What is the story about?
Good
morning.
- With Opening Day just three days away, Buster Olney has seven things he’s learned in Spring Training.
- The MLB dot com beat writers have the most important thing each team has learned in Spring Training.
- Jared Greenspan has four things that players have learned about the Automatic Ball/Strike (ABS) system this Spring.
- Umpire Bill Miller learned to be sure his microphone was off before he wished to be overruled by the ABS system. Unfortunately for Bill, he’s too good of an umpire.
- Thomas Harrington has ten players who could seize the opportunity after others getting injured in Spring Training.
- Davy Andrews looks at the weird collection of players who have hit more home runs in Spring Training than the regular season.
- Chad Jennings writes that players returning from World Baseball Classic duty are trying hard to catch up on the time they missed in Spring Training. (The Athletic sub. req.)
- Team USA captain Aaron Judge defended his team from charges that they didn’t have any fun during the WBC. (The Athletic sub. req.) Judge also said he’d play for Team USA anytime they asked, including the 2028 Olympics.
- Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena said he apologized to teammate Cal Raleigh after Arozarena’s angry tirade after Raleigh wouldn’t shake his hand during a WBC game.
- Dayn Perry builds his “Dream Team” USA for the 2030 World Baseball Classic.
- Maria Guardado speaks with Will Clark about his memories of playing for Team USA in the 1984 Olympics.
- J.J. Cooper writes that the WBC has always been great, but now that everyone else has realized that, the WBC has gone mainstream.
- The Phillies and Cristopher Sánchez have agreed to a new six-year contract extension.
- Phillies reliever Daniel Robert is “stable and alert” after suffering a “cardiac event” while throwing a bullpen on Sunday.
- The Pirates announced that top prospect Konnor Griffin will start the season in the minor leagues.
- Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon explain why the Pirates decided to send Griffin to the minor leagues. (The Athletic sub. req.)
- Last year, Dean Kremer led the Orioles in innings pitched and strikeouts. Baltimore just sent Kremer down to Triple-A to start the season.
- The Yankees sent outfielder Jasson Dominguez down to Triple-A, despite a strong Spring Training.
- Instead, veteran Randal Grichuk will make the Yankees’ Opening Day roster. Bryan Hoch reports.
- Reliever Craig Kimbrel will not make the Mets Opening Day roster. Anthony DiComo with the story, and he writes that it’s unclear if Kimbrel is willing to remain in the organization.
- Ten teams still do not have distribution deals for the broadcasts of their games this year.
- Eno Sarris has ten bold predictions for the 2026 season. (The Athletic sub. req.)
- The MLB dot com writers have their predictions for who will end up on top of the big statistical categories in each league.
- Mike Axisa has some sleeper candidates for breakout seasons in 2026.
- Mike Petriello has seven hitters who could break out this year.
- Bradford Doolittle explains why Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford is his sleeper pick for American League Most Valuable Player this season.
- A preview of the AL East.
- Paige Leckie reports on the “friendly rivalry” between two close friends, Orioles manager Craig Albernaz and Nationals manager Blake Butera.
- Andy McCullough, Will Sammon and Sahadev Sharma break down a survey of experts on who are the top aces in MLB and who are just back-end guys. (The Athletic sub. req.)
- The Mariners are back with their humorous ads for the new season. The first one this year, with all the new fathers on the team, is “TriDads Up,” with the players balancing their duties as ballplayers and fathers.
- Finally, Charlotte Varnes has the story of Rockies outfield prospect Braylen Wimmer, who is back in Spring Training just four months after having a cancerous brain tumor removed. (The Athletic sub. req.) The story covers the problems that Wimmer had to overcome, like being temporarily unable to speak, and how baseball is coming back to him.
