Mining the News (3/16/26)

Eric Canha-Imagn Images

American League

Angels

• Alek Manoah is still in the mix to make the rotation, with Jack Kochanowicz and George Klassen also being considered.

Manoah still remains the favorite, but right-hander Jack Kochanowicz has pitched well with a 2.08 ERA with one walk in 8 2/3 innings this spring to make himself a candidate for the fifth starter role, while No. 5 prospect George Klassen has also excelled with a 2.25 ERA and nine strikeouts in eight innings.

“He’s still definitely in the mix,” manager Kurt Suzuki said of Manoah. “We haven’t decided on anything. There’s a lot of guys still going, still pitching.”

Manoah still remains the favorite, but right-hander Jack Kochanowicz has pitched well with a 2.08 ERA with one walk in 8 2/3 innings this spring to make himself a candidate for the fifth starter role, while No. 5 prospect George Klassen has also excelled with a 2.25 ERA and nine strikeouts in eight innings.

“He’s still definitely in the mix,” manager Kurt Suzuki said of Manoah. “We haven’t decided on anything. There’s a lot of guys still going, still pitching.”

Athletics

• Martín Gallegos of MLB.com thinks Jacob Lopez has the inside track to make the rotation.

After rotation locks Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, Aaron Civale and Luis Morales, the sense here is that Jacob Lopez, who made his Cactus League debut on Sunday after a delayed start to camp as he recovered from a forearm injury, has the inside track for the final spot. Ginn and Perkins have been building up as starters in camp, but their likely destination to begin the season is either in the A’s bullpen or the rotation at Triple-A Las Vegas, where both could provide valuable starting depth.

Mariners

• Emerson Handcock’s fastball is up a tick, and he’s the leading candidate for the fifth rotation spot. He’s up against Cooper Criswell, who’s out of options.

Hancock’s fastballs have averaged 95.5 mph, while topping out at 97.4 mph, helping him generate 17 strikeouts among 44 batters faced (38.6%). It’s been a notable uptick compared to last spring, when he was at 94.5 mph. More telling, he has just one walk and one homer surrendered. He’s induced whiffs on 44% of the sliders and sweepers he’s thrown, and relying on those offspeeds will be vital if he returns to a starting role.

“It just blends really well with the arsenal,” Hancock said. “I think playing east to west, it gives you something that can get chase. But I think it plays the speed game and the break game. It’s not something that I’m trying to throw as hard as I possibly can. It’s something I’m convicted in. I’m just trying to keep it over the plate.”

Hancock probably has the leg up in this race, given that he’s explicitly filled this role over each of the past two seasons. Last spring, he broke camp taking over for George Kirby (shoulder), and the year prior, it was Bryan Woo (forearm).

Rangers

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

Who closes?

This is the one thing that hasn’t changed all that much since the start of spring. When pitchers and catchers reported, Schumaker named Martin and Garcia as the two most likely to get the opportunity to close games to start the season. That will likely remain the case, at least early on.

“I’ve been in situations where your sixth inning guy ends up becoming your closer,” Schumaker said. “Ryan Franklin, in 2011, was our closer at the All-Star break. Jason Motte ended up being our closer at the end. Two years ago, when I was with Miami, Dylan Floro was our closer, and it ended up being Tanner Scott. I just don’t know what’s going to happen here. I’d love someone to take a hold of that role, for sure. I don’t want to say closer by committee either. I think we’ll see what happens.”

Rays

• Shane McClanahan expects not to throw 100% this season.

“I’m still pacing myself. It’s a long season, a long year. I feel like the days of me trying to throw as hard as I can every pitch are pretty much over,” McClanahan said. “Got to have some reserve. You’ve got to know when to put your best bullet out there. I still got it. Just choosing to be tactical about it and smart.”

Snyder said he won’t be surprised if McClanahan’s average fastball velocity is above 95 mph in his first regular-season start. By midseason, he could very well be bringing the same heat as his back-to-back All-Star seasons in 2022 and ‘23.

It’s also worth noting that some of McClanahan’s highest readings on the radar gun came with two strikes, when he had a chance to finish at-bats.

Tigers

• Casey Mize’s mechanics are “out of whack“.

“My mechanics are off,” he said. “Something’s out of whack.”

It’s a rare statement for Mize to make, particularly in the spring. After years of either needing to win a job or come back from injury, or both, Mize entered this Spring Training able to focus purely on pitching for the first time in years. Instead, he has a new reason for urgency.

“I don’t talk mechanics a ton. It’s not really my thing,” he said. “But I have to right now, because that’s the problem.

“That’s never been my issue. This is why it’s frustrating that it’s happening now. But there’s a silver lining: History will probably tell you that it’s not going to continue. But I’ve got to get to work, for sure.”

Twins

• Matthew Leach of MLB.com doesn’t think Mick Abel will make the rotation because he has options left.

… but I don’t love [Abel’s] chances to make the rotation

Here’s a thing I’ve learned over many years covering baseball: Never underestimate the power of the path of least resistance. Players with options get sent down. Guys making a lot of money get extra chances, etc. In this case, “least resistance” means keeping the more experienced starters and choosing Abel as the guy who spends more time in Triple-A. I’m very confident we’ll see him this year, but my guess right now is he’s the odd man out.

National League

Cardinals

• Nolan Gorman reworked his swing with an emphasis on foot placement.

After the season came to an end in Chicago last year, Gorman went to see a hitting guru recommended by former teammate Nolan Arenado (Gorman declined to name the expert). Gorman spent two weeks with the hitting coach from Nov. 3-15 trying to figure out how to land his front foot in a better position before swinging. He has found that position and struck out only five times in 30 at-bats this spring.

Manager Oliver Marmol has taken notice of Gorman’s success at the plate. The skipper wants his third baseman to continue to have better swing decisions in the batter’s box.

“He is doing a nice job. His approach is there. His swing is there. The adjustments are coming into play. That’s what you like to see,” Marmol said about Gorman. “We talk about someone going into the offseason knowing what they have to do, coming back and actually putting it into action. He has done that. … I’m glad we actually have a little more time [in Florida] to allow him to get in that groove and feel really good about it.”

• After reworking his swing this offseason, Jordan Walker needed a few days to work on it some more.

Walker is expected to provide some thump in St. Louis’ lineup this season. But entering Sunday afternoon’s action, Walker was 6-for-30 (.200) with two RBIs and 11 strikeouts this spring. The team hopes he can be back in the lineup by Tuesday against the Nationals. It was Walker’s idea to take a break from game action in order to work in the lab, and the Cardinals accommodated him.

“[He is taking] the three days of not trying to practice something and put it in the game immediately,” manager Oliver Marmol explained. “[Being in the lab] allows him time to really dive deep into where we are at and what truly needs to happen. I want to give him a little bit of a break to be able to just focus [on his swing] and not carry it into the game. We hope the attention is there and then give him a date on when he is back in the lineup and implement it.”

Diamondbacks

• Corbin Carroll is using a new bat, so he doesn’t swing with any discomfort.

Carroll has adjusted the bat he uses, switching for now to an axe-handle bat to help alleviate some of the discomfort.

“Not sure how long that’s going to last, but it’s definitely less painful,” Carroll said of the new handle. “So sticking with it for now.”

It is clear there is still some physical discomfort for Carroll, but as he did last year when he played through a left wrist injury, he finds a way to block it out and not talk about it.

“I don’t really want to talk about how it feels,” Carroll said. “It just is what it is honestly. No point in getting caught up on it. Just kind of do what we can do. The biggest thing is just getting in game shape hitting-wise. Making sure that timing is getting back to a good spot. Start working some game plans in and making sure we’re good to go.”

Giants

• Patrick Bailey is swinging with intent.

This spring, Bailey is batting .333 with seven hits and just one strikeout in 21 at-bats after the Giants’ 5-2 win over the Royals on Wednesday at Surprise Stadium.

“A lot of it’s just been using the lower half and just having more intent with the swing,” Bailey said. “We’ve been talking to [hitting coach] Hunter [Mense] a lot about approaches and that’s something that we’ve been doing more this spring than in the past.”

• Robbie Ray has been “tweaking” his slider.

Of the 56 pitches that Ray threw in his fourth Cactus League start, 12 were sliders. They averaged 85.9 mph, 2.0 mph slower than where the pitch sat last season. If they looked different, that was by design.

“I’ve kind of been tweaking it over the last few weeks, just trying to get the consistent shape that I want on it,” Ray said. “I’m less concerned with the velocity on it, I’m more concerned with the shape of it. That was the main focus today.”

The slider — when paired with the knuckle-curve — made Ray tremendously difficult to square up. He worked four no-hit frames and logged nine whiffs, seven of which came on that pair of breakers, including all four of his strikeouts. But the outing also featured four walks and a hit-by-pitch, giving his line a uniquely Scottsdale-ian quality.

Pirates

• Nick Gonzales changed his setup at the plate.

“He did a great job this offseason,” manager Don Kelly said. “He’s switched some things up. I don’t know if you’ve been able to tell the difference in his setup at the plate, but the way he’s been swinging the bat has been phenomenal. …

“It’s really difficult to change midseason, to make any adjustment like that, especially mechanically. To see the way he was able to embrace that in the offseason and the way that his swing looks now, he did a fantastic job. It looks freer. He’s barreling the ball up well, and he feels really great about it.”

Reds

• Mark Sheldon of MLB.com thinks there is a chance Noelvi Marte starts the season in the minors.

“You know, it’s a challenge, being in Arizona with the wind and everything else,” Marte said via translator Eric Gonzalez. “But I’m extremely happy just to be fighting for a full-time position.”

The Reds have multiple outfield options in camp with Will Benson, JJ Bleday and Dane Myers all having strong showings both offensively and defensively thus far. Those three and non-roster first baseman Nathaniel Lowe were also among those in the mix for three available bench spots.

If he doesn’t secure the regular right-field job, Marte could become the odd man out.

Rockies

• The team plans on having their starters pitch longer into games, no matter the score.

Both DePodesta and manager Warren Schaeffer – who had the interim tag removed from his title this offseason – understand how big this undertaking is, and Schaeffer’s message to his pitchers during this journey is simple: Stats won’t necessarily tell the story when it comes to success.

“You have to have a battle mentality of keeping your team in the game,” Schaeffer said. “Just keep your team in the game, keep outdueling the other pitcher; it might be a 6-5 game, it might be a 7-4 game, but keep us in the game and anything can happen.”