The City of Fountains

3Bplay · 02-16-2026, 12:00 PM

3Bplay · 02-16-2026, 12:00 PM

Code:

Pitchers
## Name                 B/T   Ht    Wt   DOB        School
25 Matt Strahm          R/L   6'3"  185  11/12/91 Neosho County CC
31 Nick Mears           R/R   6'2"  215  10/07/96 Sac. City College
32 Stephen Kolek        R/R   6'3"  210  04/18/97 Texas A&M
36 Bailey Falter        L/L   6'4"  205  04/24/97 Chino Hills HS
38 Ryan Bergert*        R/R   6'1"  200  03/08/00 West Virginia
41 Daniel Lynch IV*     L/L   6'6"  190  11/17/96 Virginia
46 John Schreiber       R/R   6'2"  220  03/05/94 Univ. of NW Ohio
47 Mason Black*         R/R   6'3"  230  12/10/99 Lehigh Uniersity
48 Alec Marsh (IL-60)   R/R   6'2"  220  05/14/98 Arizona State
50 Kris Bubic           L/L   6'3"  210  08/19/97 Stanford
52 Michael Wacha        R/R   6'6"  210  07/01/91 Texas A&M
53 Carlos Estevez       R/R   6'6"  275  12/28/92 None
54 Mitch Spence*        R/R   6'1"  185  05/06/98 USC Aiken
55 Cole Ragans          L/L   6'4"  190  12/10/97 N FL Christian HS
56 Alex Lange           R/R   6'3"  220  10/02/95 LSU
57 Eli Morgan*          R/R   5'10" 190  05/13/96 Gonzaga
58 Luinder Avila*       R/R   6'3"  190  08/21/01 None
59 Ben Kudrna* (IL-60)  R/R   6'3"  200  01/30/03 Blue Valley SW HS
60 Lucas Erceg          R/R   6'2"  215  05/01/95 Menlo College
61 Eric Cerantola*      R/R   6'5"  220  05/02/00 Mississippi State
63 Steven Zobac*        R/R   6'3"  190  10/14/00 California
64 Steven Cruz*         R/R   6'7"  235  06/15/99 None
65 Noah Cameron         L/L   6'3"  215  07/17/99 Central Arkansas
66 James McArthur*      R/R   6'7"  225  12/11/96 Ole Miss
67 Seth Lugo            R/R   6'4"  225  11/17/89 Centenary Coll.

Catchers
## Name                 B/T   Ht    Wt   DOB        School
13 Salvador Perez       R/R   6'3"  255  05/10/90 None
22 Carter Jensen        L/R   6'    210  07/03/03 Park Hill HS

Infielders
## Name                 B/T   Ht    Wt   DOB        School
 6 Jonathan India       R/R   6'    200  12/15/96 Florida
 7 Bobby Witt, Jr.      R/R   6'1"  190  06/14/00 Heritage HS
 9 Vinnie Pasquantino   L/L   6'4"  245  10/10/97 Old Dominion
11 Maikel Garcia        R/R   6'1"  185  03/03/00 None
12 Nick Loftin          R/R   6'1"  200  09/25/88 Baylor
19 Michael Massey*      L/R   6'1"  195  03/22/98 Illinois
24 Josh Rojas           L/R   6'1"  205  06/30/94 Hawai'i  

Outfielders
## Name                 B/T   Ht    Wt   DOB        School
 1 Isaac Collins        L/R   5'8"  185  11/29/98 Creighton
 2 Tyler Tolbert*       R/R   6'1"  180  01/27/98 UAB
 8 Drew Waters          S/R   6'1"  190  12/30/98 Etowah HS
14 Jac Caglianone       L/L   6'5"  245  02/09/03 Florida
15 Lane Thomas          R/R   6'    200  08/23/95 Bearden HS
16 John Rave*           L/L   6'1"  200  12/30/97 Illinois State
26 Kameron Misner*      L/L   6'4"  215  01/08/98 Missouri
28 Kyle Isbel           L/R   5'11" 180  03/03/97 UNLV

3Bplay · 02-16-2026, 12:00 PM

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AL AVERAGE            NL AVERAGE            AL HITS
RK NAME         AVG   RK NAME        AVG    RK NAME        H
1. Player             1. Player             1. Player
2. Player             2. Player             2. Player
3. Player             3. Player             3. Player

NL HITS               AL DOUBLES            NL DOUBLES
RK NAME        H      RK NAME        2B     RK NAME        2B
1. Player             1. Player             1. Player
2. Player             2. Player             2. Player
3. Player             3. Player             3. Player

AL TRIPLES            NL TRIPLES            AL HOMERUNS
RK NAME         AVG   RK NAME        AVG    RK NAME        H
1. Player             1. Player             1. Player
2. Player             2. Player             2. Player
3. Player             3. Player             3. Player

NL HOMERUNS           AL RBI                NL RBI
RK NAME        H      RK NAME        2B     RK NAME        2B
1. Player             1. Player             1. Player
2. Player             2. Player             2. Player
3. Player             3. Player             3. Player

AL RUNS               NL RUNS               AL ON-BASE
RK NAME         AVG   RK NAME        AVG    RK NAME        H
1. Player             1. Player             1. Player
2. Player             2. Player             2. Player
3. Player             3. Player             3. Player

NL ON-BASE            AL SLUGGING           NL SLUGGING
RK NAME        H      RK NAME        2B     RK NAME        2B
1. Player             1. Player             1. Player
2. Player             2. Player             2. Player
3. Player             3. Player             3. Player

AL OPS                NL OPS                AL OPS+
RK NAME         AVG   RK NAME        AVG    RK NAME        H
1. Player             1. Player             1. Player
2. Player             2. Player             2. Player
3. Player             3. Player             3. Player

NL OPS+               AL WALKS              NL WALKS
RK NAME        H      RK NAME        2B     RK NAME        2B
1. Player             1. Player             1. Player
2. Player             2. Player             2. Player
3. Player             3. Player             3. Player

AL STOLEN BASES       AL STOLEN BASES       AL WAR
RK NAME        H      RK NAME        2B     RK NAME        2B
1. Player             1. Player             1. Player
2. Player             2. Player             2. Player
3. Player             3. Player             3. Player

NL WAR                AL wOBA               NL wOBA
RK NAME        H      RK NAME        2B     RK NAME        2B
1. Player             1. Player             1. Player
2. Player             2. Player             2. Player
3. Player             3. Player             3. Player

3Bplay · 02-16-2026, 12:01 PM

Code:

AL EAST
RK TEAM        W   L   PCT    GB   L10  RDiff
1. Baltimore   2   1   .667   -    2-1  0
2. New York    2   1   .667   -    2-1  +5
3. Tampa Bay   1   2   .333   1    1-2  -1
4. Boston      1   2   .333   1    1-2  -4
5. Toronto     1   2   .333   1    1-2  -6

Code:

AL CENTRAL
RK TEAM        W   L   PCT    GB   L10  RDiff
1. Detroit     2   1   .667   -    2-1  +12
2. Chicago     1   2   .667   1    1-2  -12
3. Minnesota   1   2   .333   1    1-2  0
4. Cleveland   1   3   .250   1.5  1-3  -9
5. Kansas City 0   2   .000   1.5  0-2  -5

Code:

AL WEST
RK TEAM        W   L   PCT    GB   L10  RDiff
1. Seattle     3   1   .750   -    3-1  +12
2. Athletics   2   1   .667   0.5  2-1  -12
3. Houston     2   2   .500   1    2-2  0
4. Los Angeles 2   2   .500   1    2-2  -9
5. Texas       1   2   .333   1.5  1-2  -5

Code:

NL EAST
RK TEAM        W   L   PCT    GB   L10  RDiff
1. Atlanta     2   0   1.000  -    2-0  +5
2. New York    2   1   .667   0.5  2-1  +7
3. Philadel.   2   1   .500   0.5  2-1  +3
4. Miami       1   2   .500   1.5  1-2  -2
5. Washington  1   2   .333   1.5  1-2  -5

Code:

NL CENTRAL
RK TEAM        W   L   PCT    GB   L10  RDiff
1. Chicago     2   1   .667   -    2-1  +5
2. Milwaukee   2   1   .667   -    2-1  +12
3. Cincinnati  2   1   .667   -    2-1  +4
4. St. Louis   2   1   .667   -    2-1  +1
5. Pittsburgh  1   2   .333   1    1-2  -7

Code:

NL WEST
RK TEAM        W   L   PCT    GB   L10  RDiff
1. Arizona     2   1   .667   -    2-1  -2
2. Colorado    2   1   .667   -    2-1  +2
3. San Fran.   1   2   .333   1    1-2  -5
4. San Diego   1   2   .333   1    1-2  -12
5. Los Angeles 1   2   .333   1    1-2  +2

3Bplay · 02-16-2026, 12:21 PM

2026 NL EAST PREVIEW
Phils expect to repeat; Mets will push

By MLB.com staff
03/20/2026

Over the next couple of days, we will begin our series of division-by-division previews. Our series starts with the National League East, where the Phillies will look to defend their division title and head back to the postseason under skipper Rob Thomson. However, the Mets should be much improved over their 83-79 mark that saw them miss the postseason after a September swoon. Adding pieces such as Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, and Freddy Peralta have (at least on paper) narrowed the gap between them and the Phillies, who didn't add much outside help outside of outfielder Adolis Garcia. Gone are Nick Castellanos, who was released just prior to the spring, and lefty reliever Matt Strahm, who was dealt to the Kansas City Royals. They also lost Ranger Suarez to the Red Sox on a multi-year deal. With Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto back in the fold, they largely return the same team that fell in the NLDS to the Dodgers last season, minus Suarez and Strahm's contributions.

The perpetually-rebuilding Nationals figure to occupy the cellar, especially after dealing away MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers for a five-spot of prospects, including Top 100 infielder Gavin Fien. They also added catcher Harry Ford from the Mariners for reliever Jose Ferrer. Miami and Atlanta figure to battle for third place, but injuries to the pitching staff are once again a concern in Atlanta as lefty Dylan Lee and righty Spencer Schwellenbach will both start the season on the IL. Meanwhile, Sandy Alcantara is finally 'close to 100%' per president of baseball operations Peter Bendix in Miami, and they should also get Eury Perez back prior to June 1st.

Later today, we'll look at the AL East.

1. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

ADDED: OF Adolis Garcia, RHP Brad Keller, RHP Jonathan Bowlan
LOST: OF Harrison Bader, OF/DH Nick Castellanos, LHP Matt Strahm, LHP Ranger Suarez

It seemed when the Phillies signed Garcia to a one-year deal, that Nick Castellanos' time with Philadelphia was over, it was just a matter of when. They finally released him just prior to the beginning of the spring, with the Padres scooping him up for the league minimum just a handful of days later. The biggest moves that the Phillies made weren't new acquisitions, however, they brought back Kyle Schwarber on a five-year deal that will seemingly keep the 33-year-old in Philly through the rest of his prime years. They also return catcher J.T. Realmuto through 2028, his age-37 season, on a $45 million deal that will pay him an even $15 million per annum.

They also pursued re-signing Harrison Bader to play center field, but instead signed with the Giants on a two-year contract, so it will fall to returnees Johan Rojas, Brandon Marsh, and Justin Crawford to sort out the center field spot. On the pitching side, they'll be without Zack Wheeler for the first handful of months, but on the good news side, Andrew Painter is healthy and had a good spring, and figures to slot in as the fourth or fifth option in the rotation.

2. NEW YORK METS

ADDED: 2B Marcus Semien, RHP Devin Williams, RHP Luke Weaver, INF Jorge Polanco, SS/3B Bo Bichette, OF Luis Robert Jr., RHP Freddy Peralta, RHP Tobias Myers
LOST: OF Brandon Nimmo, RHP Ryan Helsley, 1B Pete Alonso, RHP Tyler Rogers, INF Luisangel Acuna, OF Jett Williams

The Mets got off to a quick start with the trade for Marcus Semien; but the big prize for them would have been Kyle Tucker, who ended up spurning the Mets for the Dodgers in late January. But they didn't sit on their laurels in the meantime, adding Jorge Polanco and Bo Bichette in free agency, and later adding Robert Jr and Peralta via trades.

Closer Edwin Diaz was replaced with Devin Williams, who will move up north to Queens to close games. They also grabbed another former Yankee in Luke Weaver to pitch high-leverage innings in front of him, but the bullpen situation is a bit murky beyond that. A.J. Minter is still battling injuries, and they lost Ryan Helsley to the Orioles in free agency. The top options after the aforementioned two guys at the back end are lefty Brooks Raley, and right-handers Tobias Myers (another part of the Peralta deal) and Huascar Brazoban, and youngsters Christian Scott and Jonah Tong. They'll also be without veteran Reed Garrett in the early going, as he'll miss the first few months after offseason surgery.

3. ATLANTA BRAVES

ADDED: C Jonah Heim, SS Ha-seong Kim, UTIL Mauricio Dubon, OF Mike Yastrzemski, RHP Robert Suarez
LOST: DH Marcell Ozuna, SS Nick Allen, LHP Kolby Allard

Not content after last season's 74-88 mark, they chose not to bring back slugger Marcell Ozuna, also upgrading their defense with both Ha-seong Kim and Mauricio Dubon, both Gold Glove-caliber players who represent an offensive improvement over their predecessors, as well. The Braves also received trade offers for both Jurickson Profar and Sean Murphy, but are opting to keep them for the time being. Murphy is actually slated to begin the season on the IL; necessitating the need for another catcher to complement reigning Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin, hence the signing of Jonah Heim to back Baldwin up.

The bullpen should be okay on the back end again as Raisel Iglesias was brought back on a one-year deal, and they signed flame-thrower Robert Suarez to serve as his set-up. But the injury bug appears to be biting again, as Spencer Schwellenbach was placed on the 60-day IL just prior to the spring beginning, and one of their top relievers in lefty Dylan Lee underwent Tommy John surgery last week and will miss the entire 2026 season. This doesn't even include Kim and another lefty in Danny Young also being on the injured list to begin the year.

4. MIAMI MARLINS

ADDED: OF Esteury Ruiz, RHP Pete Fairbanks, OF Owen Caissie, IF Christopher Morel, RHP Chris Paddack
LOST: OF Derek Hill, OF Dane Myers, LHP Ryan Weathers, RHP Edward Cabrera, RHP Cal Quantrill

Marlins personnel VP Peter Bendix had some real tough decisions to make this offseason, with a surplus of pitching and some holes to fill in their organization. Dealing Edward Cabrera to the Cubs netted them outfielder Owen Caissie, who as of this writing is still in Marlins' camp and appears to be on the verge of winning a roster spot for Opening Day.

He doesn't have a lot left to prove in the minors, as he posted a 139 OPS+ in Triple-A last season for the Iowa Cubs, and hit .500 (11-for-22) for Team Canada in the WBC that wrapped up last week. The Fish could have one of the more upside-heavy outfields in baseball, with Caissie, Matthew Etzel (acquired from the Rays via trade in July), and Jakob Marsee in center. Ruiz is a stolen base maven, having led the league in steals back in 2023 while with the A's.

Even with the losses of Cabrera and Ryan Weathers in a later trade to the Yankees, the pitching depth is still solid -- Paddack, a veteran righty, was added on a short-term deal to plug the loss of Cabrera, but they are hopeful that Sandy Alcantara is back and healthy, and fellow countryman Eury Perez is expected to return in early to mid-May. Fairbanks is also back to close games in front of bullpen that has some nice depth, including last year's main closer, Anthony Bender, and other solid guys in Calvin Faucher and Andrew Nardi.

5. WASHINGTON NATIONALS

ADDED: C Harry Ford, LHP Foster Griffin, RHP Alejandro Rosario
LOST: LHP MacKenzie Gore, LHP Jose A. Ferrer

New ops chief Paul Toboni and manager Blake Butera will go into the 2026 season with one of the most talent-bereft rosters in the league, but they made a couple of consequential trades that will undoubtedly play a role in the franchise going forward. They upgraded the catcher spot, at least on paper, grabbing Harry Ford along with pitching prospect Isaac Lyon from Seattle for Ferrer, who will be a primary set-up man for All-Star closer Andres Munoz.

The other was trading way MacKenzie Gore for five players, including Top 100-types in shortstop Gavin Fien and Rosario, who struggled in a short five-start stint with Triple-A last season, but has been one of the surprises of spring training and perhaps has pushed his way into the team's plans this season. Despite the loss of Gore, if it's one thing that the Nationals have, it's that they have a decent starting rotation that can keep them in games, but their bullpen is another matter.

The lineup could cover for that somewhat, but they could use young players such as Dylan Crews and Brady House taking the next step. They're also moving CJ Abrams off of shortstop to second base, and last year's incumbent second baseman, Luis Garcia Jr., will move to first base. He's been the team's primary second baseman the last three seasons, but with the pitching staff in flux, they'll need all the offense they can muster.

3Bplay · 02-17-2026, 03:11 PM

2026 AL EAST PREVIEW
Jays have uphill battle to defend AL crown

By MLB.com staff
03/20/2026

Moving over to the AL side of the ledger, the AL East is inarguably the best division in baseball, with three playoff-caliber teams in Toronto, New York, and Boston. Baltimore should also be better, and both they and Tampa Bay have the rosters to compete in any other division outside of the NL West.

While most prognosticators have the Blue Jays as the favorite to win the division, and one of the two biggest favorites to represent the AL in the Fall Classic again, Boston did quite a bit to help their case, and the Yankees still have one of the most fearsome lineups in the league. Baltimore could also be good enough to siphon off a few more wins against all three of those teams again, making it a potential four-team race.

Of the three, the Blue Jays have the thinnest rotation, and that's including the Yankees' current injury situation. However, all three of the aforementioned Yankee starters (Cole, Rodon, Schmidt) are all expected back either at or just prior to the All-Star break, giving them a potential boost around the trade deadline.

Tomorrow, the NL and AL Central are up.

1. TORONTO BLUE JAYS

ADDED: 3B Kazuma Okamoto, OF Jesus Sanchez, RHP Dylan Cease, RHP Cody Ponce, RHP Tyler Rogers
LOST: RHP Chris Bassitt, SS Bo Bichette, RHP Seranthony Dominguez, OF Joey Loperfido, RHP Max Scherzer

The defending AL champions enter the 2026 season as the favorites to win the division and are one of the biggest favorites to head back to the World Series as the AL rep, along with Detroit. This is all despite losing out on re-signing Bo Bichette and failing to land either Kyle Tucker or Alex Bregman in free agency, and losing key contributors like Chris Bassitt and Bo Bichette.

The rotation isn't deep, as they are at best six-deep currently with the injuries to righties Shane Bieber and Bowden Francis to begin the season, but they stack up against anyone's in the division as currently constructed. 2025 World Series hero Trey Yesavage is probably on the outside looking in with Dylan Cease now in the fold, but has had a strong spring and will get more opportunities to start and stay stretched out down in Triple-A instead of a bullpen role with the Blue Jays.

Offensively, they have some understandable concerns. Anthony Santander is now out for the first half of the season due to shoulder surgery, taking away one outfield option. That led them to trade Joey Loperfido to the Astros for Jesus Sanchez in a pure salary dump move by Houston. Okamoto is a solid player, but he's probably going to give you about 75% of what a healthy Bregman would have done. They'll be solid defensively up the middle over last year, as Andres Gimenez will slide over to shortstop and Ernie Clement is penciled in as the everyday second baseman.

Even without Santander, who really didn't do much in the limited time he played a season ago, they should be well-positioned to do some damage. Addison Barger is going to shift to being a full-time outfielder with the acquisition of Okamoto, and Sanchez should get plenty of at-bats against righties with George Springer splitting DH and right field duties against lefties.

2. BOSTON RED SOX

ADDED: LHP Ranger Suarez, 1B Willson Contreras, INF Caleb Durbin, INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa, RHP Sonny Gray, RHP Johan Oviedo
LOST: 3B Alex Bregman, RHP Dustin May, RHP Richard Fitts, RHP Lucas Giolito, RHP Jordan Hicks, LHP Kyle Harrison, INF David Hamilton

Perhaps no other team made as many big moves, as Boston made attention-grabbing move after attention-grabbing move. They struck first with the Sonny Gray deal, before acquiring Johan Oviedo from the Pirates. Combining those two trades with the Ranger Suarez signing, and they very effectively turned over 60% of their rotation from a season ago. They'll unfortunately be without Suarez for possibly the first couple of months of the season, as he left his most recent start with shoulder stiffness that was eventually diagnosed as bursitis that will not require any procedure, other than having it drained while the injury heals. But if there's a place on the roster they can afford to take a few hits, it's in the rotation as they can legitimately go seven-to-eight deep when healthy.

This is a team with a few real questions in their lineup, though. Alex Bregman signed with the Cubs in January, and it was long-thought that he'd return to the Red Sox, albeit on a more expensive deal. When that didn't come to fruition, it did leave them scrambling a bit which is when they acquired Durbin from the Brewers, although it cost them Harrison and Hamilton; whom the Red Sox really liked, but needed more proven production in the infield. They also brought in veteran Isiah Kiner-Falefa, although he's likely ticketed for a rotating bench role, where he'll play mainly second, third, and short. Marcelo Mayer has all the tools to be great, but has yet to put it together at the major league level, and Trevor Story is too oft-injured to be relied upon in an everyday role.

If Roman Anthony can take the next step and get something, anything out of Triston Casas later in the season when he returns from injury, Boston might be the favorites to win it all. The bullpen has a few question marks, but they could utilize more fringy starter candidates like Patrick Sandoval, Connelly Early, Kutter Crawford, or even Rule 5 pick Ryan Watson out of the pen in the meantime until injuries strike or they need reinforcements at the deadline.

3. NEW YORK YANKEES

ADDED: LHP Ryan Weathers, IF Max Schuemann
LOST: RHP Devin Williams, RHP Luke Weaver

There was a lot of grumbling around Yankees fans that they didn't do enough this offseason (and it's reflected in this ranking), but for Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenner family, it was more about retaining the talent they already had, rather than put out too much new money in the market. The biggest news was the re-signing of Cody Bellinger, who will return as the everyday left fielder. Trent Grisham is back on the $22.025 million qualifying offer to play center, and Aaron Judge is back to patrol right. Even Paul Goldschmidt is back on a team-friendly, $4 million deal to split time at first base and DH with Ben Rice. The majority of the free agents they brought in are on minor league deals, and the only major acquisition in Weathers was a five-player trade with the Marlins. Schuemann should also provide some additional depth with Anthony Volpe out to begin the season.

The lineup returns intact from last year, an offense that was a top-five unit in the league in 2025. Max Fried and Luis Gil are a solid one-two punch at the top of the rotation to begin the season, but after that they're going to have to rely on Weathers and a combination of vets and youngsters alike, with Ryan Yarbrough, Will Warren, and Cam Schlittler all vying to fill out the rest of the rotation while they wait for Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt to return, hopefully by the All-Star break. They have a fairly forgiving early schedule, so perhaps they could weather the storm, but they'll need some starters to step up early.

4. BALTIMORE ORIOLES

ADDED: OF Taylor Ward, RHP Jackson Kowar, RHP Ryan Helsley, RHP Shane Baz, RHP Chris Bassitt, INF Blaze Alexander, 1B Pete Alonso
LOST: RHP Grayson Rodriguez, RHP Kade Strowd, C Alex Jackson, C Gary Sanchez

After a 75-87 season and a last-place AL East finish in 2025, which fell well short of expectations, both incumbent manager Brandon Hyde and interim manager Tony Mansolino are out. Enter first-year manager Craig Albernaz, who will go into 2026 with a largely overhauled rotation with the additions of Chris Bassitt and Shane Baz, along with the re-signing of Zach Eflin. They should also hopefully get a full season out of ace Kyle Bradish, who returned towards the end of last season and was brilliant, posting a 3.24 FIP and 3.34 SIERA, which closely tracked with his 3.18 ERA over 22 2/3 innings (four starts).

Albernaz also have one of the premier offensive forces in the game with Pete Alonso at first base, signed to a five-year deal in the offseason as one of the first big free agent signings of the offseason. Taylor Ward, who hit forty-six homeruns a season ago, was brought in via trade from the Angels, dealing away talented but oft-injured righty Grayson Rodriguez. The bullpen is not as talented or as deep as New York's, but Ryan Helsley is a top-tier closer with some good depth in front of him, as set-up pitchers Yennier Cano, Keegan Akin, and Andrew Kittredge are all back.

For the Orioles to break through the three-headed monster of the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Red Sox, however, they'll need a resurgence from their current homegrown stars in Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman. Rutschman battled injuries for most of the 2025 season, while Henderson struggled early and had a few strong weeks here and there, but struggled to a 110 OPS+ over 639 plate appearances. Still solidly above-average, but a far cry from the 157 OPS+ he posted the previous season. Losing Jackson Holliday to a hamate bone injury from early in the spring won't help either, although he's only expected to be out through April or possibly into early May.

5. TAMPA BAY RAYS

ADDED: INF Ben Willamson, OF Cedric Mullins, OF Jake Fraley, OF Jacob Melton, LHP Steven Matz, RHP Nick Martinez, INF Gavin Lux
LOST: RHP Shane Baz, 2B Brandon Lowe, OF Josh Lowe, RHP Adrian Houser, RHP Pete Fairbanks

Tampa re-configured their outfield mix, bringing in Mullins and Fraley in free agency and nabbing Melton in a three-team trade with the Astros and Pirates, the trade that saw long-time Ray Brandon Lowe head north to Pittsburgh. The Rays were also part of two other three-team deals, one with the Reds and Angels that moved Josh Lowe to the Angels for Gavin Lux. Lux is expected to man second base with Taylor Walls back at shortstop, unless they ultimately decide to keep Carson Williams. He has not been re-assigned to minor league camp, so perhaps they are giving him an extended look, but it is more likely he is re-assigned in the next few days.

The third and final three-team swap brought Ben Williamson to Tampa, where he'll seemingly play a reserve role, sliding between third, second, and potentially shortstop. The signings of Matz and Martinez round out what could be a potentially upper-tier starting rotation, but that is dependent on the health of Shane McClanahan, who hasn't been on a big-league mound since 2023. Matz's transition back to starting after serving as a reliever last year is also a big concern for the Rays, although he's looked impressive in the spring with increasing pitch counts.

Despite all of that, they play in what is overwhelmingly looking like the toughest division in baseball, with three teams that all could lay legitimate claim to winning the World Series this year, and a potential bounce-back team in Baltimore. Tampa Bay actually looks pretty good on paper; and would be a wildcard contender in any other division, but they have a pretty low ceiling in the East.

3Bplay · 02-18-2026, 04:22 PM

2026 NL CENTRAL PREVIEW
Reds/Bucs surprise contenders?

By MLB.com staff
03/21/2026

Milwaukee and Chicago figure to be the top two teams in the NL Central again in 2026, but Cincinnati made the postseason a season ago, and Pittsburgh's offseason work has been lauded by many as one of the best of the league. So much so that a few prognosticators have picked the Pirates sneaking into the postseason as the third wildcard. We here at MLB.com don't think they're quite there yet, but they are most certainly in better position to make such a run this time around, given some good luck that goes their way.

It's also an interesting time in the division with perennial contender St. Louis down on their luck, but there still appears to be a clear vision under new management that's led by baseball ops chief Chaim Bloom. Gone are franchise mainstays Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras; all dealt off in trades. Bloom himself has not called it a 'rebuild' specifically, but did note that it would be a 'one-to-two year review' of the organization from top-to-bottom before they felt they could move forward.

Later today, we'll go over what many think might be the weakest division in baseball, the AL Central.

1. MILWAUKEE BREWERS

ADDED: LHP Angel Zerpa, INF David Hamilton, C Gary Sanchez, LHP Kyle Harrison, OF Jett Williams
LOST: 1B Rhys Hoskins, LHP Jose Quintana, RHP Freddy Peralta, RHP Tobias Myers, C Danny Jansen, OF Isaac Collins, RHP Nick Mears, INF Caleb Durbin

Another offseason, and another year of second-guessing what the Brewers have done. Matt Arnold and the front office in Milwaukee, however, is one of the best in the business as they continue to churn out quality teams despite moves that might make you scratch your head initially. First, they traded a solid outfielder (Collins) and reliever (Mears) to the Royals for a decent lefty (Zerpa). Then, they deal away one of the game's best starters in Freddy Peralta (along with Tobias Myers) to the Mets, but manage to nab two excellent young players in Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat.

Then another big trade right before the spring when they trade away a Rookie of the Year finalist in Caleb Durbin to the Red Sox, along with Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler, to Boston for a pretty good haul -- lefties Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan, along with second baseman David Hamilton. Harrison is likely to slot into a rotation spot, while Hamilton appears to be on his way to being in their Opening Day lineup at second base. Drohan posted a 2.02 ERA in Triple-A last season, and is in line to be one of the first re-called if injuries strike in the rotation.

On paper, the Cubs appear to be the better team and did more to try and improve the team, but there's something in the sauce that just won't let us go against Milwaukee until someone else can knock them off. Pat Murphy is incredibly underrated as a skipper, and they have tremendous veteran leadership with guys like Andrew Vaughn and Christian Yelich.

2. CHICAGO CUBS

ADDED: 3B Alex Bregman, RHP Phil Maton, RHP Edward Cabrera, RHP Hunter Harvey, RHP Dylan Floro, LHP Hoby Milner
LOST: OF Kyle Tucker, RHP Aaron Civale, RHP Michael Soroka, RHP Ryan Brasier, INF Willi Castro, OF Owen Caissie

It should be another fantastic race in the NL Central between the Brewers and Cubs; and honestly, it could go either way as to whomever wins the division, with the Reds potentially playing a role. Despite losing Tucker out of the lineup, there's still plenty of punch to go around with Bregman, Michael Busch, and arguably the best overall outfield in baseball headlined by one Pete Crow-Armstrong. Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki, who is likely going to be pressed back into defensive duty with Tucker gone, will flank PCA on the left and right side.

There is some reason to mope, at least early on. Matthew Boyd and Justin Steele are both on the injured list to begin the season, with Boyd only expected to miss the first week or two. Steele is expected to be out until around the All-Star break, but Jed Hoyer and the Cubs did a nice job of backfilling the rotation in the meantime in grabbing Cabrera from the Marlins. It cost them Owen Caissie, who is likely to start in one of the corner outfield spots for the Fish this year, but has three years of club control remaining, including this season.

The signings of Floro, Harvey, and Milner; along with the returning Caleb Thielbar, also deepen the middle relief in front of second-year flame-throwing closer Daniel Palencia, who came out of nowhere to post thirty-two saves with a 2.35 ERA in 61 1/3 innings of work. Palencia's breakout year didn't stop the Cubs from trying to pursue other closing options such as Edwin Diaz and Devin Williams, who signed with the Dodgers and Mets, respectively, but Palencia can hold his own with the best of them.

3. CINCINNATI REDS

ADDED: 3B Eugenio Suarez, OF Dane Myers, OF JJ Bleday, LHP Brock Burke, RHP Pierce Johnson, LHP Caleb Ferguson, RHP Max Scherzer
LOST: INF Gavin Lux, OF Austin Hays, OF Miguel Andujar, RHP Zack Littell, RHP Nick Martinez, LHP Wade Miley

What would the Reds do for a follow-up after their first postseason appearance since 2020? It took them until late in the process, but they brought back former third baseman Eugenio Suarez on a one-year deal to help lengthen the lineup. When Hunter Greene went down with an injury, they reached an agreement to bring on Scherzer on an incentive-laden one-year deal.

After hitting 53 bombs between the D-Backs and Mariners, Suarez should get close to that again in the bandbox that is GAB. While he shouldn't displace Ke'Bryan Hayes at third base, they needed another competent bat to serve as the DH after losing Austin Hays in free agency to the White Sox, and they are hoping that Myers and Bleday (moreso Bleday in this case) can return to pre-2025 form and solidify the outfield both offensively and defensively.

Closer Emilio Pagan was also brought back on a two-year deal, and signed former Rockie and Brave Pierce Johnson to toss high-leverage frames in front of him. Burke, Ferguson, and Sam Moll form one of the better southpaw bullpen trios in the league, giving them a fairly deep bullpen in front of a rotation that will be without Hunter Greene for the first few months, but still has some staying power with lefties Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo, along with Scherzer and fellow veteran Brady Singer.

4. PITTSBURGH PIRATES

ADDED: DH Marcell Ozuna, 1B Ryan O'Hearn, 2B Brandon Lowe, OF Jhostynxon Garcia, OF Jake Mangum, LHP Mason Montgomery, RHP Jose Urquidy
LOST: RHP Mike Burrows, RHP Johan Oviedo, DH Andrew McCutchen, INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa, OF Tommy Pham

The Brew Crew and the Cubs should still be the favorites in this division, but it's hard to argue that the Pirates didn't help themselves the most in the entire National League this offseason. With the additions of Brandon Lowe, Ryan O'Hearn, Marcell Ozuna, and youngster Jhostynxon Garcia to man one of the corner outfield spots, the Pirates have the look of a playoff contender with Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller fronting the rotation, with a bullpen that's solid and led by closer Dennis Santana and Gregory Soto, now back with his original team.

They had to dip into their starting rotation depth to get Garcia and others like Mangum and Lowe to bolster the lineup, which was one of the three worst offenses in baseball a season ago. With Lowe likely to get most of the reps at second and Jared Triolo to take over at short, the Pirates could still use another bat to man third base; but if they find themselves in the thick of the playoff race, there is room to add to the roster down the road. Also, as of this writing, Andrew McCutchen remains unsigned; but with Ozuna on the roster, a reunion seems unlikely.

Additionally, Pittsburgh made more headlines for the moves they didn't make, such as making a $150 million offer to Kyle Schwarber, who ended up going back to Philadelphia. They also were in on Framber Valdez, Bo Bichette, and Dylan Cease, who all ended up signing elsewhere. With the Cardinals in full-on rebuild mode, perhaps Ben Cherington and the Bucs' brass feel this is their chance to make some hay and get out of the NL Central cellar.

5. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

ADDED: RHP Dustin May, RHP Richard Fitts, RHP George Soriano, RHP Ryne Stanek, LHP Hunter Dobbins
LOST: INF Brendan Donovan, RHP Sonny Gray, 1B Willson Contreras, 3B Nolan Arenado, RHP Andre Granillo

Not one other franchise went through as much upheaval as the Cardinals did, as they have gone through a near-teardown of the big league roster, trading away such veterans as Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, and Brendan Donovan. They also found a taker for Willson Contreras in the Red Sox, and as a result will undoubtedly have one of the youngest rosters in the league for 2026. And there isn't much of a doubt they'll be selling at the deadline, with others like Lars Nootbaar and Jojo Romero still on the squad.

They did sign a couple of veterans for the pitching staff in May and Stanek; along with trading for Soriano to help fill out the bullpen. Otherwise, will be running out a good number of pre-arbitration players at nearly every position, including potentially JJ Wetherholt at second base. They've also been stretching out incumbent closer Kyle Leahy for a rotation role in 2026; along with moving Fitts, who mainly started games for the Red Sox last season, into a long relief role.

Their first pick in the 2024 draft, Wetherholt rocketed through the minors, and barring some sort of surprise or injury, he should be in their Opening Day lineup at second base. Another top prospect, Jesus Baez, is also still on the spring roster, but has yet to see a pitch above Double-A, so it's unlikely he'll begin with the Cardinals at third base despite a decent spring for him. Nolan Gorman, who split time between first, second, and third base last season, is expected to make the full-time move to third base with Alec Burleson and Lars Nootbaar splitting time between first base, left field, and DH.

Some of the young pitching they acquired in the trades such as Dobbins and Brandon Clarke will likely have to wait to be seen by Cardinals fans (Dobbins due to injury), but Chaim Bloom and the rest of the Cardinals' front office are hoping for a year or two of pain for long-term gain.

3Bplay · 02-18-2026, 06:52 PM

2026 AL CENTRAL PREVIEW
Tigers overwhelming favorite; did they do enough?

By MLB.com staff
03/21/2026

"Does anyone want to win this division?"

That was the question on the minds of most baseball writers when they looked over the AL Central, long one of the weaker divisions in baseball. True, they did have two teams come out of it for the post season a year ago, but Detroit and Cleveland both fell early on in the postseason. With Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez, and other solid pitchers like Jack Flaherty and now Justin Verlander, back where it all started for him, who is beating the Tigers?

Well, despite adding two future HOF'ers (Verlander, Jensen) and one that could be down the road (Valdez) and being the overwhelming Vegas favorite to win the division, they didn't really add much of any consequence to the lineup. Sure, they have Riley Greene and a couple of B-tier bats in Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter, it's not a lineup with the depth to strike fear into the hearts of pitching coaches and managers on a nightly basis.

The main competitors to the Tigers are Kansas City and Cleveland, although the Guardians are going to be dealing with the fallout of the pitch-fixing scandal pretty much all season long, so the Royals might be the safer bet to do so. They did bring on some additional pitching help to try and compensate, but Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase are very, very good pitchers and it will be tough to replicate what they did a season ago. They also have one of the two best players in the division in Jose Ramirez (the other being the Royals' Bobby Witt, Jr.).

We'll go over the NL and AL West divisions tomorrow to wrap up this series.

1. DETROIT TIGERS

ADDED: LHP Framber Valdez, RHP Justin Verlander, RHP Kenley Jansen, RHP Drew Anderson
LOST: RHP Chris Paddack, RHP Rafael Montero, RHP Jose Urquidy, RHP Alex Lange, RHP Jason Foley, RHP Alex Cobb, RHP Tommy Kahnle, INF Andy Ibanez, OF Justyn-Henry Malloy

The Tigers should be the prohibitive favorites to win the AL Central, but they sit on the shakiest foundation of the predicted winners of each of the six divisions. Bringing in Valdez and Verlander to bolster the rotation, along with all-world lefty Tarik Skubal, they have not only one of the best rotations in the AL, but the entire league when you factor in Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize, who at one time in the not-so-distant past was the team's top starting pitcher. They'll miss Reese Olson, who is out for the season after shoulder surgery, but with Verlander back in the fold there shouldn't be a massive drop-off.

They have several pretty glaring weaknesses, however -- they don't have a lot of depth on the pitching staff, they don't defend well as a team, and they completely ignored improving the lineup in any way. They're banking quite a bit on Colt Keith taking the next step playing some combination of first base, third base, and taking at-bats as the DH when Spencer Torkelson is at first. Addressing center field with the light-hitting, slick-fielding Parker Meadows back as the presumed starter there was also something they didn't do.

What they do have are two elite starting pitchers, three other very good ones, and a fairly deep bullpen with new, but aging closer Kenley Jansen that can get strikeouts to negate the lackluster defense. However, injuries to key players could unravel their season pretty quickly and open the door for Kansas City or Cleveland to make a push for the division crown.

2. KANSAS CITY ROYALS

ADDED: OF Lane Thomas, OF Isaac Collins, RHP Nick Mears, LHP Matt Strahm, RHP Mitch Spence
LOST: LHP Angel Zerpa, OF Mike Yastrzemski, INF Adam Frazier, OF Randal Grichuk, RHP Taylor Clarke, OF MJ Melendez, RHP Hunter Harvey, RHP Michael Lorenzen, OF Dairon Blanco

With the Tigers really not doing a ton outside of losing a massive arbitration case to Skubal and bringing in Jansen and Valdez to strengthen the pitching staff, the Royals had a bit of a missed opportunity. Like Detroit, the Royals are banking on some young players breaking out (Jac Caglianone, Carter Jensen), but the Royals already have a younger, more dynamic infield than the Tigers do; and if even just one of Caglianone or Jensen hit, it will put them as easily the best offense in the division.

That said, while Collins is a fine player and Thomas has had some good years (and is still just heading into his age-30 season), there's going to be a 'what-if' of sorts if they end up in the same spot at the deadline again as they did last year, needing more offense. The long-talked-about trade for Jarren Duran never materialized, and they also flirted with the Cardinals on Brendan Donovan; but their farm system is so depleted at this point that they can't really go out and obtain those types of players on the trade market, and they don't spend a ton in free agency anyway.

They'll be a pitching and defensive-heavy team again in 2026, but with the fences being shortened all around, as well as being moved in down the foul lines ten feet, any homerun gains could end up being negated by more balls going out of the yard against their own guys. Perhaps the Royals and Sox could patch things up later regarding Duran if he ends up getting squeezed with Roman Anthony's emergence, but with Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, and Cole Ragans all getting up in years (or in Ragans' case, elbow issues), it might be best for K.C. to hang on to whatever depth they have in case injuries hit again like they did in '25.

3. CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

ADDED: RHP Frankie Montas, LHP Danny Coulombe, RHP Colin Holderman, RHP Shawn Armstrong
LOST: RHP Emmanuel Clase, RHP Luis Ortiz, OF Will Brennan, RHP Nic Enright, LHP Sam Hentges, OF Jhonkensy Noel

Obviously, the biggest story surrounding Cleveland heading into this year is a negative one -- the ongoing saga of pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase in the gambling/pitch-wasting scandal that is likely going to land them both in federal prison if convicted. On the positive side, they did extend star third baseman and franchise icon Jose Ramirez, but they did next to nothing to try and help him out.

In fact, they're in the toughest spot in the division. They're good enough to be dangerous in a playoff race (they've been in the postseason in back-to-back seasons!), but not bad enough to just sell everything off and start over. They have some nice pieces in the lineup outside of Ramirez with Steven Kwan and Kyle Manzardo with little else to speak of. They are very high on young outfielders like Angel Martinez, Chase DeLauter, and George Valera, but aside from Martinez there's little experience.

They did supplement the bullpen in front of new full-time closer Cade Smith with Coulombe and Armstrong, but overall it's still a thin unit. Despite being virtually a worthless hitter, having catcher Austin Hedges will nonetheless be well worth the $4 million to help bring along some of the younger pitchers in the system, like Daniel Espino, Slade Cecconi, and potentially Peyton Pallette if the Rule 5 pick ends up making the roster (which it appears he very well may).

Now, they're still better than both Minnesota and Chicago, but the gap isn't as wide as it was to end last season. Chicago and GM Chris Getz in particular addressed a multitude of needs; but have the weakest overall pitching depth in the division, which will ultimately hold them back from anything of note. The Guardians are in a pretty precarious position, though. If J-Ram and/or Bibee are out for any length of time over a few weeks, that's probably it for them. They have some solid young players in the minors, including Travis Bazzana and Juan Brito, but they are likely a year or so away from contributing still.

4. MINNESOTA TWINS

ADDED: C/1B Victor Caratini, C Alex Jackson, 1B/DH Josh Bell, RHP Jacob Webb, LHP Andrew Chafin, LHP Anthony Banda, LHP Taylor Rogers, LHP Nestor Cortes
LOST: INF Edouard Julien, C Christian Vazquez, INF Jose Miranda, LHP Genesis Cabrera

It's going to be a tough season in Minnesota. One of the few remaining standouts after last season's firesale, righty Pablo Lopez, is out after undergoing internal brace surgery and will miss the 2026 season. That leaves Joe Ryan as the unquestioned ace of the pitching staff, with a smattering of young-ish pitchers behind him. Bailey Ober, coming off an injury of his own that sapped him of a portion of 2025, is the likely number-two option now. They also banked the injured Cortes as depth for 2027; he was signed to a heavily back-loaded two-year deal in which he will rehab with the Twins in anticipation of joining the rotation for next year.

Taj Bradley and Simeon Woods-Richardson are expected to occupy two of the three remaining spots, with Zebby Matthews, David Festa, and Matt Canterino vying for the fifth spot. If things get really bad, top prospect Connor Prielipp could get another look, but he was rocked for a 32.60 ERA in just a handful of innings in 2025. Justin Topa, who served as one of the two closing options after they dealt Jhoan Duran away to the Phillies last year, is likely to get the first crack at saving games.

They do have the makings of a decent bullpen that should keep them in most games. Andrew Chafin was brought in on a minor-league pact, but is the most proven lefty option remaining as the league heads into the final cuts stage of the spring. Cole Sands, who saved ten games for the Twins last season, form a solid nucleus of late-inning guys along with Topa and signee Jacob Webb. Prielipp could also figure into the bullpen mix, but really needs starts more than anything. Anthony Banda, who had a 3.00 ERA in fifty-seven frames with the Dodgers a season ago, was a good get off the waiver wire.

The lineup should be okay with the additions of Bell and Caratini, along with returnees Byron Buxton, Kody Clemens, and Royce Lewis. Catcher Ryan Jeffers, who was the subject of trade talks most of the offseason, is back to take most of the reps behind the plate, but could also see some DH work when Bell is at first base or off for the day. With Luke Keaschall emerging as an option in the infield, they traded away the lefty-swinging Julien to Colorado as part of a package for pitching prospect Jace Kaminska.

5. CHICAGO WHITE SOX

ADDED: OF Austin Hays, OF Everson Pereira, 3B Munetaka Murakami, RHP Jordan Hicks, RHP Erick Fedde, LHP Anthony Kay, LHP Chris Murphy, LHP Sean Newcomb, RHP Seranthony Dominguez, INF Luisangel Acuna
LOST: OF Luis Robert Jr., RHP Miguel Castro, LHP Tyler Alexander, OF Michael A. Taylor, OF Mike Tauchman, LHP Cam Booser, RHP Steven Wilson

For the first time in a long time on the South Side, there's optimism. Guarded, sure, but optimism. They're out from under Luis Robert Jr's dud contract. They have some nice options in the rotation, most of them with multiple years of team control, along with some competent veteran bullpen arms. They signed the best Japanese free agent on the market, Munetaka Murakami, for Pete's sake!

Kyle Teel is a solid young backstop who will get to grow along with the young pitching staff, and they've also added some more youth in the position player mix, as well. Hays gives them a veteran presence in the lineup that is dominated by guys that are still in their pre-arb years. Colson Montgomery struggled in his first taste of MLB action, but should take the next step as the full-time shortstop going forward, giving the opportunity to move Chase Meidroth off short and back to second or over to third. Meidroth is also athletic enough to play center field, especially in Guaranteed Rate's dimensions.

Are they better than Minnesota? No. Despite losing righty Pablo Lopez for the season, the Twins still have some star power with Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton, and went out and obtained more established veteran depth in the lineup that will carry the day for them. But the South Side Sox will be a much improved outfit, enough to not be the automatic out that they've been for much of the last two or three seasons.

3Bplay · 02-20-2026, 03:58 PM

2026 NL WEST PREVIEW
Dodgers look to three-peat for first time in team history

By MLB.com staff
03/22/2026

Winners of the last two World Series, what can the Dodgers do for an encore? Win a third straight, of course. They didn't do anything in the offseason to make you think they weren't the heavy favorites to win it again, signing arguably two of the top four or five free agents on the market in Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz, and that's really about all they did.

No team has won three straight since the Yankees did it from 1998 to 2000. The only other team to do it were the A's from 1972 through 1974, with the Yankees also doing it twice more back in the 1930's, 40's, and 50's. They're also the only team to go four and five-in-a-row back thaen.

Of course, they brought back World Series heroes Kike Hernandez and Miguel Rojas, as they played big roles in winning the 2024 and 2025 Fall Classics, respectively. The only difference between this season and last at the start of the year was that they'll be a bit worse for wear heading into 2026, with five of their projected 13-man staff on the IL to begin the season, including last year's closer down the stretch, Brock Stewart. The guy who would have likely replaced him, Brusdar Graterol, is also down.

Does this leave the door open a crack for San Diego, or maybe even San Francisco, to take the division? Perhaps, but the depth that the Dodgers have built up over the years due to being able to really develop their pitching has paid off, as they go into the year still solidly deep in starting pitching. The bullpen will remain a sore spot in the early going, but they should have enough starting pitching that can go six-plus innings to negate the lack of depth.

The AL West will wrap up our six-part series of division-by-division previews later today.

1. LOS ANGELES DODGERS

ADDED: OF Kyle Tucker, RHP Edwin Diaz
LOST: LHP Anthony Banda, OF Esteury Ruiz, LHP Andrew Heaney, LHP Clayton Kershaw, RHP Kirby Yates, OF Michael Conforto

The Dodgers weren't terribly busy overall this offseason, but the few moves they did make could prove to be among the most impactful of any team in the league. They struck first with the signing of Diaz at the last minute over the originally-favored Mets, who ended up signing Devin Williams away from the Yankees. Their highest impact signing was Tucker, of course, as he'll slot into right field.

THey also extended Max Muncy on a reasonably-priced one-year pact; and even though he's going to miss the first 40-50% of the season, Evan Phillips was brought back to give them a boost in the bullpen later on in the season. They're also re-uniting with World Series heroes Kike Hernandez and Miguel Rojas, with the latter signing for $5 million in what he says is his final season before hanging up the cleats.

Now, they're going to head into the season a bit banged up, as five guys that were projected to be in the pitching staff (Blake Snell, Phillips, Jack Dreyer, Brusdar Graterol, Brock Stewart) are all out for at least the first month of the season, and Hernandez and Tommy Edman are going to miss the first few weeks. But if there's a team that can weather the injury bug, it's the Dodgers.

With Snell out, righty Gavin Stone is slated to serve as the team's number-five starter, while the top four of Tylor Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, and Roki Sasaki all set. River Ryan, who had a 3.49 ERA in 14 1/3 innings with the Dodgers in a relief role last year, is thought to be headed to Triple-A to stretch out as a starter.

2. SAN DIEGO PADRES

ADDED: OF/DH Miguel Andujar, OF/DH Nick Castellanos, RHP Griffin Canning, RHP German Marquez, OF/3B Sung-mun Song
LOST: RHP Dylan Cease, RHP Robert Suarez, 1B Ryan O'Hearn, INF Tyler Wade, INF Luis Arraez, LHP Nestor Cortes, C Elias Diaz

As has been the case for the 2020's, the Padres have been the main competitor to the Dodgers for NL West supremacy, although they haven't won the division since 2006. They figure to again be the Dodgers' main adversary in 2026, but aside from bringing back Michael King on a three-year deal, didn't appear to get much better on paper, although they do have some more depth on the pitching staff, especially in the rotation.

They brought in veterans German Marquez and Griffin Canning on short-term deals, perhaps as bridges until Jhony Brito and Yu Darvish return from injury. Darvish, however, has contemplated retirement as he is entering his age-40 season and facing another long recovery from elbow surgery.

This is still a capable rotation even without those two, but another spate of injuries could put them back behind the eight-ball as they don't have Dylan Cease this season, having signed with the Blue Jays over the winter.The bullpen also returns mostly intact, only losing Suarez to the Braves on a three-year deal worth $15 million per year, which would have been much more than the arbitration deal that incumbent closer Mason Miller received (about $4.7 million).

They signed Korean import Sung-mun Song to a three-year deal, presumably to play a utility role with his main position, third base, already filled with Manny Machado. He could also play first base, but they already have fellow lefty hitter Jake Cronenworth slated to take the lion's share of at-bats there already. That leaves the outfield, where his plus-arm could play in right, but he's spent the bulk of his pro outfield reps in left.

Also, Andujar was signed to split DH and outfield reps, further limiting where Song could end up playing. There's a chance he could also end up in the minors, as he will come in with a fresh set of options if they want to give him regular playing time without the pressure of producing for the Padres right off the bat.

3. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

ADDED: INF Luis Arraez, OF Harrison Bader, RHP Adrian Houser, RHP Tyler Mahle, LHP Sam Hentges, RHP Gregory Santos
LOST: 1B/OF Dominic Smith, INF Wilmer Flores, RHP Justin Verlander, RHP Mason Black, C Tom Murphy, C Andrew Knizner

Tony Vitello is set to become the first manager in MLB history to manage a game without any previous MLB coaching experience when the Giants and Yankees square off in a couple of days. It was not the most surprising hire, as team president Buster Posey does like to go in unorthodox directions, but other college head coaches like Pat Murphy (who previously coached in pro baseball before college) have come from the college ranks and have proven successful in the big leagues.

Former players under Vitello, like veteran pitcher Max Scherzer, also have praised him in the past. Vitello was Scherzer's pitching coach at the University of Missouri in the mid 2000's, and worked with other MLB pitchers like Kyle Gibson, Tanner Houck, and Aaron Crow.

Posey, GM Zack Minasian, and the rest of the front office made a few splashy-ish signings, getting free agent pitchers Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle for $32 million total, with Houser also signing on for a second year in 2027. Additionally, they bought low on Hentges and Santos, both of whom either struggled with consistency (Santos) or missed the entire season (Hentges). In Santos' case, it was a bit of both, making just seven appearances due to injury. The Giants' outfield defense also received a boost with Bader in the fold, as he'll displace Jung-hoo Lee, who should still get plenty of run mainly due to his high price tag.

They're at less than 100% strength in the bullpen, as projected closer Randy Rodriguez and righty reliever Jason Foley, another buy-low candidate, will start the season on the IL. Ryan Walker, who has closed games in the past, should get the bulk of the save opportunities early on, with Hentges and righty Jose Butto in front of him. Hentges hasn't reported any setbacks from his elbow surgery prior to last season, so it's assumed he's a full-go.

4. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

ADDED: 3B Nolan Arenado, RHP Merrill Kelly, RHP Mike Soroka, 1B/DH Carlos Santana, RHP Paul Sewald, RHP Taylor Clarke, RHP Kade Strowd
LOST: INF Blaze Alexander, LHP Jalen Beeks, RHP Elvin Rodriguez

Arizona made future HOF third baseman Nolan Arenado their big, marquee acquisition, nabbing him from the Cardinals for pitcher Jack Martinez, who was a 2025 draftee. They're also only on the hook for about $10 million of the remaining $31 million he's owed through 2027, so he's playing on a relatively cheap, bargain-type of deal, even with the diminished production in recent years.

They also brought back Zac Gallen on a one-year, deferral-heavy pact along with Merrill Kelly and Mike Soroka to help fill out the rotation. He signed for what would have been the $22.025 million qualifying offer, so it kind of left people wondering why he didn't just take it in the first place.

With roughly a third of their Opening Day roster on the injured list to begin the season, including Corbin Carroll, Corbin Burnes, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and projected closer A.J. Puk, Arizona is in one of the toughest positions of any team in the league going into the 2026 campaign.

Their early-season schedule is also tough, with seventeen games against 2025 playoff teams through the end of April, so for a team that was already a rung or two behind the main contenders in the West with the Dodgers and Padres, they're also likely going to be behind the eight-ball when it comes to the Giants, as well.

5. COLORADO ROCKIES

ADDED: INF Edouard Julien, RHP Pierson Ohl, RHP Michael Lorenzen, RHP Tomoyuki Sugano, LHP Jose Quintana, LHP Brennan Bernardino, LHP Erik Sabrowski, OF Jake McCarthy
LOST: INF Orlando Arcia, INF Thairo Estrada, RHP German Marquez, LHP Ryan Rolison, 1B Michael Toglia

Following a franchise-low 119 losses in 2025, the Rockies' offseason was defined by a massive front-office and dugout overhaul, hiring former Cleveland executive Paul DePodesta as baseball ops chief and Josh Byrnes to run the day-to-day as GM. They also made interim manager Warren Schaeffer the full-time manager.

While they didn't do a total roster teardown, they did raise the floor of the 2026 squad with the signing of multiple veteran starting pitchers to one-year deals, and supplemented the lineup with veteran position players Jake McCarthy, Edouard Julien, and Willi Castro. They also jettisoned former first-round pick Michael Toglia, and let players like German Marquez, Thairo Estrada, and Orlando Arcia walk.

Given that eighty-one games a year are played in Coors Field, the lineup will always have some decent firepower, and this iteration of the Rox isn't any different. Catcher Hunter Goodman was one of the breakout players of the NL last season, and they have other standouts like Jordan Beck and Mickey Moniak. It's why the front office heavily pursued veteran pitching, as they have a good enough lineup to do some damage if they can get consistency from the staff.

Another key player is center fielder Brenton Doyle, a two-time Gold Glove winner who also appeared to be making strides at the plate before a personal tragedy struck during the 2025 season and slumped to a 61 OPS+, although he still managed to eke out being a positive WAR player (0.2 WAR), thanks to his still-strong defense, although he fell short of winning his third Gold Glove. A bounce-back year from him would also go a long way toward getting Colorado back to respectability.

3Bplay · 02-20-2026, 05:52 PM

2026 AL WEST PREVIEW
M's emerge as early favorites; will anyone challenge them?

By MLB.com staff
03/22/2026

Falling just short of making their first World Series in franchise history, Seattle looks like a team that is once again a contender for the Fall Classic after dropping Game 7 of the ALCS. The other contenders in the division appear to be the Rangers and Astros, both looking to return to the postseason after missing out last season; and in the case of the Rangers, since 2023 when they won the World Series over the Diamondbacks.

Seattle will head into the season without star outfielder Julio Rodriguez, who will miss the first few weeks with a cracked rib, suffered after being struck by a thrown ball from the outfield back on February 26th. The other two also head into the second with some injury issues, with the Rangers down lefties Cody Bradford and Jordan Montgomery, while starters Ronel Blanco and Brandon Walter will begin the year on the IL for the Astros.

In the next tier of teams, the Angels and Athletics appear to be fighting it out to stay out of the basement, but both franchises have some optimism heading into the year. Los Angeles got out from under the horrendous Anthony Rendon contract, and have a new manager in Kurt Suzuki. The A's signed young slugger Tyler Soderstrom and All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson to extensions that will keep them there at least through 2030.

1. SEATTLE MARINERS

ADDED: LHP Jose A. Ferrer, INF Brendan Donovan, LHP Josh Simpson, RHP Yosver Zulueta, OF Rob Refsnyder, RHP Cooper Criswell
LOST: 3B Eugenio Suarez, 2B Jorge Polanco, LHP Caleb Ferguson, INF Ben Williamson, RHP Gregory Santos, RHP Trent Thornton

Seattle will be without all-world center fielder Julio Rodriguez to begin the season, who suffered a cracked rib on February 26th on a thrown ball from the outfield. He's only expected to miss the first few weeks of the 2026 season, with Victor Robles being penciled in for center in his absence, and Randy Arozarena likely getting more reps in the outfield. The big-ticket move was getting Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals, with the versatile defender also potentially getting some at-bats in the outfield for the first several weeks' worth of games due to J-Rod's absence.

Jerry Dipoto and the Mariners' front office tried to put on the full-court press to re-sign Polanco, but when he spurned them for the Mets' $20 million AAV offer, their attention turned to the trade market for second base. They kicked the tires on Ketel Marte of the Diamondbacks, but when that fell through, they pivoted to Donovan, finally getting something done in a three-team swap that included the Rays. That deal saw Ben Williamson, a light-hitting but versatile defender, head down to Florida.

Despite some late-season struggles, the Mariners re-signed trade acquisition Josh Naylor to a five-year deal to man first base, and they also still have Cal Raleigh behind the dish for another season. That said, the offense is likely to take a step back with the losses of Suarez and Polanco, and they didn't do much to address the lineup outside of adding lefty-killer Rob Refsnyder to the outfield cohort.

This will still be a pitching-heavy team, as they return all five starting pitchers and closer Andres Munoz on the back end, with trade acquisition Jose A. Ferrer, a former closer, giving them high-leverage innings in front of Munoz and fellow set-up arm Matt Brash. They also added Simpson and Zulueta via cash deals, and veterans in Criswell and Dane Dunning were brought in as depth.

2. TEXAS RANGERS

ADDED: OF Brandon Nimmo, C Danny Jansen, LHP MacKenzie Gore, RHP Jakob Junis, LHP Jordan Montgomery, RHP Alexis Diaz
LOST: OF Adolis Garcia, C Jonah Heim, RHP Jacob Webb, LHP Hoby Milner, 2B Marcus Semien, LHP Danny Coulombe, RHP Merrill Kelly, RHP Tyler Mahle, RHP Jon Gray

With the blockbuster addition of Gore to the rotation, Texas goes into the 2026 season as perhaps the one team in the division that on paper can go pitch-for-pitch with Seattle (perhaps Houston later in the season if Tatsuya Imai works out), but this is a team that will have to figure out where they're going to get their offense from in order to get back to the postseason.

Sure, they have Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford, and newcomer Brandon Nimmo, who hit twenty-nine, twenty-six, and thirty homeruns, respectively, but the rest of the lineup is another matter. Jake Burger and Joc Pederson will be back to split reps at DH and first base; and while they combined for thirty homeruns a season ago, they did so with an OPS+ of 87.

The only major free agent position player acquisition, Jansen, is a nice offensive upgrade behind the plate from Heim, who has since signed with Atlanta to serve as Drake Baldwin's backup while Sean Murphy goes on the IL to begin the season.

Their bullpen is iffy, however. The additions of Diaz away from the Dodgers and Junis, who has pitched well for multiple teams in his career, will help but they don't have a true stopper at the end of games. For now, that role will probably fall to the 39-year-old Chris Martin, but look for the Rangers to be closer-hunting at the deadline if they are in the race.

3. HOUSTON ASTROS

ADDED: RHP Mike Burrows, RHP Tatsuya Imai, OF Joey Loperfido, RHP Ryan Weiss
LOST: RHP Shawn Dubin, RHP Craig Kimbrel, INF Brendan Rodgers, LHP Framber Valdez, C/1B Victor Caratini, OF Chas McCormick, RHP Luis Garcia

It's Tatsu-mani-ya in Houston, as the top Japanese pitcher from this past class pitched extremely well in the spring, but now the real test begins. Thankfully, he's not going to be asked to shoulder the entire load initially, with Hunter Brown back after a third-place Cy Young finish, and other returnees such as Cristian Javier and Spencer Arrighetti along with the newcomer in Burrows. Lefty Brandon Walter, who will begin the 2026 season on the 60-day injured list, is slated to return in June.

Others, such as Lance McCullers, Jr., are slated to pitch out of the bullpen, but is carrying a massive price tag and the Astros are banking him getting some kind of trade value back out of the pen, or in the rotation in case of injury. The depth in front of closer Josh Hader is solid, with returnees Bryan Abreu, Bryan King, Steven Okert, and Bennett Sousa all giving quality, high-leverage innings in 2025. Others who could contribute are Ronel Blanco (also on the 60-day IL) and Rule 5 pick Roddery Munoz, who has pitched for the Reds and Cardinals in recent seasons.

There's questions throughout the lineup, however. The Astros have injury question marks with both Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes, and they inexplicably traded away one of their top lefty outfield options in Jesus Sanchez for a worse offensive player in Joey Loperfido. It was a salary dump for sure, but that leaves Pedro Leon and perhaps Michael Conforto, if he ends up on the roster, to split reps in right field.

Houston still has some good talent in their lineup, but it's aging and getting expensive. GM Dana Brown tried to shop players like McCullers, Javier, and first baseman Christian Walker to anyone who would listen, but couldn't find any takers. They could find themselves in the wildcard race, but they don't have the offense to keep up with the other two teams above them despite lineup questions of their own.

4. LOS ANGELES ANGELS

ADDED: 1B/DH Rhys Hoskins, RHP Lucas Giolito, OF/DH Jesse Winker, SS Vaughn Grissom, RHP Grayson Rodriguez, INF Yoan Moncada, RHP Jordan Romano, LHP Drew Pomeranz, RHP Alek Manoah
LOST: OF Taylor Ward, LHP Andrew Chafin, INF Luis Rengifo, RHP Jose Urena, RHP Luis A. Garcia, LHP Tyler Anderson, RHP Kyle Hendricks

The biggest news of the offseason for the Halos was being able to re-structure Anthony Rendon's final year of his mega $240 million deal that he signed prior to the 2020 season back in December. Instead, he'll get the $38 million he was owed this year in deferred payments of nearly $10 million over the next four seasons. While he hasn't said anything about retirement, all indications are that he plans to remain in the organization, even under a minor league deal unless a team comes to him with a major league offer.

With the additions of Giolito, Rodriguez, and Manoah, the Angels' rotation has the look of a viable rotation that could help carry a team through the season. It's unlikely that Giolito, who was signed about a week into the spring, will be ready for Opening Day, but if he's slotted in the fourth or fifth spot, manager Kurt Suzuki noted that he 'would be ready for a full workload' at the time his turn came. The biggest problem could potentially be the health of Rodriguez and how Reid Detmers assimilates back into the rotation after serving as a reliever and part-time closer last season.

Speaking of Suzuki, talk about a pressure cooker of a first season. Basically came out of nowhere, got the skipper's role, but it was just for a one-year deal. The team that Perry Minasian (who also could be on the hot seat) and his staff have put around him isn't bad, but it's a rung below the Mariners/Rangers/Astros triumvirate.

They do have some solid young players to build around, with shortstop Zach Neto and first baseman Nolan Schanuel being the headliners. He's on the injured list with an ankle sprain, so he won't start Opening Day, but he's not expected to miss more than a few weeks. Still, the strength of the offense will be in the outfield, with Jorge Soler, Mike Trout, and Jo Adell all with 30-plus homerun ability, which they'll need with Taylor Ward and his 46 homeruns now gone to Baltimore. Veterans Jesse Winker and Rhys Hoskins were also brought in on team-friendly deals, as they will likely rotate at first base and DH with Schanuel, dependent on matchups.

5. ATHLETICS

ADDED: RHP Mark Leiter, RHP Scott Barlow, RHP Aaron Civale, INF Jeff McNeil, RHP Jon Gray
LOST: LHP Sean Newcomb, 3B Gio Urshela, OF JJ Bleday, RHP Jose Leclerc, INF Max Schuemann, RHP Mitch Spence, INF Andy Ibanez, RHP Scott McGough

It was a tough pick between the Angels and the Athletics for the cellar, but the pitching is likely to be better down south for the Angels than it is up north in Sacramento for the A's. This isn't to say that their rotation isn't good, it's actually pretty solid. Jeffrey Springs and Luis Severino are above-average starters that were clearly hurt by the very hitter-friendly environment in Sac-Town.

Veterans Aaron Civale and Jon Gray were brought in, and both appear to be locks to make the team somewhere in the final three spots in the rotation. That leaves youngsters like Brady Basso, JT Ginn, and Jacob Lopez to battle for the fifth spot, with Lopez likely coming out on top due to his experience from last season.

Gray was an interesting case since he pitched out of the bullpen after coming off the injured list for the Rangers last season, and despite a 1.61 ERA in twenty-one innings, only received minor league offers. His current deal with the A's will pay him $3 million if he makes the roster, which as noted above seems almost assured as he's pitched well this spring.

But the biggest developments were the extensions handed out to Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson. Those are in addition to the one that Brent Rooker received last year, giving the lineup three solid cornerstones going forward. The last cornerstone would figure to be Nick Kurtz, but there haven't been any indications that the A's front office and Kurtz's camp have begun any discussions.

3Bplay · 02-24-2026, 12:40 PM

Team Roster/Records | Statistics | Standings

2026 SEASON PREVIEW
Royals look to return to postseason after one-year absence

By 3BPlay
03/24/2026

2025 Record: 82-80 (3rd, AL Central)
Manager: Matt Quatraro (4th season, 224-262 career win-loss)
ZIPS/Steamer projection: 91-71 (1st, AL Central)

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

ROTATION: L Cole Ragans, L Kris Bubic, R Seth Lugo, R Michael Wacha, L Noah Cameron
BULLPEN: R Stephen Kolek, L Bailey Falter, R Nick Mears, R Alex Lange, R John Schreiber, R Lucas Erceg, L Matt Strahm, R Carlos Estevez (CL)
CATCHERS: R Salvador Perez, L Carter Jensen
INFIELDERS: L Vinnie Pasquantino, R Jonathan India, R Bobby Witt, Jr., R Maikel Garcia, L Josh Rojas
OUTFIELDERS: S Isaac Collins, L Kyle Isbel, L Jac Cagilanone, R Lane Thomas, S Drew Waters
UTILITY: R Nick Loftin

There were a couple of final roster surprises, with the first being Ryan Bergert optioned to Omaha. He pitched pretty well in the spring, but he has multiple options remaining and both JJ Picollo and Matt Quatraro expressed a desire to keep him stretched out. He also could end up as a trade chip if the Royals find a match early in the season for a bat, especially if the offense continues to struggle.

Quatraro mentioned that with the first off-day being between the first and second games of the Minnesota series (March 31st), they will skip Noah Cameron in the rotation, meaning they can use him out of the bullpen 'a couple of times' if needed.

The other was optioning Massey to Omaha, but again, the Royals' brass has consistently noted that they still believe that Massey can be a starter at second base and want to get him consistent PA's, especially with India and Rojas both reaching free agency after this season. Rojas also offers a bit more youth and defensive ability over last year's super-sub in Adam Frazier, and will likely form a platoon at second base with the aforementioned India.

Rojas has also logged over 2,700 career innings at third base, and just over 300 at shortstop, although he hasn't played short in an MLB game since 2021. If Bobby Witt goes down for any reason, or just needs a break, Maikel Garcia is the likely sub with Rojas manning third (or even Loftin).

Speaking of Loftin, he really credits working with infield coach Jose Alguacil and Rusty Kuntz, who is officially retired but still works with the players during the spring, on improving his defense, as it's likely that his versatility is going to keep him on the roster throughout the season. It didn't hurt that he had a great spring at the plate, OPS'ing .945 in 41 PA.

The out-of-options Drew Waters also gets the nod over John Rave, Tyler Tolbert, and Kameron Misner for what was probably the 26th spot. It's difficult to imagine him being more than a defensive sub and pinch-runner; although he does hit righties pretty well, so on a day where Caglianone DH's or plays at first base, Waters is a more-than-capable fill-in in any of the three OF spots.

Additionally, a few days ago the Royals also traded away Dairon Blanco to the Yankees, as he was unlikely to make the roster with a younger version of him already in the organization with Tolbert.

BREAKOUT CANDIDATE

I know some will say Jensen because he's continuing to post insane exit velo's and drawing walks, but Caglianone also hit the ball well in the spring, leading all Royals' hitters with three homeruns (two vs. LHP!) and tied with Salvador Perez with five doubles. If he can carry the spring success forward into the season, it would go a long way towards validating Picollo's decision to not try harder to land the 'big bat' many fans were hoping for.

COMEBACK KID

Going into a free agent year, Jonathan India came in sporting a new look and a different outlook, watching gobs of tape of his AB's from last season. New assistant hitting coach Connor Dawson believes they've 'found some things' that were causing his problems, and the Royals are hoping that turns into increased production. Quatraro also said that he'll be hitting 'near the bottom' of the order most nights, so there won't be as much pressure on him to be the main on-base guy.

OTHER THINGS TO WATCH FOR

The stadium saga is now reaching into its third year, with principal owner John Sherman still 'extremely' optimistic that a new facility will be built downtown by the time the team's lease is up in 2031.

However, I think he's backed himself into a bit of a corner with the state of Kansas turning him down late last year, so the state of Missouri (namely Jackson County, Mo.,) have some leverage if they want to break ground in the near future. And no, he's not moving the team to Nashville (or really anywhere else). Nashville is likely to get a team, but it will be an expansion franchise down the road, not a relocated one.

Rob Manfred has been on record that he wants all current teams that are dealing with stadium issues to get those resolved before expansion can happen, and the Royals fall squarely into that category. With the A's move to Las Vegas in transition, and the Rays getting the Trop fixed back up, the Royals are the only other team that currently has a pending stadium question.

Also, another thing is how progress is made on approving a new CBA. There will 100% be a lockout after December 1st, but will any games be missed? Despite a 99-day lockout in 2022, they managed to get all 162 games in per team that season, moving to double-headers and some strange scheduling quirks for the first handful of weeks to catch up.

Among the most pressing issues will undoubtedly be a salary cap, which the owners and players remain far apart on. Arbitration years and minimum salaries are also on the table, along with adjustments to the draft, even possibly an international draft to do away with the international signing period.

John Schreiber, who is the Royals' player rep to the MLBPA, has been tight-lipped since the union appointed Bruce Meyer as the interim president of the MLBPA after Tony Clark's ouster, only saying that 'he's hit the ground running' early on in the spring.

3Bplay · 02-28-2026, 11:37 PM

Team Roster/Records | Statistics | Standings

SERIES RECAP: BRAVES
Royals begin season in 0-2 hole; finale rained out

By 3BPlay
03/30/2026

03/27 -- Braves' six bombs sink the Royals in opener: It wasn't the season opener that Matt Quatraro and the Royals envisioned. At all.

Led by reigning NL Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin, the Braves pounded out a half-dozen homeruns against Royals pitching, doubling up the visitors by an 8-4 score. In fact, eight of the ten Braves hits went for extra bases. With a pretty stiff breeze gusting out to center and left-center for most of the game, even seemingly routine fly balls were leaving the yard. Except, the Royals could only muster to get one out of the stadium.

Even though the Royals put up a tally in the first, the lead didn't last long. Jurickson Profar set the tone early for Atlanta's onslaught with a solo homerun on Cole Ragans' very first pitch of the 2026 season. Kansas City would re-gain the lead in the third on a Bobby Witt sac fly, while Ragans would go on to settle in and not allow any more runs over the next nine outs after Profar's homer. Matt Olson had other ideas in the fourth, hitting a solo shot to lead off the fourth. Baldwin then would later hit a three-run shot that widened the gap.

Ragans finished the fourth inning, but was replaced by Noah Cameron to begin the fifth. Working in relief for the first time as a big leaguer, it didn't go well for him either as he was tagged for a pair of solo homeruns in his two innings of work, one each by Olson and Baldwin. With an off day between the first and second games of next week's home series with the Twins, Cameron has been made available in the short-term as a third lefty out of the bullpen, with his initial start pushed back until April 5th against the Brewers.

"At the time, it was a two-run game," said manager Matt Quatraro of his decision to put Cameron in. "The idea was to try and keep it close, and see if we could get (Spencer) Strider out of the game and into their bullpen, but it didn't work out quite that way."

Carter Jensen cut the lead to two in that half-inning, hitting a solo shot off Strider for the Royals' first homerun of 2026. Serving as the DH, he went 1-for-3 with the homerun and a walk. Jac Caglianone also had a hard-hit double, going 1-for-3 before being lifted for pinch-hitter Nick Loftin in the eighth.

The Royals were also beset by baserunning mistakes. Maikel Garcia got a poor jump on a stolen base attempt in the first and was thrown out by Baldwin at second, while Isaac Collins tried to stretch a single into a double in the third. With lead runner Kyle Isbel going to third, right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr attempted to get him at third, but Olson, a multiple-time Gold Glove winner, cut the throw off and nailed Collins at second on a close play that was reviewed and ultimately overturned by the replay umpire.

"I think in the end, I probably wouldn't have tried for second," Quatraro said of Collins' decision to try for two on the play. "We tell our guys to take the extra base when you can, but these guys play team defense as good as anybody in the league. Olson, Gold Glove. Acuna has a laser for an arm. THey just picked up (Mauricio) Dubon over the offseason who can really go get the ball no matter where they put him. Without that play, it's first and third, no outs, and who knows how the rest of that inning goes."

Atlanta's six homeruns are the most they've hit since August 12, 2023, when they also hit six homeruns against the Mets. They've also hit seven once, back on May 21st, 2021 at Truist Park, and the team record of eight on May 28th, 2006 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

"I don't know what the odds are exactly, but I'd say the team that hits six homeruns in the game is going to win 99% of the time, Especially when you hit just one, and the other scoring opportunities, you really had to scratch them out," Quatraro went on to say.

Code:

KC at ATL | 3/27/2026 | Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TEAM               1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  R  H  E
Kansas City (0-1)  1  0  1  0  1  0  1  0  0  4  8  1
Atlanta (1-0)      1  0  0  4  1  1  0  1  X  8  10 0

W: Spencer Strider (1-0) L: Cole Ragans (0-1) S: None

Code:

KC HR: Carter Jensen (1)
ATL HR: Jurickson Profar (1), Drake Baldwin 2 (2), Matt Olson 2 (2),
Austin Riley (1)

Code:

March 25th, 2026
NYY 8,  SF  3 |

March 26th, 2026
MIN 2,  BAL 3 | COL 9, MIA 7 | TEX 6, PHI 4 | ATH 5, TOR 10
PIT 5,  NYM 3 | TB  4, STL 2 | LAA 6, HOU 4 | CHW 2, MIL 13
CLE 0,  SEA 7 | BOS 4, CIN 6 | DET 0, SD  3 | WSH 6, CHC 7 (10)
ARI 11, LAD 6

March 27th, 2026
LAA 3,  HOU 2 | DET 9, SD  2 | CLE 2, SEA 4 | ARI 2, LAD 10 
KC  4,  ATL 8 | NYY 1, SF  4 |

03/28 -- Braves edge K.C. in walk-off defeat: Kansas City finds themselves in an early 0-2 hole, dropping a 5-4 walk-off decision to the Braves. Austin Riley's two-out single in the ninth against Lucas Erceg poked through the Gold Glove-winning left side of the Royals' infield and scored former Royal Mike Yastrzemski from second base, as Isaac Collins' throw would have likely got him at the plate had it not been off to the first base side of home.

"It was a good throw, but we needed a great one on that play," manager Matt Quatraro mused after the game. "If Carter (Jensen) didn't have to cross his body to bring it in and back across to make the tag, that's an out most certainly. But as it is, we just didn't execute in certain spots, both on defense and at the plate."

It's only two games, but the offense has seemingly picked up where it left off in 2025, leaving gobs of runners on base in key spots and being forced to eke out runs one at a time seemingly. Through the first two games, they've left eighteen men on base, with eleven of them coming on Saturday.

Jensen homered for the second straight game, a two-run homerun in the seventh off Chris Sale with no one out that chased the veteran lefty from the game; and even when they brought in Aaron Bummer in his place, the Royals continued to put the pressure on with no one out by loading the bases with two singles sandwiched around a hit batter.

But a line drive out by Maikel Garcia, followed by another hit batter as Bummer forced in a run by hitting Vinnie Pasquantino, who would later tie the game again in the late innings. With the bases loaded and still just one out, both Salvador Perez and Lane Thomas flew out to left, ending the inning with just three runs, but the potential for a lot more.

Pasquantino's two-out double put him in position to score before Perez was intentionally walked to bring up Thomas, who struck out against Raisel Iglesias to strand pinch-runner Drew Waters at second.

"Looking back, that's where we lost it," Thomas, who left three runners in scoring position, lamented after the game. "Just didn't get a good swing on the fly out, and missed a real golden chance to break the game open."

Kris Bubic got the ball against Sale for the Royals, and it wasn't a pretty outing. Yes, he only allowed three earned runs in five innings, but was tagged for eight hits and two walks while striking out five. Quatraro called his performance 'gutsy', but said there were certainly some positive things to take away as well.

"He threw strikes pretty consistently," he said. "After each inning, he noted one or two pitches that were hit hard where he didn't get quite the movement on it he wanted, which led to him getting hit pretty hard at times, but he did enough to keep us in it. We just didn't come through in late-game situations offensively."

Code:

KC at ATL | 3/28/2026 | Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TEAM               1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  R  H  E
Kansas City (0-2)  0  0  0  0  0  0  3  0  1  4  10 1
Atlanta (2-0)      0  0  2  1  0  0  0  1  1  5  14 0

W: Raisel Iglesias (1-0) L: Lucas Erceg (0-1) S: None

Code:

KC HR: Carter Jensen (2)
ATL HR: None

Code:

March 28th, 2026
MIN 3,  BAL 0 | LAA 1,  HOU 4 | ATH 7,  TOR 3 | WSH 7,  CHC 6 (11)
KC  4,  ATL 5 | COL 6,  MIA 9 | TEX 3,  PHI 6 | PIT 4,  NYM 12
CLE 3,  SEA 4 | CHW 5,  MIL 9 | TB  6,  STL 7 | BOS 8,  CIN 11
ARI 2,  LAD 1 | DET 9,  SD  1 | NYY 6,  SF  3 |

03/29 -- Royals rained out; game to be made up April 27th: The afternoon contest between the Braves and Royals to cap off the series was postponed to April 27th due to the weather, as heavy rains moved into the region yesterday morning and lasted throughout the afternoon. Instead, the Royals boarded an earlier charter flight out of Atlanta back to Kansas City as they'll play their home opener today with the Twins coming in for three games over the next four days.

"We were told there was pretty much no way that the game was going to be played," manager Matt Quatraro noted in his morning press conference over Zoom from Kauffman Stadium. "They had the tarps out and on the field just prior to the rain starting, but it was supposed to rain all day, so the league called both sides and said that they were going to start looking for dates on the calendar to come back and get this game made up. So from there, we were able to get out before the heavy stuff really hit, so we appreciate that."

Instead, the Royals remain at 0-2 on the season, and will look to right the ship at home after facing a Braves team that while they are still missing a few key members of their pitching staff, they have players like Ronald Acuna Jr and Jurickson Profar back in the lineup after missing at least half the season for various reasons, and added players such as Mauricio Dubon over the offseason.

"That's a team that played last season at probably sixty to seventy-five strength at any given time," he said when asked about playing the Braves. "They still have a few guys out at this point, mainly a few pitchers and (catcher Sean) Murphy, but their lineup is back and nearly fully healthy, and they're going to be a real problem for anyone they're going to face this year."

Seth Lugo, who was scheduled to start yesterday afternoon, will get the ball for tonight's home opener against righty Zebby Matthews of Minnesota. It would have been Michael Wacha tonight had yesterday's game been played, but due to the schedule change, the starter for Wednesday night's game has not yet been announced.

"The additional off day does really throw a wrench in our plans, but it could also open up some more strategic opportunities," Quatraro went on to say. "As you all know, Noah Cameron is a guy who can still go out of the bullpen in this series, and perhaps we can employ Wacha as a swing-type arm if things go sideways. I think a lot of it depends on how tonight's game goes."

Code:

KC at ATL | 3/29/2026 | Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TEAM               1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  R  H  E
GAME POSTPONED UNTIL APRIL 27TH (WEATHER)

Code:

March 29th, 2026
MIN 1,  BAL 3 | LAA 3,  HOU 6 | ATH 8,  TOR 1 | WSH 3,  CHC 8
COL 9,  MIA 6 | TEX 2,  PHI 4 | PIT 4,  NYM 5 | CLE 3,  SEA 2
CHW 5,  MIL 2 | TB  2,  STL 4 | BOS 5,  CIN 4 | KC @ ATL PPD

02-16-2026, 12:21 PM	#5
3Bplay Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 351	NL East Preview (03/20) 2026 NL EAST PREVIEW Phils expect to repeat; Mets will push By MLB.com staff 03/20/2026 Over the next couple of days, we will begin our series of division-by-division previews. Our series starts with the National League East, where the Phillies will look to defend their division title and head back to the postseason under skipper Rob Thomson. However, the Mets should be much improved over their 83-79 mark that saw them miss the postseason after a September swoon. Adding pieces such as Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, and Freddy Peralta have (at least on paper) narrowed the gap between them and the Phillies, who didn't add much outside help outside of outfielder Adolis Garcia. Gone are Nick Castellanos, who was released just prior to the spring, and lefty reliever Matt Strahm, who was dealt to the Kansas City Royals. They also lost Ranger Suarez to the Red Sox on a multi-year deal. With Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto back in the fold, they largely return the same team that fell in the NLDS to the Dodgers last season, minus Suarez and Strahm's contributions. The perpetually-rebuilding Nationals figure to occupy the cellar, especially after dealing away MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers for a five-spot of prospects, including Top 100 infielder Gavin Fien. They also added catcher Harry Ford from the Mariners for reliever Jose Ferrer. Miami and Atlanta figure to battle for third place, but injuries to the pitching staff are once again a concern in Atlanta as lefty Dylan Lee and righty Spencer Schwellenbach will both start the season on the IL. Meanwhile, Sandy Alcantara is finally 'close to 100%' per president of baseball operations Peter Bendix in Miami, and they should also get Eury Perez back prior to June 1st. Later today, we'll look at the AL East. 1. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES ADDED: OF Adolis Garcia, RHP Brad Keller, RHP Jonathan Bowlan LOST: OF Harrison Bader, OF/DH Nick Castellanos, LHP Matt Strahm, LHP Ranger Suarez It seemed when the Phillies signed Garcia to a one-year deal, that Nick Castellanos' time with Philadelphia was over, it was just a matter of when. They finally released him just prior to the beginning of the spring, with the Padres scooping him up for the league minimum just a handful of days later. The biggest moves that the Phillies made weren't new acquisitions, however, they brought back Kyle Schwarber on a five-year deal that will seemingly keep the 33-year-old in Philly through the rest of his prime years. They also return catcher J.T. Realmuto through 2028, his age-37 season, on a $45 million deal that will pay him an even $15 million per annum. They also pursued re-signing Harrison Bader to play center field, but instead signed with the Giants on a two-year contract, so it will fall to returnees Johan Rojas, Brandon Marsh, and Justin Crawford to sort out the center field spot. On the pitching side, they'll be without Zack Wheeler for the first handful of months, but on the good news side, Andrew Painter is healthy and had a good spring, and figures to slot in as the fourth or fifth option in the rotation. 2. NEW YORK METS ADDED: 2B Marcus Semien, RHP Devin Williams, RHP Luke Weaver, INF Jorge Polanco, SS/3B Bo Bichette, OF Luis Robert Jr., RHP Freddy Peralta, RHP Tobias Myers LOST: OF Brandon Nimmo, RHP Ryan Helsley, 1B Pete Alonso, RHP Tyler Rogers, INF Luisangel Acuna, OF Jett Williams The Mets got off to a quick start with the trade for Marcus Semien; but the big prize for them would have been Kyle Tucker, who ended up spurning the Mets for the Dodgers in late January. But they didn't sit on their laurels in the meantime, adding Jorge Polanco and Bo Bichette in free agency, and later adding Robert Jr and Peralta via trades. Closer Edwin Diaz was replaced with Devin Williams, who will move up north to Queens to close games. They also grabbed another former Yankee in Luke Weaver to pitch high-leverage innings in front of him, but the bullpen situation is a bit murky beyond that. A.J. Minter is still battling injuries, and they lost Ryan Helsley to the Orioles in free agency. The top options after the aforementioned two guys at the back end are lefty Brooks Raley, and right-handers Tobias Myers (another part of the Peralta deal) and Huascar Brazoban, and youngsters Christian Scott and Jonah Tong. They'll also be without veteran Reed Garrett in the early going, as he'll miss the first few months after offseason surgery. 3. ATLANTA BRAVES ADDED: C Jonah Heim, SS Ha-seong Kim, UTIL Mauricio Dubon, OF Mike Yastrzemski, RHP Robert Suarez LOST: DH Marcell Ozuna, SS Nick Allen, LHP Kolby Allard Not content after last season's 74-88 mark, they chose not to bring back slugger Marcell Ozuna, also upgrading their defense with both Ha-seong Kim and Mauricio Dubon, both Gold Glove-caliber players who represent an offensive improvement over their predecessors, as well. The Braves also received trade offers for both Jurickson Profar and Sean Murphy, but are opting to keep them for the time being. Murphy is actually slated to begin the season on the IL; necessitating the need for another catcher to complement reigning Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin, hence the signing of Jonah Heim to back Baldwin up. The bullpen should be okay on the back end again as Raisel Iglesias was brought back on a one-year deal, and they signed flame-thrower Robert Suarez to serve as his set-up. But the injury bug appears to be biting again, as Spencer Schwellenbach was placed on the 60-day IL just prior to the spring beginning, and one of their top relievers in lefty Dylan Lee underwent Tommy John surgery last week and will miss the entire 2026 season. This doesn't even include Kim and another lefty in Danny Young also being on the injured list to begin the year. 4. MIAMI MARLINS ADDED: OF Esteury Ruiz, RHP Pete Fairbanks, OF Owen Caissie, IF Christopher Morel, RHP Chris Paddack LOST: OF Derek Hill, OF Dane Myers, LHP Ryan Weathers, RHP Edward Cabrera, RHP Cal Quantrill Marlins personnel VP Peter Bendix had some real tough decisions to make this offseason, with a surplus of pitching and some holes to fill in their organization. Dealing Edward Cabrera to the Cubs netted them outfielder Owen Caissie, who as of this writing is still in Marlins' camp and appears to be on the verge of winning a roster spot for Opening Day. He doesn't have a lot left to prove in the minors, as he posted a 139 OPS+ in Triple-A last season for the Iowa Cubs, and hit .500 (11-for-22) for Team Canada in the WBC that wrapped up last week. The Fish could have one of the more upside-heavy outfields in baseball, with Caissie, Matthew Etzel (acquired from the Rays via trade in July), and Jakob Marsee in center. Ruiz is a stolen base maven, having led the league in steals back in 2023 while with the A's. Even with the losses of Cabrera and Ryan Weathers in a later trade to the Yankees, the pitching depth is still solid -- Paddack, a veteran righty, was added on a short-term deal to plug the loss of Cabrera, but they are hopeful that Sandy Alcantara is back and healthy, and fellow countryman Eury Perez is expected to return in early to mid-May. Fairbanks is also back to close games in front of bullpen that has some nice depth, including last year's main closer, Anthony Bender, and other solid guys in Calvin Faucher and Andrew Nardi. 5. WASHINGTON NATIONALS ADDED: C Harry Ford, LHP Foster Griffin, RHP Alejandro Rosario LOST: LHP MacKenzie Gore, LHP Jose A. Ferrer New ops chief Paul Toboni and manager Blake Butera will go into the 2026 season with one of the most talent-bereft rosters in the league, but they made a couple of consequential trades that will undoubtedly play a role in the franchise going forward. They upgraded the catcher spot, at least on paper, grabbing Harry Ford along with pitching prospect Isaac Lyon from Seattle for Ferrer, who will be a primary set-up man for All-Star closer Andres Munoz. The other was trading way MacKenzie Gore for five players, including Top 100-types in shortstop Gavin Fien and Rosario, who struggled in a short five-start stint with Triple-A last season, but has been one of the surprises of spring training and perhaps has pushed his way into the team's plans this season. Despite the loss of Gore, if it's one thing that the Nationals have, it's that they have a decent starting rotation that can keep them in games, but their bullpen is another matter. The lineup could cover for that somewhat, but they could use young players such as Dylan Crews and Brady House taking the next step. They're also moving CJ Abrams off of shortstop to second base, and last year's incumbent second baseman, Luis Garcia Jr., will move to first base. He's been the team's primary second baseman the last three seasons, but with the pitching staff in flux, they'll need all the offense they can muster. Last edited by 3Bplay; 02-16-2026 at 02:11 PM.

02-17-2026, 03:11 PM	#6
3Bplay Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 351	AL East Preview (03/20) 2026 AL EAST PREVIEW Jays have uphill battle to defend AL crown By MLB.com staff 03/20/2026 Moving over to the AL side of the ledger, the AL East is inarguably the best division in baseball, with three playoff-caliber teams in Toronto, New York, and Boston. Baltimore should also be better, and both they and Tampa Bay have the rosters to compete in any other division outside of the NL West. While most prognosticators have the Blue Jays as the favorite to win the division, and one of the two biggest favorites to represent the AL in the Fall Classic again, Boston did quite a bit to help their case, and the Yankees still have one of the most fearsome lineups in the league. Baltimore could also be good enough to siphon off a few more wins against all three of those teams again, making it a potential four-team race. Of the three, the Blue Jays have the thinnest rotation, and that's including the Yankees' current injury situation. However, all three of the aforementioned Yankee starters (Cole, Rodon, Schmidt) are all expected back either at or just prior to the All-Star break, giving them a potential boost around the trade deadline. Tomorrow, the NL and AL Central are up. 1. TORONTO BLUE JAYS ADDED: 3B Kazuma Okamoto, OF Jesus Sanchez, RHP Dylan Cease, RHP Cody Ponce, RHP Tyler Rogers LOST: RHP Chris Bassitt, SS Bo Bichette, RHP Seranthony Dominguez, OF Joey Loperfido, RHP Max Scherzer The defending AL champions enter the 2026 season as the favorites to win the division and are one of the biggest favorites to head back to the World Series as the AL rep, along with Detroit. This is all despite losing out on re-signing Bo Bichette and failing to land either Kyle Tucker or Alex Bregman in free agency, and losing key contributors like Chris Bassitt and Bo Bichette. The rotation isn't deep, as they are at best six-deep currently with the injuries to righties Shane Bieber and Bowden Francis to begin the season, but they stack up against anyone's in the division as currently constructed. 2025 World Series hero Trey Yesavage is probably on the outside looking in with Dylan Cease now in the fold, but has had a strong spring and will get more opportunities to start and stay stretched out down in Triple-A instead of a bullpen role with the Blue Jays. Offensively, they have some understandable concerns. Anthony Santander is now out for the first half of the season due to shoulder surgery, taking away one outfield option. That led them to trade Joey Loperfido to the Astros for Jesus Sanchez in a pure salary dump move by Houston. Okamoto is a solid player, but he's probably going to give you about 75% of what a healthy Bregman would have done. They'll be solid defensively up the middle over last year, as Andres Gimenez will slide over to shortstop and Ernie Clement is penciled in as the everyday second baseman. Even without Santander, who really didn't do much in the limited time he played a season ago, they should be well-positioned to do some damage. Addison Barger is going to shift to being a full-time outfielder with the acquisition of Okamoto, and Sanchez should get plenty of at-bats against righties with George Springer splitting DH and right field duties against lefties. 2. BOSTON RED SOX ADDED: LHP Ranger Suarez, 1B Willson Contreras, INF Caleb Durbin, INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa, RHP Sonny Gray, RHP Johan Oviedo LOST: 3B Alex Bregman, RHP Dustin May, RHP Richard Fitts, RHP Lucas Giolito, RHP Jordan Hicks, LHP Kyle Harrison, INF David Hamilton Perhaps no other team made as many big moves, as Boston made attention-grabbing move after attention-grabbing move. They struck first with the Sonny Gray deal, before acquiring Johan Oviedo from the Pirates. Combining those two trades with the Ranger Suarez signing, and they very effectively turned over 60% of their rotation from a season ago. They'll unfortunately be without Suarez for possibly the first couple of months of the season, as he left his most recent start with shoulder stiffness that was eventually diagnosed as bursitis that will not require any procedure, other than having it drained while the injury heals. But if there's a place on the roster they can afford to take a few hits, it's in the rotation as they can legitimately go seven-to-eight deep when healthy. This is a team with a few real questions in their lineup, though. Alex Bregman signed with the Cubs in January, and it was long-thought that he'd return to the Red Sox, albeit on a more expensive deal. When that didn't come to fruition, it did leave them scrambling a bit which is when they acquired Durbin from the Brewers, although it cost them Harrison and Hamilton; whom the Red Sox really liked, but needed more proven production in the infield. They also brought in veteran Isiah Kiner-Falefa, although he's likely ticketed for a rotating bench role, where he'll play mainly second, third, and short. Marcelo Mayer has all the tools to be great, but has yet to put it together at the major league level, and Trevor Story is too oft-injured to be relied upon in an everyday role. If Roman Anthony can take the next step and get something, anything out of Triston Casas later in the season when he returns from injury, Boston might be the favorites to win it all. The bullpen has a few question marks, but they could utilize more fringy starter candidates like Patrick Sandoval, Connelly Early, Kutter Crawford, or even Rule 5 pick Ryan Watson out of the pen in the meantime until injuries strike or they need reinforcements at the deadline. 3. NEW YORK YANKEES ADDED: LHP Ryan Weathers, IF Max Schuemann LOST: RHP Devin Williams, RHP Luke Weaver There was a lot of grumbling around Yankees fans that they didn't do enough this offseason (and it's reflected in this ranking), but for Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenner family, it was more about retaining the talent they already had, rather than put out too much new money in the market. The biggest news was the re-signing of Cody Bellinger, who will return as the everyday left fielder. Trent Grisham is back on the $22.025 million qualifying offer to play center, and Aaron Judge is back to patrol right. Even Paul Goldschmidt is back on a team-friendly, $4 million deal to split time at first base and DH with Ben Rice. The majority of the free agents they brought in are on minor league deals, and the only major acquisition in Weathers was a five-player trade with the Marlins. Schuemann should also provide some additional depth with Anthony Volpe out to begin the season. The lineup returns intact from last year, an offense that was a top-five unit in the league in 2025. Max Fried and Luis Gil are a solid one-two punch at the top of the rotation to begin the season, but after that they're going to have to rely on Weathers and a combination of vets and youngsters alike, with Ryan Yarbrough, Will Warren, and Cam Schlittler all vying to fill out the rest of the rotation while they wait for Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt to return, hopefully by the All-Star break. They have a fairly forgiving early schedule, so perhaps they could weather the storm, but they'll need some starters to step up early. 4. BALTIMORE ORIOLES ADDED: OF Taylor Ward, RHP Jackson Kowar, RHP Ryan Helsley, RHP Shane Baz, RHP Chris Bassitt, INF Blaze Alexander, 1B Pete Alonso LOST: RHP Grayson Rodriguez, RHP Kade Strowd, C Alex Jackson, C Gary Sanchez After a 75-87 season and a last-place AL East finish in 2025, which fell well short of expectations, both incumbent manager Brandon Hyde and interim manager Tony Mansolino are out. Enter first-year manager Craig Albernaz, who will go into 2026 with a largely overhauled rotation with the additions of Chris Bassitt and Shane Baz, along with the re-signing of Zach Eflin. They should also hopefully get a full season out of ace Kyle Bradish, who returned towards the end of last season and was brilliant, posting a 3.24 FIP and 3.34 SIERA, which closely tracked with his 3.18 ERA over 22 2/3 innings (four starts). Albernaz also have one of the premier offensive forces in the game with Pete Alonso at first base, signed to a five-year deal in the offseason as one of the first big free agent signings of the offseason. Taylor Ward, who hit forty-six homeruns a season ago, was brought in via trade from the Angels, dealing away talented but oft-injured righty Grayson Rodriguez. The bullpen is not as talented or as deep as New York's, but Ryan Helsley is a top-tier closer with some good depth in front of him, as set-up pitchers Yennier Cano, Keegan Akin, and Andrew Kittredge are all back. For the Orioles to break through the three-headed monster of the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Red Sox, however, they'll need a resurgence from their current homegrown stars in Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman. Rutschman battled injuries for most of the 2025 season, while Henderson struggled early and had a few strong weeks here and there, but struggled to a 110 OPS+ over 639 plate appearances. Still solidly above-average, but a far cry from the 157 OPS+ he posted the previous season. Losing Jackson Holliday to a hamate bone injury from early in the spring won't help either, although he's only expected to be out through April or possibly into early May. 5. TAMPA BAY RAYS ADDED: INF Ben Willamson, OF Cedric Mullins, OF Jake Fraley, OF Jacob Melton, LHP Steven Matz, RHP Nick Martinez, INF Gavin Lux LOST: RHP Shane Baz, 2B Brandon Lowe, OF Josh Lowe, RHP Adrian Houser, RHP Pete Fairbanks Tampa re-configured their outfield mix, bringing in Mullins and Fraley in free agency and nabbing Melton in a three-team trade with the Astros and Pirates, the trade that saw long-time Ray Brandon Lowe head north to Pittsburgh. The Rays were also part of two other three-team deals, one with the Reds and Angels that moved Josh Lowe to the Angels for Gavin Lux. Lux is expected to man second base with Taylor Walls back at shortstop, unless they ultimately decide to keep Carson Williams. He has not been re-assigned to minor league camp, so perhaps they are giving him an extended look, but it is more likely he is re-assigned in the next few days. The third and final three-team swap brought Ben Williamson to Tampa, where he'll seemingly play a reserve role, sliding between third, second, and potentially shortstop. The signings of Matz and Martinez round out what could be a potentially upper-tier starting rotation, but that is dependent on the health of Shane McClanahan, who hasn't been on a big-league mound since 2023. Matz's transition back to starting after serving as a reliever last year is also a big concern for the Rays, although he's looked impressive in the spring with increasing pitch counts. Despite all of that, they play in what is overwhelmingly looking like the toughest division in baseball, with three teams that all could lay legitimate claim to winning the World Series this year, and a potential bounce-back team in Baltimore. Tampa Bay actually looks pretty good on paper; and would be a wildcard contender in any other division, but they have a pretty low ceiling in the East. Last edited by 3Bplay; 02-18-2026 at 03:27 PM.

02-18-2026, 04:22 PM	#7
3Bplay Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 351	NL Central Preview (03/21) 2026 NL CENTRAL PREVIEW Reds/Bucs surprise contenders? By MLB.com staff 03/21/2026 Milwaukee and Chicago figure to be the top two teams in the NL Central again in 2026, but Cincinnati made the postseason a season ago, and Pittsburgh's offseason work has been lauded by many as one of the best of the league. So much so that a few prognosticators have picked the Pirates sneaking into the postseason as the third wildcard. We here at MLB.com don't think they're quite there yet, but they are most certainly in better position to make such a run this time around, given some good luck that goes their way. It's also an interesting time in the division with perennial contender St. Louis down on their luck, but there still appears to be a clear vision under new management that's led by baseball ops chief Chaim Bloom. Gone are franchise mainstays Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras; all dealt off in trades. Bloom himself has not called it a 'rebuild' specifically, but did note that it would be a 'one-to-two year review' of the organization from top-to-bottom before they felt they could move forward. Later today, we'll go over what many think might be the weakest division in baseball, the AL Central. 1. MILWAUKEE BREWERS ADDED: LHP Angel Zerpa, INF David Hamilton, C Gary Sanchez, LHP Kyle Harrison, OF Jett Williams LOST: 1B Rhys Hoskins, LHP Jose Quintana, RHP Freddy Peralta, RHP Tobias Myers, C Danny Jansen, OF Isaac Collins, RHP Nick Mears, INF Caleb Durbin Another offseason, and another year of second-guessing what the Brewers have done. Matt Arnold and the front office in Milwaukee, however, is one of the best in the business as they continue to churn out quality teams despite moves that might make you scratch your head initially. First, they traded a solid outfielder (Collins) and reliever (Mears) to the Royals for a decent lefty (Zerpa). Then, they deal away one of the game's best starters in Freddy Peralta (along with Tobias Myers) to the Mets, but manage to nab two excellent young players in Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. Then another big trade right before the spring when they trade away a Rookie of the Year finalist in Caleb Durbin to the Red Sox, along with Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler, to Boston for a pretty good haul -- lefties Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan, along with second baseman David Hamilton. Harrison is likely to slot into a rotation spot, while Hamilton appears to be on his way to being in their Opening Day lineup at second base. Drohan posted a 2.02 ERA in Triple-A last season, and is in line to be one of the first re-called if injuries strike in the rotation. On paper, the Cubs appear to be the better team and did more to try and improve the team, but there's something in the sauce that just won't let us go against Milwaukee until someone else can knock them off. Pat Murphy is incredibly underrated as a skipper, and they have tremendous veteran leadership with guys like Andrew Vaughn and Christian Yelich. 2. CHICAGO CUBS ADDED: 3B Alex Bregman, RHP Phil Maton, RHP Edward Cabrera, RHP Hunter Harvey, RHP Dylan Floro, LHP Hoby Milner LOST: OF Kyle Tucker, RHP Aaron Civale, RHP Michael Soroka, RHP Ryan Brasier, INF Willi Castro, OF Owen Caissie It should be another fantastic race in the NL Central between the Brewers and Cubs; and honestly, it could go either way as to whomever wins the division, with the Reds potentially playing a role. Despite losing Tucker out of the lineup, there's still plenty of punch to go around with Bregman, Michael Busch, and arguably the best overall outfield in baseball headlined by one Pete Crow-Armstrong. Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki, who is likely going to be pressed back into defensive duty with Tucker gone, will flank PCA on the left and right side. There is some reason to mope, at least early on. Matthew Boyd and Justin Steele are both on the injured list to begin the season, with Boyd only expected to miss the first week or two. Steele is expected to be out until around the All-Star break, but Jed Hoyer and the Cubs did a nice job of backfilling the rotation in the meantime in grabbing Cabrera from the Marlins. It cost them Owen Caissie, who is likely to start in one of the corner outfield spots for the Fish this year, but has three years of club control remaining, including this season. The signings of Floro, Harvey, and Milner; along with the returning Caleb Thielbar, also deepen the middle relief in front of second-year flame-throwing closer Daniel Palencia, who came out of nowhere to post thirty-two saves with a 2.35 ERA in 61 1/3 innings of work. Palencia's breakout year didn't stop the Cubs from trying to pursue other closing options such as Edwin Diaz and Devin Williams, who signed with the Dodgers and Mets, respectively, but Palencia can hold his own with the best of them. 3. CINCINNATI REDS ADDED: 3B Eugenio Suarez, OF Dane Myers, OF JJ Bleday, LHP Brock Burke, RHP Pierce Johnson, LHP Caleb Ferguson, RHP Max Scherzer LOST: INF Gavin Lux, OF Austin Hays, OF Miguel Andujar, RHP Zack Littell, RHP Nick Martinez, LHP Wade Miley What would the Reds do for a follow-up after their first postseason appearance since 2020? It took them until late in the process, but they brought back former third baseman Eugenio Suarez on a one-year deal to help lengthen the lineup. When Hunter Greene went down with an injury, they reached an agreement to bring on Scherzer on an incentive-laden one-year deal. After hitting 53 bombs between the D-Backs and Mariners, Suarez should get close to that again in the bandbox that is GAB. While he shouldn't displace Ke'Bryan Hayes at third base, they needed another competent bat to serve as the DH after losing Austin Hays in free agency to the White Sox, and they are hoping that Myers and Bleday (moreso Bleday in this case) can return to pre-2025 form and solidify the outfield both offensively and defensively. Closer Emilio Pagan was also brought back on a two-year deal, and signed former Rockie and Brave Pierce Johnson to toss high-leverage frames in front of him. Burke, Ferguson, and Sam Moll form one of the better southpaw bullpen trios in the league, giving them a fairly deep bullpen in front of a rotation that will be without Hunter Greene for the first few months, but still has some staying power with lefties Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo, along with Scherzer and fellow veteran Brady Singer. 4. PITTSBURGH PIRATES ADDED: DH Marcell Ozuna, 1B Ryan O'Hearn, 2B Brandon Lowe, OF Jhostynxon Garcia, OF Jake Mangum, LHP Mason Montgomery, RHP Jose Urquidy LOST: RHP Mike Burrows, RHP Johan Oviedo, DH Andrew McCutchen, INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa, OF Tommy Pham The Brew Crew and the Cubs should still be the favorites in this division, but it's hard to argue that the Pirates didn't help themselves the most in the entire National League this offseason. With the additions of Brandon Lowe, Ryan O'Hearn, Marcell Ozuna, and youngster Jhostynxon Garcia to man one of the corner outfield spots, the Pirates have the look of a playoff contender with Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller fronting the rotation, with a bullpen that's solid and led by closer Dennis Santana and Gregory Soto, now back with his original team. They had to dip into their starting rotation depth to get Garcia and others like Mangum and Lowe to bolster the lineup, which was one of the three worst offenses in baseball a season ago. With Lowe likely to get most of the reps at second and Jared Triolo to take over at short, the Pirates could still use another bat to man third base; but if they find themselves in the thick of the playoff race, there is room to add to the roster down the road. Also, as of this writing, Andrew McCutchen remains unsigned; but with Ozuna on the roster, a reunion seems unlikely. Additionally, Pittsburgh made more headlines for the moves they didn't make, such as making a $150 million offer to Kyle Schwarber, who ended up going back to Philadelphia. They also were in on Framber Valdez, Bo Bichette, and Dylan Cease, who all ended up signing elsewhere. With the Cardinals in full-on rebuild mode, perhaps Ben Cherington and the Bucs' brass feel this is their chance to make some hay and get out of the NL Central cellar. 5. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS ADDED: RHP Dustin May, RHP Richard Fitts, RHP George Soriano, RHP Ryne Stanek, LHP Hunter Dobbins LOST: INF Brendan Donovan, RHP Sonny Gray, 1B Willson Contreras, 3B Nolan Arenado, RHP Andre Granillo Not one other franchise went through as much upheaval as the Cardinals did, as they have gone through a near-teardown of the big league roster, trading away such veterans as Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, and Brendan Donovan. They also found a taker for Willson Contreras in the Red Sox, and as a result will undoubtedly have one of the youngest rosters in the league for 2026. And there isn't much of a doubt they'll be selling at the deadline, with others like Lars Nootbaar and Jojo Romero still on the squad. They did sign a couple of veterans for the pitching staff in May and Stanek; along with trading for Soriano to help fill out the bullpen. Otherwise, will be running out a good number of pre-arbitration players at nearly every position, including potentially JJ Wetherholt at second base. They've also been stretching out incumbent closer Kyle Leahy for a rotation role in 2026; along with moving Fitts, who mainly started games for the Red Sox last season, into a long relief role. Their first pick in the 2024 draft, Wetherholt rocketed through the minors, and barring some sort of surprise or injury, he should be in their Opening Day lineup at second base. Another top prospect, Jesus Baez, is also still on the spring roster, but has yet to see a pitch above Double-A, so it's unlikely he'll begin with the Cardinals at third base despite a decent spring for him. Nolan Gorman, who split time between first, second, and third base last season, is expected to make the full-time move to third base with Alec Burleson and Lars Nootbaar splitting time between first base, left field, and DH. Some of the young pitching they acquired in the trades such as Dobbins and Brandon Clarke will likely have to wait to be seen by Cardinals fans (Dobbins due to injury), but Chaim Bloom and the rest of the Cardinals' front office are hoping for a year or two of pain for long-term gain.

02-18-2026, 06:52 PM	#8
3Bplay Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 351	AL Central Preview (03/21) 2026 AL CENTRAL PREVIEW Tigers overwhelming favorite; did they do enough? By MLB.com staff 03/21/2026 "Does anyone want to win this division?" That was the question on the minds of most baseball writers when they looked over the AL Central, long one of the weaker divisions in baseball. True, they did have two teams come out of it for the post season a year ago, but Detroit and Cleveland both fell early on in the postseason. With Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez, and other solid pitchers like Jack Flaherty and now Justin Verlander, back where it all started for him, who is beating the Tigers? Well, despite adding two future HOF'ers (Verlander, Jensen) and one that could be down the road (Valdez) and being the overwhelming Vegas favorite to win the division, they didn't really add much of any consequence to the lineup. Sure, they have Riley Greene and a couple of B-tier bats in Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter, it's not a lineup with the depth to strike fear into the hearts of pitching coaches and managers on a nightly basis. The main competitors to the Tigers are Kansas City and Cleveland, although the Guardians are going to be dealing with the fallout of the pitch-fixing scandal pretty much all season long, so the Royals might be the safer bet to do so. They did bring on some additional pitching help to try and compensate, but Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase are very, very good pitchers and it will be tough to replicate what they did a season ago. They also have one of the two best players in the division in Jose Ramirez (the other being the Royals' Bobby Witt, Jr.). We'll go over the NL and AL West divisions tomorrow to wrap up this series. 1. DETROIT TIGERS ADDED: LHP Framber Valdez, RHP Justin Verlander, RHP Kenley Jansen, RHP Drew Anderson LOST: RHP Chris Paddack, RHP Rafael Montero, RHP Jose Urquidy, RHP Alex Lange, RHP Jason Foley, RHP Alex Cobb, RHP Tommy Kahnle, INF Andy Ibanez, OF Justyn-Henry Malloy The Tigers should be the prohibitive favorites to win the AL Central, but they sit on the shakiest foundation of the predicted winners of each of the six divisions. Bringing in Valdez and Verlander to bolster the rotation, along with all-world lefty Tarik Skubal, they have not only one of the best rotations in the AL, but the entire league when you factor in Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize, who at one time in the not-so-distant past was the team's top starting pitcher. They'll miss Reese Olson, who is out for the season after shoulder surgery, but with Verlander back in the fold there shouldn't be a massive drop-off. They have several pretty glaring weaknesses, however -- they don't have a lot of depth on the pitching staff, they don't defend well as a team, and they completely ignored improving the lineup in any way. They're banking quite a bit on Colt Keith taking the next step playing some combination of first base, third base, and taking at-bats as the DH when Spencer Torkelson is at first. Addressing center field with the light-hitting, slick-fielding Parker Meadows back as the presumed starter there was also something they didn't do. What they do have are two elite starting pitchers, three other very good ones, and a fairly deep bullpen with new, but aging closer Kenley Jansen that can get strikeouts to negate the lackluster defense. However, injuries to key players could unravel their season pretty quickly and open the door for Kansas City or Cleveland to make a push for the division crown. 2. KANSAS CITY ROYALS ADDED: OF Lane Thomas, OF Isaac Collins, RHP Nick Mears, LHP Matt Strahm, RHP Mitch Spence LOST: LHP Angel Zerpa, OF Mike Yastrzemski, INF Adam Frazier, OF Randal Grichuk, RHP Taylor Clarke, OF MJ Melendez, RHP Hunter Harvey, RHP Michael Lorenzen, OF Dairon Blanco With the Tigers really not doing a ton outside of losing a massive arbitration case to Skubal and bringing in Jansen and Valdez to strengthen the pitching staff, the Royals had a bit of a missed opportunity. Like Detroit, the Royals are banking on some young players breaking out (Jac Caglianone, Carter Jensen), but the Royals already have a younger, more dynamic infield than the Tigers do; and if even just one of Caglianone or Jensen hit, it will put them as easily the best offense in the division. That said, while Collins is a fine player and Thomas has had some good years (and is still just heading into his age-30 season), there's going to be a 'what-if' of sorts if they end up in the same spot at the deadline again as they did last year, needing more offense. The long-talked-about trade for Jarren Duran never materialized, and they also flirted with the Cardinals on Brendan Donovan; but their farm system is so depleted at this point that they can't really go out and obtain those types of players on the trade market, and they don't spend a ton in free agency anyway. They'll be a pitching and defensive-heavy team again in 2026, but with the fences being shortened all around, as well as being moved in down the foul lines ten feet, any homerun gains could end up being negated by more balls going out of the yard against their own guys. Perhaps the Royals and Sox could patch things up later regarding Duran if he ends up getting squeezed with Roman Anthony's emergence, but with Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, and Cole Ragans all getting up in years (or in Ragans' case, elbow issues), it might be best for K.C. to hang on to whatever depth they have in case injuries hit again like they did in '25. 3. CLEVELAND GUARDIANS ADDED: RHP Frankie Montas, LHP Danny Coulombe, RHP Colin Holderman, RHP Shawn Armstrong LOST: RHP Emmanuel Clase, RHP Luis Ortiz, OF Will Brennan, RHP Nic Enright, LHP Sam Hentges, OF Jhonkensy Noel Obviously, the biggest story surrounding Cleveland heading into this year is a negative one -- the ongoing saga of pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase in the gambling/pitch-wasting scandal that is likely going to land them both in federal prison if convicted. On the positive side, they did extend star third baseman and franchise icon Jose Ramirez, but they did next to nothing to try and help him out. In fact, they're in the toughest spot in the division. They're good enough to be dangerous in a playoff race (they've been in the postseason in back-to-back seasons!), but not bad enough to just sell everything off and start over. They have some nice pieces in the lineup outside of Ramirez with Steven Kwan and Kyle Manzardo with little else to speak of. They are very high on young outfielders like Angel Martinez, Chase DeLauter, and George Valera, but aside from Martinez there's little experience. They did supplement the bullpen in front of new full-time closer Cade Smith with Coulombe and Armstrong, but overall it's still a thin unit. Despite being virtually a worthless hitter, having catcher Austin Hedges will nonetheless be well worth the $4 million to help bring along some of the younger pitchers in the system, like Daniel Espino, Slade Cecconi, and potentially Peyton Pallette if the Rule 5 pick ends up making the roster (which it appears he very well may). Now, they're still better than both Minnesota and Chicago, but the gap isn't as wide as it was to end last season. Chicago and GM Chris Getz in particular addressed a multitude of needs; but have the weakest overall pitching depth in the division, which will ultimately hold them back from anything of note. The Guardians are in a pretty precarious position, though. If J-Ram and/or Bibee are out for any length of time over a few weeks, that's probably it for them. They have some solid young players in the minors, including Travis Bazzana and Juan Brito, but they are likely a year or so away from contributing still. 4. MINNESOTA TWINS ADDED: C/1B Victor Caratini, C Alex Jackson, 1B/DH Josh Bell, RHP Jacob Webb, LHP Andrew Chafin, LHP Anthony Banda, LHP Taylor Rogers, LHP Nestor Cortes LOST: INF Edouard Julien, C Christian Vazquez, INF Jose Miranda, LHP Genesis Cabrera It's going to be a tough season in Minnesota. One of the few remaining standouts after last season's firesale, righty Pablo Lopez, is out after undergoing internal brace surgery and will miss the 2026 season. That leaves Joe Ryan as the unquestioned ace of the pitching staff, with a smattering of young-ish pitchers behind him. Bailey Ober, coming off an injury of his own that sapped him of a portion of 2025, is the likely number-two option now. They also banked the injured Cortes as depth for 2027; he was signed to a heavily back-loaded two-year deal in which he will rehab with the Twins in anticipation of joining the rotation for next year. Taj Bradley and Simeon Woods-Richardson are expected to occupy two of the three remaining spots, with Zebby Matthews, David Festa, and Matt Canterino vying for the fifth spot. If things get really bad, top prospect Connor Prielipp could get another look, but he was rocked for a 32.60 ERA in just a handful of innings in 2025. Justin Topa, who served as one of the two closing options after they dealt Jhoan Duran away to the Phillies last year, is likely to get the first crack at saving games. They do have the makings of a decent bullpen that should keep them in most games. Andrew Chafin was brought in on a minor-league pact, but is the most proven lefty option remaining as the league heads into the final cuts stage of the spring. Cole Sands, who saved ten games for the Twins last season, form a solid nucleus of late-inning guys along with Topa and signee Jacob Webb. Prielipp could also figure into the bullpen mix, but really needs starts more than anything. Anthony Banda, who had a 3.00 ERA in fifty-seven frames with the Dodgers a season ago, was a good get off the waiver wire. The lineup should be okay with the additions of Bell and Caratini, along with returnees Byron Buxton, Kody Clemens, and Royce Lewis. Catcher Ryan Jeffers, who was the subject of trade talks most of the offseason, is back to take most of the reps behind the plate, but could also see some DH work when Bell is at first base or off for the day. With Luke Keaschall emerging as an option in the infield, they traded away the lefty-swinging Julien to Colorado as part of a package for pitching prospect Jace Kaminska. 5. CHICAGO WHITE SOX ADDED: OF Austin Hays, OF Everson Pereira, 3B Munetaka Murakami, RHP Jordan Hicks, RHP Erick Fedde, LHP Anthony Kay, LHP Chris Murphy, LHP Sean Newcomb, RHP Seranthony Dominguez, INF Luisangel Acuna LOST: OF Luis Robert Jr., RHP Miguel Castro, LHP Tyler Alexander, OF Michael A. Taylor, OF Mike Tauchman, LHP Cam Booser, RHP Steven Wilson For the first time in a long time on the South Side, there's optimism. Guarded, sure, but optimism. They're out from under Luis Robert Jr's dud contract. They have some nice options in the rotation, most of them with multiple years of team control, along with some competent veteran bullpen arms. They signed the best Japanese free agent on the market, Munetaka Murakami, for Pete's sake! Kyle Teel is a solid young backstop who will get to grow along with the young pitching staff, and they've also added some more youth in the position player mix, as well. Hays gives them a veteran presence in the lineup that is dominated by guys that are still in their pre-arb years. Colson Montgomery struggled in his first taste of MLB action, but should take the next step as the full-time shortstop going forward, giving the opportunity to move Chase Meidroth off short and back to second or over to third. Meidroth is also athletic enough to play center field, especially in Guaranteed Rate's dimensions. Are they better than Minnesota? No. Despite losing righty Pablo Lopez for the season, the Twins still have some star power with Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton, and went out and obtained more established veteran depth in the lineup that will carry the day for them. But the South Side Sox will be a much improved outfit, enough to not be the automatic out that they've been for much of the last two or three seasons. Last edited by 3Bplay; 02-18-2026 at 06:53 PM.

02-20-2026, 03:58 PM	#9
3Bplay Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 351	NL West Preview (03/22) 2026 NL WEST PREVIEW Dodgers look to three-peat for first time in team history By MLB.com staff 03/22/2026 Winners of the last two World Series, what can the Dodgers do for an encore? Win a third straight, of course. They didn't do anything in the offseason to make you think they weren't the heavy favorites to win it again, signing arguably two of the top four or five free agents on the market in Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz, and that's really about all they did. No team has won three straight since the Yankees did it from 1998 to 2000. The only other team to do it were the A's from 1972 through 1974, with the Yankees also doing it twice more back in the 1930's, 40's, and 50's. They're also the only team to go four and five-in-a-row back thaen. Of course, they brought back World Series heroes Kike Hernandez and Miguel Rojas, as they played big roles in winning the 2024 and 2025 Fall Classics, respectively. The only difference between this season and last at the start of the year was that they'll be a bit worse for wear heading into 2026, with five of their projected 13-man staff on the IL to begin the season, including last year's closer down the stretch, Brock Stewart. The guy who would have likely replaced him, Brusdar Graterol, is also down. Does this leave the door open a crack for San Diego, or maybe even San Francisco, to take the division? Perhaps, but the depth that the Dodgers have built up over the years due to being able to really develop their pitching has paid off, as they go into the year still solidly deep in starting pitching. The bullpen will remain a sore spot in the early going, but they should have enough starting pitching that can go six-plus innings to negate the lack of depth. The AL West will wrap up our six-part series of division-by-division previews later today. 1. LOS ANGELES DODGERS ADDED: OF Kyle Tucker, RHP Edwin Diaz LOST: LHP Anthony Banda, OF Esteury Ruiz, LHP Andrew Heaney, LHP Clayton Kershaw, RHP Kirby Yates, OF Michael Conforto The Dodgers weren't terribly busy overall this offseason, but the few moves they did make could prove to be among the most impactful of any team in the league. They struck first with the signing of Diaz at the last minute over the originally-favored Mets, who ended up signing Devin Williams away from the Yankees. Their highest impact signing was Tucker, of course, as he'll slot into right field. THey also extended Max Muncy on a reasonably-priced one-year pact; and even though he's going to miss the first 40-50% of the season, Evan Phillips was brought back to give them a boost in the bullpen later on in the season. They're also re-uniting with World Series heroes Kike Hernandez and Miguel Rojas, with the latter signing for $5 million in what he says is his final season before hanging up the cleats. Now, they're going to head into the season a bit banged up, as five guys that were projected to be in the pitching staff (Blake Snell, Phillips, Jack Dreyer, Brusdar Graterol, Brock Stewart) are all out for at least the first month of the season, and Hernandez and Tommy Edman are going to miss the first few weeks. But if there's a team that can weather the injury bug, it's the Dodgers. With Snell out, righty Gavin Stone is slated to serve as the team's number-five starter, while the top four of Tylor Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, and Roki Sasaki all set. River Ryan, who had a 3.49 ERA in 14 1/3 innings with the Dodgers in a relief role last year, is thought to be headed to Triple-A to stretch out as a starter. 2. SAN DIEGO PADRES ADDED: OF/DH Miguel Andujar, OF/DH Nick Castellanos, RHP Griffin Canning, RHP German Marquez, OF/3B Sung-mun Song LOST: RHP Dylan Cease, RHP Robert Suarez, 1B Ryan O'Hearn, INF Tyler Wade, INF Luis Arraez, LHP Nestor Cortes, C Elias Diaz As has been the case for the 2020's, the Padres have been the main competitor to the Dodgers for NL West supremacy, although they haven't won the division since 2006. They figure to again be the Dodgers' main adversary in 2026, but aside from bringing back Michael King on a three-year deal, didn't appear to get much better on paper, although they do have some more depth on the pitching staff, especially in the rotation. They brought in veterans German Marquez and Griffin Canning on short-term deals, perhaps as bridges until Jhony Brito and Yu Darvish return from injury. Darvish, however, has contemplated retirement as he is entering his age-40 season and facing another long recovery from elbow surgery. This is still a capable rotation even without those two, but another spate of injuries could put them back behind the eight-ball as they don't have Dylan Cease this season, having signed with the Blue Jays over the winter.The bullpen also returns mostly intact, only losing Suarez to the Braves on a three-year deal worth $15 million per year, which would have been much more than the arbitration deal that incumbent closer Mason Miller received (about $4.7 million). They signed Korean import Sung-mun Song to a three-year deal, presumably to play a utility role with his main position, third base, already filled with Manny Machado. He could also play first base, but they already have fellow lefty hitter Jake Cronenworth slated to take the lion's share of at-bats there already. That leaves the outfield, where his plus-arm could play in right, but he's spent the bulk of his pro outfield reps in left. Also, Andujar was signed to split DH and outfield reps, further limiting where Song could end up playing. There's a chance he could also end up in the minors, as he will come in with a fresh set of options if they want to give him regular playing time without the pressure of producing for the Padres right off the bat. 3. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS ADDED: INF Luis Arraez, OF Harrison Bader, RHP Adrian Houser, RHP Tyler Mahle, LHP Sam Hentges, RHP Gregory Santos LOST: 1B/OF Dominic Smith, INF Wilmer Flores, RHP Justin Verlander, RHP Mason Black, C Tom Murphy, C Andrew Knizner Tony Vitello is set to become the first manager in MLB history to manage a game without any previous MLB coaching experience when the Giants and Yankees square off in a couple of days. It was not the most surprising hire, as team president Buster Posey does like to go in unorthodox directions, but other college head coaches like Pat Murphy (who previously coached in pro baseball before college) have come from the college ranks and have proven successful in the big leagues. Former players under Vitello, like veteran pitcher Max Scherzer, also have praised him in the past. Vitello was Scherzer's pitching coach at the University of Missouri in the mid 2000's, and worked with other MLB pitchers like Kyle Gibson, Tanner Houck, and Aaron Crow. Posey, GM Zack Minasian, and the rest of the front office made a few splashy-ish signings, getting free agent pitchers Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle for $32 million total, with Houser also signing on for a second year in 2027. Additionally, they bought low on Hentges and Santos, both of whom either struggled with consistency (Santos) or missed the entire season (Hentges). In Santos' case, it was a bit of both, making just seven appearances due to injury. The Giants' outfield defense also received a boost with Bader in the fold, as he'll displace Jung-hoo Lee, who should still get plenty of run mainly due to his high price tag. They're at less than 100% strength in the bullpen, as projected closer Randy Rodriguez and righty reliever Jason Foley, another buy-low candidate, will start the season on the IL. Ryan Walker, who has closed games in the past, should get the bulk of the save opportunities early on, with Hentges and righty Jose Butto in front of him. Hentges hasn't reported any setbacks from his elbow surgery prior to last season, so it's assumed he's a full-go. 4. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS ADDED: 3B Nolan Arenado, RHP Merrill Kelly, RHP Mike Soroka, 1B/DH Carlos Santana, RHP Paul Sewald, RHP Taylor Clarke, RHP Kade Strowd LOST: INF Blaze Alexander, LHP Jalen Beeks, RHP Elvin Rodriguez Arizona made future HOF third baseman Nolan Arenado their big, marquee acquisition, nabbing him from the Cardinals for pitcher Jack Martinez, who was a 2025 draftee. They're also only on the hook for about $10 million of the remaining $31 million he's owed through 2027, so he's playing on a relatively cheap, bargain-type of deal, even with the diminished production in recent years. They also brought back Zac Gallen on a one-year, deferral-heavy pact along with Merrill Kelly and Mike Soroka to help fill out the rotation. He signed for what would have been the $22.025 million qualifying offer, so it kind of left people wondering why he didn't just take it in the first place. With roughly a third of their Opening Day roster on the injured list to begin the season, including Corbin Carroll, Corbin Burnes, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and projected closer A.J. Puk, Arizona is in one of the toughest positions of any team in the league going into the 2026 campaign. Their early-season schedule is also tough, with seventeen games against 2025 playoff teams through the end of April, so for a team that was already a rung or two behind the main contenders in the West with the Dodgers and Padres, they're also likely going to be behind the eight-ball when it comes to the Giants, as well. 5. COLORADO ROCKIES ADDED: INF Edouard Julien, RHP Pierson Ohl, RHP Michael Lorenzen, RHP Tomoyuki Sugano, LHP Jose Quintana, LHP Brennan Bernardino, LHP Erik Sabrowski, OF Jake McCarthy LOST: INF Orlando Arcia, INF Thairo Estrada, RHP German Marquez, LHP Ryan Rolison, 1B Michael Toglia Following a franchise-low 119 losses in 2025, the Rockies' offseason was defined by a massive front-office and dugout overhaul, hiring former Cleveland executive Paul DePodesta as baseball ops chief and Josh Byrnes to run the day-to-day as GM. They also made interim manager Warren Schaeffer the full-time manager. While they didn't do a total roster teardown, they did raise the floor of the 2026 squad with the signing of multiple veteran starting pitchers to one-year deals, and supplemented the lineup with veteran position players Jake McCarthy, Edouard Julien, and Willi Castro. They also jettisoned former first-round pick Michael Toglia, and let players like German Marquez, Thairo Estrada, and Orlando Arcia walk. Given that eighty-one games a year are played in Coors Field, the lineup will always have some decent firepower, and this iteration of the Rox isn't any different. Catcher Hunter Goodman was one of the breakout players of the NL last season, and they have other standouts like Jordan Beck and Mickey Moniak. It's why the front office heavily pursued veteran pitching, as they have a good enough lineup to do some damage if they can get consistency from the staff. Another key player is center fielder Brenton Doyle, a two-time Gold Glove winner who also appeared to be making strides at the plate before a personal tragedy struck during the 2025 season and slumped to a 61 OPS+, although he still managed to eke out being a positive WAR player (0.2 WAR), thanks to his still-strong defense, although he fell short of winning his third Gold Glove. A bounce-back year from him would also go a long way toward getting Colorado back to respectability.

02-16-2026, 12:00 PM	#1
3Bplay Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 351	The City of Fountains

02-20-2026, 05:52 PM	#10
3Bplay Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 351	AL West Preview (03/22) 2026 AL WEST PREVIEW M's emerge as early favorites; will anyone challenge them? By MLB.com staff 03/22/2026 Falling just short of making their first World Series in franchise history, Seattle looks like a team that is once again a contender for the Fall Classic after dropping Game 7 of the ALCS. The other contenders in the division appear to be the Rangers and Astros, both looking to return to the postseason after missing out last season; and in the case of the Rangers, since 2023 when they won the World Series over the Diamondbacks. Seattle will head into the season without star outfielder Julio Rodriguez, who will miss the first few weeks with a cracked rib, suffered after being struck by a thrown ball from the outfield back on February 26th. The other two also head into the second with some injury issues, with the Rangers down lefties Cody Bradford and Jordan Montgomery, while starters Ronel Blanco and Brandon Walter will begin the year on the IL for the Astros. In the next tier of teams, the Angels and Athletics appear to be fighting it out to stay out of the basement, but both franchises have some optimism heading into the year. Los Angeles got out from under the horrendous Anthony Rendon contract, and have a new manager in Kurt Suzuki. The A's signed young slugger Tyler Soderstrom and All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson to extensions that will keep them there at least through 2030. 1. SEATTLE MARINERS ADDED: LHP Jose A. Ferrer, INF Brendan Donovan, LHP Josh Simpson, RHP Yosver Zulueta, OF Rob Refsnyder, RHP Cooper Criswell LOST: 3B Eugenio Suarez, 2B Jorge Polanco, LHP Caleb Ferguson, INF Ben Williamson, RHP Gregory Santos, RHP Trent Thornton Seattle will be without all-world center fielder Julio Rodriguez to begin the season, who suffered a cracked rib on February 26th on a thrown ball from the outfield. He's only expected to miss the first few weeks of the 2026 season, with Victor Robles being penciled in for center in his absence, and Randy Arozarena likely getting more reps in the outfield. The big-ticket move was getting Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals, with the versatile defender also potentially getting some at-bats in the outfield for the first several weeks' worth of games due to J-Rod's absence. Jerry Dipoto and the Mariners' front office tried to put on the full-court press to re-sign Polanco, but when he spurned them for the Mets' $20 million AAV offer, their attention turned to the trade market for second base. They kicked the tires on Ketel Marte of the Diamondbacks, but when that fell through, they pivoted to Donovan, finally getting something done in a three-team swap that included the Rays. That deal saw Ben Williamson, a light-hitting but versatile defender, head down to Florida. Despite some late-season struggles, the Mariners re-signed trade acquisition Josh Naylor to a five-year deal to man first base, and they also still have Cal Raleigh behind the dish for another season. That said, the offense is likely to take a step back with the losses of Suarez and Polanco, and they didn't do much to address the lineup outside of adding lefty-killer Rob Refsnyder to the outfield cohort. This will still be a pitching-heavy team, as they return all five starting pitchers and closer Andres Munoz on the back end, with trade acquisition Jose A. Ferrer, a former closer, giving them high-leverage innings in front of Munoz and fellow set-up arm Matt Brash. They also added Simpson and Zulueta via cash deals, and veterans in Criswell and Dane Dunning were brought in as depth. 2. TEXAS RANGERS ADDED: OF Brandon Nimmo, C Danny Jansen, LHP MacKenzie Gore, RHP Jakob Junis, LHP Jordan Montgomery, RHP Alexis Diaz LOST: OF Adolis Garcia, C Jonah Heim, RHP Jacob Webb, LHP Hoby Milner, 2B Marcus Semien, LHP Danny Coulombe, RHP Merrill Kelly, RHP Tyler Mahle, RHP Jon Gray With the blockbuster addition of Gore to the rotation, Texas goes into the 2026 season as perhaps the one team in the division that on paper can go pitch-for-pitch with Seattle (perhaps Houston later in the season if Tatsuya Imai works out), but this is a team that will have to figure out where they're going to get their offense from in order to get back to the postseason. Sure, they have Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford, and newcomer Brandon Nimmo, who hit twenty-nine, twenty-six, and thirty homeruns, respectively, but the rest of the lineup is another matter. Jake Burger and Joc Pederson will be back to split reps at DH and first base; and while they combined for thirty homeruns a season ago, they did so with an OPS+ of 87. The only major free agent position player acquisition, Jansen, is a nice offensive upgrade behind the plate from Heim, who has since signed with Atlanta to serve as Drake Baldwin's backup while Sean Murphy goes on the IL to begin the season. Their bullpen is iffy, however. The additions of Diaz away from the Dodgers and Junis, who has pitched well for multiple teams in his career, will help but they don't have a true stopper at the end of games. For now, that role will probably fall to the 39-year-old Chris Martin, but look for the Rangers to be closer-hunting at the deadline if they are in the race. 3. HOUSTON ASTROS ADDED: RHP Mike Burrows, RHP Tatsuya Imai, OF Joey Loperfido, RHP Ryan Weiss LOST: RHP Shawn Dubin, RHP Craig Kimbrel, INF Brendan Rodgers, LHP Framber Valdez, C/1B Victor Caratini, OF Chas McCormick, RHP Luis Garcia It's Tatsu-mani-ya in Houston, as the top Japanese pitcher from this past class pitched extremely well in the spring, but now the real test begins. Thankfully, he's not going to be asked to shoulder the entire load initially, with Hunter Brown back after a third-place Cy Young finish, and other returnees such as Cristian Javier and Spencer Arrighetti along with the newcomer in Burrows. Lefty Brandon Walter, who will begin the 2026 season on the 60-day injured list, is slated to return in June. Others, such as Lance McCullers, Jr., are slated to pitch out of the bullpen, but is carrying a massive price tag and the Astros are banking him getting some kind of trade value back out of the pen, or in the rotation in case of injury. The depth in front of closer Josh Hader is solid, with returnees Bryan Abreu, Bryan King, Steven Okert, and Bennett Sousa all giving quality, high-leverage innings in 2025. Others who could contribute are Ronel Blanco (also on the 60-day IL) and Rule 5 pick Roddery Munoz, who has pitched for the Reds and Cardinals in recent seasons. There's questions throughout the lineup, however. The Astros have injury question marks with both Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes, and they inexplicably traded away one of their top lefty outfield options in Jesus Sanchez for a worse offensive player in Joey Loperfido. It was a salary dump for sure, but that leaves Pedro Leon and perhaps Michael Conforto, if he ends up on the roster, to split reps in right field. Houston still has some good talent in their lineup, but it's aging and getting expensive. GM Dana Brown tried to shop players like McCullers, Javier, and first baseman Christian Walker to anyone who would listen, but couldn't find any takers. They could find themselves in the wildcard race, but they don't have the offense to keep up with the other two teams above them despite lineup questions of their own. 4. LOS ANGELES ANGELS ADDED: 1B/DH Rhys Hoskins, RHP Lucas Giolito, OF/DH Jesse Winker, SS Vaughn Grissom, RHP Grayson Rodriguez, INF Yoan Moncada, RHP Jordan Romano, LHP Drew Pomeranz, RHP Alek Manoah LOST: OF Taylor Ward, LHP Andrew Chafin, INF Luis Rengifo, RHP Jose Urena, RHP Luis A. Garcia, LHP Tyler Anderson, RHP Kyle Hendricks The biggest news of the offseason for the Halos was being able to re-structure Anthony Rendon's final year of his mega $240 million deal that he signed prior to the 2020 season back in December. Instead, he'll get the $38 million he was owed this year in deferred payments of nearly $10 million over the next four seasons. While he hasn't said anything about retirement, all indications are that he plans to remain in the organization, even under a minor league deal unless a team comes to him with a major league offer. With the additions of Giolito, Rodriguez, and Manoah, the Angels' rotation has the look of a viable rotation that could help carry a team through the season. It's unlikely that Giolito, who was signed about a week into the spring, will be ready for Opening Day, but if he's slotted in the fourth or fifth spot, manager Kurt Suzuki noted that he 'would be ready for a full workload' at the time his turn came. The biggest problem could potentially be the health of Rodriguez and how Reid Detmers assimilates back into the rotation after serving as a reliever and part-time closer last season. Speaking of Suzuki, talk about a pressure cooker of a first season. Basically came out of nowhere, got the skipper's role, but it was just for a one-year deal. The team that Perry Minasian (who also could be on the hot seat) and his staff have put around him isn't bad, but it's a rung below the Mariners/Rangers/Astros triumvirate. They do have some solid young players to build around, with shortstop Zach Neto and first baseman Nolan Schanuel being the headliners. He's on the injured list with an ankle sprain, so he won't start Opening Day, but he's not expected to miss more than a few weeks. Still, the strength of the offense will be in the outfield, with Jorge Soler, Mike Trout, and Jo Adell all with 30-plus homerun ability, which they'll need with Taylor Ward and his 46 homeruns now gone to Baltimore. Veterans Jesse Winker and Rhys Hoskins were also brought in on team-friendly deals, as they will likely rotate at first base and DH with Schanuel, dependent on matchups. 5. ATHLETICS ADDED: RHP Mark Leiter, RHP Scott Barlow, RHP Aaron Civale, INF Jeff McNeil, RHP Jon Gray LOST: LHP Sean Newcomb, 3B Gio Urshela, OF JJ Bleday, RHP Jose Leclerc, INF Max Schuemann, RHP Mitch Spence, INF Andy Ibanez, RHP Scott McGough It was a tough pick between the Angels and the Athletics for the cellar, but the pitching is likely to be better down south for the Angels than it is up north in Sacramento for the A's. This isn't to say that their rotation isn't good, it's actually pretty solid. Jeffrey Springs and Luis Severino are above-average starters that were clearly hurt by the very hitter-friendly environment in Sac-Town. Veterans Aaron Civale and Jon Gray were brought in, and both appear to be locks to make the team somewhere in the final three spots in the rotation. That leaves youngsters like Brady Basso, JT Ginn, and Jacob Lopez to battle for the fifth spot, with Lopez likely coming out on top due to his experience from last season. Gray was an interesting case since he pitched out of the bullpen after coming off the injured list for the Rangers last season, and despite a 1.61 ERA in twenty-one innings, only received minor league offers. His current deal with the A's will pay him $3 million if he makes the roster, which as noted above seems almost assured as he's pitched well this spring. But the biggest developments were the extensions handed out to Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson. Those are in addition to the one that Brent Rooker received last year, giving the lineup three solid cornerstones going forward. The last cornerstone would figure to be Nick Kurtz, but there haven't been any indications that the A's front office and Kurtz's camp have begun any discussions.

02-24-2026, 12:40 PM	#11
3Bplay Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 351	2026 Season Preview Team Roster/Records \| Statistics \| Standings 2026 SEASON PREVIEW Royals look to return to postseason after one-year absence By 3BPlay 03/24/2026 2025 Record: 82-80 (3rd, AL Central) Manager: Matt Quatraro (4th season, 224-262 career win-loss) ZIPS/Steamer projection: 91-71 (1st, AL Central) ROSTER BREAKDOWN ROTATION: L Cole Ragans, L Kris Bubic, R Seth Lugo, R Michael Wacha, L Noah Cameron BULLPEN: R Stephen Kolek, L Bailey Falter, R Nick Mears, R Alex Lange, R John Schreiber, R Lucas Erceg, L Matt Strahm, R Carlos Estevez (CL) CATCHERS: R Salvador Perez, L Carter Jensen INFIELDERS: L Vinnie Pasquantino, R Jonathan India, R Bobby Witt, Jr., R Maikel Garcia, L Josh Rojas OUTFIELDERS: S Isaac Collins, L Kyle Isbel, L Jac Cagilanone, R Lane Thomas, S Drew Waters UTILITY: R Nick Loftin There were a couple of final roster surprises, with the first being Ryan Bergert optioned to Omaha. He pitched pretty well in the spring, but he has multiple options remaining and both JJ Picollo and Matt Quatraro expressed a desire to keep him stretched out. He also could end up as a trade chip if the Royals find a match early in the season for a bat, especially if the offense continues to struggle. Quatraro mentioned that with the first off-day being between the first and second games of the Minnesota series (March 31st), they will skip Noah Cameron in the rotation, meaning they can use him out of the bullpen 'a couple of times' if needed. The other was optioning Massey to Omaha, but again, the Royals' brass has consistently noted that they still believe that Massey can be a starter at second base and want to get him consistent PA's, especially with India and Rojas both reaching free agency after this season. Rojas also offers a bit more youth and defensive ability over last year's super-sub in Adam Frazier, and will likely form a platoon at second base with the aforementioned India. Rojas has also logged over 2,700 career innings at third base, and just over 300 at shortstop, although he hasn't played short in an MLB game since 2021. If Bobby Witt goes down for any reason, or just needs a break, Maikel Garcia is the likely sub with Rojas manning third (or even Loftin). Speaking of Loftin, he really credits working with infield coach Jose Alguacil and Rusty Kuntz, who is officially retired but still works with the players during the spring, on improving his defense, as it's likely that his versatility is going to keep him on the roster throughout the season. It didn't hurt that he had a great spring at the plate, OPS'ing .945 in 41 PA. The out-of-options Drew Waters also gets the nod over John Rave, Tyler Tolbert, and Kameron Misner for what was probably the 26th spot. It's difficult to imagine him being more than a defensive sub and pinch-runner; although he does hit righties pretty well, so on a day where Caglianone DH's or plays at first base, Waters is a more-than-capable fill-in in any of the three OF spots. Additionally, a few days ago the Royals also traded away Dairon Blanco to the Yankees, as he was unlikely to make the roster with a younger version of him already in the organization with Tolbert. BREAKOUT CANDIDATE I know some will say Jensen because he's continuing to post insane exit velo's and drawing walks, but Caglianone also hit the ball well in the spring, leading all Royals' hitters with three homeruns (two vs. LHP!) and tied with Salvador Perez with five doubles. If he can carry the spring success forward into the season, it would go a long way towards validating Picollo's decision to not try harder to land the 'big bat' many fans were hoping for. COMEBACK KID Going into a free agent year, Jonathan India came in sporting a new look and a different outlook, watching gobs of tape of his AB's from last season. New assistant hitting coach Connor Dawson believes they've 'found some things' that were causing his problems, and the Royals are hoping that turns into increased production. Quatraro also said that he'll be hitting 'near the bottom' of the order most nights, so there won't be as much pressure on him to be the main on-base guy. OTHER THINGS TO WATCH FOR The stadium saga is now reaching into its third year, with principal owner John Sherman still 'extremely' optimistic that a new facility will be built downtown by the time the team's lease is up in 2031. However, I think he's backed himself into a bit of a corner with the state of Kansas turning him down late last year, so the state of Missouri (namely Jackson County, Mo.,) have some leverage if they want to break ground in the near future. And no, he's not moving the team to Nashville (or really anywhere else). Nashville is likely to get a team, but it will be an expansion franchise down the road, not a relocated one. Rob Manfred has been on record that he wants all current teams that are dealing with stadium issues to get those resolved before expansion can happen, and the Royals fall squarely into that category. With the A's move to Las Vegas in transition, and the Rays getting the Trop fixed back up, the Royals are the only other team that currently has a pending stadium question. Also, another thing is how progress is made on approving a new CBA. There will 100% be a lockout after December 1st, but will any games be missed? Despite a 99-day lockout in 2022, they managed to get all 162 games in per team that season, moving to double-headers and some strange scheduling quirks for the first handful of weeks to catch up. Among the most pressing issues will undoubtedly be a salary cap, which the owners and players remain far apart on. Arbitration years and minimum salaries are also on the table, along with adjustments to the draft, even possibly an international draft to do away with the international signing period. John Schreiber, who is the Royals' player rep to the MLBPA, has been tight-lipped since the union appointed Bruce Meyer as the interim president of the MLBPA after Tony Clark's ouster, only saying that 'he's hit the ground running' early on in the spring.

02-28-2026, 11:37 PM	#12
3Bplay Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 351	Kansas City at Atlanta (03/27 -- 03/29) Team Roster/Records \| Statistics \| Standings SERIES RECAP: BRAVES Royals begin season in 0-2 hole; finale rained out By 3BPlay 03/30/2026 03/27 -- Braves' six bombs sink the Royals in opener: It wasn't the season opener that Matt Quatraro and the Royals envisioned. At all. Led by reigning NL Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin, the Braves pounded out a half-dozen homeruns against Royals pitching, doubling up the visitors by an 8-4 score. In fact, eight of the ten Braves hits went for extra bases. With a pretty stiff breeze gusting out to center and left-center for most of the game, even seemingly routine fly balls were leaving the yard. Except, the Royals could only muster to get one out of the stadium. Even though the Royals put up a tally in the first, the lead didn't last long. Jurickson Profar set the tone early for Atlanta's onslaught with a solo homerun on Cole Ragans' very first pitch of the 2026 season. Kansas City would re-gain the lead in the third on a Bobby Witt sac fly, while Ragans would go on to settle in and not allow any more runs over the next nine outs after Profar's homer. Matt Olson had other ideas in the fourth, hitting a solo shot to lead off the fourth. Baldwin then would later hit a three-run shot that widened the gap. Ragans finished the fourth inning, but was replaced by Noah Cameron to begin the fifth. Working in relief for the first time as a big leaguer, it didn't go well for him either as he was tagged for a pair of solo homeruns in his two innings of work, one each by Olson and Baldwin. With an off day between the first and second games of next week's home series with the Twins, Cameron has been made available in the short-term as a third lefty out of the bullpen, with his initial start pushed back until April 5th against the Brewers. "At the time, it was a two-run game," said manager Matt Quatraro of his decision to put Cameron in. "The idea was to try and keep it close, and see if we could get (Spencer) Strider out of the game and into their bullpen, but it didn't work out quite that way." Carter Jensen cut the lead to two in that half-inning, hitting a solo shot off Strider for the Royals' first homerun of 2026. Serving as the DH, he went 1-for-3 with the homerun and a walk. Jac Caglianone also had a hard-hit double, going 1-for-3 before being lifted for pinch-hitter Nick Loftin in the eighth. The Royals were also beset by baserunning mistakes. Maikel Garcia got a poor jump on a stolen base attempt in the first and was thrown out by Baldwin at second, while Isaac Collins tried to stretch a single into a double in the third. With lead runner Kyle Isbel going to third, right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr attempted to get him at third, but Olson, a multiple-time Gold Glove winner, cut the throw off and nailed Collins at second on a close play that was reviewed and ultimately overturned by the replay umpire. "I think in the end, I probably wouldn't have tried for second," Quatraro said of Collins' decision to try for two on the play. "We tell our guys to take the extra base when you can, but these guys play team defense as good as anybody in the league. Olson, Gold Glove. Acuna has a laser for an arm. THey just picked up (Mauricio) Dubon over the offseason who can really go get the ball no matter where they put him. Without that play, it's first and third, no outs, and who knows how the rest of that inning goes." Atlanta's six homeruns are the most they've hit since August 12, 2023, when they also hit six homeruns against the Mets. They've also hit seven once, back on May 21st, 2021 at Truist Park, and the team record of eight on May 28th, 2006 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. "I don't know what the odds are exactly, but I'd say the team that hits six homeruns in the game is going to win 99% of the time, Especially when you hit just one, and the other scoring opportunities, you really had to scratch them out," Quatraro went on to say. Code: KC at ATL \| 3/27/2026 \| Truist Park, Atlanta, GA TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Kansas City (0-1) 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 4 8 1 Atlanta (1-0) 1 0 0 4 1 1 0 1 X 8 10 0 W: Spencer Strider (1-0) L: Cole Ragans (0-1) S: None Code: KC HR: Carter Jensen (1) ATL HR: Jurickson Profar (1), Drake Baldwin 2 (2), Matt Olson 2 (2), Austin Riley (1) Code: March 25th, 2026 NYY 8, SF 3 \| March 26th, 2026 MIN 2, BAL 3 \| COL 9, MIA 7 \| TEX 6, PHI 4 \| ATH 5, TOR 10 PIT 5, NYM 3 \| TB 4, STL 2 \| LAA 6, HOU 4 \| CHW 2, MIL 13 CLE 0, SEA 7 \| BOS 4, CIN 6 \| DET 0, SD 3 \| WSH 6, CHC 7 (10) ARI 11, LAD 6 March 27th, 2026 LAA 3, HOU 2 \| DET 9, SD 2 \| CLE 2, SEA 4 \| ARI 2, LAD 10 KC 4, ATL 8 \| NYY 1, SF 4 \| 03/28 -- Braves edge K.C. in walk-off defeat: Kansas City finds themselves in an early 0-2 hole, dropping a 5-4 walk-off decision to the Braves. Austin Riley's two-out single in the ninth against Lucas Erceg poked through the Gold Glove-winning left side of the Royals' infield and scored former Royal Mike Yastrzemski from second base, as Isaac Collins' throw would have likely got him at the plate had it not been off to the first base side of home. "It was a good throw, but we needed a great one on that play," manager Matt Quatraro mused after the game. "If Carter (Jensen) didn't have to cross his body to bring it in and back across to make the tag, that's an out most certainly. But as it is, we just didn't execute in certain spots, both on defense and at the plate." It's only two games, but the offense has seemingly picked up where it left off in 2025, leaving gobs of runners on base in key spots and being forced to eke out runs one at a time seemingly. Through the first two games, they've left eighteen men on base, with eleven of them coming on Saturday. Jensen homered for the second straight game, a two-run homerun in the seventh off Chris Sale with no one out that chased the veteran lefty from the game; and even when they brought in Aaron Bummer in his place, the Royals continued to put the pressure on with no one out by loading the bases with two singles sandwiched around a hit batter. But a line drive out by Maikel Garcia, followed by another hit batter as Bummer forced in a run by hitting Vinnie Pasquantino, who would later tie the game again in the late innings. With the bases loaded and still just one out, both Salvador Perez and Lane Thomas flew out to left, ending the inning with just three runs, but the potential for a lot more. Pasquantino's two-out double put him in position to score before Perez was intentionally walked to bring up Thomas, who struck out against Raisel Iglesias to strand pinch-runner Drew Waters at second. "Looking back, that's where we lost it," Thomas, who left three runners in scoring position, lamented after the game. "Just didn't get a good swing on the fly out, and missed a real golden chance to break the game open." Kris Bubic got the ball against Sale for the Royals, and it wasn't a pretty outing. Yes, he only allowed three earned runs in five innings, but was tagged for eight hits and two walks while striking out five. Quatraro called his performance 'gutsy', but said there were certainly some positive things to take away as well. "He threw strikes pretty consistently," he said. "After each inning, he noted one or two pitches that were hit hard where he didn't get quite the movement on it he wanted, which led to him getting hit pretty hard at times, but he did enough to keep us in it. We just didn't come through in late-game situations offensively." Code: KC at ATL \| 3/28/2026 \| Truist Park, Atlanta, GA TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Kansas City (0-2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 4 10 1 Atlanta (2-0) 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 5 14 0 W: Raisel Iglesias (1-0) L: Lucas Erceg (0-1) S: None Code: KC HR: Carter Jensen (2) ATL HR: None Code: March 28th, 2026 MIN 3, BAL 0 \| LAA 1, HOU 4 \| ATH 7, TOR 3 \| WSH 7, CHC 6 (11) KC 4, ATL 5 \| COL 6, MIA 9 \| TEX 3, PHI 6 \| PIT 4, NYM 12 CLE 3, SEA 4 \| CHW 5, MIL 9 \| TB 6, STL 7 \| BOS 8, CIN 11 ARI 2, LAD 1 \| DET 9, SD 1 \| NYY 6, SF 3 \| 03/29 -- Royals rained out; game to be made up April 27th: The afternoon contest between the Braves and Royals to cap off the series was postponed to April 27th due to the weather, as heavy rains moved into the region yesterday morning and lasted throughout the afternoon. Instead, the Royals boarded an earlier charter flight out of Atlanta back to Kansas City as they'll play their home opener today with the Twins coming in for three games over the next four days. "We were told there was pretty much no way that the game was going to be played," manager Matt Quatraro noted in his morning press conference over Zoom from Kauffman Stadium. "They had the tarps out and on the field just prior to the rain starting, but it was supposed to rain all day, so the league called both sides and said that they were going to start looking for dates on the calendar to come back and get this game made up. So from there, we were able to get out before the heavy stuff really hit, so we appreciate that." Instead, the Royals remain at 0-2 on the season, and will look to right the ship at home after facing a Braves team that while they are still missing a few key members of their pitching staff, they have players like Ronald Acuna Jr and Jurickson Profar back in the lineup after missing at least half the season for various reasons, and added players such as Mauricio Dubon over the offseason. "That's a team that played last season at probably sixty to seventy-five strength at any given time," he said when asked about playing the Braves. "They still have a few guys out at this point, mainly a few pitchers and (catcher Sean) Murphy, but their lineup is back and nearly fully healthy, and they're going to be a real problem for anyone they're going to face this year." Seth Lugo, who was scheduled to start yesterday afternoon, will get the ball for tonight's home opener against righty Zebby Matthews of Minnesota. It would have been Michael Wacha tonight had yesterday's game been played, but due to the schedule change, the starter for Wednesday night's game has not yet been announced. "The additional off day does really throw a wrench in our plans, but it could also open up some more strategic opportunities," Quatraro went on to say. "As you all know, Noah Cameron is a guy who can still go out of the bullpen in this series, and perhaps we can employ Wacha as a swing-type arm if things go sideways. I think a lot of it depends on how tonight's game goes." Code: KC at ATL \| 3/29/2026 \| Truist Park, Atlanta, GA TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E GAME POSTPONED UNTIL APRIL 27TH (WEATHER) Code: March 29th, 2026 MIN 1, BAL 3 \| LAA 3, HOU 6 \| ATH 8, TOR 1 \| WSH 3, CHC 8 COL 9, MIA 6 \| TEX 2, PHI 4 \| PIT 4, NYM 5 \| CLE 3, SEA 2 CHW 5, MIL 2 \| TB 2, STL 4 \| BOS 5, CIN 4 \| KC @ ATL PPD