Good morning everyone!
The Mariners have gotten off to a rough start to Cactus League play, falling to the hapless Angels 7-6. Oh well, onto the next one
The World Baseball Classic kicks off for real today, with Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) taking on Australia at 7pm PT. Will you be tuning in? How much of this year’s tournament do you plan on consuming?
In Mariners news…
- Even though J.P. Crawford is back from a shoulder injury, the Mariners are closely monitoring the situation.
- Zac Hereth at Seattle Sports outlined three players who have impressed him at Mariners camp so far.
- Mariners hitting coach Kevin Seitzer weighed in on three M’s who have drawn his attention this spring.
Around the league…
- Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar has been suspended for 162 games for his second positive test for PEDs. Profar faced his first suspension less than a year ago after testing positive for human chorionic gonadotropin.
- Philles outfielder Johan Rojas also tested positive for PEDs, though he is appealing the ruling. If he loses his appeal, he will face an 80-game suspension for his first offense.
- Red Sox infielder Brendan Rodgers will likely require shoulder surgery, ending any hopes he had of mounting a comeback in 2026.
- The Texas Rangers find themselves in hot water after ownership chose to put up the controversial One Riot, One Ranger statue previously taken down in 2020.
- In what’s likely to be his final run as a baseball manager, Dusty Baker is taking on the task of leading Team Nicaragua despite having no connection to the country. Michael Clair has the story on what this job means to Dusty and to the players.
- Zach Crizer documented the evolution of the baseball slide, and applauded the rules being set up in such a way to encourage “weird” slides.
- If you’re a parent of a child, you’ve probably grown tired of having to hear “six-seven” all the time. Well, try being a baseball player forced to wear the number during spring training, as Sam Blum at The Athletic reports. ($)