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Rick Renick, a former Minnesota Twins player and a key member of the coaching staff during the franchise’s first World Series championship, died Saturday, January 31, at the age of 81. Renick was living in Sarasota, Florida, at the time of his passing. His baseball life touched the Twins organization across multiple generations. Renick’s connection to Minnesota began on the field. Signed out of Ohio State University in 1964, he climbed the Twins minor league system and made his major league debut on July 11, 1968, at Metropolitan Stadium. The assignment was not an easy one, as he faced Detroit Tigers left-hander Mickey Lolich, who had led the American League in shutouts the previous season. Renick responded in memorable fashion, homering in his first major league at-bat and becoming the first Twins player to do so. Primarily a third baseman and left fielder, Renick played five seasons with the Twins from 1968 through 1972, appearing in 276 games. He finished his Twins career as a .221 hitter with 20 home runs and 71 RBI, and his best season came in 1970 when he set career highs with seven home runs, 25 RBI, 81 games played, and a .708 OPS. That season also coincided with a division title, giving Renick his first taste of an AL West championship. By 1973, Renick’s playing days in the majors had come to an end, but baseball was far from done with him. He transitioned into coaching, first as a coach in the Twins farm system before moving on to a long and winding second career that included stops with the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Florida Marlins. Along the way, he also managed nine seasons in the minor leagues and earned American Association Manager of the Year honors twice at Triple-A Nashville. Renick’s most enduring legacy in Minnesota came in 1987. After Ray Miller was fired late in the 1986 season, Tom Kelly took over as interim manager and was later retained for the following year. When assembling his staff, Kelly passed over ownership’s preferred candidate and instead chose Renick, his former minor league teammate who was then working in the Expos organization. Renick became the lone new coach on the staff, taking over duties at third base. The Twins defied expectations and captured their first division title since 1970, the last time Renick himself had been part of a championship team in Minnesota. The magic did not stop there. Minnesota went on to defeat the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series and then beat the St. Louis Cardinals to secure the first World Series title in franchise history. Renick’s aggressive instincts at third base and his work with hitters were part of a coaching staff that maximized a roster few believed could reach that height. Renick remained with the Twins through the 1990 season, but after a last-place finish that year, he was let go by General Manager Andy MacPhail. He declined an opportunity to stay in the organization at the minor league level and instead continued his career elsewhere, returning to the majors in various roles through 2002. In total, Renick spent 13 seasons as a major league coach and left an imprint on multiple organizations. Still, his place in Twins history is unique. He was there for two AL West titles separated by 17 years, first as an underestimated utility player and later as a trusted voice on a championship coaching staff. Renick is survived by three sons, including Josh Renick , who was drafted by the Twins in 2001 and later played for the St. Paul Saints. His wife, Libby, passed away last March at the age of 80. For the Twins, Renick will be remembered as someone who helped guide one of the most improbable and beloved teams in franchise history to the top of the baseball world. View the full article

When I tell people I write about baseball for a living, they tend to ask how I stay busy during the winter. "What do you have to write about when there aren't any games?" My response has become something I say so often it almost feels scripted. "The offseason can be just as busy for me," I explain. "There are trades and free agent signings, of course. But there is also endless speculation preceding every move and endless analysis that follows. I write about the season that was, the season that's soon to come, and what we learned from the former that will matter in the latter." All of that is true, except perhaps for how eloquent I made myself sound. When the offseason begins, there's no shortage of topics to choose from. It's also nice to be able to write without worrying about stats going out of date or a catastrophic injury changing everything. In early fall, I sometimes even catch myself saying that I prefer writing about baseball during the offseason. Then February rolls around. Today marks one month since the Blue Jays added a player to their 40-man roster. It's been 31 days of writing about minor league signings, arbitration cases, and spring training invitations. The glass-half-empty voice in my head wants to scream. I'm bored! Thankfully, I also have a glass-half-full side to my personality. That part of me is grateful for projections. I may not have real baseball to write about, but at least I have hypothetical data from tens of thousands of simulated seasons. Playoff odds went live at FanGraphs this week. These odds are calculated by simulating the upcoming season 20,000 times using the FG Depth Charts player projections. The player projections provide an estimate of how many runs each team will score and allow. The simulations show the many different ways those runs could translate into wins and losses. As I write this, the Blue Jays' playoff odds are 61.5%. In other words, the Jays made the playoffs in roughly 12,300 of FanGraphs's simulated seasons. Their 85 projected wins (technically 84.9) are the average of their win total in each simulation. In half of the simulated seasons, they finished somewhere between 81 and 89 wins. FanGraphs gives them a one-in-four shot of finishing with 89 or more wins, but also one-in-four odds to finish at or below .500. Their chances of winning the AL East are also about one-in-four (23.4%). If 85 wins and 23.4% division odds feel low to you, I promise you aren't alone. Last year, the Blue Jays entered the season with 83 projected wins and 15.6% division odds. Considering the difference between Toronto's 2024 and 2025 seasons, and taking into account all the front office has done this winter, it really seems like the Blue Jays should have the best odds to win the AL East and a projection closer to 90 wins. That would have been my guess before any projections came out, and last week's ZiPS projected standings support that prognostication. Yet, as I pointed out when I wrote about the ZiPS standings, the most meaningful takeaway from those projections wasn't that the Blue Jays were the best team in their division, but that the AL East is going to be a tight race. The FanGraphs playoff odds indicate the same thing. The AL East is the only division in which all five teams have a projected strength of schedule above .500. None of the teams in this division will make things easy for any of the others. FanGraphs gives the Yankees the highest odds to win the division, but those odds are worse than one-in-three. That means it's more than twice as likely that someone other than the favourite wins the AL East. And while New York's division odds are about seven percentage points higher than Toronto's and Boston's, the Yankees' projected win total is only 86.2. The projected spread between the Yankees in first and the Orioles in fourth is only 2.4 wins. Heck, even the Rays aren't that far behind. Tampa Bay has the worst projections in the AL East, but the Rays still have about a one-in-five chance to play in October (21.0%). The FanGraphs odds suggest it's basically just as likely that the Rays make the playoffs as it is that the Blue Jays repeat as division champs. With that said, I can't deny that the FanGraphs odds are less optimistic about the Blue Jays than ZiPS is. Only one team, the Astros, sees a bigger drop-off between their ZiPS projected win total and their FanGraphs playoff odds projected win total. That said, the FanGraphs odds are less enamoured with the AL East in general, projecting worse records for every team except the Rays. Altogether, the five AL East teams have 12 fewer wins according to the FanGraphs playoff odds than ZiPS. Now, five days have passed since Dan Szymborski put out the ZiPS standings, and the projections will have already changed a tad. But it's not as if the teams in the AL East have been particularly busy over the last few days. So, where did those 12 wins go? For the most part, they went to the National League. The ZiPS standings have the 15 AL teams collectively winning six more games than the 15 NL teams. On the other hand, the FanGraphs playoff odds have the clubs in the Senior Circuit winning 16 more games than the clubs in the Junior Circuit. FanGraphs is also higher on last-place teams. According to both systems, the best team in each division has an average of 89 projected wins. However, the worst team in each division has an average median projection three wins higher according to FanGraphs. The basement-dwellers have an average of 68 projected wins according to ZiPS and 71 projected wins according to the FanGraphs playoff odds. This is particularly relevant for the Blue Jays, because no division has a stronger weakest link than the AL East. The ZiPS projected standings all but write off the Rays, putting their postseason odds at 11.7% and their division odds at 1.1%. The FanGraphs playoff odds, however, think the Rays are almost twice as likely to make the playoffs and almost four times as likely to win the division. They're still long shots, but the FanGraphs playoff odds suggest they're much more "dark horse" than "punching bag." Finally, it's worth noting that despite the Blue Jays' differing win total projections and division odds, their World Series odds are almost identical according to ZiPS (4.8%) and FanGraphs (4.7%). Per FanGraphs, the Blue Jays have the seventh-best odds to win it all, although the Yankees and Red Sox are only just above them, and the Phillies and Tigers are only just below. View the full article

The Colorado Rockies avoided last-place finishes during their first two years of existence because the Padres had undergone a “fire sale” during the final two years of the Werner ownership group. The Padres’ previous last-place season, which was in 1987 and included a 12-42 start for the first third of the season, should send both a caution and some encouragement to current Rockies fans. Calls for the Monfort brothers to sell the Rockies might be unwise, since the potential buyer might not be any better. Ray Kroc was a hero for buying the Padres and keeping them in San Diego after a planned sale would have moved the team to Washington. He was not afraid to spend money on free agents or star players acquired in trades, although his final general manager initiated periodic housecleaning when those older players weren’t providing the desired success, and the 1987 season was the first year of the second cycle of such housecleaning. After Ray Kroc died in January 1984, his widow took over the Padres as well as McDonald’s, but Joan Kroc was more interested in humanitarian pursuits than in baseball or fast-food restaurants. In 1987, she planned to sell the Padres to Seattle Mariners owner George Argyros (prompting a local Greek restaurant to create a sign reading, “It’s no Kroc; try our gyros”), whose lack of spending on the Mariners led fans to urge Joan Kroc not to sell the team. That planned sale encountered obstacles and did not occur. In 1990, Joan Kroc sold the team to a group led by Tom Werner, who would clean house for financial reasons before selling it to John Moores at the end of 1994 for less than what they had paid for the Padres. The failure of the 1980 Padres veterans to succeed led to the mid-season firing of the general manager, and Jack McKeon became the new general manager. The Padres were in last place at the time and stayed there for the rest of the season in part due to McKeon’s philosophy. Before the Rockies and Marlins joined the National League in 1993, the league had two divisions of six teams apiece. McKeon’s philosophy was that the team should spend top dollar for a free agent who could take the Padres from third or second to first but not from sixth place to fifth or fourth. Dave Winfield became a free agent after the 1980 season and signed with the Yankees for an average of $1.5 million a year. McKeon felt that such money was better spent on the Padres’ farm system and scouting; he added minor-league affiliates and scouts. Many of the older 1980 players were traded or released by 1981. The mid-season players’ strike in 1981 created a split season, and the Padres finished last both times. During 1982 and 1983, the Padres were competitive for part of the season but eventually fell out of contention. The 1982 showing caused the Padres to sign Steve Garvey as a free agent after the season. After the 1983 season, the Padres signed Rich Gossage as a free agent. The Padres had enough young pitchers during Spring Training in 1984 that they traded one of them to the Yankees for third baseman Graig Nettles. Other than Bruce Bochy, who was the backup catcher for the 1980 Houston Astros, Garvey, Gossage, and Nettles were the only Padres with postseason experience prior to 1984. The Padres won their first division championship in 1984 – in fact, it was the first time the Padres had ever finished in the top half of the division – and then defeated the Cubs in the National League playoffs before losing to the Tigers in the 1984 World Series. The Padres were competitive for much of 1985 but barely avoided last place in 1986. Another housecleaning was in order. Nettles and Jerry Royster, who played third base as well as second base, were not offered new contracts and became free agents. The Padres traded outfielder Kevin McReynolds, along with a relief pitcher and a minor league player, to the Mets for third baseman Kevin Mitchell, two outfielders who turned out to be busts, and two minor league players who never made the majors. Starting catcher Terry Kennedy was traded to the Orioles for a pitcher who wouldn’t last the entire 1987 season with the Padres. (It should be noted that one of the outfielder busts, Shawn Abner, had been an overall first draft pick. The 2025 Rockies fared better with Mickey Moniak, who was the overall first draft pick in 2016 and who attended high school in San Diego County.) The 1986 Padres who were not with the team in 1987 also included second baseman Bip Roberts, a Rule 5 draft pick who had to spend 1986 with the major league team. He returned to the minor leagues for 1987, and rookie Joey Cora was the Padres’ second baseman that year. Starting pitcher LaMarr Hoyt, who had two drug arrests prior to the 1986 season, had a third after that season and never played professional baseball again. An arbiter ruled that the Padres were still required to pay Hoyt’s salary for 1987, so he was one of the four Padres that year receiving at least $1,000,000. Tony Gwynn, who had three previous full seasons along with two partial seasons with the Padres prior to 1987 and had only one previous batting championship, was not one of those players. Garvey, who had a season-ending injury in May 1987, which became a career-ending injury, was one of the players receiving $1,000,000. The other two, Gossage and Garry Templeton, had poor seasons in 1987. Mitchell was raised in San Diego, and being so close to his childhood friends wasn’t the best situation for him. In July, he was part of a seven-player trade with the Giants. Ironically, the two key players didn’t pan out, though in Dave Dravecky's case, it was due to his injury and tumor. The third baseman the Padres acquired, Chris Brown, would earn the reputation of being a malingerer. Two years after the trade, Mitchell would become the league’s most valuable player, while Padres acquisition Mark Davis would win the Cy Young Award. The trade also brought the Padres pitcher Mark Grant, who is now one of the team’s television broadcasters. After a Montreal Expos sweep gave the Padres a 12-42 record, the team won its next two games against Atlanta. In late June, a three-game winning streak moved the Padres to above .333. The team was 64-87 before a nine-game losing streak, which was followed by a win in the second-to-last game of the season, and the Padres’ final record was 65‑97. That final win also ended the 34-game hitting streak of Benito Santiago, which was the longest in Major League Baseball history by a catcher, by a rookie, or by a Latin American player (that one was later broken by Luis Castillo). Santiago was the unanimous Rookie of the Year, and Gwynn won his second batting championship. The Padres finished in third place and above .500 in 1988. The 1989 Padres were in contention until the final week of the season and finished second, three games behind the Giants. Success is built gradually, not magically. What developed from the Padres’ 1987 start could be replicated in the near future with the Rockies or other teams. View the full article

Brandon Woodruff had to transform in 2025, to make up for diminished velocity. Averaging between 96-97 mph since his debut on his four-seam fastball, there were concerns he might be sitting at 91-92 mph in 2025, and that mandated a total change in his arsenal. Instead of blowing fastballs past hitters with impunity, Woodruff had to add wrinkles to his arsenal. The main alteration was to separate his slider into a hard cutter and a sweeper. Instead of leaning more into his breaking pitches (as you might expect with the lower average velocity), Woodruff continued to lead with his two primary fastballs—the sinker and four-seamer—to begin the year. However, as the season progressed,an interesting change occurred. From the middle of August on, Woodruff's cutter usage surged: Despite his marvelous surface-level numbers upon returning to the majors, there were some lurking problems. His four-seamer was proving tough to make contact with, but when hitters managed to touch it, they were doing more damage than one would like. In fact, both the sinker and four-seam fastball regressed in August, showing higher xwOBAs in the time during which Woodruff reduced his cutter usage. The Tunnelling Effect The main reason for the hard slider/cutter's introduction was to give hitters a third hard pitch for which to look, loosening their focal point and making it harder to barrel him up. If we look at Pitch Profiler's match+ diagram and decision point matrix below, you can see two things: The first observation is that, at the decision point, if all pitches begin at the same location, the only slight deviation is in the changeup (green) and curveball (blue). The other three pitches are so on top of one another that you can hardly differentiate which is which. If we see the same arsenal at the point the pitch passes the plate, all three fastballs are in vastly different locations. Secondly, studying the Match+ heatmap, you can see a glowing red box in the bottom right, which shows how each fastball (FC, FF, SI) interacts with its counterparts. This model estimates that the deceptiveness of these offerings is 10-12% above league average. In short, the cutter worked in its initial role as a wrinkle, helping both his sinker and four-seam fastball play up. At that point, the Brewers and Woodruff appeared to realize that the shape and command of the cutter was far better than they had expected. Just How Good Is Brandon Woodruff's Cutter? Over the last month of the season, Woodruff's cutter emerged as his primary fastball, culminating in his positively cutter-happy final September start. It's possible he relied on the pitch partially because of fatigue that day, but even prior to that, we saw it with around the same usage as his other fastball variants. Out of all cutters that comprised at least 15% of a starting pitcher's arsenal and were thrown over 150 times in 2025, Woodruff's ranked 15th in whiff rate. That would place him in the 82nd percentile—not bad for a player throwing the offering for the first time. Above, you can see the expected movement (shaded areas) compared to the actual movement (circles) for his pitches, and note the cutter, in brown. Woodruff has a tendency to get more rise on nearly all of his offerings than expected based on his velocity and arm angles. That's one reason for the massive swing-and-miss rate he can get, even when pounding the strike zone. Woodruff's cutter leads the way with almost five inches more induced vertical break than the model would consider "dead zone" for his physical characteristics—a figure that will directly correlate with more swings and misses, even when hitters pick up the pitch. As a standalone pitch, he doesn't have many plus grades, coming in around a 50 grade across the stuff+ metrics on average, but again, it's how the pitch plays with the rest of his arsenal, especially the four-seam fastball: The cutter tunnels beautifully, but comes in roughly 4 mph slower than his four-seamer, with five inches more drop and five inches more movement to the glove side. Over this period (the chart above is over his final month), hitters were routinely making weaker contact with the cutter, while they were getting underneath the four-seamer for lazier fly balls. It also opened up the strike zone with some routine targets: Woodruff appears to start nearly all of his pitches over the heart of the plate, and let the movement do its magic from there. The cutter breaks in toward left-handed batters, the sinker away from them, and the four-seamer has enough movement to avoid barrels and still garner whiffs even on meatballs down the middle. He might like to throw the four-seamer higher in the zone, but his three-fastball mix gives him a lot of cover. To put all of this in perspective, Woodruff's cutter had a better whiff rate and better quality of contact metrics in 2025 than Corbin Burnes managed in 2024. What Can We Expect In 2026? Losing Woodruff to a lat injury near the end of the regular season was tough to bear for the NLCS-bound team, but the conversations suggested that this was an injury bound to occur at some point in the rehab process. The timing was merely unfortunate. There's hope of a resurgence in his velocity, similar to what Aaron Ashby experienced in 2024 in the wake of a very similar procedure on his shoulder. Factoring that across his three fastballs suggests a very fascinating mix for Woodruff to play with, should it come to fruition in 2026, with just a couple of extra ticks to each fastball and the changeup: Even with his diminished arsenal, Woodruff ranked fifth among starters with over 500 pitches thrown in 2025 for in-zone whiff rates, putting him in the company of pitchers like Blake Snell, Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes and Zack Wheeler. If Woodruff can stay healthy, the ceiling could be even greater than what we saw in 2021. Even if the velocity never fully returns, Woodruff has showcased the variety and command to be a successful leader of the rotation, producing the lowest expected batting average, slugging, wOBA and wOBACON of his career, as well as a career-low walk rate. He's older, and his raw stuff has been diminished by his age and injuries, but he's also learned quite a bit about his craft and evolved into a better overall pitcher. With the return of his arm speed,. the sky is his only limit. View the full article

Walker Jenkins has the potential to be a top-three prospect in MLB, but he remains ranked between 10 and 20 on industry lists as the 2026 season is on the horizon. Jeremy and Jamie go over the hurdles that have kept him from reaching higher heights going into the new season. View the full article

Miami Marlins outfielder Jakob Marsee will represent Team Italy in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, a source told Fish On First. Italy's final 30-man roster for the tournament was submitted on Tuesday morning. Expect Marsee to play center field and potentially bat leadoff for manager Francisco Cervelli. His teammates will include fellow major leaguers Vinnie Pasquantino, Aaron Nola, Kyle Teel and Jac Caglianone. Marsee, 24, was one of four players acquired by the Marlins in the trade that sent Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres. He struggled offensively in 2024, but enjoyed a great 2025 season. In Triple-A, where Marsee played 98 games, he slashed .246/.379/.438/.817 with 14 home runs, 37 RBI, 47 stolen bases and a 126 wRC+. He was even better in 55 games after being called up, slashing .292/.363/.478/.842 with five home runs, 33 RBI, 14 stolen bases and a 133 wRC+. The Central Michigan product was named the National League Rookie of the Month for August. Marsee was born and raised in the United States. However, his great grandparents on both his mother's and father's side are Italian, which granted him eligibility to represent Italy in the WBC. The tournament's eligibility rules are intentionally broad to help grow the game globally. Fellow Marlins Sandy Alcantara (Dominican Republic), Otto Lopez (Canada), Liam Hicks (Canada) and Owen Caissie (Canada) are confirmed to be participating in the WBC, and additional players from the Marlins org are likely to join them. The full rosters will be revealed on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. ET on MLB Network. Italy is in Pool B, which will take place in Houston, Texas, beginning on March 6. The United States, Mexico, Great Britain and Brazil are also in that pool, with the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinals. For Marsee to compete at loanDepot park, Italy would need to reach the semifinals for the first time in WBC history. View the full article

Former Red Sox pitcher (and current White Sox pitcher) David Sandlin joins Talk Sox to discuss what he was doing when the trade sending him to Chicago went down, why Revenge Of The Sith is the best Star Wars movie, and how being traded from Kansas City to Boston back in 2024 felt. View the full article

Six different Chicago Cubs hitters smacked 20 or more home runs in 2025. Now, with recent offseason transactions considered, who deserves to be the team's main slugger for the 2026 season? We review the various cases for Pete Crow-Armstrong coming off a 30-30 season, Seiya Suzuki after his career year, a surging first baseman in Michael Busch, and the new kid in town, Alex Bregman. Follow North Side Baseball for more content and breakdowns just like this! View the full article

The San Diego Padres were pretty bad defensively at second base in 2025. Only the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies, the two worst teams in MLB last year, were worse. At minus-15 defensive runs saved, per the Fielding Bible, the Friars barely outpaced those two cellar dwellars. Second base was also the worst position for the Padres, who ranked 14th in DRS with +28. The middle-infield defense was poor overall, with shortstop the next-worst position on the team at minus-8 (Xander Bogaerts was minus-4). While Friars fans love Jake Cronenworth, he was the worst offender on the entire team at minus-8 at second base. Among every player in MLB who played second, even for just a few innings, Cronenworth ranked 178th. Which is why second base needs a defensive upgrade. Even improving by 10 DRS at second would have put the Friars at No. 9 in team defense last year. The book is out on Sung Mun Song, signed this offseason out of the Korea Baseball Organization and who will get time at second base during spring training, with the job perhaps his to lose. Song was a third baseman in the KBO while also seeing action at second base, so the position is familiar to him. But what if there was a better option out there? There isn't much in terms of free agency, so any worthy upgrade is going to come from president of baseball operations A.J. Preller hitting the phones of other teams. Three names are out there worth considering: Brendan Donovan, Nico Hoerner and Isaac Paredes. All three have been the subject of trade chatter this offseason. Donovan because the St. Louis Cardinals are rebuilding and he is the last significant piece remaining; Hoerner's name has been bandied about since he is entering his final year of club control by the Chicago Cubs and is a two-time Gold Glove winner and there is an infield squeeze following the signing of third baseman Alex Bregman; while Paredes' path to playing time with the Houston Astros has been squeezed with Carlos Correa back on the roster at third base and Jose Altuve focusing back on second base. Paredes would probably be the easiest to acquire due to the lack of playing time and his salary ($8.75 million or $9.95 million, pending his arbitration hearing). But Paredes, who is under club control through 2027, hasn't played second base since 2023 and even then it was for just 14 games, putting up a minus-2 DRS. Certainly not ideal. Hoerner would be a superb addition simply from a defensive point of view, having won two of the last three NL Gold Gloves at the position. But he also brings some reliable offense to the table. Last year, he had a .297/.345/.394 slash line with seven homers, 69 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. That resulted in a career-best 4.8 fWAR. While Hoerner is in a walk year in 2026 and making $12 million, he would command a good return that the Padres' depleted farm system would struggle to satisfy. That leaves Donovan. Like Paredes, Donovan comes with two years of control remaining. He also makes less than the other two as he is set to earn $5.8 million in 2026. Donovan is average at best defensively, having posted a minus-5 DRS over the last three seasons. Still, he has been a consistent offensive performer in his four MLB seasons, with a career slash line of .282/.361/.411 with 40 homers and 202 RBIs. Donovan would need a quality return in a trade, which is again where the Padres might fall short. With the top levels of their system lacking prospects who are MLB-ready or will be by the end of the year, the Friars could put together a package of lower-level prospects. The question is whether or not the Cardinals would accept such a deal for one of the marquee names still on the trade block. Unless there is a trade, the Padres are looking at a complicated platoon of Cronenworth and Song at second base, with the former likely the favorite to start come Opening Day. View the full article

The Brewers have announced their non-roster invitee list, and among the full run of names, we found five guys you should have an extra vested interest in. Reese McGuire's contributions to this team could directly impact the debut time of the team's top catching prospect, Jeferson Quero. Luke Adams could be the cornerstone of a power surge on the Brewers' infield of the future. Jesús Made, the top prospect in the farm, needs to be introduced at the age of 18 years old. Brock Wilken, a former first-round pick, could be the Robin to Luke Adams' Batman, and of course, newly acquired utility option Jett Williams' performance will be under a microscope after Milwaukee traded the rights of their ace pitcher, Freddy Peralta, to the Big Apple. Follow Brewer Fanatic for more full breakdowns like this! View the full article

Former Miami Marlins outfielder Avisaíl García has hung up his cleats. Here is García's full retirement announcement, which was posted to his Instagram account on Monday: Today I formally announce the end of my career in Major League Baseball after 12 seasons of dedication and hard work. Thank you to God for the blessing of fulfilling my childhood dream—of playing baseball at its highest level. To my family: my eternal gratitude for your unconditional love, constant support, and sacrifices that made every step of this journey possible. To my agent, Gene Mato, and the Mato Sports Management team: thank you for your professional guidance, loyalty, and unwavering support throughout my career. To my teammates, coaches, and staff: thank you for the brotherhood, respect, and shared lessons day in and day out. These good memories will stay in my heart forever… To the teams that trusted me and gave me the opportunity to compete at the highest level… Thank you… Baseball gave me far more than I could have dreamed: achievements, experiences, and values I will carry with me always. I close this chapter with pride and gratitude, ready for new chapters in life. With respect and appreciation, Avisail Garcia The 34-year-old native of Anaco, Venezuela, played for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers prior to joining the Fish. With the 2021 Brewers, he set new career-highs in home runs (29) and walks (38). Starved for offense, Miami signed García to a four-year, $53 million free agent contract during the ensuing offseason, which would account for the majority of his career earnings as it turned out. Almost immediately, the signing looked regrettable. Limited to 153 Marlins games due to injuries, García slashed .217/.260/.322 with 13 home runs, six stolen bases and a 59 wRC+. His -1.4 fWAR is tied with Tim Anderson for the worst mark among all Marlins hitters since 2022. The Marlins released García on June 9, 2024. He underwent lower back surgery in October of that year in an attempt to extend his career, but never played another professional game. May the next chapter of García's life bring him fulfillment and success. View the full article

After his deal with the New York Mets, let's take a look at the legacy that Bo Bichette is leaving behind in Toronto, from his relationship with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., to growing up alongside Cavan Biggio and Teoscar Hernández, to playing with Marcus Semien and George Springer. How is Bo going to be remembered in Toronto? View the full article

Sweet Lou, Comrade Cody, and Ol Gregg are joined by 7-timer Theo Tollefson of Zone Coverage to discuss Derek Falvey and the Twins mutually agreeing to part ways. The fellas name each Derek Falvey draft pick who made it to the Twins by memory, as well. Listen using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twins-off-daily-podcast/id1741266056 Listen using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4tb78XlurcPTYYSsARdbD7 Listen using iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-twins-off-daily-podcas-167548600/ Listen using Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/nvclbt0w Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twinsdaily View the full article

The Kansas City Royals’ offense was in the middle to bottom half of Major League Baseball for many of the offensive categories. To name a few, the Royals finished 26th in runs, 18th in hits, 26th in home runs, 15th in average, 22nd in on-base percentage, and 18th in slugging. The 82-80 record in 2025 was a reflection of the poor offense at times, but there is reason to believe that the lineup in 2026 could help lead to better results for a Royals team looking to get back to playoff baseball. The Silver Slugger Group Last season, the Royals had four players nominated for an American League Silver Slugger Award. Salvador Perez was nominated at the catcher position, Vinnie Pasquantino was nominated at first base, Bobby Witt Jr. was nominated at shortstop, and Maikel Garcia was nominated for the utility position. These four combined to hit 101 of the Royals’ 159 total home runs, really driving the force for a team that lacked offensive firepower. Speaking at the Royals rally on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium, Royals general manager J.J. Picollo spoke about the level of production from this group and how they continue forward. “Trying to evaluate our offense, it’s like the tale of two stories,” Picollo said. “You’ve got an outfield that didn’t produce at all, and then you’ve got an infield that was the best infield in baseball.” The Royals were one of only three teams that had at least four players nominated for the Silver Slugger award, showing that the top end of their lineup can produce with the best teams in baseball Perez, Pasquantino, and Witt Jr. have all hit 30-plus home runs in a season before. Mixed in with the power-speed combo that Garcia brings, these four give the Royals a chance to have a special top half of the lineup in 2026. The Recent Acquisitions In the past two offseasons, the Royals have brought in Jonathan India and Isaac Collins by way of trade and Lane Thomas on a one-year, $5.25 million contract. These three players are going to be key to help lengthen the Royals’ lineup in 2026. India’s first season as a Royal didn’t go as he or the team alike had hoped for when they acquired the former Rookie of the Year from the Cincinnati Reds. India batted .233 with nine home runs and 45 RBIs, while also posting a career low .346 OBP. A career .249 hitter, the Royals need India to find that 15-20 home run range, which could only get easier with the recent dimension change at Kauffman Stadium. Collins was brought in along with reliever Nick Mears in December for reliever Ángel Zerpa in mid-December. In Collins’ first full season at the MLB level, the outfielder batted .263 with nine home runs, 54 RBIs, and a .368 OBP. Part of what Picollo was talking about this past Saturday is the need for more outfield production, and the hope is that Collins can provide that from the left side of the plate. One cause for concern is the second-half slump Collins entered. Over the 28-year-old’s final 30 games, the average dipped to .189 with one home run and 13 driven in. Where Collins struggled with the bat at times, the sharp eye remained, finishing the season in the top 10 percentile in MLB for base on ball rate, walking at a 12.9% clip. Thomas was brought in to help bring more production to an outfield that struggled for much of 2025. A bounce-back candidate after a tough 2025 that saw Thomas appear in only 39 games, batting .160, with four home runs and 11 RBIs. The three seasons prior, Thomas blasted 17, 28, and 15 home runs, so the power threat is there. A career .292 hitter against left-handed pitchers, Thomas brings what Picollo was looking for to the Royals lineup. “Going back to the beginning of the offseason, I think we were pretty clear that we needed to address our outfield,” Picollo said at the time of the signing. “The more we had our meetings, the more we dove into things, the more we talked about what players fit us well, right-handed became very apparent to us. And then versatility. Somebody who could play all three outfield spots, and more importantly, take time in center field. We went through several meetings with our pro personnel department and front office,e and we kept coming back to Lane.” The Rookies 2025 saw both Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen make their MLB debuts. Both players flashed potential that could help make them mainstays in the Royals’ lineup for years to come. Caglianone went through struggles many power-hitting rookies face while adjusting to pitching at the MLB level. The 22-year-old batted .157, with a .237 OBP, slugging seven home runs and driving in 18 runs. The 22.8% strikeout rate is concerning, but the outfielder flashed the ability to drive the ball, posting a max exit velocity of 114.1 MPH, which slots in the 10th percentile for all MLB batters. Jensen was called up to make his MLB debut on September 1 and impressed during the final month of the regular season. The catcher batted .300 across 60 plate appearances, swatting three home runs and driving in 13 runs, to go along with an impressive .391 OBP. In the 20 games, Jensen’s barrel percentage was 20.8%, a strong number for the 22-year-old. If Jensen builds on what was a strong September showing, the Royals will find ways to keep both Perez’s and Jensen’s bat in the lineup by utilizing catcher, first base, and designated hitter to bring a steadier offense to the lineup. The Rest Of The Offense The rest of the Royals’ lineup will be made up of Michael Massey, Kyle Isbel, and a couple of Dairon Blanco, Nick Loftin, Kameron Misner, John Rave, and Drew Waters as the Royals hunt for better offensive results in 2026. View the full article

It’s officially the final month without regular season baseball, and thus, it’s time for another Cubs opening day roster projection. Besides, there have been important changes lately. The North Siders have made a pair of seismic moves for Edward Cabrera (trade) and Alex Bregman (free agent) since the last version of our roster projection came out. In this article, we’ll recap how those moves have had a domino effect on the rest of this roster makeup and who will have to battle extra hard for their spot in spring training. Pitchers (13) Shota Imanaga - SP Matthew Boyd - SP Cade Horton - SP Jameson Taillon - SP Edward Cabrera - SP Colin Rea - RP Javier Assad - RP Phil Maton - RP Caleb Thielbar - RP Hoby Milner - RP Jacob Webb - RP Hunter Harvey - RP Daniel Palencia - RP The huge change here comes from Chicago acquiring former Miami right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera for top prospect Owen Caissie and a pair of infielders, in Christian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon. The first domino to fall is Colin Rea. He’ll easily make the Opening Day roster, but his starting spot turns into more of a swingman role, similar to what he had to start the 2025 campaign. This doesn’t mean he’ll stay out of the rotation, though. No Cubs starter has a clean health history. Who leaves the 13-man depth chart? Porter Hodge is the most sensible option. Hodge struggled mightily with his command in 2025, posting an ERA above 6.00 in both the majors and Triple-A Iowa. The walks (18 in 33 innings of big-league ball) were a major concern. Hodge will likely continue to work on his stuff in Iowa, but he won’t be alone. Luke Little and top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins will be in the fight, with major-league aspirations of their own. Javier Assad could also end up there, depending on how the team's bevy of minor-league signings look in camp. Catchers (2) Carson Kelly Miguel Amaya The catching situation seems locked in, at least for now. If the summer of Carson Kelly doesn’t yield a satisfying sequel, top catching prospect Moisés Ballesteros is waiting in the wings and could shift back to his traditional spot to platoon with Amaya in the future. For now, though, a timeshare seems like the most likely outcome, and Ballesteros looks to be ticketed for DH duty. Infielders (5) Michael Busch - 1B Tyler Austin - 1B Nico Hoerner - 2B Dansby Swanson - SS Alex Bregman - 3B When a team signs their new third baseman to a 5-year, $175 =-million deal, it’s an ‘act now and react later’ situation. Alex Bregman, a three-time all-star, will take Matt Shaw’s spot at the hot corner. The rest of the infield remains the same, for now, although Nico Hoerner, who was near the top of the league in WAR (6.2) last year, will be playing on an expiring contract. Outfielders (5) Ian Happ Pete Crow-Armstrong Seiya Suzuki Matt Shaw Kevin Alcántara While the Cubs built up their rotation by taking a swing for Edward Cabrera, their pack of outfield prospects lost its top dog in Owen Caissie. This opened up an opportunity for Kevin Alcántara, who has flashed his power/speed combo at the Triple-A level. It also opens the door up for Shaw. Keep in mind that Kyle Tucker not coming back opened up another spot, and Shaw is taking on a utility role that includes some outfield work. Alcántara gets a shot to operate with an expanded role, and if Shaw isn't traded, he could get significant playing time in the grass. However, Justin Dean, Chas McCormick and Dylan Carlson will all be in camp, too, bying for versions of Alcántara's spot that would reduce Shaw's likelihood of playing in the outfield. Designated Hitter (1) Moisés Ballesteros Ballesteros is in wait-and-see mode, as the Cubs have a plethora of either unproven outfielders (Shaw, Alcantara) or talents on expiring contracts (Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki). His bat will make him hard to ignore, as he hit .298 with nine walks to 12 strikeouts in his first big-league stint. It’s a small sample, but seeing a green bat turn in a 13.6% walk rate and an .868 OPS should bode well for his chances in 2026. Who did we miss, and what would you change about our Opening Day roster projection? Be sure to leave a comment, and we will get back to you. View the full article

The Twins haven’t been terribly active this offseason. If Jeremy Zoll has the same offseason habits as Derek Falvey, there might be a few more moves on the way. Nonetheless, let’s try to map out what the Opening Day roster might be, given the players who are in the organization right now. Catchers (2): Ryan Jeffers, Victor Caratini Others on the 40-man roster: Alex Jackson The most unexpected move of the offseason has been the addition of Victor Caratini as a second catcher. Ryan Jeffers has spent most of his career in a timeshare behind the plate, typically catching about half of the Twins’ games and topping out at 81 games started at catcher. Caratini, a switch-hitter better against righties, forms a good platoon with the righty-batting Jeffers. Both will likely see some time at DH, and Caratini can also play some first base if needed. It’s unclear whether the team foresees another 50/50 split or if Jeffers will start closer to two of every three games (or if Caratini’s presence will lead to him being traded). Alex Jackson, for whom the Twins traded utility infielder Payton Eeles in November, is out of options, but it seems unlikely that the Twins will carry three catchers with a four-man bench, even if Caratini sees time at first base. Jackson may be waived or traded before Opening Day. Infielders (6): Josh Bell, Luke Keaschall, Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Kody Clemens, Ryan Kreidler Others on the 40-man roster: Tristan Gray, Eric Wagaman Second base, third base, and shortstop are pretty well set ahead of the season, with Luke Keaschall, Royce Lewis, and Brooks Lee, respectively. Lewis and Lee are unlikely to see time away from their primary position, other than an occasional day as the DH, but Keaschall may moonlight in the outfield. Josh Bell is also a lock to make the roster, slotting in at both first base and designated hitter. It’s unclear how his playing time will break down between those two assignments. When and if Bell is in the DH spot, Kody Clemens will likely get dibs on playing first base, and he’s primed to get time at second base, giving Keaschall a day off now and then. He could also be used in the corner outfield, or at third base in a pinch. The Twins have cycled through many different options for the backup shortstop position this offseason. Ryan Kreidler seems to be at the front of the position battle, with Tristan Gray and Orlando Arcia also in the running. Kreidler has no options remaining, Gray has one, and Arcia is on a minor-league contract with an invite to spring training. Payton Eeles, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Vidal Bruján were all in this conversation at various points, but cycled out of the organization. In this scenario, Kreidler gets the nod, not just because he cannot be sent down without being exposed to waivers, but also because he’s the best fielder in a crowd of suspect hitters. He can also play center field, adding extra flexibility. Eric Wagaman may also make the team as a platoon corner bat, but it would probably come at the cost of an outfielder. Outfielders (5): Alan Roden, Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, Austin Martin Others on the 40-man roster: Gabriel Gonzalez, Hendry Mendez, James Outman, Emmanuel Rodriguez Byron Buxton is obviously a lock in center field, as is Matt Wallner in right. Left field is a bit more up in the air, but if Trevor Larnach is still on the team on Opening Day, he’ll have a spot. Whether that spot is primarily as a designated hitter is up for debate, but Larnach has spent more than half of the previous two seasons as a DH. If Larnach is primarily the DH (pinning Josh Bell to first base, more often than not), Alan Roden and Austin Martin appear to be the two to split duties in left field. Roden, acquired along with Kendry Rojas in the Louis Varland trade, was inserted directly into the Twins’ lineup last summer, but soon suffered a season-ending thumb injury. Martin impressed down the stretch, with a .374 on-base percentage and solid corner defense. They make a natural platoon fit, as Roden is left-handed and Martin bats righty, and both can play some center field if necessary. James Outman, acquired at the deadline for Brock Stewart, is a notable cut in this iteration. He is out of options. His struggles both offensively and defensively (and his redundancy with other lefties Wallner, Larnach, Roden, and Clemens) make it difficult to justify a roster spot. However, if the Twins are adamant that his center field defense is necessary or believe that he could recapture the promise he showed in 2023 as a rookie, he could make the team. There is an outside chance that Gabriel Gonzalez makes the team as a platoon bat in a corner or that Emmanuel Rodriguez or Walker Jenkins supplant one of the starting corner outfielders, but it seems unlikely. Starting Rotation (5): Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Taj Bradley, Simeon Woods Richardson Others on the 40-man: Mick Abel, Zebby Matthews If there are no subtractions and everyone is healthy, Pablo López and Joe Ryan will start the first two games of the season, in some order. Bailey Ober has been a fixture in this rotation for years, and if he’s healthy, he’ll also be given a shot to rebound after a 2025 that was mostly lost to nagging injury and mechanical issues. Simeon Woods Richardson has quietly been a consistent back-end starter for the past two seasons, and although the prospect shine on other potential rotation names is brighter, Woods Richardson has earned an opportunity to start the season in the rotation. He’s also out of minor league options, so the Twins need to keep him in MLB or risk losing him on waivers. The fifth spot is up in the air, but Taj Bradley seems the most likely recipient. Acquired for Griffin Jax, he has the most MLB experience among the names vying for the spot, though he had a shaky 2025. Zebby Matthews is his stiffest competition, but to this point, Matthews has not been able to match his underlying metrics with his performance. Mick Abel and David Festa are also in the running, but it’s difficult to see them beating both Bradley and Matthews (though all four do have minor league options). Bullpen (8): Cole Sands, Taylor Rogers, Justin Topa, Kody Funderburk, Eric Orze, David Festa, Travis Adams, John Klein Others on the 40-man roster: Andrew Morris, Connor Prielipp, Marco Raya, Kendry Rojas The Twins have only made one free-agent addition to the bullpen this offseason, bringing back Taylor Rogers. Rogers currently fits into the late-innings group as the lefty, alongside righties Cole Sands and Justin Topa. Middle relief-bound Kody Funderburk and Eric Orze are the only two other names that seem likely to make the Opening Day bullpen. The other three spots are up for grabs. David Festa, given durability concerns and struggles to accumulate innings as a starter, seems like a prime candidate to step into a bullpen role. If the Twins believe that they have enough rotation depth, that could happen as early as Opening Day. Travis Adams provided long relief in 2025, and John Klein, one of the more impressive arms in the system last season, could be an excellent option in the bullpen, should he have a good spring training. Connor Prielipp and Marco Raya were also named earlier in the season as starting depth who could transition to the bullpen. Non-roster invites like Matt Bowman and Dan Altavilla could also be counted on to round out the eight-man corps. View the full article

Pitchers and catchers report next week, and there are still multiple unanswered questions for the Boston Red Sox to answer. There is an overwhelming amount of depth in the outfield and on the bench. As it stands today, the Red Sox have four legitimate outfield options in Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran, and Wilyer Abreu. Ideally, all four of these guys see the field with regularity, as each of them provides strength from either their bat, glove, or both. Those four alone will require a unique rotation of sticking someone at DH while the others fill in in the outfield. Roster Resource currently has Duran at DH versus both righties and lefties, while Anthony fills in at LF, Rafaela at CF, and Abreu in RF. This situation in a vacuum is great. It allows each guy to get rest when they need it, and all four of them play at an above-average level of defense, with Rafaela and Abreu being Gold Glove talents. To stick with the classic cliche, "You can never have too much depth." Well, what if you can? As it stands today, the Red Sox will be paying Masataka Yoshida $18.6 million to sit on the bench and fill in for an injury or a rest day. Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic said: "The Red Sox may still try to trade him this spring. If that doesn't happen, his outfield reps will be limited, and his chances as a designated hitter may be, as well, with Duran and Anthony seeing more time in that spot." Yoshida is a very useful MLB hitter; his problem is that he is not as useful as the four other options. If he were a right-handed hitter, there would be a clear and obvious place for him to slot in against lefties. Unfortunately for him, Rafaela is the only right-handed hitter among the quintet, and his defense is irreplaceable. A clear opening for Yoshida would be a time when Rafaela goes cold or gets hurt. That would move Duran to center and open up a DH spot. Against right-handers, Yoshida shines far brighter than Rafaela. He boasts a career wRC+ of 118, an OPS of .795, and an OBP of .345 against righties. The way to find a spot in the daily lineup for Yoshida is playing the matchups. I'm not talking about what side the pitcher throws from, I'm talking about pitch-type matchups. Yoshida crushes fastballs, hitting .338 off of four-seamers and producing a run value of 4. On the other hand, he struggles mightily against curveballs and cutters. So, the key for him getting in may very well be finding right-handed pitchers who rely heavily on their four-seam fastball for success and avoiding pitchers with high cutter and/or curveball usage in order to maximize Yoshida's skill set. Finally, that leaves Triston Casas, who is unlikely to break camp with the team due to his brutal knee injury that knocked him out for all of 2025. When the Red Sox acquired Willson Contreras, Casas' spot on the team became significantly foggier than before. Who can blame the Red Sox? Beyond his fabled 2023 second half, Casas has not shown up in ways that allowed him to maintain his spot in the lineup. Before his injury, he hit incredibly poorly, posting a 56 wRC+ and a .182 AVG over his first 23 games. With a poor bat and subpar defense, Casas' value comes into question. His staple was elite discipline mixed with pop, and he showed that in his first two full seasons, putting up consecutive .800+ OPS seasons. Then, his walk rate dropped from 12.3% to 9.8%, and his average exit velocity from 90.3 mph to 87.6 mph. That, on top of his injury-riddled career (he's spent 320 games on the IL) makes him an unreliable option day-to-day. Oddly enough, though, he is not exactly your prototypical platoon bat. Casas has a higher OPS against lefties, along with a higher wOBA and wRC+ — albeit, this is a smaller sample size, with 165 PAs vs. lefties as opposed to 651 vs. righties. His reverse splits are surely something the Red Sox will consider when making the lineup once Casas returns. What Should the Red Sox Do? As much as I would love to fit all of these guys into the picture, with how the roster is constructed today, it is simply impossible. Rostering four legitimate outfield options already throws a wrench into the mix. Having a likely infield addition AND all three of the players mentioned being left-handed ensures there is an odd man out. Duran cannot be one of them. He is too valuable off the field and on it, providing more in all facets of the game than either Yoshida or Casas can with his mix of speed and power. That leaves Casas or Yoshida fighting for the last spot, and the choice is clear. Triston Casas sticks around while Yoshida finds greener pastures elsewhere. The ceiling case for Casas is higher than it is with Yoshida at this point in his career. Call me naive, but I'm still clinging to the Casas we saw earlier in his career. The mix of plate discipline along with 70-grade power exists, and it's a profile I am more than willing to chase. Especially with not having the pressure of playing every day, thanks to Contreras, this will allow the Red Sox to place him in positions to succeed. Yoshida will have about a month to prove he belongs and make Craig Breslow's decision with the lineup even more difficult. View the full article

Even without signing Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette, the Blue Jays have had a successful offseason. While they said goodbye to players like Bichette, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, and Seranthony Domínguez, they improved by adding Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto, Cody Ponce, and Tyler Rogers. They look like one of the best teams in baseball, and they’re primed to defend their AL East title. Of course, to do all that, they had to spend. They had to spend a lot. In terms of guaranteed money, the Jays have given out $337 million this winter, in addition to Okamoto’s $10.875 million posting fee. On top of that, this coming season will mark the first year of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk’s extensions, and several more players are due raises, either due to arbitration or back-loaded contracts. As such, RosterResource estimates Toronto’s player payroll will rise from $258 million to $282 million, just a year after increasing from $217 million to $258 million. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that a $282 million payroll would be the highest in franchise history. What’s more, the Blue Jays’ payroll for luxury tax purposes is an estimated $311 million. For 2025, they ended up paying a $13.6 million tax bill on a CBT payroll of just over $286 million. As of right now, their tax bill for 2026 will be another $22 million higher: Tax Rate Tax Total CBT Payroll $310,590,764 Amount between $244M - $264M $20,000,000 30% $6,000,000 Amount between $264M - $284M $20,000,000 42% $8,400,000 Amount between $284M - $304M $20,000,000 75% $15,000,000 Amount over $304M $6,590,764 90% $5,931,688 Total $35,331,688 All things considered, the Jays will be spending almost $50 million more on their roster in 2026 compared to 2025, and about $100 million more than in 2024. That’s a lot of moolah. Of course, it’s not like they can’t afford it. The Blue Jays have one of the richest owners in the league, and they play in one of the biggest media markets in North America. Oh, and they just so happened to rake in more than $100 million in extra revenue during their run to the World Series last fall. They also still only have the fifth-highest payroll in MLB, trailing the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, and Phillies. This kind of spending may be unprecedented for Toronto, but that doesn’t mean it’s unsustainable. With that said, there is a limit to how much the Blue Jays can spend, even if we don’t know what that limit is. So, presuming the front office is done with major moves for now, I want to turn my attention to how much money is coming off the books next winter. That should give us at least a rough idea of how much Ross Atkins and company will be able to spend for 2027 (and beyond). I know a lot could change between now and then. The Blue Jays could still add more payroll. They could also shed payroll. The next free agent class already looks thin, and it will only grow weaker if top projected free agents like Tarik Skubal, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and David Bednar sign extensions, or if players with contract options, like Bichette and Michael King, choose not to opt out. Moreover, the possibility of a lockout looms large. As far as the Blue Jays go, even a slightly less successful 2026 season could put an end to their status as a desirable destination for top free agents or, even worse, persuade ownership to tighten the purse strings. These are all key reasons why Atkins was smart to go big this year. Still, it’s always worth thinking ahead. (Also, let’s face it, the offseason is boring right now.) So, let’s talk about how much the Jays will have to work with next offseason. Expiring Contracts Six Blue Jays are headed for free agency after 2026. They’re listed below, along with their pay for the upcoming season. Eric Lauer’s salary has yet to be determined, so I listed the halfway point between the number he filed at ($5.75M) and the number the team filed at ($4.4M) for his arbitration hearing. I also included Myles Straw; he is technically under contract through 2028, but I’d be surprised if the Blue Jays pick up his $8 million club option for 2027 instead of paying a $1.75 million buyout and setting him free. George Springer: $24.167 million Kevin Gausman: $23 million Shane Bieber: $16 million Daulton Varsho: $10.75 million Yimi García: $7.5 million *Myles Straw: $7.4 million ($1.75 million buyout) *Eric Lauer: $5.075 million Total: $92.142 million That’s a lot of cash coming off the books. In terms of annual salary, it’s significantly more than Toronto spent on free agents this winter (Cease, Okamoto, Rogers, and Ponce will earn about $50 million combined in 2026). However, expiring contracts are only part of the equation. Guaranteed Raises Almost every Blue Jay with a guaranteed contract beyond 2026 will see a salary bump in 2027. The only exceptions are Guerrero, Anthony Santander, and Jeff Hoffman. The eight players receiving raises are listed below, along with the amount by which their salary is increasing: Kazuma Okamoto: $9 million Dylan Cease: $8 million Andrés Giménez: $8 million Cody Ponce: $6 million José Berríos: $6 million Tyler Rogers: $5 million Alejandro Kirk: $3.625 million Yariel Rodríguez: $1 million Total: $46.625 million That right there is half the money "freed up" by expiring contracts. And the raises aren’t done coming. Players Eligible for Arbitration Seven players on Toronto's roster will be eligible for arbitration next offseason: Ernie Clement (Arb 2) Tyler Heineman (Arb 2) Louis Varland (Arb 1) Brendon Little (Arb 1) Davis Schneider (Arb 1) Nathan Lukes (Arb 1) Bowden Francis (Arb 1) These players’ salaries are hard to estimate when we don’t know how any of them will perform in 2026. Still, this is another $10 million in raises at the minimum, presuming the Jays tender contracts to all of the above except Bowden Francis. So, now we’re looking at only $35 million or so to fill significant holes in the rotation (Gausman, Bieber), bullpen (García, Lauer), and lineup (Springer, Varsho, Straw). That’s not a lot to work with. Don’t forget, however, that Toronto is also set to pay another $35 million or so in luxury tax penalties for 2026. That’s also money coming off the books, even if it isn't included in the estimated payroll. Thankfully, payroll for luxury tax purposes is calculated using AAV, not yearly salaries, so Toronto’s CBT payroll figure won’t be affected by any of the players under guaranteed contract who are earning raises. It will, however, drop significantly thanks to all those expiring deals. Right now, RosterResource projects Toronto’s CBT payroll for 2027 at about $202 million. That estimation doesn’t include any salaries for arbitration-eligible players or pre-arb players, so let’s tack on another $20 million for arbitration salaries and $12 million for pre-arb salaries. Those are rough estimates, but rough estimates are all we have right now. That brings the CBT payroll up to $234 million. We also don’t know what the luxury tax thresholds or penalties will be in the next collective bargaining agreement. Heck, we can’t be sure the luxury tax as we know it will exist at all come 2027. (We can't be sure Major League Baseball will exist come 2027!) For my purposes right now, I’m going to pretend the current system remains in place. That’s a big presumption, but everyone is operating under big presumptions right now – major league executives included. So, let’s say the first threshold for luxury tax penalties increases by $4 million in 2027 and all the penalties stay the same. If the Jays add $35 million in new salary during the 2026-27 offseason, their estimated tax bill would only come to about $10 million. That’s $25 million less than their estimated tax bill for 2026. Now, that doesn’t mean they'll have another $25 million to spend, because every dollar spent would also increase their tax bill. But they could spend about $16 million more (on top of that initial $35 million) without increasing their total expenditure compared to 2026. That’s $51 million. All of a sudden, those numerous holes seem a lot more fillable. Furthermore, my whole exercise, to this point, has presumed the Blue Jays won’t spend a dime more in 2027 than they will in 2026. Yet, we all know they could spend more. A lot more. The Jays reportedly offered Kyle Tucker a 10-year, $350 million deal. We don’t know the exact details of that offer, but presuming the same annual salary all 10 years, Tucker would have added $35 million to the payroll and $31.5 million to the tax bill. That’s another $66.5 million. The Blue Jays made a huge splash this offseason. They’re spending at a level we’ve never seen them spend at before. However, their front office isn’t one that ever likes to sacrifice the future for immediate gain, and that’s not what they’ve done here. The Blue Jays should be one of the best teams in baseball in 2026, and the following winter, they should have the financial flexibility to rule the offseason once again. View the full article

The Miami Marlins are set to hold their annual FanFest this Saturday from 4:00-8:00 pm. The following tips and event details will help fans enjoy themselves to the fullest. “This event is all about bringing our fans and the South Florida market closer to our brand, through player interactions, exclusive sneak peeks at what’s coming in 2026, and capping it off with a fireworks show,” said Marlins chief brand officer Alex Parker. “We can’t wait to see Marlins fans at the ballpark to mark the start of baseball season.” You can claim free FanFest tickets here (up to six tickets available for each MLB.com account). More than 31,000 tickets have been claimed as of Monday afternoon, according to club sources. Tickets will be delivered to the Ballpark app. A personal suggestion for my fellow iPhone users would be to add them to your digital wallet—that will keep the line moving as fast as possible on Saturday. Parking is complimentary for this event. You will be able to use any of the ballpark's four garages at no additional cost. To ensure that you and your children can participate in all FanFest activities, make sure to fill out this waiver in advance. Who will be there? In addition to president of baseball operations Peter Bendix and manager Clayton McCullough, the vast majority of Marlins major league players are expected to be at FanFest (Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Xavier Edwards, Jakob Marsee, Agustín Ramírez, etc.). This is your first opportunity to meet players who were acquired this offseason via trade and free agency like reliever Pete Fairbanks, infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel, outfielder Owen Caissie and outfielder Esteury Ruiz. Most spring training non-roster invitees attend, including top prospects Thomas White, Robby Snelling and Kemp Alderman. One notable absence will be 2025 Marlins All-Star representative Kyle Stowers. He and his wife, Emma, are expecting the birth of their first child in the days leading up to FanFest. Activities "Access has been a big thing for us—making sure that there is enough activities for everyone to be occupied the whole time," said Marlins president of business operations Caroline O'Connor in an exclusive interview with Fish On First. Similar to last year, there will be an arcade trailer on the West Plaza, behind-the-scenes tours, a pop-up challenge, speed pitch contest and wiffle ball home run derby. The Marlins Museum, located on the Legends Level behind home plate, will be open. A new addition to FanFest will be the youth clinics. Kids from ages 5-13 will be able to play on the field with current Marlins players in one-hour sessions. The available time slots for this are 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Weather permitting, the roof will be open for a fireworks show at 8:00 pm. Photo Ops Active players and Marlins alumni will be stationed throughout the ballpark. Fans can take selfies with them in Sections 1, 32 and 205. Only Marlins Members will be able to get autographs from players. For non-members, keep in mind that if you attend spring training in Jupiter, players may be willing to sign for free if approached politely before or after games. The World Series trophies from both 1997 and 2003 will also be on display for photos. Main Stage The Marlins have a tradition of making announcements at FanFest. In 2023, it was that they were bringing back the old teal jerseys and wearing them for every "Flashback Friday" home game. In 2024, it was adding their blue spring training uniforms to the regular season rotation and editing their black jerseys. In 2025, the Marlins announced the first official Hall of Fame class. They are expected to do it in 2026. Last season's class, the first of many, featured Jeff Conine, Luis Castillo, Jim Leyland and Jeff McKeon. In 2024, the Marlins did do what they call a "State of the Fish" session, which back then included manager Skip Schumaker and president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. This time around, it will be second-year manager Clayton McCullough and Bendix to talk about the 2026 team. Marlins Season Ticket Members will have exclusive seating access to State of Marlins, as well as enjoy a private autograph session with Marlins players. O'Connor told Fish On First that there will be a couple of surprise announcements during this portion of the four hour window. Along with the hall of fame announcement and State of the Marlins, the main stage will have player and alumni segments, animal show hosted by Zoo Miami’s Ron Magill and the jersey lineup announcement. Food & Drink Add-ons Foodie Passport is your ticket to eating and drinking your way around the ballpark. Explore five must-visit stops featuring exclusive bites and specialty drinks. Check in, discover new flavors, and experience FanFest one taste at a time. Tickets are limited. Must be 21 years of age or older to purchase. Valid forms of ID include a United States Driver’s License, United States Identification Card, United States Military Identification Card and Passport. All forms of ID should be current (non-expired) and intact (non-damaged). This is a ticket that does need to be purchased through the same link that you can claim you free FanFest ticket. The price for the Foodie Passport is $26. Although this event is meant more for kids, the Marlins always find a way to include everyone, no matter how old you are. Like last season, fans 21 and older can get an early taste of one of the Marlins biggest promotions in Beerfest, which will take place in the Bullpen Bar and Grill from 4:00-6:00 pm. For $25, you can taste 20 domestic, international and local craft brews. Last year, the Marlins hosted a couple of Sahlen's dollar dog nights at the ballpark. To kick off the 2026 season, they will once again host a dollar dog night at the ballpark for FanFest. View the full article

Charlee Soto is on only one top 100 prospect list going into 2026. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN remains a favorite of his upside. Jamie and Jeremy break down why McDaniel remains high on Soto and why they believe he could reach that top 100 prospect status industry-wide with a healthy 2026. View the full article

As the MLB offseason nears its end, the best remaining free agents are starting pitchers Zac Gallen and Framber Valdez. Even the next-best tier is made up mostly of starters, too—guys like Nick Martinez, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Lucas Giolito and Zack Littell. For the Minnesota Twins, that's not obviously helpful, because the starting rotation is the strongest segment of their roster right now. Led by frontline, playoff-caliber starters Pablo López and Joe Ryan, the rotation has been the pillar around which the rest of the roster has crumbled over the last two seasons. However, the team's depth in starters doesn't prohibit them from improving by adding to the group, as long as they land someone who is genuinely likely to deliver above-average performance. Last year, injuries and shaky command left Bailey Ober a shell of his previous self, but he's penciled in as the No. 3 starter for the team with spring training on the horizon. A signing that pushes Ober down to fourth in the rotation and leaves the club's cluster of young, controllable starters vying for places in the bullpen or Triple-A St. Paul would be a wise investment, since new chairman Tom Pohlad seems intent on having the team challenge for a playoff berth in 2026. Thus, Valdez is beginning to make some sense for the Twins. It would be a very unusual move from a team this deep in an offseason this underwhelming, but Minnesota could still increase their payroll a bit from the present projection of $108.9 million. Valdez, 32, is a two-time All-Star and has averaged 192 innings per year over the last four seasons. He's as reliable an innings-eater as any starter in the league, and although Gallen is almost as durable, Valdez is the one guy who combines volume and impact in a way that could take the Twins' pitching staff to another level. It would take a minor miracle of coaching and development (not to mention good health) to make the 2026 Twins more than an average team when it comes to run production. However, with another high-upside arm like Valdez's in the mix, they could become a nearly elite run prevention club. That's the most realistic path to an AL Central title for the team this year, and if they do get to October with a starting rotation of Valdez, López and Ryan, anything is possible. They might even find that they can reinforce the positional side of the roster at the trade deadline, or that young players like Walker Jenkins and Luke Keaschall transform them into a more complete team by season's end. Valdez is still available because the long-term, nine-figure deal he envisioned when the winter began has not materialized. His price would have to swoop quite low for the Twins to become a legitimate candidate to sign him, but the team has been known to pull off unexpected February splashes. More importantly, there are already signs that Valdez's market is down low enough for that possibility to appear on the radar. A deal somewhat similar to the one the Padres roughed out with Nick Pivetta last winter—whereby Pivetta was guaranteed up to $55 million over four years and had the right to hit the market again after either of the first two seasons, but which helped San Diego by being heavily backloaded and including conditional club options—might end up making sense for both sides. After the departure of Derek Falvey last week, the temptation to doubt that the Twins will do anything of note for the balance of the offseason is understandable. The team continues to proclaim their intention to get better, though, and in a market drying up in a hurry, signing Valdez is one of very few ways they could still concretely do so. View the full article

The Boston Red Sox made a deal with their frequent (as of late) trade suitor, the White Sox, over the weekend. In sending Jordan Hicks and a fellow righty, David Sandlin, along with $8 million, to Chicago, Fenway faithful get a minor league arm they could see in the next year or two. Enter Gage Ziehl, a crafty righty with a varied pitch arsenal and, so far, a successful career in professional baseball. In this video, we dive into Ziehl's pitch mix, his overall body of work, and just how well he could fit into Boston's pitching depth chart in the near future. View the full article

The Dominican Republic's World Baseball Classic roster will include the San Diego Padres' two biggest stars. That came after third baseman Manny Machado was announced as part of the team. Previously, right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. was named to the roster. The deadline to finalize rosters is Tuesday, with official announcements made by the WBC on Thursday. This will be Machado's third appearance in the WBC, having played in 2017 and 2023 (no tournament was held in 2020 due to the pandemic). Machado is the latest to become an official member of the team. Superstar New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto was named Sunday, and Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena earlier Monday. The Dominican Republic typically has the strongest roster of all the WBC teams. View the full article

This news was just this side of inevitable, but it still registers as a major development. With their game broadcasts orphaned by the need to terminate their contract with Main Street Sports earlier this offseason, the Brewers join a fistful of other teams in turning over the production and distribution of those broadcasts to the league. If the pattern established by the previous rounds of migration to league-operated broadcasts repeats itself, most of the names you know and love—Brian Anderson, Bill Schroeder, and Sophia Minnaert, for starters—will be invited back, and many of the same people will make the broadcast happen behind the scenes. How the games can be found and a plan purchased, however, will change. Expect the Brewers to find a home on the major local cable and satellite providers, but they'll no longer receive any significant amount of revenue from those deals. Instead, they'll make money almost exclusively by selling direct-to-consumer streaming packages, through MLB.TV. In the short term, this will reduce the team's income, and that's unlikely to change for at least a few years. It could, of course, have an effect on payroll, though there's no reason to assume it will make a meaningful difference in the team's budget for 2026 or (as some will say) that the knowledge that this was coming prompted the team to trade Freddy Peralta last month. The regional sports network (RSN) model has been slowly dying for a decade. The Brewers have made less money than in the halcyon days of that system even over the last few years, as they've flirted with cutting ties with what was first called Bally Sports Wisconsin, then FanDuel Sports Network but ultimately reunited on short-term deals. They delayed the leap off the financial cliff of the RSN model's demise for as long as possible, but now, they've gone over the edge. Generally, fans of other teams (including the Rockies, Padres, Twins, Guardians and Diamondbacks) have found the production values on the league-run broadcasts to be solid. However, this transition usually comes with a reduction in ancillary programming, like pre- and postgame shows. Team-run broadcasts have always been largely propagandist outlets, but it's even harder to convey any measure of criticism when the system is under team or league control, end-to-end. Again, there's no broad reason to expect the team to change its core broadcast team, but the Brewers are a special case. They have Anderson, Jeff Levering and Lane Grindl, all of whom do other work, too, and Anderson has increasingly ducked out for stretches of the season to perform national duty as a play-by-play broadcaster for basketball, golf, and more. The league and the team could opt to pivot to a primary TV voice with 162-game availability. More details will emerge over the course of spring training, but Monday's news gives us a bit more clarity about the Brewers' future on TV. It also gives us a bit of reason to wonder whether the team can still spend money this winter to round out the roster. After all, they're likely to make less money this year (if only incrementally) than if their deal had held together for one more season on the RSN model. View the full article

The death spiral of Main Street Sports Group took its biggest fall of a brutal last couple of years Monday when the Milwaukee Brewers and five other MLB teams officially said they were no longer going to have their games telecast on FanDuel Sports Network. The Brewers were joined by the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Rays in completely ditching Main Street. MLB will take over the telecasts of those teams, as it already has for seven others. The three still hoping for a Main Street miracle regarding their regional sports network are Atlanta, the Detroit Tigers, and the Los Angeles Angels. Main Street, formerly Diamond Sports Group, restructured under Chapter 11 bankruptcy for 20 months and emerged about a year ago, hoping the new structure would last. But Main Street missed payments to multiple teams across its portfolio of MLB, NBA, and NHL clubs in recent months; the Brewers were among nine MLB teams to announce last month that they were terminating their deals. Shortly thereafter, there was some renewed hope that Main Street could continue as it searched for a potential buyer — DAZN was one of the rumored suitors — but that appears to have fizzled out. The timing is also important, as teams are less than two weeks from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, with the first exhibition games shortly thereafter. For the Crew, the report dates are February 12 for pitchers and catchers and February 17 for position players. The first Cactus League game is Feb. 21. How does that affect how fans can watch the Brewers? For in-market games, which include most of Wisconsin and include all home and road games during the regular season not on a national outlet, you will still be able to watch the Crew on your cable or satellite provider, as well as streaming through MLB.tv. But those games will be a separate package, likely priced at $19.99 per month or $99 for the entire season (the better deal), from a typical MLB.tv package. The Brewers said those packages will go on sale this month. Instead of FanDuel Sports Network, you will see the branding of Brewers.tv. On cable and satellite, that will also likely mean new channel locations. The TV announcing teams will remain the same, with Brian Anderson, Bill Schroeder, and Sophia Minnaert leading the way. The announcers are hired by the team. Main Street continues to provide TV coverage of its NBA and NHL teams through the end of the current season, but what happens after that is unclear. Main Street offered a reduced rate to continue carrying the nine MLB teams, with the Reds offered $42 million, down from $52 million, according to The Athletic. The Brewers were reportedly getting $35 million in regional sports network fees. Teams that lost their RSN (FanDuel Sports Network) received about 50% of what they did with their previous deals. Before this latest announcement, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, and Washington Nationals were slated to be carried by MLB in 2026. Some teams have faced this situation for a couple of years, with the Nationals just recently joining the fray after a dispute with the Baltimore Orioles was resolved. That brings the number of clubs whose television rights are being taken over by MLB to 13. View the full article