Worldwide Sports News

Much of the baseball world is gearing up for the World Baseball Classic, but there’s another fun preseason date on coming up on the calendar: MLB’s Spring Breakout. Now in its third year, the Spring Breakout games feature rosters that consist only of each team’s prospects, who get a chance to showcase their abilities against some of the other top young talents in the sport.

The Yankees just announced their roster for this year’s iteration, which will take place against the Braves on March 21st at George M. Steinbrenner Field:

The roster sports just about every notable prospect in the Yankees’ system, as every player above rookie ball on their Top 30 list from MLB Pipeline (with the exception of Rule 5 draftee Cade Winquest) appears on the squad.

The biggest prospects to watch will be some of the players fans have already gotten to know over the past year, such as George Lombard Jr., Elmer Rodríguez, and Carlos Lagrange. It was Lagrange, in fact, who broke out at last season’s Spring Breakout, overcoming first-inning jitters to retire 11 in a row at one point while showing off his 100-mph heater. Lagrange entered the game ranked just 19th on the Yankees’ prospect list, but is now one of the club’s most exciting farmhands.

There are plenty of candidates on this roster who could do something similar to Lagrange last year, announcing their presence on a big stage before going on to have a huge year. Right-handers Ben Hess and Bryce Cunningham, the Yankees’ first two picks in the 2024 draft, should see the field, and could rise up prospects lists fast this year if they can refine their games. Henry Lalane is tantalizing as possibly the left-handed version of Lagrange, the 6-foot-7 lefty still able to touch the upper 90’s after dealing with shoulder issues. Then there’s Chase Hampton, once the Yankees’ top pitching prospect who’s just now getting a shot to re-establish himself after Tommy John surgery.

Elsewhere, it’ll just be cool to potentially see Lombard and Dax Kilby, a pair of top shortstop prospects, share an infield, and dream on the possibility of the two teaming up on the infield dirt in the Bronx someday. That’s the sort of daydreaming MLB was going for in putting together the Spring Breakout, and they’ve largely been successful in creating an event that lets fans get a good look at a number of players who will soon be heading to their minor-league homes for the duration of the season.

Texas Rangers lineup for March 5, 2026 against the Kansas City Royals.

We have the Battle of Surprise today, with the Rangers and Royals facing off. MacKenzie Gore is pitching for the Rangers.

The lineup:

Haggerty — LF

Langford — CF

Seager — SS

Burger — 1B

Higashioka — C

Smith — 2B

Bride — 3B

Zavala — RF

Herrera — DH

Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami has already made his mark at the World Baseball Classic, hitting a game-tying home run against Team USA in the WBC championship in 2023. He's returning to Team Japan in 2026, ahead of his MLB debut.

Murakami signed a two-year contract with the Chicago White Sox in the offseason after a record-breaking run in the Nippon Professional Baseball, the top league in Japan. He hit an NPB-record 56 home runs for a Japanese-born player in 2022 and hit 36 home runs as a 19-year-old in the league.

WBC POWER RANKINGS: Which teams have best odds to win?

Murakami has been a hyped future MLB addition for years, with numerous teams awaiting him being posted by the NPB. His value has taken a hit recently, though, due to his swing-and-miss concerns.

Murakami's power is elite, but he struck out more than 28% of the time in each of his last three seasons. It'll be interesting to see how he transitions to the major leagues, as he has the potential to be among the best power hitters in the sport, especially if he can keep the strikeouts from ballooning out of control.

Here's everything to know of Murakami, one of Japan's top stars:

What more can you ask for? A nice sunny day in CoolToday Park, a solid pitching performance from the Atlanta Braves’ two aces, and oh yeah…an appearance from Chipper Jones and Dale Murphy to speak with the team’s hitters before today’s game.

In an interview with Jones from MLB Braves insider Mark Bowman, he explained how he wanted to make the discussion more interactive for the players when discussing strategies and answering questions about the approaches they took during their playing days.

“It’s one thing for us to stand up and give our testimony, but we don’t actually talk about what the players want to hear,” Jones remarked in the interview.

He also explained that the main idea was to adopt a universal approach when taking pitches and to always have a plan set up before they go up to bat.

A great way to start the day before taking on the Blue Jays.

Starting with pitching, Chris Sale went through three innings, giving up five hits and one earned run before retiring his outing with two strikeouts and tagging in Spencer Strider (2.1 IP/ 2 ER/ 2 H/ 1 BB/ 4 K) in the top of the fourth.

Making his presence known to start with a 1-2-3 inning once he entered, fans were impressed with Strider’s 95-96 mph ranged fastball and 41.7% whiff rated slider that appeared to reach its target consistently.

Though giving up a two-run double in the fifth from Blue Jays’ Addison Barger, the “stuff” was there and gained talk amongst Braves Country to encourage a height in their expectations on what’s to come from the ace.

Getting relieved and then returning shortly after in the sixth, he reached 48 pitches before getting relieved by Blyne Enlow.

Moving over to offense, a sac-fly from Austin Riley first put the Braves on the board to tie (1-1) with their opponent. Also noting the two-run homer (his first of the spring) from Dominic Smith to bring Eli White in and take the lead (3-1) early in the game.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the sixth that the team would see the lead again after an RBI double from
Mauricio Andre Dubón and, soon after, a two-run single from Drake Baldwin (6-3).

Minor league outfielder Tristin English would later go on to extend their lead with a three-run double to secure the win (9-5).

Tomorrow, we’ll be seeing Reynaldo López return as he takes on the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers.

The Mets dropped their exhibition road game against the Nationals this afternoon by a 7-4 score, as Mets relieer Anderson Severino had a rough go of it, surrendering four runs in just two-thirds of an inning to give Washington the lead in what he previously been a tie game.

• Jorge Polanco made his spring training debut at first base and made two plate appearances before being replaced by Jacob Reimer, who took over at third while 2024 Mets draftee Corey Collins took over at first. It was an uneventful day in the field for Polanco, which is good news for now. Three weeks to the day from Opening Day, he’s gotten his first in-game action at the position.
• Bo Bichette went 2-for-3 with a run batted in and a run scored.
• Brett Baty went deep with a two-run home run off Nationals starter Miles Mikolas in the top of the first.
• Justin Hagenman went three innings, struck out four, and didn’t walk anybody. But he gave up a two-run home run along the way.
• Of the other five pitchers who appeared for the Mets, only Austin Warren surrendered a run.
• Mike Tauchman went 1-for-1 with a double and a walk as he continues to look like a player who will break camp with the Mets.

After 11 excellent seasons playing professionally in Japan, Kazuma Okamoto is about to get a far broader exposure to global baseball fans.

Okamoto will make his second appearance for Japan’s World Baseball Classic squad, expected to start on the infield three years after he drove in seven runs in seven games of their 2023 run to the championship.

This time, though, far more eyes will be trained upon him now that he’s a member of the defending American League champion Toronto Blue Jays.

Fair or not, there’s a greater scrutiny for international players once a major league team and salary figure have been assigned. And as Okamoto’s arrival unfolds this March, here’s a closer look at him:

Kazuma Okamoto contract

Okamoto signed a four-year, $60 million contract with the Blue Jays Jan. 4, one day before his posting window to join a major league team expired. He received a $5 million signing bonus and $6 million this season, before earning $16 million the final three years of the deal.

Relative to superstars like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the market for Japanese talent wasn’t red-hot this year. Yet Okamoto did secure a far larger guarantee than the two-year, $34 million commitment infielder Munetaka Murakami received from the Chicago White Sox, and similar to the three-year, $54 million pact pitcher Tatsuya Imai struck with Houston.

Kazuma Okamoto statistics

Okamoto turns 30 in June and has already produced a distinguished career in the NPB. He debuted with the Yomiuri Giants in 2015, when he was 19 years old, and hit 248 homers over 11 seasons. His best all-around season came in 2023, when he hit 41 homers and produced a .958 OPS for Yomiuri, banging out 140 hits in 140 games. He led the NPB in home runs three times and is a six-time All-Star.

Okamoto, a right-handed hitter, had a career .355 OBP and .882 OPS in the NPB.

Kazuma Okamoto scouting report

While his Grapefruit League spring sample is small and should be properly contextualized, five of Okamoto’s seven batted balls have exceeded 95 mph exit velocity, including a 103.4 mph homer hit off New York Mets starter Clay Holmes that traveled 431 feet. He also hit a 104.9 mph double off Marlins lefty Thomas White before departing Florida to join Japan at the WBC.

At 6 feet and 212 pounds, Okamoto brings a physical presence to the batter’s box, combining broad shoulders and quick hands. Like many hitters, he punishes fastballs and may face an initial adjustment period against the more exotic offerings of polished major league pitchers.

Still, his on-base skills and general discipline at the plate should travel well and he’s young and athletic enough to adeptly handle defensive duties at third.

What’s Kazuma Okamoto’s role with the Blue Jays?

Okamoto will be the Blue Jays’ starting third baseman, essentially replacing Bo Bichette, the All-Star who accepted a $42 million annual salary with the Mets. Okamoto’s presence will likely bump Ernie Clement to second base – paired across from shortstop Andrés Giménez – and Addison Barger into right field.

The Okamoto-Bichette swap will certainly affect the Blue Jays’ lineup composition, as Bichette largely batted leadoff or occasionally cleanup. Okamoto’s right-handed bat enables the Jays to keep a right-left-right cadence one through nine in most lineups, as he figures to bat seventh, sandwiched between left fielder Jesus Sanchez and Giménez.

All good things must come to an end, and a nine-game winning streak in Grapefruit League/exhibition play only really registers so much as “good.” The Yankees lost a fake baseball game for the first time since February 22nd, and they did so with a starting pitcher who will probably not be a starter for them in 2026 unless there’s an emergency. The Twins won this one before the rains came in Tampa to cut it short at 15-0 in the seventh.

We’ll get the offense out of the way in a hurry. There were two measly Yankees hits, with the top four names in the lineup—Trent Grisham, Jasson Domínguez, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton—combining to go 1-for-7 with a single (Domínguez) and a walk (Bellinger). The lone other knock came on a Ryan McMahon double. Spencer Jones worked a walk in his only plate appearance, entering in center upon Grisham’s expected departure. Taj Bradley quieted the Yankees lineup through four, and the wonderfully-named duo of Kody Funderburk and Eric Orze did the same for their final two frames.

Paul Blackburn got the ball for the Yankees this afternoon and worked a perfect first before running into trouble in the second. Matt Wallner worked a leadoff walk, erstwhile Dodgers up-and-comer James Outman singled him to third, and after Wallner was retired at home on a comebacker to Blackburn from former Baby Bomber Eric Wagaman, second baseman Tristan Gray did damage with a double. Outman crossed home plate and Minnesota was on the board, 1-0. Blackburn fanned Ryan Kreidler (career OPS+ of 11) and Noah Cardenas (39 career games above Double-A, none in the majors) to strand a pair in scoring position.

Blackburn was victimized again in the third by one of the few true threats in the Twins’ lineup. Luke Keaschall had a 128 OPS+ in 49 games for Minnesota last year, enough to earn down-ballot Rookie of the Year support despite the limited sample. He continued to show his potential on Thursday by smacking a 395-foot solo shot on a fat sweeper that might as well have been on a tee:

Blackburn then walked Trevor Larnach and at 56 pitches, that was the end of his day. Three of his seven outs were K’s, and he might well indeed be a useful reliever for the 2026 Yankees. It’s just advisable to keep him away from the rotation.

Two other Yankees competing for bullpen spots didn’t have their most inspiring days either. Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest entered in the fourth and quickly put Gray on second with a walk and a wild pitch. That was his own doing, but he had some bad luck when Kreidler reached on a 65.7-mph infield single that third baseman Zack Short deflected and after nearly getting out of the first-and-third/no-out jam, Keaschall hit a slow roller to the left side that not even Ozzie Smith could’ve made a play on at shortstop. A run was going to score regardless, but McMahon—filling in at the six to see if he can moonlight as a backup to José Caballero with Anthony Volpe out—made the poor decision to throw it to first anyway. A second run scored and it was 4-0.

One can charitably give Winquest a pass for that inning, bumpy start notwithstanding. The only charity that could be offered to Rockies trade acquisition Angel Chivilli is that this is spring training and he could’ve been just been working on something in a meaningless game that didn’t really pan out. It’s just unfortunate for him since he’s trying to win one of the last spots in the bullpen and is probably best served refining his solid stuff at Triple-A to start 2026. Wallner started it in the fifth against Chivilli with a sharp hit to left that maybe still should’ve been a single but turned into a sure double because Domínguez didn’t get to it fast enough. Outman then obliterated a fastball for a two-run homer.

Chivilli sandwiched a strikeout of Gray between an infield hit from Wagaman and a walk to Kreidler before Cardenas ended his day with an RBI single to left. Minor leaguer Cole Zaffiro didn’t help his line, as another Keaschall hit made it 9-0, Twins, and a five-run day for Chivilli. Under spring training re-entry rules, he was able to return in the sixth for a little more work. Although he allowed a second-pitch double to Triple-A outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez, he at least departed on a high note by striking out a more well-regarded current prospect, Emmanuel Rodriguez.

The scoreboard got truly silly in the sixth, as the Twins tallied six runs against Michael Arias, who will not be sniffing the Opening Day roster. The inning only ended on an out at the plate following a Gonzalez double. It was downright silly. Only the rain provided an end to the madness, as two outs into the seventh, the tarp came on and never left. At least 2025 fourth-round pick Pico Kohn got to have a nice pitching moment for the Yanks in his debut outing.

The Yankees will be back at it again tomorrow night under the lights at George M. Steinbrenner Field. They’ll host their 2025 regular season tenant Rays, with Cam Schlittler taking the mound against fellow righty Joe Boyle for the first time this spring after back inflammation delayed the playoff hero’s start to Grapefruit League play. Utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera says that he’ll be ready for his first game action as well following recovery from his gruesome injury early last year in Seattle. First pitch is at 6:35pm ET on YES.

Box Score