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The New York Yankees got an early Christmas present in December 2024 when they traded pitcher Nestor Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin for ace closer Devin Williams. The Yankees got one of the elite high-leverage relievers in baseball while giving up a middle-of-the-rotation starter and a top infield prospect who had already burned through two organizations and had only a half-season at Triple-A. The trade reviews were mixed, as Williams had been a two-time All-Star and Rookie of the Year winner in his six years in Milwaukee. What would the Brewers do without the ‘Airbender?’ But in return, they received a southpaw starter who was expected to plug into the rotation and an prospect who was expected to battle for a starting job in the infield. Sounds like a win-win. Early on, the pundits were speculating where Durbin would fit into the Brewers roster. Although he played a similar amount of innings at second and third in the minors, the only opening the Brewers had was at the hot corner. The Crew had three players in camp with major-league experience at third base in Andruw Monasterio, Oliver Dunn and Vinny Capra. Durbin would need to show his wares and show them well to win this battle. "Durbin is exciting as a fresh face in the Brewers camp: hard, gritty and with a variety of ways in which he can impact the game. Whether he's truly an everyday player over a long stretch remains to be seen." --Jake McKibbin, Brewer Fanatic, December 17, 2024 (Can Caleb Durbin and Oliver Dunn Man the Hot Corner for the 2025 Milwaukee Brewers?) Durbin did a nice job during the spring, batting .259/.339/.407 in 54 at-bats, but his competitors all posted superior stats. Dunn (.340/.400/.560), Capra (.292/.358/.729), and Monasterio (.382/.488/.647) all proved they were worthy of Opening Day roster spots. Unsurprisingly, Durbin started the season at Triple-A Nashville, along with Monasterio, while Capra and Dunn split the starts at third base for the Brewers as the season began. Capra and Dunn began the campaign a combined 9-for-67 (.134) and Dunn was sent down to Nashville in mid-April while Durbin was called up from the Music City after hitting .278/.316/.481 across 54 at-bats. Durbin made his MLB debut on April 18, going 2-for-4 in a 5-3 victory over the nomadic Athletics at Miller Park. The Caleb Durbin Era had begun. Three weeks later, Capra was claimed on waivers by the Chicago White Sox, but by that time Durbin had solidified his hold on the third base job. Unfortunately for the Brewers, Cortes didn't do as well on the mound, as he made only two starts before going on the IL with an elbow injury. He and Jose Quintana went to the San Diego Padres for Brandon Lockridge at the end of July. "The limits on his power potential are very real. There's a perceived risk that he'll have the bat knocked out of his hands. Light-hitting guys like him have to be patient, so they can force their way on base with the occasional walk even though pitchers are unafraid of them." --Matthew Trueblood, Brewer Fanatic, December 16, 2024 (Caleb Durbin Runs the Bases Like He's Being Chased, and It Rocks) Durbin homered in his 12th at-bat, going deep against fierce southpaw Robbie Ray on April 21 at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Little by little, Durbin got better at drawing walks in the middle of the season, taking free passes at a rate of 9.2% in June and July, which is considered average to above-average, according to FanGraphs. He was plunked 14 times by the All-Star break, making his OBP look a little bit better. "Caleb Durbin steals bases with a ferocious, fearless abandon. If he can stay healthy and get on base enough to matter, he might very well eclipse the 50 steals Turang amassed in 2024." --Matthew Trueblood, Brewer Fanatic, December 16, 2024 (Caleb Durbin Runs the Bases Like He's Being Chased, and It Rocks) The diminutive Durbin stole 11 of 17 bases in his first five months and then showed his speed and savvy when he pilfered seven bags without getting caught in September. With a year under his belt, that SB total of 18 could rise, but now he has to get acclimated to the pitchers and catchers in the American League. But the potential is there for him to join the running crew that includes Trevor Story, Jarren Duran, and Ceddanne Rafaela, all of whom stole at least 20 bases last season. "Durbin might be wise to get slightly more aggressive in his lower half. That's the only way he'll hit even for 10-homer power or rack up doubles and triples at the rate generally required of a modern hitter. For now, however, it's hard to argue with the way he's organized his swing. If he can keep drawing walks (two so far) and being plunked at a rate totaling three times that at which he strikes out, he doesn't have to hit for any power to have value." --Matthew Trueblood, Brewer Fanatic, April 30, 2025 (So Far, Caleb Durbin is Choosing Contact (Lots of It) Over Power (Like, Any at All)) Durbin hit exactly one home run in his first six weeks and finished the season with 11 jacks. He finished the season with 25 two-base hits and oddly enough for a speedy, line drive hitter, ended with zero triples. That 2B total should rise this year at Fenway, which according to Baseball Savant, is the best doubles park in baseball. The home run number could increase as well, with the Green Monster beckoning. "However, with his speed, contact and plate discipline, even 10 home runs would enable him to be a capable offensive threat—if his defense can remain up to scratch alongside that." --Jake McKibbin, Brewer Fanatic, December 17, 2024 (Can Caleb Durbin and Oliver Dunn Man the Hot Corner for the 2025 Milwaukee Brewers?) The scrappy Durbin came to the Brewers with two uncertainties: where he would play, and how well he would play there. After the Capra/Dunn experiment went up in flames, the Brewers put Durbin at third and told him to go to work. Although he wasn't always pretty playing in the dirt, the numbers say differently. Durbin ranked tied for fifth at third base with Matt Chapman--a five-time Gold Glove winner--with +5 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). His +1 Statcast Fielding Run Value placed him seventh at the hot corner. His 2025 season wasn't perfect, but he performed well in nine postseason games, batting .276/.364/.414. Brewers fans will miss him, but we will all cheer him on while he plays for the Red Sox. Unless he is playing against Milwaukee, which will happen at Fenway from April 6-8. View the full article

Suddenly, the Milwaukee Brewers have two more left-handed options for not only their starting rotation, but their pitching staff as a whole. That came with Monday's trade, in which the Crew shipped three infielders (led by starting third baseman Caleb Durbin) and a draft pick to the Boston Red Sox for left-handed starters Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan, as well as infielder David Hamilton. As spring training begins this week in Phoenix, Harrison and Drohan will be in the mix to make the Opening Day roster. But where? Harrison was the No. 1 prospect with the San Francisco Giants in 2024, and was part of the return the Red Sox got in June 2025, in the Rafael Devers trade. Still just 24, the 2020 third-round draft choice has 42 games of big-league experience, with 37 starts. Of those, 24 came during the 2024 season, in which he had a 4.33 FIP with a 7.9% walk rate and 22.2% strikeout rate. After getting a bit of an overhaul with the Red Sox, Harrison joins a Brewers system well-known for getting the most out of pitchers, so there could be a little more to pull out of him. Harrison will compete for a rotation spot with fellow left-hander Robert Gasser, as well as right-handers Logan Henderson, Chad Patrick and Brandon Sproat. DL Hall, another left-hander, could be battling to be a starter. A second tier of prospects includes Carlos Rodriguez and Coleman Crow, if they each survive the 40-man roster crunch that could develop in camp. Being southpaws could lend Gasser and Harrison a leg up, as the top three of Brandon Woodruff, Quinn Priester and Jacob Misiorowski are all right-handers. Harrison also has minor-league options remaining, though. As recently as 2024, the Brewers worked without a left-handed starter for most of the season. Drohan, on the other hand, is a 27-year-old lefty who has yet to make his big-league debut. The Red Sox drafted him in the fifth round in 2020 out of Florida State. His potential was good enough for the Chicago White Sox to select him in the Rule 5 draft following the 2023 season, but he had nerve decompression surgery in his shoulder a few months later and was returned to the Red Sox in June 2024, after recovering but without cracking the active roster. In 2025, Drohan made 14 starts and one relief appearance, primarily at Triple-A Worcester. He posted a 2.27 ERA over 47⅔ innings in 12 Triple-A games. The Red Sox added him to the 40-man roster this offseason—one reason why he was available in the trade, as the Brewers shipped three 40-man players to the Red Sox and got three back. While likely to be stretched out as a starter this spring, Drohan could be an option as a long reliever. That could be his best path to the roster, given his age and skill set. The Brewers currently feature a wealth of left-handers in the bullpen with Hall, Aaron Ashby, Jared Koenig, Rob Zastryzny and Ángel Zerpa. That puts Drohan on a path to Triple-A Nashville to begin the season, but a top choice to come up if one of that group gets hurt. Unless there is another trade, whether it is to use this pitching depth to acquire a potential Durbin replacement or something else, Harrison and Drohan will be second-tier contributors to the 2026 Brewers. Harrison has five years of team control remaining, though, and Drohan has all six. Harrison can be optioned to the minors not only this year, but in another season, and Drohan has all three options left. They're incredibly flexible pieces, given their upside. They just might have to wait a while to have an impact. View the full article

The Chicago Cubs and right-handed pitcher Kyle Wright are in agreement on a minor-league deal that includes an invitation to major-league spring training, a team source told North Side Baseball. Wright, 30, hasn't pitched in the majors since 2023. He missed the last two years after suffering a torn shoulder capsule that required a career-threatening surgery. After being a buzzy pitching prospect but then a modest disappointment early in his big-league career, Wright underwent a dramatic mechanical change in 2022 and broke out. That year, he pitched 180 1/3 innings over 30 starts and posted a 3.19 ERA, winning 21 games for a dominant Atlanta team. By going to a lower arm slot and emphasizing his sinker instead of his four-seam fastball, he tapped into an extremely effective five-pitch mix. In a handful of appearances in the Royals' farm system last season, Wright didn't show the same electric stuff. His fastball had pushed up to 95 miles per hour during his breakout campaign; it sat around 92 in 2025. Another year removed from the operation, though, he could well get some velocity back, and the pitch shapes that made him good four years ago appear to be intact. It's unlikely that Wright will reestablish himself as a big-league starter on this side of such a massive injury, but he comes to camp as another candidate to be a low-slot right-handed option out of the bullpen. He's out of minor-league options, but should he make the roster, he would be under team control through 2027. For the Cubs, it's yet another fine flier. For Wright, it's a chance to spend the spring with a highly respected pitching coach who knows what it takes to succeed from a low arm slot, in Tommy Hottovy. The Cubs will send a handful of pitchers out to pitch for their countries in the World Baseball Classic, so innings should be available in the early Cactus League games. Whereas some pitchers are likely to stick around and wait for the right chance with the Cubs even if they don't make the team, Wright will probably pursue the first big-league shot he gets. The Cubs have secured the privilege of being first to decide about him, but if he doesn't crack the roster, he'll leave, with no hard feelings. At this time of year, deals with injury cases like Wright are win-win moves for the parties involved. If he does get some velocity back on the fastball and sticks in the Opening Day bullpen, Wright will be a high-upside reclamation project. View the full article

During the 2025-26 offseason, the San Diego Padres lost both Ryan O’Hearn and Luis Arraez to free agency. Since both are left-handed batters, the Fenton Curse merits being revisited. What was originally San Diego Stadium was the newest of the three major league ballparks in Southern California. Dodger Stadium opened in 1962, what was originally Anaheim Stadium opened in 1966, and San Diego Stadium opened with football in August 1967 before first hosting baseball in 1968. San Diego Stadium was also renovated in the early 1980s when the success of the Chargers football team warranted a seating expansion. The first Padres owner to express a desire for a new stadium was Tom Werner after attendance dropped during the fire sale years and Werner wanted a smaller stadium with fewer empty seats. After Werner’s ownership group sold the Padres, new owner John Moores originally didn’t ask for a new stadium. The 1990s renovations based on the Chargers’ demands included lease terms more favorable to the Chargers than to the Padres. The Friars actually needed a new lease rather than a new stadium, but the factors necessitated a new ballpark. The Fenton quarry just west of the stadium had been mined out by that time. Fenton offered the city the land for the new baseball stadium, which also would have allowed sharing of the old stadium’s parking lot. The city wanted the new baseball stadium to be part of Downtown redevelopment and turned down the Fenton offer. That was probably beneficial to city sales tax revenue since the land became the Fenton Marketplace mall which includes a Costco, an Ikea, and several restaurants with the city itself obtaining a presence with the Mission Valley library branch. Petco Park was built in the East Village area of Downtown San Diego. The allegedly blighted area razed to build the stadium wasn’t primarily the likes of bars and tattoo parlors but rather the Produce District where local growers sold their produce for resale to grocery stores and restaurants. Home plate is traditionally the southwest corner of the diamond for a reason: if the batter is facing east the sun will not be in his eyes. In order to have a skyline view of Downtown San Diego rather than Barrio Logan, home plate at Petco Park is due south. That means left-handed batters are looking into the sun during certain hours. The configuration seems to have been adverse for left-handed hitters. Ryan Klesko was the Padres’ top left-handed hitter when the team moved to Petco Park. In his four seasons with the Padres prior to the stadium change he batted .282. Klesko batted .270 for the Padres during the years they played home games at Petco Park. Adrian Gonzalez, who played for the Padres from 2006 to 2010, holds the club record for most career home runs by a left-handed batter. He hit 104 of those 161 home runs on the road. In all five of his seasons, he hit more home runs on the road than at home, and in all five of those years he also had a higher batting average in away games. His highest Petco Park batting average of .296 in 2006 gave him his only .300 overall season with the Padres and was slightly better than his worst road batting average of .295 in 2007, which was the only year he didn’t hit over .300 on the road. Wil Myers was a right-handed batter for the Padres from 2015 to 2022 and batted .254 with 134 home runs during those years. The 2016 All‑Star Game was held at Petco Park, and Myers was the host team representative in the Home Run Derby the day before. He lost in the first round as did all three of the Home Run Derby contestants who batted left-handed. That should have sent a message to free agents who batted left-handed that Petco Park will have adverse effects on production. A left-handed hitter who was offered a large salary for a significant number of years had the luxury of taking the money rather than the advice. In February 2018, Eric Hosmer signed an eight-year contract in which the Padres would pay him $144 million. Hosmer, who batted .284 with 127 home runs during his seven regular seasons with the Kansas City Royals, batted .265 with 69 home runs in just under five seasons with the Padres. In August 2022, the Padres sent Hosmer, two minor-league players, and cash to the Boston Red Sox for one minor-league player. Jackson Merrill was the runner-up for the National League’s Rookie of the Year award in 2024, so that season wasn’t a bust for him. He hit 24 home runs consisting of 12 in 79 home games and 12 in 77 away games. He batted .256 at home and .326 on the road. In 2025, Merrill had more home runs in Petco Park than on the road but batted .243 in home games and .284 in road at-bats. In 2025, O’Hearn batted .283 with 13 home runs in 94 games with the Baltimore Orioles while hitting .276 with four home runs during his 50 games with the Padres. Even his overall Padres batting average exceeds the .270 he hit at Petco Park. Arraez may be an exception to the Fenton Curse. During 2025, he batted .315 with six home runs at home and .270 with two home runs in away games. However, his only full season with the Padres produced a .292 overall batting average, which was the worst of his major-league career. His 2024 season consisted of 33 games with the Miami Marlins and 117 contests with the Padres, and he batted .268 at home and .359 in road games. Gavin Sheets played 72 home games and 73 road games with the Padres in 2025. His first year with the team included a .229 average with eight home runs at Petco Park and a .273 road average with 11 homers elsewhere. Excluding pitchers and players with fewer than 15 games with the Padres, the only other left-handed batter on the Padres’ 40-man roster as of Arraez’s signing with the San Francisco Giants is Jake Cronenworth. His 2025 season saw a .218 average with four homers in 67 Petco Park games and a .270 average with seven homers in 68 road contests. The loss of O’Hearn and Arraez indicates that free agents may be taking the Fenton Curse seriously. View the full article

The Blue Jays released their 2026 promotional giveaway schedule last week. The assortment of items highlights last year’s magical run and the organization’s 50th anniversary. From jerseys and hats to collectibles and replica jewellery, here's a look at what’s worth lining up early for (to make sure you're one of the first 15,000 fans who can claim the giveaway). The full promotions and events schedule features 74 exciting giveaways, theme days, and specialty tickets. Basically, 90% of all home games have some sort of promotion or theme day, and that’s more than ever before. Who says good teams don’t need to focus on marketing? The eight specialty ticket giveaways include a SpongeBob SquarePants-themed Jays jersey (April 25), a Naruto-themed Jays jersey (May 13), a Gate 14 Podcast t-shirt (June 22), a Blue Jays Potato Head toy (June 25), a Stranger Things bobblehead (July 22), a youth baseball elbow guard (August 12), a Blue Jays plush Care Bear (August 15) and a Blue Jays cap co-branded with the logo of participating colleges and universities (September 14). There are limited numbers of specialty tickets available for those games, and those tickets guarantee a promotional item. The cheapest specialty tickets start at $56 in the 500s, and they are sold by the Jays directly, not Ticketmaster. Some promotions generate huge interest. Last season, all of the bomber jackets and the Barbie Hawaiian shirts were claimed within an hour of gates opening. For reference, gates open 90 minutes before first pitch. Technically, it isn’t the first 15,000 fans that will receive a promotional item, as the team distributes a certain number to each gate and then occasionally moves the inventory around if gates run out. There is one other way to get a promotional item if you are adamant about not missing out. If you book a pre-game stadium tour on a game day, the item is provided to you. Before first pitch on Opening Day, a ceremony will honour the 2025 AL Champions, and every fan in the building will receive a Blue Jays AL champions pennant on entry and a magnet schedule on exit. The celebration for last year continues in the days and weeks that follow, with an AL champions white‑panel hat giveaway (March 28) and an AL champions crewneck giveaway (March 30). If you love collectibles, then you won’t want to miss the “Jumpin’ George Springer” bobblehead (April 10). April onward, the focus of the giveaways shifts to celebrating the team’s 50th season. On April 7, the team will commemorate its very first game at Exhibition Stadium with a special 77-cent hot dog night. It is unlikely they’ll truck in any snow to mimic the actual first game conditions, so that's another positive. Fans at that game can receive a commemorative ticket. One fun social media post this week suggested the Jays should have given away an Exhibition Stadium snow globe. That would have been cool. The promotional team has sprinkled a bunch of retro items into this year’s giveaways: a "Y2K" hoodie (April 24); a Trey Yesavage “Angry Bird” replica jersey (May 8); a "legendary home runs" t‑shirt (May 11); a Roy Halladay retro replica jersey (June 8); a retro Domer hat (June 24); a set of replica World Series rings (July 18); a "Back‑to‑Back Statue" figurine (August 10); a classic retro bag (September 11); and a Carlos Delgado short‑sleeved retro windbreaker (September 25). Some other highlights are the Ernie Clement hockey jersey (April 27), the Shane Bieber Canada Day cut-off jersey (July 1) and the so-called "Addison Barger couch t-shirt" (April 11). Keep in mind that some fans complain that the team doesn’t offer multiple sizes (only adult XL). Other MLB teams do offer at least two sizes for their giveaways. Giveaways and specialty tickets are the equivalent of loss leaders for professional sports teams. A loss leader is a pricing strategy where businesses sell a popular item below market cost to attract customers and increase store traffic. The Jays and their partners underwrite a product with a fan‑perceived value far above its cost to build habit, fill the building and lift per‑fan spending. The economics are compelling when you look at what promotions do to behaviour. Consider Loonie Dogs Night. In 2025, fans consumed a staggering 826,308 one‑dollar hot dogs, according to mainstream reporting, a record‑shattering figure that the team plainly intends to top with another full slate of Tuesday promotions in 2026 – not to mention the 77‑cent special on April 7 to commemorate the franchise’s founding year. Those numbers don’t just make for fun scoreboards; they’re proof that the right promo turns an ordinary calendar date into an appointment. As for where ideas come from, 2026 is a masterclass in coordinated planning. The Blue Jays marketing and brand teams are focusing on two key themes: last season and the team’s anniversary. They have layered in clothing, bobbleheads, novelties and family experiences to keep things fresh every homestand. The question fans always ask next is, "What happens to leftovers?" Years ago, the team would sell leftover giveaway items like any other merchandise, but they no longer do so. In recent years, the Jays have sold surplus promotional items directly through the Jays Care Garage Sale or in‑stadium fundraising event, in which previous giveaways, team‑issued odds and ends, and discounted merchandise are put into fans’ hands with proceeds supporting community programs. These pop up during home stands and at season’s end and remain the most ethical and practical way for extras to find a home. If your goal is to leave Rogers Centre with something you’ll wear, frame, display or hand down, this is your season. Prioritize the ring set in July, the Halladay retro and the Domer hat in June, and the Delgado windbreaker that closes the loop in September. Plan your arrivals like you would a travel connection. Season 50 only happens once, and this schedule makes it clear the Blue Jays intend to make every night feel like a keepsake. View the full article

Baseball Prospectus released its full PECOTA projections for 2026 Tuesday morning, including projected standings and playoff odds. The Twins are, unsurprisingly, forecasted to be a mediocre team, with 79 projected wins, good for third place in the AL Central. The Guardians, who had an even more maddening winter than did the local nine, come in fourth in PECOTA's pecking order, with 75.8 wins. The Tigers are ahead of Minnesota, at 83.9 wins, and gallingly, the Royals are projected to win the division with just 84.4 victories. Kansas City's division-leading win total is 4.1 wins lower than that of the second-lowest division winner on the projected standings page. Every other division in the league has at least one team with a good chance to win 90 games; most of them have two. The AL Central, however, has shown no ambition, and is rewarded with tepid forecasts. Despite a projection that marks them as solidly below average, the Twins have a 12.7% chance to win the division and a 22.3% shot to make the playoffs, according to PECOTA. These are the just desserts of a team that chose not to tear things down this winter, but also opted not to make significant investments in winning more games in 2026. As you would guess, the system likes the core of this team just fine. It expects All-Star-caliber seasons from Joe Ryan and Pablo López. It's high on Luke Keaschall's bat. However, the only team in baseball with a worse projected Deserved Runs Prevented (DRP), Prospectus's flagship fielding metric, is the Angels. They have an average projected offense and a slightly above-average projected pitching staff. If they had even a neutral defense, they would be neck-and-neck with the Royals and Tigers. Defense isn't even an expensive skill to acquire. Yet, the team has left themselves worst in the league in this crucial facet. Part of the projection is PECOTA (and DRP itself) disliking Byron Buxton's defense in center field, as he ages. Buxton's DRP was -4.7 in 2024 and -7.4 in 2025. PECOTA foresees a further decline, at age 32, to -9.4, making Buxton almost half the defensive problem for a team projected to lose roughly 19 runs to poor fielding. That's hard for many Twins fans to accept, with good reason. Buxton has been a defensive hero throughout his career. Early on, when he was extremely inconsistent at the plate, his glove propped up his profile and made him a star. Even now, he makes semi-frequent highlight-reel plays. However, Buxton has always been inclined to freeze when the ball leaves the bat, then take off with his elite speed and make up whatever ground he lost by not getting a great jump. As he's aged, that has become harder, and his success rate has sagged. He still posts elite sprint speeds, as measured by Statcast, but most of those come on the bases, where he knows Point A and Point B and can accelerate smoothly. On fly balls, he's lost a step, and it's showed up in a big way at times over the last two years. Buxton being part of the problem highlights the challenge the team faced this winter. They have some young players to whom they're committed, but who have shown little sign that they're ready to be pluses as everyday big-leaguers. Starting Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis on the left side of the infield means giving up some defense for the hope of their bats coming together, but each struggled at the plate last year. Some of the places where one would most like to see the team make a defensive upgrade would come at prohibitive costs in terms of offensive production. Still, the latest projections highlight the extent to which Minnesota was in position to push for an AL Central title in 2026, and the way they appear to have let that opportunity pass them by. The offseason isn't over, but the Twins don't look like a smart bet to make up the five-game gap between themselves and the Royals by the time it is. View the full article

Minnesota Twins owner Tom Pohlad has made a poor first impression, but he's proven to be more self aware than his family members who were formerly front and center. He's admitted past mistakes and acknowledged they need to do better to win back fans. Some of the early ticket promotions and pricing are an encouraging sign that the organization realizes the hot water they're in with fans.View the full article

The Chicago Cubs had a good 2025 season, and they've built on that success this winter. On Tuesday, Baseball Prospectus rolled out their PECOTA projection system for 2026, complete with projected standings and playoff odds. The Cubs are the top dogs in the NL Central, and according to this model, they have no close competition. PECOTA predicts 90.5 wins for Chicago, which is technically fewer than the 92 they won last year—but which is a very strong number for any team to bring into spring training in projection systems, which are inherently conservative in that regard. It's not just the Cubs' forecasted win total that stands out, though. The Brewers are projected second-best in the division, and they're all the way back at 80.5 wins. Though we're still weeks away from a pitch being thrown toward this end, PECOTA already pegs the Cubs at 73.9% likely to win the Central and 87.7% likely to make the postseason. As the computer sees it, this will not just be the year the Cubs reclaim their primacy in the Central, but their easiest division win since 2016. Of course, they don't play the games inside the computers. It's not hard to see why the model likes the North Siders so much, though. It projects all six of their top starting pitchers (Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele) to be better than average, and thinks six of their key relievers to fall on the right side of that line, too. It forecasts above-average offense from six positions, and the only three where it sees them as below-average at the plate (catcher, shortstop and center field) are defense-first spots where they have solid defensive projections. FanGraphs published their own projected standings and playoff odds last week, and saw a muddier picture in the Central. They expect the Cubs to win 85.9 games, with the Pirates (82.8) and Brewers (82.0) much closer behind. That still leaves Chicago as a slight favorite, but with less than a coin flip's chance to win the division. In that model, they make the playoffs more like five times out of every eight simulations, instead of seven out of eight. It didn't hurt that the Brewers traded their starting third baseman Monday, in a move that bolstered their already considerable pitching depth but raises some big questions about their lineup. Still, based on sheer talent and projectable performance, the Cubs have ascended. They're the team to beat in the Central, for the first time since before the pandemic. With more than a month left before Opening Day, injuries could always shake up this picture—but so could further moves to reinforce the roster, to which the Cubs remain very much open. For now, they're in a very strong position. View the full article

The San Diego Padres continue to add options to their pitching staff in the form of low-risk minor league deals. However, this time it's in the form of a former 1st overall pick in the Nippon Professional Baseball league. According to the team's transaction log, they have signed RHP Daichi Moriki to a minor league deal and have assigned him to the Arizona Complex League Padres. Moriki, 22, was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in 2021 and made his professional debut in 2022. In four seasons, he pitched in 66 games (149 1/3 innings), posting a 6.87 ERA, striking out 126 hitters, and walking 108. After struggling last season, he was released by Hanshin in October. The Yahoo Sports articles embedded in the X post below suggest that Moriki has been working at a baseball facility here in the States since his release, though it doesn't identify which one. Do you think Moriki can make a name for himself in Major League Baseball? Let us know in the comments! View the full article

Welcome to your next real estate opportunity in the heart of downtown Minneapolis. After introducing a budget-friendly ticket package earlier this week to encourage fans to return to the ballpark, the Minnesota Twins have decided to think even bigger. If cheap tickets get people through the gates, selling the gates themselves might finally balance the books. Target Field is officially on the market. Not as a whole, of course. That would be drastic. Instead, the Twins are offering fans the chance to purchase individual sections, concourse corners, and possibly a bullpen bench, if the price is right. Think of it less as a baseball stadium and more as a sprawling mixed-use property with occasional professional sports interruptions. Property Overview This expansive outdoor venue features natural grass, skyline views, and a retractable sense of fiscal responsibility. With seating for over 38,000 and standing room for plenty more, the space offers endless customization options. Want to rename a section after your dog? Done. Interested in turning the third deck into a home office that overlooks left field? The Twins are listening. Buyers will enjoy access to exposed steel beams, limestone finishes, and a light rail stop that occasionally reminds you that you live in a city. The stadium has hosted playoff games, concerts, and several seasons of optimistic rebuilding. Comparable properties simply do not exist. Interior Highlights Each section comes fully furnished with fold-down seats, cup holders, and fans who may or may not agree with your life choices. Club-level ownership includes exclusive access to climate-controlled areas and the quiet satisfaction of knowing you paid extra to watch the same product as everyone else. Concourse ownership is ideal for buyers looking to dabble in a small business. Beer sales, helmet nachos, and passive-aggressive signage about standing in the aisles are all included. Plumbing is shared, which really brings the community together. Neighborhood and Amenities Located steps from downtown nightlife, Target Field offers walkable access to bars, restaurants, and people explaining how they would manage the bullpen better. The surrounding area is vibrant and lively, and several parking ramps are conveniently close, though they cost more than some ticket packages. Owners should be aware that the property is shared with 81 home games a year and a front office that still insists this is a competitive window. Noise levels may increase during fireworks nights and whenever the wave starts for no clear reason. Important Disclosures The Twins are only slightly concerned about new owners fully embracing the live-at-the-park lifestyle. While robes are not explicitly prohibited, management asks that owners at least pretend to wear real clothes while walking the concourse. This is a family-friendly environment, even if the payroll no longer suggests it. Security will gently remind robe-clad owners that wandering near the hot dog stands barefoot is frowned upon. Repeat offenses may result in a polite email and a strongly worded comment from someone named Dave on social media. Investment Potential With revenue streams shrinking and creativity expanding, Target Field represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of baseball history. Values may fluctuate depending on win totals, weather, and how often ownership reminds fans to be patient. Serious buyers only. Cash preferred. Emotional attachment to the Twins is optional but discouraged. Schedule a tour today. Even if buying doesn't turn out to be for you, consider an October rental. There's always plenty of space to enjoy the fall colors. View the full article

Spring training is finally here. Pitchers and catchers have to report by Wednesday, with position players due Sunday. Already, players on both sides have reported to camp in Peoria, Ariz. That means all the work that president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and his crew have done thus far will come together to see how they fit. That begins, of course, with a new manager. Craig Stammen, the former Padres reliever, now becomes the daily face of the team in media interactions and how people perceive the team. Stammen was a surprising replacement for Mike Shildt, who abruptly resigned after the season with two years left on his contract. It is the second managerial change in the last three offseasons, so Stammen's history with the Friars should help with some of the continuity, although he will want to put his own touch on how things are run. Here is what to watch for from the Friars in Peoria: 1. Craig Stammen's Impact Stammen is one of three new MLB managers in 2026 who don't have any managerial experience, majors or minors, joining Kurt Suzuki of the Los Angeles Angels and Tony Vitello of the San Francisco Giants. Vitello has a feel for game management through his time as a college head coach. But Stammen is in the unique position of being a former relief pitcher who is now managing a roster of star players expected to compete for a playoff spot. A handful of those players — Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Luis Campusano — called Stammen a teammate in his final season as a player in 2023, retiring due to injury. He was well-liked in the clubhouse and spent the last couple years in various roles, including being available to major-league and minor-league players in his role as an advisor to the front office. Now, he is expected to set the tone in the clubhouse and have players listen to his messaging. That part shouldn't be hard considering he had a prominent role in the clubhouse as a player, but his words mean more now. Like successful coaches from other MLB teams, it will be up to Stammen to create new bonds with all of his players and keep the lines of communication open. Shildt came off as more of a tough-but-fair manager, while Stammen's already-established relationships would lean into a player-friendly style. That does come with a front-office flair due to his time there. Perhaps the biggest impact will be how his coaches perform. While Ruben Niebla lost in his bid to replace Shildt as manager, he remained as pitching coach and added the title of associate manager. Stammen named Steven Souza Jr., a former MLB outfielder with no previous coaching experience, as his hitting coach after spending 2025 as a special assistant with the Tampa Bay Rays. There is no secret the offense could use a boost after finishing 16th in OPS last year, including 22nd in slugging percentage and 28th in homers. 2. Last Rotation Spot Starting pitching depth is tenuous at best, but the top three of right-handers Nick Pivetta, Michael King and Joe Musgrove are pretty decent. Randy Vasquez is currently slotted into the No. 4 spot. But the rotation took a hit with the loss of Dylan Cease via free agency. Without a lot in the minors to fill the void, there has been a lot of fretting by Friars fans, deservedly so, over the back end of the rotation. The Padres were in on this winter's top free-agent target, Framber Valdez, but didn't land the left-hander. It is very likely that this is addressed before Opening Day as several viable arms remain on the market. But until that happens, the Friars need to see what they have in the system. That includes left-handers JP Sears and Kyle Hart and right-hander Matt Waldron from the 40-man roster and non-roster invitees Marco Gonzales and Triston McKenzie, plus even perhaps wild card Riley Pint. That is a thin group. Sears probably enters camp in the No. 5 spot, but fellow left-handers Hart and Gonzales will get long looks this spring, as will Waldron. Sears came over to the Padres in the Mason Miller trade and made just five starts after being acquired. Hart had mixed results in 2025, with six starts among his 20 appearances, posting a 5.18 FIP, while also seeing time at Triple-A El Paso. A few long shots include right-hander Sean Boyle and left-hander Jackson Wolf. All in all, the depth is minimal and any injuries this spring will spell trouble. 3. What to Expect From Joe Musgrove That is a good lead-in for the status of Joe Musgrove. Java Joe had Tommy John surgery after injuring his right elbow in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series vs. Atlanta. The good news is that Musgrove recently said he had a "normal offseason." The timing mostly makes sense in that he was expected to be ready for spring training. But with TJ surgery usually being a 12-16 month recovery, it is doubtful the entirety of this offseason has been normal. And considering the Padres need Musgrove for the full season, it is likely that caution will win the day in the spring exhibition slate. That is something Stammen is surely to be asked about as pitchers and catchers report. If Musgrove suffers any setbacks, that will diminish the already-thin depth in the rotation. If Musgrove is ready for Opening Day following a full spring, his workload could be limited early in the season. That will be something to keep an eye on. 4. Sung Mun Song's Role Second base? First base? Utility? Where will Sung-mun Song play in 2026? The answer to that question could have a significant impact on how the Padres do this season. And part of the answer will depend on how his oblique injury is doing. When he sustained the injury, which was reported in mid-January, it wasn't known when it happened and that he would miss about a month. That timeframe brings us to right about now. The 29-year-old was primarily a third baseman in the Korea Baseball Organization, but that is Machado's home. So, Song will see time on the right side of the infield, with his focus likely to be on second base. Song has played 610 innings since 2021 at second base, the equivalent of half a season in MLB for a regular at the position. He has a solid .989 fielding percentage in that time at the keystone. If Song, a left-handed hitter, is healthy and gets his bat going in spring training, he could earn a few early-season starts. The would allow Jake Cronenworth, also a left-handed hitter, to be a versatile piece to play first base or the occasional start at short in addition to seeing time at second. But if Song doesn't hit the ground running in Peoria, that could render him into a utility role with Cronenworth starting at second. Song is also expected to see time in the outfield to make him more diverse defensively. 5. Final Bench Spot There are four bench spots, one of which goes to the backup catcher, in this case Campusano. Two of those three bench berths are pretty locked in with recent signee Miguel Andujar, a corner infielder-outfielder, and outfielder Bryce Johnson. For this exercise, we are putting Song, Cronenworth and Gavin Sheets in the starting lineup at second base, first base and designated hitter, however that works itself out. Which means the last spot on the roster is up for grabs. Candidates on the 40-man roster are infielders Will Wagner and Mason McCoy and outfielder Tirso Ornelas. Non-roster possibilities include Samad Taylor, Jose Miranda, Nick Solak and Pablo Reyes. Taylor and Reyes are very versatile, able to play second, third and the outfield, while Miranda is a corner infielder and Solak is an offense-first first baseman. With Cronenworth capable of playing shortstop — he started 10 games there in 2025 — the decision on who to pick could come down to the whether it is a right-handed or left-handed bat. With the number of left-handers in the lineup, including Song, Cronenworth, Sheets, and center fielder Jackson Merrill, a right-handed bat seems to be needed. Andujar is a righty bat, while Johnson is a switch-hitter. McCoy, Miranda, Solak and Reyes are all right-handed hitters. McCoy is the only true shortstop in the bunch, providing coverage for Xander Bogaerts. But like Wagner and Ornelas, McCoy has minor-league options remaining, so he'd be just a phone call away if he misses the Opening Day roster. View the full article

The Milwaukee Brewers made headlines this morning, sending NL Rookie of the Year candidate Caleb Durbin and his fellow hot corner mates, Anthony Seigler and Andruw Monasterio, out the door. Who did they get in return, and what role will these big leaguers play in the Brewers' future? We're here to break all of that down. Consider this your CliffsNotes rundown on Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton, and Shane Drohan. View the full article

Seven Minnesota Twins are competing in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, including Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan, Taj Bradley, Pablo Lopez, Luis Quinones, Dan Altavilla, and Matt Bowman. Here's a guide covering who's competing and the countries they're representing! View the full article

Jack and Spencer react to the Brewers trading Caleb Durbin, Anthony Seigler, and Andruw Monasterio to the Red Sox for more pitching depth (Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton, Shane Drohan), where it leaves their roster, and where they should go from here. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View the full article

Before acquiring Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler, and a comp B pick, the Boston Red Sox had their sights set on a different player to fill their infield needs. Sean McAdam of MassLive wrote the following: "With Marte off the market, the Red Sox, according to an industry source, took several tries at obtaining Zach Neto from the Los Angeles Angels". He added that "Neto could have moved [off shortstop] to either second or third for the time being until Trevor Story’s deal was up." However, the Halos "set a very high bar" to acquire Neto. Neto, 25, played 128 games in 2025, carrying a .793 OPS with 26 home runs and swiping 26 bags. In two plus years in the big leagues, Neto has now posted a 115 wRC+ or better in back-to-back seasons. However, his -6 Outs Above Average indicates that shortstop may not be his best position long term, but that the hot corner or keystone, in fact, are better defensive spots for the righty. Do you think the Red Sox made the right move in acquiring Durbin instead of giving up what it took for Neto? Let us know in the comments! View the full article

When it comes to evaluating catching defense, it can be a polarizing subject among baseball fans. Is a good catcher someone who can throw down runners and prevent stolen bases? Is it someone who can block balls and prevent wild pitches and passed balls? Or is it a player who can frame effectively and steal extra strikes? According to Statcast, all three aspects are important to effective catcher defense and can be properly measured via appropriate metrics. When it comes to measurable catcher defensive metrics, Baseball Savant has four categories: Catcher Blocking Catcher Framing Catcher Pop Time Catcher Throwing Catcher pop time and throwing can be lumped together effectively. Both present important information when it comes to the speed of a catcher throwing the ball to the infielder (pop time) and how accurate their throws are (throwing). Thus, one part of this series will examine both pop time and throwing metrics and how they work together to help a catcher limit runners on the basepaths. However, part one of this post will focus on the metrics of a basic catching skill: blocking. It's something Little League catchers are first taught when they put on the catcher's gear. If a catcher can't block effectively, they won't last long at the position. Thus, I will take a look at catcher blocking metrics via Statcast, what they measure, who the top blocking catchers are in the league, and how Royals catchers fared in 2025. Lastly, I will predict the Royals' catchers' outlook in these categories based on these blocking metrics. What are the types of blocking metrics? When it comes to blocking metrics on Statcast, the most important metric is blocks above average. This metric shows how well a catcher prevents passed balls and wild pitches. The fewer balls that get by a catcher, the better they typically are when it comes to blocking and defense in this category. Here's a breakdown of how Statcast calculates blocks above average. Based on this definition, blocks above average don't just reward blocking easy pitches; they also reward blocking difficult ones, and to a greater scale. Because blocking requires good instincts and athleticism, the more talented and agile catchers cannot only make the routine blocks but also the ones that save pitchers' butts (especially the wild ones with lackluster control). Therefore, the younger or less experienced a pitching staff is, the more important it is to have a strong blocking catcher. Who were the best blocking catchers last year? I imported the blocking data from Statcast into Datawrapper. The only Statcast section I omitted was the difficulty of opportunities. The blocks above average, based on difficulty, seemed to adequately display which catchers were better at blocking the different types of pitches. Here's what the ranking of qualified catchers from last season looked like, as organized by blocks above average. The top five catchers in terms of blocking, based on blocks above average, were Alejandro Kirk (Blue Jays), Danny Jansen (Rays and Brewers), Tyler Stephenson (Reds), Dillon Dingler (Tigers), and Sean Murphy (Braves). All five of those catchers have blocks above average marks of eight or higher. On the flip side, the worst five catchers included Connor Wong (Red Sox), Kyle Teel (White Sox), Martin Maldonado (Padres), Salvador Perez (Royals), and Agustin Ramirez (Marlins). Kansas City's own Perez had the second-worst blocks above average in baseball last season, with a -15 mark. Only Ramirez was worse, with a -28 mark (nearly double Perez's total). Perez has a solid defensive history in his career. He is a five-time Gold Glove winner, with his most recent coming in 2018. Unfortunately, in terms of blocking metrics, the Royals captain was among the worst in baseball last season. It's unlikely his blocking will improve much in 2026, especially since he will be 36 in May. How did Royals catchers fare in blocking metrics? When it came to organizing Royals catchers, I kept the threshold low (1 minimum pitch) so I could see how all the Kansas City catchers did last year, regardless of sample size. Perez obviously showcased rough skills behind the plate when it came to preventing passed balls and wild pitches. However, was it a similar situation for others behind the plate in Kansas City? Here's a look at how the four Royals catchers (Perez, Luke Maile, Freddy Fermin, and Carter Jensen) did last year in blocking metrics via Statcast. I did keep the Opportunity% numbers in this table (unlike the league-wide one), as I felt it was necessary given the wide range of sample sizes. Looking at the metrics, Fermin excelled most at blocking the ball. Not only did he lead all Royals catchers in BAA/Game (0.06), but he also had a 3 BAA, 1 BAA on medium pitches, and 1 BAA on hard pitches. He was the only Kansas City catcher with positive marks in those three categories. Maile was behind Fermin and ranked second in blocking metrics among Royals catchers. However, he still produced a negative value in this defensive category. He had a -2 BAA, a -0.12 BAA/Game, a 0 BAA on medium pitches, and a -1 BAA on hard pitches. He also had a negative value on easy pitches as well (-1 BAA). The biggest surprise of the group was Jensen, who actually rated worse than Perez in BA/Game with a -0.38 mark, 0.20 points worse than the Royals captain. His BAA of -2 matched Maile's mark despite seeing 317 fewer pitches. He also had the lowest easy opportunity% of the bunch, meaning he saw a higher percentage of medium- to hard-opportunity% pitches than the other three. That said, he also had the smallest sample, so it's likely that the easy percentage would have gone up had he seen more pitches behind the plate. Regardless, while the sample size is small, the blocking metrics indicate that Jensen still has some work to do in this defensive category at the Major League level, especially in 2026. What is the blocking outlook for Royals catchers in 2026? Perez certainly isn't a good blocking catcher. However, the same can be said for Jensen, who was even worse than Perez, though the sample was a sliver of Perez's in 2025. To be frank, some of that is to be expected, especially since this was Jensen's first professional exposure not only to the big leagues but also to the Royals' pitching staff in a competitive environment. On a positive note, Jensen has demonstrated progress in blocking in the Minors. That is evident in his passed ball numbers from 2023 to 2025, which span from High-A Quad Cities to Triple-A Omaha. Let's break down his passed-ball metrics from each season and level. 2023 (High-A): 68 games, 593.2 innings at C, 16 PB, and 0.24 PB/G 2024 (High-A): 47 games, 406 innings at C, 4 PB, and 0.09 PB/G 2024 (Double-A): 26 games, 226.1 innings at C, 6 PB, and 0.23 PB/G 2025 (Double-A): 44 games, 393 innings at C, 3 PB, and 0.07 PB/G 2025 (Triple-A): 33 games, 274 innings at C, 4 PB, and 0.12 PB/G For context, let's take a look at Jensen's trend in PB/G from that 2023 to 2025 period in the Minor Leagues, via Datawrapper. An encouraging trend is that Jensen has bounced back in minimizing passed balls in his repeat of a level the following season. He improved by 15 points in High-A from 2023 to 2024. He improved by 16 points from 2024 to 2025 in Double-A. An encouraging part of his trend was that, while he had some regression in Omaha, he kept it below 0.20 (unlike his first stints in High-A and Double-A in 2023 and 2024, respectively). Thus, while Jensen has some work to do, he will have plenty of time to improve his blocking skills during Spring Training in Surprise, Arizona. Thus, he should see some improved blocking metrics at the MLB level as a result, especially as he gets a bigger sample of innings behind the plate for the Royals in 2026. How much will that improvement be? That is yet to be determined, especially since his sample was so small in 2025. However, Royals fans shouldn't discredit Jensen's blocking outlook because of his rough debut in this defensive category. View the full article

Caleb Durbin’s long-term future with the Brewers was likely to be a supporting role, rather than a multi-year residency as the starting third baseman. While his 105 wRC+ and 2.6 fWAR as a rookie demonstrated his high floor, Durbin was unlikely to improve upon that production. His hard-hit rate, barrel rate, and expected wOBA on contact were all in the bottom 4 percent of big-league hitters. As a short player without much power, he has already maxed out his abilities. Given that low ceiling, Durbin was likely to become replaceable sooner, rather than later. Surprisingly, the Brewers feel they can replace him now. On Monday, they dealt him to the Boston Red Sox (with Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler, and their competitive balance round B pick in the 2026 Draft) for left-handers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan and infielder David Hamilton. With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training this week, the deal leaves the roster in an odd place. The Brewers now have even more bodies in what was already a crowded rotation picture, and the three players who combined for 85% of last year’s innings at third base are gone. For that matter, Vinny Capra and Oliver Dunn are gone, too. They combined for just over 200 innings at the position last year. The rotation additions might seem redundant, but the Brewers don’t view them that way. Acquiring even more controllable starters remained enticing to them after they traded away Freddy Peralta last month. While Peralta’s 65 ERA- last year was seventh among qualified starters, replacing his volume will be the greater challenge. He started at least 30 games in each of his last three seasons in Milwaukee, including 33 in 2025. That kind of durability has become increasingly rare in modern baseball, where frequent arm injuries limit availability and starters work fewer innings even when healthy. The Brewers will need a collection of arms to backfill Peralta’s innings. “It’s no longer just the five-man rotation where every guy’s going to give you five innings anymore,” president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said on Monday morning. “It’s a combination of your entire staff.” The Brewers have seen firsthand how quickly injuries can chew through a depth chart. A slew of spring training ailments contributed to a pair of season-opening blowouts in New York and left Elvin Rodríguez starting their home opener. Excluding openers, Milwaukee used 14 different starting pitchers last season and 13 the year before. “We know we’re going to have injuries,” Arnold said. “You guys saw what we were dealing with at the start of last year, when not everybody’s 100%. That’s going to happen again, and we know that. But having a number of guys here, like Harrison and Drohan, really does raise the floor for us.” While there’s no such thing as having too much pitching, the Brewers are testing how much pitching is the best use of a team’s resources—and how many starters they can realistically develop in that role at once. Milwaukee’s 40-man roster currently contains as many as 15 potential starters, although Aaron Ashby, DL Hall, and Ángel Zerpa could remain relievers after the additions of Harrison, Drohan, and Brandon Sproat. With another crop of prospects (Tate Kuehner, Brett Wichrowski, and K.C. Hunt) progressing to the upper minors, finding consistent starts for nearly 20 pitchers between the majors and Triple-A Nashville could get tricky. Meanwhile, the left side of the infield is unclear. After acquiring Jett Williams in the Peralta deal and Hamilton (Monasterio’s likely replacement) for Durbin, the Brewers have enough players to man the dirt, but only Joey Ortiz has experience at third base. Arnold also pointed toward infield prospects like Jesus Made, Cooper Pratt, and Andrew Fischer, each of whom is carving a rapid path toward the big leagues. “There’s just a lot of these types of guys coming in our system that we feel can absolutely handle the left side of the infield and have really high upside,” Arnold said. “And so we feel like we have the ingredients now to weather the loss of somebody like Caleb Durbin.” Still, as things currently stand, the Brewers will have to fill third base with an infielder who does not profile well at the position. They could use their rotation depth to trade for a more proven option, such as Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes or Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams. Ramón Urías, Enrique Hernández, and Jose Iglesias are among the lower-cost free agents still available. They could decide against further additions, though. Paredes would supply the power the Brewers need, but he lacks the speed, defense, and versatility they usually prioritize. Those veteran free agents are not clearly better than their internal options. Furthermore, reporting from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel suggests that the Brewers’ stated confidence in their current infield is genuine, not just posturing for trade talks. Arnold said the Brewers remain open to outside acquisitions, but if the current mix holds, they will use spring training to test different arrangements and determine the best one. “We’re not really married to any one particular permutation of the infield here,” he said. “I think there are a number of different ways we could sort this out.” One option is handing third base to Williams. At 5-foot-7 and with a suspect throwing arm, the 22-year-old profiles best at second base or in center field. Durbin is, notably, the same height and had the same defensive concerns as a prospect, but Matt Erickson successfully converted him to a capable third baseman last year. Arnold confirmed that Williams will receive reps at third this spring, along with shortstop, second base, and outfield. The Brewers are also open to trying Ortiz (who could slide back to third) and Brice Turang (a former shortstop) at other positions, based on how Williams or other players look defensively. “We want to put him in a position to succeed, because he hasn’t played third base yet,” Arnold said of Williams. “But he certainly has the ingredients to do so. So we’re going to give him some reps there, along with other guys as well.” The Brewers either have another move in the hopper that will tie their infield together, or they’re taking a pair of calculated gambles. There’s a world in which injuries make nearly 20 starters the right number to fill innings, while some combination of Ortiz, Williams, and Pratt provides solid production at shortstop and third base. There’s another in which the Brewers don’t have enough innings for their myriad arms, as the left side of their infield struggles. View the full article

Last year around this time, Twins fans were buzzing about the team's bullpen outlook. With Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax leading a deep unit, Minnesota was projected to have the highest fWAR in baseball from relief pitchers – one of the big reasons for optimism surrounding the 2025 club. In some respects, the bullpen was living up to this billing through midseason. At the point that they traded everyone away last July, the Twins did indeed rank first in the American League in fWAR at the position. And yet, the team was well below .500 and fading from relevance, largely because – for all the strong underlying stats and indicators – Twins relievers weren't making the desired impact. They ranked fourth in FIP but 23rd in ERA and 25th in WPA. The talent and ability across the relief corps were plain to see, but these pitchers were lapsing too often when it mattered most. It proved costly. So it goes with bullpens. We're talking about small samples and situational outcomes. Sometimes a good group of relievers amounts to sub-par effectiveness overall. The Twins are hoping for the opposite this year: a bullpen that is greater than the sum of its parts. Some of the outside factors have changed. There's a new bullpen coach leading the crew in LaTroy Hawkins, and a new manager determining usage in Derek Shelton. Other factors will likely remain constant: these relievers will be protecting slim leads (if that) and the defense behind them is not going to be very good. Despite parting with their three best relievers, and not replacing them with anyone on remotely the same tier, the Twins still have some intriguing arms in the mix and a track record for successful reliever development under Pete Maki. They have significantly less proven quality to work with than in the past, and the pressure will be high under Tom Pohlad's "be competitive" edict. For the Twins bullpen to hold its own, they need most, if not all, of the following things to happen. At least one more impact arm joins the fold There's no one left in free agency that's going to provide a slam-dunk upgrade at this point, but there are at least a few wild-cards offering the upside to be a real difference-maker if things break right. Michael Kopech is the standout name, but Shelby Miller and José Leclerc are other examples of veteran free agents who've been dominant at times. Trades are also still an option. The hope here would be to catch lightning in a bottle, if even for a temporary spell, until others break through later in the season. I'm reminded of how Brandon Kintzler sprung up as an out-of-nowhere All-Star closer in 2017, helping that team shock the baseball world coming off a 103-loss campaign. Cole Sands recaptures his 2024 form It's clear that the Twins are really counting on this. The only remaining holdover from the previous late-inning relief mix was one of its top performers in 2024, posting a 3.28 ERA and 85-to-12 K/BB ratio in 71 innings. He took a step backward last year, but the peripherals weren't as bad as the ERA and the stuff still looked pretty good for the most part. Sands in 2024 showed the profile of a credible relief ace. Last year he was barely good enough to trust in the sixth inning. In order to have a shot at competence this year, Minnesota's bullpen needs him to gravitate back toward his previous breakthrough form. Taylor Rogers and Justin Topa are extremely reliable These aren't ceiling-raisers but they can bring a needed level of sturdiness and steadiness to the table. Both in their mid-30s, Rogers and Topa aren't going to blow anyone away. You don't want them facing the opposing lineup's biggest threats in the highest leverage. But they've been around the block, they're crafty and they've both been perfectly solid in terms of recent results. Since 2023, Rogers has a 3.16 ERA in 162 innings and Topa's at 3.15 in 131 innings. Continue to operate at that level and these seasoned hurlers will play key roles in stabilizing the pen with experience. Surprising depth emerges What really worries me about the Twins bullpen is the depth. You take the three guys mentioned above, plus Eric Orze, plus hopefully one more decent addition, and you've got the potential makings of an okay unit. But as we know, people are going to get hurt. Probably in spring training. And then you start digging into the thin layers of depth left behind from the deadline purge. It's not just downgrading from, say, Jax to Topa in the eighth inning that hurts you. It's the corresponding downgrades for the fourth and fifth right-handers in the bullpen, where Topa used to slot. And it's the guys who are stepping into those spots if anyone above them goes on the injured list. As things stand we are dangerously close to seeing a large amount of innings go to the likes of Travis Adams, Marco Raya, etc. They Twins are going to need some unexpected and largely unknowns to step up and hold their own. This is where their self-belief will really be put to the test. Keep a close eye on the non-roster invites this spring to see who might establish themselves atop the reinforcement ranks. Prospects and converted starters quickly break through Ultimately, this will make or break the 2026 Twins bullpen. There's no two ways around it. It's clear that the team's plan is to transition some of their many starting prospects into relief roles, mirroring the approach that yielded Jax, Sands, Louie Varland and others. But who specifically will they push down this path, and how quickly will it pay dividends, if at all? The Twins have enough MLB-ready pitching outside of their Big 3 vets to instill some level of confidence, but they've got work to do in determining how it will all shake out. It's great to say, in theory, that a few arms out of a group that includes Simeon Woods Richardson, Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews, David Festa and Mick Abel will develop into effective bullpen arms, but putting that plan into practice is another story. You've got to get the players on board, you've got to accept the trade-offs in terms of SP depth, and you've got to make the switch actually click. It's not difficult for me to envision, say, Matthews and Festa offsetting a considerable amount of the dominance lost in relievers like Jax and Duran. Will it actually happen, and how long will it take? This question, more than any other, will dictate the upside of the Twins' relief corps in 2026. What am I missing? What else needs to play out this year for the Twins to find surprising bullpen success? Or is it a moot point given the personnel and timelines at hand? I'd love to hear from you in the comments. View the full article

The Miami Marlins have a clearer idea of what their starting rotation will look like after striking a one-year ,$4M deal with Chris Paddack on Monday. Drafted by the Fish in 2015, Paddack has seven seasons of MLB experience, but it's been a bumpy road for him. After a relatively successful yet injury-riddled first three seasons with the Padres, he never regained his footing. Last season between the Tigers and Twins, Paddack had a 5.35 ERA and 5.03 FIP through 158 innings. Not ideal outcomes. The Marlins are making this move with the expectation of extracting more value out of his Paddack than his most recent teams did. How could they do that? Let's begin with what Paddack does well. He limits walks and, if healthy, can eat innings for the Marlins. Paddack was tied for 10th in all of baseball with a 5.5% walk rate (min. 150 IP). Paddack's four-seam fastball is metrically appealing as well, combining Paddack's seven feet of extension with efficient spin, high induced vertical break, and good command at the top of the zone. The issue is, Paddack has no reliable secondary offering and that leaves him too reliant on his fastball. Even with good fastball data, the pitch's velocity is ordinary at 93.7 mph, leaving it vulnerable to damage, especially when hitters anticipate it coming. bGJlQlJfWGw0TUFRPT1fVXdJRkJnWUNYZ0VBQUFCWFV3QUhVRkJmQUFNRlZnUUFWbFlFQkFZRVVBWUhWRkJm.mp4 The Marlins ought to work on the rest of Paddack's arsenal to keep opponents off balance. Paddack's changeup was his second-most-used pitch last season. The pitch has graded out well per FanGraphs' stuff model in years past, although it was a below-average pitch in 2025. The changeup is commanded very well and generated a lot of chase compared to the MLB league average with a 42.6% O-Swing. With that being said, it was hit hard when catching too much of the zone. Adding more depth on the pitch or tweaking its location could make a big difference. MTZxbjNfWGw0TUFRPT1fQmdaU1Vsd0hYMUFBWGdGV0F3QUhCUThBQUFNRVcxRUFVRlVGQndzQ0NGWUdBZ1FD.mp4 Paddack also has a large, droopy curveball that he uses to steal called strikes. Overall, though, it is not very useful. The usage of his slider went down from 2024 to 2025. I believe the Marlins should reverse that trend and look to expand on this pitch, modifying it into a sweeper, as they've done with other arms. It could be effective against righties and fit into the east-west approach that he has tried adopting recently. Because Paddack naturally spins the ball well, he most likely will never develop an above-average sinker, but that does not mean he cannot use the pitch effectively. His sinker limited damage in 2025, which is a plus, but induced a ton of contact (90%) and was hit for line drives often. I predict that the Marlins will encourage him to continue using it vs. righties so that they aren't always sitting on his four-seam. ZFh6QllfWGw0TUFRPT1fVWdkU0IxSldYd1VBQVFjRFZRQUhBZzlXQUZsVFZ3QUFBUVFCVmdVTlZGWlRVd1Jl.mp4 Lastly, the cutter was poor and not commanded well in 2025. Paddack simply may not have a "feel" for that pitch. Just eating a similar amount of innings as he did last year would make Paddack useful to the Marlins. But in order to feel genuinely satisfied with their investment and get 1 WAR of production out of him, they'll have to tweak his pitch usage and sequencing. View the full article

Buck Martinez has epitomized Blue Jays baseball for close to four decades. His steady and warm presence has perhaps eclipsed the likes of Tom Cheek, Jerry Howarth, Don Chevrier and Dan Shulman, especially for younger fans. He has been catcher and captain in the broadcast booth; player and manager on the field; confidant and teacher, a living bridge between expansion growing pains, pennant chases and modern playoff rushes. In the simplest terms, he has been a Blue Jay, on the field, on the top step and right beside us in the stands (in our headsets). To explain what Buck Martinez means to the Blue Jays is to chart a timeline in a sport that constantly reinvents itself. He arrived in Toronto via trade as a veteran catcher in 1981, appearing in six seasons as a player. His move behind the microphone was somewhat related to his infamous broken leg that he sustained while turning a double play in 1985. The time off to rehab led him to reflect on what he wanted to do after his playing career, and once he retired in 1986, he entered broadcasting. Since then, he has been a consistent presence in the broadcast booth, with the only exceptions being the year and a half when he managed the team from 2001-02, and the time he took off in 2022 and '25 while undergoing cancer treatment. Of course, Jays fans have had to share Martinez with the rest of baseball. He spent some time working for the Baltimore Orioles and worked on and off with ESPN. Whether you were a fan of early Buck and Dan Shulman or Buck and Pat Tabler or the most recent version of Buck and Dan, you know that Buck knows baseball. Apart from playing the game as a catcher in the majors for 17 years, Martinez has called well over 4,000 games. For comparison's sake, legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully called over 9,000 games during his 67-year career. Tom Cheek called 4,306 consecutive regular-season games and 411 playoff games from 1977 until 2004. Some have described Martinez's style as the inner narrative of a catcher’s mind, shaped by thousands of pitch calls, by collisions at the plate, by relationships with pitchers and umpires, by the daily habit of seeing the entire field at once. That is what he brought to each and every broadcast. There are countless photos of him leaning on the cage during batting practice, connecting with players and coaches. His connections within the organization and across MLB run deep. Clearly a student of the game, his broadcast colleagues have described his dedication to the craft as unparalleled. Somewhere between his catchphrases of “a swing and a drive!” and “get up, ball!” a particular Buck cadence formed, equal parts technical and theatrical, as familiar as the exterior stadium shot before first pitch. When he became the Blue Jays’ skipper in 2001, he brought that same blend of clarity and conviction. His combined record of 100–115 won't put him in the conversation with great managers like Bobby Cox, Cito Gaston or even John Gibbons, but his brief managerial tenure was yet another way that he was inextricably linked to this franchise from every angle. It speaks to his willingness to step where the team needed him. When Martinez stepped away from the booth in 2022 for health reasons, he was missed. On July 26 of that year, he returned to an ovation that felt like a reunion. It wasn’t just the fans that responded, but the players, who tipped their caps from the field. Last week, he and Sportsnet announced his retirement. He mentioned in his farewell letter, posted on social media, that he really wanted to be a part of this 50th season for the Jays, but after careful consideration with his family, it felt like the right time to step away. The numbers speak for themselves – nearly 40 years in the booth, more than 4,000 games called, two Sports Emmys – but only tell one side of the story. Buck is the TV voice of the Blue Jays, just like Hall of Fame announcer Tom Cheek was to the team’s radio broadcasts. What does Buck Martinez mean to this franchise? He means continuity. A club that moved through front office overhauls and bursts of reinvention never lost the thread that connected new rosters to old ones. If there is poetry in baseball, it is often unplanned. A flare drops in. A slider doesn’t. A voice ages with an audience, and without anyone scheduling it, the voice becomes the sport’s local idiom. “A hit and a drive” feels like a title built for Buck because it captures the old and the new at once. Martinez was there when the Jays were figuring out who they were and still there when they once more demanded the country’s full attention in the postseason. He did it with humility, preparation, resilience and the conviction that a team is bigger than the man describing it. Soon, a new voice will anchor the summer. It will be informative and educational in its own way, and it will earn trust over time, because that’s the only way it can be earned. But for anyone who found their fandom with Martinez in their ear, through TSN and Sportsnet, through grand slams that bent the night, through quiet innings that carried a city home, there will always be a frequency you can tune to without a device. It lives in memory, in the way you hear certain at‑bats before you see them, in the way a familiar phrase can prompt you to look up and find that a fly ball is going farther than you thought. Perhaps it’s fitting that in the team’s 50th season, they will welcome a new voice (probably Joe Siddall) to the broadcast booth. At the same time, we can celebrate an old voice that will forever be part of the Blue Jays' broadcast tapestry. 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The World Baseball Classic starts in less than a month, and the Boston Red Sox are going to be incredibly well represented across multiple countries. Fourteen members of the organization will be playing for ten different teams, all vying to capture the WBC Title on March 17. While this will cut into their time with the club in spring training, the experience gained throughout the WBC should be instrumental in the further development of the young talent in the organization. Let’s take a look at which members of the Red Sox are playing in the WBC this year. Team USA: Garrett Whitlock, RHP Whitlock is hoping to help anchor the back of Team USA’s bullpen, much like he did for the Red Sox in 2025. He should prove to be an instrumental part of the bullpen throughout the tournament. While the closing duties will likely be handled by Mason Miller, Whitlock should be penciled in as a late-inning specialist that bridges to the lights out closer, a role he’s incredibly comfortable with after spending last season doing the same for Aroldis Chapman. Team USA has finally fielded an absolute juggernaut of a team and should be on the short list of favorites to win the entire WBC. Team Dominican Republic: Brayan Bello, RHP Bello joins an absolutely stacked roster for the Dominican Republic this year and hopes to help make a name for himself behind other starters such as Sandy Alcantara and Cristopher Sanchez during his time playing in the WBC. As we know, Bello is a ground-ball specialist and will be pitching in front of a defensive-minded team representing the Dominican, so he has a chance to really shine as the tournament gets underway in March. Should that happen, watch for Bello to take another step forward during the actual season with the Red Sox to help solidify him as a building block moving forward. Team Japan: Masataka Yoshida, OF/DH Masa rejoins Samurai Japan in 2026 to help them achieve their goal of becoming back-to-back WBC Champions. He was a late addition to their roster but comes with the pedigree of being one of the best players in Japan’s WBC history. The biggest pause for concern with Yoshida and the WBC, though, is that the last time he competed in it, he ran out of gas about halfway through his first big league season. Hopefully having a few more years of experience under his belt will help to keep him from the same fate in 2026. Much like the United States and the Dominican Republic above, Samurai Japan employ a deep roster of talent and are expected to be competing for the WBC Title. Team Venezuela: Wilyer Abreu, OF; Willson Contreras, 1B; Ranger Suarez, LHP Team Venezuela has the largest group of Sox players competing together during the tournament, so there should be ample opportunity for the new teammates to get to know one another while they are together. Abreu will look to continue his defensive dominance in the outfield, Contreras will be hoping to showcase that his first full season at first base wasn’t a fluke defensively, and Suarez will get a chance to get tuned up well before the MLB season starts. Team Great Britain: Jack Anderson, RHP; Nate Eaton, UTIL Both of the remaining Red Sox players for Great Britain are likely won’t see a ton of playing time, but Eaton figures to get into games as a pinch-running threat and a steady defensive sub when needed at multiple spots across the field. It’s unfortunate that Aroldis Chapman will no longer be suiting up for Great Britain this year, as watching him come in and close games in March would have been incredibly fun. Team Mexico: Jarren Duran, OF Duran is likely looking to put the stench of his 2023 WBC appearance behind him. He barely saw any playing time with Team Mexico and, in turn, was ridiculed for choosing to participate in the tournament instead of spending time in big league spring training. What followed was an abysmal season for Duran that left many questioning where his future in the organization was headed. He turned things around in 2024 and 2025 though, and he’s looking to make a huge impact for Mexico this time around. Team Columbia: Tayron Guerrero, RHP Guerrero was signed in January to a minor-league deal with the Red Sox after spending the last few seasons in the NPB with the Chiba Lotte Marines. He’s a hard-throwing right-handed reliever who is expected to compete for a spot in the major-league bullpen once he returns from the WBC to spring training. He just turned 35 and hasn’t seen any MLB action since 2019, but he can hit 101mph on occasion, so a good showing for Columbia could bode well for him in Boston. Team Puerto Rico: Jovani Moran, LHP; Eduardo Rivera, LHP Moran figures to head back to the bullpen for the Red Sox once the WBC concludes, where he will be the left-handed specialist in the middle innings. He earned that spot from a late-season call up in 2025 where he performed well and he survived the offseason without being traded or DFA’d, so it stands to reason that he’s penciled into a solid role as we approach the start of spring training. Rivera has made it to Double-A Portland in 2025 and is considered a lefty specialist as well. It’s hard to predict how much play time both will get, especially with Moran being a late addition after an issue with his insurance almost prevented him from competing in the WBC altogether, but good showings from both lefties would help them solidify their spots in the organization this season. Team Netherlands: Ceddanne Rafaela, OF The Gold-Glove-winning center fielder will be roaming the same position for Team Netherlands this year in the WBC. He’s expected to bring high-level defense and his clutch hitting to a Netherlands team that could make a deeper run in the tournament than most fans expect. He’s going to be joining former Red Sox Xander Bogaerts with Team Netherlands. That sentence still makes me sad to type. Rafaela should thrive under the bright lights of the WBC and the hope, much like Yoshida above, is that the physical toll of playing in the tournament doesn’t wear him out as the regular season drags through the dog days of summer. Team Italy: Greg Weissert, RHP The sneaky reliever for the Red Sox is joining team Italy this year and looks to establish himself as the go-to right hander behind Whitlock in the Sox’s bullpen when he returns to spring training. While Italy isn’t a world beater by any means, Weissert getting live game reps against elite talent from across the world will likely set him up to be a trusty hand in the middle innings as the season gets underway. The Red Sox are going to be using a lot of minor-league talent during the month of March while the World Baseball Classic is going on, but the team will be well represented through multiple different countries. Be sure to tune in on March 5 when pool play begins to support your Red Sox representatives! View the full article

MIAMI—Josh White is coming off of a dominant season, posting a 1.86 ERA, 1.65 FIP, 14.23 K/9 and 3.06 BB/9 in 67 ⅔ innings between Double-A and Triple-A. The homegrown Miami Marlins reliever was on the mound when the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp clinched the 2025 International League championship. Now, White looks to go into his first big league spring training and potentially break camp with the Fish. "Very excited to be here and grateful for the opportunity," White told Fish On First in an exclusive interview at Friday's Marlins Media Day. "Being in minor league camp for three years is definitely exciting. I backed up a game last year. I was around (the big league side) a little bit, but everything is new here." White, 25, missed the original phone call informing him that he was selected to the 40-man roster because he was working out. It wasn't until a couple minutes later that he called them back and received the news from Marlins director of player development Rachel Balkovec and director of minor league operations Hector Crespo. "I called them right back, talked to Rachel and Hector, so it was a good call and it made my day for sure," White said. In Pensacola, White had a 1.27 ERA and 1.03 FIP in 28 ⅓ innings pitched, striking out 15.88 batters per nine. In Jacksonville, although the ERA (2.29) and FIP (2.10) ticked up, he was walking fewer guys (2.52 BB/9) than he had in AA. Prior to 2025, his MiLB career averages were a 3.52 ERA, 3.94 FIP and 4.44 BB/9. White attributes the breakout year to "just knowing what my strengths are and utilizing that, going after guys directly at all times in the count and then just trying to rack up punchouts as I can." One of the nastiest pitches in the Marlins organization is White's curveball, which generated a 59% whiff rate last season and was given a 65 grade by Baseball America. "It comes out of my slot and I am able to throw it hard," he said. "The harder it is, the less loopy it gets, the less it pops. It plays off the fastball well." White has also developed a 60-grade slider, which helps him neutralize left-handed batters. "The slider was a new add this year that was definitely refined through (Jerad) Eickhoff in Double-A and then (Robbie) Marcello in Triple-A." Marcello has since been promoted to Marlins assistant pitching coach. "I texted him right when I found out. Super happy for the guy. We worked well together last year and exciting to keep working with him here." History says that White will probably head back to Jacksonville following spring training. The last reliever with zero MLB service time to break camp and make the Marlins Opening Day roster was Zach Pop in 2021, who was under Rule 5 draft pick restrictions. But with nothing left to prove against MiLB competition and the Fish attacking 2026 with a sense of "urgency," in the words of manager Clayton McCullough, maybe White could force the issue and earn a spot right away. View the full article

The Boston Red Sox took a swing. After losing former third basemen in Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman over the last ten months, enter Caleb Durbin and the rest of the Milwaukee Brewers' third base depth chart. In this video, we analyze the acquisitions of Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler. View the full article

The Boston Red Sox took a swing. After losing former third basemen in Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman over the last ten months, enter Caleb Durbin and the rest of the Milwaukee Brewers' third base depth chart. In this video, we analyze the acquisitions of Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler. View the full article

With Monday's surprising trade of Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox, the Milwaukee Brewers created a big question just days before spring training officially gets going: Who plays third base Opening Day? There are some internal options, but they fall into two categories: underwhelming, and not quite ready for prime time. Rather than accept one of those imperfect solutions, they could go out and find someone to play the hot corner via trade or free agency. As a reminder of what Durbin contributed in 2025, he finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting, with a .256/.334/.387 slash line, 11 homers, 53 RBIs, and 18 steals. He was hit by pitches an NL-high 24 times and played pretty good defense. In short (no pun intended), he won't be easy to replace, per se. Let's take a look at who is out there: Isaac Paredes The most expensive of the logical candidates is Isaac Paredes. A right-handed hitter with a bit of punch, Paredes doesn't have a starting role with the Houston Astros following their trade deadline acquisition of Carlos Correa. The Houston infield also includes Jeremy Peña, Jose Altuve and Christian Walker, and the DH spot will go to Yordan Alvarez. Whether it's to the Brewers or not, a Paredes deal is likely. The soon-to-be 27-year-old Paredes is a valuable piece to any club, and has been pursued all offseason. But Paredes also comes with a contract price tag of $9.35 million for 2026, with a $13.35 million club option for 2027. The Astros, always concerned with their proximity to the luxury tax, would love to move on from that contract, but taking on that kind of money in February would be an uncharacteristic move from the Crew. After Houston dealt for him last offseason, the pull-happy Paredes put together a .254/.352/.458 slash line, with 20 homers and 53 RBIs. He's slow and unathletic, and doesn't play great defense at third base. He got a lot of those homers by yanking the ball into the Crawford Boxes down Houston's left-field line, which makes him a suspect fit for Uecker Field. He's the most obviously available third baseman on the market, though, and it's easy to imagine Houston wanting to land some of the excess pitching with which the Brewers find themselves after adding two solid arms in the Durbin deal. CJ Abrams After a report of the San Francisco Giants nearly acquiring Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams last month, the Brewers could step in and take Abrams and put him at third. No, he wouldn't be an option to replace Joey Ortiz at shortstop. Abrams ranked 122nd among all MLB shortstops with -6 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). Moving him off short will be the first order of business for whoever pries him away from the rebuilding Nats. The 25-year-old Abrams is a little more dynamic than Paredes. Last year, he had a slash line of .257/.315/.433 with 19 homers, 60 RBIs and 31 steals, with the power and speed fitting what the Brewers need and seek. That slash line is very close to his career mark of .249/.306/.411, while averaging 19 homers and 63 RBIs over the last three years. He's not a good shortstop, but he could work at third, or the team could shift him to second, move Brice Turang to shortstop, and slide Ortiz to third, after all. Abrams will make $4.2 million in 2026, as he makes his first trip through arbitration. He comes with three years of team control. His 2024 ended early, when the Nationals sent him to the minors after an all-nighter at a Chicago-area casino, but there were no reported issues in 2025. A new front-office regime could simply be looking to move on from Abrams, lowering his price. Enrique "Kiké" Hernández Still recovering from elbow surgery, Enrique Hernández is expected to miss the first two months of the season and is probably a far-fetched option, considering his ties to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hernández is probably best when he is in a platoon situation, instead of a full-time starter at one position, but he does bring positional versatility, able to play anywhere on the infield or outfield. The 34-year-old is less of an offensive threat than others on this list, compiling a .236/.305/.403 career slash line. While 21- and 20-homer seasons (2018, 2021) decorate his baseball card, he's more of a 10- to 12-homer guy now, depending on his playing time. Hernández made $6.5 million last season with the Dodgers and would likely need a similar number not to return to the two-time defending World Series champs—although it's far from clear that they have room for him on their roster. Luis Rengifo A potentially sneaky-good free-agent addition would be Luis Rengifo. The former Los Angeles Angels utility man turns 29 at the end of February and has played seven MLB seasons. In 657 games, Rengifo has 409 appearances at second base, but also 199 at third. His offensive numbers were down in 2025, producing a .238/.287/.335 slash line with 9 homers, 43 RBIs and 10 steals. That came after a combined slash line of .273/.323/.431 from 2022-24, with 39 homers and 133 RBIs. His 2024 ended prematurely due to surgery on his right wrist, limiting him to 78 games. He has some speed to offer, posting a career-best 24 steals in that abbreviated 2024. Rengifo made $5.95 million in his final year of arbitration with the Angels, so he could be signed for something similar for 2026, especially to join a contender like the Brewers. Thairo Estrada Coming off an injury-plagued 2025 in his only season with the Colorado Rockies, Thairo Estrada could be more of an affordable platoon option in free agency, instead of a full-time third baseman. Mostly a second baseman, Estrada has just 13 appearances at third base in 483 MLB games. Estrada was at his peak in 2022 and 2023 with the San Francisco Giants, posting a combined slash line of .266/.319/.408 along with 28 homers, 111 RBIs and 44 RBIs over the two years. His 2025 was cut short by a fractured right wrist, a sprained left thumb, and a hamstring strain that limited him to 39 games. He made $3.25 million with the Rockies and could be had cheaply again, due to his injury-marred 2025. Ramón Urías The older brother of former Crew infielder Luis Urías, Ramón Urías enters his age-32 season having split 2025 with the Baltimore Orioles and Astros. He has played 371 of his 518 games at third base and is a good defender, with 5 DRS in 638 innings at the position. Durbin had 5 DRS at third in 1,060 innings. Urías had a .241/.292/.384 line across the two stops in 2025, with 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 112 games. For his career, his line is .257/.321/.403. He peaked at 16 homers and 48 RBIs in 116 games in 2022, but has never stolen more than three bases in any year. He earned $3.125 million in 2025 and was non-tendered by the Astros as a third-year abitration-eligible guy. Urías would be inexpensive, but feels like more of a platoon option. Whatever else the Brewers have up their sleeve, we should see it materialize soon. If nothing else happens this week, perhaps they're happy to roll the dice with the guys already coming to camp. That, however, feels unlikely, and the players named above are the most obvious options to effectively replace Durbin and keep the NL Central dynasty rolling. View the full article