Worldwide Sports News

Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our bi-weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

ReadingYankee asks:Given the injury history of these two pitchers who are potential front line starters, which one has the best possible outcome in the next couple years: Chase Hampton or Bryce Cunningham? Obviously, this would be assuming they do not get injured again.

On the surface it’s a difficult call: MLB’s prospect rankings listed Cunningham above Hampton at the end of last year, but Hampton was listed as much closer to the majors, which is a major factor in determining if pitching prospects are going to pan out or not. However, given Hampton’s two extra years in the minors amounting to just a 71 inning difference in experience between the two, I’d give the edge to Cunningham having the easier path to the majors and thus contributing quicker. Because the truth is, we simply can’t assume that neither one gets injured again during their development — there’s nothing more volatile than a pitching prospect, and this is the risk they run. Cunningham’s first year being disrupted isn’t too much of a surprise, but Hampton’s now tossed just 18.2 innings in the last two years, 5.2 of which came in Double-A, and it’s hard to see a world where he can rise to the majors quickly even if he has a stellar 2026 to turn things around.

Chip23 asks:So, if we take Cashman’s statements at face value, that he has put together a “Champion-caliber roster” then should we also assume that a failure to win a championship is a reflection of the manager and that he will be held accountable?

Not necessarily, because there’s a bit of word-play from Cashman going on whenever the topic of being championship-caliber gets discussed. Because the organization views championships and the postseason at large as being a crapshoot (whether that’s correct or not is a a different discussion, one we’ll talk about in a second!), so long as the team is in the running and plays in October baseball, it’s not a failure to miss out on outright winning a title. If that wasn’t the case, then Cashman and Boone would be in extremely hot water by now having only gone to and lost a single World Series during their tenure — but as we know, the organization is quite comfortable with both of them running the ship. Perhaps things would change if they flamed out in the Wild Card Series a couple years in a row, but even with the relative disappointment of losing convincingly in the ALDS the team can point to the fact that they were tied for the most wins in the division and competed with the team that went to the World Series.

The idiot that said, “Harper is coming” asks:Can we change the terminology from “running it back” to “walking it back”?One implies a little more urgency than the other. I don’t see any urgency from this organization to be worthy of “running it back.”

So, let’s get into the thought process of the offseason overall, shall we? There’s no denial that the team didn’t display much urgency this offseason: they locked in fairly early on bringing back Cody Bellinger without showing much interest in the top of the market with Kyle Tucker, called his bluff when he was adamant about pushing for extra years and were willing to let someone else sign him, and then mostly fixated on minute bullpen moves to flesh out the roster while bringing back bench pieces. However, where they stand at the end of the day is still a top three team by FanGraphs’ projections, and outside of the Dodgers’ horde of talent they’re firmly in the mix to be the second-best team in baseball.

On the one hand, they weren’t pushing to improve themselves very much this offseason, which has it’s frustrations (which I share). On the other, they correctly assessed that they had a top team in 2025 that ran into another top team, and reasoned that they can get back to the Fall Classic with the roster they have now. Is it how I personally wish they operated this winter? No, I wanted them to be much more aggressive, but at the end of the day I’m not upset with the result either. I just wish it could’ve been settled about a month or two ago so we could’ve avoided the endless cycle of questioning whether they’d do something interesting.

OLDY MOLDY asks:Do the Yankees avoid another Boone June Swoon in 2026?

Here’s a case where I’d argue Boone could and should be held accountable for his record — because while the team has gotten into the dance every year barring one, they sure have looked highly inconsistent at the very consistent rate. Their almost penciled-in summer of poor play each year has been one of my major gripes with the team, and it lines up with their level of preparation that got put on display for the world when the Dodgers took them to task in 2024. Their fundamentals have been, in my opinion, highly suspect throughout this championship window, though mainly from 2020 on. Finding a way not to nosedive and potentially cost themselves the division with a terrible two-month stretch would go a long way towards building more faith in what they’ve constructed, so here’s hoping Boone and company can avoid it this year.

Earlier this week, we got the much-anticipated Non-Roster Invitee list from the Braves for this season’s spring training camp. That list initially consisted of 24 names. Now, there are 25 names on that list after the Braves made an addition to it here on Friday afternoon. Mark Bowman of MLB.com is reporting that the Braves are going to be bringing in Kyle Farmer as an NRI for spring training.

Farmer spent the 2025 season with the Colorado Rockies, where he put up some underwhelming plate numbers with a .227/.280/.365 slash line to go along with eight home runs, a .285 wOBA and 65 wRC+ over the course of 97 games played and 300 plate appearances. That ended up being good for an fWAR number of -1.0, which ain’t ideal! Farmer has never really been a real threat with the bat, as even in his best season in 2021, he was good for just 91 wRC+ over 529 plate appearances with the Cincinnati Reds.

I’d imagine that he’ll be used strictly as a defensive substitute but even then, he had a rough year last season in that department as well. He recorded -5 Outs Above Average in 2025 (good for the 11th percentile in all of baseball, according to Statcast) and his arm strength didn’t fare much better, either. With that being said, that’s likely the outlier because Farmer has had some good-to-great seasons with the glove. Again, 2021 comes to mind which is when he recorded 5 OAA (grading him out to the 92nd percentile) and he repeated that feat as recently as 2024, which is when he put up another 5 OAA as a member of the Twins.

So my guess is that the Braves are banking on a change of scenery (or simply getting away from the Rockies) should help him return to the form. If he does end up making the roster then he should serve as a very solid option as a defensive substitute in some games. For now, he’s another player to keep an eye on as spring training gets underway in the very near future.

Artemi Panarin got to tell his side of the story just about 24 hours after being traded from the New York Rangers to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. 

Going into the 2025 offseason, the growing sentiment was that the Rangers would sign Panarin to a contract extension before he hit the open market in 2026. 

However, as multiple other marquee players signed contract extensions with their respective teams, including Connor McDavid, ​​Kirill Kaprizov, and Jack Eichel, Panarin was left as the odd man out, unsigned past the 2025-26 campaign by the Rangers. 

With the Rangers struggling through the first months of the season, speculation about the team trading Panarin grew. 

Once Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury issued a letter on Jan. 16 outlining the franchises' intentions to retool the roster, it also came out that the team did not intend to re-sign Panarin and would look to trade him before the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline. 

Upon being traded to Los Angeles, Panarin quickly signed a two-year $22 million contract with the Kings. 

Panarin revealed that the Rangers were reluctant to sign him over the summer and that there wasn't a whole lot of dialogue between his camp and the Rangers regarding a contract extension over the course of the season. 

“We talked about contract a little bit, but I feel like this offer said ‘we’re not sure we want you or not.’ That’s why I’m not signed,” Panarin emphasized. 

It was when the Rangers went through their dreadful stretch in January that Panarin knew that his time in New York may be coming to an end. 

The Rangers Enter Olympic Break Hitting Rock Bottom If there is a rock bottom, it’s safe to say the New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a> reached it after their 2-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.&nbsp;

“I feel like maybe 15 games ago when we started losing everything [I realized] it was possible [to get traded],” Panarin said. “And then when we lost to Boston like 10-1 or something like that, I would say that I already understood that even if Chris wanted to give me a deal, he probably can’t now because we’re kind of struggling here the whole team and we probably need some changes.”

The Panarin sweepstakes truly began to pick up steam when he was held out of the lineup due to roster management on Jan. 28.

Multiple teams were reportedly interested in acquiring the 34-year-old forward, including the Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals, and Seattle Kraken.  

Ultimately, Panarin pinpointed the Kings as his preferred destination, and with the power of his no-move clause, Drury was only given the green light to trade him to Los Angeles. 

It was through conversations with Vladislav Gavrikov that helped guide Panarin toward Los Angeles. 

“I was not ready to pick a team where I didn’t want to go,” Panarin said. “I probably (would have gone) to Russia if L.A. didn’t give me anything… I just want to play for these guys.”

The Rangers’ signing of Panarin in 2019 to a seven-year, $81 million contract is widely considered to be the franchise's greatest free-agent signing.

In seven seasons with the Blueshirts, Panarin recorded 205 goals, 402 assists, and 607 points. In a city full of stars and celebrities, the Russian superstar was able to stand out and etch his mark in The Big Apple. 

Panarin embraced the New York spotlight, and he’ll now take center stage in Hollywood, but not before reminiscing on his time with the Rangers organization. 

“It’s a lot of good memories,” Panarin said. “We always had a great group of guys here, too. Pretty good atmosphere. … Find a lot of friends here. Obviously that’s a great organization, too. New York Rangers, Original Six team, huge history. I was pretty proud to play for these guys, for this jersey. Thank you very much to the fans.”

Former Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, who is to stand trial in May on federal sports corruption charges, allegedly conspired to rig far more pitches than originally revealed by federal prosecutors, according to a document filed on Thursday in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) and quoted by ESPN.

That’s part of the reason why his co-conspirator, former Cleveland pitcher Luis Ortiz, is attempting to have a separate trial.

The indictment unsealed in November against Clase and Ortiz alleges that Clase had conspired with bettors to manipulate prop bets by intentionally throwing pitches that were errant or at agreed-upon velocities in nine games from 2023-25. Ortiz allegedly began doing the same in June.

A filing by Ortiz attorney Christos N. Georgalis asked that his client’s case to be severed from Clase’s because of “markedly different levels of culpability,” and their expected conflicting defenses. Georgalis noted that Clase had been much more invested in the plot, specifically serving as the conduit to the alleged Dominican Republic gambling ring.

ESPN reported on Thursday that the court filing claimed that Clase had manipulate pitches in 48 games. That had been redacted from the docket entry on Friday.

Another court filing notes that at least 250 pitches are in question.

Clase, conflicts, contentiousness

Ortiz’s attorneys argue that a jury would be prejudiced against their client by association as it listens to “26 months of alleged criminal conduct” by Clase. They contend that because of the small scale of alleged misconduct against Ortiz, his trial could wrap in days. Sitting through Clase’s trial, they argue, incriminates him by association.

It also appears that Ortiz attorneys will stress how little time the pitcher was involved, and that he never communicated, they say, with gamblers. Prosecutors claim that each accepted bribes from two gamblers in the Dominican Republic, who won at least $460,000 wagering on their pitch outcomes.

“Given the defendants’ likely mutually antagonistic defenses,” the request continues, “severance is warranted because prejudice to Mr. Ortiz likely will arise.”

According to Ortiz’s attorneys, Clase lawyers Michael Ferrara, Michael Bronson, Lindsay Gerdes, and Riley Able of the law firm Dinsmore & Shohl participated in pre-indictment interviews with four potential government witnesses and would be called to testify in Ortiz’s trial.

Clase and Ortiz each pleaded not guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiracy to influence sporting events by bribery charges. They could face upward of 65 years in federal prison.

While Clase was originally charged with conspiring with bettors from 2023-2025, Ortiz was accused of rigging pitches in two games over a 12-day span in June. Both were placed on administrative leave in July through an agreement with MLB and the player union.

Clase led the American League in saves from 2022-24, and was third in Cy Young voting in 2024. He had 24 saves in 2025 when he was placed on leave.

A court filing from Jan. 16 described the federal investigation of Clase as “ongoing.” The EDNY must file its reply in opposition to Ortiz’s sever request by Feb. 17.