The rumours have been swirling for over a week now, but the official word has come down from the Toronto Blue Jays: right-hander Yariel Rodriguez will be pitching for Team Cuba at the World Baseball Classic later this spring. Rodriguez is no stranger to the WBC stage, making two starts for the national squad at the 2023 tournament. Across 7 1/3 innings, Rodriguez allowed just five hits and two earned runs with 10 strikeouts.
REV Entertainment, the sports and entertainment arm of the Texas Rangers, has purchased the Long Island Ducks, the team announced Wednesday. The Ducks, who began play in 2000, compete in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and play at Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip. The franchise is the league's all-time leader in both wins and attendance and has won four championships, most recently in 2019.
Barnes, 36, has spent his entire big league career with the Dodgers thus far. Over parts of 11 seasons, he consistently graded out as a strong defender behind the plate. His offense was never his carrying tool but was generally passable for a long time. From 2015 to 2022, in 1,357 plate appearances, he hit 32 home runs and drew walks at a strong 12.1% clip. His .225/.333/.358 slash in that span led to a 93 wRC+.
The Diamondbacks and righty are in agreement on a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, as first reported by MLB Transactions Daily ( on Instagram). Robert Murray of Fansided reports that the CAA client would earn $1.5MM if he makes the roster and has another $500K available to him via incentives. He can earn $50K for reaching each of 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 appearances. He'd then earn $100K bonuses at 50 and 55 games pitched.
Both the PLL and WLL teams will compete from Feb. 27 through March 8 at the St. James in Springfield, Va., in the Sixes format. This is the same format that will be used when lacrosse returns to the Olympics at the Los Angeles Games in 2028. All games will be available on the ESPN App and in the streaming hubs for the PLL and WLL.
Their 2024 first-round selection, Trey Yesavage, started the year off in Single-A Dunedin. By the time he was finished, he had just shattered multiple postseason records by a rookie starting pitcher. Arjun Nimmala took another step towards becoming a true upper-echelon prospect. Johnny King emerged as a teenage phenom with gaudy swing-and-miss ability. Juan Sanchez appears to be their first IFA signee with true star potential since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The list goes on.
Rogers is atypical of a modern reliever in many ways. He doesn't throw hard, averaging 83.5 m.p.h. with his sinker and 74.1 m.p.h. with his slider last season. Both were the slowest of their kind in MLB. Because he doesn't have electric stuff by way of velocity or movement, he doesn't strike batters out. Rogers' 16.1% strikeout rate ranked in the eighth percentile. And of course, the strangest aspect of all is his minus-61-degree arm angle, the lowest in baseball by far. (Hoby Milner's minus-4-degree slot is the second lowest, and the only other to come in at a negative angle.)
With their final pick in the 2024 draft, the Atlanta Braves selected high school infielder/outfielder Eric Hartman with their 20th overall pick out of Holy Trinity Academy, in Otokoks, Alberta. It makes sense, given general manager Alex Anthopoulos' ties to the great country. Hometown: St. Albert, Alberta Organization: Atlanta Braves Draft: 20th round, 2024 (ATL) Position: Second base/outfield
LP Langevin has one of the most underrated fastballs in the country. A former JUCO bandit, the @RaginCajunsBSB RHP threw five perfect innings in relief, dominating with his heater. 92-95 with explosive life, racking up 14 (!) whiffs. Flashed a CT, SL, and CH. Very fun metrics.
The Brewers have signed catcher Reese McGuire to a minor league contract and invited him to major league spring training, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reported last week that the two sides had been talking. McGuire is represented by Apex Baseball. McGuire, 31 in March, is a former first-round pick and top prospect who's played in parts of eight major league seasons with four teams - most recently the 2025 Cubs.
The Rockies are designating former top outfield prospect Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. Between the Fernandez DFA and this morning's trade of right-handed reliever Angel Chivilli to the Yankees (in exchange for non-roster first baseman T.J. Rumfield), Colorado has cleared two spots on its previously full 40-man roster. Fernandez just turned 23 on New Year's Day but has exhausted two of his three minor league option years. He made his major league debut with the Rox this past season but hit just .225/.265/.348 with a 30% strikeout rate in 147 trips to the batter's box.
The Twins have traded infielder Edouard Julien and right-hander Pierson Ohl to the Rockies, according to announcements from both clubs. Minor league right-hander Jace Kaminska and cash considerations are going to the Twins. The Rockies freed up two 40-man spots earlier today by trading Angel Chivilli to the Yankees and designating Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment.
That shot came in early August, 2023. In his first plate appearance, he went deep over the Green Monster, kick-starting one of the most spectacular MLB debuts in history. In that series alone, Schneider hit a home run in each of the three games, totalling nine hits in 15 plate appearances. Over his first month, Schneider was slashing .397/.514/.845 with six home runs in 72 plate appearances, before cooling off.
The Cardinals have more firmly committed to a retool than they did last offseason. They treated last season primarily as an evaluation year but weren't as aggressive in selling off veteran pieces as they've been this winter. Unfortunately, they didn't see any development from former first-round picks and top prospects Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman. They're in a similar position now as they were 12 months ago, though the pressure is probably ramping up on both players.
Gallen is coming off a down season and is a candidate for a pillow contract with an opt-out. On the other hand, Valdez came into the winter as arguably the best available pitcher. His age and middling second half performance - plus the bizarre cross up incident with catcher César Salazar that could lead to some questions from teams - meant he hit the market on a bit of a down note himself.
Weigel, 31, made four big league appearances a few years ago. One of those came with Atlanta in 2020 and three with Milwaukee in 2021. Put together, he allowed four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings via six hits, seven walks and one hit-by-pitch while striking out nine opponents. The Brewers outrighted him off the roster in 2021. Since then, he has been bouncing around professional baseball by playing in the minor leagues, indy ball and the Mexican League.
Whether you are trying fantasy baseball for the first time or are an experienced vet, the 2026 ESPN fantasy baseball draft guide has everything you need to help you crush your drafts. From rankings and mock drafts to sleepers, breakouts and who you should -- or should not -- draft, we've got you covered from every angle, all in one convenient place. This draft guide will be updated frequently, so keep checking in for more insight, analysis, and projections.
The D-backs have bolstered their rotation mix this winter by agreeing to a two-year reunion with Merrill Kelly and bringing Michael Soroka in on a one-year deal, but the bullpen remains largely untouched. Taylor Clarke's low-cost, one-year deal is the only addition of any real note. General manager Mike Hazen emphasized to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he still plans to add to his relief corps, but the focus for much of the winter was on the rotation.
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto hosted a talk show in Tokyo on Saturday after announcing his partnership with Nike two weeks ago, and revealed plenty about himself and the Dodgers during the event. More news: Dave Roberts Reveals Dodgers' Mindset As Pressures of Completing Three-Peat Heighten The show, called "WINNER'S MIND YOSHINOBU YAMAMOTO TALK SHOW," ran for 45 minutes, during which the 27-year-old World Series MVP spoke about himself and his time in the big leagues.
Corner outfielder/designated hitter Nelson Velázquez is among the group, indicating they've signed him to a minor league contract. Velázquez, 27, is looking to get back to the majors for the first time in two seasons. He bounced around last year after being outrighted off the Royals' 40-man roster during Spring Training. Kansas City released him in May after he hit .202 across his first 33 Triple-A contests.
Improving the defense was important - just as important as improving the offensive output. The eye test would tell you as much. By bringing Kyle Tucker in - who, let's be real, was brought in because of his bat - the Dodgers have done that. While Tucker isn't the fleetest of foot outfielder anymore, his improvement over Teoscar Hernandez should be apparent next season.
'This is the Cobb-Speaker case,' said the decision by Commissioner Landis. 'These players have not been, nor are they now, found guilty of fixing a ball game. By no decent system of justice could such a finding be made. Therefore, they were not placed on the ineligible list. As they desire to rescind their withdrawal from baseball, the releases which the Detroit and Cleveland clubs granted at their requests, in the circumstances detailed above, are canceled
Fairbanks racked up 75 saves over the past three seasons. He's been Cash's go-to stopper when healthy. The right-hander ranks third in franchise history with 90 saves. He would have almost certainly passed Colome (95) and Roberto Hernandez (101) had he remained with the organization for another year. Instead, Tampa Bay declined Fairbanks' $11MM option and allowed him to hit free agency. He signed a one-year, $13MM deal with the Marlins on Christmas Eve.
2025 marked the Quakes' final season as a Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate, as they now embark on a new era with the Los Angeles Angels. One of the final pieces of Dodgers memorabilia produced by the team was their Joe Kelly Chaquetas bobblehead. Chaquetas was the team's Copa de la Diversión identity, inspired by Kelly's famous jersey-for-jacket swap with a mariachi musician playing at Dodger Stadium.
Shohei Ohtani attended the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) awards dinner in New York over the weekend to accept his 2025 National League Most Valuable Player Award. Ohtani delivered a speech in English, thanking the writers, his teammates, the Dodgers' staff and front office, his agent and his family. He also congratulated the other award winners and gave a nod to the 1986 New York Mets, who were celebrating the 40th anniversary of their championship at the dinner.
