What is the story about?
It seems like February grinds to a halt once pitchers and catchers report every year. While the excitement of spring training games provides a midwinter jolt, that buzz quickly wears off as you remember the RBIs don’t count, but the oblique injuries do. But now it’s March, the World Baseball Classic’s pool play is in full swing, and high schoolers are getting out of jams by breaking Aaron Judge’s bat. Baseball is back, baby, and as is the custom of this three-year cycle, we have meaningful baseball
to tide us over these last ~three weeks until meaningful baseball begins all over again.
- Starling Marte is still kicking around this ol’ league here, having just finished four mid-30s seasons with the New York Mets and finding a way to close in on a 40.0 bWAR career. He’ll have a shot to add more to that figure on a new deal with the Kansas City Royals that broke at the tail end of last week.
- The Cleveland Guardians are bringing on Rhys Hoskins via that classic late-February minor-league deal avenue. Details indicate that Hoskins would receive an escalation to a $1.5MM salary should he advance to the major-league roster. Name a more classic duo than “details” and “providing information”.
- Royals Review proposes that the Royals have a surplus of catching depth from which they may be motivated to utilize in shoring up weaknesses elsewhere around the diamond. It reminds me of how the Twins have a surplus of starting pitching depth, which they, uh, which they could draw from to — hold on.
- I mentioned it last Roundup, but it still blows my mind that Yoan Moncada and Alexei Ramirez are teammates in a 2026 baseball exhibition.
- Some Cleveland news and notes from their latest wave of internal spring transactions:
- Fans of both the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox may have mixed/bittersweet feelings about Jason Benetti’s hiring as the lead play-by-play man for NBC’s renewed coverage of Major League Baseball. Widely considered the favorite to land the position, the popular broadcaster will add another national gig to an already feathered national-gig-themed hat. He continues to serve in an increasingly-popular dual role a la Joe Davis or even Matt Vasgersian, holding down a local gig while moonlighting as a voice with a little more reach.
- Kevin McGonigle is coming, so you better get used to him now.
- Finally, Eric Hosmer will be joining the Kansas City TV booth this season, the latest in a long line of post-career coaches or broadcasters proving that even if you are only in your 20’s, if you’ve been watching baseball for long enough, somebody is out there who can make you feel old. There’s a part of me that still hasn’t processed that ours is the same Justin Morneau.
