The City of Fountains

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MLB NEWS WIRE
Mets, Blue Jays get a bit healthier; Cards extend Marmol

By MLB.com staff
04/09/2025

04/06 -- Mets' Lindor to begin rehab assignment: As one of the three big names to get hamate bone fractures early in the spring (Holliday, Carroll the others), it looks like that Francisco Lindor is going to be first off the injured list and on to the minors to get some swings in before making his season debut for the Mets.

Ronny Mauricio has filled in decently at shortstop for the Mets through the first handful of days of the season, posting a .725 OPS (93 OPS+) through forty plate appearances. Bo Bichette has also played some shortstop; and he hasn't been bad there at all in a limited sample of innings with a +1 Defensive Runs Saved mark, and he's been worth +2 DRS between his shortstop innings and eighty-four innings at third base.

Lindor suffered the injury before spring games started, missing the entire spring. Manager Carlos Mendoza noted that Lindor has been taking batting practice reps, but only for the past few days and is expected to embark on a 'significant' rehab assignment. How many games he'd play in the minors was not disclosed by the Mets' skipper, but it sounds like he still has some time before he's back in Queens.

"He didn't get much of a spring, if at all, so he needs more work than normal to get his feet under him," Mendoza said on his local radio spot on the morning after their 6-2 win over San Francisco. "We're excited to get him back, but don't want to rush, it's pretty early on in the season."

04/06 -- Blue Jays activate Hoffman: Blue Jays manager John Schneider will be getting his closer back this week, as veteran righty Jeff Hoffman is slated to return to action with the Dodgers in Toronto beginning tonight. Schneider mentioned that he'd be unlikely to pitch in tonight's game, but that he'd be ready to go beginning on Tuesday.

Filling in as the closer, Braydon Fisher was 1-for-2 in save opportunities, with his latest outing resulting in a blown save as he was tagged for three earned runs as the Blue Jays went on to win by a 5-4 count in ten innings. Yimi Garcia picked up the save in the 10th, pitching a scoreless inning.

"He's been throwing off a mound the last few days, as we were evaluating either bringing him back immediately or sending him on a rehab assignment," Schneider said. "We got through a couple of bullpen sessions without any lingering discomfort, so we went with door number-one."

Toronto optioned righty Adrian Alcantara to Triple-A Buffalo, and also sent veteran starter Shane Bieber to Triple-A to begin a rehab assignment. Bieber has missed the last few weeks with what was termed as a 'tired arm', but there's been some speculation that it was a forearm strain, which can be a precursor to an elbow ligament injury.

Bieber has already missed a huge chunk of time the last few seasons after elbow surgery, and could ill afford to miss more time.

04/07 -- Cardinals extend Marmol: St. Louis has extended manager Oliver Marmol's contract as he'll now manage through the 2028 season at least. His new deal also includes a 2029 club option with an undisclosed buyout. Marmol has the Cards off to a good (and surprising) start to the 2026 season, with wins in eight of their first ten games as they stand atop the division.

Marmol, 39, has been St. Louis' manager since 2022, began the 2026 season with a 325-323 record with one postseason appearance, when the Cardinals won the NL Central in his first season at the helm. After going 78-84 in 2025, the Cardinals were thought to be entering a rebuilding year following an offseason that saw veterans Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray and Brendan Donovan traded for prospects.

Marmol is in his 20th season in the Cardinals organization. He started as a player in their Minor League system in 2007, going as far as High-A Palm Beach. Marmol then managed in the Minor Leagues for five years from 2012-16, leading his teams to the postseason in four of those five years before joining the big league staff as a first-base coach in 2017 under Mike Matheny. In 2019, he was named the bench coach under Mike Shildt.

“We have Oli, who came through the organization. He understands what the Cardinals are about,” said principal owner and chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. “He helped [develop] good players coming through the system and became a Major League manager. He has run with it. He has done a great job. I watch all the games...and I’m a pretty good second guesser, but with Oli, I don’t have to do that. He is really solid when he runs a game and has the support of the players. He has all the attributes you look for in a manager.”

04/08 -- Reds place Friedl on IL, sign Cutch: Cincinnati will be without starting center fielder TJ Friedl for several weeks, as it was announced he'll head to the injured list with a strained oblique. To replace him on the active roster, they signed veteran outfielder/DH Andrew McCutchen to a pro-rated one-year deal worth about $2.75 million.

With the signing, McCutchen will begin his 18th season in the majors, having gotten his start all the way back in 2009 with the Pirates. Despite being just a DH or bench bat at this point, he still offers a veteran presence for a team that still has hopes of returning to the postseason this year.

"Cutch, he's been doing his thing for a long time," Reds skipper Terry Francona said. "We've actually been looking at bringing him in for the last week for a workout, but with the injury to TJ, we went ahead and decided to make it official."

As noted earlier, Friedl is expected to be out several weeks, with JJ Bleday expected to step in and handle center field while he's out. Francona noted that McCutchen will see 'quite a bit' of time against lefties.

The Reds have also seen franchise regulars such as Spencer Steer and Elly de la Cruz struggle out of the gate, and perhaps hoping that there's still some gas left in the tank, might provide a spark to get their offense going. Cincinnati's offense has scored the second-fewest runs in the league, and rank in the bottom-third in most team offensive categories, including the most strikeouts, fourth-fewest walks, and just two stolen bases on the season.

McCutchen, never a big slugger even in his heyday, should give the Reds better bat-to-ball skills even heading towards the 40-year-old mark in October. His 9.4% walk rate, while below his career mark of 12%, is still right around the league average of 9.6%. He also fanned in just 21% of his plate appearances last season, down year-over-year from 2024."

[CBLCardinals]

Originally Posted by 3Bplay

Thanks! I used your All-Star Break template to get this going, thanks again for your hard work on that.

Awesome!!

[3Bplay]

Team Roster/Records | Statistics | Standings

SERIES RECAP: WHITE SOX
Royals off to best start since 2021; remain 2 1/2 games in front in division

By 3BPlay
04/13/2026

04/09 -- Cameron outstanding as Royals win ChiSox opener: Noah Cameron's earned runs allowed streak reached eleven frames without allowing an earned run, and the Royals scored in five of their eight half-innings as they rolled to an 8-1 win over Chicago to open a four-game home series.

Isaac Collins snapped out of a 2-for-16 skid with four hits, including a double, three runs scored, and his first stolen base as a Royal. Maikel Garcia also went 3-for-4 with a double, and Jac Caglianone extended his modest hitting streak to a half-dozen games with a single in the second.

But the star of the show was Cameron, who struck out six while scattering three hits and two walks in a tidy ninety-six pitches. He allowed two unearned runs last time out, but ran his earned run streak to eleven with his six scoreless frames.

"He's really picked up where he left off from last season," said manager Matt Quatraro. "He's just so much fun to watch when he's out there, puts a lot of emotion and fire into his pitching. His preparation is also second-to-none, which is something that has been prevalent throughout his pro career."

The other three affiliates all begin play tomorrow, with Double-A Northwest Arkansas set to begin a three-game home series with Springfield. High-A Quad Cities, who has the Royals' top prospect in catcher Blake Mitchell, begins a three-game home series of their own with Cedar Rapids. Same goes for Single-A Columbia, as they kick off their 2026 campaign at home against Fredericksburg.

One of the most anticipated debuts for the Royals in the minor leagues belongs to the Fireflies, as 18-year-old righty Kendry Chourio is expected to start the home opener.

CHW at KC | 04/09/2026 | Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

TEAM               1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  R  H  E
Chicago (5-8)      0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  1  6  0
Kansas City (9-3)  2  1  0  2  0  1  0  2  X  8  15 0

W: Noah Cameron (2-0) L: Shane Smith (2-1) S: None
CHW HR: None
KC HR: Kyle Isbel (1)

MLB Scoreboard: April 9th, 2026
ATH 4, NYY 6 | CHW 1, KC 8 | CIN 5, MIA 9 | DET 15, MIN 5
ARI 1, NYM 2 | COL 9, SD 6 |

04/09 -- Big eighth inning pushes the Royals past Chicago: Down 4-1 in the eighth and looking at snapping their four-game winning streak, the Royals rebounded with four in the bottom of the eighth, and closer Carlos Estevez shut the door as the Royals won 5-4 to win their fifth straight game.

Since starting 0-2, they've won ten of their last eleven games and are the first AL team to reach double-digit wins with Miami being the first to reach double-digits league-wide on Friday.

Seth Lugo had just one bad inning, allowing all four of his earned runs in the second inning. Despite tossing nearly thirty pitches in the second alone, he managed to nearly get through six frames, leaving with two outs in the sixth. He struck out six with just two walks, but surrendered nine hits.

"I don't think the final line for him does him any favors," said manager Matt Quatraro of his starting pitcher. "Besides the double in the fifth inning, there really wasn't anything that was hit much harder than the league average, and there were a few soft liners that dropped in, so I don't subscribe to it being a bad outing for him. Could it have been better? Sure, but there are very few times where you can point to any given start and say there isn't anything you could have done better."

Kansas City cut the deficit to three with a solo homerun from Jac Caglianone in the bottom of the second. The bats stayed largely silent until the eighth, when the Royals loaded the bases against Davis Martin with no one out. A single from Isaac Collins and a double from Bobby Witt Jr were followed by back-to-back walks from Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez to trim the lead to two.

Carter Jensen's one-out single made a 4-3 game before Jonathan India's two-run single put the Royals in front for good. Carlos Estevez quickly warmed up beginning late in that half-inning before coming on for his fourth save.

04/10 -- Chourio impresses in first Single-A start: Coming into the season, only writers who follow the minor leagues really closely and a handful of die-hard minor league-watching Royals fans knew who Kendry Chourio was. However, more starts like the one on Friday will put more national eyeballs onto him as he rolled over the Fredricksburg Nationals' lineup en route to a 4-3 win.

Throwing a tidy ninety-six pitches, he posted 6 2/3 innings of one-run baseball, striking out eight with four hits scattered and a walk.

"He is just mature beyond his years," Fireflies manager David Noworyta beamed after the game to reporters. "I think really at this point, it's just fine-tuning the already-solid stuff he has. The command and control he has over his pitches is top-shelf right now."

Scouts who are in-the-know think he has a chance to reach the majors sooner rather than later, even with just one season of pro ball under his belt as a 17-year-old in 2025. He's drawn comparisons to Jose Fernandez in terms of makeup and overall stuff, although some prognosticate he could end up with better command and control than the late Marlins' ace.

One AL scout thought the Royals could have another Zack Greinke-type of pitcher on their hands.

"He throws harder than (Zack) Greinke at the same age, although I think Zack was further along with the actual stuff," the unnamed scout said. "The Jose Fernandez and Greinke comparisons are quite real, and in the hands of a pretty competent pitching development program like Kansas City currently has, he's going to zoom through the minors with his work ethic and talent. There's a ton of helium under him now."

JJ Picollo has even mentioned in the past that Chourio has a chance to be a 'lighting-quick' riser, especially if he can string together performances like the one on Friday.

"Selfishly, I'd love to have him here all season to help us win games," Noworyta said later on in the press conference. "But sooner or later, with these types of performances, he's not going to be here very long, so I'm prepared for that."

CHW at KC | 04/10/2026 | Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

TEAM               1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  R  H  E
Chicago (5-9)      0  4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  4  10 0
Kansas City (10-3) 0  1  0  0  0  0  0  4  X  5  7  0

W: John Schreiber (1-0) L: Davis Martin (1-1) S: Carlos Estevez (4)
CHW HR: None
KC HR: Jac Caglianone (2)

MLB Scoreboard: April 10th, 2026
MIN 4, TOR 8 | CHW 4, KC  5 | SF  4, BAL 0 | MIA 4, DET 12
ARI 5, PHI 4 | COL 9, SD  6 | NYY 7, TB  3 | HOU 5, SEA 6 (10)
LAA 3, CIN 5 | WSH 7, MIL 6 | BOS 0, STL 7 | ATH 6, NYM 18
TEX 3, LAD 1 | PIT 5, CHI 6 (10)

04/11 -- Champlain released: The Royals released Triple-A hurler Chandler Champlain on Friday, two days after making his first start with the Storm Chasers this season.

On Wednesday, Champlain allowed four earned runs in 5 2/3 innings, but walked six with just three strikeouts as the Royals won over the Iowa Cubs by a 10-8 score.

Omaha began the season with a six-man rotation that included Champlain. Per manager Patrick Osborn, they will retain that setup with righty Luinder Avila moving back into the rotation from the closer's role.

Avila has been very good out of that role so far, but the Royals still believe that he could be a starter at some point as a big leaguer. Eric Cerantola, who impressed in the spring, will slide into the closer's spot for now.

Acquired along with TJ Sikkema and Beck Way, both pitchers, from the Yankees for Andrew Benintendi back in July of 2022, Champlain had not gained much traction as a potential piece of the team's future since being acquired.

In forty-seven Triple-A starts, all with the Royals' organization, he's pitched to a 6.51 ERA in 231 innings, walking 106 hitters while striking out just 173. He did have some success in Double-A as a Royal farmhand with a 3.72 ERA over 109 innings (twenty-one starts), but those innings were all in 2023 and 2024.

04/11 -- Loss snaps five-game win streak: The bats fell silent on Saturday, snapping a streak of scoring at least three runs at seven games in a 5-2 loss. The loss also stopped a five-game winning streak, their second such streak in the first two weeks of the season.

Chicago never trailed in the game, taking a 1-0 lead after their half-inning in the third. After the Royals tied the score in the bottom of the third, Kyle Teel's three-run homer in the fourth put them up by three, and the Royals never seriously threatened the lead throughout the remainder of the game.

After a pair of starts to begin the season to rival anyone else's around the league, Michael Wacha's third trip to the mound this season was rockier than the first two, allowing five earned runs in four innings, although three runs came on just one swing.

Bailey Falter relieved Wacha beginning in the fifth inning, and gave a whale of a performance out of the bullpen with four shutout innings, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out six.

The 28-year-old lefty has been a revelation out of the bullpen with 10 2/3 innings of work in four appearances, striking out thirteen with just two walks, one earned run, and five hits allowed.

"He's been great for us, it's too bad we couldn't pick him up with a rally or two to get back in the game, but he did all you can ask for out of the pen in a tough situation," said manager Matt Quatraro.

CHW at KC | 04/11/2026 | Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

TEAM               1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  R  H  E
Chicago (6-9)      0  0  1  3  1  0  0  0  0  5  13 0
Kansas City (10-4) 0  0  1  0  0  0  1  4  X  2  8  0

W: Grant Taylor (1-0) L: Michael Wacha (2-1) S: Seranthony Dominguez (4)
CHW HR: Kyle Teel (1)
KC HR: None

MLB Scoreboard: April 11th, 2026
CLE 3, ATL 2 | CHW 5, KC  2 | SF  3, BAL 0 | MIA 4, DET 10
ARI 1, PHI 3 | COL 9, SD  6 | NYY 0, TB  1 | HOU 9, SEA 7
LAA 7, CIN 3 | WSH 2, MIL 3 | BOS 3, STL 6 | ATH 6, NYM 11
TEX 3, LAD 2 | PIT 7, CHI 2 | MIN 5, TOR 3 (10)

04/12 -- Ragans rolls as Royals recover from defeat: Thanks to a homerun in the first inning, the Royals jumped all over the White Sox to take an early 2-0 lead, and then hung on to post a 4-2 win to clinch the series victory and remain comfortably in the lead in the AL Central.

Cole Ragans picked up his second win of the season, allowing two earned runs over six-plus innings of work. He had allowed just one through six, and stayed on for the seventh as he was at just eighty-nine pitches heading into that inning.

However, a leadoff single from Munetaka Murakami chased Ragans from the game, with John Schreiber coming in and working through the inning. Murakami would eventually score on a sac fly from Miguel Vargas, which charged the additional run to Ragans, but Schreiber managed to keep the Royals in front after coaxing a double play from catcher Drew Romo.

Vargas was also responsible for the White Sox' other run in the fourth, which was a solo homerun against Ragans.

The Royals' young bats also had good days in addition to Pasquantino, as Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen both collected a pair of hits. Caglianone was 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of runs scored, while Jensen started behind the plate and picked up two hits and an RBI.

Maikel Garcia also banged out a pair of hits to keep his average over the .400 mark, as he sits second behind Baltimore's Adley Rutschman for the AL lead through the first few weeks of the season.

CHW at KC | 04/12/2026 | Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

TEAM               1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  R  H  E
Chicago (6-10)     0  0  0  0  1  0  1  0  0  2  6  1
Kansas City (11-4) 2  0  1  0  1  0  0  0  X  4  11 0

W: Cole Ragans (2-1) L: Jordan Hicks (0-3) S: Carlos Estevez (5)
CHW HR: Miguel Vargas (4)
KC HR: Vinnie Pasquantino (2)

MLB Scoreboard: April 12th, 2026
ATH 5, NYM 3 | CHW 2, KC  4 | SF  8, BAL 5 | TEX 2,  LAD 18
ARI 2, PHI 6 | COL 9, SD  8 | NYY 6, TB  8 | PIT 8,  CHC 5 (10)
LAA 8, CIN 4 | WSH 0, MIL 3 | BOS 8, STL 6 | CLE 12, ATL 7
MIA 2, DET 5 | HOU 4, SEA 5 | MIN 2, TOR 10

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MLB NEWS WIRE
Cards' starter to miss significant time; Marlins' Perez return is delayed

By MLB.com staff
04/13/2025

04/09 -- Cards' rotation suffers huge blow: One of St. Louis' most promising starters is slated to miss potentially the remainder of the season. Righty Kyle Leahy, who served as the Cards' part-time closer a season ago, was placed on the 60-day injured list and will undergo a procedure on his torn left meniscus later this week that will keep him out of action at least through August per reports from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Leahy said he felt a 'pop' in his left, or plant, leg during the third inning of St. Louis' 4-3 win over Detroit on April 4th. He said it happened on a double play groundball from Spencer Torkelson, but managed to get through the rest of the inning, only allowing a sharp single to Kerry Carpenter before getting Colt Keith on a lazy pop-up to end the inning.

He walked with a noticeable limp to the dugout, and after a brief conversation with pitching coach Dusty Blake and manager Oliver Marmol, was pulled from the game as a precaution.

"He had completed what we thought was a very successful spring," Marmol lamented as he was asked about the injury. "Sure, he walked off under his own power, but generally these things get worse before they get better, so I think that he's going to be out for some time given these kinds of injuries."

Right-hander Richard Fitts, who was acquired from the Red Sox in the Sonny Gray deal, was re-called from Triple-A and will likely pitch out of the rotation for the remainder of the season in Leahy's stead. He's slated to take to the mound tonight against the Tigers. Matthew Liberatore, who just embarked on a rehab assignment to the minors, is also reportedly 'close to return' according to personnel chief Chaim Bloom.

04/09 -- Marlins' Perez has his return delayed: Marlins right-hander Eury Perez will have to wait a bit longer to make his 2026 debut, as he suffered a slight setback in his recovery from a tricep strain that happened during the WBC last month. He hasn't pitched in a game, regular season or otherwise, since that game on the 11th of March.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal first reported that Perez suffered a 'slight setback' in his recovery, as he felt a 'bit more pain' in a 40-pitch simulated bullpen session. He was immediately shut down, and he's not expected to resume throwing now for at least another seven-to-ten days.

Miami, owners of the best record in the National League, aren't likely in too big of a rush to get Perez back with the starting pitching looking quite good out of the gate. Sandy Alcantara, who is scheduled to pitch on Saturday, is 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA in his first two starts of the 2026 campaign, covering thirteen innings. Fellow righties Max Meyer and Janson Junk have impressed, along with veteran signee Chris Paddack.

Only lefty Braxton Garrett has struggled out of the gate, pitching to a 9.58 ERA over 10 1/3 innings, including four earned runs in four innings in last night's start, a game Miami ended up winning by a 9-5 score.

Perez was 5-7 with a 2.92 ERA and a hundred strikeouts in just over eighty-nine innings over eighteen appearances, all starts, in 2025.

04/10 -- Singer listed day-to-day; could miss next start: For now, Reds righty Brady Singer will not go on the injured list, but is likely to miss his next start per manager Terry Francona. With an off-day coming up on Monday, the Reds have an opportunity to skip Singer's turn in the rotation without having to make an injured list move.

"We don't anticipate it being a major move," said Francona after the loss to the Reds on Friday. "He came back to the dugout expressing discomfort on his left side, so we decided to remove him out of an abundance of caution."

Singer has struggled through his first three starts, allowing eleven earned runs through 8 1/3 innings. His first start back on March 29th was solid, allowing just two earned runs over five innings. However, he's allowed nine earned runs over his last two starts, covering just 3 1/3 innings, including seven through just two innings on April 4th.

With ninety-two starts over the last three seasons from 2023 through 2025, Singer has been one of the more durable starters in baseball over that time period. His 506 1/3 innings are also a top-25 mark in baseball over the last three seasons league-wide.

04/11 -- Acuna Jr pulled from game: Braves fans are holding their breath as star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr was pulled in the first inning of today's game after legging out a double in a 3-2 loss against Cleveland. Acuna led off the bottom of the first by stroking a hard groundball down the left field line; and about halfway to second base, began to limp considerably as he pulled into second.

After about a five-minute pow-wow with team trainers and manager Walt Weiss, Acuna was removed from the game as a precaution. Weiss indicated that he would be listed day-to-day, but that an injured list stint wasn't out of the question.

"We're going to do an MRI and make sure there isn't anything more sinister going on here," Weiss said after the game. "Right now, it doesn't look serious as he was able to walk off under his own power, but that doesn't mean there isn't something going on here that might require more than just a few days' rest."

Eli White replaced him on the basepaths, with Donovan Smith eventually taking over in right from the second inning on. Smith was 0-for-3 with a couple of strikeouts in the loss.

04/12 -- Henderson to return for Baltimore: Losers of five straight games, the Orioles will get Gunnar Henderson back from his rehab assignment in time to begin their three-game series with the Diamondbacks at home on Monday. He'll play his second game tonight for Norfolk before heading back to Baltimore.

The Orioles rank in the bottom-third league-wide in most offensive categories, including OPS+, wRC+, and extra-base hits. They've managed to get by with their pitching, ranking sixth league-wide in ERA (3.61), and seven quality starts, which is tied for the third-most in baseball. They've also given up the second-fewest homeruns (13) despite playing more games in Camden Yards than on the road so far.

Additionally, Baltimore is expected to get Jackson Holliday back 'within the next few weeks', per manager Craig Albernaz. Holliday has missed almost the entirety of baseball activities up until the last week, as he has resumed taking infield and batting practice in recent days.

He's been out since the very beginning of the spring with a broken hamate bone in his right hand, suffered on the second day of spring, and will likely need a pretty significant ramp-up to get back to speed.

[3Bplay]

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2026 ROYALS MAILBAG: VOL. 1, ED. 1
K.C. Mayor proposes new funding plan; talking Jensen, Cags and Salvy's HOF chances

The Royals are off to an excellent start, going 11-4 in their first fifteen games to post the best record in the American League. However, the schedule toughens up a bit as they embark on their first real road trip of the season with three at Detroit beginning tomorrow, followed by three in the Bronx for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Late last week, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas put forth a stadium funding plan for Washington Square Park that appears to be headed for City Council approval (and therefore, would not need to be put in front of the voters), but a few of the rural Jackson County councilmembers are wanting more public scrutiny of the plan, which could end up requiring that the plan be put on the ballot for a vote at some point this year.

Also, we'll dig a bit deeper into the hot starts for both Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen and whether or not it's all sustainable, and discuss Salvador Perez's chances for the Hall of Fame now that he's passed the 300-homerun threshold.

Does this stadium funding deal that the Mayor proposed have any staying power?

It's likely going to pass, but it's not over the finish line yet. The city's parks and recreation department still has to review the deal and approve it, but it sounds like that's coming any day now. The biggest news coming out of it was that they expect the stadium to be ready in time for the 2030 season, even though the current lease doesn't expire until after that season ends.

If they can get the facility up and running by then, that's great, but it does build in some cushion to account for setbacks and any potential problems down the line.

The hook appears to be the way that it will be funded -- no new taxes, and 100% of the repayment of the bonds being established are paid solely by the patrons within the development, and not by any surrounding communities. It also includes a solid portion of the bonds going to greenspaces, lower-income housing, and office spaces; along with restaurants, bars, and other establishments within the stadium's area.

A few members of the city council are pushing to put the measure to a public vote, but from what I've seen, it should have enough support to pass. It's far and away a better proposal than the slap-dash Crossroads District location from November 2024. That said, there may be enough rural pushback due to the downtown location (and potential lack of parking) to make it much closer than it should be.

With both Jensen and Cags off to a good start, are the Royals vindicated for not pursuing a 'big bat' in the offseason?

It's really early on, but the returns so far have been promising. Jensen has reached base safely in each game he's played in this season; and while the homerun power hasn't been there in a big way for Caglianone, his bat-to-ball metrics have been solid after the first couple of series as he's been pushing an average of 105 MPH in exit velo's. I mean, .302/.373/.509 will absolutely play, although the on-base figure is a bit inflated by a couple of intentional walks and a hit-by-pitch, which is driving his lower wOBA (.345).

Still, we need to see a bit more before we can make a more nuanced determination. They're striking out a bit too much for my liking (25% K-rate combined between the two). As a result, their numbers are heavily BABIP-influenced and could indicate a pretty rough regression to the mean as more PA's accumulate. But in the meantime, Royals fans can and should enjoy having a couple of potential breakout stars in the lineup every day, as they're going to go through their ups and downs like every other player.

With Jensen off to such a good start, does this increase the likelihood that they trade Blake Mitchell at the deadline for some kind of roster need?

It would depend on what teams are willing to offer. Royals fans, especially the online variety, have been pushing hard for the team to trade Mitchell; and the calls have only grown louder with Jensen's hot start, but it's just not a good idea at this point honestly. First, the Royals shouldn't be in the business of trading top prospects, especially not for a rental player, and also for a franchise with a bottom-third ranked farm system and a still-productive-but-aging catcher north of thirty-five.

Secondly, and this is the big one, they can co-exist and thrive on the same MLB roster in the future as there's no rule that says you can't carry two young catchers at the same time. Honestly, a couple of years down the road, it wouldn't surprise me one bit that the Royals end up with three guys on the roster that can all go behind the plate (Jensen, Mitchell, Luca Tresh) and be at least league-average or better.

There's also no guarantee that Jensen is going to remain behind the plate. I get that the MJ Melendez experiment blew up in their faces, but if Jensen could say, move to third base with his plus-arm and athleticism to allow Maikel Garcia to move to what is probably a more natural position for him at second, I think they should (and perhaps would) do that. First, you don't need to go out and spend huge money for a bat, and you've fixed a long-suffering problem in the organization without using said additional funds. Jensen could also easily handle first base if they move on from Vinnie down the road, or even a corner outfield spot.

Of course, this is all provided that 1) Mitchell is healthy and progresses into the player most everyone think he could be, and 2) Salvy has moved out from behind the plate on a near-everyday basis. Some ifs there, but not unreasonable ones.

Now, if Jac is struggling in early July, and say, Miami comes along and offers Kyle Stowers for Mitchell? Then that's an offer I would certainly entertain, but when the Royals and Marlins discussed Stowers over the offseason, they wanted Mitchell plus two other prospects. That's a non-starter, even with all of the team control that Stowers still has.

With Perez now over the 300-homerun mark, is that the last piece that's needed for him to get to the HOF?

There's still some doubt in the baseball writing community that Perez is worthy. Frankly, I don't think he's quite there yet, but the case for him getting in is getting stronger seemingly by the year. MLB.com did a write-up earlier in the season after hitting his 300th, and did a brief comparison between him and Lance Parrish, who is the only catcher to hit over 300 bombs and not make the HOF. The others (Bench, Piazza, Pudge, Berra, Fisk, Carter) are all in. Not only did he not get in, he was yeeted off the ballot after just nine votes in 2001.

There's a lot of comparison between the two because they're very similar players (low-strikeout, low-walk, Gold Glove-level defense, big-time power, WS ring). However, as the MLB.com article noted, Parrish really fell off a cliff after his age-30 season. Perez has only gotten better offensively since his age-30 season, and I think that year off due to elbow surgery in 2019 really kind of re-set his career as it allowed him to rest and re-charge as he was playing north of 175+ games per calendar year on balance when you threw in his Venezuelan winter league and the 2014/2015 playoff runs. It was just too much, and frankly, Dayton Moore and Ned Yost failed to put a stop to that much earlier.

Another thing working in Perez's favor is that he's been with the Royals his entire career, and has become one of the league's most respected players amongst other teams, fans, and baseball writers alike. That's not to say Parrish wasn't liked, it's that Sal's personality and his appreciation for the game is quite genuine and fans of all teams notice that. The BBWA, rightly or wrongly, also seem to factor in likability when it comes to voting.

Parrish, after his Tigers days, bounced around quite a bit as he played in MLB games for six other teams after 1986, his final year in Detroit; and none of them for more than three seasons. He had brief MiLB stints with the Dodgers, Royals, and even back in Detroit, but those were all on minor league deals; and eventually retired after not making the Pirates' roster in 1996 as a 40-year-old minor league signee.

If Perez plays through 2026, passes George as the Royals' all-time homerun king (I think barring injury does it sometime after the All-Star break); and can help get the Royals into a World Series (or two) over the next two seasons, then he's a stone-cold lock. Bonus points if he can continue to get the majority of innings behind the plate, but that remains to be seen.

What should the Royals do with Bailey Falter? Could they go with a six-man rotation?

The Royals discussed using a six-man rotation early in the spring, but ultimately decided to keep Falter on as a reliever instead, and it has worked out quite well so far with just one earned run over 10 2/3 innings with a wildly-unsustainable 35.1% strikeout rate.

Reportedly, they shopped Falter towards the end of the spring, but didn't get much interest, so it will be interesting to see if the Royals continue to shop him as teams will inevitably deal with injuries and other pitching struggles as the season wears on.

With teams like the Reds and Cardinals now down key starters, perhaps something could come together over the coming weeks, but right now he's more valuable to the Royals with his success to date. This is especially true with veterans Kris Bubic and Cole Ragans coming off solid, but injury-plagued 2025 seasons.

[3Bplay]

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MLB MAILBAG
Early surprises and disappointments; Vitello already on the hot seat?

By MLB.com staff
04/13/2025

We're not more than a couple of weeks into the season, and it's been a bit of a mess to begin the season. Teams like the Rangers, Padres, Tigers, and Guardians are stumbling out of the gates, with others like the A's, Royals, Marlins, and Cardinals off to fast starts. But will they last?

Also, the Giants made headlines last week for a locker room dispute that made it to the light of day, but since that story came out, they have won five of six games and have righted the ship. Is Tony Vitello the right guy that can get San Francisco back to the postseason? Or is the college-straight-to-pro managerial road not the way to go?

Will Tony Vitello work in San Francisco?

The best managers generally are good at two things -- one, they tend to let players police themselves; and two, they know when to step in and mediate if things get out of hand. It's not unheard of for a former college coach to reach the highest levels in pro baseball, just see Pat Murphy and the job he's done with the Brewers. But what Murphy had that Vitello didn't is experience coaching professional players, whether that be in the minors or as an assistant for a major league team before becoming a manager.

In college, recruiting is the biggest part of the job, but that's not as big of a factor at this level. It stands to reason that he'd have a pretty large learning curve with handling veterans that are in their 30's with years of experience, MVP's, Cy Youngs, what have you. It's one thing if he was brought on with a young roster that he could grow into the role with, but dropping him in with little to no experience to handle a pretty veteran roster was a bold move on Buster Posey's part.

Will it work? Vitello is a pretty sharp baseball mind, but the game is filled with those guys. The biggest part of managing is exactly that, managing people, much like you would in an office setting. Maybe that's a bit too simplified, but it is a relevant corollary.

Which of the current first-place teams has the most staying power?

Let's put the Dodgers aside for the moment; they're a known quantity and we know what we're getting with them.

Being in what is likely the weakest division in baseball, Kansas City should at least make the postseason as a wildcard. Detroit is still the most talented team in that division, but the Royals defend much, much better and aren't a station-to-station team like the Tigers are. The Athletics might have the best offense in the league, but they've played in nothing but hitter-friendly parks so far and their pitching shouldn't be trusted over the long-term. At least not yet (more on that later).

St. Louis is a nice surprise. Kyle Leahy is a tough loss for their rotation, as they had pinned quite a bit of hope on him at least being a solid number-two or three in that group, but is likely going to miss the next several months or more after knee surgery. Outside of Jordan Walker, their outfield is really bad, like worst-in-the-league bad; and aside from Ryne Stanek, there's a ton of inexperience in the bullpen. In addition, the NL Central is arguably one of the two most competitive divisions in baseball, with the Cubs and Brewers as perennial contenders, with both the Reds and Pirates not your typical bottom-dwellers.

Finally, don't sleep on Miami. With Atlanta banged up for the time being, I like the Marlins to stay competitive in the NL East and wildcard races. Owen Caissie has shown he's big-league ready, and their lineup doesn't have a ton of real holes outside of possibly center field. Their middle relief is a concern, but if their solid starting pitching can give them six innings on average a game, they'll be a tough out for anyone as their bullpen's back end is very good with the addition of Pete Fairbanks over the offseason to close games.

Thoughts on the season so far? Surprises? Disappointments?

There have been some real surprises so far around the league. It's early, but the biggest (good) surprise so far has to be St. Louis. They're in sole possession of first place in the NL Central at 11-4; and while they have some real questions in their outfield mix that still need to be addressed, they're finally getting real contributions from Walker; and others like Nolan Gorman, Masyn Winn, Ivan Herrera, and even rookie JJ Wetherholt have all been solid at the plate so far. Their pitching has been so-so and is probably going to be the reason they end up fading (and now they're down the aforementioned Leahy), but for the time being they look like a young, fun, athletic team, but ultimately won't have the roster depth to compete.

On the bad side of surprises, it has to be Cleveland. Outside of Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan, they can't hit. Former first-rounder Kyle Manzardo has been....fine? I guess? For the past few seasons, they've failed to put much around J-Ram, but it looks like the lack of aggressiveness in that regard has finally caught up to them. If the offense continues to scuffle into May and they drift further into the basement of an already-weak division, I would expect the Guards to start looking at potentially shopping Kwan and even perhaps Manzardo and Rhys Hoskins, their only major acquisition of the offseason.

Can this A's team be for real?

We considered putting this Athletics bunch as the biggest surprise, but given the kind of young talent they have throughout the lineup, it's not a huge shock their doing as well as they are. They don't really have a weak spot, unless you want to consider perhaps swapping Lawrence Butler out of the leadoff position. They rank in the top three league-wide in OPS, WAR, wOBA, hits, extra-base hits, and homeruns. They also run the bases well as they've already accumulated two extra runs (2.2 BSR+), so it's not just make baseball go boom.

However, their pitching is another matter. Their starters have thrown the fewest innings in the league (73); and not surprisingly, their bullpen has by far the most (80). It's not a sustainable way to win games, even with a lineup as good as theirs. Their best starter so far has been Jon Gray, and he's barely over five innings per start (15 2/3 in three starts), with a 4.02 ERA. And it's a fairly expensive rotation to boot with Luis Severino at just over $25 million this season AND a player option for $22 million next year, so it's likely they'll be on the hook for that unless they can get some kind of value for him at the deadline, or he decides to bet on himself this offseason and declines it.

Severino wasn't a bad pitcher last year, as playing at Sutter Health Park was detrimental to his surface numbers (4.91 ERA, 19 HRA), but did manage to post better FIP and SIERA marks of 4.22 and 4.09, respectively, plus a respectable 2.1 bWAR. The A's did try unsuccessfully to move him over the offseason; however, they may get more in return if he can turn things around and the A's fall out of the race.

In addition, they have Jeffrey Springs at a $10.5 million number, with Aaron Civale and his north-of-10.00 ERA coming in at $6 million this season. For most franchises, that's not a huge amount of money, but for the Athletics that's roughly 40% of their payroll. Severino alone accounts for nearly a quarter of their total 2026 payout, so if they can't find ways to get deeper into games, the season could go south in a hurry.