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The Kansas City Royals have signed 14-year MLB veteran Starling Marte. Does the 37-year-old have anything left in the tank, and what are realistic expectations for his role in 2026? We dive into Marte's strengths, weaknesses, and expected contributions to the team this season. Enjoy! View the full article

Spring training stats are always difficult to navigate. There are five Milwaukee Brewers turning heads in Arizona. Players discussed in this video are Luis Lara, Joey Ortiz, Akil Baddoo, Brandon Lockridge, and Tyler Black. View the full article

Safe to say, expectations weren't high for Brett Squires entering Royals Spring Training in Arizona. Squires wasn't an official non-roster invitee, meaning that his starting outlook in 2026 would be in the Minor Leagues. A couple of seasons ago, the former University of Oklahoma product seemed to be making the case as a dark horse for a 40-man roster spot. In High-A Quad Cities in 2024, the undrafted prospect posted a .309/.390/.481 slash with a .401 wOBA and 151 wRC+ in 270 plate appearances. He only had nine home runs, but he likely would've surpassed his 15-HR mark in 2023 in Columbia in 122 games had he not gotten injured. Despite the shortened sample, he stole 16 bases and collected 42 RBI. There was some hope that Squires would make a run for a roster spot in 2025 despite not being added to the 40-man roster in the offseason. He went unselected in the Rule 5 Draft that December, but that didn't mean he didn't hold potential as a dark horse prospect in Double-A Northwest Arkansas. Unfortunately, the power didn't develop as hoped last season, and the overall metrics plateaued a bit as well over a larger sample of games. In 116 games and 496 plate appearances, Squires slashed .248/.327/.411 with a .341 wOBA and 105 wRC+. While those latter numbers are encouraging, he only hit 10 home runs and posted an ISO of .163. That latter mark was nine points lower than his 2024 mark in Quad Cities and his 2023 mark in Columbia. He also struck out 27% of the time, had a 0.36 BB/K ratio, and a contact rate of 67.4%, according to Fangraphs. The Texas-born corner infielder showed flashes, with this bomb hit against Wichita in May being a prime example. That said, while Squires had those flashes of mammoth power, he just didn't do it enough consistently. As a result, he went undrafted again in the Rule 5 Draft this past December and wasn't listed as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training. And yet, despite his long odds and lack of at-bats, Squires is doing all he can to turn heads in Arizona. Squires Putting Up Solid Statcast Metrics This Spring When it comes to Squires' Statcast profile from a year ago via TJ Stats, there isn't much because Double-A data isn't publicly available. However, the limited profile of his campaign in Northwest Arkansas last year is nonetheless interesting to see. Squires' wOBA was decent, ranking in the 65th percentile. He also swung a LOT last year, as his 53.8% swing rate ranked in the 90th percentile. However, his whiff rate ranked in the 14th percentile, and his K% ranked in the 22nd percentile. Those two numbers aren't encouraging, especially for a hitter who swings as much as Squires. On the flip side, his walk rate wasn't terrible at 9.7%, which ranked in the 43rd percentile. Add that with a strong ability to pull the ball in the air (14.8%, 60th percentile), and one can see why Squires could be an intriguing fringe prospect to the more analytically inclined Royals fan. Still, the profile last year wasn't enough to garner Squire much love in most prospect lists, including ours at Royals Keep. That said, here's a look at what Squires is doing so far in Spring Training. Some things haven't changed for Squires. He still whiffs a lot, as his 35.3% whiff rate ranks in the 17th percentile and his 66.7% Z-Contact% ranks in the 8th percentile. However, everything else has been quite impressive. His 90th EV, Max EV, Barrel%, and Pull Air% rank in the 100th percentile. His wOBA, xwOBA, Average EV, and LA Sweet-Spot% rank in the 99th percentile. Lastly, his O-Swing% ranks in the 98th percentile, and his hard-hit rate ranks in the 78th percentile. While it's not a whole lot of plate appearances or batted ball events (just 5), he is locked in, and it's been fun to see in Spring Training, as illustrated in the video of his homer below. Squires saw a 100.3 MPH four-seamer from Colorado's Seth Halvorsen and absolutely launched it. Here's what the exit velocity and distance on Squires' home run looked like via Savant. Furthermore, here's a look at the pitch chart matchup between Squires and Halvorsen. Notice the location of Halvorsen's pitch below. That's not an easy pitch to go yard on, especially at 100+ MPH. And yet, Squires got his hands around the pitch and launched it 393 feet with an exit velocity of 103 MPH. And it's not just that particular home run where Squires has succeeded. According to TJ Stats' Statcast leaderboard for Royals players, Squires ranks third in average EV (100.8 MPH), third in 90th EV (115.8 MPH), and second in Max EV (115.8 MPH). Again, it's a small sample, but it shows the kind of impact Squires has made at the plate in Spring Training. What Does This Mean for Squires? Squires likely will begin the year in Triple-A Omaha, probably splitting time at first base with Abraham Toro, who is a non-roster invitee. However, while Squires will begin the year with the Storm Chasers, he will still be one to watch in Spring Training, especially with players like Vinnie Pasquantino, Jac Caglianone, and Salvador Perez, all of whom play first base, participating in the World Baseball Classic. Thus, Squires will get at-bats for the next week or two, simply due to so many Royals playing in the WBC. If Squires can continue this exit velocity and barrel trend over the next two weeks, he could not just earn a starting spot in Omaha, but also put him on the radar of some other teams looking to acquire cheap power at first base. With Pasquantion locked in at first base for the foreseeable future, Squires may be more of a trade asset than one who can matriculate to the Major Leagues and have an impact with the Royals. His situation feels similar to CJ Alexander in 2024. Alexander was launching balls as a fringe prospect, especially in Triple-A Omaha (as seen below in his Statcast profile), but he showed in a short call-up that he wasn't ready for MLB competition. The former Braves draft pick was designated for assignment later in the season by Kansas City, but he could've been a player that the Royals could've utilized in a trade with a team desperate for offensive help. However, because Kansas City exposed him to MLB competition, his trade value plummeted. The Royals learned their lesson with Cam Devanney: not exposing him to MLB pitching, but instead utilizing him in a midseason trade for Adam Frazier. Maybe Squires is a Four-A player like Alexander, or he finds success in the NPB (Japan) like Devanney. That said, I think there's a player in Squires who can generate some serious buzz in Omaha, especially in their hitter-friendly environment. If he can build on this spring and continue to mash in Triple-A, he could build himself up to be a throw-in piece to a trade later in the season, which isn't a bad asset for the Royals to have. View the full article

We've already explored the 11th- through 20th-ranked prospects in the Cubs system, as voted on by our North Side Baseball writers, in two installments (Nos. 11-15, and Nos. 16-20). Today, we continue our look at our top-20 by diving deep on our 10th-ranked prospect: infielder James Triantos. #10 - James Triantos (Iowa Cubs, Triple-A) Triantos, 23, saw a full season of Triple-A action in 2025 after a strong 2024. While at Double-A Tennessee, the former second-round pick showed improved power, posting a career-high .137 ISO. Power has been one of the knocks on the infielder's game, so seeing him begin to flash some pop while in Tennessee provided hope that he could marry his contact-oriented approach with just enough pop to create the ultimate version of himself. Sadly, his first extended look at Iowa was not what he or the Cubs had hoped, putting his place in the organization a bit in limbo as we enter the 2026 season. What To Like One thing Triantos has never struggled with is making contact, and a lot of it. Even during his time in Iowa last year in which the player struggled, Triantos only struck out 15% of the time. On top of the low punchout rate, Triantos showcased a 90th-percentile whiff rate and 82nd-percentile zone contact rate. He makes a lot of contact, regardless of whether it's in the zone or out of it. One of the things the diminutive hitter has struggled with has been selectivity. This isn't unique to Triantos; it's something many high-contact hitters need to learn—that not everything you can hit is something you should hit. While the overall numbers didn't really get much better, his swing decisions did ,and that is a positive sign for the future. From the beginning of the season to the end of the year, he lowered his chase rate and his overall swing rate, which is a good thing; he needs to be a little bit choosier at the plate. His bat control is good enough that he's able to get deeper into a count and still make contact. Another thing he does well: he hits the fastball. Triantos's best outcomes were on fastballs last year. His overall wOBA of .312 was disappointing, but a .337 wOBA when making contact with fastballs was better. By being more picky at the plate, he can also hunt these pitches a little more successfully. While you'd love to see his numbers against other types of pitches be better than where they are, getting to the fastball is a good first-step as he continues to grow as a hitter. What To Work On: While Triantos clearly can hit the ball often, his quality of contact is just not where it needs to be right now. While some of these things can be explained away as the cost of a contact-oriented approach, he's never going to survive at the next level if he doesn't hit the ball with a bit more authority. On the 2025 season, James had just a 76 wRC+ against Triple-A pitching. For any organization to think he's ready, he's going to need to show (at least) the ability to dominate at the highest level of the minors. Sadly, because he will offer limited defensive ability (despite his versatility), his bat is going to have to be a bit stronger. One reason why his batted-ball data is so poor could be a leg injury suffered early in the season. Triantos has a pretty quiet swing and doesn't generate a lot of power to begin with, but if you cut a leg out from under him, it's going to be even worse. We shouldn't attribute everything to this, but it could be a mitigating factor, and something to keep in the back of our minds. What's Next: Another full year of hitting in Iowa is on tap, barring his turning a corner. While Triantos once looked like a virtual lock to make an MLB roster one day due to his versatility and bat-to-ball skills, his 2025 season threw that into question. The good news is that he's still quite young, still has versatility, and if he can show an offensive game 10% or so better than league average, he'll quickly put his name back onto broader prospect radars. One thing to keep an eye on: there's video out there of what looks like an overhauled swing entering this spring. We'll have to see what he looks like in games and what this means, but he appears to be a little less upright, and his hands seem to have been raised. It's a setup and swing geared toward a little extra loft, as well. Compare the video below with the video above, from August 2025. I don't think Triantos profiles as a big-league regular. He's probably best at second base (despite a plus arm), but he's not particularly great at any position. His arm is strong enough for third, but he isn't a particularly adroit fielder. His legs are good enough for center field, but he hasn't found a home there, and against the best pitching in the world, his bat probably doesn't have enough oomph to be a starter on a good team. With that said, he's got a great chance of being "just good enough" to play second,. third and anywhere in the outfield, while flashing enough contact ability and speed that if you squint hard and believe even harder, he can offer sneaky value. There's still upside in Triantos, even if 2025 didn't really go to plan. What do you think of James Triantos? Do you like his new mechanics? What are your projections? Let us know in the comment section below! View the full article

#6 Logan Henderson (Nashville Sounds, Milwaukee Brewers) Henderson impressed in his limited major-league opportunities with a 1.78 ERA and 33 strikeouts in his first five starts, spanning 25 ⅓ innings. He showed why he has been one of the more interesting pitching prospects in the system for a while now. PA H 2B 3B HR OPS wRC+ wOBA K% BB% SwStr% Whiff% PULL% CENT% OPPO% LD% GB% FB% IFFB% SB CS SB% 90th EV 283 65 17 1 10 .817 115 .364 13.8% 9.9% 10.5% 22.6% 43.5% 22.0% 34.4% 25.5% 36.5% 38.0% 24.1% 2 0 100% 102.8 What to Like Logan Henderson’s fastball and changeup form the foundation of his arsenal, and both pitches performed very well for him against big-league batters. The changeup, in particular, stands out as a plus offering, featuring strong velocity separation from the fastball, good fade, and solid depth. He also tunnels it very well with his fastball. His four-seam fastball also performs better than the 92-95 MPH readings on the radar gun might suggest, due to Henderson’s ability to generate an excellent vertical approach angle and strong carry through the zone, from a low release height, helping him miss bats at a higher rate than expected. Henderson is also a bulldog on the mound. He competes with whatever he has that day and isn’t afraid to show a little emotion after recording a big out. He has the type of mentality that helps a pitcher work around some of the potential downfalls discussed below. The combination of command, mentality, and two high-quality pitches gives Henderson a strong baseline as a major-league arm. Even without further development in his arsenal, the current profile suggests a reliable floor in a relief role. His ability to locate his best pitches and generate swing-and-miss results should allow him to contribute at the big-league level in some capacity for a long time. It wouldn’t be a shock to see the velocity tick up a bit in a shorter role, either. What to Work On The biggest question surrounding Henderson is the lack of a consistent third pitch. He currently does not have a reliable offering that moves glove-side or provides a different look from his fastball and changeup combination. While the two-pitch mix has worked in short outings and early appearances, it may be more difficult to sustain success as a starting pitcher once opposing lineups see him multiple times. He has experimented with both a slider and a cutter, with the cutter appearing more likely to develop into a usable pitch. His natural pronating arm action makes it difficult for him to consistently create the shape needed for a traditional breaking ball, which has limited the effectiveness of his slider. Continued refinement of the cutter or the development of any glove-side moving pitch would significantly strengthen his starting profile. On that note, there may have been a breakthrough this spring. Henderson has been working to bring back a curveball that he threw in college, and he debuted it in his first spring outing. The shape and the spin of the pitch grade out as a perfectly solid third pitch, and it’s a much bigger shape than any other breaking ball he has thrown in the past. Without that additional pitch, his overall ceiling as a starter remains somewhat limited. The current arsenal can succeed, but expanding his pitch mix would improve his ability to handle lineups multiple times and raise his long-term upside. The curveball could be the pitch that does this, but it’s too soon to say for sure. What’s Next His early major-league success has raised expectations, but his long-term value will depend on how his repertoire develops over the next season. If a consistent third pitch emerges, Henderson has the tools to settle into a role as a mid-to-back-end starter, right out of camp in 2026. Without it, his strong fastball and changeup combination still provide a clear path to a long-term role in a major-league bullpen, where his pitch mix could play up in shorter outings. What are your thoughts on Henderson? What are you hoping to see from him in 2026? Let us know in the comments! View the full article

Signed out of Cuba by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2020 International Free Agent class, Kendry Rojas quickly progressed through Toronto’s minor-league system, jumping from starting his 2022 campaign in Single-A to earning a promotion to Triple-A in July 2025. Kendry Rojas Age: 23 (DOB: 11/26/02) 2025 Stats (A, Double-A, Triple-A): 69 innings pitched, 4.70 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 28.8% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate ETA: 2026 2025 Ranking: NR National Top 100 Rankings BA: ? | MLB: NR | ATH: NR | BP: ? | ESPN: NR After making just one start at Triple-A Buffalo, the then-22-year-old was traded alongside left-handed hitting outfielder Alan Roden to the Minnesota Twins for right-handed reliever Louis Varland and first baseman Ty France. Similar to what Toronto did with Simeon Woods Richardson in 2021, many believe the organization aggressively promoted Rojas to inflate his trade stock right before the trade deadline. The young lefty struggled at Triple-A St. Paul last season, generating a 6.59 ERA, 5.73 FIP, and a 90-to-32 strikeout to walk ratio over 27 1/3 innings pitched. Rojas cited external factors, such as the baseballs used in Triple-A, as a driving factor in his performance woes in the high minors. Yet, the most likely reason behind his struggles was that Toronto promoted him too aggressively. Regardless, Twins' decision-makers likely won’t reverse course with the now 23-year-old as the hard-throwing lefty is set to begin his 2026 campaign at Triple-A, citing notable advancements in his arsenal this spring. What’s to Like Despite posting lackluster surface stats this spring (6.75 ERA and 5.87 FIP over four innings pitched), Rojas’s stuff has caught the attention of fans and pundits alike, headlined by increased four-seam velocity. Last season, the southpaw's four-seam hovered around 94 MPH. Yet, it is sitting at 96.4 MPH, while topping out at 98.5 MPH in an appearance against Ronald Acuña Jr. on Feb. 22 (statistics below courtesy of TJStats). His four-seam fastball could become a true plus-pitch if he can sustain his newfound velocity bump into the regular season. However, there are concerns with the shape and movement profile of the pitch, which we will get into later. Throughout his career, his best pitch has been his slider, and that trend has continued early this spring. Rojas has been able to pound the zone with his slider (hovering around 88 MPH), generating a high whiff rate against right- and left-handed hitters. Given its handedness-proof nature, he should be able to lean on the pitch going forward, making it his primary put-out pitch against all types of hitters. His change up (also sitting around 88 MPH) has also impressed this spring, primarily throwing it low in the zone to righties. Sporting a plus breaking pitch, a plus offspeed pitch, and an ascending fastball, Rojas could soon develop into an above-average major league starter and cost-controlled rotation stalwart for Minnesota for seasons to come. What’s Left to Work On To become that, however, the hard-throwing lefty will need to continue refining his four-seam. The pitch is coming out of his hand flat, evidenced by his fastball generating only 14 inches of induced vertical break (IVB) in his last appearance. The lower the IVB, the longer hitters see the ball, improving their chances of making hard contact like Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran did below: YVk5TGVfWGw0TUFRPT1fVUZNRFV3WlhCUUlBWGxjREFnQUhCUUZWQUFNTUFBVUFCZ1lEQXdNQkJGZGRWQWRS.mp4 The former Blue Jays prospect has also struggled with command in the minors, highlighted by sporting a well-below-average 15.9% walk rate with St. Paul last season. He is showing signs of improvement this spring, decreasing his walk rate to an admirable 6.7% over four innings pitched. Still, like his four-seam velocity bump, he will need to sustain these improvements into the regular season for him to become a serviceable major league starting pitcher in 2026. Again, Rojas has the potential to be a high-strikeout, high-whiff starting pitcher, especially given his handedness. He needs to hone in on his command, however, but that’s okay. He is an uber-talented 23-year-old left-handed starting pitcher. Something this organization hasn’t had since Francisco Liriano. What to Look For in 2026 As noted earlier, Rojas will likely begin his 2026 campaign as part of the Triple-A St. Paul Saints starting rotation, alongside fellow young, high-upside starting pitchers in Mick Abel, Connor Prielipp, and Andrew Morris. He will continue working on refining his four-seam fastball shape, sustaining his velo bump, and sharpening his secondary pitches with the Saints' pitching development staff, with eyes toward making his major league debut come midsummer, if not earlier. Again, his surface stats with St. Paul in 2025 were nothing to write home about. Still, he has the stuff necessary to blossom into a frontline starting pitcher, ushering in Minnesota’s next wave of young starting rotation talent. View the full article

Today was a great day for baseball. To be fair, every day is a great day for baseball, but Tuesday afternoon in Dunedin felt different. Blue Jays spring training was well underway, but this time it wasn’t just “root, root, root for the home team.” Team Canada was in town for the first of their two exhibition games ahead of the World Baseball Classic, with their tournament opener set for Saturday, March 7, at 11 a.m. against Colombia. There was plenty of Blue Jays blue in the crowd, and just as much red and white, but this wasn’t a case of two separate fan bases showing up to watch a game; this was an irregularity. Fans at the ballpark were cheering for both teams. Former Blue Jay and long-time manager of Team Canada, Ernie Whitt, led his team onto the field with numerous fellow former MLB players and Team Canada alumni on the coaching staff. Most notable was Russell Martin, who spent four seasons with the Blue Jays from 2015 to 2018. He was spotted pregame giving handshakes and hugs to several players on the Blue Jays bench with a massive smile on his face. Once he took his spot in the first base coach's box, it was game on. Team Canada sent out a lineup full of MLB players, led by captain Josh Naylor, paired with his younger brother Bo, and full of young but talented players, all with MLB experience. Their first task wasn’t going to be easy, as the Blue Jays handed the ball to Kevin Gausman, the two-time All-Star and 13-year MLB veteran. Canada went quietly in the first against Gausman, who looked sharp in his second start of the spring. Tyler Black flew out to begin the game, and aside from a Josh Naylor walk, that's all Canada could muster in the top of the first. Toeing the rubber for Team Canada was the left-handed throwing Logan Allen. He’s a veteran of five MLB seasons with four teams and has recently pitched in Korea for the NC Dinos. He struggled with his command in this one. After a hard lineout from George Springer, he walked Nathan Lukes, which was followed by a Daulton Varsho infield single. Addison Barger walked, and two batters later, Jesús Sánchez smoked a two-run single, and Canada found themselves down early. After Gausman struck out two and allowed just a soft single to Otto Lopez in the top half of the second, things really unravelled in the bottom of the frame. After three straight walks to start the inning, Allen’s day was done. Cambridge, Ontario’s Noah Skirrow entered in relief, but by the time he escaped the inning, the damage had been done, and Canada was losing 7-0. Or, depending on your allegiance, the Blue Jays led 7-0. But Canadians don’t just quit, and neither does Team Canada. From there, things got better. Skirrow came back out for the third and struck out the side, including Springer. The next three pitchers, Adam Macko (who was facing his own teammates), Eric Cerantola and Indigo Diaz combined to pitch three innings while allowing just one hit. It showcased one of Team Canada's strengths: bullpen depth. Maybe that was the change of momentum Canada needed, as then the bats woke up. In the top of the sixth, Longueuil, QC native Abraham Toro smoked a single to centerfield. Then, Mississauga, ON native Josh Naylor ripped an even harder single (110.4 EV) to right field, and Team Canada had runners on the corners with no out. After the elder Naylor stole second, the national team was able to drive both runners in on a Tyler O’Neill sacrifice fly and an Owen Caissie RBI single. Just like that, the score was 7-2, and suddenly, there was life. Canada added a third run in the seventh via a Jared Young sac fly, and then in the eighth, the bats exploded off of Jays Centre's #6 prospect Gage Stanifer. London, ON, native Jacob Robson led off the inning with an opposite-field home run, which started a run of four straight hitters reaching base, capped off by Athletics center fielder and Toronto native Denzel Clarke, who ripped a double. Black then proceeded to hit a sacrifice fly, and just like that, Canada had erased a seven-run deficit to tie things at 7-7. Team Canada was alive. The lead was short-lived, as in the bottom half, Canadian right-hander Brock Dykxhoorn gave up a three-run home run to Blue Jays first baseman Riley Tirotta. That proved to be the difference in the ballgame, as the Blue Jays defeated Team Canada 10-7. Overall, it was a good start for Team Canada, as they did what they set out to do. The offence showed life, scoring seven runs and recording three sacrifice flies, a sign of unselfish situational baseball, and they actually outhit the Blue Jays 10 to eight. Canada still has work to do. Allen’s five walks won’t win many baseball games, and the two defensive errors Canada made will need to be cleaned up if this group hopes to advance to the knockout round for the first time in tournament history. Team Canada will get another warm-up game against the Phillies at 1:05 p.m. this afternoon before their tournament opens on Saturday against Colombia at 11 am ET. Now, allegiances are split no longer. There's no more cheering for both teams – it’s all red and white from here on out. Ahead of a short tournament where anything can happen, Canada showed it has the talent to make things interesting, and if the breaks go their way, there’s a real opportunity to do something this program has never done before. From the Notebook Adam Macko (Stony Plain, AB) was in a precarious position as he got to pitch against his own team. Macko has pitched three scoreless innings for the Blue Jays so far this spring, and on Tuesday, he came in to face a pocket of three lefties. After a single to Nathan Lukes, he got Daulton Varsho to hit into a double play and Addison Barger to ground out to get out of the inning. Blue Jays prospect Je’Von Ward ended up playing for Team Canada in this game. Seems like the Blue Jays were lending a helping hand to the national team, since Ward is from Cerritos, California. He did play for the Vancouver Canadians this past season, and just for one day, he was an honorary Canadian. He went 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Josh Naylor not only stole a base, but he also had the two hardest-hit baseballs in the game: a 110.4-mph single in the sixth and a 108.6-mph double play ball in the third. Hitting coach Justin Morneau revealed that Team Canada is planning on bringing some mini-sticks to Puerto Rico so they can play during any downtime at the WBC. View the full article

As dedicated sports fans and analysts, there's something of a bizarre phenomenon that takes place once a player reaches a certain stratosphere: We stop talking about them. I don't mean literally, of course. People didn't stop wearing David Ortiz jerseys or magically forget the historic ascendancy unfolding every time Pedro Martinez took the mound. But articles breaking down the minutiae of a player's stats or endless forum discussions about their value to the team are often reserved for those on the fringes of a casual fan's mind — the "X-factors" of the world, as we've come to call them. Sometimes, a pitcher or hitter becomes so good that their greatness is inevitable. Last season, Garrett Crochet entered that tier of greatness. He was so singularly dominant — so guaranteed to put the Boston Red Sox in a position to win every time he took the mound — that it became easy to take him for granted. Leading the American League in workload (205 1/3 innings), the War Pig accumulated an MLB-leading 255 strikeouts. His 2.59 ERA and 6.3 bWAR were enough to earn him a second-place finish in Cy Young Award voting, behind only back-to-back champion Tarik Skubal. That is now the standard to which Crochet must adhere. No matter which outlet or sportsbook you choose to get your odds from, you'll find the Red Sox's ace as one of two favorites for the Junior Circuit's top pitching award this season, alongside Skubal. No one else comes within their vicinity, with Jacob deGrom and Hunter Brown serving as dark-horse options as the next-biggest favorites on the list. That's awe-inspiring company to be a part of. Crochet joins Skubal, Paul Skenes (reigning NL Cy Young) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (reigning World Series MVP) as one of the four best pitchers in the sport. Even on a pitching staff that's set to introduce All-Stars Sonny Gray and Ranger Suárez to the fold this year, the incumbent southpaw is the unquestioned leader of the group. The projection systems offer similar hope and hype for an encore. Every notable model foresees at least 5.0 fWAR worth of production from Crochet in 2026, and even those that aren't overtly bullish on him still can't help but prognosticate greatness. Garrett Crochet 2026 Projections Steamer: 193 innings, 3.02 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 30.8% strikeout rate, 5.6 fWAR ZiPS: 184 1/3 innings, 2.78 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 30.7% strikeout rate, 5.5 fWAR Composite: 187 innings, 2.98 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 30.4% strikeout rate, 5.6 fWAR There were already considerable expectations on his shoulders after the trade with the Chicago White Sox, and even those ballooned after he inked a $170 million extension to remain in Boston for the foreseeable future. Now, Crochet is facing do-or-die pressure every time he steps to the mound. Anything short of another top-three finish in Cy Young voting will register as disappointing, as insane as that is to say during the first week of March. Remember, none of the Red Sox's previous southpaw aces (Chris Sale, David Price, and Jon Lester) were able to win the award in Boston. Rick Porcello's questionable victory in 2016 is the last one the franchise has had; before him, it was Pedro's two-year run in 1999 and 2000. MVPs have been nearly twice as common as Cy Youngs in team history (11 to 7), and that includes a man (Roger Clemens) who won both a combined four times. Asking Crochet to win the top pitching award — while having to out-duel an all-time great in Skubal for it — is probably asking to be disappointed. But that's what being great is all about: having to exceed even the most outlandish expectations. Crochet has earned his place in this discussion. The projection systems clearly favor his chances to repeat his breakout 2025 season. As he's soon to find out, though, there's only one thing more difficult than reaching the mountaintop: maintaining your place atop it. View the full article

Veteran left-hander Joe Mantiply re-joined the Blue Jays today, signing a new minor league contract. Unsurprisingly, his deal includes an invitation to spring training. Mantiply, now 35, was a late bloomer. Following several years in the Tigers, Yankees, and Reds organizations, he broke out in his thirties with the Diamondbacks. From 2021-24, he pitched in 236 games for Arizona, putting up a 3.63 ERA and 3.49 xERA. He did an exceptional job of keeping the ball on the ground and limiting home runs. More than half of the batted balls he allowed in those four years were on the ground, and he kept his opponents to just 12 home runs in 820 trips to the plate. The lefty had a strong season in 2024 but struggled terribly in 2025. The D-backs optioned Mantiply in April after he gave up 13 runs and 20 hits over his first eight games. His struggles continued at Triple-A and in his brief return to the majors. Eventually, on June 1, the team for whom he made an All-Star appearance in 2022 and pitched meaningful postseason innings in 2023 released him, less than one year removed from a 75-game, 1.2 fWAR season. After six weeks in the wilderness, Mantiply found a new home in the Blue Jays organization. He looked much more like his old self over two months with Buffalo, producing a 3.45 ERA and 1.90 FIP in 15.2 innings, striking out 19, walking none, and giving up just one home run. Presumably, Mantiply was hoping to parlay that strong finish into a major league deal. Evidently, however, he was unable to land a guaranteed contract, so he chose to re-up with the organization that bought stock in him last summer. He will most likely start the season back at Triple-A, but if he performs anything like he did in his last stint in Buffalo, he'll get his chance in the big league bullpen eventually. View the full article

Kendry Rojas did not fare well at Triple-A once he reached the level in 2025. However, he's looked well to start out the spring, so how can he be a better starter for the Saints rotation to keep himself an option as a starter in the majors? View the full article

We know that batting averages and OPSes mean very little in spring. As Brewers fans remember well, the adventures of Vinny Capra proved to have no correlation with his performance in the regular season. He hit six home runs in the spring of 2025 and was gone from the organization by the middle of May. Pitchers aren't game-planning. Their command is hardly dialed-in, and that leaves opportunities for hitters to excel in a small sample. After four long, lonely, starving months without baseball activity, it's easy to get carried away, but that doesn't mean we have nothing to get excited about. If you're a Brewers fan, it's quite the contrary. Let's have a look at those who are making strides from their last competitive action, and why each offers a reason for positivity for a team that reached the NLCS in 2025. Brandon Sproat Brandon Sproat came over as part of the Freddy Peralta trade and has hit the ground running. Possessing a full, diverse arsenal that perhaps wasn't showcased enough by the Mets in 2025 during his cup of coffee, Sproat showed exactly how the Brewers plan to use him in 2026. Sproat has converted what was already a hard 88-mph slider into a mid-90s cutter (touching 95 mph at times) and blended the four-seamer he was renowned for in the minor leagues with the complementary sinker and cutter that the Brewers prize so dearly. While the stuff grades don't pop off the page, the hitters' swings—and the simple eye test—suggest that his combination of power and movement is valuable. He threw nearly all his fastballs for strikes, but didn't land his secondary stuff in the zone in his first game in the Cactus League. There will be far more nuance in the regular season, but the most intriguing part was the swing-and-miss element of Sproat's arsenal. He conceded two hard-hit balls—one on an upper-third four-seam fastball and the other on a back-up sweeper—but when he executed, he missed bats. Sproat struck out 17 in 20 2/3 innings last year in the major leagues, which would once have counted as dominant but doesn't open any eyes anymore. Changes to his pitch mix should increase the deception in his arsenal, and perhaps allow everything to play up. It's too early to tell, but it bears watching as spring progresses. Bishop Letson Letson has been a name on evaluators' lips for a while, struggling to stay on the field with regularity but showcasing extension, movement, command and a deep enough arsenal to generate some early hype in his young professional career. Over the offseason, his fastball has added several ticks, and the result is monstrous: Letson's fastball has averaged almost 97 mph this spring, with extreme vertical "rise" for his arm angle; plus extension; and big-time spin. It's a fastball that could be dominant. So far, he doesn't know how to tunnel it with his other offerings, using a higher release point than the rest of his arsenal to get behind the ball. That's one reason why he prefers to lead with his slider. The changeup will be key for Letson going forward, offering him an alternative out pitch to left-handed hitters, against whom a slider is typically less effective. The pitch shows good characteristics, but he'll need to improve his feel for it as he matures. Health is the main concern for Letson, but if he can stay on the field, there might be a top-of-the-rotation arm to dream on. Brandon Lockridge Lockridge appeared, initially, to be a throwaway piece in the deal that sent Nestor Cortes and Jorge Quintana to the Padres at the 2025 trade deadline. His elite speed seemed unlikely to make up for a dearth of power, but rumors did spread that the Brewers were higher on Lockridge than most. This spring, we've seen some of the fruits of this. Of Brewers to have seen over 50 pitches, only one player (Brock Wilken) has a higher average exit velocity, and only two hitters (Brice Turang and David Hamilton) have swung and missed less often. In the chart below, Lockridge's emblem is the one in the top left: Turang is Lockridge's closest comparison on this chart, also whiffing very little (just once in camp so far) without quite as much contact as Lockridge in the small sample. In case you're concerned about Vinny Capra comparisons, Capra averaged 94 mph exit velocities but did swing and miss 22% of the time last year. Lockridge won't tear through the league the way he did through early spring training games, but he's been creating hard hits across the strike zone. That changes his profile substantially. The Brewers are no strangers to an outfielder making strides, Blake Perkins being the most recent example of an unheralded pickup making a meaningful impact. Lockridge's potential is greater, but of course, we'll need a larger sample before locking in any observations. Have you noticed any other standouts in spring training that have impressed? Have you enjoyed any of the prospects making appearances, from Brock Wilken to Jesus Made? Let us know your thoughts below! View the full article

There are certain checkpoints for starting pitchers during spring training that fans have come to expect. Bullpen sessions turn into live batting practice. Live batting practice turns into Grapefruit League innings. Grapefruit League innings slowly stretch into something that resembles a normal workload by the time the regular season rolls around. When a pitcher appears to take a detour from that standard ramp-up, it's fair to wonder what it means for Opening Day. That's where things currently sit with Bailey Ober as camp moves deeper into March. It wasn’t quite game action yet, but Ober faced a string of legitimate major-league hitters in a live batting practice session on Sunday, and he liked what he saw. “Felt great,” Ober said. “It always feels good to be out there, especially when you're building up. Two innings, 40, 45 pitches, felt really good. Got swings and misses in both innings that I threw. For the most part, threw strikes. I think one at-bat got away from me. … I feel like my body was moving pretty well on my own, and I was moving fast.” On the surface, everything sounds normal enough. But Ober’s path to this point has been anything but standard. He worked extensively throughout the winter to regain his delivery, which had become significantly out of whack during 2025 while he dealt with a left hip injury. He was pleased with his form approaching camp, but then early in spring, he had a couple of throwing sessions where he felt he backslid a bit. Rather than charge headlong into games, Ober took an extra bullpen session and then two live batting practice sessions before beginning Grapefruit League play. “The last couple of weeks, [I] hadn't been feeling as sharp as I wanted to,” he said. “Some stuff was getting away from what I was working on this offseason. But I'm feeling healthy, and I think this past week I was able to get back to ... how I want to feel on the mound mechanically. So just giving me a little bit extra time to really dial that in, because I spent so much of this offseason just grinding.” That decision is probably the biggest reason why this conversation is happening at all. Ober is not injured. He's not shut down. But he is behind where he might normally be in a traditional spring progression because he needed to recalibrate mechanically before putting himself into game situations. There can be frustration when an athlete’s body isn’t responding the way they want. “It's just baseball. Yes, it is crazy frustrating, especially when you had it in camp and you're throwing 90-mile-an-hour bullpens in the first week in January, and then you get here and you're like, where the f***’s is my s***? Like, where is it?" Ober said. "And then, so being able to kind of diagnose, sit back, get a little extra time these guys allow me to get things right, and go out today and throw, and I felt really good, and feel like it's a good stepping stone going into my next outing.” The next step for Ober is a game, expected to be on Friday night at home against the Braves. From there, he’ll continue normal buildup, and Twins officials are fully confident he’ll be ready and feeling like himself when the season opens on March 26. “He's trying to do everything he can to be as efficient in his delivery as possible,” said general manager Jeremy Zoll. “The more efficient you are, the better your stuff plays. It's an opportunity to iron those things out early. He's trying to take advantage of that early, especially with camp starting earlier. We'll let him have that time now instead of down the road. “There's still plenty of time,” Zoll said. “We're not worried about that. He's had multiple ups and different things. Not worried about his availability.” Minnesota's Opening Day rotation has already taken multiple hits. Pablo López is out for the year after Tommy John surgery, and David Festa has been shut down for multiple weeks with a shoulder issue. If Ober isn't ready for Opening Day, Mick Abel would probably be the next man up in the rotation. However, that would leave few experienced options in the Triple-A rotation as depth. Is there a chance Ober isn't quite ready for Opening Day? Sure. That possibility exists any time a pitcher deviates from the normal script this late in camp. But the Twins are making a clear bet here. They would rather have Ober slightly behind on innings in late March than fighting his delivery again in late May. If this extra time now keeps his mechanics synced when the games start to matter, it may end up being less of a delay and more of an investment. Should the Twins be worried about Ober's availability? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

JUPITER, FL - Team Israel took the field against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday afternoon for the first of two pre-WBC exhibition games, and one of the biggest stories was that of the Stubbs brothers, C.J. and Garrett. This marked the first time they have taken the field together on the same team. While they both participated in the 2023 installation of the World Baseball Classic, C.J. only entered the tournament after Garrett exited due to injury, "It's a dream come true,” C.J. told Jays Centre. "Every time we ever played with each other growing up, not with baseball, but whether maybe sand volleyball or anything, we competed together and always found a way to win, so we're hoping to do that on this team." Pool D, playing at loanDepot park in Miami, Florida, will feature the Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Israel. The chances of Team Israel moving on to the quarterfinals are slim, but manager Brad Ausmus and C.J. Stubbs both find the underdog mentality beneficial. "Hopefully, we're the underdog that doesn't lay down," Ausmus told reporters. "We're gonna come out and in some sense, take the game to them. We're gonna force our game, and I don't think it'd be in our best interest to sit back and wait for the three-run homer, although I'll take it if they hit it." In the last WBC, C.J., the younger Stubbs brother, played in one game, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. He will likely factor into the designated hitter mix this year, potentially catching as well. "You just got to take it one game at a time," Stubbs said. "Obviously, we got that win against Nicaragua a couple years ago, and we're gonna go out and try to get game one against Venezuela and take it game by game." During Tuesday's exhibition game, Stubbs went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He reached on an error in the eighth. Israel beat the Marlins 1-0. The 29-year-old, who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays on a minor league deal this offseason, gives a lot of credit to manager John Schneider for allowing him to join the team and play in the WBC. "It's been great to get to know [Schneider]. The Blue Jays have been an incredible place to land, an incredible facility, great people working there, and I'm excited to see what happens in the spring,” he said. Team Israel will head up to Port St. Lucie on Wednesday to face the New York Mets. Then, their first pool play game will take place on Saturday, March 7, against Venezuela at 8:00 pm. View the full article

JUPITER, FL—Tuesday's slate of spring training exhibition games looked much different than usual. Most matchups featured a major league team facing a World Baseball Classic team, with the international tournament kicking off later this week. At Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, the Miami Marlins hosted Team Israel. Israel won, 1-0. "I think it's great for baseball," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "It shines a real light on our sport on a global stage...It will be different, a little nice change of pace in spring training, from seeing the Cardinals, Mets, Astros and Nationals like we do—it seems like every day—to seeing someone else, but I hope we've provided them a welcoming environment as they get ready for the tournament to begin." Neither of the starting lineups on Tuesday were at full strength. Israel did not include major leaguers Matt Mervis, Harrison Bader and Spencer Horwitz, who will be crucial for them to advance past the pool play stage. Their starters against the Marlins included WBC veteran Garrett Stubbs and prospects C.J. Stubbs, Zach Levenson, RJ Schreck. "We'll want to get some at-bats and innings on the mound," said Israel's manager Brad Ausmus. "It also gives us the opportunity to see some of these guys that we have not seen as a coaching staff. As a manager, we're aware of what they've done, but we haven't necessarily put eyes on them. It's an opportunity for them and it's opportunity for us." Marlins trotted out Braxton Garrett to make his second start of the spring, going two shutout innings, walking one and striking out one. His fastball topped out at 92.6 mph and of the 26 pitches he threw, 16 were for strikes. "A lot more strikes than last time, especially to start," Garrett said following his start. "Obviously the one walk, but really pounded the zone with everything, minus the changeup. But we'll work on the on the changeup here this week." Daniel Moskos is entering his second season as Marlins pitching coach, but because Garrett spent all of 2025 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, that has been "a little bit of an adjustment" for him. "I'm not used to having such a big area to look at in the zone," Garrett said. "They're really encouraging me, telling me how good my stuff is and how good it is in the zone, and to not be so picky about where it is. We're not trying to throw everything right down the middle, but we're not trying to throw everything right on the black, either." Quick notes - In addition to Garrett, the following Marlins pitchers threw against Israel: Pete Fairbanks, Calvin Faucher, Dax Fulton, Bradley Blalock, Cade Gibson and Zach Brzykcy. - Garrett Stubbs drove in the game's only run in the top of the fourth inning with an RBI triple off of Faucher. - The first round of cuts from Marlins big league camp included Thomas White, Stephen Jones, Evan McKendry, Patrick Monteverde, Dale Stanavich, Samy Vásquez and Sam Praytor. There are 64 players remaining in camp. - Michael Petersen, who was expected to pitch for Great Britain in the WBC, will be staying back in camp instead to try to win one of the bullpen spots. What's next? The Marlins are off on Wednesday after 11 consecutive days of exhibition games, but they will be back in action on Thursday in Jupiter as they welcome the Houston Astros. In his final tune-up for the WBC, Sandy Alcantara is scheduled to go three innings against Tatsuya Imai. First pitch is at 1:10 pm. Clayton McCullough told reporters that Alcantara will have a limit of about 65 pitches in his March 11 start against Venezuela. It is undecided if he will make another WBC start after that should the Dominican Republic make a deep tournament run. "We will cross that bridge when we get there," said McCullough. Robby Snelling is expected to make a multi-inning relief appearance on Thursday. Eury Pérez will also throw that day, but on the backfields. View the full article

With 10 Grapefruit League games in the books, the Miami Marlins took the first baby step toward assembling their 2026 Opening Day roster. Only 65 players remain in Marlins major league camp as of Tuesday afternoon now that pitchers Thomas White, Stephen Jones, Evan McKendry, Patrick Monteverde, Dale Stanavich and Samy Vásquez and catcher Sam Praytor have been reassigned to the minor leagues. White is certainly the most prominent name in this group, but his inclusion is unsurprising after suffering a right oblique strain. The 21-year-old left-hander concluded last season with Triple-A Jacksonville and he'll aim to rejoin the Jumbo Shrimp sometime in April. Monteverde, Stanavich and Praytor are homegrown Marlins prospects, while Jones, McKendry and Vásquez were signed to minor league free agent deals this past offseason. Vásquez in particular has been lighting up the radar gun (98.4 mph average fastball velocity), but still needs to develop better control. Meanwhile, every member of the Marlins 40-man roster remains in big league camp. Expect another round of cuts early next week. View the full article

On Tuesday morning, Jeff Passan of ESPN announced that Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar has tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug (PEDs) for the second time in two seasons. After serving an 80-game suspension in 2025 for failing a PED test, Profar’s second suspension would keep him out for the entirety of the 2026 season, including the playoffs. The suspension is not yet official; the players' union intends to file a grievance on the veteran's behalf. In all likelihood, though, the Braves need to find a replacement for Profar, who was in line to take the bulk of the team’s DH opportunities in 2026 after the offseason acquisition of left fielder Mike Yastrzemski. Unfortunately for the Braves, options are limited at this point in the offseason. The free agent pool is nearly depleted: Max Kepler will be serving an 80-game suspension for a failed PED test of his own. Tommy Pham and Andrew McCutchen are in their late 30s and best-suited for the short side of a platoon. Other options include Jesse Winker or (if the team is open to a DH-only veteran of lesser note) Donovan Solano and Rowdy Tellez. The Braves have Dominic Smith in camp already, a lefty first baseman and non-roster invitee with nearly seven years of MLB service time. If the season started today, Smith—who had a 114 OPS+ across 225 plate appearances in 2025—would likely be the club’s Opening Day designated hitter. However, 2025 was the first season since 2020 in which Smith had an OPS+ over 100. Beyond that, he has some experience in the outfield, but he should not be played there except in emergencies. Atlanta could be interested in bringing in another outfielder, which is where Minnesota comes into the discussion. The Twins have a bit of a logjam in their corner outfield spots, with Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, James Outman, Alan Roden, Austin Martin, and Emmanuel Rodriguez. Except for Wallner, none of the names listed have shown themselves as a clear choice for one of the spots. At present, Larnach and Outman seem penciled into Opening Day jobs, much to the consternation of Twins fans who would prefer seeing Roden patrolling left field. Roden, acquired as the second piece in the trade that sent Louis Varland to Toronto at the 2025 trade deadline, is a superior defender to Larnach and is not a young prospect. Rodriguez is having a good camp, and his time in the major leagues may be coming soon as well, which raises questions about Larnach’s future. Many have questioned the decision to both tender Larnach a contract this winter and open the season with him on the roster. The team has a surplus of corner outfield options and is running a lower payroll than they have in a decade. Larnach’s modest $4.475-million contract takes up a notable portion of the team’s current payroll; that money could have been better spent elsewhere. The Braves losing a left fielder/DH presents an opportunity for the Twins to offload Larnach and create playing time for younger outfielders. It would also free up time at DH for first baseman Josh Bell, who has a poor reputation as a defender. But would the Braves be interested? Again, Smith is already in camp, and he had a better slash line than Larnach, albeit in less than half of the plate appearances. Larnach was right around average overall, as opposed to Smith, who was 14% better than an average hitter in his limited opportunities. The two hitters had roughly similar splits against right-handed pitchers, though, with Smith being 15% better than an average hitter, as compared to Larnach’s 9% better. In Profar, Atlanta is staring down the possibility of replacing a guy who hits well against both lefties and righties. The Braves hadn't planned to platoon Profar, and it’s unclear who on the roster would face lefties if the club elected to bring in a player who needs to be platooned, as both Larnach and Smith do. This is especially noteworthy, because Atlanta will also (probably) platoon the lefty-batting Yastrzemski. However, the club’s options are limited, and Atlanta’s head of baseball operations, Alex Anthopoulos, has been known to jump on opportunities to maintain competitiveness. In 2021, he made moves to pick up four outfielders in the 20 days after losing Ronald Acuña Jr. for the season—Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, and Adam Duvall. That team would go on to win the World Series a few months later, in large part because of that quartet of outfielders. Even if there's a trade for Larnach on the horizon, it’s unlikely that the Twins will net much in return—perhaps a middle reliever like Joel Payamps (who is making about half of what Larnach is this season), or a low-level prospect. At this point in the offseason, the savings on offloading Larnach don’t have much effect; the options for reallocating the salary are limited. The objective would probably be to free up space for the other lefty corner outfielders behind him while getting a little—likely negligible—player value in return. But, I ask you anyway, because that's what we do here: What does this mean for Trevor Larnach? View the full article

This July, Javier Assad will turn 29 years old. A player that old, with as much big-league playing and service time as Assad has, rarely has to face the prospect of being optioned to the minor leagues. Yet, despite having pitched well whenever he's been healthy enough to do so, that's exactly what Assad might face this spring. He's gone from Cubs camp right now, preparing for his stint with Novena México in the World Baseball Classic, and while he's away, other pitchers will be jockeying for position in the battle for a final spot in the team's bullpen come Opening Day. Barring injuries, the starting rotation to begin the season will include Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon. Colin Rea will be available to move into the rotation in the event of an injury, and can be the long man in the bullpen in the meantime. Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, Caleb Thielbar, Hoby Milner and Jacob Webb can be kept out of the mix only by injuries, because none of them are eligible to be sent to the minors. Daniel Palencia is thus eligible, but won't be sent out. That leaves just one spot up for grabs. Because of his age (and because the team does, at least, have Ben Brown slated to lead the Triple-A Iowa rotation), Assad should get an edge over the other optionable arms in the mix for that job who are already on the 40-man roster. He's performed well, anyway, albeit in extremely limited looks. Beating out the likes of Luke Little or Jack Neely is no problem for him. However, the team also has a handful of promising non-roster invitees in camp, bidding for that same spot. Collin Snider, Trent Thornton and Corbin Martin are the biggest names in that mix. If the team doesn't add one of that group to the 40-man roster (and thus put them on the active big-league list; none of them can be optioned), they could lose them via an opt-out or an upward mobility clause in their contract. Therefore, if any of the three pitch well in Assad's absence, they could sail right past him and into position to make the roster, with the burly Assad shunted to Iowa. If it comes down to it, holding onto a player who looks good in camp is worth letting Assad molder a bit longer in the minors. He could also remain stretched out to pitch multiple innings—perhaps even to start, if needed. It's not the best thing for Assad, at this point in his career, but it could well be the best thing for the Cubs. So far, the most likely person to supplant Assad seems to be Snider. The low-slot righty has his velocity back, after injuries compromised him last season. He's averaged 95 miles per hour with his cutting heater, and has looked solid with three flavors of breaking ball moving off of that pitch. Assad, for his own part, has been sharp, sitting 94 with his four-seamer and sinker and using six pitches. His four-seamer has a bit less carry, but in his case, that's ok. He needs the bloom of other shapes that play off his fastballs, more than he needs the optimized version of those heaters. Thornton is behind the other pitchers in camp, as he recovers from an Achilles injury he suffered last summer. Martin's impressions in camp have been mild, and optionable lefty Ryan Rolison looks much more optionable after a disastrous appearance Monday. Assad probably only has to beat out Snider, but for the next week or two, Snider will be in camp, getting more chances to catch the eye of Craig Counsell and Jed Hoyer. Assad won't. At this moment, it's likely that Assad will begin 2026 in Triple-A, where (somewhat surprisingly) he's only ever pitched 66 2/3 innings. Unless he's traded, he'll almost certainly spend the majority of the season with the Chicago Cubs, but on Opening Day, he might be left behind. It's the nature of the game, but if the Cubs are ever going to get much out Assad, they need to do so this year. View the full article

Twins Geek John Bonnes joins from Twins spring training for one final live show before making the long trek back north. Sweet Lou Hennessy hits him with some Twins-related Over/Under figures and some audience-submitted bold predictions and last-minute Overreaction Scouting Reports. 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

On Monday, the Royals officially announced that they signed Starling Marte to a one-year contract worth $1 million guaranteed with active roster bonuses and performance bonuses that can increase to $3 million. Marte has had an excellent career. In his 14 years in MLB, he has accrued 35.9 fWAR, two Gold Glove awards, and two All-Star team selections. He has a career slash line of .285/.342/.440 with a 115 wRC+. Even at his age, Marte proved that he can still be an offensive asset, especially to this Royals outfield that totaled a league-worst 70 wRC+ in 2025. Last year, in his age-36 season, Marte slashed .270/.335/.410 with a 112 wRC+. Marte’s Statcast metrics from last season don’t necessarily jump off the page like they used to early in his career, and a lot of his metrics grade slightly below league-average. That said, he still offers an above-league-average 90th-percentile exit velocity, showing he is capable of hitting for some power but less consistently. He also offers an above-average zone swing rate and strikeout rate. The only metric that he was poor in last season was his pull rate at 31.7%, and the overall average exit velocity of 85.9 mph. If you look back to 2024, he was well above average in xwOBA (.342), expected batting average (.285), and hard hit rate (42.9%). However, it would be unreasonable to assume that he will meaningfully progress at his age. In the outfield, Marte has a career reputation for providing good defense. He won two Gold Gloves when he was the Pirates’ everyday centerfielder in 2015 and 2016. Ten years later, he finds himself playing in one of the corner outfield positions, most often in right field. In 2025, he transitioned to mainly a designated hitter, only playing 65 total innings in the outfield. Marte has not registered a positive outs above average (OAA) since 2021. For reference, Marte registered -8 OAA in 2024, and other Royals outfielders Kyle Isbel and Isaac Collins posted +4 and +12 OAA, respectively. While Marte’s arm strength is still good, providing slightly positive run value, his range in the outfield is not what it used to be. His sprint speed has decreased consistently over the past several years. After consistently grading around the 90th percentile, his sprint speed fell to the 27th percentile last season. All that being said, where does Marte fit in the Royals outfield? After the signing of Marte, the Royals now have five outfielders on the MLB roster: Jac Caglianone, Isaac Collins, Kyle Isbel, Lane Thomas, and now Starling Marte. Before the signing, the projected setup includes Collins in left, Isbel in center, and Caglianone in right with Thomas platooning with Isbel or Caglianone against left-handed pitching. How much does Marte impact this plan? The short answer is that if everything goes right, Marte won’t need to feature in the starting lineup too often. The expectation is that he will offer the Royals added roster flexibility to start in place of the starters when needed and to provide rest to keep players fresh throughout the season. The main area that Marte will be used against is left-handed pitching. The Royals greatly struggled against lefties in 2025. Despite the additions of right-handed Thomas and switch-hitting Collins, the outlook against lefties in 2026 was still not promising. Against lefties, Marte has posted a wRC+ above 100 in four of the last five seasons. Marte could offer relief for Collins or Caglianone in the corner outfield spots against lefties to help with the lineup’s overall production. If Marte does find himself in an everyday role, it will come mostly at the designated hitter position, since that was his main position last season. Considering that the Royals didn’t have an everyday DH last season, Marte could naturally slot in that role. Last year, the Royals had 20 different players lined up as the designated hitter, with Salvador Perez being the most common DH with 38 appearances. Manager Matt Quatraro frequently used the DH spot to rest players like Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino without having to take their bats out of the lineup. However, in 2025, the carousel of Royals players did not produce when batting as DH, collectively posting a wRC+ of 69. Even league-average production from Marte could offer much-needed stability at that position, which lacked consistent run production. While Marte is right-handed, he is very capable against right-handed pitching. In 2025, he posted a 115 wRC+ against righties, better than his 109 wRC+ against lefties. He should have no problem slotting into the primary designated hitter role in Kansas City, rather than a platoon spot, if asked to do so. If Carter Jensen can continue his hot form from last September (159 wRC+ in 69 PAs) and this spring (1.334 OPS in 12 PAs) into the 2026 season, he will command a majority of the designated hitter at-bats while Perez is still the starting catcher. Marte can serve as a capable “fail-safe” if Jensen struggles to acclimate to a full season in the majors. At his age, Marte is probably not expecting to be a full-time starter for this Royals team. He has not started more than 100 games in the last three seasons and not more than 120 games since 2019. It would be reasonable to expect him to share designated hitter duties with Jensen, Perez, and Pasquantino whenever they aren’t playing catcher or first base. He will also spend limited innings in the outfield to relieve Collins or Caglianone when needed, but ideally that role will fall primarily to Lane Thomas. Overall, Starling Marte does not drastically change the Royals’ outlook for 12026, but it does offer a clear improvement that raises this team's floor. While not offering eye-popping power numbers, he offers above-average run production at the DH position and added flexibility in depth for this re-tooled Kansas City outfield, especially against left-handed pitching. His veteran presence will be a welcome complement to the young outfielders like Caglianone and Collins as they grow into everyday roles with the Royals. With a very sensible salary of $1 million guaranteed, signing Marte is definitely a risk worth taking. View the full article

Spring training is well underway in Fort Myers, and we're hurtling toward Opening Day at Camden Yards on Thurs., March 26. What once looked like a relatively straightforward camp has shifted dramatically over the last couple of weeks, as both Pablo López and David Festa were lost to injury, forcing the organization to rework its pitching plans much earlier than expected. Those absences don't just impact the starting rotation; they also place additional strain on the bullpen to absorb innings during the season’s early months. In recent weeks, the front office supplemented the relief corps with veteran additions who can provide stability in the middle and late innings, while some of the younger arms continue to develop. That influx of experience will need to bridge the gap early in the year, especially if Minnesota needs to lean on its bullpen more heavily while sorting out the back end of the rotation. There are still plenty of decisions to make with the roster, including how the final bench spots shake out and which relievers ultimately break camp. With those developments in mind, here is a projection for Minnesota’s 26-man roster entering the season. Starting Rotation (5): Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Taj Bradley, Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews Others on 40-man roster: Mick Abel, Connor Prielipp, Andrew Morris, Kendry Rojas, and John Klein Without López and Festa, the rotation must prove it can handle a full workload from day one. Ryan and Ober move into clear leadership roles atop the staff, and both will be leaned on heavily to provide stability every fifth day. Ryan was scratched from his first spring start with lower back inflammation, but the MRI didn’t show anything significant. Ober has yet to appear in a spring game for the Twins, but Derek Shelton told reporters this weekend that he doesn’t feel Ober is behind. Bradley is the biggest wildcard in this group. His stuff has never been in question, but Minnesota needs him to translate that arsenal into consistent big-league results across a full season. Woods Richardson showed flashes of being able to navigate major-league lineups over the last two seasons, but the Twins have been careful with how many times he faces a lineup. This is the type of opportunity that could cement him as a long-term rotation piece. Matthews rounds out the group and will be tasked with simply throwing strikes—a skill at which he excelled in the minors—and keeping the team in games early in the year while Minnesota evaluates its pitching depth. In 2025, Matthews posted a 3.79 FIP and paired it with an 18.1 K-BB% that sat well above league average. He could be a potential breakout starter. Bullpen (8): Cole Sands, Justin Topa, Taylor Rogers, Anthony Banda, Eric Orze, Andrew Chafin, Kody Funderburk, Zak Kent Others on 40-man roster: Marco Raya, Travis Adams How many left-handed relievers is too many? The Twins may be pushing the envelope in that category with Rogers, Banda, Chafin, and Funderburk. None of this quartet of lefties is particularly good at getting out right-handed batters, so the usage of this bullpen might be tricky. From the right side, Sands and Topa return as internal arms who have earned trust in at least medium-leverage spots, while Orze and Kent offer fresh looks capable of missing bats. With rotation uncertainty early in the season, this unit may be asked to cover more innings than originally anticipated. The bullpen looks much different than it did at the beginning of the offseason, but there isn’t a lot of upside. Minnesota can hope that a veteran like Liam Hendriks has something left in the tank, but he’s been limited by health concerns for multiple seasons. There’s also no guarantee he will be ready for Opening Day. Raya and Adams offer some potential depth at Triple-A, but they are both transitioning to a full-time relief role. Catchers (2) Ryan Jeffers, Victor Caratini Others on 40-man roster: Alex Jackson Jeffers returns as the primary catcher and remains an important middle-of-the-order bat for this lineup. Caratini provides Minnesota with flexibility thanks to his ability to switch hit and slide over to first base when needed. Over the weekend, I wrote about the Twins potentially carrying three catchers on the Opening Day roster, since Jackson is out of minor-league options. Minnesota put this plan into action with a spring lineup that had Jeffers at DH, Caratini at first base, and Jackson at catcher. Still, that would seem to severely limit Shelton’s bench options, even with Caratini able to play first base. Infielders (6): Josh Bell, Luke Keaschall, Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, Kody Clemens, Ryan Kreidler Others on 40-man roster: Eric Wagaman, Tristan Gray Bell might turn out to be Minnesota’s most important offseason signing, as the switch-hitter adds a veteran presence to a lineup that struggled in the second half of 2025. Keaschall has been electric in his big-league career with a 128 OPS+ in 49 games. Now, he needs to show that consistency over a full season—and improve as a defender. The Twins are handing shortstop to Lee, but that’s out of necessity, with few other organizational options. Baseball America went so far as to say the Twins “don’t have a shortstop.” In his first two seasons, he has a 75 OPS+, which doesn’t match the output the Twins thought they were getting with the eighth overall pick. Lewis is entering what might be the most important season of his young career. He has shown the ability to be one of the most impactful bats on the roster when healthy. He changed his batting stance this winter, and the early results have been positive. Clemens and Kreidler round out the group, providing defensive flexibility and depth across the diamond. Outfielders (5): Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, Austin Martin, James Outman Others on 40-man roster: Emmanuel Rodriguez, Gabriel Gonzalez, Alan Roden, Hendry Mendez Buxton anchors the outfield both defensively and offensively when he is in the lineup. He’s coming off his best big-league season, and now he can use the World Baseball Classic as a springboard to the 2026 campaign. Wallner is coming off a disappointing season, but still posted a 110 OPS+. It’s surprising that Larnach is still on the roster, but the Twins must believe he is closer to the 116 OPS+ player he was in 2024 than to the one who produced tepid results last year. Martin offers athleticism and positional versatility. He was one of the lone bright spots in the second half of 2025, posting a 106 OPS+ and stealing 11 bases in 50 games. Outman is out of options and adds another left-handed power threat who can handle center field when needed. His Triple-A performance and underlying metrics suggest a breakout season. He’s also out of options. Together, this group gives Minnesota coverage at all three outfield spots, along with the flexibility to mix and match depending on pitching matchups early in the season. Opening Day rosters are rarely intact for long, and this group will almost certainly look different as the season unfolds. Injuries have already forced Minnesota to adjust its plans, and more challenges are likely to arise over the first few weeks of the schedule. That said, the foundation of this roster offers a blend of upside and versatility that should allow the Twins to remain competitive while waiting for reinforcements later in the year. How this group handles the early portion of the season could go a long way toward determining whether Minnesota can stay afloat in the standings until some of the organization’s top prospects are ready to join the fray. What would you change about the team’s Opening Day roster? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

You can count the days and (kind of) the spring starts, or you can just listen to Pat Murphy talk about the progress of veterans Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester. Either approach will lead you to the same guess: Jacob Misiorowski is increasingly likely to be the Brewers' Opening Day starter. Although he hasn't yet appeared in a Cactus League game—and still won't this week, as the team opted to have him start Tuesday's exhibition against Great Britain instead—he's becoming a choice so obvious it feels nigh inevitable. Brandon Woodruff pitched a simulated game Sunday on the stadium mound at American Family Fields of Phoenix. He pitched two innings—the team originally planned for three, but the change came before the actual session, and wasn't prompted by any injury concern—and threw 34 pitches. He got knocked around by teammates in the first inning, seemingly focusing solely on rhythm and comfort. In the second frame, however, he got down the mound with much greater intensity, and his stuff ticked up. He struck out one and retired all four batters he faced in the second frame, artificially stretching it to reach the pitch count the team had scheduled. However, Woodruff's progression remains notably deliberate. The Brewers reported Tuesday that he's on track to begin the season in the rotation, but that could mean at the end of the first week, rather than on Opening Day. Meanwhile, Quinn Priester has been handled even more cautiously. Murphy said there were "a lot of flashing red lights" around Priester entering camp, due to his relatively heavy workload in 2025 and the wrist issue that nagged him at the end of the season. Though he's officially 100% healthy (as reported both by the manager and by the organization), he won't appear in the first turn through the rotation, either. That leaves Misiorowski in competition with a series of even less experienced and/or less tenured starters, led by Chad Patrick, Brandon Sproat, Logan Henderson and Kyle Harrison—not for a rotation spot (he's easily secured that much) but for the honor of toeing the rubber on Opening Day. If he gets that chance, he's ready—and eager. "Yeah, it'd be really cool," Misiorowski said. "It'd be really fun to start off the season like that—you know, first Opening Day in the big leagues and I get to start it, that'd be crazy." His first highly visible step toward that honor will come Tuesday, and although it won't officially be as a representative of the United States, it's a taste of something he hopes he gets a chance to do down the road. "Of course," he said, when asked if he's thought about pitching for Team USA in the next WBC. "I think it's a career goal for anyone. I think, representing your country, and if that could be at the WBC or if that's in the Olympics [in 2028] or whatever, I think that's always a goal for an athlete." Misiorowski didn't hear from Team USA at all this time around, but it probably wouldn't have been the right time, anyway. Instead, he gets to keep his full attention on the season ahead, and the chance that he'll be the ace of the staff—not by midseason or by October, but from Day 1. Williams, Lockridge Out with Minor Injuries Brandon Lockridge had a chance to win a spot on the Opening Day roster, but those hopes dimmed last week, when he suffered a rotator cuff contusion on a dive into a base. He's 3-5 days from returning to game action, but there will still be time for the 2025 trade deadline acquisition to impress the team between the end of this week and Milwaukee breaking camp. Losing reps during the absence of Jackson Chourio, when playing time will be available in abundance, is a tough break, though. Similarly, Jett Williams will be unable to fully avail himself of the absences of Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz. He was diagnosed with a mild quad strain in his left leg Tuesday, after the team had initially believed he was dealing only with a contusion. Williams's target for return to play in the Cactus League is mid-March, by which time he might miss the chance to play in the places of the Crew's starting double-play combination. In all likelihood, Williams would have begun the season at Triple-A Nashville anyway, as Murphy said multiple times over the last week-plus. However, the skipper acknowledged that reading his MRI led the team to back off from a more aggressive initial plan to get him back on the field. "Yeah, I think it did," Murphy said, when asked whether imaging changed the plan for the young utility man. However, he also said Williams reported being "ready to go" and that the quad felt "80 percent good" just two days after he injured it on Feb. 23. The length of time for which he'll be sidelined reflects the team's desire to play it safe, rather than the severity of the injury. View the full article

Owen and Jesse break down the starting rotation depth with the return of Max Scherzer, digging into where Eric Lauer, José Berríos, Cody Ponce, and Trey Yesavage now stand heading into the season. The guys marvel over Kazuma Okamoto's hot start to spring and talk about Jesús Sánchez's and Ponce's first impressions with the Blue Jays. They also debate whether or not there are actual jobs to be won for depth options like Eloy Jiménez and Josh Kasevich. Jesse finishes with a lightning round of Overreaction vs Real, where Owen gets out some hot takes. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jays-centre-podcast/id1846108462 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bi7SzfpcqMo5xYWnbCeoL Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-jays-centre-podcast-300304824/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/2qk9wqxd Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayscentre View the full article

We are back for another Chicago Cubs spring training check-in to see who is hot and who is not. The Cubs are 4-7 in Cactus League play and take on Team Italy next in an exciting round of exhibition games where MLB teams will take on World Baseball Classic participants. Over the last week, we’ve seen more of the main characters on the field, but there are still key parts of the Opening Day roster that remain unclear, so let's get to it. Who's Hot for Cubs? 3B Alex Bregman Spring training stats are of no importance when it comes to superstars like Bregman, but it's hard to ignore the impression he’s made in Arizona thus far. He’s played in five games, going 5-11 with three extra-base hits, including a home run versus the White Sox on Sunday. He’s drawn three walks and has not struck out yet. The Cubs are going to need these red-hot streaks from him to ignite their offense this season. As Joe Maddon used to say to Dexter Fowler: “you go, we go.” The same adage could be applied to Bregman going forward. OF Dylan Carlson There are still a few weeks of spring training left to play, but Carlson seems to be running away with one of the available bench spots for Opening Day. His 1.392 OPS is third in baseball during the exhibition slate, as he’s gone 7-13 with two doubles and five walks. The Michael Conforto signing complicates the outfield picture even further, but with Tyler Austin set to miss significant time, the Cubs need another bench bat. Carlson’s hot spring combined with his switch-hitting will likely give him a leg up on the competition. RHP Javier Assad The Cubs took on the Dodgers on Saturday and held them to only two runs. A big part of this was due to Assad’s three shutout innings in relief of Ben Brown and Colin Rea, each of whom did not allow a run either. Assad allowed one hit and struck out four. He has worked more than one inning and produced multiple strikeouts in both appearances he’s had this spring and is yet to allow a run. Injuries kept him off the mound for most of 2025, but he was one of their most dependable arms in 2023 and 2024, so a return to form would do wonders regardless of his ultimate position in the bullpen or rotation. Who's Not? INF Scott Kingery/OF Justin Dean Kingery and Dean are lumped together because they both made this list last week and have continued to struggle in the regular playing time they’ve been getting. Kingery is 2-18 (.111) with six strikeouts, and Dean is 3-20 (.150) with a whopping ten strikeouts. Both players have never been successful major leaguers for any considerable stretch, and that does not look like it is going to change. They appear to be on the chopping block, barring a turnaround. INF James Triantos Triantos has not been quite as bad as the two aforementioned players, but in a season that seems pivotal for his future with the team, his .200 batting average (4-20) is not going to cut it. Higher-ranked infield prospects Jefferson Rojas and Pedro Ramirez are outperforming Triantos by a wide margin. At this point, it would be surprising to see Triantos find his way up to the big-league roster in the first half of the season. RHP Jameson Taillon Taillon further cemented his spot here Monday afternoon when he allowed six earned runs in 2 1/3 innings pitched against the Reds. He has now made three starts this spring, throwing six innings with an ERA of 19.50, allowing six home runs in the process. Opposing hitters are hitting over .400 against him, and that's in spring training where teams are sparingly playing their studs. Taillon will be in the Cubs rotation this season, so his spring stats don’t mean a ton, but it is still a little worrisome to see these early struggles, especially after he finished last year on such a torrid hot streak. View the full article

On Monday, Baseball Canada named first baseman Josh Naylor the captain of Team Canada for the World Baseball Classic. Naylor, 28, was born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario and grew up a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays. However, he's not necessarily popular with Jays fans after his performance last October; playing for the Seattle Mariners, he went 10-for-24 with three home runs in the ALCS, doing everything in his power to try to stop Toronto from reaching the World Series. He became the first Canadian-born player to hit a postseason home run in Canada for a team other than the Blue Jays. This will be Naylor's second time participating in the WBC. He played for Canada in the 2017 tournament two years before he made his MLB debut, but an ankle injury kept him from suiting up in 2023. With veteran Freddie Freeman sitting out this year, the young, multi-talented Naylor is an excellent choice to lead Team Canada in 2026. Team Canada will play an exhibition match against the Blue Jays this afternoon in Dunedin. View the full article

Sporting one of the better baseball names in the game, Kash Mayfield also possesses a skillset that implies he could be a future starter in San Diego. The Padres' No. 4 prospect in 2025, per MLB.com, has a wicked changeup, plenty of arm-side carry on a fastball that touches 97 mph, and a sense of poise that led to a strikeout-to-walk ratio north of three last season. View the full article