was voted the No. 4 prospect in last year’s CPL.

Arias still has a few more months of teenage life, yet it’s already been quite a roller-coaster of a career for him. He was signed in 2023 out of the Dominican Republic, and immediately made an impression as one of the most dynamic players in the system. He played 16 games in the Dominican Summer League after signing, and the numbers are almost comical: he hit 24-58 with 12 extra-base hits, 15 walks, and just 11 strikeouts. It made for a not-a-typo slashline of .414/.539/.793, with a 1.333 OPS and a 233 wRC+. And it’s not like he was old for the level, or a slugging pillar of salt first baseman: he had just turned 17, was playing a delightful center field, and added four stolen bases.

The only downside with his magical debut was that it was cut short, when he injured his wrist diving for a fly ball.

That injury seemed to prove costly. He showed up at Papago for his stateside debut in 2024, and it went quite poorly. He hit just .250/.371/.364 for a .735 OPS and a 98 wRC+ for the organization’s Arizona Complex League. The bat speed and power thump had almost entirely evaporated, as his average was modest despite a high BABIP, and his isolated slugging plummeted from .379 to .114, without a single home run. His strikeout rate rose from 14.5% to 25.7%, he stole just three bases (while being caught three times), and his defense looked considerably worse. And just to really make matters worse, he was limited to just 25 games, after re-injuring his wrist, again while diving for a fly ball.

While it was a bad 2024, the glass half full view was that he wasn’t fully healthy, and his results would flourish when he could get on a field with good health. Unfortunately, that half-full glass was spilled in 2025, when Arias remained healthy all year. He returned to the Arizona Complex League, and in 47 games hit just .242/.333/.366 with three home runs, resulting in just a .699 OPS and an 87 wRC+, while virtually repeating his strikeout rate (25.8%). He did make his Low-A San Jose debut, but not on merit — it was more to get reps while he was suspended from the ACL for a scuffle, and to help with roster logistics as the Baby Giants dealt with a string of outfield injuries. In seven games with San Jose, Arias did nothing to prove that his struggles in the ACL were an aberration: he hit just 1-for-25 with nine strikeouts.

And so Arias enters a highly critical 2026. It’s hard to believe the player who was not just putting up absurd numbers, but wowing scouts with his athleticism, power, contact ability, and feel for the game just up and vanished overnight. But after looking like a five-tool star, we’re now two years into Arias looking like a zero-tool player whose opportunities are on the verge of running dry. The optimistic view is that, while Arias was healthy in 2025, his injured wrist was still impacting his game, either through lingering pain, a lack of confidence, or some compensations that his body had made.

To my eye, Arias feels like one of the most must-watch prospects in the system this year, because it feels like his potential outcomes are so extreme. Could I see him struggling once again, and no longer being a prospect of note at all in a year? Yes. Could I see him recovering, putting all those tools on display, and jumping back into the top-10 next year? Also yes. Can I see something in the middle? Not really, though that’s usually the most likely outcome. In a way, he’s the (much younger) Reggie Crawford of the position players: you can’t trust him to be healthy and good, but if he is, then he’s probably going to be really good.

Now let’s add to the list, and we’ve got some new names to vote on today! As a reminder, voting takes place in the comment section using the “rec” feature.

The list so far

1. Bryce Eldridge — 1B
2. Josuar González — SS
3. Jhonny Level — SS
4. Bo Davidson — CF
5. Dakota Jordan — CF
6. Luis Hernández — SS
7. Gavin Kilen — SS
8. Carson Whisenhunt — LHP
9. Blade Tidwell — RHP
10. Keyner Martinez — RHP
11. Jacob Bresnahan — LHP
12. Trevor McDonald — RHP
13. Argenis Cayama — RHP
14. Luis De La Torre — LHP
15. Trevor Cohen — OF
16. Jesús Rodríguez — C
17. Parks Harber — OF/3B
18. Carlos Gutierrez — OF
19. Drew Cavanaugh — C
20. Daniel Susac — C
21. Gerelmi Maldonado — RHP
22. Josh Bostick — RHP
23. Lorenzo Meola — SS/2B
24. Will Bednar — RHP
25. Yunior Marte — RHP
26. Joe Whitman — LHP
27. Joel Peguero — RHP
28. Alberto Laroche — RHP
29. Trent Harris — RHP
30. Carlos De La Rosa — LHP
31. Diego Velasquez — 2B
32. Lisbel Diaz — OF
33. Maui Ahuna — SS
34. Cam Maldonado — OF
35. Victor Bericoto — OF/1B
36. Reid Worley — RHP
37. Jack Choate — LHP
38. Rayner Arias — OF

Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.

No. 39 prospect nominees

Sabin Ceballos — 23.5-year old 3B — .670 OPS/102 wRC+ in AA (420 PA)

Jakob Christian — 23.4-year old OF/1B — .950 OPS/155 wRC+ in High-A (92 PA); .815 OPS/119 wRC+ in Low-A (318 PA)

Reggie Crawford — 25.2-year old LHP — did not pitch in 2025; 1.04 ERA/4.07 FIP in AAA in 2024 (8.2 IP); 4.66 ERA/4.93 FIP in AA in 2024 (9.2 IP)

NateFurman — 24.6-year old 2B — .970 OPS/188 wRC+ in AA (39 PA); 1.139 OPS/211 wRC+ in High-A (96 PA); 1.283 OPS/237 wRC+ in Low-A (15 PA)

JuanSánchez — 25.2-year old LHP — did not pitch in 2025; 3.93 ERA/5.17 FIP in AAA in 2024 (34.1 IP)

CharlieSzykowny — 25.7-year old 3B/1B — .816 OPS/122 wRC+ in High-A (549 PA)

JancelVillarroel — 21.0-year old C — .699 OPS/91 wRC+ in High-A (61 PA); .746 OPS/123 wRC+ in Low-A (372 PA)

Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page. All stats are from the 2025 season.

The Dodgers have grown in strength gradually since the early days of Dave Roberts in charge — before becoming this current powerhouse, essentially the favorite against whichever National League opponent came their way in the postseason — the Dodgers played the role of spoilers against the team of destiny, and for a little bit, in great part due to Clayton Kershaw’s magnificent work, they looked set to fulfill that task.

Back in 2016, the Chicago Cubs were a moderate version of what the Dodgers should be: this absolute juggernaut filled with talent and a well-oiled machine ready to compete not only in that but across multiple seasons. This in itself created quite the challenge, but further increasing scrutiny and public interest in this team, the Cubs carried the best odds this organization had to break a curse that dated back to 1908, a type of storyline that transcended baseball itself.

After a heroic effort against the Washington Nationals, one that saw Kershaw pitch in three of the five games of the series, including earning a save on one day of rest to close out Game 5, finally getting his revenge on Daniel Murphy, the Dodgers found themselves as the only things standing in the way of a World Series ticket to the Cubs.

Because of his NLDS efforts, Kershaw wasn’t available to go in Game 1 of the NLCS, and unlike in previous campaigns, that 2016 team didn’t have a 1B in Zack Greinke to take the hill. A valiant effort by Kenta Maeda and the bullpen was for naught as Joe Blanton allowed a tie-breaking grand slam to Miguel Montero, and with their backs against the wall, the Dodgers relied on their ace in Game 2 at Wrigley Field.

Facing a lineup that had led baseball with a team 115 wRC+ against southpaws, a mark even more impressive accounting for the fact it came before pitchers stopped hitting, Kershaw had his work cut out for him, facing the likes of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, and company. Further increasing the need for a strong outing from Kershaw, the Dodgers had just overworked two of their more trusted relievers in Pedro Báez and Blanton.

Pitching his first NLCS matchup since that forgetful evening in St. Louis back in 2013, Kershaw looked every bit his most dominant self. Commonly, we hear about the freedom of pitching with a lead, particularly a large one, as it allows a pitcher to more freely attack the zone and take the game to the opposing hitters. This was anything but that.

While Kershaw did pitch the majority of the game with the advantage, he did so in the most stressful of circumstances, as an Adrian González solo shot in the second was the only scoring this game saw. Facing the best team in the big leagues, on the road, Kershaw shut it all down in an incredibly efficient manner, needing just 84 pitches to complete seven scoreless frames before turning it over to Kenley Jansen for a two-inning save.

One of the purposes of this series is to highlight how things could’ve easily been different for Kershaw with a few breaks here and there; on the flip side, even in the most dominant of performances, one can point to a couple of potential turning point moments. After not allowing a baserunner through the first four innings, Kershaw ran into some problems in the fifth, but the right man at the right time helped him get out of it.

With two on and two out after back-to-back singles from Javier Báez and Willson Contreras, manager Joe Maddon had the wrong man up to do the damage against Kershaw. The Cubs’ biggest offseason signing ahead of that season, Jason Heyward, had been absolutely atrocious with the bat in 2016, and even worse against the lefties—although he tried his best to make up for it with elite defensive work. Thanks to his outstanding defensive talents, the fifth inning was early enough even in a one-run game for Maddon not to pinch-hit a Jorge Soler or some other right-handed batter for Heyward, and Kershaw retired him without any problem, dropping his arm angle on a fastball, something the left-hander really got into doing once in a while during that period.

A couple of innings later, the big threat came around as the first two reached, and a run of three right-handed hitters was due up, following an error that gave Chicago first and second. Kershaw struck out Ben Zobrist and retired Addison Russell. The only thing standing in the way of six scoreless innings was Javier Báez.

With a 1-0 count, Kershaw threw Báez a fastball up in the zone, one that he was ready for, connecting pretty well straight to center, but it had just enough air on it for it to be caught by Joc Pederson in center.

That was the last pitch Kershaw threw, one that, in different circumstances completely beyond the control of the pitcher or batter, might’ve had another outcome.

This series, ultimately, isn’t one looked back on fondly by Dodger fans, as the team collapsed after taking a 2-1 lead, including a completely different Kershaw outing in Wrigley in Game 6. Still, that one particular game is one of my favorites for all that it represented: a time the Dodgers succeeded, even if briefly, without the weight of expectations currently associated with this team.

You did not see this every day.

We’re trying a new series at Royals Review, a daily mid-day question of the day to hear about your opinions on a fun or pressing question affecting the Royals or baseball in general. Chime in and drop your answers below!

The Royals made a surprise postseason appearance in 2024, a 30-win improvement. But last year they regressed and it was easy to find a culprit – an outfield that couldn’t hit. So far this offseason, the only upgrades the team has made have been trading for Isaac Collins from the Brewers and signing free agent Lane Thomas. The club is certainly banking on Jac Caglianone to bust out, but is it enough?

With the Tigers signing Framber Valdez, the standard in the division has been raised. The Royals are projected by Cot’s Contracts to have a $142 million payroll, 18th-largest in baseball. That number is up from the $126 million payroll last year and would mark the largest team payroll since 2017. They have one of the best players in the game in Bobby Witt Jr., and two 100-RBI men in Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino. Caglianone and Carter Jensen are two of the most promising young hitters in baseball. They have some of the best starting pitching in the league, and two terrific relievers in Lucas Erceg and Carlos Estévez.

But is it enough to truly contend, or is the team doing just enough to make it seem like they are trying to win? What do you think?

As I do here every spring, today I present to you a full numerical roster of all the players and coaches in Cubs spring camp. Also included are the Cubs’ retired numbers, so you can see the full numerical progression. There are 58 players in camp, the 40-man roster plus 18 non-roster invitees.

A few notes:

• The Cubs have still not re-issued No. 44, worn by Anthony Rizzo during the World Series run, since he was traded away in 2021. I’m guessing that will remain un-issued for quite some time. Jon Lester’s (and Kerry Wood’s) No. 34 has also not been re-issued since Lester left after 2020. Lastly, the team hasn’t re-issued Kyle Hendricks’ No. 28 since he departed after 2024. None of these numbers is likely to be retired by the team. Other numbers not in use this spring: 19, 21, 51, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 64, 66, 67, 69, 73, 82, 87, 96 and 99.
• Of interest are some of the numbers issued to non-roster guys. Dylan Carlson gets 5, while Chas McCormick, his presumed competition for a backup outfield spot, gets 55. Neither of those players has previously worn the numbers indicated. Does the lower number issued to Carlson indicate the team thinks he has a better chance of sticking?
• Speaking of No. 55, Hoby Milner wore that for several years in Milwaukee (and also for the Phillies in 2017 and 2018), but instead chose 41, the number he wore last year for the Rangers.
• There is one number duplicated. Jefferson Rojas, a non-roster invitee, and bullpen catcher Erick Castillo will both wear No. 93.
• Of the 58 players listed here, 18 were not in the Cubs organization a year ago.

Lastly, I’d like to take a moment for a bit of self-promotion, if you’ll indulge me. If you still don’t have the latest edition of “Cubs By The Numbers” (complete through 2015 but still full of fun stories!), here’s your link to buy one!

Here’s the entire list of players and coaches in camp (along with retired numbers). Non-roster players in italics.

0 Quintin Berry (third base coach)
1 Justin Dean
2 Nico Hoerner
3 Alex Bregman
4 Pete Crow-Armstrong
5 Dylan Carlson
6 Matt Shaw
7 Dansby Swanson
8 Ian Happ
9 Miguel Amaya
10 Ron Santo (retired)
11 Craig Counsell (manager)
12 Scott Kingery
13 Kevin Alcántara
14 Ernie Banks (retired)
15 Carson Kelly
16 Matthew Boyd
17 Tyler Austin
18 Shōta Imanaga
20 Ben Cowles
22 Cade Horton
23 Ryne Sandberg (retired)
24 Caleb Thielbar
25 Moises Ballesteros
26 Billy Williams (retired)
27 Seiya Suzuki
29 Michael Busch
30 Edward Cabrera
31 Fergie Jenkins/Greg Maddux (retired)
32 Ben Brown
33 Ryan Rolison
35 Justin Steele
36 Jordan Wicks
37 Porter Hodge
38 Corbin Martin
39 Ethan Roberts
40 Jeff Brigham
41 Hoby Milner
42 Jackie Robinson (retired by MLB)
43 Luke Little
45 Hunter Harvey
46 Gavin Hollowell
47 Jack Neely
48 Daniel Palencia
49 Trent Thornton
50 Jameson Taillon
52 Collin Snider
53 Colin Rea
55 Chas McCormick
60 Christian Bethancourt
63 Juan Cabreja (assistant hitting coach)
65 Jose Javier (first base coach)
68 Tommy Hottovy (pitching coach)
70 Jaxon Wiggins
71 Jacob Webb
72 Javier Assad
74 A.J. Lewis (staff assistant)
75 Pedro Ramirez
76 Dustin Kelly (hitting coach)
78 Casey Opitz
79 Connor Schultz
80 John Mallee (assistant hitting coach)
81 Mark Strittmatter (bullpen coach)
83 B.J. Murray
84 Ryan Flaherty (bench coach)
85 Garrett Lloyd (bullpen catcher)
86 Casey Jacobson (assistant pitching coach)
88 Phil Maton
89 Ariel Armas
90 Jonathan Mota (major league coach)
91 Jonathon Long
92 Brett Bateman
93 Jefferson Rojas
93 Erick Castillo (bullpen catcher)
94 Riley Martin
95 James Triantos
97 Connor Noland
98 Grant Kipp

As we sit mere days away from pitchers and catchers reporting for duty at their respective complexes in Arizona and Florida, much of the world is focused on international competition.

The Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina are in full swing, with fans across the world rooting for athletes representing their home towns, their countries, or even their favorite professional sports teams. The Colorado Avalanche have eight Olympians for the 2026 games, including captain Gabriel Landeskog wearing the “C” for his Team Sweden.

However, in the shadow of the Winter Games lies another rapidly approaching international competition: the World Baseball Classic.

The competition—which takes place every three years—grants an uncommon opportunity for professional baseball players worldwide to represent their home country or country of heritage on the world stage. Many of the teams from dominant baseball countries like the United States, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela are packed with a veritable who’s who of Major League Baseball stardom and familiar faces from both the regular season and the playoffs.

For fans of the Colorado Rockies—who have not been to the post-season since 2018 and are beginning a crucial rebuild—the opportunity to see players from their team on a big stage are often few and far between. Even in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the Rockies had just five players in the tournament and only one of them—left-handed pitcher Kyle Freeland—remains with the team.

This year the Rockies are fairly well represented in the World Baseball Classic. While they have no players on Team USA, the Rockies are sending ten players and one coach to represent six different nations in the upcoming tournament.

Let’s begin the Parade of Nations!

Team Canada

Recent arrival and infielder Edouard Julien will be representing Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic for the second time in his career. Although Canada was eliminated in pool play during the 2023 tournament, the Quebec City native still ended up leading the World Baseball Classic in slugging percentage and OPS. He then turned that excellent performance into a strong rookie season in which he hit .263/.381/.459 with 16 home runs and was worth 2.6 wins above replacement.

Julien suffered down seasons in 2024 and 2025 and enters the season looking to recapture the magic of his rookie campaign. Hopefully former Rockies All-Star and Team Canada hitting coach Justin Morneau can help Julien start the season strong.

Joining Julien on the Canadian roster is left-handed Québécois pitcher Antoine Jean, in what will technically be the first professional games of his career. The Rockies selected Jean in the seventh round of last year’s draft from the University of Houston, where he was the 2025 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and led all NCAA Division I pitchers in batting average against (.168) and had the second-best K/9 (14.8).

Team Israel

The player to watch for Rockies fans when it comes to Team Israel is without a doubt prospect outfielder Cole Carrigg (no. 6 mid-season PuRP).

Carrigg—also a non-roster invite to spring training this year—spent the entire 2025 season with the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats, where he hit .237/.316/.394 with 18 doubles, six triples, 15 home runs, and 46 stolen bases as the team’s starting center fielder. Although he won’t be big league ready to start the season, a strong tournament could do a lot to lift his stock as a prospect.

Joining Carrigg is first baseman and outfielder Troy Johnston, whom the Rockies claimed via waivers from the Miami Marlins during the off-season. The 28-year-old made his Major League debut in 2025 with a strong .277/.331/.420 line and four home runs over 44 games with the Marlins.

Team Italy

The Rockies’ most important off-season free agent acquisition is also their lone representative for the Italian national team. Right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen was brought in to help the Rockies finally figure out pitching at Coors Field, a challenge he was eager to accept.

The 34-year-old’s aggressive approach and extensive arsenal of pitches will be a key asset to the Rockies’ rotation in 2025 as the team begins to work on their new pitching philosophy. One of his teammates for Italy will be former Rockies closer Adam Ottavino, who had previously performed well at Coors Field and was rumored to be in contention for a front office job over the off-season.

Team Mexico

Mexico was one of the breakout stories in the 2023 tournament, placing third overall after losing an incredible game against Japan in the semifinals. Returning manager Benji Gil is currently riding high after his México Rojo (Charros de Jalisco) emerged as the victor of the Serie Del Caribe and is no doubt ready to take another crack at the World Baseball Classic.

Gil’s bench coach will once again be Rockies special assistant and legendary third baseman Vinny Castilla. The Blake Street Bomber has extensive experience playing and coaching for various Mexican teams, including acting as the manager for Team Mexico in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Pitching for Mexico by way of California will be right-handed reliever Victor Vodnik and left-handed reliever Brennan Bernardino.

Vodnik, a bullpen staple, is entering his fourth big league season after an excellent 2025 campaign during which he posted a 3.02 ERA over 52 appearances. He notched ten saves and tallied 49 strikeouts over 50 2/3 innings of work.

Bernardino, meanwhile, is another new arrival to the Rockies. Obtained from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for minor league outfielder Braiden Ward, the 34-year-old middle reliever has a career 3.47 ERA over parts of four big league seasons.

Team Puerto Rico

The delegation from Puerto Rico had some difficulties putting their roster together, often due to insurance issues with their star players. As such, Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros and Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets are both sitting out, much to their consternation.

For off-season free agent acquisition and utility player Willi Castro, however, it represents an opportunity. The 28-year-old from Río Piedras will represent Puerto Rico for the first time in his career. The Rockies brought in Castro on a two-year, $12.8 million contract. The 2024 All-Star had a down year in 2025—especially after he was traded from the Minnesota Twins to the Chicago Cubs—but a strong performance in the World Baseball Classic could help him start a rebound campaign on the right foot.

Team Venezuela

A healthy and productive tournament would likely mean a lot to young Rockies star shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. The 24-year-old performed well enough during the 2025 season, hitting .253/.294/.400 with 18 doubles, four triples, and nine home runs, but he missed significant time due to injury and appeared in just 95 games.

Tovar is a key building block for the Rockies’ future, and entering the 2026 season strong with some much-needed momentum could help propel him to new heights after he won a Gold Glove Award and even had an MVP vote in 2024. Hopefully that comes with cutting down on strikeouts and not chasing so many pitches down and away.

Joining Tovar on Team Venezuela is right-handed pitcher Antonio Senzatela, who I’m sure is banking on the World Baseball Classic to kick off a much-needed bounceback campaign as he enters the final guaranteed year of his current contract.

Senzatela struggled immensely in 2025, posting a 7.42 ERA from the rotation in 23 starts before he was relegated to the bullpen. He fared especially poorly in the first inning, where he held a staggering 11.03 ERA. He performed better in limited bullpen appearances with a 2.86 ERA over 22 innings and is likely to remain in the bullpen for the upcoming season.

It is also worth noting that former Rockies starting pitcher Germán Márquez will also be on Venezuela’s roster. Márquez is currently still a free agent and could look to leverage his tournament performance into a contract.

The pool play portion of the World Baseball Classic kicks off on March 4th and the tournament itself runs through March 17th. There will also be multiple exhibition matches in which MLB spring training squads will face off against national teams. The Rockies are scheduled to play Team USA on March 4th at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick with a first pitch time of 1:10 PM MT.

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The Yankees’ forays into the Japanese market have produced some mixed results. The signing of Hideki Matsui was an absolute success, as he was a very good player for the Yankees for many years, and capped it off by winning World Series MVP in 2009. On the other hand, the acquisitions of pitchers Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa were, uh, less great.

In the 2013-14 offseason, one of the hottest names on the market was another Japanese pitcher. Having just led the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to a Japan Series title, Masahiro Tanaka was sought after around MLB. The Yankees were among that chasing pack, and they ended up winning the fight. In the end, his highs were not quite as the ones experienced by Matsui, but it’s hard to argue that Tanaka wasn’t a success, and he came up with some big playoff moments of his own.

Masahiro Tanaka
Signing Date: January 22, 2014
Contract: Seven years, $155 million

Thanks to a dominant career in Japanese high school baseball, Tanaka was long on the radar of NPB teams. When he was finally eligible to be selected in the NPB Draft, the Golden Eagles did so in 2006. He debuted as an 18-year old the following season and quickly cemented his place as a star for the team, winning the league’s Rookie of the Year Award.

Having only been founded ahead of the 2005 season, the Golden Eagles hadn’t done much of anything before Tanaka’s arrival, but he helped them to their first ever playoff berth in 2009. Over the next couple years, Tanaka continued improving and began to dominate. His most impressive season came in 2013, as he posted a crazy 24-0 record with a 1.27 ERA with 183 strikeouts in 212 innings. The Golden Eagles went on to win their first — and so far only — Japan Series title that year. In the series, Tanaka allowed just one run in a Game 2 win, threw 160 pitches in Game 6, and then came back the very next day and recorded the save in the Game 7 win. It was a truly remarkable effort.

Not that he wasn’t already on MLB team’s radars, but the remarkable season turned Tanaka into probably the top pitching name on that year’s free agent market. The Yankees always seemed to be one of, if not the top, favorites to land Tanaka, and they eventually did so in January 2014, inking him to a seven-year deal worth $155 million.

When big-name Japanese imports come to MLB, there’s always a big spotlight on them, and it was no different for Tanaka, especially considering that he was playing in New York. He made his MLB debut on April 4th in Toronto, going seven innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits, with eight strikeouts as the Yankees beat the Blue Jays, 7-3.

His first truly astounding MLB start came in his third game, when he threw eight shutout innings and struck out 10 against the Cubs. Tanaka mostly kept cruising through his debut season, putting up a 2.27 ERA through July 3rd, making the All-Star team and getting himself in award contention. However, he struggled in his next start, and hit the IL after that with what turned out to be a partially torn UCL. Despite some saying that he and the Yankees should just bite the bullet with Tommy John surgery, they opted to rehab the injury. As it turned out, he would never need to go under the knife over the entirety of his Yankees career.

Tanaka’s rookie campaign saw him finish fifth in Rookie of the Year. In 2015, he made his first ever MLB Opening Day start, and was given the ball in the Yankees’ Wild Card Game loss, which was due more to the nonexistent offense than his two runs in five innings. In 2016, he had probably his best MLB season, finishing seventh in Cy Young voting after a 4.7 fWAR year.

The 2017 regular season was a bit of a down one compared to his previous years, but once the postseason came around, he began to establish his reputation as a big game pitcher.

With the Yankees’ backs against the wall in Game 3 of the ALDS against Cleveland, Tanaka threw seven shutout innings as the Yankees won the game and rallied to win the series. In the next round, he repeated that effort in Game 5, giving the Yankees a 3-2 edge in the ALCS against the Astros. While the Yankees never ended up winning a ring during Tanaka’s tenure, he stepped up in the playoffs in most of the games he was called on. While there were some blips in his final season with the team, over his seven-year deal, he had a 3.33 ERA and 0.981 WHIP in 10 postseason starts, with the Yankees going 6-4. Only one of those four losses can be fully put on him too. In the other three, he allowed just seven total runs, getting just four runs of support combined.

Tanaka had an opt-out after the 2017 campaign, but he decided to stick around on his initial contract. Across those final three years, he dropped off a bit as he aged, but still made his second All-Star team in 2019 while posting a 107 ERA+ and 6.4 fWAR across a steady 368 innings of work from 2018-20. The Yankees opted to let him walk in free agency after the COVID-shortened 2020 season. As it turned out, Tanaka would walk away from MLB entirely and opted to return to Japan and rejoin his old Golden Eagles team. Playing in NPB allowed him be part of the Japan national team when they won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

After a couple seasons with the Golden Eagles, Tanaka signed with the Yomiuri Giants — often called the Yankees of NPB — where he’s preparing to play the 2026 campaign. This past year, he became the fourth pitcher to accumulate 200 wins between MLB and NPB play, joining Hideo Nomo, Yu Darvish, and former Yankees teammate Hiroki Kuroda.

On the field, Tanaka was a competitor who was never satisfied, no matter how good his last start was. Off the field, he always seemed like a genuine and nice guy, who’s missed on the Yankees’ roster in that aspect. He was a lot of fun to root for across his seven years in pinstripes.

See more of the “50 Most Notable Yankees Free Agent Signings in 50 Years” series here.