Mining the News (2/16/26)

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American League

Astros

• Nate Pearson had his elbow cleaned up and is behind the other starters.

Pearson also underwent what Dana Brown described as an “elbow cleanup” this offseason, putting him slightly behind the rest of Houston’s pitchers in camp.

Orioles

• Heston Kjerstad cleaned up his swing.

What Albernaz was alluding to was an adjustment made to Kjerstad’s swing mechanics since last season.

Kjerstad has abandoned his large leg kick, instead opting for more of a toe tap as his right foot lands upon his swing. It was a development that occurred as he went through offseason hitting drills. The move felt “pretty natural,” and it produced changes that Kjerstad thinks could help him better hit big league pitching.

Rangers

• Robert Garcia and Chris Martin are the leading closer candidates.

As of Day 2 of spring training, Skip Schumaker said that Robert Garcia and Chris Martin are the front-runners to receive the most save chances to start the season. Alexis Diaz could, but #Rangers want to see how he performs in spring games.

— Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilsonTXR) February 11, 2026

• Nathan Eovaldi had hernia surgery this offseason.

Eovaldi was the best pitcher on the best staff in baseball in 2025, posting a 1.73 ERA in 22 starts with 129 strikeouts over 130 innings. He was ultimately shut down in August due to a right rotator cuff strain, though he was working towards a potential return if the Rangers had made the postseason. That being said, he also underwent offseason surgery for a sports hernia.

Eovaldi said on Tuesday that he had been dealing with the hernia since 2024, but it was not a big deal at the time because it wasn’t affecting his pitching.

• Jake Burger took up Pilates to help prevent soft tissue injuries.

This offseason, that meant Pilates.

Burger’s wife, Ashlyn, is a certified instructor, but he had never considered doing it himself, opting to stick with the bench presses and deadlifts. But after a trio of injured list stints last season, two of which were for soft tissue injuries, he decided something had to change.

“For me, the biggest thing is being healthy and just staying in that whole groove throughout the year,” Burger explained. “It’s really hard to get going and then go back on the IL, get going, go back on the IL. For me, [this offseason] was about addressing the soft tissue standpoint. I really dove into the Pilates and did it three times a week.”

Red Sox

• Roman Anthony is expected to bat leadoff.

Cora hinted that Roman Anthony, who led off 27 games last season, might be penciled into the top spot this year, too.

“Putting pressure on the opposition from pitch one, that matters,” Cora said. “… He was amazing for us leading off. That means that he’s going to get the most at-bats of anybody, and he’s that type of hitter, so we’re talking top of the lineup. I’m not saying he’s going to lead off, but I like what George (Springer) did for Houston in ‘17. I like what Mookie (Betts) did for us in ’18, and I like what Roman did for us last year.”

Twins

• Royce Lewis worked on his pre-swing setup to help with his “pitch recognition, his swing decisions, and ultimately the quality of his contact.”

Isenhower believes Lewis can get back to the heights of 2023 and early 2024. He raves about Lewis’ bat speed and feels that by simplifying things, Lewis can find his old form. The primary focus of their mechanical work has been pre-swing: getting Lewis into the best possible position, consistently, before he even begins his swing.

By doing that, Isenhower asserts, Lewis can let his natural talent and bat speed take over. Being in a better position will improve Lewis’ pitch recognition, his swing decisions, and ultimately the quality of his contact.

White Sox

• Hagen Smith worked on his changeup this offseason.

Smith, 22, placed a focus on his changeup, a key pitch in his overall repertoire.

“I’m really just trying to work on the mechanics and kind of figure out when I was going good, what I was doing,” Smith said. “Kind of looked at the video and stuff like that. Really hammered away on the changeup.”

Yankees

• Ryan Weathers hit 98.5 mph with his fastball (high was 97.7 mph last season) …

Weathers flashed a 98.5 mph four-seamer, his impressive changeup and some deception in a live batting practice at George M. Steinbrenner Field that saw him face several Yankees hitters, including Paul Goldschmidt and Aaron Judge, whom he struck out once.

… and has been working on staying loose with a foam roller.

Weathers said he’s been assured “there’s nothing in my throwing mechanics that are really troublesome or worrisome. So, why do I keep having these weird injuries?”

Well, he said, he’s learned with the help of the Yankees to address natural tightness in his lower body — particularly in his hips and ankles. He said it’s going to be about “working smarter” between starts. He said he even wants to be extra prepared for when he’s simply playing catch. He’s become good friends with his foam roller.

• Amed Rosario is expected to play third base when facing lefties.

No. 14, Amed Rosario, 3B: Rosario was acquired at the trade deadline from the Washington Nationals. The Yankees then re-signed the veteran to a one-year deal in December. Rosario is likely to start at third base when the Yankees are facing left-handed starters. For his career, Rosario has a 120 wRC+ against lefties.

He would be taking at-bats away from Ryan McMahon (career 72 wRC+ vs LHP, 95 wRC+ vs RHP), who struggles against lefties. I saw some power upside for McMahon after examining his talent comps.

Rarely does a player have 30+ HR upside going at the end of drafts (if at all).

Another issue with the platoon is that the AL East is projected to have the 2nd most left-handed innings, so McMahon could get platooned more than other platoon players.

National League

Cubs

• Cade Horton’s fastball is “sitting 96 and touching 98”.

Yeah, but [Horton is] sitting 96 and touching 98 in the middle of February.

This is right in line with his previous fastball velocities.

Diamondbacks

• Justin Martinez is on the 60-day IL.

• RHP Justin Martinez: Placed on 60-day injured list (recovery from right ulnar collateral ligament surgery)

The key takeaway here is that Martinez got the 60-day IL designation before A.J. Puk did. The team must either expect Puk back in the first two months or at least before Martinez.

Dodgers

• Brusdar Graterol’s velocity is down and behind in his ramp-up.

Righty reliever Brusdar Graterol will slow-play his ramp-up during Spring Training, manager Dave Roberts said Saturday, creating uncertainty around his availability for Opening Day.

Graterol missed all of last year after undergoing right shoulder labrum surgery in November 2024. He remained a distant possibility to return in ’25, but he was unable to ramp up fully by season’s end. The Dodgers thought he would be full go coming into camp, but Graterol wasn’t where the team expected him to be when he threw off the mound Friday.

“It’s still kind of the velocity’s not near where it’s going to be,” Roberts said. “So I think that it’s a slow progression. I just don’t know where that puts us. But it’s a slow process for Brusdar.”

• Ha-Seong Kim 김하성 could return in early May.

Anthopoulos says there is hope shortstop Ha-Seong Kim (right middle finger) returns in early May. Initial reports were he could miss 6-8 weeks. So, he's on schedule and maybe even slightly ahead.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) February 13, 2026

Mets

• Kodai Senga touched 92 mph with his fastball.

Manager Carlos Mendoza was unusually upbeat when asked about Kodai Senga earlier this week, saying he took note as Senga flashed 92 mph on the radar gun.

Last year, Senga was sitting at 93.8 mph. It looks like he’s got some ramping up to do.

• Sean Manaea worked on the perfect arm slot over the offseason.

Over the winter, Manaea worked with Tread Athletics, a private pitching facility, on an offseason assessment.

Manaea, who said he feels completely healthy, revised his arm slot while working with Tread after things got too extreme last season. He liked the changes he made in 2024. Maybe too much. In 2025, he took the change to another level, going even lower with his arm slot. It didn’t work. He is closer to where he was at his best in 2024.

“It’s definitely cleaned up and feels a lot better now,” Manaea said.

Phillies

• Aaron Nola is NOT adding a new pitch.

“I can make my curveball into a sweeper,” Nola said. “I can make it go left a little bit more because of my arm angle. It just depends on if I use my thumb on it a little bit more. The more thumb I use, the more depth-y it gets. I’ve been grateful to stay healthy for a little while. The last thing I want to do is tinker with another pitch. I know it’s not a for-sure thing [that a pitcher will get hurt] throwing a new pitch. A lot of guys don’t. I just want to crisp up my pitches.”

Pirates

• Jhostynxon Garcia is working on his swing decisions.

“The main thing I’m working on this spring, hitting-wise, is swing decisions,” said Garcia, who had 75 RBIs and 21 homers in 114 games between Double-A and Triple-A last season but also struck out 131 times against just 45 walks.

He’s taken his newest assignment to heart so far, stepping in the box on Friday for a live BP session against Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes. Battling one of baseball’s best pitchers is no small task, but doing so also gives Garcia early practice addressing his biggest challenge: Lowering his strikeout rate, which jumped to 26.8 percent last season.

Rockies

• Antonio Senzatela plans on throwing his sinker more.

But during recent informal sessions facing Rockies hitters at the complex, Senzatela has opened eyes with his two-seam sinking fastball, a pitch he hasn’t used more than 5.8 percent of the time over a full season.

Both of our STUPH models grade his sinker as below average. The results this past year were decent (10% SwStr%, 47% GB%).

• Tyler Freeman has a sore back and is not in camp.

OF-INF Tyler Freeman
Injury: Back soreness
Expected return: A week or so into camp
Status: Began running on Feb. 12 and started taking grounders on Feb. 13. Underwent an anti-inflammatory injection weeks before camp began. (updated Feb. 13)