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Part one of the San Diego Padres’ top 10 free-agent signings over the 50 off-seasons of free agency addressed five free agents signed while the Kroc family owned the Padres. The other five free agents among the top ten were signed during the John Moores, Ron Fowler, and Peter Seidler ownership years. None of the free agents signed when Tom Werner was the Padres’ primary owner rank among the top ten. Kurt Stilwell was signed in February 1992, prior to the fire sale, but his .224 batting average during his two seasons with the Padres eliminates him from top-10 consideration. Bip Roberts, who rejoined the Padres as a free agent after signing in January 1994, was edged out for a top ten spot by two other 1990s signees who are the only two on the top ten list with fewer than four Padres seasons. Roberts originally joined the Padres after the December 1985 Rule 5 draft and had to spend 1986 in the majors. He batted .253 with 14 stolen bases that year and spent 1987 and 1988 in the Pacific Coast League before being called up in September 1988. He batted .301, .309, and .281 in his next three major league seasons while stealing 93 bases between 1989 and 1991, including 46 in 1990. Roberts was sent to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for pitcher Randy Myers in December 1991. Roberts stole 41 bases during his third stint with the Padres while batting .320 in 1994 and .304 in 1995. A December 1995 trade sent Roberts to the Kansas City Royals and Wally Joyner to the Padres. Although the two 1990s signees on the top ten list played only three seasons and neither finished 1997 with San Diego, both were on the 1996 team, which won the National League’s Western Division. That was the deciding factor in selecting Fernando Valenzuela and Rickey Henderson over Roberts. Valenzuela joined the Padres in 1995, the year his original Dodgers team signed free agent Hideo Nomo to pitch for Los Angeles. The era of signing international free agents allowed two of those to be among the top 10 signings in Padres history. The other free agent on the top ten list completed his seventh Padres season in 2025, making him the only free agent to spend more than five years in a San Diego uniform. Although none of the top 10 free agents were with the Padres during their 1998 National League championship season, two were signed during the Moores ownership years. Fernando Valenzuela In his 11 seasons with the Dodgers (including as a September callup in 1980), Valenzuela won 140 games and struck out 1,759 batters. He threw 107 complete games, including 29 shutouts, in 320 starts. He signed as a free agent with the California Angels in 1991, the Detroit Tigers in 1992 before being sold to the Mexican League’s Jalisco team, the Baltimore Orioles in 1993, and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1994. A players’ strike ended the 1994 season early, and the 1995 season began late due to the settlement. Valenzuela signed a one-year contract with the Padres on April 5, 1995. The 1995 season was Bruce Bochy’s first as the Padres’ manager. Other than five days in late April and early May, the team was no higher than third in the National League West standings, but the Padres were only 2 1/2 games behind the division leader on September 2 and finished the season with a 70-74 record and eight games back of the division champion Dodgers. Valenzuela posted an 8-3 record in 15 starts and 14 relief appearances while striking out 57 batters in 90 1/3 innings. In his 35 batting plate appearances consisting of 32 at-bats and three sacrifice hits, he had eight hits, including a double and two home runs, for a .250 batting average while driving in eight runs and only striking out six times. At the plate, Valenzuela’s batting average fell to .143 in 1996 with nine hits, including two doubles, in 63 at-bats, but as a pitcher, his 13 wins ranked second on the team. Valenzuela threw 171 2/3 regular-season innings in 31 starts and two relief outings, compiling an earned run average of 3.62 and striking out 95 opponents. The Padres were swept in the first round of the 1996 playoffs; Valenzuela hurled two-thirds of an inning in relief and allowed two walks but no hits or runs. Valenzuela signed a third one-year contract with the Padres in January 1997. Before he was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals in a six-player June trade he had a 2-8 record with San Diego. One of those losses was shortened due to rain in Atlanta, and Valenzuela threw the final complete game of his career. In his 13 Padres starts during 1997, Valenzuela struck out 51 batters in 66 1/3 innings. During his three Padres seasons, Valenzuela was 23-19 in 59 starts and 16 relief appearances. He threw 328 1/3 innings for San Diego and struck out 203 batters. His ERA with the Padres was 4.22. Rickey Henderson Rickey Henderson set the all-time major league career stolen bases record with the Oakland A’s in 1991, while setting the all-time career walks and runs records with the San Diego Padres in 2001. He signed as a free agent with the Padres on two different occasions. The first of those signings was on December 29, 1995, when Henderson signed a two‑year contract. Statistics can be misleading regarding Henderson. His significant walks drawn make his on-base percentage more relevant than his batting average. When Henderson reached base, he was a threat to steal, which meant that pitchers often had to throw fastballs and from the stretch rather than from a windup while diverting some of their focus from the batter to observe Henderson. If everyone were healthy and otherwise in the lineup, Henderson would be the leadoff hitter in 1996 games, Steve Finley would bat second, Tony Gwynn would be third, and Ken Caminiti would be the cleanup hitter. Henderson himself only hit .241 for the regular season, although with a .410 on-base percentage. Finley batted .298 and had a .531 slugging percentage, which reflected 45 doubles, nine triples, and 30 home runs; Finley also drove in 95 runs and had an on-base percentage of .354. Gwynn won his seventh National League batting title with a .353 average while obtaining an on-base percentage of .400. Caminiti set a team record with 40 home runs, added 37 doubles, drove in 130 runs, complemented his .326 batting average with a .621 slugging percentage, and was a unanimous selection for the National League’s Most Valuable Player award. The threat of Henderson stealing a base was thus more potent than his actual total of 37 steals in 1996. Sometimes Henderson didn’t end up on first base. He had 17 doubles, two triples, and nine home runs. During the regular season, Henderson scored 110 times. His 125 walks exceeded his 112 hits, and he was also hit by a pitch ten times. Henderson only struck out 90 times in 602 plate appearances. Henderson came to the plate 14 times during the playoff series against the Cardinals. He had four hits, including a home run in the first game, and two walks for a batting average of .333 and an on-base percentage of .429. The Padres’ participation in the division championship race caused them to acquire outfielder Greg Vaughn from the Milwaukee Brewers at the trade deadline. That gave the Padres four starting-quality outfielders if Henderson, Finley, Gwynn, and Vaughn were all healthy. During Henderson’s first three full major league seasons, Billy Martin was the Oakland A’s manager. During spring training, Martin would make the comment: “I don’t mind errors. That’s why pencils have erasers. But the first son of a ***** who doesn’t run out a ground ball is out of here.” The intent of that quote was to ensure that players hitting what looked like a routine out would still run to first base in case a fielding miscue allowed the batter to reach base. The application could also include a player who injures himself during the swing or the run to first base and is placed on the disabled list. In May 1997, Henderson became one of those players who went slowly towards first base after hitting a ground ball and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Although he did not strike out excessively, fanning only 62 times in his 365 Padres plate appearances during 1997, his strikeout to open the June 12 game in Anaheim was notable because it was the Padres’ first regular-season plate appearance against an American League opponent. The attempt to solve the outfielder surplus included a planned trade of Vaughn to the Yankees for pitcher Kenny Rogers, but Vaughn failed his Yankees physical, and the trade was called off. Vaughn set out to prove the Padres right in keeping him. On August 15, he became the first player to hit two career home runs into the second deck of the stadium. Vaughn lifted his batting average to .216 by the end of the season and gave the Padres 18 home runs in 361 at-bats for 1997. Henderson wasn’t around for that. On August 12, Henderson hit his 250th career home run. After the game, reporters in the Padres' locker room sought to ask him questions. He asked them to wait and walked into Bochy's office. The door was closed for several minutes. The following day, Henderson was traded to California for third baseman George Arias and two minor league pitchers. The Padres concluded the season with a 76-86 record, 14 games behind the first-place Giants. During his Padres portion of the 1997 season, Henderson batted .274 with a .422 on-base percentage in 88 games. He stole 29 bases and hit six homers. The two-year contract expired at the end of 1997, and Henderson returned to the A’s for 1998 and 1999. He played for both the New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners in 2000 before his contract expired. Henderson signed a minor league contract with the Padres in March 2001. He began the season at Portland, the Padres' new Triple-A affiliate. On April 17, outfielder Mark Kotsay was placed on the disabled list. Henderson was called up to fill the roster spot. On April 21, Gwynn and Henderson became the first pair of teammates over 40 to appear in the same outfield since Doc Cramer and Chuck Hostetler of the 1945 Detroit Tigers. On April 24, Henderson drew a pinch-hit walk from Chris Brock, tying Babe Ruth for the record of 2,062 career walks. On April 25, Henderson drew a ninth-inning walk-off from Jose Mesa to break Ruth's record with 2,063 career walks, although the Phillies earned a 3-1 victory. The 8-2 win against Cincinnati on May 7 was Bochy's 500th career win as a manager in 985 games and also saw Henderson hit a leadoff double to reach base for the 5,000th time in his career. The Padres began their final road trip of the year with four games in Colorado. Henderson scored three times in the first game September 24 and twice in the second game September 25, but he sat out the final two games in order to break the all-time record for runs scored in the Bay Area or in San Diego. Henderson didn't score in the Padres' 5-2 home loss to Los Angeles October 2, but the following day he led off the third inning with a walk and scored his 2,245th career run on Ryan Klesko's double, tying Ty Cobb's record for runs scored. The Dodgers took a 12-5 victory as Bobby Jones suffered his 19th loss of the year and gave up his 37th home run of the season, setting a new club record. The October 4 game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning. With one out and a 1-0 count, Henderson swung at a 93 mph fastball offered by Luke Prokopec. The drive hit the top of the left-field fence before bouncing off the back wall for a home run. As Henderson had previously promised, he slid across the plate when he scored his 2,246th career run, which set the all-time record. The run also proved to be the winning tally as the Padres earned a 6-3 victory. The Padres' final win of 2001, a 10-4 victory over Colorado October 6, saw Henderson double for his 2,999th career hit. The game also saw Phil Nevin become the first Padre ever to hit three home runs at home in one game. Klesko's homer, his 30th of the year, was the second in team history to reach the second deck in right field. In the bottom of the sixth Gwynn pinch-hit for starting pitcher Brian Tollberg. The double turned out to be Gwynn's final major league hit, and Kevin Witt then replaced Gwynn on the basepaths. Henderson had said that he would sit out the season's final game, October 7, so that he wouldn't upstage Gwynn. But Gwynn requested that Henderson participate in the game. Henderson led off the bottom of the first by swinging at John Thomson's first pitch. The blooper evaded Colorado's fielders and fell five feet inside the right-field foul line. Henderson stretched his 3,000th career hit into a double and scored the game's first run on Nevin's single. Henderson was removed from the game in the top of the second inning, but he and Gwynn had become the first National League teammates ever to have 3,000 hits apiece. Henderson played 123 games for the Padres in 2001, batting .227 with a .366 on-base percentage. He stole 25 bases and homered eight times. During his three seasons in a Padres uniform, Henderson played in 359 games. He batted .245 with a .399 on-base percentage. Henderson’s 277 hits with the Padres included 45 doubles, five triples, and 23 home runs. He drew 277 walks while reaching base as a hit batter 17 times. Henderson scored 243 runs with the Padres while driving in 98. He stole 91 bases for San Diego. Although Henderson closed out his major league career with the 2003 Dodgers, the original Golden Baseball League teams in 2005 included the San Diego Surf Dawgs, who played at Tony Gwynn Stadium on the San Diego State University campus. The Surf Dawgs played 90 games in 2005, and Henderson was in 77 of those. In what would be his final professional playing season, the 46-year-old batted .270 with a .456 on-base percentage, hit five home runs, and stole 16 bases. His 73 walks tied for the league lead while his on-base percentage ranked second. Manny Machado For more than 50 years, Nate Colbert held the Padres’ team career home run record. When he was traded from the Padres after the 1974 season he had 163 career home runs with the team. That record stood until late 2024, when Manny Machado surpassed it. In February 2019, the Padres signed Machado to a 10-year contract worth $300 million. The contract was the largest in major league history at the time. It included an opt-out after the 2023 season, although before that season began, the Padres and Machado negotiated an 11-year extension for $350 million. During Machado’s first season with the Padres, he batted .256 with an on-base percentage of .334 and a slugging percentage of .462. That batting average has been his worst during his initial seven seasons with the Padres. His 150 hits in 2019 included 21 doubles, two triples, and 32 home runs. He scored 81 runs while driving in 85. The coronavirus outbreak limited the Padres to 60 regular-season games in 2020, and Machado played in all of them. He homered 16 times while driving in 47 runs and scoring 44. Machado batted .304 with a .580 slugging percentage. In 2020, he also led National League third basemen with a .987 fielding percentage. Machado was held to a .154 batting average during the 2020 playoffs, although he hit two solo home runs in six games. In 2021 Machado batted .278 with 28 homers while scoring 92 times and driving in 106 runs. Machado also shared the National League lead with 11 sacrifice flies in 2021. The adoption of the universal designated hitter in 2022 increased Machado’s designated hitter activity to 15 games, although he still played 134 games at third base. At the plate, he batted .298 with a .531 slugging percentage, which reflected 37 doubles and 32 home runs. Machado scored 100 runs while driving in 102. During the 2022 playoffs, Machado homered four times, and his 13 hits also included three doubles. Machado drove in seven runs in 12 playoff games. Machado’s 138 games in 2023 consisted of 105 at third base and 33 as a designated hitter. He batted .258, hit 30 home runs, scored 75 times, and had 91 runs batted in. Colbert’s career home run record was broken in September 2024. Altogether, Machado hit 29 regular-season home runs that year. He also doubled 30 times, batted .275, scored 77 runs, and drove in 105 runs. He added a home run in the playoffs along with a double and three singles. During 2025, Machado hit his 350th career home run and also obtained his 2,000th hit. His 27 home runs gave him 194 in his seven years with the Padres, while his 169 hits gave him 1,019 in a San Diego uniform. Machado batted .275, matching both his 2024 average and his overall seven-year average with the Padres. His .460 slugging percentage lowered his Padres career figure to .485. Machado scored 91 runs in 2025 to bring his San Diego total to 560, while his 95 runs batted in gave him a Padres career total of 631. His 117 putouts and 34 double plays led National League third basemen; Machado played 145 of his 159 games at the hot corner in 2025. Machado added a home run in the 2025 playoffs. Ha-Seong Kim In seven Korean Baseball Organization seasons, Ha-Seong Kim batted .294 with 133 home runs and 134 stolen bases. He was primarily a shortstop in Korea while also playing games at the other three infield positions. At the end of 2020, the Padres signed him to play in North America’s major leagues. Kim started slow, batting .202 with eight home runs and six stolen bases in 2021. He played shortstop, third base, and second base for the Padres that year. He did not play second base during 2022 but appeared in 145 games in the field and 150 overall, and his batting average improved to .251 while he homered 11 times and stole 12 bases. In 2023, Kim played in 152 games and often switched defensive positions during games. He played 106 games as a second baseman, 32 at third base, and 20 as a shortstop while also being the Padres’ designated hitter once. He received the Gold Glove Award for the National League’s utility player with fielding percentages of .991 in 439 total chances at second, .986 in his 73 total chances at third base, and .966 for his 59 total chances at shortstop. At the plate, Kim batted .260 in 2023 with 20 doubles, 17 home runs, 38 stolen bases, 84 runs scored, and 60 runs batted in. A labrum tear ended Kim’s 2024 season in early August and limited him to a .233 batting average. He hit 16 doubles and 11 home runs in 2024 while stealing 22 bases. Kim scored 60 runs in his 121 games while driving in 47. He became a free agent after the 2024 season, and should he not return to the Padres in the future his San Diego career will conclude with a .242 average and his 417 hits including 80 doubles, eight triples, and 47 home runs. During his four years with the Padres, he had 78 stolen bases, scored 229 times, and drove in 200 runs. Robert Suarez The Padres’ top ten free agents also include international signee Robert Suarez, who played in the Mexican and Japanese leagues between 2015 and 2021 before the Padres signed him in December 2021. Suarez had 25 saves in 2020 and 42 saves in 2021 with the Hanshin Tigers before joining the Padres’ bullpen. Taylor Rogers was the Padres’ primary closer in 2022 before being sent to Milwaukee in a trade for Josh Hader, who was the Padres’ closer for the rest of 2022 and for 2023. Suarez obtained one save in 2022 while posting a 5-1 record in his 45 appearances and striking out 61 batters. His 47 2/3 innings resulted in an earned run average of 2.27. Suarez posted a 3.00 ERA with nine strikeouts in his seven playoff outings that year. Arm stiffness and an elbow inflammation kept Suarez on the disabled list during the first part of 2023. He returned to the major league mound in July and had a 4-3 record with a 4.23 ERA in 26 games totaling 27 2/3 innings. Suarez had 24 strikeouts during 2023. Hader became a free agent after the 2023 season and signed with the Houston Astros. Suarez took over as the Padres’ closer for 2024. He had 36 saves in 65 outings, a 2.77 ERA in 65 innings, 59 strikeouts, and a 9‑3 record for the regular season. Suarez had two saves in the 2024 playoffs, throwing 3 1/3 innings in three games and allowing a hit but no runs or walks while striking out two batters. Suarez also pitched in the 2024 All-Star Game. Suarez appeared in 70 regular-season games during 2025 and threw 69 2/3 innings. His 40 saves led the National League, and he struck out 75 batters. Although his win-loss record was only 4-6, he posted a 2.97 ERA. He had a save in the Padres’ only 2025 playoff win, along with two postseason strikeouts. Suarez also returned to the All‑Star Game. In December 2025, Suarez signed a free-agent contract with the Braves. During his four regular seasons with the Padres, he threw 210 innings in 206 appearances, saved 77 games, posted a 22-13 record with a 2.91 ERA, and struck out 219 batters. View the full article

There are difficult starts to a new job, and then there's whatever the last few weeks have been for Jeremy Zoll. When Zoll took the reins of baseball operations at the end of last month, it was supposed to be a seamless transition from the leadership group that had helped keep Minnesota competitive for the better part of a decade. Instead, it quickly became the organizational equivalent of logging into your email on Monday morning to discover that every message is marked urgent and your password no longer works. Things began unraveling when Derek Falvey shocked everyone by mutually agreeing to part ways with the Twins just two weeks before spring training began in Florida. Nothing says stability like an unexpected leadership change when pitchers and catchers are already Googling local rental listings. Then Framber Valdez decided to sign elsewhere. That would have been manageable, if elsewhere had not happened to be within the American League Central, where the Twins will now (ahem) enjoy seeing him approximately three times a year in games that count (and once in a while in their nightmares). Owner Tom Pohlad continues to insist that the club will contend in 2026, despite most projection systems responding with the statistical equivalent of a polite cough to cover very rude laughter. Optimism remains high internally, which is fortunate, because the external outlook has been described by some as character-building. Unfortunately, the situation escalated dramatically on the first day of full team workouts when Pablo López suffered a torn UCL. There are bad omens, and then there's losing your ace before the team photographer has even finished setting up the backdrop. Sources say that was the moment Zoll quietly opened Google Maps and typed in 'Los Angeles'. In what insiders are calling a proactive roster move, Zoll has decided to trade himself back to the Los Angeles Dodgers, in exchange for future considerations and significantly less stress. It is believed that the deal includes a reduced decision-making role, which many view as a feature rather than a bug. Undeniably, it is simply easier to operate in Los Angeles. There is money. There are resources. There is Shohei Ohtani, who tends to solve problems that might otherwise require an entire analytics department and three offseason strategy meetings. Even in a lesser role, success feels more attainable when your biggest challenge is deciding which All-Star should bat second, instead of trying to determine how many waiver claims it takes to build a bullpen by May. The Twins, meanwhile, are expected to name an interim executive sometime before Opening Day, assuming no one else trades themselves first. View the full article

The Chicago Cubs' farm system is in flux. This is a transition period, as many of their top prospects over the last few seasons (Pete Crow-Armstrong. Matt Shaw, Cade Horton, Cam Smith and Owen Caissie, to rattle off a handful) have either graduated off the list or been traded to other organizations. Transitions aren't necessarily bad, but they come with uncertainty, as we attempt to figure out who the next crop of rising Cubs stars are, and who will begin to replace those who have left the rankings. Our staff voted on the top 20 prospects in the system, so we can pin down where they are before they mak a rapid move toward wherever they're going. Today, we begin with the players who came in 16th through 20th after that process. #20 - Erian Rodriguez (Double-A) Erian Rodriguez enters his age-24 season as a pitcher who has always had just enough intriguing aspects to remain on the burner, but sadly, has yet to bring his talent to a boil for a full season. Last year saw the right-handed pitcher struggle to get out of the starting gates due to injury, and while he would eventually earn a promotion to Double-A Knoxville, there's clearly still work to be done. As relayed by his scouting report on Baseball America, Rodriguez sits 93-96 mph, working exclusively out of the stretch. The velocity is good-enough for success as a low-end starter down the road, but his below-average control will probably be the deciding factor that eventually forces him into the bullpen. With that said, his fastball-slider combination could make him an interesting option against right-handed batters even at the highest level, and he does flash a changeup against lefties that would at least allow him to play up against both sides. With a move to the pen, perhaps a little extra juice can be squeezed from the fastball. #19 - Ty Southisene (Low-A) Ty Southisene had one of the most interesting lines of any player in the Cubs' system last year, posting a 114 wRC+, more walks than strikeouts, and an ISO of .030. The diminutive middle infielder hit no home runs but had an on-base percentage of .388. Because of these oddities, it's hard to fully figure out what the Cubs have in their fourth-round pick from 2024. The approach is a plus; finding players who immediately turn pro and walk 63 times compared to just 43 punchouts is exceedingly rare in today's game. But it's going to be hard to replicate his offensive success at higher levels if he can't flash enough power to start sending even a handful of baseballs over the fence. Southisene was a little old for his level in Myrtle Beach, despite being a draft pick who hadn't attended a university, so the lack of power is probably worth noting, but with some age, time in the weight room and getting out of a difficult hitting environment in South Carolina may be able to help. Defensively, Southisene has gotten strong marks, but is likely to fully transition to second base next year due to a lack of arm strength. His defense and his baserunning give him a strong foundation as a player, and give him multiple ways to add value to a team. If the second baseman can add an iota of power without sacrificing his plate discipline, there's the potential for a valuable big-leaguer here. But if he doesn't add any thump into his game, pitchers will eventually begin to overpower him. #18 - Dominick Reid (Abilene-Christian) Dominick Reid was the Cubs' third-round selection in the 2025 Draft, out of Abilene-Christian University. Previously, Reid had pitched sparingly at Oklahoma State, but had failed to establish himself fully. Transferring to the much smaller school he would be drafted from was a way to showcase what he could offer. The righthander is a bit of a project, but there are some fairly interesting things when we start to look under the hood. The movement profile that Reid shows on his fastball-changeup-curveball combination is in the same ballpark as top-draft-pick Tyler Bremner. There are lots of things that separate the two. While Reid was transferring to Abilene-Christian, Bremner was a standout at UC-Santa Barbara, and while Reid sits in the low 90s, the former Bruin and (thanks to the Angels) second overall pick throws much harder; there's a reason one was drafted 100 picks in front of the other. With that said, if the Cubs can begin to squeeze a little extra velocity out of Reid, all of a sudden, you can squint and see something. The Cubs' third-round pick has yet to make his professional debut, and it's likely that we'll first see him in Myrtle Beach, but keep an eye on the radar gun. If he were to show up this year sitting 94 while touching 96 mph, there's a decent chance the Cubs could have a breakout arm here. #17 - Jostin Florentino (Low-A) The first thing that will jump out when looking at Jostin Florentino is how excellent his numbers were last year. During his time at Myrtle Beach, the right-handed pitcher recorded a sub-2.00 ERA in around 50 innings, with a 26.9% strikeout rate and an 8% walk rate. Numbers like this generally get you ranked higher on these kinds of lists, so if there are some alarm bells going off, they're telling you something true. The reason why he's this low is that the stuff just isn't special. Florentino sits 88-91, according to Baseball America, and tops out at 92 mph, so while the numbers are great, there's a fair bit of skepticism that he will be able to continue this moving forward. A lot of that would change if he could add three or four ticks on his fastball, but that's a pretty tall order for a 20-year-old. If you're thinking that perhaps his shape will save him, according to that same BA scouting report, the shape of his fastball is below average. What does stand out, however, is his slider. Baseball America called it one of the best of its kind in the entirety of the minors, Much like Reid, you hope that there's some projection left. Unlike Reid, Florentino's body doesn't suggest a lot of additional velocity, but never say never, as he added 5 mph between 2024 and 2025. When you have as much success as he had last year, there's hope that he's more than the sum of his parts. #16 - Juan Cabada (Dominican Summer League) Juan Cabada was one of the prized signings of the 2025 international free agency class, and he absolutely did not disappoint during his time with the DSL Cubs last year. In 42 games, the infielder posted a 134 wRC+ and a very encouraging 18.2 K%, while keeping his walk rate in double digits. The youngster did only hit three home runs, but at his ripe age of 17, that can be easily forgiven, considering everything else. It's highly likely that as 2025 turns to 2026, Cabada will spend a good deal of time in the Arizona Complex League. As of writing this, he's yet to even turn 18, so there's little reason to rush his progress. Staying in Arizona, adding some weight to his frame, and continuing to settle in Stateside will be a great first step, but there's a good chance he'll end his season with a look at Myrtle Beach, as well. A good 2026 for Cabada would probably see him expand on his 90th-percentile exit velocity shown in the DSL last year, by adding a bit of lift in his swing and getting to more of his pull-side power. Defensively, reports are less exciting than his offensive profile, but as a second baseman, the impact of his mediocre arm strength would be mitigated. He's got a decent profile for an upside breakout regardless, so keep an eye out for him when he eventually gets the bump to Low-A. What do you think of our first five prospects? Which is your favorite to breakout? Let us know in the comments below! View the full article

The Blue Jays' top three pitching prospects are as follows: Trey Yesavage, Ricky Tiedemann, and Johnny King. In this video, we'll go over their pitch mixes, what they're best at doing, and what each talent should have in store for 2026. Enjoy! View the full article

The Blue Jays' top three pitching prospects are as follows: Trey Yesavage, Ricky Tiedemann, and Johnny King. In this video, we'll go over their pitch mixes, what they're best at doing, and what each talent should have in store for 2026. Enjoy! View the full article

When Craig Counsell's squad lost Justin Steele to elbow surgery last April, the North Siders found ways to get by. The ascensions of veteran Matthew Boyd and then rookie Cade Horton to All-Star/Cy Young-caliber levels rescued the team's season. While Steele was forced to spend much of the season rehabbing and won't even return to the mound right away this spring, his club collected a cathartic playoff berth and a run that cracked open a new World Series window. The team's hurlers stepped up in a way that decreased the urgency for the return of their All-Star lefty. Like a Chicagoan who gets acclimated to keeping an extra pair of gloves around in the winter, the club built out pitching depth this winter, knowing they might not get Steele back until midsummer. But with his progress remaining ahead of schedule even into spring training, Steele looks poised to deliver key upside and better volume than previously hoped. In case you forgot, here's a refresher on what a Cubs rotation with Steele might look like. The North Siders' 30-year-old lefty has 517 career strikeouts, but over half of those came during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Though he lacks the deep arsenal and the overpowering velocity of most frontline starters, his hard, cutting heater and endlessly manipulable slider proved good enough to put him in that echelon. In 2023, he put it all together, achieving his most impressive results with a record of 16-5 and an ERA of just 3.07. Had his club not sputtered down the stretch that year, those numbers would have looked even better. Fast-forwarding to the quickly approaching 2026 season, Steele could re-enter a rotation that, with the addition of Edward Cabrera, creates more swing-and-miss than they've generated in years. Steele's pinpoint accuracy would richly supplement the formula this pitching staff has in place. Chicago is a club that thrives on veteran leadership from stars like Ian Happ, Dansby Swanson, and Jameson Taillon. The wise-beyond-his-years Steele brings an additional intangible layer of fire and morale to the clubhouse the moment he walks in the building. Beyond that, however, his return reduces the urgency for his teammates to deal on the mound, just as the depth of this staff should take some pressure off of Steele's shoulders once he returns. Opening Day at Wrigley is just under four weeks away, which has excitement for baseball on the North Side reaching its crescendo. In the past several weeks and months, we here at North Side Baseball have laid out a plethora of reasons to justify your excitement. But the return of Steele brings about something more than excitement; it brings comfort. Not only is he one of our own, but he's a catalyst in the engine that makes this squad run. Once he starts to toe the rubber once more, the Cubs will really be firing on all cylinders. View the full article

With the spring exhibition slate underway, new San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen has already been tinkering with potential lineup options for the 2026 regular season. While there are a couple of individual spots to be settled from a personnel standpoint, the biggest mystery is how the batting order itself could be structured. It’s a puzzle that is made more complicated by a relatively enigmatic presence in the form of Fernando Tatis Jr. Tatis Jr. had a very good 2025 season. He turned in a .268/.368/.446 line with an 18.7 K% and 12.9 BB% that each represented a career mark. At 135, his wRC+ was indicative of a player well above average offensively, with 32 steals and the defensive component of his game pushing him up to a 6.1 fWAR mark that represented his best since he posted a 6.8 figure back in 2021. It’s the type of comprehensive performance that merits MVP consideration had it not been for the one element of his game that was notably absent for much of the year: his power. A season with 25 home runs and a .178 isolated power number isn’t necessarily something to frown upon. But we know where Tatis Jr. has set the bar in years past (if we’re optimistically assuming the performance-enhancing drug usage that resulted in a suspension was a one-off). He also started hot in the power game in 2025, posting a .257 ISO in April. That latter figure dropped significantly in May (.184), further in June (.102), and stayed low until he drove it back up with a .256 ISO in September. There are certainly mechanical reasons for last season’s power dip. On one hand, it looked like he was caught in between some changes to his footwork. Here is the 2024 season, when the ISO was up to .216: And here’s 2025: The changes aren’t wildly obvious to the eye, especially given that his positioning in the box and the intercept point all remained relatively similar. However, the distance between his feet and the stance, which went from 29 degrees open in 2024 to 38 degrees in 2025, could impact timing. While even less revealing, it’s possible that we can glean some further information from Tatis Jr’s actual swing, too. Here it is in 2024: Note the above average bat speed and the quality attack angle. Especially in comparison with 2025: Tatis Jr’s bat came through the zone just a touch slower, and the attack angle fell to eight degrees. Within all of this, you’re also talking about a player who experienced a severe drop in his barrel rate. In 2024, Tatis Jr. posted a 14.5 percent barrel rate, which ranked in the 92nd percentile. Last year’s iteration saw that percentage fall to 10.9 and 66th. Slower, shallower swing, finding the barrel at a lower frequency? It’s no wonder that the ball was on the ground 48.9 percent of the time. It doesn’t help, either, when those angles are all over the place on a month-to-month basis, as Tatis Jr. had no shortage of variance in attack angle and direction depending on the time of year. For what it’s worth, Tatis Jr. has already expressed that the mechanical things he was working through last year are behind him. If he can get his way back to generating quality contact and elevating in the way that he did in years past, then one imagines a simple transition back toward his power numbers of old. If it were that simple. Mechanics aren’t the only puzzle that Fernando Tatis Jr. will need to solve ahead of 2026, though. The approach is going to need to steer back in a direction that is more likely to beget power outcomes. Because, somewhere along the line, there was a tradeoff. In general, Tatis Jr’s swing rate declined in 2025. He carried a 51.1 Swing% in 2024 before dropping that down to 45.4 percent last season. Both ends of the spectrum were impacted, as he dropped his chase rate by roughly five percent and his zone swing rate by almost four. However, he also made less contact when chasing and, more importantly, wasn’t able to parlay the approach into more success within the strike zone. Within the zone, Tatis Jr bumped his contact rate up about one percent. At least some of that is due to the fact that he was active on offspeed pitches inside the zone, which was his highest whiff source among the three pitch groups. With that approach, he swung at four percent fewer fastballs inside the strike zone (69.3 percent). While this development unfolded, his barrel rate on fastballs fell more than five percent (10.0). It seems as if Tatis Jr was attempting to become more patient in a broad sense, but perhaps was not consciously devoted to the actual pitch types. Instead, the zone was the focus, which inhibited his ability to be as active on the type of pitch responsible for his power outcomes in the years prior. The thing that’s ironic about the number of factors that led to Tatis Jr.’s 2025 production is that it’s still good production. This is an elite baseball player with an elite skill set. That means that even caught in between mechanical or approach adjustments, production is still there. In his case, though, we’re looking for more of it on the power side. It’s clear that Tatis Jr himself was working through some stuff at the plate last year. If he is genuinely clear of that, then the offseason reset could compound with what was already there to manifest in a fascinatingly strong 2026 campaign. The Padres and their overall lack of collective power sure would like that. View the full article

Spring training optimism is built on bullpens, backfields, and best-case scenarios. Reality tends to show up somewhere between the trainer’s room and the long toss line. On Thursday, Minnesota got a dose of both hope and concern when head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta provided updates on three critical arms that could shape the trajectory of the pitching staff not just for this season but beyond. The biggest update came for Pablo Lopez, who underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. Importantly, Lopez received the repair version of the procedure with an internal brace rather than a full ligament reconstruction. The repair process generally shortens recovery by 1 to 2 months, significantly altering his return timeline. If the 2027 season begins on schedule, Lopez should be tracking toward a return near the start of the year. That alone represents a meaningful win given the alternative. However, the looming possibility of a labor stoppage could further change the equation. Should a lockout delay Opening Day, Lopez might realistically be ready when games resume, allowing Minnesota to regain its ace without missing meaningful time. Meanwhile, Joe Ryan continues progressing after experiencing back tightness over the weekend while warming up for what would have been his first spring start. Ryan has resumed long toss and is scheduled to throw a bullpen session this coming weekend. That outing will serve as the next checkpoint in determining how his body responds before the Twins chart out a clearer ramp-up plan. There is also an international wrinkle. It remains undecided whether Ryan will participate in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, and how he rebounds from the bullpen session could factor heavily into that decision. Minnesota has long preached the importance of managing workloads early in the year, and this situation may force a more conservative approach. The most concerning news may belong to David Festa, who is being shut down for a couple of weeks due to a shoulder impingement. Festa received an injection in the shoulder, and the pause immediately puts the start of his season in jeopardy. Paparesta noted that the issue is unrelated to the thoracic outlet syndrome that ended Festa’s 2025 campaign, which is certainly encouraging, but the timing remains problematic. Minnesota has not publicly suggested any long-term role change, yet it is fair to wonder whether a move to the bullpen could ultimately be the best path forward for Festa. Shoulder concerns layered on top of last year’s thoracic outlet syndrome history make durability in a starting role increasingly difficult to project over a full-season workload. Taken together, these updates offer a snapshot of the balancing act that defines modern pitching staffs. Lopez provides optimism for the future. Ryan represents cautious day-to-day monitoring in the present. Festa embodies the uncertainty that often forces organizations to reconsider development plans on the fly. For a Twins club that has leaned heavily on its pitching depth in recent years, how each of these timelines unfolds could quietly determine how aggressive the front office needs to be before Opening Day and how sustainable the rotation will look once the games begin to matter. View the full article

Tonight, we begin our look at the 2026 Twins Daily Top Prospects rankings series with a quick look at prospects 16-20. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll count down to our choice for Twins top prospect. With that said, the odds of an MLB future increase as we jump into the Top 20 of our list. In today’s group of five players, we find an intriguing group that includes players whose careers have been affected by injury. 20. James Ellwanger, RHP Age: 21 2025 Stats (NCAA): 63 1/3 IP, 3.98 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 13.5 K/9, 5.5 BB/9 Back in 2023, Ellwanger was completing his high school career in Texas. That senior season, he had a 1.30 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 76 1/3 (14.6 K/9). One of the top five prospects in Texas, he started receiving phone calls in the second and third rounds. However, his name wasn’t called until the Nationals made him their 19th round pick. That made the decision much easier to attend Dallas Baptist. He pitched in 17 2/3 innings over eight starts. In the first inning of his first college game, he hit 99 mph with his fastball. He did miss nearly two months with a flexor strain (which is noteworthy). He went to The Cape that summer and had 22 strikeouts and five walks over 13 innings. In 2025, 14 of his 16 appearances came as a starter. He went 4-2. In 63 1/3 innings, he had 95 strikeouts and 39 walks. The walks will clearly have to be decreased. However, his 13.5 K/9 ranked in the Top 10 of all Division I pitchers, one spot behind Kade Anderson, the third overall pick last year out of LSU. Along with the mid-to-upper-90s (with carry and run), Ellwanger has a good slider in the mid-80s and a low-80s curveball. Both have shown to be potentially plus pitches for the right-hander. He’s also thrown a mid-80s changeup, but it is still a work-in-progress. He has a strong, 6-5, 220 pound frame. The Twins development staff will work with him on the technical “stuff” in an attempt to throw more consistent strikes. It is likely he will begin his professional career as a starting pitcher 19. Khadim Diaw, C/CF Age: 22 2025 Stats (A+): 169 PA, .297/.450/.445, 5 2B, 4 HR, 24 RBI Khadim Diaw attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, the same school that current MLB stars Hunter Greene and Giancarlo Stanton attended. Many former MLB and NFL players went there and learned with dozens upon dozens of actors and actresses that we watch on our TVs. Jerry Matters and Ed Begley Jr went there, and so did Kirsten Dunst, Rami Malek, and one of my first teenage crushes, Staci Keanan. Hopefully within the next couple of years, Twins fans will have the opportunity to watch Diaw play on TV for several years. Sidenote: Diaw’s mom played softball at Yale in the 1980s. She’s now the department chair of anthropology at Cal State-Northridge. Isma Diaw, Khadim’s father, has been in the States for over 30 years as a post-graduate student and a product engineer. He began his own consulting company which has him splitting time between the US and his hometown of Dakar, Senegal. If Khadim gets to the big leagues, he will be the first player from Senegal. He would be the second player from the continent of Africa to play in the big leagues. For much more on the Diaw family, please take time to read Jeff Johnson’s fantastic article from last summer in The Gazette of Cedar Rapids. Diaw stayed close to home and played his college ball at Loyola Marymount. In 2018, he hit .364 (.985) over eight games, but he was able to use a redshirt season. The next year, he played in 52 games and hit .314 (.896) with 11 doubles and eight homers. In 2024, he played in just 20 games for Loyola, but he hit .432/.500/.716 (1.216) with eight doubles, three triples, and three homers. He spent a few weeks in the Cape before the Twins made him their third-round draft pick. He played in 24 games for the Mighty Mussels that summer which allowed him to jump straight to Cedar Rapids in 2025. Diaw is an exciting, unique catching prospect. At 6-1 and 215 pounds, he certainly does not fit the “pudge” nickname attributed to many shorter, bulkier backstops. He is a solid defensive backstop, and a really good athlete. In fact, he’s athletic enough that his secondary position is center field. He has the speed and instincts to play out there. That isn’t to say that he’d be an MLB center fielder, but the fact that he can handle the position means that he could find value around the diamond. Offensively, he has always hit for average and had the ability to get on base. He’s willing to take walks, and he’s also willing to be hit by a pitch. In 169 total plate appearances in 2025, he was hit by a pitch 18 games. That’s a lot, and one of those pitches cost him two full months with a broken thumb. He did return for one Kernels regular-season game. Back at full strength, Diaw is one of the most intriguing prospects heading into the 2026 season. 18. CJ Culpepper, RHP Age: 24 2025 Stats (AA): 54 1/3 IP, 2.65 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 5.0 BB/9 The Rancho Cucamonga native stayed near home and attended California Baptist. He made six appearances in the Covid-shortened 2020 season. In 2021, he worked in 22 games out of the bullpen and went 2-2 with 13 saves. He was named an All American. In 2022, he moved to the startingnd made 14 starts. He went 5-3 with a 3.26 ERA. The Twins used their 13th round pick in 2022 to select Culpepper. He split the 2023 season between Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids. Combined, he went 6-5 with a 3.56 ERA. He had 89 strikeouts in 86 innings. Unfortunately, due to arm issues the last two years, he hasn’t topped 60 innings since. His 2025 season started on the 60-Day Injured List with a pinched nerve. After rehab appearances in the FCL and with Fort Myers, he ended the season with 15 starts for the Wind Surge. When healthy, Culpepper is an interesting pitching prospect. When he first signed, he was known to throw seven or eight pitches. Some of that is arm angle or velocity differences. However, he has a very good fastball that sits in the mid-90s but has hit 98 mph. He gets lots of his swings-and-misses on a sharp slider and gets weak content from a cutter. He keeps hitters off balance with a slower curveball and a changeup. Culpepper has good, but not great, control, and with the lack of innings the past couple of years, he makes sense as a three-to-four-innings, twice-per-week pitcher that the Twins have employed the last couple of years. 17. Kyle DeBarge, 2B/SS/CF Age: 22 2025 Stats (A+): 542 PA, .237/.347/.362, 23 2B, 5 3B, 8 HR, 65 RBI, 66 SB DeBarge played high school ball for Barbe High in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Between 2008 and 2011, the Barbe Bowling team won three out of four state titles. The baseball program has won 11 state championships since 1998. They’ve been named the #1 team in the country a few times including DeBarge’s senior year when they went 39-2. The interesting thing is that in high school, he was a catcher. He went undrafted and attended Louisiana Lafayette and was a three-year starting shortstop for the Ragin’ Cajuns. As a sophomore, he hit .371/.448/.546 (.994) with 15 doubles and seven homers. In 2024, he hit .355/.418/.699 (1.117) with 19 doubles, three triples, and 21 home runs. In those three years, he stole 44 bases in 60 chances. With the 33rd overall pick in the 2024 draft, the Twins were thrilled to select and sign the diminutive infielder. He played in 25 games for Fort Myers after the draft. He was then pushed to High-A Cedar Rapids to start the 2025 season and that’s where he spent the full season in Iowa. The Twins selected Kaelen Culpepper earlier in the first round, so he got most of the starts at shortstop. DeBarge started 72 games at second base, 22 games at shortstop, 16 games in center field and four games in left field. Versatility will be an important part of his development, but he was named a minor league Gold Glove winner in 2025 for his work at second base. Offensively, it was a bit of a tale of two seasons for DeBarge. In April, his OPS was .864. In May, his OPS was .809. His OPS in June and July were .678 and .687, respectively. Then in August, his OPS was .552. In six games in September, his OPS was .569. This is not unusual. It’s one of those things that all pro players need to figure out for themselves. Presumably the Twins worked with him on an offseason plan to keep him stronger throughout the full season. DeBarge can fill out a state line. He does a solid job of getting on base. He has mostly doubles and gap-to-gap power. I can’t imagine many thought that he would have as many stolen bases as he did. He ended the season with 66 steals in 74 chances. He began the season with 31 straight steals. Through June, he was 43-for-44 in steal attempts. At the end of July, he was 55-for-58. 16. Hendry Mendez, OF Age: 22 2025 Stats (AA): 491 PA, .299/.399/.439, 16 2B, 4 3B, 11 HR, 62 RBI Just 22 years old, Hendry Mendez has been traded twice already in his young career. He originally signed with the Brewers back in 2021 and spent three seasons in the organization. Following the 2023 season, he was dealt with infielder Robert Moore to the Phillies in exchange for infielder Oliver Dunn. At the 2025 trade deadline, Mendez and right-hander Geremy Villoria came to the Twins in the Harrison Bader trade. There is a lot to like about Mendez on the baseball field. Physically, he stands at 6-3 and about 200 pounds. He has strength and the belief is that, in time, he will become more of a home run hitter. At this stage of his career, Mendez uses the whole field, puts the ball in play with line drives. In 142 plate appearances with the Wichita Wind Surge, he had 27 walks to just 21 strikeouts. Overall, in 2025, he had 67 walks and 65 strikeouts. In 2024, he had 52 walks and 52 strikeouts. His 11 Double-A home runs in 2025 was just one less than his total over his first four seasons. Yes, Mendez is another left-handed hitting outfielder, something the Twins have plenty of, but Mendez provides a contact-first approach at the plate as we await his power to arrive with more consistency. Defensively, he has played both corner spots, and he went to the Arizona Fall League after the 2025 season to, in part, get some work in at first base. Unfortunately a family situation meant he only played in five games before going home to the Dominican. He was added to the Twins 40-man roster and played in most early spring training games. Feel free to discuss these prospects and ask as many questions as you like in the COMMENTS below. I will try to get to as many of them as possible. For more Twins Daily content on these five Twins prospects, click on the link with their name here: Hendry Mendez, Kyle DeBarge, CJ Culpepper, Khadim Diaw, and James Ellwanger. View the full article

The Kansas City Royals are now a week into spring training, posting a record of 2-3. While statistics and records don’t mean much in February, it is still nice to see players put together strong springs in anticipation of the regular season. With only six games played, the sample size is still relatively small as we look into who is off to a strong or not-so-strong start in spring training. Who’s Hot? 🔥 Seth Lugo: Lugo fired two scoreless innings on Monday against the Chicago Cubs. Over the two innings, Lugo allowed two hits, while walking none and striking out one. The 36-year-old faced the minimum over his two innings, needing 27 pitches to get through the two frames. Lugo was able to retire 2025 and Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong on three pitches to open the game with a ground out to first base. Lugo missed time last year with two trips to the injured list, making 26 starts, a step back from the 33 during his All-Star season in 2024. With a veteran pitcher like Lugo, health is the main concern, so seeing the right-hander get through two clean innings is a good start to the spring, especially with Lugo participating in the World Baseball Classic. Bobby Witt Jr.: Witt Jr. impresses each year. Through four games in the spring, Witt Jr. has batted .364, with a double and a triple. The double came on Wednesday when facing Seattle Mariners ace Bryan Woo. Having an exit velocity of 99.8, Witt Jr. gave center fielder Víctor Robles no opportunity to make a play. Seeing Witt Jr. look sharp prior to the WBC is a welcome sight for Royals fans. If the Royals want to return to postseason baseball, Witt Jr. is going to be the driving force of this team. Noah Cameron: Cameron made his first start of the spring on Wednesday against the Mariners, pitching two shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk, while striking out two. The left-hander required 36 pitches to get through the two frames. Cameron struck out Robles and induced a weak ground ball off the bat of Josh Naylor, looking good against MLB-caliber players as Cameron tries to recapture the success he showed in his rookie season. Who’s Not? 🧊 Jonathan India: 2026 is a big year for India. After struggling during his first season with the Royals, India was re-signed on a one-year, $8 million contract. India will be a free agent at season's end and is looking for fortunes closer to what he showed during his rookie season. Through three spring training games, India is hitless through five at-bats, while recording one walk. Like I mentioned to open the piece, spring training statistics are often a moot point, but I’m sure many Royals fans would feel more comfortable if India can see some success before the year begins. José Cuas: Cuas has pitched in three games this spring, totalling three innings. In the three outings, Cuas has allowed three hits, four runs, two home runs, and one walk, pitching to an ERA of 12.00. With opponents hitting .250 off the right-hander and a deep Royals pitching staff, Cuas doesn’t appear to be working his way onto the Royals’ roster. Lane Thomas: Through seven at-bats, Thomas has recorded only one hit, while striking out four times. A season after batting .160, the Royals need Thomas to provide a steady production of offense from one of the outfield positions. While it’s still way too early to get upset, similar to India’s situation, Royals fans want to see Thomas’ production get closer to the version of the 2023 season where Thomas blasted 28 home runs. View the full article

Every spring, a handful of players force organizations to make uncomfortable decisions. They may not have the prospect pedigree or the lengthy big-league résumé, but something in their profile demands a closer look. Sometimes it's a mechanical tweak. Sometimes it's an approach change. Increasingly often, it's something that shows up in the data before it shows up in the box score. That's where bat-tracking metrics from Baseball Savant begin to matter more than ever. The Athletic recently highlighted Bat Speed, Swing Tilt, and Intercept Point as part of a growing toolkit that can help teams identify future impact hitters, even in tiny samples. These numbers aren't perfect, but taken together, they paint a predictive picture of what a player might become before traditional production catches up. Swing tilt, in particular, has become an increasingly useful piece of the puzzle. A higher-tilt swing is generally more capable of lifting the baseball and doing damage on pitches located in the lower part of the strike zone. That aligns naturally with the movement profile of many breaking balls. It's not surprising that many of the game’s best power hitters generate their thump with a steeper bat path designed to create loft. Of course, there's another path to offensive success. Hitters with lower-tilt swings tend to produce more contact, because that flatter bat path plays better against fastballs that enter the zone on a more direct plane. That trade-off between contact and power has historically made bat-path evaluation difficult across the league. Multiple MLB front offices have wrestled with grading swings in a way that fairly captures both outcomes. The research group at Driveline Baseball sought to bridge that gap by separating bat-path evaluation into two metrics. Contact+ attempts to measure a hitter’s ability to consistently put the bat on the ball. Power+ focuses on their ability to drive it with authority. James Outman posted a 28 Contact+ alongside a 61 Power+. This, notably, is not a case wherein 100 is average; it's a version of the 20-80 scouting scale. Outman's Power+, therefore, marks him as a potential plus slugger. That profile aligns with what his career 34.5% strikeout rate already suggests. He's not built to be a high-contact hitter. Though he whiffs far too much, his combination of tilt and bat speed makee him dangerous in the box. Outman demonstrated that power potential throughout his time in the minors, including a .945 OPS and 131 wRC+ at Triple-A last season. Those numbers are not just the product of favorable environments. They reflect a swing capable of generating damage in a way that contact-oriented profiles cannot. Minnesota could use a defensively capable fourth outfielder who can handle center field on occasion. Outman is out of minor-league options, which means a strong showing this spring could force the organization to carry him rather than risk losing him on waivers. The other outfielders on the 40-man roster include Alan Roden, Austin Martin, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Gabriel Gonzalez. There will likely be room for two of those names on the Opening Day roster, with Martin and Outman having the inside track at the start of spring training. In a roster battle that often comes down to marginal differences, a player with real underlying power traits can quickly become the more intriguing choice over a younger but lower-impact alternative. The strikeouts may never disappear. That's the cost of doing business with a swing designed to lift and drive the baseball. But in an era in which teams are increasingly comfortable trading some contact for impact, Outman’s underlying profile suggests there may be more upside than his surface numbers currently indicate. For him, the key will be to let the ball travel more. Given the speed and shape of his swing, he can afford to wait a hair longer, thereby making better swing decisions and a bit more contact, without sacrificing all his pop. Recently, I reviewed the Twins trade that brought Outman to Minnesota from Los Angeles. It was starting to look like this might be a trade that didn’t help either organization. However, if Bat Speed, Swing Tilt, and Intercept Point truly are as predictive as the research suggests, the Twins may be able to salvage something from it, after all. Can Outman be a breakout player for the Twins in 2026? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

When Rickie Weeks transitioned from the dugout to the front office over the winter, the Brewers did not hire a new associate manager or bench coach. Instead, Weeks’s responsibilities as Pat Murphy’s right-hand man will be redistributed among the rest of the coaching staff. That's because Murphy didn't want to add more voices to his staff. “I don't like to add people as much as I like to add responsibility,” Murphy said from Brewers spring training last week. “It’s just like mixing anything else together. For that strategy part of it, I need all the help I can get. I think we’re going to have two or three people be in that role of giving information. Everybody has a kind of a different area.” As baseball’s data boom has created more information to process in the front office and in the dugout, coaching staffs have grown. Nobody can process and apply everything that's become relevant, so it made sense for teams to develop more specialized coaching roles. Each coach focuses on the finer details of their area of the game and shares their thoughts with the manager, who makes the final decisions. Such a structure brings unique challenges. Teams must pick the right coaches to handle different facets of the game. They must also hire enough coaches to ensure nobody is stretched too thin, but not so many that there are competing messages in the dugout. The Brewers believe they’ve struck that balance. “It's just a new configuration,” Murphy said. “Matt [Arnold] and I sat down and said, ‘What's the best way to utilize and not really add people?’ Because it gets crowded, you know? So that’s how we came up with it.” Under the new structure, several returning coaches will assume new roles or specialize more strictly in their area of expertise. Former third base coach Jason Lane will now advise Murphy on in-game hitting decisions as offense and strategy coordinator. Jim Henderson already filled a similar role on the pitching side, but his new title as major-league pitching coordinator cements it. Lead pitching coach Chris Hook will continue working with starters. Eric Theisen has been promoted to lead hitting coach, the role Al LeBoeuf held last season. Matt Erickson, who assumed Lane’s old role as third base coach, will continue coaching infielders and managing defensive positioning. Field coordinator Nestor Corridor will continue working with catchers, but will also specialize in controlling the running game. Game preparation specialists Daniel de Mondesert and Evan Martin will deliver analytics and other information from the front office to other coaches. “They all know what they’re responsible for,” Murphy said. “I think it’s a good collection.” Along with giving Henderson a new strategy-centric title, the Brewers also promoted Juan Sandoval from assistant coordinator of minor-league pitching to assistant pitching coach. With Julio Burbón and LeBoeuf moving into front office roles and Connor Dawson taking a hitting coach position with the Kansas City Royals, the club hired Spencer Allen as first base coach and Guillermo Martinez and Daniel Vogelbach as assistant hitting coaches. Vogelbach, who played parts of two seasons with the Brewers in 2020 and 2021, may be the most recognizable hire. The 33-year-old retired after the 2024 season and worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates as a special hitting assistant last season. Less than two years after the end of his playing career, he’s now a full-time coach. “Vogey’s great,” Murphy said. “He's unique. Not many players can come off the field [and into coaching] so quickly.” During his playing days, Vogelbach was known for his swing decisions and cerebral approach at the plate. Early in counts, he offered only at pitches in his personal hot zones, rather than swinging at strikes he could not hit as well. While he was an active player, his 33.7% swing rate and 47.7% in-zone swing rate were the lowest among qualified hitters. “He studied the game,” Murphy said. “As a hitter, he studied opposing pitchers. He was very adamant about approach, very adamant about how to practice. So he's one of those players that you could see coaching no matter what.” The Brewers have a similar philosophy. They have an internal swing decision metric across all levels of the organization and instruct their hitters to take strikes early in counts, if the pitch is not in their wheelhouse. Like Vogelbach (as an individual), Milwaukee hitters (as a group) have had the lowest overall and in-zone swing rates in baseball over the last two seasons, making him a fitting voice to help guide their approaches. “I don’t know that you teach that verbally or anything else,” Murphy said of coaching swing decisions. “I think there’s an approach that leads to that, and I think he’ll teach that approach. It coincides with what we’re doing.” “I think that comes with part of the role of being a hitting coach in the hitting department,” Vogelbach said. “I mean, an approach comes with hitting. But I'm not here to reinvent the wheel or change people. This is a team that won 97 games, that did a lot of really good things. It was a series away from playing in the World Series.” Having watched last year’s Brewers from the Pittsburgh dugout and observed their hitters up close in the early days of spring training, Vogelbach sees a group that is already disciplined. “They're really good at it,” he said. “They know the strike zone. They all have a plan when they go to the plate. You don't win 97 games if you don't have that. I think that in baseball, though, you can always get better, and I think that's the best part about this team. They want to get better, and they want to keep getting better. And when you have a good approach, and you swing at the right pitches, and you're good players, good things usually happen.” Even in an age of rapid innovation, a staff without a bench coach is borderline radical, but what the Brewers are doing could quickly become the new normal. They’re confident in the baseball minds flanking Murphy and believe they’ve identified the best roles for each of them. “The coaches make me look good,” Murphy said. “They make me look like I know what I'm doing. This staff in particular is up there. I can’t say enough about them.” View the full article

The Toronto Blue Jays are bringing back right-hander Max Scherzer, as first reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet previously reported that the two sides were “getting more serious.” Scherzer's deal reportedly comes with a $3 million base salary and up to $10 million in incentives. This signing adds veteran depth to a rotation that already had several established options entering camp. Scherzer joined the Blue Jays prior to the 2025 season on a one-year, $15.5 million deal. He began the season on the IL due to a thumb injury, but returned to the rotation by the end of June. Overall, he posted a 5.19 ERA over 85 innings in the regular season and a 3.77 ERA over 14.1 postseason innings. He now rejoins a Blue Jays rotation that has more names than available spots. Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, and Trey Yesavage are all but locked into the first three spots. John Schneider suggested yesterday that Cody Ponce will be in the rotation, leaving just one spot remaining for José Berríos, Eric Lauer, and now Scherzer to compete for. With Shane Bieber set to open the season on the IL, this move gives the Blue Jays an opportunity to see if the 41-year-old Scherzer can put together another productive season. Jays Centre will have more on this story as further details emerge. Thank you to Jays24 for posting the original discussion thread. View the full article

In Eric Lauer's mind, he isn't just stretching out as a starter this spring. He's fighting for a role in Toronto's Opening Day rotation. Speaking to members of the media after he started the Blue Jays' first Grapefruit League game on Saturday, Lauer made it clear that he doesn't see himself as the team's sixth (or seventh) starter. “The goal, and the thought, is that I’m going to start this year,” he told Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star. Of course, he knows it's not just up to him. But he sees a rotation job as his to lose, not his to win. "As of now, I’m a starter, and that’s where I plan on staying." Despite his admirable confidence, it's hard not to see Lauer as the odd man out of a crowded picture. When the news broke that Shane Bieber would start the season on the IL, it seemed like Toronto's rotation was set: Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce, and José Berríos. With that said, it's not hard to imagine a world in which Lauer looks like one of the team's five best starting options by the end of camp. John Schneider isn't ruling out the possibility. "He's going into this saying 'I want to be one of the starters'," the skipper told reporters, including Sportsnet's Shi Davidi. "If that's the case, that's the case." Barring injury, Gausman and Cease are 1A and 1B. There's nothing that could happen this spring to kick them out of the rotation. Yesavage, Ponce, and Berríos, on the other hand, all have questions to answer. In terms of upside, each has more to offer than Lauer. Yesavage is a top prospect who has already proven he can dominate on the game's highest stage. Ponce is the reigning KBO MVP. Berríos is a two-time All-Star and a 10-year MLB veteran. Yet, Yesavage is also a 22-year-old rookie with one year of professional experience. Ponce flamed out in his first go-around in MLB. Berríos pitched himself out of the rotation just last September. None of these guys is a sure thing. If any or all of Yesavage, Ponce, and Berríos give their coaches reason to worry this spring, and if Lauer dominates the Grapefruit League, why shouldn't the Jays let Lauer start? This is a team that wants every advantage, big or small. It's a team that wants its best pitchers throwing as many innings as possible. If Lauer looks like one of Toronto's five best starters, he belongs in the rotation, especially since he'd add a lefty to an otherwise all-righty mix. Well, sure, in a vacuum. The problem is that Lauer's own success in 2025 could work against him. The Blue Jays know they'll need more than five starters to make it through the season. That's why they have seven on the roster right now, and it's why they've reportedly kept in touch with Max Scherzer. In other words, they know Lauer will get a chance to start eventually, even if he opens the year in the bullpen. They also know that Lauer is capable of making that transition. He was incredibly valuable last year moving back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. Not everyone can handle that shift so smoothly. There's no way Yesavage pitches in relief, at least not at the beginning of the year. The Jays would be fools to mess with his development like that. Unless they want him to open the season at Triple-A, he'll be on the starting staff. Ponce or Berríos could move to the 'pen, but Ponce is already handling a difficult transition. He'll have to re-adjust to MLB competition (and MLB baseballs) after four years in NPB and the KBO. As for Berríos, his lone bullpen outing last September was his first since another lone September outing in 2017. Before that, he hadn't pitched from the 'pen since 2012, when he made a handful of relief appearances for the Gulf Coast League Twins at 18 years old. What I'm trying to say is that it's more likely Berríos and Ponce would struggle in a swingman role. They just haven't proven they could handle it. The fact that Lauer thrived as a swingman in 2025 could be precisely what keeps him from earning the starting job he wants so badly. It might not be fair, but that won't matter if it's what's best for the team. Such is baseball. So far, Schneider has confirmed next to nothing about his starting rotation. Lauer's hopes are still very much alive. At the same time, the manager has repeatedly emphasized that the Blue Jays signed Ponce to be a starter. "The expectation is pitching as a starting pitcher in the rotation,” Schneider said Wednesday, per Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith. “That’s why we sought him out." Meanwhile, Schneider's latest comments about Berríos were laudatory. "José is fully healthy. He's looked sharp," said Schneider, per MLB.com's Keegan Matheson. "His stuff is back to where it was probably two years ago in terms of velocity and his breaking ball." Berríos recently revealed he was pitching through discomfort throughout last year. He's finally feeling healthy again. As for Yesavage, Schneider has been clear that the Jays will monitor his workload. However, there's been no indication they would keep him off the Opening Day roster. On the contrary, the skipper told Matheson, "We don’t want to pigeonhole it and say that we’re going to cut five or six starts off his season...If he’s feeling great, then great." So, even though Lauer has a confident air about him, he understands things might not go his way. The lefty told Chisholm he was frustrated with the situation, suggesting he had been promised a role in the starting rotation before the offseason. He'll be even more frustrated if he does everything he can to win the job this spring and still misses out. Unfortunately, there's a good chance that's exactly what happens. For all the reasons Lauer succeeded in 2025, he could miss out on the role he's seeking in 2026. View the full article

Connelly Early proved himself as one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in his meteoric rise last year. This video is a full rundown of Early's six-pitch arsenal, award-filled rise to stardom, and his true chances at getting into Boston's rotation with names like Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray, and more already occupying the sought-after space. View the full article

Connelly Early proved himself as one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in his meteoric rise last year. This video is a full rundown of Early's six-pitch arsenal, award-filled rise to stardom, and his true chances at getting into Boston's rotation with names like Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray, and more already occupying the sought-after space. View the full article

When the Minnesota Twins scratched Joe Ryan from his scheduled start on Saturday due to lower back tightness, it was the kind of spring training update that immediately makes an entire fan base uneasy. A few days later, however, the news cycle has already shifted in a much more encouraging direction. Twins manager Derek Shelton told reporters that Ryan played catch from 90 feet on Tuesday morning after undergoing imaging over the weekend. The results showed inflammation in his lower back rather than any structural damage. For a team that is already navigating the loss of Pablo López to Tommy John surgery, that distinction matters in a significant way. “He played catch today at 90 feet, so I think that was really encouraging,” Shelton said. “And he was also in the training room doing movement stuff. Encouraging. Trending in the right direction.” At this point in camp, the most important thing for Minnesota is not necessarily how quickly Ryan gets back on the mound, but that he continues to progress without setbacks. Spring training schedules are flexible. A timeline is not. There is still no clear indication of when Ryan will throw his next bullpen session, but the early internal expectation is that this is a short-term interruption rather than something that threatens his availability for Opening Day. That is critical given the Twins' rotation's current state. With López sidelined for the season, Ryan is no longer just part of the front-end mix. He is the front-end mix. If healthy, he becomes the obvious choice to take the ball on Opening Day, setting the tone for a rotation that will lean heavily on Bailey Ober and Simeon Woods Richardson behind him. That makes maintaining his health through the remainder of camp one of the most important storylines the Twins will navigate before the regular season begins. Ryan is also scheduled to pitch for the United States in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, though his availability for that event is now less certain. Minnesota may ultimately take a cautious approach if there is any lingering question about his back responding to increased intensity. There should still be enough time for Ryan to ramp back up for the regular season without issue. The bigger unknown now may be how the Twins handle his workload in the short term as they balance competitive commitments in March with the reality that their postseason hopes could hinge on his ability to stay on the mound from April through September. Behind Ober and Woods Richardson, the final spots in the rotation are expected to come down to a camp competition between Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, and potentially David Festa. Bradley might have the inside track to a spot since he has thrown over 380 innings at the big-league level. Festa is “gradually ramping up” after ending last season on the injured list. Minnesota has touted its pitching depth, but losing Joe Ryan might have pushed the Minnesota Twins from fringe contender to full-scale rebuild. Without their projected Opening Day starter anchoring the staff, the domino effect would stretch from the top of the rotation to the final bullpen spot, forcing Bailey Ober and Simeon Woods Richardson into roles that demand more innings and consistency while accelerating timelines for young arms that were expected to develop more gradually. In a season already shaped by the loss of López, Ryan’s health is not just important to Minnesota’s April outlook but foundational to whether this team spends the summer chasing a postseason berth or reevaluating its long-term direction. View the full article

With Pablo Lopez suffering a torn UCL, Joe Ryan's arbitration years looming and a team earned run average in the bottom 10 last year, the Minnesota Twins need pitching prospects like Dasan Hill to blossom. Here is a full scouting report on the southpaw who was the Twins' no. 7 prospect (per MLB.com) at the end of 2025. View the full article

Very few players around the league embody both promise and frustration quite like Royce Lewis. Entering his age‑27 season in 2026, Lewis remains a tantalizing mix of elite tools and unfulfilled potential. When healthy, he has the power and athleticism to impact the game in ways not many other major-leaguers can. Alas, the past two seasons have underscored a hard truth: raw talent doesn’t guarantee consistent production. With his dominant 2023 campaign (which labeled him as a superstar in the making) now far in the rearview mirror, the central question for Twins fans is straightforward: Can Lewis return to that level of performance, or will injuries and inconsistency continue to limit his impact? On every level, 2025 was a frustrating season. Lewis appeared in 106 games, the most of any season in his career. Yet, he posted a slash line of .237/.283/.388, marking his second straight season with an on-base percentage under .300. Conventional stats paint a bleak picture, but advanced metrics reveal both the reasons behind the struggles and the underlying tools that remain. Compared with 2023, his contact quality dropped. Statcast data shows that his barrel rate fell from 11.7% to 8.7%, his hard-hit rate slipped from 42.0% to 40.3%, and his xwOBA dropped significantly, from .349 to .297. This combination of weaker and less frequent premium contact explains why both his slugging and expected slugging (xSLG) regressed to below-average levels. Injuries played a significant role in that regression. Lewis began 2025 on the injured list with a hamstring strain suffered in spring training, and he re-aggravated the same injury in June. Lower-body injuries are particularly bothersome for hitters who rely on rotational power, and Lewis’s batted-ball profile reflected that. He produced more ground balls and fewer pulled fly balls, demonstrating that even slight physical limitations can severely limit a hitter who relies on torque and explosiveness. Another layer of context comes from his pitch splits. Lewis saw four-seam fastballs on 33.8% of pitches, and his results against heaters were quite underwhelming: a .183 batting average, .337 slugging percentage, and .268 wOBA. Interestingly, he fared much better against breaking balls and off-speed pitches. These splits highlight an unusual (seeming) paradox: a hitter with elite bat speed struggling against the pitch type that typically favors hitters. In previous seasons, Lewis handled fastballs effectively, suggesting that 2025’s struggles were likely tied to health, timing, or mechanical inconsistencies, rather than a permanent skill decline. Despite these struggles, there are reasons for optimism. Lewis’s raw power remains intact. His maximum exit velocity reached 113.7 mph, demonstrating that when he squares up a pitch, he can still drive it with authority. His sprint speed remained respectable, and he swiped 12 bases, signaling that his baserunning ability is still very much there. These tools provide a foundation that, if paired with improved contact quality, could allow him to return to a level of production closer to his 2023 season. His late-season results in 2025 were particularly encouraging. In September, Lewis hit .257 and stole nine bases, which was more than he accumulated from 2022 through 2024. His hard-hit and barrel rates ticked upward, and his batted-ball statistics suggested a cleaner, more direct path to the ball. Expected metrics like xSLG and xwOBA also trended upward, showing that even if conventional stats didn’t fully capture it, his underlying performance was improving. These flashes hint at the potential for a strong rebound if he can carry that quality of contact into a full 2026 campaign. Lineup context for 2026 further underscores Lewis’s potential impact. According to RosterResource projections, he's slated to hit seventh, sandwiched between Trevor Larnach and Victor Caratini. While that projection signals tempered expectations, it still positions him to be a meaningful contributor, especially if the advanced metrics from late 2025 persist. A consistent season could see him provide run production beyond what conventional stats suggest, particularly in high-leverage situations. For Lewis to recreate a 2023-level season, he must consistently square up fastballs and generate premium contact. The raw tools are undeniable, but the challenge lies in translating those metrics into sustained production over 130-plus games. Health, timing, and consistency will all factor heavily into whether he can deliver on the promise he has previously shown. Ultimately, 2026 may not define Lewis’s career, but it will reveal whether he can finally put all the pieces together. If he can stay healthy and maintain the late-season improvements seen in 2025, there’s reason to believe he can return to the kind of well-rounded production that made his 2023 season feel like a new baseline. For Twins fans, it’s a year to watch closely, and a chance to see if Lewis can move from tantalizing potential to a consistent, impactful contributor. View the full article

Shota Imanaga averaged 93 miles per hour on his four-seam fastball in his first outing of Cactus League play Tuesday. That was eye-opening for many, because Imanaga often struggled just to crack 90 MPH late last season. In most of his second-half starts, he averaged north of that number, but not by much—and he rarely even touched 92 or 93 miles per hour. On Tuesday, he lived right around 93 and touched 94. It's easy to imagine how that uptick in velocity might offer relief from the vulnerability to home runs that plagued him down the stretch. Truthfully, though, velocity isn't a big factor for Imanaga. He got hit hard after his return from a hamstring strain last year, but that had much more to do with command and pitch shape than with speed. Whenever something gets out of whack for the southpaw, homers will be the source of the tsuris, because he lives on a fastball with deceptive rising action and a splitter that will get hammered if not well-executed and well-located. When he does have that ride on the heater and is commanding the splitter, though, he can have success even at 89-91 on the radar gun. Alas, last season, Imanaga tried a mechanical tweak that didn't work. and it compromised the shape of his heater and the ability to throw the splitter with the action and the location that makes it play as well as possible. His average arm angle in 2024 was 40°, but in 2025, it dipped to 36°. The result was more run on the four-seamer, but (if anything) less carry, and a splitter that didn't tumble as steeply as it had in his excellent first season with Chicago. On Tuesday, those shapes were back. Imanaga's stuff had more vertical separation, because the fastball was more consistently showing that ride. Here's a comparison between his start in Milwaukee last May (which he left with the injury that would sideline him for several weeks), and the one he had against the Padres this week. Obviously, the splitter and sweeper also dropped less than did the fastball, but on balance, this is a better version of Imanaga. He can stretch the zone vertically more effectively this way, because he can more often tease the top of the zone with that fastball. Imanaga's release point was also slightly higher Tuesday, and his release was closer to the center of the mound. We don't have arm angle data for spring games, but Imanaga seems to have raised his arm slot again. That's good news. Broadly, the league is trending toward lower arm slots, which lend themselves better to some forms of pitch design and deception. In Imanaga's case, though, throwing from a high three-quarters slot (but a low sheer release height, because of his diminutive stature and the way he drives down the mound in his delivery) maximizes the utility of his repertoire. By no means is this a guarantee that the Cubs will have their 2024 co-ace back in full this season. However, it's a good sign that he appears to have corrected what amounted to a flaw in his mechanics, and that his arm is feeling so strong that he's already pushing the mid-90s in February. Imanaga looks likely to be a key contributor over the first stage of the season. On a staff that will try to protect key young arms and that won't have Justin Steele early on, that's exceptionally valuable. Imanaga's good first Cactus League outing was a major step toward a successful first month for his team. View the full article

If there is a singular strength of the San Diego Padres entering the 2026 season, it is most definitely the bullpen. There will be a few relievers who should be on the Friars' Opening Day roster who instead will be suiting up for the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas. Or maybe another franchise altogether. That is one possibility, as reported by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Padres, who had one of the best sets of relievers in MLB in 2025, are fielding calls on members of their bullpen, although there are no specifics at this point. With everyone either healthy or on pace to be healthy for Opening Day, relievers who could be on the outside looking in include Bryan Hoeing, Bradgley Rodriguez, Ron Marinaccio, Kyle Hart, Ty Adcock, and Alek Jacob. Hart is the only left-hander in that group. All are right-handers except for Hart, while Marinaccio and Adcock are out of minor-league options. Right-hander Jason Adam (ruptured quad) and left-hander Yuki Matsui (groin) are mending injuries, and their Opening Day status is up in the air at the moment. Where could the Padres be looking to upgrade? They could still be looking for starting depth, even after the in-camp additions of German Marquez, Walker Buehler, and Griffin Canning. A backup infielder capable of playing shortstop is also another area. Of course, prospects are also nice, especially for a farm system that has been depleted through trades. View the full article

FORT MYERS—Starting pitching was supposed to be abundant on this Twins team, but there have been a number of starters we have yet to see in a game. Pablo López is undergoing Tommy John surgery, Joe Ryan is dealing with a sore back, Bailey Ober has been limited to live batting practice sessions, and we haven’t seen David Festa in a game yet, either. So Wednesday’s home game versus the Red Sox had Kody Funderburk take the mound in an “opener” type move. To prepare, he tried to replicate the role of a reliever. “Just tried to keep it as close to a relief appearance as we could," explained Funderburk. “Try to time it out where warm up, in the bullpen, you know, finish up at 1:04. Take the field at 1:05.” It went well enough. Facing three batters who hit left-handed and two who bat right-handed, Funderburk threw a scoreless inning. His spot on the depth chart has become a lot more crowded, as Anthony Banda and Andrew Chafin were both late additions to camp and Taylor Rogers signed earlier as a free agent.. Funderburk doesn’t have the experience either of them has. But he finished last year strong, and unlike other lefty specialists, his five-pitch mix may allow him to keep right-handed batters off-balance, or at least off-balance enough to get by (.751 OPS against in 2025). Funderburk sounds like he’s trying not to think about it—because he messed that up before. View the full article

First baseman and designated hitter Tyler Austin will be out for a prolonged period after a debridement procedure on his knee, the Cubs announced Wednesday. Austin, 34, had been the prospective bench player with the clearest role, outside whichever catcher one cares to count as the backup, and the fact that he now looks unlikely to help them any time before Memorial Day makes a major differeence for the club. Last month, manager Craig Counsell told a Cubs Convention audience that he intended to play Michael Busch every day, after Busch emerged as arguably the best hitter on the team in 2025. That probably wasn't true at the time. Busch is a poor hitter against lefties, and Counsell had Austin as a purpose-built weapon to attack southpaws. Now, however, Busch might get virtually every start at first base, at least early in the season. Prospect Jonathon Long has put up good numbers over the last two seasons and spent all of 2025 with Triple-A Iowa, but he's considered a low-ceiling guy—and he suffered a sprained elbow on a collision at first just a few days before the Austin news. Chicago really doesn't have a backup first baseman, with Austin and Long sidelined. Moisés Ballesteros could try his hand there, but he's not the ideal physical profile for the position. Ditto for Matt Shaw. Carson Kelly has never appeared in a big-league game at first, though he has worked out there at times. If the Long/Austin double-whammy had struck just a bit sooner, the team might have turned to free agent Rhys Hoskins, but earlier this week, Hoskins arrived at Guardians camp as a non-roster invitee. Instead of trying to solve the problem by making a last-minute addition, the Cubs might simply prepare Shaw, Ballesteros and/or Kelly to man first base in a pinch and trust Busch to take that post almost every day for the first half of the year. Almost any way you slice it, now, the team's bench will include Shaw and Conforto. The final spot, vacated by Austin, might now go to any of Chas McCormick, Dylan Carlson, Justin Dean or Kevin Alcántara. The loss of Austin creates lots of extra potential playing time against lefties, in particular, which suits eeach of those four outfielders nicely. Chicago's roster looks like it will be slightly less functional and efficient than they'd hoped, at least when they break camp. However, it might be a higher-upside group, too. Austin's injury is bad news, but it creates as many opportunities as it forecloses. The 2026 Cubs just need to be more opportunistic than last year's iteration was. View the full article

The Twins stated their intention to contend in 2026, but they did so a bit late, and their offseason was troublingly quiet for a mediocre team aspiring to a big improvement. They’ve mostly added on the edges of the roster, rather than making notable upgrades. As a result, it looked as though there would be plenty of incumbents on the Opening Day roster. Early on, however, a few players appear to be in unexpectedly perilous positions. Kody Funderburk The Twins spent much of the offseason with Funderburk as the only left-handed relief option on their roster. Then, they signed Taylor Rogers, traded for Anthony Banda, and inked Andrew Chafin to a minor-league deal. Their bullpen remains less inspiring than it was for the last several seasons, and is now also extremely left-handed. Funderburk ended 2025 as one of the only relief pitchers to make the most of the opportunity they were afforded at the trade deadline. From Aug. 1 forward, he allowed two earned runs in 24 innings and struck out 28% of hitters. It appeared he was a lock to make the roster as one of the more intriguing options in a bullpen that was ripped apart. Instead, he may serve as Triple-A depth, as the Twins can only afford to carry so many left-handed relievers, and Funderburk is the only one with minor-league options remaining. Especially if Chafin makes the team, Funderburk may not make the Opening Day roster, even if it’s easy to argue he’s earned it. Austin Martin The disjointed roster has left the Twins with some difficult decisions to make. Because of their lack of quality options to fill in at shortstop and center field, as well as their self-inflicted surplus of left-handed hitting outfielders, they may have to get creative in a way that results in Austin Martin being left off the roster. Eric Wagaman is splitting time between first base and the outfield, giving the team another option for a right-handed hitter to mix in. Martin suddenly has competition for a role that looked all but locked down. Martin finished 2025 with a 113 wRC+ and appeared to make strides defensively in left field. He also offers some much-needed speed to the roster. Unfortunately, the versatility that he was once praised for has become purely theoretical. The Twins clearly don’t trust him in the infield, and things appear to be headed in that direction regarding his center field defense. The team may be stuck choosing to fill out their bench with a goal of covering as many positions as possible, rather than choosing the best player, and that would be bad news for Austin Martin. Alan Roden Roden’s roster battle has less to do with whom the Twins brought in this winter and more to do with whom they didn’t part ways with. The decision by the front office to target Roden at the trade deadline made it seem like a given that they would non-tender Trevor Larnach, as they already had a logjam of left-handed-hitting corner outfielders and needed as much financial flexibility as possible this winter. Instead, they kept him and barring a last-minute trade to dump his salary, they appear to have no choice but to carry him on the roster. There's probably only one roster spot for Roden or James Outman, the latter of whom is without minor-league options and has more experience in center field. To be fair, there isn’t much of an argument to make for Roden based on his offense at the big-league level. He hasn’t produced, although that's in an extremely small sample. He may be the best defensive option in the outfield outside of Byron Buxton, and has nothing to prove in Triple-A after posting an OPS of over .900 across parts of two seasons. It seemed that Roden became a part of the Twins’ future when they targeted him in the Louis Varland trade. If he doesn’t begin the season with the team as a 26-year-old, it will be difficult not to further question their decision-making at last year’s trade deadline. There are plenty of roster battles going on this spring, but these are just a few of the more surprising ones. Are there any others that are particularly worth keeping an eye on? Let us know below! View the full article

Speaking to the Toronto Star's Mike Wilner, manager John Schneider divulged that the Blue Jays never had any intention of re-signing Bo Bichette to play shortstop. This new information conflicts with the front office's public messaging while Bichette was still a free agent. A week after the World Series ended, The Athletic's Mitch Bannon wrote: "The Jays, [GM Ross] Atkins said, are comfortable with [Andrés] Giménez as their long-term shortstop, if needed...If Bichette is set on a return to shortstop, though, the Jays are open to that configuration, too." Yet, per Schneider's latest comments, the team didn't take long to inform Giménez that he would not be returning to second base. “We communicated that to him in November so he could get physically ready for it,” the skipper explained. It's not surprising that the Jays wanted Giménez to be their shortstop, whether they re-signed Bichette or not. Giménez has been the best defensive second baseman in MLB for the past four seasons, and he proved last fall that he could handle the transition to short. Bichette, meanwhile, was arguably the worst defensive shortstop in the league last year, and he ended up signing with the Mets to play third base. Still, it's interesting to learn that Giménez's full-time move to shortstop was always the plan. Bichette's bat will be missed, but there's no doubt that Toronto's up-the-middle alignment of Giménez, Ernie Clement, Alejandro Kirk, and Daulton Varsho (plus Tyler Heineman and Myles Straw on the bench) will be one of the team's biggest strengths in 2026. View the full article