Red Sox Haven’t Discussed Extension With Connelly Early
Connelly Early burst into the Red Sox rotation with a 2.33 ERA over his first 19 1/3 innings in the majors last September, enhancing his status as a key part of Boston’s pitching future. Cementing that future potential in the form of a contract extension, however, doesn’t yet appear to be in the team’s plans, as MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith and Chris Cotillo write that the Sox haven’t yet engaged with Early’s reps at Excel Sports Management about a long-term deal.
Part of the reason could be related to Early’s choice of agency, as Excel clients don’t usually pursue long-term extensions in general, and never so early in their big league careers. Using MLBTR’s Contract Tracker for reference, most of Excel’s extensions over the last two decades have been shorter-term deals covering two or three or a player’s arbitration years, without extending his team’s control. Former Excel client Freddie Freeman signed an eight-year, $135MM extension with the Braves back in February 2014, and Cal Raleigh signed his six-year, $105MM extension with the Mariners just under a year ago, but Freeman and Raleigh each had more than three years of MLB service at the times of those deals.
Early, by contrast, has only 20 official days on his service clock. Early and fellow southpaw Payton Tolle (31 days) each logged little enough time in their 2025 debut seasons that, as Smith and Cotillo note, the Red Sox can still gain an extra year of team control over the duo if they’re held in the minors for a certain amount of time in 2026 — Early 35 days, and Tolle 45 days.
Such considerations might factor into whether or not Early or Tolle make Boston’s Opening Day roster, but an extension would obviously overwrite things. Since Craig Breslow become the team’s chief baseball officer, the Red Sox have locked up Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Ceddanne Rafaela to long-term extensions when all three of those players had just a handful of MLB games under their belt.
Early didn’t quite have the same star-prospect status of that group, but the fifth-round pick from Boston’s 2023 draft class advanced to Double-A before the 2024 season was over. He really got himself on the radar with a 2.60 ERA, 31.9% strikeout rate, and 9.7% walk rate across 100 1/3 minor league innings (71 2/3 in Double-A, 28 2/3 in Triple-A) in 2025, leading to his late-season call-up.
If it wasn’t for the precedent of these other early-career extensions for Anthony and company, there probably wouldn’t be any discussion of a contract for Early given that he is still so new on the big league scene. The Red Sox may also want a bit more time to evaluate what they really have in Early, and if his promising development on the farm can truly translate to a good career in the majors.
Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray were new acquisitions this winter, and they’ll join Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello as the locks within the Sox pitching staff. Johan Oviedo is another new face acquired in a trade with the Pirates this winter, so he might have the edge on the fifth starter’s job even though Early and others are still competing. The likeliest scenario is that Early, Tolle, and (on rehab assignments) Patrick Sandoval and Kutter Crawford start the season at Triple-A, acting as rotation depth.
Giants’ Hayden Birdsong Getting Second Opinion On Forearm Issue
TODAY: Birdsong’s agent Scott Boras told Susan Slusser that his client’s issue is related to his forearm. After an initial MRI, Birdsong is now getting a second opinion. Despite this somewhat ominous situation, Birdsong himself is hopeful that he’ll just miss a few weeks of action, which seems like it would be a best-case scenario even if it means a season-opening IL stint.
MARCH 12: Giants right-hander Hayden Birdsong is being evaluated for an elbow issue, reports Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. President of baseball operations Buster Posey tells Slusser that the team is awaiting word from their medical staff.
At this point, it’s not clear if the team fears a potential long-term injury. Birdsong has had a brutal Spring Training, giving up eight runs over 2 1/3 innings. His velocity is intact, though, as he’s averaging 97.3 mph on his heater. He averaged 95-96 mph on his fastball while working multiple innings last year.
Birdsong was one of the organization’s better pitching prospects when he debuted in 2024. He has shown the ability to miss bats at the highest level, but subpar command has undercut his consistency. Birdsong excelled out of the bullpen early in the ’25 season.
The Giants moved him to the rotation towards the end of May. Birdsong’s first five starts were solid enough, if inefficient, but the wheels fell off in his latter five appearances. A July 21 outing in which Birdsong didn’t retire any of six batters faced was the final straw. The Giants optioned him to Triple-A. A 6.23 ERA across 10 Triple-A starts wasn’t enough to get back to the MLB level.
Birdsong entered the spring no higher than sixth on the rotation depth chart. He can continue to start in the minors or be an option for work in a wide open San Francisco bullpen. His Spring Training numbers hadn’t put him in a great position to break camp even before the potential for an injured list stint.
Robert Stephenson To Undergo Tests After Injury Setback
Robert Stephenson is dealing with yet another injury concern, as Angels manager Kurt Suzuki told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) that the right-hander has sustained some type of unspecified setback during his throwing sessions. Suzuki described the issue only as “a little setback,” but Stephenson will undergo tests to determine the extent of the matter.
Given the timing of this apparent injury and Stephenson’s checkered health history, it now seems very possible that he’ll begin the season on the Angels’ 15-day injured list. Even if this current issue is just a speedbump and Stephenson is back throwing in a few days’ time, his throwing progression could be scaled back a bit, plus the reliever has yet to pitch in any Cactus League games.
In his own words, Stephenson already went into Spring Training “a little bit behind everybody” after receiving an injection during the offseason to deal with some symptoms related to thoracic outlet syndrome. Still, it was just a week ago that Stephenson was feeling confident about his chances of making the Opening Day roster, as he had progressed to facing hitters during live batting practice sessions.
It’s an unwelcome start to Stephenson’s third season with the Halos, as the right-hander has barely pitched over the first two seasons of what was initially a three-year, $33MM contract. As per a clause in the contract, the Angels gained a $2.5MM club option for 2027 because Stephenson suffered a major elbow ligament-related injury — namely the Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2024 season.
Stephenson returned to appear in two games in May 2025, but a nerve-related biceps problem forced him back to the IL for almost three more months. He made it back to pitch in 10 more games for Los Angeles before a bout of elbow inflammation ended his season. Stephenson’s Angels resume consists of just 10 innings in 2025, with a 2.70 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate, and 7.1% walk rate.
While a small sample size, Stephenson’s solid numbers provided some hope that he could again flash the high-leverage form he showed (albeit on an inconsistent basis) in past seasons with the Reds, Rockies, Pirates, and Rays. On the other hand, the TOS symptoms provided a new injury scare, and it remains to be seen what imaging might reveal about this latest situation.
In better news for the Angels’ relief corps, Fletcher writes that Ben Joyce has added sliders to his throwing repertoire during bullpen sessions, and minor league signing Nick Sandlin is expected to soon move into game action after a pair of live BP sessions. One of the highest-velocity pitchers in baseball, Joyce had a seeming breakout season in 2024, but missed almost all of 2025 due to shoulder surgery. Sandlin also barely pitched in 2025, as a lat strain and elbow inflammation limited him to 16 1/3 innings with the Blue Jays.
Hiromi Itoh, Teruaki Sato Expected To Be Posted For MLB Teams Next Winter
MLB teams believe Nippon Professional Baseball stars Hiromi Itoh and Teruaki Sato will both be posted into next offseason’s free agent market, according to ESPN.com’s Jorge Castillo. Itoh is a right-handed pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, while Sato is a slugging third baseman/outfielder for the Hanshin Tigers. Both are members of Japan’s World Baseball Classic team, who square off with Venezuela today in a quarter-final matchup in Miami.
Itoh turns 29 in August, and the righty has a 2.87 ERA, 21.73% strikeout rate, and 6.17% walk rate over 828 career innings with the Fighters from 2021-25. He is the reigning winner of the Sawamura Award, which is somewhat akin to the Cy Young Award except it is only given to a sole NPB pitcher (not one each from the Central and Pacific Leagues) and it isn’t awarded every year if no pitchers are deemed worthy of the honor.
Big league pitching coaches might well be intrigued by delving into Itoh’s seven-pitch arsenal, which is highlighted by a fastball that has hit 96mph. Castillo writes that Itoh’s primary pitches amidst his seven offerings are the fastball, a splitter, and a sweeper.
The fairly modest strikeout rate could be a bit of a red flag for Major League teams, plus Itoh is relatively short at only 5’9″. Still, a talent evaluator for an American League team tells Castillo that while Itoh is “smallish,” he has a “proven track record of durability. He should continue to strike out MLB hitters while allowing very few walks.”
Castillo names Sonny Gray as a comp for Itoh, while Ryan O’Hearn is the comp for Sato. The Hanshin slugger just celebrated his 27th birthday yesterday, and is coming off a 2025 season that saw him hit .277/.345/.579 over 597 plate appearances while bopping a career-high 40 home runs. This huge year earned him Central League MVP honors, plus his fourth All-Star nod in his five NPB seasons.
Sato’s resume also includes a Gold Glove for his work at third base, which has been Sato’s primary position over the last three seasons. He played a good deal of right field in 2021-22 and also got some work back in the outfield this past season, so Major League teams could view Sato as a versatile player able to capably toggle between the two positions, if he isn’t just kept at third base.
Since both Itoh and Sato are well short of the nine full years of NPB service to achieve full free agency, the Fighters and Tigers would have to agree to make an earlier-than-expected posting in order to allow the players to test the big league market. This is maybe more noteworthy in Sato’s case since the Tigers are traditionally reluctant to post their players early. Any number of factors can go into a team’s decision-making process about when (or if) to post star players for MLB clubs, but one argument in Sato’s favor might be that he has already helped the Tigers achieve some team success — the Tigers won the Japan Series in 2023 and reached the Series again in 2025.
As a reminder, the rules of MLB/NPB posting system state that when a player is posted, he has 45 days to agree to a contract with a Major League team. If no deal is reached within that time, the player returns to his Japanese team for the next season, though he can be posted again in a future offseason. If a player does agree to a contract to head to North America, his former NPB club will earn a posting fee related to the size of the contract. The NPB team’s fee would equal 20% of the first $25MM of the player’s guaranteed Major League contract, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of anything beyond the $50MM mark.
It is possible the posting system could be altered when the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is negotiated next offseason. Changing the system would naturally require input from NPB, and given all of the other major labor issues expected to dominate the talks between the Major League owners and players’ union, the posting system is probably a back-burner issue at best.
That said, it is a virtual guarantee that the league will lock out the players when the CBA expires on December 1, resulting in a transactions freeze. Since most NPB players aren’t officially posted until at least the second half of November, Itoh and Sato would almost surely have their 45-day windows interrupted, leaving them in limbo throughout however long a work stoppage might last. Either could prefer to stay in NPB for the 2027 season in order to wait out MLB’s labor uncertainty, though it should be noted that the 2021-22 lockout didn’t deter Seiya Suzuki from making the jump to the majors. Suzuki was comfortable waiting out what ended up being a 99-day lockout, and he landed his five-year, $85MM deal with the Cubs.
The markets for this year’s crop of high-profile NPB talent might also impact Itoh and Sato’s decisions. Kazuma Okamoto landed a four-year, $60MM deal from the Blue Jays that basically matched projections, but new Astros right-hander Tatsuya Imai (three years, $54MM with two opt-out clauses) and new White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (two years and $34MM) had to settle for lesser contracts than expected. While obviously players are always trying to post big numbers and correct any flaws in their game, there could be some extra pressure on Itoh and Sato in showcasing themselves during the 2026 season if their hope is to land a pricey MLB contract next winter.
Which Top Prospects Could Be On 2026 Opening Day Rosters?
In the not-too-distant past, it was relatively rare for organizations to break camp with their very best prospects on the roster. It still happened at times, but MLB's service time structure was set up such that keeping a top prospect in the minors for even two weeks to begin the season effectively ensured that he'd be controllable for seven years rather than the standard six. There were obvious exceptions to this thinking -- Atlanta fans surely remember Jason Heyward breaking camp as a 20-year-old and belting a three-run homer on Opening Day -- but there were far more cases of keeping a player in the minors to buy the extra year. Kris Bryant, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and others were all called to the majors just when they'd spent enough time in the minors to give their clubs an extra year of control. There was nothing inherently nefarious about the gambit; teams were operating within the collectively bargained rules and making business decisions.
The 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement sought to implement some real incentives for teams to bring their best players north to begin the season, however, and by and large they've been effective. With the Prospect Promotion Incentives (PPI), any prospect who appears on two recognized top-100 lists and is called up early enough to earn a full service year can net his team a bonus draft pick, either in that season's Rookie of the Year voting or in MVP/Cy Young voting over the next three seasons.
There's also a disincentive to holding a player down. For those same qualified top prospects, a top-two finish in either league's Rookie of the Year voting will net a full year of major league service time, regardless of when they were called up. Said prospects still have around 90% of a season in such instances, which is more than enough time to turn in a ROY-worthy performance.
Teams now know that holding a player down for 15 days or so might lead to him getting a full year of service anyhow and comes with the disadvantage of rendering that player ineligible for future PPI picks. As such, it's become increasingly common for touted prospects to break camp on their teams' rosters.
With that in mind, and with fewer than two weeks to go until Opening Day, it seems worth running through a slate of top prospects who could factor into their teams' Opening Day plans.
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Latest On Blake Snell’s Timeline
Blake Snell has had a delayed spring ramp-up after experiencing offseason arm fatigue. The two-time Cy Young winner is now certain to begin the season on the 15-day injured list, though he expressed hope he won’t miss too much of the regular season.
Snell threw a 15-pitch bullpen session on Thursday, his first mound work of the spring. He said afterward that he’s aiming to make his season debut by the end of April (links via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic and Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register). Snell said he’s essentially at the beginning of what would be a usual six-week Spring Training buildup.
Manager Dave Roberts was less eager to identify a specific timeline. Roberts pointed to the team’s rotation talent in noting that they “have the luxury of trying to err on the side of caution.” That’s the usual approach for the Dodgers when it comes to regular season injuries. Their roster is so loaded that they enter each season with overwhelmingly strong playoff odds. They can afford to have players skip a few regular season starts with an eye towards having them available later in the year when the games are more meaningful.
Snell’s 2025 campaign was an example of that. He only made 11 starts and threw 61 1/3 innings during the regular season because of shoulder inflammation. He was firing on all cylinders in October, though, working 34 frames of 3.18 ERA ball in the postseason. Snell had a trio of exceptional starts in the first three playoff rounds — one each in the Wild Card Series, Division Series and NLCS. The Blue Jays found some success against him over his two World Series starts, though Snell recorded a pivotal four outs in relief in Game 7 to help set the stage for Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s extra-inning heroics.
Yamamoto is the obvious choice to take the ball against the Diamondbacks on Opening Day, though the Dodgers haven’t made an official announcement. (They’re presumably waiting to see how Yamamoto’s schedule maps out during the World Baseball Classic.) Tyler Glasnow will follow. Shohei Ohtani isn’t pitching in games during the WBC, but he’s throwing side sessions and expected to be in the Opening Day rotation.
Roki Sasaki has battled his command over two Spring Training starts, walking five batters in 3 1/3 innings. That led the Dodgers to shake things up, pitching him in a minor league outing against White Sox prospects on Tuesday. Sasaki struck out nine without issuing any walks and threw 59 pitches in that backfield appearance. Roberts reiterated that the 24-year-old will open the season in the MLB rotation, telling Sonja Chen of MLB.com and other reporters he ” just (doesn’t) see a world where (Sasaki) doesn’t break with us as a starter.”
Gavin Stone is joining Snell on the season-opening injured list. That all but ensures that Emmet Sheehan will land a rotation spot. They could carry a nine-man bullpen — Ohtani doesn’t count against the 13-pitcher limit as a two-way player — or turn to one of Justin Wrobleski or River Ryan to round out a six-man rotation. They’ll inevitably go to a six-man rotation at some point but might be content with a five-man group for the first week of the regular season since they have off days on March 29 and April 2.
Nationals Option Mitchell Parker
The Nationals announced Friday they’ve optioned left-handers Mitchell Parker, Andrew Alvarez and Jake Eder. That takes three pitchers, one of whom has been on the MLB roster for the last two years, out of the mix for the Opening Day rotation.
Parker’s demotion is the most notable. He had been in the big leagues since his first callup in April 2024. Parker had a solid rookie year, turning in a 4.29 ERA across 29 starts. His sophomore season was a lot less encouraging. Parker was tagged for 5.68 earned runs per nine over 164 2/3 innings. He had the ninth-highest ERA and sixth-lowest strikeout rate (14.2%) among pitchers who reached 100 innings.
The 26-year-old Parker took the ball twice this spring. His command was erratic, as he walked five batters over 3 2/3 innings. He’ll begin the season at Triple-A Rochester as he tries to get on track.
Alvarez and Eder were also competing for rotation spots. The former is a 26-year-old rookie who turned in a 2.31 ERA over five major league starts last season. Alvarez doesn’t throw especially hard and had middling strikeout and walk numbers in his MLB look. He’ll head back to Triple-A, where he made 25 starts and posted a 4.10 ERA with a league average 21.5% strikeout rate last season.
The Nats acquired Eder from the Angels as part of last summer’s Andrew Chafin deadline deal. He was immediately optioned to Triple-A and quickly landed on the injured list. The 6’4″ southpaw was once a notable prospect but has struggled to find the strike zone consistently. He walked six batters across 6 2/3 frames this spring.
First-year skipper Blake Butera has already tabbed righty Cade Cavalli as the Opening Day starter. The Nats added Zack Littell, Miles Mikolas and Foster Griffin on one-year free agent deals. Littell’s signing was just finalized this week, but he was able to throw 39 pitches over three innings in his Spring Training debut this afternoon. He’ll probably have time to build up for Opening Day.
Josiah Gray, Brad Lord, and Jake Irvin are in the mix for the fifth starter spot. Gray is coming back from internal brace surgery that cost him the entire 2025 season. He has struck out five over 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball in camp.
Lord pitched to a 4.34 ERA across 130 2/3 innings last year in a swing role. He has allowed four runs (three earned) with four strikeouts over 7 1/3 frames. Irvin led the Nats with 180 innings a year ago but was tagged for a 5.70 ERA and led the majors in earned runs and homers allowed. He has had an excellent start to the spring, though, firing 8 1/3 frames of two-run ball while punching out 10.
Diamondbacks Notes: Moreno, Lawlar, Kelly, Burnes
The D-Backs scratched catcher Gabriel Moreno from tonight’s Spring Training matchup against the Royals, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports). The Gold Glover is dealing with forearm tightness and headed for imaging.
Lovullo largely downplayed the concern, noting that it’s only a slight issue for Moreno when he throws. It seems the MRI is precautionary, though it’s a situation the D-Backs will closely monitor. Moreno has had his share of injuries over the past few seasons. He missed time in 2023 with a left shoulder issue, had thumb and adductor strains in ’24, then missed two months last season when a foul tip broke his right index finger.
When healthy, Moreno is one of the better two-way catchers in MLB. He’s coming off a .285/.353/.433 showing at the plate. He’s an excellent all-around defender, a quality receiver with a plus arm who has thrown out 30% of basestealers in his career.
Non-roster invitee Aramis Garcia drew into tonight’s starting lineup. He’s slated to open the season in Triple-A but would probably break camp if Moreno’s forearm discomfort leads to an injured list stint. James McCann is currently set for the backup role and would then be the primary option behind the dish. Adrian Del Castillo, the only other catcher on the 40-man roster, hasn’t played this spring because of a left calf strain. He’ll open the season on the 10-day injured list.
Elsewhere in camp, Arizona’s outfield picture is coming into focus. Corbin Carroll returned to the lineup as a designated hitter on Wednesday. He’s a month removed from a hamate fracture in his right hand that required surgery. Carroll has maintained optimism that he’ll be ready for Opening Day and is trending in that direction. He still needs to clear the hurdle of getting back in the outfield but projects as the season-opening right fielder.
Jordan Lawlar has had an excellent camp as he tries to nail down the center field job. The former top prospect is hitting .323 with four homers across 37 plate appearances. Lawlar, who had never played the outfield prior to offseason work in the Dominican Winter League, has logged 66 innings over 10 center field starts this spring.
Lovullo spoke highly of the 23-year-old’s early work in center (link via Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). They’ll take the latter part of camp to move him around, as he’s also expected to get work some in the corner outfield. Lovullo added that the Snakes still view Lawlar as an emergency option at shortstop, but his infield defense was a major issue last year. The D-Backs acquired Nolan Arenado to join Geraldo Perdomo on the left side of the infield, meaning Lawlar is most valuable to the team as an outfielder.
The bat should ensure he’s on an Opening Day roster for the first time in his career, likely in center field. Alek Thomas will probably play left until Lourdes Gurriel Jr. recovers from last season’s ACL tear. Left field prospect Ryan Waldschmidt had an outside chance of breaking camp, but he’s hitting .257 with 11 strikeouts and only two walks across 37 plate appearances this spring. Waldschmidt figures to open the season at Triple-A Reno.
On the pitching side, Merrill Kelly is making his exhibition debut tonight. He’d been held up by back soreness early in camp. The injury scuttled plans for Kelly to make his first career Opening Day start, but it’s not a given that he’ll begin the season on the injured list. The Snakes could move him to the back of the rotation and hope he’s ready for even an abbreviated regular season debut during the first week of April. Zac Gallen has been tabbed for his fourth straight Opening Day start instead.
Corbin Burnes is the actual ace, though he’s still months away from a return to game action. The former Cy Young winner hit a notable milestone in his rehab from last June’s Tommy John surgery. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that Burnes threw a 15-pitch bullpen session on Friday — his first mound work since the operation. The four-time All-Star was encouraged by the outing, noting that he ran his fastball up to 91 mph (higher than he’d anticipated for his first bullpen session) while commanding the ball as hoped.
Poll: Who Will Play Second Base For The Angels?
2026 looks likely to be another year of the Angels more or less spinning their wheels. With minimal changes to the roster coming off a 90 loss season (even in spite of a relatively healthy season for Mike Trout), the Halos will need a lot to go their way if they’re going to have any hope of being competitive this year.
One of the first things that the team will need to decide is who’s going to play second base. Luis Rengifo walked in free agency, leaving a hole at the keystone. Rather than bring in a more surefire addition like Gleyber Torres or Brandon Lowe, the Angels settled on having a number of players battle for the job this spring. In all, there are half a dozen candidates for reps still in camp. The Halos are surely hoping that one of those names will rise above the pack and run with the job, but who might that be?
Christian Moore is a former top-10 pick in the draft and top-100 prospect in the sport. He made it to the majors last year after rocketing through the minors in a speedy fashion that’s become typical for Halos prospects in recent years. He seemed to hit a wall once he reached the big leagues. In 53 games as a major leaguer, he hit just .198/.284/.370 with a wRC+ of 82. That first stint in the majors was far from a disaster, especially for a player who played all of last year at 22 years old. But a 33.7% strikeout rate suggests he might not be quite ready for the show yet, and his difficult spring (.175/.233/.250 in 40 at-bats) certainly isn’t helping matters. While Moore undoubtedly remains a big part of the club’s plans, it would not be a shock if the team decided he needs more time to develop in the minors.
Pivoting away from Moore would open the door to a cadre of non-roster veterans and out of options pieces on the 40-man roster bubble. Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom must either be carried on the roster or be designated for assignment and exposed to waivers. Peraza is regarded as a better defender than Grissom, capable of handling not only second base but also the hot corner and shortstop if needed. While Peraza hasn’t hit much in his career and is coming off a putrid .164/.223/.250 showing, Grissom has a below average hitter (82 wRC+) for his career and didn’t crack the majors last season as he posted middling numbers in Triple-A for the Red Sox. What’s more, Peraza is having a very strong camp with a .324/.378/.647 slash line in 37 trips to he plate. Grissom is carrying a .185/.333/.269 line across 33 plate appearances.
While Peraza appears to be a real threat to make the roster, it’s possible the Angels would prefer to keep him in a utility role given his ability to back up Zach Neto at shortstop and Yoan Moncada at third base. If that’s the case, they could turn towards their group of non-roster veterans. Nick Madrigal, Adam Frazier, and Chris Taylor all have ample experience at the keystone and are in camp on minor league deals. Taylor hasn’t hit much at all in either of the past two years, however, and while he’s had a solid camp (.241/.389/.483 in 36 plate appearances), he might be better suited for a bench role given his trademark versatility.
Frazier is in a similar boat as a player who has hit an excellent .353/.476/.412 in ten spring games. He could be an interesting choice if the team wants to add another lefty bat to their heavily right-handed lineup, but he could also be tapped to serve as a lefty bench bat with relative ease given his ability to play both second base and the outfield. As for Madrigal, he’s coming off a lost season due to injury. The former top prospect can play decent defense at either second or third base. While he’s a career .274/.323/.344 (88 wRC+) hitter in the majors, he brings an unique proclivity for contact to the table as evidenced by his career strikeout rate of just 9.0%. In 23 spring plate appearances, he’s hit a solid .333/.391/.429.
One wild card in the second base mix could be veteran infielder Jeimer Candelario. Candelario has played almost his whole career on the infield corners, with his pro experience at the keystone limited to just two innings of work in the Dominican Winter League over half a decade ago. That would make the 32-year-old an unorthodox choice to take over at second, especially given that he hit just .113/.198/.213 (10 wRC+) in 80 plate appearances with the Reds last year. Despite those question marks, Candelario’s solid camp (.267/.353/.567 in 32 plate appearances) has seemingly impressed Angels brass enough to give him a look at the position to see if he can be squeezed onto the roster. Whether the team will feel confident enough in Candelario’s ability to handle second base to actually give him regular reps at the position remains to be seen, however.
How do MLBTR readers think the Angels will settle their second base battle. Will they give the keys to Moore for another extended run right out of the gate? Or will they pivot to another option like Peraza, Frazier, or Madrigal? Could they roll the dice on Candelario despite his lack of experience? Have your say in the poll below:
Who will win the second base job for the Angels this year?
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Christian Moore 29% (682)
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Adam Frazier 23% (537)
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Vaughn Grissom 13% (296)
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Oswald Peraza 12% (290)
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Jeimer Candelario 9% (215)
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Nick Madrigal 9% (212)
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Chris Taylor 4% (103)
Total votes: 2,335
José Leclerc Targeting July Return
Free agent right-hander José Leclerc threw a bullpen today and is targeting a July return, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The righty underwent shoulder surgery last summer. It was known that the procedure would end his 2025 campaign but his expected timeline for 2026 wasn’t clear until now.
Leclerc, 32, has always had a big strikeout stuff but also a lack of control. From 2018 to 2024, he gave the Rangers 299 2/3 innings, allowing 3.24 earned runs per nine. His 11.8% walk rate was a few ticks worse than average but his 31.8% strikeout rate was quite strong.
He had occasionally served as the club’s closer and earned 41 saves over multiple seasons, but had mostly been a setup guy, having earned 58 holds. For most of that time, he offered a six-pitch mix including a mid-90s four-seamer and sinker, a high-80s cutter and changeup, as well as low-80s slider and high-70s curveball.
The Athletics signed him to a one-year, $10MM deal going into 2025 but that didn’t pan out for the club. He made ten appearances before landing on the injured list in April with a lat strain. He eventually underwent surgery in July. As mentioned, he wasn’t expected back in 2025 but it wasn’t clear if he would be recovered in time for Opening Day 2026.
Now it seems he will be a midseason wild card for 2026. With a potential return in July, he could be back just in time to join a pennant race. Almost all contending clubs are looking for extra arms ahead of the trade deadline, which will be on August 3rd this year. Leclerc would only cost money, as opposed to prospects, which could appeal to some clubs if they have payroll space and prefer not to dip into their farm system. A club could theoretically sign Leclerc at any time but they may prefer to wait to make sure he avoids any setbacks between now and July.
Photo courtesy of Joe Nicholson, Imagn Images