The Opener: World Baseball Classic, Berrios, Free Agency
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:
1. World Baseball Classic Quarterfinals:
The quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic are underway, and two games are scheduled for this evening. At 6:30pm local time in Miami, Korea will face the Dominican Republic. Former big leaguer and All-Star Hyun Jin Ryu will be on the mound for Korea opposite Phillies southpaw Cristopher Sanchez. Ryu is less than two weeks from his 39th birthday but has remained very effective in the KBO over the years, including a 3.23 ERA in 26 starts for the Hanwha Eagles in 2025. He allowed a solo home run but no other damage in his last WBC start, with three strikeouts in his three innings of work. Sanchez, meanwhile, is coming off a career year for Philadelphia where the 29-year-old finished second in NL Cy Young award voting behind Paul Skenes. He posted a 2.50 ERA with a 2.55 FIP in 202 innings of work last year, but got shelled for three runs on six hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings during his lone WBC start.
At 7:00pm local time in Houston, Team USA will be facing off against their neighbors to the north. Canada is sending right-hander Michael Soroka to the mound. He’s coming off a 4.52 ERA in 89 innings for the Nationals and Cubs last year. Soroka scattered four runs and a walk across his three innings of one-run ball during his last WBC start. Soroka’s opponent will be right-hander Logan Webb. The two-time All-Star finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting last year and struck out six in four innings of work during his last WBC start, allowing only a solo homer in terms of damage. The quarterfinals will continue tomorrow with matchups between Puerto Rico (Seth Lugo) and Italy (Pitcher TBA) as well as Venezuela (Ranger Suarez) against Samurai Japan (Yoshinobu Yamamoto).
2. Berrios battling elbow inflammation:
Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios was hoping to the Puerto Rican team for that game against Italy, but those hopes have been dashed. MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson writes that Berrios underwent an MRI recently that revealed inflammation in his right elbow. While there’s no structural damage, he was nonetheless scratched from his start yesterday and the Blue Jays are now gathering additional information. It’s an unusual situation given that Berrios has seemingly not feeling any soreness in his elbow. The MRI was scheduled not due to issues on the right-hander’s end, but for insurance purposes ahead of his planned WBC appearance. It’s unclear if the news puts Opening Day in jeopardy for Berrios, who was already in danger of losing a spot in the Jays rotation at some point this year due to an influx of talent (Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, and the emergence of top prospect Trey Yesavage).
3. Free agency moving for stragglers:
Yesterday saw a pair of left-handed relief arms come off the board with big league deals: the Red Sox landed southpaw Danny Coulombe on a $1MM guarantee yesterday, while the Rangers landed lefty Jalen Beeks on a major league contract of his own. The two lefties coming off the board were among the best bullpen options still available on a dwindling market. With just two weeks to go until Opening Day, only a small handful of players are still available. Outfielder Jesse Winker, infielder Wilmer Flores, right-hander Lucas Giolito, and first baseman Rowdy Tellez are among the more notable names still available on the market, with a large group of veteran starters (Marcus Stroman, Patrick Corbin, Tyler Anderson) and relievers (Justin Wilson, Jose Leclerc, Jorge Lopez) also still available.
Poll: Who Will Be The Odd Man Out In The Twins’ Rotation?
The Twins traded 11 players at least year’s deadline, shipping out several rental veterans and a series of controllable relievers that left them with one of the game’s worst pitching staffs in the second half. That hit to the team’s more immediate competitiveness came with the upside of adding to an already impressive cache of starting pitching talent, however. Spring injuries to Pablo López and David Festa have thinned the herd, but the Twins have more viable starters than they can fit into a five-man rotation.
Righties Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober are locked into spots. Ryan has been one of the American League’s most consistent starters in recent seasons. Ober has been a solid third/fourth starter for the bulk of his career but saw his 2025 numbers tanked by a catastrophic June. Simeon Woods Richardson is a heavy favorite to land a rotation spot since he’s out of minor league options and pitched well down the stretch in 2025.
Looking at the team’s optionable starters, there are a few who seem unlikely to make the rotation at this point. Lefties Kendry Rojas and Connor Prielipp and righties John Klein and Andrew Morris have yet to make their MLB debuts. They’ll likely start off in Triple-A, though any of the bunch could fight his way into a rotation spot later in the year. Putting Woods Richardson in the rotation and eliminating the players who have yet to debut in the majors from the conversation leaves three arms — Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, and Zebby Matthews — for two spots.
Bradley, acquired last summer for Griffin Jax, is the most experienced at the big league level of the three. Once a consensus top-25 prospect in the sport, he made it to the majors with Tampa Bay in 2023 and has mostly stuck in their rotation since. He’s not yet enjoyed much in the way of results as a big leaguer, however, as demonstrated by his 4.86 ERA in 75 appearances (73 starts).
Bradley’s ERA+ peaked at 97 in 2024 and sits at just 85 for his career. His peripherals are better than his results, and his career 4.00 SIERA does offer some confidence about his ability to perform at the big league level. He won’t turn 25 until next month. Bradley is still young enough to be capable of breaking out in a big way, but he’s also young enough that spending time at Triple-A is hardly outlandish.
Matthews is about ten months older than Bradley but is less experienced in the majors. The right-hander has a similar resume in a smaller sample. He’s made just 25 big league starts, and while his 5.92 ERA is ugly, a 4.41 FIP and 3.80 SIERA both offer some reason for optimism.
Matthews has a career 24.7% strikeout rate against a 6.6% walk rate. That’s good for a K-BB% on par with high-end arms like Kevin Gausman and Freddy Peralta. Much of his struggles in terms of results surely has to do with an incredibly high .359 BABIP, which figures to come down across a larger sample. He also took a notable step forward in 2025 relative to 2024, as his barrel rate plummeted from 14% down to a more acceptable 9.9%, while his hard-hit rate dropped to 38.8%. Matthews’ struggles at the big league level might be enough to keep him out of the rotation to start the year, but the underlying metrics on the former top-100 prospect could warrant a longer look.
As for Abel, the right-hander is by far the least experienced in the majors. He made his MLB debut just last year and won’t turn 25 until August. He posted a 6.23 ERA in a 39 inning cup of coffee last year between the Phillies and Twins. That would make it easy to write Abel off for the Opening Day roster, but he has considerable pedigree as a recent top-100 prospect and has opened eyes this spring with a dominant performance. Abel has fired off ten scoreless innings in three starts with 13 strikeouts, good for a 39.4% clip. Bradley (seven runs in 14 innings, 19-to-5 K/BB) and Matthews (seven runs in six innings) haven’t been as sharp. Spring numbers only count for so much, of course, but Abel has made a stronger case for himself than his competition.
How do MLBTR readers expect the Twins to decide who gets left out of the Opening Day rotation? Will they leave off Abel due to his lack of experience, overlook Matthews’ strong peripherals, or not be swayed by Bradley’s experience? Have your say in the poll below:
Who will be the odd man out in the Twins' rotation?
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Zebby Matthews 54% (1,435)
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Mick Abel 35% (916)
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Taj Bradley 11% (288)
Total votes: 2,639
The Opener: World Baseball Classic, Priester, Tigers, Yankees
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. World Baseball Classic exits pool stage:
Yesterday, the WBC wrapped up its pool stage as the eight teams advancing to the next round were finalized. The biggest wins of yesterday’s games were Aaron Nola and Team Italy’s victory over Javier Assad and Team Mexico, as well as Cal Quantrill and Team Canada’s victories over Team Cuba. Canada (3-1) and Puerto Rico (3-1) made it out of Pool A, while Italy (4-0) and the United States (3-1) are the victors in Pool B. Japan (4-0) and Korea (2-2) made it through Pool C, and Pool D saw the Dominican Republic (4-0) and Venezuela (3-1) emerge. Those eight teams are now set to travel to the continental United States (if they weren’t already here) for the quarterfinals and beyond, which will take place in Houston and Miami. While the quarterfinalists travel and prepare for the next round, no games are on the schedule for today. The knockout round begins on Friday with Korea facing the Dominican Republic and Canada squaring off against the United States.
2. Brewers await news on Priester:
Brewers righty Quinn Priester is poised to start the year on the injured list due to soreness in his wrist. The righty reportedly went to visit a specialist yesterday, and the feedback from that visit could shed some light on the injury for Milwaukee and provide them with a more specific diagnosis. While the soreness has been intermittent and hasn’t stopped him from playing catch this spring, ruling out a more significant injury could give Priester and the club some confidence as he builds up towards his return to the big league mound. Kyle Harrison, Brandon Sproat, Chad Patrick, and Logan Henderson are all vying for spots in the rotation, with only Brandon Woodruff and Jacob Misiorowski locked into spots come Opening Day with Priester headed for the IL.
3. Game Preview: Tigers vs Yankees:
While the World Baseball Classic is on hold for the day, attention turns back towards Spring Training for fans looking to follow baseball today. Spring Training games are much lower-stakes, but there are still some things worth watching for clubs nonetheless. In today’s game between the Yankees and Tigers, for example, future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander will simply be getting his work in ahead of his 21st year in the big leagues. Even so, he’d surely like to turn in a stronger performance than he did in his first outing of the spring, where he struck out four in two innings but also allowed two runs on two hits (including one homer) and two walks. He’ll be pitching today opposite Will Warren, who will spend both Spring Training and the early part of the regular season looking to earn a more permanent spot in the rotation with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon expected back from the injured list during the first couple months of the season. On the positional side of things, Ryan McMahon has been trying his hand at shortstop throughout camp for the Yankees, while top Tigers prospect Kevin McGonigle has been trying to force his way onto the MLB roster.
Poll: Who Will Be The Braves’ Fifth Starter?
The Atlanta rotation has had a rough go of it this spring. Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both hit the injured list before Spring Training games even began, and now they’ve been followed by the loss of lefty Joey Wentz to a season-ending ACL tear. The timelines for Waldrep and Schwellenbach aren’t yet clear, but they figure to miss significant time following surgeries to remove loose bodies from their elbows. (Schwellenbach is already on the 60-day IL.) That leaves the Braves with a lot of uncertainty in the rotation. Grant Holmes and Reynaldo Lopez are coming off injury-marred 2025 seasons, but they’ll be relied on for mid-rotation innings behind Chris Sale and Spencer Strider.
There’s still one rotation spot open. Wentz was in position to make a play for that spot and had a decent spring showing: two runs, three hits, four walks, one hit batter, six punchouts in 5 2/3 innings (3.18 ERA). His injury opens the competition up to a larger group.
The on-paper favorite is likely to be right-hander Bryce Elder, who made 28 starts for the Braves last year. Elder is still just 27 years old and was an All-Star back in 2023 thanks to a big first half, but in his past 52 starts he’s posted a 5.63 ERA with a below-average 18.4% strikeout rate against an 8.3% walk rate. Metrics like SIERA (4.56) and FIP (4.76) have been a bit better kinder, but Elder is approaching 300 innings with an ERA north of 5.50 over the past two and a half calendar years.
Elder’s status as the presumptive favorite is more about incumbency, being on the 40-man roster and being out of minor league options. He hasn’t made a strong case this spring, turning in a lackluster 6.48 ERA in three starts. That leaves the door wide open for someone else to grab the job.
Left-hander José Suarez is also out of minor league options and on the 40-man roster. He has an uneven big league track record but pitched well between 61 2/3 minor league innings and 19 1/3 major league frames for Atlanta last winter. He’s allowed four runs in 6 2/3 spring innings. Suarez gave the Angels 207 1/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball in 2021-22 before being tagged for a 6.91 ERA in 86 innings across a pair of injury-marred seasons in 2023-24.
The most prominent non-roster veteran in camp is southpaw Martín Pérez. The lefty has allowed only one run in five spring innings and is coming off a season where he posted decent numbers (3.54 ERA, 4.24 FIP) in 56 innings for the White Sox. Flexor and shoulder injuries shortened his 2025 season, and the days of Pérez’s blip of All-Star-caliber work with the Rangers (2.89 ERA, 3.9 fWAR in 2022) are likely behind him. Still, he has the potential to be an effective back-end starter.
Those aren’t the only options for the role. Veteran Carlos Carrasco is in camp, but after posting a 9.88 ERA in three starts for Atlanta last season and allowing nine runs on 11 hits in 6 1/3 spring innings this year, he seems unlikely to be the top choice. Didier Fuentes made his MLB debut last year and has tossed four scoreless innings this spring, but he won’t celebrate his 21st birthday until June and might be better served with more time in the minors. Top pitching prospect JR Ritchie enjoyed a strong season at Triple-A last year and has looked good so far this spring (3.38 ERA in eight innings). He’s not yet on the 40-man roster.
Another possibility that can’t be entirely ruled out is an external addition. Lucas Giolito remains available and seems like an obvious fit — despite an apparent lack of interest on Atlanta’s part thus far. Other veterans like Tyler Anderson and Patrick Corbin remain unsigned, too. Any of those pitchers could be added to the mix with the intent of them eventually taking over the fifth starter job, but the team would likely need to trade for a player that’s already been pitching for another club in order to add someone who will immediately be ready to join the rotation at the start of the season. A free agent like Giolito would surely need to get work in at extended Spring Training at this point.
How do MLBTR readers think the Braves will round out their rotation? Will they give the job to Elder and hope for better results than last year? Will they go with a young prospect like Fuentes or Ritchie, or perhaps a veteran like Pérez or Carrasco? Perhaps they’ll eschew all those options for an external addition? Vote now in the poll below:
Who will be the Braves' fifth starter this year?
The Opener: World Baseball Classic, Teel, Carroll
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. World Baseball Classic continues:
After Team Italy’s shocking 8-6 victory over Team USA last night, the World Baseball Classic enters its final day of Pool Play with plenty at stake. At 3pm local time in San Juan, Canada and Cuba will face off to decide who will join Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals. That game will be followed up at 6pm local time in Houston, when Italy and Mexico will face off to determine not only their own fates, but also the fate of Team USA. The United States can be eliminated if Mexico beats Italy while scoring four runs or fewer, as all three teams would finish with 3-1 records and move on to a runs-based tiebreaker. The final game of the evening will occur at 8pm local time in Miami, where the Dominican Republic and Venezuela will face off for seeding purposes after both clubs already clinched their quarterfinal appearance.
Outside of the excitement of the games themselves, this year’s WBC has already brought considerable intrigue and drama off the field. Team USA manager Mark DeRosa conducted an interview pregame where he seemingly did not realize that his club had not already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals, and Chad Jennings of The Athletic notes that MLB.com appears to have taken down the footage of DeRosa’s mistaken comments after Team USA’s loss. Meanwhile, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale was among those to discuss possible discontent in the Mariners’ clubhouse after star catcher Cal Raleigh declined to shake hands with Mariners teammate and WBC opponent Randy Arozarena during the game between the U.S. and Mexico yesterday.
2. Teel exits due to hamstring issue:
In other WBC news, a damper was put on Italy’s victory when catcher Kyle Teel was pulled from the game due to tightness in his right hamstring. As noted by Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, Teel figures to be replaced on Italy’s roster by bullpen catcher Andres Annunziata. Annunziata is a 20-year-old who plays in Italy’s Serie A league. Perhaps more pertinent than Teel’s WBC status is whether or not he’ll be hampered headed into the regular season for the White Sox. He’ll surely get imaging done on his ailing hamstring to determine the severity of the issue, and the White Sox will be able to formulate a plan for Teel from there. Fortunately for them, Edgar Quero and Korey Lee are available as a capable catching tandem even if Teel misses the start of the season.
3. Carroll returning to the lineup:
Corbin Carroll has missed the bulk of Spring Training so far due to a hamate fracture that ultimately required surgery, but Alex Weiner of the Arizona Republic relayed yesterday that the Diamondbacks’ star outfielder will be back in the lineup today as a DH. With a little over two weeks left to go before Opening Day, Carroll should have just enough time to ramp up before the season begins and avoid starting the year on the injured list. His return to the field begins at 1:10pm local time in Arizona, when Ryne Nelson will be taking the mound opposite Luis Morales and the Athletics.
Poll: Will The Astros Be Able To Add Another Outfielder Before Opening Day?
One of the biggest predicaments of the Astros’ offseason has been their as-of-yet unsuccessful efforts to reshape their outfield mix. After losing Kyle Tucker in a trade to the Cubs last winter, the team not only missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade but struggled to find production in the outfield. Their 88 wRC+ on the grass was the eighth-weakest in the majors, and while strong defense from Jake Meyers in center field helped to raise their ranking in terms of fWAR, the club’s outfield still ranked just 20th in baseball even by that measure.
Things have arguably gotten worse in the outfield for Houston this winter, depending on who you’d take between Jesus Sanchez and Joey Loperfido. As presently constructed, Meyers figures to handle center field with some combination of Loperfido, Cam Smith, Zach Cole, Brice Matthews, and Zach Dezenzo platooning in the corners. Smith is the only one with even 400 plate appearances at the big league level for his career of that group, and he’s a 23-year-old coming off a middling rookie season after getting just 32 games in the minors (and only five above High-A) before making his debut. It’s a very unproven group, and it’s been no secret that even after the calendar flipped to March with Opening Day just weeks away, the Astros are hoping to find a way to add some additional stability to their outfield.
For most of the offseason, the industry consensus was that they were most likely to accomplish that by dealing away Isaac Paredes. Paredes, at least on paper, was blocked all over the diamond after the team acquired Carlos Correa to play third base at last year’s trade deadline. With Correa at third, Christian Walker at first, and Yordan Alvarez at DH, there wasn’t much of anywhere for Paredes to play. Perhaps the team was still holding out hope that the right deal would come through at some point but a recent finger fracture suffered by Jeremy Pena perhaps changes that calculus. If Pena has to miss time, Correa could be thrust back into the role of everyday shortstop, which would leave the hot corner for Paredes to get regular at-bats to open the season.
That means a major trade for someone like Jarren Duran is extremely unlikely at this point. With that being said, though, there are certainly other ways the team could look to improve its outfield even as Opening Day creeps closer. Free agency (Jesse Winker, Jason Heyward) offers a couple of interesting if unexciting options who could likely be brought into camp on a minor league deal.
The best NRI candidates have been picked over by other clubs at this point, but if a player like Michael Conforto (who the Astros reportedly had interest in before he signed with the Cubs) or Mike Tauchman fails to make their current team out of camp, then it’s entirely possible they could opt out of their current deals and find a home in Houston.
It’s even possible that a deal involving a player on another team’s major league roster isn’t completely out of the question. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco explored a handful of little-discussed trade candidates who could make sense for the Astros last month. While there’s no guarantee any of those players are available, it’s fair to think a team like the Twins (who have all of Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, Alan Roden, and James Outman vying for just a few spots in their outfield mix) could be willing to part with one of those pieces. That would be especially intriguing for Minnesota if the Astros were open to listening on some of their pitching depth, given that the Twins will be without Pablo Lopez this year and David Festa is also slated to start the year on the injured list.
What do MLBTR readers think of the Astros’ outfield situation? Will they be able to find some external help before the season begins? Or will they enter the year with some combination of their internal players handling the corners? Have your say in the poll below:
Will the Astros add another outfielder before Opening Day?
Nationals Sign Zack Littell
The Nationals have formally added a second veteran starter in free agency, announcing the addition of righty Zack Littell on a one-year deal with a mutual option for the 2027 season. Littell, a client of CAA, will reportedly be guaranteed $7MM with another $2.5MM available to him via innings-based incentives. Left-hander Richard Lovelady was designated for assignment to open roster space, per the team.
Littell’s deal reportedly pays him a $3MM salary but also includes a $4MM buyout on that mutual option. Since mutual options are never exercised, that amounts to little more than an accounting measure; the Nats are kicking $4MM of his $7MM commitment to the 2027 books rather than the 2026 books. The contract is also said to contain $100K bonuses for every tenth inning pitched from 100 through 140. Littell can earn $250K for reaching each of 150 and 160 innings, and the deal has $500K bonuses upon reaching 170, 180 and 190 innings.
Heading into the offseason, we ranked Littell 35th among the offseason’s top 50 free agents, predicting a two-year deal. He’ll have to settle for just a one-year pact, and the righty could be on the move again relatively soon if the rebuilding Nationals move him at the trade deadline.
The 30-year-old Littell is a veteran of eight big league seasons but spent most of that time in a bullpen role. In the first five seasons of his MLB career, Littell posted a 4.08 ERA (104 ERA+) with lackluster peripherals in 169 2/3 innings of work. After the 2022 campaign, Littell rode the DFA and waiver carousel throughout the 2022-23 offseason. He eventually wound up with the Red Sox to start the season, but he made just two appearances in the majors before being once again designated for assignment. That led him to the Rays, with whom he managed to transform himself from a fringe member of the 40-man roster into a solid rotation arm.
Upon arriving in Tampa, Littell moved into a swing role for the remainder of the 2023 campaign. He posted a 3.93 ERA with a nearly matching 3.99 FIP in 87 innings split between 14 starts and 12 relief appearances. Littell’s 19.8% strikeout rate in those outings was hardly exciting, but he made up for it with pinpoint command that allowed him to post a 2.5% walk rate and an 8.2% barrel rate.
That control and command style was enough to earn him a full-time rotation job headed into the Rays’ 2024 season, and he rewarded the team with a career year. In 29 starts for the Rays in 2024, Littell posted a 21.5% strikeout rate against a 4.7% walk rate while pitching to a 3.63 ERA (110 ERA+) with a 3.81 FIP. His 156 2/3 innings of work made him just one of just 71 pitchers to throw more than 150 innings that year, and only 15 of those pitchers surrendered fewer runs than Littell.
Littell remained generally effective in terms of run prevention last year, logging a 3.81 ERA (111 ERA+) in a career-high 186 2/3 innings across 32 starts for the Rays and Reds. The bottom-line results were similar, but Littell’s rate stats took worrying steps in the wrong direction. His strikeout rate plummeted to just 17.1%, while his barrel rate jumped to 9.8% as he allowed the second-most homers in all of baseball last season. Perhaps some of that can be explained by Littell pitching his home games at the hitter-friendly Steinbrenner Field and Great American Ballpark, but a 4.40 SIERA suggested that Littell was more of a back-end starter than his results may have indicated.
The result was a soft free agent market for Littell this offseason. A reunion with the Rays once seemed to be on the table, but Tampa Bay instead brought in Steven Matz and Nick Martinez. KSTP’s Darren Wolfson reports that the Twins at least checked in late in the offseason, but weren’t inclined to match the Nationals’ offer.
The Nationals were the ones to ultimately bring Littell into the fold, with some past connections possibly helped complete the deal. New president of baseball operations Paul Toboni formerly worked in the Red Sox front office, new manager Blake Butera spent years managing in Tampa’s farm system, and new pitching coach Simon Matthews was the Reds’ assistant pitching coach in 2025, so all three have direct familiarity with Littell’s work.
D.C. is unlikely to compete for a playoff spot this year as they reboot their rebuilding efforts under Toboni. As such, the team has pursued just short-term and relatively inexpensive veteran signings like Littell and Miles Mikolas, and made another move for the future in trading MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers. The Gore trade diminished an already questionable Washington rotation, so Littell will reinforce a starting five that seems set to include Mikolas and another new signing in Foster Griffin. The last two spots in the rotation figure to go to some combination of Cade Cavalli, Brad Lord, Josiah Gray, Jake Irvin, and Mitchell Parker.
ESPN.com’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan were the first to report the agreement between the two sides. The Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka (multiple links) had the details about the one-year term and mutual option. The Banner’s Andrew Golden first reported the financial guarantee. Jon Heyman of The New York Post and Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic added specifics about the breakdown and incentives.
Inset photo courtesy of Joe Puetz — Imagn Images
The Opener: World Baseball Classic, Extensions, MLBTR Chat
Here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye on throughout the day:
1. World Baseball Classic continues:
Pool play in the World Baseball Classic continues today, although we already know which two teams will advance from Pool C (Japan, Korea) and Pool D (Venezuela, Dominican Republic). Puerto Rico in Pool A and USA in Pool B both have 3-0 records, with Puerto Rico having already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals. Team USA will need to beat Team Italy in this evening’s game (scheduled for 8pm local time in Houston) in order to clinch their spot; a loss to Italy tonight in conjunction with Italy losing to Mexico tomorrow would then result in a tiebreaker between the three clubs, who would have identical 3-1 records. As for Pool A, Cuba (2-1) is currently in the best position to make the quarterfinals, but Canada (1-1) could make things interesting with a win over Puerto Rico at 7pm ET.
2. More extensions on the way?
Yesterday, the Phillies stunned the baseball world with an out-of-the-blue extension for left-hander Jesus Luzardo. Luzardo landed a five-year, $135MM deal just months before he would have reached free agency. The 28-year-old signed on the heels of a season where he posted a 3.92 ERA in 32 starts with outstanding peripherals (2.90 FIP, 28.5% strikeout rate). Luzardo’s deal serves as a reminder that a lack of rumors surrounding a given player doesn’t necessarily signal a lack of negotiation going on behind the scenes. Luzardo joins Braves southpaw Chris Sale, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy and A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson among the list of notable players to sign extensions in the past five to six weeks. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol, Brewers skipper Pat Murphy, and Padres president of baseball operations AJ Preller have also signed new contracts this spring.
As for Luzardo, his extension is expected to be formally announced by the team at a press conference today, per the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. That could lead to some comments of note from Phillies president Dave Dombrowski, so fans will want to keep an eye out for that.
3. MLBTR Chat today:
The World Baseball Classic is underway, and MLB clubs are entering the final weeks of Spring Training. Free agency is nearing its conclusion (the as-of-yet unsigned Lucas Giolito notwithstanding), and teams around baseball are gearing up for the 2026 campaign. If you’re wondering where your club stands, how their offseason went, or if there might be any other moves for your club to make before the season begins, you can get MLBTR’s Steve Adams thoughts in a chat that’s scheduled for 1pm CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, follow along once it goes live, and read the transcript after it’s complete.
The Opener: World Baseball Classic, Littell, Giolito
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. WBC pool play continues:
Pool play in the World Baseball Classic remains underway, with Samurai Japan (3-0) and Korea (2-2) both having advanced out of the pool stage of the tournament. Those two clubs will be the quarterfinalists from Pool C. In Pool A, the favorites to advance are Puerto Rico and Cuba, both of which have 2-0 records. The same can be said for the Dominican Republic and Venezuela in Pool D given their own 2-0 records. The most interesting pool at the moment is Pool B, where each of the United States, Italy, and Mexico have perfect 2-0 records. The winner of tonight’s game between Team USA and Team Mexico will be an overwhelming favorite to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. The U.S. will send reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes to the mound against former Orioles right-hander Manny Barreda.
2. Littell contract to be finalized:
The Nationals and right-hander Zack Littell have reportedly agreed to one-year contract that includes a mutual option for 2027. That deal was pending a physical, however, and the exact dollar amount of the deal has not yet been reported. Financial details figure to become available at some point in the near future, and the deal should be finalized quickly in the interest of getting the righty into camp with the Nats; there are just over two weeks until the regular season begins. The Nationals will need to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate the addition of Littell, and the club has no obvious 60-day IL candidates after already transferring Trevor Williams and DJ Herz earlier this spring.
3. Giolito stands alone:
Now that Littell has a deal, right-hander Lucas Giolito stands alone as the final member of MLBTR’s top 50 free agents list who has yet to land a deal somewhere. MLBTR’s Steve Adams took a look at a handful of teams that remained plausible candidates to add a starter like Giolito to the mix back in February, and many of those teams still make some sense for his services. Clubs like the Braves and Phillies that look like plausible fits on paper have indicated a lack of interest in the right-hander to this point.
Of course, the nature of pitcher injuries (particularly in Spring Training) is such that any given pitch thrown by a player expected to be in the rotation mix for their team could lead to an injury that creates an opening for Giolito. That’s been all too apparent in Atlanta, where injuries to Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep at the start of camp have more recently been compounded by an injury to Joey Wentz. Wentz was carted off the field with an apparent right knee injury sustained while covering the bag on a grounder to first. Initial reports were that Wentz seemed to have avoided a major injury, but he was still being sent for imaging. If he’s forced to miss some time, perhaps losing a third rotation option would push the Braves to consider some external additions.
Mariners Add Jacob Nottingham To Minor League Coaching Staff
March 9: Nottingham was brought in as a player on a minor league deal but will actually be converting to coaching, according to a report from Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. It’s unclear what Nottingham’s exact role in the Mariners organization will be. The news presumably ends Nottingham’s playing career, and we at MLB Trade Rumors wish him all the best in his upcoming move to coaching.
March 8: The Mariners have re-signed catcher Jacob Nottingham to a minor league deal, as noted in the transactions tracker on Nottingham’s MLB.com profile page. It’s unclear if the deal includes an invite to big league camp for the 30-year-old.
Nottingham is a veteran of four MLB seasons but hasn’t appeared in the majors since the 2021 season. A one-time top-100 prospect who was initially drafted by the Astros, he was involved in the 2015 Scott Kazmir swap between the Astros and A’s before being flipped to the Brewers in the Khris Davis deal ahead of the 2016 season. Nottingham lost his prospect shine during his time in Milwaukee and served mostly as an up-and-down catcher for the Brewers from the time of his MLB debut in 2018 until 2021, when he was claimed off waivers by the Mariners. He returned to the Brewers via trade shortly thereafter but was eventually DFA’d by Milwaukee and plucked off waivers by Seattle for a second time later in the year.
Then 26 years old, Nottingham ended the 2021 season with a career .184/.277/.421 slash line across 130 plate appearances in 54 MLB games, which remains his career slash line in the big leagues to this day. Since being outrighted off the Mariners’ roster in 2021, he’s bounced between the Mariners’, Giants’ and Nationals’ minor league systems and also enjoyed a 44-game stint in the independent Mexican League back in 2024. In 293 career minor league games, Nottingham owns a .235/.321/.415 slash line line that’s generally solid by the standards of a catcher. Those numbers are somewhat inflated by years spent in the Pacific Coast League, however, and Nottingham’s 2025 campaign left much to be desired. He appeared in just 17 games in Tacoma for the Mariners organization last year, and in those limited opportunities he struggled to the tune of a .193/.277/.298 slash line.
Given Nottingham’s limited playing time last year and struggles when he did take the field, it’s hard to imagine him being a significant part of the backup catcher conversation for Seattle. Cal Raleigh is, of course, the undisputed top catcher in not only the organization but all of baseball. The Mariners are planning on having Andrew Knizner back Raleigh up this year, although Jhonny Pereda is also on the 40-man roster while Mitch Garver, Brian O’Keefe, and Jakson Reetz are all in camp as non-roster invitees. Some of those depth options figure to have opt-outs in their contracts and could look for greener pastures elsewhere in the likely event they don’t make the MLB club. That’s where Nottingham could come into the picture as a depth piece who is familiar with the organization and can serve as a veteran mentor for pitchers at Triple-A.