Rays fans have been waiting two years to see Shane McClanahan on a big-league mound. The electric lefty missed all of 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, then lost another season to a nerve issue in his triceps. McLanahan is on track to be ready for the 2026 campaign, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, though the southpaw will likely have his workload capped in some fashion.
One area with a range of potential outcomes is the rotation. The group performed quite well in 2025, placing eighth in the league with a combined 13.5 fWAR. and Carlos RodĂłn were the biggest reasons for that success. Fried excelled in a career-high 195 1/3 innings, showcasing his signature control and groundball tendencies en route to a fourth-place finish in AL Cy Young voting.
Back in 2018, the Mexican catcher signed for a bonus of $100,000 with the San Diego Padres. He had a few solid seasons out west, finishing the 2021 season with a 122 wRC+, and hitting a career-high 10 home runs in 2022, but the switch-hitter was always known as a glove-first catcher. He got a cup of tea in Triple-A during the 2024 season, but mainly played the 2025 season in Double-A when he was in the Padres organization.
The Rangers solidified the top of their rotation when they landed left-hander MacKenzie Gore in a trade with the Nationals. Gore, Jacob deGrom, and Nathan Eovaldi will form what should be a dominant trio, as long as everyone stays healthy. Former top prospect Jack Leiter delivered a solid campaign in his first full-time look at the big league level, likely earning him the No. 4 spot. After that, it gets murky.
The Brewers signed Jacob Hurtubise to a minor league deal earlier this week, according to the outfielder's MLB.com profile page. Hurtubise has been assigned to Triple-A Nashville, and his contract doesn't appear to include an invitation to the Brew Crew's big league spring camp. An undrafted free agent who started his pro career by signing with the Reds in 2020, Hurtubise has appeared in 41 MLB games, all with Cincinnati over the last two seasons.
On February 7, 1987, Orel Hershiser signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $800,000, taking a pay cut of 20% from his previous season's salary. It was only the second time since MLB implemented the rule that a player takes less pay due to salary arbitration. During the first Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLB and the Players Association in 1968, the max salary reduction allowed was set at 20%.
Born in a Montréal suburb, Pitre attended Félix-Leclerc Secondary School and went undrafted in his first season of eligibility. Honouring his commitment to the University of Kentucky, the middle infielder appeared in just 11 games in his freshman season. He got more playing time in 2023, slashing .318/.440/.413 with a home run in 281 plate appearances for a 104 wRC+.
The rosters for the 2026 edition of the World Baseball Classic have been revealed and as it turns out, Ronald Acuña Jr. won't be the only Atlanta Braves representative at the WBC. In fact, Acuña won't have to wait too long to see a few of his teammates turn into opponents during Pool D action in Miami, Florida. The Netherlands will have three Braves players on their squad for the WBC.
It's crunch time in Major League Baseball, the last days before the start of spring training for teams to make additions to their rosters. While there are still some interesting free agents left on the market -- most notably starting pitchers Zac Gallen, Chris Bassitt and Justin Verlander -- the recent three-team deal involving the Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays showed that trades might still be in the works,
"Appreciate [Kevin Kiermaier] taking the time to work with [Zach Erhard] this offseason," Michael Dillon, who represented Kiermaier in the majors and currently represents Erhard, wrote via Instagram. "It's the little adjustments on and off the field that separate the good from the great. Z is well on his path to being great."
Maile has never been a huge standing next to the plate, with a career .209/.277/.320 line and 63 wRC+. However, he has received strong reviews for his work crouching behind the plate over the years. FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus consider him to be an above average framer. Statcast ranks him just a smidge below average at framing but gives him strong marks for his blocking.
Winkler was a 10th-round draftee by the Athletics in 2021. The University of San Francisco product played four seasons in the A's system, peaking in Double-A. Miami grabbed him in the Triple-A phase of last offseason's Rule 5 draft. Winkler got a few looks as the final player on Clayton McCullough's bench over the course of the season. He appeared in 14 games, starting four of them in the middle infield.
The Astros have seemingly had too many infielders all winter but general manager Dana Brown has consistently downplayed the possibility of a trade, doing so again this week. Privately, the club may be less certain about holding everyone. Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports that some people within the team are questioning the viability of carrying everyone on the roster and that a trade is becoming more realistic.
