I met Clete Boyer once.

In his later years, Boyer spent summers in Cooperstown, and my family went to see the Hall of Fame once almost every summer in the mid-2000s. We had a running joke about Boyer because every time we went, there was a sign in the downtown that said “Clete Boyer: SIGNING TODAY!” as if it was an unusual event. In 2006, we decided to actually go see him once and ask him to sign a baseball. I was going through a weird phase where I was wearing a different team’s hat every other day, even though I was a Yankees fan. So for whatever reason, I had an Astros cap on (National League era) when I met Boyer. He tilted his head and said “You’re wearing the wrong hat.”

I didn’t know what to say. And that’s the story of how I basically blew my only opportunity to meet Clete Boyer, probably the best defensive third baseman in Yankees history. So it goes. Boyer was a two-time World Series champion and a valued member of those early-1960s Yankees teams. It’s been quite awhile since they played, but that doesn’t mean memories of them should fade.

Cletis Leroy Boyer
Born: February 9, 1937 (Cassville, MO)
Died: June 4, 2007 (Lawrenceville, GA)
Yankees Tenure: 1959-66

Being one of 14 children born to Mable and Vern Boyer, it was always going to be difficult for Clete to stand out. 

The Boyers were raised in the small rural town of Alba, Missouri. Vern Boyer supported his family as a marble cutter. Clete was born during the Great Depression and his family life — like many during that period — was filled with hardship. All but one of Mabel Boyer’s children were delivered at home. As David Halberstam later wrote in October 1964, “the Boyers played hard, worked hard, and accepted life as full of hardship and disappointment.”

Those circumstances did not stop the family from making the most of their opportunities. Remarkably, all seven of the Boyer boys would sign major-league contracts. The oldest, Cloyd Boyer, signed with the Cardinals and broke into the majors as a pitcher in 1949. St. Louis had its eye on the Boyers, as all four of Clete’s older brothers would become Cardinals.

It strangely wasn’t the Cards who ended up signing Clete. It was the Kansas City Athletics, who also employed Cloyd Boyer at the time. The A’s inked Clete to a $35,000 deal on May 30, 1955, and because of his value and due to the “bonus baby” rules at the time, they had to keep the 18-year-old on their big-league roster for two years. Even on a lousy team like the A’s, Boyer wasn’t going to see much time, and he was simply going to struggle against MLB pitching. He hit a dismal .226/.278/.269 with a 47 OPS+ in 114 games during his teenage years bouncing around the infield in K.C.

In the 1950s though, the Kansas City A’s were a Yankees farm club in all but name. Owner Arnold Johnson was well-connected with the Yankees’ ownership group, and he had no qualms about sending his best young players to New York for retreads and cash. There was even a rumor that the Yankees gave Johnson the money to sign Boyer as a future investment since they were over slot in ’55. Sure enough, Boyer ended up in pinstripes in 1957 as a not-so-subtle player to be named later in a preposterous 13-player deal. Following the trade, the Yankees sent Boyer to Class-A Binghamton to find his game, no longer hindered by the “bonus baby” tag. 

In Binghamton, Boyer showed power and a knack for the shortstop position. Boyer was promoted to Triple-A in ’58 and continued to show his complete game, batting .284/.353/.494 in 132 games with 22 dingers. Boyer’s big season in Triple-A earned him a spot on the Opening Day roster in ‘59. 

Boyer struggled to find playing time behind Tony Kubek at shortstop. And when he did, he simply did not hit. The Yankees smartly sent Boyer back to Triple-A Richmond to find his footing at the hot corner. The work paid off when Boyer was named the starting third baseman. He was a regular in the 1960 lineup, appearing in 124 games and slugging 14 home runs. The Yankees went on to win the AL pennant and Boyer would appear in his first World Series — but not without drama.

What seems to be a common theme among the non-superstar Yankees of the Casey Stengel Era is that his platoon style of managing was overzealous and often rubbed players the wrong way. Game 1 of the 1960 World Series saw much of the same from Stengel. Trailing in the second inning, Stengel pinch-hit for Boyer — in what would have been his first World Series at-bat. Boyer succinctly summed up his feelings on Stengel: “Everybody hated him. When he came out of his mother, the doctor slapped her.”

Boyer had an .833 OPS in his first World Series, but Stengel only used him in four games. The Yankees fell in seven.

Stengel was let go at the end of the 1960 campaign, and replacement Ralph Houk allowed his regulars to play every day. And while Boyer struggled at the plate, his dominant defensive play continued to come into form. His 353 assists at third base led the league in 1961. Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson once stated “When I made the double play, I could just about close my eyes, put my glove up and the ball would be there.”

The Yankees walked through the AL to another pennant in 1961. Game 1 of the ’61 Fall Classic would take on a much different tone than Boyer’s Game 1 of the previous season. Boyer made two diving plays in that game — proceeding to throw both runners out from his knees. His two incredible plays helped secure a two-hit shutout for Whitey Ford. Ford later said, “No third baseman ever played better than Clete did in the 1961 Series.”

Boyer was now a World Series champion, and he sought to add another ring to his hand in 1962. He put forth what was likely his best season as a Yankee, batting .272/.331/.413 with 18 homers, a 101 wRC+, and 5.1 fWAR. He was at his defensive peak, as great a third baseman as even longtime coach and former player Frankie Crosetti had seen in 30 years.It wasn’t the easiest task hitting in front of pitchers either and finding pitches to hit, but Boyer found a way to get the job done.

The 1962 season also saw Boyer’s finest Fall Classic. It was another seven-gamer, and this time, he played every contest, rewarding Houk’s faith with a .318/.333/.500 line and a homer in the World Series opener:

With the series on the line in the ninth inning of Game 7 in a 1-0 game and Willie McCovey up with the bases loaded against Bill Mazeroski 1960 World Series walk-off victim Ralph Terry, Boyer later admitted that his knees were shaking at third. Fortunately, McCovey’s liner went straight to Richardson’s glove at second, and the Yankees were champions again.

The next two seasons were a regression at the plate for Boyer. He posted an 83 wRC+ in ’63 and a 57 wRC+ in ’64. Boyer still impressed in the field with flashy defense and the Yankees continued to win pennants, but Boyer and the Yankees fell in back-to-back World Series to the Dodgers and then the Cardinals. 

Despite the loss for Clete, the 1964 World Series was a special one for the Boyer family, as his hot corner counterpart in St. Louis was his brother, Ken. The soon-to-be-named NL MVP was getting his first taste of postseason baseball and did not disappoint. His offensive game was at its peak, including a series-changing grand slam in Game 4. Clete’s series was not as good, but he did manage a ninth-inning homer off the sensational Bob Gibson in Game 7 to keep the series alive, making the duo the first brothers to ever go deep in the same World Series game.

Clete recalled quietly being happy for his brother once the dust had settled, as he was a terrific player and deserving of a championship ring. Baseball was always a family affair, so it was fitting that this scenario played out for the Boyer family. 

Although Clete would never make it back to the World Series, he rebounded in ’65, cracking 18 home runs and posting a 104 wRC+. His production at the plate continued into ’66 but the Yankees were in free-fall. After five consecutive pennants, the Yankees missed the playoffs in ’65 and finished last in ’66. With the new CBS ownership in place and the Yankees going nowhere, the organization decided to move on from Boyer, trading him to Atlanta on November 29, 1966. 

Boyer used the motivation of replacing Braves legend Eddie Mathews, the hitter-friendly confines of “The Launching Pad” (then Atlanta Stadium), and the protection of Joe Torre and Henry Aaron helped propel him to a career-high 26 bombs during his first season in the South. He could never repeat his offensive production from his first season with the Braves but put up solid numbers again in ’69. That was a special one for Boyer, who after years of playing in the same league as Brooks Robinson was able to secure his first Gold Glove award. Reflecting on Boyer years later, Torre said, “He came up during the Brooks Robinson era and didn’t get as much attention because of Brooksie, but he could play third base … Great arm.”

In that inaugural season of divisional play, Boyer’s Braves won the first NL West crown (yes, NL West; it’s a long story). However, the “Miracle Mets” swept them away and Boyer could only record one hit in the last playoff series of his career. By 1971, a public feud between Atlanta GM Paul Richards and Boyer was brewing regarding a contract dispute. Richards had slashed Boyer’s salary in 1970 and 1971, with Richards calling Boyer a “sorry player.” The disdain ultimately led to the buyout of Boyer’s contract.

A unique new opportunity arose for Boyer when the Taiyō Whales of Japan’s Central League reached out to him to see if he would be interested in joining them for the ’72 season. With no MLB offers waiting, the 35-year-old Boyer decided to give it a try. It turned out to be a brilliant decision, as he made double what he was making in Atlanta and took advantage of Japan’s cozy parks, averaging 17 homers and a .437 slugging percentage per season during his four years with Taiyo. While they never sniffed the playoffs, Boyer enjoyed his time there and became one of the first former major leaguers to truly embrace Japanese baseball and culture.

Boyer wanted to stay involved with baseball, and he immediately entered coaching, first with Taiyō in 1976 before eventually returning stateside. When Billy Martin became the skipper of the now-Oakland A’s in 1980, Boyer was tapped to be his third base coach, returning to his original franchise. He remained in that role under multiple Oakland managers through ’85. The Yankees hired Boyer first as a minor-league infield instructor, and then to join Martin again in the dugout in ’88, only to find himself out of the job after Martin’s fifth and final Yankees firing.

The Yankees briefly had Boyer managing their Fort Lauderdale club in ’89, and then Stump Merrill had Boyer on his Yankees coaching staff in ’91. When a young Buck Showalter ascended to the Yankees managerial reins in ’92, he made the 55-year-old Boyer his third-base coach to add an older voice to the clubhouse. He was bumped up to bench coach in ’94 before finally stepping away from the rigors of a 162-game coaching schedule. Boyer remained involved with the Yankees organization through 2003 as an instructor and Old-Timers’ Day regular, and then passed away at age 70 in June 2007 due to complications from a stroke.

Thanks again for the autograph all those years ago, Clete. Rest easy.

Editor’s note: Portions of this article have been adapted from former Pinstripe Alley writer Casey Peterson’s far-more-detailed Top 100 Yankees story on Clete Boyer from 2023 and an earlier 2017 edition of the Top 100 that I worked on myself.

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See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

14. Roc Riggio (294 points, 19 ballots)

Riggio, who was the headline prospect in the Jake Bird trade with the Yankees near last year’s trade deadline, is a decent up-the-middle defender who has both power and patience at the plate, all in a compact 5’9” package. The 23-year-old lefty-hitting, righty-throwing second baseman had a breakout 2025, tearing up High-A and Double-A for the Yankees before joining the Rockies organization (where he didn’t quite keep up that torrid pace).

Riggio was a well-regarded player out of high school, but a commitment to Oklahoma State resulted in a fall to the 11th round in 2021 (though he didn’t sign with the Brewers who had drafted him there). Two strong years with Josh Holliday’s team (including a 1.139 OPS his draft year) led to Riggio getting drafted in the fourth round of 2023 by the Yankees and signing for a $693k bonus that was almost $200k over the slot value.

As a professional, Riggio was solid in his first full year of professional ball in 2024, putting up a walk-heavy 117 wRC+ (.221/.349/.397) with 11 homers and 27 steals in High-A at a league-average age. In 2025, Riggio was delayed a month by a hand injury and went back to High-A. He quickly showed that he had mastered the level, hitting .264/.436/.597 with six homers in 94 plate appearances while walking 21% of the time, which was a 195 wRC+. That earned Riggio a promotion to Double-A, where he was slightly below league average age.

Against upper minors pitching, Riggio kept on hitting well. In 170 plate appearances with New York’s Double-A affiliate, he hit 11 homers and 10 doubles en route to a .261/.335/.542 line (155 wRC+, though he only walked in 8% of PA) before getting traded away to the Rockies at the deadline. Riggio was assigned to Hartford (which is the same league he was beating up on in the Yankees system), where his power surge diminished a bit. Riggio hit .256/.346/.389 with two homers and six doubles in 107 plate appearances (113 wRC+), buoyed by a 13% walk rate. Those Hartford numbers were bolstered by an excellent September in which Riggio put up a .905 OPS in 39 plate appearances. In the field, Riggio committed seven errors in 66 games at second base.

Here’s a look at Riggio’s 2024 offensive and defensive highlights, beginning with a double play that has to be seen to be believed and which shows Riggio’s baseball IQ (as does his straight steal of home later in the video):

There is some divisiveness around Riggio as a prospect. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com has been highest on Riggio, ranking him second in the system and 120th overall in MLB last week (no writeup), while Keith Law of the Athletic didn’t rank Riggio in his top 20 earlier this month. Law wrote that:

Riggio is an undersized second baseman who swings straight up, somehow slugging over .500 in Double-A Somerset in 40 games, then slugging .389 at the same level in Hartford afterward. I don’t think he’s more than an emergency call-up

MLB.com recently ranked Riggio as the ninth best second base prospect in the sport with a 45 FV grade, though without any standout tools:

As an undersized masher who doesn’t get cheated at the plate, Riggio has reminded some of a left-handed-hitting Dustin Pedroia type, albeit without the same pure hit tool. With an open stance and a leg kick, he thrives on getting the ball in the air to his pull side, with the bulk of his 20 homers a year ago leaving the yard that way. He’s not afraid to work counts or draw walks and can punish fastballs, but while his overall approach is solid, he struggles with breaking stuff (40 percent miss rate in 2025) and didn’t handle lefties well.

While he’s a below-average runner, Riggio likes to move on the basepaths, though he was less successful last year when attempting to steal. He’s likely limited to second base, but he has enough skills to perhaps stick at the keystone as a bat-first regular, with perhaps a floor on the long end of a platoon.

Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs liked Riggio the most of the Rockies’ trade acquisitions (ranking him 10th among players dealt at the deadline and comparing him to Roughned Odor in both skill and demeanor) and grades him as a 45 FV player, seventh in the system with a 60 future grade on fielding to go with 55 grades on power:

Lefty-hitting infielders with this kind of bat speed are uncommon, and the Yankees made changes to Riggio’s swing (he has a much bigger leg kick now) that have made it more athletic and seem to have positively impacted his plate coverage. He’s been more dangerous than vulnerable against pitches out away from him this year, and had a 55% hard-hit rate around the midway point of the summer. Riggio is no slouch as a defender, either, even though he is likely limited to second base. His surface stats are a caricature of his true talent because the hitting environments at Hudson Valley and Somerset are favorable, but this is still an “arrow up” prospect who is starting to look like a potential everyday second baseman.

Riggio has big league-regular potential at second base thanks to his power/patience combo, defensive instincts, and overall baseball IQ. I’m excited about his offensive potential with the Rockies and am inclined to round up his likelihood of reaching that potential, ranking him sixth on my ballot as a 45 FV player. Riggio will be in the upper minors scrum in 2026 but figures to compete for a big-league roster spot with post-prospects Adael Amador and Ryan Ritter before he’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster at the end of the season.

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Baseball is all about probabilities, and that theorem also applies to prospects trying to become big leaguers. All players in professional ball have talent, of course; it’s just that the competition level is so high and the margin for error so thin that there is a chance of failure for just about everyone.

So what makes for a high-probability position player talent? Being able to consistently hit pitches very hard is deeply important. Plate discipline—both in the ability to draw walks and avoid striking out too much—is also important. So, too, is the ability to play competent defense, especially at a premium position. And while good tools are nice, players who utilize their toolsets to dominate competition in the Minor Leagues are more likely to succeed than those who struggle. 

If that previous paragraph sounds like I’m describing Carter Jensen, that’s because it is. The Kansas City Royals selected Jensen with the 78th pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Park Hill High School, whose campus is a quick 25-minute drive away from Kauffman Stadium. And while all high schoolers have high risk, Jensen has blossomed into a really promising player and made his MLB debut last September.

Prospect lists aren’t everything, but they give a good sense of how industry professionals who have watched and evaluated more baseball than you or I ever will think of a player—and Jensen is regarded quite well. MLB.com lists Jensen as the 18th best prospect in the game. The Athletic has Jensen at 10th overall. Baseball Prospectus has Jensen at 44th overall. Baseball America lists Jensen as the 11th best prospect.

And yet, man, I think people are still sleeping on Jensen. 

That’s because of the third factor, the secret sauce if you will, in the cauldron of traits that contribute to probability that a minor leaguer will make it: age. We see players hit well all the time in Minor League Baseball, and even do so at the upper levels. Most players who do so, however, are old for the league. Remember deep cut Royals prospect Balbino Fuenmayor? He hit an absurd .358/.384/.589 across Double-A and Triple-A in 2015. But he did so while already playing in his age-25 season. 

Jensen has been excellent throughout the minor leagues, and has consistently done so at very young ages. And in fact, last year’s campaign put Jensen in extremely rarified air. I went and pulled all players who met this qualifications over the last decade:

• In age-21 or younger season
• Minimum 400 plate appearances
• At least 1 PA in Triple-A
• Walk rate above 12%
• Strikeout rate below 25%
• Isolated slugging percentage above .200
• wRC+ of at least 130

Jensen was one such player. But across the thousands of players who have played in the Minors during that time, there are only eight other players who qualify. It’s a good list, featuring three Rookie of the Year winners, a Rookie of the Year top-three finalist, an MVP award winner, a current top prospect, and multiple other productive big leaguers. 

#	Name	Team	Level	Age	PA	BB%	K%	AVG	OBP	SLG	wRC+
2025	Jett Williams	NYM	AA,AAA	21	572	13.3%	22.9%	0.261	0.363	0.465	136
2025	Carter Jensen	KCR	AA,AAA	21	492	12.2%	24.8%	0.290	0.377	0.501	136
2024	Roman Anthony	BOS	AA,AAA	20	540	14.6%	23.5%	0.291	0.396	0.498	147
2023	Coby Mayo	BAL	AA,AAA	21	614	15.1%	24.1%	0.290	0.410	0.563	153
2022	Gunnar Henderson	BAL	AA,AAA	21	503	15.7%	23.1%	0.297	0.416	0.531	152
2022	Corbin Carroll	ARI	AA,AAA,CPX	21	442	15.2%	24.2%	0.307	0.425	0.610	144
2022	Francisco Alvarez	NYM	AA,AAA	20	495	14.1%	24.8%	0.260	0.374	0.511	137
2021	Spencer Torkelson	DET	A+,AA,AAA	21	530	14.5%	21.5%	0.267	0.383	0.552	150
2016	Cody Bellinger	LAD	AA,AAA	20	477	12.6%	19.7%	0.271	0.365	0.507	147

But Jensen didn’t stop there: he is one of only four players in the last decade to fit all of those categories and also make his MLB debut the same year. The three players who qualify for that extra category are Gunnar Henderson (2023 AL RoY winner), Corbin Carroll (2023 NL RoY winner), and Francisco Alvarez (career 105 wRC+ and 6.6 fWAR in only 304 career games). 

To quote the indomitable Adam Savage, failure is always an option; Coby Mayo’s big league career to date is a testament to that truth. Jensen could always end up on the Mayo path. And yet, probabilities are what they are, and given the skills that Jensen has already shown—elite exit velocity, excellent plate discipline, solid contact ability, and a knack for adjusting to continually more difficult pitching at a young age—it is very likely that Jensen is very good very quickly. 

Despite a very strong resume, Jensen is viewed mostly as an afterthought in the American League Rookie of the Year prediction circuit. MLB Pipeline recently interviewed 44 front office officials, and only three of them predicted that he’d win. 

Maybe that’s good for Jensen. We all saw what kind of pressure Jac Caglianone was under last year. In any case, Jensen should be getting more buzz. He’s ready. He’s gonna be good. And it’ll be fun to watch.

The people have spoken and left-handed pitcher Josh Hartle is our No. 19 Cleveland Guardians prospect for 2026. Hartle commanded 31.6% of the vote, defeating the likes of the likes of Andrew Walters (21.1%), Austin Peterson (11.6%), Jacob Cozart (8.4%) and Petey Halpin (8.4%).

Hartle was a third round draft pick out of Wake Forest by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024. Supposedly, Cleveland was interested in taking him at the time, but the Pirates got to Hartle first (and the Guardians ended up selecting Joey Oakie later that round, so it was a win-win).

The 6-foot-6 southpaw pitched just 1.2 innings the year he was drafted in one appearance at Single-A. He then was traded to Cleveland in the Spencer Horwitz deal. With Luis Ortiz doing you-know-what, Hartle is now the headliner of that deal.

Cleveland sent Hartle straight to High-A to begin 2025 and he pitched tremendously well there. Over the course of 22 starts, he posted an elite 2.35 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP and a 3.06 FIP. He struck out 24% of batters and walked 8.9%. He also was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Year.

Hartle earned a cup of coffee at Double-A, where he made two starts and pitched reasonably well. He’ll likely begin the 2026 campaign there.

Despite his size, Hartle isn’t a burner with elite velocity. He sits in the low 90s and touches about 94 mph with his fastball. His changeup currently is his best pitch and his cutter and slider aren’t too far behind. While he hasn’t flashed elite strikeout stuff, he has done a good job of mitigating hard contact.

Now, it’s time to determine who is number 20 in the Guardians’ loaded farm system and you now have a whopping 10 players to choose from! Your options are below:

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Robert Arias, OF (Age 19)
2025 (ACL) 198 PA, .287/.389/.402, 2 HR, 29 SB, 14.6 BB%, 11.1 K%, 116 wRC+

A top Cleveland international signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2024, Arias has easily walked more than striking out and had a strong stateside debut last year in the Complex League.

Jacob Cozart, C (Age 23)
2025 (A+) 308 PA, .229/.344/.364, 7 HR, 0 SB, 13.3 BB%, 21.1K%, 106 wRC+
2025 (AA) 94 PA, .256/.330/.390, 2 HR, 0 SB, 8.5 BB%, 25.5K%, 113 wRC+

Selected as a defense-first catcher with some pop in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft, Cozart had above-average offensive seasons at both High-A and Double-A in 2025.

Dauri Fernandez, SS (Age 18)
2025 (ACL) 176 PA, .333/.398/.558, 6 HR, 16 SB, 9.1 BB%, 12.5 K%, 147 wRC+
2025 (A): 24 PA, .273/.250/.318, 0 HR, 2 SB, 0 BB%, 12.5 K%, 57 wRC+

One of Cleveland’s top performers in the Arizona Complex League in 2025. Undersized, but makes solid contact and doesn’t strike out often. Earned a small taste of full-season ball at the end of the year.

Jogly Garcia, RHP (Age 22)
2025 (A): 8 G, 30.2 IP, 2.05 ERA, 1.42 FIP, 42.9 K%, 11.1 BB%, 1.04 WHIP
2025 (A+): 3 G, 8.1 IP, 5.40 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 24.3 K%, 8.1 BB%, 1.32 WHIP

Another international prospect signed out of Venezuela, Garcia exploded into relevance with a sensational start to the 2025 season before getting derailed by injury.

Franklin Gomez, LHP (Age 20)
w/ Mets 2025 (A): 14 G, 82.0 IP, 1.85 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 21.4 K%, 11.7 BB%, 1.09 WHIP
w/ Mets 2025 (A+): 6 GS, 48.2 IP, 1.70 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 23.4 K%, 9.9 BB%, 1.83 WHIP

Acquired from the Mets in a trade for international bonus cash, Gomez lit up Single-A in his age-19 season, then improved his walk and strikeout numbers after being promoted to High-A.

Petey Halpin, OF (Age 23)
2025 (AAA) 553 PA, .249/.321/.414, 14 HR, 15 SB, 9.2 BB%, 28.2 K%, 95 wRC+
2025 (MLB): 8 PA, .333/.500/.333, 0 HR, 0 SB, 25.0 BB%, 25.0 K%, 157 wRC+

Earned a cup of coffee in Cleveland last season after an average year at Triple-A at age 23. Impressed with five runs scored in just six games played with the Guardians.

Austin Peterson, RHP (Age 26)
2025 (AA): 11 GS, 55.0 IP, 1.47 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 23.9 K%, 4.9 BB%, 0.84 WHIP
2025 (AAA): 15 GS, 90.2 IP, 4.27 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 20.2 K%, 7.8 BB%, 1.37 WHIP

Absolutely dominated Double-A to begin 2025 looking well on his way to repeating his tremendous 2024 season, but then struggled after an early-season promotion to Triple-A. Remains on the 40-man roster.

Gabriel Rodriguez, SS (Age 18)
2025 (ACL) 122 PA, .294/.393/.402, 1 HR, 11 SB, 12.3 BB%, 18.9 K%, 116 wRC+

One of Cleveland’s top recent international signings, Rodriguez put up strong offensive numbers in his stateside debut in his age-18 season in 2025. Expected to transition to full-season ball this year.

Andrew Walters, RHP (Age 25)
2025 (AAA): 12 G, 12.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 1.91 FIP, 46.0 K%, 18.0 BB%, 1.17 WHIP
2025 (MLB): 2 G, 1.1 IP, 13.50 ERA, 9.89 FIP, 33.3 K%, 0.0 BB%, 1.50 WHIP

Walters maintains his rookie status due to limited MLB appearances because of an injury in 2025. If he returns at 100%, he’ll once again be a factor in the back end of Cleveland’s vaunted bullpen.

Our list so far:
1. Chase DeLauter, LHH OF
2. Travis Bazzana, LHH 2B
3. Parker Messick, LHP
4. Ralphy Velazquez, LHH 1B/RF
5. Angel Genao, SH SS
6. Braylon Doughty, RHP
7. Cooper Ingle, LHH C
8. Khal Stephen, RHP
9. Juan Brito, SH 2B/1B/RF/3B
10. Jaison Chourio, SH OF
11. Kahlil Watson, LHH OF
12. Daniel Espino, RHP
13. George Valera, LHH OF
14. Jace LaViolette, LHH OF
15. Joey Oakie, RHP
16. Alfonsin Rosario, RHH OF
17. Juneiker Caceres, LHH OF
18. Yorman Gomez, RHP
19. Josh Hartle, LHP

In Mariners news…

• ICYMI: The Mariners are sending 16 players to the 2026 World Baseball Classic, the most of any MLB team.
• Daniel Kramer at MLB.com details everything fans need to know about Spring Training this year.
• Shannon Drayer at Seattle Sports 710 AM ponders if the Mariners’ current roster is better now than last October.

Around the league…

• Outfielder MJ Melendez has agreed to a one-year/$1.5 million deal including $500,000 in incentives.
• The Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox are among multiple teams interested in Houston Astros infielder Isaac Paredes.
• Recently retired MLB veterans Clayton Kershaw, Anthony Rizzo, and Joey Votto will join NBC Sports’ MLB coverage throughout the 2026 season.

Becca’s picks…

• Time to party like it’s 2014: The Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl Champions!!!

Pitchers and catchers report to camp tomorrow, and the Washington Nationals roster still feels painfully incomplete. Even for a team that does not have serious playoff aspirations, there are still holes that need to be filled. The team lacks veteran leaders and proven commodities. Hopefully new President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni can do something to fix that as the offseason winds down.

For his part, Toboni has acknowledged that the team needs more additions. In interviews from the past couple of weeks, Toboni said that the team is not set heading to West Palm Beach and that the team is actively looking for pitching help. However, no deals have materialized since then, besides waiver wire action. 

From two weeks ago, a compilation from 2 interviews that Paul Toboni gave:

"By no means do we feel we're set going into West Palm."

"We're actively looking in that [pitching] market, and I think there's a chance we can sign a player here in the next week or two. But we will… pic.twitter.com/OAE86MOtge

— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) February 5, 2026

Hopefully Toboni sticks to his word because he is right that the team is not complete. In fact, they are far from it. The Nats have as many holes as Swiss Cheese right now. There are question marks at first base, DH, the rotation and in the bullpen. You can have internal competitions at some of those spots, but it would be unsettling to do it at all of those positions.

The Nats are not going to be a good team this year, but fans still want to see a respectable product on the field. Right now, it does not seem like there is a serious effort to do that. The only free agent signing Paul Toboni has made is the $5.5 million addition of Foster Griffin, who has spent the last three years in Japan. 

The Nats have not signed a player to a big league contract that actually played in the big leagues last year. Even in a rebuilding year, that is unacceptable. It is something Toboni needs to fix, for the sake of the fans if nothing else.

Most of the high profile free agents are off the board, but that is okay because the Nats were never fishing in that pool. However, there are still some solid free agents available that could be in the Nats price range. Some names to watch could be Rhys Hoskins and former Nats draft pick Lucas Giolito.

Now only eight of the @TheAthleticMLB's top 50 free agents remain unsigned, including none of the top 20.

21. Zac Gallen
30. Lucas Giolito
31. Chris Bassitt
37. Zack Littell
38. Marcell Ozuna
41. Max Scherzer
43. Rhys Hoskins
50. Michael Kopechhttps://t.co/a6wfQyi7RK

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) February 6, 2026

The Nats need reliability at first base and in the rotation. Giolito and Hoskins are veteran presences who can provide that. While the underlying numbers suggest Giolito’s 3.41 ERA from last year is not sustainable, he should still be able to provide league average production which the Nats desperately need in their rotation.

Other starters they could turn to for that include Nick Martinez, Chris Bassitt and Zack Littell. Zac Gallen is also on the market, but Toboni is likely to stay away from him due to his price tag and the qualifying offer attached to him. Toboni does not seem like he is in the business of giving away draft picks.

Another area that could use a boost is the bullpen. The Nats had the worst bullpen in all of baseball last year and it got worse on paper over the offseason. Toboni traded away Jose A. Ferrer, the Nats most promising reliever. It was a deal I liked, but it still weakens the bullpen. The Nats are projected to have the worst bullpen in baseball again in 2026.

Fangraphs RP DC Rankings (Bottom 5)
26th: Athletics (1.3 fWAR)
27th: DBacks (1.2 fWAR)
28th: Rockies (1.1 fWAR)
29th: Giants (1.1 fWAR)
30th: Nats (0.4 fWAR)😬😬😬
Bullpens shouldn’t be the main focus of a rebuilding team, but they cannot go into 2026 without any new additions https://t.co/9TP84FDuFK

— Paul Cubbage (@PaulCubbage23) February 2, 2026

The free agent options are slim, but there are still some names available. Michael Kopech could be an interesting flier to take. He has injury issues, but also possesses huge upside. If the Nats wanted a safer option, veteran lefties Danny Coulombe or Jalen Beeks could be options. 

I am not expecting any massive additions, but are a couple stabilizing additions too much to ask for? With this pitching staff, the Nats are really running the risk of bottoming out and losing 100+ games. Even in a rebuild, that is not something you want to do, especially with a draft lottery in place. 

A few veterans would help the young guys develop and keep the fans engaged. Speaking of the fans, how about an addition of Max Scherzer? I know that would fire me up and he would be such a great leader for this young team. Both the Nats and Scherzer have reasons to not be interested in each other, but it would be a ton of fun.

Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow and the Nats roster just feels so unfinished. Can you really roll out there with this rotation, Abimelec Ortiz or Matt Mervis at first base, and this no name bullpen? It just feels like you would be asking for trouble. I guess we are going to find out based on what Paul Toboni does in the coming days and weeks.

In a move that seemingly came out of nowhere, the Milwaukee Brewers have traded third baseman Caleb Durbin, utility infielders Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler, and their competitive balance B pick to the Boston Red Sox. In return, Milwaukee has acquired left-handed starter Kyle Harrison, infielder David Hamilton, and minor league left-hander Shane Drohan.

Trade news: The Boston Red Sox are acquiring third baseman Caleb Durbin in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, sources tell ESPN. Left-hander Kyle Harrison is headlining the three-player package headed back to Milwaukee.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 9, 2026

Harrison, 24, was ranked as a top 25 prospect in the league prior to the 2024 season by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. He made his major league debut with the Giants in 2023 but was the centerpiece of San Francisco’s deal for Rafael Devers in June of last year. In 42 career appearances (37 starts, 194 2/3 innings) Harrison has a 4.39 ERA, 4.43 FIP, and 2.85 K:BB ratio. In the minors, though, Harrison has a 3.39 ERA in over 350 innings and has struck out 13.7 batters per nine, a massive number for a starter.

Hamilton, 28, is a speedy, versatile defender who doesn’t hit much. A former draft pick by the Brewers, he was sent to the Red Sox in the Hunter Renfroe trade a few years back. He was a very good player in 2024, when at 26 years old he hit .248/.303/.395 (96 OPS+) in 98 games and played good defense split between second base and shortstop. He earned 2.6 bWAR that season, but was unable to replicate that success in 2025, when he hit just .198/.257/.333 in 194 plate appearances across 91 games.

Drohan has yet to make his major league debut. He turned 27 last month and was a 2020 fifth-round pick by Boston. Drohan missed much of the 2025 season with “forearm inflammation,” but when he was healthy, he was excellent: in 47 2/3 innings at Triple-A Worcester, he had a 2.27 ERA, 12.7 K/9, and 3.0 BB/9.

Durbin was the Brewers’ starting third baseman in 2025, a role that now seems up for grabs. He was a big part of the Brewers’ 97-win team last year and earned 2.8 WAR in a promising rookie season. He doesn’t turn 26 until later this month and won’t be a free agent until he’s past his prime, and it seemed like Durbin would be a big part of the Brewers’ future. While there are some reasons to be skeptical of his offensive game given his Statcast numbers, the move is quite a surprise.

Monasterio has been the team’s primary utility infielder for the past three seasons and has been solid, likable, and reliable in that role. Seigler had a disappointing first season in the majors, but there were reasons for optimism in some of his underlying numbers and he was another versatile player.

Hamilton can certainly replace Monasterio in the utility infield role, but we now have a real question on our hands: who is the Brewers’ starting third baseman on opening day?

Brewers' current (non-1B) infield depth:

-Joey Ortiz
-Brice Turang
-Jett Williams (never played third)

A move is likely coming.

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) February 9, 2026

Much more to come.

Super Bowl Sunday brings closure to the football season and is the unofficial start to the baseball season. Fans across the country put away their pigskins and pickup their mitts knowing the crack of the bat is just days away. For teams competing in the Caribbean Series, the sweet sounds have baseball have been heard for weeks and while Super Bowl LX took the top headlines two teams from Mexico battled it out in the championship to determine who would take the Caribbean Series title this weekend. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball provides the news you need to know from the series, including which Padres or former Padres were competing for the crown.

Baseball News:

• The New York Mets and outfielder MJ Melendez agreed to a one-year contract for $1.5 million, which also contains added money for incentives reached.
• Clayton Kershaw, Anthony Rizzo and Joey Votto will all be a part of NBC’s MLB pregame coverage for the MLB season.
• Houston Astros infielder Isaac Paredes is drawing interest from teams looking to trade for his services, with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox being the most interested at this point.   

MLB Rumors: Marcell Ozuna and the Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to terms on a one year, $12 million deal, per reports.

Ozuna, 35, began his career with the Miami Marlins before being shipped out after a career year in 2017 for a package that included pitching prospects Zac Gallen and Sandy Alcantera. After a couple of middling seasons with the Cardinals, he signed a one year deal with the Atlanta Braves, for whom he mashed in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. After exploring the market for a while, he ended up agreeing in early February of 2021 to return to Atlanta on a five year deal.

Ozuna had a couple of bad seasons for Atlanta to start of that contract, a couple of really good seasons in 2023 and 2024, and then a decent 2025 campaign, in which he slashed .232/.355/.400. He has only played DH the last two seasons, and played DH in all but two games in 2023, so while he could theoretically put on a glove and stand in left field at some point in 2026, he’s a full-time DH at this point.

The Pirates had been rumored to be pursuing free agent pitcher Framber Valdez, who ended up agreeing to a three year deal with Detroit late last week. The Pirates were also supposedly talking to the Astros and Cardinals about a potential three-way deal that would have sent Brendon Donovan to the Astros and Isaac Paredes to Pittsburgh, with the same piece saying that the Pirates pursued Eugenio Suarez before he joined the Reds.

A couple of weeks ago, I ran down some potential options to fill the Rangers’ one big remaining hole — a righthanded bench bat to platoon with Joc Pederson at DH. About Ozuna I wrote that he “is also going to be more expensive than someone similar, such as [Miguel] Andujar, and probably doesn’t want to accept a part-time role right now.”

Not that I was really going out there on a limb with that comment, but both of those things ended up being true. Miguel Andujar, another popular righthanded bench option for the Rangers, agreed to terms on a $4 million deal with San Diego late last week, so Ozuna is getting three times as much as Andujar and would appear to be slated to be the Pirates’ everyday DH.

Paul Goldschmidt, who I also mentioned as a possibility (albeit not a strong one), is returning to the Yankees, also on a $4 million deal, so we can similarly scratch him from the list of guys who, in theory, could be pursued.

The Ozuna deal would seem to put an end to any possibility of Andrew McCutchen returning to the Pirates, for whom he has played each of the past three years. If the Rangers are looking for a cheap righthanded bat with veteranocity, McCutchen would seem to be a candidate.