Worldwide Sports News

Every good analysts has to start with an acknowledgement of limitations. As much as we might want to rely on the numbers on the back of the baseball card, each season exists in its own universe. One of the axioms I always go by is that I don’t really start worrying or getting excited until Memorial Day. Every season exists in its own universe and teams have to spend much of April and May figuring out who is going to do what. The Astros consistently start very slowly and one of the reasons is that it takes that much time to figure out what combination of guys are going to work.

Most successful teams have a core of good players and they ride them for the balance of the season. If you look historically at the greatest teams in history, they have a core group of four to six players that play consistently at an all-star level. The current iteration of the Astros do not have that. Even if we assume health, Yordan Alvarez is the only player that stands out on a roster of solid players that aren’t likely to perform at a traditional all-star level.

The good news is that they are deeper in terms of solid players than in some years. Assuming health, there aren’t any positions that project to be gaping holes, but there are very few that project to be very good. With Dana Brown and Joe Espada on the last years of their contracts, there is added pressure to get this right. Say you want about Espada (and I know every fan has their opinions), his job will not be an easy one this season. He needs to find the right combination of guys to make this work.

We will focus on a number of different positions as we move closer to spring training, but if we look at the career numbers of just those in the outfield, we see an opportunity to mix and match to create the best result. Of course, with opportunity also comes risk. It also comes with roster decisions for Dana Brown. The question will be whether younger players can serve you better on the bench or getting regular plate appearances in Sugar Land.

Below we take a basic look at slash lines (AVG/OBP/SLG) for all of the players that could potentially play in the outfield. We will include Jose Altuve in these because he will likely get some starts in left field. The task for Joe Espada and Dana Brown is to figure out how exactly to deploy who they have to the best results. For Brown, he needs to see if there is anything out there that could fill in some of those gaps.

One of the more intriguing works in the stats community is a book by former SABR president Vince Gennaro called “Diamond Dollars”. There were a few landmark nuggets in that book, but the biggest one was what he termed the “platoon advantage.” Essentially, the idea is that teams will pay a premium for a player that will hit from both sides of the plate.

For instance, Alvarez has a .900+ OPS against both righties and lefties. That kind of proficiency is expensive on the open market. Most players have one side where they are dominant and one side where they aren’t. The general premise is that if 75 percent of the pitchers in baseball are right-handed then a player that performs well against right handed players is worth 75 percent of that player that performs well from both sides. Yet, most of the time those players get a fraction of the money.

For instance, Jesus Sanchez will earn just under seven million dollars a year, but he has a career OPS against righties that is well above the league average. If you paired him with Cam Smith then the total player with an OPS approaching .800. How much would you pay for a player that would produce that level of production from both sides of the plate?

The question is how far you take the platoon advantage? There are 26 guys on a roster and 13 of them are pitchers. So you have only four bench slots and one of those will be a backup catcher. So, you need to be as strategic as possible with those remaining three bench slots. One of those decisions will be whether to carry a fifth outfielder.

When you look at the breakdown, Zach Cole performed better against right handed pitchers than against lefties. Granted, that was in a limited number of plate appearances at the big league level. However, he is a left handed hitter, so those splits would be more or less expected. He would be a natural platoon partner with Jake Meyers if given the opportunity.

This is where Dana Brown comes into play. He has to decide whether Cole is better served playing every day in Sugar Land than two or three days a week at the big league level. Players like Dezenzo offer some flexibility due to his ability to play first base. You also need to have a reserve infielder as well and that is where a player like Nick Allen comes into play.

It definitely won’t be easy for Espada and Brown in Spring Training and that is assuming there are no more moves that are made between now and then. It will take a lot of mixing and matching, but based on the career numbers above, there are opportunities to maximize production against both righties and lefties. Next time, we will take a look at the infield to see what opportunities are there.

Some Tuesday morning Dodgers news and notes, one day after closer Edwin Díaz was officially announced as pitching for Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

FanGraphs unveiled its initial 2026 playoff odds on Monday. Understandably, the Dodgers are at the top, with a projected 99.6 wins and a 99.1-percent chance to make the postseason.

“Projection systems are inherently conservative; 100-win projections are rare. This team simply looks that good,“ Ben Clemens wrote at FanGraphs. ”When you take the two-time defending World Series champions, lose almost no one, and add the top hitter and top reliever available in free agency, an already-rosy projection simply spikes to the moon. We think the Dodgers have a comically high 94.1% chance of winning the NL West. That’s silly.”

Mookie Betts talked about how he prepared during the offseason to rebound from the worst offensive season of his career, as chronicled by Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic. Also within the article was manager Dave Roberts hinting at some more clarity to the Dodgers lineup, hinting that he likes Betts hitting third and catcher Will Smith hitting fifth (which would mean newcomer Kyle Tucker batting second and Freddie Freeman cleanup).

Keith Law at The Athletic unveiled his top 20 Dodgers prospects on Monday, and included in the article are other minor leaguers of note. Among them is Ryan Ward, the soon-to-be 28-year-old who was added to the 40-man roster in November but his path to major league playing time here is narrow with a stacked roster in Los Angeles.

“He peaked at an EV of 111.4 mph last year and his hard-hit rate was just over 50 percent, while he’s an above-average runner and can handle an outfield corner or first base,” Law wrote of Ward. “He does have a big platoon split, but he’s left-handed and should probably play as the strong side of a platoon for someone this year — like, how is this guy not a Marlin or a Rockie by now?”

Hannah Keyser at CNN wrote about gambling addiction affecting young men’s relationships to friends, family, and sports fandom.

We’ve got a ton of Royals links for today’s Rumblings. Let’s get to it.

The Royals announced yesterday that the broadcast partner for the 2026 season will not be Fanduel Sports Network Kansas City. It will be Royals TV.

The Royals announced their games will be produced and distributed by Major League Baseball on the newly dubbed Royals.TV for the 2026 season. Fans will be able to watch on cable, satellite television and the MLB app.

The team also said that some games will be shown on over-the-air options.

Cullen Maxey, the Royals’ president of business operations, said a handful of the team’s games will be broadcast as an over-the-air option in Kansas City. It’s the second consecutive season that games will air on KCTV (Ch. 5) and possibly KSMO (Ch. 62).

Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman confirmed Saturday that the team’s opener, which is March 27 against the Braves in Atlanta, will air on KCTV. First pitch is at 6:15 p.m.

Anne Rogers has the lowdown on the TV situation.

Fans who live inside the Royals’ home television territory can purchase a Royals.TV in-market streaming package through MLB.com or the MLB app for $19.99 per month or $99.99 per year. Subscriptions for the 2026 season will be available later this month, before Spring Training games begin on Feb. 20.

Matt Quatraro commented on various topics at a press conference (video).

Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro said at a press conference the team expects to be competitive this season as key pitchers return to health. Quatraro also discussed adjustments to the outfield wall, including moving it closer, and how the changes could impact play at Kauffman Stadium.

Salvador Perez was interviewed as well and said he wanted to retire with the organization (video).

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez agreed to a two-year contract extension that keeps the franchise star in Kansas City through the 2027 season. Perez, who said he wants to retire as a Royal, comes off an MLB season with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs.

I feel like the true news of the day was buried several stories down here. Vinnie Pasquantino was an actor.

Vinnie Pasquantino also has a bit personality: charismatic and animated with a certain gift for delivery and comedic timing. Those traits help explain why the undersized childhood version of him was in demand not yet as a baseball star but as an actor who played hobbit Bilbo Baggins in a “Lord of the Rings” middle school play.

Vinnie, if you’re reading this, my wife, who is intimately involved in the community theater scene in Kansas City, could find you some roles.

He’s also very excited to play for Team Italy in the WBC.

“I get asked about it all the time,” Pasquantino said. “That’s the question that I get asked the most when I meet somebody new. ‘Oh you play for Team Italy, don’t you?’”

But the Royals first baseman is more than happy to wax poetic about the WBC. His passion for it has become impossible to ignore. Pasquantino left the 2023 Classic with newfound appreciation for his ancestry, and he jumped on board for the ‘26 tournament the second he was offered the chance to do so.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep analyzes Noah Cameron’s chances at regression in the upcoming season.

Safe to say, Cameron did everything in 2025 to prove that he belongs in the Royals rotation in 2026 and beyond. That said, there were a couple of minor red flags from the past year that could affect his outlook for the upcoming season, based on surface-level metrics alone. 

While he posted a sub-three ERA, which is pretty elite, his xERA was 4.08, his FIP was 4.18, and his xFIP was 4.08. Those aren’t bad metrics by any means, especially for a No. 4 or No. 5 starter in the rotation. At the same time, each of those indicators has a difference of over 1, which is a significant gap. Add that with a .241 BABIP and 84% LOB% (strand rate), and it seems likely that Cameron will be unable to sustain his 2025 numbers into 2026, especially with the new park dimensions at Kauffman Stadium.

Jim Bowden gives offseason grades and predictions ($).

Key takeaways: The Royals have had a solid but not spectacular offseason. Their best moves upgraded their outfield depth (with Lane Thomas and Isaac Collins) and improved the left side of their bullpen (Matt Strahm). They also deserve praise for third baseman Maikel Garcia’s contract extension. Extending Matt Quatraro, one of the best young managers in baseball, was another smart move. His stock has risen in the industry.
Biggest question: What impact will the Royals’ new outfield dimensions have on their offense? Will it help them win more games, or just help both teams — home and away — hit more home runs? And how will it affect their pitching staff?
Season prediction: First place

Ready for yet another stadium piece?

Proponents say Washington Square Park would be a good landing spot for the Royals in part because the team could strike deals with parking owners in greater downtown — as the team meant to do in the East Crossroads — instead of building costly garages. Thousands of spaces are in nearby garages and surface lots used by Crown Center’s office tenants and retail patrons, meaning the Royals could negotiate with owners the Hall family about game-day use. The team also could work with the Halls on potential mixed-use development of unused lots in Crown Center or on reconstruction needed for The Link pedestrian walkway, part of which runs above Washington Square Park to connect the complex’s buildings and shops.

Caleb Moody at Kings of Kauffman reflects on quotes from Royals brass from Royals Rally.

Daniel Epstein at Baseball Prospectus writes about some tweaks that a certain Royals rookie could make ($).

The Mariners traded for St Louis Cardinals outfielder Brendan Donovan.

Other teams also left their FanDuel deals in favor of MLB for broadcasting.

Punxsutawney Phil emerged and said the US South will continue to receive snow until morale improves.

Elon Musk combines two of his companies, SpaceX and xAI, into one for some reason. Probably so he can eventually combine it with X/Twitter and own the rights to XXX. Or something.

We unearthed more old stuff in Greece.

Would you like to watch videos, but from the point of view of a BEAR????

Off Topic

Reports of my bike that I got a few weeks ago were greatly exaggerated. I took it in to get serviced at my local bike shop, and the guy there said it was probably a 2010s bike. Fair enough – the guy I bought the bike from said it was 1990s, but he did not seem like he had the best memory. Either way, the bike’s in great shape now and I’ve got it set up on the trainer in the basement. On the recommendation of one of the commenters here, I did immediately buy a couple pairs of Chamois shorts. A good investment indeed.

Your song of the day is Odd Socks by Keyframe.

On Saturday, the San Francisco Giants made what will likely be their last major move of the 2025-26 offseason, agreeing to a one-year deal with three-time All Star Luis Arráez and his preternatural left-handed contact abilities. It was a move that not many saw coming, but after failing to swing a trade for Nico Hoerner or Brendan Donovan — despite the latter feeling like a lock for much of the offseason — the Giants pivoted.

Arráez is the embodiment of a player that people have varying opinions about, as evidenced by the fact that our newser on the signing is currently sitting at more than 850 comments. He has an old-school skillset that analytics mostly hate, and that means some people love him and some people hate him. He does some things great and some things horribly — it’s not an exaggeration to say he might be both the best and worst player in the Majors in multiple areas — and that means some people think he’s a great signing and some people think he’s an awful one. He represents a notable move the Giants made when none was expected, but not the move that fans were hoping for, and that means that some people are excited by the deal and some people are annoyed by it.

You can read more of my opinions here, but I’m interested in yours. So let me help you out with a very non-comprehensive list of some of the pros and cons of the Giants signing Arráez to be their second baseman.

Some of the good

• He has the best bat-to-ball skills on the planet.
  • It’s not even close.
  • Like, he’s in the first tier all by himself.
  • And no one is in the second tier.
  • Maybe there’s a name or two in the third tier.
  • Maybe.
• He almost certainly makes the Giants offense better.
• He provides his offensive value in a way that is otherwise entirely foreign to the Giants roster, and versatility is a good thing.
• He annoys the holy heck out of opposing pitchers.
• He’s a good clubhouse guy.
• He takes the pressure off of Casey Schmitt.
• He gives the Giants an honest-to-goodness lineup where they have a starter at every position with no timeshares.
• He’s only 28.
• The Giants now employ Ron Washington, who works wonders with infielders.
• There’s no such thing as an awful one-year deal.

Some of the bad

• His defense is almost as bad as hit contact skills are good.
  • I don’t know how to explain how bad his defense is.
  • Like, the Padres moved second baseman Jake Cronenworth to first base because he was so bad defensively at second base and then moved him back to second base so they could put Arráez at first base rather than let him play second base.
• The Giants have a ground ball-heavy staff, and no pitcher in baseball induces more ground balls to second base than Logan Webb.
• You love Logan Webb, and you want him to have good things, and you’re really, really, really, really tired of the Giants finding ways to lose games when he pitches well, which is usually because they can’t score runs but now maybe it will be because they can’t field ground balls and we’ll have to enter “Webbing” into the vernacular as a Caining that occurs through the fault of the infield defense.
• Both his raw numbers and underlying metrics have been in a steady decrease for a few seasons.
• By the advanced metrics, he was a league-average hitter in 2025.
• He has non-existent power, to the point where there’s a decent chance that Rafael Devers might have more home runs in one series at Coors Field than Arráez will have all year.
• He doesn’t draw walks.
• He is shockingly slow and, as a result, struggles to go first to third on singles or first to home on doubles, and as such scored just 66 runs last year despite leading the league in hits and playing on a team with an above-average offense.
• He means you’re going to watch less Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss, though that may end up being a good thing.

There’s more good than I mentioned. There’s more bad than I mentioned. I could do this all day. Your turn, though.

It became a punchline for Colorado Rockies fans.

“That’s the main thing, he wants to be here and be part of the turnaround,” manager Bud Black said of Germán Márquez in 2023 when the RHP signed a two-year, $20 million deal.

Here’s Charlie Blackmon in 2023: “The Rockies want me to be here. Obviously, I want to be here.”

In October 2024 when campaigning for a contract extension, Black told Patrick Saunders, “I’m invested in this team and this organization and I want to be part of the solution to see this through.”

I could go on, but you get the idea. Organizational loyalty was a valued commodity.

Given that Dick Monfort was famous for being loyal to a fault, statements like these suggested fealty on the part of players and staff. This was probably, in part, an effort to ensure no more Arenado-esque defections — because if one thing became clear in 2020 and 2021, Nolan Arenado definitely did not want to be there.

Fans questioned what mattered most to the Rockies as they continued to promote from within and sign marginal free agents: baseball talent and winning or a commitment to the Rockies at all costs?

The Rockies needed three consecutive 100-loss seasons to make significant changes, but the rebuild began in earnest last November with the hiring of president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes.

Here’s the interesting thing: “He wants to be here” is back, but it has a different meaning for DePodesta et al.

This time, wanting to be in Denver isn’t about loyalty or comfort: It’s about embracing challenge and being uncomfortable.

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to speak with pitching coach Alon Leichman. When I asked why he signed on to solve one of the most perplexing problems in baseball, he said, “I think in baseball, especially in the pitching world, you have kind of two schools of thought: either stay away from Denver, or you want the challenge. So I’m when an opportunity was given to me, I definitely wanted to run with it and see what we could do.”

The Rockies are clear that they want players and staff in the latter category, those who want to be here and embrace the challenge.

Consider, DePodesta’s comments on Michael Lorenzen signing with the Rockies:

“He ran toward this challenge. Michael actively wanted to pitch here. He’s done a lot of different things in his career – he was an outfielder, he’s been a reliever, he’s been a starting pitcher. I don’t think he’s afraid of anything. He’s also got some history with some of our staff members, so I think there was some appeal there as well.”

Lorenzen has said the same thing:

“It feels like there’s a lot of new information to be learned, and that’s kind of right up my alley. I enjoy problem solving. Failure is going to happen; trials are going to happen; you’re going to get your teeth kicked in. But it’s the problem solving and how to make the adjustments that I really enjoy. And Colorado, I feel like, presents that opportunity.”

Here’s what Josh Byrnes, who left the best organization in baseball to join the Rockies, said when asked what made him decide to come to Denver:

The challenge. I think it’s a great challenge. I loved every day with the Dodgers. I mean, part of it, even leaving the Dodgers is like, never complacent about anything, always pushing, pushing, pushing, to be the best version of the Dodgers. So I think it’s totally different here, right? 119 losses. Altitude. There’s a lot, and never going to be that kind of payroll. So it’s going to be a different puzzle, but very exciting: working with Paul again; knowing a lot of people in the organization; knowing the city. So if I were to leave the Dodgers, it had to be like the right people and the right challenge. You know, it wasn’t an easy decision, but I think I’m very glad I did it, and I can feel the challenge.

I want to quote one more player, this time Hunter Goodman:

Last year, we had a super young team — me included. And I think we had a lot of guys, at least from watching games or being in the clubhouse, I think we had a lot of people that were happy to be here.

When I first got called up, it’s like, you’re just happy to be here, and you can’t play like that.

You’ve got to walk on the field and be like, “We’re the best team. I’m the best player on the field.” You got to walk on the field with a different level of confidence.

And I think there were some series and some games last year where you’re walking onto the field as a team looking around, and maybe guys aren’t super confident. Guys aren’t. They’re just happy to be there. So I think bringing a different mentality to the game would be a big step in the right direction.

If a player is “just happy to be there,” then taking on a challenge doesn’t really enter the equation.

And that’s where “He wants to be here” 2.0 comes in.

DePodesta, Byrnes, and Leichman are building a staff and a team that invites problem solving. In other words, this year, it’s not enough to be happy to be there: A player has to embrace the challenge.

In an early morning Rockies Fest panel with season ticket holders, Byrnes stressed that they were looking for players with “curiosity” and “problem solving” skills, the kinds of skills that help players embrace, and not avoid, challenges. In other words, on-field skills aren’t enough. There’s an attitudinal component as well.

And, just to be clear, this attitude isn’t just about players. Every member of DePodesta’s staff I spoke with wanted the challenge. DePodesta has built a team of young and innovative minds willing to model for players the kind of experimentation, tenacity, and courage they will need for a successful rebuild.

After all, a rebuild isn’t just about players; rather, it’s redoing the philosophy and infrastructure of an entire organization.

DePodesta has his staff, a philosophy, and a plan. In a couple of weeks, we can start watching the implementation.

In new role within Rockies’ revamped front office, Monfort knows much work remains | MLB.com

Last week, Thomas Harding spoke with Walker Monfort about all the changes underway throughout the Rockies organization.

Every MLB team’s top prospect at each position in 2026 | Bleacher Report

Joel Reuter provides a look at what may be the Rockies’ future roster.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

The Yankees’ outfield is loaded with star power on both sides of the ball, as any group led by Aaron Judge should be. The generational slugger won his third AL MVP award in 2025 after yet another season that had to be seen to be believed: .331/.457/.688 (a career-high in batting average), 53 home runs, 114 RBI, .357 ISO, 18.3/23.6 BB/K%. For the third time in four years, Judge posted a wRC+ over 200 (206 in 2022, 220 in 2024, 204 in 2025), meaning he was more than twice as valuable as a league-average hitter.

Before the 2025 season, the Yankees acquired Cody Bellinger from the Cubs in exchange for Cody Poteet in a salary dump move for Chicago. Bellinger has had ups and downs ever since winning the NL MVP award in 2019, but he was a reliable and productive option for the Yankees with 29 home runs and 98 RBI in 152 games. Bellinger resigned with the Yankees after a long period of negotiations, agreeing to a five-year, $162.5 million contract.

They were also able to re-unite with Trent Grisham, who signed the qualifying offer the Yankees extended to him at the beginning of the offseason. This came as a surprise to many fans and possibly even the organization itself, after Grisham doubled his career-high in home runs with 34 in a breakout offensive season. Many expected him to test the free-agent market, but Grisham decided the best play for this season was to return to the Bronx and make $22 million. Judge, Bellinger, and Grisham combined for 116 home runs in 2025 and all three will be returning to their starting outfield gigs next season.

This is a tough development for Jasson Dominguez, who showed flashes of offensive upside in 123 games during his first real run as an MLB hitter but is still unable to firmly lock in a role in the starting lineup. Dominguez slashed .257/.331/.388 with 10 home runs and 23 stolen bases, but struggled mightily on defense and looked like the elbow surgery he underwent in 2023 might still have been affecting his power output. Grisham and Bellinger returning means Dominguez is the odd man out with Giancarlo Stanton permanently locked into the DH role, and his name has been floated in trade rumors although returning in a bench role appears to be the most likely immediate outcome. It’s fair to say his future as a Yankee is in limbo.

With so much competition in the outfield at the big-league level, it’s unlikely that any outfielders currently in the minor leagues find their way to the Bronx this season. This leaves the organization with another question to answer about the most polarizing prospect in the minor-leagues: Spencer Jones. The 6-foot-7, 240-pound Jones was drafted out of Vanderbilt in the first round of the 2022 MLB draft and features jaw-dropping raw power alongside as much swing-and-miss risk as you could possibly imagine. Jones spent his age-24 season between Double-A and Triple-A, recording 35 home runs and 29 steals in 116 games and striking out 35.4 percent of the time between the two levels. Jones will turn 25 in May and needs to at least get a chance at the big leagues sometime soon.

If you think this sounds eerily similar to the trajectory Aaron Judge followed at the start of his career, you’re not alone. It’s why the organization is still so high on his potential despite all the red flags. However, the consensus around analysts is that Jones is a fringe top-100 prospect and not everyone thinks he’ll be able to produce at the big-league level at all. It is the definition of a high-ceiling, low-floor outcome. The Yankees will have to make a decision about him soon.

Outside of Jones, the Yankees don’t have many notable prospects in the outfield and the ones they do have are far away from being in the conversation for big-league at-bats. They signed Seth Brown, who put up two 20-homer seasons with the Athletics in 2021-22, to a minor league contract and will likely start him in Scranton. The 25-year-old Kenedy Corona, who played his first three MLB games with Houston last year before signing with the Yankees, should join him.

The outfield in Double-A Somerset should be led by Jackson Castillo and Jace Avina, both of whom were consistent contributors deep in the organization last season. Castillo put up slightly above-average numbers with High-A Hudson Valley before struggling a bit after earning a promotion to Somerset. Avina followed a similar path. He tore up High-A pitching with a 168 wRC+ and eight home runs in 52 games, but came back down to Earth in 46 games in Double-A. Both players should stay in Somerset for most, if not all of the year.

There’s a larger crop of outfielders competing for spots in High-A and Low-A, a few of whom saw their stocks rise in 2025 and cracked MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 organizational prospects list to close 2025. The prospect who could be an immediate option at these levels is Wilson Rodriguez, who made his stateside debut in 2025 and adjusted nicely to Low-A pitching. At 21 years old, they may try to see what he can do in Hudson Valley before too long. Tyler Wilson and Joe Delossantos, both mid-round picks from the 2024 MLB Draft, struggled in their small samples with the High-A club but could be due for more playing time with Hudson Valley in 2026.

Richie Bonomolo Jr, the Yankees’ seventh round pick from the most recent MLB Draft, also struggled in his first sample against professional pitching but should remain a contributor in Low-A for the time being. Also in the mix for at-bats should be a few players looking to make their stateside debuts after spending 2025 in the Complex League. Brando Mayea was one of the more promising acquisitions in the 2023 international free-agent class, and despite struggling with injuries last season he put up a 137 wRC+ in his second year in the Complex. He should be due to start the season at Low-A assuming his health is in good shape. The same goes for Gabriel Lara, who spent two seasons in the Dominican Summer League and last year in the Complex league.

The most notable name among the Yankees’ rookie-ball outfielders is Francisco Vilorio, the only other outfielder to rank among MLB Pipeline’s most recent Top 30 in the organization. Vilorio was part of the team’s 2024 IFA class and has spent the past two seasons in the DSL. He hasn’t been able to access much game power (he didn’t homer once in 2025), but his profile is based around his ability to grow into more consistent hard contact. FanGraphs is particularly bullish on Vilorio’s raw power, projecting him to develop it into a 70-grade tool. He should be bumped up to the Complex to start 2026.

The Yankees’ system is top-heavy at a lot of positions entering the 2026 season, but particularly so in the outfield. The star power in the starting lineup should be the team’s main source of offensive firepower, health-permitting, and the two names to know outside of the starters are Dominguez and Jones. How the team deploys those two, either on the field or in trades, will be a major storyline to watch moving forward. Aside from those either at or approaching the big-league level, the outfield depth in the organization won’t make too many headlines in 2026. If the team adds a new outfielder at any time soon, it will almost certainly be a player brought in from another organization.

Sports Business Journal reported on Monday afternoon that the Detroit Tigers, along with nine other major league teams, have cut ties with Main Street Sports, the parent company of FanDuel Sports Network. Of those nine, the Atlanta Braves are currently the only club planning to start their own regional sports network (RSN).

Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal reported that the Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Tampa Bay Rays, are all leaving FanDuel Sports Network.

All of them other than the Braves are expected to move to MLB, where games will be streamed on MLB TV or the MLB app with a subscription. The terms of such a subscription remain to be seen. Will your normal MLB TV subscription that comes with blackouts of home games simply remove the blackouts? Or will it take a specific “home team” subscription? We have questions, and Grapefruit League action is only a few weeks away.

Of course, teams have seen this coming, so hopefully most of the planning is already arranged. The Tigers, who canceled their previous contract with Main Street back on January 8, have notably hired radio and tv play-by-play announcers Dan Dickerson and Jason Benetti as team employees. That moves was in anticipation of something like this happenign, and so their status was kept separate from the regional sports networks. The broadcasts should at least sound and look basically the same in whatever format is arranged.

However, unlike most MLB clubs, the Tigers ownership also owns and operates the Detroit Red Wings, so there’s always been talk of simply putting together a Detroit sports RSN on their own and bringing the Pistons along as well if Tom Gores is on board.

For now, Friend reports that the Tigers are going to MLB media to produce their broadcasts and stream games, and like the other clubs excluding the Braves, will look for local distributors to keep games on local cable packages. So for 2026 we’re going to have to adapt to that. But beyond the Pistons’ and Red Wings’ current broadcast contracts there may be an opportunity to develop a Detroit sports network. Currently this seems like the unlikely outcome of the two long-term, so if people want it they better make their feelings known.

Meanwhile, sources said NBA and NHL teams are in a business-as-usual holding pattern, with the sense that Main Street still plans to air their games the rest of the regular season and simultaneously attempt to negotiate deals beyond this year. A resolution with those leagues is expected to play out over the next two weeks.

At the same time, sources said those NBA and NHL teams did not receive their recent February rights fee payments on Sunday, and it is unclear whether future payments will be reduced by 20% or more — or even arrive at all.

Either way, we’re unlikely to be consulted, so you might as well have your say here. Considering the number of sports fans and the prices of streaming services, I personally haven’t been able to unpack why Diamond Sports and now Main Street Sport Group, can’t get their act together, regardless of declining ad revenues. Maybe a different company could create a more viable RSN. Maybe the Detroit teams doing it together would work out. Or, maybe the simplest solution is to simply let each team handle its own broadcast, stream games themselves, and try to do better by being able to customize everything to their individual markets.

What’s your preference for sports going forward? Would you prefer to simply buy yearly broadcast subscription through the individual teams you follow on their websites/apps? Or do you follow all three teams and prefer an Ilitch/Gores fusion to create a Detroit sports RSN covering all three sports to simplify things?

The news keeps checking in on the checking in and so we continue to await with bated breath while the machinery spins. The Giants no longer need a second baseman and so the Red Sox are the only destination to hang speculation on.

Smart money says Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw stay put but there’s always that slim chance of the experts being wrong.

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

• Tom Gatto (North Side Baseball*): Justin Steele’s eventual return to health will present Cubs with good problem to have. “… as the cliche goes, these things tend to work themselves out.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Keep an eye on these 5 intriguing Cubs players this spring. “Beyond the main stars, here are five Cubs players who will be intriguing to monitor throughout the spring:“
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): A busy weekend for the infield market, with the continued swirl of rumors and speculation. “… the infield market around baseball took some meaningful turns…”
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation*): We don’t talk enough about Nico Hoerner’s second-half power pop. “Hoerner was a very different, far better offensive weapon later in the year…“
• Thomas Harrigan (MLB.com*): 7 players who need to step up to replace key departures. “Losing key players is part of the game.“
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Chicago Cubs sign minor league outfielder Alexander Ramirez, underscoring the need. “… the Cubs were in a spot where they could use a little more depth at Double-A…”

Food For Thought:

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series. We will not wittingly publish A. I. – driven articles or clickbait, and insist on unimpeachable sources.

Yimi García is a 35-year-old, right-handed relief pitcher.

The Blue Jays signed him to a two-year contract before the 2022 season, but then traded him to the Mariners in July of 2024, getting Jacob Sharp, a minor league catcher who hit .161/.271/.206 for the Fisher Cats last year, and Jonatan Clase, who we talked about a few days ago.

Then, the Jays signed him as a free agent again, in December of 2024, giving him $7.5 million a year for two years.

2025 didn’t go well for him. He went on the IL with right-shoulder impingement at the end of May, returned to the team on July 2nd, and then went on the IL again on July 5th, missing the rest of the season.

In the moments he was on the active roster, he pitched in 22 games, with a 3.86 ERA, 3 saves and 6 holds (he has 58 in his time with the Jays, and 90 in his career).

Yimi is one of those rare relievers who throws a lot of pitches. In 2024 he threw six pitcher:

• Four Seamer: 37.3% of the time, 96.5 mph.
• Curve: 19.5%
• Sinker: 15.8%, 95.8 mph.
• Sweeper: 13.1%
• Changeup: 9.5%.
• Slider: 4.7 %

It seems like a lot of pitches for a guy who has only made one start in his career. Generally, relievers (and their pitching coaches) will pick their two or three pitches most effective pitches and go with those. By wOBA, the Sweeper was his most effective pitch in 2024, in 2025 it was the curve.

Yimi was as good against lefty batters (.162/.279/.270) as righties (.179/.304/.256). In his career he’s been a fair bit better against RHB (.620 OPS, vs .719).

Steamer doesn’t think Yimi’s injury issues are going to carry over to 2026. It expects Garcia to pitch in 60 games, with a 3.60 ERA, 4 saves and 11 holds.

This post is part of a series of daily questions that we’ll ask the community here at Amazin’ Avenue throughout the month of February. We hope you find the questions engaging and that our prompts can spark some fun conversations in the comments. We’ll see you there and plan to have staff chiming in, too.

Which Mets player could surprise us with a 3-4 win season?