Matthew Nethercott

Image courtesy of Peter Aiken-Imagn Images The MLB labor fight is getting underway as the current collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1st. On Wednesday, the MLB Players Association made its first proposal of what it would like a CBA to look like, and it's what we would expect from the players' side. 1. Significant increases to 40-man minimums The players' association wants the minimum player salary for players on the 40-man roster to rise from $780,000 per season to $1.5 million per season. This would include more bonuses for pre-arbitration players. An example of that would be boosting salary if a pre-arbitration player wins the MVP or Cy Young. With the 40-man minimum changes proposed, the players' association also proposes that new rules be implemented to stop teams from manipulating a player's service time. That could be keeping players that could help the MLB team win in the minors for additional eligibility, or keeping a player down for a certain number of games would not give them enough MLB time, maximizing their rookie status to possibly receive a compensation pick if the player wins the Rookie of the Year award. 2. Elimination of the qualifying offer This would be one of the biggest changes to the MLB free agency process, and it would benefit both sides. The qualifying offer is something teams can attach to a player entering free agency for a sum of money (around $23 million currently) for the player to return to the team on a one-year deal. If the player declines, the team that made the offer would receive a compensation pick in the draft if they sign with another team. This seriously hinders the market of the player in free agency, which is why the players want to see it go. The memo also proposes that players who turn 30 and have five or more seasons of service time should be automatically eligible for free agency. This would also help with MLB's issues with service time manipulation, as there would be less incentive for teams to keep their players down if they would hit free agency sooner due to age and service time. 3. Increased benefits for lower-revenue clubs who lose players to free agency A lot of times in free agency, teams that can't afford to keep their homegrown talent, as we will likely see this upcoming offseason with Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers. This proposes that small market teams that lose their players to big market teams will receive some other compensation, most likely picks, but that was not outlined in the memo. 4. “Luxury Tax” threshold increases and removal of non-monetary penalties The players' association would like to raise the luxury tax threshold from $244 million to $300 million. There is very little chance that teams like the Yankees or the Dodgers would accept a proposal that would require them to pay that much in luxury tax penalties each season. 5. A new “Competitive Integrity Tax” This would be appealing to most big-market owners because one of the biggest issues in baseball is small-market teams getting away with not spending much on payroll and being known for their farm systems. This would be a tax that, if the team did not have a minimum payroll of $150 million, they would be penalized in some form or fashion, whether it's money or draft picks. In other words, this would act as a soft salary floor, much like how the luxury tax acts as a soft salary cap. Under this framework, the revenue-sharing system would undergo significant overhauls to incentivize winning and narrow the gap between markets. High-revenue clubs would face a substantial increase in sharing their local media revenues to funnel broadcast dollars directly to lower-revenue organizations. To reward on-field success rather than just subsidizing tanking, tens of millions in additional revenue-sharing pools would be explicitly directed toward low-revenue franchises that achieve a winning record or secure a postseason berth. At the same time, clubs would be permitted to retain a larger percentage of their own stadium-related revenues, creating a direct financial incentive for all teams to invest in their fan experience and drive local ballpark attendance. 6. Expanded draft lottery to further disincentivize tanking This would further incentivize smaller market teams to spend money in free agency. This would give those teams draft picks and other benefits for signing players in free agency. This would go in line with spending at least $150 million in payroll to be competitive, and they will receive draft picks. This would also mean that teams can still be competitive while ensuring they get good picks in the draft each year. MLB's Response While the MLB will not submit its proposal until tomorrow, MLB spokesman Glen Caplin released a statement to the media: "We appreciate the union making a set of proposals, and we look forward to continuing the bargaining process and working towards solving the competitive balance problem our fans are telling us needs to be addressed. We understand their proposals are designed to benefit players. Unfortunately, they do not address and, in fact, exacerbate the competitive balance problem our fans are telling us we must address. The MLBPA’s proposal would reduce the amount transferred to lower-revenue Clubs, weaken the Competitive Balance Tax, and lead to even more payroll disparity than exists today. For example, under the Union’s proposal, the Dodgers would pay less in luxury tax payments, giving them an additional $70 million to spend on payroll.” This looks like we're in for a long fight of labor wars between the two sides. View full article

Image courtesy of Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images The New York Yankees finished the 2025 season with a 94-68 record, coming up second in the AL East. They lost the division on a tiebreaker to the Toronto Blue Jays, after struggling against them in the regular and postseason. This season, the vibes are high around the Yankees going into the season. Yankees Offseason Moves The Yankees ran it back this offseason. They brought back many of the same players from 2025 because of how good Aaron Boone and the rest of the organization felt about the team. They brought back Cody Bellinger on a five-year, $162 million deal, which was their biggest splash of the offseason. They also brought back Amed Rosario, Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan Yarbrough, and Paul Blackburn to round out the roster. The only notable offseason additions the Yankees added to the roster that were not on the 2025 roster include lefty starter Ryan Weathers and bullpen arm Cade Winquest, and possibly Randal Grichuk. The Yankees also acquired Angel Chivilli from the Rockies this offseason, but he will start the season in Triple A. Projected Yankees Lineup (via FanGraphs) Trent Grisham (L, CF) Aaron Judge (R, RF) Cody Bellinger (L, LF) Ben Rice (L 1B) Giancarlo Stanton (R, DH) Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L, 2B) Austin Wells (L, C) José Caballero (R, SS) Ryan McMahon (L, 3B) In 2025, the Yankees' lineup ranked among the top offenses in baseball, leading the league in multiple categories, including home runs. Judge is still in his prime and should continue to do Judgian things, as he is still the odds-on favorite to be the AL MVP. Stanton, while getting older and still suffering from tennis elbow, was very good for the Yankees when he returned from injury in 2025, and has looked really good in spring training. Rice and Wells are the keys to the Yankees' lineup. Rice was productive in 2025 and hit a bit of bad luck all season. If that bad luck evens out for Rice, even a little bit, his production for the Yankees will be that much better. Wells has struggled to this point in his career offensively, but both he and the team believe there is more in the tank. He showed that potential in the WBC playing for Team Dominican Republic and coming through with a lot of big hits in the Classic. If he carries some of that production over to the Yankees in both the regular and postseason, the team will be even better offensively. The Yankees will also begin the season with Anthony Volpe on the injured list and Caballero as the starting shortstop. This should benefit the Yankees offensively, as Caballero was better offensively than Volpe in 2025, especially with the Yankees. Caballero also did work in the offseason with Driveline, which may help his approach at the plate. Projected Yankees Rotation (via FanGraphs) Max Fried (L) Cam Schlittler (R) Will Warren (R) Ryan Weathers (L) Luis Gil (R) The Yankees' rotation has potential. Fried was a Cy Young contender in 2025, aside from a few summer starts when he pitched through a blistered finger. Schlittler, who took the league by storm in 2025, will get a full season in the Yankees' rotation. Schlittler is adjusting his pitch mix in an attempt to remain effective as the league gets more of a look at him and his stuff. Warren has had a good spring so far, and his stuff looks good. Warren taking the next step would be a huge deal for the Yankees. He made 32 starts in 2025, but struggled against some of the better teams in baseball, including the Dodgers and Blue Jays. Weathers has good stuff, but locating his pitches needs work. This is something the Yankees coaches will work with Weathers over time to fix his location issues. The biggest issue with the rotation breaking camp is Gil. He has had a really poor spring for the Yankees, and there are a lot of concerns around him and his drop in velocity. The Yankees have not yet ruled out starting Gil in Triple-A because of their early-season schedule. It could give Gil some time to work out his issues while not facing big-league hitters. The real potential of the Yankees will come later in the year with Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole returning from injuries. Rodón began throwing to live batters earlier this week in his ramp-up. He is targeting a return in mid-April or early May. Cole, on the other hand, pitched one inning in a spring training game on Wednesday. His fastball velocity was up to 98 MPH, and his curveball looked nice and crisp. Cole is still targeting a late May, early June return as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. If both Rodón and Cole come back healthy with the rest of the rotation clicking, the Yankees rotation could be a force to be reckoned with in the second half of the season. View full article

Bregman grounded a ball in the 5-6 hole, gobbled up by Abraham Toro. He threw what looked like a changeup over Josh Naylor's head at first, and two runs scored. In games this competitive with a do-or-die aspect, every play needs to be made. This one was the difference between a solo home run, tying the game, or needing to string a big rally together. Next: Team USA will move on to Miami and play in the semi-finals on Sunday. They will play Team Dominican Republic in a true star-studded matchup. Reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes will get the start for Team USA. Team Dominican Republic will be starting Luis Severino. View full article

The shot showed that Italy was not going away. They wanted this game and were not going quietly. Antonacci had just one RBI coming into today’s game, but got two on that swing. Next: Team USA will hope to advance out of their pool play and into the quarterfinals, but it depends on the result of tomorrow’s Italy/Mexico game. If Italy loses to Mexico tomorrow, it will create a 3-way tie with the USA & ITA (all 3-1). The winner is decided by Run Differential. The team with the LOWEST number wins. The easiest path for the USA to advance is for Italy to win against Mexico tomorrow. View full article

This one was hit to right field, 364 feet, and 102 MPH off the bat. Judge has been a fantastic leader so far for Team USA, and is providing it with his offense and ability to get on base. Judge was the spark the offense needed to get going early. Next: Team USA will take on Team Italy in game four of their pool play. The United States will be sending out Mets rookie Nolan McLean against the underrated Italian lineup. Team Italy has not announced a starter. The game will take place at 8:00pm on FOX from Dalkin Park in Houston, Texas. View full article

The Schwarber bomb not only gave USA the lead after their offense struggled to start the game, but it also gave Team USA some life. The game had a slow feel to it, and Schwarber's homer energized the team and led to their offensive spark in the fifth inning, leading to the win. Next: Team USA will take on Team Mexico in game three of their pool play. Reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes will start for Team USA. Team Mexico has not announced a starter. The game will take place at 8:00pm on FOX from Dalkin Park in Houston, Texas. View full article

Image courtesy of Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Team USA won their first game of pool play by a score of 15-5 against Team Brazil. They did it with a great offense and an excellent outing by Logan Webb. Webb, in limited action, looked really good in his first start for Team USA. He pitched four innings, striking out six and giving up just one run, a leadoff home run to Lucas Ramirez, son of Manny Ramirez. His changeup was the X-factor in his outing, where he was able to generate whiffs and get some strikeouts. He also got outs with some help from Nicaragua, like pitch clock violations that led to strikeouts. Michael Wacha looked sharp for his first two innings, but gave up three runs in the seventh inning to make the game a bit closer than Team USA wanted. He struck out four in his first two innings prior. Lefty Gabe Speier pitched the eighth inning, striking out two and giving up a solo home run to Lucas Ramirez, his second of the game. Flamethrower Mason Miller locked down the bottom of the ninth inning for Team USA. After walking the leadoff batter, he struck out the side to end the game. Team USA walked a total of 17 times in the game, a World Baseball Classic record. In the meantime, let's review the most impactful plays from the game, per WPA via Baseball Savant: 3. Lucas Ramirez Homers off Logan Webb After Team USA took a 2-0 lead, Lucas Ramirez took the second pitch Logan Webb threw into the seats for a solo home run. Lucas is the son of MLB legend Manny Ramirez, who was in attendance for the game. Ramirez was showing that there is still home run power in the family. The ball traveled 392 ft to right center field to cut Team USA’s lead to one, at the time. The home run was one of three for Team Brazil on the day. It was one of two for him, getting one later in the eighth inning. They came into the game as the small-ball team, but showed off their power stroke as well. 2. Judge Grounds into a Double Play One of the underrated stories in the WBC was 17-year-old Joseph Contreras, the son of former big-league pitcher and world champion Jose Contreras. Contreras came in and did something he will never forget. He faced Aaron Judge with the bases loaded and only one out. He got Judge to ground into an inning-ending double play to keep Brazil in the game and avoid further damage. Contreras is still in high school and represents the youngest player to play in the WBC since 2013. Yesterday, while the rest of the team was practicing and partying, he was doing homework. Today, he was getting MVP’s out in big spots. Baseball. 1. Aaron Judge’s Two-Run Home Run Team USA and Yankees Captain Aaron Judge laid down the gavel in the first inning. He took a 3-0 center-cut 79.5 mph sweeper for a two-run home run. It established that the USA was not going quietly. Team USA’s offense has never been the issue in past WBCs; rather, their pitching has been the issue, but Judge is their leader. Judge has been criticized throughout his career for not showing up in big moments. It showed that Judge can come up big on the world stage. He laid down the law early and set the precedent for the offense going forward. Next: Team USA will take on Team Great Britain in game two of their pool play. Reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal will start for Team USA. Team Great Britain has not announced a starter. The game will take place at 8:00pm on FOX from Dalkin Park in Houston, Texas. View full article

Under the rules for 2026, only the pitcher, catcher, or batter can initiate a challenge. They will do so by tapping their hat or helmet immediately after a call. Each team starts the game with two challenges. If the challenge is successful and the call is overturned, the team retains the challenge. If the call is upheld, the challenge is lost. To maintain the pace of play, the entire process is designed to be nearly instantaneous, with a 5G-powered graphic showing the pitch location on the stadium scoreboard and broadcast within approximately 15 seconds. The Benefit Of The ABS Challenge System Players As with all systems and new rules, there are positives and negatives. For players with elite plate discipline, like Aaron Judge, the ABS acts as an equalizer. Historically, taller players often get the low strikes called on them that are technically balls but look like strikes to a human umpire. By using a standardized zone tailored to a player’s specific height, the system rewards hitters who truly know the strike zone and pitchers who can paint the corners with surgical precision. It removes the frustration of a high-leverage moment being decided by a clearly missed call, ensuring that the game's outcome is determined by the players' performance rather than officiating errors. The most significant downside is the potential death of pitch framing. Pitch framing is like an art where catchers subtly move their mitts to give the umpire a good look at strikes, and to make shadow pitches (just outside the zone) appear inside the strike zone. Elite defensive catchers have built entire careers on getting as many strikes as possible for their pitchers, but since the ABS cameras track the ball as it passes through the zone -- regardless of where the catcher catches it -- this skill becomes less valuable. The shift could lead teams to prioritize offensive-minded catchers who lack defensive finesse, potentially changing the position's archetype and removing a classic chess-match element between the catcher and the home plate umpire. Pitch framing won't be fully obsolete because if teams run out of challenges early in games, catchers can still steal strikes late in games. The ABS system is going to revolutionize the way the game is played, and fans will fall in love with it when their favorite team benefits from the calls that get changed as a result. View full article