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EspañolYankees Making the Team Meter: Round 1 of roster battles
For the first time since the spring training Grapefruit League slate began on February 20th, the New York Yankees will not play a baseball game today. Since we don’t have new Statcast data and game film to analyze, that makes today the perfect opportunity to kickstart what is, in my opinion, the best preseason series we do here at Pinstripe Alley: the annual Making the Team Meter.
For those new to Pinstripe Alley or who need a refresher: every year, we track the roster throughout the spring through this weekly series, helping fans keep pace with which players are most likely to break camp with the team. Here’s the key that we use:
As one can see, it’s fairly straightforward: red means that a player is almost certainly not going to make the roster, yellow tells us that a player has a shot if things break right, and green says, “We’ll see you in San Francisco for Opening Day on March 25th.”
Every spring, the pitching staff always generates the most discussion, and this year is no different. Heading into camp, the Yankees had a trio of starters already guaranteed to miss Opening Day — Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, and Carlos Rodón — while the bullpen has seen almost a complete makeover since last spring and will have several spots up for grabs. Since the start of camp, though, minor injuries may have put more spots in play, while multiple top prospects have captured a lot of attention with their performance on the mound.
Note that, within this list, I use the FanGraphs Depth Chart to decide whether to mark a pitcher as either a starter or a reliever. Because of this, several pitchers on the roster bubble — particularly prospects and non-roster invites — will be listed as starters to represent the fact that they will fill out the Scranton rotation; if they make the major league club, however, there’s a good chance they’ll work out of the bullpen. We’re also a little more lenient with the yellow ratings this early in camp because some names can truly come out of nowhere to make an impression. Call it the 2021 Lucas Luetge Principle.
The Yankees’ plan for the starting rotation has been clear for months. Max Fried will almost certainly get the ball on Opening Day, 2025 playoff phenom Cam Schlittler will get the ball behind him, and some combination of 2024 Rookie of the Year, new trade acquisition Ryan Weathers, and the second-year Will Warren will fill out the rotation behind them.
Although at the moment, I still expect that to be the case, two major wrenches have been thrown into the conversation. One, Schlittler was sidelined early in the spring due to back inflammation, and although manager Aaron Boone says that he will be ready to go Opening Day even if he’s only built up to 70-80 pitches instead of the normal 90-100 you’re looking for, until we see him pitch in a spring training game, we can’t mark him down as a certainty. And two, Elmer Rodriguez has looked electric in his two spring training starts, striking out five and walking just one in six innings of work; sure, he has a long way to go towards seizing a starting job out of camp, but as Joe Girardi said on the YES broadcast, Jordan Montgomery was able to do exactly that in 2017. How quickly Schlittler returns to the mound, and how Rodriguez looks in the World Baseball Classic, could upend our calculus on the Yankees’ rotation, and bears watching.
The bullpen, on the other hand, is much more unsettled. David Bednar will be the closer. Camilo Doval and Fernando Cruz will work the late innings in front of him. Tim Hill, Ryan Yarbrough, and Paul Blackburn will be there too (although it must be noted that any of the latter two could wind up in the rotation depending on injuries). That leaves two spots up for grabs. The early favorites are probably Jake Bird, who the Yankees acquired at last year’s Trade Deadline, Angel Chivilli (a more recent Rockies trade acquistion), and Cade Winquest, who they acquired in the Rule 5 Draft and thus must stay on the active roster all year. But at this point, it’s far too early to truly rule anybody out.
Anybody except the Yankees’ top pitching prospects, that is. Is the idea of putting Carlos Lagrange and his 103-mph fastball in the bullpen to start the year enticing? For sure. Would the Yankees much prefer to keep him working as a starter and possibly bring him up in, say, July or August, and unleash that 103-mph fastball in the starting rotation? Absolutely.
Next, let’s take a look at the catchers.
Last year was the first time in literal years that the Yankees had a true battle for the backup catcher job in spring training. This year, we once again now from the beginning of the spring who the Yankees’ main catchers are …albeit with a catch (rimshot). Austin Wells is the starter, certainly, and should he get hurt, J.C. Escarra will probably slide into the starting job. But will he be continuously rostered, or will the Yankees opt to use Ben Rice as the backup catcher to keep his bat in the lineup when they want to play Paul Goldschmidt against a tough lefty? It’s unlikely, as the Yankees have yet to give Rice any time behind the plate this spring, but it’s still early.
That being said, if Rice exclusively plays first base this week, then we can safely assume it’ll be Wells and Escarra. One can’t fully rule out a last-second trade acquisition either, like when the Yankees brought Jose Trevino aboard days before Opening Day 2022 to join Kyle Higashioka in a better tandem behind the plate than the in-house options of the moment.
Last, and certainly not least, we have the rest of the position players:
Let’s get one thing out of the way from the beginning. Yes, I love Spencer Jones’ moonshot home runs. Yes, the idea of him hitting behind/in front of Aaron Judge and giving opposing pitchers something truly scary to think about is really, really enticing. The truth is, though, he’s not making the Opening Day roster, and he may not even get the call-up to the Show this season. Jones has regularly performed well in spring training, only to strike out a ton in the minor leagues, and while there’s hope that his new Ohtani-esque batting stance may help him cut down on the K’s, we need to see it in action over a long period of time in Triple-A before we’ll even have a chance to see it in the Bronx. The contact issues simply need to improve in games that matter.
Moving on, let’s turn to the real drama: the bench. Once the Yankees re-signed Paul Goldschmidt, the bench immediately got crowded, as Amed Rosario, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Jasson Domínguez appeared to have the three non-catcher bench spots locked up; in fact, it was this jam that led to the speculation that the team could use Rice as the backup catcher, freeing up another spot. The last two weeks, however, have significantly changed this calculus.
For starters, barring an injury to Giancarlo Stanton or one of the outfielders, it seems likely that the Yankees will start the Martian in Triple-A Scranton so he can get everyday at bats against left-handed pitchers and regular reps in left field; reinforcing this inclination is the team’s recent decision to sign Randal Grichuk, a corner outfielder who has historically crushed southpaws, to a minor-league deal worth $2.5 million if he makes the team. Then, it was reported that Oswaldo Cabrera’s ankle hasn’t quite recovered to the point where they’re comfortable having him practice sliding, and he seems to be on track to start the season on the IL. And lastly, the organization has given Paul DeJong the number 18 — and while vets on minor-league deals don’t typically receive high numbers like prospects generally do, such a low number suggests the Yankees may be inclined to have him start the season as the starting shortstop. With Anthony Volpe out, the team doesn’t have a true backup shortstop to Caballero, as Rosario doesn’t seem like a viable option there anymore and the only other remote alternative with Cabrera injured is the standard third baseman Ryan McMahon.
Right now, FanGraphs lists the Yankees’ bench as Escarra, Goldschmidt, Rosario, and Grichuk, with the latter three serving as platoon partners of sorts with Rice, McMahon, and Trent Grisham, respectively. Brendan Kuty and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic have Escarra, Goldschmidt, Rosario, and Cabrera, seemingly believing that the utilityman will get up to speed in time — although it must be noted that their projection came before Grichuk’s addition. Both projections ignore Max Schuemann and Jorbit Vivas, a pair of infielders who may have a leg up in the roster battle because they’re already on the 40-man roster.
Personally, I think FanGraphs is likely right on the nose here; the Yankees can cover all infield positions besides shortstop with Rosario, and if McMahon takes reps at shortstop as reported, they won’t need to worry about carrying a dedicated backup to Caballero to start the season. This flexibility allows them to focus on their main need, a right-handed bat to balance out their very left-handed lineup. But it’s March 3rd, and Opening Day is March 25th — a lot always changes between now and then.
And that is where the Yankees roster stands coming into today. Do you agree with our assessments? Tune in again next week to see how things change after another week of game action.
MLB News Updates, March 2: Andrew Painter makes 2026 debut, and more from spring training to note for fantasy baseball
Every week, we will update fantasy baseball managers with all the MLB news they may have missed as we make our way through spring training and get closer to Opening Day.
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2026 MLB season]
Andrew Painter has brief, quiet outing in 2026 spring training debut
It seems like forever that fantasy baseball managers have been waiting for Andrew Painter to make noise in the majors. After all, three years ago, the then-19-year-old made his spring training debut, only to find himself undergoing Tommy John surgery, ending any hopes of an expedited career in MLB.
But Painter, MLB’s 28th-ranked prospect and long considered one of the Phillies’ best prospects overall, is healthy now and ready to make his mark in Philadelphia’s rotation this season.
Painter made his 2026 spring training debut against the Yankees on March 1. He pitched two scoreless innings and collected one strikeout, to Jasson Domínguez (another former highly-touted prospect who’s already gotten a lot of MLB action).
Painter will likely be eased along, but it seems like a given that he’ll get a chance to stick in the Phillies’ rotation to start the season. He’s currently carrying a 205 ADP in Yahoo leagues; that won’t last.
Stanton makes startling injury claim
In what ended up being one of the more bizarre-sounding news stories of the past few days, Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton claimed that the pain in his elbows is so bad that he “can’t open bottles, can’t open a bag of chips.”
As someone who has opened a lot of bags of chips in his day, that is a wild statement. Injuries, of course, are no strangers to Stanton — the last time he played more than 140 games was in 2018.
Highlights of Stanton running have been making the rounds on social media; that’s a low bar. But nonetheless, Stanton has remained one of the most feared, powerful hitters in baseball, despite his litany of injury woes. Last season was even a resurgence for him, posting a .944 OPS in 77 games (after returning from, yes, an injury) while hitting 24 home runs. Stanton currently has an ADP of 193, but this elbow news will probably lower that even further. At that point in drafts, you could do worse than taking a chance on someone who has 40+ homer upside.
Baseball’s No. 1 prospect makes his presence felt
The Pittsburgh Pirates are not a good team, but that doesn’t mean they don’t offer reasons for excitement. Oneil Cruz is an exciting hitter with a yet-untapped ceiling, Paul Skenes is already one of the five best starting pitchers in baseball and Bubba Chandler could reach that position at some point.
And there’s a chance another one of Pittsburgh’s prospects could take the field in the majors this season — and he might be the best of the bunch.
Konnor Griffin — who will turn a mere 20 years old when the season reaches its one-month mark — has already made waves across social media with his first spring training homers:
No. 1 Prospect Konnor Griffin hits his first #SpringTraining home run! 💪 pic.twitter.com/YllOJIHZLw
— MLB (@MLB) February 24, 2026
Not only did he launch that blast against Boston’s prized free-agent pickup, Ranger Suárez, but Griffin would go on and hit a second home run later in the game. Then, he hit a third spring training homer on March 1. At 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, Griffin is the Pirates’ top prospect — and the top prospect in baseball overall.
But again, Griffin is just 19 years old at the time of this writing. He’s only played in A-A+-AA (in which he made mincemeat of opposing pitching to the tune of a .333/.415/.527 slash line with a .941 OPS) in the minors. The chances of him making the big league roster before the summer — much less right out of spring training — are not high. And we know Pittsburgh isn’t exactly the place where prospects get rushed, no matter how good they are.
Griffin has a Yahoo ADP of 195.6 — apt for someone who is just a hopeful bench stash right now; Yahoo managers aren’t too hyped yet. But if he continues the highlight reel and fan pressure continues to build, the Pirates’ hand may be forced at some point in May or June. He’s a must-watch player during spring training.
Lindor on track for Opening Day; Carroll aiming for the same
Mets SS Francisco Lindor was one of a group of high-profile players who announced a need for surgery after injury to the hamate bone; for him, the surgery was performed on his left hand.
No one wants to hear about a star player needing surgery right before spring training, but thankfully, Lindor recently had his stitches removed and is reportedly still on track to start for the Mets on Opening Day.
Lindor is currently just on the cusp of being a second-round pick in Yahoo Fantasy leagues. If he falls to the third round, he’s a snap-selection, especially when you consider he’s gone nearly 30-30 (he stole 29 bases in 2024) for three straight seasons.
Diamondbacks OF Corbin Carroll (who currently holds a Yahoo ADP of 16.6) had surgery on Feb. 11 on his right hamate bone, and as he continues his rehab, he has stated that he’s “pushing” to be ready for Opening Day against the Dodgers on March 26.
At just 25 years old, we likely still haven’t seen Carroll’s best season; he has a .258/.341/.491 slash line with an .832 OPS in his career. His ADP could shoot up if his timeline does the same during spring training.
Hope for a resurgent Mike Trout season?
Once considered the clear best player in baseball, it’s been a rough couple of seasons for Mike Trout on the injury front. Trout last played more than 130 games in 2019 (134). He played just 29 and 82 games in 2024 and 2023, respectively. He did play 130 games in 2025, but the results were pretty subpar, by his standards: .232/.359/.439 with a .797 OPS, 26 home runs and just two stolen bases.
But maybe there’s a chance things turn around this season. On Saturday, Trout flew down the line in an attempt to beat out an infield single versus the D-backs. He was recorded as reaching a sprint speed of 29.9 feet per second — his highest sprint speed since a meniscus tear in 2024. Trout himself revealed that his goal for this season is 30 feet per second.
Now, this is not to say that Trout will suddenly return to his glory days of stealing 30+ bases, but a return to elite speed would certainly help in that regard. At the very least, a healthy Trout will undoubtedly steal more than the measly two bags he’s averaged the last six seasons.
For context, Trea Turner had the highest sprint speed in the league in 2025 at 30.3 feet per second, per Statcast. Trout was down at 223 with 27.9 feet per second.
Trout is coming off the board as OF58 in Yahoo leagues, a far cry from his previous elite years. Two years removed from his meniscus tear and with an eye on redemption, Trout could end up being a draft-day steal.
Yankee youth shining early in spring training
The Yankees aren’t exactly the Pirates in terms of exciting prospects, but they do have some young players who have been turning heads so far in exhibition play.
George Lombard Jr., baseball’s 32nd-ranked prospect, has been making defensive highlight after defensive highlight so far in spring training, and the Yankees expect his bat to catch up with his glove. Defense can get players onto the field sooner than later; Lombard’s ascension is one to watch.
Carlos Lagrange is another of New York’s top prospects, a potentially front-line starter with triple-digit stuff. His arm is already making waves on social media. In Double-A last season, Lagrange put together a 7-6 record with a 3.22 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 78.1 innings pitched. At 22 years old, Lagrange has the chance to not only begin the season in Triple-A, but could see himself in the big-league club sooner rather than later, whether as a starter or in the bullpen.
Finally, we have Ryan Weathers, the Yankees’ offseason trade acquisition from the Marlins. At just 26 years old, Weathers hasn’t even reached his prime yet; once upon a time, Weathers was a Padres first-round pick. He flamed out with San Diego, but delivered moments of promise with the Marlins. The Yankees traded for that promise, and it may have already shown itself in spring training:
Ryan Weathers with a 99.8 MPH strikeout. He has never thrown a pitch that fast in his MLB career pic.twitter.com/0gN2GGUdB5
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) February 25, 2026
Weathers ended his exhibition outing with the following line: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 5 K, 0 BB. Not bad for a debut. He currently holds a Yahoo ADP of 207.6; expect that to rise in the coming weeks, barring injury or a blow-up outing, as Weathers is projected to be the Yankees’ third or fourth starter to open the season.
Where to watch the Orioles in the World Baseball Classic 2026
This year’s edition of the World Baseball Classic gets under way on what is, to us, Wednesday night with games kicking off in Tokyo. Most teams will be playing exhibitions against a major league club on Tuesday or Wednesday with their pool play beginning on Friday. The Orioles players who are on these rosters will not be back in camp until their team has been eliminated from the tournament.
Here’s the players from the Orioles organization who are on WBC rosters and the schedules for their teams:
USA
- Gunnar Henderson
The star Orioles shortstop is the lone American representative this time around. He might be playing third base rather than shortstop, with Royals infielder Bobby Witt Jr. expected to get a lot of reps at short.
Schedule and opponents
Pool play in Houston, Texas
- March 3: Exhibition vs. Giants, 3pm, ESPN
- March 6: vs. Brazil (road team), 8pm, Fox
- March 7: vs. Great Britain (home team), 8pm, Fox
- March 9: vs. Mexico (home team), 8pm, Fox
- March 10: vs. Italy (home team), 9pm, FS1
Canada
- Tyler O’Neill
- Micah Ashman
The Canadian outfielder O’Neill continued his Opening Day home run streak in his home country last year. He’s looked good so far this spring. Don’t get hurt while playing for Team Canada! Ashman, a reliever, was acquired from the Tigers for Charlie Morton last July.
Schedule and opponents
Pool play in San Juan, PR
- March 3: Exhibition vs. Blue Jays, 1:07, MLB Network
- March 7: vs. Colombia (home team), 11am, FS2
- March 8: vs. Panama (home team), 7pm, FS2
- March 10: vs. Puerto Rico (road team), 7pm, FS2
- March 11: vs. Cuba (road team), 3pm, FS2
Great Britain
- Ryan Long
It’s a running joke on Camden Chat that Long is a distant cousin of our writer Stacey. Long, 26, was a 17th round pick in 2021 who has mostly topped out at the Double-A level.
Schedule and opponents
Pool play in Houston, Texas
- March 6: vs. Mexico (home team), 1pm, FS1
- March 7: vs. USA (road team), 8pm, Fox
- March 8: vs. Italy (road team), 1pm, tubi
- March 9: vs. Brazil (home team), 1pm, tubi
Israel
- Dean Kremer
There are a number of MLB-experienced players on the Israel roster and one of them is Kremer, who might even be the best pitcher this team has.
Schedule and opponents
Pool play in Miami, Florida
- March 7: vs. Venezuela (road team), 7pm, FS2
- March 8: vs. Nicaragua (home team), 7pm, tubi
- March 9: vs. Dominican Republic (home team), 12pm, FS1
- March 10: vs. Netherlands (road team), 7pm, Fox Sports
Panama
- Enrique Bradfield Jr.
We know he’s good on defense and we know he’s fast on the bases. Can he threaten enough power to be a decent major league regular? Mostly we’ll find out at Triple-A this year, though if he gets to face some MLB-caliber pitching in the WBC, that won’t be bad for him either.
Schedule and opponents
Pool play in San Juan, PR
- March 6: vs. Cuba (home team), 11am, FS2
- March 7: vs. Puerto Rico (road team), 6pm, FS1
- March 8: vs. Canada (road team), 7pm, FS2
- March 9: vs. Colombia (home team), 12pm, FS2
Puerto Rico
- Jose Espada
- Rico Garcia
- Luis Vázquez
All three of these players appeared for the Orioles last season, although none had a major role. Garcia has a spot penciled in that’s his in the bullpen. Espada could make it as well. Vázquez has an opportunity to take a utility spot given that both Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg are starting the season on the injured list.
Schedule and opponents
Pool play in San Juan, PR
- March 6: vs. Colombia (road team), 6pm, FS1
- March 7: vs. Panama (home team), 6pm, FS1
- March 9: vs. Cuba (road team), 7pm, FS1
- March 10: vs. Canada (home team), 7pm, tubi
Reserve players
The following players are on the Designated Pitcher Pool for their teams, meaning they are not on the active initial roster but could be added between rounds:
- Australia: Kailen Hamson
- Dominican Republic: Yaramil Hiraldo
- Mexico: Nestor German