DiamondCentric

The headliner of the prospect package that the Marlins received in the Ryan Weathers trade, outfielder Dillon Lewis speaks with Fish On First about participating in big league camp and developing all aspects of his game. View the full article

The headliner of the prospect package that the Marlins received in the Ryan Weathers trade, outfielder Dillon Lewis speaks with Fish On First about participating in big league camp and developing all aspects of his game. View the full article

The Brewers found a solid left fielder in 2025—so solid, another team wanted him, and was willing to take a low-leverage reliever as well in exchange for Ángel Zerpa. Isaac Collins was, like the recently-traded Andruw Monasterio, one of those unheralded pickups who paid off big-time for Milwaukee. Who will fill Collins’s shoes in left field? 2025 Review The Brewers started with Jackson Chourio in left, but injuries to center fielders Blake Perkins and Garrett Mitchell soon pushed Chourio to center. Collins took over, led the team’s regular starters in OBP, posted a 118 OPS+, and provided 2.1 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), according to Baseball Reference. In addition to Collins and Chourio, Jake Bauers and Christian Yelich saw some time in left field for the Brewers in 2025. Chourio, Bauers, and Yelich remain on the roster, as do Tyler Black and Brandon Lockridge, who put in brief appearances in left for Milwaukee. Current Roster Situation Chourio is arguably the lead contender to replace Collins. He performed superbly in left in 2024, notching 3.8 rWAR as a rookie, despite a horrendous slump to start the season. This will be very likely if Mitchell and Perkins stay healthy. If that is the case, then Chourio should be just fine in left field, where his defense is more than adequate. Other options on the roster (or among the NRIs) who have experience in left field or who could cover the position include Jett Williams, Akil Baddoo, Bauers, Yelich, Lockridge, Black, Steward Berroa, recent free-agent pickup Luis Rengifo, Greg Jones, and Luke Adams. Baddoo, Bauers, Yelich, Lockridge, and Black may be the top choices among those called up. Baddoo is a lefty bat with some pop. Bauers has been a corner outfielder and backup first baseman in 2024 and 2025 for the Brewers. Yelich is a former MVP who still plays a competent left field. Black is a former top-100 prospect in search of a defensive home to go with some OBP skills and above-average speed. Lockridge has flashed speed and defense in the majors, and showed good OBP skills in the minors. The trades the team made to respond to injuries last year have given them ample options heading into this season. Best-Case Scenario Chourio locks down left field and plays 140-145 games there. This is less a reflection on Chourio, who is the Brewers’ franchise cornerstone for the next six to eight years, and more a reflection on the other two outfield positions. There are, of course, multiple other scenarios where the Brewers fare well in left field. But for the 2026 season, a good sign for the Brewers will be Chourio being the left fielder day in and day out, because it means a lot of other positions have worked out well. Worst-Case Scenario Multiple players end up with 15 or more starts in left field. This, again, may not reflect on Chourio so much as the team as a whole. If Chourio isn’t in left field 90% of the time, they’ve had injury problems, either with Chourio or with other players, forcing Chourio to play elsewhere. While the team’s depth in left field means they will have someone competent, other positions may have more of a downgrade as a result. Overview Left field is not going to easily turn into a disaster for Milwaukee. The team has several players who could fill the position competently. The “worst-case” scenarios Milwaukee faces in 2026 will likely be the effects of having to address shortfalls or a rash of injuries at other positions. View the full article

Acquired from the Boston Red Sox in mid-January for catching prospect Nate Baez, Tristan Gray joined his third organization in two months, becoming a member of the Minnesota Twins. The 29-year-old enters the fold, competing with Ryan Kreidler and Orlando Arcia to become the club’s backup shortstop behind Brooks Lee. How does Gray compare to Kreidler and Arcia? Is he the favorite to win the competition? Let’s take a look. Tristan Gray’s Batting Metrics The left-handed infielder’s hitting metrics have been extremely volatile over his three-season major league career. Over only 122 plate appearances, Gray has hit a combined .207/.264/.369 with four home runs and a 76 wRC+. His overall numbers are largely the product of volatility, evidenced by him generating a 285 wRC+ over 5 plate appearances with Tampa in 2023 and a 6 wRC+ over 31 plate appearances between Miami and Oakland in 2024. However, in his longest stretch in the majors with Tampa last season, Gray hit .231/.282/.410 with three home runs and an 89 wRC+ over 86 plate appearances. Despite struggling to get on base, the 29-year-old was serviceable in his first extended run in the majors, with his underlying metrics supporting that suggestion. Interestingly, Gray sported reverse splits last season, generating a 207 wRC+ over 23 plate appearances against southpaws compared to a 45 wRC+ over 63 plate appearances against righties. His reverse splits remain consistent with his small 2024 sample. Again, it would be negligent to make concrete claims when assessing 122 plate appearances. However, if we are to believe he is serviceable against left-handed pitching while likely performing better against right-handed hitting with more opportunities, Gray could be the most platoon-proof option of the trio, potentially giving him an upper hand over Kreidler and Arcia. As noted earlier, Gray is by no means a Moneyball darling, struggling to reach base. He also sported an alarming 31.9% whiff rate last season. Yet, when he made contact last season, he hit the ball hard, sporting elite bat speed, average exit velocity, and barrel rate. Gray’s underlying metrics closely mirror Kody Clemens’s, who underwent an unexpected power surge with Minnesota last season. It would be unfair to expect Gray to hit 19 home runs next season. Yet, he could provide similar output to Clemens in 2026 if his 2025 metrics carry over. Tristan Gray’s Defensive Skillset Gray spent meaningful time at shortstop last season, collecting 62 innings at the position. He also mixed in at the other three infield positions, playing 80 innings at second base, 33 innings at third base, and 19 innings at first base. The former Ray graded out as average or slightly below average at third, second, and first. Yet, he generated 1 Outs Above Average (OAA) at shortstop, meaning he was slightly above-average at the position. Admittedly, Gray is likely a better defensive shortstop than Lee. Kreidler and Arcia likely are, too. Lee is going to be the primary starter at the position, regardless. Still, Gray could play the position at an average-to-above-average rate, meaning he could fill in at the position on Lee’s days off or if he sustained a long-term injury or significant performance concerns. Gray could also serve as Luke Keaschall’s backup at second base, Royce Lewis’s backup at third, and sprinkle in at first base alongside Josh Bell, Victor Caratini, and Clemens, providing unrestrained utility to the Twins' infield. What Should Tristan Gray’s Role Be in 2026? Given his encouraging performance at the plate last season and defensive flexibility, Gray could have the inside track on winning the backup shortstop role over Kreidler and Arcia, who are both profoundly subpar hitters. Having one minor league option remaining, Minnesota could option Gray to Triple-A St. Paul and reward Kreidler or Arcia the bench spot. That said, given that Minnesota targeted Gray and handed him a 40-man roster spot (Kreidler also has a 40-man roster spot; Arica doesn’t), signs point toward the organization entering Spring Training with Gray being the favorite to win the role. View the full article

There is a truth to the San Diego Padres that has been relevant since 2019: Manny Machado is the team’s most important player. Yes, this is a team that also employs the likes of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill. But Machado drives the bus, a responsibility wrought by his blend of offense, defense, and intangible qualities in the clubhouse. In general, that blend is not yet stale. Machado has remained an above average hitter by wRC+ in each year with the Padres, and his two most recent seasons have shown a significant bounce back from what was a down season in 2023. The defensive chops have waned in certain respects, but Machado remains largely in line with his career outputs in average, on-base percentage, and a number of the underlying rates and trends on the offensive side. With all that being said, the projections anticipate a dip in productivity from the bat of one Manny Machado in 2026. There are roughly five prominent projection systems that we’re considering here, all of which feature a slightly different way of evaluating players. Some favor veteran players and take playing time more heavily into consideration. Others are deep on Statcast data or other nuanced factors. In any case, here are how those five project Machado to perform in 2026: Model BA OBP SLG K% BB% wOBA wRC+ ATC .262 .323 .450 19.4 8.1 .332 113 OOPSY .264 .324 .456 19.7 8.1 .335 119 Steamer .268 .329 .465 19.5 8.1 .340 122 THE BAT X .260 .321 .455 19.3 8.2 .332 117 ZiPS .258 .321 .430 19.8 8.4 .324 111 First, the obvious: each of these projections offers a fairly similar outcome as to what to expect from Machado in 2026. That’s not terribly surprising given that he’s a veteran player with an extensive sample from which to choose. Nevertheless, it’s notable that Steamer – which tends to like veteran players – is higher on Machado, while ZiPs – which is heavily weighted by aging curves – is lower. Regardless, we’re within shouting distance of his norms regardless of metric. None of this seems entirely unreasonable given what Machado has continued to turn in over the past couple of seasons. There is one area, however, where Machado is coming up short: power. None of those slugging projections is especially favorable. If we isolated it to, well, ISO, where only extra-base hits are taken into consideration, we get the following (in order): .187, .192, .197, .195, .172. Again, Steamer likes him the most, and ZiPS isn’t a fan. This is the area, though, where we’ve seen Machado’s regular contributions start to fade. He’s had some absolutely torrid stretches in recent years; last July he followed up a .212 ISO month with a .283 clip. But it hasn’t been there on a remotely consistent-enough basis for a team that isn’t quite on a level with their peers in the power department. Age is the most likely factor for this decline. When one considers that alone, is there any reason to think that we may see Machado best the projections and start to regain some semblance of his old self in creating a more standard form of offensive impact? Interestingly, Machado’s percentile outcomes from 2025 are indicative of a player who was already doing just that: Machado still swings hard. Compound that with an upper-percentile barrel rate, and it’s no wonder he’s able to maintain such an elite Hard-Hit% at this point. One thing worth noting, too, is that Machado isn’t the type of player who needs to sit on one specific pitch type in order to drive the power side. He’s been versatile in each of his seasons with San Diego. What seems most notable there is actually his expected slugging. The xSLG for Manny Machado in 2025 was .495. It was .467 in 2024 and .465 in 2023. His true slugging read .460 in 2025 (.185 ISO). It was his lowest output in either measure of power since 2024. In the two most recent seasons before that (the noted 2023 and 2024 campaigns), his actual slugging percentage checked in at .462 and .472. So, in 2023, his expected and actual slugging percentage lingered around one another while in 2024, he actually outperformed the expected metric. To add to this perplexing trend, Machado hit the ball hard at a 51.5 percent rate in 2025, which exceeded each of the two previous seasons. His PullAIR% was also two percent higher in 2025 than it was in 2024. Yet, within all of that, Machado got worse outcomes in matters of slug last year when he should’ve actually showcased one of the best power outputs of his entire career based on what the data had to say. So, the question isn’t so much whether or not Machado can regain his power stroke, it’s whether the power will actually manifest in the way it’s supposed to based on Statcast’s own expectation. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to see that actually coming to fruition. Machado, obviously, plays his home games at Petco Park. That’s 81 games at a venue that ranked 27th in its Park Factor for overall offense, last in doubles, and 20th in home runs. Those overall numbers are almost exactly what you’d get if you isolated it to only right-handed hitters, too. Machado’s slugging percentage was 13 points lower at home than it was on the road last year. His ISO was 24 points lower, too. It’s not a problem inherent in Machado or his age, but rather one that exists in the park itself. This presents us with an interesting paradox. It’s actually good that Machado is being pinned down so heavily by his home environment in that it means that any decline at this point isn’t so much due to age. Of course, the other side of that is that it’s also extremely bad that his offense is being pinned down by his home environment because the Padres need every source of run production they can find. Perhaps things find a way to even out in 2026, but the Padres should, at least, hope that Machado can bring the stick on the road with him. At least they know that it won’t be for lack of trying in either setting. View the full article

Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers speaks to the media on the morning of the club's first full-squad workout, analyzing his 2025 breakout, reacting to rumors of a potential contract extension and more.View the full article

Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers speaks to the media on the morning of the club's first full-squad workout, analyzing his 2025 breakout, reacting to rumors of a potential contract extension and more.View the full article

Much of the conversation this offseason centered on the Twins adding impact offense or bolstering the bullpen. On paper, they have checked those boxes, albeit without much flash. Josh Bell adds a switch-hitting bat with power. Victor Caratini provides depth and flexibility behind the plate. Taylor Rogers brings a familiar and reliable late-inning arm back into the fold. None of those moves qualify as headline-grabbers, but they do improve the roster. One area the Twins have not yet addressed is starting pitching, and on the surface that is a perfectly reasonable stance. Starting pitching is arguably the strongest area of the roster heading into 2026. Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez anchor the rotation as proven, high-end starters. Bailey Ober, despite a frustrating and injury-marred 2025 season, still offers mid-rotation stability when healthy. Behind them is a wave of young, intriguing arms with upside, including Zebby Matthews, Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa, Taj Bradley, and Mick Abel. Because of that depth, it was somewhat surprising to read ESPN’s Jesse Rogers nugget that the Twins were “in” on Framber Valdez before the Tigers signed the former Astros ace. That came on the heels of Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reporting earlier this offseason that the Twins expressed “late interest” in Freddy Peralta before the Mets ultimately traded for him. Both pitchers represent a clear tier above the remaining free agent starters, however those reports suggest the Twins may not be as content with their current rotation as it appears. Adding another starting pitcher makes sense on multiple levels. While the Twins have a lot of depth and upside, there is also a significant amount of risk baked into the group. Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan are as close to certainties as the Twins have. After that, confidence becomes much shakier. Bailey Ober entered last season as a reliable option, but injuries, inconsistency, and a tendency to give up the long ball introduced real doubt heading into 2026. Beyond Ober, the rotation is filled with young arms who are interesting but unproven. Simeon Woods Richardson profiles as a steady option, though his upside is limited. David Festa and Zebby Matthews have flashed promise across two seasons but have also struggled with command and efficiency. Taj Bradley and Mick Abel offer top-half-of-the-rotation upside, but both have shown the kind of volatility that makes it hard to count on them as being ready. High ERAs, uneven workloads, and growing pains have been part of the story for nearly all of the Twins' starting pitching depth. Another reason to continue exploring the starting pitching market is identity. A common critique of this iteration of the Twins is that they lack a clear identity. Leaning fully into starting pitching could change that. Even without a true ace available, adding a dependable veteran would allow the Twins to push young arms to Triple A, protect workloads, and build depth that inevitably gets tested over a long season. It is a way to build on a strength rather than constantly chasing weaknesses. If the Twins do decide to add a starter during spring training, there are still a few intriguing names on the market. Lucas Giolito Giolito is a familiar name to Twins fans after years as a division rival and frequent foe during his time as the ace of the Chicago White Sox. Now heading into his 10th Major League season, the former All Star remains a solid and dependable starting pitcher. Last season with the Red Sox, Giolito logged 145 innings with a 3.41 ERA, and he was even better down the stretch, posting a 2.51 ERA over his final 19 appearances. His season ended early due to flexor irritation, but there were no signs of a broader decline when he was on the mound. As a veteran presence, Giolito would fit a recent Twins trend of adding experienced arms to stabilize the roster, joining names like his former Chicago teammate Liam Hendriks. He may no longer profile as a front-line ace, but his durability, experience, and familiarity with the division make him a logical option for the Twins. Zack Littell A familiar name for Twins fans, Littell pitched out of the bullpen for Minnesota for parts of three seasons before bouncing around and reinventing himself as a starter in Tampa Bay. Since the start of the 2024 season, Littell owns a 3.73 ERA with an excellent 4.30 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Now 30 years old, a reunion where his career began would be an interesting full-circle moment. There are reasons to be skeptical based on his underlying numbers, but Littell has delivered consistently solid outings since being permanently moved into a rotation. Griffin Canning Now 29 years old, Canning, was once a highly regarded prospect after being selected in the second round. Injuries have defined much of his career, but he showed promise early last season, posting a 3.77 ERA over 76 1/3 innings before tearing his Achilles. He is still rehabbing but should be ready around Opening Day. That injury likely creates an opportunity to sign him at a reasonable price on a short-term, make-good deal. There is upside here, and if things click, Canning could also become a trade chip at the deadline, should the Twins season find themselves in the position to sell yet again this season. Spring training being underway does not mean the Twins are done shaping their roster. Recent reporting indicates the front office has at least explored adding another impact arm. While starting pitching is already a strength, it is also an area filled with volatility beneath the top two names. Adding a veteran starter would not only mitigate risk but could also help define what this Twins team wants to be in 2026. Depth, durability, and pitching could become the backbone of the roster, giving Minnesota a clearer identity and a higher floor heading into the season. What do you think? Should the Twins stand pat and trust their young arms, or does it make sense to add another starter even this late in the offseason? Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

In part one of a three-part series on Royals catching defense, I looked at blocking metrics and how Kansas City catchers have struggled in this category. In part two, I am going to look at catcher framing, which has been a controversial area for the Royals' catchers over the past five years. Historically, Kansas City has had a bad reputation for catcher framing, especially with Salvador Perez, who's been a frequent target of critics (especially regarding his Hall of Fame candidacy). That said, since Matt Quatraro took over as manager and Paul Hoover became bench coach (primarily working with catchers), the framing metrics have shown some improvement. And yet, it seems like we don't hear about the Royals' progress in this area of catching defense Let's take a look at the Royals' catcher framing data, how they ranked as a team last year and fared individually, and what they have done under Quatraro and Hoover the past three years, compared to the previous three years (2020 to 2022) under manager Mike Matheny. Royals Catchers Were Mediocre Individually Last Year (But Not Horrible) When it comes to framing, Statcast's framing runs are pretty much the gold standard. Framing runs are tied to strike rate and the number of extra "strikes" a catcher is able to acquire due to their framing ability. Below is a definition of catcher framing runs via Baseball Savant. According to Savant, there were 57 catchers in baseball who qualified with enough pitches seen. Here's a ranking of those pitchers by catcher framing runs, with Freddy Fermin and Perez being highlighted, as they were the only Royals catchers who qualified in 2025. Fermin ranked 30th in baseball with -1 catcher framing run mark and a 43.6% Shadow Strike% (shadow strike rate measures how well a catcher garnered strikes in the "shadow" zones, which are the edges of the strike zone). Perez lagged behind Fermin at 49th. The Royals captain had a -7 catcher framing runs mark and 39.7% Shadow Strike%, That said, while both were mediocre (Fermin less so than Perez), they weren't horrible by any means. Eight catchers were worse than Perez, including some big-name ones like Philadelphia's J.T. Realmuto (-8 catcher framing runs), Washington's Keibert Ruiz (-9 catcher framing runs), the Dodgers' Will Smith (-10 catcher framing runs), and the White Sox's Edgar Quero (-13 catcher framing runs). When it comes to how the Royals' catchers fared individually, including Luke Maile and Carter Jensen, who didn't qualify, things looked a little more optimistic. Maile actually proved to be a solid framing catcher, and Jensen's framing proved to be much better than his blocking in his short MLB debut. The veteran Maile led all Royals catchers in framing runs (2) and Shadow Strike% with 46.3%. Jensen had zero framing runs, but his 40.4% Shadow Strike% was better than Perez's, though his sample was incredibly minuscule (551 pitches, which is nearly half of Maile's total). Overall, the Royals ranked 20th in baseball last year with a framing runs mark of -3. That mark was better than the Reds (-7), Twins (-9), Dodgers (-11), Rays (-12), and White Sox (-16). Where the Royals Stood In Terms of Catcher Framing Before Hoover The Royals have long had a rough reputation for being a bad-framing team. That was certainly the case during the Mike Matheny era, which didn't seem to prioritize catcher framing as much as the manager who succeeded him. Here's a look at how the Royals fared as a team compared to the rest of the league in terms of total catcher framing runs from 2020 to 2022 (which is Matheny's managerial tenure). As Royals fans can see in the table above, the Royals were 38 catcher framing runs below average. That was the second-worst mark over that three-year span, better than only the Orioles, who had a -43 framing runs mark. Their 45.2% Shadow Strike% was also the second-worst mark in baseball from 2020 to 2022. Over that time, according to Savant, Perez accumulated -25 catcher framing runs and a 44.8% Shadow Strike%. MJ Melendez was slightly better in terms of framing runs, as he had a -16 mark. However, his 41.8% Shadow Strike% was three percent worse than Perez's. Thus, it makes sense why the Royals eventually moved Melendez off catcher (though his outfield defense wasn't great either). While Perez was still a solid slugging catcher and known for his work with pitchers, his framing from 2020 to 2022 highlighted his and the Royals' struggles in this important area of catching defense. Hoover's Work With Catchers Paying Dividends When the Royals hired Quatraro, they also brought Hoover from Tampa to serve as the Royals' bench coach. One of the big reasons Kansas City hired him was that he was not just an analytical type but also a great communicator who could help catchers improve in an area of catching defense that had lagged for years. Here's what was said about Hoover in an article by Anne Rogers in 2023, early in Spring Training that season. Obviously, framing does not exist in a vacuum. To frame pitches effectively, the Royals not only needed catchers with better form and setup (which Hoover worked on immediately), but also pitchers who could hit those shadow zones. That wasn't the case in the Matheny era, as the Royals' pitching staff was subpar. Even in 2023, the Royals' framing didn't exactly stand out, mostly because the pitching staff remained poor. However, when Kansas City added effective pitchers to the staff (Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha, and Seth Lugo), things changed not only in terms of pitching ERA, but catcher framing runs as well. Below is a breakdown of team rankings by total catcher framing runs from 2023 to 2025. Notice where the Royals catchers fare in this latest set of rankings. The Royals ranked 14th with zero framing runs and a Shadow Strike% of 44.9%. Interestingly enough, their Shadow Strike% is lower than the previous three-year sample, but that's mostly due to Shadow Strike% being down across the league over the past three years compared to 2020 to 2022. Still, Kansas City catchers under Hoover saw a 38-run improvement over the past three years. The only more dramatic one is the Orioles, who had a +2 framing runs mark after a -43 total from 2020 to 2022. The main difference, however, between Kansas City and Baltimore is that the Orioles had Adley Rutschman behind the plate starting in 2022. The former No. 1 overall pick is a two-time All-Star and came in with a reputation as one of the best framing catchers in baseball when he debuted. The Royals have continued to have Perez as their primary catcher. Under Hoover, Perez has produced a -8 catcher framing runs mark from 2023 to 2025, which is 17 runs better than what he produced from 2020 to 2022. He also did this with almost 400 more pitches seen. Now, is Salvy an elite framing catcher? Not at all. However, he has worked hard to become an average to slightly below average one after being such a poor framer for years. With ABS coming to the Major Leagues this year, Perez, with his better framing, should only improve his stock as a Hall of Fame candidate in 2026. That should be especially true this year with Jensen likely giving the Royals captain a much-needed spell behind the plate on regular occasions, much like Fermin did the past two seasons. Framing is not necessarily a "strength" of this Royals catching group (or at least not yet, anyways). That said, under Hoover, they have not let framing be a dragging "negative", a narrative that haunted Perez and the Royals for years. If Jensen can turn into a good framing catcher under Hoover, or perhaps also Blake Mitchell, who's waiting in the wings in the Minors? Then the Royals will continue to develop into an organization that's a far cry from what most baseball fans were used to during the Dayton Moore era (a good thing in the short and long term). View the full article

Although the Boston Red Sox weren’t active in the Rule 5 Draft, they swung a trade immediately following the selection process for a right-handed pitcher with interesting pedigree. They landed Ryan Watson, who was selected from the Giants system by the Athletics. Since he was part of the Rule 5 Draft, he retains the Rule 5 roster restrictions; in other words, he has to stick on the big-league roster for the entire season unless he is injured. Just about three weeks ago, it looked like he could be in jeopardy of losing his spot with the Red Sox before his career even began, as the team was facing a 40-man crunch and still needed to add to the bullpen. While the need to add is still there, president of baseball operations Craig Breslow finally traded away Jordan Hicks to the White Sox and likely opened a path for Watson to at least break camp as an important member of the bullpen. Watson isn’t a direct replacement for Hicks, but he fills a similar role in the bullpen incredibly. Hicks was a flamethrower, but he had very little idea where the ball was going once it left his hand. Watson can’t touch triple digits, but his fastball tops out at 96mph and he controls it well. It’s a pitch that encourages swing and misses, and it pairs well with his secondary offerings: a slider with sweeping tendencies and a curveball that lacks reliable control as currently constructed. The latter needs work, but the slider is his true out pitch. That offering induced a ridiculous 40.5% chase rate last season, made only remarkable by the fact that batters whiffed at on 39.5% of their attempts to hit it. It grades out as his best pitch by Stuff+ (102) and Watson may benefit from throwing it more to left-handed hitters in the future. What likely drew the Red Sox to him though, is that he has elite extension and a fastball that has the potential to be dominant. He ended 2025 with a 28.1% strikeout percentage to go along with an 7% walk rate. The rest of his numbers leave a bit to be desired, though. He posted a 4.26 ERA and a 3.73 FIP over 50.2 innings pitched. Running that kind of ERA in Triple-A isn’t ideal, but getting him into Andrew Bailey’s pitching lab will likely do wonders for his approach on the mound. With his FIP running a half-point lower than his ERA last season, there's no denying that he controls a game well from the mound. He will be squarely in the bullpen mix for the Red Sox; they have no need for another depth starter at the moment. Though there are actually quite a few candidates for this distinction, Ryan Watson is probably the most under-the-radar roster addition of the offseason. What is working in his favor is that this team seems to be one of the best at developing pitchers taken in the Rule 5 Draft. Both Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten have carved out important roles for themselves in the bullpen and figure to be stalwarts of the pitching staff for years to come. Watson is hoping that the gamble the Red Sox took on him pays off; if so, he could become a crucial pice on one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. View the full article

As of Monday, Miami Marlins spring training is fully underway in Jupiter. I treat this report date as the unofficial end of the Major League Baseball offseason. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix is famously "always having conversations"—each of his first two seasons on the job, the Marlins have made trades on the literal eve of Opening Day. While we should once again expect to see outside acquisitions over the course of the spring, it's reasonable to assume that the vast majority of candidates to take the field for the Fish on March 27 are already in the organization. With 39 days to go, here is how I project the Marlins to construct their active roster for the 2026 season opener. Position Players Left-handed batters: Kyle Stowers, Jakob Marsee, Graham Pauley, Griffin Conine, Liam Hicks Right-handed batters: Otto Lopez, Agustín Ramírez, Heriberto Hernández, Connor Norby, Javier Sanoja, Christopher Morel, Esteury Ruiz Switch-hitters: Xavier Edwards With a handful of these Marlins players capable of toggling between infield and outfield positions and few true everyday starters, I felt that categorizing them by handedness would be most appropriate. I have ordered the names based on my rough estimate of how many total plate appearances they'd receive. Norby's projected role could fluctuate the most over these next five weeks. Maybe he beats out Pauley and reasserts himself as Miami's primary third baseman...or maybe he doesn't crack the active roster at all. Such is the quandary that the Marlins face due to his blend of offensive upside, defensive awkwardness and poor track record against lefty pitchers. All 13 of these position players have minor league options left except for Lopez and Morel. Just missed: Owen Caissie This would understandably be a frustrating outcome for Caissie after nearly two full seasons at the Triple-A level. Sending him down doesn't benefit the club in any meaningful way either unless they intend to keep him down for multiple months, which is what'd take to push back his free agent eligibility by a year. The opportunity to make his Marlins debut on Opening Day largely hinges on factors outside of his control, such as injuries and Conine's transition to first base. Pitchers Starting rotation: RHP Sandy Alcantara, RHP Eury Pérez, RHP Max Meyer, LHP Braxton Garrett, RHP Chris Paddack Bullpen: RHP Pete Fairbanks, RHP Anthony Bender, RHP Tyler Phillips, RHP Calvin Faucher, LHP Cade Gibson, LHP John King, RHP Janson Junk, RHP Michael Petersen Junk clearly belongs in the majors—his 3.14 FIP was the best of any Marlins pitcher last season! However, these arms are supposed to complement one another. With Meyer, Garrett and Paddack each having negligible professional experience as relievers, I'm expecting them to begin 2026 in familiar roles, with Junk being temporarily relegated to long man duties. There is solid talent in this bullpen, but not much standout velocity. That's where Petersen comes in. It would not have been surprising if the Marlins squeezed him off their 40-man roster at some point of the offseason to make room for new acquisitions. The fact that they prioritized him over many other players in that regard and he's entering his age-32 season suggests they'll let him sink or swim in The Show. Just missed: Lake Bachar, Robby Snelling The Marlins frequently trusted Bachar with inherited baserunners in 2025, but he wasn't proficient at getting out of those jams (allowing 12 of 28 to score). Combining that with his overall slippage in performance during the final quarter of the season, he has moved down the depth chart a bit. If any of the current projected starters get hurt this spring, I suspect Junk will slide into their spot. If an additional rotation injury occurs, that ought to open the door for Snelling. View the full article

Leo Jiménez has been a prospect in the Blue Jays system for a while now. Acquired as a teenager out of Panama in international amateur free agency, Jiménez has been in the organization for over six years. Despite missing time due to injury and the COVID year, Jiménez steadily climbed his way up the org, with strong on-base skills while playing a solid shortstop. That culminated in a “breakout” 2024, when Bo Bichette missed time due to injuries. Jiménez appeared in 63 games and took 210 PA; he was a league-average hitter (101 wRC+) and played solid defense at second base and shortstop. 2025 was a setback, however, for Jiménez, as although he was granted an additional option year due to his previous injury history, he struggled once again to stay healthy, only playing a combined 44 games across the major and minor leagues. In a short cup of coffee with the Jays, Jiménez slashed .069/.129/.172 for a -19 wRC+. It wasn’t all negatives, however, as when Jiménez was healthy and playing in Triple-A Buffalo, he showcased why the Jays have kept him around over all these years, with strong bat-to-ball skills with an 88.6% zone contact rate, as well as strong average exit velocities and hard hit numbers. He is mostly a line drive and groundball hitter, and instead of pulling the ball in the air, he sprays it to all fields instead, limiting his power production. Jiménez also showed solid plate discipline, leading to a high walk rate of 15.5%, but was passive, only swinging 39.3% of the time. He has a reputation as a ball magnet as well, as he’s had multiple seasons of 20+ hit by pitches, which adds to his on-base percentage. Jiménez's Triple-A season seems more representative of his abilities as a hitter, and despite his poor results in MLB in 2025, he still showed a knack for squaring up the ball. The biggest question for Jiménez is if he can break camp with Toronto, as he’s out of options now. The Jays' starting infield is already set, with Andrés Giménez at shortstop, Ernie Clement manning second base, and a platoon of Kazuma Okamoto and Addison Barger at third, leaving little room for Jiménez. However, with Clement thrust into a starting role, due to Bichette's departure and Giménez becoming the full-time shortstop, there is room for a backup middle infielder, and Jiménez is primed to take over. Toronto's recent trade for Jesús Sánchez, however, means another roster spot is locked in, as Sánchez is also out of options and will need to be on the MLB roster. Right now, FanGraphs' RosterResource has these position players projected to be on the MLB roster: C: Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman INF: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Kazuma Okamoto, Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez, Addison Barger OF: Nathan Lukes, Davis Schneider, George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Myles Straw, Jesús Sánchez Unfortunately for Jiménez, that is 13 hitters. Although the Jays could choose to roster only 12 pitchers and add an extra hitter, with the strenuous MLB season, teams usually roster the maximum number of pitchers. The outfield situation for the Jays is a little crowded, however. Even if Springer primarily plays DH while Anthony Santander is out for five to six months, there are five primary outfielders for three spots, in addition to Barger, who will move back and forth between third base and right field. The Jays could afford to option an outfielder so that they could bolster their infield depth. Lukes and Schneider both have at least one option remaining, as does Barger. Optioning one of them or trading one away could allow Clement to shift over to shortstop against tough lefties, while the righty-batting Jiménez steps in for the lefty-batting Giménez in the lineup. If Leo Jiménez cannot make the Opening Day roster, the Jays will be forced to make a similar decision to the one they made a few years ago with Otto Lopez, another right-handed hitting infielder who was granted an extra option year. Lopez has turned out to be a solid second division regular with the Marlins after being traded to the Giants and then DFA’d by San Francisco before Miami picked him up. Lopez has now had two straight seasons with over 2.0 fWAR for the Marlins, and Jiménez has the capability to be a similar player. There’s a spot on the Blue Jays roster for a right-handed hitting utility player; Jiménez just needs to take it. View the full article

In case you somehow missed it, the Brewers sent all of their third base depth to the Red Sox in exchange for a pair of southpaw pitchers and infielder David Hamilton. It raised some eyebrows, but aside from the now-crowded rotation, Milwaukee's bigger roster issue was that they needed a third baseman. Luis Rengifo was the answer to the prayers of Brewers fans, although they must not have dared dream terribly big. He was just one of several names on a long list of underwhelming third base options on this year’s free-agent market, and the lack of demand is unsurprising. In 2025, he posted a 73 wRC+ and 0.0 fWAR over 541 plate appearances. So what is Milwaukee expecting to get out of him? When looking at his broader body of work, it’s clear that he does have some redeeming qualities. He was a respectable contributor to the Angels lineup from 2022 to 2024, accumulating 4.9 fWAR and posting a 111 wRC+ over those three seasons. The key to that success was a low strikeout rate of 16.3% and a whiff rate that was consistently better than average. His 2024 was promising, especially given his outstanding results against four-seam fastballs (.412 BA, .529 SLG). Even in 2025, a year that saw him reach a new nadir for offensive production in a full season, his contact skills remained above average. Although he doesn’t strike out much, he does have a propensity to chase pitches and rarely takes free passes, having a walk rate of just 6.8% over the course of his career. The piece that he clearly lacks in his offensive game is quality of contact. His average exit velocity is consistently in the bottom quartile of qualified hitters, and given his small frame, that's no surprise. Still, we’ve seen players like Isaac Paredes and Brendan Donovan overcome low exit velocities by pulling the ball in the air consistently or squaring up balls at an elite rate. Sadly, Rengifo does neither. Outside of 2022, Rengifo pulls the ball in the air roughly 13% of the time, well below the MLB average of 16.7%. He squares the ball up at an average rate, but is held back by his low bat speed and suboptimal launch angles. Funnily enough, his hitting profile resembles that of Caleb Durbin. Both players are better at making contact than hitting the ball with authority, although based on last year’s numbers alone, Durbin is more extreme in both aspects and pulls the ball in the air far more often. Although his offensive profile has similarities to Durbin, they couldn’t be more different defensively. Durbin was an above-average defender at third last season, posting 5 Defensive Runs Saved; Rengifo managed just -5 DRS. Originally brought up as a second baseman, he fared much better when playing closer to first base. He doesn’t have the strongest or most accurate arm, leading to plenty of poorly thrown balls to first base. He also lacked range at third base, especially when moving laterally toward first base. This limited his defensive production, particularly against right-handed batters. Given all of his flaws, it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that the Brewers clearly downgraded. There simply isn’t a lot on paper to write home about. Furthermore, they’re paying him $3.5 million guaranteed with another $1.5 million in incentives. Even $5 million isn’t much by the standards of this time and this industry, but it’s definitely more than what they would’ve had to give Durbin, so what’s going on? First, it’s important to recognize that Rengifo is mostly a stopgap. The Brewers’ top four prospects (Jesús Made, Luis Peña, Jett Williams, and Cooper Pratt) are all infielders. Williams and Pratt are expected to be called up this season, while Made and Peña will be knocking on the door within a year or two. It would’ve been foolish to commit any more cash or prospect capital to acquiring a more capable third baseman, since Rengifo may not even occupy the top spot on the depth chart for very long. Second, the Brewers could be more excited about what they can do with Rengifo than what he’s already demonstrated at the big-league level. If the Crew can improve Rengifo's swing decisions the same way they improved Andrew Vaughn's last summer, it would make a world of difference, in his profile as much as anyone else's. His career year, 2023, was also the year he walked 9.2% of the time. Third, and most importantly, the Brewers probably don't see as great a difference between Durbin and Rengifo as most of their fans perceive—if any, at all. While what happened last feels most urgent and relevant, that's not always true. Baseball Prospectus's PECOTA system projects Rengifo to bat .255/.313/.394 in 419 plate appearances this year. It projects Durbin to hit .253/.330/.375. If you bump Rengifo up to his 60th-percentile projection (.258/.316/.401) and pull Durbin down to his 40th-percentile one (.250/.327/.369), Rengifo becomes a more valuable player. That implies about a 1-in-4 chance that Rengifo is the better player this year, and another 20% chance that they're virtually a coin toss. Durbin has long-term team control remaining, which makes him more valuable than Rengifo, but because the team has all that organizational infield depth, the ability to retain Durbin for the long haul wasn't worth all that much. Thus, it made sense for them to cash in Durbin and pick up Rengifo instead, given all the controllable, high-upside pitching depth they got in the exchange. They didn't choose Rengifo over Durbin; they chose Rengifo, Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan over Durbin. Even if it doesn’t work out, Milwaukee has enough infield flexibility to make things work. Pat Murphy has gone on record to say that he doesn’t want to move Joey Ortiz off of shortstop and back to the hot corner, but it could happen if Rengifo, Jett Williams, and Hamilton are unable to do the job. In recent years, the Brewers have made countless trades that were questionable at first, only to end up turning water to wine. They’re one of the most cunning front offices, and any moves they make must have compelling reasons under the hood. Rengifo is not the third baseman of the future, and he may not even be the third baseman of the present, but he gives the team something to work with in spring training. Either way, don’t count him out yet. Milwaukee may still have yet another ace up their sleeve. View the full article

On Finding Success “When you’re healthy, a lot of things start to come your way.” - Byron Buxton, reflecting on the steps he has taken over the last two years that have resulted in him playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. “24 was rough… I forgot that I had the power to say no…” - Mick Abel, who took big steps forward in 2025 after struggling with his control in 2024. He was candid about last year's improvement being mostly mental, and how simplifying freed him up mechanically and mentally. “I wanted to quit so many times [hitting] right-handed, even in pro ball…” - Brooks Lee about how surprising it’s been that his right-handed swing found more success than his left-handed swing last year. On The New Coaching Staff View the full article

Depth is something every organization tries to create, and it goes well beyond what we see at Target Field or in St. Paul. I'm researching the Twins' depth beyond the 40-man roster, and have already taken a look at catcher, first base, second base, third base, and shortstop. Outfield prospects are interesting because sometimes they have been outfielders since Little League. Other times, these prospects played other positions and shifted to the outfield for a variety of reasons. Former Twins players that fit the latter description include Michael Cuddyer, Nick Gordon, and, more recently, Austin Martin. Remember that time Joe Mauer was tried in right field? Anyways… Here is a list of outfield prospects not on the Twins' 40-man roster. I’ve included how and when they were acquired, along with the highest level they played this past season. Walker Jenkins Acquired: 1st round, 2023 Highest Level in 2025: Triple-A The result of the first draft lottery was the Twins jumping from pick 13 to pick 5 in a draft where five players had a chance to be the number one pick. Jenkins was selected out of South Brunswick High School in North Carolina and has been a constant on top prospect lists since being drafted. The soon-to-be 21-year-old has slowly climbed the minor leagues and shown why he was the fifth overall pick. The only hindrance to his development has been injuries, which he has dealt with off and on throughout his professional career. He played in 82 and 84 games the past two years, respectively. He played the majority of this past year with Double-A Wichita but was called up to Triple-A for the final month or so of the season. A left-handed hitting outfielder, Jenkins has adjusted well at each level he has played at and shows the possibility to stick in center field. At worst, the 6’3” outfielder will move to a corner where his athleticism should make him above average. As long as things go as planned, Jenkins should make his major league debut later this year, or at the latest, early in the 2027 season. Kala’i Rosario Acquired: 5th round, 2020 Highest Level in 2025: Double-A The Twins' final selection in the shortened 2020 draft, Rosario, struggled early in his professional career but has since made adjustments. struggles. The Hawaii native is a corner outfielder with a good enough bat to potentially be a designated hitter option as well. A potential Statcast darling, Rosario has shown the ability to hit the ball very hard. With hitting the ball hard, there is some swing and miss to his offensive profile as well. Rosario will be playing his age-24 season in 2026 and played this past year at Double-A, where he hit .256/.358/.487, good for an above-average OPS. He also tapped into more power, hitting 25 home runs, along with 30 doubles. To become more than a platoon bat, he will need to hit both righties and lefties. This past year, he hit for a .954 OPS against lefties and a .794 OPS against righties. You’ll likely see him in St. Paul at some point this year, so if you live near the Twin Cities, go see him in person. Kyler Fedko Acquired: 12th round, 2021 Highest Level in 2025: Triple-A Fedko was drafted in 2021 out of the University of Connecticut, where he hit .330/.407/.552 over three seasons with the Huskies. In his final season, he showed more power, hitting 12 home runs over 52 games played. He has continued to grow into his power, most recently hitting 28 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A in 2025. He improved from his 2024 numbers, where he had a .645 OPS in his first season with Double-A Wichita. He’ll be playing his age-26 season this coming year, so this will be an important year to see if he can build off his solid 2025 season and force himself into the Twins' long-term plans. He was not protected in the Rule 5 draft and was not selected, so he will provide some depth, specifically as a right-handed hitting outfielder who has shown some power with the possibility of playing center field in a pinch. He has also played a handful of games at first base, so he might get more experience there, depending on where the Twins front office sees his best fit. If this is the case, he will need to continue improving at the plate, since the expectations on offense at first base are higher than at other positions. Garrett Spain Acquired: Triple-A Rule 5 Draft, December 2025 Highest Level in 2025: Double-A Drafted in the minor league portion of the Rule-5 draft out of the Milwaukee Brewers organization, Spain will likely spend most of the year in St. Paul at Triple-A. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021 out of Austin Peay in the 15th round, where he had a .926 OPS over three seasons. During his professional career, the now 25-year-old has climbed the minor league ladder, playing the majority of the year at Double-A with the Brewers and playing 11 games with Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate in 2025. Listed at 5’9” and 178 lbs, the left-handed hitting outfielder will get a fresh start in the Twins organization and see if he can adjust his approach to the upper minors to see more consistent success. The upper minors have been a struggle for him over the past two years, during which he has posted an OPS of .550 and .644, respectively, across those seasons. He did hit for a bit more power in 2025, hitting 16 home runs. He has played a handful of games in center field, but has played the majority of his games in right field specifically, so that would be where he will likely play going forward as well. Maddux Houghton Acquired: Non-Drafted Free Agent, 2023 Highest Level in 2025: Triple-A The Twins signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2023, after he played four seasons with Lipscomb University, where he hit 16 home runs, stole 63 bases, and hit for a .785 OPS over 225 games played. He has had similar production since joining the Twins organization, with 68 stolen bases over 285 games played with an OPS of .730 since being signed. He’s played mostly center field professionally, but has the ability to play in the corners as well. This past season, the soon-to-be 27-year-old moved up the minor league ladder quickly, playing at four different levels in 2025. Across the four levels, he started to hit a bit more, hitting for a .812 OPS with 12 home runs and 26 stolen bases. While not a heralded prospect, Houghton’s ability to steal bases is an intriguing tool, and if he continues to develop at the plate, he could serve as a serviceable fourth outfielder for the Twins in the future. Kyle Hess Acquired: Free Agent, 2024 Highest Level in 2025: Double-A Another free agent signing, Hess signed out of independent ball in 2024 and got his first taste of the upper minors in 2025, playing in six games with Double-A Wichita. He will be 27 later this year, so to not serve as organizational depth, he will need to show he can handle upper-minor pitching this year. He has played all three outfield positions, but mostly played in the corners this past season. He hits left-handed, so he is on the strong side of a platoon and has mostly faced righties since signing with the Twins. Against righties, he hit for a .716 OPS this past season. Brandon Winokur Acquired: 3rd round, 2023 Highest Level in 2025: High-A I could have included Winokur at multiple positions, including shortstop and third base, but many think he will transition from the infield dirt to the outfield long term. Since being drafted, the 21-year-old has shown power across the board and the athleticism to play multiple positions, which is really valuable for any team. He cut down on his strikeouts this past year at High-A Cedar Rapids, but also had a down year offensively. He’s still young, so there's plenty of development to come. He did play in the Arizona Fall League this past year and did struggle offensively, but the experience can be invaluable going forward. Winokur is a prospect on the rise and someone we will likely see in a few years, so 2026 will prove to be a key year in his development. He’ll likely start the year with Cedar Rapids, but we could see him move up to Double-A Wichita if his development goes as planned. Caden Kendle Acquired: 5th round, 2024 Highest Level in 2025: High-A Kendle was drafted out of UC Irvine, where he was very solid, hitting .342/.447/.536 over four seasons. In his final college season, he posted a 1.069 OPS. While he hasn’t hit quite to that level in pro ball, he has still held his own, hitting for a .712 OPS between Single-A and High-A in his first two years. He showed a little more power in his first full season in 2025, hitting eight home runs, along with 16 stolen bases. He will turn 24 during Spring Training, so this year will be an interesting one to watch to see if he can continue developing both offensively and defensively, where he has played mostly in center field and right field. Eduardo Beltre Acquired: International Free Agent, 2024 Highest Level in 2025: Single-A Beltre was ranked the 40th prospect in the 2024 international class and got his first taste of playing in the United States in 2025, appearing in both the Complex League and Single-A Fort Myers. He has shown the ability to play center field, but might move to a corner outfield spot depending on the team's long-term needs. The 18-year-old has shown above-average tools across the board, which makes him that much more exciting to watch and dream about what he could be long term. Beltre is still very young and a few years away from making an impact at Target Field. He will be someone to keep an eye on, as he has a world of potential. Byron Chourio Acquired: Trade, Miami Marlins, January 2023 Highest Level in 2025: Single-A The somewhat forgotten part of the return, along with Pablo Lopez when the Twins shipped Luis Arraez to Miami, Chourio was seen as a bit of a lottery prospect at the time of the deal. The switch-hitter will play his age-21 season in 2026 and has shown athleticism and the ability to play center field, though he has also played in the corners. To force himself into more discussions on future lineups, he will need to hit a bit more, as he hit for a slash of .193/.336/.238 this past season. Still early in his development, this coming season will be key to seeing if he can make adjustments and live up to the potential the Twins hoped for him when they acquired him. Yasser Mercedes Acquired: International Free Agency, 2022 Highest Level in 2025: Single-A Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2022 for $1.7 million, Mercedes played this past season mostly at Single-A Fort Myers, where he struggled to a .186/.296/.307 slash line. He also struck out in just over 25% of his plate appearances at Single-A, but did walk at a 13.1% rate as well. Even with a lower on-base percentage than he or the Twins hoped, he showed the ability to steal 36 bases over 99 games, so that’s something to be excited about. He will play his age-21 season in 2026. Mercedes will see if he can get back to the type of results he had in his first professional season, where he hit .355/.420/.555 and stole 30 bases in 41 games. While a step up in competition typically slows a player down, Mercedes is still young enough to make an impact, and his base-stealing ability is a really fun tool that will help him as he gains more professional experience. Jacob McCombs Acquired: 7th round, 2025 Highest Level in 2025: Single-A Drafted this past year, McCombs played two seasons between San Diego State and UC Irvine, where he was a very good hitter, hitting for an OPS over 1.000 in both seasons. A left-handed hitter, he got his first taste of professional ball over eight games and will play his first full season this coming year. His contact ability at the plate will be his calling card, as he has limited power. Like any young player, there will be tweaks and a learning curve, but there is enough there to be intriguing and to keep an eye on to see how he develops long-term. There is also a list of players who have played in the Dominican Summer League or at the highest level in the Florida Complex League. I wanted to mention them because they are part of the organization and are all still young, early in their professional careers. These players include: Jhomnardo Reyes Ariel Castro Ricardo Perez Merphy Hernandez Luis Fragoza Carlos Taveras Joyner Perez Yovanny Duran Teilon Serrano Which of these outfield prospects are you most excited about? Let’s discuss in the comments. View the full article

On Friday, the Cubs signed right-handed reliever Shelby Miller to a two-year, guaranteed big-league deal. It's a rare step for a team to take to secure the services of a pitcher who won't take the mound in the first year of the contract. Miller underwent Tommy John surgery near the end of the 2025 season and won't pitch for the Cubs until 2027, if at all. Most of the time, a pitcher in their mid-30s signs a minor-league deal while the recuperate from this kind of operation. For instance, after his Cubs career ended on a surgeon's slab, Adbert Alzolay signed a two-year minor-league deal with the New York Mets. In this case, though, the Cubs went the extra mile. Doing that has short- and long-term implications. The Cubs will have to designate someone for assignment to slot Miller onto their 40-man roster, even though they'll pass him directly through that list and onto the 60-day injured list. That's fine, in that the team has plenty of players on the fringes of the roster whom they can lose without being especially upset. It still means that acquiring Miller now was more important to them than seeing a few spring outings from whichever arm gets the axe—likely someone like Gavin Hollowell, Luke Little or Ryan Rolison. It also means that Miller will take up a 40-man roster spot all next winter. Given how many current Cubs are set to hit free agency after the World Series, that, too, is an acceptable tradeoff, but it's a real cost. These considerations are why few teams sign players like this to deals like this one. Why did the Cubs take that extraordinary step? In part, at least, it's because of their neighbors to the north—their foremost rivals, not only for division titles but for under-the-radar pitching help. Miller was the Milwaukee Brewers' top trade deadline acquisition last summer, and though he didn't last with the team long before his elbow blew out, he and Milwaukee had mutual interest in a reunion this winter. Miller is the kind of pitcher the Brewers like, which means he's the kind of pitcher the Cubs like. In the five seasons since 2021, the following pitchers have twirled for both the Cubs and the Crew: Brad Boxberger Andrew Chafin Aaron Civale Trevor Megill Wade Miley Shelby Miller Tyson Miller Hoby Milner* Daniel Norris Enoli Paredes Drew Pomeranz Colin Rea Taylor Rogers In a sense, even that list isn't exhaustive. It doesn't include players each team has brought into camp who had pitched for the other during the same span, but who never appeared with the second club—or cases like that of Bryan Hudson, the ex-Cubs farmhand whom the Brewers scooped up and briefly turned into a strong lefty setup man. It'll suffice, though, to demonstrate the point: these teams look for a lot of the same things and compete for a lot of the same pitchers. The Brewers love a three-fastball mix. They prize pitchers who can use a four-seamer, a sinker and a cutter to positive effects, and ask their guys to lean on those offerings. The Cubs don't preach using all three of those varietals together as consistently, but they like the cut-ride fastball, which is often a way of getting the benefits of a four-seamer and a cutter from one pitch, thereby simplifying the mix for the pitcher (but putting a bit more pressure on their secondary weapon(s)). That's an important commonality, even if the two sides each think of it differently. Both teams, too, assiduously build strong defenses, and they try to get the most of them by bringing in pitchers who manage contact, rather than dodging it. Each team prefers more of their resources to be allocated to position players, so they don't often take big swings on pitching in the draft or splurge on high-priced hurlers with whiffs-forward arsenals. They're trying to prevent runs, and they're happy to do that a slightly more cost-efficient way (by sacrificing offense at one or two positions to maximize defense, and being excellent on balls in play, rather than racking up strikeouts). The overlap is not perfect, in either philosophy or execution. The Brewers have to attack things this way when it comes to external acquisitions, but they focus on accumulating depth via internal development and team control. They don't use first-round picks on pitchers, but they spend more time, energy and money on the later rounds of the draft than the Cubs do, and it shows. They're better than Chicago at pitching development, and that difference gets exaggerated by the way they go about team building over multi-year periods. Milwaukee also maximizes their chances to get that kind of development right, though, through deals like the one they made earlier this month. In trading their starting third baseman (Caleb Durbin) and two backup infielders, they created a small hole they had to patch, but also reinforced their pitching depth admirably with two new lefties. Chicago, by contrast, is willing to walk the tightrope with a more expensive and less flexible (but more proven) pitching staff. They've paid a price for that, at times, but they've also reaped the benefits of it. Since these teams tend to prefer finding and using similar pitchers at different stages of their careers, it's not surprising that they end up employing a lot of the same guys. It does add a sense of silliness to the ostensibly heated rivalry between the sides, though. Few teams in baseball are more similar than these two, in the ways they try to win games—especially on the mound. The seeds of an eventual divergence between them have been planted, in the Cubs' hiring and promotion of Tyler Zombro, who has some slightly different predilections than the Brewers', but even then, there's overlap. If one of the two clubs likes you, the other is likely to like you, too. Being a Brewer, especially, is a leading indicator of eventually being a Cub. The teams sometimes vie unexpectedly hard for the same otherwise forgettable players, which is a big part of why Miller has a 40-man roster spot right now. At least twice in the last two offseasons, both teams have pursued a pitcher who ended up signing a minor-league deal with one or the other; they often end up at the top of the market for hurlers the rest of the league is less high on. As much as each side might want to beat the other, they show considerable tacit respect for one another by so often locking in on the same targets. View the full article

Before reading this part of the Brewers' voyage to Milwaukee, read part one of the series, "A Failed Launch". And in the meantime, popular manager Joe Schultz was fired by GM Marvin Milkes—who would become the Brewers' first general manager—and speculation began about who was going to be the next Pilots manager. Dave Bristol, Billy Martin, Dick Williams, and Grady Hatton were among the names mentioned. Two days before Thanksgiving, the Pilots hired Bristol, who had been recently fired by the Cincinnati Reds after guiding them to a record of 89-73 during the season. The estimated contract was a two-year, $80,000 deal. (No, that is not a typo.) A week later, the American League unanimously voted to accept the sale from Daley to the Danz group. However, the $40 million domed stadium deal remained uncertain, and both sides had concerns. Just after the New Year’s Eve hangovers had subsided, more complications popped up in early January 1970 when the Bank of California demanded immediate repayment of a $3.5 million loan that was made to the Pilots the previous season. The new ownership group, led by Danz, was going to assume that loan and was working feverishly to settle its financial issues. Danz later announced a ticket drive that he hoped would raise $1 million to show that the Pilots could count on local support. The ticket drive started slowly, and over the first few days, the team had raised only $200,000 toward the $1 million goal. On January 13, the American League announced they were giving the Denz group nine more days to settle its finances. After only a few days, the Pilots got a five-day extension from the league so Danz and his associates “could find a solution to the financial bottleneck which is holding up the sale” according to the Appleton Post-Crescent. Just days later, baseball commish Bowie Kuhn stated that if the Pilots did not get their deal squared away, “There is a possibility of a franchise transfer. When and if there is a transfer, one thing is certain—Milwaukee will receive serious consideration.” But he also told the crowd of 700 at the Wisconsin Baseball Writers Association 17th Annual Diamond Dinner in Milwaukee that Dallas-Fort Worth was still in the running. “I wish I could bring you some guarantee that would lighten your heart tonight,” Kuhn said. “But I can’t.” On January 22, Daley announced that Seattle was “up for grabs.” Danz and his group were unable to meet a 2 pm deadline to refinance or settle the Bank of California loan. Hunt, the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Mercer then formally applied to the American League for the transfer of the team to the DFW area. Selig’s group reportedly offered less money but had a major league-ready stadium as part of the package. Dallas-Fort Worth only had a minor league facility ready to go, even though a big-league park was in the planning stage. And if there hadn’t been enough chaos already, one day later, the courts got involved when the city of Seattle filed a ‘specific performance’ suit against Pacific Northwest Sports, Inc. (Daley et al) that basically said the Pilots needed to fulfill its five-year lease agreement. It turned ‘hardball’ quickly. King County Superior Court Judge F. A. Walterskirschen threatened a “temporary restraining order barring removal of the franchise” from Seattle. New Seattle Mayor Wes Uhlman intimated that a lawsuit would be filed against any team that bought and moved the Pilots. Uhlman told reporters, “Seattle deserves more than a one-year turn at-bat.” Milwaukee was also looking for ‘another’ turn at bat, as the Milwaukee Braves had skipped town after the 1965 campaign. Earlier in January, Milwaukee radio station WOKY sent telegrams—the forerunner of email—to all American League clubs and AL president Cronin. The telegram read: “The world’s greatest baseball fans urge you to put the Pilots in Milwaukee. Remember the ‘Miracle of Milwaukee.’ It can happen again.” Around that time, things started to get nasty. Ewing Kauffman, owner of the expansion Kansas City team and chairman of a four-man board that would help shepherd the troubling transaction, set the purchase price at $8.8 million, down from Daley’s initial ask of $10.5 million. “We’ve done this [set the price] so that Daley and the Sorianos will make less than half a million profit. They don’t deserve a profit. They did not stay in there and pitch.” Ouch. Once again, AL owners were split in their visions of the outcome. Some wanted the Pilots to stay in Seattle, and others rooted for either Milwaukee or Dallas-Fort Worth to come forward and win the day. Selig and Co. had Milwaukee County Stadium as an anchor and a valid reason for choosing Milwaukee. On the other hand, DFW would have been the larger cash cow, no pun intended. And to add a little more intrigue into this convoluted, comical, and controversial piece of commerce, DFW principal Hunt had a ‘private understanding’ with the Cleveland Indians, according to a column by Leonard Koppett of the New York Times. Rumor had it that Hunt wanted to buy the Indians for $13 million after the 1970 season. Koppett whimsically posited that, “Apparently, the oil millionaire (Hunt) now believes a Pilot in the hand is worth two Indians in the handshake.” You can’t make this stuff up. On January 28, the Pilots were once again given a nine-day extension to allow the Seattle group, now led by hotel executive Edward Carlson, more time to come up with the now-$9-million asking price. Two days later, an airline executive from Oakland threw his hat into the three-ring circus as a potential buyer. Edward J. Daly was president of World Airways, Inc., an Oakland charter carrier. What was Daly’s sudden interest in buying the Pilots? A friend of his, Oakland A’s owner Charles O. Finley, asked him to. And it gets better. Carlson and Danz of the Seattle group asked Tommy Mercer of the DFW group to lend them $4 million. “I said we were not in the finance business,” Mercer commented. Remember when Seattle Mayor Uhlman threatened any non-local buyer with a lawsuit? That number was purportedly now $25 million. Mercer then proposed that the league take over the Pilots and pay $150,000 per team for the year’s baseball operations, rather than each team paying 1/10 of the $25 million lawsuit amount. “It could possibly happen,” Mercer said. Not to be left out, Bank of California vice president Warren G. Campbell told the Milwaukee Sentinel on February 3 that the Carlson/Danz group was “at least $3.5 million short, and maybe $7 million” short of the necessary money needed for purchase. Campbell also said, “I don’t know how many times I have to repeat it. We want the cash, or a guarantee in the form of other types of security other than the franchise.” Meanwhile, Milwaukee and DFW waited…patiently. Coming soon, part three: ladies and gentlemen, the Milwaukee Brewers! View the full article

Though most of the group remains the same, the San Diego Padres have two changes to highlight among their crop of infielders. With the departures of Luis Arraez and Ryan O'Hearn in free agency, the Friars enter 2026 having to replace them at first base and designated hitter, respectively. Those are the positions they were at for all three games of the NL Wild Card Series loss to the Chicago Cubs. Both were basically first basemen with the Padres, Arraez getting 117 starts at the position in 2025 and O'Hearn 25 at first and 16 at DH after coming over from the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline. But that void is easily filled, at least positionally, from within and with a late add to camp. Who Was Scheduled to Come Back? Third baseman Manny Machado, shortstop Xander Bogaerts and second baseman Jake Cronenworth return in their primary spots from 2025, with Gavin Sheets also back after making 11 starts at first, 60 in left and 59 at DH. Sheets enters spring training as the presumed starting first baseman, although that could shift depending on other performances. Mason McCoy is the only backup from the postseason roster back for 2026. Freddy Fermin, acquired at the trade deadline from the Kansas City Royals, returns as the Opening Day catcher, with Luis Campusano as his backup. Machado's status is unquestioned as the team's leader and the player with the biggest contract ($350 million over 11 years). His .275/.335/.460 slash line with 27 homers and 95 RBIs in 2025 was on par with his career numbers. He also plays solid defense, although that's been in decline over the last two seasons. Bogaerts hasn't been as good offensively in his three seasons with the Friars after 10 years with the Boston Red Sox. In 2025, Bogaerts put together a .263/.328/.391 slash line, matching his 2024 with 11 homers to go along with 53 RBIs. He did steal a career-high 20 bases in 22 attempts. Bogaerts had a career slash line of .292/.356/.458 with the Red Sox, including four seasons of more than 20 homers and a high of 33 in 2019. After splitting time between second and short in 2024, Bogaerts was back to a full-time shortstop in 2025 and had his best defensive season. Cronenworth had his best production in 2025 since his breakthrough 2021-22 seasons, but it was below what has come to be expected. He posted a slash line of .246/.367/.377 after subpar outputs in 2023-24. His 11 homers and 59 RBIs were the second-lowest of a full 162-game season in his six MLB seasons. His defense at second base is a little below average, although it was surprisingly good during a brief tenure at short when Bogaerts was hurt. Fermin wasn't as good as expected offensively after he came over from the Royals, putting up a .244/.278/.339 slash line with two homers and 14 RBIs in 42 games. Campusano, who spent most of 2025 at Triple-A, could help with the offense at catcher, while potentially seeing spot starts at DH. Sheets, a non-roster invitee a year ago who made the Opening Day roster, bounced between first, DH and left while accumulating a .252/.317/.429 slash line with 19 homers and 71 RBIs. Never known for defense, he might be best-suited as a DH, but he'll get the first crack at first base. McCoy has limited MLB experience, but does provide coverage at shortstop. Who Was Added? The Friars made a big move Saturday, agreeing to bring in Nick Castellanos for the MLB minimum following his well-publicized split with the Philadelphia Phillies. Castellanos is suddenly in the mix at first base, a position he has never played but has apparently been working at this offseason. Putting the clubhouse issues aside, Castellanos is a low-risk acquisition who could bring pretty good production as a right-handed bat. His path to playing time is first base and designated hitter due to his poor defense in right field. In his four years with the Phillies, Castellanos slashed .260/.306/.426, averaging 21 homers and 82 RBIs. Prior to Castellanos, the biggest offseason addition was Sung Mun Song, a free agent from the Korea Baseball Organization. Song was mostly a third baseman in the KBO, although he had time at second base and a little at first. Song, a left-handed hitter, had really good 2024 and 2025 seasons, with respective slash lines of .340/.409/.518 with 19 homers and 104 RBIs and then .315/.387/.530 with 26 homers and 90 RBIs. He also had 21 and 25 steals in those two campaigns. The huge question is how quickly Song will adjust to MLB pitching. He sustained an oblique injury that was reported about a month ago, with a timeline to return around the first few official games of spring training. How much that impacts his performance during the exhibition slate will be key to that process. If he is able to hit the ground running in his first few weeks, he should be fine. The next question is whether he hits well enough to force his way into the starting lineup. Song said he was going to bounce around the infield, except for shortstop, and the outfield, which lines up with what the Friars have previously said about where he could find playing time. One recent addition, expected to fill a bench role, is corner infielder-outfielder Miguel Andujar. He brings a right-handed bat that produced 17 homers last year between the A's and Cincinnati Reds. He has battled injuries since crushing 27 homers with the New York Yankees in 2018, when he finished second to Shohei Ohtani in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. He provides coverage at third and first base as well as left field, though his defense is suspect at each spot. Candidates to Join the Infield or Catcher Group? Will Wagner, the son of Hall of Fame closer Billy Wagner, will be in the mix for a backup role after coming over at the trade deadline from the Toronto Blue Jays. He can play anywhere on the infield except for shortstop. Two players with non-roster invites that have a chance to win a spot are corner infielder Jose Miranda and Samad Taylor, who can play anywhere on the infield (no experience at first) as well as the outfield. Another out-of-the-box possibility is the Friars going with a third catcher, allowing Campusano more hitting opportunities, his strength. Blake Hunt is the top non-roster invitee on the catching side, but he is also an offense-first player. The Padres could be in search of a defensive catcher to help out Fermin. The Bottom Line At worst, Castellanos is a DH. If he can be a good defensive first baseman — he did begin his career as a third baseman — that would push Sheets to DH. But Song holds the real key to how the Friars' infield alignment shakes out. He could surprise and take the starting second base job or simply settle into a utility role. If he does grab second base, that would move Cronenworth to platoon at first base with Castellanos and Sheets, with one being the DH. There would be some obvious shuffling when Machado either needs a day off or serves as the DH, with Song moving over to third, Cronenworth to second, and Sheets to first. Regardless, there should be more versatility among the infield group with Song and Andujar in tow. The battle for the last bench spot between McCoy, Wagner, Miranda and Taylor will be decided by spring performance and whether to go with three catchers. The offense will suffer a bit without Arraez's contact ability, but the additions should help boost the power capability of the lineup this season. View the full article

MLB clubs and free agents are taking their sweet time wrapping up the 2025-26 offseason. The opening of spring training camps this week spurred a flurry of activity. The Cubs got in on the action Friday by agreeing to a multi-year contract with veteran right-hander Shelby Miller, who'll miss the 2026 season after undergoing elbow surgery earlier this offseason. If the club wants to add more major-league pieces, the market's still very much open. If it isn't satisfied with the rotation, they'll need to move fast after Zac Gallen re-signed in Arizona. If it wants another bench bat, about a couple dozen are still unsigned, though that list shrank as well once Nick Castellanos signed with the Padres There's a case for signing a number of players as spring training gets underway, but here's one specific name that should be on the Cubs' radar with camp shifting into high gear. Why the Cubs should sign Ty France France, 31, no longer plays around the infield, but his recent work at first base would make up for that. Last season, he won an American League Gold Glove at the position while playing for the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays. His 10 outs above average (OAA) led the majors at the position, and his nine defensive runs saved (DRS) were third-most. His work in the field helped push him into positive fWAR territory (0.9). By comparison, Michael Busch posted minus-1 OAA and 2 DRS at first base for the Cubs last year. The right-handed hitting France could spell Busch against left-handers and be a defensive replacement/pinch-hitter the rest of the time. He makes decent contact -- he was in the 70th percentile in strikeout percentage last year and increased his contract rate on pitches in the zone by nearly three percent from 2024 to 2025. His barrel percentage keeps improving, too, as his 7.7 percent mark last season was the second-highest of his career. Now, the negatives. France does not fit the Cubs' power-and-speed offensive philosophy. He's one of the slowest runners in the game (sixth-percentile foot speed, per Baseball Savant), and his SLG has declined over the past three years, ranging from .360 to .366 after spending a few seasons in the mid-.400s. He has posted 92 and 93 wRC+ the past two seasons, and his mark last year was a full-season career low. The glove work might be a mirage as well; he produced minus-12 OAA and minus-8 DRS in 2024. Can that all be overlooked? Perhaps not, but if the Cubs can find a way to get him into camp on a low-risk (or non-guaranteed deal), any potential downsides would be mitigated. Their current first-base backup is Tyler Austin, who returned to the States in the offseason after playing six years in Japan. His potential contribution is a mystery. Austin is on a split contract, so the Cubs could option him to Triple-A Iowa if they decide to go in another direction. France could be that upgrade based on his latest glove work and bat-to-ball skills. View the full article

With the World Baseball Classic on the horizon, many were wondering whether Byron Buxton or Pete Crow-Armstrong would be Team USA’s starting center fielder. That debate may have just resolved itself. Presumed starting left fielder Corbin Carroll suffered a broken hamate bone in his right hand. While Team USA will replace Carroll on the roster, it is difficult to imagine that replacement being a better overall option than either Buxton or Crow-Armstrong. The most logical alignment now features Crow-Armstrong in center field, Aaron Judge in right, and Buxton sliding over to left. And that possibility should grab the Twins’ attention. Buxton has never played a corner outfield position in the majors. Yet given how well he handles center field, there is little doubt he would be an elite defender in left. In fact, he might immediately become the best defensive left fielder in baseball if he played there full-time. The reads, the closing speed, and the arm strength. Those tools would not disappear simply because the wall is closer and the angles are different. But the numbers suggest this conversation is arriving at the right time. Baseball Prospectus’ Deserved Runs Prevented metric shows a clear month-to-month picture of Buxton’s defensive performance this season. March and April: - 0.1 May: 1.4 June: -1.1 July: -2.4 August: -1.4 September: - 0.9 Even early in the year, there were hints of slippage. As the season progressed, the inconsistency became more pronounced. Buxton still makes spectacular plays, but the day-to-day impact has not been as steady as it once was. He turned 32 in December. Speed is often the first tool to fade as players move into their 30s, and center field is one of the most physically demanding positions on the diamond. The Twins understand that reality. If Minnesota wants to maximize Buxton’s offensive value during one of the most productive stretches of his career, it may soon be time to reduce the defensive burden. The World Baseball Classic could serve as a trial run. If Buxton thrives in left field on an international stage, the optics change. It no longer feels hypothetical. It becomes practical. And then there is Walker Jenkins. Minnesota’s top prospect reached Triple-A as a 20-year-old and appears poised to debut sometime next season. His short-term future is in center field. In the minors this year, Jenkins has logged 443 innings in center and just 43 in right. Emmanuel Rodriguez, another top prospect, also has significant center field experience and could factor into the big league roster soon. The Twins may not want to block that pipeline. Buxton is under team control through 2028. Even if his defense in center remains solid through a modest decline, the organization has to consider roster optimization over the next several seasons. Moving Buxton to left field would allow Jenkins to step into center without forcing an awkward positional shuffle. There is also the matter of health. Buxton’s career has been defined as much by time on the injured list as by highlight reel catches. He has been healthier recently, but reducing the physical demands of his position could help keep his bat in the lineup more consistently. Corner outfield spots typically require less ground to cover and fewer all-out sprints into the gaps. Preserving Buxton’s body has always been a priority. A move to left field could be a proactive step rather than a reactive one. It does not have to be viewed as a demotion. It is a natural progression that helps extend careers. Some of the game’s best center fielders eventually make that move. The bat stays in the lineup. The legs last longer. The value shifts but does not disappear. The World Baseball Classic might only last a few weeks. But for Buxton and the Twins, it could quietly preview the next phase of his career. Should the Twins consider moving Buxton to a corner outfield spot in 2026? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

With his recent retirement from broadcasting, it seems like a good time to look back at the career of Buck Martinez. Martinez will likely be remembered as a Blue Jay by most baseball fans due to his long association with the franchise. He played for Toronto from 1981-1986, then worked as a broadcaster for the team in stints from 1987-2000 and 2010-2025. He even managed the Blue Jays in 2001 and 2002. But Martinez was a Royal for many years. And he’s an original Royal, part of the expansion 1969 squad. Although he never played more than 95 games in a season in Kansas City, he was a part of the team’s growth from an expansion team to a division winner. John Albert Martinez was born on November 7, 1948, in Redding, California. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Spain, while his mother was part of the Karuk Tribe of northern California. Martinez was playing amateur baseball in Sacramento when future Royals manager Joe Gordon, then scouting for the California Angels, noticed him. Gordon recommended the Angels sign him, but Philadelphia beat them to the punch. However, the Houston Astros selected Martinez in the Rule 5 draft in 1968. Two weeks later, they sent him to the Royals (with two minor leaguers) in return for minor league catcher Johnny Jones. Gordon, set to manage the initial Royals team, had his man. It was a small example of the shrewd trades the Kansas City front office, headed by GM Cedric Tallis, made in the team’s early days, as Jones never made it past A-ball. Martinez was finishing his junior year at Sacramento State College and didn’t even join the Royals for spring training, but joined the major league team soon after his school year was over. He made his MLB debut on June 18, 1969, with a flyout as a pinch hitter. Less than two weeks later, on June 28, he made his first start behind the plate. It was a game to remember, as he hit his first major league home run, picked off a runner at second, and tagged out two runners at home, one of them a collision with Minnesota’s Bob Allison. All of this on a hot, humid Saturday afternoon that was brutal enough to send Twins third baseman Rick Renick to the hospital with heat exhaustion. Martinez ended the year with a .229/.258/.327 line in 214 plate appearances. Not too shabby for a rookie who didn’t even have spring training. He had impressed the team with his defense. But Martinez would barely get to play in 1970. He was optioned to Triple-A Omaha during spring training, as Ellie Rodriguez won the starting job and the team wanted Martinez to catch every day. But then Buck was called up… to active military duty. The Army stint lasted until early August. Martinez played in just six games for the Royals that year, then headed to Florida for Instructional League play and then on to Puerto Rico for winter ball, where he played for Frank Robinson on the Santurce club. Martinez reported to spring training in 1971 with his eyes on the starting job, although the Royals had acquired Jerry May from Pittsburgh in the same trade that brought Freddie Patek to Kansas City. Martinez did indeed make the Opening Day roster and even got the nod for the opener, as the Royals were facing a left-hander. But Martinez was soon returned to the minors because the Royals wanted him to play every day. He bounced back and forth between Kansas City and Triple-A Omaha, ending the year with 53 plate appearances for the Royals and a .152/.231/.196 mark. At least he made the American Association all-star team for Omaha. That obviously took some of the shine off his status as a prospect. Martinez spent the entire 1972 season in Omaha. Perhaps fighting off disappointment, he hit just .174/.299/.282 before a foul tip broke a bone in his right hand in mid-July. While Buck’s arm and defense had never been in question, his bat definitely was a concern. When Martinez was optioned to Omaha again at the end of spring training in 1973, he apparently took that decision better. He batted .272/.345/.382, earning a September callup. Although he only played in 14 games, he hit .250/.333/.375, putting him back on the Royals’ radar. In fact, Martinez had played in the minors for the last time. Hitting coach Charley Lau is most famous in Royals history for turning a poor-hitting rookie third baseman into George Brett, but he also helped Martinez turn his career around following that horrid 1972 season. “I had no rhythm, no timing, no feel for hitting the ball. We worked on it over and over – sometimes he’d even throw it to me underhanded, trying to get it right. Day after day, I’d be down in the cage, maybe some days taking 300, 400 swings. And finally, I saw where it was making a difference. I felt like it was just a matter of putting in the time, like if I’d go out and work on it seven, eight hours a day I would have it. And of course the beautiful thing about Charley… I mean, he never quits. If you show him a sincere effort and a willingness to learn, he’ll be out there with you until… it’s done." --Martinez, quoted by Gib Twyman, Kansas City Star, April 3, 1974 After five seasons, the Royals had finally sorted out their catcher situation, with Fran Healy the starter and Martinez now the backup. He played in 43 games, hitting just .215/.317/.290. But when he saw more regular action in September, with the team out of contention, he finished strong with a .261/.333/.413 mark in 51 plate appearances, nearly half his total for the season. The catching arrangement remained the same for 1975, although the rumor mill in spring training said the Royals were hoping for an upgrade on their backup. But Healy was injured in the first series of the season, and Martinez filled in capably, with a .242/.317/.352 line in 30 of the team’s 44 games through the end of May. Healy got injured again in July, allowing Martinez and Bob Stinson to split catching duties for basically the rest of the season. Martinez got the most starts behind the plate among the trio. As the 1976 season began, the status quo was still in place, with Healy the starter and Martinez and Stinson slated for backup duty. But things changed quickly, as the Royals dealt Healy to the New York Yankees in mid-May for pitcher Larry Gura. It turned out to be a great deal for the Royals, as Gura, who had fallen out of favor with Yankees manager Billy Martin and hadn’t even appeared in a game for the New Yorkers all season, would go on to win 111 games with Kansas City. It was also a great deal for Martinez, who now seemed to be the starter. Until, that is, he injured himself sliding into second base a few days later. Somehow, he managed to spike his own leg, requiring six stitches. The hit that resulted in the injury gave him an 11-game hitting streak. He returned to the lineup in early June and quickly re-established himself as the starter as the Royals battled for their first division title. His offensive numbers were still not outstanding (.228/.269/.356 in 295 plate appearances), but he continued to receive praise for his defense. He also performed well in the ALCS, with five hits in 16 plate appearances and four RBI, although the Royals lost the best-of-five series to the Yankees. But once again, change was coming to the Royals’ catcher position. After the season, Kansas City acquired Darrell Porter in a trade with Milwaukee. Porter, a left-handed hitter, offered more power and had been a highly-rated prospect a few years earlier, although his 1976 season had been a disappointment. The two started the season as a platoon, but Porter soon captured the job with a hot hitting start. As a result, Martinez appeared in only 29 games, and not at all in the ALCS. His Royals career came to an end when he was traded to St. Louis with pitcher Mark Littell for pitcher Al Hrabosky during the winter meetings. The Cardinals, the same day, shipped him to Milwaukee for pitcher George Frazier. Martinez was a Brewer for three seasons, then was traded to Toronto early in the 1981 season (a deal, incidentally, that kept Ned Yost on the Milwaukee roster). That began an association with the Blue Jays that lasted more than 40 years. But he should be remembered by Royals fans both as a member of the original team and the franchise’s first AL West title team. View the full article

The Brewers have a bright future at shortstop – between Cooper Pratt and Jesus Made, they could have a generational talent at the position. Both are top-100 prospects, both are relatively young, and both could be. Jett Williams is also a potential contender there, boasting top-100 prospect talent, though he could end up at any number of positions. Then there is Joey Ortiz, who posted a positive WAR value (barely) despite a horrendous season at the plate in 2025. 2025 Brewers Shortstop Review The Brewers faced some serious struggles at shortstop in 2025, at least in terms of offense. Joey Ortiz’s OPS+ dropped from 102 in 2024 to 66 in 2025. That would have been bad enough, but Willy Adames posted a 119 OPS+ for Milwaukee in 2024, making the drop-off at the plate that much worse for Milwaukee. The Brewers got some offensive punch when Andruw Monasterio took over for Ortiz after an injury shelved him late in the 2025 regular season. Monasterio had been a cult hero and competent infield backup since the 2023 season, when he arrived after a scary incident involving Adames, then stayed to hold down the hot corner, but he’s with the Red Sox now after a six-person deal that also sent Caleb Durbin and Anthony Seigler to Boston. Current Shortstop Roster Situation Ortiz, new acquisition David Hamilton (a one-time Brewers prospect dealt to Boston in the Hunter Renfroe trade), and Platinum Glove winner Brice Turang are the natural shortstops on the 40-man roster. Top 100 prospects Pratt, Made, and Williams are NRIs to spring training. Eduardo Garcia is a one-time shortstop prospect who’s played all over the diamond due to the emergence of Pratt and Made. Eddys Leonard, a minor-league free agent signing, could be a contender, either as a starter somewhere or as a super sub. In essence, the question isn’t if Joey Ortiz will be displaced. It’s more about who does the displacing, when it happens, and why it happens. Ideally, the Brewers will debut their new shortstop along with a new third baseman, both of whom would be home-grown, on Opening Day 2027, with plenty of good choices to choose from. Best Case Scenario A Top 100 prospect displaces Ortiz at shortstop around the middle of 2026, despite a return to Ortiz’s offensive form from the first half of 2024. This would likely entail the following: Ortiz would have been hitting well, while Cooper Pratt and/or Jett Williams would have been performing so well that Milwaukee has no choice but to call them both up. Ortiz would then become part of a midseason deal that Milwaukee uses to either further bolster its farm system or address a key need that emerges during the regular season. This is not to say Ortiz is a bad player. At the very least, he is an excellent defensive shortstop with trouble producing at the plate. You could do far worse than that, especially for a salary at or close to the major-league minimum. But the way the Brewers have drafted over the past few years, as well as their signings in international free agency, leave them arguably overstocked at shortstop. How deep? Freddy Zamora and Eduardo Garcia were one-time top prospects who have been bypassed by Pratt and Made, and neither of them is a horrible player - Zamora has good OBP skills, doesn't strike out a ton, and can steal a few bases and play decent defense. Garcia's got pop, speed, excellent defense, and improved his walk rate big-time in 2025. Worst Case Scenario The 2025 version of Joey Ortiz gets over 40 starts. This would mean that multiple top 100 prospects are not performing well or have ended up on the injured list, while the Brewers are unable to move Hamilton from third base. There are some other ways for a shortstop to go poorly, as well. The Brewers could end up with Turang or Hamilton at the position as well, with the team trading prospects in a panic deal to shore up their infield. Depth is a commodity the Brewers cannot afford to lose, especially since their farm system lost six players in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft, including Zavier Warren, a switch-hitting supersub listed as a first baseman, in addition to the panic trade made early in the 2025 season for Quinn Priester. Brewers Shortstop Overview While the Brewers have long-term depth and very good prospects, the Durbin deal that brought two solid left-handed starting pitching prospects and Hamilton came at a price: shortstop Monasterio. Milwaukee’s operating without much of a safety blanket, although the team has multiple prospects and one-time top prospects (Williams, Pratt, Zamora, Garcia) who could be surprisingly capable. Keep in mind, the Brewers have had unheralded prospects become valuable assets – with the recently departed Monasterio being one such under-the-radar pickup. In this case, Garcia and Zamora could easily fall into this category, despite their higher-round pedigree. View the full article

When the Blue Jays arrived in Baltimore for the final three games of their dismal 2009 season, the team was in complete disarray. A variety of resentments towards manager Cito Gaston and his coaching staff boiled over into a “mutiny,” the funniest recorded level of clubhouse revolt. As team president Paul Beeston flew in to be a featured guest at a players-only meeting the next day, José Bautista quietly homered in his fourth straight game. It was the first sighting of the José Bautista that Blue Jays fans would come to know and love. He appeared in just 21 games for Toronto in 2008 after being acquired from Pittsburgh, but behind the scenes, Bautista was beginning a makeover that changed his career. Gaston and hitting coach Gene Tenace encouraged Bautista to pull driveable pitches and start his swing earlier. The changes were anything but small, and it took Bautista some time to adapt. “The way that I would compare it would be if somebody tells you to brush your teeth with your left hand and not your right hand,” recalled the right-handed Bautista. After hitting only two home runs in the first half of 2009, Bautista was given an opportunity in the weeks following the All-Star Game. After the break, the disappointing Blue Jays dealt third baseman Scott Rolen to Cincinnati before letting White Sox GM Kenny Williams shoplift Alex Rios from the waiver wire. As a result, Bautista found himself with more playing time, and by September, the switch had flipped. As his leg kick heightened at the plate, so did his power: Bautista hit more home runs in September (10) than he did the rest of the season (three). Bautista’s swing transformation throughout the 2009 season is fun to watch; you can see the difference in his early-season blasts compared to September. At least stay for the first 25 seconds, featuring a depressed-at-his-best Hawk Harrelson calling Bautista’s first home run of the year in a drubbing of the White Sox. Other than Bautista (“I 100 per cent felt different”) and perhaps his manager, no one knew that the player’s transformation into Joey Bats had already taken place. Bautista avoided arbitration with Toronto and its new general manager Alex Anthopoulos, returning on a $2.4 million deal for 2010. After his Grapefruit League batting average hovered around .500 all spring, Gaston penciled Bautista into the leadoff spot on Opening Day. Still, when Bautista hit his first home run of the year on April 11 in Baltimore, no one knew what was to come. Bautista erupted for 54 home runs that season to lead the major leagues and set a new Blue Jays single-season record. After Toronto’s 85th win of the year in the season finale in Minneapolis, Bautista was embraced near the top of the dugout by Gaston. Suffering through “one of the worst winters of his life,” Gaston returned for one more season and watched as his last protégé set fire to the American League. A year before, a worn-down Gaston was asked about Bautista during the season’s final weekend in Baltimore. If José were an everyday player, the manager said, “He’d have a chance to do some damage.” One day, I’m going to write 30,000 words about the mutiny at the end of the 2009 season, but Bautista’s breakout gave Gaston’s woeful second tenure some positive and lasting meaning. (photo credit: Sportsnet/CP) Bautista’s emergence left Anthopoulos at a crossroads in the offseason. Bautista would be arbitration-eligible one final time. Left with a year of control, Anthopoulos explored his options. On the trade market, Bautista’s name was met with skepticism. No general manager wanted to acquire the second coming of Brady Anderson and told Anthopoulos as much. Plus, the Blue Jays were coming off a winning season despite trading Roy Halladay the previous winter. Would trading a fan favourite for a second straight offseason be palatable to the fans? A trade was not going to happen. Anthopoulos didn’t feel much urgency in addressing his emerged slugger’s contract, and neither did Bautista. Prior to Game 4 of the World Series, Bautista was named the Hank Aaron Award winner as the American League’s top offensive player and said he had not yet received any offers from the Blue Jays. “I’m not worried by any concern the team might have whether I can repeat it or not,” said Bautista. “I have no problems with an arbitration deal and going back out there and hopefully doing as well as I did last year.” Bautista would also win a Silver Slugger award in 2010, and while he was hopeful in a wide-open AL MVP race, he finished fourth, with one first-place vote courtesy of Shi Davidi, then of the Canadian Press. (photo credit: Sportsnet) Arbitration seemed to be the way things were headed. When the deadline to file for arbitration came in January, Bautista sought a $10.5 million salary, nearly $3 million more than Toronto offered. Anthopoulos refused to negotiate one-year pacts with players once arbitration numbers were filed, but door number three, a long-term deal, was still on the table. Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star felt the team intended to extend Bautista all along and was “content to lose the arbitration decision” if it came to it. On Valentine’s Day, a panel was scheduled to hear the arbitration case before the two sides decided to postpone the hearing. Negotiations on an extension were ongoing, said Anthopoulos, and the Blue Jays’ payroll situation had also changed recently. Having failed to land Adrian Beltré or Carl Crawford as free agents, the Angels foolishly traded for Toronto outfielder Vernon Wells. The subtractions of Rios and then Wells had taken nearly $39 million off Toronto’s payroll for the 2011 season alone. Bautista and the Blue Jays agreed to delay the arbitration hearing until the last possible minute. Two nights before the deadline, Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes dropped the big news: Bautista and the Blue Jays were in agreement on a five-year, $65 million extension with a team option for a sixth season. The contract was official the next day. “We could have paid him for one year, and we could have waited to see what he does this season,” Anthopoulos said, “But I believe it’s the right time to sign him, and that’s my job.” When news of the extension broke, several player agents called Toronto’s general manager asking if he had lost his mind. Even the pro-extension crowd recognized the risk in the commitment to Bautista, owner of one great season and a bunch of meh previous. Anthopoulos didn’t shy away from criticisms, but they found a way to eat at him. “I remember on my daily drive to the ballpark in Dunedin two or three days after the fact just thinking, ‘Did we do the right thing, did we make a mistake?’,” he recounted to Shi Davidi, “You can’t help it when there’s an avalanche of criticism and second-guessing.” When the newly wealthy Bautista arrived in Dunedin to start spring, it was easy to forget this would be the first time the new face of the franchise wouldn’t spend his March fighting for a roster spot. Playing under new expectations, Bautista followed up his 54 home run season with the most complete offensive performance of his career. Once again leading the majors in home runs (43), Bautista also posted a major-league best OPS (1.056) and drew more walks (132) than anyone else in baseball. It was production the Blue Jays happily came to expect from Bautista as his contract continued forward. Standard Batting Table Season Age Team WAR G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ Awards 2011 30 TOR 8.3 149 655 513 105 155 24 2 43 103 132 111 .302 .447 .608 1.056 182 AS,MVP-3,SS 2012 31 TOR 3.8 92 399 332 64 80 14 0 27 65 59 63 .241 .358 .527 .886 138 AS 2013 32 TOR 4.5 118 528 452 82 117 24 0 28 73 69 84 .259 .358 .498 .856 132 AS 2014 33 TOR 6.9 155 673 553 101 158 27 0 35 103 104 96 .286 .403 .524 .928 162 AS,MVP-6,SS 2015 34 TOR 4.8 153 666 543 108 136 29 3 40 114 110 106 .250 .377 .536 .913 145 AS,MVP-8 2016 35 TOR 1.3 116 517 423 68 99 24 1 22 69 87 103 .234 .366 .452 .817 118 Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 2/7/2026. The extension of Bautista remains one of the most important moves the Blue Jays have made in the 21st century. After trading Halladay and enduring a final year with Gaston, Anthopoulos had cued the Blue Jays to enter a new era in 2011. Bautista getting traded in the name of asset accumulation would have made some unsavoury sense, but the general manager believed in the breakout. It was Anthopoulos at his best, and as Toronto worked towards its postseason return in 2015, Bautista helped power it all, providing one memorable moment after another. There was the ALDS-deciding home run, of course, but there was also throwing out Billy Butler at first from the outfield and that tweet at Steve Simmons. Bautista getting the nod to throw out the first pitch for Game 6 of this year’s ALCS signified his stature among the franchise’s greats, and the response from the sold-out crowd showed why. 54 home runs let everyone know the name José Bautista; the six seasons afterwards put it in the Level of Excellence. View the full article

We’re still a week from Grapefruit League games, but that’s not too early to start talking about what we want to watch. Any value in watching spring training games isn’t in looking at players’ stats. Partly, that’s because it’s just such a small sample size. But on top of that, players are testing out new pitches and swings, which can produce results that will never make it into an actual game. No, if there is any value, it’s in looking at what players or coaches are trying to do, and reacting to success or failure. For instance: Brooks Lee’s Lateral Movement Brooks Lee spent the offseason working on two things, and one of them was getting more explosive lateral movement as a shortstop. “It's kind of like an obvious thing,” said Lee when asked about his offseason focus. “You know, balls hit to me, I'll make the play, but it's the ones I don't get to.” Lee’s range and whether he can handle the defensive workload of a shortstop are major questions for the Twins. So watch how often he gets to balls “in the hole” to his right, or on the other side of second base to his left. Brooks Lee’s Left-handed Opposite Field Swing The second thing he worked on was his left-handed swing, specifically hitting the ball to the opposite field. Coming up through the minors, Lee’s strong side was hitting for a high average, especially left-handed. Instead, last year he hit better (.266 BA) right-handed than left-handed (.220). View the full article

Right-hander Jesse Hahn will be heading to Blue Jays camp in Dunedin. According to the team's transaction log, they signed the 36-year-old to a minor league contract with a spring training invite on Saturday. From 2014-17, Hahn made 50 starts (53 games) for the Padres and Athletics, pitching to a 4.19 ERA with 212 strikeouts and a 49.7% groundball rate in 286 innings. After tearing his UCL in 2018, he was one of the first pitchers to receive an internal brace procedure. Upon his return, he made a handful of relief appearances for the Royals from 2019-21, putting up a 4.62 ERA in 25.1 innings of work. A shoulder injury ruined most of Hahn's 2021, and he did not pitch professionally for the next two seasons. He made his return to affiliated ball with the Dodgers organization in 2024, and in 2025, he finally made it back to the majors, appearing in three games and tossing five innings for the Mariners. All told, across an unusual career, the righty has pitched 316.1 innings with a 4.24 ERA and 3.4 FanGraphs WAR. He's never been one to overpower hitters, and control has often been an issue, but he's always excelled at inducing groundballs. Hahn will join names like Jorge Alcala and Connor Seabold as righty NRIs in camp with MLB experience. Earlier last week, the Blue Jays also reportedly signed first baseman Juan Yepez, according to Eric Treuden of Just Baseball. He, too, will presumably report to big league spring training, but the team has not yet announced his deal. Yepez, 27, hit 20 home runs with a .730 OPS and a 103 wRC+ in 166 games for the Cardinals and Nationals from 2022-24. The righty batter did not appear in the majors last year, as injury and ineffectiveness kept him at Triple-A. Initially a utility player with experience at first, third, and the corner outfield spots, Yepez has mostly played first base and DH the past two years. He'll have a better chance of making it back to the majors in 2026 if the Blue Jays think he can handle outfield work, so it will be worth watching where he plays in the coming weeks and months. View the full article