Category: Baseball

Max Scherzer says the note his daughter composed asking the Toronto Blue Jays to re-sign the three-time Cy Young Award winner arose as his kids were writing letters to Santa Claus in December.

After Scherzer agreed last week to a $3 million, one-year contract to return to the Blue Jays, his wife posted on Instagram the handwritten note from their 8-year-old daughter, Brooke.

“It’s the cutest thing you can possibly imagine when you read that, how much it meant to her to be in Toronto,” Scherzer told reporters Tuesday after his deal was finalized.

Scherzer said his kids were writing letters expressing what they wanted from Santa when Brooke approached him and his wife, Erica May-Scherzer. The 8-year-old asked for a stamp and then put it on a sealed envelope that she handed to her parents.

After Brooke went to bed, her parents opened the letter to see what she had written.

“Dear Blue Jays,” the note began, “I am so sorry that you didn’t win the World Series. I hope that you win next time. I hope my dad is back on the team. My whole family loves spending time in Toronto with our dad. We loved the aquarium, the (CN) Tower and of course the stadium. I am looking forward to come back next season. Love, Max Scherzer daughter.”

Scherzer noted he and his wife didn’t send the letter to the Blue Jays.

“That’s a bad negotiating tactic,” Scherzer said with a laugh.

Scherzer, 41, wanted to return to Toronto after the Blue Jays came so close to winning the World Series last season. The Blue Jays led in the ninth inning of Game 7 before falling 5-4 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 11th.

“Obviously we came as close as you possibly can to winning the whole thing – something you can never get over, forget or anything of that nature,” said Scherzer, who won World Series rings with Washington in 2019 and Texas in 2023. “That was a huge reason why I wanted to come back. This team can win. I wanted to be a part of it.”

Scherzer said he’s right on schedule for the start of the season after dealing with a thumb injury for much of last year.

“I feel healthy,” Scherzer said.

Scherzer went 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA in 17 regular-season starts last year. He also was the winning pitcher in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series with Seattle and made two starts in the World Series.

He wanted to return to Toronto but understood the uncertainty that comes with being a free agent. His deal with the Jays includes $10 million in available performance bonuses for innings,

“Free agency is a weird animal,” Scherzer said. “I’ve been through it many times. You think it’s going to go one way and it goes another way. I kind of knew not to get my hopes up, but like I said, I was going to be picky about where I went. I wasn’t just going to sign with anybody. There was only a couple of teams I’d sign with at this point in time, and obviously Toronto was one of them.”

Reporting by The Associated Press

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Talk about an embarrassment of riches. 

The Dominican Republic’s roster for this year’s World Baseball Classic is fully-loaded with a “Plátano Power” version of the Avengers’ superhero cast. From Juan Soto to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to Ketel Marte to Fernando Tatis Jr. to Manny Machado to Julio Rodriguez to Sandy Alcantara to Carlos Estevez, the ample amount of star power on this roster is dizzying.

It’s clear that this high-octane team, managed by future first-ballot Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, has redemption on its mind. 

In the 2023 WBC, an almost-as-stacked Dominican Republic team did not even advance to the knockout stage. They went 2-2 in the group round, picking up wins over basement dwellers like Israel and Nicaragua before falling to Venezuela and Puerto Rico and getting eliminated from the tournament. It was an unacceptable result for a bona fide baseball nation that’s celebrated for being the top international pipeline for major-league talent. Since the tournament’s inaugural 2006 season, the Dominican Republic has one WBC title, which was won in 2013, and one semifinal appearance. 

WBC Rosters: Team-By-Team Squads
WBC Power Rankings: Stacking Japan, USA and All 20 Squads

The widespread expectations match the country’s talent level. Everyone expects them to be better.

So this time, it sure looks like Pujols and his general manager, seven-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Nelson Cruz, were only interested in recruiting the most elite players for every position. There are reinforcements throughout the roster, and this year’s Dominican Republic squad outclasses the 2023 WBC team on every level, which means expectations are once again skyrocketing. So, good luck to opposing pitchers attempting to game plan against this comic-book offense. 

There is no other way to put it. This Dominican Republic lineup is nuts.

Lineup

1. Fernando Tatis Jr.
2. Juan Soto
3. Ketel Marte
4. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
5. Junior Caminero
6. Manny Machado
7. Julio Rodriguez
8. Geraldo Perdomo
9. Augustin Ramirez

And how would that look defensively?

Outfield

LF: Juan Soto

CF: Julio Rodriguez

RF: Fernando Tatis Jr.

This will be the everyday outfield alignment, and it is absolutely unmatched. Being able to slot Soto, Rodriguez and Tatis into the same outfield is the stuff movies are made of. There are 10 Silver Slugger awards and 10 All-Star honors between the three of them. And the accolades of this potent team continue climbing in the infield.

Infield

1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

2B: Ketel Marte

SS: Geraldo Perdomo

3B: Manny Machado

C: Augustin Ramirez

DH: Junior Caminero

Most of these positions are mainstays, except for shortstop and catcher. Pujols can swap Perdomo (led the National League with a 7.0 WAR, per Baseball-Reference, last year) for shortstop Jeremy Peña (bounced back after a couple of down years and batted .304 with an .840 OPS for the Astros last season). The D.R. is also rostering catcher Austin Wells behind Ramirez. Wells was inconsistent last year in his sophomore season after finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2024, but he still crushed 21 home runs in 126 games. And with Guerrero, Marte, Machacho, Caminero, Soto, Tatis and Rodriguez carrying the offense, Pujols can’t go wrong with however he chooses to fill out the rest of the lineup.

Rotation

RHP Sandy Alcántara

LHP Cristopher Sanchez

RHP Luis Severino

RHP Brayan Bello

Alcántara, the 2022 National League Cy Young award winner, will get the nod against Venezuela in the final matchup of Pool D. Sanchez, who led all major-league pitchers with an 8.0 WAR for the Phillies last season and was snubbed out of an All-Star appearance, will kick off the group stage with his start against Nicaragua. Severino, who was vocally upset about his extreme home/road splits pitching in his first season at the Athletics’ hitter-friendly ballpark, will take the hill against the Netherlands. Bello will take on Israel before the much-anticipated finale of pool play in Miami.

Bullpen

RHP Carlos Estevez

RHP Abner Uribe

RHP Dennis Santana

LHP Gregory Soto

RHP Camilo Doval

RHP Huascar Brazoban

LHP Wandy Peralta

The bullpen, too, is exceptionally strong, led by the 2025 MLB saves leader in Estevez. Behind him, Uribe’s 1.67 ERA ranked third among all major-league relievers last season. Santana turned in his career-best season for the Pirates last year, recording a 2.15 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 70 innings pitched. Consider it a fool’s errand to try and find a weakness on this roster. 

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Padres reliever Yuki Matsui’s will not pitch for Japan in the World Baseball Classic and the left-hander’s status for San Diego’s season opener in a month also is unclear because of a left groin strain.

Matsui was still throwing off flat ground Thursday, a week after cutting short a batting practice session because of the groin.

“Right now, I’m just continuing the throwing progression, getting intensities and distances of (playing) catch back up,” Matsui told reporters through a translator. “Once it’s good enough, then I’ll start throwing off the mound. But as to when, we don’t know yet.”

The 30-year-old Matsui, who is 7-3 with a 3.86 ERA in 125 appearances in two seasons since signing a $28 million, five-year with Padres, also said he wasn’t sure yet about opening day. San Diego’s opener is March 26 at home against Detroit.

Defending WBC champion Japan opens against Taiwan on March 6 at the Tokyo Dome. Matsui was replaced on Japan’s roster by left-hander Yumeto Kanemaru of the Chunichi Dragons.

“I was looking forward to playing with them,” Matsui said. “I think the Tokyo games, because of the time differences, I don’t think I can watch in real time. But I believe they’re going to make it to the round in Miami. And I think that’s when I’ll be able to watch live, and cheer for them.”

Before the 5-foot-8 Matsui joined the Padres, he had a 2.40 career ERA, 236 saves and a 1.11 WHIP over 10 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. He was the youngest pitcher in the Japanese major leagues to reach 200 saves,. He made his Japanese big league debut at age 18 in 2014 and became a five-time All-Star for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, leading the Pacific League in saves in 2019, 2022 and 2023.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai threw a 10-pitch scoreless inning and was struck by a comebacker in his spring training debut for the Houston Astros on Thursday against the New York Mets.

Imai allowed a leadoff single to Marcus Semien, whose sharp hit ricocheted off the pitcher’s lower right leg and went into foul territory. Imai was checked by an athletic trainer and stayed in the game.

“That was not what we wanted to to see. But, you know, he came back and got out of that inning, 10 pitches, up to 95 (mph),” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “He looked really good out there.”

Imai finished what he said was his one scheduled inning by getting Mike Tauchman on an infield popout before Bo Bichette grounded into a double play.

“It was fun just being able to face hitters from a different organization,” Imai said through a translator.

The 27-year Imai was a three-time All-Star in Japan before agreeing in January to a $54 million, three-year contract with the Astros. Houston lost Framber Valdez when he left as a free agent and signed with Detroit.

Eight of Imai’s 10 pitches were strikes, and he threw only sinkers and changeups. All three balls put into play, none out of the infield, came on changeups, and the Astros didn’t send him back out for another inning.

“He was efficient enough where we thought about it, but thought that was enough there, especially with getting hit in the leg,” Espada said, adding, “He’s going to be sore tomorrow, that’s for sure.”

Imai had 0-2 counts on Semien and Tauchman. Bichette’s inning-ending grounder to third base came on the first pitch, an 87 mph changeup.

“With the different baseball in the big leagues, I’ve been working on kind of being able to throw all of my pitches in a zone,” Imai said. “That being said, I was kind of too much focused on throwing in the zone as opposed to executing certain pitches. So yeah, that’s something I will definitely keep working on.”

Imai was 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA last season for the Pacific League’s Seibu Lions, striking out 178 in 163 2/3 innings. He was 58-45 with a 3.15 ERA in eight seasons with Seibu.

His contract with the Astros included a $2 million signing bonus and salaries of $16 million this year and $18 million in each of the next two seasons. Based on his 2026 performance, his 2027 salary would escalate by $2 million each for 80, 90 and 100 innings, and his 2028 salary by $1 million for each level. He can opt out after the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Venezuela can defeat anyone — and they’re still considered the fourth favorite to win the World Baseball Classic title this year. 

In the 2023 WBC, Venezuela and Japan were the only two teams to go 4-0 in the group stage. Venezuela looked poised to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2009, carrying a lead into the eighth inning of their quarterfinal against the United States. 

WBC Rosters: Team-By-Team Squads
WBC Power Rankings: Stacking Japan, USA and All 20 Squads

Then a grand slam off the bat of Trea Turner, a haunting memory for Venezuelans, eliminated them from the Classic. It was devastating, but three years later, Venezuela has the opportunity to avenge that loss, posing as another serious threat to the USA should they reach the championship game.

Venezuela might not have the USA’s strong pitching, Japan’s international dominance or the Dominican Republic’s flawless roster construction. So, how can they rise above the rest? 

Venezuela’s lineup depth is extraordinary, and their middle-of-the-order thump is capable of destroying opposing pitching in three swings. Ronald Acuna Jr., Jackson Chourio and Salvador Perez represent Venezuela’s version of Murderers’ Row. Even after navigating that fearsome trio, there are no breaks or time to catch your breath. William Contreras brings elite plate discipline. Eugenio Suarez is coming off one of the quietest 49-home run seasons. Luis Arraez never strikes out. Maikel Garcia and Gleyber Torres hardly ever chase pitches outside the zone. 

Manager Omar Lopez has so much lineup flexibility with this cast of characters that he can put out a different 1-through-9 combination in every game and still boast a strong and formidable offense. 

Here’s one take on what the lineup could look like:

Lineup

1. Ronald Acuña Jr. (R)
2. Luis Arraez (L) or Willson Contreras (R)
3. Jackson Chourio (R)
4. Salvador Perez (R)
5. Wilyer Abreu (L)
6. Eugenio Suarez (R) or Maikel Garcia (R)
7. Andres Gimenez (L)
8. William Contreras (R)
9. Gleyber Torres (R)

How would that look defensively?

Outfield

LF: Jackson Chourio

CF: Ronald Acuna Jr.

RF: Wilyer Abreu

This is the only part of the lineup that skipper Omar Lopez will not have to think too hard about when he’s building Venezuela’s best lineup. Chourio, Acuna, and Abreu will be fixtures in the outfield, with Javier Sanoja on the bench as their fourth outfielder. It’s the infield construction that gets tricky. Let’s take a look at it.

Infield

1B: Luis Arraez or Willson Contreras

2B: Gleyber Torres 

SS: Andres Gimenez

3B: Eugenio Suarez or Maikel Garcia

C: William Contreras

DH: Salvador Perez

There are so many ways this can go. It’s genuinely fascinating who plays the hot corner between Suarez and Garcia. If the job goes to Suarez, then Garcia can play second. But then what happens to Torres? Garcia can play shortstop, and Gimenez can shift to second, again leaving Torres as the odd man out. In another scenario, Contreras might be better suited to play first base, which would move Arraez to second. (Again, Torres?) And we haven’t even mentioned shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, the seventh infielder on Venezuela’s 30-man roster. The extreme number of combinations is headache-inducing, but it’s ultimately a good problem for Venezuela to have, particularly because these are all stellar defenders. 

Rotation

LHP Ranger Suarez

LHP Eduardo Rodriguez

RHP Keider Montero

RHP Antonio Senzatela

The starting rotation is the weakest part of Venezuela’s roster after Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez dropped out of the tournament due to a torn ligament in his elbow and Phillies southpaw Jesus Luzardo decided not to play in the WBC. Lopez was expected to be their ace, and that responsibility now rests on Suarez’s shoulders. Rodriguez has had a couple of down years in Arizona, but 25-year-old right-hander Montero showed some promise for the Tigers last year across 20 games (12 starts). But it’s not all doom and gloom. The relief corps, at least, is a silver lining. Starters will have to pitch once or twice through the order before Venezuela turns to its killer bullpen. 

Bullpen

RHP Daniel Palencia

RHP Eduard Bazardo

LHP Jose Alvarado

RHP Jose Butto

LHP Angel Zerpa

This terrific bullpen should help Venezuela stay in games, and based on how the team went about its pitching deployment during the 2023 WBC, relievers will be carrying most of the load, with a bullpen game likely in play given the club’s lack of dominant starters. Palencia (2.91 ERA, 22 saves, 52 innings pitched) and Bazardo (2.52 ERA,1.02 WHIP, 78 innings) are both coming off career-best seasons for the Cubs and Mariners, respectively. Alvarado has been a steady bullpen presence for the Phillies over the years and his veteran pedigree will benefit this group. As long as the offense shines, the defense is a wall, and the bullpen offsets any rotation concerns, Venezuela is in position to meet their sky-high expectations and get to the championship game. 

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

The stars will be on the field and in the studio for the 2026 World Baseball Classic!

FOX Sports, the home of this year’s tournament, announced its broadcasting team for the upcoming event, headlined by former New York Yankees greats Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz and FOX Sports veteran Kevin Burkhardt on the studio desk. The studio show will be live at the site of both semifinal round games (March 15 and 16) and the championship game (March 17) at loanDepot Park in Miami, FL.

– World Baseball Classic: Team Breakdowns, Predictions

Rodriguez has been an MLB studio analyst for FOX Sports dating back to his penultimate season as a player in 2015; Ortiz has been a full-time analyst for FOX Sports since 2017; Jeter is entering his fourth year at the network; Burkhardt, who has been with FOX Sports since 2013 and is also the network’s lead NFL play-by-play announcer, has been an MLB studio host for FOX since 2014. 

In the booth, Joe Davis will be the primary play-by-play announcer, with John Smoltz as the primary color commentator. They will be on the call for both semifinal round games and the title game. Davis and Smoltz are entering their fifth full-time season as a broadcasting duo for FOX.

Adam Amin and Kevin Kugler will also serve as play-by-play broadcasters throughout the 2026 WBC, with Adam Wainwright and A.J. Pierzynski also serving as color commentators. Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci will serve as reporters for the tournament. Edgar Gonzalez, Adrian Garcia-Marquez, Carlos Alvarez, Rolando Nichols and Jaime Motta will provide coverage for FOX Deportes.

Jeter, Ortiz and Rodriguez have made five WBC appearances, representing the United States and the Dominican Republic.

The 2026 WBC begins on March 4. It is the sixth WBC and the second with FOX as the primary broadcasting home.

World Baseball Classic: How To Watch

In all, 20 countries from around the world will compete in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. And with top players like Aaron Judge (USA), Shohei Ohtani (Japan), and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Dominican Republic), get ready for some high-stakes baseball.

– WBC Broadcast Schedule: How To Watch All Games

All the WBC’s 47 games will air across FOX Sports’ family of networks (FOX, FS1, FS2 and FOX Deportes), as well as the FOX Sports App and Tubi. All matchups will also be available to stream live and on-demand on FOX One. Additionally, 41 out of the 47 contests will air in Spanish across a combination of FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports App, Tubi and FOX One.

The four quarterfinal games will be played on March 13 and 14 at Daikin Park in Houston. The two semifinals will be played on March 15 and 16 at loanDepot Park in Miami. The final will be in Miami on Tuesday, March 17, at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.

Team USA’s World Baseball Games: How To Watch

All four of Team USA’s games in Pool B will be played at Daikin Park (home of the Houston Astros) against Mexico, Italy, Great Britain and Brazil. If the USA wins its Pool, the quarterfinal game would also be in Houston before the semifinals and Championship Game take place at loanDepot Park (home of the Miami Marlins). 

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Hope springs eternal. 

The old proverb reflects the optimism that comes along with the start of a new MLB season. A fresh start, and the possibility of contending, gives teams and their fans hope ahead of the long 162-game season. 

While that optimism is justified, the reality is that not everyone will play into October. Some teams will be bad, and some will, in fact, be very bad. 

While focusing on the odds of who will finish with the worst record, let’s take a look at some of the candidates and find a team worth wagering on.

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The Colorado Rockies at -400 (risk $4 to win $1) are the “favorite” to finish with the worst record, one of very few times in recent memory the Rockies will be favored for anything. 

Looking at their 2025 record, they are the rightful favorite. Colorado went a staggering 43-119 and were outscored by 424 runs, as it finished 50 games out of first place and 40 games out of a wild-card spot. 

Not great! 

The Rockies, however, made a few additions to the rotation that might at least raise the floor, and for this market, that’s significant. They brought in starting pitchers Michael Lorenzen and Jose Quintana, both former All-Stars, who should at least provide some much-needed stability and credibility to the starting rotation. Colorado also added Tomoyuki Sugano, who had a respectable 4.64 ERA, although his underlying stats and 33 home runs allowed are a concern when pitching at hitter-friendly Coors Field. 

The Rockies will likely be better this year, but admittedly, “better” is a low bar to clear here. At -400 odds, I don’t see the value.   

The Minnesota Twins are an interesting candidate for this category, sitting at 35-1 odds ($1 wins $35). Coming off a 70-92 season, they have already lost frontline starter Pablo Lopez for the year due to arm surgery. They are also a relatively older team, and a bad start and more injuries could lead them to sell off their best players before the trade deadline. 

At long odds, it’s not a bad bet, but getting all the way to the bottom might be tough.

The team I ultimately landed on is the Washington Nationals at +750. The Nationals won just 66 games last year, and traded All-Star pitcher Mackenzie Gore in the offseason. They also reside in a loaded division, where the Braves, Mets, and Phillies all have 90+ win potential, and the Marlins flirted with playoff contention with their exciting young core in 2025. 

Extra games against those teams spell trouble for the still-rebuilding Nationals, a team that had the worst bullpen ERA in all of MLB last season. With a starting rotation that will likely force the bullpen into use early and often throughout the season, the Nationals enter 2026 without much pitching. In a stacked division that will expose Washington’s many weaknesses, a 66-win team from last year might be even worse this year. 

PICK: Washington Nationals (+750) to win fewest games

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

CC Sabathia’s No. 52 will be retired on Sept. 26 by the New York Yankees, who will dedicate a plaque in honor of the Hall of Famer at Monument Park before that day’s game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Sabathia will be the 24th man to have his number retired by the Yankees, the first since Paul O’Neill was honored with the retirement of No. 21 in 2022. Twenty-three numbers have been retired, with No. 8 set aside for both Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey.

New York made the announcement Wednesday night.

Sabathia will join former teammates Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte with plaques in Monument Park, beyond Yankee Stadium’s center-field fence.

Sabathia was a six-time All-Star who won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award with Cleveland and a World Series title in 2009, his first season with the Yankees after signing as a free agent.

He went 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts, third among left-handers behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, during 19 seasons with Cleveland (2001-08), Milwaukee (2008) and the Yankees (2009-19), including a 134-88 record with a 3.81 ERA and 1,700 strikeouts for New York.

Sabathia was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2025.

Other Yankees with retired numbers are: No. 1 (Billy Martin, 1986), No. 2 (Jeter, 2017), No. 3 (Babe Ruth, 1948), No. 4 (Lou Gehrig, 1939), No. 5 (Joe DiMaggio, 1952), No. 6 (Joe Torre, 2014), No. 7 (Mickey Mantle, 1969), No. 8 (Berra and Dickey, 1972), No. 9 (Roger Maris, 1984), No. 10 (Phil Rizzuto, 1985), No. 15 (Thurman Munson, 1979), No. 16 (Whitey Ford, 1974), No. 20 (Jorge Posada, 2015), No. 21 (O’Neill, 2022) No. 23 (Don Mattingly, 1997), No. 32 (Elston Howard, 1984), No. 37 (Casey Stengel, 1970), No. 42 (Mariano Rivera, 2013), No. 44 (Reggie Jackson, 1993), No. 46 (Pettitte, 2015), No. 49 (Ron Guidry, 2003) and No. 51 (Bernie Williams, 2015).

In addition, Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 was retired throughout the major leagues in 1997.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes lost four strikes to challenges in his first spring training start.

Skenes struck out four and walked four over 2 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh on Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves, who were 4 for 4 against the right-hander on challenges to get called strikes overturned to balls — one of them by the slimmest of margins.

The 53-pitch outing is expected to be the only one Skenes has for Pittsburgh before he joins the U.S. for the World Baseball Classic. He allowed one hit and one run while facing 12 batters. He is going into his third season with the Pirates.

“Winning gold is the biggest thing,” said Skenes, who was then asked if U.S. success in the just-completed Winter Olympics provides more motivation. “Yeah, men’s hockey, women’s hockey, all the other golds that we won in the Olympics. We’re America, we’ve got to assert our dominance over everybody else. That’s what we do. … It’s going to be fun.”

Skenes threw 27 pitches for strikes against the Braves, along with four other pitches initially called strikes by home plate umpire Chris Segal that Braves hitters challenged through the automated ball-strike system — the so-called robot umpires.

“Today, that’s how it is. I’ve just got to adjust,’ Skenes said. “I think it will even out over the course of the season, but ask me in June.”

Three of those challenges came on consecutive batters in the first inning.

Matt Olson challenged an 82.3 mph curveball that was called a strike, and had a smile on his face as replay showed indeed that the 1-1 pitch was only about one-tenth of an inch off the plate. He went on to draw a walk.

“When the season gets rolling, that’s probably not the pitch that you’re going to be challenging, but you’ve got to feel it out a bit,” Olson said. “I figured, whatever. It was a backdoor sweeper that I felt kind of held up a little bit.”

Jurickson Profar then challenged a 98.3 mph fastball for a strike on the first pitch he faced, and it was overturned to a 1-0 count before he also walked. Austin Riley sought a replay when a 99 mph pitch on an 0-2 count was called a strike, but was above the zone, though on the next pitch he struck out swinging on a 98.5 mph fastball just below that.

In the Braves second, Ronald Acuna asked for a review and got a ball on a 97.6 mph fastball off the plate that had been called a strike.

While the overturned strike thrown to Riley was the fastest of the day by Skenes, his fastball was consistently in the upper-90s throughout his outing.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Team USA is bringing its best roster, the Dominican Republic is once again oozing with talent and Venezuela’s lineup can contend with anyone, but until proven otherwise, Japan still sits on the throne as the kings of international competition.

Japan has dominated the World Baseball Classic unlike any other country, winning the tournament in three of its five editions, and the group again looks fully capable of defending its standing. In 2023, Japan stormed back in the late innings to triumph over Mexico in a semifinal walk-off win before holding off Team USA in the finals when WBC MVP Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout in an epic at-bat to take back the title. 

Ohtani won’t have the chance to do that again in 2026, as he’ll only be hitting this time around. That’s a tough blow to a Samurai Japan pitching staff that will be without four of the five pitchers who started games in the 2023 WBC, but they’ll still have Yoshinobu Yamamoto as their ace fresh off earning World Series MVP honors, plus two more MLB starters in Yusei Kikuchi and Tomoyuki Sagano and reigning Sawamura Award winner Hiromi Itoh. 

Any questions about the rotation are mitigated by the depth of a lineup that bullied the competition while going undefeated in 2023. Ohtani will once again spearhead a Japan offense that outscored its pool-play opponents by 30 runs in the last WBC and finished the tournament with the highest OPS of any team that made it out of the knockout round. 

Now, Seiya Suzuki will be joining the group coming off a 32-homer season with the Cubs after missing the 2023 competition due to injury. He’ll be among five MLB position players on the roster, a group that includes Ohtani, Masataka Yoshida and incoming NPB standouts Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto. 

Manager Hirokazu Ibata will have plenty of lineup iterations to choose from — there’s so much established NPB talent in place that it might be hard to find regular at-bats for Teruaki Sato, who hit 40 home runs last year while being named Central League MVP — but here’s one option that could maximize Japan’s offensive capabilities as it attempts to defend its crown: 

Lineup

1. Shohei Ohtani (L)
2. Seiya Suzuki (R)
3. Kensuke Kondo (L)
4. Kazuma Okamoto (R)
5. Munetaka Murakami (L)
6. Shugo Maki (R)
7. Masataka Yoshida (L)
8. Seishiro Sakamoto (R)
9. Kaito Kozono (L)

So, how would that look defensively?

Outfield:

LF: Masataka Yoshida
CF: Seiya Suzuki 
RF: Kensuke Kondo

The safer move would be putting Shota Morishito in center flanked by Yoshida in left and Suzuki in right, but there have already been rumblings leading into the competition of Japan potentially using Suzuki in center. While that carries some disaster potential defensively (especially with Yoshida in left), it would also be the most powerful offensive configuration and allow Team Japan to keep the bats of both Yoshida and Kondo in the lineup. Yoshida hit .409 with a team-high 13 RBI in the 2023 tournament, while Kondo hit .346 with a 1.115 OPS. Kondo has had an OPS over .900 in each of his last three seasons in NPB. 

Infield:

1B: Munetaka Murakami 
2B: Shugo Maki 
SS: Kaito Kozono 
3B: Kazuma Okamoto

C: Seishiro Sakamoto 
DH: Shohei Ohtani 

MLB fans have more of a reason to watch Japan with a closer eye now that Murakami will be joining the White Sox and Okamoto will be playing for the Blue Jays in 2026. Murakami famously hit 56 home runs as a 22-year-old in 2022 and averaged more than 30 home runs per season over his eight-year NPB career. Okamoto also brings power — he hit at least 30 home runs every season from 2018-23 with the Yomiuri Giants — with less of a strikeout risk, coming off a 2025 NPB campaign in which he slashed .327/.416/.598 with as many walks as strikeouts. Kozono won the Central League batting title last season, hitting .309 in a career year with the Hiroshima Carp. Maki played on the 2023 tournament team and has recorded an OPS of at least .800 in each of his five NPB seasons. At catcher, expect Yamamoto’s former Orix Buffaloes teammate Kenya Wakatsuki to be behind the plate when he starts. Otherwise, Sakamoto might get the majority of the time coming off his best offensive season in years. That’s all before getting to Ohtani, who needs little explanation coming off back-to-back 50-homer seasons with the Dodgers and a dominant showing in the last WBC.

Rotation

RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto
LHP Yusei Kikuchi
RHP Hiromi Itoh 
RHP Tomoyuki Sugano

Yamamoto struck out 12 batters in 7.1 innings in the 2023 tournament and demonstrated his ability to rise to the biggest occasions during the 2025 MLB playoffs. He threw complete games in Game 2 of the NLCS and Game 2 of the World Series, and after earning the win in Game 6 of the Fall Classic to keep the Dodgers’ season alive, he emerged in relief one day later to seal a championship in relief. Unfortunately for Japan, he can’t start every game of the WBC. Instead, he’ll be the ace of a pitching staff that isn’t quite as daunting as the 2023 group. Kikuchi was an All-Star for the Angels in 2025 and had an ERA a tick under 4.00 but surrendered more hits than any pitcher in the American League. Sugano registered a 4.64 ERA for the Orioles and surrendered an American League-leading 33 home runs. There’s still plenty of talented arms behind that trio, however, including reigning Sawamura Award winner Hiromi Itoh, who made three scoreless relief outings in the 2023 tournament. Also worth keeping an eye on: New Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai, who’s coming off a career year in NPB, is not on the initial roster but is part of the designated pitcher pool and could be added in later rounds if (when) Japan advances. 

Bullpen

RHP Shoma Fujihira 
RHP Koki Kitayama
LHP Yuki Matsui 
RHP Yuki Matsumoto 
LHP Hiroya Miyagi
RHP Taisei Ota
LHP Ryuhei Sotani
LHP Chihiro Sumida
RHP Hiroto Takahashi
RHP Atsuki Taneichi

Many of Japan’s relief arms are actually standout starters in NPB and can provide length if needed. Kitayama ranked third in ERA (1.63) and Taneichi ranked fifth in strikeouts (161 in 160.2 innings) among qualified NPB pitchers last year. Takahashi, Sumida and Miyagi, a holdover from the 2023 championship team who ranked third in NPB in strikeout rate last year, all threw at least 150-plus innings with a sub-3.00 ERA last season. Ota made four scoreless relief outings for Japan in the last WBC. Matsui is the lone MLB pitcher of the group, but his status is in question as he deals with a groin injury. 

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