Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

The 6'2" lefty-swinging slugger absolutely erupted in the KBO, pummeling opposing pitchers with a .314/.381/.644 batting line (165 wRC+) and 50 round-trippers this past season. Diaz walked in 9.6% of his plate appearances and fanned at only a 15.9% rate. His 158 (!!) runs batted in broke the single-season KBO record, and Diaz took home the KBO equivalent of a Gold Glove for his defense at first base.

The 27-year-old projects as a third starter -- think an ERA in the mid-3.00s -- but there's still some risk for him to even hit that projection since the big leagues are still a step up from Japan's NPB. Imai is not that big, standing 5-foot-11, and though he has above-average control now, that hasn't always been the case. His walk rate was 5.1 BB/9 in 2022, then 4.1 in 2023, 3.6 in 2024 and 2.5 in 2025.

The Royals have hired Mike McFerran as an assistant pitching coach, the club announced. The 32-year-old comes over from the Athletics organization, where he'd spent the past two seasons working with minor league pitchers. McFerran has never previously worked on an MLB staff. His two-year stint with the A's was his first in a professional organization. McFerran had previously worked in the college ranks.

Ever since Davis Schneider's spectacular 35-game debut in 2023, he has been a fan favourite that Blue Jays fans have come to appreciate. Sure, it also helps that his trademark mustache and goggles make for a unique look that adds to his likability. Now heading into his fourth season, it remains to be seen where he fits onto a Blue Jays team that looks to run it back to the World Series in 2026.

The Nationals' front office continues with aggressive coaching hires, and they made another bold move on Friday by bringing in Andrew Aydt as their new assistant hitting coach. Aydt becomes the second addition to the staff from Driveline Baseball this offseason and carries on a clear trend under president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and manager Blake Butera: youth, analytics and innovation.

Here's all six of Gage Stanifer's strikeouts from this evening. His sinker averaged 95.5 mph, but touched as high as 97.4 mph (max spin rate of 2,515 RPM). Generated 11 whiffs on 30 total swings for a 37 whiff% RJ Schreck just hit his 16th home run of the season, moving into an organization-leading tie with Charles McAdoo and Sean Keys. Double-digit homers for Arjun Nimmala! The @BlueJays' No. 1

Excited and blessed to have been offered and accepted a position as a pitching coach in the Detroit Tigers organization. In 2026 I will be serving as the Bullpen Coach at the Triple A affiliate Toledo Mud Hens. Collegiately, Robbins pitched for both Troy University and Rollins College before the Blue Jays selected the left-handed pitcher in the 20th round of the 2019 draft. Robbins made his professional debut shortly after, authoring a 2.84 ERA and 3.26 FIP in 19 innings pitched.

Hartman was selected with Atlanta's 20th round pick in the 2024 draft, using the 611th overall selection on the outfielder from Holy Trinity Academy out of Alberta, Canada. He was given a signing bonus $337,500, which was understandably significantly higher than his slot value. What were the expectations in 2025? When it was announced the Braves had actually signed all 20 selections in their 2024 class - including Hartman - it came as a bit of a surprise.

It was really cool, I was glad he got into the extra-inning game and made that big pitch to get out of the jam. When you have guys like that, who are icons of the game, it's pretty cool that they get to walk away from it winning their last one. Very happy for him. What a career. I can't say enough about what he's done for the game of baseball.

We spend a long time here worried about what the winter moves mean and how it will help the team going forward. What if it doesn't matter because the Braves are just undeniably good? Walt Weiss could be that rock that steadies the ship. Tim Hyers might be a guy that could be allowed to encourage the Braves hitters to hunt for power.

Grandal joined Boston on a minor league deal in April. He played in 23 games at Triple-A, posting a solid 110 wRC+ with his typically strong plate discipline (15 strikeouts to 13 walks). Grandal last suited up for Worcester on June 1, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. Manager told MassLive's Katie Morrison-O'Day that he talked to Grandal the next day about his future. " I knew he was going to pack up and go...his response was 'it's time to be dad. ' "

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Gavin Stone missed all of 2025 while recovering from shoulder surgery, and gave an update on his availability for the 2026 season. "I just finished my rehab process, so hopefully going into next spring training, it'll be full-go and we'll see where it takes us," Stone said. Stone had a 3.53 ERA through 25 starts in 2024, becoming a key part of the rotation after a brief run of games in 2023.

The Dodgers claimed Phillips off waivers in 2021 from the Tampa Bay Rays, and he instantly settled in with the Dodgers. He made seven appearances for the Dodgers that season, posting a 3.48 ERA. Phillips took on a bigger role with the Dodgers the following season and established himself as a key member of the bullpen, maintaining a 1.14 ERA through 64 appearances. He posted the lowest WHIP of his career that season, finishing 2022 with a mark of 0.762.

I had a wonderful time being in Anaheim, playing in Anaheim, getting to know the guys and getting to play next to Hall of Fame players too. I'm just very thankful for that time period, and it's something I'll cherish for the rest of my life.

It's been a rough couple of years for Alek Manoah. In November of 2022 the Homstead, Florida native was coming off his sophomore season in which he was a Cy Young finalist, producing a 6.0 bWAR season for a Toronto Blue Jays team that had made the postseason. Fast forward to November of 2025, and Manoah is no longer part of a major league team after he was not tendered a contract by the Atlanta Braves.

The Dodgers already have four aces in their rotation and an exciting development project in Roki Sasaki. However, teams can never have enough starting pitching, so the Dodgers have no reason not to add another ace to the top of the rotation, especially when they can offer a competitive package and have the resources to keep him long-term, as well,

Rodriguez ranked among Atlanta's top 30 prospects after signing in minor league free agency ahead of the 2025 campaign. FanGraphs and MLB.com both had him ranked at 25th. The 22-year-old torched Double-A pitching for 10 games, then moved up to Triple-A. Rodriguez posted an underwhelming .640 OPS with Gwinnett, but did pop a career-high eight home runs to go with 17 stolen bases.

If you don't, I'll help remind you. The Braves gave up three runs in the early innings, and would scratch together three runs to tie the game in the sixth inning. Then the Braves poured it on in the eighth, scoring eight without aid of a home run. In the bottom of the inning, the Reds used two home runs to help score those eight right back. The Braves would take it to the tenth, when two well-placed fly balls brought home the Manfred ghost