Yankees Notes: Weathers, Lagrange
Ryan Weathers was knocked around in today’s Grapefruit League loss. The new Yankees southpaw allowed seven runs on eight hits in three innings. He’s up to 16 earned runs over 12 1/3 frames across four starts this spring.
The struggles haven’t jeopardized Weathers’ hold on a rotation spot. Manager Aaron Boone confirmed the lefty will open the season in the starting five (relayed by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). Boone noted that he’s more focused on the pitcher’s raw stuff than results in exhibition play.
Despite being hit around, Weathers has shown a promising arsenal. His fastball is up above 98 mph on average, a tick higher than his 97 mph heater during last year’s regular season with Miami. Weathers has picked up 17 strikeouts while missing bats on more than 14% of his offerings. It’s certainly an ugly ERA, but the velocity and whiffs are encouraging.
Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Luis Gil and Weathers will comprise the season-opening rotation. Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón are each opening on the injured list. Cole threw an inning in his first Spring Training appearance on Wednesday. Rodón hasn’t pitched this spring but could be ready for regular season action by the end of April.
Weathers and Gil each have a minor league option remaining. They’ll have a few starts to try to ensure they stick in the rotation once Rodón and/or Cole are healthy. It’d be crowded if everyone is available, but the Yankees don’t have much experienced depth in the short term. Osvaldo Bido is out of options and could find himself back on waivers next week. Swingmen Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn and prospect Elmer Rodríguez (who has yet to pitch in the big leagues) are the other healthy rotation options on the 40-man roster.
Among the team’s non-roster invitees, no one turned more heads this spring than righty Carlos Lagrange. The 22-year-old fireballer reeled off 13 2/3 innings of one-run ball while recording 13 strikeouts. He was routinely pumping triple digit fastballs with wipeout secondary stuff. There was some thought that Lagrange might even be pitching his way into the Opening Day conversation, but the Yankees reassigned him to minor league camp this afternoon.
Boone acknowledged that Lagrange looked much nearer to MLB readiness than he’d anticipated coming into the spring. “I don’t know if we were ever going to break [camp] with him, but I would say we’ve at least talked about it,” he told Greg Joyce of The New York Post. “What he’s done the last six weeks definitely made us think maybe he’s closer than we think.”
Lagrange’s arsenal would probably play in the big league bullpen already. It’s potential top-of-the-rotation stuff, so the Yankees will continue developing him as a starter in the minors to work on his command. Lagrange was around the zone this spring, only issuing four walks with one hit batter. That’s obviously a small body of work. His strike-throwing has been the big question in the minors. Lagrange walked more than 12% of opponents in his 120 innings between High-A and Double-A last year. He’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft next offseason, and it seems likely he’ll debut at some point this year.
Brewers Option Logan Henderson, Blake Perkins
The Brewers made a few camp cuts on Thursday. Starter Logan Henderson, outfielder Blake Perkins, and corner bat Tyler Black were all sent out and will open the season with Triple-A Nashville.
Two weeks ago, Henderson had seemingly been well positioned for a spot in the Opening Day rotation. There are at least two jobs up for grabs after the Freddy Peralta trade and with Quinn Priester beginning the season on the injured list. The Brewers have rotation roles committed to Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick and (assuming he’s fully built up) Brandon Woodruff.
The 24-year-old Henderson was firmly in the mix after impressing over his first five MLB starts a year ago. His odds of breaking camp were set back when he reported minor elbow soreness last week. Henderson had finished the 2025 season on the injured list with elbow inflammation. The team didn’t consider this recent flareup especially alarming — he’s already throwing again — but he hasn’t appeared in a Spring Training game in two weeks.
Skipper Pat Murphy indicated the demotion is largely about giving Henderson a chance to build his workload in the minors. “Part of this move is to make sure he can go post regularly,” Murphy told reporters (link via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). “We’re not going to immediately build him up to five innings. We’re going to let him go two innings and see how he responds, two innings and see how he responds. Just make sure he’s responding each time because he’s had (an injury) history.”
This probably paves the way for Brandon Sproat and Kyle Harrison to round out the rotation. Harrison left yesterday’s appearance with a blister, but it’s not expected to be an issue moving forward. Robert Gasser and Shane Drohan are also still in the mix, with Drohan having the far more impressive camp of those two.
Acquired from the Red Sox in the Caleb Durbin trade, Harrison has allowed 12 runs (eight earned) across 9 2/3 spring innings. That’s obviously not ideal, but he has struck out 15 opponents while averaging 95 mph on his fastball. Sproat came over from the Mets as part of the Peralta return. He has allowed five runs with a 10:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio over nine innings.
In any case, the Brewers will lean heavily on their bullpen while frequently shuttling starters up and down from Nashville. There’s more clarity on the position player side, which is down to 14 a week before Opening Day. The final camp cut will almost certainly be third catcher Reese McGuire, a non-roster invitee.
McCalvy notes that the Perkins option means Brandon Lockridge is heading north with the club. The speedster won the fourth outfield role by hitting .314 with four homers and three steals in 12 games this spring. He’ll join Gary Sánchez, Jake Bauers and utility infielder David Hamilton on the season-opening bench.
Dodgers, Logan Allen Agree To Minor League Deal
The Dodgers are in agreement with left-hander Logan Allen on a minor league contract, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Allen, 28, spent last season in Korea and is fresh off representing Canada in the World Baseball Classic.
A namesake of a current Guardians starter (who also pitched in the WBC as a member of Team Panama), this Logan Allen is a former Cleveland pitcher. Allen also suited up with the Padres, Orioles and Diamondbacks in an MLB career which has spanned parts of five seasons. His most recent big league experience came with Arizona two years ago. Allen allowed a 5.46 earned run average over 28 innings.
He signed with the KBO’s NC Dinos last winter. Allen took the ball 32 times and logged 173 innings but didn’t have great rate production. He allowed a 4.53 ERA in the pitcher-friendly league. That ranked 28th among the 38 KBO pitchers who reached 100 innings. Allen was 25th among the group with a 19.4% strikeout rate.
KBO teams are limited to three foreign-born pitchers, one of whom must be from Australia or elsewhere in Asia. Given that restriction, it’s not surprising the Dinos went in a different direction after Allen’s middling season. They re-signed former Cubs minor leaguer Riley Thompson and added Curtis Taylor (who spent last year in Triple-A with the Cardinals) as Allen’s replacement. Japanese-born Natsuki Toda is their Asian-born international player.
Davidi writes that Allen was set to sign with a Mexican League team for 2026. He got the WBC nod and pitched twice for Team Canada, working 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball. He impressed Dodgers evaluators enough to instead land a new affiliated ball opportunity. He’ll begin the season as rotation or long relief depth for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Giants Option Bryce Eldridge
The Giants optioned rookie first baseman Bryce Eldridge, the team informed reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). San Francisco also optioned second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald and outfielder Grant McCray.
Eldridge will open the season in the minors after finishing the ’25 season on the MLB roster. The 21-year-old top prospect made his big league debut in September. He played in 10 games and took 37 plate appearances, batting .107 without a home run. Eldridge took seven walks but struck out 13 times.
A 6’7″ power bat, Eldridge popped 25 homers in the upper minors last year. He combined for a .260/.333/.510 batting line across 433 trips. Eldridge spent the majority of the year as one of the youngest players in Triple-A. There’s immense physical upside, but he’s clearly far from a finished product. Eldridge struck out in more than 29% of his minor league plate appearances.
The whiffs have remained an issue this spring. Eldridge has fanned in 19 of his 50 exhibition plate appearances. He’s second (behind former Giants first-round pick James Tibbs III) in strikeouts among Spring Training hitters. It’s understandable the team feels he’d benefit from more reps against Triple-A pitching.
While Eldridge is surely disappointed not to have made his first Opening Day roster, it’s not exactly a career setback. Most hitters his age aren’t in consideration to break camp. He’ll very likely be back up at some point this season.
The demotion will probably have service time implications. He has 14 days of big league time, meaning he’d need to spend 158 days on the MLB roster to reach one year of service at season’s end. That won’t happen unless he’s called up before the end of April. It’s not a case of service time manipulation, to be clear. If the Giants were primarily concerned with that, they wouldn’t have promoted him last season (earlier than they needed to select him onto the 40-man roster).
The Giants are likely bypassing the chance at getting a Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick, though it’d technically still be in play if they recall him within the first couple weeks. The PPI pick is conditional on awards voting, though, and Eldridge’s strikeout rates are concerning enough that he’d have an uphill path to winning Rookie of the Year. The primary focus is what the team thinks best for his development.
Rafael Devers will be the primary first baseman. The Giants don’t have a set designated hitter with Eldridge in the minors. There’s now more of a path to carrying both Luis Matos and Jerar Encarnación on the active roster. Both players are out of options and would otherwise need to be traded or exposed to waivers.
Casey Schmitt and a backup catcher (likely Rule 5 draftee Daniel Susac) are going to have bench spots. That’d leave one position player spot available between Will Brennan, Drew Gilbert, Christian Koss or a non-roster invitee. Corner bat Victor Bericoto and speedy outfielder Jared Oliva are among the minor league invites who have impressed this spring.
Astros’ Bennett Sousa To Begin Season On Injured List
Astros reliever Bennett Sousa will begin the season on the 15-day injured list, manager Joe Espada tells reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). The southpaw suffered a left oblique strain last week and is back in Houston for testing.
It certainly seems like it’ll be more than a minimal injured list stay. Espada declined to specify a timeline but noted it’d be “a while.” Sousa is shut down entirely until he’s able to throw without pain. He’ll join Josh Hader as key bullpen arms starting the season on the shelf.
Losing Sousa obviously isn’t as impactful as beginning the season without Hader, but it’s nevertheless a real blow to Espada’s relief corps. A waiver claim at the end of the ’23 campaign, Sousa quietly developed into a key bullpen piece last year. He fired 50 2/3 innings of 2.84 ERA ball while striking out almost 30% of batters faced. By the second half, no Houston pitcher was being called upon in higher-leverage situations on average.
Sousa has struggled to stay healthy over the past few years. He missed the entire 2024 season due to thoracic outlet surgery. Sousa came back stronger than ever but went down at the end of August with elbow inflammation — ultimately ending his season. He had tossed three innings of one-run ball this spring.
Hader’s absence means Bryan Abreu will begin the season as the primary closer. Bryan King and Steven Okert still give the Astros a pair of quality left-handed setup arms. The bullpen is much less imposing from the right side, especially if they’re reluctant to use Abreu earlier in games.
Enyel De Los Santos, himself questionable for Opening Day after battling a right knee issue, could be set for important innings. Rule 5 pick Roddery Muñoz has had a fantastic Spring Training and should break camp. AJ Blubaugh and Kai-Wei Teng could pitch multiple innings if they make the team, while Ryan Weiss will either be part of a six-man rotation or in long relief. Minor league signee Christian Roa has pitched very well (8 2/3 innings of one-run ball with 12 strikeouts) and seems to have a clear path to an Opening Day roster spot.
Grayson Rodriguez May Begin Season On Injured List
Angels right-hander Grayson Rodriguez may begin the season on the injured list. Manager Kurt Suzuki told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, that Rodriguez has a “dead arm” and will be slowed down. With Opening Day now just a week away, that makes it possible Rodriguez starts the season on the 15-day injured list, depending on how things progress in the coming days.
At this point, it doesn’t appear to be a major issue. Rodriguez isn’t even being shut down, with Fletcher noting that he still threw today, but it’s concerning nonetheless. Injuries have been in the spotlight for Rodriguez in recent years. He made 43 starts for the Orioles in 2023 and the first half of the 2024 season. He hasn’t made an official start since July of 2024, primarily due to shoulder issues.
He underwent elbow debridement surgery in August of last year. He was flipped to the Angels early this offseason in a one-for-one-trade for outfielder Taylor Ward. After that deal, Rodriguez spoke about his health and seemed optimistic. He said that he had been dealing with bone spurs in his elbow for three or four years. He believed this was adding stress to his shoulder and causing his numerous problems with that part of his arm.
For Rodriguez to now be dealing with arm problems once again is less than ideal. Perhaps it will remain a fairly minor issue but the Angels don’t have a lot of margin for error. They came into camp with a rotation projected to include José Soriano, Yusei Kikuchi, Reid Detmers, Alek Manoah and Rodriguez. Soriano and Kikuchi are fine but the group is fairly questionable after that.
Detmers had a 3.96 ERA in relief last year but a 6.70 ERA as a starter the year prior. He has a 7.27 ERA in spring training so far. Like Rodriguez, Manoah is looking to bounce back after a lengthy injury absence, but he has a 9.39 ERA this spring.
If Manoah gets optioned or Rodriguez needs to spend some time on the IL, that could open a spot for Jack Kochanowicz. He’s having a good spring but posted a 6.81 ERA in the big leagues last year. Fletcher suggested yesterday that Ryan Johnson has a chance to earn a spot, getting an aggressive Opening Day nod yet again. The Angels gave him a spot in their bullpen to begin last season even though he hadn’t yet played a game as a professional. He posted a 7.36 ERA through early May, at which point he was optioned down to High-A.
It’s worth reiterating that there’s still nothing to indicate Rodriguez is dealing with any kind of major issue. He may still avoid the IL if he feels better in the coming days. Even if he lands on the shelf, Opening Day IL stints can be backdated three days, so he could be back in less than two weeks.
But the Angels are going into a season where they hope to contend but need a lot of things to go right in order to that to be possible. They went 72-90 last year and didn’t make strong moves to upgrade the roster this winter. The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs give them just a 4.9% chance of cracking the postseason. The PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus are even more pessimistic, giving the Halos just a 0.1% chance.
A minor setback for a club’s fourth starter wouldn’t always be a cause for worry but it looms larger for the Angels than with other clubs since any setback can further diminish already-slim those odds.
Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images
Hayden Birdsong To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
The Giants announced that right-hander Hayden Birdsong will undergo Tommy John surgery next week. He will miss the entire 2026 season and part of the 2027 campaign as well. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was among those to pass the info along.
The news is not surprising but is awful for Birdsong and the Giants regardless. It was reported a few days ago that Birdsong had an elbow issue and would be getting a second opinion. He was then diagnosed with a forearm strain and a sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament. He took a few days to consider his options but it seems he is destined for the surgeon’s table.
Prior to this injury, Birdsong was slated to be one of the club’s top depth starters. They project to start the season with a starting five of Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Tyler Mahle, Adrian Houser and Landen Roupp. Due to injuries, teams usually need about a dozen starters to get through a full season. The Giants have Carson Seymour, Carson Whisenhunt and Blade Tidwell as optionable depth starters. Birdsong would have been in that group but has now been subtracted.
Birdsong should end up on the 60-day injured list whenever the Giants need a spot on the 40-man roster. The one silver lining of that outcome is that Birdsong will get a full year of service time and pay, more than if he spent the year as a healthy but frequently-optioned depth arm.
The typical recovery timeline for Tommy John surgery is usually 14 months or more. That means Birdsong won’t be available until about midway through the 2027 season, even in a best-case scenario. Ray and Mahle are both scheduled for free agency after 2026, so two rotation spots are potentially opening up. Those could be filled internally if guys like Seymour, Whisenhunt or Tidwell step up. The Giants could also make notable trades between now and then, in addition to potentially signing free agents next winter.
Time will tell what shape the rotation is in when Birdsong is again healthy but he should be a key part of the group regardless. He only has a 4.77 earned run average in his career so far but is only 24 years old and comes with some prospect pedigree. FanGraphs has been especially bullish, as they gave him the #42 overall spot at one point during the 2024 season. Birdsong posted a 2.51 ERA on the farm that year but then had a 6.23 ERA in Triple-A in 2025 and now he’s dealing with this lengthy rehab process.
Photo courtesy of Eakin Howard, Imagn Images
Poll: Who Will Win The AL East?
With Opening Day just around the corner, the offseason is more or less complete for MLB’s 30 clubs and teams are now focused on the incoming season and being the final team standing to raise the Commissioner’s Trophy. Until the playoffs begin, however, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. In the run-up to the start of the season, we will be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. That series starts today with the AL East. All teams are listed in order of their 2025 regular season record:
Toronto Blue Jays (94-68)
The Blue Jays only narrowly won the AL East last year, with the division coming down to a tiebreaker. They made a much more convincing case for themselves as the top dog in the division come the postseason, however, as they easily dispatched the Yankees in the ALDS and went on to make it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series before losing that final game against the mighty Dodgers by just a hair. They went on to have an aggressive offseason in their efforts to stay at the top of the totem pole. The Jays lost Bo Bichette and Chris Bassitt to free agency, but managed to retain Max Scherzer while adding Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce to a rotation that already boasts Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, and Trey Yesavage. Their efforts to improve on the pitching side didn’t ignore the bullpen either, as Tyler Rogers was brought in to support Jeff Hoffman and Louis Varland in the late innings. Losing Bichette certainly hurts for Toronto’s offense, but Kazuma Okamoto figures to be an able replacement as a right-handed bat in the middle of the order, and the team also bolstered their outfield depth with the addition of Jesus Sanchez. Will that be enough to maintain control in the East, or will Toronto brass regret missing out on Bichette and Kyle Tucker this winter?
New York Yankees (94-68)
The Yankees only lost the East by a hair last year. Their plan for this season appears to be running back last year’s squad and hoping that the return of Gerrit Cole can push them over the edge. Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, Trent Grisham, and Paul Blackburn are all returning via free agency. With that being said, the team didn’t make any significant additions aside from bringing back the old guard when it comes to free agency. Their lone major addition to the roster this offseason was a trade with the Marlins that brought back southpaw Ryan Weathers, who has never thrown even 100 innings in a season but does sport a solid 3.74 ERA across his last 24 outings. That addition to the rotation mix is matched by a substantial loss in the bullpen, however, as both Devin Williams and Luke Weaver eschewed the Bronx in favor of Queens during free agency. Perhaps the additions of Cole (as he returns from a season lost to Tommy John surgery) and Weathers will make up for those losses, but the Yankees will also have to contend with the injury bug; Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Anthony Volpe are all starting the season on the injured list, while Clarke Schmidt is already lost for the year to elbow surgery.
Boston Red Sox (89-73)
The Red Sox certainly had a busy offseason, but it’s not exactly the ones fans were expecting. Alex Bregman is suddenly a Chicago Cub. Both Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu remain with the Red Sox. While the team’s elite outfield remains intact, the infield looks somewhat suspect. The addition of Willson Contreras at first base should provide some reliability that former top prospect Triston Casas has not been able to so far in his career, but the Red Sox will be banking on another solid season from Trevor Story after his bounce-back in 2025 while turning to Marcelo Mayer at second base and Caleb Durbin at third base. All three of those players have the opportunity to be solid, but only Mayer has a ceiling comparable to the impact Bregman offered and fans in Boston need not be reminded of the risks associated with handing the keys to a young player at second base after Kristian Campbell‘s rookie year. On the other hand, the team’s pitching looks better than ever. Garrett Crochet nearly won the Cy Young award last year, and this season he’ll be supported by both Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray to give the Red Sox one of the more impressive potential playoff rotations in the game. Will that be enough to win the AL East this year, given the club’s lack of impact hitting additions?
Tampa Bay Rays (77-85)
The Rays are coming off back-to-back seasons where they finished just a bit below .500. After the rest of the division spent the offseason loading up on talent for the 2026 campaign, a lot will need to go right for the Rays to improve this year. Junior Caminero is a superstar at third base but the losses of Brandon Lowe and Pete Fairbanks figure to be a tough blow this year. In typical Rays fashion, the club’s additions aren’t necessarily impactful on paper. None of Jake Fraley, Gavin Lux, Cedric Mullins, Steven Matz, and Nick Martinez had impact seasons last year but they’ve all shown themselves to be more than capable of being effective major leaguers in the past. Additionally, young pieces like Ryan Pepiot and Carson Williams could plausibly take the sort of step forward Jonathan Aranda did last year, therefore joining Aranda and Yandy Diaz as strong pieces of Caminero’s supporting cast. Will all that be enough to overcome the Rays’ high-spending rivals?
Baltimore Orioles (75-87)
The Orioles had a disaster of a 2025 season but they resolved to fix their flaws in this offseason and made a strong effort to do just that. Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward brought in reliable, right-handed power that a lineup stacked with upside but lacking in floor desperately needed. A revamped rotation featuring not just a healthy Kyle Bradish but also a reunion with Zach Eflin plus the additions of both Shane Baz and Chris Bassitt certainly offers more upside than last year’s group, even if they failed to sign the surefire ace they entered the season widely expected to target. That improved rotation is also being supported by a bullpen that brought back Andrew Kittredge after dealing him away at the trade deadline and added Ryan Helsley in order to replace injured closer Felix Bautista. The bones of a very deep and talented team are clearly present in Baltimore but whether they can rise from fifth in the division all the way to first will surely depend on the health and performance of their core pieces like Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Adley Rutschman. Gunnar Henderson remains a good bet to earn himself MVP votes but will the rest of that elite group of youngsters be able to start to catch up to him?
After a busy offseason all around the AL East, which team is most likely to come out on top this year? Will the Blue Jays hold on after their near-miss at a championship last season? Will the Yankees be able to get better results with the same roster? Will the Red Sox or Orioles be able to make an unorthodox offseason into a success despite notable misses on some stated goals for the winter? Or will the Rays once again work the magic that’s made them so successful in the past and surprise the league? Have your say in the poll below:
Who will win the AL East in 2026?
Braves Outright Ian Hamilton
The Braves announced that right-hander Ian Hamilton has been sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. There wasn’t any previous indication he was on waivers but it appears he was quietly passed through unclaimed in recent days. The move drops Atlanta’s 40-man roster count from 39 to 38.
Hamilton was non-tendered by the Yankees after the 2025 season. Atlanta gave him a roster spot in December. Hamilton’s deal has a non-guaranteed $1.05MM salary, per the Associated Press. By cutting him from the roster before Opening Day, Atlanta will only owe him 45 days’ prorated termination pay, or about $254K.
The righty has at least three years of service time, meaning he has the right to elect free agency. Since he has fewer than five years of service, he would have to forfeit any remaining salary commitments on his deal by exercising that right. It’s unclear what kind of salary he would be paid as a minor leaguer, which would impact his decision.
Hamilton had some good seasons in the Bronx. He gave the Yanks 95 2/3 innings over 2023 and 2024, allowing 3.10 earned runs per nine. His 10% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 27.4% of batters faced and induced ground balls at a 50.4% clip. His results backed up last year, as he posted a 4.28 ERA. His 25.3% strikeout rate was still good but a drop of a few ticks. He also saw his ground ball rate fall to 37.8% as his walk rate climbed to 13.3%. He was optioned to the minors for the final two months of the season.
That exhausted his final option year, so he will now be out of options going forward. That probably contributed to him getting pushed off the Yankee roster. He could have been retained for 2026 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $941K salary, barely above this year’s $780K minimum. The Yankees decided to non-tender him instead, sending him to free agency.
Atlanta now has a couple of roster spots to play with. They are likely to use one on Dominic Smith, whose path to playing time was opened by the Jurickson Profar suspension. The club might also select Martín Pérez or JR Ritchie to the roster. Atlanta also has several candidates to move to the 60-day injured list, with Joey Wentz, AJ Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep and Danny Young all possibilities. With that flexibility, this Hamilton move was probably less about opening a 40-man spot and more just a reflection of the fact that he wasn’t going to crack the Opening Day active roster.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
Mets Option Ronny Mauricio
The Mets announced a series of roster cuts today. Most notably, infielder Ronny Mauricio has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. They also optioned right-hander Joey Gerber while non-roster pitchers Brandon Waddell and Mike Baumann were reassigned to minor league camp.
The Mauricio move might be a clue about some other moves the Mets will make to round out their Opening Day roster. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports that third baseman Bo Bichette will play shortstop tomorrow with the possibility of the Mets beginning the season without a backup shortstop on the bench.
Bichette had been a shortstop for his entire career until recently. He finished the 2025 season on the injured list and missed the beginning of the Blue Jays’ playoff run. The Jays activated him for the World Series even though he clearly wasn’t fully healthy, then had him split his time between second base and designated hitter.
Even before that knee injury, Bichette wasn’t considered a strong defensive shortstop, so a move off the position felt inevitable. The Mets signed him this winter to get his bat in the lineup, even though they already had Francisco Lindor and Marcus Semien as their middle infield tandem. Bichette is going to be the regular third baseman but could perhaps serve as the de facto backup shortstop. Lindor is recovering from hamate surgery but is expected to be ready for the Opening Day roster.
Perhaps the Mauricio demotion is a sign that the Mets are indeed comfortable with that arrangement. The domino effect of that stance is that they could be able to promote prospect Carson Benge and also keep Mike Tauchman.
The Mets seem to have three of four bench spots locked up. Backup catcher Luis Torrens will have one. Corner infielder Mark Vientos should have another. Tyrone Taylor projects as the fourth outfielder. All three of those guys are out of options. Mauricio made sense as the fourth guy on the bench but he’s now out.
All offseason, president of baseball operations David Stearns has said that Benge would have a chance to make the team. As a safety net, they signed Tauchman to a minor league deal and MJ Melendez on a split deal. Melendez has an option and was sent down earlier this week. Benge has done his part to earn a spot, having put up a .406/.472/.500 line this spring. Tauchman has been making the team’s decision tough, putting up a .280/.419/.520 line.
Tauchman can opt out of his deal on March 25th if he’s not on the roster. Given his track record, he would likely trigger that clause and find a job elsewhere. If the Mets want to keep him around, then going with this shortstop plan would be a way to do that. Simultaneously, they could give Benge the regular right field job on Opening Day, keeping the possibility of the Prospect Promotion Incentive on the table.
If that’s the route they go, that could have impacts on others. Utility player Vidal Bruján is on the roster but out of options. The Mets could give him the final bench spot now that Mauricio has been sent down but that would mean letting Tauchman slip away. It’s possible Bruján gets nudged off the roster in the coming days.
As for Mauricio, he was once a notable prospect but his progression has been slowed a bit. He missed the entire 2024 season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He was back on the field in 2025 but was in a bench role for most of the year. He got into 61 big league games and produced a tepid .226/.293/.369 line.
Optioning him to the minors would have the benefit of getting him some regular playing time, something he hasn’t had in a while. However, he has just one option season remaining. If he stays down for at least 20 days, he will be out of options in 2027.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images