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While some of MLB’s future superstars progress through the minors in an uninterrupted and consistently dominant upward trajectory, that is the exception and not the rule. Most MiLB players who eventually make it to “The Show” encounter roadblocks, detours, and delays along the way. Injuries, personal issues, new pitches or pitch grips, batting stance changes, and other tweaks and changes often result in nonlinear development. In other words, just because a player has a poor season doesn’t mean they’ll never become a useful major leaguer. With that in mind, let’s look at five candidates coming off disappointing seasons who possess the raw talent to get back on track in 2026. Blake Mitchell, C The Royals selected Mitchell eighth overall in the 2023 MLB Draft as a high-upside prep catcher with plus power and defensive skills. He performed well in his 2024 full-season debut at Single-A Columbia, earning the organization's George Brett Hitter of the Year award and establishing himself as a top 100 prospect. However, a broken hamate bone in spring training that required surgery derailed his 2025 season. Hamate bone injuries are well known to sap a returning player’s power, and Mitchell was no exception. After slugging 18 homers with a .238/.376/.439 slash line at Single-A in 2024, Mitchell’s output plunged to just two home runs and a .207/.372/.296 line at High-A Quad Cities in 2025 over 49 games and 216 plate appearances. While plate discipline remained a strong suit, his slugging percentage dropped dramatically, and his elevated K% remains a concern. Mitchell was able to reclaim some of his top 100 prospect status with his performance in the Arizona Fall League, which included a home run with an impressive exit velocity of 116.5 mph. He was selected for the AFL Fall Stars Game and led Surprise in the semi-finals, going 2-3 with a double, two walks, and a walk-off single to send his team to the championship. There, he was a key contributor in defeating Peoria with a sac fly, single, and game-tying run scored. With the anticipation of Carter Jensen moving into a starting role in Kansas City, and significant additional organizational depth at the catcher position, a monster season from Mitchell would be huge for the Royals and solidify his status as one of the most valuable trade chips in the organization. Javi Vaz , 2B/OF Vaz, a versatile left-handed hitter known for elite contact skills and on-base ability, posted strong numbers in 2024 at Double-A Northwest Arkansas (.263/.375/.379, and more walks than strikeouts). His disciplined plate approach and defensive flexibility at second base and outfield had positioned him for a potential 2025 MLB debut. A fractured hand in spring training delayed his start and disrupted his season. At age 25 entering the 2026 season, Vaz's high floor as a contact-oriented, defensively versatile, and speedy contributor makes him a candidate to bounce back at Triple-A Omaha, potentially earning him a big-league roster spot as a utility player. Gavin Cross, OF Cross, the ninth overall pick in 2022, debuted in impressive fashion that same year in Single-A Columbia with a slash of .293/.423/.596. However, 2023 turned into an absolute nightmare for Cross after being stricken with Lyme disease. He rebounded impressively in 2024 at Double-A (.261/.342/.428, 15 HR, 30 SB), earning Naturals Player of the Year honors and restoring his prospect stock. Unfortunately, that momentum didn’t carry into 2025. Chronic back issues resurfaced, causing multiple IL stints, and a performance drop. Cross endured an abysmal start to the season with an anemic slash line of .166/.206/.289 in April and May combined. He did turn things around with strong finish to the season (.291/.345/.496 June-September). Cross enters the 2026 season at age 25 and having not yet progressed beyond Double-A. Given his up-and-down history, it is a make-or-break season for him. Strong athletic tools, above-average pop, and a good defensive skillset make Cross a bounce-back candidate and potentially still an MLB contributor. Alternatively, another poor season would push him into non-prospect status. Steven Zobac, RHP Zobac, a former two-way college player, broke out in 2024 (3.64 ERA across High-A/Double-A, 123 K in 126 IP), earning the organization's Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year and a 40-man roster spot for Rule 5 protection. Knee tendinitis and other injuries limited him to just 36 1/3 innings pitched at Double-A in 2025. Zobac’s mid-90s fastball and sharp slider, along with strong command and above-average swing and miss stuff (23.8 K%, 5.6% BB%- 2024), are encouraging for potential development. Zobac possesses a ceiling as a mid-rotation starter and a floor as a reliever, where his stuff may play up even more. 2026 will be critical in determining which of those outcomes is more likely. Blake Wolters, RHP Wolters, a highly regarded second-round pick in 2023 as a high schooler, features a mid-90s fastball (touching 99-100) with riding life and a plus slider. His 2024 Low-A debut was solid (4.20 ERA, manageable WHIP). A shoulder issue slowed him in 2025, reducing velocity and impacting command. Still just 21 entering 2026, Wolters has significant projection remaining. A full season at High-A could see him develop his stuff, regain velocity, and rocket him up organizational rankings. With the Royals' improving player development results, 2026 could feature multiple player bounce-backs, providing additional significant future MLB depth and immediate trade value. View the full article

He may not have received much love during baseball’s awards season, but Chad Patrick’s rookie season was among the most productive in baseball. The right-hander filled in admirably for an injury-ravaged Milwaukee rotation during the first half and posted a 3.53 ERA and 3.90 SIERA in 119 ⅔ innings. His 2.6 fWAR tied for second among National League rookies. Despite that value, the shape of Patrick’s season left him somewhat overlooked. After the Brewers got healthier, he bounced on and off the roster throughout the second half. Even though his fWAR matched those of Caleb Durbin and Isaac Collins, who finished third and fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting, respectively, Patrick finished seventh. After serving as an unsung hero during the regular season, Patrick vaulted himself into the national spotlight when he moved to the bullpen for the postseason. His average fastball velocity climbed to nearly 96 mph in shorter spurts, and he allowed just three hits in nine innings, with a 35% strikeout rate. The Brewers will likely stretch Patrick back out in spring training, and he might be the most intriguing of last season's returning starters. He was second in Stuff+ among regular Brewers starters, trailing only Jacob Misiorowski and finishing ahead of Milwaukee ace (and popular trade target) Freddy Peralta. Jacob Misiorowski (119 Stuff+) Chad Patrick (105) Freddy Peralta (102) Quinn Priester (97) Brandon Woodruff (96) Given his perceived shortcomings, seeing Patrick as the runner-up on that list may initially be surprising. For most of the season, the narrative was that his limited arsenal was effective early in games but made him vulnerable as a true starter. When the Brewers optioned him back to Nashville on July 6, 87% of his pitches thrown had been some kind of fastball. Without reliable secondary pitches, he got hit hard as the game progressed. Opponents had a .398 wOBA the third time through the order against Patrick. Left-handed hitters posted an overall .341 wOBA against him. When the Brewers recalled Patrick for a spot start on August 19, he returned with a new breaking ball that had greater movement separation from his signature cutter. Statcast classifies it as a slurve, but Patrick usually calls it a curveball. The new pitch worked wonders for him. Including the postseason, opponents managed just three singles in 16 at-bats while whiffing on 45% of swings. During that time, he limited left-handers to a .268 wOBA. The curveball’s 117 Stuff+ was well above average. There had always been a tradeoff with Patrick’s arsenal: his three distinct fastball shapes made it challenging for hitters to identify which kind of heater they were seeing, but they could almost always gear up for something between 87 and 95 mph, without much drop. According to Baseball Prospectus, his movement and velocity spreads both ranked in the 7th percentile of qualified pitchers. Averaging nearly 86 mph, Patrick’s curveball didn’t significantly expand his poor velocity spread, but it did fix his movement spread problem. Each of his fastballs averaged at least 11.1 inches of induced vertical break, but the curveball averaged -4.3 inches. Hitters could no longer eliminate a pitch with true downward bite and now had a wider range of movement and location to cover. Patrick also masked the pitch incredibly well. According to Baseball Prospectus’s tunneling metrics, hitters had only a 12% chance of correctly identifying it as a curveball by the time they needed to decide whether to swing. That was the sixth-lowest probability among pitches thrown at least 25 times during the regular season. Instead, they were 47% likely to misidentify it as a cutter. Even if those probabilities become less extreme as Patrick throws more curveballs over a larger sample, the pitch should still be plenty deceptive. Given how well the cutter and curveball tunnel off one another, it should come as no surprise that he leaned more on that pairing during his dominant postseason. While that October excellence generated the most buzz surrounding Patrick’s future, his potential is not tied to the bullpen. His new breaking ball will play in any role, and while those shorter outings gave his velocity an extra nudge, his average four-seamer and two-seamer were already climbing toward 95 mph as a starter. Patrick isn’t the youngest arm in a deep stable of potential Brewers starters; nor does his arsenal look the flashiest at first glance. But he revealed more upside late last year than he did earlier in the season. His new breaking ball can keep hitters off-balance deeper into games and make him less vulnerable against lefties. Other Brewers might garner more popularity as breakout picks, but Patrick appears as close as any of them to putting it all together. It's time to stop overlooking him. View the full article

The international market has always been a necessary avenue for the Minnesota Twins. They operate without the financial muscle of some of their American League rivals, so they need to excel in areas like Latin America, a segment of the talent market wherein costs are much lower. It is also one where the returns have been frustratingly limited. Looking back at the international classes from 2019 through 2022 provides both promise and persistent questions about development, patience, and ceiling. 2019 International Class The clear success story from this group is Emmanuel Rodriguez, currently ranked as a consensus top-100 prospect. At the time, he was MLB Pipeline’s 12th overall prospect in his international class. At the time of his signing, MLB Pipeline wrote, “Athletic with a strong body and medium frame, Rodriguez has shown a solid hitting approach and advanced knowledge of the strike zone for a player his age. He has an efficient swing that creates lots of backspin and generates power to all fields.” Rodriguez has become one of the most intriguing players in the system, with most prospect rankings slotting him just behind Walker Jenkins. Injuries have slowed his rise, but the underlying profile remains rare. A walk rate north of 20% paired with a strikeout rate above 30% is unusual, but Rodriguez still produced a 135 wRC+ in 2025 thanks to his power and elite strike zone awareness. He played the entire season at Triple-A St. Paul, putting him on track for a 2026 debut. Rodriguez represents the best version of what the Twins hope to find internationally. Advanced plate discipline, projection, and a carrying tool that can survive modern pitching environments make him a potential star, even if approach adjustments will be required. 2021 International Class There was no 2020 signing period, as MLB combined two international classes because of the pandemic. Danny De Andrade has quietly built one of the more stable offensive resumes in the system. At the time of his signing, MLB Pipeline ranked him the 14th-best prospect in his class. “De Andrade has the ingredients to develop into an impact hitter," Pipeline's report read. "He shows off excellent bat speed from the right side of the plate and can drive the ball to all fields.” Last season, De Andrade repeated High A and posted a wRC+ above 100 for the fourth straight season. His .317 OBP and .387 slugging percentage do not jump off the page, but a career-best .158 ISO hints at gradual strength gains. Defensively, De Andrade has moved off shortstop, splitting time between second and third base, which puts more pressure on the bat. Fredy Michel shows the other side of the international equation. Once ranked 27th in his signing class, Michel never found consistency at the plate. Across parts of three seasons, he hit no higher than .163 and averaged a 77 wRC+. Despite early speed and double-digit steal totals, his bat stalled, and he has not appeared in affiliated ball since 2023. 2022 International Class Yasser Mercedes entered 2025 looking like a potential breakout. After a strong 2024, he struggled in Fort Myers, slashing .199/.309/.331 with an 87 wRC+. The speed remains loud, with 36 steals, and he continues to log most of his innings in center field. The offensive inconsistency underscores how thin the margin can be for toolsy international prospects. “The 17-year-old Mercedes had some of the best raw tools in this international class," MLB Pipeline wrote at the time of his signing. "He has the chance to drive the ball from the right side of the plate and could end up having better than average power as he fills out that frame and physically matures.” Yilber Herrera might be the most extreme example of modern plate discipline without contact. In 49 games between the Complex League and Low-A, he posted a .361 wOBA and a 114 wRC+ despite hitting below .160. A 25.9% walk rate carried the profile, but the lack of contact will be tested quickly as he climbs. Defensively, he has begun to see less time at shortstop. “The teen has a good feel for hitting and can spray the ball across the outfield," his scouting report said when he first signed. "He’s a smart baserunner when he gets on base. Herrera has a chance to stay at shortstop because of his above-average defensive actions and plus arm potential.” Bryan Acuna brings pedigree and projection, as both his brothers played in the big leagues last season (Ronald Acuna Jr. and Luisangel Acuna). Ranked just inside MLB Pipeline’s top 40 in his class, he reached Low-A Fort Myers in 2025 and posted a 96 wRC+ in 78 games. Strikeouts remain an issue, and power production has been minimal so far. The feel for the game is evident, but the bat needs to translate that feel into results. At the time, MLB Pipeline said, “Bryan grew up around the game, and it shows. He’s been praised for his plus makeup and feel for hitting. He’s aggressive and a playmaker. What he lacks in now tools, he makes up for with his baseball IQ, feel for the game and overall awareness.” Across these four classes, a pattern emerges. The Twins have found players with strong plate discipline, athleticism, and makeup, but turning those traits into consistent impact has been difficult. Rodriguez stands as the exception, not the rule. For a mid-market team, falling behind internationally is not an option. These signings show flashes of a coherent philosophy, but the next step is to translate that promise into big-league production. Which of these international prospects do you believe still has the best chance to break through, and what changes would you like to see from the Twins in their approach to the international market? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

A little more movement on the fastball, a little more break on the slider, and Jeff Hoffman’s 2025 season would have been very different. Instead of uncertainty and frustration, there would be a fair share of joy and anticipation heading into 2026. While the organization and, in particular, John Schneider and Ross Atkins have voiced confidence in Hoffman, he isn’t locked into the closer role as we approach pitchers and catchers reporting to Dunedin for spring training. Few roles in professional sports carry as much symbolic weight as baseball's closer. The ninth inning is both a stage and a psychological test, and in 2025, Hoffman became the embodiment of that stress for a team that reached Game 7 of the World Series, only to see the outcome turn with one pitch. Heading into 2026, Hoffman's status straddles high-leverage trust and the on-field inconsistency that is forcing the Jays to keep their options open. Atkins and his front office have publicly hedged their bets. They’ve been praising Hoffman’s team-first flexibility while making clear he is not “married” to the closer role. That nuanced approach highlights modern bullpen philosophies. Every team, not just the Jays, focuses on matchups, redundancy, and contingency when it comes to its bullpen. Similarly to why we don’t see as many complete games in modern-day baseball, dominant closers don’t rack up more than 50 saves in a season like they used to. The all-time, single-season record for saves is 62, set by Francisco Rodríguez in 2008 while pitching for the Los Angeles Angels. In 2025, Carlos Estévez led the majors with 42 saves for the Royals. By comparison, Hoffman had 33. Hoffman has two years remaining on his three-year, $33 million deal with the Jays. His contract was both a reunion and a bet on a late-career reinvention. Drafted ninth overall by Toronto in 2014, traded to the Rockies in 2015, and then rebuilt as a high-leverage reliever with the Phillies from 2023–24, Hoffman arrived back in Toronto to close. For two years in Philadelphia, his numbers were elite. His ERA, strikeout rate and control earned him his first All-Star nod in 2024. His arrival in Toronto wasn’t without a bit of controversy. There were reports that he had agreed to a three-year, $40 million contract with Baltimore. However, the Orioles apparently backed out after the physical. Throughout his career, Hoffman has been known for his stuff. His splitter, slider and fastball, when on-time and well-located, miss bats at a high clip. That sort of arsenal is precisely what teams look for when they crown a closer. Hoffman’s 2025 season was a roller coaster. The highlight was his 33 saves, but his 4.37 ERA across 68 innings with a 1.19 WHIP indicated some potential cracks in the armour. He gave up 15 home runs, second-most among all MLB relievers and the most among closers of similar save volume. He blew seven saves, tied for fourth-most in MLB, underscoring a season marked by peaks and valleys rather than steady state performance. When things worked, they worked well. Hoffman carried a respectable strikeouts per nine innings of 11.12. That number was consistent with what he’d done with the Phillies, but the relinquished home run numbers last year were closing in on some of the challenges he’d had in that department when he played for the Rockies. In the thin air of Denver in 2019, Hoffman gave up 2.70 home runs every nine innings and only managed 8.74 strikeouts per nine. Across baseball, it is hard to find primary closers with more than 30 saves who allow double-digital homers, let alone 15. Observers thought maybe Hoffman's shoulder was giving him trouble as the season wore on, but then came the playoffs, where he was lights out. He appeared in 10 games, picked up two saves, struck out 18 batters and had an ERA of 1.46. Yet, one really bad pitch to Miguel Rojas basically wiped out that playoff dominance. As Hoffman put it himself, “I cost everybody in here a World Series ring.” One pitch can change a career. There was another closer who gave up a big home run in a pivotal game that took place in Toronto. Phillies’ closer Mitch Williams gave up Joe Carter’s clinching home run in the 1993 World Series. Williams didn’t fade right away – he pitched for the Astros (1994), Angels ('95), and Royals ('97) – but he was never able to regain his All-Star form. To suggest the Jays aren’t mulling over their options when it comes to their 2026 closer is simply not realistic. Internal and external options are on the table. Louis Varland took the ball in every situation possible during the playoffs (he pitched an MLB-record 15 times in one postseason), and there is no question that the coaching staff trusts him. He might be the team’s plan B option for the closer role. This offseason has seen the Jays focus on bullpen redundancy. By signing Tyler Rogers to a multi-year deal, Toronto acquired an ultra-durable, submarine right-hander whose profile of groundball dominance, walk suppression, and late-inning inning-eating makes him a stabilizer in leverage. Rogers projects as the top setup option and might be another possible closer if Hoffman’s home run problem persists. Before Edwin Díaz signed with the Dodgers, there had been rumours that the Jays were interested in signing him. They had also been in discussions for the services of Ryan Helsley, Pete Fairbanks and Robert Suarez. Unless a trade occurs prior to spring training, one would assume that Hoffman is the closer. However, he’ll have a short leash if he isn’t able to regain his command and cut down on the home runs. A closer has a swagger and confidence that is often on full display. While Hoffman’s accountability was admirable following Game 7, it is crucial that he reestablishes himself heading into 2026; otherwise, he won’t be the closer for long. The Jays have a short list of fill-ins should he falter. Schneider and Pete Walker will no doubt consider load management for Hoffman during the season to try to keep his arm as fresh as possible with the possibility of another long run in the playoffs ahead. The 2026 season offers Hoffman a chance to recalibrate. It offers an opportunity to turn the memory of a poorly delivered pitch into the preface of a redemption arc built on precise command, smarter usage, and resilient psychology. The closer title may rest with Hoffman on Opening Day, but the true story will be the collective late-inning machine the Blue Jays have engineered around him. If he can cut the home run rate, lean into pitch-mix unpredictability and sustain playoff-level velocity and execution throughout the season, Hoffman’s 2026 could be a story of redemption. Either way, Jeff Hoffman’s 2026 will be one of Major League Baseball’s most closely watched bullpen stories. View the full article

Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray are locks to toe the rubber in the first two games of the Boston Red Sox's season, barring injury or a subsequent addition. And, barring a trade involving Brayan Bello, the young right-hander should be a shoo-in to handle the final game of the opening series against the Cincinnati Reds. That's three of the five spots in Alex Cora's starting rotation accounted for, and if you're like me and a strong believer in the Red Sox's faith in Johan Oviedo after dealing Jhostynxon Garcia (and more) for the hulking starter, you're just about ready to hand him the fourth spot. With the amount of depth the front office has accumulated over the past few years, that should create a fierce competition for the No. 5 starter gig in spring training. I've already gone on the record to suggest that Kutter Crawford is my personal pick as the most-likely candidate to emerge victorious in that competition, at least for the first few months of the season. What he lacks in upside he makes up for in pitch-ability and durability, so long as he can overcome the wrist and knee injuries that held him out from participating in the 2025 campaign. Even if he doesn't strike your fancy, though, there's no shortage of options to choose from. Patrick Sandoval, who also missed all of last year with an elbow injury, brings a career 4.01 ERA and deep six-pitch arsenal to the mix. Connelly Early was impressive enough in his first big-league cup of coffee that he earned the nod in Game 3 of the Wild Card Round. Kyle Harrison, a fellow southpaw who arrived via the ill-advised Rafael Devers trade, has top-prospect pedigree and flashed in his limited exposure in Boston last year. Prospects David Sandlin and Tyler Uberstine are both knocking on the major-league door and already own places on the 40-man roster. That's a ridiculous amount of depth, which is a testament to what Craig Breslow and company have been building. You'll notice, though, that I didn't include Payton Tolle among that loaded crop of contenders, despite the fact that he made his MLB debut at the end of last season and flashed his immense upside in a few impressive appearances. The reason for that is simply: Tolle isn't ready to handle a full-time role in the big-league rotation yet. Now, that's not meant to be a slight against the 23-year-old southpaw. What he brings to the table — a 6'6" frame, elite extension, and a high-90s fastball — can't be taught. There's a reason he was fast-tracked from High-A to MLB in his first professional season, but that also means that he's thrown all of 58 1/3 innings above A-ball in his career. His four-seamer was simply too dominant for minor-league batters to stand a chance, but against the best of the best, one pitch won't cut it as a starter. Let's start there, then. His fastball is great, and the raw numbers (96.7 mph average velocity, 28.3% whiff rate, 23.3% put-away rate) are tantalizing. But he also used the pitch 64% of the time in his brief major-league stint, hence why hitters were still able to tag it for a .565 slugging percentage and .402 wOBA despite its elite shape and relatively solid command up in the zone. That's the product of a five-pitch arsenal that featured no other pitch more than 13% of the time. His cutter and slider both hold very similar shapes and movement profiles, and his changeup is disastrously flat. Tolle only mustered the courage to throw that latter pitch 21 times in the big leagues (all against righties), and it was hammered to the tune of a .711 wOBA. When your primary off-speed offering to opposite-handed batters gets hit that hard and has a pitch map that looks like this, you're going to run into serious trouble. *Chart courtesy of Baseball Savant This is simply the case of a very talented pitcher needing more seasoning; had the Red Sox not promoted Tolle so aggressively in 2025, he wouldn't even be a part of this discussion right now. A second offering against both righties and lefties are works in progress, as is the young lefty learning how to pitch around his fastball. There are a lot of nuances to being a pitcher that Tolle will only learn through experience — better to let him get those reps against Triple-A batters rather than in games that actually matter. With the proper amount of time to develop his other offerings and feel for the course of navigating a lineup multiple times, the young southpaw should eventually emerge as the frontline pitcher so many of us were dreaming about during his MLB debut. But patience is needed here; rushing Tolle any further only stands to damage his long-term upside. View the full article

The case of Edward Cabrera was, for a while, one of unrealized talent. Cabrera epitomized the "if he could just put it all together" player archetype. He posted a 4.32 ERA through his first four big league seasons with an average of just 73.5 innings pitched, which set up last year's age-27 season to be one of the make-or-break variety. Fortunately, for both Cabrera and the Marlins, the pieces began to fall into place. He shone in a career-high 26 starts and 137 ⅔ innings pitched, finishing with a 3.53 ERA. He was the most impactful arm in their rotation. The Marlins capitalized on that breakout by consummating a trade on Wednesday with the Chicago Cubs to send the hard-throwing right-hander to the North Side. The Marlins received a package of three players, headlined by outfielder Owen Caissie, who was arguably the Cubs' top prospect. Infielders Cristian Hernández and Edgardo De Leon rounded out the return. What will trading Cabrera mean for the rest of the Marlins' offseason? Which outfielder becomes expendable? After cashing in such a valuable trade chip to acquire Caissie, the assumption is that the Marlins envision him being the long-term answer in one of the two corner outfield spots. With Stowers occupying the opposite corner and Jakob Marsee in between them, there's now a surplus of viable outfielders. Heriberto Hernández, a minor league signing before last season, impressed with a 116 OPS+ across 294 plate appearances. Platooning with the aforementioned trio to various extents seems to be the plan. Fellow right-handed bat Esteury Ruiz was just acquired last week. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix described Ruiz as a "really helpful, complementary piece," but his inconsistent track record could leave him on the outside looking in should Caissie break camp with the club. Then, there's the Griffin Conine of it all. Sporting a modest .755 OPS in the majors and flashing plus defense at left and right in a limited 54-game sample, Conine presented a compelling case for regular playing time in 2026. Manager Clayton McCullough previously shared that the Marlins want to evaluate him at first base during spring training. But if that transition isn't a smooth one, where would the 28-year-old fit in moving forward? Meanwhile, Victor Mesa Jr. has no clear path to playing time. Mesa was arguably the top outfielder in the Marlins farm system when Bendix arrived. Now, he's buried on the depth chart with only one minor league option remaining. Will the team add a veteran starter? The trading of Cabrera leaves a vacancy in the Marlins rotation. Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez and Ryan Weathers are certain to open the season with starting jobs (health permitting). Janson Junk made a compelling case to retain his spot, though his track record prior to 2025 was spotty, to say the least. We haven't seen an effective outing from Max Meyer since Memorial Day. While the Marlins also have Braxton Garrett on the mend from elbow surgery and an underrated farm system, the free agent market presents them with potential Cabrera replacements. Nick Martinez, Chris Bassitt and Zac Gallen are among the unsigned options. The Marlins, too, could replace Cabrera's mind-bending changeup with another if they were to add, say, Lucas Giolito. Shoveling a similar workload as Cabrera in his 145 innings pitched, Giolito finished with a 3.41 ERA across his 26 starts. Should owner Bruce Sherman insist on fiscal conservatism, their second-ranked pitching prospect, Robby Snelling boasted a dazzling 2.51 ERA across 136 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. His arrival at the major league level need not be delayed any further if the Marlins believe his much-improved fastball quality can be sustained in 2026. What happens with Connor Norby? In 36 games to end 2024, Connor Norby hit .247/.315/.445/.760, with signs that this was just the beginning on a long tenure in Miami. The subsequent year was a frustrating one, as Norby dealt with oblique and quad strains, and a broken hamate bone. Even when he was healthy, Norby looked largely overmatched, posting a .689 OPS while also being unable to bolster the reputation regarding his defense at third base. Last month, we opined that Norby's skillset would be best suited in the outfield, but the addition of Caissie complicates that. Do the Marlins give him another chance to get acclimated at third? A down year in 2026 would leave him with marginal value. The club could go in several different directions with the 25-year-old and they'd all be justifiable. View the full article

Less than 24 hours after the Edward Cabrera trade was announced, Ely Sussman, Alex Carver, Isaac Azout, Kevin Barral and Sean McCormack discuss the timing of the deal and the three-player package that the Miami Marlins received in return. They also cover the club's negotiations with arbitration-eligible players in advance of Thursday's salary figure exchange deadline (all of them reached settlements except for Calvin Faucher) and the end of Miami's partnership with FanDuel Sports Network Florida. You can find Fish On First LIVE on the Fish On First YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you get your pods. Our audio programming also includes The Offishial Show, Fish Unfiltered, Swimming Upstream and more. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix elaborated on each of the players involved in the Cabrera deal during a virtual media availability. Anthony Bender ($2.81M salary), Braxton Garrett ($1.53M), Ryan Weathers ($1.35M), Max Meyer and Andrew Nardi each reached settlements with the Marlins on one-year deals, avoiding arbitration. After filing at $2.05M and $1.8M, respectively, Faucher is expected to take the club to a hearing, where an independent panel will determine his salary for the 2026 season. The nine MLB teams who still had affiliations with Main Street Sports Group have terminated those contracts. The most likely outcome for the Marlins is utilizing the league's in-house production and distribution system moving forward, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Follow Ely (@RealEly), Alex (@marlinsminors), Isaac (@IsaacAzout), Kevin (@kevin_barral), Sean (@heeysean8) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Join the Marlins Discord server! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. View the full article

The Royals' future with FanDuel Sports Network is in doubt for the 2026 season. On Thursday, Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported that Kansas City and eight other teams (Braves, Tigers, Reds, Angels, Marlins, Brewers, Rays, and Cardinals) terminated their agreements with Main Street Sports Group, the parent company of FanDuel Sports Network. Main Street Sports Group had been in a questionable financial position for a while, as many teams reported missing scheduled payments. The parent company of the Fanduel Sports Network hoped that a deal with DAZN, a London-based sports streaming network, would solve its financial issues. Unfortunately, Main Street and DAZN were reportedly unable to reach an agreement, according to Tom Friend of The Sports Business Journal. Here's what Friend said in his article regarding the DAZN and Main Street negotiations. Friend reported that Fubo may be in negotiations to acquire Main Street, but it's hard to tell how far along and legitimate those talks are. According to the SBJ report, some sources have denied Fubo's involvement with Main Street, and Fubo spokespeople have denied comment. A deal for Main Street is needed for Fanduel Sports Network to remain operational after the conclusion of the NBA and NHL seasons. However, without such a deal, it's likely that Main Street would declare bankruptcy. Thus, it makes sense that the Royals and eight other clubs would decide to terminate their deal now to figure out a broadcasting plan by Spring Training. Clubs can renegotiate with Main Street if the media company's situation changes. That said, if nothing comes to fruition on Main Street's end, then it's possible that the nine teams could give their broadcast rights to Major League Baseball. Currently, MLB owns and distributes the broadcast rights for the Padres, Rockies, Guardians, Twins, Diamondbacks, and Mariners. Local fans of those teams can watch their club via a team-specific MLB.TV subscription. Whether the Royals will do that or go with another broadcasting option is yet to be determined. Photo Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images View the full article

There is nothing like arbitration day to get you thinking that spring training is just around the corner. Thursday marked the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to come to terms on a contract for 2026. The San Diego Padres reached deals with all seven arbitration-eligible players, meaning they won't have any hearings this year. In fact, the Friars, under president of baseball operations A.J. Preller, have not had an arbitration hearing since 2014. The seven players are right-handed reliever Jason Adam, first baseman-outfielder Gavin Sheets, left-handed starter JP Sears, closer Mason Miller, catcher Luis Campusano, reliever Adrian Morejon, and catcher Freddy Fermin. All of the projected salaries below come via MLB Trade Rumors. For more on how other teams did, check out this MLBTR page. Four players reached new deals, although there was no report of their contract figures. Adam, who made $4.8 million last year, was projected to make $6.8 million in 2026, his final year of team control. Sears made $770,000 in 2025 and was projected to get a raise of up to $3.5 million in his first year of arbitration. Miller was paid $775,000 last year and was projected to make $3.4 million. Fermin earned $781,750 in 2025 and was projected to go up to $1.8 million in his first year in arbitration. Sheets will earn $4.5 million in 2026 after being projected to make $4.3 million. The first baseman-outfielder made $1.6 million in 2025 and has one more year of arbitration left before becoming a free agent. In his first year with the Friars, Sheets had a .252/.317/.429 slash line with career highs of 19 homers and 71 RBIs. Sheets signed just before last year's spring training after being nontendered by the Chicago White Sox, who had a historically awful 2024. Morejon is set to make $3.9 million in 2026 after being projected to make $3.6 million. He made $2 million in 2025 and is set to become a free agent after this season. A very valuable left-handed reliever, Morejon had the best of his seven seasons with the Friars in 2025. Morejon had a career-best 2.28 FIP in a career-high 75 games. He has been a key element of the Padres' bullpen the past two seasons. Campusano reached a deal to be paid $900,000 for 2026 at the nontender deadline in November after being projected for $1 million. That is a slight reduction in his 2025 salary of $1 million. Campusano enters 2026 as the Padres' backup catcher after spending most of 2025 at Triple-A El Paso. He only played in 10 MLB games. Once thought to be the Padres' catcher of the future, Campusano has fallen out of favor due to defensive shortcomings and an inconsistent bat. View the full article

The Twins continued their arbitration housekeeping on Thursday by reaching an agreement with Bailey Ober, avoiding a hearing and keeping one of their longest tenured starters in the fold for the 2026 season. According to KSTP’s Darren Wolfson, Minnesota and Ober settled on a $5.2 million deal that covers the upcoming season. Ober remains under team control through 2027, meaning he will be arbitration eligible one more time before potentially reaching free agency. MLB Trade Rumors projected Ober to earn $4.6 million, so the right-hander came out ahead in the process, earning a notable raise despite a down year. That dip in production was real. Ober endured the toughest season of his big league career in 2025, never quite getting right after dealing with a lingering hip injury. Even with time off, the issue persisted, and Ober ultimately tried to pitch through it. The results reflected that struggle. His fastball velocity dipped, his margin for error shrank, and hitters punished more mistakes than they had in previous seasons. Over 146 1/3 innings, Ober posted a 5.10 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP, numbers that looked jarring compared to his typically steady profile. Home runs were a significant problem (1.8 HR/9), and the lack of velocity made his trademark command-based approach far less effective. Still, the Twins clearly believe there is enough of a track record to justify the investment, as his second year of arbitration eligibility brings a $1.65 million raise and a continued spot in the rotation. Assuming health, Ober remains a key part of Minnesota’s pitching plans. The rotation is expected to be anchored by Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan, with Ober firmly in that next tier if he looks anything like his pre-2025 self. His ability to eat innings, limit walks, and deliver reliable starts has been invaluable when he is right. That said, the margin for error is thinner than it once was. Behind the projected top three sits a wave of young arms eager to make their mark. Simeon Woods Richardson showed he belongs. Zebby Matthews is knocking on the door. Mick Abel, Taj Bradley, and David Festa all bring varying degrees of upside and urgency. The competition is real, and it is not going away. Even deeper down the pipeline, help could arrive by midseason. Kendry Rojas continues to develop into an intriguing option. Marco Raya and Connor Prielipp have the stuff to force the issue if they aren’t moved to bullpen roles. Andrew Morris has quietly put himself on the radar as well. Minnesota’s organizational pitching depth means performance will matter more than pedigree. For Ober, the path forward is straightforward. He must show that the hip injury is behind him and that his velocity and command have returned. If he does, the Twins have a mid-rotation starter on a reasonable salary who can stabilize things behind Lopez and Ryan. If not, the pressure from below will only intensify. Thursday’s agreement is a vote of confidence, but it is not unconditional. The Twins avoided arbitration and secured cost certainty, while Ober earned a raise and another opportunity to prove that 2025 was the exception, not the new rule. How he responds will go a long way in shaping Minnesota’s rotation not just in 2026, but beyond. View the full article

The Minnesota Twins checked off another vital offseason box by avoiding arbitration with Ryan Jeffers. According to KSTP’s Darren Wolfson, the two sides agreed to a one-year deal worth $6.7 million, covering Jeffers’ final season of arbitration eligibility. The number landed almost exactly where industry expectations pointed. MLB Trade Rumors projected Jeffers to earn $6.6 million. With free agency now looming next winter, both sides secured cost certainty while keeping flexibility for what comes next. That flexibility matters because Jeffers’ name continues to surface in trade speculation. Rumors have linked the Philadelphia Phillies to the Twins catcher if they are unable to come to terms with longtime backstop J.T. Realmuto. Minnesota could theoretically hold Jeffers into the regular season and revisit trade discussions closer to the trade deadline. Still, most teams prefer stability at catcher from the first day of spring training. Catchers need time to build trust with a pitching staff, and that reality often pushes deals earlier rather than later. While Jeffers is not Realmuto, the gap between the two is smaller than it might appear at first glance. During the 2025 season, Jeffers slashed .266/.356/.397, adding nine home runs and 47 RBI across 119 games. Realmuto produced a .257/.315 /.384 line, along with 12 home runs and 52 RBI in 134 games. The larger body of work still favors Realmuto, who owns a .270/.328/.447 career line over 1,373 games, while Jeffers sits at .239/.321/.419 through 515 contests. Even so, Jeffers has quietly grown into a better-than-average offensive catcher, especially over the last three seasons. Minnesota has leaned on a tandem behind the plate in recent years, splitting time between Jeffers and Christian Vazquez, who is now a free agent. The Twins have indicated that Jeffers will see more regular work moving forward, though few catchers reach 120 games caught in a season. Depth remains a concern. Alex Jackson and Jhonny Pereda currently profile as the next options, leaving the organization thin at the position with no clear answers knocking on the door in the upper minors. For now, the arbitration agreement keeps things simple. Jeffers remains the Twins’ top catcher, the payroll stays predictable, and the front office retains options. Whether Jeffers spends all of 2026 in a Twins uniform or becomes a trade chip later on, Minnesota has positioned itself well. Avoiding arbitration was not just about dollars and cents. It was about buying time, and in this case, time may prove to be the most valuable asset of all. View the full article

On Thursday, the Kansas City Royals announced on social media that they had come to an agreement with six of their remaining arbitration-eligible players. According to Roster Resource payroll data, the following Royals players agreed to the listed salary amounts for the 2026 season. All agreed to one-year deals. Kyle Isbel: $2.7 million. Bailey Falter: $3.6 million. John Schreiber: $3.715 million. Nick Mears: $1.9 million Michael Massey: $1.57 million. Daniel Lynch IV: $1.025 million. The inclusion of these six puts the Royals' estimated payroll at $150 million for the 2026 season. That is $12 million higher than their final 2025 payroll. That said, it's likely that the payroll amount will get even higher, especially with pitcher Kris Bubic and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino remaining without an agreement. Unless an announcement is made soon, it is likely that both players will head to arbitration. Maddie Landis of TalkSox and DiamondCentric wrote a pretty comprehensive review today of what arbitration means and how the process unfolds in Major League Baseball. Here is a key bit from Landis' article that outlines the next steps Bubic and Pasquantino will take with the Royals if no agreement is announced. MLB Trade Rumors made arbitration predictions in the offseason, expecting Bubic to command $6 million and Pasquantino to get $5.4 million. Both had solid seasons, but certainly had some issues that could explain why the Royals have balked at the players' initial asking prices. Bubic posted a 2.55 ERA, accumulated a 3.3 fWAR, and made his first All-Star team in 2025. However, he only pitched 116.1 IP and missed most of the second half due to a shoulder issue. Bubic will also be a free agent after the upcoming season, and he's been mentioned in numerous trade talks, suggesting he may not be in Kansas City's long-term plans. As for Pasquantino, he led the Royals with 32 home runs and 113 RBI. Conversely, he posted only 1.5 fWAR last year due to lackluster baserunning and defense at first base. For context, Isbel's fWAR was only 0.4 lower than Pasquantino's, and he's making half of Pasquantino's estimated amount. The last time the Royals had an arbitration hearing with a player was in 2023, when they prevailed against Brady Singer. The former Florida Gator had a letdown year after the hearing, going from a 3.23 ERA and 3.0 fWAR in 153.1 IP in 2022 (pre-hearing) to a 5.52 ERA and 1.9 fWAR in 159.2 IP in 2023 (post-hearing). Hopefully, a deal can be reached soon with Bubic and Pasquantino to avoid hearings, which can often be messy and affect long-term relationships with players. View the full article

It's time for the Brewers to decide whether they can and should extend William Contreras, and over the next two months, that will be the biggest drama around the team. That became clearer Thursday, as the team agreed to deals with five players to avoid arbitration, leaving just one of their seven arbitration-eligible players without a contract for 2026 and seemingly en route to an arbitration hearing: Contreras. As they always do, the Brewers made out well in the nickel-and-dime game of securing deals with arbitration-eligible players without overspending. They signed Trevor Megill for $4.7 million, which was $500,000 more than MLB Trade Rumors projected him to earn at the outset of the offseason. That came after they'd paid Jake Bauers $2.7 million in November, topping his projection by $700,000. When they got Brice Turang done for $4.15 million, however, they saved $250,000, and Andrew Vaughn's $7.65 million saves them $150,000. Garrett Mitchell came in at $950,000, which was almost exactly the $1 million projected for him. The real savings, however, come when one weighs and measures the Nick Mears-for-Ángel Zerpa trade. Mears had been projected to sign for $1.6 million, but the Crew got Zerpa to agree to a deal worth $1.095 million. MLB Trade Rumors had projected Zerpa to earn more than Mears, but Mears ended up with the $1.9 million Zerpa was projected to get. The team saved at least $500,000 in that transaction, gained the optionality of being able to send Zerpa to the minors if they so choose, and believe they upgraded that spot on the bullpen depth chart, anyway. All told, the team will pay about $250,000 more for their arbitration class than was expected, not counting Contreras, but that's good work when you consider that they had to buy a closer with a high saves total out of a possible hearing and will get at least 1,500 plate appearances from the position players they've already signed. Every penny counts right now, as the team terminated its contract with FanDuel Sports Network and might end up having MLB produce and distribute its broadcasts sooner than expected. They've done well to keep costs down with this group, so far. Obviously, though, everything hinges on Contreras. Now two years from free agency, he's in line for an eight-figure payday in 2026 and will make at least $25 million before the end of 2027. By not agreeing to a deal before the deadline Thursday, the Brewers moved a step closer to an arbitration hearing with him, which would in and of itself be a significant step toward eventually trading him or losing him via free agency. That was already a looming decision, though. This scrap of news merely brings it to the surface. Waiting to see whether Jeferson Quero can be the catcher of the future is a viable option, but it comes loaded with risk. If he proves not to be the backstop the team hopes he can be, on this side of a major injury, they'll be left in scramble mode, with Contreras having all the leverage in negotiations over a potential extension next winter. Such a deal would end up being a market-rate, massive contract, and is probably beyond the Brewers' means. If they want to keep Contreras around beyond 2027, the Brewers probably need to sign him now. Thus, Thursday began a high-stakes staring contest. Either the sides will agree on a long-term deal, or Contreras is likely to end up on the trade block next winter. Which way they intend to go on that front could even influence the decision about whether to trade Freddy Peralta, so the clock is ticking on multiple major organizational decisions at once. View the full article

In his review of the 2005 film “Elizabethtown,” film critic Nathan Rabin coined the phrase “Manic Pixie Dream Girl,” a term that has since become common in contemporary society to identify a stock character type in fiction novels and films. For those out of the loop, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl is usually a young woman with eccentric, often quirky personality traits who serves as the romantic interest of the straight male protagonist. Well-known adaptations include Zooey Deschanel’s character in “500 Days of Summer,” Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," and almost every female character in a John Green novel (don’t get me wrong, I love Looking for Alaska, but the point still stands). Rooted in misogyny, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype is harmful and destructive, creating the false narrative that straight men will always be the primary protagonists in stories and that women are nothing but supporting characters whose value resides in how different they are from other straight women. Interestingly, a similar (albeit less destructive) archetype exists amid the baseball sphere: the “Manic Pixie Right-Handed Hitting Corner Bat.” Did I just make that term up? Yes. However, the oft-desired archetype of a right-handed-hitting veteran who hits left-handed pitching well and plays a corner infield or corner outfield spot has long been sought by baseball fans and pundits alike, particularly those in Twins Territory. Veteran players like Randal Grichuk, Tommy Pham, and Austin Hays have taken turns as the platonic ideal form of the Manic Pixie Right-Handed Hitting Corner Bat. Yet, the Twins front office has never taken the initiative to acquire them. Shame! Instead, the Ivy League-educated bunch exclusively peruses the bargain bin, taking fliers on underachieving, league minimum-earning players of that mold. Recent examples include the club acquiring Jordan Luplow almost immediately after the 2023 MLB trade deadline. In theory, Luplow was acquired to fill the Manic Pixie Right-Handed Hitting Corner Bat role for the contending club. Instead, the then-29-year-old generated a measly 87 wRC+ over 73 plate appearances with Minnesota, hitting only eight percentage points better than average against left-handed pitching. Jonah Bride was acquired to fulfill the role last season. However, the right-handed veteran struggled mightily with the Twins, generating a well below-average 39 wRC+ over 67 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers. Luplow and Bride could serve as cautionary tales for front offices, advising them to avoid giving meaningful plate appearances to struggling players ostracized by other organizations. Yet, Minnesota does have a recent success story of providing significant opportunities to a player of that ilk: Kyle Garlick. Claimed off waivers from Atlanta in February 2021, Garlick performed well for Minnesota during the 2021 and 2022 regular seasons, generating a combined 102 wRC+ over 269 plate appearances. As advertised, Garlick mashed left-handed pitching, posting a 133 wRC+ over 63 plate appearances against lefties in 2021 and a 127 wRC+ over 82 plate appearances against them in 2022. The former Twin quickly fell from grace in 2023, with an uninspiring 74 wRC+ before being designated for assignment in late June. Still, Minnesota got considerable value from a MaPiRiCoBa for two consecutive seasons, constituting a noteworthy success story. Three years later, Minnesota could have its next productive, league minimum-earning, right-handed hitting corner bat in Eric Wagaman. Acquired from the Miami Marlins for minor-league reliever Kade Bragg on Jan. 2, Wagaman joins the Twins' 40-man roster, expected to compete with Edouard Julien and Orlando Arcia for the club’s final infield utility bench spot. Since Wagaman has three minor-league options remaining, the 28-year-old could justifiably begin his 2026 campaign with Triple-A St. Paul. Yet, given how thin Minnesota’s infield corner infield depth is, those who follow the club should expect to see Wagaman don a Twins jersey early next season. Hitting .250/.296/.378 with nine home runs, 28 doubles, and an 85 wRC+ over 514 plate appearances last season, the righty also sported defensive versatility, playing 117 games at first base, 19 in left field, three at third base, and three in right field, while netting 10 starts at designated hitter. He was serviceable at all four positions. Like Garlick, however, most of his value resided in his ability to hit left-handed pitching, to the tune of a 114 wRC+ over 184 plate appearances. The former Marlin struggled against same-handed pitching, with a 69 wRC+ over 330 plate appearances. However, given that Minnesota has an abundance of left-handed hitting corner outfield and infield talent, the club should be able to shield Wagaman from same-handed pitching. They could deploy him similarly to how they used Garlick in 2021 and 2022, maximizing his offensive skillset and positional flexibility. Despite falling under the inherently derogatory “bargain bin” category of acquisition, Wagaman could provide meaningful value for Minnesota in 2026, making him the club’s first successful version of a Manic Pixie Right-Handed Hitting Corner Bat since Garlick four seasons ago. View the full article

Essentially, Jameson Taillon throws two different curveballs. He rarely uses one of them—the slanting, two-plane breaker that twists away from right-handed batters—and leans much more on the other, but there really are two different pitches. The hook he throws to righties is just a rare variant on his much more common sweeper, to force hitters to look for something else. The one he throws to lefties is more vertical, and he throws it to the other side of the plate. Jameson Taillon Curveballs Split Velocity (MPH) Hor. Mvmt. (in.) Vert. Mvmt. (in.) Spin Rate (RPM) Spin Axis Arm Angle (Deg.) v. RHH 79.2 11.8 -6.9 2691 7:37 48.5 v. LHH 79.7 9.2 -9.5 2573 7:21 49.3 Taillon's curveball is his main breaking ball to lefties. He throws his four-seamer to the upper, outer quadrant of the zone against them, and his new kick-change and that curve play off that pitch. The changeup fades to the edge of the plate, or off of it. The curve dives to the bottom of the zone, after looking like a ball out of the hand. It's meant to lock up lefties and earn called strikes, and it did that job quite well in 2025. Taillon, though, just got pushed down to fifth in a healthy Cubs rotation for 2026. If everyone is going well, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga will be ahead of Taillon in the pecking order, and if and when Justin Steele returns, only other absences will save Taillon a place in the rotation. Why, then, am I telling you about Taillon's curve and its peculiarities? Here's the first part of the reason: This is the number of times each right-handed pitcher threw a curveball for a called strike to a left-handed batter in each season from 2023-25, charted against the percentage of all their curveballs to lefties that had that result. In other words, among righthanders who throw the curveball reasonably often against lefties, how often are they not only landing it in the zone, but freezing a batter for a strike with it? This is one of the two main ways that a curveball works. Some curves are designed to get chases on pitches outside the zone, and to miss bats when the hitter swings. Others, though, are meant to steal strikes without even letting the batter get the lumber off their shoulder. Bigger-breaking curves can be easier to spot out of the hand for opponents, but if done correctly, that can prompt them to take the pitch, because they were primed for a fastball or aren't able to adjust their timing well enough to get off a good swing on the much slower pitch. That hasn't always been Taillon, but as part of his constellation of adjustments in 2025, he got much better at it. As you can see, he was fairly middling in this regard in 2023, and in 2024, he dipped down into the neighborhood of Ben Brown, a classic chase-and-miss curveball guy who doesn't get called strikes with that pitch often at all. Last season, though, he shot up the list. Because they overlapped perfectly, I had to highlight Aaron Civale's 2024 instead of Taillon, but that same dot belongs to Taillon's 2025. He got there, in part, by observing and making some tweaks to mirror the changes Colin Rea made and the way he executed his curve to lefties. Rea is very much a change-of-pace, called-strike curveball guy. That's how he uses the pitch, and why the Cubs were excited about changing Rea's pitch mix to feature the four-seam fastball instead of his sinker. All else equal, the Cubs love a backdoor curveball artist. They want that guy who drops it into the zone in ways the opponent isn't ready for at all. That brings me to the second reason why I brought this up, in the first place. I removed the highlight on Civale's 2024, because it would have made the one for Cabrera harder to read. I also didn't highlight his 2023, because it's right next to that Civale/Taillon dot and would have left a muddle of text, too. The point is still plenty clear: Cabrera has always been this kind of curveball guy. Rather than a pitch designed to rack up whiffs, Cabrera's curve to lefties steals strikes with huge movement. It also misses bats at a dazzling rate (over 45% of swings against it last year), but he goes to that big, freeze-up curve often. This is a gorgeous match between team and new pitcher. Cabrera is, in some other ways, a bit of a push against the grain for the Cubs. They don't normally pay handsomely for velocity and strikeout rate, as they've done here. They normally prize durability, but are rolling the dice on a guy with a long injury history. This illuminates, a bit, why they made this change of tack. Cabrera might not look like a typical Cubs starter on the surface, but in small and important ways, he is one. His breaking stuff also includes a good slider, but the curve is the featured piece, and it fits into the team's preferred plan for curves (especially to opposite-handed batters) perfectly. View the full article

On Thursday, Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix met with the media for about 15 minutes to discuss the moves his team has made up to this point in the offseason. Understandably, most of the questions concerned Wednesday's trade that sent Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs. "I think we're getting somebody who hits the ball very hard and hits for a lot of power—that's a hard thing to find," Bendix said via Zoom regarding the centerpiece of the trade return, Owen Caissie. "It's a hard thing to find in any area. It's usually very expensive to acquire and I think every good team needs power. With him, we're getting someone who has shown the ability to make adjustments as he's gotten older and as he's faced better pitching. He's still very young and has room for improvement offensively and defensively, but his performance to date in his career has been exceptional." Caissie slashed .286/.386/.551/.937 with 22 home runs, 55 RBI and a 139 wRC+ through 99 Triple-A games last season. As a left-handed-hitting corner outfielder, Caissie's similarities to 2025 Marlins All-Star are "pretty easy to see," Bendix admitted. "To have somebody who's on that career trajectory much earlier in their career, who crushed Triple-A pitching at a much younger age, that's really exciting," said Bendix. "It doesn't guarantee anything and doesn't mean that he's necessarily going to step in right away and hit 40 home runs or anything like that. There's certainly risk there, but it is unusual to have a player like Caissie, at his age, perform the way that he did at a high level, and that makes us really excited." Bendix also told the media that Caissie will still go to the World Baseball Classic, which takes place during spring training in March. He previously represented his native country at the 2023 WBC. "I think that's going to be a great experience for him," said Bendix. "I think the more high-level competition he and all of our young guys can get, the better it is for them and for us." Caissie will compete alongside one of his new Marlins teammates in shortstop Otto López. Canada is part of Pool A, which takes place in Puerto Rico. Along with Caissie, the Marlins acquired shortstop prospect Cristian Hernández and Edgardo De Leon, an 18-year-old infield prospect. Hernández, who spent last season in High-A, slashed .252/.329/.365/.694 with seven home runs, 53 RBI, 52 stolen bases and a 99 wRC+. He played 95 games at shortstop, where it seems like he has a chance to stick long term. In 2025, De Leon made the jump from the Dominican Summer League to the Arizona Complex League. In 43 games, he slashed .276/.353/.500/.853 with five home runs, 15 RBI and a 118 wRC+. "I think Cristian Hernández is tooled up, does a lot of things well. Certainly has a lot of things he needs to improve, but he's very young and has a lot of ingredients in place," Bendix said. "Edgardo De Leon, he's even younger and has further to go, but the power that he has shown, the exit velocities that he has shown, the aptitude that he has shown, is really exciting for an 18-year-old. When we were able to get a package of these three players that we think can help us this year and beyond, that ended up being what got us over the line." Cabrera had been the subject of trade rumors throughout the past couple of years. Last offseason, it seemed as if the Pittsburgh Pirates were a potential landing spot, then leading up to the 2025 MLB trade deadline, the Cubs and New York Yankees were among the clubs interested in the right-handed starter. During the Winter Meetings, it was reported that the Marlins and Baltimore Orioles were in discussions for Cabrera. Last Sunday, the Yankees reportedly re-emerged as a serious suitor. In 2025, Cabrera broke out, posting a 3.53 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 9.81 K/9 and 3.14 BB/9 in a career-high 137 ⅔ innings pitched. That marked the first time in his career surpassing the 100-inning threshold. Even then, the injury-prone 27-year-old landed on the IL twice, most notably towards the end of the season with a right elbow sprain, but still made two starts to finish the season. "There's risk with every player in baseball," Bendix said. "There's risk with Edward Cabrera. There's risk with just about anybody. There's no such thing as certainty. I think what we try to do is we try to get players who do things well and also have areas of improvement that we think we can help. That gets to the idea of developing players at all levels, including at the major league level." A source did tell Fish On First that although the Marlins feel comfortable with their current starting pitching options, they still may go out and sign an experienced pitcher who can eat innings, similar to the signing of Cal Quantrill last season. Bendix also did not rule out the possibility of a top prospect like Thomas White or Robby Snelling winning a rotation job out of camp. "I think there’s an opportunity there," said Bendix. "There’s competition there, there’s open space there, and there’s a chance for a lot of guys to step up and earn a spot. There’s nothing we’re writing off at this point." Prior to trading away Cabrera, the Marlins signed right-handed reliever Pete Fairbanks to a one-year deal worth $13M. Fairbanks, who Bendix knows well from this days with the Tampa Bay Rays, posted a 2.83 ERA, 3.63 ERA, 8.80 K/9, 2.69 BB/9 and a career best 27 saves in a career-high 60 ⅓ innings pitched. "I really like him, respect him as a person, and I think he's an excellent pitcher," said Bendix. "I think that there's more upside, even than what he's shown recently. He added a new cutter that has a chance to be really good. I think he's better understanding himself, his body, how to execute his pitches, and really to be a team leader. He's going to step into a situation where he's the veteran, he's the guy in the bullpen, and I trust in him to be able to execute that leadership as well as execute his pitches." The final acquisition which was touched on very quickly was the one of Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Esteury Ruiz, who the Marlins acquired in exchange for minor league pitcher Adriano Marrero. In 2025, Ruiz was primarily in AAA, where he slashed .304/.412/.511/.923 with 16 home runs, 61 RBI, 63 stolen bases and a 137 wRC+. During his MLB career, however, Ruiz's career slash line is only .241/.296/.343/.639 with eight homers in 197 games. "We think (Ruiz) is a really helpful, complementary piece, who's got upside beyond that," said Bendix. "He's one of the fastest guys in baseball, an elite base-stealing threat and made some real adjustments to his offensive game that we think are going to pay off huge dividends. We think he needs an opportunity to play and we can help him get a little bit more out of his game. It's the type of skills that are truly elite at the top of the scale that are hard to find and it's somebody who is still young and still improving and really fits our roster really well, too." "I think we're executing on our plan of building a club that we think can be really exciting in 2026 and also continuing on this plan to make our franchise competitive every single year for the foreseeable future," Bendix said. "I think we added a lot of really interesting talent and it's going to be fun to see how some of these competitions play out in spring training." Thursday also marks the deadline to exchange salary figures with arbitration-eligible players. With Cabrera now gone, the Marlins have six players (all pitchers) who they are attempting to reach settlements with. View the full article

The Minnesota Twins and Royce Lewis avoided arbitration on Thursday, agreeing to a one-year contract for the 2026 season. According to KSTP’s Darren Wolfson, Lewis will earn $2.85 million, slightly below the $3 million projection from MLB Trade Rumors. For a player whose recent seasons have been defined by both brilliance and frustration, the Twins have been hyping him up this winter. No one needs to be reminded what Lewis is capable of. He remembers it. Twins fans certainly remember it. Even his new manager remembers it. At his healthiest, Lewis has been one of the most dynamic, most dangerous, and best players in baseball. He keyed the Twins' run to the postseason with a tremendous second-half surge in 2023, and before a late slump in 2024, he was driving them toward another apparent playoff berth. Few players in the organization have shown that kind of ability to change the direction of a season. Since late 2024, Lewis has searched not only for health but for consistent form at the plate. If he can recapture the magic of his first 100 or so big league games, the entire outlook for the 2026 Twins would change. He slashed .309/.372/.548 (.920) in 58 games in 2023 and was slugging .685 in 23 games before the All-Star break in 2024. When Lewis is right, the lineup looks different. Pitchers approach him differently. Games feel shorter. “I truly believe if I play at the level that I’ve shown before, that I can be one of the best hitters in the league, on any team,” Lewis said. The Twins are likely to run back much of the same roster in 2026. Any real optimism for a rebound rests on the young core producing closer to its ceiling. That group includes Brooks Lee and Matt Wallner, but it starts with Lewis. “This guy has a chance to be a superstar,” said Twins manager Derek Shelton. Lewis’ struggles have come from a complicated mix of factors, with health chief among them. He suffered a hamstring injury in Spring Training in 2025 and now believes he returned too quickly. That decision led to a slow start at the plate, and just as he appeared to be finding his timing again, he aggravated the injury and missed more time. When Lewis finally had an extended stretch of health in the second half of 2025, the consistency still did not fully return. Soon after being hired, Shelton traveled to Texas to visit Lewis. The gesture resonated. “We definitely vibed really well,” Lewis said. “He came out to Texas to see me, and honestly I told him that meant my whole year. I was blown away that he came out to see me. I didn’t realize that I was that important to him and to the organization. I felt like I was starting to lose that kind of feeling, and I just felt like a different vibe at the end of last year, parts of last year, but he definitely corrected that. And we’re still keeping in touch.” Even during an uneven 2025, Lewis showed signs that matter. Defensively, he looked smooth and athletic down the stretch. He began running again, stealing bases and trusting his body. From a physical standpoint, he finally started to resemble the player the Twins envisioned when they drafted him first overall. Now comes the hard part. Staying healthy. Finding rhythm. Letting confidence snowball instead of doubt. None of that is guaranteed. The Twins still believe in Lewis, and 2026 is the most critical season in his young career. View the full article

According to KSTP’s Darren Wolfson, the Twins and Trevor Larnach have agreed to terms on a $4.475 million contract for next season, avoiding an arbitration hearing. MLB Trade Rumors had projected Larnach to earn $4.7 million, so the final number comes in just under expectations and gives the Twins a bit of financial clarity as they continue to shape the roster for 2026. On the surface, avoiding arbitration feels like standard operating procedure. Dig a little deeper, though, and this agreement says more about the Twins’ current roster crunch than it does about a long-term commitment to Larnach. There had been speculation that Minnesota could non-tender the outfielder altogether, mainly because the organization is flush with younger, cheaper alternatives. While $4.475 million is not the most expensive arbitration salary on the roster, it represents roughly five percent of a payroll estimated to land around $100 million in 2026. For this front office, every dollar still matters. Larnach agreeing to terms with the Twins does not mean his future in Minnesota is secure. In fact, the opposite may be true. The Twins now have six left-handed hitting outfielders on the 40-man roster, and that group includes Larnach, Hendry Mendez, James Outman, Alan Roden, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Matt Wallner. That list does not even include top prospect Walker Jenkins, who is waiting in the wings at Triple-A and is very much part of the long-term plan. As things stand, the Twins favor Wallner and Roden for regular roles early in 2026, with Outman serving as the primary backup to Byron Buxton in center field. Rodriguez and Mendez are expected to open the season in the minors, though Rodriguez in particular has the kind of upside that will force the issue if he is healthy and productive. In that context, it is difficult to find a clear path to consistent playing time for Larnach outside of a shared DH role. With a set salary in place for 2026, Larnach becomes easier to move in a trade than he was during the arbitration guessing game. Cost certainty matters to other clubs, especially those trying to fill a corner outfield need without committing to a long-term deal. From a performance standpoint, Larnach’s 2025 season was steady but unspectacular. He set a career high with 142 games played and led the team in that category, but his overall production landed just below league average. A 99 OPS+, a .250/.323/.404 (.727) slash line, 17 home runs, 60 RBI, a 9.3 BB%, and a 21.5 K% added up to a 0.1 bWAR. There is value there, particularly in durability, but it is not the kind of profile that brings back a significant return on its own. The most realistic recent comparison for a potential Larnach deal is the Twins trading Nick Gordon for Steven Okert during spring training in 2024. That type of modest swap feels far more plausible than anything splashy. The challenge will be finding the right partner. Minnesota needs a team that is thin in the corner outfield and deep in bullpen arms, a combination that is not especially common around the league. In the end, the Twins and Larnach avoiding arbitration is less about stability and more about flexibility. Minnesota gets a known cost on a player who still has some appeal, and Larnach gets paid without the uncertainty of a hearing. Whether he spends that season in a Twins uniform is another question entirely. As the outfield picture continues to crowd itself, this agreement feels like one step toward an eventual resolution rather than the final word. View the full article

The San Diego Padres did well to bring Michael King back to the fold on a three-year deal with escalating salaries every time he opts in, but their rotation picture is far from settled. Incumbent ace Nick Pivetta will surely enjoy having a right-hand(ed) man with which to work in 2026, but unless 33-year-old Joe Musgrove can return from his 18-month layoff with practically no rust or dampened impact, the rotation lacks any semblance of upside outside of its top two. That's what makes the Edward Cabrera trade all the more frustrating from the Padres' perspective. The Chicago Cubs surrendered top-50 prospect Owen Caissie, once-revered international bonus baby Cristian Hernandez, and 18-year-old dart throw Edgardo De Leon in order to pick up the Miami Marlins' 27-year-old starter, an electric arm with immense potential. That package is nothing to scoff at — and Cabrera comes with some noticeable red flags — but that's an offer that anyone, including the Friars, could have beaten. The notable thing in that package is that the Marlins clearly valued offensive prospects at all levels of the food chain. That means that the Padres could have held onto top pitching prospects Miguel Mendez and Kash Mayfield while still bringing in a young, controllable starter for the major-league rotation. Caissie is the big name the Cubs sent, and as a major-league ready hitter with middle-of-the-order upside, he represents the one piece the Padres don't have a suitable replacement for. Perhaps that alone took them out of the running for Cabrera, but there's still enough talent in the system to make up for that gap. Some of the shine has come off Ethan Salas (Padres Mission's No. 2 prospect) after he managed to play just 10 games in an injury-marred campaign, but he's a 19-year-old catcher who has already reached Double-A. His offensive upside remains a bit of a question mark, but his defensive upside behind the plate is astronomical, and bats always tend to come around for backstops later on in the development process. As a centerpiece for Cabrera, he may not scratch the Marlins' big-league-ready-bat itch, but there'd still be a few ways to get across the finish line. Perhaps Jake Cronenworth, coming off a season in which he posted a 117 wRC+, would appeal to Miami as a versatile infielder, though the Friars likely would have had to eat a significant portion of the 32-year-old's remaining contract. Tirso Ornelas is a bit of a post-hype sleeper (perhaps making him a perfect analogue for Hernandez in the actual deal that went through), but he's a power-hitting outfielder with years of control remaining. Luis Campusano fits the same definition as a catcher with a likely future home at first base or as a designated hitter. Plus, the Padres have a ton of young players at the lowest levels of the minor leagues (Kale Fountain, Jorge Quintana, etc.) who could have been perfect stand-ins for De Leon. Would you fork over some combination of those players for a 27-year-old with three years of team control remaining via arbitration who generates a ton of ground balls and strikes out more than a quarter of the hitters he faces? Given the Padres' budget constraints and lack of youthful pitchers, I'm not really sure how you'd answer no to that question. Cabrera does come with serious caveats — he's dealt with numerous injuries and has only completed 100 innings once in his career. But his upside only appears on the trade market once in a blue moon; if the Padres were ever going to pick up an affordable starter with frontline stuff, this was probably their best chance. It's understandable that A.J. Preller didn't want to give up the final quality pieces in a farm system that's been ransacked for win-now moves over the last few years. For all we know, Cabrera's injury history was too much of a red flag for San Diego to look past, and they never seriously entertained the thought of making a legitimate offer. But, when a team promises to leave no stone unturned in an offseason defined by monetary and prospect constraints, it's frustrating to see someone else take a measured swing with home run upside. View the full article

If you're a baseball fan, someone can mention a number in a random conversation and you instantly picture a player or two, possibly related to your favorite team. With the calendar flipping to 2026 a few days ago, I thought I would take a look at which players in Milwaukee Brewers history have worn No. 26. Depending on your Brewers fanaticism, you should have been able to come up with a couple—more if you are a true sicko (complimentary). The Brewers have a pretty solid group of players who have donned the number; most of the top 10 players to wear No. 26 had significant roles. Where this challenge became difficult was filling out a lineup, as some positions don't have much of a history of players wearing it. For one spot, I couldn't find anyone who had the number. This list is in no particular order. Aaron Ashby, LHP We might as well start with the current wearer of the number. Ashby was a much-hyped prospect after being a fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft. Originally thought of as a starter, the left-hander has been put in a relief role the last two seasons and excelled. Since returning from the minors in June 2024, Ashby has pitched in 57 games and posted a 2.73 FIP and 176 ERA+. At times this season, it seemed like Ashby was pitching in every game, which demonstrates his ability to bounce back from outing to outing. Ashby is on pace to break the record number of seasons of wearing the number, counting the 2023 season he missed due to left labrum surgery. Jeff Cirillo, 3B For some Brewers fans, Cirillo was the first player they grew to love. Some of that was because when he played for the Crew (1994-99), it was a pretty rough stretch in team history, finishing in fifth place three of those six seasons. Cirillo could hit, and also played pretty good defense at third base. Three times, Cirillo hit better than .320, but he only had modest power, topping out at 15 homers (twice). Languishing on a bad team that was about to move into a new stadium, Cirillo was traded in December 1999 to the Colorado Rockies, along with left-handed starter Scott Karl, in a three-team deal that included the Oakland A's. The Crew received catcher Henry Blanco and right-handers Jamey Wright and Jimmy Haynes. Cirillo currently is the record-holder; he wore No. 26 for six seasons. Manny Parra, LHP Parra came along just as the Brewers were turning the corner. The left-handed starter made his debut in 2007 with nine appearances, including two starts. He joined the rotation in 2008, starting 29 of 32 games and having a 4.16 FIP and 96 ERA+, winning 10 games on the Brewers team that broke the lengthy playoff drought that started after their lone World Series appearance in 1982. However, his first two seasons were wearing No. 43. He switched to No. 26 in 2009. After a rough 2009 in the rotation with a 4.88 FIP and 6.36 ERA, he transitioned into a relief role during the 2010 season, coming out of the bullpen for 26 of his 42 games. He missed the entire 2011 season due to back surgery, with 2012 being his final year with the Crew. Glenn Braggs, LF-RF Like the first three on this list, Braggs was a Brewers draft choice, selected in the second round in 1983. The burly corner outfielder made his big-league debut in 1986, originally as No. 36 but then switching to No. 26. Braggs would be a stalwart in the outfield, flipping between right and left, and put up a .255/.312/.395 slash line before he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in June 1990. Despite his good size (6-foot-3, 210 pounds), Braggs never hit more than 15 homers with the Crew (1989), but did have double-digit steals twice. Damian Miller, C Miller, a Wisconsin native, came to the Crew at the end of his career, signing before the 2005 season as a 35-year-old. He was not only a pretty good catcher, but could still hit a bit. In his three seasons in Milwaukee, Miller had a slash line of .257/.324/.391, not far from his .262/.329/.411 for his 11-year career. Miller only played in 58 games, but had a really cool moment. It was La Crosse Day at the Brewers when the La Crosse-born and former Viterbo College (you guessed it, La Crosse) backstop hit a three-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning. Miller grew up in nearby West Salem, where he went to high school. Kyle Lohse, RHP Like Miller, Lohse came to the Brewers as his career was coming to a close. He signed a three-year, $33-million contract just before Opening Day 2013, one of the first players afflicted by the burden of the qualifying offer. He came over from the St. Louis Cardinals, where he had spent the previous five years and helped eliminate the Brewers in the 2011 NL Championship Series. Lohse proved to be worth the money, particularly the first two seasons. He put up a FIP of 4.08 and 3.95 in 2013 and 2014, respectively, while chewing up nearly 200 innings each year. But 2015 was a struggle, as he posted a 5.14 FIP. That led to him being shifted to the bullpen, as only 22 of his 37 games were starts. Bob Coluccio, CF Coluccio is technically the first Brewers player to wear the number, but not the first in franchise history. In 1969, there were two members of the expansion Seattle Pilots who wore the number before the team moved to Milwaukee just before the 1970 season. The very first one was third baseman Mike Ferraro, who only appeared in five games before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles, who then traded Ferraro back just before Opening Day in 1973 (he then wore 33). Catcher Merritt Ranew wore the number for the rest of the 1969 Pilots season. Coluccio was a 17th-round draft choice of the Pilots in 1969 and made his debut with the Brewers in 1973. He was a good defender who didn't hit much, compiling a .221/.309/.362 slash line. Taylor Jungmann, RHP Jungmann was the first of two top-15 picks the Brewers had in the 2011 draft, taken 12th; left-handed starter Jed Bradley went 15th. (Bradley made six MLB appearances, all in 2016 with Atlanta.) A right-handed starter, Jungmann made it to the majors with the Brewers, with his debut coming in 2015. He had a good rookie season, making 21 starts with a 3.92 FIP and 105 ERA+, including one complete game. In the Opening Day rotation for 2016, Jungmann was roughed up in five April starts, allowing 22 runs in 20⅔ innings, and sent to Triple-A Colorado Springs to right himself. But things only got worse there. He would come back for three late-season appearances. He made one early-season relief appearance the next year before being optioned back to the minors, where he spent the rest of 2017. He was released in January 2018 to pursue an opportunity in Japan. Matt Wise, RHP Wise joined the Brewers for the 2004 season, after being released by the Los Angeles Angels. He only wore No. 26 in his first season, switching to 38 after the Brewers signed Miller before the 2005 season. Wise was a key member of the Crew's bullpen in each of his four seasons. In 175 relief appearances covering 215 innings, Wise put up a 3.91 FIP, good enough for a 112 ERA+. Wise is entering his third season as the bullpen coach for the Chicago White Sox. Dick Davis, LF Davis went wasn't selected in the draft coming out of Compton (Calif.) High School, and signed with the Brewers as an undrafted free agent in 1972. The outfielder worked his way through the minors and had a breakthrough season in 1977, his first with Triple-A Spokane. He put together a .355/.391/.523 slash line in 114 games, earning a July promotion to make his debut. He had two stints with the Brewers that season, compiling a .275/.278/.314 slash line in 22 games. Davis spent the 1978-80 seasons on the MLB roster, carving out a role as a pinch-hitter and backup outfielder. He hit a career-high 12 homers in 1979 and saw his most action with the Brewers in 1980, appearing in 106 games. He finished his Brewers tenure with a .264/.291/.390 slash line. Davis was traded in spring training 1981 to the Philadelphia Phillies, for left-handed starter Randy Lerch. All-26 lineup Catcher: Damian Miller First base: Dick Davis (never played the position, but no one who wore 26 did) Second base: Brian Giles (original flavor) Third base: Jeff Cirillo Shortstop: Juan Bell Left field: Glenn Braggs Center field: Bob Coluccio Right field: Kevin Bass Right-handed starter: Kyle Lohse Left-handed starter: Manny Parra Reliever: Aaron Ashby View the full article

Last season, the Minnesota Twins ranked 23rd out of 30 MLB teams in runs scored and 18th in OPS. The offense was once again a major letdown, and an area where significant improvement will be needed in order to turn around this wayward franchise. To that end, the Twins made some key changes to their coaching staff, which were at least partially aimed at revamping the team's hitter development at the big-league level: they dismissed their hitting coach for a second straight year, replacing Matt Borgschulte with Derek Beauregard, and they hired a new manager in Derek Shelton with a deep background in hitting instruction. These changes are all well and good, but it's the players on the field who will determine whether the lineup can finally find some life and score enough to be competitive. On that front, their offseason additions have been ... quite uninspiring. To their credit, the Twins did make a move to add some legitimate veteran offensive firepower in the form of Josh Bell, who signed a $7 million deal last month. He's got a track record. That's a good start. But since the offseason started, the Twins have added four other position players — via trades, waiver claims and minor-league signings — and to say they've been unproductive at the plate would be an understatement. Admittedly, there are some selective endpoints and thresholds being used below, but I don't think any of them are unfair. I'm trying to provide context about how these hitters have performed compared to their major-league peers over recent timeframes. It's not pretty. Eric Wagaman: Ranked 132nd out of 146 qualified hitters in OPS in 2025 Orlando Arcia: Second-worst OPS among MLB hitters with 700+ PA since 2024 Ryan Kreidler: Ranks dead last in OPS among MLB hitters with 200+ PA since 2022 Alex Jackson: Ranks 588th in OPS out of 592 MLB hitters with 400+ PA since 2021 Yeah, you can make some points in favor of each of these guys. Jackson and Kreidler are a backup catcher and utility infielder respectively, so the bar for hitting is low. Wagaman has shown some promise in the minors and against left-handed pitching. Arcia was an okay hitter prior to the last two years. But these numbers speak for themselves. Desperate to upgrade their offense, the Twins have been taking flyers on players who were given up on by previous organizations largely because of their bats. And this comes on the heels of a trade deadline that saw Minnesota bring in two MLB-ready hitters: Alan Roden (ranked 376th in OPS out of 393 players with 150+ PA last year) and James Outman (ranks 409th out of 417 players with 300+ PA since 2024). On top of that, you've got two key returning players in Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee who are also looking to bounce back from bottom-tier hitting performances in 2025. Among 215 players to make 400+ plate appearances last year, Lewis ranked 180th in OPS and Lee ranked 194th. Again, there are reasons to believe some of these guys can be better than they've been, especially those like Roden and Lee who are relatively young and have crushed in the minors. But when you take a step back and look at the totality of talent the Twins have brought in to try and rejuvenate a lagging offense, it's bleak. These haven't just been bad hitters, they've been atrocious, and there's a good chance they are going to be populating a majority of the Twins' roster in 2026. Beauregard is getting dealt a hell of a hand in his first go as primary hitting coach. View the full article

The Chicago Cubs continue to add pitching depth after recently acquiring one of the best arms in the market. Their most recent moves come in the form of a non-guaranteed, low-risk bullpen arm. Jordan Bastian of MLB.com is reporting that the Chicago Cubs have agreed to a minor league contract with pitcher Jeff Brigham. He also received a non-roster invite to big-league camp. Brigham, 33, has spent parts of six seasons in Major League Baseball with the Miami Marlins, New York Mets, and, most recently, the Arizona Diamondbacks. He threw 3 1/3 innings across four appearances in 2025. Over his career, he has 94 appearances (4 starts) and more than 120 innings pitched. He has a career 4.85 ERA (5.21 FIP) and a below-average 13.1% K-BB rate due to a high walk rate. Obviously, this move doesn't move the needle. At best, he's an arm that will stay game-ready in Triple-A Iowa and be called upon in the event of a doubleheader or if the Cubs' bullpen is down bad with injuries. Like a lot of injuries. View the full article

There’s no doubt that Craig Breslow and the Boston Red Sox failed to capitalize on the trade of Rafael Devers. The much-maligned move has garnered mostly negative conversation from the fanbase, especially based on the return package the team received for their star slugger. While the relationship between the organization and Devers had become fractured and beyond repair, looking back it feels like the return has been a bit of a letdown. Of the four players who were part of the return package, one (James Tibbs III) has already been traded in a separate failed deal, one (Jose Bello) won’t be close to reaching the majors for a few seasons, and the remaining two (Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison) have been mixed bags in Boston. Despite that, Harrison may prove to be both the most intriguing and important piece of the trade from the Red Sox's side of things. Harrison, who spent most of his time with Worcester in 2025, made key changes to his pitch arsenal as he worked on a new changeup grip along with incorporating a cutter into his pitch usage. As always with a learning experience, there were ups and downs, but Harrison looked to have taken to the Red Sox approach, making 12 starts with Worcester while resembling more of his rookie self. Then, needing pitching help in September, he rose to the occasion for the team by pitching both out of the bullpen and making two starts (including the postseason clincher). Overall, in those three appearances, he looked like an arm the team could count on in the future, tossing 12 innings and allowing just four earned runs while striking out 13 batters. However, with the additions of Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo along with the presence of young pitchers Connelly Early, Payton Tolle and David Sandlin, Harrison may not be needed for the rotation. With that in mind, many have wondered just what Harrison’s role will be. And considering the level of talent the team gave up acquiring him, it wouldn’t sit well with the fanbase for the Red Sox to just cast him aside. Instead, Harrison’s role may actually be one that didn’t seem like a perfect fit at the start of the offseason. Placing Harrison into a swingman role similar to the one Kutter Crawford filled during 2022 and 2023 could be perfect for the southpaw and the Red Sox at the moment. Currently, the Red Sox have one guaranteed lefty in the bullpen in Aroldis Chapman; while he’s likely to be joined by Jovani Morán, there’s nothing set in stone. Likewise, the team is expecting both Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval to return from their respective injuries, but there’s nothing that guarantees they’ll return to their pre-injury selves immediately. While the Red Sox could plug in both Tolle and Early as left-handed options either in the rotation or bullpen, the team may rather have them open the year in Triple-A to continue their respective developments after seeing how the duo performed in September in the majors. This is especially true for Tolle who, despite displaying a phenomenal fastball, needs more work with his secondary offerings. This is where Harrison steps in. Should the rotation need help, he could fill the role of the fifth starter until another option becomes healthy and then be moved into the bullpen where he becomes a left-handed arm who can provide some length for manager Alex Cora. There are also many cases where the Red Sox could look to incorporate him as an opener who provides two to three innings due to a favorable matchup. The thought of Harrison not having a defined role may be a bit of a turn off for the fanbase, but his versatility between the rotation and bullpen and the flexibility it provides the organization could be rather helpful across an entire season. As everyone saw in 2025, the pitching staff you open the season with never makes it through the entire year. Instead, players will be asked to step up and fill various roles for the organization. Harrison already showed he can pitch both as a starter and reliever and after a full offseason of working with the Red Sox pitching lab on his pitch arsenal, he could look even more comfortable in a swingman role. Harrison is still young — he won’t turn 25 until August — and the swingman role would be temporary until a permanent role in either the bullpen or the rotation is viewed as his final destination by the Red Sox. But for right now, it would be a waste to have him rotting away in Triple-A for the 2026 season when he could be providing support to both the rotation and bullpen by bouncing back and forth between the two. There’s no doubt the Devers’ trade will never be viewed in a positive light here in Boston, but Harrison has a chance to at least soften the blow. Like everything in baseball, there’s no guarantee, but should Harrison take the foundation he built in 2025 with the Red Sox and run with it, he could turn into a key piece of their pitching staff for 2026 and beyond. View the full article

The Toronto Blue Jays have certainly made some big moves so far this offseason. Whether it be securing significant upgrades to their pitching staff or adding some substance to their lineup and increasing their overall offensive potential, the Jays will hope that all their additions are among the difference makers that put them over the top in 2026. But which of the signings that Toronto has accomplished this winter will end up providing the biggest impact in the upcoming season? Without question, many will believe that adding a player with ace-like abilities, namely Dylan Cease, should pay huge dividends. After all, having previously finished in the top five in Cy Young voting twice and boasting a career FIP of 3.67 and an ERA+ of 110, Cease has the skills to win a game almost on his own whenever he is at his best. Moreover, he led the majors in strikeouts per nine innings in 2025 (11.5 K/9), as he blew hitters away with ease. However, as good as Cease can be, he can only impact the Blue Jays once in every five games in a five-man rotation. What happens in the other 80% of Toronto's games will be out of his hands entirely. On the other hand, bullpen stalwart Tyler Rogers can get in on the action a lot more as a reliever. In fact, he has been one of the most utilized arms in the entire league over the past five years, and, most importantly, he has maintained his effectiveness while doing so. Consequently, the Blue Jays should have every intention to deploy Rogers as much as they can in the upcoming season. After all, the 35-year-old veteran is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, having posted a 2.88 FIP and 203 ERA+ while pitching practically every other day (81 total appearances). With bullpen arms required to close out almost every ballgame, Rogers will be able to get in on the action a lot more than Cease, giving him a chance to determine the outcome of many more matches. And how about the intriguing addition of Cody Ponce? Back during his first stint in MLB, Ponce was primarily used as a reliever by the Pittsburgh Pirates (only five starts in 20 appearances). But during this past season with the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO, he excelled as a starter, posting an astonishing 17-1 record with a 1.89 ERA and an especially impressive 12.6 K/9 rate. Given his proven ability to pitch as both a starter and a reliever, could Ponce become a valuable swingman that provides value and impacts games in multiple ways for the Blue Jays in 2026? However, that still wouldn’t beat a player who could be part of the everyday starting lineup and has the potential to play in all 162 games. Free agent signing Kazuma Okamoto could do exactly that for the Blue Jays in 2026. He is coming off an injury-shortened yet stellar 2025 campaign in which he hit .327 with a 1.014 OPS and 210 wRC+. As a well-disciplined player who can hit for a high average with plenty of pop at the plate, Okamoto’s game should translate effectively to the MLB, compared to those who just rely on power with high strikeout rates or contact skills without power. If Okamoto manages to replicate his NPB numbers to some extent as an everyday player with the Jays, he will have the opportunity to impact ballgames on a daily basis, making him the surprising candidate who has the most potential to determine the outcome of games for Toronto throughout the season. As a result, instead of Cease, Rogers, or Ponce, look for Okamoto to be the biggest game-changer for the Blue Jays in 2026. View the full article

Becoming a professional pitcher is very difficult. Not only do you have to work ridiculously hard to even have a chance at the bigs, but you also must go through at least five or six different levels of professional baseball to have a shot at a major league roster. That’s why only 10% of drafted players make it to The Show, with undrafted players having even less of a chance. Impressing scouts could be the difference between your shot at the MLB and sitting on your couch working a real job. There are very few players who may not look the part but will have the talent and the work ethic to make it; Tim Collins is one of those players. When you first look at Tim Collins, all 5’7" and 175 pounds of him, you would never think that he would be a former MLB pitcher, but he was a solid one at that. Collins was born on August 21st, 1989, in Worcester, Massachusetts. He would attend Worcester Technical High School and compile an overall record of 91-5. He would also throw a no-hitter in the district championship game, which was just the second no-hitter in the school's history. Despite his talent, Collins was overlooked by scouts because of his height; however, that would all change. Former Blue Jays general manager JP Ricciardi flew out to Worcester to watch an American Legion game where Keith Landers, a 6’7" left-hander with tremendous upside at the time, was set to start. However, Landers didn’t pitch that day; Collins did. After four innings of work, Collins struck out every batter he faced. This impressed Ricciardi so much that he signed Collins to a contract after he finished high school. Collins would go undrafted and never go to college, and yet he still found himself fighting for his shot at the bigs. Collins' first appearance for the Gulf Coast Blue Jays drew laughter from the opposing team. He would strike out the first batter he saw and get through a clean inning, so he got the last laugh. From 2007 to 2009, when he pitched in Single-A and Double-A, Collins pitched 151 2/3 innings and had a 2.37 ERA, 221 strikeouts on just 69 walks. After 2009, Collins was named Toronto’s Postseason Minor League Player of the Year, and he was recognized by Baseball America as having one of the best curveballs in all baseball. 2010 proved to be a pivotal year for Collins in multiple ways. Collins would start off the year in Double-A with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, where he had a solid 2.51 ERA in 43 innings pitched. However, he would be traded to the Atlanta Braves, where he would pitch in their Double-A system for a short while. Twenty-one days later, Collins, along with Jesse Chavez and Gregor Blanco, would be traded to the Royals for Kyle Farnsworth and Rick Ankiel. Collins would end the year pitching in Triple-A for the Omaha Stormchasers. Less than a year later, Collins would make it onto the Royals’ opening day roster. Collins would make his debut on March 11th, 2011, against the Los Angeles Angels. He would pitch one inning without giving up a run and struck out Torii Hunter for his first career punchout. Three days later, he earned his first win by pitching three scoreless innings against the Angels in extra innings, striking out five in the process. He would finish 2011 with a solid 3.63 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 67 innings pitched. 2012 would be another fruitful year for Collins as he would pitch to a 3.36 ERA with 93 strikeouts, the most in a single season by a left-handed reliever in Royals history. The next two years would be much of the same for Collins as he went 3-9 with an ERA of 3.63. However, he would miss all of 2014 and 2015 due to Tommy John surgery, meaning he wasn’t able to pitch during the Royals’ World Series run. Collins would elect free agency in 2016, ending his run with the Royals. Collins wouldn’t have the same success as he did with the Royals, as he would bounce around multiple teams on minor league contracts. He would get another chance in the bigs with the Nationals in 2018, which was unsuccessful, as his ERA would balloon to 4.37, and he would only pitch 22 2/3 innings before being sent back down to Triple-A. He would sign with the Cubs in 2019, have mild success, but it was short-lived. He would play with the Reds and Rockies before opting out of the Covid-shortened 2020 season; he has not pitched in MLB since. He’s now the pitching coach for the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, the Philadelphia Phillies’ single-A affiliate. Tim Collins’ success story is one of hard work and a little bit of luck. If he didn’t pitch on that fateful day, he probably wouldn’t have pitched in the bigs at all. But sometimes life works in mysterious ways, and Collins was able to get the chance that so many young baseball players dream of. Will he get into the Hall of Fame? No. But he has something that not many baseball players can say. Despite his small frame and lack of velocity, he made it to the big leagues. No matter what people say, they can never take that away from him. View the full article