Good morning my friends! It’s Friday and the Cactus League season is kicking off for the M’s today, who face off with the Padres at 12:10pm PT. Let’s check in on what’s happening around the league.
In Mariners news…
- Shannon Drayer gauged the temperature of Mariners’ camp as they prepare for their first Cactus League game.
- Ken Griffey, Jr. has been named a Global Ambassador for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. His duties include interviews and content creation alongside the tournament’s athletes on official social media channels.
Around the league…
- Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg is undergoing imaging for his elbow. Westburg has already been limited this spring due to an oblique injury.
- The Brewers have extended the contract of manager Pat Murphy through the 2029 season.
- The A’s are bringing longtime skipper Bob Melvin back to the organization to serve in a baseball operations role.
- The Tigers unveiled a new set of alternate jerseys for the 2026 season.
- The Guardians are planning to give Gold Glove-winning left fielder Steven Kwan some reps in center field this year.
- Derek Carty at Fangraphs proudly rolled out the brand new THE BAT X projection model for pitchers. Previously, THE BAT X only released projections for hitters.
- Davy Andrews at Fangraphs wonders which baseball players would make the best ice dancers, in which he shows some major respect for one of our favorite Mariners.
Anders’ picks…
- It was a big day for the USA in the Winter Olympics, with the women’s ice hockey team winning an overtime thriller over Team Canada in the gold medal game. Meanwhile, figure skater Alysa Liu completed a comeback for the history books to claim the first individual gold medal for an American woman in figure skating in over 20 years.
- This summer, ESPN is replacing Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts with Women’s Sports Sundays.