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The Toronto Blue Jays' preseason is just around the corner, as players have reported to training camp and begun full workouts during the past week. With the club's official spring training schedule set to start on Saturday, Jays fans should get ready for another year of fun and excitement with their favourite team. So, how can viewers watch the Blue Jays in action this spring? We would like to let you all know that Sportsnet will be on tap for a whopping 23 of Toronto's 29 total preseason games in the coming weeks. The following listing shows which games will be covered by Sportsnet Ontario, with the exception of the March 6 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, for which Sportsnet ONE will provide the coverage, as well as the March 11 game against the New York Yankees, for which Sportsnet 360 will be responsible. Saturday, Feb 21: vs. Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22: at Boston, 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23: vs. New York Mets, 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24: vs. New York Yankees 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26: vs. Miami, 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27: at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28: vs. Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Sunday, March 1: at Detroit, 1 p.m. Monday, March 2: vs. Boston, 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 3: vs. Team Canada, 1 p.m. Friday, March 6: vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. (Sportsnet ONE) Sunday, March 8: vs. Detroit, 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 10: vs. Atlanta, 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 11: at New York Yankees, 6:30 p.m. (Sportsnet 360) Friday, March 13: vs. Minnesota, 1 p.m. Saturday, March 14: vs. Detroit, 1 p.m. Sunday, March 15: at New York Mets, 1 p.m. Monday, March 16: at Miami, 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 18: vs. Baltimore, 1 p.m. Thursday, March 19: vs. New York Yankees, 1 p.m. Friday, March 20: at Minnesota, 1 p.m. Saturday, March 21: Spring Breakout at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Sunday, March 22: vs. Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. In terms of the six games that won’t be televised, they include the following: Wednesday, February 25: at Detroit, 1 p.m. Saturday, February 28: split-squad game at New York Yankees, 1 p.m. Thursday, March 5: at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Saturday, March 7: at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Sunday, March 8: split-squad game at Baltimore, 1 p.m. Thursday, March 12: at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. In addition to watching on TV, listeners can tune in to the Sportsnet Radio Network, the Sportsnet app or live audio on Sportsnet.ca to pick up live action of the Jays on air. Blue Jays fans will get their first chance to see the team's most exciting new additions – Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Tyler Rogers, Chase Lee, Kazuma Okamoto and Jesús Sánchez – in action. Of course, Toronto also has the bulk of its contending roster returning for another shot at a World Series title this coming season. So, let’s go Blue Jays, let’s play ball! View the full article

Jack and Spencer break down the Luis Rengifo signing, Pat Murphy's new contract, and other developments from the first week of spring training. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View the full article

So much for the creative wheeler-dealer reputation A.J. Preller has built up. While Preller, the team's president of baseball operations, has acknowledged that he made preemptive moves at the 2025 trade deadline to fill anticipated holes on the 2026 roster, the Friars entered spring training in Peoria, Ariz., with a handful of areas still needing to be bolstered. (Cough, starting pitching, cough.) But that conversation is for another day. What it is time to do now is go over the moves Preller made before pitchers and catchers reported to camp. And these are only involving the MLB roster, not minor-league contracts with spring training invites, such as the deal given to left-hander Marco Gonzales, a candidate for the rotation. As a telling example, the Padres did not execute a trade, not even a minor one. Also, the fact that there are only five signings here could be a sign that Preller's hands have been tied due to the Friars' financial situation and the fact that they are currently up for sale. This also does not include the three deals made after pitchers and catchers reported to bring on first baseman-outfielder Nick Castellanos and right-handed starters Griffin Canning and German Marquez, nor does it include mention of the minor-league pacts Walker Buehler and Ty France inked. Grading Every Major Padres Move This Offseason Free-Agent Signing: RHP Michael King to 3-year, $75 million contract It took until mid-December for the Padres to make their first real move — and it involved a familiar face. After declining the $22.025 million qualifying offer, King returned to the place he spent the last two seasons as a key member of the starting rotation. The right-hander coming back was huge as the Padres were not only facing his loss, but the loss of right-handed starter Dylan Cease, another free agent who joined the Toronto Blue Jays. King had a combined 3.65 FIP (3.10 ERA) and an ERA+ of 134 (100 is an MLB-average pitcher) over those two seasons after being acquired in the Juan Soto trade. One of the reasons why King may have chosen to come back was he only made starts last year, first due to a nerve issue in his right shoulder, then inflammation in his left knee. He will likely slot in behind right-hander Nick Pivetta and ahead of right-hander Joe Musgrove in a strong top three in the rotation. The contract was a definite win for King, who gets paid $17 million in 2026, $28 million in 2027 and $30 million in 2028. King does have opt-outs after each of the first two years should he perform well enough to hit the free-agent market again, but also protecting himself if he gets hurt. The Padres are facing an even bigger rotation crisis next year if King and Pivetta opt out. Grade: A- Free-Agent Signing: INF Sung Mun Song to 4-year, $15 million contract Song is the most intriguing move of the offseason and could turn out to be a huge bargain. Coming over from the Korean Baseball Organization, Song has traditionally been a third baseman who has also spent time at second base and first base. But third base is superstar Manny Machado's position, so Song will see a majority of his time at the keystone, while filling in at third and occasionally at first. This spring, Song will learn to play the outfield, a place he never played in the KBO. He made himself an attractive candidate for MLB teams with his performance over the last two seasons. The 29-year-old had his best season in 2024, posting a .340/.409/.518 slash line with 19 homers and 104 RBIs. He also stole 46 steals in 48 attempts in that time. That brought his career line up to .283/.347/.431. The real value comes in the contract. If Song is just an average utility player, $2.8 million in 2026, $3.3 million in 2027 and $3.8 million in 2028 is really cheap by MLB standards. He has an opt-out after 2028, with $3.8 million scheduled for 2029. If there is a question, it is whether Song's last two seasons were the real deal, or whether he's actually something closer to what he did in his first seven seasons in the KBO. If he hits and defends well enough to become a starter at second base, this move will be a home run. Grade: B+ Free-Agent Signing: INF/OF Miguel Andujar to 1-year, $4 million contract Needing a right-handed bench bat, Andujar was a good addition for that price. Technically, Andujar makes $1.5 million in 2026 with a $2.5 million buyout for a mutual option for 2027. He split time pretty evenly at third base and left field last year, while seeing action in three games at first base between the A's and the Cincinnati Reds following a trade. He also played 28 of his 94 games at designated hitter. Andujar hits left-handed pitchers very well, with a .297/.332/.475 career slash line, compared with .275/.307/.427 vs. right-handers. Andujar is long past his peak power-hitting days, when he smacked 27 homers in 2018 for the New York Yankees en route to finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year voting to some guy named Shohei Ohtani. That is thanks to a number of injuries zapping his power. He did hit 10 homers in those 94 games last year, a season in which he had the most games, plate appearances and homers since that rookie campaign. He should be in the mix for at-bats at first base and left field, with some third base a possibility. He could also be a DH, particularly against southpaws given the number of lefty bats the Friars have. As long as he can stay healthy, this is a nice move to solidify the bench. Grade: B Free-Agent Signing: RHP Ty Adcock to 1-year, $850,000 contract Considering the MLB minimum salary in 2026 is $780,000, the 29-year-old is a low-risk addition and a safety net in case injuries decimate the bullpen. The right-handed reliever has 18 games of MLB experience, 12 coming in in 2023 with the Seattle Mariners and three in each of 2024 and 2025 with the New York Mets. In that brief MLB time, Adcock has a 7.18 FIP and a 5.48 ERA, which indicates he could have had a little luck on his side. He had a 14.3% walk rate and 35.7% strikeout rate, suggestive of someone with elite stuff who has yet to learn how to harness it. In four years in the minors, he has a career 4.40 ERA, including a 4.66 mark in 2025 at Triple-A. Grade: C Free-Agent Signing: RHP Daison Acosta to 1-year, $780,000 contract Similar to Adcock from a financial commitment perspective, Acosta has yet to make his MLB debut and has just 23 games at Triple-A over the last two seasons. The 27-year-old has spent eight of the last 10 years in the minors, with the 2020 minor-league season being wiped out by the pandemic and a lost 2021 campaign due to injury. Acosta allows 4.6 walks per nine innings and strikes out 10.1 batters in that same sample. The Friars had to see something in Acosta to give him a major-league contract and a spot on the 40-man roster, but he will be ticketed for Triple-A El Paso as bullpen insurance. Grade: C- Verdict If you were trying to come up with a book title for what Preller was able to do this offseason, it would be "Unfinished Business." Thus, what he accomplished between the final out of the NL Wild Card Series loss to the Chicago Cubs to the day pitchers and catchers reported is underwhelming. No starting pitchers and no starting position players were added. Even the bench feels like it needs another body. That isn't to say the moves that were made were bad ones. None is bad on face value. But as the leader of the front office of a contending team playing in a stadium that is filled to the brim by passionate fans on a nightly basis, Preller's job is to give the team every chance to win the NL West and contend for a World Series. He fell short of that goal this winter. Final grade: F Note: The three additions made over the weekend in Castellanos, Griffin and Marquez (plus France and Buehler) were smart and necessary signings. Since they came after pitchers and catchers reported to camp, they don't get factored into our grade here, but each of those fives players could have a significant impact on the team in 2026. If you believe that's the case, you can adjust the grade accordingly. View the full article

Marek Houston might not be the biggest name in the Twins’ farm system right now, but that could change quickly. In this video, we break down what he does well, why his skill set matters at shortstop, and how realistic his path to Minnesota actually is. View the full article

Alex and Maddie sit down with Corbin from Red Seat Radio to discuss the start of spring training, whether they are already worried about the lockout, and their predictions for where the Red Sox will finish in the AL East. They talk through the logjam at DH and what an eventual Triston Casas return could mean for the position. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talk-sox-podcast/id1783204104 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qPrPXEngu0CxgTmlf0ynm Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-talk-sox-podcast-244591331/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4tmd121v Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talksox View the full article

Just in time for the Miami Marlins' Grapefruit League opener, here is an overview of how to follow the Fish throughout spring training via television and radio. The debut of Marlins.TV won't be until the final week of spring. In the meantime, road games against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday and against the Philadelphia Phillies next Friday (Feb. 27) will be carried live on MLB Network. Because the Marlins do not have their own television feed for those games, blackout restrictions don't apply, so in-market fans with access to MLB Network can watch that way. Expect more road games later in the spring to be available through that same method. Every Saturday and Sunday, there will be Spanish radio broadcasts on WAQI 710. Date / Time (ET) Matchup Radio TV February 21 / 1:10 PM Marlins @ Mets MLB.com / WAQI SNY February 22 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Nationals MLB.com / WAQI February 23 / 1:05 PM Marlins @ Cardinals MLB.com Matrix Midwest / MLB Network February 24 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Phillies MLB.com February 25 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Astros MLB.com February 26 / 1:07 PM Marlins @ Blue Jays Sportsnet February 27 / 1:05 PM Marlins @ Phillies NBCSP / MLB Network February 28 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Cardinals MLB.com / WAQI March 1 / 1:05 PM Marlins @ Nationals MLB.com / WAQI March 2 / 1:05 PM Marlins @ Cardinals MLB.com March 3 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Israel MLB.com March 5 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Astros MLB.com March 6 / 7:10 PM Marlins vs. Mets MLB.com March 7 / 12:05 PM Marlins @ Astros MLB.com / WAQI HOU Video March 8 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Cardinals MLB.com / WAQI Matrix Midwest March 9 / 6:10 PM Marlins @ Mets SNY March 10 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Nationals MLB.com March 11 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Astros MLB.com March 13 / 6:10 PM Marlins @ Mets WPIX March 14 / 12:05 PM Marlins @ Nationals (SS) March 14 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Cardinals (SS) MLB.com / WAQI March 15 / 1:05 PM Marlins @ Astros WAQI HOU Video March 16 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Blue Jays MLB.com Marlins.TV / Sportsnet March 17 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Mets MLB.com March 18 / 6:05 PM Marlins @ Nationals MLB.com Nationals.TV March 19 / 12:05 PM Marlins @ Astros (Spring Breakout) MLB.com March 20 / 6:05 PM Marlins @ Astros (SS) HOU Video March 20 / 7:10 PM Marlins vs. Nationals (SS) MLB.com March 21 / 1:05 PM Marlins @ Cardinals MLB.com / WAQI March 22 / 1:10 PM Marlins vs. Mets MLB.com / WAQI Marlins.TV Thinking about attending any of these games in person? Consult Fish On First's spring training guide. View the full article

Uniforms are an integral part of sports. It may not have started out that way, but today, a team's uniform fleshes out an entire identity. Some teams are able to transcend on-the-field success into off-the-field relevancy simply because of the uniforms they have created (e.g., the Oakland/Los Angeles/Vegas Raiders). Thankfully for us fans of the Chicago Cubs, the team not only has a long and rich history on the field, but lots of good looks to complement it. But what is the team's best look? Which years have given us the most visually impressive Cubs team? For this exercise, we need a few rules. The first is that we must follow the MLB uniform guidelines for teams, in that they are allowed four total uniforms (a home, an away, and two alternates) as well a City Connect, for a total of five looks. I'm also going to limit myself to official-game and on-field looks only and not allow myself to choose fashion or batting practice apparel (no rocker bear hat, sadly). So with those rules in mind, what is the Cubs' best look? Home Uniform: 1998 For the keen-eyed uniform dorks out there, you may already know this, but the Chicago Cubs have not always worn pinstripes at home, introducing them in the summer of 1957. Prior to that year, the Cubs tended to wear a logo on the left breast (dabbling with a few alterations and changes) but remained without the iconic stripes most of the time. From 1957 on, there haven't been a ton of changes in the essential home look; a slight re-imagining of the Cubs' primary logo here or there, the addition of the sans-a-belt and pullover variations in the 1970s and the 1980s, and a few patches on the shoulders. Weighing all these details, I land on the Cubs' 1998 version as the ultimate basic look at home. While the Cubs may not have invented the idea of pinstripes, we're going on 70 years of running with that look at home. Secondly, I couldn't in good conscience pick their uniforms today, with an ugly ad patch adorning the shoulder. The '98 look combines their beautiful vertical striping pattern with the introduction of the Harry Caray memorial patch, which I think balances out the uniform quite well. While there are some fans who enjoyed the Cubs going without names on the back (which they did prior to 1993, and then again for two years in 2005 and 2006), I like knowing who's playing. That season also feels like a safe choice here because they had success. This uniform (down to the Harry patch) was what Kerry Wood wore when he struck out 20 hitters, what Sammy Sosa wore breaking Roger Maris' home run record, and what the team wore when celebrating the victory over the San Francisco Giants in the Wild Card tie-breaker. Add it all up, and I don't think the Chicago Cubs have ever looked as good at home. Road Uniform: 1962 These are my favorite road uniforms in the history of the Cubs. I think they're almost perfect (I'll add one tweak I'd make later). First, for those who are less inclined to nerd out over baseball uniform lore, there is a proper way to make a baseball road look: it has to have the city on the front, not the nickname. Why is that? Uniform guru Paul Lukas (founder of Uni-Watch) explains here in an article for ESPN back in 2017, but the answer is simple. Back in the early days of the game, people didn't know where the visiting team was from, and this helped to identify them. This uniform certainly checks off that aspect, with a beautiful royal-blue "CHICAGO" across the front, and I love that it is outlined in red. Beyond just the naming conventions, what really sets the set aside for me is the addition of the Cubbie bear patch on the left shoulder. Prior to '62, the Cubs had already been using this standard set for years, but 1962 was the first year that they added the adorable little patch. Maybe you think it's too cutesy, but I think it adds a charm that uniforms once had, that we have lost today, as so many teams have tried to look tougher. My one tweak would be to give this set a front number! It just fills out the look a little bit. The Cubs did add that in 1969...but then dropped the red borders on the "CHICAGO", and I feel as though it's too blue-heavy. It's a good look, but give me those '62 beauties over them. Alternate 1: 1984 Blues The Cubs have been using a form of a blue uniform on-and-off sometime since 1978, when they first wore their blue-on-baby-blue pinstriped uniforms. In 1984, this look was their primary "road" look, and while I think they're a bad road uniform (it doesn't say where the Cubs are from on it), I do think they're a beautiful secondary/alternate look. They paired these with white pants, which make them a beautiful look to be worn at home, and that's where they'd go in my "perfect world". I'm even willing to forgive the "softball"/pullover look. I prefer a button down, but these hit a perfect balance of color and nostalgia for me. It's true that 1984 wasn't the first year the Cubs broke these tops out, but 1984 was the first year that they had sustained success in them. Despite the fact that this was the uniform they were wearing when they dropped a heartbreaking five-game set to San Diego, this version of the uniform is the one they went the furthest in. And as with the home look, I think it's important that a look has some history with it on the field if you can. Why not the current look that they won a championship in? I just like these better, on pure aesthetics. The current look is okay, but they feel like they're lacking some of that extra "oomph" these have. There's no color on the sleeves, nothing on the collar... they're just a bit plain. They won the World Series in them, which does give them juice, but not so much I can ignore that I just like these better. Fight me. Alternate 2: 1929 Home Source: https://auctions.mlb.com/1929-throwback-auction---ryan-sweeney-game-used-throwback/isynmv1/aucd/172859 Every team needs to have a proper "throwback" look and while I think the top-three could realistically look very modern, the 1930 set screams "back in my day, we walked uphill to school both ways". Starting with the socks, this kind of striped hosiery simply isn't seen now a days but absolutely pops on this set giving it a very distinct feel. Moving to the top, look at the placket (the placket is the section where the button sit) and notice how the piping cuts off about 90% of the way down the front; also something we just don't see now a days. It's a little weird, a little funky, but history is a little weird and funky! If you think these oddities and weird aspects make them bad, I just won't agree. C'mon, these things are beautiful; have some whimsey! The Cubs even threw back to these in 2014 and they looked so good on the field. The off-white color and the socks really stood out. I wouldn't wear these every day, but give me this look five to ten times a year, please. City Connect: Current Source: https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports-media/2025/04/10/sports-uniforms-cubs-baby-blue-expos-white-sox-bulls-blackhawks-alternates-city-connect-mlb-nba-nhl So, that's it, that's the definitive best looking Chicago Cubs team I can come up with. There's a little mix of present and past, some history of winning and some cutesy charm thrown in for good measure. There are some arguments you could make adding one uniform over another, but I think generally speaking, it's hard to get better than this look overall. Most importantly; I feel it's cohesive and creates a brand; the Cubs are a historic team and need to be treated as such. Do you agree? Disagree? What's your best look? Fight me in the comment section and argue for your favorite uniform. View the full article

Royals Spring Training Opening Day is Friday, which means that we will be experiencing a continuous stretch of baseball from now until the All-Star Break. With games finally starting, I wanted to finish my three-part series on Royals catcher metrics before we started getting data from actual games in 2026. In part one, I looked at blocking metrics, and in part two, I looked at framing metrics. In this final edition, I will be exploring throwing metrics of Royals catchers and how they compared to other catchers in Major League Baseball last season. Royals Fared Well in Catcher Poptime To dive into deeper Statcast metrics, it's important to understand poptime. Below is the definition of poptime, according to Baseball Savant, along with benchmarks for not just poptime but also the exchange from catching to throwing the ball to a particular base. As in my previous posts, I wanted to see how Royals catchers ranked among qualified MLB catchers. Thus, in the Datawrapper table below, I highlighted Freddy Fermin and Salvador Perez, the only Royals catchers who qualified (Luke Maile and Carter Jensen did not). When it came to blocking metrics, Royals catchers ranked near the bottom of the league. In terms of framing, it was better than in seasons past, but still ranked toward the middle or lower quadrant of the league. In terms of poptime? Fermin ranked 11th in poptime to second base, and Perez ranked 26th. Their poptimes also ranked in the upper percentiles, a far cry from their blocking and framing metrics last season. They both achieved those times in different ways, however. Perez's arm strength (which measures throws by MPH) was low at 78.6 MPH, which ranked 72nd of this 84-catcher sample. However, he had a top-20 exchange time at 0.63 seconds. Fermin was good on both ends. Not only did he have the same exchange time as Salvy, but he also threw the ball 84 MPH, which ranked 24th. Fermin and Perez excelled when it came to throwing the ball, especially to second base. However, how did Jensen and Maile fare in their smaller samples? Surprisingly, even better, as fans can see in the table below. Fermin is not listed in this sample. That said, Jensen was a carbon copy in terms of arm strength (84.6 MPH) and exchange (0.63 seconds). Maile wasn't much in those categories, though his arm strength (83.3 MPH) and exchange (0.69 seconds) were a little lower than the Royals' top prospect. When it comes to pure throwing skills, Jensen has the tools to handle MLB base stealers. His 1.87 pop time was 0.06 seconds better than Perez's and even 0.03 points better than Fermin's last year. Granted, the sample for Jensen was much smaller, but the Park Hill product's solid poptime metrics are probably a prime reason why the Royals felt comfortable parting ways with Fermin at last year's Trade Deadline. Salvy and the Royals' Catchers Kept Base Stealers at Bay Having great poptime is one thing. Transitioning those skills into actual outs is another challenge. Thus, it's important to see how many of the Royals' catchers' throws turned into outs last season, and how many runs that saved the Kansas City pitching staff. Caught Stealing Above Average (CSAA) is one of the key metrics used to determine a catcher's effectiveness at preventing stolen bases. Here is the definition of CSAA, some nuances about the metric, and Catcher Stealing runs, which is a product of CSAA. Let's take a look below at how Fermin and Perez ranked among MLB catchers last year in terms of CSAA. Perez and Fermin were even more impressive in CSAA. Salvy ranked 8th in baseball with a +4 CSAA, and Fermin ranked 19th with a +2 CSAA. Furthermore, Perez ranked third in CS rate (40%) and sixth in CSAA per throw (0.14). As for Freddy, he ranked 23rd in CS rate (25%) and 14th in CSAA per throw (0.06). Those are solid marks and explain why Royals catchers were held in so high regard defensively last season. Now, let's take a look at how Maile and Jensen fared in those metrics as well (and how they compared to Fermin and Perez). As expected, Jensen looked good in his caught stealing metrics, especially in CSAA per throw, which was 0.15. That was 0.01 better than Salvy and 0.17 points better than Fermin. Maile, on the other hand, didn't fare well when it came to throwing out runners last year. He not only had a -1 CS run and CSAA, but his -0.24 CAA per throw was the worst mark of the four Royals catchers from last season. Because of the production of these four Royals catchers, Kansas City ranked 11th in total CSAA last season, according to Baseball Savant. They also ranked 4th in CS% (29%) and 6th in CAA per throw (0.05). With the return of Perez and Jensen, Kansas City should be a scary team again in 2026 for opposing baserunners. Final Thoughts On the Royals' Catcher Metrics When it comes to Kansas City catchers' defensive data, the following takeaways could be made. The blocking is a problem. Perez and Jensen fared pretty poorly in this category last year, and they likely are making improvement a priority in 2026, especially in Spring Training. It would help if they had better consistency in the pitching staff, as I do believe the shuffling of so many starting pitchers didn't make things easier for Salvy, Fermin, Maile, and Jensen. The framing was surprising, and the improvement over the past three years under bench coach Paul Hoover is not talked about enough. The Royals were arguably the WORST team in baseball when it came to framing and getting extra strikes. Now? They're middle of the pack. That's tremendous growth and should only help the pitching staff in 2026, though the ABS challenge installation this year could minimize the impact of catcher framing (not as much as some may think). The Royals' throwing as a catching group is elite. That said, while Fermin and Jensen contributed positively in this area, most of the focus should be diverted to Salvy. His throwing metrics should be a big reason why Perez deserves a Hall of Fame case in Cooperstown. It's one thing to be an excellent-hitting catcher. However, to do that and still have elite poptime and caught stealing numbers at 35 years old is incredible and not talked about enough. Heck, just watch this throw out of Cleveland's Jose Ramirez, one of the league's better base stealers, on March 29th this season and tell me that he's not a Hall of Fame catcher. The Royals catchers may not get the defensive love that teams like the Giants, Orioles, Mets, Phillies, or Guardians receive. That said, Kansas City has been much better behind the dish than some experts give them credit for. The encouraging framing and throwing metrics outweigh the brutal blocking numbers. Furthermore, they should be even better in 2026, especially with Salvy showing such solid throwing ability and Jensen perhaps being a younger, maybe slightly better version of Perez at catching runners on the basepaths (we just need to see a bigger sample at the Major League level). View the full article

In camp with the Brewers after they acquired him as part of a six-player trade with the Boston Red Sox, Shane Drohan brings a familiar objective to his new surroundings. "I want to pitch in the big leagues," he said. "It's always been the goal." That goal, Drohan admitted, was pushed to the back burner for a couple of seasons by injuries, including shoulder issues that sidelined him for most of 2024. But after a breakout 2025 that saw him pitch to a 2.27 ERA and 65 DRA- with a 35.3% strikeout rate in Triple-A, the 27-year-old is on the cusp of his major-league debut. After the injury, Drohan slowed things down, both off the field and on the mound. When he returned a year after shoulder surgery, he was a vastly improved pitcher. From a health standpoint, Drohan was stronger from rehabbing and working in the weight room, which helped the ball come out of his hand crisper and more accurately than before. He added a tick of velocity to every pitch in his arsenal, and the induced vertical break of his fastball increased from 14 to 16 inches, meaning it had more carry at the top of the strike zone. His cutter gained even more. "I had the muscles contracting again in the rotator cuff," he said. "That wasn't happening before. So I feel like that was kind of like the uptick in velo and uptick in carry on the fastball, just quality of stuff. Everything went up, just because the shoulder was properly functioning. And on the strength and conditioning side, it's kind of been a year-to-year process of just putting on size to put more force on the ball." The time away also gave Drohan a chance to refine his slider. After he made its shape more compact and consistent, it emerged as his best offering last year. Opponents chased 49.5% of sliders outside the zone and whiffed on 42.2% of swings. "When I came back from the injury, it was just better and tighter because I had more reps with it, just working on it when I was rehabbing," he said. Drohan also slowed his delivery to better leverage his added strength down the mound. Earlier in his career, he focused on delivering the ball as quickly as possible. It's possible for a pitcher to move too quickly, though, which was what happened to Drohan. "I felt like in years past, I was pretty wound up in my delivery and just not as free as I'd like to be," he said. To establish a more natural tempo, he switched to a fuller wind-up. Drohan's delivery took slightly longer, but his improved rhythm and added strength allowed him to move more explosively toward the plate as he started moving forward. drohan.mp4 "It's just that the timing of it seems a lot better," he said. "I think it was also just the strength and conditioning. I'm just a lot stronger. I don't have to worry about moving as ridiculously fast as I used to down the mound. I just have more weight now. I can put more force into the ground." For all the positives last season brought, Drohan still missed three months with a forearm strain, which is often a precursor to more serious elbow injuries. He downplayed the severity of the injury and confirmed he is fully healthy. "I think the little forearm strain that popped up last year was almost like a reaction thing from the shoulder being strong again," he said. "The rest of my arm just wasn't used to the force that the arm was producing, because in years past, it just wasn't producing that force. So I think the forearm kind of just freaked out a little bit." Drohan said he spent most of those three months building back up as a starter, after a three-week shutdown. When he returned, he maintained his velocity gains through the rest of the year. "When I came back, I threw well," he said. "The stuff felt really good, so it was a good sign." A pair of trying seasons may have stalled Drohan's journey to the big leagues, but they made him a more polished product than he was during his first, unsuccessful stint in the upper minors. Now he's joining a Brewers pitching staff that can further develop him. "It's pretty hard to ignore the success they've had here on the mound," he said. "Starters, relievers, everybody. I wasn't too dialed in on their exact mindset and teaching certain things, but it was very easy to just watch the Brewers play. They get guys to pitch really well." It's taken longer than it has for many prospects, but Drohan is finally positioned to reach his goal. "I feel like I learned a lot in those two years. I feel ready to pitch in the big leagues." View the full article

The 2025 trade deadline saw a lot of outstanding talent shipped out by the Twins, with Jhoan Duran topping the list. It was a bold strategy for the front office, and the wisdom of their audacious gambit will ultimately be dictated by the impact of those players who came back in the veteran purge. Mick Abel, acquired alongside teenage catcher Eduardo Tait in exchange or Duran, stands out as one whose development will greatly influence how the controversial '25 deadline sell-off is remembered. Long viewed as a top prospect before debuting in the majors last year, Abel had an up-and-down rookie season that featured plenty of struggle, but also real indicators of future potential as a rotation building block. That included his final start of the year, against the Phillies, in which Abel was lights-out: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K. It was a performance that lived up to the hype of an overpowering arsenal, for which the 24-year-old has garnered much acclaim. While it's far from clear that Abel and his shaky command are going to succeed in the big leagues, especially right away, it is evident that he's ready for the challenge. There's little left to accomplish in Triple-A, where he's thrown over 200 innings. As such, it felt odd that — heading into spring camp — Abel appeared very much in line to start the season in St. Paul. With López, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober locked into the top three rotation spots, Abel was competing for one of the final two openings against several pitchers with more MLB experience and more proven track records: Simeon Woods Richardson, Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews, David Festa. Even accounting for a bullpen conversion or two, Abel was going to need to leapfrog multiple guys ahead of him on the depth chart. But now, López is out for the year, causing a major shakeup in depth atop the rotation picture. Ryan and Ober each slide up a spot, and the back end becomes more of an open field. According to observations from early in camp, Abel is ready to make his case. In his "Live from Fort Myers" blog highlighting on-the-scene observations earlier this week, Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune wrote that Abel "looked like he was in midseason form" during his first live bullpen section on Day 2. "His fastball was sitting from 96-98 mph," Nightengale reports, "and he was mixing all his pitches." Derek Shelton, per Nightengale, was impressed with what he saw. “Abel is one of those guys that, I mean, you guys saw it last year, what he did to the Phillies late in the year,” the new Twins manager said. “He's got electric stuff. I mean, he throws the first pitch out of his hand, it's a 98-mph sinker to [Byron Buxton]. I mean, that'll make you smile.” Twins fans could use something to smile about in the wake of the devastating López news. Hopefully a clear path for Abel to step in and take hold of a rotation spot will be that. In a year that figures to be primarily focused on development and building toward the future, he's exactly the kind of player fans should want to tune in and watch. View the full article

Major League Baseball has a Fanatics problem, and the Boston Red Sox found themselves right at the center of it in spring camp on February 18. Pictures posted from team picture day showcased a set of home whites that just looked… off. Upon further investigation, you can tell that the letters on the home whites this year are pressed in the incorrect areas and, as other pictures showed, were inconsistently placed from player to player. What remained on most jerseys, though, was that the D of the word ‘Red’ and the S of the word ‘Sox’ either touched or overlapped the red piping down the center of the jersey altogether. It gave the jerseys the look of a knock-off jersey that could be had for cheap, but with obvious flaws that made it stick out amongst the ones purchased from the team store. Fan response was quick and loud. The jerseys became almost low-hanging fruit on social media as fans of other teams even began to make jokes about the state of the jerseys in the official team photos. The complaining grew so loud that the Red Sox actually made an official statement regarding the jerseys: It’s rare for the team to make such a public statement regarding a sudden outcry from fans, but the Red Sox made it clear that the produced versions of the approved designs failed to meet their standard and, in corporate language, placed the blame squarely on Fanatic’s shoulders. Then, a mere three hours later, that original message was deleted and replaced by a new one: Well, that strikes a distinctly different tone, doesn’t it? What changed in a matter of hours? I think Tyler Milliken summed it up nicely: The Red Sox got the call from Fanatics and had to immediately backtrack. The team even called the company an ‘"outstanding partner" throughout the years they’ve been forced to work together. They went so far as to claim that Fanatics, the company that produced the physical jerseys, deserved no blame for the mistakes on the jerseys in the official team photos. Cut the crap. Fanatics deserves the blame for the multitude of jersey issues over the last handful of years. They are a company solely focused on profit without caring what we, the consumer, actually things of their product anymore. They’ve essentially monopolized the sports apparel market in the United States to the point that every major professional sport’s merchandise website is branded as ‘A Fanatics Experience’. They are so powerful that the statement, which is likely 100% true, from the Red Sox about how the jerseys didn’t match what was approved, had to be redacted and reworded so the team was no longer pointing the finger directly at the supplier. What’s even more sad is that Fanatics has made collecting jerseys, something that many baseball fans are passionate about, a hobby of the past. The last time I purchased a jersey was pre-COVID, and that’s saying something. I’ve spoken about my love for MLB and MiLB hats on the Talk Sox Podcast many times, but that collection used to be hats AND jerseys. Now, though? Forget it. Just a base-level jersey from the official MLB store is going for $200. If you want a field-quality jersey? Double it to $400. That amount for a jersey that isn’t signed, game-used, or has any distinguishing marks is beyond insane. Fine, maybe you’ll settle for a "shirsey" of your favorite player instead. Have fun paying that $50, plus shipping. Talk about daylight robbery. Fanatics is out of touch with their consumer base and even though the outcry has been loud for years, they don’t seem to care. It’s a shame, because they are both pricing out the dedicated fans of the sport while trying to sell them lesser quality materials. It’s the ultimate form of a sucky catch-22. And the worst part is that nothing will change. Fanatics' monopoly extends across every major sport in North America. They can hold the Red Sox's Twitter admin hostage, force the team to reword an official press release like Winston Smith in 1984, and continue to shake every penny out of consumers without any fear of ever being punished by the leagues that employ them. Add this to the ever-growing number of written media logs about how disappointed we are in Fanatics, but don’t expect anything to change until the powers that be in baseball decide to move their money to a different supplier. View the full article

Rejoice, Blue Jays fans, spring training is finally here. It’s a truly wonderful time on the baseball calendar. Every team comes into camp at 0-0, and with that comes optimism that this could be the year that everything clicks. That, at the end of a long 162-game season, you could be the team left celebrating, having outlasted every opponent and achieved World Series glory. An outcome that the Blue Jays almost tasted in 2025. There is a long time between the first pitch in spring and the last pitch of the World Series, and any baseball team will look significantly different between now and then. The Blue Jays are no exception. But here’s the tricky part about spring training. Most of what you see doesn't matter. Batting averages, ERAs, and the RBIs can all disappear by mid-May, and yet, underneath all the noise, some signals do matter. Certain stats stabilize quickly, certain changes stick, and even when the results don’t show it, the indicators whisper what's coming. But here’s the tricky part about spring training. Most of what you see doesn't matter. Batting averages, ERAs, and RBIs can all disappear by mid-May, and beyond the small sample size issue, there are structural reasons for that volatility. Hitters are often testing new swings, stances, or approaches at the plate. Pitchers experiment with new grips, pitch mixes, and release points. Early in camp, competition levels can fluctuate. Some days, you're facing a lineup full of MLB regulars; other times, it's minor league players one through nine. Because of this, the box score rarely reflects the real objective, and yet, underneath all that noise, some signals do matter. Let’s flash back to spring training 2025. The team was coming off an upsetting 74-win season, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had set a date for a contract extension that had come and gone without one, and the team was left with more questions than answers. Then the games started. The Blue Jays ended up being the best team in the Grapefruit League. Alan Roden was the talk of camp, hitting .407 with four extra-base hits and more walks (6) than strikeouts (4), but by midseason, he had just two barrels and was traded at the deadline. Richard Lovelady and Jacob Barnes were good in the spring and made the team out of the bullpen, but neither player lasted more than three weeks on the roster. George Springer had a 52 wRC+ in spring, but then ended up with his best offensive season ever. Baseball is a game where small samples can mislead, and in spring training, those small samples get even smaller. So, if a player hits .400 in spring training, is it because of a change they made? Is it because they ran a high BABIP, or because they faced more minor league pitchers, or because of defensive chaos? Whatever the case may be, take every spring stat with a grain of salt. But that's not to say spring stats don’t matter; you just need to know what to look for. For example, a pitcher's walk and strikeout rates stabilize much more quickly than his ERA. On the hitting side, a stat like isolated power also has some predictive value. Looking at stats like these, it should be easier to predict when a breakout is coming. Here are three metrics to pay attention to this spring that matter more than basic stats: Velocity K-BB% Swing decisions/quality of contact Let’s take Daulton Varsho, for example. At the end of the 2024 season, he went through shoulder surgery, and although he wasn’t quite ready for Opening Day, he ended up making some changes to his approach, appeared in some spring games as the designated hitter, and he raked. He ended up with a .455 ISO, and even though his .242 average didn't jump off the page, the power did. The power surge in March wasn't a mirage. Not only was his regular season ISO a career high, but he also slugged 20 home runs in 71 games played. He homered once every 12.4 at-bats, a rate that would have ranked sixth in baseball had he qualified. Critically, his spring wasn’t predictive because of the home runs he hit; it was predictive because the underlying batted-ball profile had changed. Here's another recent Blue Jays example: 2021 Robbie Ray. Ray always had excellent stuff. His fastball/slider combination from the left side was great at generating swings and misses; he had a 12.1% career swinging-strike rate entering the 2021 season (per FanGraphs), well above league average. So his issue was never the stuff. It was consistently throwing strikes. After coming into camp and sitting down with Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker, Ray made some changes and improved his strike-throwing and attacked the zone more confidently. *No Statcast data available for Ray in spring 2018 The changes worked. His zone rate jumped to 50.8% in the 2021 regular season, the highest in any season of his career. The improved command unlocked the full potential of the swing-and-miss stuff he always had, which led to a Cy Young Award. Now, let’s go back to Springer, who, as mentioned earlier, was dreadful last year in spring training. Were there any signs that the bounceback was coming? The surface stats would say no: He went just 4-for-37 at the plate, with a sub .300 OBP and a dreadful .216 slugging percentage. But Springer wasn’t worried. He said in an interview with MLB’s Keegan Matheson last March, “I feel great, actually. For me, it’s about the process. It’s not about the results. I want to make sure that I’m swinging at the right pitches and getting my swing off. Yeah, obviously everyone would like to see the ball hit the grass, but for me specifically, I’m working on the mechanical side of it.” If the results didn’t show progress, did the underlying swing metrics tell a different story? It's hard to say for sure – public spring training Statcast data is still limited – but even the partial data hinted at a meaningful change. Here are some key stats: Season Pull% Swing% SwStr% 2023 39.5% 49.3% 9.8% 2024 39.8% 43.3% 11.3% Spring 2025 57.1% 38.0% 8.0% It looked like he began swinging less, but also missing less at the pitches he did swing at, and he was hitting the ball to his pull side more than ever. All of which pointed to a deliberate mechanical adjustment that Springer had made. If we had bat speed and more public Statcast data for spring training, then an increase in bat speed and in-zone swing rate may show more evidence of his adjustments in action. But seeing how his fast swing rate rose to 40.3% in 2025 (up from 22.4% and 24.4% the two years prior), and if you compare his 2024 regular season swing rate by zone to 2025 (as shown below), then it's fair to assume that the adjustment started in spring training. This zone breakdown shows he wasn’t just taking a more passive approach at the plate. Springer became more selective and attacked the pitches he knew he could handle. In 2024, he expanded more to the outer edges, but in 2025, his zone tightened. He forced pitchers back into the heart of the zone because he stopped chasing at the edges. When they did challenge him, he did damage. That kind of zone discipline shift doesn’t happen by accident. Now, what does this mean going into spring training 2026? Well, first things first, it's important not to dive too deep into surface-level spring stats. If Vladdy. hits .200, then ask these questions: Is the BAPIP unusually low? Are his swing decisions consistent? Is the hard-hit rate staying steady? You should also listen for some quotes from either Guerrero or the coaching staff; is he trying something new and still working out the kinks? Until all those questions have been answered, the concern level for any hitter should be low. The same is true if Kevin Gausman or Trey Yesavage get their splitters hit around a bit, as long as the velocity and movement profiles remain intact. Dylan Cease has been playing around with a kick-change, and his spring training results may look quite different than usual if his main focus is getting repetitions on that pitch. Look for pitchers, too, with big velocity jumps. If a young reliever comes into camp throwing harder than ever before, it could be a sign that they’ve unlocked another level and are ready to take another leap, even if the end of spring stat lines look a tad discouraging. The storylines will write themselves. Someone we expect to have a good spring is going to struggle, and someone that no one is expecting much of right now will make headlines, but take everything with a grain of salt. Spring training isn’t about the box score; it's about signals. The marathon doesn’t start in March, but the first hints of who is ready often do. View the full article

With spring training games about to begin, it's time for our annual Miami Marlins Call-Up Contest! Marlins radio announcer Jack McMullen joins Kevin Barral, Isaac Azout and Alex Carver for a five-round draft of players who are most likely to make their major league debut during the 2026 season. You can find Fish Unfiltered and Fish On First LIVE on the Fish On First YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you get your pods. The following players were selected: Round 1: Joe Mack*, Josh White*, Robby Snelling, Thomas White Round 2: William Kempner*, Nigel Belgrave, Kemp Alderman, Josh Ekness Round 3: Kade Bragg, Jesús Bastidas, Jacob Berry, Evan McKendry Round 4: Johnny Olmstead, Luis Palacios, Andrew Pintar, Jared Serna* Round 5: Deyvison De Los Santos*, Matthew Etzel, Dale Stanavich, Brendan Jones *Currently on Marlins 40-man roster Whoever has the most correct predictions at season's end wins the contest. In the event of a tie, the person whose players produced the most combined fWAR will be the winner. Follow Jack (⁠@Jack_McMullen11⁠), Alex (⁠@FOFProspects⁠), Kevin (⁠@kevin_barral⁠) , Isaac (⁠@IsaacAzout⁠), Ely (⁠@RealEly⁠) and Fish On First (⁠@FishOnFirst⁠) on Twitter. Join the ⁠Marlins Discord server⁠! Complete Miami Marlins coverage at ⁠FishOnFirst.com⁠. View the full article

Jack Stern joins Brock Beauchamp to discuss his first few days in Brewers' camp; what is Logan Henderson's new pitch? Is anyone injured? And most importantly, who is in the best shape of their life? Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View the full article

Pat Murphy, who won the National League Manager of the Year in his first two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, has signed a new three-year contract, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Thursday. Murphy, 67, was entering the final year of his deal. This new contract replaces the final season and includes a club option for the 2029 season. Before joining the Brewers, Murphy's only previous MLB managing experience came on an interim basis during the 2015 season after Bud Black was fired. Murphy, who had been the Triple-A manager when promoted, was not retained by the Padres after that season. Coincidentally, then-Brewers manager Craig Counsell had tried to hire Murphy, his former Notre Dame coach, before the 2015 season, but the Padres blocked the move. But that allowed Murphy to join Counsell's staff in 2016 as bench coach, a position he held until Counsell went to the Chicago Cubs after the 2023 season, when Murphy replaced his former player as the Crew's manager. Murphy picked up where Counsell left off, winning the NL Central in 2024 and 2025, giving the Brewers three straight division championships. Each year, the Brewers edged out Counsell's Cubs. Murphy was named NL Manager of the Year in each season, the first Brewers skipper to win the award in team history. The Brewers finished 93-69 in 2024, a one-game improvement over Counsell's final season, then posted the best record in MLB in 2025 at 97-65. The Brewers, who lost to the New York Mets in the NL Wild Card Series in 2024, then beat Counsell's Cubs in the NL Division Series in 2025 before being swept by the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The 2025 record was surprising due to a 0-4 start to the season and a number of injuries that decimated the starting rotation. But once the Brewers got healthy, they put together an 11-game winning streak, followed by a club-record 14-game streak. Murphy has blossomed into a fan favorite, not just in Milwaukee but across baseball. In 2025, he became famous for pocket pancakes, a pancake that he kept in his pocket so he could munch on it when he was hungry. He also stuffs other types of food for safekeeping, a practice he has been doing for years, but only became noteworthy when he did it during a nationally televised game. View the full article

While Byron Buxton and Josh Bell will be drawing plenty of opposing teams' attention in 2026, there's a real case that Luke Keaschall ends up being the team's most productive hitter. In this video, we review his 2025 season, dive into his above-average analytics, cover what aspects he needs to work on, and ultimately simulate his 2026 season. View the full article

Spring training is finally here, and the non-roster invitees for every big-league team see it as a prime chance to break into The Show. For the Chicago Cubs, there are three non-roster invitees who could be in line to make some extra noise and contribute on the north side of Chicago in 2026. Jaxon Wiggins This name drop feels self-explanatory. Wiggins is the top pitching prospect in the Cubs pipeline. The hard-throwing righty ended his season in Triple-A Iowa last year, with one of the best fastball-slider combos in the minors. The fastball, earning a 65 grade at the end of the 2025 campaign, sits comfortably in the 96-97 mph range and can touch 100 mph when the 24-year-old gets ramped up. The velocity also holds up well within outings, an important attribute for someone who has frontline starter potential. Stuff models don't like the heater as much as scouts do, but there's time for the team and Wiggins to improve the pitch's combination of shapes and locations. Wiggins’s mid-80s slider has hard bite to it and has the capability to generate whiffs, but he has struggled to control it at times. He also has a mid-80s changeup with decent arm-side ride. Overall, Wiggins has 168 strikeouts in 138 innings of professional baseball, and it's looking like he can keep racking up punchouts in the majors—perhaps as soon as this summer. It's unlikely that we'll see Wiggins right away, of course. His ability to break into this year’s rotation got dicey once the Cubs traded for projected starter Edward Cabrera. Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Cade Horton and Jameson Taillon round out what will likely be Chicago’s starting five. Meanwhile, erstwhile ace Justin Steele is expected to make a midseason return, and appears to be ahead of schedule. Injuries can happen, and with those come opportunities, but between the depth of the rotation and the bevy of veteran arms in camp to compete for bullpen spots, we're likely to see Wiggins spend at least the first two months in Iowa. Jonathon Long Like Wiggins, Long has only a slim chance to crack the roster at a relatively loaded position. Still, the 24-year-old corner infielder is making his case to be a big bat, as he registered a .305 batting average and a .404 on-base percentage in 140 games at Triple-A Iowa in 2025. Long also belted a career-best 20 long (Long?) balls and drove in 91 runs. His 55-grade power has blossomed over time, and the Cactus League will give him a chance to test himself against some big-league arms. Michael Busch is a star-caliber first baseman, but right-handed platoon bat and backup Tyler Austin is more of an enigma. There may be room for the 2023 9th-rounder to earn a DH spot or to overtake Austin, but he’ll have to truly wreak havoc to compete with Moisés Ballesteros, Kevin Alcántara, Matt Shaw and Austin for a spot. He's a bit buried on the Cubs' depth chart, but if nothing else, he has some burgeoning trade value. Grant Kipp Once you get past Wiggins, there's a bit of a lacuna on the Cubs' organizational starting pitching depth chart. Kipp, who had 110 strikeouts (but 57 walks and a whopping 18 hit batsmen) in 108 innings at Double-A Knoxville, will try to help fill it, though he probably doesn't have much of a future as a starter in the majors. His 60-grade curveball is the sharpest of any of his pitches, as it generates 3,000 rpm with a shape that he’s able to customize throughout his starts. Kipp has come a long way from signing on for $50,000 as a nondrafted free agent in 2022. Can he make the next step? His ability to rule at-bats with his off speed stuff this spring could answer that question. These aren't the non-roster guys most likely to help the 2026 Cubs. There are several players in camp whom the team signed specifically to compete for limited but important roles, and who have big-league track records that foretell success. However, the Cubs system needs to start achieving greater success in terms of churning out homegrown players at each level of a roster. In Wiggins, Long and Kipp, there are three guys in big-league camp who personify the potential and the developmental needs that define the team's long-term goals. View the full article

FORT MYERS—There are spring training games that invite a little extra, lineup-driven pageantry, and the first Grapefruit League game on Saturday afternoon is one of them. It’s not uncommon to see most of the likely Opening Day roster, in front of an amped-up ballpark and a Twins.TV audience. So, it should come as no surprise that we learned Joe Ryan will take the mound that day. Ryan was one of the few steady pillars of the Twins’ 2025 season, earning an All-Star nod and finishing with a 13-10 record, a 3.42 ERA, 171 innings, and 194 strikeouts (with a 1.04 WHIP), while also being the subject of trade rumors even into the offseason. For a 2026 club that will rely on its rotation, he’s the clear remaining ace-like pitcher on the roster. Go Gophers! Go Zebby! Saturday is the first Grapefruit League game, but the Twins’ first game of the year comes Friday against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, and it’s also on Twins.TV. It’s scheduled as a seven-inning exhibition, so tune in early (5:05 p.m. CT) You’ll see Zebby Matthews on the mound. He was the talk of spring training last year at this time, thanks to some newfound velocity. But his 2025 results (5.56 ERA) didn’t live up to the excitement. When manager Rocco Baldelli was asked about Matthews’s struggles last year, he kept coming back to the same word: consistency. In camp yesterday, Matthews talked about that, too — while also acknowledging he still has only about a year of big-league experience, and that the success can come with time. View the full article

Sweet Lou Hennessy and Twins Geek John Bonnes go over the latest news and notes from Twins Spring Training, including the fallout of the Pablo López injury. Plus, they play a couple of rounds of Would You Rather and Overreaction Scouting Report. Listen using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twins-off-daily-podcast/id1741266056 Listen using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4tb78XlurcPTYYSsARdbD7 Listen using iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-twins-off-daily-podcas-167548600/ Listen using Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/nvclbt0w Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twinsdaily View the full article

Sal Frelick’s emergence as a crucial component of Milwaukee’s lineup has been overshadowed by the breakout of Brice Turang, the veteran presence of Christian Yelich, the day-to-day consistency of William Contreras, and the high ceiling of Jackson Chourio. But Frelick has provided excellent defense and much-improved offense since coming up in mid-2023. What does 2026 hold for him—and the Brewers—in right field? 2025 In Review Frelick’s offensive improvement made it easy to overlook the fact that his defense was still Gold Glove-caliber. In fact, he was also a capable option in center field, taking part in a spectacular play in Game 1 of the NLCS once injuries forced him to move there. But the offensive improvement, from an 84 OPS+ to a 111 OPS+, was significant, and the hope is that, as Turang did from 2024 to 2025, Frelick can make yet another leap. Current Roster Situation Frelick is entrenched in right field, but theoretically, he's not the team's only option. On the current roster, Jackson Chourio spent 20 games in right, while Jake Bauers added five games. Since-departed Daz Cameron and Isaac Collins combined for 20 games, Brandon Lockridge played seven games, and Tyler Black had a single appearance in right field. Luis Rengifo has had sporadic experience in right field, while Jett Williams could possibly fill in there, as well. Other options on the 40-man include Akil Baddoo (who’s mostly spent time in left field and center field) and Steward Berroa. These are more “emergency” options than players the Brewers would want to use regularly in right field, though. Some of these players are more natural fits for right field than others, but it never hurts to have a plethora of usable guys at a given spot, especially after the Brewers had to hold an outfield together with duct tape and some panic transactions in 2025 due to injuries that sidelined Blake Perkins, Garrett Mitchell, Chourio and Bauers, as well as (briefly) Frelick himself. Best-Case Scenario Sal Frelick and Jackson Chourio combine for about 150 starts in right field, with Frelick getting the vast majority of them. Chourio is no slouch in right, but if things go well for the Brewers, Frelick will be the primary starter in right field, while Chourio gets almost all of the starts in left. In essence, the Brewers’ best-case scenario is not so much dependent on Chourio and/or Frelick performing well. That's an as-expected outcome; both are relatively known quantities and could actually be improving in 2026. Rather, it's about what them playing there implies about the rest of the roster. If Frelick and Chourio combine for almost all of the starts in right field, it means that the Brewers have had excellent contributions in center field from the combination of Mitchell, Perkins, and Williams. That would be good news for Milwaukee’s chances for a fourth straight NL Central title. Worst-Case Scenario Jake Bauers and/or Brandon Lockridge get more than 10 starts in right field. This, again, would probably happen not because of some failure by Frelick, but because of a string of injury emergencies. If Bauers is playing there often, Frelick is in center, where his size does slightly more to diminish his range than it does in a corner. If Lockridge is playing there, it must be because either Mitchell or Perkins is healthy, but Frelick isn't, and Bauers has to spend more time at first base. Either way, it's not good news. Overview The Brewers hit with Frelick in the first round of the 2021 MLB draft. He’s emerged as a solid all-around player who could be a pesky leadoff hitter against righties. The big question in right field isn’t so much how Frelick performs; it’s how center field shakes out. Of course, other X factors could affect things. The Brewers could make a deal in the middle of spring training or during the season that reshuffles the active roster. A prospect could force their way to Milwaukee by dominating at Triple-A Nashville or Double-A Biloxi. But for now, Sal Frelick is perhaps the best option for the Brewers in right field—and he's probably as safe a bet to soak up that playing time and be average-plus as any player the team has at any position. View the full article

When it comes to the current version of Walker Buehler, it is easy to think of the meme from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," where the teacher is taking attendance and asks, "Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?" MLB fans have been asking the same question since the right-handed starter returned in 2024 following Tommy John surgery costing him most of the 2022 season and all of 2023. "Anyone? Anyone?" The former Los Angeles Dodgers star is now with the San Diego Padres, having formalized a minor-league contract this week with no guarantee of a major-league job, just an opportunity with a team that is in desperate need of rotation depth. His fall is fairly stunning when you consider that, even at the end of a disappointing 2024 campaign, Buehler was still called upon to get the final three outs of the World Series in the clinching Game 5 vs. the New York Yankees after a five-inning start in Game 3. But here we are. Buehler made 16 starts in 2024, coming back in May from Tommy John surgery, then missing nearly two months with right hip inflammation. He turned in a 5.54 FIP over 75⅓ innings, with walk (8.1%) and strikeout (18.6%) rates that were the worst of his career as he was set to hit free agency. The Dodgers gave him a qualifying offer, but Buehler declined the $21.05 million deal and eventually signed for that same sum with the Boston Red Sox. Buehler's time on the opposite coast didn't go well. His walk and strikeout rates declined again to 10.8% and 16.5%, respectively, with his FIP landing at 5.89 in 22 starts and one relief appearance. The Red Sox released Buehler late in the season, and he was scooped up by the Philadelphia Phillies. Pitching in three games, starting twice, he did well in that brief showcase for the NL East champs. In fact, his last seven appearances showed some improvement from the rest of his 2025. Now, Buehler joins a suddenly competitive battle for the last two spots in the Padres' rotation. Right-handers Nick Pivetta, Michael King and Joe Musgrove are the top three. Returnee Randy Vasquez headlines the battle for the last two spots, entering camp as the No. 4. But since then, the Friars added Buehler and right-handers German Marquez and Griffin Canning to the race with another returning player, left-hander JP Sears, as well as non-roster invitees Marco Gonzales and Triston McKenzie. Musgrove is coming off Tommy John surgery and is throwing in camp, while Canning's 2025 ended with a left Achilles injury that could sideline him for the first few months of the upcoming season. Walker Buehler's Stuff Having pitched in 2025, thus having some distance from his elbow surgery, we won't really consider his 2024 performance and instead will look at his pre-Tommy John numbers to compare both versions of Buehler. As you might imagine, there are some dramatic differences in Buehler's pitch movement from 2022 to 2025. One pitch that did stay the same was his four-seam fastball, which has very similar movement compared to league averages, while his knuckle curve drops 0.9 inches more. His cutter gained 0.4 inches in break over the MLB average (plus two inches in rise). His sweeper had the biggest jump with 2.5 inches more break than average, while his sinker lost an inch of tail and his changeup two inches of tail. That movement difference becomes more important when you notice that many of his Statcast categories went from pretty good (in the red) to well below average (blue). His fastball velocity went from the 73rd percentile to the 43rd and his chase rate went from the 75th to the 20th. It takes time to learn how to pitch when your stuff deteriorates, and he might not have had quite enough of that experimentation period with the Dodgers in 2024 due to the hip injury costing him two months. Walker Buehler's Arsenal Buehler actually added a pitch when he came back. He sprinkled in a slider a little bit in 2024 at 0.8%, which then surged to 14.9% in 2025, mainly against right-handed batters (20%). The slider checked in at 96.6 mph. His fastball didn't dip a whole lot in velocity, going from 95.2 mph in 2022 to 94 mph in 2025, but it went from just above average to just below average with the league-wide rise in velocity (94.3 mph to 95 mph). That led to a slight drop in usage, going from 28.9% to 25.3%. How Buehler deployed his cutter, knuckle curve and sinker also changed. His cutter remained his No. 2 pitch, but dropped from 25% usage to 16.9% as the velocity ticked down from 91.5 mph to 90.6. The sinker made a huge jump in usage, going from just 4.1% up to 16.4%, while the velocity dropped from 94.8 mph to 93.8 in becoming his third pitch. After his slider was introduced, the knuckle curve saw a drop from 16.8% usage to 12.9%. The changeup rounds out his repertoire and went down in usage as well, from 7.8% to 6.9%. There's an obvious Occam's Razor answer in play to help Buehler. He's diversified his arsenal to the point that he's lost any semblance of a traditional "out pitch", and one has to wonder if he wouldn't benefit from honing in on his best three or four pitches, rather than trying to squeeze out league-average production from six of them. Year Pitch Type # # RHB # LHB % MPH PA AB H 1B 2B 3B HR SO BBE BA XBA SLG XSLG WOBA XWOBA EV LA Spin Ext. Whiff% PutAway% 2025 Four Seamer 554 221 333 25.3 94.0 113 94 26 16 2 0 8 14 81 .277 .297 .553 .639 .402 .439 92.6 15 2249 6.5 15.0 10.4 2025 Cutter 370 128 242 16.9 90.6 97 85 30 19 5 1 5 7 78 .353 .337 .612 .556 .442 .417 85.4 13 2414 6.5 19.3 11.7 2025 Sinker 359 214 145 16.4 93.8 111 89 18 16 2 0 0 23 66 .202 .262 .225 .348 .288 .349 89.4 7 2123 6.5 7.4 24.5 2025 Slider 327 189 138 14.9 87.5 87 76 23 19 2 0 2 10 66 .303 .284 .408 .449 .356 .363 87.8 13 2525 6.6 21.8 9.1 2025 Knuckle Curve 282 34 248 12.9 77.4 65 61 17 11 3 0 3 15 46 .279 .229 .475 .375 .345 .285 85.4 9 2435 6.6 24.8 14.0 2025 Changeup 150 6 144 6.9 89.7 43 39 10 8 1 0 1 13 27 .256 .163 .359 .225 .290 .204 87.2 5 1560 6.5 21.7 21.3 2025 Sweeper 147 147 0 6.7 80.8 48 46 6 2 1 0 3 10 36 .130 .209 .348 .362 .219 .262 80.8 13 2715 6.6 34.1 13.7 2024 Four Seamer 386 163 223 28.9 95.0 90 79 27 15 4 0 8 9 71 .342 .330 .696 .659 .462 .450 92.3 16 2279 6.5 16.9 9.8 2024 Cutter 279 93 186 20.9 91.2 69 63 15 10 2 1 2 14 49 .238 .214 .397 .321 .307 .272 84.0 8 2417 6.6 21.5 19.4 2024 Knuckle Curve 256 54 202 19.2 78.0 60 54 15 9 3 1 2 18 37 .278 .282 .481 .457 .348 .347 89.6 17 2566 6.6 26.7 18.8 2024 Sinker 219 182 37 16.4 94.8 64 55 16 14 2 0 0 7 48 .291 .228 .327 .279 .325 .286 83.8 2 2140 6.5 11.5 13.0 2024 Sweeper 116 116 0 8.7 82.6 37 34 5 3 0 0 2 13 21 .147 .160 .324 .256 .238 .223 82.4 8 2698 6.6 28.8 22.0 2024 Changeup 69 1 68 5.2 90.0 23 22 10 5 4 0 1 3 19 .455 .310 .773 .473 .529 .353 92.1 10 1564 6.5 8.8 13.6 2024 Slider 11 10 1 0.8 86.2 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1.000 .437 4.000 1.522 2.050 .797 98.7 27 2569 6.5 33.3 0.0 2022 Four Seamer 363 157 206 34.7 95.2 92 80 30 20 5 0 5 9 71 .375 .307 .625 .599 .463 .423 92.1 16 2267 6.5 13.5 10.2 2022 Cutter 262 123 139 25.0 91.5 67 64 15 12 3 0 0 13 51 .234 .275 .281 .372 .247 .303 81.9 2 2411 6.5 26.6 23.2 2022 Knuckle Curve 176 18 158 16.8 79.2 44 41 7 5 1 0 1 10 31 .171 .217 .268 .365 .223 .281 86.4 2 2662 6.5 30.2 18.2 2022 Sweeper 120 120 0 11.5 83.5 31 31 6 3 1 0 2 14 17 .194 .166 .419 .338 .260 .212 85.9 13 2673 6.5 39.1 24.1 2022 Changeup 82 5 77 7.8 90.5 29 29 4 2 1 1 0 10 19 .138 .182 .241 .293 .160 .204 87.0 -7 1550 6.4 31.3 22.2 2022 Sinker 43 38 5 4.1 94.8 11 10 5 4 1 0 0 2 8 .500 .403 .600 .540 .499 .432 95.4 1 2161 6.3 10.5 40.0 What Should Walker Buehler's Role Be In 2026? If Buehler did find something in his final seven appearances and fine tunes that under the watch of pitching coach Ruben Niebla this spring, he definitely deserves a spot in the rotation and has perhaps the most upside of any of the candidates mentioned above considering his past performance. He made it through 2025 without any known injuries, so this offseason was likely spent figuring out how to use the weapons he has effectively. With two open spots in the rotation and a handful of players battling to be on the Opening Day roster, Buehler has every opportunity to be in the rotation. He has been a starter his entire career, with a limited number of relief appearances, and the Padres' bullpen is already pretty full, so the alternative would be for him to head to Triple-A El Paso, since he did sign a minor-league deal, should things not go his way during spring training. View the full article

Matt Wallner is entering his fifth season on the big-league roster. At this point, we kind of know what he is—and we kind of don’t. He’s spent time in left field and at DH, but the overwhelming majority of his innings have come in right field for the Twins. That’s not by accident. He has an absolute cannon for an arm. According to Statcast, his arm strength ranked in the 99th percentile of all outfielders in 2025. It was 99th percentile in 2024 and 100th percentile in 2023. That gives him real defensive upside, despite the struggles he's had in properly positioning himself and getting to balls fast enough to let the arm play as well as it should. Offensively, it’s been even more of a rollercoaster. In 2025, Wallner hit just .202. That’s the number that jumps off the page, and not in a good way. His on-base percentage was .311, which is respectable for someone barely clearing the Mendoza Line, but when your batting average starts with a “.20,” there’s only so much spin you can put on it. The expected stats don’t bail him out. His expected batting average sat at .205, right in line with the results. This wasn’t a case of screaming line drives right at defenders or terrible luck. He simply didn’t make enough consistent, high-quality contact to deserve much better. It's not exactly a mystery why he struggled; we diagnosed his problems last summer. It’s also not the first time we’ve seen this. In 2024, Wallner broke camp with the team, but hit just .213 with 27 strikeouts in 59 plate appearances before being sent down to Triple-A. That’s understandable if you’re 22, but when you’re 26 (with multiple seasons of big-league time), those stretches feel more significant. To his credit, he responded. After getting called back up in 2024, he hit .272 with 25 extra-base hits over his final 55 games. The swing decisions improved, and the power played better, without him completely selling out for it. That stretch created real optimism heading into 2025. Unfortunately, it didn’t carry over consistently. League-wide offense isn’t what it used to be. A .275 hitter today is basically what a .300 hitter was 30 years ago. Pitchers are better, velocity is up, and bullpens are deeper. Context matters. Still, it's rare to see someone hit around .200 and be a truly impactful everyday player. Yes, there are exceptions. Kyle Schwarber has done it with the Philadelphia Phillies, but he’s also launching 45-plus home runs and posting elite on-base numbers. That’s a different tier of production. Arguably, that's the right road map for Wallner, but for all his bat speed and strength, he hasn't shown the same caliber of in-game power Schwarber has. Wallner’s 2025 pace over 162 games would’ve put him around 34 home runs, which isn’t bad. But if your profile is built around power, 34 feels more “solid” than “game-changing.” That’s roughly one home run every five games. Fellow age-27 Minnesota native Michael Busch hit 34 homers for the Cubs, but he also had a much lower strikeout rate and showed the ability to hit line drives to all fields. If you’re making your living off the long ball the way Wallner does, you’d hope for quite a bit more. Here’s where it gets interesting. There were real signs of progress under the hood in 2025. His strikeout rate dropped to 29%. That’s still not good, but it’s a significant improvement from the 36.4% mark in 2024. Yes, he made more bad contact, thanks to his flatter bat path, and yes, some of the strikeout decrease had to do with being more aggressive early in counts, but for a player with this much pop, being aggressive is ok. The raw power remains very real. His barrel rate stayed comfortably better than average, and his average exit velocity hovered north of 90 mph. Both numbers were lower than in 2024, but that's the cost of making more contact. When he squares it up, it goes a long way. The question is whether he can do so more consistently this season. Health hasn’t helped. Wallner got off to a slow start in 2025, then dealt with a midseason injury that stalled any momentum he was building. For a hitter who thrives on rhythm and timing, that matters. It’s hard to make adjustments when you’re constantly resetting. I want to believe in Matt Wallner. I want to tell you he’s about to put it together and become a 35-homer, .250 hitter with a .350 OBP and a rocket launcher in right field. But I can’t say that with full confidence. Too many signals are garbled, or pointing in the wrong direction. If he can push the batting average back into the .250 range, which he’s flashed before, his profile changes dramatically. A .250 hitter with a 12% walk rate and 30-plus homer power plays. Add elite arm strength (and maybe some better routes, with more experience and instruction) in right field, and now you’re talking about a very valuable player. Maybe the more likely outcome is something frustratingly but usefully in-between. PECOTA projects Wallner to hit .222/.326/.427 in 489 plate appearances this year: not fully available, not fully breaking out, but not struggling the way he did last year, either. There’s a lot of volatility with Wallner. His floor is a streaky power bat who doesn’t make enough contact. But the ceiling is a true impact corner outfielder who changes games on both sides of the ball. That’s why 2026 feels pivotal. If he has another season like last year, it'll be hard to muster much enthusiasm next spring. Indeed, it might be some other fan base doing the mustering by then. View the full article

Kansas City will begin its 2026 Spring Training campaign on Friday and Saturday against the Texas Rangers, who share the Surprise complex with the Royals. Safe to say, excitement and expectations are up in Arizona, especially with team workouts beginning this week. The Royals have tried to answer some questions this offseason with a slew of acquisitions, both by trade and through free agency. That said, Kansas City didn't get that "big name" player that fans were hoping for this offseason. That probably puts the Royals slightly behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central preseason standings, especially after the Tigers acquired Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander to boost the rotation. Speaking of starting pitchers, Kansas City has accumulated plenty of rotation depth since last year's Trade Deadline. In fact, two starters they acquired from San Diego at the Trade Deadline last season (Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert) are expected to start the Royals' first two Cactus League games this spring, according to MLB.com Royals beat writer Anne Rogers. The Royals' pitching depth is nice, especially after how hammered the rotation was in 2025 due to various player injuries. While Alec Marsh is expected to miss significant time again (he's already been placed on the 60-Day IL), there will be 3-4 starters on this Royals 40-man roster that will start the year in Omaha (barring injuries, of course) who could be in the Royals rotation most other years. There are three particular pitchers that Royals fans should pay attention to this spring, especially since the odds are against them when it comes to making the Opening Day starting rotation out of camp. Those pitchers are Bergert, Bailey Falter, and Mason Black, who have all been on the Royals roster for less than a calendar year. However, while they are long shots to start the year in the rotation (or Major League roster in general), they are intriguing arms with some bounce-back upside, especially if they can make some tweaks to certain pitches. I will look at each pitcher's offerings and how they could affect their performance in Arizona this spring. Ryan Bergert and the Breaking Ball Bergert had a bit of an inconsistent rookie debut with both the Padres and Royals last season. In his first 11 appearances (seven starts) with the Padres, he posted a 2.78 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 35.2 IP. However, his FIP was 4.28, his K/BB ratio was 1.89, and his fWAR was only 0.3. The right-hander primarily benefited from a .217 BABIP and 85.6% LOB% during his tenure with the Padres last year. When he moved to Kansas City at the Trade Deadline, many of his underlying metrics improved. His FIP was 3.75, his K/BB ratio was 2.29, and his fWAR was 0.7. That said, the results weren't as impressive with the Royals. His ERA was 4.43, and his WHIP was 1.33. A big difference was that the BABIP rose (.289) and the LOB% dropped significantly (68.2%). The Royals, who shut Bergert down the stretch, are hoping that he can bounce back and iron things out with his command in 2026. While the pitch quality of his repertoire was solid last year, it didn't lead to many whiffs or encouraging xwOBACON numbers, as seen in his TJ Stats summary below. Bergert threw six pitches and produced an overall TJ Stuff+ of 105, which is impressive. He also sported five pitches with grades of 52 or higher and a 51.7% zone rate overall. Unfortunately, his chase rate was 25.1%, his whiff rate was 23.9%, and his xwOBACON was .373. Those are all mediocre marks, to put it nicely, and Bergert should produce better results with that kind of TJ Stuff+ profile. One thing Bergert seems to be working on this spring to help him overcome this issue is adding a new breaking ball. The former 6th-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft primarily threw a slider (24.8%) and sweeper (18%) as his primary breaking offerings. However, both pitches sported chase rates under 30% and whiff rates under 34%. Those rated as subpar, especially compared to the league average in those categories, for those particular pitchers. The pitches are intriguing, especially when broken down individually. First, let's take a look at the heatmap and dataset for his slider, his most thrown breaking pitch last season. The slider seemed to produce the same kind of results against both lefties and righties. He did locate the pitch more in the middle against lefties and more glove-side against righties. That said, it had similar whiff rates (32.4% against LHP; 34.6% against righties), CSW (28.3% against lefties; 29.4% against righties), and xwOBACON marks (.378 against lefties; .364 against righties). Now, let's take a look at Bergert's sweeper, which he threw 6.8% less than the slider. The sweeper was a peculiar pitch, based on the heatmap and splits. Against lefties, he threw the ball more in the middle of the zone, and he didn't generate a lot of whiffs (20% whiff rate). That said, he had a solid xwOBACON (.257) and strong CSW (35.3%), showing that Bergert could throw strikes and minimize hard contact against the offering. Conversely, he generated a lot of whiffs with the sweeper against righties (40%), as well as O-Swing% (33.3%), with the CSW being okay (29.9%). However, his xwOBACON was much worse (.442). In the clip compilation of those two pitches, the slider was a harder, more vertical offering, while his sweeper was a loopier pitch. I'm wondering if there was too much of a pitch velocity difference between the sinker and the slider, and movement-wise, they profiled too similarly. That would have helped hitters tee off on both pitches, especially if they could pick up the movement early in the release. Bergert's pitch movement profile suggests that using his curveball more (he threw it only 8 times) could give him a breaking offering that keeps hitters from sitting on his sweeper and/or slider. The potential is there for Bergert to be an effective No. 3, 4, or 5 pitcher in the Royals' rotation in 2026 and beyond. However, using the curveball more and pitching it more effectively (though it had a 103 TJ Stuff+ in a limited sample) could help maximize his pitch mix and make his other breaking pitches more potent, especially in terms of whiff and chase rates. Bailey Falter and the Sinker Falter had a rough Royals debut after coming over from Pittsburgh at the Trade Deadline. In four outings (two starts) and 12 IP with Kansas City, he posted an 11.25 ERA and 2.25 WHIP. Safe to say, he has entered Spring Training on shaky ground when it comes to a roster spot, especially with him not having a Minor League option. Then again, Royals GM JJ Picollo seems to have some confidence that Falter for 2026, as they tendered him a $3.6 million deal this offseason. Even though the results weren't great, he does sport good extension on his pitches and some intriguing TJ Stuff+ metrics, as demonstrated below in his TJ Stats summary from last season. The key for Falter is his four-seamer, which is rated as his best offering on a TJ Stuff+ end last season (101). He didn't generate a whole lot of whiff with the four-seamer (15.8%), but he did generate decent zone (55.5%), chase (24.7%), and xwOBACON (.356) on the pitch. It was also interesting to see how his four-seamer fared against lefties and righties last year, based on his TJ Stats heatmap data. The four-seamer seemed to be more effective against lefties, though he threw it nearly 20% less than against righties. He threw it more in the middle of the plate against lefties based on his four-seamer heatmap, which doesn't seem ideal. And yet, against lefties, he had a better CSW (28%; 24.3% against righties), whiff rate (20%; 14.9% against righties), and xwOBACON (.306; .367 against righties). Falter mentioned in an interview on February 17th with Jack Johnson of 810 AM radio that improving his command and effectiveness of his four-seamer is a main focus for him this spring, especially in his work with new assistant pitching coach Mike McFerran. An interesting aspect of Falter's profile is that he also sports a sinker, which he threw only 9.8% of the time last year. And yet, despite its lower usage, he generated a better zone (64.8%) and chase (36.8%) rate with the sinker, as well as a more encouraging xwOBACON (.312). Here's what his heatmap looked like on the sinker last year. Falter primarily threw the sinker against lefties (20.5% usage against LHB compared to 6.2% usage against RHB). However, the pitch produced a solid CSW (32%), whiff rate (15.1%), O-Swing% (48.6%), and xwOBACON (.298) against lefties. He also located it in a good area of the zone, based on his heatmap data: up and inside. Nick Pollack of Pitcher List recently made an intriguing point on Twitter about Cole Ragans, Noah Cameron, and Kris Bubic, and their lack of sinker usage, especially against left-handed pitchers. That got me thinking about Falter and his sinker usage. Granted, Falter throws his sinker 20% of the time against lefties (which Nick advocates for with Ragans, Cameron, and Bubic). However, what if he threw it more against lefties AND righties? Maybe that percentage goes up to 15%, and he throws it 30% of the time against lefties and 10-12% against righties? Could Falter see an improvement in his results in 2026 with the Royals? Honestly, the movement profile looks a lot better on his sinker than on his four-seamer, as shown in the clip compilation below. Falter will need to have a strong Spring Training performance to keep his spot on the active roster (he will be DFA'd if he doesn't make it). Perhaps increasing the sinker usage (and lowering the four-seamer usage) could help strengthen his repertoire and make him more effective overall in 2026. Mason Black and the Four-Seamer The Royals traded for Black from San Francisco, and he may be one of the more intriguing projects this spring for McFerran and lead pitching coach Brian Sweeney. He was once a Top-10 prospect in the Giants' system, but he's posted a 6.47 ERA and 1.64 WHIP in 10 MLB outings totaling 40.1 IP over two seasons (2024 and 2025). Black only made one outing for the Giants last year, allowing three earned runs on five hits (including two home runs). However, he struck out five, allowed no walks, and sported some strong extension on his pitches as well as promising zone (55.4%) and chase (33.3%) rates. One pitch that could be key for Black this spring is his four-seamer, which he threw 43.2% of the time in his lone 2025 outing. Black flooded the zone with the pitch (59.4% zone rate), and the xwOBACON (.302) was the best mark of his five pitches. However, the TJ Stuff+ (95), chase (23.1%), and whiff (16.7%) rates were lackluster. Granted, that is only one outing. Thus, let's take a look at his TJ Stats summary from his stint in Triple-A Sacramento, where he primarily pitched in 2025. The four-seamer profiled similarly in terms of TJ Stuff+. Conversely, he actually produced better chase (25.4%) and whiff (30.2%) rates with the pitch against PCL batters last season. Thus, it's possible that Black could've produced more chase and whiffs with more innings pitched at the MLB level. Let's take a look at the heatmap and splits data on Black's four-seamer from Triple-A and see if any trends emerge. Against righties, Black was more effective at generating O-Swing% (23.6%), whiff (33%), and CSW (31.7%). However, his xwOBACON was super high at .449. He was better at generating a lower xwOBACON with his four-seamer against lefties, and the CSW (27.1%) and whiff rate (27.6%) were solid marks too. Thus, it would be interesting to see if he changes up the mix with his four-seamer in order to maximize the results in those categories in 2026, whether it's at Triple-A or the MLB level. The 26-year-old Lehigh product has an impressive-looking fastball movement-wise. When it's located effectively in the zone, it can be a go-to swing-and-miss pitch. That was the case last year when he struck out Lawrence Butler of the Athletics on an immaculately located four-seamer. On a positive note, it seems like the movement has been looking sharp this spring. Johnson reported that Black's run on his fastball looked impressive in a recent Tweet at Royals camp in Surprise. I am not sure if Black is "starter" material with the Royals. Honestly, he seems better suited for the bullpen, where his stuff and repertoire may play better in shorter outings. However, there is a need for starting depth in Omaha, so Black will likely fill in the Storm Chaser rotation at the start of the season, especially since he still carries a Minor League option. That said, Royals fans shouldn't sleep on Black. If the four-seamer clicks, he could be an underrated contributor to this Kansas City pitching staff in 2026. View the full article

Welcome to part nine of North Side Baseball’s offseason series covering the 1918 Chicago Cubs. You can find the first eight parts here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 When we left off, the National League and the American League had come to an agreement to end the regular season early, in order to play the World Series. This allowed baseball players to respect the 'work or fight' rule, which required all draft-eligible men to engage in essential work, or register to be drafted into the army. The Cubs, who finished 84-45-2, were set to face off with the Red Sox (75-51) for the championship in early September. Today, we’ll take a look at the start of the series. Game One As the teams prepared for Game 1, the Cubs were viewed as the favorites to win the whole series, according to the Society for American Baseball Research. The New York Times concurred: “when the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox clash in the opening game of the [World Series] at Comiskey Park in Chicago on Wednesday afternoon, baseball fans who base their hopes and figures on form will be sure to favor the National League club as the winner.” The Times went on to predict that the Cubs’ left-handed pitchers, specifically Hippo Vaughn and Lefty Tyler, would play a huge role in the series, neutralizing Boston’s slugging left-handed hitters Babe Ruth and Harry Hooper. This made it an easy decision for the Cubs to start Vaughn in Game 1. He went up against Ruth, who was still both pitching and hitting at the time. After a one-day delay due to rain, Game 1 happened on Sept. 5, with the Red Sox triumphing 1-0. Both Ruth and Vaughn went the distance, with Ruth striking out four and allowing six hits, while Vaughn gave up five hits and struck out six. The lone run was scored in the top of the fourth. After a leadoff walk to Dave Shean, the Red Sox strung together back-to-back singles from George Whitman and Stuffy McInnis with one out to bring Shean home. The Times was quick to note the apparent lack of excitement around the Series, given the circumstances: Nonetheless, the World Series trucked onward. Game Two If a 1-0 game one was considered boring, Game 2 was anything but. In a pitching matchup of Bullet Joe Bush against Lefty Tyler, the Cubs got out to an early 3-0 lead in the second inning on hits from Charlie Deal, Bill Killefer, and the aforementioned Tyler. However, it was what happened after the inning that caused some excitement. According to SABR, Otto Knabe, the Cubs’ first base coach, had been heckling Bush during the Cubs’ rally. Heinie Wagner, the third base coach for the Red Sox, met Knabe out on the field in between innings. Things got heated between the two, who ended up in the Cubs’ dugout. I’ll let The New York Times take it from here: “In a jiffy the two coaches were locked in an embrace which was not one of affection. Like a bird of prey, Knabe perched on top of Wagner as he fell to the ground. They were merrily mauling each other all over the dugout when Claude Hendrix and other Cub players pulled Knabe off his tormentor.” By the time the Boston players reached the dugout to further intervene, “Wagner emerged all mussed up and excited. From the appearance of his uniform it was plain that Knabe had brushed up the floor of the dugout with Wagner, for his uniform looked as if he had been repairing a flivver. The umpires volunteered soothing words to the combatants and a truce was declared.” [Ed. note: I was wondering, and I bet you were, too. A flivver is an old car or aircraft, usually beaten up and worn down. It's a cousin to 'jalopy,' which is only marginally more familiar to our modern ears and eyes but was certainly more common in its heyday.] The game remained 3-0 until the ninth inning. After two leadoff triples made the game 3-1, McInnis grounded back to Tyler, who was still in the game. He completed the out at first without the run scoring. Per SABR, after a walk to Everett Scott, Boston manager Ed Barrow thought about pinch-hitting with Ruth, who wasn’t in the starting lineup due to a left-handed pitcher being on the mound for the Cubs. But Ruth never got a chance. Jean Dubuc pinch-hit instead, and after he struck out, Wally Schang swung (schwung?) at the first pitch and popped out to Charlie Hollocher to win the game for the Cubs and tie the series at one game apiece. Game Three According to Times, most figured the Cubs would be starting Claude Hendrix in Game 3. Instead, surprisingly, they opted for Vaughn again, which also meant that Ruth remained on the bench. On the Boston side, Carl Mays got the start. Vaughn worked out of trouble in the second, though the Red Sox would get to him in the fourth. Following a strikeout of Amos Strunk to start the inning, George Whiteman was hit by a pitch in the next plate appearance. Singles from McInnis and Schang scored the first run of the game; that brought Everett Scott to the plate. Scott laid down a bunt that, according to the Times, Vaughn fielded cleanly, but he simply didn’t throw the ball anywhere. “With the ball in his hand, his arm outstretched ready to throw it, some unknown influence seemed to stay the poised throwing wing. He was within half a dozen feet of McInnis as he scored from third, and was facing toward first base, but he held the ball as if it was a chunk of gold.” This brought home the second run of the game to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead. A double from Charlie Pick and a single from Bill Killefer in the fifth cut the lead in half at 2-1, where the score remained until the last inning. With Mays still in the game, both Dode Paskert and Fred Merkle grounded out to start the inning. Then, Pick singled and stole second base, putting the tying run just 180 feet away with two outs in the ninth inning. The next pitch from Mays got past the catcher, Schang, and allowed Pick to take third base on a close play. After Pick slid in safely, the ball trickled away from the third baseman, Jackie Thomas. Pick dashed for home with the potential tying run. Alas: “Straight and true and as swift as a bullet the ball went from Thomas’s hand into the waiting mitt of Schang at the plate. As Pick came tumbling into the final bag, stretching his left foot far out as to hook the corner of the rubber platter, the ball clapped against the catcher’s glove, and Schang tagged the runner with the ball. ‘You’re out,’ yelled Umpire Klem, and right then and there the Cubs’ chances in that game were gone forever.” Just like that, the Cubs lost 2-1, and were also down 2-1 in the World Series, when mere seconds ago, fans were ablaze at the potential of a tie game as Pick dashed home. It wasn’t to be. The final four games of the series were set to be played at Fenway Park in Boston, and the Cubs now found themselves in a situation where they needed to win three of those games. Suddenly, their backs were against the wall. View the full article

“I was just going to church with my fiancé and my parents. Was on the way home from lunch and saw [Craig] Breslow’s name pop up on the screen,” David Sandlin explained in regard to the day he was traded. “Kind of had an idea that was why he was calling. Cause why else would he be calling on a random Sunday?” Sandlin, who had been acquired by the Boston Red Sox back during spring training in 2024, developed into a legitimate prospect in this organization, making his way up the minor-league ranks to the point that the team added him to their 40-man roster back in November. The team viewed him as a depth piece for the 2026 season — a legitimate rotation arm with the potential to crack the big-league roster sooner or later. Instead, he wound up traded to the Chicago White Sox at the start of February. The deal was more of a salary dump for the Red Sox, as they had been trying to move Jordan Hicks and the remaining $24 million on his contract. The White Sox agreed to take on most of the contract, though Sandlin was needed to get the deal across the finish line. Not only did the Red Sox lose a valuable arm, but Sandlin was traded away from a close-knit group that had formed within the organization. Besides Sandlin, there were a group of pitchers who all had ties to Oklahoma, either from living there or playing for Oklahoma State while in college. “It made it pretty fun in the offseason,” Sandlin replied when asked about his relationship with his teammates. “It made it easy to navigate the season. Especially getting to play with guys like Payton [Tolle], or [Isaac] Stebens. I was looking forward to meeting [Kyson] Witherspoon, hadn’t really got to meet him yet. Wishing him all the best. And was looking forward to getting that year in with Jake [Bennett] after playing with him in 2022.” Despite being traded so late in the offseason, there are no hard feelings. Sandlin knows it’s part of the business after being traded once before. “At that point, I was only one year into pro ball and had only played half a season due to injury,” the right-hander recalled. “Never in my mind did I think I was a trade candidate. Then it happened. That was kind my first step in learning how the business side of baseball works.” Despite the disappointment of not getting to spend more time with his fellow Oklahoma pitchers, Sandlin is excited for his tenure with in Chicago. The exciting young core the team has built through the draft portends a bright future for the Pale Hose, and it doesn't hurt that several players on the roster are former teammates. “I’m excited, especially since I know some of the guys over there like [Kyle] Teel, [Chase] Meidroth, Wicky, those guys. So, kind of excited to get back to throwing to Teel again. That’s one of the guys I reached out to when I found out about the news," Sandlin will now have a chance to fight for a spot in the White Sox's rotation during spring training, something that would have been near impossible for him in Boston unless several injuries were to occur. The right-hander expressed gratitude for his old organization, though he hopes to make a legacy for himself as he changes his socks from red to white. View the full article