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Good
morning and happy Friday, everyone!
The Mariners triumphed in yesterday’s spring training ballgame against the A’s by a 6-4 final.
We inch ever closer to Opening Day, with the Mariners kicking things off on Thursday against the Guardians. What are your plans for the opener? Will you be at the game, or will you be taking it in some other way?
In Mariners news…
- Speaking of Opening Day, the Mariners officially named Logan Gilbert their Opening Day starter for the second year in a row.
- Emerson Hancock’s scorching spring has been fueled by a fastball with more life to it and a brand new sweeper, writes Shannon Drayer.
Around the league…
- Blue Jays rookie starter Trey Yesavage will begin the season on the injured list with right shoulder impingement.
- Former Mariners utilityman Dylan Moore has opted out of his minor league deal with the Phillies. The organization now has 48 hours to add him to their big league roster or he will become a free agent.
- Angels right-hander Grayson Rodriguez is likely to open the season on the injured list while he deals with a “dead arm.”
- Giants righty Hayden Birdsong will undergo Tommy John surgery, taking him out for all of 2026.
- Jurickson Profar’s 162-game suspension for testing positive for PEDs has been upheld upon appeal.
- Major League Baseball has agreed to a multi-year deal Polymarket, who will become the exclusive prediction-market partner of the league.
- Longtime Mets broadcaster Howie Rose announced that he is retiring following the 2026 season.
- Former Mariners lefty and current Angel Yusei Kikuchi revealed that he was so upset after Japan lost in the quarterfinal of the World Baseball Classic that he “couldn’t sleep all night,“ a notable departure from his usual 13-14 hours.
- Kiri Oller at Fangraphs continued their Positional Power Rankings series by diving into center field, where the Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez reigns supreme.
- Will Leitch and Mike Petriello drafted the 2026 World Series favorites.
