NBA legend LeBron James was brought to tears by a tribute video during the Los Angeles Lakers' defeat at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James, 41, returned to his home state and former team for possibly the last time on Wednesday as speculation continues over whether he will retire at the end of the season.
He won the NBA title with the Cavaliers in 2016 after returning for a second stint.
During the break after the first quarter at Rocket Arena, the Cavaliers showed highlights of James' performance in game five of the 2007 Eastern Conference finals, when he scored 48 points to seal a double overtime victory.
James started watching the video before pulling his vest over his face then wiping his eyes with a tissue.
"I'm just trying to take everything in, not take the moments for granted," he said.
James said he had "not made a decision on the future" but that it "very well could be" his final season.
He said he was "more present" than on previous trips to Cleveland and that the occasion "definitely got to me a little bit".
James had won nine and lost three of his previous visits to Cleveland, with the Lakers and the Miami Heat.
He had never scored fewer than 21 points in a game, but managed only 11 in a 129-99 defeat on Wednesday.
James is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and has made 28 appearances for the Lakers this season.
The four-time NBA champion signed a one-year contract extension in June.
Although he missed the start of the season with sciatica, he became the first player to feature in 23 NBA seasons when he returned in November.
On this day 24 years ago Willie Harris, a minor but key piece of an eventual World Series champion arrived in Chicago. | (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
1900 Charles Comiskey received permission to relocate the Western League’s St. Paul Saints to Chicago, where they will become the White Sox of the American League.
1957 With air travel commonplace and MLB now stretching from coast to coast, the league considered drafting a plan to create a player pool to be used in the case of a plane crash. For whatever reason (likely that in the case of such a disaster a franchise would have to fold its current season and receive help from other clubs with an offseason draft) a plan never was put forth.
1964 Jim Brosnan is given permission from the White Sox to seek a deal with another team, after GM Ed Short forbids any further in-season writing (Brosnan previously had authored the classic book, The Long Season, as well as Pennant Race). Brosnan, who was acquired during the 1963 season and threw extremely well out of the pen (2.84 ERA, 15 saves and 1.1 WAR) for the pennant-chasing White Sox, would be released by the team on February 25.
Brosnan never pitched another game in the majors, his career over at age 34.
1981 Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn gained control of the Chicago White Sox for $20 million, after American League owners turned down Bill Veeck’s attempt to sell to Eddie DeBartolo.
For franchise value context, on the same day the owners approved an 80% sale of the Seattle Mariners for $10.4 million.
Reinsdorf’s original partner was William Farley, but Farley dropped out in part because the White Sox went out and signed free agents Ron LeFlore and Jim Essian. Farley didn’t approve of the team spending $3 million for them — even though Veeck got the money for the signings from DeBartolo.
Reinsdorf originally was part of a group trying to buy the New York Mets. Einhorn originally was part of a group trying to get the San Diego Padres.
1998 The end of Ozzie Guillén’s White Sox career became official, as the 34-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore. Ozzie’s first year away from the White Sox since 1985 proved eventful, as the O’s released him a month into the season. But Guillén would catch on quickly with Atlanta and would see action in both the 1998 and 1999 postseasons with the Braves.
2002 In the moment, it was a strange trade by GM Ken Williams, as the White Sox traded stalwart outfielder Chris Singleton to Baltimore for young utilityman Willie Harris.
Singleton had an extraordinary rookie season in 1999 (4.8 WAR and 20-of-25 steals playing a superb center field, somehow garnering just sixth place in AL Rookie of the Year voting) and had bounced back nicely with a 2.2-WAR 2001 after a tough sophomore season. Harris, younger by five years, never came close to reaching even those heights in Chicago.
However, Harris will always have a special place in the hearts of White Sox fans, scoring the winning (and only) run of the 2005 World Series Game 4 clincher. Harris lead off the eighth inning of a scoreless tie with a single to left, then was grinded over to third by a Scott Podsednik sacrifice bunt and Carl Everett ground out and driving in by Jermaine Dye’s dribble single to center field. Harris was 2-for-2 in the 2005 playoffs, the only postseason of his career.
2013 A damning story in the Miami New Times listed the names of several major leaguers who were customers of a PED clinic in Coral Gables, Fla., Biogenesis Laboratories. Álex Rodríguez is the headliner of shame, but three past or future White Sox are also named: Bartolo Colón, Melky Cabrera and Yasmani Grandal. All three had tested positive for PEDs within the year, legitimizing the case against Biogenesis.
The sinking Sacramento Kings have been largely unwatchable during a six-game losing streak, and it’s no surprise that they’re big underdogs tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers.
While Philadelphia is still searching for consistency and juggling load management absences, Sacramento’s struggles are on a whole other level, and my Kings vs. 76ers predictions signal one-way traffic for the hosts, led by an in-form Joel Embiid.
Check out my NBA picks ahead of this contest on Thursday, January 29.
Kings vs 76ers prediction
Kings vs 76ers best bet: Joel Embiid Over 27.5 points (-120)
Say what you want about some of Embiid’s limitations after all his knee injuries, the man is still putting up huge numbers, raising hopes about the 76ers’ postseason chances. He’s averaging 28.3 PPG on 54% shooting in January, and I’m taking these odds for his scoring binge to continue.
Embiid has gone past this number in five straight, headlined by a 38-point effort against the Knicks last weekend, and his minutes are quietly creeping up. Even without some of his explosiveness around the basket, he’s been making plenty of noise — and actually making a few 3-pointers, too.
In this matchup, the Kings have no shot at slowing him down. They’re giving up 120.8 PPG, the fourth-worst mark in the NBA, and there’s not much reliable center depth beyond Domantas Sabonis.
When Embiid is on the court, it makes sense for Philadelphia to feed him touches and keep Tyrese Maxey fresher for when he’s flying solo. That kind of formula positions the former MVP to feast in the paint and paves the way to the Over.
Kings vs 76ers same-game parlay
The 76ers have had a major edge over the Kings in recent years, winning eight of the past 10 meetings and posting a 7-2-1 ATS mark in that span. Sacramento is 1-5 ATS during its ugly skid, and I’m laying the points with a Philly team that should be close to full strength.
DeMar DeRozan could be a trade candidate before the deadline, and this is a nice spot for an audition. He scored 34 points against the Knicks last time out, and the Kings are dealing with backcourt injuries to Malik Monk, Russell Westbrook, and Zach LaVine. Pencil him in for this Over.
Kings vs 76ers SGP
Joel Embiid Over 27.5 points
76ers -12
DeMar DeRozan Over 19.5 points
Our "from downtown" SGP: My Precious Rebounds
Precious Achiuwa has made the most of his minutes lately, and he’s averaging 5.9 RPG this month. The Kings will need all the frontcourt help they can get against Embiid, so this rebounds O/U line feels a little light.
Kings vs 76ers SGP
Joel Embiid Over 27.5 points
76ers -12
DeMar DeRozan Over 19.5 points
Precious Achiuwa Over 5.5 rebounds
Kings vs 76ers odds
Spread: Kings +11.5 (-110) | 76ers -11.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Kings +400 | 76ers -550
Over/Under: Over 225.5 (-110) | Under 225.5 (-110)
Kings vs 76ers betting trend to know
The Kings are 3-20 SU on the road this season. Find more NBA betting trends for Kings vs. 76ers.
How to watch Kings vs 76ers
Location
Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Date
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Tip-off
7:00 p.m. ET
TV
NBC Sports California, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Kings vs 76ers latest injuries
Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here
Williams brushed off speculation in December she was considering a comeback despite re-entering the sport’s drug testing pool. But the 23-time grand slam singles champion was not as dismissive about a return in an interview on NBC’s The Today Show.
Nick Castellanos and manager Rob Thompson have a strained relationship stemming from an incident last season and the Phillies are still expected to part ways with the outfielder.
The payroll disparity between teams is the highest it has ever been with the Dodgers having a higher payroll than the lowest five teams combined last year.
All of Major League Baseball has been debating for a while if A), what the Dodgers are doing with their payroll is the ‘correct’ way of doing things; B), how long it would be sustainable; and C) will it finally trigger a salary cap.
For the Dodgers front office, doing it ‘correctly’ is just semantics. Whatever one thinks of how Andrew Friedman and Co have gone about things, there’s no denying that winning three World Series in six seasons is something to be envied. They employ the best player on the planet in Shohei Ohtani, who has brought them untold amounts of revenue in advertising and other areas. The winning ways, combined with their clubhouse culture, has made it a top destination for the top free agents.
On Wednesday, Jack Harris posited that the Dodgers Front Office will not be able to do what they have been for very much longer.
While the Dodgers will still have their winning culture and ability to assess talent and be an enviable destination, when the salary cap or something similar in implemented, the “Golden Age” of this iteration of Dodgers Baseball will be over. As Harris puts it, the Dodgers will go from being a team that ‘should’ win it every season to a team that ‘could’ win it all.
Harris also wonders just how long the Dodgers will have their dominance with their aging core. Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages are the only two everyday players that are under the age of 30, with Tucker not being far off, at the age of 29. Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernandez have contracts expiring at the end of the next two seasons. The Dodgers do have one of the top farm systems in all of the majors but had to give away their second and fourth round drafts to sign both Tucker and Edwin Diaz this offseason. But, as this organization has shown time and again, they will find a way to field the best team possible.
The Dodgers have been doing a Dodgers Love LA Community Tour. On Tuesday, Dodgers alumni Dennis Powell and Matt Luke visited Hollydale Elementary School, hosting a Playworks Recess Takeover. They also handed out groceries and essentials to food insecure families.
To close out today's #DodgersLoveLA Community Tour, Matt Luke and Dennis Powell visited Hollydale Elementary School in South Gate. They hosted a Playworks Recess Takeover with eighth grade students and participated in movement-based programming. pic.twitter.com/8kJvWQYBa9
Back on the #DodgersLoveLA Community Tour, Dodger Alumni stopped by Christy’s Foundation in Northridge to hand out groceries and essentials to families experiencing food insecurity. pic.twitter.com/veH3PrpJ9j
On Wednesday, Steve Yeager and Billy Ashley met with emergency personnel to thank them for their services.
Steve Yeager continued the #DodgersLoveLA Community Tour presented by Bank of America by stopping at a special appreciation lunch with the World Series trophy for the San Bernardino Police Department. pic.twitter.com/8HFUEielax
On the next stop of the tour, Dodger Alumni Billy Ashley met with employees at the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department to recognize their dedication and service to our communities. #DodgersLoveLApic.twitter.com/UsrpNFaqCj
The final infield bat? Up in the air. Free agents? Available. A trade for CJ Abrams? Possible. Maybe? The Washington Nationals did just trade Mackenzie Gore so it’s possible they burn things completely to the ground. Gore, however, did cost the Texas Rangers a king’s ransom of prospects.
We are, as of today, January 29, 2026, 55 days away from Opening Day. It’s a little early for countdowns, but in this weird period between building the team and heading to Spring Training, let’s go ahead and do one anyway, taking a look at the Red Sox players who have worn number 55.
55 isn’t the most popular uniform number but also isn’t the least. Just 9 players for Boston have donned it versus 61 players for number 28, the most worn number.
Let’s remember some guys.
Chris Martin
You don’t need much of a reminder about Martin. The 6’8” righty reliever wore 55 during his two-year stint in Boston in 2023-2024. A real ace of a signing, Martin put up the best season of his career in 2023. Sadly, that team wasn’t in a place to take advantage of a shutdown reliever having a career year.
Matt Strahm
Who can forget Matt Strahm and his very long hair in 2022? Sadly this was his worst full season in the majors, although a 3.83 ERA / 3.72 FIP across 44.2 innings isn’t terrible either. He was one and done, signed as a free agent. He’s been a valuable part of the Phillies bullpen over the last three seasons but found himself shipped off to Kansas City in December.
Christian Vázquez
When he first came up in 2014, Vázquez wore 55. When he returned for good from 2016-2022 the World Series hero took up number 7, currently worn by Masataka Yoshida but previously worn by luminaries like Trot Nixon and J.D. Drew.
Chris Capuano
Do you remember Chris Capuano’s Red Sox career? I had forgotten too. He actually shared 55 in 2014 with Vázquez. The lefty appeared in 28 games out of the bullpen and over 31.2 innings allowed 15 runs. He was released on July 1 that year, signed by the Colorado Rockies on the 4th, and then purchased by the Yankees on the 24th before ever pitching for the Rockies. He had some memorable seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers but not for John Farrell.
Ryan Kalish
We’re all the way back to 2010-2012 now for Ryan Kalish and if you don’t remember the hype, it was a lot. Kalish was the number one player in the farm system according to SoxPropsects back in 2011. In 2010 he was behind possible two-way player Casey Kelly and Josh Reddick/Lars Anderson, depending on if you looked in April or June. His .710 OPS over 53 games as a 22-year-old would turn out to be the high water mark of his career. After being released he would latch on to the Theo Epstein Cubs and hit .286/.444/.286 in 7 games in 2016 but presumably collect a World Series ring. He wasn’t released until December 2013 but didn’t appear in the majors for the Red Sox, losing out on a second World Series championship. That would have really made him a trivia answer.
Joey Gathright
The speedster wore 23 in his 2009 Red Sox callup and 55 for his next and final major league action in 2011. He could steal 20 bases a year (for the Rays and Royals – he stole 2 in 24 games for the Red Sox) but couldn’t hit the ball with power, owning a .303 career slugging percentage.
Jeff Bailey
Bailey was drafted by the then-Florida Marlins in 1997 before being purchased by the Montreal Expos in 2002, where he would remain for a year. Upon tasting free agency he signed with the Red Sox in November 2003. He would then spend three more years in the minors. A decade after he was drafted, and 961 minor league games later, Jeff Bailey would make his major league debut on July 6, 2007. He’d get two more games that season, 27 in 2008, and 26 in 2009. He wore 55 for all of them.
Lenny DiNardo
Former pitcher and current NESN analyst Lenny DiNardo wore 55 from 2004-2006. Claimed off waivers by the Oakland A’s from the Red Sox in February 2007, he cleared the way for 55 to open up for Jeff Bailey.
Ramiro Mendoza
A one-and-done Red Sox reliever in 2003 who never lived up to the work he did with the Yankees. His final appearance for Boston was Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS.
Todd Erdos
Boston was the last stop of his five-year career and the righty bullpen arm appeared in 10 games.
Rich Croushore
Croushore tossed 4.2 innings for the Red Sox in 2000. He was traded by the Rockies to Boston (with others) for Jeff Frye, Brian Rose, and John Wasdin. Those are sure some throwbacks.
Below is a picture of John Wasdin because Getty didn’t have one of Croushore as a Red Sox player.
Brian Shouse
8.0 innings in Boston in 1998. Signed as a free agent and released.
Carlos Reyes
In 1998, Reyes wore 55 for the Padres and Red Sox but never wore the number in any other year or on any other team.
Jeff Suppan
Suppan would wear 55 from 1995-1997 but would wear 35 for his 2003 return to Boston.
Suppan would later lose Game 3 of the 2004 World Series to the Red Sox, making a memorable base-running blunder.
Joe Hesketh
Another lefty pitcher for the list, he’d take 55 from 1990-1994.
Phil Plantier
Plantier would only spend 14 games in the majors in 1990 and when Hesketh was acquired he was in the majors and took 55 over. Plantier would wear 7 when he came back and 29 in 1991-1992.
Randy Kutcher
Possibly a fan of the number 5, Kutcher would wear 55 in 1988 before changing to 5 for 1989 and 1990. Although before he was in Boston he wore 9 and 19 with the San Fransisco Giants.
La Schelle Tarver
One-and-done for both the Red Sox and his major league career, Tarver, listed as a centerfielder and pinch runner, wore 55 for all of his 13 games.
Bob Veale
The first Red Sox player to wear 55, Veale did so from 1972-1974, the final three seasons of his career. Over 10 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates before that he wore 39. In Boston, 39 was taken by Mike Garmen when he arrived and then Tim Blackwell after Veale had settled into 55.
As mentioned in few other profiles, a part of the Detroit Tigers draft strategy under Scott Harris has been tilted toward allocating their bonus pool to lure prep talent from their college commitments. The corollary to that strategy is finding inexpensive college players who have some major league potential and trying to develop them into role players while hoping someone has a Kerry Carpenter level breakout along the way.
Most of these have been speedy, light hitting types, but while Pepperdine infielder John Peck played shortstop in college, he’s more interesting for the fact that he packs enough raw power at the plate to eventually be an impactful major league hitter. Like most college players who sign for close to the minimum, Peck, who got an extra $62,500 over the minimum from the Tigers in the seventh round of the 2023 amateur draft, has a lot of risk in his game, but there’s at least a chance he could put it all together in time.
While Peck has continued to play shortstop in High-A ball and will likely continue to get plenty of reps there in Double-A next season, he likely profiles best at second base, where he should be average. He has enough arm strength to play on the left side of the infield, and that should translate to playing a solid third base as well. He has pretty good hands, but his range limits him a little as a shortstop. He’s seen time at all three positions in his two full professional seasons since draft day. It’s not out of the question that he could play some shortstop at the big league level eventually, giving him plenty of versatility if he can conquer some swing and miss issues and a tendency to put the ball on the ground too much.
In his full season 2024 debut, Peck showed solid plate discipline in Single-A Lakeland, but then struggled in his first look at High-A, striking out quite a bit. He battled some minor injuries throughout the season, and his high hands setup, pre-pitch movement, and pronounced leg kick left him a little too vulnerable to more advanced pitching. He had a distinct tendency to fly open toward third base, opening him up too early and struggling with breaking stuff moving away from him.
In 2025, he took some steps to get his hands in a better position at pitch release and trimmed down his leg kick. Those were positive developments, and his swing decisions improved somewhat as well as he went on to a pretty good season for the West Michigan Whitecaps. He carried that into a solid month with the Erie SeaWolves late in the season. However, there’s still plenty of swing and miss and only modest success driving the ball in the air more often. He does make plenty of hard contact, spraying line drives and ground balls from line to line. If he can adjust a little more and change his batted ball profile, things will get much more interesting.
Peck is unlikely to become a low strikeout, high walk type of hitter, but there’s enough power in his solidly built 6’0” frame to rack up more homers and extra base hits if he can start handling breaking stuff better and driving the ball in the air more often. His splits are typically pretty even, though he defied them a bit by hitting 9 of his 11 home runs in 2025 against right-handed pitching. There’s a chance that Peck continues settling into the swing adjustments and everything comes together for him. In that case, the Tigers might have a 15-20 HR hitting, right-handed infielder who posts decent on-base percentages, but can play all over the diamond. That would be a pretty valuable platoon asset at least.
Peck was only 20 on draft day, so despite the fact that he’s got two full years of pro ball under his belt, he won’t be 24 until July. If he can handle the jump and put togehter a good Double-A season this year while adding more hard hit fly balls to his profile, he’ll be tracking like a future platoon infielder. His power potential, balanced splits, and defensive game give him a higher ceiling than some at this level, but it’s still a longshot that he hits his way to the major leagues in a regular role.
Last year, on July 31st, the New York Yankees traded prospects Roc Riggio and Ben Shields to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for right-handed reliever Jake Bird, who had a 3.49 FIP to that point, albeit with a 4.73 ERA, in 53.1 innings. Unfortunately, he imploded upon reaching the Bronx, and just three outings were enough to see him optioned to Scranton after surrendering seven runs (six earned) in just two innings of work.
His walk rate was a respectable 9.7 percent in the Rocky Mountains, but he just couldn’t throw strikes and get himself in favorable counts in the Bronx. He paid the price with bases on balls and a couple of home runs, too, even if he did strike out four. Then in Scranton, Bird did a better job preventing the long ball, conceding just one in 15.2 frames, but control issues persisted as he put up a disappointing 16.7 percent walk rate. His 6.32 ERA in Triple-A didn’t paint a particularly encouraging picture about his prospects for 2026.
It appears, however, that the offseason has really come in handy for Bird, not just to perform a complete mental reset after a few rocky months upon landing in New York, but to actually attack his weaknesses. Speaking on the YES Network, Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake discussed some of the things Bird has been working on these last few months with his eye on winning a spot in the bullpen.
While David Bednar, Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz, and others are exciting and talented, the Yanks’ bullpen just isn’t as powerful as it used to be, so having an in-form Bird would be a breath of fresh air.
“I think the biggest thing was trusting his stuff in the zone. (It) has really big shape: big sweeper, big breaking ball. The pitches are moving a lot. So, we got to get him in the zone at a higher rate and limit the walks,” Blake explained. With the Rockies, Bird’s Zone%, or the percentage of pitches throw in the zone, was 57. The number fell to 53 percent with the Yankees in MLB, and 50.5 percent in Triple-A.
It comes down to confidence and execution. In 2025 as a whole, Bird had success with his sweeper (33.8 percent whiff rate, .258 xwOBA) and curveball (38 percent, .158 xwOBA.) He had some bad luck with the former, which had a .338 wOBA in contrast to that solid xwOBA. But they are both good, usable pitches. Swing-and-miss pitches, even.
Luck aside, Bird can be a useful pitcher if he is throwing his breaking stuff for strikes. Since they have a lot of natural movement, trying to get creative with the corners and nibbling might be counterproductive and lead to a lot of balls. And balls lead to hitters’ counts. And, well, hitter counts lead to what we saw in pinstripes this year.
This is a glimpse of what the Yankees can have in Bird if he manages to find himself in favorable counts:
Starting at-bats on the right foot is also crucial for Bird. In Colorado, he threw a first-pitch strike 60.6 percent of the time. That fell to 50 percent with the Yankees, and even though the sample size is tiny, the number was a horrible 44.4 percent in his short stint in Scranton, per Sports Info Solutions.
Blake talked about how Bird struggled to show his best version in his short Yankees stint, but warned that he has had a really good offseason. The pitching coach said the righty has also been working on some adjustments on his sinker to somewhat “limit some of the contact quality.”
Combining his stats with the Rockies and Yankees, it’s safe to say his sinker was inequivocally and unquestionably rocked last year, with a .420 wOBA and a .414 xwOBA. That’s definitely a problem when you throw the pitch a third of the time. Any improvements he can make regarding this particular offering, whether it comes in movement, velocity, or sequencing/usage, will immediately make his stat line look better.
While it’s safe to say that Bird’s 2025 with the Yankees was a disaster both in the majors and in Triple-A, there is a lot of room to improve and also a need for solid relievers who can miss bats. If he can show his Rockies version, the right-hander should have a chance to lock up a spot and slowly earn high-leverage work.
We’re here to talk about the one thing on everybody’s minds: who is going to be the Milwaukee Brewers’ backup catcher when the 2026 season starts?
There was a bit of news on this front on Tuesday, when the Brewers—after rumors swirled for some time—signed the Chicago Cubs’ 2025 backup, Reese McGuire. The wrinkle here is that McGuire was not signed to a major league deal; he instead received a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.
McGuire, who turns 31 early in spring training, is still probably the best bet to open the season as the backup catcher, but since he is not yet on the 40-man roster and doesn’t have a guaranteed deal means that we cannot take that for granted.
Whoever the team’s backup catcher is may not have much of a role. William Contreras plays as often as any catcher in the league, and he’s one of the best at the position, so Milwaukee’s backups in recent years haven’t had a whole lot to do.
Let’s take a quick look across Milwaukee’s catching landscape to see who could be in the running here.
Reese McGuire
As mentioned, McGuire makes the most sense. Of all the catchers that we currently know will be in major league camp with the Brewers, McGuire is the only one other than Contreras who has ever played in a major league game. That seems notable.
Harrison did a good job running down McGuire’s bona fides yesterday, but a quick review: McGuire was the 14th overall pick out of high school in 2013, and worked his way onto top-100 prospect lists within the next couple of years. But McGuire’s bat didn’t develop like some hoped, and it wasn’t exactly an “event” when he made his major-league debut with the Blue Jays late in the 2018 season.
McGuire spent most of 2019 in the minors, but he had an encouraging, brief 30-game run in the big leagues in which he hit .299/.346/.526 and clobbered five homers. That good offense turned out to be a mirage, though; after he struggled through the shortened 2020 season, McGuire settled in as a low-offense, solid-defense backstop in 2021, a season in which he played more games than any other Blue Jay catcher but eventually got a bit crowded out by the dependable Danny Jansen and the emerging Alejandro Kirk.
With both Kirk and Jansen playing well, Toronto broke up their catching trio by trading McGuire to the White Sox at the end of spring training in 2022. Chicago didn’t have as much invested in McGuire as the team that drafted him did, so after a rough season they cut bait and shipped him to Boston at the trade deadline. McGuire actually had a magical partial season with the Red Sox: in 36 games after the deadline, he hit .337/.377/.500. That magic didn’t last, though, and he spent the next two seasons playing rather poorly backing up Connor Wong.
McGuire became a free agent after the 2024 season. He signed with the Cubs in January but didn’t make the major league team out of spring training. But when Miguel Amaya strained an oblique in late May, the Cubs re-signed McGuire, and he was with them through the end of the season. In total, he played 44 games in 2025. He hit for a low average and walked only four times in 140 plate appearances (!) but did hit for power: nine homers put his slugging all the way at .444 despite a .245 OBP. That power bump was probably an outlier; through his first seven seasons, McGuire had an isolated power number of just .113, which shot up to .218 in his small sample with the Cubs.
McGuire’s profile is of a guy who features good-enough defense who can obviously run into one at the right moment, but his offensive production will likely be bad; in eight major league seasons covering just under 1,200 plate appearances, he holds an 84 OPS+ and an on-base percentage of just .293.
If McGuire doesn’t make the Brewers out of spring training, he has no minor league options yet, so he would need to be designated for assignment or traded.
Jeferson Quero
The only non-Contreras catcher on the 40-man right now is former mega-prospect Jeferson Quero, who finished last season at Triple-A Nashville. You’re all familiar with the Quero story, so I won’t spend much time on it: Quero ranked in the top 40 of all three major prospect rankings heading into the 2024 season, but he suffered a torn labrum in the very first game of the 2024 season, which cost him the whole year.
Crucially, it may also have cost him the weapon that set him apart as a catching prospect: his throwing arm. Quero was one of the best players in all of professional baseball at catching base stealers in 2023, but the early returns after Quero returned from his long injury journey last June were, at best, discouraging. At worst, it showed that the tool that was always the first thing mentioned in Quero scouting reports is no longer something that is going to help him.
There’s certainly a chance that with more time elapsed since the injury, Quero recovers some of his arm strength in 2026. And it’s not like that was the only thing that people liked about him; scouting reports laud his receiving and his work with pitchers, and he projects as a capable, if not good, hitter.
Still, Quero is unlikely to start the season as the team’s backup catcher even if the Brewers think he is ready, because that’s not how the Brewers act with their top prospects. Keeping him in the minor leagues for a month or two delays his service clock, which is something that Milwaukee has done with its other big prospects in recent years.
If I were guessing who finishes the season as the Brewers’ backup catcher, I might choose Quero, but I doubt we’ll see him on Opening Day.
Ramón Rodríguez or Matt Wood
Rodríguez and Wood are notable because they were on a list of Brewer minor leaguers invited to major-league camp recently. Wood, who turns 25 on the same day that McGuire turns 31, was a fourth-round pick in 2022 and has worked his way up to Double-A Biloxi, where he performed well at the plate in 2025.
Rodríguez was drafted by the Dodgers way back in 2016, and caught on with the Brewers as a minor league free agent in 2024. He played just 21 games in 2025, but he raked for the Shuckers in those 21 games, in which he hit .359/.457/.484. Rodríguez is a career .262/.335/.380 hitter in nine minor league seasons and reached Triple A when he was in Baltimore’s system but has never made the majors.
Neither Rodríguez or Wood likely factors into Milwaukee’s plans at the major league level, at least for now. But they’ll be working with the pitching staff during spring training, and one of them will likely start the season at Triple-A Nashville.
Any others?
Last season, Jorge Alfaro played 82 games with Triple-A Nashville, and Eric Haase played 19 after accepting an assignment there after the Brewers acquired Jansen at the trade deadline. Nick Kahle was another player who got some time behind the plate at the highest level of the Brewers’ minor league system.
Alfaro is gone: he signed a minor league deal with the Royals earlier this month. Haase, likewise, reportedly agreed to a minor league contract with San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. Kahle, as far as I can tell, is not under contract. Another player hypothetically in the mix is another guy with an early-May birthday, Darrien Miller, who is still in the Brewers’ system; he was a ninth-round draft pick in 2019 and has played the entirety of his last two seasons at Double-A Biloxi. But his progress has stalled; at the plate, Miller can take a walk but he can’t do much else—he hit .192/.381/.329 last season and hasn’t hit above .228 in a full-season league since graduating from Low-A in 2021.
The likely outcome
The names have changed, but I have long held the belief that Quero is going to be in Milwaukee as soon as the team is sure they’ve delayed his clock. I thought at first that the logical “first backup” was Eric Haase, who has served in that role before and knows Milwaukee’s pitchers, but McGuire makes a lot of sense here too. My official prediction is that, assuming health all around, McGuire makes the Brewers out of spring training, and is designated for assignment (or traded, or both) sometime in May or June when Quero makes his major league debut.
A few things could change that prediction, though: someone could get hurt; McGuire could continue hitting bombs like he did last year and prove himself a worthy, solid offensive option; or Quero could struggle in the minors.
If Contreras gets hurt, the Brewers likely call up Quero and make him the everyday catcher, though he’d likely split time with McGuire. If Quero or McGuire gets hurt, then the other is the backup. If Quero struggles, he likely just stays in the minors and McGuire continues as the backup. Hopefully everyone stays healthy and productive, and things work out for everyone.
There are a few more signing rumors out there, but we’ll wait for confirmation. The Dylan Carlson deal is done. More pitching and infield help (Gabe Klobosits, Karson Simas) may be on the way. We, um, await developments.
*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.
Brian Kelder (North Side Baseball*): What is the Point of Tyler Austin? “The slugging first baseman is intriguing, but will he play often enough to justify his roster spot?”
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.
The Colorado Rockies haven’t exactly had a quiet off-season. They hired an entirely new front office and coaching staff as the organization begins their much needed modernization and rebuild efforts. They’ve signed two veteran free agents in Michael Lorenzen and Willi Castro to Major League deals, acquired Jake McCarthy from the Arizona Diamondbacks, brought on a full new class of young international free agents, and made a smattering of minor league deals.
However, it’s always felt like—with a crowded outfield and further roster evaluation needed—there had to be more coming.
Then, on Wednesday, the Rockies suddenly had one of their busiest days of the off-season.
The 25-year-old has a solid glove and turned in a strong season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, slashing .285/.378/.447 with 31 doubles, one triple, and 16 home runs. He can also draw walks regularly, doing so at a 11.9% clip compared to his 18.4% strikeout rate.
“We’re going to keep adding talent to this roster, but in no way are we not believing in the young guys we have,” DePodesta said. “I think we have a lot of really good young players that are in Double-A and Triple-A, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re going to earn their opportunities on this team. And once they do, they’ll have long runways with us.”
However, those long runways don’t necessarily apply to everyone. We have already seen the Rockies part ways with young players prospects this off-season. In addition to the Chivilli trade, the Rockies also dealt prospect pitcher Josh Grosz to the Arizona Diamondbacks and designated a player once believed to be the team’s catcher of the future in Drew Romo for assignment.
Later in the day, the Rockies added outfielder Yanquiel Fernández to that list by designating him for assignment. Once ranked as high as the Rockies’ no. 3 organizational prospect per MLB Pipeline, Fernández made his Major League debut in 2025. He slashed .225/.265/.348 with four home runs over 138 at-bats as both a right fielder and designated hitter. Fernández, despite having just turned 23, is now potentially out of the Rockies organization entirely after getting his first cup of coffee.
“We’re certainly at the point where we feel like every time we make a move we’re losing someone we like, or potentially losing someone we like, and that certainly was the case with Yanquiel,” DePodesta explained. “We now have a group in the big leagues that we feel pretty good about. We also have a handful of guys on the 40-man who haven’t yet gotten a lot of time in the big leagues, or even any time right now, like Sterlin Thompson. Guys that we like and guys that we think have a chance to help us.”
While DePodesta had plenty of praise for Fernández and Chivilli, his new front office’s decisions would indicate that this team isn’t as high on it’s current stock of youth and prospects as the Rockies of the past—especially when it comes to position players.
This would seem to be substantiated by moves today and throughout the off-season. While DePodesta says he believes the youth will earn their spots, his focus has been on bringing in competition and creating fluidity on the roster.
“I think what we’re really trying to do is create really healthy competition on our roster,” he said. “Most of the players we have acquired do have a good amount of versatility. I think there are lots of different ways that the pieces can fit, and I think that’s really what we’re looking for.”
Willi Castro—now officially signed to the roster—can play all over the field and create competition for younger players like Kyle Karros at third base and Adael Amador at second. Both he and Jake McCarthy’s outfield versatility creates competition for the aforementioned Thompson, the beleaguered Zac Veen, and other outfield prospects. Fernández ended up being the odd man out because—despite his strong arm and power bat—he lacked the flexibility of other outfielders on the roster. With his poor speed and defense, he was anchored exclusively to right field or as a designated hitter.
New first baseman TJ Rumfield represents another potential option for the Rockies in a first base group that has surprisingly become quite crowded alongside Blaine Crim, Troy Johnston—who can also play corner outfield—, and current top prospect Charlie Condon.
Julien, 26, was once a top prospect of the Twins organization and can play both first and second base. However, the Rockies also like him for another trend we have seen in their acquisitions: getting on base and batted ball skills. More Rockies on base means more runs to be driven in.
While Julien is coming off two down years, in 2023 and throughout his minor league career he has hit well against right-handed pitching and getting on base. He has a whopping .427 career on-base percentage in the minors, while carrying a solid enough .336 Major League OBP and a 13% walk rate.
The Rockies also believe that Julien—along with Castro and McCarthy—can have bounce-back seasons after losing a step in 2025.
“I think we feel really strongly about all their capabilities. Also. I think the underlying fundamentals of their performance have stayed reasonably consistent. So we think we have a chance to build on that foundation and get them back to,or maybe even exceed, where they were.”
With all of these roster moves, the Rockies are already showing a different approach to the off-season compared to the previous front office. There may also be more moves yet to come.
“We may not be done adding. Well, we’ll see…” DePodesta said. “But we did want to make sure that we had healthy competition at a handful of these different spots and then different ways to put the puzzle together.”
The rosters for the World Baseball Classic are taking shape, and one of the newest members of the Rockies will be a part of it. Puerto Rican super utilityman Willi Castro will suit up for his first World Baseball Classic appearance alongside Nolan Arenado for Team Puerto Rico.
Our friends over at Twinkie Town discuss the trade of Edouard Julien and Pierson Ohl from their perspective. They see Julien as a reclamation project for the Rockies and have some concerns about his defense.
We are within a month of pitchers and catchers reporting which means, the equipment truck is making its annual trek to Goodyear, Arizona. The truck departs today, signaling spring’s prompt arrival better than any groundhog.
To kick things off, José Ramírez will be signing his shiny new contract extension at Progressive today.
Now to some good news today, the #Guardians will officially announce the José Ramírez contract extension tomorrow at Progressive Field with the superstar third baseman, team owner Paul Dolan, President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti and Spanish Interpreter Agustin Rivero.
Grady Sizemore, first base coach for the Minnesota Twins did an interview on the Inside Twins podcast.
After being traded to the Colorado Rockies just before the start of the 2025 season, it looks like Tyler Freeman is hoping to develop into a leader on the field and in the clubhouse for the Rockies.
Around the League:
NBC is reportedly striking a deal with Clayton Kershaw for MLB coverage.
In the vote for the #4 prospect, Quinn Mathews did not win by a lot. It was a two-man race and Joshua Baez was only 14 total votes short of Mathews’ total. He received over double the votes of the third-place vote getter. It is not a hard and fast rule, but it was a pretty safe bet that Baez would win this vote and comfortably. That is exactly what happened. He received over half the votes in a poll with eight other players. The current list stands at:
JJ Wetherholt
Liam Doyle
Rainiel Rodriguez
Quinn Mathews
Joshua Baez
Comparable Player Corner
Last week, I ran a comparable player poll of two players I was considering adding to this poll. I in fact told you that I would add the player who won the poll, which I did do. This is maybe the opposite of that. There’s a certain class of prospect who could be just about anywhere on a Cardinals’ list, including well out of the top 20. Not top 10, but after that. And it’s especially hard to know who a relatively random collection of Cardinals fans will think is the 19th best prospect, when another site might think them the 50th best prospect. On the flipside, some site thinks a prospect is the 19th best prospect and this crowd might not give them a single vote if I put them on the voting. So occasionally, I need to put those kinds of prospects in this section to know if I need to start considering adding once we hit the 10th vote or if I can ignore them completely.
I try to find a hook when I place two players in this section. There needs to be something similar about the two players. A lot of times, I try to just compare two players who play the same position. Today’s two players are similar only because they are both probably going to be in Memphis and both have a decent shot of making their MLB debut. That’s just about the only similar thing about them.
Blaze Jordan’s big selling point, to be honest, is his age. Drafted out of high school, he’s been a professional since he was drafted in 2020, and yet he turned 23 a little over a month ago. He already has over 300 PAs in AAA. That gives him time. He is essentially a right-handed Alec Burleson, but a Burleson who probably can’t play 3B instead of probably can’t play OF. Jordan also has more questions about his contact quality than Burly did. But free swinger who makes a lot of contact who would benefit from being more selective? Yeah that’s Blaze.
Bryan Torres’ big selling point is his performance and his versatility. He can play anywhere, and he has. His pro career started as a catcher, so he would probably even be the emergency catcher. He destroyed AAA, albeit with a huge BABIP and not a lot of power. The question is really if his stats will translate, which is a question because of his age: he’s 28 next season. Why does that matter? Well, 26 and 27-year-olds hit in AAA all the time, it is a little bit more rare that they continue hitting in the majors. Nothing represents this more than the wide range of projections he has, as high as 108 from ZiPS and as low as 77 by THE BAT. (With 88, 93, and 101 in between – I don’t think I’ve ever seen such variety)
As I said above, I ran a comparable player poll in which I told you I would add the winner of the head-to-head. Which means Brycen Mautz is getting added to the voting. As you will see below, he had a truly excellent season in AA. He is on the 40 man and stands a good chance of making his MLB debut in 2026. I mentioned in the past two votes that I was going to use the advantage of getting to add two players by using last year’s list for one of the players – a player I pretty much know how this crowd feels about – and also add a player that has never been voted on.
So in a way, I’m kind of skirting that when I call Mautz the player where I have last year’s list as a frame of reference. He was not actually on last year’s list. He was on the 2024 list. But most importantly, I did directly say that he was going to be in this vote, so he certainly fits the known quantity addition more than the unknown quantity. The unknown quantity is recent trade acquisition Jesus Baez. No idea how high you guys are going to be on Baez, but he’ll probably land in the top 20, so feels like a good time to add him.
Scouting (FG): 30/45 Hit, 35/50 Game Power, 50/55 Raw Power, 40/40 Speed, 40/45 Fielding
So this was not intentional – I only realized after I had decided to add him – but Jesus Baez replacing Joshua Baez is kind of funny. There’s going to be a Baez in the voting for quite a few votes. It actually kind of worked out. It may have been confusing if Jesus and Joshua were ever on the same vote, and I’m kind of kicking myself for not thinking of replacing Joshua with Jesus before, because yeah them being on the same ballot would be confusing. Again total accident.
I listed Baez as an infielder and not a specific position, because I realized I didn’t know what position to put. He plays SS the most, but nobody really thinks he’ll stay at SS. The Cardinals actually played him at DH more than either 2B or 3B. That’s not to suggest he’ll land at DH, just that it’s an open question which position the Cardinals will prefer him at. If he’s heading to Springfield, Jeremy Rivas is in his way at SS, though he’s not considered a prospect, but he’s much better defensively. Deniel Ortiz may be in his way at 3B, although he also plays some 1B and there ain’t nobody at 1B in Springfield. So his position is infield for now.
Scouting (FG): 35/50 Hit, 35/45 Game Power, 50/50 Raw Power, 40/30 Speed, 40/55 Fielding
Bernal seemingly had one weakness in his offensive profile and that was BABIP. He did have a .333 BABIP in High A last season and also his DRC+ does suggest he deserved a higher one. At the same time, he cut his K rate from 22.8% to 16.9%, and a possible consequence of that was he made weaker contact on plate appearances he struck out on in 2024. If that makes sense.
Also, these aren’t listed in my stats, but worth pointing out. Bernal allowed 42 stolen bases, but caught 27 base stealers for a 39.1% caught stealing rate. Pretty sure that’s good. Also fun fact, given he is not fast, he himself swiped 13 bases and got caught stealing just 3 times. He stole 7 bases to 7 caught stealing last season, so probably not a talent of his, but always fun to see a slow guy steal some bases.
Clarke threw so few of innings partially because of injuries, in particular nagging blister issues, which surely there’s a way to prevent those in the future. The other reason, if you can tell by his innings per appearance, was because of how the team used him. His injury history before ever entering pro ball caused them to limit his innings – he didn’t pitch at all in 2024 due to thoracic issues.
But in his limited time, he did two of the three things I want pitchers to do: he struck out a lot of batters and he got groundballs when hitters did make contact. In Low A, he also did the third thing, which was not walk hitters. He walked a lot of hitters in High A, definitely impacted by his nagging blisters, although I’m sure he struggled with control more generally too.
Scouting: 35/40 Hit, 40/45 Game Power, 50/50 Raw Power, 20/20 Speed, 60/70 Fielding
There needs to be a term – and honestly there might be a term for what I’m looking for – for a player like Crooks, whose stock seems to be down by the fanbase due to limited exposure in the MLB. It’s not prospect fatigue – Crooks hasn’t been in the conversation long enough to suffer from that. But he looked bad in the majors. That has almost certainly impacted peoples’ opinions of him. He looked bad in 15 total games as a 23-year-old making his MLB debut. Do I need to share Mike Trout’s rookie stats to show you why maybe we shouldn’t put a lot of emphasis on those 15 games?
Now, there are almost certainly some fans whose opinions changed based on the totality of his 2025 season, primarily in AAA – which did come with a higher K rate. But there are definitely fans whose opinions changed because they saw him be terrible at the MLB level and for no other reason. And I’m saying honestly his MLB performance should essentially be completely ignored – it’s just too small of a sample, too big of an adjustment, too big a moment in Crooks’ life – to treat it with any kind of significance.
Hence probably suffers from prospect fatigue however. Granted, it’s not like he hasn’t given us reasons to be fatigued. He just can’t seem to stay healthy. I did argue last year, when I ranked him high on my list, that his injury issues were a bit overblown, and that’s harder to argue this year. I will say that looking at his innings totals since drafted is rather misleading though – his 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons went according to plan. His 2024 season was his first hiccup, but he still threw nearly 80 innings. (and was amazing in those innings I must add)
Last year was probably the first year where he truly deserved his reputation in my opinion. Still only 23 in 2026, let’s hope they figure out a way to keep him healthy.
As more of a stat follower than someone who scouts players or even looks at scouting reports of players, I am rather surprised how Fangraphs rates his pitches. If forced to guess, I would have predicted his secondaries were good, but his fastball was below average. It’s almost the opposite. I don’t know if this is accurate of course. But he’s a fastball/slider pitcher who needs a third pitch – according to this person’s opinion of course. Certainly, these scouting numbers for his pitches suggest an easy transition to the bullpen at the least.
The good news is that Hjerpe should be ready to pitch fairly early in the season since he had his Tommy John surgery pretty early last season. Recovery is 12-16 months, so he seems to be in the window to pitch some innings this year. The bad news is that his career high in innings right now is 52 innings, so it does kind of feel like there’s a real ceiling in how many innings he will actually pitch this upcoming season.
I imagine the thing they are working hard on with Mautz is figuring out a way to not allow quite so many homers. For the second straight season, he carried a fairly high HR/FB%. When hitters hit the ball in the air, they leave the park more than expected (hence the FIP and xFIP difference). But going from a pitcher’s park to a hitter’s park, Mautz improved in just about every way statistically, so his change from a 14% HR/FB% to a 13.1% HR/FB is actually a little more impressive than it sounds. It’s not that hard to hit homers in Springfield. He also struck out quite a few more batters, walked less, and induced more groundballs.
There are a couple questions with Ortiz. The first question is will he keep this up? He has a little more swing-and-miss in his game than you’d like, although obviously he managed to cut his K rate when he got promoted to High A. The second question I have is: when will scouts buy in? He was a 16th rounder and I don’t think he ranks particularly high on any Cardinals team list, but I mean clearly if you perform well enough, they’re going to start paying attention. Baseball America in their deep dive on the Cardinals’ system, mentioned him as a sleeper prospect. But you can’t be a sleeper prospect without ranking somewhat low. Will certainly be an interesting player to follow.
Roby had Tommy John surgery in July of 2025, so his ability to pitch next year is a little more question than Hjerpe. But he pitched well last year, re-establishing himself as a prospect. Without the injury, I wonder how high he would be selected. I also feel that Roby was an example of a prospect that didn’t get as much love because he was a deadline acquisition so there was less attachment. However, fans have gotten familiar with him for now two and half seasons, so he’s probably not harmed by this effect anymore.
If what we saw from Garcia in 2025 is real, and the Royals are betting on it with the contract extension, he fits as a pretty traditional leadoff hitter that blends old school with new school….
I think the argument against it is that he’s needed in the middle of the lineup too. If he’s hitting first, that probably props Salvador Perez up to the fourth spot, which is maybe fine, but I would still like to see him hitting fifth or sixth as we saw often toward the end of last season. Putting someone else in the leadoff spot with Garcia hitting fourth, Perez fifth and then finishing the lineup helps make it look a whole lot deeper. But at the same time, that’s giving fewer at bats to someone who might deserve more. It’s easy to see why it’s a bit of a conundrum.
Former first round picks Frank Mozzicato and Gavin Cross were both eligible to be selected in last month’s Rule 5 draft. Now they’re heading to big league camp in Surprise.
For me, among the most intriguing names—aside from Mitchell and Ramirez—will be lefty Hunter Patteson and outfielder Carson Roccaforte. Patteson turns 26 in April and has only topped out in Double-A, but saw a velocity jump last season and has what Baseball America calls “advanced pitchability.” Talk to me like that and you have my attention. Roccaforte is a guy who I think could push his way to Kansas City at some point this summer. His profile and work in the minors has me sold.
Kiley McDaniel at ESPN ranks Kendry Chourio (#124), Josh Hammond (#132), and Blake Mitchell (#143) in his 101-200 prospect list, listing Chourio as the prospect with ace potential.
Chourio has the elements to become a front-line starter I’m looking for: enough velocity, plenty of command, the potential for three above-average pitch shapes and surface number performance. The reason he just missed the top 100 is because he isn’t very projectable and needs to tweak his breaking ball shapes — but the spin rates and break suggest he has the ability to do that. At the same stage of development, there are parallels to Seth Hernandez — but Hernandez’s size, velocity and the athleticism he has demonstrated as a position player are why he has more upside and therefore ranked a good bit higher.