The Opener: Phillies, Mexico City, Phillips
Right-hander Mason Miller pushed his scoreless innings streak to 33 2/3 on Thursday against the Rockies. He’s now tied with Cla Meredith for the franchise record. Miller will have a tough task this weekend in hitter-friendly Mexico City.
1. Phillies’ losing streak
The NL East is dealing with another winless run. First, it was the Mets, who lost a dozen in a row. Now, it’s the Phillies. The club has dropped nine straight after an extra-innings loss on Thursday against the Cubs. Chicago started the streak with a pair of wins in Philadelphia, then swept the team across four games at Wrigley Field this week. The Phillies started the season with a 6-4 record. They’ve gone 2-13 over the past 15 games. Philadelphia now takes on first-place Atlanta.
2. Mexico City matchup
Our first MLB World Tour series of the season will be this weekend. The Diamondbacks and Padres will face off for a two-game set at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú in Mexico City. With the stadium sitting well above sea level, offenses have seen a boost in past series at the venue. The Padres and Giants combined for 37 runs over two games in 2023. The Astros and Rockies put up 26 runs across a pair of matchups in 2024. German Marquez and Zac Gallen will square off on Saturday.
3. Phillips to retire as a Red
Second baseman Brandon Phillips will sign a one-day contract with Cincinnati today, the team announced. The three-time All-Star last played with the Red Sox in 2018. He’ll ink a ceremonial deal with the Reds to officially retire with the club. Phillips spent 11 of his 17 MLB seasons in Cincinnati. He was a steady contributor for a squad that was regularly in the postseason during the early 2010s. Phillips provided both power and speed at the top of Cincinnati’s lineup, delivering three consecutive 20/20 campaigns from 2007 to 2009. The first year in that run saw Phillips set career highs with 30 home runs and 32 steals. He finished his career with 211 home runs and 209 steals across 1,902 games.
Photo courtesy of Bill Streicher, Imagn Images
Phillies Release Taijuan Walker
The Phillies have released veteran right-hander Taijuan Walker, per a club announcement. Philadelphia also optioned right-hander Alan Rangel to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalled right-hander Nolan Hoffman.
Walker, 33, is in the final season of a four-year, $72MM contract that didn’t pan out at all as the team hoped. It was a surprisingly large contract at the time he signed the deal. Walker was fresh off a solid 29-start showing with the Mets (3.49 ERA, 157 1/3 innings), but his rate stats didn’t support that level of run prevention. Walker had a decent season as an innings eating, back-of-the-rotation starter in year one of the contract (4.38 ERA, 172 2/3 frames), and he posted solid results between the rotation and bullpen in 2025 as well (4.08 ERA, 123 2/3 innings).
The other two seasons of the contract have been a nightmare. Walker was one of the least-effective pitchers in the sport in 2024, yielding a 7.10 earned run average across 83 2/3 innings. This season has gone even worse. The veteran righty has pitched 22 2/3 innings and been shelled for 25 runs (23 earned) on a whopping 36 hits and 11 walks with only 17 strikeouts. He’s working with the second-worst velocity of his career — ahead of only that disastrous ’24 campaign — and missing bats at his lowest levels ever. Between those red flags and the 9.13 ERA, the Phillies were left with little choice but to move on as they try to crawl out of an 8-16 hole and snap a woeful eight-game losing streak.
The Phillies will remain on the hook for the rest of Walker’s $18MM salary this season. He’s still owed a bit more than $15MM of that sum. Any team that signs Walker would owe him only the prorated league minimum for any time he spends on said club’s major league roster or injured list. That amount would be subtracted from what the Phillies owe, but they’re paying the vast majority of the tab even in a best-case scenario.
Ace Zack Wheeler will return to the Phillies’ rotation this weekend, though it’s anyone’s guess how he’ll perform on the heels of a procedure to address thoracic outlet syndrome. He’s posted a 5.85 ERA in 20 minor league rehab innings, albeit with more encouraging rate stats: 28% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate, 45.1% ground-ball rate. Wheeler will join last year’s Cy Young runner-up, Cristopher Sánchez, longtime top prospect Andrew Painter, and veterans Aaron Nola and Jesús Luzardo in the Philadelphia rotation.
All told, Walker ends up with 402 2/3 innings of 5.12 ERA ball as a member of the Phillies. He now becomes the second high-priced veteran whose contract will effectively be eaten by the Phillies this season. Outfielder/designated hitter Nick Castellanos was also cut loose from the final season of a five-year, $100MM contract just prior to spring training. He’s since signed with the Padres, for whom he’s batting .146/.196/.208 in 51 plate appearances. As with Walker, the Phillies are paying the vast majority of Castellanos’ $20MM salary. The Padres only owe him the prorated minimum for any time spent in the majors.
Poll: Should The Blue Jays Make A Closer Change?
The defending American League champions have had a difficult first few weeks. Their 10-14 record has them in fourth place in the AL East. The relief group is a big part of that, as the Jays rank 23rd with a 4.81 bullpen ERA. They’ve blown seven leads, tied with the White Sox for third most in MLB (behind the A’s and Nationals at eight apiece).
The problems have extended to the ninth inning. Closer Jeff Hoffman has been charged with three blown saves, which is tied for the MLB high. That doesn’t include Tuesday’s rough outing against the Angels.
Hoffman entered with a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth. After striking out Zach Neto, he allowed four consecutive batters to reach. Skipper John Schneider turned to Louis Varland with the bases loaded and a 4-2 lead. Varland promptly got Nolan Schanuel to bounce into a game-ending double play. That technically went down as a hold for Hoffman because he recorded an out and left the game with the lead, but it obviously wasn’t what the Jays wanted from their closer.
After the game, Schneider was noncommittal on sticking with the righty in the ninth. “We’ll reevaluate everything, talk with him, see how he’s doing. He’s going through it obviously a little bit,” Schneider told reporters on Wednesday (links via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet and Jared Greenspan of MLB.com). “We’ll see (about his role).” The skipper noted they’d take advantage of Thursday’s scheduled day off to discuss things with the pitcher.
Hoffman has made 12 appearances on the season. He has allowed at least one run in six of them. The 33-year-old righty has surrendered 11 runs (nine earned) over his first 10 2/3 innings. Hoffman has given up 16 hits, walked six batters, and hit a pair on Tuesday. He has successfully locked down a trio of saves.
The bottom line results have been terrible, but Hoffman ranks near the top of the league in strikeouts. He has fanned 24 of 57 opponents, a monster 42.1% clip. Among pitchers with at least 10 innings, only Mason Miller has a superior strikeout rate. Hoffman’s 21.2% swinging strike percentage is also second behind Miller’s unbelievable 30.3% mark. All four of Hoffman’s pitches have missed bats and his velocity is at usual levels.
There’s clearly some amount of bad luck in Hoffman’s early results. Opponents have hit above .600 when they’ve put the ball in play. If he were coming off a dominant 2025 season, the Jays would surely give him more rope to allow the batted ball variance to even out.
However, his first year in Toronto was up and down. Hoffman recorded 33 saves but ranked second among relievers with 15 home runs allowed. He had a 4.37 earned run average across 68 regular season innings. Hoffman was excellent for the majority of the postseason until allowing the famous Miguel Rojas home run in the ninth inning of World Series Game 7 — his only homer and blown save of the playoffs.
If the Jays move Hoffman out of the ninth, Varland would be the obvious choice to replace him as the closer. Last year’s deadline pickup has begun his ’26 campaign without allowing an earned run through 13 innings. He has fanned 19 hitters against three walks. Varland has been an excellent setup man but has no closing experience. Tuesday’s one-pitch outing was the first save of his MLB career.
Varland has clearly outperformed Hoffman through a few weeks, but naming him the closer would limit Schneider’s flexibility to use him earlier in games. No Toronto pitcher has entered in higher-leverage situations on average than Varland, as the biggest at-bats aren’t always in the ninth inning. Hoffman is third in that regard, also behind the already optioned Brendon Little. The Jays also have Tyler Rogers and Braydon Fisher in key late-game roles.
How should the Jays proceed?
How should the Blue Jays approach the ninth inning?
2026-27 Club Options: AL East
A couple weeks ago, MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald highlighted the players who could choose to return to the free agent market via opt-out clauses. We’ll now take a division by division look at those whose contracts contain club, mutual or vesting options. That kicks off tonight with the AL East.
Although it’s early in the season, a lot of these provisions are fairly easy to predict. The mutual options are almost certain to be declined by either the player or team (usually the latter). They’re accounting measures, essentially an unofficial deferral within the term of the contract itself. The player agrees to push back a percentage of the guaranteed money to the end of the deal in the form of an option buyout — which is paid after the end of the World Series rather than evenly distributed during the regular season as salary.
Baltimore Orioles
- RHP Zach Eflin: $25MM mutual option ($2MM buyout)
Eflin’s return to the Orioles was dashed by yet another injury: an elbow ligament that required Tommy John surgery. The O’s probably weren’t signing up for a $25MM salary even if he’d stayed healthy this year, but this is as obvious a buyout as these decisions get.
- LHP Dietrich Enns: $3.5MM club option ($125K buyout)
Enns pitched well for the O’s down the stretch after a deadline trade from Detroit. The 34-year-old southpaw worked to a 3.14 ERA while striking out 28% of batters faced across 28 2/3 innings. Although he’s nowhere close to six years of MLB service time, his contract contained a 2026 club option that presumably had a clause ensuring he’d become a free agent if the team declined. That’s fairly common for players like Enns who had spent the preceding couple seasons pitching in Asia.
The O’s restructured Enns’ contract to pay him a $2.5MM salary and guarantee a $125K buyout on a $3.5MM team option for the ’27 season. He has walked five batters over 4 1/3 innings to begin this season. Enns landed on the injured list a couple weeks ago with a foot infection. He began a rehab assignment in Triple-A on Saturday. This one is too early to judge.
- 1B Ryan Mountcastle: $7.5MM club option
Mountcastle agreed to tack on a $7.5MM option to avoid going to an arbitration hearing last offseason. Speculatively, that’s probably due to the CBA provision which doesn’t fully guarantee salaries determined at an arbitration hearing until Opening Day. Had Mountcastle not settled, the O’s might’ve released him for termination pay during Spring Training after making a splash on Pete Alonso earlier in the winter.
Although the O’s were surely happy to get the extra year of club control, it probably won’t be of much benefit. Mountcastle broke a bone in his left foot last week and will miss at least two months. It’s his second straight year with a significant injury. He lost a couple months to a hamstring strain in 2025. Mountcastle was already an odd roster fit who’d make more sense as a trade chip. Maybe he’ll return in the second half and hit well enough that the O’s feel the option price is too good to pass up, but it’s likelier this is getting declined.
Boston Red Sox
- LHP Aroldis Chapman: $13MM mutual option ($300K buyout); vests at $13MM at 40 innings pitched
Chapman’s option vests if he reaches 40 innings pitched this season and passes an end of year physical. He has surpassed 40 frames in three straight seasons. He’s at 7 2/3 innings thus far. It’d take at least one injured list stint — probably an absence of 6-8 weeks — for him to fall short of 40 innings.
In any case, the Sox would be happy to have him back at that price if he’s healthy. Chapman was probably the best reliever in MLB last season, firing 61 1/3 innings of 1.17 ERA ball with a 37% strikeout rate. The punchouts are down early this year in an exceedingly tiny sample, yet he has only allowed one run and is 4-4 in save opportunities. He remains at the top of his game at age 38.
- RHP Sonny Gray: $30MM mutual option ($10MM buyout)
Gray restructured his contract as a condition of the offseason trade that sent him from St. Louis to Boston. The deal initially came with a $35MM salary for this year and a $5MM option buyout. Gray agreed to move $4MM of salary back to the buyout while picking up an extra $1MM as a condition for waiving his no-trade clause. He’ll be a free agent.
- RHP Garrett Whitlock: $8.25MM club option ($1MM buyout)
Whitlock’s contract comes with an $8.25MM team option that includes $4MM in unspecified escalators. There’s also a $10.5MM club option for the ’28 season. Whitlock has been one of the best setup arms in MLB throughout his career. He rebounded from an injury-plagued ’24 season to fire 72 frames of 2.25 ERA ball with a 31% strikeout rate last year.
The righty’s command has been a little wobbly this year and his sinker velocity is down a couple ticks. Still, he’s only allowed two earned runs while striking out 11 through his first nine innings. No other Boston reliever is getting higher-leverage assignments on average. This is one of the likelier options to be exercised.
New York Yankees
- None.
Tampa Bay Rays
- 1B Yandy Díaz: $10MM club option; converts to $13MM option which automatically vests at 500 plate appearances
Tampa Bay preemptively locked in Díaz’s $12MM club option for the 2026 season during Spring Training ’25. In exchange, the first baseman gave the team a $10MM option for ’27 that would vest at $13MM as long as he stayed healthy enough to reach 500 plate appearances. Díaz is a little over 20% of the way there. Even if he suffers an injury that takes the vesting provision off the table, he’s been such a good hitter that Tampa Bay would probably be happy to exercise the $10MM option.
- RHP Nick Martinez: $20MM mutual option ($4MM buyout)
The mutual option in the Martinez contract was purely one of the aforementioned accounting mechanisms. The Rays aren’t paying him a $20MM salary even if he pitches to their expectations. He’ll be bought out.
- CF Cedric Mullins: $10MM mutual option ($500K buyout)
The same is very likely true for Mullins. A $10MM option price is rich for Tampa Bay unless the former All-Star outfielder has a resurgent season — in which case, he’d decline his end and look for a multi-year deal. The early returns aren’t encouraging, as Mullins is hitting .156 with two homers through his first 21 games. Over the past calendar year, he’s a .194/.257/.336 hitter.
- RHP Drew Rasmussen: $8MM club option ($500K buyout); option could escalate up to $20MM depending upon Rasmussen’s health and innings total
Before the 2025 season, the Rays signed Rasmussen to a two-year deal that bought out his final arbitration years. It included a complex club option for 2027 that was heavily dependent on his health. The option comes with an $8MM base value but includes up to $12MM in escalators based on starts and time spent on the injured list.
Rasmussen had only once topped 80 MLB innings at the time of his extension. He has undergone multiple elbow procedures and broke into the league as a reliever because of durability concerns. Rasmussen has stayed healthy over the past year-plus. He pitched a career-high 150 innings en route to a top 10 Cy Young placement in 2025. He’s out to a similarly excellent start to the ’26 campaign, allowing just four earned runs through his first 19 2/3 innings.
The option value will begin to climb before long. It’ll jump to $8.5MM once he reaches eight starts and includes additional escalators for every fourth start up through 28 appearances. If he makes 28+ starts, it’d jump to a minimum of $14MM. That’s just the beginning, as the number climbs if he avoids a long-term injured list stint. It’d get up to $20MM if he goes the entire season without an arm injury.
At $8MM, Rasmussen is an unmitigated bargain even for a low-payroll Rays club. The escalators will probably climb quickly enough that he’ll be a trade candidate. That could happen midseason if the team isn’t in the playoff hunt or early next offseason if they hold him at the deadline. If Rasmussen repeats last year’s production, he’s not going to be in any danger of being bought out — as closer Pete Fairbanks was when escalators pushed his option value from $7MM to $11MM.
Note: The Rays hold a $3.1MM club option on INF Taylor Walls. He’d remain eligible for arbitration if the team declines.
Toronto Blue Jays
- CF Myles Straw: $8MM club option ($1.75MM buyout); Guardians paying Toronto $1.75MM at season’s end as part of 2025 trade
The Blue Jays acquired Straw in a salary dump trade with the Guardians over the 2024-25 offseason. Toronto agreed to cover $11MM of the remaining two years and $14.75MM on Straw’s underwater contract. (He’d gone unclaimed on waivers that same offseason and was no longer on Cleveland’s 40-man roster.) In exchange, the Guards sent the Jays international bonus pool space. Toronto could then increase their offer to Roki Sasaki by an extra $2MM in a late, ultimately unsuccessful effort to sway the star NPB pitcher away from signing with the Dodgers.
Sasaki’s decision to join L.A. made this initially look like a complete bust for Toronto. To his credit, Straw has salvaged the move. He made the team in 2025 and did a nice job in a fourth outfield role, hitting .262/.313/.367 while playing his typically excellent outfield defense. He’s out to a good start this season as well and provides a high-floor depth option if Daulton Varsho misses any time.
Will that be enough to convince the Jays to keep Straw around? They certainly didn’t anticipate exercising an $8MM option at the time of the trade. That’s made clear enough by the teams’ agreement for the Guardians to send Toronto a $1.75MM payment — which matches the buyout value — at the end of the ’26 season. Cleveland is sending the money either way, though, so it’d amount to a $6.25MM call if the Jays want to bring Straw back.
That’s a little rich for a fourth outfielder, which is what Straw has been for the last few seasons. Varsho is an impending free agent and the Jays don’t have anyone waiting in the wings from the farm system. Straw’s play and the possibility of Varsho walking has made this a tougher call than even the Jays’ front office would have anticipated.
D-Backs Release Shawn Dubin
The Diamondbacks released reliever Shawn Dubin from his minor league deal, according to the MiLB.com transaction log. Arizona also re-signed first baseman Luken Baker on a new minor league contract. Baker had briefly elected free agency after being outrighted on Monday but will return to Triple-A Reno.
Dubin joined the Snakes on a non-roster invite over the offseason. He made five spring appearances and pitched twice for Reno within the first few days of the regular season. Dubin surrendered four runs on five hits and a walk over two innings and was quickly transferred to the development list. That’s generally to afford non-injured minor league players time to make mechanical adjustments outside of game action.
The righty didn’t wind up returning to Reno’s active roster. He’ll now seek an opportunity elsewhere, likely on another minor league contract. Dubin has spent a good chunk of the past two seasons in the big leagues. He pitched a career-high 45 1/3 innings for the Astros in 2024. The former 13th-rounder split last year between Houston and Baltimore, allowing a 5.08 earned run average through 33 2/3 frames. He has a 4.81 ERA with a nearly league average 22.3% strikeout percentage over 88 MLB innings.
Baker is back in the Reno lineup tonight. The righty batter played in nine games for the Aces early in the season, batting .242 with a homer. He was called up when Carlos Santana went down with an injury and held a bench spot for a couple weeks. Arizona designated him for assignment last weekend once Lourdes Gurriel Jr. returned from the injured list.
The Diamondbacks have gotten surprisingly strong production out of Ildemaro Vargas and rookie Jose Fernandez between first base and designated hitter. Arizona first basemen have hit .305/.317/.492 in 60 plate appearances since the Santana injury. Vargas is a light-hitting utilityman, while Fernandez is a mid-tier prospect who’d played one Triple-A game before being pressed into action. They’re probably not going to continue hitting at this rate, but it has been a nice boost from lineup spots that could’ve been zeros after injuries to Santana, Pavin Smith, and Tyler Locklear.
Royals Release Plans For New Stadium
The Royals announced plans for a new ballpark in downtown Kansas City, specifically in the Crown Center neighborhood. A joint venture with Hallmark Cards, the project will also featured mixed-use elements, including new headquarters for both the club and the company. It is expected to cost about $3 billion in total with the stadium itself accounting for about two thirds of that. It will be funded with a mix of private and public sources. Kacen Bayless and Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star and Dave Skretta of the Associated Press were among those to provide further details.
John Sherman purchased the Royals in 2019 and has been focused on getting funding for a new stadium for much of the interim. Kauffman Stadium opened in 1973 and is one of the five oldest ballparks in the league, with only Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium being older.
The path to a new stadium hit a setback a few years ago. The Royals and the NFL’s Chiefs were hoping to get public funding for new stadiums from Jackson County, where Kansas City, Missouri is located. However, voters rejected a sales tax measure in April of 2024. That seemingly played a part in the Chiefs leaving the state, as they plan to play in Kansas City, Kansas starting in 2031.
Unlike the Chiefs, the Royals are going to stay in Missouri. It’s still not clear if Jackson County will provide any of the funding but the project has money coming from other sources. The Royals announced that they would be the primary funders, with over $2 billion in private funding in total. The state of Missouri and the city of Kansas City are also providing some. Missouri passed a law last year which allows the state to fund up to 50% of major stadium construction projects. Last week, the city passed an ordinance authorizing the city manager to negotiate a deal with the Royals worth up to $600MM.
Some details are still not clear. The specific timing of the planned moved hasn’t been announced. The team’s lease at Kauffman runs through 2031, so they have time in that regard. As mentioned, it’s unclear if Jackson County will provide any funds. The exact amount contributed by the state of Missouri hasn’t been reported. Kansas City council still has to give final approval and it’s possible the council could push for a public vote.
“We are so far away from a done deal,” councilman Johnathan Duncan said to the Star this week. “We still need a development agreement. We need a TIF (tax increment financing) plan. We need a CID. And we need some type of actual plan from the Royals that says this is what we’re going to be using the $600 million of bonds for.”
A formal club announcement doesn’t necessarily mean everything will proceed as planned. For instance, the Rays previously announced plans for a new stadium in St. Petersburg on the same site as Tropicana Field. But hurricane damage to the Trop led to fighting about repairs and ultimately squashed the deal. That’s a rare example and it’s unlikely something like that will happen in Kansas City but it illustrates that they still have to dot some i’s and cross some t’s.
Photo courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Images
A Look At The Twins’ Intriguing Start
The Twins received an “F” grade from MLBTR readers during our Offseason in Review series. The fact that only 42% of voters deemed the winter a complete failure might have been an upset. Minnesota’s biggest developments of the offseason were the unexpected departure of president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, Pablo Lopez‘s elbow surgery, and … Josh Bell. With 39% of voters giving the Twins a “D” grade, it’s clear the general consensus was that the Twins would not be walking at graduation.
Minnesota’s first five games went as expected. But after a 1-4 start, the club found some momentum. The Twins swept the division rival Tigers in a four-game set. They took series from the Red Sox and Blue Jays. The team dropped a game to the Mets last night to fall back to an even .500, but they’re still tied with Detroit for the 2nd-best run differential in the American League.
A 12-12 record certainly isn’t anything to write home about, but the beginning of the campaign has gone about as well as Minnesota could’ve hoped for, given minimal investment in the club heading into the year. The Twins’ $107MM payroll is down nearly $30MM from 2025. Here’s a look at some of the moves that have spurred Minnesota so far, plus what it could mean when the trade deadline rolls around…
Taj Bradley, reliable starter
The Twins landed Bradley as part of the mass bullpen selloff at the 2025 trade deadline. He came over from the Rays in a straight-up swap for reliever Griffin Jax. It’s been a clear win for Minnesota up to this point, particularly with Jax falling out of the high-leverage mix in Tampa Bay. Bradley has a crisp 1.63 ERA through five starts. He’s boosted his strikeout rate to a career-best 28.8% in large part due to an improved splitter. Bradley’s top swing-and-miss pitch has nearly three additional inches of vertical drop this year. The splitter has generated an elite 43.8% whiff rate.
Bradley isn’t going to maintain a sub-2.00 ERA all season. The right-hander’s xFIP and SIERA are nearly two runs higher than his actual ERA. He’s getting ground balls at a career-low 34.7% clip, while allowing a significant level of hard contact (93.6 mph average exit velocity – 2nd percentile). Given Bradley’s previous struggles with the home run ball, that’ll be worth monitoring as the weather gets warmer and the ball starts traveling. Even if Bradley is a mid-3.00s ERA starter with above-average strikeout stuff, that’s a major boon for a Minnesota rotation without many trustworthy options beyond Joe Ryan.
Mick Abel, backend starter (when healthy)
Speaking of the pitching staff, Abel was emerging as a fixture before going down with elbow inflammation. It’s not expected to be an extended absence, but it was a disappointing diagnosis following back-to-back scoreless outings for the young righty. Abel came over as part of the package from Philadelphia for closer Jhoan Duran. He scuffled in his first two appearances (one in long relief), then shut down the Tigers and Red Sox over 13 frames.
Abel and Bradley both struggled in their initial stints with the Twins last year. It seemed like a leap of faith to expect either one to be a positive contributor in 2026, and Minnesota was relying on both of them. The club didn’t add to the rotation after the Lopez injury, leaving Ryan, Bailey Ober, and Simeon Woods Richardson as the top options, along with the two young righties. Any crack in the group would be a problem, but Minnesota’s starters rank ninth in ERA right now.
Taylor Rogers, experienced setup man
Rogers’ return was Minnesota’s only major-league signing on the pitching side. The Twins grabbed him on a cheap $2MM agreement. He joined a bullpen lacking proven arms after the group was completely cleared out in July, with five core pieces heading out in various trades. Rogers coughed up the lead last night against New York, but he’d been solid before the outing. The veteran lefty has secured three holds and has generally been effective in high-leverage situations. Heading into Wednesday, Rogers had only been scored upon in two games, both of which were with Minnesota facing a deficit.
Josh Bell, hot streak extraordinaire
Bell will have a three-week stretch every season where he looks like an MVP candidate. It may have already happened for 2026. Bell had three hits in the final game of the sweep against the Tigers, pushing his OPS to 1.066 through 13 games. He’s cooled off from there, but it’s still a solid 116 wRC+ across 96 plate appearances. The Twins added Bell on a one-year, $7MM deal. He’s provided a nice boost to an offense that ranks in the top 10 in scoring. The Victor Caratini signing (two years, $14MM) hasn’t worked out as well, but adding a pair of veteran switch-hitters has given the lineup a bit more flexibility.
Will it matter?
This probably isn’t a roster headed toward an AL pennant run. It’s probably not even a squad equipped to end Minnesota’s three-year playoff drought. The key will be whether the Twins are competitive enough not to be sellers at the trade deadline. Ryan would be among the prizes in July, assuming Minnesota is once again open for business. Could a couple more months of .500 ball be enough to convince ownership this team can compete in an uninspiring AL Central? The early returns have been fairly positive despite a tepid offseason.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images
Rockies Trade Nicky Lopez To Cubs
The Rockies announced they’ve traded minor league infielder Nicky Lopez to the Cubs for cash. He was on a minor league contract and will not immediately occupy a 40-man roster spot for Chicago.
Lopez has been an organizational favorite of the Cubs as a depth infielder. He appeared in 14 MLB games for them last year between April and May. Lopez had also been with the club last spring on a minor league deal before being granted his release to pursue an MLB opportunity with the Angels. The Cubs waived him in late May but brought him back on a new minor league contract in August.
The Naperville, Illinois native signed with Colorado in December. He’s out to a nice start with Triple-A Albuquerque, batting .333 with a home run and a couple stolen bases over 15 games. Although the offense is surely inflated by playing in the Pacific Coast League, he’s showing his typically strong bat-to-ball ability while playing in the middle of the diamond.
Lopez is a lifetime .245/.310/.311 hitter in a little under 700 big league contests. He’s a quality defender at any of second base, third base, or shortstop. If the Cubs wanted to call him back up, he could replace Scott Kingery (who still has a minor league option) as the team’s utility infielder. Chicago would need to select Lopez onto the 40-man roster but essentially has a free roster spot with Porter Hodge a lock to move to the 60-day injured list after this week’s UCL surgery.
Will Braves Add Drake Baldwin To List Of Early-Career Extensions?
The Braves have had a fantastic start to the 2026 season. They've outscored opponents by 62 runs, the best mark in MLB. Their 18-8 record has them atop the National League.
That's before considering the dismal starts of their two biggest threats in the division. The Mets are eight games under .500 and the Phillies nine. Atlanta has already built a 5.5 game lead in the NL East and is nine games clear of the two other teams that most observers would have considered realistic candidates to win the East. Teams cannot lock up a division in April, of course, but the Braves couldn't have drawn up a better first month.
There are myriad reasons for the hot start. The back of the rotation, easily the biggest weakness on paper given all their injuries, has performed admirably. They've been one of the best defensive teams in the league. No team has scored more runs. While some of that is driven by Mauricio Dubón and Dominic Smith hitting well above previous levels, any regression from those hitters should be offset by Ronald Acuña Jr. shaking off a middling start.
Although Acuña is still the face of the lineup, Drake Baldwin is making a strong case that he's their second-best position player. Last year's NL Rookie of the Year has come out on fire. He's tied with Matt Olson for the team lead with seven home runs while batting .318/.392/.551 over 120 plate appearances. The former third-round pick is up to a .283/.351/.488 slash over his first 561 career trips to the dish.
Baldwin already looks like one of the three to five best catchers in MLB -- no small accomplishment in a time with a lot of excellent young backstops. One would imagine the front office would love to keep him in Atlanta long term. The Braves are notably diligent about keeping their contract talks close to the vest, so there hasn't been any substantive reporting about extension conversations with Baldwin. It seems fair to assume they've at least quietly broached the possibility.
President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has been extremely aggressive on the extension front. What kind of money might it take to add Baldwin to the likes of Acuña, Austin Riley, Spencer Strider, Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II as homegrown talents whom the Braves have extended?
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Nationals To Recall Riley Cornelio For MLB Debut
The Nationals are going to recall right-hander Riley Cornelio, reports Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic. The Nats announced that righty Julian Fernández was optioned to Triple-A Rochester after today’s game, so Cornelio is presumably the corresponding move.
Cornelio, 26 in June, was a seventh-round pick of the Nats in 2022. As a minor leaguer, he has been working primarily as a starter. In 2025, he climbed from High-A to Double-A and then Triple-A. Across those three levels, he threw 134 1/3 innings, allowing 3.28 earned runs per nine. His 10.1% walk rate was a tad high but he struck out 24.8% of batters faced.
The Nats didn’t want him to be exposed in the Rule 5 draft, so they gave him a 40-man spot in November. He came into big league camp but made just two official appearances before being optioned to the minors. He has started his season with four Triple-A starts, posting a 2.45 ERA in 18 1/3 innings. His four-seamer and sinker are both averaging around 95 miles per hour, as he also mixes in a mid-80s slider and changeup.
Presumably, Washington wants Cornelio to potentially provide length out of the bullpen. Fernández pitched the past two games, including two innings this afternoon, so he may not have been available tomorrow. Miles Mikolas is the scheduled starter tomorrow and he hasn’t been able to go deep into games. His five starts this year have ranged from five innings on the high end to three innings on the low end. Being short-handed in the bullpen would be less than ideal if Mikolas ends up getting another quick hook, so Cornelio replacing Fernández makes sense.
Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images